Lady Caro (11 page)

Chapter 14

Taking leave of Dr. Baxter, Caro would have fled to her room to indulge in a bout of weeping, but she was denied this melancholy release by the appearance of a servant with word that Lord Vinson awaited her in the morning room.

Slowly she descended the stairs, feeling years older than she had when this day had begun.

As she entered the morning room, her wayward heart leaped at the sight of her future husband, who looked so very handsome in a green double-breasted coat that accentuated the emerald of his eyes. His face was grave, as it had been when she had last seen him in the hallway. She stopped inside the door, suddenly feeling awkward, shy, and uncertain with him.

He came toward her, a strained little smile on his lips that she did not find reassuring. His green eyes were serious, almost somber, as they regarded her. Did they reflect his displeasure at the thought of marrying such a plain creature as herself? Mindful of the gratitude she owed him for rescuing her from Tilford, she said a little stiffly, “It was very kind of you to agree to marry me.” Her candor would not permit her to stop there. “Although I own I cannot understand why you did.”

“I could not let you fall into Tilford’s hands,” he said
quietly. His
answer made her feel worse. Her voice cracked a little as she said, “That is excessively kind of you, but I cannot see what you gain from your kindness.”

He gently took her small hands, oddly cold for so hot a day, into his own warm ones. His touch made her heart beat so hard against her ribs that she was certain he must be able to hear it.

“What I gain, elfin, is a wife.”

“But not one you could want, for I am not a lady or a great beauty, or even pretty. Surely you could find a more suitable bride.”

Alarm flashed in his eyes, and his hands released hers abruptly. “If you are trying to tell me that you do not wish to marry me, elfin, you need only say so. My agreement to this match is conditioned upon it being acceptable to you. Is it?”

“Yes,” she admitted, wishing it were half so acceptable to him as it was to her.

Ashley was frowning. “I am persuaded it is not. You look ready to cry.”

“My father is dying. Is that not reason enough to want to cry?” she asked, resorting to half-truth to pacify him.

His frown deepened. “You know that I have an...” Words suddenly seemed to foil the usually urbane viscount, and he looked decidedly uncomfortable.

“An agreeable connection,” Caro supplied helpfully.

“Does that distress you?” he asked anxiously, searching her face with concerned eyes.

Fear and pride warred with candor, and for once the latter lost. With heroic effort, Caro managed an indifferent shrug, determined that Ashley should never know the truth. “You are free to do as you please. I told you once that the only marriage I would consider is one like Lady Fraser’s, and now I shall have it. I give you my solemn word that I shall not interfere, and I would never—”

“Yes, I know, you would never break your word,” Ashley said impatiently. “But are you certain that—”

“Very certain,” she cried emphatically, eager to put an end to this painful discussion.

Apparently this convinced him, for, taking her hands in his again, he squeezed them. “I give my word to you as I did to your father, elfin, that I shall take very good care of you.” Seeing her expression of disbelief, he demanded, “Why do you look at me like that?”

She said slowly, “I have seen how husbands in loveless marriages treat their wives.”

“My God, elfin, you cannot think that I would abuse you!”

“But you do not love me.”

“No,” he admitted.

Caro felt as though her heart had been stabbed with a very long knife.

“Nor do you love me, elfin, but I think we can deal very well together.” He gave her hands another comforting squeeze. “I know how distasteful marriage is to you, but I promise I shall be an easy husband, and you will never suffer ill treatment at my hands. You will be far happier with me than with Tilford.”

Caro, swallowing hard, forced a smile to her unwilling lips.

“Now, I fear,” Ashley said with a teasing gleam in his eye, “I am expected to drop to bended knee and formally beseech you for your hand, but I am persuaded that you would find me quite ridiculous. And I dare not kiss you, for you have told me how repulsive that would be.”

Had Caro’s sensibilities not been so overset, she would have comprehended that he was quizzing her. But taking his words seriously, she was deeply wounded, thinking them further confirmation that he had no romantic interest in her. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she stammered that his superior understanding gratified her.

She did not understand why her reply brought such a frown to his face or why he took his leave of her rather abruptly.

Caro and Ashley were married that evening at Levisham’s bedside with only Reverend Laken and Dr. Baxter present. Not surprising under the circumstances, the ceremony was brief and somber with none of the joy usually attendant upon such occasions.

Afterward, Caro insisted on remaining with the marquess, but he soon fell asleep. An hour later, Ashley appeared to insist that she come dine with him.

When she protested that she would not leave her father, Ashley’s handsome face assumed a look of exaggerated disappointment. “You told me that you would never break your word to anyone, elfin, but now that I have bound myself for life to you, I find that it was all a hum. You are not a woman of your word.”

“You know that is not true!” Caro exclaimed.

“Do I?” he responded with an innocence that was belied by the teasing light in his eyes. “Only an hour after you vowed to, among other things,
obey
me, you refuse to do so. And,” he added mournfully, “it is such a very small request, too.”

Caro smiled in spite of herself and let him lead her away. Smiling mischievously at him, she said, “I would know whether you will insist on my obedience to every little whim of yours, my lord husband?”

He gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. “You will not find me a demanding spouse, child, except when your welfare is at stake. I intend to keep my word to take very good care of you.”

She was deeply moved by both his touch and the solicitude that she read in his eyes, but his calling her “child” destroyed some of her pleasure. It rankled that he regarded her more as a daughter or little sister than a woman and his wife.

Ashley led her downstairs to the terrace where, at his instructions, a table for two had been laid. It was loaded with covered dishes, a small bride’s cake, roses from the garden, a candelabra, and a bottle of fine champagne.

When they were seated, Ashley dismissed the footman who was waiting to serve them, saying he would do so himself. When the minion was gone, the viscount gave an audible sigh of relief. “At last!”

He gave her an irresistible smile, its warmth melting the edges of the cold depression that had gripped her since she had learned her father had been stricken.

“How difficult it is to be private with my bride.”

My bride.
The words thrilled Caro.

Ashley lifted the bottle of champagne. “We have not yet toasted our wedding.” He poured her a glass, then one for himself. “To us, elfin,” he said simply, his eyes serious, as his glass touched hers. “May our life together be far happier than the circumstances under which we had to wed.”

She would drink to that, but what would make him happy—his undisturbed liaison with Lady Roxley—would break Caro’s heart. She wanted more from Ashley than he was prepared to give.

Ashley turned his attention to the feast beneath the covered dishes that Levisham’s French chef had created: poached turbot in lobster sauce, roast chicken with truffles, quenelles in puff pastry, duchess rolls, stuffed lettuce, and Flemish-style carrots.

During dinner, Ashley did his utmost to erase the awkwardness she felt and to cheer her with a series of amusing anecdotes about his family and his misadventures growing up. She would, he assured her, love her new mother-in-law, for she was a delightful creature who charmed everyone from the irascible old Queen Charlotte down to the lowliest scullery maid. His father was a prime one, too, but plainspoken and a high stickler in the bargain. The earl was a man who knew what was due his title and position, which might make him seem stern and unbending to her initially. Listening to this description, Caro wondered anxiously what the earl would think of her.

After dinner, she insisted on returning to her father’s room even though Dr. Baxter told her that there was no need for her to do so. Levisham was resting easily. But Caro would not be dissuaded. Concern for her father was not her only motive. She remembered all too vividly Tilford’s advances, and she was uncertain and uneasy, indeed, a little frightened, about what to expect of a husband, especially one who did not love his wife. Although Ashley was not at all like Tilford, Caro had not been able to erase entirely the fear and loathing that her cousin had created in her. So she sought refuge at Levisham’s bedside.

To her surprise, her new husband did not object, but joined her there. They dared not talk for fear of walking the marquess, but Ashley held her hand comfortingly. The champagne had made her very sleepy, as Ashley had intended it should. After an hour or so in the silent, darkened room, where the only sound was the ticking of the clock and the breathing of her father, Caro fell asleep in her chair.

When Ashley was certain that she was deeply asleep, he lifted her from the chair and laid her on a chaise nearby. After tucking a light blanket around her in case the night should grow cooler, he took his leave, wondering wryly whether any man had ever spent an odder wedding night.

Chapter 15

Caro was overjoyed by the recovery, so remarkable that it bordered on the miraculous, that her father made in the wake of her marriage, confirming in her mind Dr. Baxter’s assertion that it would be the best medicine that could be prescribed for him.

Her happiness was heightened by Ashley’s attention to her. He was unfailingly understanding and considerate, cheering her with his humor and amiability. With her father improving so rapidly, she felt no guilt about spending more and more time with her husband. They went on long rides in the early morning. The harvest had begun in the oat fields, and sometimes they would stop to watch. Later, they would picnic by the stream or walk through the park. When it rained, they played billiards or read together in the library. If Caro had not known better, she would have thought herself cherished by him. But she knew better.
He does not want to marry you... He needs a wife to give him an heir.

A fortnight after their wedding, Caro and Ashley were lounging in a sunny spot along the stream, not far from where a portion of its water was diverted to fill Bellhaven’s pond. She told him of how they skated on the pond when it was frozen over in the winter.

“Do you like to skate, elfin?” Ashley asked. He was stretched out on the grassy bank, idly twirling in his fingers a sprig of tansy crowned with a cluster of delicate yellow-gold flowers. He wore no coat, and his ruffled shirt was open at the throat.

“Oh, yes!” Caro exclaimed. She was sitting beside him. The awkwardness and unease and anxiety that she had initially felt with him after their wedding had quickly faded. She could not wish for a more delightful companion. Yet, to her puzzlement, he remained only that, demanding not even so much as a kiss. For a man who had married only to obtain an heir, this omission seemed very peculiar to Caro. Clearly, he must find the prospect of making love to her so distasteful after Lady Roxley that he intended to postpone it as long as possible.

Initially, Caro had thought that she would welcome such neglect. But now, studying Ashley’s finely sculpted mouth, kissing him did not seem the least unpleasant to her. Emily’s words echoed in her mind.
I promise you that when you lose your heart to a man
,
you will like his kisses very much. Indeed
...
you will yearn for them.

So that was what had happened to her, Caro thought unhappily. She had foolishly fallen in love with a husband whose heart belonged to his beautiful
chère amie.

Ashley, staring at the tansy he was twirling in his hand, said abruptly, “I must return to London soon. I have urgent business to attend to there.”

“What business?” Caro asked uneasily.

“Nothing that you need trouble your head about,” he replied evasively, his eyes still on the tansy’s button like flowers.

Caro, certain that his business was Lady Roxley, looked wretchedly miserable.

Ashley, misinterpreting the source of her unhappiness, said hastily, “Do not worry, elfin. I will not insist that you come with me. But I think you would enjoy London.”

The prospect of leaving her father and the security of Bellhaven for a city where she knew no one frightened Caro. Even more disturbing to her was the knowledge that her husband’s lovely mistress was there and that he would be in her arms.

“No, I do not want to go there,” Caro cried, a touch of desperation in her voice.

“Why not?”

She had given her word that she would never mention Lady Roxley to him, and now Caro tried to come up with some other plausible reason. She stammered, “I will not be able to ride or ice-skate or enjoy the flowers or . .

“Or climb trees, elfin?” Ashley teased. “I shall regard that as a profound blessing. But you can ride in Hyde Park and ice-skate on Rosamund Pond, and you shall not lack for flowers to enjoy at Bourn House.”

“I do not want to go! Please, let us remain at Bellhaven. Have you not enjoyed yourself here?” she asked anxiously.

Ashley sighed. “Yes, elfin, I have, but I cannot stay. I must return to London.”

Caro’s spirits suffered another depressing blow when the earl of Bourn arrived late that night at Bellhaven without advance warning. Ashley had dispatched a messenger informing his father of his marriage. Upon receiving it, the earl had set out in haste without his countess, a circumstance that in itself always put him in ill humor.

His disposition was not at all improved by the sight of his new daughter-in-law, when Ashley introduced them in Levisham’s library amid the leather-bound volumes.

Caro sensed Bourn’s instant disapproval of her. She had so wanted to win his approbation that his negative reaction to her had the effect of rendering her uncharacteristically shy and silent with him, thereby showing her to even greater disadvantage.

Levisham, who had retired early, had already been asleep when the earl arrived, so Caro lacked her father’s supporting presence. Even Ashley’s practiced urbanity could not entirely paper over the tension and awkward silences between the earl and his new daughter-in-law. Caro seized on the first excuse she could find to flee from Bourn’s presence.

After she left them, the earl said to Ashley, “I cannot believe that you have married such a plain, awkward little drab. Have you taken leave of your senses?”

“But, Papa, I only did your bidding,” Ashley replied in an unperturbed voice. “It was you who insisted that I must marry immediately in order to produce an heir. You yourself selected Caro as a young lady worthy of bearing a future earl of Bourn. Indeed, you said that she might prove to be your favorite candidate.”

“That was because I had never seen her! Her father misled me unconscionably, writing to me that she was much like her mama. Why, there is not a particle of resemblance to that beautiful, enchanting creature. Do not try to gammon me that you have fallen passionately in love with Caro. I know your taste for dazzling women too well.”

“No, I will not profess that. We have known each other too short a time, and Caro is not the type of girl to inspire violent passion. However, I have grown very fond of her. ” He smiled soothingly at his father. “She is the only one of the seven young ladies on your list that I had the smallest wish to marry.”

“Why?” the startled earl demanded.

Ashley smiled. “She will never bore me.”

The forbidding frown suddenly vanished from the earl’s lined face. “So that is the way it is,” he said, more to himself than to Ashley, then changed the subject abruptly. “Your mama is anxious to meet your wife.”

“I am persuaded that they will deal famously together. Caro presently shows to disadvantage, but her defects are superficial. I believe that I can contrive, with the aid of Mama and a good maid, to turn her into a very striking, if not beautiful, young lady.”

“I do not believe in miracles,” the earl said grumpily.

“Trust me, Papa. Caro will be a daughter-in-law you can be proud of.”

“How long do you remain at Bellhaven?”

Ashley frowned. He had intended to return to London a week ago, but he had been enjoying his time with Caro so much that he had postponed his departure. He could do so no longer, however. The problem of Henry, which had become more urgent with Ashley’s marriage, must be dealt with quickly or Caro could be in grave danger.

To Caro’s relief Bourn stayed only that night at Bellhaven. Although he seemed friendlier to her when he took his leave, she could not be easy with him and was much relieved to have him gone.

But her relief was short-lived. No sooner had he left than her husband announced that he, too, was departing for London.

Bidding Caro good-bye, he said, “Summon me at once if your father’s condition worsens, and I will return immediately. However, I think it highly unlikely that it will,” he said in a sarcastic tone that puzzled her. “When I get to London, I shall insert an announcement of our marriage in the
Gazette.
I must warn you, elfin, that there will be a great deal of talk about our hasty marriage and your remaining here at Bellhaven, but I shall do my best to shield you from it.”

“Thank you,” she mumbled, staring down at the floor in an effort to hide how miserable she was that he was leaving her for London and Lady Roxley.

His fingers gently held her chin, tilting it up so that he could look into her eyes. Smiling down at her, he asked softly, “Will you miss me, elfin?”

“Yes,” she admitted, her gaze meeting his green eyes, which were regarding her with a quizzical light. Fearful of what her own eyes might reveal to him, she lowered them to his sensual mouth. Her heart seemed to cease beating as she wondered again what it would be like to be kissed by it.

As if reading her thoughts, his fingertips lightly brushed her cheeks and his lips descended on hers in a kiss so tender that it made her ache. She hoped it would never end. But far too soon, he lifted his mouth. She saw in his eyes an odd, speculative look that greatly puzzled her.

His voice was suddenly husky. “Good-bye, elfin.”

Then he was gone—to Lady Roxley’s arms. For what other urgent business could have drawn him to London, Caro thought bitterly. He could not wait to return to his mistress.