Mistletoe and Mayhem: A Regency Holiday Romance Anthology, page 62
“A special friendship,” he countered. “Mother always calls it special.”
“Oh, that is right.” Mercedes’s dark eyes glittered under the chandelier light. She, like all of his sisters besides Ammie, shared his coloring. “I assume the word is a euphemism?”
His sister assumed correctly. Their bachelor uncle’s friendship with the widow spanned two decades and was exceedingly friendly. Julius caught Gunther sneaking from the lady’s bedchamber last night after escorting Bess to her door. His uncle startled then told a rambling story about sleepwalking.
Julius had winked and said, “I haven’t seen a thing, Uncle. I’m sleepwalking, too.”
Gunther chuckled, slapped him on the shoulder, and mumbled, “Good boy.”
Julius’s father stood at the head of the table and raised his goblet of wine. It was time for the traditional Christmas toast. Conversation around the table faded as guests shushed one another. All heads turned in his direction.
“We are grateful to be among family and friends as we share these bountiful blessings set before us. Lady Seabrook and I have much to be thankful for on this day of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. You may have noticed the absence of our daughter Ammie and her husband Major Rowland.”
“She is the redheaded one,” Gunther hissed to Bess.
She offered a polite smile and returned her attention to the head of the table.
“The couple is expecting their first child,” Father said, “and our family is eager to welcome the newest member.”
Congratulations were offered around the table as people raised their glasses and drank to Ammie and Phillip. Bess touched Julius’s knee. Her eyes were shimmery, as if she might start crying again. He interlaced his fingers with her and silently vowed to be her rock if she needed one. His father met his mother’s eye at the other end of the table. She inclined her head, giving him a nod of encouragement. He cleared his throat.
“We are doubly blessed to be expanding our family even more through marriage.”
Whispers traveled around the room. Julius spotted several disappointed faces from young ladies and their chaperones. Surely, his older brother hadn’t succumbed to the charms of Miss Chambers-Wallace. He narrowed his eyes at Clive across the table.
‘You?’ he mouthed.
Clive shook his head.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” their father said, “please raise your glass in honor of the newly betrothed couple—to Julius and Lady Hadley.”
Bess tensed. Her round eyes reflected his own shock. She released his hand and shifted on the chair, withdrawing from him.
“Hear, hear,” someone said.
When the toast was finished, footmen arrived with the final course. They paraded around the table with dishes of Christmas pudding, silver stands bearing various cakes, and serving trays of gingerbread and shortbread biscuits for all the guests to admire. Mother always made a grand production of everyone’s favorite part of the meal.
Bess’s face was pale. He felt a sickening tumble in his gut. He suspected they had both lost their appetites.
“Meet me in the floral sitting room,” Julius whispered. “I will leave first and you follow after a bit.”
She froze like a rabbit who’d spotted a hound. He dithered. Should he stay until the end of supper and whisk her away before well-wishers bombarded them, or trust her to follow? He settled on taking his chances and left the table.
He paced the perimeter of the sitting room and checked the mantle clock every few seconds. If the betrothal announcement had scared her away, he would have harsh words for his parents. Her marriage to Hadley had been arranged, which meant she’d not been given a choice. Julius would never place her in that situation again.
Hellfire. He wouldn’t do that to himself. He needed her to want him, too.
The door drifted open. He snapped his head toward the movement. Bess slipped inside, closed the door, and leaned her back against it. “Julius, I have no idea how your parents heard about what happened at Davensworth Cottage. Gemma was the only other person I told. I cannot imagine she would say anything. She knew I played a trick on you. I am so sorry for the trouble I’ve caused.”
Her words ran into each other in her haste to apologize. Her show of nerves agitated the butterflies in his own stomach.
“Come, sit with me,” he said.
“Tomorrow I will request an audience with your parents to explain there has been a mistake. If they want me to leave, I will understand. Law, what will we tell the other guests?”
“Nothing.” He crossed the room to gently take her by the shoulders and walked her to the sofa.
“Yes, of course. Maintaining silence is wise. No need to draw more attention to the matter.”
“Please, sit, Bess.”
She lowered to the edge of the cushion and gazed at him with eyes so green, he was stunned by their vividness. “Perhaps I should take a trip abroad?” she said. “I would need to hire a traveling companion, but a discreet inquiry with an agency shouldn’t raise suspicions. After a few months, everyone will forget a wedding should have taken place.”
He sat beside her and cradled her hand between his two. “Could we slow down before we settle on a plan?”
“Indeed.” Pink brightened her cheeks. “I am sorry. I have a bad habit of rushing into situations before giving the consequences proper thought. I needn’t tell you, though.”
“No, you don’t.” He lifted her hand to place a kiss on her palm and smiled. “I’ve charged into many situations with little forethought, and more often than not, trusting my instincts has worked in my favor.”
“It never works that way for me.” She withdrew her hand; the worry lines crossing her forehead deepened. “That morning with you I… I reacted. I drew conclusions about who you were, and I thought you needed to be put in your place, but you did nothing wrong. I wanted to punish a different man—or maybe every man in my life that did as he pleased and never suffered for doing whatever he wants. I don’t know. It sounds mad when I say it aloud.”
“You are not mad, and you don’t need to explain.” He understood enough to realize she’d been hurt in the past.
She dropped her gaze to her lap and picked at her skirts. “You don’t deserve to be dragged into a scandal I created or become trapped into marrying me. This is my mess to clean.”
He captured her chin and urged her to look at him. “Will you do something for me, love?”
“Yes, anything.”
“Take a deep breath and clear your mind.”
Her mouth pinched. A flash in her eyes was a reminder of how hot her temper could burn—how passionate she could love.
“If you must blame someone for the announcement,” he said, “blame me. I had an audience with my parents this morning to discuss my future. My father remains unsure about my business venture, but he and my mother gave their full blessing for me to propose to you today.”
She gasped. The butterflies had battering rams now.
“I realize it might seem too fast, but I know you are the one for me.” He tapped the place over his heart. “In here, I have no doubts. You are a good woman who values the wellbeing of her family over her own comfort. I’ve witnessed your generous heart with your cousin, and I know about your sacrifice in marrying Hadley.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“It was, Bess. My mother shared a close friendship with your Aunt Esther. When she married for love, she was no longer valuable to your grandfather. He couldn’t use her to become more influential or increase his wealth, so he disowned her. Your family sees ladies as commodities.”
She shook her head. “It was different with me. My marriage was meant to break my willful spirit. Father said my reckless behavior made me worthless. He increased my dowry to entice Hadley to take me.”
“Bollocks!” He’d like to punch her father’s teeth from his lying mouth. “The union with Hadley helped garner support for one of your father’s men to win a seat in the House of Commons. You are not worthless, far from it.”
A hint of a smile tweaked her lips. “I never said I believed him. It is an accurate recitation of what he said, but Hadley was honest about the arrangement. He wanted to ensure I wasn’t being coerced into marrying him. After that conversation, I entered into the union willingly.”
“I’m happy you were not broken, Bess. Your spirit is what I love most about you.”
“Do you love me?”
“I haven’t reached that part of my speech yet, but yes, I love you, Bess. I’ve known since our first kiss.” He stood then bowed on one knee. “With every ounce of my heart, I know you are the only woman for me. Will you marry me?”
“Julius—”
“Please, don’t think about it. Just say yes.”
“Are you—?”
“Yes, I am.”
She huffed. “You don’t know what I was going to ask.”
“No questions,” he teased.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake. Am I allowed to make a speech at some point?”
“None needed. I don’t require a bunch of pretty words. Just one, and it starts with the letter Y.” He waggled his eyebrows.
She laughed. “Yes! Are you happy now?”
With an undignified whoop, he bolted from the floor and lifted her in a hug, raining kisses on her face—plump mouth, cheeks, stubborn chin, the tip of her nose. Every lovable part of her. When he lowered her feet to the floor, she held on. Her nails caressed the back of his neck, sliding into his hairline. He closed his eyes to bask in the warm tingles spreading down his back.
“Will you allow me a few more words?” she murmured.
He pressed his lips to her forehead and inhaled the familiar scent of her soap. “Always, my love.”
He sensed her smile rather than saw it. “I love you, too.”
A slow, lingering kiss filled with promise sealed their fate.
“I should find Gemma and explain,” Bess said when the kiss ended. “She will be wondering why she didn’t hear about our betrothal before the toast.”
“To be fair, she learned about it the same time you did. Perhaps my parents can host a surprise wedding, too.”
She chuckled as he opened the door to escort her into the corridor. He collided with Clive; Bess squeaked.
Julius’s brother stepped back and tugged his ear, as was his habit when surprised. It was the reason he never won at cards, and Julius and their siblings argued over who had to partner with him—all in good fun, of course.
“Er, sorry to interrupt,” Clive said. “A, um… A rider arrived with a message. Ammie is in labor. Mother charged me with gathering family. We leave in half an hour.”
Bess squeezed Julius’s arm. “I should search for Gemma. Come see me when you return. I’m eager to hear if you have welcomed a new niece or a nephew to the family.”
Her answer gave him and Clive a small jolt.
“Bess,” Julius said, “you will learn the sex at the same time we do. I’m not leaving without you.”
Clive agreed. “Mother said to gather family. If you don’t come, she will send Julius back for you.”
“But…” She worried her bottom lip. “If the marchioness said family, surely, she didn’t mean me.”
Clive feigned a glower aimed at Julius; a glimmer of mischief brightened his eyes. “I did find it odd that a fine lady such as yourself would agree to marry my brother. Tell the truth. Is he blackmailing you?”
A laugh burst from Bess. Julius uttered a mild curse directed at his brother.
“I assure you, Lord Treyhurst,”—she leaned into Julius and smiled into his eyes—“I am a willing participant.”
Clive shrugged. “There is our answer. You are part of this family whether you like it or not.”
“I like it. Immensely,” she said. “I must gather my pelisse and leave a message for my cousin before we go.”
Julius, unable to take his eyes off his betrothed as she walked the empty corridor with her quick efficient steps, remained in her thrall until she disappeared around a corner.
“A Christmas baby, eh?” Julius mused. “Ammie will have a hard time besting this year’s gift for her husband.”
“Speaking of gifts—” Clive drove his fist into Julius’s upper arm.
“Ow!” Laughing, he rubbed his throbbing shoulder. “What did I do to deserve such vile treatment?"
“After the hard time you gave me about becoming trapped in the parson’s noose, I should have been the first to hear about your betrothal.”
Julius didn’t dare admit his brother had been first to learn the news—along with Bess, Julius, and every other person at the table.
He crossed his arms. “You must have me confused with someone else. I would never disparage the holy sanctity of marriage.”
They bickered back and forth until Bess reappeared at the end of the corridor with her pelisse draped over her arm.
“You see, dear brother,” Julius said. “Unlike you, I am the marrying kind.”
Clive scoffed. “Since when?”
Julius nodded toward his captivating, challenging, kindhearted Bess. “Since her.”
Epilogue
Bess held her breath. Julius’s mouth was agape, and his comically wild eyes were fixed on the fist headed for his nose.
Contact was made.
“Boing!” Julius’s booming voice startled Graham, their darling six-month-old nephew. His vivid blue eyes—the same shade as his father’s—flared before he erupted into deep belly laughs.
Bess’s heart expanded with love until she thought it might burst. Julius, her extraordinary husband, never ceased to amaze her. From one moment to the next, she couldn’t predict what he would do, but she always knew she would fall deeper in love with him because of it.
Bravely, from his mother’s lap, Graham extended his chubby and undeniably slobbery hand to bop Julius’s nose again. Her husband jumped as if surprised. “Baa!”
Graham, squeezing his eyes closed and laughing, rocked forward then flung himself backward as if his uncle was the funniest man in the world.
Julius’s sister cradled her son, slowing his descent and saving him from cracking his head on the sofa’s armrest. With a satisfied sigh, Graham stayed on his back, staring up at his mother with a one-toothed grin.
“You are full of mischief and mayhem, aren’t you?” Ammie swept his auburn hair from his forehead and bent forward to kiss his plump baby cheek.
Julius met Bess’s gaze across the room and raised his eyebrows. “I might want one of these someday. Who knew babies were fun?”
Ammie touched the tip of Graham’s nose.
“Dah!” The baby’s screech turned into more peals of laughter.
“If you think he’s fun now”—Julius’s sister raised her voice to be heard—“return at midnight when he is ready for a night on the town. I’ve forgotten what it means to go to sleep at a decent hour.”
Her husband Phillip entered the room after having let out the dogs. He gathered his squirming son from her lap and tucked him into the crook of his arm. The baby gurgled with delight and grasped a handful of his father’s dark curls.
“Ambrosia is an attentive mama,” Phillip said with admiration. “If our son is awake, so is she.”
“I cannot have Graham thinking his mama won’t be watching his every step whenever he is old enough to be out on the town. I have brothers.” Ammie shot a wry smile in Julius’s direction. “I know what type of trouble they can get into when one isn’t looking.”
“Poor Graham.” Julius came to sit on the arm of Bess’s chair and rested his hand on her shoulder. His fingertips grazed the back of her neck, sending a tantalizing shudder up her spine. “He will never be allowed a misstep with six Everly ladies around to keep him on the strait and narrow.”
“Seven,” Bess interjected, including herself. “Lord knows with even an ounce of Everly blood, he will need as many eyes watching him as possible.”
Julius winked at her. “You mean if he is roguish like his uncle, but I learned my lesson. That is what happens when one tangles with a she-devil.”
Her face heated whenever she recalled how terribly she’d misjudged him. Her apologies were always waved away. Julius found the situation humorous and often said he loved her boldness more than any of her other good qualities.
She laid her hand on her husband’s knee, her heart expanding again when she gazed into his hazel eyes. She’d grown comfortable with Julius’s sister and brother-in-law and felt no need to hide her affection, as brazen as it might be.
Graham wiggled in his father’s arms, growing fussy. “How are the workmen coming along?” Phillip began bouncing with his son. Graham settled. “I’ve not had cause to ride that direction lately.”
Bess and Julius had stopped to inspect the site of the new racecourse on their way back from London.
A few days after the wedding, Lord Seabrook summoned Bess and Julius to his study; Lady Seabrook was waiting as well. Without ceremony, the marquess announced his decision to allow Julius to use a swath of land west of Everly Manor to establish his carriage racing club.
I will grant the request upon one condition, Lord Seabrook said. You must build a house on the land.
Bess had been overwhelmed by the generous offer.
Julius’s mother, realizing Bess brought property to the union, had been fretting over seeing her son as often as she wanted and implored her husband to find a solution. As was his habit, Lord Seabrook catered to his lady’s wishes. Julius’s mother had failed to comprehend the depth of Julius’s love for his family. He might seek adventure from time to time, but he would always return home.
“The house is near completion,” Julius said, “and the men have broken ground for the stables. With any luck, we could have our first race next year, assuming I am able to drum up interest in the club.”
Bess doubted it would be a challenge. She and Julius had recently observed their first Season in London, and the constant interruptions at the theatre, balls, and even on morning walks through the park tried her patience. Young men loved nattering on about their horses and carriages. Julius, however, was adept at disengaging from lengthy conversations without offending anyone, much to her relief.
