A Heartless Design (37 page)

He looked around the room. “Cheshire is a long way from here, but we have space for everyone. However, it is my intention that those of you who join us at Thorne Hall will not just be regular servants. I have an idea which will require people with a very particular background. Ordinary servants will simply not do.”

A mild babble broke out, but Cordelia soon calmed everyone. “What my fiancé is saying is that those whose wish to will join a sort of school for servants. A special school, where people we trust will learn not only the usual tasks of serving, but also a few extra skills.” She smiled. “And you may use some of the more unusual skills you gained in previous lives.”

Jem half raised his hand. “Are you saying I’ll be a footman and a thief, ma’am?”

“I’m saying, dear Jem, that you’ll be a man who can play at being a footman in order to catch thieves…and others who would harm the people and the country we love.”

“Oh, well then. I think I’d fancy that,” he responded with a grin.

“So would I,” Lucy Bond echoed, twining her hand in Jem’s.

* * * *

On the day of the wedding, Cordelia woke up early. Bond entered with a breakfast tray. “Last morning you’ll be breakfasting alone, my lady,” she said with a knowing smile. “Eat up. You wouldn’t want to faint in church!” 

Cordelia ate a little bread and butter with her tea, then Bond dressed her in her wedding finery. The ivory lace gown was extravagant, the delicate lace worked in rosettes all along the length of the skirt. Bond carefully curled her hair, and held the locks in place with a circlet of green-tinged roses, created especially by Aunt Leona. Cordelia’s gloves were light green as well. At her throat, she wore Sebastien’s wedding gift, an emerald necklace of stunning deep green stones. Bond treated the stones with the sort of reverence that only a jewel thief could.

Cordelia walked down the stairs slowly, with Bond following faithfully behind her, watching the slight train of her dress so it would not get torn.

She entered the drawing room, where Elly and Leona waited. Upon hearing about the engagement, Elly had instantly agreed to be her bridesmaid. In order to keep Cordelia the center of attention, she dressed in simple pale blue lawn. She wore pearls and her light hair was coiffed into an elegant knot.

“Oh, you are a perfect bride!” Elly exclaimed. “Just looking at you makes me want to get married all over again.” 

“I think the Church has rather firm rules about that, so long as you still have Mr Ramsay,” Leona commented. Then she gazed happily at her niece. “You are a vision, Cordelia. I always knew you would become a bride.”

“Despite my many protests to the contrary?” Cordelia looked indulgently at her aunt.

“Oh, yes. You are made for loving, my dear. Such a heart as yours needs to have someone to love.”

“I would have been happy living with you till we were two old ladies.”

“Before you met your match, perhaps. But once Lord Thorne crossed your path…ah, that’s that!” Aunt Leona shrugged happily, as if consigning everything to Fate.

“And I am not the only one in love today,” Cordelia noted slyly.

“Yes, well,” Leona looked down, smiling. “Edward is a good man.”

“It is a good match,” Cordelia insisted.

“I think so,” a male voice said from the hallway. The ladies saw Lord Dunham standing there, grinning without a trace of compunction. “But that is not the marriage of interest today. Mrs Ramsay, you must take my soon-to-be bride to the church posthaste. Miss Bering and I will follow.”

The ladies did as instructed, and within minutes, one carriage rattled away from the house, leaving one for the bride. Since Cordelia had no close male relative to give her away, she had rather shyly asked Lord Dunham to perform the service, seeing as they would soon be nearly related anyway. The baronet had accepted the offer happily, and so it was he who rode with her to the parish church.

When the carriage stopped in front of the church steps, he jumped out and helped her, paying careful attention to the dress. “I know your maid will have my head if I allow anything to happen to it!” he said.

At a signal, they entered the church, and walked down the aisle to where the party had gathered, all watching her advance on Dunham’s arm.

Sebastien’s heart nearly stopped on seeing his bride at last. Cordelia glowed with a happiness that he’d never seen on her face before. He realized that all the cares she had shouldered over the years were finally gone. She looked as innocent and as radiant as, well, a bride.

She beamed at him when he took her hand. He did not want to let her go.

Neither Cordelia nor Sebastien remembered a word of the ceremony.

Afterwards, everyone returned to the Quince Street house for the wedding breakfast. Stiles and Mrs Landry had outdone themselves in preparing the house for visitors. The dining room was filled with flowers, and the best dishes were laid out with a precision that the great houses of England couldn’t best.

Sebastien’s mother looked around and gave her approval. “Very lovely. And on such short notice! You run a house well, Cordelia.”

“I have been lucky with my help,” she replied, straight-faced.

The meal was lively. Mr Ramsay looked as besotted with his wife as if they were the newlyweds, and Adele demonstrated her ability to capture a man’s attention in the way that she effortlessly snared Jay with her innocent laugh. Lord Dunham showered all the ladies with compliments, saving the most ridiculous ones for Leona, sparking laughter around the table. Even Sebastien’s laconic best man, Lord Forester, looked amused. Cordelia looked around and decided that if this was the path her life took, she had no cause for complaint. And when she caught her husband’s gaze, she knew that she was destined for happiness.

After the final toasts, Cordelia invited the guests to join her in the gardens, where cake and tea would be served.

The gardens were in marvelous form and filled with the timeless scent of summer, the roses at the height of their season. The gazebo had been draped with pale green bunting, and rose petals were strewn all over the paths.

Adele, normally so convinced of her own taste, was quite impressed by the overall effect, and got a speculative look in her eye as she surveyed the gardens.

Sebastien saw it and whispered to his mother, “Best take notes, mother dear. I think my little sister is getting ideas for her own wedding.”

Lady Thorne smiled. “She’ll have ten thousand ideas for her wedding before the real thing occurs. I only pray she doesn’t make me wait as long as you did!”

“It was worth the wait. Don’t you think I found a perfect bride?”

“She’s not what I would have expected,” his mother noted. “But sensible and intelligent. She’s a good match for you, and she’ll be an excellent mistress of Thorne Hall.” She paused. “Now shouldn’t you go in search of her? It is the beginning of your life together. You must not neglect her on this day of all days.”

He couldn’t agree more. Sebastien found his wife sitting on a stone bench in a secluded part of the grounds, admiring a rose she held in her hand. Her black hair was bound up and secured with a ribbon he already dreamed of untying. He moved quietly toward her. “Did I not meet you in a place just like this?”

She looked up, her heart in her eyes. “You forget that it was night, and that marriage was the furthest thing from your mind when you sought to kiss me.”

“True. I suspected you were part of some heartless design to seduce me. But I very quickly realized that my attraction to you wouldn’t ever fade.”

She let the rose go, and offered him her hand. “Well, go on and say it. I know what the gossip will be. ‘Heartless’ Cordelia Bering finally gave in.”

He shook his head. “The gossips will never comprehend one tenth of the truth. Let them talk.” He took her hand in his. “I know you’re not, and never have been, heartless.”

“Of course I am,” she said, laughing now. “I gave my heart to you.”

He swept her up and into his arms. “But you took mine in exchange.”

“A fair trade, then.” She smiled and kissed him, not caring in the least who saw them. “Now, my heart, let’s go and face the world together.”

Hand in hand, they did.

• Tell your friends and leave a nice review;
  
• Follow Elizabeth Cole on
  Facebook
  or
  Twitter
  ;
  
• Sign up for her
  New Release Newsletter
  .
  

LADY IN PEARLS
– A Regency Romance Novella –
READ A SAMPLE

Lies. Blackmail. And one chance to change her past...with the help of a mysterious investigator.

LOVE IS BLIND
– A Regency Romance Novella

He was a walking scandal, she was a proper young woman. Can an infamous rake rise above his sordid past to win a proper woman's love?

A WINTER'S KNIGHT
– A Regency Romance Novella

A wounded Royal Navy captain tries to find love in the face of his self-doubt. Can a sweet, provincial young woman bring her winter knight out of his dark past?

LOVE ON THE RUN
– A Romantic Suspense Novel –
READ A SAMPLE

After witnessing a murder, a struggling LA actress ends up in the arms of a county sheriff. Chance brought them together, but only trust can keep them that way...and time is running out.

A VOICE AT MIDNIGHT
– A Regency Holiday Romance Novella

A holiday retreat leads a rebellious young lady to contemplate her future with a wealthy suitor, but she cannot ignore the allure of a worldly ex-soldier. Within Castle Wyemont's haunted halls, love proves to be the most mysterious force of all…

ELIZABETH COLE
is a romance author with a penchant for history, which is why she lives in an old house in an old city. She can be found hanging around libraries and archives, or curled in a corner reading, cat on lap. She believes in love at first sight. Then again, she also believes that mac 'n' cheese is a healthy breakfast, so don't trust her judgment on everything.

Elizabeth is currently writing a series of romantic spy thrillers set in the Regency period. The second novel, codename RECKLESS, is due out later this year. Find out about new releases from her
Newsletter
.