Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (10 page)

Helen placed her trembling hand on Henry’s arm, and as the music swelled, they slowly made their way down the aisle. Her sister winked at her and smiled as she reached the altar. Then Henry took her hand and placed it in Matthew’s shaking one. This was when she realized that he was as nervous as she was.

The vicar started the wedding mass. While they exchanged vows, a calm fell over Helen. There was a strong sense of rightness, and she knew she really was at peace with marrying him. When she met Matthew’s penetrating green eyes, she realized she did want this marriage, and knew everything was going to be fine.

When it came time for her to repeat her vows, she did so in a strong and steady voice, meaning every word when she said she would love, honor, cherish, and obey this man for the rest of her life. Matthew’s voice was determined, and a little louder than was necessary, when he promised to hold her for better or worse, in sickness and health, so she knew he was as apprehensive as she had been.

Then the vicar said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.” Matthew raised her white tulle veil as he looked deeply into her eyes. He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips, before they turned around and walked down the aisle to the back of the chapel and signed the registry book. Her hand was steady as she signed her new name, Helen Doreen Cunningham. As Matthew was signing his name, she realized it was the first time she had seen his full name. Matthew Winston Cunningham. It had a nice sound to it, and she thought it was a strong name for a strong man.

Since the day was so glorious, Helen was glad Henry brought his open carriage. Matthew placed her hand in the crook of his arm and patted it as if to reassure her. After helping her into the carriage, he sat down beside her, and they waved to all the well-wishers. She looked at him and smiled as they made their way back to the house. By the time they arrived, she felt quite relaxed.

She was sure the wedding breakfast was delicious, but she was too excited to really eat anything. Chef Michelle had truly created a work of art in the magnificent three-tier wedding cake covered in the palest blue sugared roses, whose tiny green leaves were of such delicacy, it amazed her. The gentleman who had been at the altar with Matthew was indeed his friend, Bradley Fox, and he proposed a toast wishing them many happy years together.

Henry stood up, turned toward Helen and Matthew, and with love shining in his eyes, said, “To my sister, Helen and her new husband, may you have as much joy from this union as Melody and I have found in ours. I love you, sweetheart.” Helen’s eyes were swimming in tears, but she had a smile on her face as she gazed over at Matthew when Henry finished his toast.

After hours of dancing and talking to wedding guests and family, it was finally time for her to go upstairs and change into her traveling costume. Kathryn, Melody, and Susan came with her. While she changed, they were talking about how lovely the church looked with all the beautiful white lilies and blue hydrangeas that adorned it.

Sally helped her remove her wedding gown and helped her put on her deep blue carriage dress with light gray trim. Sally gently wrapped her wedding gown up in white tissue paper, telling Helen she would make sure it was perfect so someday her future daughter would be able to wear it at her wedding. Sally’s thoughtfulness deeply touched Helen, and she gave her a hug.

“Helen, you’re a beautiful bride. I want you to be very happy. You’re the best sister in the world and I’m going to miss you terribly,” Kathryn cried.

Helen looked at Kathryn with tears in her eyes. “I love you too, Kathryn and I’ll miss you desperately. Please write me every day and tell me how your art classes are coming along. You’re truly a gifted artist and I’ll want you to paint my portrait as the Countess of Collingswood. There’s no one who could do it better than you!”

Melody hugged her and Melody whispered in her ear, “Helen, I’ll be praying for your happiness. I’m sure Matthew will be considerate of your wishes, so don’t be afraid to voice them. Now, it’s time to go downstairs and join your new husband.”

When they arrived downstairs, Matthew was already outside waiting by the carriage to help her in. She turned to her family, hugged all of them, and then told them goodbye as she got into the carriage.

As they drove away, she watched them fade away before she turned back around and looked over at Matthew. She didn’t know what to say. It felt so strange. She was alone with him, and she was paralyzed with fear. She tried to recall that sense of peace and rightness she had felt in the church, but now it seemed to have deserted her. Matthew looked at her, his eyes lacking any emotion, so she couldn’t tell what he was feeling at all.

Matthew’s gaze softened as he looked directly into her eyes. “My dear, you don’t need to be afraid. I’ve decided we’ll take it slow. There’s no hurry for us to consummate our marriage right away. I’m sure you must be feeling terrorized by the thought, since we don’t know each other very well. We’ll take a few weeks to get to know each other first. Does that make you feel better?”

Helen breathed a sigh of relief as she gave Matthew a gentle smile. “Thank you, Matthew. I was
very apprehensive
, because I do feel as if we’re strangers. I would like it very much if we could get to know each other better before…we…are intimate. I didn’t sleep well last night because I was so worried. I had already planned to ask you if we could wait, but I didn’t know how to approach you about it.”

“Helen, we have the rest of our lives to be together. A few weeks shan’t be hard, and if it means you’ll be more comfortable, I’m more than willing to wait.”

Helen felt as if a thousand pounds had been lifted from her shoulders. “Your thoughtfulness means the world to me. It shows me that my feelings about you are right and true. How many hours will we travel today? I’d like to talk, but to be honest with you, I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. Would you mind terribly if I took a short nap?”

“We’ll travel until sunset, and then we’ll stop for the night. It will take us several days to get to Collingswood Hall. I’m sure you’ve been very busy planning our wedding, so please rest. I didn’t sleep well myself, so I think I’ll rest also.”

Chapter 7

Early July 1820

Helen and Matthew both slept for several hours. When they arrived at the coaching inn where they would spend the night, Matthew told her he’d reserved a suite with adjoining rooms. She went upstairs, and Sally helped her freshen up. Then she went to the private parlor where they would have dinner. The food was delicious, and she was ravenous since the only thing she had eaten that day was a few bites of wedding cake. Now that she didn’t have to worry about the wedding night, she was able to relax and enjoy the meal.

Matthew appeared to be more relaxed also and told her several amusing stories about his scapegrace of a brother, Gregory. “As I told you earlier, Gregory’s eighteen, and he’s not a very good student. He’s been sent down from school several times, but, so far, I’ve managed to keep him from being expelled. When he gets with his friends and they go carousing, that’s when he really gets into trouble. Then I have to go bail him out.”

“Goodness, I’m sure that’s been worrisome for you.”

Matthew sighed. “I do worry about him quite a bit. My father was ready to wash his hands of him right before he died. That’s the reason he made me promise to marry again and have an heir right away, since he didn’t want Gregory to inherit. He’d make a terrible earl and would bankrupt the earldom quickly with all his gambling. He’s always overspending his allowance.”

“I’ve never known anyone who gambled excessively. I’m sure it must concern you terribly. I hope he’ll grow out of this phase as he matures.”

“It’s difficult to understand why Gregory is so fascinated by gambling. For myself, it never has really interested me. I’ll play a few hands of cards with some of my friends, but I’m very careful that I don’t lose more than I can spare.”

“Well, I’m certainly glad you don’t enjoy gambling. Tell me about your sister, Margaret. What’s she like?”

“Margaret’s sixteen and turning into a real beauty. She’ll be seventeen this fall. I’ll have my hands full when she has her come out next year. I hope you’ll be willing to help her learn how to navigate through the ton. Margaret is somewhat of a hoyden. My father spoiled her, so she can be a hand full. So far, she hasn’t gotten into trouble at school, and she says she enjoys being with all the other girls. Did you go away to school when you were her age?”

With a sigh, Helen said, “My parents felt we didn’t need to go to school, so Kathryn and I had a governess, Miss Tillman, and she was wonderful. You met my mother, she isn’t very affectionate and left us alone most of the time. Miss Tillman was a wonderful teacher, and Kathryn and I were sorry to see her go when we no longer needed her. I’ve kept in contact with her ever since she left. In fact, she has just become a teacher at Mrs. Manning’s School for Young Ladies. Wait a minute…isn’t that the school where your sister goes?”

“That is indeed the school she goes to. Isn’t that a coincidence! Maybe she has your Miss Tillman as an instructor. I’ll have to ask her in the next letter that I write to her. I’m hoping, as she matures over the next couple of years, she’ll calm down and start acting more like a lady. Well, it’s been a long day, so let’s go up to bed. Separate beds of course…just as I promised. You don’t need to worry.”

It took them four days to get to Devonshire. While they were traveling they talked quite a bit, and it helped them get to know each other better. Helen was feeling much better about her marriage by the time they arrived at Collingswood Hall. It was a sprawling old Manor house with two large wings. The architecture was slightly different than the main building, so she imagined they were added at different times. She noticed that the windows appeared to be dirty. The front lawn was freshly cut, but the landscaping was sparse. The house did overlook the sea, and it truly was an amazing sight. It was so beautiful, it took her breath away. Now that she’d seen it, she had a better understanding of why Matthew loved the sea so much.

Once the carriage stopped, the door opened, and a tall older man came out. “Welcome home, my lord. I’ve had the countess’s bedchamber aired out as you requested. My lord, we have a slight problem. The nurse has left us, so your daughters have been acting up and getting into all kinds of mischief. I’m sorry, but several more of the staff have also resigned, and several more are threatening to quit if your daughters can’t be controlled.”

Matthew looked over at Helen with an exasperated look on the face. “I believe I mentioned to you that my daughters were a bit of a handful. Helen, this is Wells, the butler, and he’s been with my family for as long as I can remember. If you need anything, he’ll be happy to help you.” Matthew looked over at his butler and asked, “Wells, where are my daughters at the moment? I want to introduce them to the countess, their new mother.”

Wells answered with a bit of testiness in his voice. “My lord, they
were
in the nursery with Mary, but she was having a difficult time keeping them there. Hopefully she has been able to keep them out of anymore mischief.”

“Helen, I’ll take you to your rooms, and after you have freshened up, I’ll introduce you to my daughters.” Matthew smiled as he placed her hand in the crook of his arm, and led her up the steps.

When they went inside, she noticed it was very dark and not very appealing. The table by the door was covered with dust. She wondered where the housekeeper was, because normally she should have been waiting for them when they arrived, so she could show her to her rooms. At least, it had always been done that way at her home.

Matthew led her upstairs, and they entered her bedchamber. It was dark as well. The closed heavy, faded blue drapes at the window didn’t allow any sunlight into the room. In fact, the whole room was dismal. It did look as if someone had made an attempt to clean it up, however the room still smelled damp. The counterpane on the bed looked as though it may have been royal blue at one time. It had heavy dark furniture, which wasn’t very feminine looking at all. This would be the first room she redecorated. She would end up melancholy in a room like this.

Matthew looked over to her and said, “This room hasn’t been used since my mother died sixteen years ago. So please, feel free to redecorate it anyway that would please you. There’s also a sitting room and a dressing room attached. My room is on the other side of the sitting room. I’ll be back to get you once I’ve located my daughters. So, please excuse me while I go make sure they’re in the nursery.”

After he left the room, Helen looked around and wanted to cry. The parts of the house she had seen so far were in a terrible state of disrepair. Helen wondered why it was in such bad shape, and she again wondered where the housekeeper was.

There was a knock on the door, and Sally entered. “Oh, my lady, I’ll get this room cleaned up right away, and I’ll put all your things away immediately. I’ve asked for water to be sent up, so hopefully that will be here soon. I had a hard time finding anyone to help me. There doesn’t seem to be much staff here.”

“I appreciate your help. I know this is going to be quite a bit of work for you, with everything so disorganized. Can we find one of my day dresses so I can change? Lord Collingswood will be back here shortly. He’s going to introduce me to his daughters. Evidently, they tend to disappear quite often.” Helen sighed in disillusionment.

There was another knock on the door, and a young girl, who appeared to be about twelve years old, entered carrying a pitcher of water. Helen smiled invitingly at the young girl and said, “Thank you for bringing the water. Please, what is your name and position in this house?”

The young girl hesitantly replied, “Me name’s Dottie, milady, and I’m th’ upstairs maid. Course, since some o’ th’ rest o’ th’ staff quit, I’ve been helpin’ out downstairs too. Please let me know if there’s anythin’ else ye’ll be wantin’, and I’ll be gettin’ it fer ye.”

Helen was enthralled by the quaint way Dottie spoke. “That’s all right for now, but I’ll let you know if I need anything else. Well, it certainly sounds as if you have quite a bit of work to do, so I’ll let you get back to it. Thank you again for your help. I’m sure we’ll have additional help in the very near future.”