Wallflower (Old Maids' Club, Book 1)

by Catherine Gayle

  Oglethorpe nodded. “Satisfied now?” he drawled.

  “Yes, I believe—”

  “Not quite yet,” Noah interrupted. “We want one more thing. You’ll take out a page in the Times telling the entire beau monde that you’re a lying fortune hunter. I want a full page, detailing for every mother of a young miss, for every father of a debutante, all of the countless ways you’ve schemed to leg-shackle yourself to a lady with a generous portion.” He looked around at the throng of gentlemen, each of them grinning from ear to ear as Oglethorpe squirmed and the color drained from his face, and nodded. “And I can assure you, there are enough of us present who know enough of your exploits that we’ll know if you leave anything out. Understood?”

  Oglethorpe nodded, but Toby apparently wanted more. He took Oglethorpe’s arm, just where the wound was, and gripped hard. “Give Devonport an answer.”

  “Yes. Understood.” Oglethorpe’s voice was hardly more than a squeak.

  “Excellent. Then I believe we are all satisfied. Correct?” Toby turned and looked to each of them in turn, waiting for a nod of affirmation. “Off you go, then. I expect to see your page in tomorrow’s paper, Oglethorpe. It can be your wedding gift to the happy couple. Don’t make me hunt you down.”

  Before anyone could change their minds, Oglethorpe scurried away, holding his bloodied coat over his arm, with Eggerley hot on his tail. Tabitha watched them go until their forms disappeared behind the trees and she couldn’t see them any longer.

  Noah’s hands ran over her shoulders and her arms, lowering the one still holding the pistol in a death-grip until it was pointed at the ground. Lord Leith took the barrel in his hand and tugged gently, but she couldn’t release it. “Let go, sweetheart,” Noah urged in her ear. “It’s over now.”

  But her hand had been molded around the wooden butt of the gun for so long, with her fingers positioned just so, she didn’t know how to release it. One by one, her fingers were pried loose and the pistol came free.

  Strong arms came about her and picked her up. “I’ve got you,” Noah said. “You can stop shaking now.”

  Shaking? She didn’t realize she’d been shaking. How long had that been happening? Tabitha buried her face in the crook of Noah’s neck and breathed in the familiar scent of his cologne.

  “My carriage is closest,” Father said from somewhere behind them. “Let’s get her home.”

  Moments later, Noah placed her on the seat of her father’s carriage and sat beside her. He brushed a few stray hairs away from her face and kissed her over her cheeks.

  “Oh, but the horse!” In all that had happened since, Tabitha had forgotten about the horse she’d taken from her father’s stables.

  “Leith is taking care of it,” Toby said as he climbed in after them. “He’ll manage that and he’ll still make it to the wedding on time.” The wedding. Devil take it, how could she go and sit through a wedding after the morning she’d had? She wanted to enjoy her own wedding, after all. But Toby was still prattling on. “Speaking of the horse, what in God’s name were you thinking riding in like that?”

  And Toby was back to being Toby. Picking at her mercilessly. Tabitha huffed.

  “She was perfect,” Noah said. He smiled down at her with such devotion, she thought she’d melt from it. “My knightess in shimmering muslin, racing in to save the day on a white charger.”

  Tabitha felt a blush rising up the back of her neck at his words and turned away. Father and Owen were climbing into the carriage, so that was enough distraction that she hoped the conversation would move to something else.

  Once they were all settled inside and Father rapped on the wood to signal the driver into motion, Noah turned back to Tabitha. “Promise me one thing.”

  She looked up at him dubiously. She wasn’t going to make any promises until she knew what she was agreeing to.

  “Promise you’ll never hold a loaded gun to my face again.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God,” Mr. Hyde said loudly over the echoing stillness in the small church, “and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony.” Noah tried to concentrate on the parson’s words, but too many thoughts were flying through his head as he stood beside Tabitha.

  After they had returned Tabitha to Shelton Hall earlier, they’d sent her up to her chamber to prepare for the wedding. He, however, had been brought in to Newcastle’s library. Explaining what had happened between Oglethorpe and Tabitha weeks before at Hyde Park to her father and brothers had been uncomfortable, at best. Lucky for him, he’d been unable to burn the memory from her explanation from his mind, despite his countless attempts. But if he could survive the experience of having her turn his own dueling pistol on him, then he could survive anything the Shelton men wanted to throw at him.

  While they hadn’t been overly pleased that he’d kept that information from them—and also the information about Oglethorpe and Eggerley’s wager—they had eventually agreed that Noah had handled it all as well as could be expected. Better, perhaps, than Shelton would have done.

  They were all in agreement over that one.

  But now, with Tabitha standing beside him before the parson, wearing a floaty, diaphanous white gown, Noah still hadn’t managed to force himself to stop shaking. Somehow, he imagined it might never stop. Maybe it was a sign of being in love with her. Or of Tabitha loving him enough to brave riding a horse, despite her fear of such an activity, racing in to shoot the villain and save the day. How could he deserve such a courageous woman as his wife?

  But Noah knew better than to let such questions sink in. He said a little prayer of thanks for the providence he’d been granted.

  Tabitha looked up at him and smiled, a shy and beguiling smile that brought him back to the present just in time to hear the parson’s question.

  “Will you have this woman as your wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor her, and keep her in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, so long as you both shall live?”

  A chorus burst to life in his head, rejoicing to finally be able to answer this question. By Jove, yes. A thousand times, yes. Noah stared down into her laughing eyes, silvery and light today, and could have wept with joy at the love he found there. Tabitha squeezed his hand. A moment later, Mr. Hyde cleared his throat and waggled an eyebrow at Noah when he looked up. “Oh. Right. I will.” How could he have neglected to answer? He chuckled at himself, earning a little titter from Tabitha as well.

  “And will you have this man as your wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you obey him, serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him—” Mr. Hyde paused and winked at Noah before delivering the last portion of Tabitha’s vows—“and will you promise never again to draw a pistol on him, so long as you both shall live?”

  “I will.” Tabitha’s voice rang out clearly in the small parish church after a brief glare in Noah’s direction, so there could be no doubt. The bouquet of poppies rustled in her hands as she passed them off to Miss Faulkner.

  Then Mr. Hyde turned them to face each other, taking each others’ hands and looking into each others’ eyes. They said their vows, promising to love and to cherish until death. When prodded by the parson, Noah placed a ring on Tabitha’s finger and repeated the words he was prompted to repeat.

  “With this ring, I thee wed, with my body, I thee worship—” if only she had any idea how much he intended to worship her with his body over the next lifetime or two—“and with all my worldly goods, I thee endow. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

  Was it over yet? Noah had never been able to pay much attention during the wedding ceremonies of his sisters and his mother. They had seeme
d to go on and on. But no, this one had yet to finish. Mr. Hyde gestured for them to kneel as he said a prayer. Noah bit back a groan of impatience and did as he was directed.

  The sooner they could leave the church, the sooner he could get Tabitha back to Shelton Hall for the wedding breakfast. And the sooner that took place, the sooner they could leave Shelton Hall and begin their honeymoon.

  Today, they would just return to deLancie House. He didn’t want to begin a journey in the middle of the day. And he did want to take her to bed as soon as possible.

  Making love to Tabitha beneath the fireworks display at Vauxhall had not been enough. Not nearly enough. He wanted to love her slowly, to keep her in bed for long hours while they explored each other.

  Mr. Hyde’s voice grew louder, recalling Noah’s attention to the matter at hand. “Those whom God has joined together, let no man put asunder.” He motioned for Noah and Tabitha to once again rise to their feet. Had the ceremony finished now? Apparently not. The parson continued speaking, turning his focus now to the guests at the wedding.

  But at least they didn’t have to sit through the rest of it on their knees.

  Tabitha caught Noah’s eye and winked. “Not much longer,” she whispered. Either she felt as anxious as he did, or she could tell how restless he was to finalize everything and move on with the day. Not just with the day—with their new life together.

  Noah watched his wife through the rest of the service. His wife! He liked the sound of it. Everything about her was fascinating to him. The way she toyed with the pearls around her neck. The sleekness of her lips under her tongue when she’d wet them. The way her breathing would increase under his attentions and her breasts would lift and fall beneath the fabric of her gown.

  He probably ought not to be thinking about her breasts at the moment. They were in a church. But maybe God would understand. After all, He’d been the one to make such a glorious creation. Surely God would want others to appreciate His handiwork.

  Finally, Mr. Hyde smiled down at the two of them again. “Lord Devonport, you may now kiss your bride.”

  Thank God. He thought they’d never get to that part. Taking her face between his hands, Noah pulled Tabitha close and kissed her tenderly. He had to restrain himself from kissing her more fully. It felt wrong, since they were in church. All the more reason to get out of there as fast as they could.

  “And now, allow me to present Lord and Lady Devonport.”

  Noah and Tabitha turned and joined hands as the small gathering—primarily family for both of them—rose from the pews and applauded. The guests made their way down the aisle and out of the church to await the new couple.

  In Noah’s ear, the parson said, “I’ll just need you two to sign the register before you leave.” He directed them over to where it stood and opened it to the appropriate page. Noah signed and then passed the quill to Tabitha. Even watching her sign her name, the gentle swirl her hand made over the parish register, made his breath catch in his throat. He was truly a lost cause.

  Good thing they were actually married now. He might not let her out of bed for a week, if something so mundane as watching her sign her name had him in such a state.

  Leith and Miss Faulkner also signed the register, as the witnesses to the event, and then they all made their way out. When they walked through the doors of the church, their families cheered as Noah and Tabitha dashed for the waiting carriage. Once inside, he emptied a bag of coins and tossed them in handfuls out the door.

  “I love you, Tabitha.” Noah kissed her again before rapping the wall of the carriage to signal the driver they were ready.

  “I love you, too. Even if you sprung that little line into my vows with no warning.”

  Noah chuckled. “I can’t very well take any chances on that matter.”

  Tabitha frowned, but didn’t contradict him. When they had been traveling for a few minutes, she slid closer to him on the bench, drawing her hand along his thigh and stopping just shy of his burgeoning erection. “Do we have to go back to Shelton Hall? Why don’t we go straight home? My trunks have already been sent over, I’m sure.”

  Home. Her home. Their home. “Don’t think the idea hasn’t already crossed my mind at least a thousand times in the last half hour.” Noah pinched his eyes closed and tried not to picture her naked. Her father and brothers would murder him if they didn’t make it to the wedding breakfast.

  Gleefully.

  Tabitha leaned into him further, until her breath tickled the lobe of his ear with each whispered word. “If you’re thinking it, and I’m thinking it, then what is stopping us? We’re married now.” She inched her hand higher, until it ever-so-lightly brushed over the hard evidence of his arousal.

  He sucked in a lungful of air. “We have to at least make an appearance, Tabitha. Not for long. I’ll find an excuse to escape as soon as we can.”

  With a pout that sent devilish images of a dozen better uses for her lips racing through his mind, Tabitha flopped back against the squabs. “Fine. Go on and ruin my plans to seduce you in the carriage.”

  “Trust me. They all know we want to leave as soon as possible, not to mention why.”

  Tabitha’s eyes flashed silver like lightning in the night sky as she frowned at him. “Precisely the problem. Do you honestly believe Toby will let us leave easily?”

  “He’ll be perfectly glad to see us go, if it means I won’t toss up your skirts and claim my rights as your husband on the breakfast table,” Noah said with a chuckle.

  “You wouldn’t dare.” Crossing her arms over her chest only served to push her bosom higher and therefore drew his attention there, instead of achieving the haughty deportment he assumed she’d been going for.

  “But can your brother be sure of that?” At the moment, Noah wasn’t wholly sure he wouldn’t dare. He wondered how fast he and Tabitha could manage to eat their meal and make their excuses.

  Not nearly fast enough. That much was certain.

  ~ * ~

  It was hardly past noon when Noah finally led Tabitha into her rooms—the marchioness’s rooms—at deLancie House, but it felt like it should be much later than that. The day had been one of the longest in his life. In a good way.

  Well, it hadn’t started out so wonderfully, but that was ancient history.

  Just as they came through the doors, Tabitha’s lady’s maid had finished pulling the draperies back to allow sunshine to flood into the chamber. She gave a brief curtsey. “Lord Devonport, Lady Devonport. Your belongings are all in your dressing room, my lady,” Hester said. “Miss Faulkner also had your trousseau sent over.”

  “Thank you,” Tabitha said. “Would you mind—”

  “That will be all for today, Hester,” Noah interrupted. “Lady Devonport will have no more need of your assistance until morning.” From behind her, he could see the heated blush creeping up her the back of Tabitha’s neck. Today, he would discover just how many places turned pink on her body when she was abashed just so.

  She flipped around to him. “Oh, but I’ll need—”

  “Anything you need until morning, I’ll provide.” And then some. Actually, and then a lot more.

  Tabitha couldn’t have mistaken the desire in his voice. Hester clearly hadn’t. “I’ll be off then, my lady. Ring when you need me tomorrow.” Skirting around the bed, she darted out the door to Tabitha’s dressing room and was gone in an instant.

  For a moment, they stood there looking at each other. Noah studied every plane of her face. The high cheekbones. The long, straight nose. Those full, luscious lips pursed together, letting him know she wasn’t happy with his decision.

  She’d change her mind soon enough.

  Noah placed his hands on the slope of her shoulders. So soft. So delicate. So pink. She trembled lightly beneath his touch, but her eyes never wavered. With deliberate care, he slid his hands down her back to the first tiny pearl button keeping her enclosed in the gauzy gown.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” Tabitha said. Sh
e reached for his cravat and started to tug. In mere seconds she had it free and tossed to the floor, and then set to work loosening his shirt. “I thought I would explode if I didn’t get to touch you soon.”

  Noah grabbed her hands and stilled them. “No. We’re doing things my way this time, Tabitha.” She started to complain, but he caught her argument in a kiss. Not a searing kiss. Nothing all-consuming or overwhelming or needy. Just a kiss. Tender. Loving. Slow. Soft.

  Just how he intended to make love to her.

  Just like she deserved.

  Little by little, he deepened the kiss. Her lips gave way, and he stroked his tongue inside. Peaches. She tasted sweet, like the strawberries and peaches they’d eaten as part of their breakfast celebration. Someday, he’d remember to thank Miss Faulkner for that little touch.

  When he angled his head and took the kiss deeper still, a little hum sounded deep in her throat. She grabbed onto the lapels of his coat and held on like she was afraid she’d fall otherwise. Maybe he could move on now.

  Without removing his mouth from hers, Noah went back to work on the buttons at the back of her gown. With painstaking care, he undid them one at a time. There must have been over a hundred of those little pearl fastenings. The process was torturous exultation. Every clasp undone brought him a moment closer to heaven.

  Halfway down her back, Noah broke off the kiss as Tabitha’s bodice began to fall forward, revealing tantalizing glimpses of her breasts through the paper-thin shift. He groaned at the strain of taking his time.

  “Let me help,” Tabitha said. “I can move things along more swiftly.”

  “No.” His erection was full and his sac felt heavy with need. But some things shouldn’t be rushed. Some things ought to be savored.

  Trailing a path of kisses along her jaw and down her neck, he continued releasing the complicated line of closures until his hands were over her perfectly rounded derrière. If not for his hands moving over her and the small cap sleeves, the gown would be on the floor. Come to think of it, that was precisely where he wanted her gown to be.