by Ann Chaney
Thorne looked ready to explode. “I knew Aunt Philly had a hand in all this.”
Richard understood all too well how frustrating Serena and her penchant for charging headlong into adventure and in this instance danger could be. It served Thorne right for leaving her with Lady Philly as a chaperone.
Wellington reasserted his authority and waved Thorne back. “Most inventive of you, my lady. Once underway, you informed Weatherington of your presence when it was too late to return to port, I would venture.”
“Correct, my lord. Captain Fleming refused to allow me to remain aboard his ship while Richard chased after Arnold which led me to here. I will not offer my apologies for doing so.”
Wellington smiled at her. “I have no doubt you would’ve left the ship and followed him. I have known your aunt for many years. I can see Lady Philly’s determination in your eyes. Weatherington never stood a chance of leaving you behind.” His smile faded, his features hardened. “Mr. Arnold took you hostage when you were to make your way to my presence.”
“Yes, he was in the Carlton’s tent. I went inside to get Mrs. Carlton’s bonnet when he grabbed me. The rest you know.”
“Gentlemen, reports from all of you, if you please.” Wellington shot him a sympathetic look. “I can no longer keep my aide at bay. Abingdon, I have every confidence you’ll ensure they are made welcome for the remainder of their stay.” He stood, offering his arm to Serena as she stood. “I am also assuming you will be billeting with Mrs. Carlton this evening. I look forward to speaking with you in the morning at the officers’ mess for breakfast. I will be most interested to hear how you and your brother come to terms. Colonel Carlton will arrange for a mounted patrol to escort you both back to Lisbon.”
Richard bowed, Serena curtsied before following the Carltons from the tent. A group of colonels and generals stood outside waiting to enter. As they walked away, Richard heard Wellington barking out questions one after another. The great soldier had a war to win.
Serena found herself in her brother’s arms the moment she stepped out of the Wellington’s tent. Thorne said nothing, just held her. It had been so long since she felt his arms around her. He still smelled of citrus, leather and sweaty horse. He had never smelled so good.
He leaned back, his gaze sweeping her face as if he were trying to memorize her features. She didn’t care what he did as long as he held her.
“My tent is just over there. We should adjourn there and talk.”
Serena understood Thorne’s pique with Richard and herself. Why had she come? Thorne would not be satisfied until he had his pound of flesh. A price she was more than happy to pay.
Father had hidden behind his orchids while Thorne ran away to serve with Wellington. Richard hid behind his work at Whitehall. She’d ran them to ground and she would have her say. Right now, she would listen to the coming lecture because she did deserve to be chastised, but she would respond. Both men in her life were about to get a first-hand accounting from a woman neither knew very well.
Thorne led them to his tent located two tents from Wellington’s tent. He peered into the tent before waving them forward. The tent was set up for two people. Thorne motioned for them to have a seat while he lit a lantern before pulling up a campstool and sitting across from them. Serena reached across and took her brother’s hand in her grasp and squeezed.
She almost laughed when her brother glared at Richard and said, “Weatherington, as you would say. My sister. Alone. Middle of nowhere. A sennight. Marriage. Enough said.” Thorne pointed his finger in her direction. “Do not say one word, Serena.” He spoke in clipped tones bespeaking of his anger. “You have chased Richard since you were seven years old. I told you to leave him alone, but no, you had to follow him to this God forsaken land where you could have been killed or worse. And yes, little sister there is worse than death in this place.”
Thorne turned to Richard. “Pistols or swords?”
Serena leaned forward and punched her dolt of a brother in his shoulder. Thorne fell off the stool. Richard grabbed her, put his arm around her and glared at her brother.
She forced her way back around him to shake her fist at Thorne. “Thorne, are you a lackwit? Richard protected me when he could have left me behind any number of times to who knows what fate.”
“Had he done so, even the old man would not have kept me from killing him, little sister,” Thorne rasped out between clinched teeth.
“You are such an idiot! You challenge him to a duel for bringing me with him, only to say you would have killed him if he left me behind. Stop being such a brutish man and use your head!”
Richard pulled her back against him. “Enough, you two. Serena needs to return to Evelyn Carlton’s tent. We can spend the remainder of our time together arguing about the future.”
He waited for Thorne to continue blustering but to his surprise his best friend gave a slight nod.
Richard wanted to grab the lout in a bear hug for backing down. He knew better than anyone Thorne’s agreement was reluctant. Gentlemen protected their own.
Richard reached out and took hold of Serena’s hand. “I’ll escort you back to Colonel Carlton’s tent. Thorne is that other cot available for a few hours?”
“Yes, we will talk once you return.”
“Not about me,” Serena growled and pulled away from his grasp. She rounded on her brother.
“All about you. If my best friend is to marry you, I need to spill all your secrets.”
“There is no reason to tell him anything. I am not marrying Richard. Not in the morning, not ever. I will don my breeches and jacket and return to London with no one the wiser.”
Richard bit his tongue to keep from telling the recalcitrant wench to not utter another word. Why had she said that? He’d just smoothed Thorne’s ruffled feathers. The woman would be the death of him yet.
Thorne continued to speak to him with no acknowledgement of Serena’s denial. “I also thought too highly of you to saddle you with a headstrong woman like my sister. No man deserves to have such a hoyden for a wife. You will never have peace of mind. The minx is always getting into trouble. Just imagine how strong willed your children will be.”
Serena muttered something that sounded like a curse. No doubt if they remained with her brother much longer, he’d have to separate the pair. He knew all too well Serena would never surrender to her brother’s wishes. The chit had just as much honor as they did. He took her hand and held tight as he walked out of Thorne’s tent.
“You can handle me? Richard Weatherington, I am not a woman to be handled by any man, especially you. I have to take care of you, not the other way around. Who patched up whom twice in the last sennight? Who puzzled out Percy Arnold’s plans?”
Richard tugged her off the path between two tents. “Enough of this. Marry me, Serena. Save me from my miserable existence. Let’s return home and spend the rest of our lives in the country with a nursery full of babes and a horde of dogs and cats to trip over.”
“A nursery full? If I have my way, we will add rooms to the nursery. After having only Thorne and Father part of the time, I am ready for a very large family.” She took his face between her hands and touched her forehead to his.
Richard lifted her chin and lowered his head to gently press his lips to hers. When he made an attempt at ending the kiss, Serena moaned before pulling his head down to kiss him. Richard chuckled at her taking control of the moment. He was exactly where he wanted to be. The smile on her lips was all the encouragement he needed to thrust his tongue into her mouth and kiss her for all he was worth.
A quick jerk on his coat collar severed his connection to Serena’s lips. He swung around ready to lash out at whoever interrupted them. Thorne.
“I knew I was right to follow you. Never knew Weatherington to pass up the opportunity to steal a kiss. From the look of that kiss, I gather you’ve decided to throw your lot in with this scoundrel. I’ll arrange for the chaplain to be available to marry you in the mornin
g after we break our fast.”
“So…we can marry in the morning?” He refused to browbeat her into marriage. Their union would be based on their love for each other, not coercion from her brother for them to do the proper thing. He watched as her eyes turned somber. Oh no, she was going to refuse him!
Thorne interrupted, “I am sure Mrs. Carlton and Arabella will be over the moon at witnessing your marriage. Knowing that resourceful lady, she will even produce a wedding cake. Besides with Wellington as the witness, no one in Society can cast aspersions on your rather unorthodox behavior of the last week.”
“Go away, brother. I do not want you witnessing this moment. I’ve waited many years for Richard to ask for my hand. Be off with you.”
Thorne laughed and bowed to her. “Even I know when I’m unwanted.”
Serena touched Richard’s chin and re-directed his attention back to her. “You were proposing. Something about you being miserable and my saving you? I would rather think of it as a pursuit. A dangerous one to be sure.” She brushed his hair back from his forehead with gentle fingers. “I am so glad you climbed through my bedchamber window.”
Serena smiled at him with stars in her eyes. “Since I was Arabella’s age, I have dreamed of this moment. When I was seven, I imagined you as a knight in shiny armor with a white stallion at the doors of Pendleton. At sixteen, my fantasy was for you to appear at my debut ball and sweep me onto the floor to dance the waltz where you would profess your love for me.
“Now, I find this is what I have wanted all along. You and me together with fifty thousand men armed with rifles and fixed bayonets within striking distance.” She took his hands in hers, kissing each finger before looking up at him with tears shining in her eyes.
“Yes. I will marry you.”
With the threat of Arnold gone, Evelyn Carlton took charge of Serena. Richard knew enough to remain with Thorne. The two men spent the day sharing the stories of their adventures since the last time they had seen each other.
Even as he listened to Thorne’s tales of life with Wellington, Richard found his thoughts full of Serena. After years of forcing all thought of her out of his mind, he now found she had taken up residence in those thoughts, no matter how trivial. What would Serena think of this? Serena would laugh at that. Where was Serena? What was she doing? When would he see her again? So many questions. He intended to enjoy every second of the next sixty or so years learning all the answers.
The next morning Richard, with Thorne in attendance, met with General Wellington to submit his final report. Arnold’s body had been buried in the cemetery in an unmarked grave. Having completed their mission, he walked beside Thorne as they chatted, following Wellington to Colonel Carlton’s tent. All along the way, officers and soldiers stopped him to shake his hand and offer congratulations.
“I say, Thorne, nice of these fellows to be so friendly.”
Thorne shook his head and laughed. “They are so friendly because an additional ration of rum has been authorized today in honor of your wedding.”
Maybe, he would not tell his bride about that detail. A shrill scream broke through the air a little body flew against his knees. He grinned at Arabella who tightened her hold on his person.
“Richard, I knew you were in love with Serena. I told Mama so. I told her you looked at Serena the way my papa looks at her. Now, you are marrying her. I’m so happy.”
“Come, Miss Arabella, we must get these two married. We have a war to win,” Wellington spoke.
Arabella gave the great man a toothsome smile and took his hand to lead the way to her parents.
Serena stood by the tent. She was beautiful. Wearing another white muslin with green embroidery. Her second dress no doubt. He was a very lucky man. Thorne stepped forward, led his sister to the group and placed her hand in Richard’s.
Within a few minutes Richard had repeated his vows and listened as Serena did the same. Mrs. Carlton did, indeed provide a cake and a vintage wine from the officers’ mess.
After sharing a slice of cake with Bella, Wellington took his leave. Richard caught Serena’s eye and motioned for her to join him by the tent.
“Wellington ordered Carlton to take command of the patrol to escort us back to Lisbon. He also included Mrs. Carlton and Arabella. He said the family needed some time away. Lady Serena, you will indeed have a very crowded honeymoon trip.”
“Can we visit Malveira for the night so our friends there can celebrate with us?”
“My lady, we’ll make time. Tomorrow night we’ll cuddle in the haystack with all our friends close by.”
Epilogue
May 1814
Camberley, Kent
* * *
Richard smiled to himself at the sound of his four-year old daughter’s squeaky voice coming from outside his bookroom’s window. He laid the latest cattle inventory from Rodrigo down on his desk. Funding Malveira’s Mertolenga cattle production proved to be one of his more lucrative investments. The long-horned beasts were yielding more profits than the per cents in London.
The mutterings of Lady Muriel Elizabeth Philomena Weatherington also known as Lizzie increased in volume. He winced at the thought of his gardener’s displeasure when he found the flowers trampled. An early spring had produced daffodils and paperwhite tulips in abundance.
Once, he and Serena settled at Camberley, he’d followed through on his vow from that night when he climbed the rose trellis of Burley House to dig up all the rose bushes along the walls of their Palladian mansion. The next spring, after Serena bemoaned the absence of the sweet smell of roses, he conceded and ordered a lone rose trellis at the back of the garden.
The object of his thoughts walked into the library with a perplexed look on her face. He pressed a finger to his lips. She joined him at his desk and kissed his brow. How he loved those little light kisses of hers. To his delight, she was most liberal with them.
Serena leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Richard, is that our baby girl chatting outside? She is missing from the nursery and Nettie is threatening to chase the child to ground.”
He rose from his chair, took her hand, and led her to the overstuffed armchair by the open window. He sat down first and pulled her onto his lap. They waited. She smiled at him when a giggle floated through the window.
“Lizzie, you are going to get us in trouble again.” Thirteen-year old Sammie grumbled. Serena covered her mouth to keep her own giggle at bay. “Bending down will get my breeches dirty. Nettie will tell Mama. Remember the last time. No pudding for us. For a week.” The boy’s distress got louder with each word he spoke.
“Sammie, Papa will give us his pudding just like he did last time.”
Serena gave her husband a severe look. He shrugged and kissed her nose.
“Mama told me how he crawled through her window because he loved her so much. I want to show him I love him too. Now, bend down so I can get on your back.”
Sammie’s grunts fractured the afternoon quiet. Richard rolled his eyes and pointed to Serena and mouthed your child. She hid her face in his shoulder to cover her laughter.
“Sammie, lift up your back. I am almost there—”
“Ugh…hurry up. My back hurts.”
Two little hands curled over edge of the windowsill. Amid a great deal of grunting, a golden-headed child popped up. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of her parents watching her.
Serena rose from Richard’s lap and together they reached for their child’s hands and hauled her into the library. Richard leaned out the window and smiled down at Sammie.
“Sammie, come on in and join your sister. I have a tea tray coming with lemonade and ginger biscuits.”
The boy’s face went from worried concern to gleeful excitement in a trice. He brushed the dirt from his knees and proudly took out his handkerchief and wiped at his hands before running to the French windows and entering the bookroom.
On their return voyage from Lisbon, Serena and he could not countenance leaving the boy behi
nd. The last night on The Vigilant, a tearful Serena asked him if he would like to live with them at Camberley. With Sammie’s approval, they had adopted the boy.
Sammie, Lizzie and two-year old twin girls now occupied the renovated nursery. Richard thought they had a good start on all those children Serena wanted. If he was any judge of his wife’s habits, she was waiting for the right time to tell him they were about to increase their family again. He could not be happier.
Elijah Williams wheeled the tea tray into the room with the promised plate of ginger biscuits. Sammie and Lizzie beamed up at him at the sight of the tea tray.
The sergeant and his missus were another adoption of theirs. After Talaveras, Elijah came home for good. A bullet in his leg had left him with a limp. He pensioned out of the Army. When he wrote of his return to England, they insisted the man fetch his wife and daughters and come to Camberley to live. The man became their butler while Mrs. Williams joined Nettie in the nursery. In the last three years, his daughters had met good men in the county and married.
Serena poured lemonade and passed around biscuits all the while listening to Lizzie recount her daring climb while Sammie added comments to keep Lizzie’s account accurate.
“I have a surprise.” Serena’s eyes sparkled with her own mischief. “We will have guests for the rest of the summer. Bella will arrive this week from school and Uncle Howard and Aunt Evie will join us within a fortnight.”
The two children cheered, spitting biscuit crumbs all over the carpet.
Lizzie jumped up and down. “Bella is the most fun. Last summer, she promised to teach me how to be a…what did she call it Sammie?
The boy rolled his eyes in that perfect older brother way. “She said she would teach you how to be a hoyden like Mama and her.” The boy looked over at him and said with feeling, “Whatever are we going to do with all three of them for the summer, Papa?”