Heaven Bound (A Blakemore Family Book: Madame Lou Series Book 2) (18 page)

“I suppose that wouldn’t be the worst sort of marriage, if that is the case with the baron. At least he wouldn’t care what I did with my time.” Adeline contemplated being married to such a man. “But I won’t put him in that category quite yet. I will try again tomorrow or Sunday when we are walking back from church. Maybe he’s just the sort of fellow who prefers his kisses in the light of day.”

“Maybe,” Emily sounded doubtful. “He is the handsomest one of the three, so I do hope he’s a normal chap. But you had better steer clear of that Lord Denbigh; it sounds like he might still be a problem.”

“I don’t think so,” Addie’s said, standing and walking to the window. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he is gone in the morning. Mr. Bradley was quite angry with him and, since it is his family’s estate, I would imagine that he’s requested that the gentleman remove himself from the premises.” She motioned Emily to come look outside. They could see a motorcar pulled up to the front of the house and the chauffeur was strapping someone’s luggage to the back of it.

“Good riddance.” Emily said, turning to tidy up the room before she left her mistress for the night. “Is there anything else I can get for you, Miss; a wee bit of sherry maybe or something sweet to tempt you?”

“No, thank you,” Addie yawned. “I’m afraid the evening has worn me out. I’ll read for a bit, but I’m sure I won’t be awake much longer.”

Emily left, leaving Adeline to her own thoughts. She ran her hand over Jack’s jacket one last time before crawling into bed. She tried to read the novel she’d taken from the library last night, but her mind kept wandering back to what else had happened there. Eventually, Addie gave up trying to read and just closed her eyes, and fell asleep fantasizing about it what it would be like to be married to Jackson Bradley.

* * *

“I know how the old man hid the money.” Jackson had dragged his brothers upstairs to the room where the star chart was, even though it was the middle of the night. They all stared at it in shock at how obvious it now was. That along with the oldest version of the family Bible was kept here in this room, and they were finally able to connect the dots. “So, now all we have to do is find his murderer and then you two can get on with your lives. Winston, you can marry your widow and Marcus, you and Beatrice can concentrate on making more babies.”

“What about you, Jackie? What will you do? Will you stay here or go back to the Colonies?” It was a fair question, but Jack didn’t have an answer yet.

“I haven’t decided.” he replied honestly, thinking about Adeline again. He wasn’t so keen on the idea of running into the duchess, or baroness or marchioness with her husband and their children. “I’m not certain I want to stay anymore. At first I considered opening an office in London or even Liverpool. My partner is agreeable to the idea, but now I’m not so sure.”

“There’s no need for you decide tonight, anyway.” Winston said. “Just know that both Marcus and I want you to stay.”

“Thanks; I appreciate it.” Jack felt his heart swell with gratitude that both his brothers had welcomed him back with real affection. “But right now we need to ensure the entire future of the Bradleys. Let’s tear this room apart and see if we can find why someone wants to kill us all and who the hell it is.”

“Amen!” the brothers chimed in together.

Lord Suffolk had tried to corner Madame Lou after the séance, but Cassiopeia made sure that he was only able to speak with her for a few minutes. She left before the house was even stirring in the morning so he wouldn’t be able to engage her in conversation on her way out. The man could be a pest, as she knew from her experiences with him back in London. He often visited both the tea shop and the agency. Sometimes Cassie wasn’t sure which of her personas he was actually more fascinated with, since he seemed more interested in getting Cassie to let him take her on a drive through the park than having Madame Lou read his cards. As she left Basildon Park Estate at the crack of dawn, Cassie had made sure that this trip she had plenty of time to change out of her costume for the train ride home. The evening had been mildly successful, but Margaret James hadn’t wanted to entirely give up her hopes that her daughter would indeed become a peer of the realm and not just a member of the gentry. At least she’d offered the girl a choice, but whether or not Simon James was willing to give up his aspirations of a title for his descendants was still undetermined. Clara had come to Cassie again in the middle of the night and shown her how Jack had rescued Addie. It was a promising development and there was still time, with Miss James still under the same roof with the man, so anything was possible. But would it be enough?

The next day, the house party didn’t begin until late morning with a relaxed buffet-style brunch and then an organized game of cricket. With so late a start, the next meal was an early tea service.

Adeline spent the entire afternoon and evening trying to get the baron to kiss her but he was either very obtuse or had no desire to. By the time the guests had eaten supper and withdrawn to various salons and drawing rooms to play cards and other party games, she’d decided to give up and turn in for the night. Tomorrow would be her last chance to corner the man and force herself on him, and she was determined not to let him escape even if she had to come right out and ask him to press his lips to hers. She simply could not make her decision without knowing one way or the other.

Thankfully she hadn’t seen Jack all day, so his presence wasn’t distracting her. She’d overheard his brothers saying he was upstairs, looking through some papers and books. Adeline assumed Jack was in that room they’d found last night. She almost went to find him and ask again if she could help, but decided not to torture herself in such a manner. It was bad enough that Addie had spent most of the day waiting for a glimpse of Jackson who made her heart pound and her body tremble with this foreign need. It wouldn’t do for her to go chasing after him as well.

After Emily tucked her in, Addie couldn’t help herself and she got out of bed and pulled Jacks tuxedo jacket out from a drawer she’d hidden it in, so one of the maids wouldn’t find it and try to return it to its rightful owner. She hugged it to her chest, inhaling Jack’s scent that still lingered on the soft wool, and then carefully put it back. She knew she would have to return it to him eventually, but for now it was all she could have of the man, so she was loath to give it up. Sighing, Adeline crawled back into bed and tried to convince herself that this was the way things had to be.

* * *

On Sunday morning, some of the guests walked to church, minus Jack. He’d decided to stay behind and continue looking through his father’s private study for any clue as to who might have killed the old earl. He lost track of the time and was surprised to hear the party returning. The guests would remove themselves to their rooms and change out of their church attire into sporting clothes, as the afternoon was to be filled with tennis and other various sports and games, then another evening of music and dancing. Tomorrow they would all head back home, including the Jameses, and Adeline would probably be engaged to be married soon. He expected to see an announcement in the Times any day.

Deciding that he may as well enjoy her company while he was still able to, Jackson gave up his detective work for the rest of day and went to change and join the other guests. He had finally come to the realization that Clara would want him to at least try to find some happiness. And even if it was only temporary, he was going to do just that.

* * *

Adeline had a wonderful day and it all started with chaste kiss from her baron. It had been nice, if passionless, and she had finally made her decision. She would marry the Baron of Craven. And while she still wondered if the man was indeed fonder of gentlemen than ladies, she was willing to risk the possibility if it meant more freedom for her. Isn’t that what her mother had communicated at the séance? Even though Addie wasn’t entirely convinced that Madame Lou was a real medium, the advice she had given was still sound.

It had also helped Adeline to make her decision today since Jackson hadn’t made an appearance yet. Seeing him seemed to have the effect of giving her pause about choosing a man other than him to spend the rest of her life with. Ever since the séance, and then the incident in the garden that night, Addie had been thinking long and hard about replacing Clara in Jack’s affections, and for some reason it didn’t sound as preposterous now as it had four months ago. But it was too late; Addie had made up her mind and, besides, Father was pestering her to make a decision and she was certain he had no thoughts that she wouldn’t marry a man with an honest-to-goodness title.

But she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to make love to Jackson. And the more she thought about it the more determined she became. Why shouldn’t she choose who she gave her innocence to? Isn’t that what a truly modern and independent woman would do? Who said she had to be a virgin on her wedding night? Wasn’t that really just an old fashioned custom? After all, it was 1907, and women’s being able to vote was almost a forgone conclusion, or it would be soon. If she was going to spend the rest of her life married to a man she didn’t love, why shouldn’t she have one night with Jackson to hold in her heart and remember forever?

Adeline had decided; tonight she would enter womanhood and give herself to Jack. Then she would marry the baron, as she had promised her parents, and spend the rest of her life improving working conditions in England. Satisfied with her decision, Addie walked through the rest of the afternoon in a much improved mood, excited for the night ahead.

“Stone, I don’t want you to wait up for me tonight.” Adeline said as Emily put the finishing touches on her mistress’s toilette for the evening festivities.

“Don’t be silly, Miss; I’ll just take a nap and be ready for you when you return, even if it’s the wee hours.”

“I don’t want you to, please.” Addie turned and looked her maid in the eye. “I have other plans for tonight and I’ll want to be alone when I do return.”

“I don’t understand, Miss.” Emily looked hurt and confused.

Sighing, Adeline decided it would be best to simply tell the girl what she planned, as she knew she would not be able to keep it to herself forever. “I’m going to seduce Mr. Bradley tonight. How I get him to come here to my room, I’m not yet sure, but I don’t want you showing up accidentally and spoiling things.”

“But I thought you were going to marry the baron. Have you changed your mind? Are you going to disobey your father?” Emily looked stricken at the thought, probably believing she would be dismissed without reference if such a thing were to happen.

“I’m still going to marry Lord Craven as my parents wished, but I’ve decided that who I give my innocence to will be my choice. And please don’t try to talk me out of it; I’ve made up my mind and there is nothing anyone can do or say to change it. If I am to spend the rest of my life in a loveless marriage so the Jameses can be a part of the royal peerage, then I can spend one night with the man I love.”

“Oh dear, you love Mr. Bradley?” Emily asked with real empathy in voice. “Well, if that is truly the situation, then we must ensure this is the most special night of your life. Come now, Miss, let me help you pick out some pretty underthings and while I’m going about it, I’ll give you a bit of advice and information that I wish someone had imparted to me for a similar situation I found myself in some years ago.”

“You, Emily, I mean, Stone?” Adeline looked at her lady’s maid slightly shocked, but only for a moment. After all, the girl was the closest thing to a female relative she had right now.

“I do believe for this conversation, ‘Emily’ will be more appropriate.” The maid pulled Adeline down to sit with her on the edge of the bed. “I’m no virgin myself, Miss, and the man I gave myself to I will always love, even though he will never belong to me. So, you see we are more alike than you might have thought.”

“Indeed!” Addie said, pleased at this new level of intimacy between herself and Emily. “Well, I’m all ears.” By the time Adeline left for her evening of debauchery, she’d been educated in a way that maybe her mother or an older sister might have done for her if she had one; just another reason to be grateful for Emily Stone.

Eager to begin, Adeline entered the Great Hall and looked for Jack in the crowd. He was standing with his brothers and when he turned and met her eyes, she smiled shyly at him. He smiled back with warmth and genuine concern in his eyes. He had a new evening jacket on and it occurred to Addie, looking at it, that she knew how to get him back to her room now. She would use the pretext of returning the jacket he’d lent her last night and then when she had him all alone in her room, she would take what she wanted and give him as much pleasure as she was able.

Emily was even now preparing the room with candles and brandy and whatever else she thought her mistress might make use of to make the night unforgettable.

“There you are, Adeline. I’ve been looking for you all day.” Simon James appeared after the elegant eight-course dinner had been cleared and the guests were splitting up among the various evening entertainments.

“How are you this evening, Papa?” She kissed her sire on his whiskered cheek.

“Tired, and ready to go back to London tomorrow with the name of your fiancé.” Mr. James gave his daughter a stern look. He would be delayed no further.

“And you shall have it. Tomorrow, I promise. Now go play cards and let me enjoy my last night as an unattached lady.”

Mr. James looked relieved that he had accomplished his primary goal for the weekend and wandered off in the direction of the card room.

Adeline waited until he was gone before going in search of Jackson. She had sensed his regard all through dinner and wondered if he was anticipating that this might be the last night they would have together as well. Smiling to herself, excited thinking about what she was about to do, Addie made her way into the music room where guests had gathered around the Edison phonograph player. Jackson’s brother, Marcus, and his wife were operating the machine while some of the guests moved to the dance floor. She approached Jack as he sipped a glass of champagne that the footman was passing around on a silver tray.

“Are you and your father planning on leaving in the morning?” he asked, taking a fluted glass and handing it to Adeline.

“Yes,” Addie said accepting the glass and taking a sip of the bubbly golden liquid. “But not until after breakfast at the earliest. Father said there’s no rush to return to London in this heat.”

“No,” Jack agreed. “I don’t suppose he he’d rather stay in the country for a spell and enjoy a few more days of shooting?”

It was a backhanded invitation to stay, and Adeline wished she could take Jackson up on it, but she had an engagement to plan and Father would not be delayed any longer. “I’m sure he would, but there is business to be taken care and it’s already been postponed long enough.”

Jack frowned, obviously not understanding what Addie was referring to. “But you’ll be in London for a while yet, won’t you?”

“Oh, yes.” Addie confirmed, taking a long drink from her glass. She found herself needing a bit of liquid courage in order to get on with her mission. “I’ll be staying even after Father goes home. The house in London is actually mine.”

“You’ll stay in town by yourself?” Jackson looked even more confused by her comments. “I would have thought your father would be more concerned with your welfare.”

Adeline laughed outright, causing Jack’s frown to come back. “He won’t be leaving me alone, Jack. He expects to give me away at my wedding first.”

A look of sudden understanding transformed Jackson’s features. “Yes, I almost forgot. So, have you picked from amongst your noble admirers? Just don’t say the earl, please.”

“That would be ungrateful of me if I had.” Addie said with a shy smile, remembering how Jack had rescued her the other night. “But I don’t want to talk about it tonight. I’ll have the rest of my life to spend with whomever I decide upon, but tonight is just for me.” She gave Jack what she hoped was a seductive, meaningful look. But he looked away, appearing uncomfortable by their discussion of her future husband. Was he jealous, or simply missing his own wife? Too inexperienced to know the difference, Adeline could only move forward with her plan and hope for the best.

“Would you like to dance?” Addie boldly asked. Jack looked surprised at first, probably not used to a single young woman making such a modern request, but then he smiled and held out his arm to her.

“You’ll have to excuse my clumsiness,” he said, leading her over to the other couples gliding around the open space. “It’s been a very long time since I attended any parties where there was music and dancing, so I may be a bit rusty.”