by Kate Archer
“Do not move!” she cried. She threw off the blanket and fled toward the door and down the stairs. She made her way down the dark corridor that led to the servants’ entrance and ran outside.
Lord Dalton stood under the lights from the kitchens. She threw herself into his arms.
“Daisy,” he said softly.
“Daisy?” she said, burying her face in his coat. “You have never called me that.”
“I have,” he whispered in her ear. “Often, in my thoughts.” He used his index finger to lift her chin and kissed her softly.
It was not like anything she had ever experienced. She had, until recently, recoiled from the idea of a man touching her, of a man getting so close to her that she could feel his breath. But this man could not come close enough.
“Do not ever stop kissing me,” she said.
He smiled, one of his rare smiles, and said, “I am happy to comply, Daisy Danworth.” He kissed her again.
Daisy could not have said how much time passed, only that eventually she was wrapped inside his coat and against his shirt and could feel his heartbeat and it was very cold outside and she was very warm.
“You will have to ask permission from my guardian, you know,” Daisy whispered.
“I will ask my father nothing,” Lord Dalton said in a growly voice. “I will inform him that we are to wed and he will be suitably delighted.”
“Oh dear,” Daisy said, “but then you will also have to live it down with your friends, I’m afraid. You did vow you would never—”
“What care I for those idiots,” Lord Dalton said. “I have been clever enough to win the real prize.”
There was a sudden loud whisper floating through the night air that was not their own.
“See? They are standing right there!”
The voice was unmistakably her lady’s maid’s. Daisy pulled herself away from the inside of Lord Dalton’s coat in time to see faces illuminated at the kitchen windows—Betsy, Mrs. Broadbent, Bellamy, and Mr. Flanagan peered out. Seeing they were spotted, Bellamy blew out the candle and the scene went dark.
“Scoundrels,” Lord Dalton said, pulling her close again. “We ought to go indoors. We can go to the cottage.”
Daisy was all too willing, but for propriety’s sake she said, “Only if you promise you will not ravage me.”
Lord Dalton laughed rather loud at this and said, “Not until you marry me and have taken to calling me Charles when we are alone. Then, I cannot say what I might do.”
Daisy nodded as if she were quite approving of this. In truth, she was not certain she would mind being ravaged at this moment. However, one of the things that had made her fall in love with Lord Dalton, or Charles, was that she was certain he would never do the wrong thing by her. He might be a plague to his friends and frighten many a hostess with his oft-grim visage, but he would not do wrong by her.
He took her hand and led her back to the cottage and they talked until the sun rose over the rooftops and she fell asleep in his lap. As Lord Dalton had promised, no clothing was removed during the long hours of night, though the various pieces of armor both parties had been accustomed to wear began to melt away like blocks of ice in the summer sun.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Charles wrote his father the following day and, just as he’d promised, he merely informed his father that he was to wed Miss Danworth. He couched it very matter of fact and would not give the old schemer his due in having had a hand in it.
He did, however, put off the banns being read until after Burke’s wedding. There was no getting round the idea that his friends would not only be shocked—they might well be mocking of any past statements he had made on the subject of marriage. Or worse, any actions he might have taken to uphold that particular opinion. They would all attend the nuptials, and he was determined to face them down in person and deliver the news himself.
He did not, however, spend much of his time thinking of it as so much else took up his attention. After Mrs. Jellops had been apprised of the engagement, she needed more than a little convincing that it was actually wanted. All along, she had taken Daisy at her word and never envisioned that her charge would marry. Or, at least not so soon. Or, at least not to Lord Dalton. Her incredulousness felt like a hint of things to come.
Still, through numerous conversations with Daisy, she was finally convinced and she was not unhappy. Mrs. Jellops was particularly not unhappy when Charles described to her the rooms she would be given in his various houses, her generous allowance, and that she might come and go as she pleased with the use of his own carriages. Once the lady was assured of her charge’s affection for the gentleman, Mrs. Jellops rather relished the idea of jaunting across England in a carriage emblazoned with the lord’s crest, visiting friends old and new, and spending that generous allowance on fripperies and gewgaws as she went.
The schedule of their days in Ramsgate was not so very different than they had been, with only a few changes made. Charles now dined in the house, to the initial irritation of the cat. Though, the cat being enterprising, she made it her business to overcome Mr. Flanagan and so was often lounging in the warmth of the kitchens and stealing whatever she fancied. Charles also suspected the cat had thrown him over for the sanctuary of one of the footmen’s beds, as she wandered off when the night grew too cold and Mrs. Broadbent was forever scolding Gerald for the telltale cat hairs on his coat.
Daisy had twice suggested that Charles move into the house entirely. The cat had done so and just as everyone predicted, the chimney in the cottage was useless. This, he thought a step too far and stayed where he was. It was horrendously uncomfortable as day by day the weather cooled, but it was not forever, so he bore it with good humor.
During the day, if Charles was not in the house with Daisy, Daisy was in the cottage with him. The servants went about looking very pleased with themselves, seeming convinced they’d personally arranged the engagement. Even Bellamy put a good face on it and appeared resigned to having Mrs. Broadbent hiding round every corner forevermore.
Daisy had thrown off the darkest of her mourning clothes and did not particularly care who said what about it. As Charles had pointed out, she would be a duchess someday and might run through the streets naked and society would pretend they had not noticed or deem her delightfully eccentric.
The month had passed by far more quickly than either Charles or Daisy had expected and suddenly it was time to make their way to Somerset for Lord Burke’s wedding. The servants, aside from Betsy and Tate, would stay behind. Mrs. Broadbent would supervise, though Bellamy remained under the illusion that he was at least nominally in charge. Charles thought they might battle it out at their leisure, as their only vital job was making certain the cat was fed.
Four days of travel passed by while Mrs. Jellops endlessly speculated on everything she viewed out the carriage window, asked the coachman to slow down so she might get a better look, insisted that nobody should eat in a carriage that was moving, and needed endless stops to stretch her legs. Finally, they delivered the lady to her friend Mrs. Phelps’ house.
Once arrived to her destination, Mrs. Jellops began to fret over the idea that Charles and Miss Danworth would be quite alone in their carriage, with only Betsy and Tate following in the second carriage. The as-yet unmarried couple would be unchaperoned for nearly twenty minutes! Perhaps twenty-five if they encountered a delay.
Mrs. Phelps did not help in that regard, as she was in the habit of heartily agreeing with her friend and took to murmuring, “You have gone straight to the point, my dear.”
Mrs. Jellops was both soothed and shocked when Charles assured her that the thing she worried about could not be done proper in only twenty minutes, or even twenty-five. This had left every lady in the vicinity blushing, the footmen red-faced, and the coachmen snorting, but it got them on their way.
Now, they drove through the gates of Burke’s estate.
Daisy squeezed his hand. “How shall you break the news?” she asked.
>
“I have no idea,” he said.
“Well,” Daisy said, laughing, “please do not give anybody a black eye if they find too much amusement in it.”
“I will try, Daisy,” Charles said. “I will try.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Daisy really did not know how Charles was to break the news of his engagement to his friends. He was a genial gentleman, once one got more acquainted with him, but she did not think he would suffer being overly teased and laughed at. He preferred a certain dignity, as she did herself—neither of them relished appearing silly.
When she’d hinted that he ought not give anybody a black eye, it was because she could see how things might go in that direction if his friends expressed too much glee over his being so wrong in his past opinions. Especially Lord Grayson, who was always too much in the habit of cheerful mockery.
They’d been admitted to the house and led to their respective bedchambers and she had not seen him since. She had not seen anybody and only understood that everybody was to gather in the drawing room at seven before dinner. The everybody noted were all of Burke’s particular friends—the lords Hampton, Lockwood, Ashworth, Cabot, and Grayson, and their respective wives. They would see the Minkertons and their friends and relatives on the following day, but this was to be a small party of old friends.
Daisy did not consider herself one of these old friends, though some of them she knew better than others. She particularly looked forward to seeing Kitty. Though just now, her thoughts were far more taken up with how poor Charles was to get through his gauntlet.
Still, he must do it. These were the only people that really mattered to Charles, and so it was the ideal time to relay his news.
On the other hand, the dinner had been advertised as Burke’s idea of saying goodbye to the last of the willing bachelors, everybody apparently putting Lord Dalton into the unwilling category. Her poor, dear Charles.
Daisy had donned a satin dress that was some shade between red and dark orange, its vibrant color not having a thing to do with sadness. She thought it might communicate that her mourning, if she had ever mourned, was over. It might stop the inevitable condolences that she never really knew how to receive. In any case, it made her feel more like herself and she had no intention of hiding again.
She waited until the last possible moment to go down. She did not wish to have any awkward conversations—the entire party would view her as the cool Miss Danworth that Lord Dalton had been forced to drag from place to place.
Well, with the exception of Lord Burke, possibly, though even he did not know their secret.
The drawing room, though large, was already crowded. Charles stood with Lord Ashworth, Lord Hampton, and Lord Lockwood nearby a window. Lord Grayson and Lord Cabot were having an animated conversation with Lord Burke. Most of the ladies sat together on a long sofa, so engaged with one another that her entrance was not noted. But Kitty spotted Daisy at once and made her way over.
“Dear Daisy!” she said. “I did not know if Lord Dalton would bring you or not, but then Lord Burke told me you’d struck up a friendship with Miss Minkerton and he was sure you would come. I was so delighted to know it. Also, when we have a moment alone, I must know more about the mystery of the Dagobert! Was it indeed the scepter? How did you come across it? What has happened to it?”
Daisy nodded at Kitty’s enthusiastic stream of questions, keeping one eye on her intended, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable. She said to Kitty, “It is more mysterious than you would imagine, and do not repeat the name Dagobert anywhere—it is to remain a very great secret. I will tell you why when I can.”
Kitty appeared delighted with the idea that there was something further mysterious to know. She surely would have pressed on, had not Lord Burke sent champagne round and now tapped his crystal glass with a silver letter opener to quiet everyone.
All eyes turned to Lord Burke and conversations stopped. “My friends, I cannot tell you how happy I am that you have all traveled far and wide for my wedding. It was a long time coming, as some of you know and some of you don’t, but I have been in love with Belle Minkerton for as long as I can remember. It was the reason, perhaps, that I was sometimes able to give out such level-headed counsel to my friends—I was always standing outside the fray, my heart safely left behind in Somerset.”
“Here, here,” Lord Lockwood said.
“Now,” Lord Burke continued, “we will wed, and I will be surrounded by friends who wish for my happiness.”
“And the miracle of it,” Lord Grayson said, laughing, “is that for once, Dalton didn’t do anything to stop it.”
The entire party found great mirth in this idea, though Daisy did not so much. The teasing had begun and Charles hadn’t even told them of his engagement to her. She was afraid the whole thing could turn remarkably dreadful.
“As to that,” Lord Dalton said, “I told Burke I had decided not to interfere. And, I will just point out that a man may change his mind on occasion. In fact, an educated man often does. It is only the dull and stupid who do not occasionally reflect on their opinions and make adjustments where necessary.”
Daisy gripped Kitty’s hand. Kitty squeezed back but looked entirely perplexed as to why her hand was being squeezed so tightly.
“Furthermore, when a man changes his mind,” Lord Dalton went on, “a man’s friends ought to go along with it without unnecessary debate. Or risk a black eye.”
Good Lord, he was threatening black eyes already and had not even said why.
“We’ll all happily go along with your ceasing your meddling in our affairs,” Lord Ashworth said, “however late you are to the idea. No reason to threaten black eyes over it.”
“Indeed,” Cassandra said, “even I have forgiven you and think no more about it.”
“As have I,” Sybil said.
“I think you rather helped me than not,” Lily said, “though it was not your purpose.”
“My lord and I are far too busy with our horses to give it much thought,” Penny said.
“Well, I am still a little annoyed,” Kitty said, still clasping Daisy’s hand, “but I won’t hold a grudge forever. It would not be very intellectual to do so, I do not think.”
“There, you see?” Lord Cabot said, “no harm done in the end, Dalton. You may retire your threats of black eyes.”
“We’ll see,” Lord Dalton said darkly, staring down the company as if they were enemy forces on the verge of an attack. “You are to know that I have engaged myself to Miss Danworth, and if anybody has anything to say about it, black eyes are back on the table.”
Daisy sighed in relief. He’d said it, now they only need brace themselves for the jokes and hope those jokes didn’t go so far beyond the mark that black eyes would actually result.
The room was silent for a moment, everyone seeming to have some difficulty in taking in Lord Dalton’s words, so strange they were. En masse, the party turned to Daisy for confirmation of this extraordinary news.
She nodded. “It is true, we are to be married. I hope we can count on your congratulations regarding this development.”
“I knew it!” Burke said, “did I not say you were suited? Congratulations indeed, old boy!” Burke grabbed Lord Dalton’s hand and shook it heartily.
There were general exclamations, most along the lines of: I am not surprised at all, of course they have always been well suited, did I not speculate on it last season and nobody believed me?
As Dalton was congratulated by his friends, and treated far more kindly than he had a right to be, Kitty leaned close to Daisy and whispered, “Is it true? You will really wed Lord Dalton? And nobody is forcing you to?”
Daisy laughed at the idea. “Indeed, nobody forces me or him.”
“I am just so surprised,” Kitty said. “Others seem not so taken off guard, as I think they see you as similar temperaments.”
“We are similar,” Daisy said. “We have been two blocks of ice who have had a very slow thawing.”
“Goodness,” Kitty said, sounding nearly breathless, “one never does know how these things will turn out.”
“No,” Daisy said, laughing, “one never does.”
At dinner, the party were remarkably cheerful, including Lord Dalton. Once he’d got over the danger of being teased into blacking eyes, it seemed the last of his cares were shed from him. He still was not an open book to his friends, as evidenced when Grayson inquired of him how he had pressed his suit to win Miss Danworth. He would not say, and Grayson thought to tease him by inventing strange scenarios until Lord Dalton glared at him with such ferocity that it was understood that black eyes might yet be back on the table.
Daisy was grateful he would not divulge how it had been. Their odd wooing at the window might stay just between them. And also the rascally servants who’d listened in.
Most of the dinner was passed with exchanging news. Cassandra, Lady Hampton, told Daisy that she and the other ladies had a regular correspondence amongst one another and now she was to be brought into the fold. It seemed somewhat remarkable to Daisy, as she had known all of the ladies from past seasons, but most very distantly. If she recalled rightly, she might even have been rather cool to Cassandra. It had only been Kitty who’d managed to make some cracks in her walls.
She was to be married and have a circle of friends. She had not seen her life taking such a turn. Always, she had been intent on just surviving and then retiring to quiet and safety. This was to be an entirely different life than the one she had envisioned.
As the dinner went merrily on, Lord Dalton stole glances at her and she stole glances back and the last hurdle had been jumped. They would marry in a month. As for the idea she’d told Kitty, that they’d both been blocks of ice on the thaw, it seemed they were well on their way to melting.
Dignified still, but melting all the same.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Epilogue:
Charles and Daisy did indeed marry in a month, and quietly, unlike Lord Burke’s large celebration. They married at the duke’s estate, which of course had undergone no renovations whatsoever.