A Perilous Marriage (8 page)

“I must not get a lot of things, but fate has taken hold, and I fear I haven’t the strength to fight back. I also feared I could not last until you came.”

“Oh, don’t give up, dearest. You have been more mother to me than mine own.” He’d never shed a tear since he was a youngling, but he could feel the prickle behind his eyes. “What can I do? How can I assist? This is a dastardly business, and I will do all I can to help you recover. Tell me what you need.”

“I have only one important task. Do what I ask of you, Richard. I want you to marry Lucie before I die.” She coughed again, and her head sank back against the pillows, her eyes bright with fever. He held his hand against her forehead to verify the heat and recalled Rowten’s warning. He leaned forward to raise her up so she could breathe more easily, but she held up her hand. “No…don’t. Leave me be, it hurts too much to move. Richard, listen to me, you’ll need to get a special licence quickly. The vicar will marry you both here in this room...so I know it is done.”

He was shocked at her words, and even more shocked that, for a reason he still couldn’t fathom, he had purchased a marriage licence from the Bishop at Lambeth House—even though he had thought at the time it was in the event he might meet a suitable female when he returned home and preferred not to bother contacting an unknown bishop. Marrying Lucie was the last thing he’d anticipated, nor having to use the licence so quickly.

“Have you told her what you wish?”

“No. You must explain. You will know what to say.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. It was a habit when he was frustrated or completely at odds with a situation. And, for God’s sake, this was one hell of a situation. How could he tell her she must marry him? What the hell would he say?

“She will logically say no. Any woman would, faced with a decision like that, especially with you so badly injured.  Dear God, Eleanor, you or I cannot surprise her like this!”

“If you both love me, and I think you do, you will know in time I am right to insist. You will know I am right about many things. Have Rowten bring her here. We will tell her what I wish her to do. You must cooperate and insist. Your help to keep her safe is all I have at this moment. I have little time left, Richard. Don’t waste it in arguing. Get the licence.”

“Strange to say, I actually have a special licence. I bought it in London.”

Her eyes lit up. “Good. I knew you would not let me down.”

“Now wait a minute. I did not get that licence for Lucie. I got it in case...well, in case I met someone I wished to marry when I went home to Shropshire.”

Eleanor screwed her face up in a grimace. Whether in pain or in disgust with his lame excuse he did not know, but it made him feel guilty about arguing with her. “You really are serious about this marriage?” he said after a long pause.

“Lucie will be unprotected when I go. Do you want Tasker to bully her into marriage? For he will. I have no doubt about it. His covert threat to me has made me wonder if he had anything to do with the carriage going over. I’ve had that brougham for a long time. Jacobs would never send it out in a dangerous condition. He inspects it every time. He has had care of me for more years than I care to count.”

“I wondered about that but could not see how it would come about. It would take a strong man to jemmy a carriage. There are usually quite a few villagers around at mid-morning at the time you went, making it a risky time to attempt such a dastardly action. Was the carriage left unattended at any time when you were in the village?”

The laudanum which she had taken earlier to control her pain had made her dazed, and she closed her eyes for quite a time, obviously trying to recall the events of that morning, making Richard think she was either asleep or unconscious. Suddenly, just as he was about to call the nurse, she murmured, “Yes, I stepped out to visit old Mrs Blaycock who has been poorly, and at the same time, Ruth called at my seamstress to pick up some new uniforms for the maids. I sent John off to the blacksmith to ask him to call round and see Butters, our head gardener. He needs some ironwork doing in the old conservatory. So yes, the carriage was left standing on its own. Not long, I think. For no more than a quarter of an hour, I’d say. It was left by the church wall. It was in plain sight of any passersby though. Was that long enough for someone to arrange the disaster?”

Richard mentally reviewed the main street through the village and was aware that anyone could have come over the wall by the churchyard. They could have hidden in the lee of the coach and tampered with the wheels yet not be seen. It would have been an ideal opportunity for anyone intent on sabotage. They would have assumed the maximum damage, considering they were dealing with elderly ladies. He was just about to ask more questions when the door opened and Lucie came in.

They stared at each other in surprise. Lucie because she hadn’t been notified he had come back, and Richard because he suddenly saw the young woman in a different light. If he did as Eleanor wanted, she would become his wife. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Did he want her in that role? Apart from a mixture of polite words and scathing retorts, he had no idea what she was like. She could be a virago who could play hell with his future. Or, and somehow he felt intuitively he was right, she could be sweetness itself and be a passionate partner that he could adore.

At present, which was totally understandable, she was overwrought with worry. Her white, tired face indicated the hours she had spent by her grandmother’s bed. Despite his own feelings of distress for his godmother, he knew he had to be strong to get not only Lucie through the trouble but the whole household. Talking with Rowten had made him realise that everyone at Ashbury Mead had suffered a dreadful blow with this diabolical accident that could yet be construed as murder.

He rose and held out his hand. “My dear, I am so sorry you had to contend with this distressing accident on your own, but I’m here now, and will do all I can to help. Sit here in my place.” He bent his head towards as Eleanor as he heard her murmur, “Richard you mustn’t delay, and you must tell Lucie. Promise me you won’t fail me.”

He grasped her hand and squeezed it. “Rest easy, Aunt Eleanor. Leave things to me. Yes, I’ll do it.” He turned back to Lucie and saw the anger on her face.

Chapter Six

Seeing Richard sitting by her grandmother’s bed, Lucie narrowed her eyes disdainfully at him before giving a loud humph of displeasure. “You undoubtedly have a way about you to dispense with that irritating and most frustrating nurse. She is in a fulminating mood. She very nearly stopped me from coming into the room, damn her.”

He grinned at her and replied, “Put it down to my incredible charm.”

She blinked in surprise at his unexpectedly humorous retort before scornfully ignoring it and, walking forward, said, “How is she?”

Opening a baleful eye, her grandmother coughed and rasped, “I do hate it when people talk over my head as though I were dead. My ears are working as well as ever, and under the circumstances, I’m as well as can be expected. Where were you?”

“You were fast asleep, so I was sent off to rest. I didn’t want to go—”

“No matter, Lucie, you are here now, and Richard has something serious to ask you.”

His mind had been working furiously from the time Lucie had come into the room. Knowing he was faced with no alternative, he had marshalled his thoughts. He would be callous indeed if he hinted he was being forced to declare for her, no matter how true it was, but how to phrase things in a pleasing manner that would not rob her of her pride?

He almost cursed out loud at the thought of his own pride and the vow he’d made on leaving home that whatever life dealt him, he would be his own master and control his own fate. No one would tell him what to do, yet here he was, agreeing to be leg-shackled to a woman he not only hardly knew but had never met before this visit. To compound things, her attitude was neither friendly nor conducive to accepting a proposal of marriage.

Oh well, let’s get on with it.
He had already stood up and beckoned Lucie to sit in his place then moved round to the other side of the bed so he could look straight at her.

“It looks as if, my lady, the accident has caused a state of affairs to turn very serious in the last two days, which I have only now become aware of. My original intention, on coming back from the city, was to stay briefly then hurry back home to set in motion the renovations that are required to put my estate in order. It has been neglected for a long time, and the people who live there are in dire poverty with no one to control their wellbeing. Then, I was returning here to ask permission to court you.”

“Court me!” Lucie’s exclamation—which sounded like sheer panic—came gasping out. “I don’t want you to court me! For God’s sake, what is the matter with you men? I’ve no intention of marrying you or anyone else!”

“Hush, child! It may not be what you want, but it’s what I want!” Eleanor’s cough sounded deeper and more liquid, and her bloodshot eyes showed that the fever the doctor feared was advancing quickly. “I cannot believe you would be so cruel as to deny me what I wish.”

“B-but…but we were going to London just to see if anyone suited. I thought I could say no if things did not suit and fully intended that...” Lucie felt tears rising uncomfortably close. Why wouldn't people understand she did not want to marry?

“London will never be possible now, my dearest. The only thing that is possible while I still live is here and now. I need to safeguard you from Edmund Tasker. I have come to realise he is a dangerous man, and you are vulnerable. In fact, your safety is definitely at risk. Arrangements will begin shortly to put you beyond his reach for all time. I want you to marry Richard. Apart from his protection, you will be an extraordinary help to him in establishing his new household.”

Tasker! Lucie blenched at the thought he would be the one who would try and court her as she took in the rest of her grandmother’s words with equal consternation.

“You must know I’d refuse Tasker straight away. I would not allow him to force me.” She still tried to defend her position and the right to say whom she would marry. There was no way would she agree to wed Richard Martell. “Neither will I marry Richard. The whole idea is ridiculous. I do not know him or wish to know him, and we wouldn’t suit.”

“I have decided, Lucie, that you
will
marry Richard. It is my right to command you, as you have not yet reached your majority. I must also think not only of your future but of our lineage. I only have you left to carry on the family line with one I’m not ashamed to be allied to, that of the Copeland family. Their ancestry compares with us, and I could not wish for a better alliance. Apart from that, I am handing you over to someone who will care for you when I am gone. This accident has sadly hastened things, as I had hoped you would come to my way of thinking without coercion.” She coughed again and closed her eyes for a moment before turning her head wearily towards her godson.

“Richard, you know what to do. Get the vicar.”

Without saying a word, he bowed and, turning silently, left the room. As soon as he was out, the nurse came bustling in, wanting to know how her patient was and what had been going on between the three of them. At once, Eleanor stared at Lucie with a silent order not to speak. It seemed to Lucie that her grandmother did not like the nurse either. Laudanum was offered but was refused, though the nurse said it would help her pain.

“And also blunt my senses. I need to be awake for just a while longer, and then I will take it. For now, nurse, leave us so I can talk to my granddaughter.”

“But I am supposed to be with you all the time, your Grace,” she complained.

“Oh, for goodness sake, sit outside the door and leave it open,” Eleanor said wearily.

Lucie bent forward and took hold of both Eleanor’s hands. “This is all too much for you, Grandmama. Why don’t you rest now and leave the decision of my marriage alone. Things will sort themselves out, I am sure. The only important thing is that you recover from this horrendous accident and I won’t lose you.” The hovering tears welled up, and she could not hold back her sobs. “I can’t believe you are concentrating on me at this time when you could be recovering yourself. Please, darling, save your strength for yourself.”

“Lucie, I have always done my best for you and have never steered you wrong. Trust me, please. I know what I am doing. Marry Richard, and you will be safe.”

Oh, dear Lord, why has it come to this?
Eleanor thought, closing her eyes against the sad sight that almost made her give in to her granddaughter, even though something still held her adamant.
I can’t hold on for much longer. Please send Richard back soon.

The uproar in the corridor and loud objections from the nurse heralded the appearance of the Reverend Buckthorn and Richard. The vicar had already been waiting close by.

“This is a bad business, your Grace, are you sure...?” Buckthorn said as he stood by the bedside, looking down on the woman he had come to know so well.

“Richard has told you?” she murmured. He nodded. She looked at the figures before her, all of them dismayed at the unfolding events. “Then proceed.”

* * * *

“Please, aunt, wait but a moment.” The interruption from Richard was startling, to say the least. “I beg a minute to speak privately with Lady Lucie.”

“And if I judge it correctly, I have to affirm we have witnesses to this distressing affair,” the vicar said quickly. “Although his Lordship has explained the situation, and he has a licence, I still need to confirm this marriage takes place because it is your wish, Eleanor.”

The duchess nodded. “Use my dressing room, Richard. Yes, Henry, it is my wish.”

Richard promptly guided Lucie into the dressing room and shut the door. “This is a shocking affair, both the accident and the unforeseen haste of a marriage. But denying your Grandmother at this late stage is the worst thing we can do. She is too ill and likely to get worse. I don’t want it on my conscience that any refusal on my part causes her death.”

“Neither do I, but I’m trying to understand why a sudden marriage is so important.” Lucie raised her tear-stained face to his. “What you are saying? If I don’t marry you she will instantly die?” He didn’t answer, only stared back at her. “I don’t wish her death either. You suggest this marriage takes place even though I cannot comprehend the haste? Why does my grandmother fear that Tasker will come after me when I would refuse him anyway? What do either of you know that has prompted this incredible decision?”

With her questions pounding his ears, he was at a loss to offer the truth in the short time he had left to get her agreement yet leave her with pride. “I cannot give you chapter and verse of your grandmother’s wishes. Nor, as ill as she is, can she fully explain. Suffice it to say there are very good reasons why you should be out of the reach of men like Tasker. London is out of the question. You are on your own here with no security. Lucie. Your grandmother is thinking of your protection.”

“But I don’t love you or even li—”

He held up his hand to silence her before she voiced her dislike. His mind was almost in turmoil, wondering how he could satisfy the demand of the duchess and deal with this most obstinate of females that he was actually going to beg to be his wife. It was sheer madness.

At that moment, an idea struck him. “As far as we—you and I—are privately concerned, may I make a suggestion? Our marriage can be in name only, a marriage of convenience, I believe it is called. When your grandmother has recovered, it will be easy to gain an annulment, and no harm is done. Should the worst happen, and she dies, we will be free to decide the future. But one thing is clear—you will be safe from the importuning of Tasker. I knew him in America for a scoundrel and possibly a murderer, and was appalled to hear he had come back to this area. I need a valid reason to prevent him from pestering you, as Eleanor and I think it likely he will. Let this marriage take place, Lucie, which will stop his intrusion, his hounding of you as an unmarried heiress. Come with me to Shropshire and lend me your aid, and I will make sure your future will be as you wish.”

Lucie gazed silently back at him for a long moment, thinking on his words and all the implications it signified, then she nodded. “I will do as you say. It seems the only solution.”

“Very well, that’s agreed between us, my dear. Let’s join the others and try to make it a pleasant occasion, if we can.”
Some hopes of that,
he thought, for no wedding wrought under these circumstances could ever be pleasant.

Back at Eleanor’s bedside, her pain-laden eyes stared back at them with great concern that they were going to deny her. She gave a sigh as Lucie said softly, “I'm ready, Grandmama, and will marry. Is there anything we can do to help you through this?”

Eleanor shook her head and croaked, “No. As long as the deed takes place, I’ll be satisfied. Very well, Vicar, you may go ahead.”

Henry Buckthorn had already co-opted Agnes Jenkins, the nurse, and also Arthur Rowten as witnesses, and they were standing together a little way back from the bed. The nurse had a worried look on her face, likely wondering if she should have called the doctor.

In view of the peculiarity of this event and the persistence of her patient whom she wondered might have developed a brain fever as well as the pneumonia, she felt Dr Makepeace should be the one to agree or countermand these strange proceedings. However, though she could be tough with some of her patients, courage was not part of her psyche. These people were obviously her betters, so she kept her tongue quiet.

Rowten still wore his expressionless face, but he also seemed to exude a firmness of character that boosted Richard’s spirit, giving him confidence he was doing the right thing. He felt sure that Rowten, knowing his mistress for so long, would have made his objections very clear. He met the butler’s eyes for a brief moment, and Rowten nodded calmly as if to say, ‘go ahead, you have my blessing.’

Henry Buckthorn cleared his throat and said, “Please stand before me, my lord and lady. Are you still of a mind we proceed, your Grace?” He glanced again at Eleanor. She coughed again but her nod was definite. “Good, we shall begin.”

Lucie hardly took note of the words of the short service, only answering when prompted. Rowten stepped forward and took her hand to pass to Richard in lieu of the father who would have given her away, and she thanked him with a look. He smiled back lovingly, and she knew she’d held his regard since she was a tot, though her attention was fully on her grandmother, aware that she was sinking fast and hardly able to concentrate. She was drawn back to attend the words of the ceremony when the vicar asked for a ring. There was a moment of surprised tension when Richard stood at a loss, but swiftly, he pulled his signet ring off his little finger, looked apologetically at Lucie, and said, “Will this do for now? I will replace it as soon as possible.”

She smiled tearfully. “I will be honoured to accept it, my lord.”

Her brief words heartened him as he handed his ring to the vicar to bless. It was loose on her finger, but she curled up her hand and whispered, “Don’t worry, I won’t lose it.” Whatever he would discover about her nature from now on, one thing he was sure she possessed was kindness and consideration. Despite the spat they’d had, he instinctively knew she was a gentle maiden. Someone he could and would honour unreservedly. When he slid the ring on her finger, he knew a moment of complete astonishment when his whole mind and soul suddenly recognized that this action was forever. This woman he was marrying was his for all time. There was absolutely no way would he allow an annulment. He had found his bride and would keep her as his wife, no matter what happened.