by Aria Norton
“At least three female servants and four guards to keep watch outside.”
“So, seven. I’m confident our servants’ quarters will accommodate them.”
“It is sufficient for them to have a place to sleep, but I shall provide their meals. I cannot expect you to take on such an expense. I also wish to pay for the wedding, if that is acceptable to you.”
“But ’tis the bride’s family who pays for it,” Lord Leeds argued.
“I am aware of that, but ’tis a privilege to marry into this family, and I would thus like to show my appreciation. Please, My Lord, I am a man of great means – a wedding is a drop in the ocean for me.”
The baron did not look comfortable with it, but he nodded. “Very well. I will have the banns read and attempt to ask my daughter for a suitable day.”
Was the man daft? Ask his daughter? This was an arranged marriage with an unwilling bride. Asking her for a date was like requesting a waterfall to stop flowing. Aurora’s nature was to refuse anything against her beliefs, as it was the waterfall’s nature to flow.
“My Lord, your daughter has expressed her refusal to marry me. She will not give a date.”
“’Tis custom for the bride to choose the day, Mr Fernandez.”
“Weighing our circumstances, I think it best we do so. Would a week from tomorrow be too soon?”
“A week? But the wedding arrangements–! How can we possibly have it all ready in a week?”
That was all the time Carlos was willing to give. I would marry her tomorrow if I could, but that would prove scandalous.
“I will take care of all the arrangements, My Lord. Have the banns read, but I do not think that we should have guests beyond those of this household. Aurora has already expressed her dislike of me. I would hate her to cause a scene on the day of the wedding and have the town say something else about her. She will soon be my wife, and I would like to protect her from any gossiping tongues.”
“Your reasoning makes sense,” admitted Lord Leeds. “Very well, do all that you need to. I shall inform the household of the upcoming wedding. Aurora will need a trousseau to leave with.”
“I will have several dressmakers come in tomorrow and do what they can. Once we depart to my house, I will have the rest of her wardrobe outfitted with the best of everything. Rest assured, My Lord, your daughter, will be well taken care of. You may visit her whenever you wish to and see for yourself. I have several homes in England and worldwide, but I gave you my word that I would not take her out of her home country. Once our final residence is established, you will be the first to be invited. I am confident by then she will have mellowed.”
Carlos was out of breath by the time he finished speaking. Convincing the man that he would have everything taken care of was more work than he expected.
“You seem to have thought about everything, Mr Fernandez.”
“Men who fail to plan, plan to fail, My Lord. I wish there to be no other obstacles beyond that of getting your daughter to the altar.”
“Well, I suppose that settles the wedding part. Now, I find that I need to know more about you. After all, I cannot have my daughter marry a stranger, can I?”
More questions? “What would you like to know, My Lord?”
“About your family, where you come from. Had I been of sober mind when I first met you, I should have asked all of these questions before I agreed to have you marry my daughter. I cannot be angry that you took advantage of the situation, but it has caused more drama than I wish.”
I, for one, am glad that you were not in your right mind. It had to have been fate that had convinced him to stay longer than he had wanted to that night. Had he left earlier, then he would have missed this great opportunity.
Meeting his father and avenging his mother’s death consumed him more than he liked to admit. Lydia had commented on it several times before, but he would brush it off as a mother overly concerned about her son. I would like to tell this man my true family background, but that is not yet possible. However, he had the perfect lie littered with truths all ready to answer him.
“I was born in Spain, but after my father died, my mother and I moved to Portugal. At the age of sixteen, I took to the seas and spent the next few years there. That prompted me to become a merchant, and here I am today.”
“That’s a rather simplified story.”
Carlos smiled. “There is not much to tell.”
“Fair enough. Shall we toast to your betrothal?”
“If you do not mind, I would rather take your leave. I have much to plan before the wedding, but my mother needs to know that I have secured my bride. She has waited for this moment long enough.”
The baron stood up, holding out his hand. “I fully understand, Mr Fernandez.”
Carlos clasped his hand, shaking it briefly before letting go. “Thank you, My Lord. You do not know how much I appreciate this marriage. In time, your daughter will come to accept it as well.”
“I hope so.”
After a few more words, Carlos left the study, mulling over his plans. He needed to tell Lydia to get a room ready for Aurora, pack enough clothes for the week, and pick the servants and guards he would use. The sooner I get back to Stafford Estate, the better.
On his way to the carriage, he noticed that Philip and his footman were nowhere to be seen. That’s strange. Philip would never take off anywhere without first informing me. Had he taken a break to relieve himself? But why would the footman be gone as well?
Walking to the front of the house, he called for them but did not receive an answer.
“Where on earth have they disappeared to?”
It was one thing for the servant to wait for his master, but quite another for a master to wait for his servant. Carlos ran a tight ship both on the sea and on land. He expected the best from anyone under his employment, and in turn, he treated and paid them well.
“I need to get home as soon as I can to put this plan into motion. I do not have the time to search for them!”
Deciding to wait for them in the carriage, he continued on his way, coming to a stop when he noticed black writing on the exterior.
“What is this? Black paint?”
What did the writing say? He drew closer, his cheeks growing hot when he read the words.
“Go back to the sea, Carlos Fernandez. Your foolish notions are not welcome here. You have been warned.”
It hadn’t been enough for her to scold him as no other woman had before. No, she had to write across his carriage in black paint that would take some effort to remove. I shall have to drive through the town with this. Did she have something to do with his driver and footman disappearing? It appears that my fiancée is making her point in more ways than one. What had he got himself into?
Chapter 10
Aurora squinted at the sun, holding her hand up to shield her face. Netty had asked her to pick a basket full of elderflower, but it was such a lovely day that she had to bask in the sun for at least a moment or two. There was nothing better than soaking up its warm rays while having not a care in the world.
“That foolish merchant was an easy one to chase off. Did he truly think that he would marry me? How absurd!”
Three days had passed since she had written all over his carriage with black paint and locked his driver and footman in the garden tool shed.
“I did apologise as I barred the door, but their master brought it upon them. Had he any sense in his head, he would have heeded my warning from the beginning, but he refused to listen. I am not one for defacing the property of others or locking men in small confinements, but desperate times called for desperate measures.”
And here she had thought that she had hung up her Trick Master cape! Nanny had not been impressed upon finding out what she had done, but fortunately, did not force Aurora to issue an apology to the detestable merchant.
“She knew better than to do that. I apologised to his workers, and that was good enough. If I had had enough time, I would h
ave tricked Mr Fernandez instead.”
The best she could do at that moment was lure his two employees into the tool shed under the guise of needing a ball that had rolled far into the little room. Aurora had felt terribly guilty as the men had been so ready and willing to come to her aid, only to be rewarded with the door shutting behind them. In her defence, she had had no other choice. How else could she have painted that message on the carriage?
“It ultimately had the desired effect since he has not stepped foot onto this property in some days.”
The previous two days had been fraught with tension, as she feared the man might be made of sterner stuff and return, but he hadn’t.
“I daresay that if there were ever a man who might have given me trouble, it would have been him. He seemed ... different.”
It wasn’t just his exotic appearance, but the aura about him that exuded confident power and charm. She had been somewhat mesmerised at first, but the man had shattered any positive opinion she may have had of him through his loathsome intention.
“I am not such a snob to turn my nose up at his common heritage, but his mannerisms left much to be desired. Whatever possessed him to want to marry a woman he has never seen before? A woman he knows nothing about? How did Father come to meet this man?”
It was all such a mystery, and she would have asked her father if she was on speaking terms with him. After his latest stunt, she refused to talk to him for fear that they would come to verbal blows once again.
“Or rather, I would do all the talking, and he would simply listen. I do feel some mild remorse for my words, but I will not back down from my decision.”
It still struck her as odd that such a purist like her father would agree to arrange a marriage with a man beneath his social standing.
“Well, he did choose the vicar, but he does have some noble blood. The man of the cloth had undoubtedly been an act of desperation, but a commoner? That reeks of insanity.”
Perhaps she had driven her father over the edge, and he had simply accepted the proposal of any man.
“I didn’t manage to overhear the entire conversation, but it seems that Father never intended to give my hand to Mr Fernandez. Does the merchant have some leverage?”
No, the baron was an upstanding man. She doubted he had any sort of nefarious dealings that would land him in hot water.
“I suppose it no longer matters, does it? The merchant has fled, and I remain free.”
With a chuckle, she rolled onto her belly, picking a half-blown dandelion. She puckered her lips, sucking in some breath to blow the rest, when she heard not one, but two carriages rambling up the path. Releasing her breath with a sigh, she rolled her eyes.
“I expect that will be at least two of my brothers. I do not doubt that Father has informed them of my latest activities.”
She might as well collect the elderflower and return to the kitchen as she would undoubtedly be called to receive an earful.
“And just when I believed my day would be perfect. Oh well, hearing the same old argument is preferable to marriage.”
If she had to quarrel with her brothers every now and again in return for keeping her freedom, then so be it. It was a small price to pay.
Aurora half-skipped as she walked to the bushes bearing the fragrant flowers, holding a bunch to her nose before picking them and tossing them into her woven basket. Netty usually used them for two purposes: either boiling them with water and sugar to make a syrup or boiling the flowers to make tea. Aurora enjoyed both ways, especially late in the evening with a book and a throw over her legs.
“Not that a throw is needed now that ’tis much warmer. Is it merely my own opinion, or is this year’s spring more colourful than the previous year?”
Almost every plant and flower was in bloom, imparting a lovely fragrance into the air. Her little garden behind the house had come along nicely, particularly the bluebells, cowslip, and cuckooflower. Of course, the woodlands far out shadowed anything she could have achieved with her own two hands but ’twas not as though she were competing with God Himself.
“Aurora! Aurora!”
Her brow slightly furrowed, she turned to see Tommy running towards her as though a bunch of little yapping Corgis was at his heels. That had once happened to her when she had ventured onto an earl’s property in London to pet his Great Danes. Fortunately, she had escaped, but only just. I had accompanied Nanny to see a sickly family member and had ‘somehow’ wandered away from the woman’s townhouse. Strangely, she had forgotten about being in London until now. It always took random situations to make a person remember an old memory.
“Aurora!” Tommy yelled again.
“Goodness!” she called out. “Whatever is the matter with you?”
The boy stopped just shy of bumping into her, his little chest heaving as he leaned on his knees.
“Why were you running like that?”
“The man,” he panted, pointing behind him.
“What, man? There are many men on this land. Do be more specific.”
Tommy swallowed hard, his face red and splotchy. “The merchant – he’s here.”
Aurora’s heart stopped. “What? No, no, that’s not possible. Perhaps you have him confused with someone else.”
Although there was no way that a person could confuse the man. He was as distinct as wine was to vinegar.
“It’s him, I tell you. He’s brought more people with him this time, and a whole lot of luggage. Looks like he’s coming to stay.”
More people? I suppose the extra people are to be my guards. Little does he know that I’m quite accomplished at disappearing should I choose to. Still, this news was troubling. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she turned away. What on earth is he doing here? He shouldn’t be here! All sorts of names to hurl at him rose in her mind, but none fell from her lips.
“Why would he come back?” the boy asked. “The trick you played was one for the record books, I’ll say. He must also be a trickster.”
A trickster? Him? No, he was just a stubborn man looking to climb the social ladder at her expense. It looks like he will stop at nothing to marry me. A knot formed in her belly at the thought, twisting this way and that. Think, Aurora, think. How best can we deal with this situation? She didn’t want to return to the house without some sort of a plan. He’s more determined than I initially thought, but every man has his limit. I merely need to find his.
“Aurora?” said Tommy.
“Hmmm?”
“Will you chase him away again? I’ll help you if you wish.”
Perhaps two heads and four hands would be better, but if Netty should find out that her son had a hand in troubling the merchant, Tommy would land in trouble. She turned to him, her index finger tapping her chin.
“I might need your help, but we’ll have to be cautious. I do not want your mother boxing your ears or withholding any treats from you at my expense. Perhaps you can be my eyes, yes? Keep a close watch on the man, and report back anything you might hear him say that’ll interest me. I know that you’re awfully good at hiding, but you will have to be near invisible. That man is not to be trusted, you hear?”
The boy’s eyes lit up. “I can do that! I know every nook and cranny in the house, and I can get the other boys to keep their eyes on him as well. He won’t know we’re spying on him.”
“No, no, no one else can be involved. Now, let me fill up this basket, and you can take it to your mother. I cannot come to the house just yet.”