Jeffrey sighed. “I wish I’d had some way to learn more about you before I wrote the book,” he whispered into her hair. “But given the circumstances, I am not sure how I could have managed it.”
Sighing in reply, Evangeline found herself allowing a wan smile. “You could have asked me to read a book with you,” she suggested with a hint of mischief.
Jeffrey smiled as he realized he would never have thought to use that tactic. “As opposed to asking you to join me on a ride in the park?” he countered.
Evangeline’s eyes widened. “I think not. My skirts would be covered in grass stains,” she accused, one eyebrow dancing.
“You minx!” he cried out in mock horror. “If only I’d known, I could have simply ruined you, and we could have avoided this entire book!”
Evangeline started to giggle, but the sound of a throat clearing brought them both back to standing on their own accord, their attention on the door to the parlor.
Jones stood in the hall, his dour face suggesting he was none too pleased to pay witness to their hug.
“I must take my leave of you,” Jeffrey announced loudly enough for the butler to hear. “But I shall return to take you for a ride in the park as promised. Good day, my lovely fiancée.” He bowed over her hand and planted a rather indecorous kiss on her knuckles as Evangeline gave him a curtsy.
“And to you, my love.”
Jeffrey took his leave of Rosemount House, a rather happy man. And Evangeline watched him go, thinking if there was to be a wedding the following week, she had best get started with some planning.
Chapter 53
Post Proposal
As promised, Jeffrey returned later that afternoon to take Evangeline for a ride in the park. When he saw his way to the parlor, he found his betrothed regarding the settee, one of her hands skimming over the top of the carved wood frame whilst her face took on a look of sadness. When she realized he stood on the threshold, however, a brilliant smile appeared. “Jeffrey!” she said as she hurried to him.
The baron met her halfway, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her head. “You act as if you didn’t expect me to return,” he accused with a grin. When he pulled away, he noted a hint of melancholy in Evangeline. “What is wrong?”
Evangeline angled her head, giving it a shake as she considered how to respond. “I was just saying good-bye, I suppose,” she murmured, one hand waving at the furnishings.
Jeffrey remembered Evangeline’s comments about her mother’s things, about what the next Countess of Everly might do with them once she was mistress of the house. “I would be most obliged if you would bring along any household items your brother will allow to Sommers Place,” he said in a soft voice.
Evangeline’s eyes widened in surprise. “You would ... you really want me to?” she asked, remembering just then her comments about the worn furnishings whilst they read in the parlor.
Jeffrey allowed a grin. “I do believe Sommers Place could do with a bit of charm, my lady. And I want you to be surrounded by all the things that are important to you.”
Even before he finished speaking, Evangeline wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, about to give up her hold on him but finding his arms suddenly locked around her waist. She left her arms where they were, angling her head as she regarded him.
Holding her pressed against the front of his body, Jeffrey closed his eyes when he saw hers were bright with unshed tears. “You really are satisfied with the simplest things, aren’t you?” he whispered on a sigh. When he finally opened his eyes, he found Evangeline’s cheek resting on his shoulder.
“Would you have me any other way?” Evangeline replied as she smiled, a blush of pink coloring her face.
Jeffrey took a deep breath and lifted a hand to cup her cheek. “As a matter of fact, yes, I would,” he said with a firm nod. When Evangeline’s eyebrows arched up, he added, “But I admit to a special fondness for this one.”
He barely had the words out before Evangeline’s lips were pressed against his. He had to suppress the sudden urge to chuckle at her response to his words, and then his manner sobered as he opened his mouth and allowed her to deepen the kiss, allowed her tongue to explore his mouth and tangle with his own tongue, allowed a moan to escape when he thought for a moment she was about to end the kiss. Pulling her harder against the front of his body and turning her so her back was to the door, he was the one who finally had to end the kiss, if for no other reason than he was suddenly aware they weren’t alone.
The sound of a throat being cleared had Evangeline’s eyes opening wide. With her back to the door, she had no idea who was witnessing her tête-á-tête with the baron. She was about to jerk away from Jeffrey to find out, but his hold on her had tightened, his hand moving from her cheek to around her shoulder in a protective hold.
“I admit to a great deal of relief in learning first-hand you’re marrying my sister because you feel affection for her and not because you’re in need of her dowry,” Harry Tennison stated as he leaned a shoulder against the parlor door jamb. He held the bowl of a pipe in one hand as the other rested on his hip. “Or because Grandby told you to.”
Jeffrey considered the earl’s words before finally giving the man a nod. “Had you been in London these past two weeks or allowed me the opportunity to ask permission, I could have assured you first-hand, and Grandby wouldn’t have felt it necessary to be involved at all,” he countered, his manner most serious.
The Earl of Everly nodded. “Touché,” he replied. He took a puff from the pipe and straightened, his manner suggesting he was bored. “As for household items, Eva ...” At the mention of her name, Evangeline finally looked over her shoulder at her brother. “You’re free to take anything you wish. Except for the fish and books, of course,” he said. “I expect whoever has the unenviable task of being my wife will want to replace most everything anyway.” This last was said with a hint of sadness, as if the earl didn’t expect to marry someone who felt affection for him – or have an appreciation for Rosemount’s older furnishings and accessories.
“Oh, but she won’t,” Evangeline said with a shake of her head. Still in her fiancé’s arms, she turned her body to better face her brother. “She’ll be delighted to live here when she’s not gallivanting all around the earth with you,” she added, thinking Lady Samantha would welcome the opportunity to travel, even if it meant living out-of-doors or without the comforts found in a typical house.
One of Harry’s eyebrows arched in surprise at his sister’s claim. “From your words, it’s apparent you already know who she is,” he said in bewilderment.
Evangeline allowed a smile. “Of course, I do,” she replied with a coy smile. She turned her attention to Jeffrey, who sported a look of confusion. “She’ll make a delightful sister,” she added, as if that would clear up any confusion.
At the sound of her brother’s sputtering, either because the pipe had grown too hot to hold or because he was surprised to hear there was a willing candidate to be his wife, Evangeline winked at her husband-to-be. “He is a smart man. I should think he will figure it out in due time.” With that, she took hold of Jeffrey’s hands and led him out of the parlor.
“Where are we off to?” Jeffrey wondered, giving the earl a shrug as he passed him.
Evangeline smiled. “You asked me for a ride in the park. It’s nearly the fashionable hour,” she replied happily.
Jeffrey chuckled as he checked his chronometer. “Indeed, my lady.” With that, they took their leave of Rosemount House for a ride in the park.
Later that night at White’s, when he sat at a card table with Lord Barrings, Sir Richard, and his future brother-in-law, Jeffrey Althorpe couldn’t help but notice the Earl of Torrington sitting in a wingback chair nearby. In a voice he intended Grandby to overhear, he mentioned h
aving had a rather memorable thirtieth birthday. “I have asked for the hand of a woman I have wanted to marry for some time, and she has agreed to be my wife,” he said proudly.
Two of the other gentlemen regarded him with looks of surprise. “You? Married?” Lord Barrings replied, his astonishment apparent in the way his eyebrows lifted.
“You make it sound as if you want to be leg-shackled,” Sir Richard stated, his own bushy eyebrows raised in surprise.
“Indeed? It’s too bad. I’d rather hoped you would consider my sister, Lady Evangeline,” Lord Everly stated sadly, his one eye winking in the baron’s direction. He picked up his cards and studied them, unaware of Sommers’ glare and the eyes he sent skyward.
“Who’s the unlucky chit?” Lord Barrings asked as he raised a cheroot to his lips.
“Pray tell,” Sir Richard encouraged.
Sommers sighed and shook his head. “Her identity, gentlemen, is known only to myself and to Grandby, who will be informing the brother involved,” he waved a hand toward the older earl, who acknowledged his comment with a nod. “Hopefully, tonight,” he added, wondering at Lord Everly’s claim to ignorance. “Oh, and the lady herself.”
He threw in his cards. “I’m reminded I need to purchase a bauble in Ludgate Hill,” he said to the surprised men at the table. With that, he left to pay a visit to Stedman and Vardon.
Still seated in the wingback chair nearby, the Earl of Torrington smiled.
Chapter 54
Farewell
Jeffrey Althorpe regarded his new brother-in-law with a curious expression. “Pray tell, brother. Why didn’t you tell the sharps at White’s that it was I who was to marry your sister?” he wondered, keeping his voice low amid the crowd of guests enjoying the wedding breakfast. The festively decorated backyard of Sommers Place was filled with a dozen tables surrounded by chairs filled with merry makers. Far more had been at St. George’s that morning, the spectacle of a ton wedding too promising to miss, especially one so quickly planned.
Harry Tennison, Earl of Everly gave a careless shrug. “Far better for the news to come from Grandby,” he replied, giving a curt nod in the direction of Lord and Lady Torrington as they passed by, arm-in-arm. “He’s been an especially attentive godfather to my sister,” he remarked.
“But, Eva’s your sister. Shouldn’t the announcement have been made by you?” Jeffrey countered. Just because the earl preferred spending his time in pursuit of flora and fauna far from England’s shores didn’t give him the right to shun his responsibilities as a brother.
The explorer gave his new brother-in-law another careless shrug. “Even better that it come from you, Sommers,” he said quietly. “It’s your story, after all,” he added before giving the baron a nod. “Or should I say, the story of Anonymous?” Everly paused a moment. “Take good care of her, Sommers, or you’ll have to answer to Grandby,” he warned with a teasing grin. Giving the baron a quick bow, the Earl of Everly took his leave of the festivities.
Jeffrey Althorpe watched in surprise as the earl made his way to the front of the house and disappeared. I’ll be damned, he thought as he shook his head. However did he know?
Before Jeffrey had a chance to rejoin the growing crowd around the breakfast tables, Evangeline moved to wrap her arm around his. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” she murmured, her eyes bright with amusement. “Or my brother. He just gave me his farewell,” she added, her manner becoming more sober.
“Me, too,” Jeffrey replied with a nod. He leaned over and kissed her temple, secretly glad her hat’s brim was so small.
“I was beginning to think they would never leave,” Jeffrey murmured as he took Evangeline’s hand and pulled her into his arms, a rather bold thing to do even if he was in his own home. Evangeline returned the hug, tempted to leave her head resting on his shoulder. Despite the clock having just chimed three, she felt as if she’d been up since dawn.
The wedding breakfast had been more a luncheon; by the time most of the wedding guests had made the trip from St. George’s to Sommers Place, it was nearly noon.
The servants had outdone themselves, having seen to the arrangement of several long tables and trestles on the back lawn, their white linen coverings the perfect backdrop for the riot of color featured in the hot house flowers that decorated them. Although Sommers Place could boast dinner settings to serve fifty guests, the day’s festivities required another twenty sets be brought over from Rosemount House. Crystal stemware and silver flatware reflected the brilliant rays of the sun, a welcome sight considering rain had been predicted by nearly everyone in attendance. And rightly so – after their guests enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of ham, eggs, kipper, rolls and toast, chocolate and a generous serving of the sugar-frosted wedding fruit cake and what seemed an endless supply of champagne, the clouds moved overhead and soon the heavens opened up. At the sight of the dark clouds, most guests took their leave. The rest departed under the protection of umbrellas and parasols, hurrying to their coaches with cries of congratulations and best wishes.
But before Ladies Julia and Samantha took their leave with Lord and Lady Chamberlain, Evangeline pulled them aside and slipped them each a sliver of the wedding cake wrapped in a napkin. “You know what to do,” she whispered with a grin.
Julia shook her head. “Something about sleeping with it under a pillow and dreaming of the man you’ll marry?” she wondered, not yet having had the opportunity to actually put the superstition into practice.
Samantha took the linen package in her gloved hands and gave a slight shake of her head. “I’ll put it under my pillow, of course, but I rather doubt I shall dream of a groom-to-be,” she replied in a quiet voice. “The only gentleman I ever seem to have visions of whilst I sleep is your brother,” she added with a roll of her eyes, as if dreaming of the earl was somehow an annoyance.
Evangeline allowed a slow grin to form. “I could not ask for a finer sister,” she said with an arched eyebrow.
Until her dying day, Evangeline would never forget the look on Samantha’s face as the girl considered her words, her eyes blinking and then widening in surprise. “Oh,” she breathed, as if she had never considered Harry Tennison anything more than her best friend’s brother. And then, arm-in-arm with Julia, Samantha had followed her aunt and uncle to their ancient town coach, the expression on her face one of stunned awe.
When Evangeline surveyed the grand hall, she realized everyone but the servants and her husband had left the house.
“Rain certainly has a way of driving people to their homes,” Evangeline remarked, her mischievous smile accompanied by an arched eyebrow as she regarded her new husband.
A parade of maids appeared from the backyard carrying urns and vases filled with the flowers that had decorated the tables. Each took them to a different room, distributing the fresh flowers so that Sommers Place was soon filled with their floral scent. Evangeline took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Before she opened them, Jeffrey moved to kiss her lips. “I could not help myself,” he whispered when Evangeline opened her eyes in surprise.
“I wouldn’t want you to,” she replied with a slight shake of her head. She lowered her head. “I know it is early, but ...” She sighed and angled her head. “Do you suppose we might ..?”
Jeffrey stilled himself. “Go to bed?” he finished for her, his words sounding a bit breathless. They would be leaving on their wedding trip to Devonshire in the morning, opting to remain at Sommers Place until then.
Evangeline nodded. “I don’t wish to seem ... wanton, but ...” She took a breath, her heart pounding so hard she was sure Jeffery could hear it.
“Oh, you can seem wanton whenever you wish,” Jeffrey replied, still a bit breathless. His brows furrowed. “Well, except if I’m not in the room, and then you cannot,” he stated, deciding to make the rule quite clear right then and there.
“I shan’t be,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Especially right now,” he added as he took her hand and led her up the steps to his bedchamber. “I know this is probably not how you imagined your wedding night,” he managed to get out before he pulled her into his room and shut the door behind them, turning the key in the lock. His lips suddenly found hers, fitting over her lips until they seemed to lock into place, the resulting kiss as much a continuation of what they had started below as part of the promise they had made to each other during the wedding ceremony only hours earlier.
“Oh, it’s very close,” Evangeline managed to get out before his lips captured hers again. Her back was to the door, his lips were traveling across her jaw and down her neck and into the hollow of her throat. “Except I didn’t imagine we’d get up the stairs,” she whispered, her breaths coming in short gasps.
Jeffrey paused in his ministrations, briefly lifting his head to regard her for a moment. “Where, then?” he managed to get out before revisiting her throat. Once he’d drawn the tip of his tongue across the hollow and felt her steady pulse, he moved his lips along the edge of her bodice.
Evangeline’s hands finally landed on either side of Jeffrey’s head, her fingers raking through his dark silken hair. “I thought maybe you’d take me in the library,” she whispered, a gasp ending her comment as Jeffrey’s teeth nipped at one of her swollen breasts.
The Story of a Baron (The Sisters of the Aristocracy) Page 28