by Julia Donner
When Leticia didn’t ask for the maid to accompany her, the girl frowned. Bainbridge sent her away with one of his scowls that terrified everyone. Leticia had always considered them overused and more comical than frightening.
The gentlemen stood when they entered. Both were clad in the latest fashion, neat as pins, in shining boots and precisely tied neckwear, a stark contrast to Bainbridge’s rumpled state. His boots carried a coat of drying mud. He’d managed to shrug on a jacket, but it had a button missing.
Freddy, the shorter of the two men approached. His sharp blue eyes sparkled with sly glee. This close, she noticed his swarthy complexion was roughened from old pitting scars. The damage somehow enhanced his face rather than detracting from it. His wide mouth sported a knowing smile that reminded her of Bainbridge’s warning.
When he stopped to bow and reached for her hand, Bainbridge pushed him back. “No, you don’t. This scoundrel is Freddy Bates.”
Not in the least offended, Freddy Bates grinned. “A pleasure to meet you. Please don’t allow this fellow’s rudeness to us to overset you. We’ve known each other since school days.”
Bainbridge made a rumbling noise in his chest that made his friend’s smile widen. When she silenced Bainbridge with a scolding glance, Bates said, “Don’t let that worry you. He’s forever growling about something. He dotes on portraying the meanest of characters. Always has, always will. We’ve accepted it as part of his charm.”
Bainbridge tugged her closer to his side, and jerked his head at the other man, also black-haired. He had uncomfortably clever eyes, dark as ebony that clashed with his alabaster skin. An aura of controlled tension surrounded him, and although he smiled at her with a beautifully shaped mouth, she sensed a sadness.
“He’s Carnall,” was Bainbridge’s introduction.
Leticia blinked and dipped a curtsey to both men. The man designated as Carnall said, “An honor, madam. May we know the rest of your name?”
For some reason, Bainbridge’s elegant friends—one taciturn and the other debonair—made her want to smile. The three men had widely differing personalities and yet enjoyed complete ease with the dissimilarity.
She curtsied again. “I am Leticia Jane Mary Elizabeth Carlton of Charhill Manor.”
With a twinkle in his eyes, Freddy Bates made a grand, sweeping gesture with his arm. “Will you join us, Miss Carlton? And just as this surly bear ordered, we had refreshments brought in for you. Will you serve?”
Leticia heard another muffled grumble from behind as she removed her gloves, took a seat at the table, and proceeded to pour. It was quickly explained by Freddy Bates that the man described as “carnal” was actually Dominic St. Charles, Marquess of Carnall.
Bainbridge refused to sit, but stood nearby, holding a fragile cup in his big hand. Mr. Bates, who acted as if the word discretion were not a part of his vocabulary, bluntly asked, “How may we assist you, for something tells me you are a child in distress and require rescuing. Stop snarling, Bainbridge. This isn’t about you.”
Leticia couldn’t quell the urge to tease the man with the wicked eyes. “No polite talk of the weather, sir? Nothing remotely social?”
Bates shook his mane of lovely, flyaway hair. “I saw you ride into the yard on that old gelding. You carried a small travel case and items collected in a cape. You are most definitely running away. How may we assist? Any of us would be happy to rent a carriage to more comfortably take you to your destination.”
“How very kind you are, but I haven’t any destination. As yet.”
With pretended gravity, Bates lowered his eyebrows and whispered, “Escaping cruel imprisonment in a tower?”
She pinched back a grin. “No, sir.”
Smirking at Bainbridge, he suggested, “Perhaps an intolerable overlord?”
Even though she’d been told over and over it was unladylike behavior, she wrinkled her nose. “That is a more accurate description of my unfortunate predicament.”
Bates leaned back in his chair, the sparkle of fun fading from his eyes. Carnall’s black eyebrows lowered. Concern replaced his air of aloof disinterest.
She felt Bainbridge move closer, for he moved quietly for a large man. His tanned hand set the cup on the tablecloth. In a voice lowered to a threatening rumble, Bainbridge asked, “Miss Leticia, has Caudill been in any way unkind?”
Chapter 3
Leticia looked around the room. She was sequestered with two men she didn’t know and a friend she hadn’t seen in years. The silence spoke loudly of the inappropriateness of her present situation, and yet, as sure as the steady throb of her heartbeat, she knew these men meant her no harm. They were the rarity, true gentlemen, as far from her cousins’ characters as the earth from the moon.
She fiddled with the gloves she’d removed and placed on her lap. “I suppose my plan must be to hide for another fifteen days.”
Leaning forward, Freddy Bates asked, “May I ask what happens then?”
“I shall be twenty and one. Cousin Henry will no longer have the ruling of me, and I won’t be expected to marry Cousin Joseph.”
“Unpleasant, is he?” Carnall asked.
She dithered about what to say regarding relatives and settled on the truth. “I have a more than respectable dowry. Cousin Joseph seeks to marry me to avail himself of it to satisfy his debts.” When they said nothing, no doubt due to the commonness of this practice, she added, “I will be frank. There is nothing conducive to a happy future with a spouse, who considers his wife unappealing in every way, except for the convenience of her fortune.”
She couldn’t see Bainbridge’s reaction but felt the thrum of his anger near her shoulder. Bates and Carnall revealed their disapproval with taut expressions and lowered gazes. Marriages of convenience were a fact of life in the aristocracy, but there were certain gentlemanly codes that must be respected. Disparaging a faultless female was considered very bad form.
Behind her, Bainbridge asked, “Is there someone else you would prefer to wed after you’ve reached majority?”
Leticia turned in her chair. “Bainbridge, would you please be seated? It’s like peering up at a mountaintop.”
He settled in the chair beside her. It creaked under his weight, as she answered, “No, sir. I am only thinking to the point of achieving personal freedom. If Cousin Henry catches up with me, I prefer not to be a part of such a disagreeable scene.”
Carnall sharply asked, “He wouldn’t hurt you, would he?”
“Not Cousin Henry. I doubt he has the will or wherewithal for that, but Cousin Joseph is a very different sort. When Cousin Joseph suggests, his brother complies.”
Bainbridge watched his fingertip chase a wrinkle across the tablecloth. “You say you have no one else in mind to marry?”
“No. I had planned to wait for my parents to return. It was their wish for me to have an education before making any decisions about my future. I’ve had no come-out, have never been away from Charhill except to school.”
She felt the focus and silence of the other men, as Bainbridge continued, his gaze still on the constantly readjusting wrinkle. “Your parents, they never mentioned anyone’s suit?”
“That was six years ago. I was deemed too young to be involved in the discussion.”
Carnall interjected, “I take it that you and Bainbridge were both well-acquainted before today.”
She answered, “Our families have lived as neighbors for centuries. Our properties border. Bainbridge put me on my first pony.” She turned back to Bainbridge. “Which reminds me, you promised me a horse when I left the classroom. Where is it, sir?”
Bainbridge said, “I sent a message that one was trained for you. No reply.”
Before she could answer, Bates interrupted. “Shouldn’t we get back to the problem at hand?”
Leticia’s shoulders sagged. “Must we? It’s so disagreeable. It’s more amusing to talk about horses.”
Carnall said, “Disagreeable or no, if you live in this district, your
family will be out looking for you by now. Did you leave a note?”
She made a disgusted noise. “Sir, I am not entirely without sense. I most certainly did not leave a note, not even to my dearest Taffy.”
“Your companion?” Bates asked.
“No. She was my nurse and now acts as housekeeper. Poor dear must be worried, which cannot be helped. I wouldn’t want her to lie for me, but that is neither here nor there. I must be on my way.”
Before she could stand, Bainbridge laid his hand over hers. “What if there is another way?”
She exhaled a dejected sigh. “I’ve tried to think my way out of this coil since yesterday and have come up with nothing. Once I reach majority, Cousin Henry will still be trustee over my property but not my person. If you or your friends have anything to suggest, I will gladly consider it.”
Bainbridge kept his attention on the tabletop as he said, “You could marry me.”
Chapter 4
Bainbridge held his breath. The silence made his flesh tighten. He sensed his friends’ shock. Beside him, Leticia stared at him with eyes that reminded him of a startled doe’s.
She changed so much between meetings. He remembered the day of her birth, looking down at a red-faced, squalling baby. He’d been only eleven at the time and appalled by the noise.
As a child, she’d been chubby, courageous, and full of laughter. He’d loved the sound of it rolling and bubbling out of her as she rode around him on a lunge-line, her first-time pony ride. For such a round, awkward child, she’d had an instant, perfect seat and hands as light as feathers on the reins. Born to the saddle. He’d been so proud of her.
She’d slimmed down quite a bit by the time she was old enough for seminary. He’d been invited to a dinner party to send off her parents to Canada. Leticia had worn a gown of white with a green bow under her bosom. That was the day he discovered that he had a preference for females with pillowy figures. He’d only been with slender women, one with regularity the last years, but after seeing Leticia in her grown-up gown, he decided there was something inexplicably welcoming about all those soft curves. And freckles, like the ones dancing across her nose and cheeks that always made him smile. Most of all, he loved her hair, russet-red and glowing gold under the sun or candlelight.
Awkward silence reminded him that he stared at Leticia, waiting for her response to words that had only been a wishful idea but had flown out of his mouth before he could stop them. What had possessed him? How could she ever want a cloddish giant for a husband? What if he became like his father? No, he wouldn’t let that happen, but what would she think of him if she ever discovered his secret? Shame burned his face and neck. He cleared his throat but couldn’t think of what to say next.
Freddy, rarely at a loss for words, blurted, “I say, Bainbridge, that’s a rather abrupt proposal, but certainly not unthinkable, when one takes into account the alternatives.”
Bainbridge curbed the reflexive urge to backhand Freddy out of his chair. He cleared his throat again and tried to sound more like the soul of reason rather than a whining supplicant. “I gather that you were never told that my father discussed a marriage between us with your parents.”
She shook her head, her lips flattened into a line with the mention of his father. Hardly surprising, that. The man had been so despised that it was unwise to evoke any memory of the reviled brute.
Bainbridge cursed his stupidity and distracted her by nudging one of her fingertips with his own. “Miss Leticia, I believe it was as you said earlier. Your parents didn’t wish to pursue the idea or say anything to you until you were out of seminary.”
He wished he knew her thoughts as she stared where their hands touched, her fingers, so small next to his, her nails so perfectly oval and pink. He squashed the urge to lift them to his mouth. Heat rushed up his neck and flushed his face.
She slowly withdrew her hand. “Bainbridge, Geoffrey, how very kind you are, but I can’t take advantage of such generosity.”
He started to reach for her hand again then pulled back. “Not generosity. It makes sense. Our parents liked the idea. But be assured, I wouldn’t take the fells from you. They must stay yours.”
That brought back her smile. “You know me so well, and yes, it would make sense. Our families have been marrying each other for hundreds of years, although it wouldn’t be the best match for you.”
“Not so, miss. Think on it, your fells and my forests. And it might keep me from bashing in the heads of your cousins. They’d be relatives when we married.”
She said with a playful scowl, “You really don’t mean to bash in their heads, do you?”
Freddy merrily interrupted, “Lud, Miss Leticia, of a certainty, he would. Even I would love to give them a taste of my fives. So would Carnall. Can’t threaten females with such disregard to their finer feelings. Zounds, your cousins can count themselves lucky if Bainbridge doesn’t dismember them. I say, this marriage thing is beginning to sound like a trumping good idea. I’ve never heard you say so much all at one time, Bainbridge. She must bring out the best in you. Excellent choice, old fellow.” He lifted his teacup. “Here’s to the firstborn.”
Bainbridge growled, “Stubble it, Freddy. You’re not helping.”
But Freddy was now firmly caught up in the idea. “What you need is a license. I say, isn’t this your parish? Roust out the parson. Wait the few weeks until she’s of age and marry in the chapel. Easy as anything.”
Carnall interrupted, “None of you are thinking clearly.” Bainbridge, who’d been enjoying a moment of hope from Freddy’s enthusiasm, suffered a queasy wash of discouragement until Carnall continued, “You can’t get the license here. Her cousins will hear about it directly. A special one is what’s needed. She’ll be of age before they can arrange for an annulment.”
“Excellent!” Freddy added, slapping his palm on the table for emphasis. “And I know precisely how to get one with the least fuss. Have a five pound note on you, Bainbridge?”
Leticia gaped at them and sputtered, “I haven’t said yes!”
Freddy brushed that off with a wave of his hand. “The veriest nothing of impediments. And that reminds me, you could never have the ceremony here in the regular way. The preacher would insist on announcing the banns and that would bring down on us the plaguey cousins. Assuming they’re still in possession of their heads after Bainbridge is done with them. No, you’re quite right, Carnall. It must be the special license.”
“Sirs, “ Leticia attempted to insert, but Freddy rolled over her protest. “There’s your answer, Bainbridge, and I’ll put it to Lady Asterly when I’m back in town. She’ll have it sorted out in a trice.”
Bainbridge shifted in his seat. A wave of discomfort came with the mention of Lord Asterly’s clever wife. He didn’t like the idea of disturbing her or anything that might cause Lady Asterly to change her good opinion of him.
“Hold on, Freddy. I don’t know that we should be bothering Lady Asterly.”
“Blast it, man, the woman has the highest regard for you. After what you did for her and Peregrine, she’d move the earth and sky to make you happy. Let her handle it. She adores fixing things. I say, Miss Leticia, I’d wager she could make your cousins disappear for the next few weeks until you come of age.”
Carnall murmured, “So much is said about Lady Asterly. I’m quite anxious to meet her. You will provide an introduction, won’t you, Freddy?”
“She’ll adore your Irish defiance and be delighted to hear of Bainbridge getting leg-shackled. She’ll no doubt think the marriage will spur him into finally showing his face in the House and want to use him to further her own causes.”
Bainbridge flinched when Leticia cut through the chatter with an unfamiliar sharpness in her tone. “Gentlemen, if you please.” When all attention turned to her, she quietly said, “This is not a funning matter.”
Bainbridge glared into submission the two men he had once called his friends. Then, doing what he could to mask his humiliation, sai
d, “Begging your pardon, Miss Leticia, I should never have suggested such a thing. Please, think no more about it.”
She turned to face him, studying him with gentle brown eyes and a smile on sweetly pink lips. “But I have considered it. What you offer makes sense, but I wouldn’t wish you to throw away any hopes you might have with another lady.”
Before his bounding heart had a chance to wreak havoc inside his head and spout something idiotic, he replied, enunciating each word, “There is no one else.”
Freddy leaned forward to give advice in a hissing whisper, “Bainbridge, on your knee, you idiot!”
Bainbridge shoved back his chair and knelt. He took her right hand in his oversized paw and pressed his kneecaps into the hardwood planking to keep himself from shaking. “Miss Carlton, would you do me the great honor of becoming Countess Bainbridge?”
Her lovely eyes filled with worry. “You’re sure, Geoffrey?”
He carefully squeezed her hand. “If you please.”
When she nodded, Freddy hooted, “Huzzah! That’s enough to be married in Scotland!”
Bainbridge felt the smile leave his mouth. He glared at Freddy over his shoulder. “But not here, and I’d be obliged if one of you got that license posthaste.”
Chapter 5
While the men devised their plan of action, Leticia sat in her chair numbed by the decision she’d made. She’d agreed in front of witnesses. It wasn’t a question of trusting Bainbridge or even marrying him. She’d known since leaving in the middle of the night that resolving her situation wouldn’t be a simple matter. She had to stay out of the clutches of her cousins until her birthday arrived. Hiding or seeking a male protector seemed a possible solution, and she had considered going to Bainbridge. She couldn’t imagine her cousins confronting the earl. She couldn’t imagine an army going up against him.