“I take it the wedding was pleasant,” Sebastian, said, handing the certificate back. “It must have happened suddenly,” he said, lowering his eyes to calm his anger.
“Yes. We didn’t have much time. I wanted us to be safely married before I had to return and dispose of all my holdings here. I do not want anything keeping me from my wife’s side, you understand. And then too, we were both anxious about your health. She insisted I return to make sure you were recovering nicely, which I see you are. Apparently she had some feeling for you, in spite of the fact she decided to marry me instead.” He gave a satisfied smile.
“It must have been your charm,” Sebastian chuckled under his breath. “It certainly couldn’t have been your wealth.”
“She knew I had nothing. But seeing as how she is very well set in life, that meant nothing to her. She wanted someone who would stay by her side and help her with her estate. Something she claims you were hesitant to do.”
Sebastian cringed at the words. Bernard was right. He really didn’t deserve Eleanor, but he didn’t believe his cousin deserved her either, if he had to get her through deceit. Perhaps Eleanor would eventually marry his cousin, once she knew him long enough, but she certainly was not married to him now. “And yet she took my ring?” Sebastian questioned.
“Well, it is sad, but I did not have a wedding ring to give her, so I did not mention it was from you,” he chuckled. “You could consider it a wedding gift to the both of us. She is wearing it as we speak, so that should make you feel better.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. He thought by trusting Bernard with his request, it would heal the gap that had grown between them ever since he thoughtlessly took Bernard’s silly love out from under his nose. But actually he felt he had done Bernard a favor at the time. She had not been the right woman for Bernard, but he was too young and in love to realize it. Nothing he could say would ever convince Bernard of it though.
Years of being at sea had caused Sebastian to mature much faster than Bernard. He had seen enough of life to know a superficial woman when he saw one, and the ease with which he managed to turn the fickle woman’s head should have been enough to convince Bernard of that. But Bernard had not seen it from his point of view, he guessed. He longed for the days he and Bernard had been close, but he could see those days would never return again. Not now.
Somehow he had to warn Eleanor of his cousin’s deceit, but he wasn’t sure how he was going to go about doing it. Some of the things Bernard had said were true. He had turned from Eleanor at the very moment she needed him most, and though he would have returned to her, realizing the moment he left it had been the wrong decision, that time of indecision was enough to possibly burn his bridges with her forever.
He wondered how Bernard got Eleanor to sign a wedding certificate, though? Some way Bernard had tricked her, but how? The date of the certificate kept coming back to him, and he realized that the date was right around the time he had spent in Eleanor’s room before she left for Clifford House. Why was that particular date put on the certificate, he wondered? Had Bernard not bothered to look at the date, to discover he could not use that certificate, seeing as how he had not even known Eleanor at the time, they were supposedly married?
“So I suppose you are going to hurry back to your adoring wife?” Sebastian said in a low voice, trying to contain his emotions that were starting to surface just thinking about the whole sordid situation.
“Exactly. Hope you don’t mind if I return with your ship, when it leaves here.”
“Be my guest,” Sebastian said. “But it is not returning right away. I had made plans to have it dry-docked for minor repairs before loading it for the return trip,” he informed his cousin of the idea that came to mind only on the spur of the moment. “If you need to return sooner than that, you will have to pay passage on some other ship,” he told Bernard, knowing he probably did not have the funds to do so.
“When I sell all my holdings, maybe I can afford the passage,” Bernard said, shrugging. But perhaps your ship will be finished by the time I am through with my business here,” he suggested.
“Yes, and perhaps by that time, I will be well enough to return with you and congratulate the only women I have ever truly loved, on her choice of a husband. After all if she couldn’t have me, she should at least have the closest look alike she can find,” he added, snidely.
“It is not totally my looks that she chose,” Bernard almost sneered. “I am nothing like you, cousin. My guess is that she was looking for a personality more to her liking. Someone who doesn’t have a woman at every port, and then picks a wife sight unseen. Virgin or not, she still has pride.”
It would not do to have Sebastian returning with him, though, he realized. Sebastian was supposed to be dead, and until he had Eleanor safely married to himself for real, he had to keep the truth from her.
The words hit their mark, and Sebastian was quiet. He knew Eleanor had not married his cousin, but because Bernard was so determined to dispose of his holdings here and return to England, something was going on between the two, he was quite sure.
There was some truth to what Bernard had said, but Eleanor had been eager enough to claim him as her husband for her grandfather’s sake, and take him to her bed, even before that, so that part of his character was not what Eleanor had been concerned about at the time, he reasoned. It had been his turning away from her that had hurt her the most, he decided. That mistake he would have to repair, if he could. But until his health returned, he was stuck in his bed, he fumed to himself. “Maybe I should write to her,” Sebastian suggested.
“Yes, why don’t you do that? I will post the letter myself,” Bernard offered.
Sebastian laughed bitterly to himself. Not a chance in hell the letter would ever get to Eleanor if he trusted it to his cousin to post. “I will let you know when it is finished,” he said, deciding to write two letters, one to give to his Cousin to most likely read and then discard of, and one to be posted by someone he trusted.
“Well I can’t dally around here all day. I have things I need to do. Glad to see you are in better health,” Bernard threw over his shoulder, as he headed for the door. “Let me know when you want me to send that letter,” he reminded.
“Don’t worry. I will dear cousin.”
Sebastian almost choked on the words. When the door closed, Sebastian threw his book at it as a sudden sadness encompassed him for having ever doubted his need of Eleanor for even the briefest of moments, along with the sad realization that he and his cousin could never repair the damage between them. He had no one to blame but himself, he had to admit, though. He just wondered if Eleanor could ever forgive him?
Sebastian rang the bell for Mr. Handle, and waited impatiently for him to appear. When the butler finally entered the room, Sebastian began giving him orders. “I want you to go to my captain of the Annie Bell and tell him he needs to put the ship in dry-dock, whether it needs it or not, and leave it there until he hears from me again. Then I want you to bring me something to write with. I need to compose a couple of letters. One you shall give to my cousin to post for me, and the other you shall post yourself. They are to the same person, but I want to make sure that at least one of the letters gets to its destination. I am afraid I can’t really trust my cousin any longer,” he admitted.
“I take it the letters are for the woman in England?” Mr. Handle asked the obvious.
“Yes. I need to discover what is really going on there. I don’t believe Bernard has told me the complete truth.”
“Very well, sir. I will send the message to your captain at once, and then when the letters are ready to be sent, let me know.”
“Be sure and do not mention anything to my cousin about the second letter,” Sebastian cautioned.
“Of course not, sir. I have never trusted your cousin anyway. I know how much he has despised you over the years.”
“Yes, it is sad. Perhaps it is my own fault, but it is time I start taking responsibili
ty for my actions from here on in,” Sebastian replied.
Mr. Handle gave Sebastian one long look. The man had been at death’s door, and the only thing that kept him going was the memory of the woman in England. He had been listening at the door, and wasn’t ashamed to admit it. It was a sad mistrustful relationship the two of them had, and he didn’t think it was ever going to change.
He had warned Sebastian against trusting Bernard, but for all his bluster, Sebastian seemed to believe that he could win the friendship of his cousin back, and life would become easier somehow. But Bernard was one for holding a grudge, and Mr. Handle didn’t think the young man would ever let go of it. He wished there was something he could do, but he had never learned what the bad blood between them was all about, so all he could do was follow the master’s orders.
Therefore he hurried out the door and headed for the docks. When the master recovered, he would be able to take care of things, Mr. Handle tried to reassure himself, but what could the man do? Bernard had married the woman, and Sebastian seemed to be accepting the fact. That was what surprised him. He had expected that Sebastian would have raged over the news, and yet he took it so calmly. Apparently there was something he missed in that conversation between the two, he thought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Just put all those letters in the dish on the entrance table,” Eleanor instructed Hobbs as she started to pass him on her way out. She could see the collection of letters he was holding, and she was getting tired of reading all the invitations that were now coming her way. Everyone was anxious to meet the new found heiress. The news of her sudden appearance, that started to circulate after the Ball that had been thrown to introduce her to the ton, had spread fast, and all of Garth’s friends were envious of the fact that he was the first to discover who she was.
So far she had not accepted any invitations, because she was so busy learning about the estate, and trying to deal with her mixed feelings concerning Bernard. And then there was Garth, who kept looking at her with adoring eyes, that she was trying to ignore without hurting his feelings. And in another day, both him and Dutton were due to come to help her finish exploring the upper floor. She just didn’t have time to look at another invitation, she thought, as she went to the front door that Hobbs stopped and opened for her. She headed around the side of the house to the stables. She was going to ride over the grounds today, and she had invited Jake to go with her.
She had been so busy lately, that she hadn’t had time to visit much with Jake, and he was always ever anxious to talk to her, and tell her about the wonderful stable, her grandfather had, and was adding so many grand horses to, since she arrived.
Hobbs, looked over his shoulder, after opening the door for Eleanor. She brought so much life to the house, he thought. But there was a strange sadness that often crossed her eyes, and he knew she missed her husband, whom she said had been lost at sea. No wonder she was not interested in all the invitations she received daily, he mused.
He started sorting through the letters, putting them in order according to their importance. He knew the names of many of the gentry that had sent out invitations to her, and he was considering the ones that she should open first, if she ever did get around to opening this batch, which would be piled on top of the ones that had come in the last couple days.
Strange, there was a letter from America. Certainly that was not an invitation to dinner, or some gala affair someone was throwing. Who did the mistress know in America, he wondered? He would put that letter on top. Perhaps it was from the cousin of her husband who had visited for a couple of days. He had an American accent, and had left, but since his belongings were still in his room, he was sure the man would be coming back. He would try to remember to mention the letter to Eleanor, he thought, making a mental note to tell her when she returned from riding.
Just as he was placing the letters in the dish, one of the new maids came in with a fresh vase of flowers to place on the table, next to the letter dish, but when she tried to sidestep to keep from bumping into him, after placing the flowers on the table, she accidentally bumped the dish, and all the letters went flying across the entrance.
“You clumsy girl,” Hobbs, scowled. “I’ve a mind to write you up for that! Get down and pick up all those letters, and place them neatly in the dish. Now they are all mixed up, I don’t know which ones came first, and the mistress has not read them yet. Be sure and put the one from America on the top though. It may be important.”
He turned and left the maid with her mouth held open. She did not know how to read, so how would she know which one was from America? Well nothing for it but to just collect the letters and stick them in the dish. When the mistress read them, she would find the letter from America, so what difference did it make, she wondered?
After piling all the letters on the dish, and making sure they were all neat and tidy, she smiled, satisfied with herself. As she turned, her long skirt whisked against one lone letter, still on the floor, because it had been beneath her long skirt, and she hadn’t seen it. The movement of her turning caused the letter to slide beneath the table, and settle behind the potted plant that was next to the table.
“Did you enjoy your ride?” Lord Boyd asked Eleanor, as she came into the drawing room, where he was sitting reading the paper.
“I did not realize how huge your estate was,” she admitted. “I knew it took in the village, but there is a vast wilderness that is yet untamed, beyond the walls.”
“We used to have fox hunts in that vast wilderness, as you put it, before it became so overgrown a horse can barely get through it. I will have to have someone start to clear out some of the trees,” he mumbled, and went back to his paper.
Eleanor sat down, and put her feet up on the foot stool before her chair. Everyday she was discovering more things about the estate, and it always seemed daunting to her. The door opened, and Hobbs entered.
“I do believe you have been putting off reading your mail,” he said, as he approached with the bowl of letters. “A letter came from America today. I thought you might be interested in that one,” he said, as he handed her the bowl.
“From America? It must be from Bernard,” she said. It had been almost two months since he left. She knew it took almost a month for mail to arrive by ship, from America, so he must have sent it shortly after he arrived, since she figured it took the same amount of time to travel there by ship.
Eleanor thumbed through the letters, looking for the one from America. “I don’t see it here,” she mentioned to Hobbs.
“I told the maid to put it on top. She knocked the bowl from the table in her clumsiness, and had to pick them all back up. Isn’t it on top?”
Eleanor looked through the pile again. “It is not even in the bowl,” she told him.
Hobbs went to the entrance way to see if maybe the letter was still on the floor, but as far as he could see, the floor was bare.
“I will have to speak to the maid,” he told Eleanor, when he returned to the room empty handed.
Eleanor drew her brow together. What had happened to the letter, she thought? Perhaps Garth had come while she was out and took the letter, if he saw it was from Bernard. She knew he did not like Bernard very well, and had cautioned Eleanor to be careful about him, but that would be no reason to take the letter, she thought. It would be very rude of Garth to go through her mail, and she did not believe he was that sort of person. There must be a better explanation than that, she deduced.
The maid insisted she had put all the letters back in the bowl, but since she did not know how to read, she didn’t know if the one from America was on top or not. It had been an accident, and she hadn’t meant to spill the letters, she sobbed, wringing her hands.
“No one is blaming you,” Eleanor insisted. “We just need to know what happened to the letter. Are you sure you found them all?
“Both me and Mr. Hobbs, looked, and there are no letters on the floor, so I am sure I got them all. Maybe Mr. Hobbs
was mistaking about one from America,” she offered.
“I know there was one from America,” Hobbs, put in, frowning at the maid, who’s name was Sally.
“Who was the letter from?” Eleanor wanted to know.
“There was no name on the return address. I assumed it was from the cousin of your husband. The one who came to stay a couple of months ago.”
“I am sure it was from him, which is why I am anxious to read it, incase something may have come up to delay his return. He said it might be some time before he could get back here, and if he wrote me, it is probably explaining his plans to return and when to expect him.
“Until the letter turns up, we will never know,” Hobbs frowned, looking down at the Maid, which made her tremble.
“Go along,” Eleanor told Sally, and Hobbs followed her out, with a disgruntled look on his face. But no sooner had he left when he was back again, announcing Garth, as Garth came into the room.
“There you are,” Garth said as he came to Eleanor’s side and lifted her hand to his lips. “Someone told me you had ridden out today, and I thought you had forgotten about Dutton and I coming to help you explore the upper floor.”
“I just got back, but I thought it was tomorrow that you were coming,” she told him, frowning at her own bad memory.
“No, I am sure it was today. Hasn’t Dutton shown up yet?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“Maybe he has changed his mind,” Garth suggested. “Let’s wait for a bit, and if he doesn’t show, we can explore it on our own,” he suggested. In truth, Garth knew that they were not going to explore the upper story until the next day, but it galled him to think he would have to share Eleanor’s company with Dutton, and he wanted the opportunity to be alone with her as often as possible. He was feeling anxious, and feared that Bernard would be showing up soon and would sweep Eleanor away from him, just when he felt he was starting to make progress with her.
Defiant Heart Page 31