Before they would say anything, he swept them both into his arms and hugged them. His precious ones. They had never made him feel as though he would have been better off with male children. They had always been everything. His heirs, his princesses.
“Do not apologise for your hearts. They did no wrong. You have my blessings. All of you, to marry whomever your heart wishes for. These are good men, and I have no doubts that they would do right by you.”
They held on tightly to him, and he knew he had made the right decision. Now, just one more thing was left to do. As if on cue, Alan and Regina stepped in, at that moment.
“This certainly looks like a happy place. I hope you do not mind if we join?” The smile could be heard in the female voice, and he recognised it instantly.
As soon as he released his hold on the girls, and they did the same, they all turned to look at the son and mother with big smiles on their faces.
“Alan!” Agnes screamed, then she was running to him. in a flash, she flung herself into his open arms, and he caught her. Their embrace brimmed with the love they felt for each other, and as Alan’s eyes fluttered closed, Williams wondered how anyone would have thought to deny these children of something so clearly profound and beautiful. No wonder his daughter ailed. To live without such love, it was a grave punishment.
The lovers finally pulled apart, and his eyes met Alan’s. The young man’s smile faltered for a bit. “We received a letter, requesting that we came to the Birmingham residence. It had your heirloom,” he announced as he revealed a signet ring which belonged to Williams.
“Yes. I had it delivered,” he replied, keeping his smile on. As soon as Lackley had confirmed Benjamin’s words, Benjamin had suggested that they wrote to the Sheldons. After all, since all was coming to an end, they deserved apologies. Williams had agreed, and since he had not been with his seal, he had asked Lackley to draft a letter. His signet ring had been added to prove his identity, and a messenger had been sent to the inn where Alan had been hiding.
“I suggest we all have our seats. This might take a while.”
They all did just that, except for Williams. He remained standing as Eleanor and Nicholas sat by each other. Then, Benjamin and Isabelle, and Alan and Agnes. They all looked so perfectly suited for each other, and at that moment, he knew what he was about to do was the best deed he would ever accomplish in his entire existence.
Then he began. First, he offered his sincerest apologies to Alan and Regina. Thankfully, they accepted graciously. Then, he gave his blessings to Alan and Agnes, just as he did to Nicholas and Eleanor. On a note of teasing, he added, “Benjamin, you too have my blessings.”
Like he had suspected, Isabelle was quick to respond in denial. “We do not love each other, Father. It was all just a ruse.”
“That, is a lie,” Benjamin interjected. “You are crazy about me, Isabelle.”
“I had hoped you had been cured from your day dreaming malady. What a pity!” she retorted, and everyone dissolved into fits of giggles.
When they finally recovered, Victoria dared to speak. “What will happen to the wedding I have planned? It is only a week away! All has been set!”
It was Nicholas who responded, yet his eyes never left Eleanor. “I am ready to get married. I only need her to say yes.”
Everyone’s breath held as she searched his eyes, and after what seemed like an eternity, she replied, “Only if I get a gold band with amethyst stones.”
Silence reigned still, as he began to look for something. Then, he produced a bracelet that stole their breaths away with its beauty. Eleanor gasped as he slipped it onto her wrist.
“I hope that this will suffice, for now. It does bring out the colour in your eyes. So, what do you reckon? Will you make me even happier than I am now, and say yes to spending the rest of our lives, together?”
A tear dropped from her eyes as she nodded. “Yes!”
Cheers erupted then, and congratulations flowed as they locked lips. Even Victoria seemed genuinely happy. As soon as they ended their kiss, Isabelle chimed, “Oh! I know it! Why don’t we have a double wedding? Agnes, you, and Alan can get married on the same day! The wedding is big enough for two couples, anyway.”
Agnes and Alan looked at each other, and the moment they made the decision was apparent, even though no words were said. It was Agnes who made the affirmation.
“It would be a delight, to share such a beautiful, special day, with my little pumpkin.”
Cheers erupted again and this time, rang for what seemed like ages, every heart, filled with joy.
Chapter 37
After their guests left, Victoria decided it was time she spoke to her daughters. In truth, she was having a difficult time getting herself to feel remorse for her actions. She still believed what she had done what was right – what any mother would do, given the circumstance. However, she could not deny that she had gone too far. Seeing her daughters with the men who made them glow like the morning sun, it had caused her to feel some sort of way. They had looked happy, had radiated with a joy that laid within. She did not think she had ever seen them so happy. Eleanor and Nicholas? Who would have thought? She never did suspect a thing. To think that they had remained two steps ahead of her all the time she had thought she was leading the game. Indeed, she felt begrudged at having lost at this, but knowing that her daughters were now truly happy, it was beginning to feel less like a loss as the minutes passed.
So what, Agnes was going to be married to a merchant? That was not entirely awful. Not now that she thought of it with her desire to see her daughters married to titled men, bridled. Alan was wealthy in his own rights. From a respectable lineage, no less. Their marriage would be accepted by the society, no doubt. Especially with such a grand wedding to distract and keep tongues from wagging. He would care for Agnes, she would never want. Eleanor and Nicholas would be fine, of that, she was entirely certain. If what she read between Benjamin and Isabelle was true, they weren’t far behind either.
It was too bad that things had had to blow up in her face to realise all of this. Seeing Williams at Lackley’s, so angry at her, had chilled her to her bones. For the first time since she married Williams, she had truly feared that she would lose his regard, his love, and fall out of his good graces. He had given her such a free rein; this could not be denied. She would be disillusioned to think that she had any power he had not given her. He loved her, and she had used this to her advantage, continued her ways while he turned his face. Of course, she was not about to have such a quick change of heart; she still had her core beliefs about how everyone should behave according to their places in the society, but perhaps, she could begin to adjust a bit. Slowly, but surely. She had to if she must get back into the good graces of her husband. Contrary to what many people thought, she wasn’t entirely cold-hearted. She loved Williams, dearly. Would always love him. He was kind, was noble by blood and at heart. Such men were rare. She would not lose him. When he had let her hold his hands in the carriage, she had been given hope. That hope was what she had to hold on to. She must, and she would.
Then of course, she had to right things with her daughters. They had all but acted like she did not exist all day. That was only to be expected, of course. She had locked them in, in their own father’s house! Yes, she had been thinking. Would she do it again? Certainly not, but only because she now knew better. She had simply wanted to stop them from going for the secret wedding. No harm would have come to them. And Alan … she had damned nearly ruined his prestige, his life’s hard work. His crime only that he loved her daughter and dared to go against her. She should feel ashamed of herself, and she would, in time. Victoria Birmingham was a woman made of steel, and steel was often not easy to break. Yet, he was going to be her son-in-law. He too, alongside his mother whom she never really cared for, deserved an apology from her. She had to make all these right. If not for anything else, at least, to prove her change of heart to Williams.
She reached the door to A
gnes’s chambers where she knew all the girls were and paused. She was not one to offer apologies. This would not come easily, but she had to try. She raised her hand, fisted and poised. She loved her daughters. A wonderful relationship had to be fostered with them, especially now that they were getting married and would soon leave her home. Above Williams, she had to make this right, for her, for them. With that decision made, she took a deep breath and finally proceeded to rasp two sharp knocks against the door. Their chatter which had been carried to her by air stopped immediately, and she knew they were listening to know if they had heard right. She knocked again, and this time, Agnes called out, “Who is it?”
“Girls, it is I, your mother. May I come in?”
There was a long pause, and she feared she may never be let in. just as she was about to give up hope, Agnes called again.
“You may enter.”
She wasted no time in opening the door and stepping in. Just as she had thought, she found the sisters on the four-poster bed, huddled together. Head high, shoulders squared, and spine straightened for she never slumped, she closed the door behind her and began to advance towards them.
Eleanor watched her mother approach with mixed feelings. That was all she had felt towards her mother ever since that day – right here in Agnes’s room, when Isabelle told them of her plans to sabotage their happiness, up to the moment she had locked them up in the drawing room. Agnes had been beside herself with anger; Isabelle had appeared seemingly unperturbed, but she had not quite known what to feel. Somehow, a part of her had found it believable that her mother would go to such lengths. That part of her understood why she would. Victoria was selfish. She did not comprehend the act of selflessness. Everything she did, she did for herself, her gain, in the ways she fancied, for the reason she thought best. It was not hard to picture such a person doing all the things she had done. Yet, while she could understand, she also wondered how a mother could so powerfully go against the children she was supposed to love and care for. After all, one quality of a mother was selflessness. Where had hers gone wrong?
She managed a small smile as Victoria drew a chair to sit in front of them. She supposed she had her to thank, regardless of how things had gone. They had ended well, above all. She looked at the bracelet on her wrist, and a bigger smile stole across her face. He had remembered, had gotten this very thoughtful gift for her as a promise of his love, and she was going to be married to him. Nicholas, the only man she had ever loved, the only man she was certain she would ever love. It sounded like a truly heroic story to her. To think that he had rescued them from captivity. What a wonderful fairy tale. She sighed in daydreams and everyone turned to look at her. Her eyes widened as her cheeks flushed.
“My apologies. Did I disrupt anything?”
It was Isabelle who answered. “Not at all. We are all still waiting patiently for our dear mother here to state her reason for this visit.”
Eleanor saw her mother grimace, and she had to stop herself from smiling. As flighty as Isabelle could be, she could be just as deadly with her words when she was truly angered.
“Anytime now, Mother,” Agnes muttered.
Victoria gave a tight smile, and Eleanor instantly knew her mother was here to offer an apology. Well, this would be delightful to watch, she thought as she resisted the urge to cross her arms. Finally, her mother spoke.
“I am certain you girls might have guessed why I have come here to speak with the three of you. Nonetheless, it is only right that I say the words. I have come to offer my apologies for all of my wrongdoings in the past few weeks. You must know that I was simply acting in your best interests …”
“You mean what you reckoned to be our best interests,” Eleanor interjected. “However, we all know that you only do things in your best interests, Mother.”
There was a pause as her sisters nodded, and Victoria seemed to search for words to say.
“I suppose you are right,” she responded after the short pause. “It is no secret that I have my principles, and I uphold propriety and etiquettes, perhaps a little more than every other soul in the whole of England does. I did not think that exceptions could be made, hence the reason why I acted the way I did. I would that the family name would not to be soiled with what I thought would be a scandal. Now I see that these laws were made for man, and not man for them.”
“A rather perfect timing if you asked me,” Agnes muttered again, and Eleanor smirked, mirroring Isabelle’s.
Victoria gave Agnes a look, and for the first time since she had stepped into the chamber, she gave a small genuine smile. Now that Eleanor thought of it, her mother did not look like one who was remorseful. Her countenance had been that of the proud Victoria Birmingham she had always known. Nose in the air as she saw everyone whom she came across, two classes below her. Some kind of woman, her mother was. She could not deny that sometimes; she admired such steel.
“That is only fair. I shall not insult you girls by telling false tales of how I have suddenly realised my wrong and found a remorseful heart. If things had gone the other way and I had succeeded with my plans, we would not be having this conversation, of that, I assure you. Nevertheless, they did, and we are where we are. I am sure things happened this way for a reason.”
“Yes. You thought little of us, while we believed you capable of every imaginable evil thing.”
Those words seemed to have touched her mother for she gasped as she held her hand to her chest. “Isabelle! I am your mother!”
“As we are your daughters!” Agnes exclaimed, matching the pitch their mother had used.
“Yet, that did not put hesitation in you. You went ahead still, to have us locked up in our father’s home. Did you even think it through, Mother? What did you think Father would have done when he found out? How had you hoped to spin this in your favour?”
Victoria’s eyes widened in alarm as she looked at all three of them. Eleanor thought she saw a glint of regret flicker through her eyes. She opened her mouth to talk, but Isabelle cut her off coolly.
“That being the least of all that you did. Shall we discuss the forged documents, the false letters? The lies you spun so readily and easily? Shall we mention how you did not care for your daughter’s well-being when she fell ill from heartbreak? How could you, Mother? You are supposed to love us. Our happiness is all that is supposed to matter.”
For the first time in her entire lifetime in which she had known her mother, Eleanor saw her become at a loss for words. Then the damndest thing happened … a tear dropped from her mother’s eyes, and Eleanor’s heart broke.
Victoria opened her mouth, but no words came forth. Then, more tears joined the first. Eleanor wanted to reach for her, but Agnes’s hands held her back. She turned to look at her sisters and saw that they only wanted to protect their mother’s already injured pride. Victoria Birmingham was strong enough to handle her tears. God help them, but they all still loved her, despite it all.
Silence reigned until her mother regained her composure. With her kerchief, she dried her tears, and finally spoke.
“I am truly, deeply sorry. I guessed I never stopped to think how all of these would affect you girls, truly. I simply thought you were being children and would get over your blues soon and feel nothing but gratitude for my intervention. I never thought I was hurting you that deeply. I did not know how much it meant that you ended up with Alan.” She reached up with one hand to cup Agnes’s cheeks.
“I had not seen how happy he made you at the time.” Then, she lifted her other hand to cup Eleanor’s cheeks.
“I had no idea about the love you and Nicholas harboured for each other. Still, you are in your right to be angry with me. I did wrong, very wrong. I see it now. I cannot dream that you would overlook these things as though they mattered nothing. I only hope that you think about offering me your forgiveness, and that someday, you all shall be able to. I am aware that I have failed you greatly, yet, I give my word that I shall do better from now onwards. Only give
me the chance.”
Eleanor released shaky breaths as her heart ached for her mother. Perhaps, she had not come in here with a heart of true remorse, still, it was obvious something had changed. Mayhap, her mother was not as unyielding and hard-hearted as they had thought. She had never seen her mother cry and speak so sincerely from the heart. It opened up something inside of her. Truly, her mother had done her no great wrong. Agnes and Alan were the two persons who had been greatly wronged. Surely, her sister would see what she saw and consider forgiving their mother as she too now did.
A Scandalous Love for the Enticing Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Book Page 28