“I will do my best to live up to your legacy, Father. But now, you should go to your bed and rest.”
“I will, I will. Maria will be here tomorrow, as will Nerissa. If you speak to the vicar in the morning…”
“We can be wed the day after, with everyone who truly matters to us, present.”
“Good, and thank you. I will go to God at peace, once I know that all of my children are wed and happy.”
Chapter Sixteen
Hyacinth stepped into the church, which was lit by the golden glow of the summer morning sun, and filled with rainbows of light cast through the stained-glass windows. Kevin stood waiting for her, the deep reds in his hair accentuated by the coloured light. He had never seemed so handsome. As she walked towards him on her father’s arm, a shiver ran through her. How different her life was, now, from just a few short months before, when she had faced the prospect of living out her life as a lonely spinster. Love filled her heart, and the only thing which cast any shadow on her happiness was the fact of Kevin’s father’s illness.
In the few days that she had known the man, she had become fond of him – his bluff cheerfulness, even in the face of the illness, was inspiring, and his love for his children was obvious. Hyacinth had readily agreed to the simple and rapid wedding – she had no need of grand ceremony, all that mattered was that she married the man she loved, whilst his father still lived to see it.
Her mother’s disappointment had lasted a very short time – for she had the prospect of five more daughters to arrange weddings for – so one done in simplicity was not a great loss, especially when the reasons for it were so very important.
Hyacinth reached Kevin, and took his hand, standing beside him. The warmth of him reached her, and she felt cocooned in love. The vicar began to speak, and all thought of anything else fell away. Once the words were spoken, and it was done, a sense of unreality filled her. That her life could be changed so utterly, and so rapidly was astounding – and wonderful. They left the church, and were greeted by a shower of thrown flower petals, and a cheer from the inhabitants of the local village, who had come to see wed the man who would soon be their Lord.
As they stood in the sun, Lord Chester made his way slowly to them, using the cane that he now needed to walk, his breathing laboured and rasping.
“Welcome to my family, Lady Hyacinth. I hope that you will be happy, every day of your life. Thank you for agreeing to this rather rushed and quiet wedding, for my sake. I cannot express just how grateful I am.”
Hyacinth stepped forward, and gently embraced Lord Chester. For a big man, he seemed surprisingly frail in her grasp, and sadness filled her, that illness had so reduced him.
“Thank you for being so welcoming.”
He nodded, his eyes sparkling with unshed tears, and they all turned, moving slowly to the carriages which would take them back to Chester Park for the wedding breakfast – a relatively small affair of family, and some local nobility.
<<<< O >>>>
The ballroom at Chester Park had not seen so many people for quite some time. Given the short notice, quite a few people had been able to attend, and Hyacinth was attempting to keep all of their names straight in her mind. The minor nobility of the area did not often spend much time in London, and she had not met many of them before. They seemed an interesting enough collection of people, without the arrogance or fussiness of the haute ton in London.
The wedding breakfast was informally presented, with food laid out on long tables, and smaller tables scattered about the room, and on the terrace beyond the open French doors. Servants moved amongst them, ensuring that the guests were served whatever they wanted.
As a result, people mingled, and talked in a far more friendly way than Hyacinth had ever seen at a large gathering. Her sisters were, for once, not all together, but had each found themselves a different group of people to talk to. Hyacinth, seated beside Kevin, and his family, was content to simply watch everyone else, revelling in the knowledge that she was forever safe from Lord Puglinton, and that she had the rest of her life to explore her love for Kevin.
At a table not far from where she sat, Rose was engaged in conversation with two gentlemen – the Baron of Wrenton and his brother, if Hyacinth had remembered the introductions correctly. At the same table, Kevin’s sister Maria, and her husband had joined the discussion. Snippets of what they were saying came to Hyacinth, half heard amidst the noise of other conversations. It had to do with food, and Hyacinth gave a little suppressed snort of laughter.
Of course it had to do with food – it was Rose, after all.
She wondered just what there was to discuss – food was food, as far as Hyacinth was concerned. But she heard the oddest things – they spoke of ice houses, and of storage, as well as of flour and more. How odd – for gentlemen were rarely interested in how food was produced. Perhaps they had business investments in mills or similar? Still, everyone seemed deeply engaged in the conversation, so Hyacinth shrugged – whatever made anyone happy seemed a good thing to her, in that moment.
She turned her attention back to Kevin and his parents, and proceeded to become caught up in their conversation – which was about Chester Park, and Lord Chester’s hopes for its future with improved farming methods.
<<<< O >>>>
Kevin was acutely aware of Hyacinth beside him, for every second of the long day, from the moment that they were pronounced man and wife until the moment when, finally, they closed the bedroom door behind them, late in the evening. He drew her into his arms, and kissed her – a long slow kiss full of love, and passion. When they drew apart, he looked down at her.
“Thank you for being willing to stay here, rather than go on a wedding trip. I do not know how long my father has left…”
His throat closed on the words, and tears started in his eyes. He stared into Hyacinth’s face, but the world blurred as the intensity of his emotions overcame him. She pulled him to her, and simply held him, as he finally allowed the sadness he had been holding back to surface.
“We will stay as long as we are needed. There is no reason to be anywhere else. I am glad that you were so clever as to have obtained the license before we left London, that we were able to do this for him, to have him there when we married.”
Her fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck, and she pulled him down to her again, bringing his lips to hers. The kiss was all that he had ever dreamed of, and so much more. He allowed it to warm the core of sadness inside him, allowed it to permit him to forget, for just a little while, what the next few days or weeks might bring. Whilst he held happiness in his arms, he would not allow himself to anticipate grief.
Gently, without breaking the kiss, he bent and lifted her, and carried her to the bed. Tomorrow would be soon enough to worry about everything else.
<<<< O >>>>
Three days later, Kevin was woken early by a loud wail. He started up in bed, shocked from deep sleep into immediate wakefulness. Beside him, Hyacinth opened sleepy eyes, and regarded him with confusion. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, another terrible wail rent the air.
They looked at each other, with horrified supposition in their faces. Without a word, they rose, and hastily dressed in the simplest of clothing, then rushed from the room. Another wail echoed down the hallways. It came, as Kevin had expected, from his father’s room.
They raced in that direction, joining the crowd of others who emerged from rooms along the way. Once they reached the door, however, everyone stood back, and looked to Kevin. He took a deep breath, and opened the door.
His mother knelt beside the bed, wearing only her nightrail, and a wrap. She clutched his father’s hand in hers, and her head rested on his chest. The wails came from her, interspersed with great racking sobs. Even from the doorway, Kevin could see that his father was not breathing. He lay, unnaturally still, his skin grey in the morning light, and the room was eerily silent, except for his mother’s sobs. The heavy rasping which had been his fathe
r’s breathing for so many weeks now was gone.
He went forward, slowly, as if in a dream. No amount of knowing that this day would come had prepared him for the reality of it. Grief clutched at his heart, and stole his breath. He was dimly aware that Hyacinth was beside him, but the entirety of his focus was on the bed, on his mother and father.
As if a spell had been broken when he crossed the threshold, his sisters rushed in behind him. Together, they gathered up their mother and held her, urging her gently from the room. As they almost carried her down the hallway, towards her small private parlour, Kevin heard Hyacinth speaking to the servants and the other guests who stood, unsure of what to do.
He heard mention of tea, and of calling the vicar, and the family in the village who performed the duties of undertaker for the area. Relieved, he turned his attention back to his mother, and to keeping his own grief at bay long enough to help her. It was as if the world was somehow distant from him, as if it should have stopped, as his father’s life had stopped, yet it moved on around him, incomprehensibly.
He heard the servants reply to her – ‘yes, Lady Chester’ – and then it struck him, with the force of a punch to the head. He was now Viscount Chester, and Hyacinth was Lady Chester. His mother was now the Dowager Lady Chester.
In a corner of his mind, he laughed at himself, for feeling shocked – he had known all of this would come, had even discussed it with his father, these last weeks – yet it still seemed improbable, impossible, like a bad dream that he would surely wake from. Yet he knew it was not.
<<<< O >>>>
Hyacinth, observant as always, had taken in every detail at a glance, and understood the implications. She had taken a huge shuddering breath, as Kevin, Maria and Nerissa half carried their mother from the room, and had drawn herself up, forcing her mind to calm. Kevin was now Viscount Chester. Which made her Viscountess Chester. And, most importantly in that moment, made her the mistress of the house, and the one responsible for preventing things from falling into chaos.
The servants looked to her hopefully, their faces full of grief and confusion. Her own family looked to her, waiting for her to either take charge, or to ask for help. Hunter and Charles stood, torn between following their wives, and seeking some other way to help. Trembling, but determined, Hyacinth looked to the servants first. Ward, the butler, stood closest, next to Mrs Carson, the housekeeper.
“Ward, Mrs Carson – if you would ensure that all of the staff are informed, I would be most grateful. Please also arrange appropriate black armbands and other modifications to their attire, as well as whatever we will need to do around the house – send me the bills for whatever cost is incurred. Please ask Cook to send tea, and whatever small repast she thinks that the Dowager might be able to eat, to the Dowager’s parlour. I believe that everyone else would be best served by retiring to the breakfast room at this point.”
“Yes, Lady Chester.”
The butler and housekeeper hurried off, chivvying the maids and footmen before them. Hunter stepped forward.
“The breakfast room?”
“Yes – we must all still eat, and we must consider everything that needs to be done. A list will be required. I do not know who the man of business used by this household is – I am assuming that whoever it is holds the most recent copies of the will? I will need help from everyone if all is to be done properly.”
“I know the man of business, and his direction – I will deal with that.”
Hunter’s voice was steady, but his eyes drifted back towards the small parlour door, as if he wished to run to Nerissa's side as much as Hyacinth wanted to run to Kevin’s.
“Thank you. Let us all move downstairs, and eat, whilst we work out what must be done.”
They all turned, and did as she asked – returning to their rooms first, to dress appropriately for the day, in clothes at least partly suitable for mourning. As Hyacinth watched them go, she realised that she would need substantial additions to her wardrobe – for she had nothing really suited to mourning. Her father paused as he passed her, on his way back to the guest rooms. His hand came to rest on her shoulder, a quiet squeeze of reassurance.
“I am proud of you, daughter. Your strength and intelligence are most obvious today. You will manage to do it all, never fear.”
She smiled and nodded, suddenly unable to speak – for if she did so, she feared that she would burst into tears.
He squeezed her shoulder again, then went on his way.
<<<< O >>>>
Kevin sat, Hyacinth’s hand in his, as Mr Chedham rose from his seat and cleared his throat.
“We are gathered here for the reading of the last will and testament of James Loughbridge, Viscount Chester.”
Everyone in the room stilled, watching him. Not that anyone expected anything unusual in the will, but still, such things had a gravity to them, a sense that surprise was still possible.
Mr Chedham unfolded the papers in his hand, adjusted his pince-nez on his nose, and began to read.
“To my son, Kevin, all things as appropriate and entailed to the title, for him to manage in trust for future generations. In addition to that, he shall also receive ownership of all of my business investments, funds, and all items not otherwise bequeathed in this will. To my wife, Eleanor, Belmont Cottage and its associated lands, and an annuity of ten thousand pounds, for as long as she may live. To my daughter Maria, the cottage on the Chester Park grounds, which she has always thought of as her own, to use in any way that she sees fit, and the monies in the bank account which I created as trustee for her. To my daughter Nerissa, the piece of land on the border of Chester Park and Meltonbrook Chase, which she has always loved, with my request that she turn it into a beautiful garden in my memory.”
Small gasps and tiny expressions of half sadness, half amusement came with each bequest – for they were most appropriate to the people involved.
After the family, the list went on for some time, with bequests to various staff on the estates, and a few other people close to him.
There were only two surprises in the whole thing – a bequest to Charles and Maria of a property not far from their Northern estate – a property that none present had even realised that Lord Chester owned – and a codicil, added within the last few days of Lord Chester's life, which required that they be in formal mourning for no more than six months – no matter what society thought of it. Its wording made it clear that Lord Chester wanted his family to be happy, and to get on with their lives in his absence.
As they left the room afterwards, Kevin smiled, feeling his father’s presence, as if he stood before him. He was more than grateful for that codicil – it was, he knew, his father’s wedding gift to him, and Hyacinth.
Epilogue
Summer had moved on – it was early August, and most of the ton had retreated to their country estates. The Duke of Elbury however, was still in London, accompanied by his family. It had been a somewhat tumultuous year so far, with two weddings, and they had decided that staying in London was, perhaps, more desirable than the upheaval that came with removing them to the country.
This particular evening, they were joined by both of their now married daughters, and their husbands. Kevin and Hyacinth were dressed in sombre mourning clothes, for Kevin’s father’s death was but a few weeks past. It was only now that Kevin had felt comfortable leaving his mother to come to London. It had been necessary for him to deal with some business matters, and Hyacinth had taken the opportunity to accompany him, to see her family.
Lily and Trent were sitting with them, in the parlour, surrounded by the other Gardenbrook siblings. Earlier, Trent had taken Hyacinth aside for a moment.
His words had surprised her, at first, and then had made complete sense. He had said, simply – ‘I do not believe that you are aware of the fact that I work with Baron Setford, at times. But I do believe that you understand what that means. Let me assure you that the right people are aware of Lord Puglinton, and the… agreement…
that binds him. He will not trouble you again, I guarantee’. She had smiled, nodded, and whispered a thank you, and left it at that. But knowing that even more people watched over her well-being had lifted her spirits immeasurably.
Thorne had come into the room last, and now he looked around, his expression amused.
“So… now that both Lily and Hyacinth are wed, what can we expect next? The crown of family spinster now passes to Rose, and we will see what she can do to shed it, will we not?”
Rose fixed Thorne with a glare, and tilted her nose up.
“I am, most definitely, not a spinster! I am only twenty – that is a far cry from spinsterhood.”
“Still, you must do something – follow the example set by Lily and Hyacinth – I am quite certain that you can find a man to suit you, if they could!”
Lily and Hyacinth both joined Rose in glaring at Thorne. Hyacinth turned to Lily, and asked, in her sweetest voice, “Should we take umbrage at Thorne’s implication, on behalf of our husbands, do you think?”
Lily pretended to consider the question carefully, before nodding.
“I do think that we should.”
Hyacinth turned back to Thorne.
“Well, brother, now that you have offended Lily and I, and our husbands, what will you do next? And what should we require of you, in reparation for your insults?”
“Reparation! Insult! My, but you do exaggerate, Hyacinth. Of course, I meant to say that Trent and Kevin have shown themselves to be gentleman of discernment, to have seen the value in you, when others could not. And I am, of course, quite certain that Rose will find an equally discerning gentleman.”
Hyacinth snorted with laughter, amused at his careful wording. As she did, she glanced at Rose, who was, at this point, rather uncharacteristically silent. How interesting – did that mean that Rose actually had a gentleman in mind, perhaps? But Rose gave no indication, merely lifting a small cake to her lips and ostentatiously ignoring the entire exchange. Thoughtfully, Hyacinth responded, hoping to cause Rose to react.
A Vixen for a Viscount: Book 2: Hyacinth - Clean Regency Romance (A Duke's Daughters - The Elbury Bouquet) Page 14