by Claudy Conn
“James …” She put her hand on his arm. “What is the matter? You had better give me a clue as to what this is all about.”
The sound of approaching footsteps brought both their heads around. They looked guilty as hell, and Cherry knew it. Talking secrets always made one look anxious and guilty.
Sky’s temper displayed itself on his face and in his movements as Cherry watched him. This was confirmed to her by his voice, hard and dry. “Do I intrude?”
“Not at all,” Cherry returned hurriedly, perhaps too sharply. “James was just taking his leave of me. Weren’t you, James?”
“Aye, aye … till later then.” He started down the hallways, but it appeared to both Cherry and Lord Westbrooke that James had the look of a man who felt as though he had left something in the wind. His steps were precise and slow, as though he had a great deal on his mind.
Cherry suddenly said, “Excuse me, my lord … I just remembered something I want to tell Lord Dartford before he leaves.” She rushed after James and stopped him at the head of the stairs to whisper, “I shall meet you at the spinney near your inn at five o’clock.”
“Right. Good girl,” he said, obviously pleased with the plan.
Cherry turned and walked back towards the schoolroom, all too aware that Sky’s luscious blue eyes watched her every move. She gulped like a child about to face an irate parent. He had such power over her senses—all her senses. She managed to deliver a half-smile and said, “Did you come up here to see me, my lord?”
“Indeed, I thought I did,” he answered coldly. “However, I find that you are busy, and whatever I wanted … no longer seems important.” He turned away from her and started off.
This was not what she wanted … a little jealousy to wake him up to what he wanted, well, yes, but so jealous that he was able to walk away from her? Oh, no.
“My lord,” she called after him.
He stopped, but his jaw seemed clenched and his posture had an iron look that said, I am firmly giving you up. “Y-es?”
“Nothing,” she said softly and went into the schoolroom. This was ridiculous, she told herself. What was wrong with him? He had no right to claim her in any conceivable way. He didn’t know that she was anything but a woman who had to make a living as a governess at the mercy of the family that hired her. He thought her a governess, and it hadn’t stopped him from taking her to his bed! He was the one who took off for London without a word. He was the one who thought her beneath a marriage proposal …
And he was the one who commanded all her thoughts and all her feelings!
* * *
James was pacing like a lunatic. It was already five minutes past five o’clock, and wasn’t that just like the brat to keep him kicking up his heels? However, just as he was beginning to worry that something had gone wrong, he saw her slowly steering her horse through the sparsely wooded field at the back of the inn. She jumped nimbly down and, reins in hand, started walking towards him.
“Well, ’tis about time, madcap!”
“I got here as fast as I could. Sky seemed to be hanging around the stables. I had the devil of a time trying to get away without his seeing me.”
“What difference does it make whether he sees you leave or not? For pity’s sake, Cherry, even a governess may have personal time off, and you are Miss Elton of Elton Grange.”
“Oh, James, you don’t understand,” she clasped her hands fretfully.
“I don’t understand? Dunce, it’s you who has lost your reason. Look, m’girl, you don’t know who Westbrooke is!”
“What sort of a thing is that to say?” Cherry returned, puzzled.
“You didn’t take the time to find out who your stepmama matched you with. Well, let me tell you, had you known, you would not have run away!”
“Oh, really?” Hands went to hips. “What makes you so cocksure, you wretched thing?”
“I ain’t blind, Cherry-girl. I saw the way you looked at him,” James replied a bit pugnaciously.
“I believe you are mad,” Cherry returned, wagging a finger at him. “Must be the fresh country air—it has gone to your head!”
“Stupid little madcap!” He laughed amiably. He held her shoulders then just to keep her from jumping about. “It is Westbrooke … don’t you see? It is Westbrooke.”
“What is Westbrooke? What are you trying to tell me?”
“You are engaged to marry him, dunce. He has just returned from London, where he went to check in with his intended bride, only to be told she is ill above stairs. He returns here, where he makes eyes at you. It is all really funny when you think about it.”
Cherry was struck dumb. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t move, and she couldn’t speak. She stood like a stock until James shook her a bit and called her name. She clutched at him as though she were falling and needed him as a lifeline. “Are you telling me that … that Lord Westbrooke has asked for Miss Elton’s—my hand …?”
“Precisely.” James was well pleased with himself.
She recalled the night they had met when he was in his cups. So that was what it was all about? He was supposed to meet his fiancé the next morning! Ha! “That means I am actually engaged to Lord Westbrooke …” She was speaking more to herself than to James.
“Again, precisely.”
“Hush. I must think.”
“You should be happy. Any dunce can see you both want each other.” James frowned.
“Well, I am not happy. James, I have deceived him. If I honor the engagement, he will never know if I am marrying him for the right reasons. I want him to know it is for love, for you are quite right, I love him—desperately. Oh James, I must leave for London immediately. I will have to quarrel with him and get myself dismissed. And the twins … I shall take them aside and tell them all.”
“Hmmm. Problem there—you really shouldn’t leave the twins in the lurch.”
“I won’t be. Freddy will look out for them in my absence. I shall find them just the sort of governess they need … someone like Polly … and will make certain she is hired for the twins.”
“Yes, but they love you, Cherry.”
“Don’t you think I love them? I do. I shall never give up visiting with them if my plan doesn’t work, and if it does …” She screwed up her mouth and wrinkled her nose.
“You are mad.” He sighed.
“You must be ready to escort me back to London tonight. Can you hire a post chaise for the trip? I don’t want anyone to see me riding into London. I have to do this quietly.”
“Done. Be back here at seven, and off we’ll go,” he answered promptly. “I’ve had a chaise in waiting ever since I found you.”
“You are so clever, James,” she said. Throwing threw her arms around him, she planted a kiss on his cheek. “Seven it is.” She turned, mounted her horse, and hurried him towards Bromley!
* * *
Cherry didn’t get very far. Sky Westbrooke sat his horse in the middle of the narrow trail. She saw him and pulled up on her reins, for she had been gently loping down the dirt road. She found herself breathing irregularly and wondered what he was doing there looking so oddly at her. “My lord … how nice …” she said lamely.
“Is it—nice, I mean?” he asked on a dry note.
“Well, of course—finding myself in your company is always … er … pleasant.”
“Fine. Shall I escort you home then?” he asked blandly.
She shot an inquiring glance his way but could read nothing from his cold expression. “Thank you.”
“Did you have a, er … pleasant visit with your friend Dartford?” he asked, almost too casually.
“What makes you think I was visiting with James?” she returned, her chin up.
“Weren’t you?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I was.”
“I can’t say I approve of such behavior in the governess of my brother and sister,” he said, his voice hard.
“No, of course not. I understand perfectly. You reserve the
right to take favors from her yourself.” She turned angry, bright eyes on him. She had done this with calculation: she wanted him upset. She needed a quarrel with him, and he was walking right into it.
He reached out to stop her horse, for she was starting to trot off from him, and said on a low growl, “Hold there, sweetheart!” He did in fact rein in her animal.
“Stop that!” she snapped at him. “I don’t like being manhandled.”
“Then don’t make sharp remarks and then take off. Expect to get as good as you give …” So saying, he slipped his arm around her waist and drew her to him for a kiss. Their lips barely met when Cherry’s horse objected strongly with a fidget.
She wanted to giggle but instead rode towards Bromley’s drive and the barn. Sky rode after her. When they reached the stables he quickly called a groom to take both their horses and followed Cherry as she started for the house.
“Cherry … wait,” he called after her. “I should like ten minutes of your time.”
She turned. “Of course, my lord.”
He caught up to her and drew her toward a stone bench along the bluestone path. There he made her sit beside him. “Cherry … you must know how I feel about you?”
“Must I?” she answered, her brow up. “James tells me that you are engaged to marry Lady Elton’s stepdaughter.” There—she had said it; she waited for his reaction. If he truly loved her, would he say so now? Would he tell her that he was for London to break off his engagement? Would he do the right thing? Or did he still want a mistress in his bed and a lady to run his household?
“How would he know that? Nothing has been finalized or announced—”
“Things have a habit of getting about,” she said sweetly as she looked intently at him.
“Yes, it is true … but even if I must go through with it, it would be a marriage of convenience … nothing more.” He looked away for a long moment. “Still … I want you, and I thought … think, you want me.”
A part of her was outraged. What if she had allowed her stepmama to arrange their marriage? It wasn’t right, and he needed a bit of a lesson, didn’t he? She paused just a moment and then said quietly, “What makes you think so, my lord?” she said lightly as she played with the skirt of her riding habit.
“Is it that puppy, Dartford?” He sat ramrod straight.
She relented. “No. It is you, it has been you from the first moment you kissed me that night I was running away, but, my lord, I won’t be a mistress.” So saying, she got to her feet, stomped her foot, and said with a wag of her finger, “And you aren’t being fair to Miss Elton either!”
So saying she ran, praying at that moment that he would not follow. She needed to think. She needed to set things straight, and she needed to do it soon. This pretense had to stop. He had not said he would end his engagement, and yet, he still pursued her. It was filling her with contrary emotions.
The time had come to return to her stepmama and make amends. The time had come to untangle things—they had just dipped deeply into mire, and she had to retrieve the situation before it sank beyond her reach.
* * *
He did not follow her. He could not follow her. He felt a cad. He had offered marriage to the young Elton woman—a young woman who deserved more than his name but would never have it because his heart, his soul, his every thought belonged to Cherry. He had to find a reasonable way out of his present predicament. Marriage of convenience was the way of his lot in society, but it was a damnable ugly way…
He didn’t care that even Cherry’s name was shrouded in mystery. He didn’t care that she was governess to the twins. He loved her with everything he was, and he would have to find a way out of the Elton entanglement, because he damn well meant to make Cherry his bride!
~ Twenty ~
“FREDDY!” CHERRY CALLED him out of the library. “Conference, quickly with the twins in the schoolroom. I haven’t any time to spare.”
She didn’t wait for him to ask her any questions but ran to the stairs and then had to control herself from taking them two at a time. Speed. It was all-important that she be gone before Sky confronted her again. She wouldn’t bother packing. Faith, it would be so nice to have her real wardrobe at her disposal once again.
She found the twins playing at a board game in Francine’s room and ushered them to the schoolroom. “We need to talk. Come.”
They sensed something important was afoot and followed her in hushed silence. Freddy met them as they entered, and Cherry closed the door. “Sit, all of you.”
Freddy looked around for somewhere to plant himself, but other than a footstool he could find nothing his size. “Can’t,” he said reasonably.
She giggled and then grew serious. “I have to leave—tonight. Soon, in fact.” She put up her hands as they all began to object.
Francine threw herself at her and hugged her tightly. “Don’t go, Miss Cherry—we couldn’t bear it!”
Even Felix went to her and hugged her. “Please, Miss Cherry … I will try and not be so bad …”
“Hush … bad, indeed. You are the best children any governess could hope to have. I shan’t be gone long … I promise, but I must go immediately. There is something personal that I must attend to in London. Lord Dartford has offered to escort me safely. I can’t tell you more, other than to assure you that I love you and I need you to trust me. I am doing what needs to be done. Do you believe me when I say I will make everything right?”
“Yes … but don’t go,” Francine begged.
“Freddy will stay with you, won’t you, Freddy? You will make certain they do their lessons and play and take care of the ducklings and all the things I normally do with them … yes?”
“Yes, Miss Cherry, and I do trust you. This is just what he needs to see the light,” Freddy said with a soft smile.
Their eyes met and locked, and then she squeezed his hands. “Thank you, Freddy.”
Felix was still hugging her, and she took his hands and held them so she could bend down to look at him. “You have been wonderful to me, Felix … and I promise, whatever happens, I shall return—in fact, there isn’t a soul that can keep me from you.” She sighed heavily and added, “There is a secret that we need to keep between us. I don’t wish Sky to know that I have promised to come back. Understood?”
“A secret between us?” Felix said, his eyes lighting up.
“Yes, a secret.”
“You can rely on me, Miss Cherry!”
“I shall look after the twins, and I too am pledged to your secret,” Freddy promised.
“Then you will come back and be our governess forever?” Francine pursued.
“No, love, but I will come back.” She put a finger to Francine’s trembling lips. “You and Felix needed me, but I think now you know exactly what you have to do to grow fine and smart and good. What you need is someone who is far more learned than I to get you ready to go off to school in a couple of years. Trust me to choose the right person to fill that office, and then you can train her, when I bring her to you, and before long you will like her as much as you like me.”
The twins looked at one another, and then Francine said, “We will never love her as much as we love you—never.”
“Never mind—things have a habit of working themselves out.” She gave them another hug each. “Secret now!” Cherry turned to Freddy. “Lessons, Freddy. Make them do their letters, speak to them in French, take them on outings, and by the time I get back, it will nearly be time for you to return to Eton.”
He laughed. “Miss Cherry … I … we shall miss you terribly while you are gone.”
“And I you.” She touched his cheek. “Now, I am off. If his lordship asks, you may say I left him a letter on my mantelshelf. It is all the explanation I mean to give him.”
So saying, she went to her room and quickly penned a missive.
My Lord Westbrooke,
I have enjoyed my stay at Bromley. I adore the twins, and my time with them is something that is very
precious to me. However, it is apparent that I cannot remain under the same roof with you, for reasons we both understand.
Forgive me. I have made an explanation to the twins and to Freddy, and I shall send you an exceptional woman to take my place. Yes, I do know someone who would be perfect for the position and perhaps be more appreciated by your new bride.
Again, forgive me, but it seems that running away from things I cannot handle is something I am falling into the habit of doing. Cowardly but expedient.
Fondly,
Cherry
This done, she put the hood of her cloak over her hair and quietly left the house. It would take her a good twenty minutes to walk the distance to James, but she was on time. Everything seemed to be in order, so why did she feel so very heartsick? This was the answer, was it not? Yes, it was the only answer. Faith, it had to be the answer.
* * *
Sky rode to the inn at a heady pace. It was too late, of course, to stop Cherry from going; she was gone. He knew that—and still galloped his horse because he needed the run. Dusk had turned to night and the moon wasn’t quite full, so it was madness to run his horse at this speed. However, he reached the inn and dismounted quickly, giving the reins over to the livery boy who came running out to greet him.
He headed inside to see Mr. Regis, proprietor of the Red Bull Inn and Tavern. Regis was a stout and jolly man. He had long prospered at his establishment and was proud of his success. Sky found him polishing the dark oak bar counter, and he looked up to smile broadly at his lordship. Westbrooke was well known and liked by most of the locals.
“Good evening to ye, my lord,” Regis greeted him and put down the cloth.
“And to you, Regis.” Sky nodded but was too impatient to waste time on the usual amenities. “Regis, tell me, if you can, is young Dartford still here?”
“No, my lord. He left us a few hours ago. Paid his shot, and off he went. Pleasant young man.”
“Do you know if he had any … company with him when he left?”