by Amanda Davis
When Lise was asked to repeat the vows, she stumbled and stuttered, causing the guests to titter.
They find this endearing when the reality is much more devastating.
Xavier took hold of her left hand and stared deeply into her eyes as the minister spoke.
“After me, Xavier—”
But he was not granted the opportunity to finish as Xavier knew the words to be spoken as he slipped a golden band over Lise’s ring finger.
“With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
“Amen,” Lise whispered, staring at the ring, a lump forming in her throat.
“Let us pray,” Father Callaway intoned, and all lowered their heads as he led the prayer.
“Oh, eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, Giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life, send Thy blessing upon Thy servants, this man and this woman, whom we bless in Thy name, that, as Isaac and Rebecca lived faithfully together, so these persons may surely perform and keep the vow and covenant betwixt them made and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together and live according to Thy laws, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”
Once again, the clergyman joined their hands together and nodded.
“Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”
The words caused a sob to escape Lise’s lips, but no one heard it but Xavier, who mistook it for happiness.
It will not be a man who puts us asunder, Lise thought miserably. It will be two ladies.
Chapter Ten
Something stirred him in the night and Xavier blinked several times, his eyes adjusting to the darkness in which he was enshrouded.
It took him a moment to remember the festivities that had led him to be fast asleep in his marital bed.
There had been a small party for the shockingly tiny wedding, but Xavier had enjoyed himself regardless. That night was not the one for questioning his mother or the duchess about their planning.
Nor about why there was no man to give Lise away, either. There will be plenty of time for questions later. Tonight is for us and no one else.
Instinctively, he reached for his wife, but to his surprise, Lise was not at his side.
Awake now, Xavier cast the blankets aside and rose to look about for a sign of her.
“Lise?” he called, but there was nothing but the crackling of the fireplace to answer him. The light was dying out at the hearth, indicating that it was quite late, but it was not until he noticed the time on the desk clock that he realized precisely how late it was.
Where in God’s name could she have gone at two o’clock in the night?
The wedding reception had been filled with wine and whiskey, but he and Lise had retired together well before the hour of ten, although he did not recall when he had fallen asleep. All he remembered for certain were the sweet hours he had spent with his wife in his arms.
For that time, he had been certain that she was finally content, their marriage sweeping away any doubts or fears she may have had, but finding himself alone made him reconsider his conclusion.
Donning a thick robe of wool, he found his slippers and headed into the cold hotel, shivering slightly beneath coarse material. He could not imagine what would inspire Lise to rise from the warmth of their bed.
In the hallway, he encountered the night concierge.
“Byron, have you seen Lady Elizabeth?” he demanded of the older man who shuffled through the fifth floor.
He seemed surprised to see Xavier.
“Mr. Xavier. I-I do not, sir. Could she be asleep?”
Xavier scoffed and brushed past the man.
“Clearly, she is not asleep if I am asking you,” he snapped irritably. He made his way to the staircase, pausing on each floor to see if there was a sign of his wife, but there was no one to be seen.
He stopped in the lobby, pausing to light a candelabra to carry through the darkened dining room, but again, he was left disappointed.
Could she have gone to her mother?
It troubled him to think that, after the intimacy they had shared, she would flee to the duchess.
Yet there was little he could do but return to their bedchamber and hope she returned.
To his surprise, she was in the bed asleep when he arrived, and for an instant, he wondered if he had simply overlooked her.
His mind was still quite cloudy from the wine, but could he have made such a mistake?
Xavier hovered by her side and peered into her slumbering face, confusion overwhelming him as he did. She seemed to have been asleep for hours and she wore very little, just as the last time he had seen her, entrenched in his arms.
The excitement of the day has gotten the best of you, he decided. I truly must rest.
He climbed back into the bed and slid closer to her, relishing the feel of her breaths against him.
She is an angel, he thought joyously as sleep overcame him once more. My own angel sent from the heavens.
Lise sat at the toilet, brushing her long mass of curls, and Xavier watched her silently for a long moment before announcing his wakefulness.
“You truly are a vision,” he sighed, and she turned to smile at him. Her face was much more relaxed than he had ever seen.
“You have already married me, my love. You need not flatter me for another moment,” she replied jestingly as Xavier rose from the bed to kiss her forehead sweetly.
“It is not flattery if it is so,” he replied. “Did you sleep well?”
“I had little say in the matter. With the events of yesterday, it was difficult to fight sleep.”
“Do you fight with sleep?” Xavier asked.
“On occasion.” Lise smiled warmly to take the seriousness from their discussion. “How did you sleep, darling?”
“You will jeer at me when I say,” he replied, chuckling. “But I woke at the hour of two and searched the hotel for you.”
Her eyes widened.
“You did what?”
“I must have had too much wine,” he confessed, perching on the edge of the bed. “I was certain you were gone, and I looked about for you.”
“You must have been dreaming!”
“No,” Xavier laughed, feeling foolish as he read the dubious expression upon her face. “I spoke with Byron.”
“My word!” Lise giggled.
“I would—”
An urgent knock at the door caused Xavier to look up in surprise.
“Who is there?”
“Mr. Xavier, Mr. Balfour requests your presence immediately,” came Joshua’s voice from the hallway.
Xavier’s eyebrows rose.
“What is the meaning of this now?” he wondered, rising to dress.
“Mr. Xavier?” Joshua called.
“Yes, Joshua. Tell him I will be there in a moment.”
“He…” Joshua cleared his throat.
“Oh, for the love of God, Joshua, do come in rather than yell from the corridor!” Xavier snapped impatiently. He gave his wife an apologetic look and closed the sliding doors so that she would not be embarrassed in her nightclothes.
“Forgive me, Mr. Xavier,” Joshua muttered, lowering his eyes as he realized his employer’s state of undress. “But he requests that you come at once and that you come alone.”
“Who would I bring? The king?” Xavier scoffed, but instantly, he knew what his father was asking.
He wishes me to come without my wife.
The understanding infuriated Xavier.
“Sir?” Joshua pressed. “He is waiting on an answer.”
“Tell him to hold his horses,” Xavier barked back. “I will be along when I am presentable.”
“Yes, Mr. Xavier.”
Joshua scampered out of the suite to relay the message, and Xavier sauntered back into the bedchamber where Lise was already dressed.
“Your talents have no
bounds!” he joked. “How did you manage your corset without an abigail?”
Yet Lise did not return his smile as she peered at her face in the mirror, brushing her long strands out of her face with impatience.
“Does your father oft call for urgent interviews at this hour of the morning?” she asked.
“I do believe this is a first,” Xavier confessed, his brow furrowing slightly as he thought about it.
“The matter must be of great importance.”
Her words were stiff, but Xavier was still considering what Charlton could need.
“I should get to him before he gives himself apoplexy. Will I see you in the dining room? We should discuss our honeymoon.”
Lise smiled weakly at him.
“Yes,” she whispered. “We will do that.”
“Are you all right, Lise?” he asked, covering the distance between them. He cupped her face.
She is such a range of emotions. I will never understand her.
“Yes…Xavy?”
“Yes, my love?” To his surprise, tears had filled her eyes, but they remained unshed as she stared at his face. “Lise, what is it?”
“I-I want you to know that I truly do love you,” she breathed.
“I love you also.”
She pulled her head away and quickly shoved past him to head toward the door without another word.
“Lise?”
She paused but did not turn.
“I will see you at breakfast.”
She opened the door and disappeared into the hallway without responding, filling his chest with tightness.
She is complicated and beautiful. It is a devastating combination.
He knew he could not leave his father waiting much longer, and he quickly dressed, making himself available in the office where his father paced about. Elias sat expressionless in a chair, and both sets of eyes rested on Xavier as he entered.
“Where is your key to the safe?” Charlton demanded without preamble. “I need it at once!”
Instinctively, Xavier reached into his waistcoat to retrieve it, but he remembered that he no longer had it.
“I-it is in my suite,” he explained. “I will go for it.”
“Bloody hell!” Charlton roared, slamming his fists down against the desk. “I knew it!”
Xavier stared at his father, perplexed.
“What is the issue, Father?” he demanded, glancing at Elias, who had leaned forward to rest his forehead against his steepled hands.
“The issue?” Charlton squeaked. His face was so red, Xavier was sincerely concerned for his health. “The issue is that there are thirty pounds missing from the safe. I do not suppose you know their whereabouts, do you?”
“You are losing your wits over a bookkeeping error? Xavier snapped back, his annoyance mounting. “My word, Father. Perhaps it is time for you to step down. You are under too much pressure.”
“It is not an accompt error, Xavier,” Elias said quietly. “I had noticed there was a discrepancy a month ago.”
“Then why did you not say so then?”
“I did,” Elias sighed. “To Charlton.”
Slowly, Xavier raised his head and glared at both men.
“There was a problem with the accompts and you left me unawares? For what reason? Do you expect I took the money?”
The idea was laughable.
“No, of course not,” Charlton grumbled. “We know you did not.”
“Then what reason could you have for not telling me of this?”
“At first,” Elias sighed, “we thought it was a simple error, but as more money vanished…ten pounds went last night alone.”
“T-ten pounds?” Xavier choked. “Last night? Are you certain?”
“Eli and I have been counting every night. Whoever it is has been coming in the night when Byron is on his security rounds. The culprit knows the hotel well…”
Charlton cleared his throat.
“And obviously has a key.”
Xavier’s eyes bugged almost clear from his head.
“Mother?” he gasped, and both men groaned.
“I forewarned you, Charlton,” Elias muttered. “He will not accept this.”
“No! I cannot believe Mother would steal from us.”
“It is not your mother, you fool!” Charlton barked. “It is your wife!”
A deep, heavy silence fell over the office, and Xavier heard a strange buzzing in his ears.
“Xavier, we know how much you care for her—” Elias started to say, but Xavier interrupted him by beginning to laugh.
“The daughter of a duke, stealing away in the night to steal pennies compared to her worth in the dukedom. And not just once for the thrill perhaps but several times? Do you hear how ludicrous that sounds?” Xavier spat out at them, but inside, his heart was racing.
Where did she go last night? It was she who suggested she take the key…
“No,” Xavier said again flatly. He spun to rush from the office.
“Where are you going now?” Charlton yelled after him.
“I am going to speak to my wife!”
He dashed out of the lobby and into the dining room, but when he approached the table, Emmeline sat alone with the baby.
“Where are the duchess and Elizabeth?” he demanded. His sister looked up at him in surprise.
“I-I would not know,” she replied. “I have not seen either one this morning.”
She had barely finished speaking when Xavier made his way back through the servant’s stairs to the fourth floor. He pounded on the duchess’s chambers, but there was no response.
“Mr. Xavier, is there something I can do for you?” Antoinette asked, aroused by all the ruckus.
“I am looking for Her Grace of Holden and my wife. Have you seen them?”
Consternation twisted over the housekeeper’s face.
“Her grace…she departed not fifteen minutes ago. I daresay that Lady Elizabeth was with her, Mr. Xavier.”
“Departed for where? Luton?”
Antoinette paled more.
“N-no, Mr. Xavier. She had her trunks. I daresay she was returning to Holden.”
The news made no sense to him, and he was certain Antoinette was mistaken.
“No!” he insisted. “You are wrong!”
He did not permit Antoinette an opportunity to respond, and he bounded up the stairs toward his own quarters again, bursting through the door. He froze in at the threshold, his heart in his throat.
Across the sitting room, his eyes fell on the writing desk where something glimmered against the cream of a paper sheet.
As if he was possessed by an unseen entity, he walked slowly toward the desk and read the only three words on the page, next to the safe key and the ruby heirloom ring.
Please forgive me.
Chapter Eleven
“It is not enough money,” Patience whispered. “We will not get far enough away. We will be recognized and brought back!”
“What would you have me do, Mother?” Lise demanded miserably. “I was caught. There was no other way.”
They sat together in the back of the stagecoach, speaking quietly as to not attract the attention of the other passengers. They were the only women, and their fine clothes seemed amiss in a hired coach, but Lise silently prayed that the journey to Colchester would go without incident.
“I know,” Patience replied quietly. “You did right by coming for me. It is a blessing we were dressed.”
Lise was glad her mother could find a blessing in all that had happened. In her mind, the entire plan had failed terribly.
I was promised more time! More time to collect money, more time to live in the hotel.
Yet she knew what troubled her the most. Her heart was shattered. She had never expected the reality of leaving to be as shocking as it had been, but there was no other choice.
I married Xavier and ruined his life.
There was certainly no going back. By then, her husband would certainly know
the truth. The ring, the note, and the key were enough to make what had happened clear to him. He would undoubtedly go looking for her in Holden where her father would learn what she and her mother had done.
Perhaps they would find a way to annul the marriage, or perhaps Xavier would forever be tied to her, but it had all been for nothing.
The shame was unbearable, and without realizing it, Lise’s face was stained with tears.
“You must not lose your wits now,” the duchess hissed in her ear. “We must get as far away as possible without being seen.”
“Yes, Mother,” she sniffled. “I understand.”
It was much easier said than done, and as the coach trotted away from Luton, Lise closed her eyes, willing herself to keep her composure.
“James will be terribly worried,” Lise said after a long silence. “We must send him word that we are well.”
“James is the least of our concerns,” Patience replied sternly. “He could not be bothered to leave his wife to come.”
Lise’s eyes flew open, and she gaped at her mother.
“You stayed with Father alone for the month? Mother, you swore—”
“Lower your voice!”
Contritely, Lise did as she was told and inhaled deeply.
“Mother, you should not have done that. He could have killed you.”
“He almost did—once again.”
Gooseflesh prickled her arms, and Lise looked at her mother compassionately.
“You have endured so much yet remained so strong,” she whispered. “How did you manage?”
Patience reached for her hand and squeezed it gently.
“God has a way of seeing you through the most difficult circumstances. Some are blessed with strong bodies, others with great wealth. God gave me the greatest gift of all.”
Lise stared at her uncomprehendingly.
“He gave me a daughter, Lise. He bestowed you upon me, and He could not have given me anything better.”
Lise grimaced.
“You do not believe me?” Patience asked. “There were many times before you were born, Lise, that I went to sleep and prayed that He take me in the night.”
“Mother!”
“Of course, I would never do anything so drastic,” she said quickly. “I was merely so unhappy at the brutish hands of your father, I sometimes begged for a quick end.”