Rhys drew in a breath that sounded harsh and hard. “As Anna’s husband, I would be able to protect her. She can legally remain with me. The law doesn’t care that I am a commoner in this matter. Marriage is marriage.”
“But you are concerned about what everyone else will think,” Vaughn added quietly.
Rhys kept his gaze fixed upon Anna. “I know what they will think. There will be an uproar that will last for the rest of the season and well beyond. The Queen may refuse to acknowledge the marriage, but she cannot demand that it be annulled. The royal family lost that power quite some time ago.”
His gaze wouldn’t let her go.
“You want to know if I care about the fuss that might be made?” she asked.
“That will be made,” Rhys amended. “You are a princess and a member of the royal family, Anna. I am nothing. There will be people who will be outraged by such a marriage. Ask Elisa. Ask Natasha. They and Vaughn and Seth have been through their own wars with the ton.”
“Rhys speaks truly,” Natasha said. “I see, now, why you wanted us hear this, Rhys. Anna, think carefully about this. It may seem like the perfect answer to you now, but if the marriage is not accepted by everyone, then you will lose everything—your family and every friend you have made since you arrived here. They will never speak to you again.”
“You would lose everyone but us, of course,” Seth said. “I care naught for such silly considerations. Marry the man if his proposal offers what you need. Rhys will see you’re provided for, even if you’re not eating off ermine and fine china.”
“No one eats off ermine, Irishman,” Vaughn pointed out.
Seth shrugged. “It makes the point,” he said shortly.
“Yes, it does,” Anna said. “Thank you, Seth.”
He nodded.
She looked around the room, at everyone who was waiting for her to make her decision. “Would such a scandal make it harder for all of you to be accepted among your friends and family? You will be tainted by this. Elisa has made it very public that she stands by my side in this matter and her friendship with Natasha is well known.”
“Don’t worry about us,” Elisa said quickly.
“No, it’s a fair question,” Natasha said. “We all have children who must grow up among these people and will find their lives affected by the scandal. We have all managed to outlive our own scandals, but a third one may be the undoing of us all.”
Elisa looked at Vaughn. “What do you think?” she asked quietly. “I’ve lived without society’s acceptance and it does not frighten me. I do not think the children will be the poorer for growing up without it.”
Vaughn gave her a small smile. “I think you have answered for me, Elisa my love. If you do not care, then neither do I.”
Seth scrubbed at his hair, ruffling it. “Hell, I spend most of my days either on a ships’ deck or in a faraway land that cares naught for the company I keep. Natasha…” He picked up her hand. “You’ve never lived without the approval of your family and friends, but you risked it all once, for me. Why did you do that?”
She gave him a small smile. “You know why.”
“I don’t just mean for love,” Seth said gruffly, although there was a warm expression in his eyes as he gazed at his wife.
Natasha frowned. “I did it because you were wrongly accused. Everyone had turned their back upon you because in their minds, you were guilty. No one cared to hear the truth.”
“Until ye rammed it down their throats,” Seth pointed out. “This is the same thing, ‘tasha love. They could judge Rhys an interloper and dismiss him because he is a common man far beneath Anna’s station and dismiss her for marrying beneath her. You know there is that danger, because he is barely accepted as it is. Only the well-known secret of who his father really is gives him a type of acceptance.”
Rhys sat perfectly still as Seth said all the terrible things aloud. Then he let out a deep breath and looked at Anna. “There you have it,” he said, with a small smile.
“No, Seth is right,” Natasha said with some heat in her tone. “We know you both well enough to be able to judge your character and to know that you are decent people. If we were to let what everyone else might think about you, based on whispers and gossip, affect the way we behave toward you, we would be the worst sort of hypocrites, especially after having lived through such baseless judgment ourselves.”
“I know a debutante in a blue dress who wanted nothing more than to be queen of the May ball,” Vaughn said.
Natasha’s cheeks blazed. “That was a long time ago. I have learned to think for myself since then.”
“We all have,” Elisa said.
Rhys had not let go of Anna’s hand. Now he lifted it. “You have all the facts, now and the staunch support of four friends. What do you want to do, Anna? Do you want to return to your father, or do you want to marry me?”
“Of course I want to marry you,” she said heatedly. “What a silly question.”
Vaughn stood up. “I believe that it our cue. Elisa, by any chance did the cook make another of those fruitcakes, the ones soaked in rum? I would very much like a piece.”
Elisa stood up. “I believe so. Seth, Natasha, you must try some, too. Mrs. Elliott made a custard sauce to go with it that is just delightful.”
The four of them left the room, chatting together and laughing and smiling. Anna watched them go and the door shut behind them. She looked back at Rhys.
“Are you sure, Anna?” he asked gently.
She slid her tongue over her lip, which seemed suddenly dry. “You are not proposing a marriage in name only, are you?”
He shook his head. “It must be a real marriage, properly consummated, or I will have no legal authority against your father.”
She gave a small smile. “It is as well we are sexually compatible, then.”
“That was why I thought of this solution,” he replied gravely. “Although, Anna, you must consider what marriage to me will cost you. You could marry a duke, one of the highest in the land. Any land. You could live in luxury for the rest of your days and never have to worry about a thing. Every little bauble you want would be yours for the asking.”
“By which you mean, I think, that I would notice the lack of baubles if I marry you?”
“I know you do not care for such things, not as much as some ladies might, but if you were in a position where you cannot have them, then the lack of them might bother you.” He spread her hand on his knee and stroked the back of it, which sent little shivers up her arm. “I am a working man, Anna. I can provide a roof over your head, but it will be a humble one and very much not what you are used to.”
“But there will be books under that roof, will there not?”
“A home isn’t a home without them,” he said flatly.
“And you will never bar me from the acquisition of knowledge that books will offer?”
He smiled. “As long as you promise never to try to experience the truth of that knowledge for yourself in the reckless way you have been.”
“I will burn those clothes,” she said gravely.
“No, don’t burn them,” he said quickly. “I enjoy the length of your legs in trousers. Perhaps…behind closed doors…..”
Anna sighed. “Then yes, Rhys Davies. I will marry you.”
“I promise that you will never regret your decision,” he told her and kissed her softly.
Chapter Ten
Anna married Rhys Davies two days later, in the chapel at St. Paul’s cathedral. The Bishop had agreed to the hasty marriage after some persuasion, but only after speaking to Anna directly. As he spoke to her, his gaze kept flickering toward her eye, where the last traces of the bruise could still be seen. Straight after the interview, he shook Rhys’ hand and agreed to meet them at the chapel on the morrow.
Seth stood as Rhys’ attendant and Elisa as Anna’s, while Natasha and Vaughn took their place just behind them, as witnesses to the ceremony. There was no one else for Anna had no fa
mily she cared to invite and all Rhys’ family were already in attendance.
Rhys wore a new suit and he produced a plain gold band that he slipped on her finger, when the Bishop asked for it.
Anna was dressed in white, just as Queen Victoria had been for her wedding. The dress was one that Natasha had ordered some weeks before, but suddenly declared unsuitable for her dark hair and complexion, whereas Anna with her golden locks would suit such beautiful silk.
The dress was refitted hastily, then with the combined efforts of Elisa and Natasha and their two maids and Jilly, Anna was dressed for her wedding.
Vaughn met them at the front of the cathedral. He was very smartly dressed and wore a carnation in his jacket. “Would you like me to escort you to the altar?”
Anna let out a deep breath. “That would please me a great deal.”
So Vaughn walked her inside, through the main cathedral to the chapel, where Rhys and Seth stood waiting.
Once the short ceremony was over, Rhys touched his lips to her cheek. It was the briefest touch, but she shivered anyway and her thoughts turned to what would come later.
* * * * *
Natasha and Seth hosted the wedding breakfast and it was a merry meal around the small table, with just the six of them. Anna was too nervous to eat much and the champagne held no interest for her at all.
Not long after the cake was cut and more toasts were given, Rhys leaned toward her. “Are you as ready to leave as I?” he asked in an undertone.
“Oh, yes!” she breathed.
He got to his feet and picked up her hand and Anna stood gratefully. No one protested over their early departure, but all four of them stood in the big entryway and bade them goodnight as Rhys handed Anna into the cab.
She let out a sigh of relief as the cab moved away from the entrance and leaned back into the corner, careless of her silk dress. The light from the gas lamps was yellowy orange and lit Rhys’ face in flickers as they passed each lamp. He was watching her, his eyes dark in the changing light and her pulse gave a little jump.
“Where are we going?” she asked, simply to break the silence.
“Do you honestly care to know?” he asked.
“Not very much, no. If it is warm and comfortable and has a door that locks, I will be quite happy.”
Rhys smiled. It was a small expression. “There is a lock. I made sure of it.”
“Then we are not bound for your rooms on Duke Street?” she asked. “For that bedroom has no lock.”
His brow raised. “Perhaps the bedroom is not the destination I had in mind.”
Anna almost laughed. “You do not own a couch, that I remember. You would take me on that threadbare rug of yours? I will make sure to spread a blanket before you do.”
Rhys laughed loudly and shifted closer to her on the seat. “Anna, you and your unshockable quick wit are a delight. A man could not ask for better company.”
“I believe I have the upper hand in this bargain,” she said softly. “I have won a home and a man who will treat me well. Truly, I could not have wished for more.”
“Thank you,” Rhys said quietly. “But it was a fair bargain.”
“Assure me of that in a month, when the gossip has done its work,” she said softly.
“I will.” He kissed her very briefly and looked up. “We’re here.”
She looked out, but all she could see was a row of small, cheery houses, each with a tiny garden at the front. “Where are we?” she asked Rhys curiously, as he helped her out of the cab.
The cab pulled away, the horse clopping softly in the still night.
“Very unfashionable Clerkenwell,” Rhys said. He turned to point to the nearest house. It was small like the rest and painted white. There was gaslight in the window and lace.
“What do you think of that one?”
Anna spotted a large vase of roses and baby’s breath sitting on the table behind the window. “It is absolutely delightful,” she said honestly.
“That is just as well. It’s your new home, Anna.”
She caught her breath. “But, it is perfect! Really, Rhys, this is your house?”
“It is a wedding present from Seth and Vaughn combined. I had to sell my soul in return. They receive my legal services for the rest of my natural life but yes, this is ours.” He held out his hand. “Come and see.”
The front door opened as they moved through the tiny garden plot, which was planted with sweet smelling jasmine that perfumed the air as they brushed past it. Jilly stood holding the door, a smile on her face. “There’s no butler, ma’am, so I’ll ‘ave to do.”
“You do very well, thank you, Jilly,” Rhys said as she closed the door behind them.
There was no entrance hall. They had stepped directly into the front room, which was filled with a small dining table and chairs and a sofa pulled up to the fireplace.
“The couch,” Rhys said softly.
Anna could feel her cheeks blazing.
“There is a kitchen through there,” Jilly said, pointing to the door on the other side of the room, “and my room is beyond that.”
“Upstairs are two bedrooms,” Rhys said. “One can be used as my dressing room, or yours, if you prefer. We can work out an arrangement that suits us as we go along.”
“Will you be retiring right away, ma’am?” Jilly asked.
Anna looked at Rhys. “Are you staying up?”
He moved over to the fireplace and picked up the poker to rouse it. “If you are going upstairs, then I have no reason to linger here.”
Her spine prickled and she could feel her cheeks burning. “Very well. Show me the way, please, Jilly.”
The upstairs rooms were as small and intimate as those downstairs, but the front room was larger. It also faced the south and would receive sunlight through most of the day.
It was a modest house, but unlike the big house in Grosvenor Square, Anna felt safe here, just as she had in Elisa’s house.
She looked out over the street below, at the comforting light that issued from the houses across the way and the gas lamp just up the road. It was a peaceful street, full of domestic sounds and sights.
“Please, God, let me stay here forever,” she whispered very softly, then turned to where Jilly stood waiting and began to undress with her help.
There was a lace wrapper hanging over the back of the rocking chair in the corner and a nightgown lying over the top of it. The nightgown was an exotic silk the color of cornflowers, with no sleeves and a low neck. Anna could feel herself blushing just looking at it.
“Where did this come from?” she demanded.
“I believe Lady Elisa arranged for it to be ‘ere for you, Your Highness.”
“And that’s enough of the Highness, please, Jilly. I’m plain Mrs. Davies now, at least with you.”
“But you’re born royalty, ma’am,” Jilly pointed out, looking shocked.
“I’m beginning to understand that what you were born as doesn’t have to stay with you the rest of your life, not if you don’t want it to.”
“I don’t rightly know what you mean, ma’am.”
“I’m not entirely sure I know, either, Jilly. It’s just a silly idea I had.”
Finally, she was dressed in the wickedly soft and elegant nightgown. Jilly reached for the wrapper but Anna shook her head and felt her hair swish against her back through the silk. “No, the nightgown by itself is sufficient. It is warm up here.”
“Very well, ma’am.” Jilly gave her a small smile. “Good night, ma’am.”
Anna’s cheeks heated once more. “Thank you, Jilly.”
Jilly shut the door quietly and on the landing outside the bedroom, she heard Jilly wish Rhys goodnight and Rhys’ low rumble in return. Fingers seemed to slide up Anna’s spine and she shivered. Her breasts, wickedly bare beneath the silk, rubbed against the cloth. The tips tightened almost painfully and Anna remembered the way Rhys had played with them, using his mouth and his fingers. An echo of the almost overwhelm
ing excitement that his playing had produced touched her now and she shifted her feet on the rug, the flesh between her legs starting to pulse.
Rhys came in and shut the door behind him. He glanced at her, then reached back and turned the key, making the lock turn with a heavy sound of metal against metal.
Anna thought she might have laughed on any other occasion, but right now, she was too full of tension. All she could do to reward his humor was smile a little.
Rhys stood a pace or two inside the door, which put him mostly in shadow, for the lamps were on either side of the bed. In that light, his cheeks seemed almost hollow and his eyes were dark orbs. “You look…different.” His voice was low.
She glanced down at the silk. “You prefer trousers?”
“I like you in everything you wear, but this is new. This is…seductive.”
She touched the fabric nervously. “Because it is silk?”
“Because it makes the most of your curves.”
“So does a corset.”
“That wasn’t the curve I was referring to.”
She pressed her fingers to her chest, between her breasts, her heart lurching in an odd, happy way that made her blood fizz.
“Yes, that’s the curve I mean.” His tone said he was agreeing. He reached up and tugged on the white tie at his neck and it unraveled.
The action caught at Anna’s breath and stopped it, while her thoughts leapt onward. What would he remove next? Would he stop at all? Would she see him…unclothed?
That thought stopped her breath for a second time and she almost jumped at the nearly unbearable thrill that raced through her. She knew she could not stand more of it, not without moving.
She stepped forward. “Let me do that. You have no valet.”
“I am quite used to taking care of myself. I have never had a valet,” he pointed out, swiftly removing his collar pins.
“As it happens, I am familiar with how a man’s clothing unfastens, too,” she said.
He laughed and tossed the tie and collar onto the bureau that stood next to the door and held out his cuff. “Show me your expertise, then.”
Perilous Princess: A Sexy Historical Romance Page 9