A Midsummer Bride (28 page)

“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” Lord Langley ran up to the couple, beaming with excitement.

“I am sorry, Grandfather, but I must make my own answer,” said Harriet. She turned back to Duncan. “I have enjoyed our friendship more than I can express, but you must know about my dowry.”

“I care not,” declared Duncan, rising but not releasing her hands.

“Truly? You would accept me rich or poor?”

“I never wished to wed for anything less than love. And so I am asking ye, beyond all practicality or reason, will ye be my wife?”

She paused a moment, waiting for the anguish of gut-wrenching indecision, which never came. She knew exactly what she wanted, what her parents would want for her. “My answer is yes.”

“I understand, but I needed to…” He stopped for a moment, the meaning of her words beginning to dawn on him. “Did ye say yes?”

Harriet nodded with a wide grin.

“She said yes!” Lord Langley crushed them with a large hug.

“She said yes,” said the dowager duchess with a self-satisfied smile. “My solicitor will contact you.”

“Not yet!” demanded Langley. “They need to be wed first. And I have the paper to do it!” He produced a special license with a flourish.

“You knew I would marry Lord Thornton?” gasped Harriet.

“I had them leave the groom’s name blank,” admitted Langley.

“How much do you think he had to bribe the clerk to do that?” muttered Penelope.

“Is this really what you want?” Harriet asked Duncan.

“I will meet ye at the kirk tomorrow,” declared Duncan with a gleaming smile.

“Duncan!” Lady Thornton walked to them and Harriet’s heart sank. Duncan’s mother had not been supportive of her when she first arrived and everyone knew Lady Thornton wished her son to marry Miss Crawley.

“Mother, I hope ye will wish us happy,” said Thornton, the reserve in his voice returning.

Harriet held her breath, waiting for the final verdict.

“I will indeed wish for ye all the happiness in the world if ye will do the same for me. Sir Antony has proposed,” announced Lady Thornton.

“What?” Duncan gasped.

“She said yes!” exclaimed Sir Antony standing next to Lady Thornton with a smile that belonged on a much younger man.

“Mother, I had no idea,” said Duncan.

“Sons are never much aware of their mothers,” said Lady Thornton, but she smiled when she said it. “I also was not aware of your true feelings for Miss Redgrave.”

“She is my choice, Mother,” said Duncan, as if warding off disapproval.

“And no doubt better than my choice for you,” Lady Thornton whispered to her son, referring to Miss Crawley.

“Thank ye,” said Duncan, relaxing again. “I wish ye and Sir Antony a happy marriage.”

“My dear Harriet,” Lady Thornton said, giving Harriet a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you,” said Harriet, and could not help but smile.

“Do me the honor of wearing this on your wedding day.” Lady Thornton removed her intricately woven delicate silver crown and gave it to Harriet. “They say this was worn by Maid Marion herself when she wed Robin Hood. I cannot say if that is true, but it has been worn by generations of Maclachlan brides.”

Harriet understood the magnitude of this acceptance. “Thank you, Lady Thornton,” she whispered in a voice suddenly choked with emotion.

“You shall bear that title now,” said Duncan’s mother. “It never suited me, but I think it will fit you much better.”

“Are you certain you wish to be wed tomorrow?” Harriet looked up at Duncan.

“Aye, lassie.” And he sealed the proposal with a kiss.

And another.

And another.

Until even Lord Langley was forced to separate the two of them. “Save it for tomorrow night!”

“Not too late to make a run for it,” said Marchford in a low voice as he stood next to Thornton at the front of the chapel, waiting for the bride to arrive.

“Too late for me,” said Thornton. “She’s stolen my heart.”

“Doubt the magistrate will take that case. You’re on your own.”

“Aye, but no’ for long.”

“Incorrigible,” muttered Marchford. “It is as if you wanted to be leg-shackled.”

“Aye, I do. And someday I hope it happens to ye too.”

Thornton heard the guests who had filled the village kirk rise, and he knew Harriet had entered the chapel. He had initially been concerned that his guests might not come, considering some of the rumors that had circulated about Harriet, but he need not have worried. With the same passion with which they had decried her as dangerous, they now lauded her as a hero.

Following tradition, Thornton faced the altar and could not look to see his bride approach, though he was sorely tempted. When she finally reached the altar, he turned to her and his breath caught. She was tall as a statue and just as shapely, dressed in a simple white gown with a baby-blue sash under the bust line. Her dark red hair fell in ringlets and was framed with the silver woven band, the crown of Maid Marion. She was going to be his wife. All the pain, all the trouble they had been through came down to this moment.

“Dearly beloved,” began the minister.

“Stop!” The doors banged open and a man wearing a brace of pistols and a cutlass strode inside.

Thornton immediately pulled Harriet behind him and he and Marchford acted as a human shield against this unknown threat. For all the world, the man looked like a pirate, his dark hair was slashed with silver and he had a wicked scar across his cheek.

“Where is my daughter?” demanded the large man. “Where is she?” He was followed by four younger men, all tall, grim-faced, and armed.

“Ye can have no business here,” warned Thornton. “Ye will leave at once!”

“They told us at the house you had come here, and I’m not leaving without my daughter!” demanded the man.

Harriet wiggled around Thornton. “Papa?”

“Harriet, my pumpkin!” Captain Redgrave opened his arms and Harriet ran to him.

“This is yer father?” Thornton could only stare in amazement. What kind of man was this?

Harriet hugged the man with delight. “I am so happy to see you! And all my brothers too!” Harriet gave hugs to all the men now crowding the space between the altar and the pews. “Papa, this is Lord Thornton. Lord Thornton, may I present my brothers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But how did you find me all the way in Scotland?”

“Captain Wentworth was able to make it back to shore and send notice to us of what happened,” said Captain Redgrave. “I gathered the boys and we left the next day. Took a bit to track you down in London. Had a talk with that Captain Beake and finally we found where you had gone and traveled to get you. Did you ever think for a moment that I would not come for you?”

“I did not know if Wentworth would make it to shore. I am relieved to hear he did,” said Harriet.

“That was quite an entrance, my dear,” said a dignified lady joining the party.

Lord Langley stood, his mouth agape. “Beatrice?”

“Hello, Father.”

No one spoke. It was the return of Lord Langley’s insane daughter, who looked remarkably self-composed for a madwoman.

Langley moved to the aisle before her. “Beatrice,” he said again and took a step toward her, but stopped as if unsure how to bridge the gap between them.

No one moved. It was utterly silent in the chapel. Langley held out his hands to his daughter. “Forgive me, Bea. I have been an unmitigated ass.”

Lady Beatrice smiled and strode to him, hugging her father and kissing him on the cheek. “You have no idea how long I have waited to hear you say that.”

“Too long. My fault entirely,” admitted Langley.

“These are your grandsons,” said Beatrice, “and my husband, Captain Redgrave.”

Again everyone again held their breath as Lord Langley confronted the American who had stolen away his daughter. Captain Redgrave was a large, muscular man, and even if he had not been wearing a brace of pistols with a cutlass stuck in his belt, he would still have appeared rather dangerous.

“He looks like a hero from all those romance books I told you not to read,” muttered Langley, shaking his head.

Lady Beatrice smiled. “Yes, he does.”

“Lord Langley, I’m Captain Redgrave. Nice to meet you.” Captain Redgrave held out his hand.

Lord Langley surveyed Captain Redgrave with displeasure. “Captain Redgrave,” he said and shook the captain’s hand with an obvious reluctance. He may be reconciled to his daughter but decidedly not to the man who stole her away.

Thornton was at a loss for what to do. Now that her parents had arrived, would she like to visit with them before the wedding? Would she call off the wedding entirely?

“Harriet,” he said quietly. “Perhaps we should stop and spend time wi’ yer parents.”

“Do you not want to get married?” Her eyes were wide.

“Aye, o’ course I wish to marry ye. But do ye wish to speak first wi’ yer parents?”

“Yes, yes, she does!” demanded Captain Redgrave. “Exactly who do you think you are, trying to marry my daughter?” Captain Redgrave gave him a furious glare, flanked by four younger copies of himself with equal animosity.

“Papa, this is Duncan Maclachlan, he is the Earl of Thornton,” said Harriet.

“Don’t care. You’re not marrying him.”

“Papa!”

“No. Never going to happen! I won’t have you running off with some man I’ve never met to some strange country far away from me.”

“Is that not exactly how we were wed?” asked his wife with a crooked smile.

“No, we were… it was completely different…” Redgrave stuttered and blustered until his shoulders sagged. “Oh hell and bother.”

“Watch your language, you’re in a church,” chastised Lady Beatrice.

“Lord Langley,” said Redgrave with his head bowed. “I never knew till this moment. I am so, so sorry.”

Langley’s lips twitched up. “Horrible, I know.”

“How did you survive it?”

“Bourbon. I’ll pour you a glass when we are done here.”

Lady Beatrice glided to her daughter and held both her hands. “You look lovely as always. I am so relieved to find you so well.”

“Thank you.” Harriet hugged her mother. “I was mostly concerned that you would be worried about me.”

“I could not call myself a mother if I did not worry about you. But you are well?” she asked with a hint of anxiety.

“Very well.”

“And you wish to marry Lord Thornton?”

Harriet met Duncan’s eyes. “Yes. I love him.”

Those simple words melted away any fear or doubt Duncan had harbored. If Harriet loved him, all would be well.

“I wish you every happiness in the world,” said Lady Beatrice to her daughter.

“I only hope to be as happy as you and Papa,” said Harriet.

“Sit down, boys,” said Lady Beatrice to her sons.

“But, Mother, you can’t expect us to let our sister get married to some bloke we don’t know,” argued the tallest Redgrave son.

“Yes, that is exactly what I expect you to do.”

“But—”

“Sit!” commanded Lady Beatrice in a tone only a peer of the realm could muster.

They sat.

“I cannot allow this to continue.” Captain Redgrave had turned sullen.

“You must trust,” said his wife.

“I have never even met this man. How can I trust him?”

“You must learn to trust your daughter,” said Beatrice.

Captain Redgrave was silent for a moment. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“I thought you would be accustomed to it by now,” murmured Beatrice.

“I will allow this to continue on one condition,” demanded Captain Redgrave. “If she is getting married, I am going to walk her down the aisle!”

So the bride, deciding it was good form to humor her well-armed father, walked down the aisle once more, this time on the arm of a snarling pirate. With one raise of her eyebrow, Lady Beatrice snapped her husband’s behavior back into good regulation.

“Are ye certain ye wish to be wed today?” whispered Duncan when Harriet was once again standing by his side.

“I do,” whispered Harriet in return. “My family can be overwhelming. Do you still wish to marry me?”

“I do.”

She was a married lady. Married! Harriet smiled broadly as people greeted her and Thornton in the receiving line.

“Your wedding will be talked about forever, Lady Thornton,” said one lady. “It was so… exciting!”

“Yes, it was unlike any I have ever seen, Lady Thornton,” said one young lady. “And your brothers are all so handsome!”

Lady
Thornton
. It took Harriet a while before she stopped looking around for Duncan’s mother and realized they were talking about her. She smiled at Duncan. He smiled back. All was right in her world.

She greeted everyone in the line as they went into the dining room. Last in line was her father, hands folded across his chest, a furious frown on his face. Her mother was by his side, looking radiant.

“Thought of something,” said Captain Redgrave with a growl. “We need to complete the marriage settlements for Harriet’s dowry.”

“I have had papers drawn up that states that whatever Harriet brings to the marriage will remain within her control, for her and her children,” said Thornton.

Harriet’s parents glanced at each other and then at her.

“Duncan says he does not care at all about financial concerns,” said Harriet, wishing she had a moment alone with him to break the news about her dowry. She gave her parents a tight smile and willed them not to say anything to give away her little secret before she could tell him in her own way… preferably after their first child was born.

“Well then. Very good,” said her father, his face relaxing into a smile. “Can’t raise a complaint about those terms.”

“No, indeed,” said her mother with a little crease between her eyebrows that told Harriet she suspected something was amiss. Harriet knew her mother would not betray her suspicions, but her father was not known for delicacy.

“Glad to hear you are not one of those impoverished peers looking to marry an heiress to set your course to rights.” Captain Redgrave slapped Thornton hard on the back and put his arm around him with a jovial smile.

“Perhaps we should go in to dinner,” said Harriet, desperate to change the subject. “I think they are waiting for us.”

“Yes, of course,” said her mother smoothly, guiding her husband to the door.

“Hullo there!” Harriet’s four brothers ran into the room. To be fair, they were actually walking, but they were so large and moved so quickly, they gave the impression of a run.

“Not too late for the receiving line I trust,” said Matthew, shaking Thornton’s hand.

“Got a good girl here in Harriet,” said Mark.

“You are aware she likes to blow things up?” asked Luke.

“Nothing to worry about,” said John. “That fifty-thousand-pound dowry will pay for a lot of singed draperies, eh?”

Lord Thornton said not a word, but Harriet could sense every muscle in his body tighten. He turned to her with a cold stare. “Let us go in to dinner.”

***

Harriet wanted to strangle her brothers. She wished so many times to see her brothers again, and yet now that they were here, she wished they would go back to America. Preferably tonight. It was not that they were loud and large and ate too much and laughed too loud; it was their repeated jokes about the size of her dowry and Thornton’s good fortune.

Since Thornton had been particularly sensitive to not marrying a girl of good fortune, and indeed had thought he was marrying one with none at all, Harriet was sure her brother’s merciless jabs about the size of her “assets” were not received with good humor.

She tried unsuccessfully to get them to stop. They were a force of nature and railing against them was as effective as rebuking the waves. Her four older brothers ran free until Harriet pleaded with her mother to stop them. Lady Beatrice, though dwarfed by her sons, managed to rein them in with effectiveness, if not with ease.

Thornton was unreadable. He was pleasant and solemn. Not good. After dinner, the women whisked her away to prepare for her wedding night with the idea that Thornton would join her shortly. She had been given what she suspected had been Lady Thornton’s bedroom, and after some preparatory primping and discussing of the night before her, both of which she found rather embarrassing, she was left to wait for her lord alone.

Trouble was, he did not appear.

Harriet paced the room and even tried rereading a chapter of Lavoisier’s book on chemistry but nothing helped. He had not arrived and she doubted he ever would. Time to take matters into her own hands.

She slipped down the hall to the master bedroom. She tested his latch and it was unlocked. She took a deep breath. Was she really going to do this? She pulled on the latch and the door swung open. Duncan was sitting at a writing desk. He had removed his cravat and his shirt hung open. He stood when he saw her, saying nothing.

She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She felt powerful; she could find him; she could take what she wanted. And right now what she wanted was him.

“I was waiting for you,” she said.

“I have written a letter for ye. Would you care to read it?” He held out a paper before her.

“You can tell me yourself.”

“It would be easier if ye read it.”

“I am not here to make things easy for you.” No, indeed, she was here to make things hard.

Duncan cleared his throat. “Considering yer parents are here now, and considering yer
assets
of which I heretofore had no prior knowledge—”

“I am going to kill my brothers.”

“I could suggest some methods. But be that as it may, I think it best if we quietly annul this misguided marriage and allow ye to return home.”

“Duncan, I know nothing can forgive the iniquity of being rich—”

“
Obscenely
rich.”

“Yes, yes, all right, you needn’t make it worse than it is. As I was saying, I know it was wrong of me not to clarify your misunderstanding about my dowry, but you did say you did not care about the money.”

“That was when I thought ye were poor,” exclaimed Duncan.

“But since you wanted to marry me then, couldn’t you find it in your heart to stay married to me now?”

“But yer brothers—”

“Are going to meet a most horrible demise if you allow those fools to destroy this marriage.” She was surprised at how sincere she was.

“I would hate to be the cause of anyone’s demise. Though for yer brothers, I might be willing to make an exception,” he added in a mutter.

“They were beastly.”

“They were saying what everyone else will say, that I married ye for the money. It is the one thing I was determined to avoid in my life. The one promise I made to my father.”

“No one who knows you could think this of you. Everyone, including you, believed the rumor that I had lost my fortune. It was meant as a test for d’Argon, you see.”

Thornton shook his head. “However it happened, the fact remains that I was not given all the relevant facts before the nuptials. I would not cast ye out, but since yer parents arrived, I will take it as a sign—”

“That what?” interrupted Harriet. “My parents came because they were worried about me, not to break up the marriage.” She took a step toward him.

“I swore I would never do this.”

“I see.” Harriet took a deep breath. It was time to be bold. “I am sorry to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. I shall have to seduce you.”

“Seduce?” Thornton’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

“Yes. You are being so illogical, I am forced to trap you into remaining in this marriage.”

“How?” Duncan seemed reluctantly interested.

“I will seduce you into making love to me and then manipulate your honorable instincts to force you to remain with me. Unfortunately, I have a small problem with my plan.”

“Yer sense o’ decency winna let ye go through wi’ it?” he asked.

“No, I’d do it if I knew how. Alas, I have spent too much time reading chemistry books and not enough time learning how to properly seduce.”

Duncan stared at her. “I’m trying to decide whether to be flattered or horrified.”

Harriet opened her dressing gown and let it drop to the floor. She was wearing a sensible nightgown. All she owned were sensible nightgowns. In a flash of belated insight, she wished she had thought to wear nothing under the dressing gown. But of course, she did not wish to catch a draft.

She loosed the tie and opened the front of her nightgown, revealing more of her chest. She noticed that he watched intently what her fingers were doing, so she let them wander, trailing, circling, pinching, squeezing. If she was embarrassed, she forgot it when she realized how riveted he was to her one-woman show.

He whipped off his shirt, revealing a muscular chest. “Ye should leave.”

His actions and his words were so much in discord, she knew she must ignore one of them. She chose to disregard his words, which honestly made everything easier.

She pulled the pins from her hair and let it fall down in a tussled mess.

“I do not want ye here,” he said while stripping off his boots and breeches. Standing before her in short clothes, the falseness of this statement was blatantly obvious.

She marched over to the bed and crawled on it, having to hoist herself up onto the high mattress. She hiked up her nightgown to get up onto the mattress then realized it might also be an opportunity, so pulled it up even further as she scrambled up the mattress.

Behind her, Duncan began to swear in some unknown language. At least she thought it was swearing because it sounded loud and excited. He caught her from behind and hiked her nightgown up even more. She tried to move forward, but he held her fast. His hands on her backside left no doubt as to his interest or intent.

“Och, lass, ye win,” conceded Duncan.

“I haven’t yet.” Harriet turned around and divested herself of the nightgown entirely. Then, feeling a little naked, she retreated under the covers, but not before Duncan got a good look. In his eyes she saw only admiration and frank lust.

Duncan sighed and joined her under the covers. “I have been an ass.”

Harriet snuggled beside him. “Yes, you have, dear.” She patted his chest in sympathy. “But we all make mistakes. I suppose my plan to trap you into marriage was not the best.”

“Well now, I woud’na go so far. In fact, I believe it has merit.”

“You wish to be trapped in this marriage?”

“Aye, wi’ all my heart. I canna fathom a life wi’out ye.”

A smile spread across her face and she felt it radiate through her down to her toes. “Fortunately, you don’t have to.”

“Good, now ye promised to seduce me, so I do believe ye have some work left to do tonight.” He smiled at her. She smiled in return.

“I do not know quite how to seduce you, but I am willing to learn.”

“And I am willing to be seduced. Ye see what an amiable husband I shall be?”

“Thank you,” she whispered, and to her alarm, tears sprung to her eyes.

“What is it? How have I hurt ye?”

“No, you have not hurt me. I am simply happy. I feared I would lose you.”

“Forgive me. I swear to ye I shall never act like a fool.” He paused and corrected himself. “I am not certain I can quite swear to that, but I do swear that I am yers forever.” He kissed her once. “That is to show ye I mean what I say.” He kissed her twice. “That is because I love ye.” Then he kissed her again and did not stop kissing her.

Finally she gasped for air. “What is that one for?”

“Dinna ken. Need ye,” he growled and resumed the kiss, this time his hands feeling, stroking, caressing, making her body come alive.

She craved his touch, pulling herself closer, needing to feel him cover her, needing him to touch her. His hand worked its way up her leg to her thigh, to that place that throbbed with need. She reached for him and explored with her own fingers, finding the things that made him gasp. He pressed closer and she relaxed into him. She belonged to him. She needed him.

“Och, I do love ye, lass.” He joined with her and she held on tight, leaving no doubt as to her own feelings on the matter.

She ran her fingers up and down his back, enjoying the way it made him shudder, until his own movements released something raw within her. Her entire being was focused on the building desire and raw passion they created. She held him tighter, never wanting to be parted. This was right; they were together. Husband and wife, united forever. This was her true desire.

Pleasure blasted through her, burning her inside with the heat of pure bliss. Aftershocks of joy pulsed through her. She gasped for breath, wondering if this was pleasure or death, and deciding that even if it was the end, it had been worth it. She went from feeling light and weightless to heavy and was certain she could never move again. She closed her eyes and drifted away.

“Ye belong to me,” his voice was guttural, primal.

“I love you too.”

***

“It appears Madame X has been successful,” said Marchford, motioning to his grandmother and Lord Langley as they argued on the other side of the drawing room over the amount of remuneration for services rendered.

“They have been arguing about this all day,” sighed Penelope. “I would just concede the point so I could cease a tiring conversation.”

“I think the point is they do not wish to stop the conversation,” said Marchford, taking another careful look at the dowager duchess and Langley.

“Best be careful lest you acquire a new grandfather-in-law,” said Penelope, sitting perfectly straight, perched on the edge of her chair.

Marchford waved off the comment and relaxed back in the upholstered chair. “People my grandmother’s age do not get married. However, people my age do. I believe I also contracted with Madame X, and I have not reaped the rewards of this investment.”

“Investment?”

Marchford leaned forward in his chair and whispered to her. “Where is the list of my potential brides?”

“Been a little busy. Besides, you rejected the potential ladies I reviewed with you.” Penelope said no more because the memory of their kiss stole away all rational thought.

“When you have presented me with the right lady, I will let you know. Until then, I expect you to work tirelessly on the project.”