Enticing Her Unexpected Bridegroom

by Catherine Hemmerling

  Sarah sat silent, whether unable to speak or with the wish to let him have his say, David wasn’t sure. But he continued nevertheless.

  “I learned what true love was, should be, during these last few days with you. You have taught me so much, my love. Because of you, I know that if you honestly care about someone, you put her needs and desires ahead of yours. Today, all I need to be happy is for you to be happy.”

  David watched as Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. The tremulous smile told him that they were tears of joy. Still not uttering a word, Sarah leaned in to him and kissed him.

  It was glorious.

  It was interrupted by the creaking of the attic door.

  Sarah and David sprang apart in surprise. Sarah laughed when David cursed, and he reached over to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes.

  Smiling, he ignored his sister, the other ladies, and young Sam, who he could see out of the corner of his eye hovering near the door, eavesdropping.

  “I love you, my beautiful wife, and I plan on proving that to you every day. God smiled on me the day he put us in the path of that nosey parker Lymington. Marrying you is by far the best thing I have ever done.”

  “I love you too, David,” Sarah replied, apparently equally comfortable making their friends wait. “I always have. But, like you, this mission has taught me more about real love than fifteen years of imagination could possibly achieve. Trust me when I say, the real David Rochester is immensely better than anything of which I could ever dream.”

  David gave in to impulse by leaning forward to kiss Sarah on the forehead.

  “Now and forever,” he whispered, before turning to the others. In his regular voice, he said, “Have you all heard enough?”

  Rose and Emily ran into the room and hugged them tightly. Only Hannah hung back.

  “I am so happy for you both,” Rose said, “I knew this would be a love match. I told Simon as much before we left.”

  “I had hopes, as well,” Emily gushed. “You are two of my favorite people. How could you not be perfect for each other?”

  Sarah smiled at her friends, but a troubled glance from his wife in Hannah’s direction was all David needed to see before he excused himself and Sarah from the embrace of Emily and Rose.

  Keeping his arm tightly around Sarah’s waist, he guided her over to his sister.

  “Hannah, I know—” David began, before being interrupted.

  “You don’t need to say anything,” Hannah said, her eyes clouded with tears. “I can see from the way you look at her that this is real.”

  She turned to Sarah and took her hand. “I’m sorry that I told you not to expect love from David. I have loved you long enough and well enough to know that anyone in your presence for any length of time could not help but love you, too.”

  David’s heart swelled. His sister was right. Sarah was special, and he was lucky to have been given the chance to realize that.

  “Thank you, Hannah,” Sarah said. “You should know that I tried really hard not to love David, but he is not the boy you remember. He is an honest, generous, honorable man. Who he is presently made not loving him impossible.”

  Hannah looked at David warmly. “I see that now. I apologize to you as well, brother. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.”

  Laughing, David put his other arm around Hannah. “I have given you many reasons not to trust me, but I believe Sarah is right. I am not the same man I was. I have Sarah to thank for that, but you are the one who put me on the right path, Hannah. So I thank you as well.”

  Hannah grinned and pulled David and Sarah in for a three-way hug. Seconds later, Rose and Emily pushed in, and the whole group gave in to the warm feelings of love and friendship that filled the small space.

  “Ahem?”

  David turned his head to see Melinda and Sam looking at them curiously.

  Breaking up the small teary-eyed group, David and the others looked at their new friends with chagrin.

  “Sorry about this,” Sarah said, motioning to the congregation in the hall. “We suddenly realized just how much we, ah, had missed one another?”

  The ladies all giggled in agreement, and David rolled his eyes. It was only then that he noticed Melinda wasn’t smiling back. In fact, the girl looked upset.

  “I gather you are here to learn of the will’s content?”

  “Yes,” Melinda said, bouncing on her toes and wringing her hands, “but that will have to wait. We have a problem.”

  Turning to Sarah, she added, “So sorry to interrupt you and your friends, my lady.”

  Sarah waved the apology away. “Never mind that, dear. Whatever has you in such a state?”

  “It’s William! He has been captured. The magistrate is taking him to gaol as we speak.”

  “What?” Sarah cried, grabbing the hands of her friends. “How could this have happened?”

  “We’re not sure, but it happened while we were waiting for Blackwood to leave his estate. Apparently, when we sent Bucky to trick the magistrate, he had already found William and the other Potter men.”

  “To save his sons and nephews, Mr. Potter gave himself the full blame,” Sam exclaimed.

  “David,” Sarah said, turning to him in anguish. “We have to do something!”

  “And we will,” he said grimly. “Ladies, quick, send a messenger to Mr. and Mrs. Cole at the home of Viscount Clarendon, Mayfair, London, telling them to come here at once.” Nodding, Hannah, Rose, and Emily raced out of the room.

  “Melinda, you and Sarah come with me to the magistrate. These papers,” David announced, shaking the will and exigent documents feverishly, “are our only chance to stop this case from going to the courts.”

  They wasted no time on their way to the magistrate’s office. On the way, they told Melinda everything about the late earl’s last wishes. She seemed gratified to hear that the Coles were the real Earl and Countess of Blackwood, but the circumstances made celebrating a bit premature.

  When the trio burst into the local official’s office, they were dismayed to find the man wasn’t there. According to a servant, the magistrate and Blackwood had taken William to see the grand jury.

  “Already?” Sarah exhaled in dismay.

  “Blackwood must be paying out the nose to push this case through so quickly. This does not bode well for Potter. Money has a way of finding innocent men guilty,” David fumed.

  “Then we must go to the courthouse immediately!” Melinda begged.

  David had no reason to argue with the girl’s logic. They needed to stop this travesty before Blackwood’s murderous intent became reality.

  All the way to Shire Hall, the courthouse in Chelmsford, David and the girls went over what they would say to the officials. By their thinking, there wasn’t any way their position could fail to at least delay the trial until the will could be validated. But David still worried about the pull of the detestable Blackwood and his sizable fortune.

  As it turned out, David was right to worry. By the time they reached the large Georgian building, the case had been pushed through to the grand jury.

  “How could it be in front of a jury already?”

  “Someone’s, or many someones’, palms must have been greased by the good earl,” David scoffed. “I was afraid of this.”

  “We have to do something,” Melinda cried.

  “I don’t think there is much we can do,” David said dolefully. “William’s fate is in the hands of the jury and judge. All we can do now is watch and wait.”

  David’s heart broke when he saw tears in the ladies’ eyes. They clearly understood the odds as well as he.

  Somberly, he led his companions to the courtroom, and they quietly entered the chamber. It was relatively empty, which David did not find surprising, considering how quickly the case had been pushed through the system.

  Near the front of the room was the Potter family. Mrs. Potter and her daughters were weeping, and the Potter men were looking stonily at the wall behind th
e judge, unwilling or unable to make eye contact with anyone.

  With the ladies leading the way, David walked down the aisle to the row just behind their new friends. Slipping silently into the pew, the trio reached forward to make their presence known to Mrs. Potter. She squeezed David’s and Sarah’s hands tightly, indicating without saying a word how glad—and sorry—she was to see them.

  David looked over at the man he had never met but felt he knew well. William was sitting stoically across the room. He caught the man’s eye immediately, so he knew that Potter had seen them arrive and recognized them as the people who had come to help him.

  I’m so sorry, David mouthed, and he was gifted with a small smile and shrug. Apparently Potter had already accepted his place in this travesty.

  It took an eloquent, if completely fantastical, speech from Blackwood and less than ten minutes for the jury to find William Potter guilty of vandalism in direct defiance of the Black Acts. He was sentenced to hang by his peers and was taken away.

  For nearly as long afterward, the spectators sat stunned by all that had happened. The women were sobbing uncontrollably, and the men were visibly angry. David got up and left the room. He needed to make arrangements to contest the title of Blackwood. The day could not end like this. Justice for William may not be met, but the future of Blackwood must be rewritten.

  Outside the courtroom, David watched Blackwood clap Fitzherbert on the back, clearly elated by the outcome of the trial. In his defense, the magistrate looked noticeably ill, and David took some solace in the other man’s discomfort.

  Calling the attention of a local postboy, David quickly dashed off a note to the Committee on Privilege of the House of Lords, asking for the earliest appointment possible. He briefly outlined the reason for his request and listed the affected parties. He paid the boy an extra shilling to make haste.

  By this time, Sarah and the others had filed out of the courtroom. David was informed that they had been invited to the Potters’ for afternoon tea. Knowing that William’s family had still not been told about the contents of the will, David thought accepting the invitation was wise.

  Also, the Coles would reach Chelmsford in the next few hours if their conveyance made good time. It was reasonable to believe they would go directly to Mrs. Cole’s sister, Mrs. Potter. David wanted Sarah’s to be one of the first faces the Coles saw upon their arrival.

  Giving his arm to his still-grieving wife, David motioned to Melinda to head in the direction of their carriage.

  Once they were all seated in the vehicle, it lurched into motion. David knew it would not be long before they reached the Potters’ home, and he really wanted to say something to cheer the ladies, but nothing sprang to mind, so the ride was made in silence.

  He thought perhaps it was a good thing, after all. He was expecting a long evening with much talking ahead. He could only hope that by the end of it, some good would come out of this horrible, horrible turn of events.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  As long as you have acted with integrity, you should harbor no guilt.

  —The Duke of Lancaster

  The eight-hour ride back to London was the longest Sarah could ever remember. Despite there being three other companions—all of whom she loved dearly—in the carriage with her, the trip was made in almost complete silence.

  The Coles had arrived at the Potters’ home nearly three hours after David and Sarah had delivered the news of the Earl Blackwood’s last will and testament. Tears of sadness, regret, and finally hope fell from all parties present.

  The wish that the will had been found weeks or even days earlier was shared by everyone. It was generally believed that the hidden documents could very well have saved William from incarceration. Cole would not have wanted his nephew hung, and the charges would have been dropped.

  Sarah took much of the blame on herself. She felt sure if any other members of the Garden Society had taken the lead on this mission, they would not have failed. William would be with his family now, and everyone would be enjoying the thought of a brighter future ahead.

  She knew, from the reaction of her beloved Cole, that the butler was truly frightened of what may come of their petition to the House of Lords. He admitted that he felt inadequate to the role of earl. Even with David’s assurance, it was clear the older man was not convinced.

  Despite Cole’s reticence, when the cottagers heard the news of one of their own being the rightful heir, great cheering commenced. Even the Potters, in their grief, were relieved to know their loss wasn’t for naught. Of course, as David had cautioned everyone, Cole actually being confirmed as the Earl of Blackwood was still in the air. That didn’t stop the celebration.

  Sarah believed that even if Blackwood’s will came to nothing, the people of the Blackwood estate would still feel vindicated of their hatred and loathing for the current earl. They would believe in their hearts forever that the man was a sham, an interloper. That knowledge would make taking his abuse easier somehow. She wasn’t sure she truly understood their reasoning, but she was glad that something she and David had done had lifted the spirits of so many people.

  It didn’t lessen her guilt, however, and she dreaded reporting her failure to Lady Lancaster. First, however, the status of the Coles needed to be settled. To that end, Sarah wasn’t entirely disappointed when she saw the familiar roads and lands of London passing by outside the carriage window.

  They were home, for better or worse.

  The streets of Mayfair were bustling with people rushing to enjoy the last of the waning afternoon light. Hyde Park was resplendent with ladies in pretty dresses and men in fine waistcoats. Phaetons and curricles weaved their way around pedestrians and horseback riders alike. The trees and flowers shone in all their glory, and the sound of happy children lilted joyously on the breeze.

  It should have been a beautiful sight, but Sarah barely acknowledged nature’s display. Instead she counted the blocks, then the houses, leading up to her own lovely little abode. The afternoon sun glinting off the windows with a golden hue that lit up her garden just so, also had little impact on her. She didn’t revel in the butterflies caused by the touch of David’s hand on hers as he helped her from the vehicle. She didn’t return the squeeze of the arm Mrs. Cole put around her waist nor the smile given to her by her lady’s maid upon entrance to her home.

  Sarah wanted to be happy, she truly did, but she couldn’t seem to muster the energy to do so. She especially wanted to be supportive of the woman she thought of as her mother and the man who was as close to a father to her as any man had ever been, but she just couldn’t.

  Turning away from the people who meant the most to her in her life, Sarah practically ran up the stairs to her room and flung herself on the bed. The room depressed her even further, because it wasn’t one shared with David. Would things go back to the way they had been before they left or would David ask her to finally join him in the master chamber? She was no longer sure. He had said he loved her, but that was in Chelmsford. Would their newfound love survive in London? She was still the Long Meg of the ton. Would facing the people here with her proudly on his arm be something David was willing to do? All her long-held insecurities flooded back, and Sarah was in no condition to fight them.

  A knock on the door interrupted Sarah’s somber musings.

  “Go away,” Sarah said, her voice muffled by the pillow in which she had buried her face.

  The door opened anyway.

  “What was that?”

  “I said go away,” Sarah shouted, flinging the pillow toward the door without even turning to look at whoever it was that was bothering her. But of course she knew who it was.

  “I’m afraid I cannot do that, love.”

  The mattress dipped as David sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “Please?” Sarah begged. “I am not fit for company.”

  “My dear Sarah,” David said, caressing her head lovingly. “I am not company. I am your husband.”

 
; Unable to keep it back any further, Sarah began to sob. Giving only a bit of protest, she allowed herself to be pulled into the arms of the only man she had ever loved. Her head tucked against his shoulder, she cried even harder.

  David said nothing. He just held her until she ran out of tears. When she could no longer find a reason to stay pressed against his neck, Sarah sat up slightly. She was not surprised to see a handkerchief in David’s hand. She took it gratefully and, in a completely unladylike way, she thoroughly blew her nose. With each blow, Sarah felt her head and heart become surprisingly lighter. She could not figure out the reason why her mood should be so lifted by such a torrent of tears, but all those latent fears seemed to be draining away.

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, handing the sodden cloth back to David.

  “Ah…” he said haltingly. “Perhaps you should keep that?”

  Sarah was surprised when she laughed. Just minutes before, she was sure she would never laugh again.

  “Of course. I’m sorry.”

  She stood and put the handkerchief next to a pile of half-read mail, left there during her rapid exodus from the house earlier in the week. How funny it was to think they had only been gone for days, not weeks or months. Her life seemed completely different than it had been the day she had begun sorting those letters.

  Standing with her fingers touching the silver tray on which the mail rested, Sarah became lost in memory. David’s hands on her shoulders brought her back to reality.

  “What’s wrong, my love? I have never seen you so quiet and forlorn. Are you still thinking about Potter?”

  “William, Mrs. Potter, the Coles, our mission,” Sarah replied mournfully, turning to face him. “We failed, David. I failed.”

  “No you did not, Sarah,” David replied. “No one could have saved Potter. I am convinced of that now. Blackwood was just too powerful, too corrupt.”

  “That’s not true,” Sarah cried. “If we had had even one more day, or certainly two…then we could have saved him! We had the papers, the papers that would rid Blackwood of his power. If we, if I, had been just that much better at solving this mystery, William would be free right now.”