Realm 03 - A Touch of Cashemere (42 page)

“It amazes me how much you care for me. I have never known such affection.” Tears crept from her eyes’ corners and down her cheeks.

Marcus used his thumbs to wipe them away. “No more tears, Love. You have healed me, and for that, I will forever be at your side.”

*

“Satiné, may we speak?” Cashé found her sister in her chambers. As much as she had dreaded this conversation, Cashé knew there were things to be said between them.

Without changing her expression, Satiné said, “I suppose.”

Cashé came to sit beside her sister before the hearth. “I am worried about you.”

Satiné shuddered. “I cannot seem to get warm. Do you not think it bizarre that with a roaring fire that I still can feel the coldness seeping into my bones?”

Trying to compose her expression, Cashé looked away for a second. “I wish I could change all this for you,” she whispered.

Satiné picked at invisible lint on her gown. Cashé had shared several of her day dresses with her sister; she had ordered Marcus’s staff to burn the dress that Charters had provided her twin at the cottage. Satiné needed no reminders of her trials. “I am healing,” Satiné said weakly.

Cashé paused, awkwardly trying to find a way to bridge the topic. “Lord Yardley has asked me to be his wife.”

Satiné’s eyes misted with tears. “It is as you planned then.”

“Please do not say it that way. I never meant for you or Lord Lexford to suffer.”

Satiné bit back a sob. “But we both have suffered. You have no idea how it feels to imagine yourself dirty–to imagine a stranger’s hands on you.”

Cashé felt guilty about her twin’s ordeal, but she was also a fighter. “Are you dirtier than Velvet? Jamot touched her innocence as revenge against Thornhill. And what of Eleanor? Abused by her father, as well as Sir Louis Levering. And what do you think happened to me while I was trying to reach you? Two men broke into my room to take advantage of me.” Cashé tried to calm her voice. “Satiné, what happened to you is tragic, but do not make this situation a tragedy. You do not know if Charters violated you, but even if he did, you are still the same person you were when you left for that fateful ride. Charters only wins if you permit him to win.”

“Do you not understand?” Satiné snapped. “No gentleman will ever consider me fit material to be his wife!”

“You would let a man define you? Uncle Samuel tried to break me, but I was above him. Jamot thought to best us; yet, we survived. Luckily, Mr. Breeson assisted in my escape from those two men, but only after I had taken my vengeance on one youth’s manhood. I will not be subordinate to anyone. Lord Worthing adores Eleanor because our cousin refused defeat. The duke holds a new respect for Velvet because our sister took her rescue into her own hands. True gentlemen do not judge a woman on her innocence.”

“You know nothing of a man’s regard. Of love,” Satiné charged.

Cashé folded her arms across her chest. “If what you describe is love, then I want none of it. Lord Yardley sees my faults, but he still desires me. I am thankful that it did not occur; but if either Mr. Jordan or Mr. Stayne had succeeded in his attempt to violently take me, I do not believe that Lord Yardley would turn from me. Marcus Wellston understands life is not kind to women. Nor is it kind to men. People must make the best of what few times of happiness they have.” Cashé took Satiné’s hand. “I love you. If I could have taken your place, I would gladly have done so. Without regrets. However, God has given this to you to bear. Our Lord wishes to know if you will thrive. What will you answer Him?”

“Marry your earl, Cashémere. You do not need my blessing,” Satiné said sarcastically.

Cashé squeeze the hand she held. “You are correct. I do not need your permission to marry Lord Yardley, but I desire your good wishes.”

“I will try, Cashémere. That is the most I can promise.”

*

On the fourth day of his journey, Kerrington reached Chesterfield Manor’s drive. He slid from the saddle and ran for the steps. Mr. Whitcomb opened the door as the viscount reached it; the viscount skidded to a stop in the entryway. “Eleanor! Eleanor!” he bellowed as he searched the nearby rooms. “Eleanor!”

Fowler appeared from the back of the house. “Have you gone mad, Worthing?” the duke taunted.

Kerrington’s knees nearly buckled in relief at seeing his wife’s brother. “She is well?” he pleaded, nevertheless.

“I am here.”

His eyes fell on the woman he loved, and this time his legs did give out. He sank to his knees before covering his face with his hands. Then his wife was kneeling before him. He caught her violently to him and began to slowly rock her in a rhythmic sway of thanksgiving. “Jamot claimed to have done you harm,” he whispered to her hair. “I thought to have lost you.”

They had spent over a week apart. “I am here,” she repeated.

“Will you two continue to make a spectacle of yourselves, or would you care to join me in the drawing room?” Fowler looked on in amusement.

Kerrington growled, “I have never appreciated your humor, Fowler.”

The duke laughed lightly. “Then it is a good thing that the woman you claim as your own is my sister. You must tolerate me as family.”

Kerrington cupped his wife’s chin before kissing her softly. Then he stood, bringing Eleanor with him. “Come, Sweetheart. I do not plan to allow you out of my reach for a long time.”

Fowler continued to do the talking. “So, Kerrington, you came home to learn how our Eleanor thwarted Jamot’s plans to do away with Lexford by shooting the Baloch in the shoulder?”

Kerrington stopped suddenly. “You did that?”

Eleanor shook her head in the affirmative before asking, “Did you find Satiné and Cashémere?”

He simply smiled at his wife. She always put others before herself. That was one of the reasons that he loved her. “Let us order something to eat. I am suddenly famished. We have hours to figure out what is what.”

*

Over the next week, everything progressed. Mr. Breeson arrived at Chesterfield Manor with letters from the baron naming him as the new steward. Wellston’s former batman was to be given a small cottage close to the manor house for his personal use, and he told Kerrington that he had proposed to Faith Molson before leaving Northumberland. The man also delivered letters from Wellston to Kerrington and from Miss Aldridge to Lady Worthing.

“Cashémere and Lord Yardley plan to marry at the end of next week.” Eleanor read from her cousin’s letter.

Her husband added from his own, “And they seek permission to use Linton Park’s chapel for the ceremony.”

Eleanor perked up. “With that news, do you not think, my Lord, that it is time we return to our home and our family. I cannot have the countess doing everything for the wedding.”

Kerrington continued to read. “Wellston says it will be a very small affair. Only he and Trevor and Mr. Ingram from his family. Mr. Breeson, of course. The baron plans to escort Satiné abroad for a while. It appears that she suffers greatly from the ordeal.”

Bran remarked, “Satiné was the lesser sister, after all. With all her beauty, she does not have the mettle found in Velvet or our Eleanor.”

“Or Cashémere,” Kerrington confided. “Mr. Breeson related some of the goings on since we have last seen her. He found her fighting off two thugs in an inn outside of Darlington, and Wellston related how he had to save her from the glass cone while hanging at the end of a rope.”

“It is a shame,” Fowler added. “I had hoped that when Lexford recovered his memory that he would also discover a fondness for my wife’s younger sister. But I would not want him to do so, if the lady did not have the wherewithal to face her problems head on. Shepherd was right in that respect. He once told me that we who served the Realm need a different type of woman to be satisfied with our civilian lives. You found that in my sister. I did so in Velvet, and the earl will have Cashémere.”

Eleanor interrupted his thoughts. “Well, who is to say that Satiné will not blossom into a fit companion for His Lordship? She is young still.”

“She is but two years your junior, Eleanor,” her brother reminded her. “One year less than Velvet and the same age as Cashémere. Ashton sheltered her for too long. She has never known hardship.”

“We once said the same about Velvet,” Eleanor countered.

“But Velvet learned to be a fighter from her books,” Bran smiled. “She was Scheherazade, staying alive in Jamot’s crazy scheme. I did not think it possible, but she did what I least expected, and I am proud of her for it. The same as I am with you, Ella. You faced Jamot and protected Lexford.” He smiled at his friend. “We are lucky men, Worthing. Very lucky men.”

“And I hope that Velvet reminds you of that fact daily,” Eleanor laughed.

Bran smiled knowingly. “As often as you remind Lord Worthing.”

Already organizing Cashémere’s wedding, she paused as if deep in thought. “I should make a list of who to expect. Bran, shall you send for Velvet?” Eleanor asked, but did not wait for a response before adding, “What do we do about Lord Lexford?”

“The viscount should remain here until after the wedding,” Fowler stated. “Although Lexford has no memory of his initial interest in Miss Aldridge, there is no reason to make everyone uncomfortable on such a momentous day. As soon as the physician agrees that the viscount can travel safely, I have made arrangements for Lexford to spend time in Kent with Velvet and me. I was in Brittany the last time Lexford went through his guilt and his grief. I will see him through it this time.”

Eleanor rose from her seat. “I will set Hannah to the packing. If we leave by noon, we may be home by supper, James. I have missed Daniel terribly.”

“As have I, Sweetling.” He kissed her fingers. “Your brother and I will make final arrangements and confer with Mr. Breeson. Then I will come to see if you require anything.”

“Hannah is quite efficient, but when you are finished, I would like us to see Lord Lexford together.”

“Of course.”

*

“You have mumbled and grumbled your way across three shires,” Cashé had teased.

“And you know perfectly well why,” he growled.

On Tuesday, Marcus’s large coach carrying him, Cashé, and Trevor appeared before the Linton Park circular fountain. Jeremy Ingram, Marcus’s valet, and a maid for Cashé had followed in the small coach. It had taken three and a half days to reach Derbyshire. Where Marcus had seen it as pure torture, Trevor had seen it as a great adventure; having Cashé so close and not being able to touch and to kiss her had placed him beyond reasonableness at times. And, of course, she knew exactly what had been on his mind throughout the journey. She had purposely tormented him with lingering gazes and suggestive glances.

His head resting on the coach’s window, watching for the estate, Trevor remarked, “It is a big house.”

“Yes, it is quite beautiful.” Cashé patted Trevor’s hand. Marcus adored how she always had time for his brother. He had predicted that she would be a very patient mother with their children. The only trouble with such a mundane thought was it led Marcus into considering creating those babies, and he would be hard again and grumbling again.

“Two more days,” she whispered as she prepared to dismount.

Marcus caught her hand and pulled her to him. “If you keep taunting me,” he growled, “it will be tonight.”

Cashé smiled prettily. “You want me, my Lord?”

“More than you know,” he groaned.

A footman jerked the door open, and Kerrington and his mother, the Countess of Linworth, greeted them. “Welcome,” Lady Linworth said as they stepped from the coach.

Cashé curtsied before walking into Kerrington’s waiting embrace. “How do I apologize, my Lord?” she whispered.

“Make Wellston happy, and we will forget any irregularities,” he teased lightly. “Come into the house. It is turning colder.” He placed Cashé on his arm. “Mother, did you meet Lord Yardley’s brother Trevor?”

“I apologize for such short notice, Lady Linworth,” Marcus said over his second cup of tea. “We had thought to use Tweed Hall, but Baron Ashton and Miss Satiné are still recovering from the lady’s ordeal. It did not seem appropriate to celebrate mine and Cashémere’s new beginning with Satiné so distraught.”

“Think nothing of it,” she assured him. “We shall have a close intimate celebration.” She sipped her tea. “Linworth was quite delighted that you and Miss Aldridge would follow in the tradition set by our James and Eleanor. We have made arrangements for ten on Thursday morning, and we have engaged Doctor Perry for the ceremony. I hope that is acceptable.”

Cashé lightly touched Marcus’s arm. “It sounds heavenly, Lady Linworth. With all the trouble with my twin’s abduction, we want to keep our joining simple. A few friends. Our families. That will be perfect.”

“I plan to take a ride tomorrow,” Marcus whispered as they sat together in the Linworth drawing room after supper.

Cashé nodded her understanding. “You will see Lord Lexford?”

“I know it may sound odd, but I need to address Lexford in person.” He lifted their laced fingers to his lips. “He is my friend.”

“Shall I accompany you?” she offered.

“And give Lady Worthing apoplexy? The viscountess has but one day to fit your gown.”

Cashé squeezed his hand harder. “Give His Lordship my regards.”

*

Having been received, Marcus made his way to Lexford’s room. After knocking, he entered to find Lexford sitting up in bed, attempting to read a book. “Ah, Wellston,” Lexford said upon seeing Marcus at the door. “You have saved me from a fate worse than death: a book of poetry.”

“You were always more a man of science, Kimbolt. What fool brought you poetry?” Marcus moved the stack of books perched on the edge of the chair before taking the seat.

“Fowler means to vex my good humor,” Lexford confessed. “The duke has appointed himself my caretaker.”

Marcus watched Lexford play at being in a good mood. He knew it was how his friend dealt with pain. “I was under the belief that you had no memory of current times; yet, you speak of Fowler as a duke.”

“Fowler likes being a duke. It gives him a chance to outrank Crowden.” Lexford adjusted his position in the bed. “However, I do not believe you came here to speak of poetry or dukes.”