His Michaelmas Mistress

by Marly Mathews

  “You make me sound like a fire breathing dragon, Freddie. When you want to be, you can be quite stubborn. I shan’t be ruling over you with an iron first. It will be an equal marriage, and for that I am grateful. That is why I fell in love with you. You’ve never looked down at women. You have never treated me as if I am inferior to you.”

  He sighed. “I love you for your all of your strengths, Julia. We will play the part of the bride and groom for a little longer, and then, then, I want us to play the part of man and wife.”

  “Husband and wife,” she corrected.

  “Husband and wife,” he agreed.

  Life with Julia wasn’t going to be dull, of that much he could count on.

  He had been raised in the slums. Worked his arse off to get out of that situation, and had found his destiny in the Army. The Army had given him so much. It had given him The Angels of Death, and friendships that would never die.

  Knowing Micah had brought him to Wiltshire, where he’d met and fallen in love with Julia. Finding out that he was a duke’s son was something he’d never seen coming, and if he hadn’t had Julia by his side, he probably wouldn’t have handled it so well.

  He would never be far away from the man he’d once been.

  Mouse couldn’t die, so Frederick Hamilton could live.

  Julia wished she hadn’t made Freddie do this. She wanted to leave and have what they had been desiring for far too long.

  “Why don’t we leave now?” she whispered, as the dancing continued.

  “Thank God,” he said.

  She watched as Ruby danced again with Tobias. They made a charming couple, but then again, Richard looked a little smitten as well. It would be fascinating to see which man would emerge the victor for Ruby’s hand. If she had to make a wager on it, she would bet on Tobias, because her brother…well, her brother had never fought for anything in his life, and she doubted he would start now.

  She and Freddie rode back to Wilton Park in silence. They didn’t need words. They sat opposite each other, and the hunger in their gazes was good enough to communicate what they both wanted—what they both needed.

  When they arrived at Wilton Park, she threw open the carriage door, and dashed down to the steps. Racing into the house, she turned back and breathlessly confronted Freddie.

  “If you want me, my lord, you shall have to catch me first.” With a delighted laugh, she turned back around and hurried up the steps to their bedchamber. Freddie couldn’t be but two paces behind her, and she knew he had to be holding himself back so she could feel as if she had given him a good chase.

  Once she reached their bedchamber, she opened the door, and had it almost closed, when he blocked her from doing so. With his superior strength, he pushed the door open and sent her reeling backward. She was having great fun, and by the look on his face, so was he.

  “I think, sir, that you have me cornered,” she declared saucily.

  His blue eyes had deepened to that lovely lavender shade, and they sparkled with good humour.

  “And this time, my lady wife, you shall not escape me. You are mine, Lady Knightwick.”

  She ran around to the other side of the bed, and looked at him tauntingly.

  “You shall have to disarm me first, Lord Knightwick.”

  “I think you will find that disarming me shall take a little while longer,” he said, with a wolfish grin. He darted around the bed, and had her cornered. With a sigh, she collapsed against the mattress, as he bore down upon her.

  Freddie ran his hand up her dress, and as he’d taken off his gloves, his bare hand against her skin made her shiver with delight.

  He unfasted the dagger holster, and tossed it aside.

  “Now, do you want me to disarm me?” he asked playfully, backing away from her and swaggering over to a nearby chair. “I warn you, my lady, I am a walking armoury.”

  “Nay, you are a walking, Mouse,” she proclaimed, coming to kneel by his knee. She rested her hand on his lap, and sighed contentedly. “We can do whatever we want now, Freddie. There is nothing holding us back. You can ruin me as you have always wanted to do. You can show me all of the skills you have learned throughout your many years of pleasuring ladies,” she said scandalously, her heart racing.

  “And yet,” he said, cupping her face with his large right hand. “You are the only one I have ever loved.”

  Julia’s heart thrilled at his confession. “I should probably start disarming you,” she said, attempting to pull of his boot.

  He laughed, and helped her with it.

  “You think you’re high and mighty, Julia, but you’re just a little bit of a thing next to me.”

  “And yet, I have never felt safer,” she said.

  “Ah, hell. I have no patience,” Freddie muttered. “I don’t think I can wait for you to disarm me, Julia, so I shall help you along with your task.” He started to set aside daggers, and pistols of all sizes.

  She watched, as he carefully placed them on a table, and then stood up. He had taken off his tailcoat and his waistcoat, and only his white shirt remained, as he’d tossed aside his cravat as well.

  “The servants shall have a devil of a time cleaning up after us tomorrow, and some of them have barely gotten used to their jobs, and some…well, some are on loan to us from Castleton Court. We can’t do that to them.”

  “Devil take the servants,” he said huskily, sweeping her up into his brawny arms again. She could never quite get over how strong he was. Freddie was the largest man she had ever seen…and sometimes, he reminded her of a bear.

  A great big gentle bear, who was capable of deadly deeds, if pushed hard enough. The thought that he belonged to her, his heart, his body and his soul, quite undid her.

  “You are all mine,” she said lovingly. “All of you, your heart, your soul, and now your body.”

  “Damn straight,” he said, kissing her hungrily.

  She parted from him, and looked searchingly up into his eyes.

  “Swear to me that from this day forward, I will be the only woman for you. No more brothels, Freddie. No more Birds of Paradise.”

  “How could I possibly think of the women that work in those establishments when I have something as passionate and as beautiful as you waiting for me at home?”

  “You haven’t even bedded me yet, Freddie. How do you know you shall like what I have to offer?”

  “I know,” he growled.

  “Wives are their husband’s possessions. I just want to make it clear that you are mine as well, and if I ever think you have taken another woman to your bed…”

  “What shall you do, darling?”

  “I shall make you suffer most terribly.”

  “Of that I have no doubt,” he said solemnly. “Can I claim you now?”

  “You can have all of me,” she whispered, throwing her arms around his neck.

  He sighed. “All of you…I don’t think I shall ever have enough of you, Julia. You are my angel. You make all of the hell I have been through, seem worth it.”

  She smiled. “That is a grand compliment, Freddie. I love you, forever and always.”

  “And I you. You won’t ever have to worry about me straying, Julia. I am a man of honour, and you can take me at my word.”

  “I know, Freddie. That is why I married you. But hearing you proclaim it, makes my heart soar.”

  He grinned madly, and claimed her lips again. And then, he carried her to their bed, and made her his wife.

  The next morning came far too fast for Julia’s taste. Her first night with Freddie had been quite the experience. She only hoped he wasn’t disappointed with her.

  She sat listening to his even breathing, as sunlight slashed through the room, and danced off every piece of furniture. Someone should have pulled the curtains shut last night, and she winced as a ray of sunlight hit her nose and stayed there. She would either have to detangle herself from Freddie, and walk over naked to shut the curtains, or hope that Freddie would wake up and do it for her. Th
ey had locked their door, so there was no way they would have someone interrupting them before they were ready.

  She sniffed, as dust tickled her nose, and quickly pulled out of his embrace just before she sneezed.

  “That’s one of the reasons I love you, Julia. No delicate held in sneezes from you,” he said. “The mates and I have always agreed that we didn’t want wives like that.”

  She laughed. “I have never heard that reason given before.” She snuggled back into his embrace, and rested her head against his chest.

  “You will do,” he murmured sleepily.

  “I beg your pardon?” she whispered.

  “I said, you will do.”

  “And what pray tell, do you mean by that, sir?”

  “You wondered if you would pass muster with me.”

  She sat up and looked down at him incredulously. Grabbing a hold of her pillow, she smacked him with it.

  His eyes danced merrily, telling her he was in jest.

  “It is a good thing you are joking, Freddie, or you would have been in dire trouble.”

  “Oh, I would, would I?”

  “Aye,” she whispered.

  “You can feel free to do that again,” he said, his eyes hungrily feasting on her. She realized too late that she’d sat up with nothing pulled up around her, and she was quite exposed.

  She slipped back under the bedclothes.

  “Ah, now, you didn’t have to do that,” he said forlornly. “I like you better without anything covering your beautiful body.”

  “But only within the confines of this room,” she said.

  “That goes without saying,” he said.

  “I wish we didn’t have to go to The Michaelmas Ball,” she sighed. “I would like to start our honeymoon without any delay.”

  “You already gave your word,” Freddie pointed out. “And besides, I want to see Ruby trying to hide during it.”

  “You shouldn’t make fun, Freddie,” Julia sighed. “She has a hard time around men. I haven’t the faintest idea why. It’s not like she needs to hide.”

  “She might not have much choice at the Ball, as Lucky has taken a fancy to her.”

  “Lucky?” she asked. “I…he…well…”

  “And what is the matter with Lucky?” he asked, feigning indignation.

  “Well, Lucky doesn’t seem as if he’d be inclined to look at Ruby, and don’t look at me like that, Ruby said it herself. She said that he was such a devilishly dashing man that she feared there was no way someone like her could charm his sensibilities. And she also worried that he had a dangerous quality to him.”

  “Lucky? Dangerous?” he laughed. “Maybe to other men, but never to the fair sex.”

  “I told her that. I told her to set her eyes on either Lucky or Tiny, seeing as they are well set financially, and wouldn’t be looking for a dowry. She told me she’d have to aim for Tiny, as Lucky was far too handsome for her.”

  He chuckled. “You’ll have to tell Lucky that. He ain’t vain, you know. He honestly doesn’t realize how he can turn the ladies heads. Of course when he goes to London, he does know how to use his natural charm to his benefit. He usually gets the prettiest…” Freddie’s face went bright red, and he looked as if he’d just stepped in something messy.

  “Prettiest, what?” she prodded.

  He sighed heavily and winced. “The prettiest ladies who offer their wares for a certain price,” he said reluctantly.

  “I see,” she said. “Well, I think we should keep that sort of discussion out of the way from now on.”

  “Aye,” he said. “I think you are quite right.”

  “Mayhap, you should put on your matchmaking hat and throw the two of them together,” Julia suggested.

  “I will…if I can find Ruby.” They both laughed. “Now…now, let’s not talk about anyone else. We still have lots of time to spend in this bed.”

  She sighed deliciously, as Freddie kissed her. “I suppose you are more than happy to teach me everything I need to know,” she murmured.

  “Oh, indeed. Tis no trouble at all,” he said, hitting her ticklish spot, and making her laugh. She had it all…now she wanted to see that others had their own happily ever after.

  *****

  The orchestra played while couples took to the dance floor, and Julia searched the crowd for Ruby. She had sent Freddie to find Lucky, and he hadn’t returned yet. She found Ruby sitting with the widows and single ladies.

  “Ruby, come with me now,” Julia said, looking around, as her eyes caught sight of Cedric Wisdom with John Wilson and James Newson.

  “Have they approached you yet, Ruby?” she asked.

  “I haven’t let them. I keep running away from them…and the Duke of Stoneleigh asked me to dance, but I told him that I didn’t feel that well, and then, Freddie’s father asked me for a turn, and I somehow managed enough nerve to turn him down as well, and then Hamish Anderson asked me to dance, or at least, I think he asked me to dance, but I told him I didn’t feel well either. And Lord Evesham asked me, and I was going to accept him, as he is such a nice young lad, but he kept furtively trying to catch Lady Ann Hardwicke’s eyes, so I don’t think he is actually interested in me. So then, I decided to come and sit here with these lovely ladies so no other man would want to approach me.”

  “Oh, Ruby. You have to dance with one of them, at least. You can’t hide away forever.”

  “But can’t I try?” she asked, in a small voice.

  “No, you can’t try,” Julia chuckled. “Look at Uncle Edward and Aunt Alice, they want us all to have a good time, and you know, if you don’t accept a dance from one of the men who have asked for one, I could always go and enlist your Uncle Thomas’s help.”

  “You wouldn’t dare. You can’t abide him.”

  “He has been growing on me,” she said.

  “You have gotten bolder since you married Freddie,” Ruby said sullenly.

  “Aye, and I have become a better woman, I think. I had hoped that my brother would show an interest in you, but I don’t think he will. I only hope that some girl bewitches him at some point, but he’s not the one who has to live with an overbearing mother…or is he?” she laughed. “Anyway, you said yourself that the man your mother has her heart set on you marrying is someone you can’t abide, so why not take the choice away from her and pick someone on your own terms?”

  “I can’t. No one will have me without a dowry, and I heard Uncle Thomas the other night saying that he’d tried to give me one. Mama won’t have any of it. She befogs me, Julia, she really does. She will take Uncle’s money for her own comfort, but she shan’t take it for me. She thinks I should marry the Rector of our local church and settle down with him, and I won’t do that. I told you he was horrid, and he is. So, I am doomed. No one shall possibly want me without that dowry.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Julia said, spotting Freddie walking their way with Lucky.

  Ruby followed her gaze. “Oh, no. I won’t take your charity, Julia. Don’t put poor Lord Prescott on the spot by asking him to do a favour for you and dancing with me. I don’t want to feel like a charity case. I am too proud for that.”

  “Would you believe that he has his heart set on you? I expect he doesn’t think that a girl like you would have him, after all.”

  “A girl like me? Whatever for?”

  “I don’t know…why don’t you go and ask him, Ruby?”

  “Oh, no. Heavens, no. I can’t do that.” She stood up quickly, and the other women sitting with Ruby let out dismayed sighs, as they left. Julia smiled. The older ladies been getting awfully entertained by their civil whiskers.

  She pursued Ruby and met up with Freddie. He took her hand, and pulled her aside.

  “Leave them be. It looks as if Lucky is going to have to do all of the work. Ruby isn’t going to be an easy lady to catch.”

  “And I was?” she asked.

  “Oh, no, sweetheart. You were a challenge as well, and you were well worth it.”
>
  “You weren’t so easy to catch either, Freddie.”

  He grinned widely at her, and then his eyes went to his father. “He is not going to leave anytime soon. I keep telling him to go back to Scotland to attend to his affairs there…”

  “I don’t think he’s going anywhere without you, Freddie,” she sighed. “Someway, we shall figure out what to do.”

  “As long as you are by my side, I don’t care where we have to go.”

  She smiled. “I feel the same way. I had my heart set on spending Christmas here in Wiltshire…”

  “Then, we shall.”

  “And don’t you think your father wants to be home in Scotland?”

  “He told me that he thought he might spend Christmas in London this year. And besides, he might want to find himself another wife now that he knows he’s a widower,” Freddie remarked.

  “If you think he can have another son and you won’t have to be his heir…”

  “No…” he sighed. “Doc and Mole have already explained that all to me. But maybe…maybe if he had someone else to occupy his time, he’d forget about me.”

  “I don’t think that’s possible, Freddie. He has been searching for you, his whole life, I don’t think you’re going to have such an easy time being rid of him, and why would you want to? He is a good man, and from what I have seen, he is better than most at this fathering business.”

  “As always, Julia, you are quite right. So, my beloved wife, why don’t we go and show the other couples what fine dancers we are? It looks as if they’re readying themselves for the fandango,” he said, as couples started to arrange themselves on the dance floor. Julia looked anxiously at Ruby. “And Clarence has finally convinced Lady Ann to dance with him. Ruby will be fine, Julia, stop fretting. She is a grown woman, and you worry too much. Maybe I need to take you away from this place, and occupy your mind with something else. Pray, don’t fret. Ruby isn’t as delicate as you think.”

  “I…” she sighed, “I suppose you are right. And, aye, why don’t we go and become the envy of everyone else who dances with two left feet?”