The Husband Season

by Mary Nichols

  It was a heaven-sent opportunity to pass off her ill humour, but suddenly it seemed important to tell the truth. ‘No, Mama, not a cold...’

  ‘Oh, I see. It is Viscount Kimberley.’

  ‘Adam?’ Jane echoed.

  ‘No, it is not.’ Sophie rounded on her. ‘I shall have to marry that horrid Lord Gorange and—’

  ‘Good heavens, why?’

  It tumbled out then, the whole sorry story, and at the end of it she was sobbing and spoiling her face. Her mother took her in her arms. ‘Oh, Sophie, why did you not say something sooner? There is no question of you marrying Lord Gorange if you do not want to. Let him do his worst.’

  ‘But what will Papa say?’

  ‘I have no doubt he will say he was right not to trust Teddy to look after you.’

  ‘But it wasn’t Teddy’s fault.’

  ‘If he were here now, I think I could cheerfully thrash him,’ Jane said.

  ‘But Teddy was against my accepting any of those three...’

  ‘Of course he was,’ Jane said. ‘Mama, Adam has told us that Teddy made a wager with them that Sophie would not marry any one of them by the end of July. They were each intent on winning it.’

  Sophie stared at her. ‘Is that true?’

  ‘Yes. Adam would not make it up, would he?’

  ‘Why didn’t he tell me?’

  ‘He thought you might be hurt by it and asked us if we thought you should know. I felt you should be told because it would help you to understand.’

  ‘That explains why Lord Gorange said something about the other two stealing a march on him, and yesterday he said they have given up and left the field to him.’

  ‘Yesterday?’ her mother queried. ‘Is his lordship in Hadlea?’

  ‘Yes, he accosted me while I was out riding, and very offensive he was.’ She paused. ‘Mama, I do not want to bring scandal down on everyone. I have been foolish and naive and I beg you to forgive me.’

  ‘Oh, Sophie,’ her mother said, ‘there is nothing to forgive. But we will not tell your father. He is already very angry with Teddy. I do not wish to add to it.’

  ‘Then I must marry Lord Gorange.’

  ‘No, you will not,’ her mother said. ‘Leave it to me to tell your papa as much as he needs to know. He will give his lordship his rightabout on your behalf.’

  ‘Best thing you could do,’ the dowager Lady Wyndham put in suddenly, ‘is marry someone else. That would put a stop to his lordship’s antics.’

  They had all forgotten she was there and turned to her in surprise. She chuckled. ‘I know a young man not so very far away who has been mourning his dead wife long enough. He ought to marry again and set up his nursery or the line will die out. And so I have told him.’

  Sophie looked at the old lady with her mouth open for several seconds, then burst into tears.

  The men chose that moment to rejoin them. ‘What is the matter with Sophie?’ Sir Edward demanded.

  ‘I think we should take Sophie home,’ his wife told him. ‘If everyone will excuse us.’

  ‘Of course,’ Mark said. ‘Is she ill?’

  ‘I think she has perhaps caught a cold from Bessie,’ Lady Cavenhurst said, putting her arm round Sophie and helping her to her feet. ‘She will no doubt be better after one of Cook’s remedies and a good night’s sleep.’

  Shawls and wraps were fetched, Sir Edward, somewhat bemused, apologised to everyone for their rapid departure and Sophie was led away.

  * * *

  It was left to Jane to explain what had happened to Mark and Adam. ‘I know exactly how poor Sophie is feeling,’ she said. ‘She feels as if she has no choice but to comply with Lord Gorange for the sake of the family.’

  ‘But that is monstrous,’ Adam burst out. ‘Surely, to God, no one expects her to marry him?’

  ‘What do you suggest, then?’ the dowager said, smiling at him.

  ‘She must defy him, Aunt Helen. Such a union is unthinkable.’

  ‘Then, why don’t you marry her yourself?’

  There was a stunned silence. Adam stared at her. ‘Aunt, I don’t think—’

  ‘Then I suggest you do think,’ she said, cutting him short. ‘You are a healthy young man with a whole life before you. Are you going to spend it becoming a crotchety old recluse with no friends and no children or grandchildren to comfort your old age? Sophie Cavenhurst will do you very well. She can be a little wild perhaps, but I see no harm in her and you could soon tame her.’

  ‘I wouldn’t dream of taming her.’

  ‘No?’ The old lady smiled. ‘Then, take her as she is.’

  ‘She would not have me.’

  ‘Have you asked her?’

  ‘No, of course I have not.’

  ‘Then, I suggest you do.’

  ‘Mama,’ Mark put in because his cousin seemed lost for words, ‘you are embarrassing Adam.’

  ‘He needs a little embarrassment. And we are all family, are we not?’

  ‘Excuse me,’ Adam said, and hurriedly left the room.

  He went into the garden. It was a warm, clear night with a full moon and a sky full of stars. A slight breeze ruffled the trees. A cat, its stomach almost on the ground, stalked its prey in the long grass. An owl hooted somewhere in the direction of a distant barn. In contrast with the peaceful atmosphere, his insides were churning. His aunt had gone far beyond acceptable manners in speaking as she had and made him angry. He did not need her to tell him what to do.

  On the other hand, she was probably right and he would have to marry again some day. But not yet. Not now. Later, perhaps. Much later, when he was middle-aged and he could find someone steady and unremarkable with whom he could have children and who would not bother him. Safe, not wild, tactful, not outspoken. A little plain even, not so beautiful he caught his breath whenever he beheld her.

  An image of Sophie in that lovely gown, her blue eyes bleak and tear filled, swam before him. Even like that she was far from plain. Her evident suffering touched his heart. But that didn’t mean he had to marry her. You couldn’t build a marriage on pity. Was it pity he felt or exasperation? Or was it something else altogether? He began walking up and down the garden, then set off down the drive to walk along the village lanes. Tomorrow he would go home and get on with his work. Honest toil would take care of his turmoil. Tomorrow he could forget her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sophie was half expecting Lord Gorange when he arrived in the middle of the following morning. Peering over the banister at the top of his head, she heard him ask Travers if Sir Edward would see him. The servant disappeared while Gorange checked his cravat in the mirror, a satisfied smile on his face. Travers came back and conducted him into the library and shut the door. Sophie went back to her room and waited. A little later she was sent for.

  ‘Lord Gorange has asked to speak to you,’ her father told her, after she had frostily replied to his lordship’s greeting. ‘Do you wish to hear him?’

  ‘No, Papa, I do not. I wish him to go away.’

  Her father turned to the peer. ‘Then, I am afraid, my lord, you have my daughter’s answer.’

  His lordship stared from one to the other. ‘Miss Cavenhurst’s reputation will be sullied by this refusal not to allow me even the courtesy of a hearing,’ he said pompously.

  ‘I think not. If any word of scandal reaches me, I shall be obliged to make known the vile wager you made and the tactics you have used to win it. I think it might very well be your reputation that suffers. Good day to you, my lord. I wish you a speedy journey home.’

  There was nothing the man could do but take his leave. Sophie ran to hug her father. ‘Oh, Papa, thank you. But how did you know about that wager? Mama said...’

  ‘I know she did, but she didn’t know that Mark an
d Adam had already told me about it. You did a very foolish thing, you know, going into the city alone and trying to sell your necklace. It is extremely valuable and it is no wonder Rundell wondered if you had stolen it.’ He smiled. ‘Now, we will have no more tears. You are home again and it is all forgotten.’

  ‘But, Papa, Viscount Kimberley paid Teddy’s debts and now I will not be able to repay him.’

  ‘But why should you? You are not responsible for your brother’s profligacy. I offered to pay him and so did Mark, but he would not hear of it. He begged us not to mention it again. He said the pleasure of seeing you smile was recompense enough.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Run along now. I have work to do.’

  She gave him another hug and left him. Lord Gorange had been ousted and for that she was grateful, and she supposed the ache in her heart would fade in time. She would content herself with helping Jane with her good works and loving her nephew.

  Adam would have left by now and be on his way back to Saddleworth; it would be safe to visit Jane. She set off on foot and was passing the Fox and Hounds when she saw the stage draw into the yard, later than scheduled. Several passengers left it, others boarded it. She saw Adam standing in the yard watching his trunk being loaded and dodged down Church Lane so that he would not see her. She could not bear the pain of saying goodbye.

  Mrs Caulder, the rector’s wife, was in her garden. ‘Sophie, you are back. How was London?’

  ‘Very interesting, Mrs Caulder.’

  ‘Tell me what you did. Did you meet anyone exciting?’

  Sophie gave her a watered-down version of her adventures, and by the time she returned to the main road, the stage had gone and the inn yard was empty. She went on her way with a heavy heart. He had gone.

  She passed through the village out onto the road to Broadacres. Her way led her past a row of cottages and the blacksmiths and then she was in the open. Immersed in her dismal thoughts, she was not paying attention to others on the road and only moved aside when she heard the horse coming up behind her. She gasped when she saw it was Lord Gorange.

  He passed her and pulled his mount across the road in front of her, blocking her way. ‘You thought I’d be fobbed off by that little charade, did you?’ he said, smiling. ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat.’

  ‘I cannot think you are so in want of a thousand pounds that you must continue to bother me,’ she said haughtily. ‘Especially since Teddy is far away and you will not have to pay him.’

  He laughed. ‘It is not Teddy’s little wager I am concerned about, but a much larger one.’

  She was curious in spite of herself. ‘Who with?’

  ‘Why, Captain Moore, who else?’

  ‘That mountebank. I cannot see what it has to do with him.’

  ‘A wager is a wager and, win or lose, it has to be paid, and I do not choose to lose.’

  ‘That is no concern of mine. Lord Gorange, you have had your answer, so please move aside and let me pass.’

  He did not oblige, so she turned and started to walk back the way she had come. He rode round her and blocked her path again, bringing his mount so close to her she was afraid the stallion might kick out and injure her. She reached up and grabbed the reins with one hand and his foot in the stirrup with the other, yanking it upwards as hard as she could. He yelled as his foot left the stirrup and he was deposited on the ground. Astonished at how easy it had been, she stared down at him, then with a satisfied smile, flung herself up on the horse and galloped back towards the village. It was only when she was within sight of the cottages on the outskirts of the village she realised what an inelegant picture she must make and pulled up and dismounted. She led the horse back to the livery stables beside the Fox and Hounds from where it had no doubt been hired.

  ‘I found this animal wandering down the road,’ she told the ostler. ‘He must have thrown his rider.’

  ‘I will have someone look for him, Miss Cavenhurst.’

  She handed the reins to him and left, passing the front of the inn.

  ‘I fear that will not be the end of his lordship,’ a voice said against her ear. ‘It will have to be something more permanent than that.’

  She spun round. ‘Adam!’

  ‘As you see.’

  ‘But you left. I saw you...’

  ‘And I saw you. You were coming this way, I am sure of it, but you suddenly went off down that lane.’ He nodded in its direction. ‘I could only surmise you did not want to see me. I had my trunk taken off the coach and waited, knowing the road only led to the church and the vicarage.’

  ‘But why?’

  ‘Curiosity, my dear. I saw you come back and walk past here without turning your head, so I followed.’ He smiled. ‘In my effort to remain hidden I was farther behind than I would have liked to be when I saw Gorange stop beside you. My God, you took a risk, Sophie. You could have been kicked to death.’

  ‘But I was not.’

  ‘No, thank goodness. It all happened so quickly and I was not near enough to intervene. I started to run towards you, but you galloped past me with your head almost on the stallion’s neck and either did not hear me or chose to ignore me.’

  ‘I thought it was Lord Gorange shouting.’

  ‘He was in no position to shout.’

  ‘Oh, Lord, I haven’t killed him, have I?’

  ‘I think he’ll live, though he might be a little sore for a day or two.’

  ‘Thank God.’

  ‘Never do anything like that again, Sophie. My heart won’t stand it.’

  ‘Your heart? Do you have one?’

  ‘Most assuredly I do.’ He took her hand and laid it upon his heart. She could feel its steady rhythm. ‘Convinced?’

  ‘Yes, but...’ She looked up into his face. He was smiling and it was doing funny things to her inside. ‘What were you doing following me in the first place when you should have been on that stage?’

  ‘I changed my mind.’

  ‘Why?’

  He took her arm and led her into the cool interior of the inn. The next stage was not due for some time and it was too early in the day for locals to congregate, most of whom were working in the fields; the parlour was empty. He sat her down on a settee in a corner and seated himself beside her. ‘I realised I could not leave you, Sophie. I can never leave you.’ He smiled again. ‘And someone has to keep you out of mischief.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  He took her hand and rubbed the back of it absent-mindedly with his thumb. ‘I mean that I want to take care of you. Always.’

  She was trying to maintain some semblance of composure, but it was very hard and she was unsure exactly what he meant. ‘And you decided all that between going to board the coach and seeing me?’

  ‘No, I think it had been coming on me for some time, but I was trying to ignore it. When it came to stepping up into that coach, I found I could not do it. My feet just would not obey me.’ He lifted her hand and put the palm to his lips. It sent a shiver right through her, from her hand to her arm, into her body and right down to the very core of her.

  ‘But what about your vow never to marry again? I suppose it is marriage you are proposing and not some other arrangement?’

  ‘Sophie!’ he exclaimed, shocked. ‘You surely did not think...? Oh, the devil take me and my clumsiness. Of course I meant marriage.’

  ‘And Anne?’

  ‘I loved Anne and revere her memory, I will not pretend otherwise, but in the past few weeks, I have realised that if I am not careful I shall become a bad-tempered old man whom no one loves. And what is an even worse prospect, I should lose you. So, my darling, I will break my promise not to marry again if you will break yours not to be a second wife. Sophie, will you have me?’

  Unable to take it in, she did not
immediately reply, but sat looking at their joined hands. Joy was spreading through her; from the top of her head to her toes, she was glowing.

  ‘Say yes, Sophie. Please do not say I have prevaricated too long and you prefer not to link your life with a man who takes so long to make up his mind.’

  ‘It is less than two months since we met, Adam. In terms of courtship that is a very short time, don’t you think?’

  ‘Are you saying yes?’

  ‘I am saying yes, please.’

  ‘Oh, my love. We will be happy together, I promise you.’ He took her in his arms and kissed her soundly. The noise of people working in the inn, the sound of horses and carts on the road, the voice of the chef singing in the kitchen, faded and there was only the two of them in all the world locked in each other’s arms.

  ‘Adam,’ she said, pulling herself out of his embrace at last, ‘what do you think everyone will say?’

  ‘Does it matter?’

  ‘Not to me.’

  ‘Me, neither.’

  ‘When will you speak to Papa?’

  ‘No time like the present. Is he at home?’

  They looked up as someone came into the parlour. It was Lord Gorange, and he was hobbling and cradling one elbow in his other hand. His coat was covered in mud, his breeches were torn and he had lost the heel of one riding boot. They both burst out laughing.

  ‘You may congratulate me, Gorange,’ Adam called out to him. ‘We are to be married.’

  ‘Huh.’ He turned on his heel and went out again, slamming the door behind him.

  ‘Come on,’ Adam said, standing up and holding a hand out to her. ‘I want the next bit over with, then we can tell everyone our good news.’

  They walked to Greystone Manor, not touching because there were people about, but they could not help looking at each other and smiling broadly. Anyone with eyes to see could guess what was afoot.

  They found both her parents in the drawing room. Sophie, holding tight to Adam’s hand, led him forward. ‘Mama, Papa,’ she said, eyes shining, ‘Adam has asked me to marry him and I have said yes.’