Oh, Cherry Ripe

by Claudy Conn

  “Is it not? I rather think it is precisely like that,” she answered and turned away once more. “Good night, my lord.”

  “Cherry, don’t go.”

  She turned and looked at him, “Yes, my lord?”

  “Don’t you see … don’t you know—we could have so much together, and I would always see to it that you are protected from wagging tongues.”

  He saw a flash of anger in her aqua blue eyes as she answered, “I see and understand you very well, my lord. That sort of life would not do for me.”

  “Cherry … love, I don’t know how I can do without you.” He tried taking her into his arms once more, and it took everything she had to pull away. He let her and dropped his hands to his sides.

  “You must understand my position, even if you cannot like it,” she offered him.

  “I do,” he said softly.

  “Good,” she answered promptly. “If you will excuse me then, my lord.”

  He watched her move towards the door, but before she could leave he called out to her, “Cherry!”

  She turned and cocked her pretty head, and he felt an intake of breath. She was so very beautiful. She had him bewitched was his first clear thought. What was he going to do? She was right. It would be unforgivable of him to take her from the twins. It would be outrageous of him to use her in their home as his mistress—unthinkable. Hell and fire! What was he going to do? A ready answer escaped him. “Nothing … go on then, go to your room if that is what you wish.”

  She inclined her head and left him to his thoughts. He waited until she had gone out of sight and hearing, and then he went to the fireplace, threw down the remaining contents of his brandy snifter, and put a fist to his forehead.

  * * *

  Cherry rushed the stairs and smiled to herself. She had seen something more than lust on his face, something that gave her hope. At the same time, she was in a terrible state of affairs. She was here under false pretenses. Her name was not Cherry Parker, and she did not have to work to make her way in life.

  How at this stage was she going to explain herself and her actions? As she readied for bed, she presented herself with several methods of coming clean, and none of them worked for her. He would send her off, angrily, and she would never see the twins or Freddy ever again, and she couldn’t bear that. She had already become attached—so attached to them.

  What was she to do?

  She loved him, and that love was all-consuming. Was she destined to lose him? How could she bear it? Her future at the moment looked bleak. And then she thought of her stepmother. By now, Polly would have written her and eased her mind, but what Cherry had done wasn’t fair to her. She had to do something soon—very soon.

  * * *

  Later, Sky tossed in his large bed. He beat his pillow and slammed his head into it, but sleep would not come. He got up and took a turn about his room, stood by the window, and looked up at the star-filled sky and the crescent moon. However, it only served as a backdrop for the vision of her aqua blue eyes. She was full of such spirit, and that spirit always sparkled in those beautiful eyes.

  She had been a virgin … no other had touched her, and it excited him to know. His hard-on raged with the memory of their night together. How could he go on without more of her?

  There was something in the way she moved … and those full breasts made his mouth water …

  He wanted her, he needed her, and by damn, he was going to find a way to have her for his own.

  “You are about to get engaged … are in fact, very nearly engaged, if the Elton chit ever gets well … so what are you doing, Sky—just what the hell are you doing?” he asked his empty room.

  He didn’t know the answer to that, and for a moment wondered again just how to go about the business of retracting his offer for the Elton woman. Could he cite Miss Elton’s prolonged illness? He could, couldn’t he? He had to give this some thought.

  Something else nagged at him, had been nagging at him from the day he had met Cherry Parker. She didn’t seem to be the person she pretended to be. Her speech was too refined. Her mannerisms displayed extensive grooming. She had the sophistication a young woman could only acquire after a few London seasons—the kind that came from traveling with the beau monde. Who really was this Cherry Parker? For he was certain that the name Sarah Cheryl Parker was not hers.

  What he needed to do was leave for London, get matters under control, and do a little digging.

  Having made his decision did not, however, bring him any immediate sleep, and he did not doze off until the early hours. When he awoke, it was with a start. He rushed through his morning coffee in his room, bathed, dressed, and hurried directly to the stables. He didn’t want to see Cherry. What he needed was some distance to get things into perspective, and he was going to find out more about her—because he was damn sure she wasn’t who she said she was!

  ~ Seventeen ~

  POLLY CORBETT (MORE recently Polly Adams) heard the sound of a horse’s hooves on pebbles and moved to her lead-paned kitchen window. “Now who can that be?” she asked her husband, who was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of tea.

  He smiled indulgently and sipped his tea with a mild shrug of his shoulders as he continued to peruse his morning Chronicle.

  “Mercy, if it isn’t Lord Dartford,” Polly exclaimed. “Harry … love … ’tis James. Oh no, what shall I do?” She was already adjusting her mobcap on her gray curls, rushing her hands over her full white apron, and turning in place.

  “Come to see you, has he?” was her husband’s indulgent response to her panic. “Very nice, very nice indeed.”

  “Yes, but he must be here about Cherry … I know it … I just know it,” she said, wringing her hands and pacing.

  “Ah, then ’tis time,” her husband returned reasonably.

  “No, it isn’t time, my love. I promised her … I can’t break a promise,” Polly wailed.

  A knock sounded at the kitchen door, and Polly hurried to open it wide, smiled, and dropped a curtsey. “My lord,” she began formally.

  “My lord, be hanged!” James responded jovially as he threw his arms around her and planted a kiss upon her cheek.

  She blushed and pulled away, indicating her husband, who sat and watched with keen interest. Introductions were made, and James took a seat as Polly poured him some tea and pushed a biscuit at him.

  “Zounds, woman, you were wont to call me scamp, brat, and whippersnapper. We can’t stand on ceremony now.”

  “Absurd boy!” She laughed. “Drink your tea and tell us why you are here.”

  “I shall drink my tea, but I rather think you know why I am here,” he said reasonably as he sipped the hot brew and sat back against his wooden chair.

  Polly sighed, and he frowned at her and urged, “It won’t do, Polly. Better let me save her from this new mess.”

  “But, I promised … I gave her my word.”

  “Silly thing to do considering what she was doing,” James chided unmercifully but still in good spirits. “Can’t set her loose in the world and then let her be. By now she no doubt wants to come home and needs to find a way to do so.”

  “What do you mean?” Polly puzzled up at him.

  “Well, she can’t go home if she thinks her stepmama is going to marry her off to a stranger. Don’t blame her for that—egad, the thought of anyone making me marry a stranger is terrifying.” He shook his head. “And knowing Cherry, she’ll never give up. She’ll hold out, she will. So fine, but I tell you what, by now, she must want to go home, and I’m just the one to help her. I’ll go fetch her—just tell me where she is.”

  “But then she will have to marry that man, the one she ran away from,” Polly wailed as she wrung her hands.

  Her husband reached over and patted her shoulder. “His lordship makes sense, love.”

  “She won’t have to marry him. We’ll fix that right and tight, see if we don’t.” James grew impatient. “Just tell me where she is, Polly. There is no tim
e to lose.”

  “I simply cannot break my promise …”

  “You must, Polly. The scandals she has flung about in the past are nothing when compared to the scandal that will ensue if word gets out about her running away. I have to bring her home, for her sake. Now where is she?” James pursued.

  “No … I shan’t tell you. I gave her my word, and that is that.” Polly was adamant.

  “However, I did not give her mine, and to my way of thinking, his lordship is in the right of it. He must go fetch her before she is ruined and, love … you know it to be a fact.” Harry turned to James “Miss Cherry Elton has given her name as Sarah Parker and is serving as a governess at Bromley Grange.”

  “Upon my soul!” young Lord Dartford murmured.

  * * *

  Felix scrambled over the paddock fence and called to his pony, Spike, who took one look at his young master and ran to the far side of the field. Surprised and irritated, Felix turned to his assembled group and shouted, “Do you see? He is a beast!”

  “You must not allow him to get away with it, Felix, or he shall do it every single time.” Francine moaned.

  Cherry smiled, folded her arms across her middle, and said to Freddy, who was standing beside her, “Perhaps a small bucket of grain will do?”

  “Aye.” Freddy laughed. “I’ll go fetch it and be back in a moment.”

  “Come here, Spike, come on then,” Francine coaxed as she put her hands towards him.

  Felix copied her style, and they both cooed to the pony, who eyed them thoughtfully, threw up his head, and charged between them, nearly knocking them down.

  “Drat you, beast of beasts!” Felix shouted after him. “You’ll be sorry when I get you, and get you I will!”

  “Don’t tell him that, Felix, or we’ll never catch him!” Francine wailed.

  Felix went on grumbling about his pony’s infidelity until Cherry laughed and said, “Come on then, sport, what do you expect? Here he is grazing on green grass, free to do as he pleases, and he knows once you catch him, all that will be over.”

  Felix inclined his head proudly. “Aye, he is smart, but Sky says that our horses are fed and cared for and the little work we give them is good for them.”

  “So it is.” Cherry’s mind immediately wrapped itself around Sky’s image. She didn’t want to think about him though. His leaving so suddenly had her confounded and worried. Had he gone off to satisfy his sexual needs in London? This notion filled her with jealousy, and she turned her concentration towards the twins.

  “Here!” called Freddy returning with the grain. “Watch Spike change his tune now, Felix.”

  Spike heard the shuffle of grain in the bucket, and his ears picked up. Felix dropped his hand into the bucket, came up with a fistful of grain, and slowly dropped it back into the bucket. This temptation proved to be too much for the pony; he loped over with a short whinny and ate from Felix’s hand. Francine quickly hooked him to a lead line, laughed, and threw her arms around him. “You horrid pony, but we love you.”

  Freddy played with the pony’s lovely, dark mane. “Silly old thing … now you’re caught, aren’t you.”

  “He doesn’t really mind,” Cherry said on a short laugh and then turned at the sound of a horse’s hooves in the drive.

  Her eyes opened wide, and she gasped as she saw who it was atop a lovely dapple gray. Oh no, oh faith, oh no. What was she going to do? It was her dearest friend, James Dartford, grinning and riding right towards them!

  How could this be? Polly was the only one who knew, and Polly would never release her whereabouts without her leave—never!

  James rode right up to the group now looking at him with avid interest as he easily dismounted his horse and, with the reins in hand, strode up to the fence line. He nimbly jumped over, threw the reins around the rail of the fence, walked purposely up to Cherry, and scooped her up with one arm. “Here you are, you brat of brats!” he said in way of greeting.

  Very much to Freddy’s surprise and chagrin, Cherry sank into the stranger’s embrace and happily responded to his greeting, “Oh, James, you dreadful man, I am so very pleased to see you, even though you have no right to be here, and I am very, very upset with Polly!”

  “Hush, girl. Polly did not give you away—it was her new husband. Here now, gather up your things, and I will take you home.”

  She pulled away from him, aware that the twins had suddenly become somber as they frowned up at them. Stomping her foot, she wagged a finger. “Indeed, I will not.”

  “Hold a moment!” Freddy stuck in, now feeling his jurisdiction. “Miss Sarah is not going anywhere with you or anyone else.”

  “Miss Sarah, is it?” He eyed her with a smile. “Well, well is she not?” James challenged, fire lighting in his green eyes. “Well, we shall see about that.” To Cherry, he said, “It’s no good, old girl. You must come home.”

  “I can’t, James. Don’t you understand? Mama wants me to marry a man I have never even met! I don’t even know his name, and she is adamant. She gave him her word, made a marriage settlement, means to post the banns. I won’t marry a man I don’t love—I simply won’t.”

  “Good God, Miss Sarah … er Miss Cherry …” whispered Freddy. “Don’t you worry. No one shall take you from Bromley and force you into a marriage you don’t want. You are under Bromley protection!” He glared defiantly at James, who was a good four inches taller and somewhat broader as well.

  James smiled. “Good boy!” He winked at Cherry. “Plucky, ain’t he? Well, you have a friend in him, but tell him, do, that you have a friend in me as well.”

  “How can I when you have come to fetch me to … to a fate worse than—”

  “Cherry!” He clucked at her. “Don’t go melodramatic and missy on me.” He whooped with laughter. “I know you too well, and I haven’t come to fetch you anywhere but home. I shan’t let anyone, not even Lady Elton, marry you off. You have my word of honor.”

  “Miss Cherry, who is this person? Who is Lady Elton, and why should she want to marry you off? Shall I send him off our property?” Freddy frowned.

  Cherry peeped, “James, you deserve to be thrown off the premises for coming here and not minding your own business. I daresay you would not have liked it if the situation were reversed.” She put up her hand to stop his retort and turned to Freddy. “This is Lord James Dartford, and he is my dearest friend. We go back practically to the cradle.”

  She eyed James. “And this is Lord Frederick Bromley and the twins, Francine and Felix. I am their governess and very happy to have the position.”

  “So it is true. When Polly’s husband told me I could scarcely credit it, and Polly would not confirm it. Said she had nothing to say on the subject. Famous! Damn, if you aren’t up to every rig, you sly vixen,” James uttered in an admiring tone.

  “I don’t think he should speak to you like that,” Freddy said. “Shall I land him a facer?”

  “No, no, Freddy …” Cherry laughed. “He really is a good sort. His want of conduct stems from the fact that we have been at one another forever.” She eyed James mischievously. “You might as well leave, for I shan’t go home, and that is final.”

  “Yes, but that is the one thing you must do … immediately,” James answered seriously.

  “No, I must not. For one thing, the twins need me.” She looked towards them, and they were vigorously nodding their heads. “I just won’t leave them … yet—I can’t. Besides, whoever it is I am supposed to marry will get tired of courting someone who isn’t there, and then I can safely return and be comfortable.”

  “He thinks you are ill and in bed,” James answered with a frown.

  “Does he? Then why does he still wish to marry me?”

  “Stupid girl, he thinks it some mild malady, and he has himself been out of town, your stepmama told me. You must come back, vixen. Think of the scandal.”

  “I see. Well, the solution is this. Return to my stepmama and tell her that if she retires to Elton Place in
the country, away from curious eyes, it will avoid a scandal and perhaps put off this relentless suitor.”

  “Selfish brat. How can you do this to her?” James responded roughly.

  Cherry’s eyes glinted. “She started this mess by trying to force me into marriage.”

  “She won’t force you if you return.”

  “I don’t trust her any longer, James.”

  “Cherry, she is sorry for it, all of it. She thought she was arranging a wonderful match for you.”

  Cherry sighed. “I know and forgive her, but first I have something here that I must accomplish. Go home, James.”

  Freddy and the twins had been listening to the exchange with rapt interest, but at this juncture Freddy stuck in, “Shall I throw him off the premises now, Miss Cherry?”

  “No. We had better take him into tea and forget about the ride for now.” Cherry laughed and then looked up at Dartford. “And by the way, wherever did you get that dapple? He is a prime one, isn’t he?”

  “I must say,” Freddy agreed with a nod. “Miss Cherry is right on that. He is magnificent.”

  “Isn’t he though? Picked him up in Northumberland last month. That’s what took me so long getting back to London—wanted to bring him along slowly. And while I was attending to the business of horseflesh you were raking up scrapes all over town and then vanishing in the middle of the night. Need some taming, you do, Cherry my girl.”

  “Do I? Perhaps I just need purpose.”

  “And have you that here?” he asked, his brow up.

  Francine slipped her hand into Cherry’s, and Cherry smiled. “I do.”

  <

  ~ Eighteen ~

  THANKS TO JAMES, her secret was out. Freddy and the twins had demanded over tea to be told the ‘truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.’ Cherry had complied, even telling them that a kindly gentleman had given her a ride to her nanny’s.

  They were understandably shocked, thrilled, flabbergasted, and totally enthralled. Francine hugged Cherry and said, “My poor, poor Miss Cherry … having to go through all that. You are so very brave.”