Midnight Temptations With a Forbidden Lord (33 page)

Before Tristan could leave, Charlotte stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.” And she didn’t mean just today, she meant in offering marriage, too.

He stepped close to her and wrapped one arm around her, placing his hand over the small of her back. “I have no regrets, Char. I wasn’t rushed into any of this, I’ve been sold on the idea of marriage for some time and had only to meet you to cement that decision.”

Her breath caught in her lungs. What could she say to that? Instead of a witty, intelligent response, she said, “I’ll see you at breakfast, my lord.”

Planting a loud kiss on her mouth, Tristan turned and left the room just as her maid arrived.

“Good morning, my lady. What would you like to wear today?”

She picked a dress and Marcia helped coil her hair. And to her delight, they found a pot of powder to cover her dreadful freckles. The day was already looking brighter.

When she went down to the breakfast parlor it was already bustling with chatter. She fixed herself a plate at the sideboard and took an empty seat next to Bea. On their trip north, Charlotte had had very little time to interact and bond with the woman, aside from readying themselves together in the morning.

“Good morning, everybody. I do hope you all slept well in your own beds.” She looked pointedly at the children as she said that.

Rowan giggled and Ronnie grinned as she stared down at her plate.

“What have I missed?” Bea asked.

“A morning prank,” Tristan said.

Bea put her fork down and leaned back in her chair with a stern look on her face. “I knew you two were up to no good in your morning biology lesson. What precisely did you do? Put frogs in her bed? Mud in her shoes? You were gathering something and hushed about it when I inquired what you had found.”

“It was Ronnie’s idea,” the youngest piped up.

“Rowan!” the girl admonished. “I’ll never tell you another secret again.”

“Now, now,” Tristan said. “You know that’s no way to treat a guest in this house.”

“But that’s just it, isn’t it? She’s not a guest.” Ronnie was astute, and Charlotte could respect that. Though she probably thought Charlotte was there to usurp the children’s place in their father’s life. She wouldn’t dare, of course. Tristan adored them, as did Bea. All Charlotte needed was some time to get used to the fact that she was their stepmother.

“If you’d let me finish,” Tristan added, “I would have said that if you wouldn’t treat a guest in such a manner, you would definitely not treat a member of the house the way you did this morning.”

The butler knocked and entered the room. He carried a salver with a letter and an opener placed neatly over it.

“This arrived urgently, my lord.”

Tristan sliced the opener through the flap, reading quickly over the contents of the page. Once finished, he tucked the parchment back into the envelope and gazed at her with a concerned expression on his face. She wanted desperately to ask what news he had, but not in front of everyone else in the room.

He placed his napkin on the table and stood. “If you’ll all excuse me, I have important business to attend to.” He offered no further explanation, only a nod and then he was gone.

She stared after him, then looked at Bea, hoping maybe she could provide answers to the questions filling Charlotte’s mind. Who had sent the letter? Did Tristan normally leave the table without telling all present what the issue pertained to? Should she go after him? Offer assistance? Ask him if there was a problem? She didn’t know the answer to any of these questions because she didn’t know a lot about her husband, and she felt slightly ashamed and rather useless.

Bea didn’t wait long to give her the answer she needed. “He’ll call on you if he needs you. Really, the letter could be about any number of things.”

Her last comment was not reassuring to Charlotte in the least.

“You’re sure I shouldn’t follow him?”

Bea nodded. “Trust me in this. Tristan will come up with a solution to any problem he has before he presents it to someone else. He hates to burden anyone with a problem he hasn’t had a chance to think through first.”

Charlotte filled her fork with eggs. “If he doesn’t call on me soon, I’ll have to search him out whether or not he’s come up with a solution.”

*   *   *

A bloody call for seconds.

Had Ponsley grown insane without his daughter’s presence these past few days? No one dueled or called another person out in this modern day and age. It was dirty, and unsophisticated.

Tristan entered his study and slammed down the letter he’d received that demanded satisfaction for the abduction of his daughter and the ruin of Charlotte’s good name.

Seconds!

Who in hell would second him? This was ludicrous. An antiquated notion that was completely and utterly absurd. Under most circumstances he’d first contact Leo, but his friend was indisposed and in a similar situation as Tristan at present. Instead, he’d have to call upon Hayden—who would strongly disagree with the whole notion of one’s honor being challenged in such a fashion. How could you have any honor left if you were dead?

He penned a note to Hayden and asked the butler to have his fastest rider put it directly into Hayden’s hands once in London. His rider could make it there tonight, deliver the letter, wait for a response, and be back by tomorrow evening. With hopefully an answer Tristan wanted to read.

He leaned back in his chair to contemplate his next action, his fingers massaging his temples. He would not respond to Ponsley just yet. The bloody old prig had a pair of balls to rival a bull in full rut. The bloody bastard. Well, one thing was certain, he would not make a widow out of Charlotte.

A soft knock sounded at his study door.

“Enter,” he called.

Charlotte stepped into the room, a look of worry making her brow heavy. “Is everything all right? You looked as though you have received … disagreeable news.”

How much should he tell his wife? Would she beg him to call it off? He decided not to say anything, at least for the time being. He knew he couldn’t keep it from her for long, though.

“Bad news has a way of working itself out,” he said.

“Is there something I can help with?”

He smiled and shook his head. She was a sweet, kindhearted woman.

“Nothing for you to worry on. Tell me, what are your plans today, lady wife?”

“I promised to walk through the gardens with the children and your sister. She said it’s a formidable hike to see all the gardens around the property.”

“Perhaps I will join you.”

Charlotte came farther into the room. “I’d like that.” She shyly ducked her head. “That is to say … your company would be greatly appreciated.”

Tristan stood from his seat and came around his desk to stand in front of his wife. “You flatter me. Perhaps I’ll use the time to steal you away for a kiss. One taste was simply not enough this morning.”

Her eyes widened as she assessed him. A smile slowly tilted up her lips as she released her breath.

“Only if you can catch me to accomplish such a feat.” She came forward, gave him a rather chaste kiss on the lips, and practically ran out of the room with a laugh.

She was an invariable tease.

Tristan suddenly felt like a bull ready to charge. He loved the type of challenge his wife had just presented to him. Today, he’d enjoy the company of his family and wife. Tomorrow he’d have word from Hayden so there was no sense worrying about what was to come of the challenge just yet. He tucked the letter from Ponsley into a drawer before heading up to his room to ready for their walk. Once ready, he knocked on the adjoining bedchamber door.

“You can come in,” his wife called.

He ate up the sight of her when he stepped inside. She was breathtaking in her off-white dress with embroidered sprigs of yellow and green flowers. She wore a silk moiré bonnet in ivory with a chocolate-brown ribbon tied at the side of her jaw.

He offered her his arm. “Shall we?”

She gave him a shy smile and slipped her arm through his.

“I am only taking your arm with great confidence that you’ll give me the full history of this house and the lands.”

“Your wish is my command. And I am as proficient in the history of Hailey Court as my sister.”

“Then we’ll have a grand day.”

“Indeed,” he said, brushing his thumb over the side of her face as he led her out of their room, and down the stairs to the front anteroom.

“Let us join the morning air, then,” Tristan said to his sister and children. Hobbs opened the doors to the ballroom—which had direct access to the gardens.

Ronnie and Rowan ran ahead of them when they saw a turtle climb into the hedges, a trail of muddied water left in its wake.

“Can we bring him down to the lake, Papa?” Rowan asked excitedly.

“Please do. We can’t have Mr. Welch pruning the flowers only to find a turtle snapping at his fingers.” Welch being their gardener.

Ronnie giggled at the very idea. Hopefully she was in better spirits today. Charlotte broke off from his company, but didn’t escape far before he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to his side.

“Where precisely do you think you’re wandering off to without me? I’m to be your tour guide, at your request.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Is that a challenge?” he asked in jest.

“For such a charming man, you can be dreadfully barbaric at times.”

“I’m still new to the idea that you belong to me.”

Charlotte laughed at him. “I belong wholly to myself, Tristan. You cannot cage a canary indefinitely, for they lose their will to sing.”

“Then I’ll remind myself every now and again to open the cage door.”

“You will leave it open, Lord Marquess. This is not a negotiation,” she said, in good spirit.

“There will come a time when you will enjoy nothing more than being locked away with me—and with no one to interrupt us.” He gave her a sly wink.

“But that day is not today. I have a new family I must learn all about.”

“You’ve already won over Rowan.”

“Have I truly? I’m probably the mother figure he’s longed for, but not truly a mother. Not yet.”

Tristan let her go so she could walk ahead and catch up to Ronnie, who straggled behind her brother to gather daisies from the garden. Charlotte pulled some, too, breaking them close to the root. He watched her talk to Ronnie with a kind smile and a friendly twinkle in her eyes.

It was in that moment he knew he’d made the right decision to marry her—regardless of the circumstances that brought them together—and that this was the right decision for his family. The children would grow to adore her just as he had since first meeting her.

“What has you grinning like a fool?” Bea asked quietly next to him.

“Life.” He took his sister’s arm and walked with her, silent for a spell as they took in the scenery and the fresh air. “Life has a funny way of unfolding sometimes.”

“Will you be spouting poetry soon?”

“Don’t tempt me, even if only to torture you for the rest of the afternoon.”

His sister gave him a look that said
I dare you
. He only shook his head.

“She has put you in a good mood. You were always meant to have a wife, and I daresay … a much larger family.”

“Do you think? I find the idea preposterous.”

“You’re too hard on yourself. You’ve been a wonderful father since the moment Ronnie came into your life.”

“No less than you’ve been a mother to them both. Which reminds me that we need to discuss Rowan.”

Bea’s smile slipped. “This is not the time or the place for such a conversation.”

“You’re right, of course. But I want you to think about what we’ll discuss.” Namely, revealing the true parentage of Rowan to both the child and to Charlotte.

The world was a cruel place, but he’d not shelter his children from the truths that would shape their lives—he could try his damndest to protect them, but he couldn’t shelter them all their lives.

“The letter you received earlier, it had you worried.”

“I’m not free to discuss the details with you before having a conversation with my wife.”

“How quickly your loyalties shift.”

He looked askance at his sister. “My loyalties have never shifted, nor will they shift. My life for the past ten years has revolved around you and the children. You, sister, cannot turn your back on what you deem to be an outsider simply because she’s known us for so short a time.”

“I don’t want to argue,” Bea said.

“Then stop looking for reasons to be contrary.” He left his sister on the old stone path and walked toward Charlotte and his children.

Charlotte smiled as he approached. “Your son was showing me how far the turtle’s head stretches out. Look—” She held out a daisy she’d plucked from the garden. She gave a squeal of delight and released the flower just as the turtle’s mouth snapped onto the tasty morsel.

“Even slimy reptiles find you endearing,” he said. She gave him a droll look. “Run up to the lake, children, you don’t want the turtle’s shell to dry out.”