by Julia London
Olivia laughed and stood back. Her eyes were shining, her smile bright. She hadn’t looked this happy for years, not since long before she married Edward. “Yes. I love him with all my heart, and I have loved him for a very long time. I thought I’d lost him, but you made my happiness possible.”
Alexa smiled. She felt proud of herself, in truth. She’d actually done someone a kindness. “I was forced to take matters into my own hands,” she boasted. “You can be so blessedly stubborn, you know.”
“I suppose I can,” Olivia said, smiling fondly, and beamed at Harry as he walked up the steps to them. He smiled down at Olivia in a way that made Alexa’s heart twist a little. That was love. That was what she’d believed she’d had with Carlos.
But Alexa pushed down that sadness—it was Olivia’s turn at sheer happiness. “Come on, then, come and see your new home,” Alexa said, taking Olivia’s hand in hers. “A lot of work must be done, beginning with the salon. It’s dreadful. Oh, and you will never believe what I have discovered—Rue is an excellent seamstress!”
“Little Rue?” Olivia asked, and cast a smile over her shoulder at Harry, who smiled at her with the same adoring look.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, the two of you will become tedious very quickly, with all that smiling,” Alexa said, and tugged at Olivia’s hand. “Mrs. Thorpe is the housekeeper here, and I can tell you, she will not approve of your arriving to marry Harry after I refused. She is very strict in her opinions, and even though you do not expressly ask for them, she manages to give them anyway. She’s very skilled, that one. And you must speak plainly and precisely to Linford. He is the butler, and he is hard of hearing. Oh! This is Louis. He is our footman,” she said, as Louis bowed and opened the door wide. “Louis, this is my sister, who will soon be the new mistress of Ashwood.”
“How do you do?” Olivia said, but Alexa was pulling her along.
“Rue! Come down at once!” she called, and Olivia hurried to keep up with her sister as they entered to have a look at the place they would all call home.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Mr. Meachamp, the vicar, was called away from Hadley Green to attend to a dying parishioner in nearby Boxhill. The parishioner apparently lingered, for the vicar was away long enough for word to spread through Hadley Green that the new Earl of Ashwood would marry the pretty young woman he’d mysteriously arrived with.
In the meantime, Lily, Lady Eberlin, hosted a tea for some of Hadley Green’s more illustrious denizens to introduce her aunt and uncle Hannigan, and her twin cousins, Molly and Mabe Hannigan. They joined her sister-in-law Charity and her daughter Catherine. The gathering of ladies had ample time to speculate as to why the new earl would travel with an unmarried young woman and only a maid for a chaperone.
Lady Horncastle was particularly disturbed by the inappropriateness of their arrangement. “He should have brought a proper escort for her,” she’d said. “A sister, a cousin. Anyone would do, really, but you cannot convince me that the girl is so alone in the world that there is no one to look after her virtue.”
“Perhaps she did not care to have her virtue looked after, aye?” Molly Hannigan asked innocently, and Charity chuckled.
“What a ridiculous thing to say, young lady,” Lady Horncastle complained.
“He intends to set it to rights, does he not?” Lily said. “And really, madam, Hadley Green has seen worse scandal than that.”
“Haven’t we?” Miss Daria Babcock laughed. “It’s all so diverting.”
“Diverting, perhaps. But if that is the sort of person we attract at Hadley Green, it does not speak well for your future prospects, does it?” Mrs. Morton asked, and beside her, Mrs. Ogle nodded her complete agreement.
“I shouldn’t mind a bit of scandal,” Miss Babcock said with a shrug. “It would make life interesting.”
“Perhaps more than you know,” Charity said with a sigh.
The twins looked at each other and laughed, as if they shared some secret. The ladies of Hadley Green had no idea that Molly and Mabe Hannigan were renowned in Ireland for diabolical games.
All the talk prompted Lily to suggest to her husband that they pay a call to the new residents of Ashwood.
“Why?” he asked as they lay in bed late that night, their limbs tangled with each other.
“Because they are new here and they are to be married. They could use some acquaintances.”
Tobin put his hand on his wife’s breast. “I think you are looking for a diversion.”
She smiled lovingly at him. “I have all the diversion I need in my husband, sir.”
He kissed her forehead and rolled over on his side. “I refuse to call and annoy our new neighbors.”
But Lily kissed his shoulder, her hand floating over his broad back. “I think I shall pay a call.”
“Lily—”
“I shan’t stay long. Just long enough to welcome them properly. The first time we met them, I was so interested in the jewels that I hardly thought of them at all. I’ve been rude. I should set it all to rights, do you not agree?”
Tobin sighed, and she giggled as she kissed the back of his neck. She knew she had him wrapped firmly about her little finger.
At Ashwood the following afternoon, the old butler Linford was trying his best to explain to the new master that Mrs. Thorpe, the housekeeper, felt a bit compromised by the arrival of the widow.
“Then perhaps she’d be more comfortable keeping house elsewhere,” Harrison casually suggested.
The old man paled. “But Thorpe’s been at Ashwood for thirty years, my lord.”
“I am not a lord. I am Mr. Tolly,” Harrison said patiently. “Why is it, Linford, that I cannot seem to impress on anyone that I am not an earl?”
“Sir,” Linford corrected himself.
Harrison sighed. “All right, here is what you say to Thorpe to soothe her ruffled feathers. Tell her that sometimes, events occur that are well beyond our control. And as soon as Meachamp returns from Boxhill, we shall set it all to rights. Will that do?”
“I hope for all our sake that it does, sir.”
Louis appeared at the door. “Callers, sir.”
“There, you see?” Harrison said, gesturing to the footman. “Louis understands perfectly that I am not an earl.” He strode out of the study and into the foyer, and came face to face with Lady Eberlin. Behind her were two young dark-haired beauties.
“Mr. Tolly, how do you do?” Lady Eberlin said brightly. “I hope we are not imposing?”
Harrison bowed and said, “Welcome to Ashwood.”
“May I introduce my cousins, Miss Molly Hannigan, and Miss Mabe Hannigan.”
Harrison greeted them both and wondered how anyone could tell them apart.
Lady Eberlin beamed at him. “I would not have come without an invitation, but I have news!”
“And that is?”
“That Lord Eberlin and I intend to host a ball.”
“Extraordinary,” Harrison drawled. He heard someone on the stairs and glanced up. Olivia and Alexa were descending.
“There she is!” Lady Eberlin said, her face brightening with her smile. “Your beautiful fiancée. Why didn’t you tell us that you and Miss Hastings were to marry? We would have feted you as you deserve, you know.”
Alexa laughed. “There’s been some mistake. Mr. Tolly and I have no intention of wedding.”
“Oh.” Lady Eberlin appeared confused.
“May I introduce my sister, Lady Carey?” Alexa said, gliding down the stairs.
“I will do the honors, if you please,” Harrison said, stepping forward. He held out his hand to Olivia as she reached the bottom step.
“This,” he said, “is Lady Carey.”
“I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” Lady Eberlin said. “And I am terribly sorry for your loss. We had heard the news.”
Olivia blinked. “Oh,” she said. “Yes, thank you. A tragic accident.”
“Tragic,” Lady Eberlin agreed, and looked at Ha
rrison. “But . . . the entire village of Hadley Green is speaking of your nuptials, Mr. Tolly.”
“Are they?” He looked at Olivia; they both laughed.
“Mr. Tolly intends to marry my sister, Lady Carey,” Alexa said, as if it were perfectly natural.
“Alexa.” Olivia sighed. “The news might need a bit more introduction than that.”
Lady Eberlin looked shocked. She stared at Harrison, who nodded, confirming it. “It is a fact, ladies, that I intend to marry this woman. Not that one.”
One of the twins gasped. Olivia gave a soft snort of laughter and quickly put her hand to her mouth to hide her smile.
“But . . . but we only just received the news about Lord Carey,” Lady Eberlin said, as if trying to work it all out in her head.
“Yes, it would seem that we’ve all been involved in a rather large scandal,” Harrison went on, enjoying himself now. “I feel confident the details of it will reach you soon enough.”
Olivia could scarcely contain her giggles.
Even Alexa was smiling. “A lot of nonsense,” she agreed. “But you mustn’t believe it if you hear that I am carrying Mr. Tolly’s child. It’s not his at all.”
Olivia’s attempt to contain her laughter failed. She looked at Lady Eberlin, her smile almost effervescent. “I would have a care, madam, of associating too closely with us. We have broken every rule of polite society. But before you turn your backs completely, please know that we are determined to set it all to rights. We never meant any harm.” She turned a brilliant smile to Harrison.
That smile warmed him to the core every time he saw it, and Harrison smiled back. “We will set it all to rights just as soon as the vicar arrives.”
“We’re really not awful people,” Alexa added as she moved to stand next to Olivia. “But we’ve been beset by extraordinary circumstances that cannot be easily explained.”
Lady Eberlin sighed and looked at her cousins.
The one on the right smiled. “Tell them,” she said to Lady Eberlin.
“I could not. I should not.”
The other twin said, “It seems if there is anyone in Hadley Green with whom you might be completely honest, it is them. Go on. Tell them.”
“Tell us what?” Harrison asked.
Lady Eberlin smiled sheepishly. “What my cousins would like you to know is that we, too, have suffered through a bit of scandal because of extraordinary circumstances. To begin, another cousin pretended to be me—for months. And then she was discovered and forced to flee England altogether. I had to remain here and make my bargain with the devil.”
Olivia and Harrison looked at each other, and said in unison, “Faust!”
Olivia reached out her hand to Lady Eberlin. “I think that settles it, Lady Eberlin. We shall be fast friends. Come and let us share a spot of tea and a wild tale or two.”
On the day that Harrison Tolly took Lady X as his wife, the bride wore blue. The scandal of Lady Carey and the steward had begun to seep into the highest reaches of society, and it was on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
But no one seemed to care about that scandal at the wedding of the newly elevated Lord Ashwood. There was scarcely anyone in attendance, save the bride, her sister, and the residents of Tiber Park, where Lord and Lady Eberlin resided. That family was not particularly put-off by scandal.
As spring turned to summer, Alexa grew as round as a ball.
One afternoon, the family took tea in the gazebo near the lake. The Eberlins had come, and Lord Ashwood had retained the services of a fiddler to entertain them. They were in the midst of having their luncheon when one of the Hannigan twins glanced up and said, “Who is that?”
All heads swiveled about. Standing at the top of the hill was a gentleman in buckskins and a green coat. Ahead of him, Louis was striding down the grassy slope to announce him.
Alexa suddenly cried out and dropped her fork to her plate with a clatter. She stood, pushing the chair back so quickly that it toppled over behind her.
“Alexa!” Harrison said. “What is wrong?”
But Alexa was running toward the man as fast her pregnant body would allow her.
Harrison stood up, but Olivia caught his arm. “Let her go, darling.”
“But who is it?” Harrison demanded.
Olivia smiled. “My guess is that Alexa’s fondest wish just came true.”
Outside the gazebo, Carlos saw Alexa the moment she leapt off the gazebo steps and he ran down the hill, grabbing her up in his arms. “Foolish, foolish girl!” he said sharply. “Why did you leave me?”
“Why!” she cried and threw her arms around his neck. “Why didn’t you come? Because you were married, you wretched beast!”
“Married?” He exploded with a string of Spanish, kissed her hard, then set her down and ran his hand over her belly. “I am not married, amor.”
“Do not lie to me,” Alexa said tearfully. “Because I love you, Carlos. I love you quite deeply, and I saw you kissing a woman behind your gates!”
“A woman!” he scoffed. “Who is this woman?”
Alexa told him about walking up to his house and seeing him kiss the beauty behind the gates.
“This is what caused you to run from me?” he exclaimed. “That was not my wife, Alexa. This was my cousin. I kiss her good-bye! I kiss her hello. I kiss her—she is my cousin!”
“Then why did you not come to see me? Why did you leave me for an entire week to wonder?”
A frown darkened his face. “I wanted to send a messenger to you, mi amor, but everything happened so quickly.”
“What?” she asked skeptically.
He took her hands in his. “My mother, she suddenly took ill, and was gone within a day. My family, they came from all of Spain to mourn her.” He frowned at her. “But you left me!”
“Of course I left you!” Alexa said. “You had left me! I don’t know if I believe you.”
Carlos let loose another string of Spanish. “Then I will carry you back to Spain and you will meet my cousin and she will tell you. I love you, mi amor. Don’t you know you are my heart? I searched all of Spain for you and could not find you. You carry my child. If I did not love you, if I were married, when I received your letter, would I come as fast as I could to find you?”
A small ray of hope began to shine in Alexa. “No,” she said, and smiled. “So will you help me?”
“Help you? I did not come this far to help you! I came to marry you!” he bellowed.
“Oh, Carlos—”
“No, no argument. You argue too easily.” He grabbed her up and kissed her.
When he lifted his head, Alexa took Carlos’s hand and laid it on her belly. “You are my heart, too.”
“Of course I am,” he said. “How could you forget it, even for a moment?” he demanded, and wrapped her once more in a tight embrace.
It was agreed by all that Alexa and Carlos should marry straightaway, and return to Spain before Alexa was too far along to travel. In the space of a few days, they were ready to leave, along with Rue.
“I’ve never been on a boat, sir,” Rue said to Harrison.
“My lord. You refer to him as my lord when addressing an earl,” Alexa corrected her.
“But we’re not to call him my lord,” Rue said.
“It’s all right,” Harrison said, and gave Rue a squeeze of the shoulders. “Mind you don’t lose your mistress, Rue. I shudder to think what would become of you if you did.”
Rue laughed. “I can’t lose a person, milord. She’s too big to lose.”
Alexa winked at him over Rue’s head. “I’ll keep a close eye on her.”
Alexa and Carlos said their good-byes, then loaded into the Ashwood carriage. Harrison and Olivia stood on the drive and waved as they watched them pull away.
Surprisingly, it was Harrison who felt the most dejected after her departure. “I confess to a soft spot for her. After all, she is the reason you are my wife.”
“And she was the reason I very nearly was
not your wife,” Olivia pointed out. “But she is wildly happy, Harrison. I would rather her be happy and gone from us, than forever sad and with us.”
“Yes, I suppose,” Harrison said, and put his arms around Olivia’s shoulders. “I have another confession, Lady X. I was looking forward to the birth of her child.”
“Were you?”
“I was. I fancied myself a fine father figure.”
“Well then.” Olivia slipped her arm around his waist. “I suppose I shall have to give you one of your own.” She peeked up at him and grinned.
Harrison’s heart began to beat wildly. “Olivia, do you mean—?”
“Come next spring, you will be a father.”
Later, Lady Eberlin would swear she heard Harrison’s shout of joy all the way to Tiber Park.
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