Already His (The Caversham Chronicles - Book Two) (24 page)

“Once that began to sink in, I started to see that I couldn’t allow someone to ‘tame’ you or break your spirit. It was the one thing about you that always drew me to you. That’s what makes you special.”

“You followed me the other night,” she said. He loved that tilt she got to her head when she asked him a question. “And you heard Edgcumbe, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “I only thought to be there to protect you should you need me. Though you obviously held your own. I should have known you would be fine. You are a strong and direct young woman. Edgcumbe is like a colt still finding his legs, and not what you need, Elise. In a few years time, he would have worn your spirit down and you wouldn’t be happy. Neither would he. Then, soon after, he’d seek his comfort elsewhere, be it his club, gaming, or a mistress. And you would continue to grow older and unhappier.” He paused and let his words sink in.

“Look at me. Please, Elise.” When she did, he spoke again. “That’s not what I want for you.”

It seemed an eternity to him while she quietly digested his words. True to what he knew of her nature, she asked, “Why are telling me this? Now?”

“Because I want to kiss you again, Elise.”

“Is that all?”

“For now, it will have to be.” He didn’t want to think of filling a nursery with anyone but her. He wanted children with her courage and spirit, to bring them joy as they grew old together. “Your brother has given me twenty-four hours to see if your feelings might still be the same as they were before.”

It felt as though minutes ticked by, and still she hadn’t said anything. He had never put his heart on the table before, for a woman to cherish or destroy, and her continued silence made him grow more and more fearful that he was, in fact, too late. Unable to take the deafening quiet any longer, he asked, “Are they... the same? Or...” His words hung in the space between them. Michael was hopeful he hadn’t missed his opportunity. “Is it too late?”

She shook her head, mouthing the word, ‘no.’

His heart sank. He’d revealed his truest and deepest feelings for her and because he’d taken too long to sort through his emotions, it was too late. He wanted to plead his case or shout at her for being foolish, but instead raised his hand to signal the driver to stop.

Before he could tap the roof, she spoke, her voice straining with emotion, “No. It’s not too late.” He watched as she blinked back tears in her amber eyes. “They’re still the same as they’ve always been, and the same as they will always be.”

Michael collapsed back into the squabs, deeply relieved. Finally, a happy future lay before him—and with a most unlikely young lady. He exhaled a shaky breath, and rubbed his hands on his thighs. “Good. This is good,” he muttered, suddenly unsure of himself and how to proceed. Whenever he’d thought about a wife in the past, she was always faceless. Nameless. Someone he thought he’d yet to meet. And that someone had been right in front of him all along. The complete opposite of what he’d always said he wanted.

“Michael?”

He heard an unnatural tremor in her voice. In all the years he’d known her she was never unsure of herself. “Yes?”

“Kiss me again,” she said softly. “It’s what I’ve wanted since the first time you kissed me.”

“I know, minx.” He took her hand and drew her onto his lap. “And when you asked me to kiss you the other night, it scared the devil out of me.”

Wrapping his arms around her, holding her close, he thought he felt her tremble. Though it could have been him, so powerful were his feelings for this slip of girl who’d never given up on him, or on her own heart.

He lowered his head and set his lips to hers. She was soft, so soft. She was freshness and innocence embodied. She was as sweet as the first day of spring and as passionate as a sultry summer day. Never had so simple a kiss affected him so, effectively turning his world upside down. Suddenly everything he thought wrong now felt right.

Backing away, he rested his chin on the top of her head and took a deep, shuddering breath to control his ardor lest he frighten her. He had to remember to go slowly with her. She was untried and unused to this.

“Michael?”

He met her gaze. “Yes, minx?”

“It’s what I’ve always imagined.”

“I know it is, minx.”

He held her that way, close on his lap as he stretched out on the seat, for the duration of the ride to the Royal George where they planned a luncheon and change of horses.

W
hen they disembarked the coaches, Michael smiled and winked at Bridget, who clucked then muttered something unintelligible under her breath. If Elise knew her maid, it more than likely had something to do with scandal. Lord knew, she was ever preaching to her about the repercussions of improper behavior. Removing her hand from Michael’s, Elise stepped over to her maid and grinned so broadly her cheeks hurt.

“Everything is going to be fine, Bridget. You’ll see. My dream is finally coming true.”

Bridget reached into the baggage coach and retrieved her embroidery. “Has he proposed then?”

“Well.... Not in so many words,” she replied. “But we both know that is the final outcome.”

Bridget looked at her skeptically, and said, “I’ll believe it when I see the announcement in the Post. Not a minute before.” Still unbelieving, her maid shook her mop-capped head, red curls peeking from the sides near her ears. “And I can’t believe His Grace gave his approval, what with your grandmother feelin’ under the weather an’ all.”

“I’m certain he’s given his approval else I wouldn’t be here. After all, Ren does love me, much as he says I’m a thorn in his side. And, as my brother said I could marry for love, I’m willing to bet he’s allowing us to find out if that’s what Michael and I feel for each other.”

“And what if Camden tastes yer charms and finds them not to his likin’, what then?”

Elise looked around the yard to make sure no one was listening. “You make it sound so illicit... so improper.”

“Well, it is! And think on this,” she warned, “if’n he’s not wantin’ ye after he’s had his fill, then yer goin’ to be left nursin’ a broken heart. I know. I’ve been down that road.”

Michael came up just then to lead the women into the private dining room that was readied for them. Elise took her seat across from Michael and Bridget sat at a small table near the door, her ever-vigilant maid playing the role of duenna in the public facility.

The sumptuous fare was quite good considering the location. Elise probably ate more than she should have, but was making up for not having much breakfast. She fed the kittens some scraps from her plate, then let them romp in the grass for several minutes before putting them back in the basket for the rest of the trip.

After they were underway again, Elise stretched out lazily on the seat next to Michael, her head on his chest. “How much longer?”

“Nearly three hours more.” He tightened his hold on her when the coach hit a rut.

Before long the good food, full stomach and rocking coach began to take its toll on Elise and her eyelids were getting heavy. “Are you comfortable? Would you mind if I napped?”

“Go ahead, minx.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll wake you when we get close.”

“I’m happy, Michael.” She gazed into his hazel eyes, a tired smile forming.

“I am too, Elise,” he replied tenderly. “I am too.”

H
e held her that way for hours, relishing the feel of her against him. In the silence of the coach, his thoughts finally began to fall in place.

Love was but a fleeting thing—something one wished for and if they were lucky enough to experience it, they should cherish it, for love was never lasting. He knew this first hand. Both his mother and older sister lost the loves of their lives far too young, and neither remarried. His uncle lost his wife in childbirth many years earlier and also never remarried, which is why he now held the title.

His younger sister had told him that she never missed an opportunity to tell her husband how much she loved him when he was home. And when he was called away to exotic locations kept secret from her because of national security, she wrote him daily and told him of her love, because she too knew having it was rare and special.

Michael couldn’t say this was love. At least not yet. He knew he wanted Elise like he’d never wanted a woman before. He knew there was a strong attraction between them. And he cared more deeply for her than he ever had for a woman. But he wasn’t sure that he wanted to label those things
love
yet.

Both he and Ren knew the responsibilities that came with their positions and one of those was the duty to marry appropriately and produce the next generation of leaders for their country. A love match would be ideal, but in the absence of that, there had to be an affection for the other person. He wanted a marriage that was something more than an alliance for the sake of merging lands and wealth, or creating offspring.

Michael envied Ren his happy union and he wanted the same. Over the past few weeks, and especially this last week, the idea of a future with Elise warmed on him. Truly, he hoped it was possible to forge such a future with her. The elemental traits he deemed necessary certainly existed— she was of noble birth and was pleasing to the eye and loin—had those traits not been there, he would never have proposed this arrangement to her brother.

Yes, he found Elise very attractive, desirable even, and he admittedly looked forward to the physical aspects of marriage. Too, he felt both a certain protectiveness and possessiveness where it concerned her. The thought of another man touching her, and doing those things he wanted to do with Elise made him physically ill. Could he have these feelings were he not in love with her? She was high-spirited, true enough, but she was also very intuitive and intelligent. Perceptive and sometimes subtly manipulative, she always kept him thinking. He would forever be on his toes where she was concerned. She also made him laugh, as she had in the Duchess’s rose garden with young Edgcumbe. He couldn’t imagine her wit and tongue being silenced by a man who sought to control or break her.

He thought of his uncle and his warning of loving the wrong woman. God help him if he were wrong to fall in love with her. He stood to lose not only a vivacious, delightful young woman who’d wormed her way into his heart, but the friendship of a man who was as close to him as a brother. In the end, the possibilities for him and Elise far out-weighed the prospect of living without her in his life. Marrying Elise was the right decision.

At his mother’s birthday party, he would announce their engagement to the family.

E
lise snuggled closer to Michael, inhaling the sandalwood and spice scent of him. Breathing deeply, she decided he was very comfortable to rest on. So comfortable she’d lost track of the time while she napped. She wondered how close they were. Turning her head, she looked up at him and saw him staring down at her.

“My sleeping beauty awakens.”

“I’m no beauty, but yes, I’ve awakened.”

“You underestimate your charms, minx.”

“Don’t Michael, please. I’ve long ago realized that my looks are unconventional. I’m too tall, too thin, and do not possess the desirable assets of other women. I can’t tell you how I’ve prayed for—” She paused unsure of how she might sound to a man. “—more of this and less of that.”

“You’re you. I think you’re perfect, and that’s all that matters.”

She didn’t want to debate with him on this topic. He couldn’t change her mind. Shifting her position, she realized she needed a break to stretch her legs and answer the urgent call of nature. “Michael?”

“Yes?”

“How far are we now?”

He set aside his papers, looked out the window then down at her. “About twenty minutes.”

“Can we make that twenty-five?”

He smiled and nodded as he tapped the roof.

True to his word, twenty five minutes later, they turned onto the long drive to Woodhenge. The estate, he told her, had been in his family for more generations that he could remember. The title, he said, had been in his family over six hundred years, and parts of the house were nearly that old. He began to support maintenance on the estate when it became obvious his widower uncle could no longer do so alone.

“Uncle inherited a crumbling estate and very little funds. He married for love, his wife bringing nothing in the way of dowry to help the coffers. He had a small horse breeding operation where he’d experimented with cross-breeding for a superior carriage horse. So many farms were breeding racers and hunters that he felt there was a niche to be filled in specializing in light and heavy carriage horses. The pacers that pulled my phaeton in the park the day we saw the children with the kittens— those were his. I’ll show you around later, and you can study his breeding charts. It’s all very interesting.”

“Those horses come from the same stock I’ll see this week?”

He nodded. “Uncle imported certain horses from the continent and crossed them to our native carriage stock. The result is what’s in our barns.”

Elise looked up when they rounded a bend onto a wider gravel drive. Woodhenge appeared ahead, an ancient limestone sanctuary with crumbling towers on one side, connected to a more modern, perhaps Tudor, stone residence. Stately and impressive it looked near the size of Haldenwood, only much older. It rose four stories in the center with three-story wings extending off the gleaming facade like a haven in the setting sun.