Midnight Masquerade (27 page)

Looking down at Amelia he questioned, “What do you want to do?”

“I want to go north, tonight.” Her tone resolute as she gave her answer.

“Very well,” looking up at Gideon and Luke, “We’ll go home and pack and leave as soon as we are ready.
See to the surveillance teams and I’ll prepare the castle for war if need be. We’ll most likely not stop overnight along our way, I’ll plan on seeing all of you within the week.”

Letting go of his hand Amelia hugged her family, praying them to be safe and travel slowly with the babies. Watching her and the love in her eyes for each of them warmed his soul. She was so close with her brother and their wives; it felt good to be joining this family, to have a family again.

Seeing her whisper something to Helena he shook hands with her brothers, the group dispersed into their carriages and took off into the foggy night towards their homes. Setting across the carriage from his dark-haired fiancée, he ran his hand through his hair and rolled his neck.

“What did you tell Helena?” He asked, inquisitive as to what she couldn’t say out loud to the group.

Closing her eyes she leaned her head back, “I needed her to bring something to Scotland for me, I didn’t want to waste time by stopping by their house to pack it. I need it and she’s more than happy to bring it north with her when they come.”

“
Lia, as much as your plan was brilliant, it scared the hell out of me. I’m not okay with you walking headfirst into danger like that.”  Unable to keep his feeling to himself, he let it out as she sat across from him like an angel.

Shrugging, “I had faith in you and my brothers, I knew you wouldn’t let anything happen to me, furthermore, we were in public, this man is trying to secretly kill me. He wouldn’t be so daft as to pull a gun on me there. You’re going to have to learn to trust me as you trust my brothers, I might be the second youngest of all of us, but I am very intelligent.”

“No one is doubting your intelligence Lia, you just worry me. You have always been hardheaded, I know you’re the queen of eavesdropping and lets not forget your favorite habit of meandering about London alone when it suits you.
I need you to be my partner, you have to share things with me, don’t shut me out when you get a rouge idea in that beautiful head of yours.”

“But do you trust me?” She questioned.

“Of course I do Amelia, you are one of the very few women in this world I trust indubitably.”

Grinning, she sunk to the floor of the carriage between his knees and pressed her luscious breasts against his groin as she ran her hands up his chest.

“I cannot wait to have you to myself for almost a week, I’m going to enjoy every moment of our travels to your castle, hopefully you’ll be able to keep me entertained.”

Taking his index finger he traced the curve of her breasts and ran it up her neck, tipping up her chin, “Oh I’m sure I can find a few things for us to keep us busy while we ride north in my traveling coach.” Having her on his knees before him was making him hard with want. All night she had touched him in small ways that made him crave her, she had never taken a hand off him tonight.

Gripping his thighs, “How long do you think it’ll take us before we can be on our way
?”

“I have to pen a few letters before we go, pack for Scotland and then we can be on our way. I’ll order the traveling coach prepared as soon as we get home. How long do you think you’ll need?” He questioned back.

“I just need to
pack my trunks for our trip, my entire family already knows and Helena will take care of letting Lady Juliet and Hero know tomorrow. There is no one else I need to notify, no one who requires knowing my plans. I would imagine by the time you’re done with your correspondence I’ll have my trunks packed.”

“Pack heavily Amelia, I do not plan to come back to London after our wedding for sometime. As much as I hate to admit it, I do not have your closet at Castle Blackstone filled with lovely creations for you to wear.”

Laughing, “I have more than enough here, between what I brought with me and the items you had commissioned.”

“Don’t forget there are lovely shops in Edinburgh if my lady wishes to stop on our way through, or even a trip back down there to buy what you lack should you find anything missing from your trousseau.”

Pulli
ng up to the mansion, their driver once again took them to the back
entrance
. Assuming it was due to a security issue she said nothing as Alastair helped her out of the carriage and into the house, she could tell he was tense.

“Go upstairs and get ready Lia, I’m going to work on my letters, if we are going to be gone for a long time I have a good list of people I need to leave with detailed lists as well as inform our King.”

Standing on her tiptoes she kissed him softly, “I’m going to get Romeo first, then head upstairs
to pack, I’ll see you up there when your done.”

“If your ribs are bothering you, get yourself a glass of scotch
when you get to our room, it might help dull that ache you are pretending to not have.”

Sitting down at his desk he groaned as he poured himself a glass of stout scotch and sat back taking a bracing drink. Tonight with Amelia had been wonderful, they had avoided multiple hurdles that most likely would have turned into a fight with anyone else.

Amelia had surprised him
on many fronts tonight, she hadn’t thrown a fit over the letter Aliana had sent, and instead of fleeing from the man who tried to kill her she wanted to find him herself.

Thinking about the letter from his former mistress
,
he pulled it out of his coat pocket and broke the seal. Scanning through her loopy handwriting the letter was exactly what he expected from the high maintenance mistress he once employed. She was tryi
ng to get him back, her prettily worded letter dripped with desperation to get him back into her bed.

He had suspected for a long time that Aliana had fallen in love with him, her jealousy and tantrums were ultimately what caused him to go to Van Allendale’s masque ball all those weeks ago. He had needed to get away from her and her mouth. The woman was gorgeous and gifted in bed, she had brought him comfort for a very long time,
in
fact she had been his longest running mistress ever.

After his night with Andromeda, his very own Amelia had sealed his fate. He had not touched another woman from that night on. Only Amelia, now she would be his for the rest of his days. She would be his wife, his partner, the woman who would be the mother of his children and his rock for the rest of his days, his Duchess of Blackstone.

Tossing Aliana’s letter aside he quickly went through the letters sitting on his desk to see if there was anything of importance he needed to see to before they left. He had not anticipated Amelia’s request of leaving for Scotland tonight, thus he was far from prepared to pick up and leave from the capitol.

Scrawling out a few letters to his
solicitors
, his office and most importantly the King of England he quickly
sealed each letter with maroon wax and his signet ring’s family crest. Pushing away from the desk he tossed the letters on the silver tray for his Majordomo to post tomorrow morning and slowly climbed the stairs as he went over their travel plans in his head.

He had b
een so used to well
thought
out
plans that were executed with precision. Having Amelia in his life tossed that into turmoil, she was sporadic and headstrong, she may have learned an awful lot from them over the years but she didn’t know how to function as a team like he and her brothers did.

He had hoped to be able to arrange
everything
tonight while she was asleep, but alas that was not the case, he’d have to improvise. It was something
he was used to, but certainly preferred a well-detailed plan first.

Arriving upstairs he turned down the hallway towards his bedroom. Having Amelia in his household had brought much needed life to his family’s home, hearing her singing behind the door he stopped in his tracks. God he had forgotten what a beautiful voice she possessed, she sang like an angel.

Remembering back to both of her brothers’ weddings he had played the piano
while
she sang to the wedding guests. He had frequently played for her when Gideon was gone during the war
. Her eldest brother used to play when she was younger and she’d sing, it was a family tradition. When Gideon had left for the war Amelia’s parents had asked him to stand in for Gideon and
accompany Amelia
.
He hadn’t played for her, or heard her since Luke and Genevieve’s wedding. Hearing
her lovely voice brought back all those moments over the years he
sat at the piano enchanted by her voice, he
should have realized that Amelia was his perfect match
so long ago
.

Walking into their room he saw her at the far end of the room, dressed in a royal purple silk gown that hugged her curves perfectly.

“I’m going to have to purchase a piano for our room if keep singing like that Lia, I forgot how beautiful your voice was, I haven’t heard it since Luke’s wedding.”

Spinning around at his voice, she grinned and put her hands on her hips, “You scared me! Not very nice my love.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. I stood outside the door for as long as I could stand it.”

“Has it really been since Luke’s wedding
since you’ve heard me sing? Trust me, I sing all the time around the house, I promise you that you’ll not have to wait that long.
I find singing keeps my head busy while my hands are at work, otherwise I have the attention span of a city squirrel.
”

Walking up to his little future wife, he slipped his hand over her hip and pulled her tight against him, “I like the idea of you livening up my homes with your voice.”

Pinching him, “I thought they were
our
homes?”

Grinning,
“Too right my sweet, I’m sorry.”

“I’m teasing, but honestly I have only seen one piano in this entire mansion I would have imagined a man like you who played so well would have numerous pianos scattered about your abode.”

“
Would it make you happy if I got one for our room?” Kissing her forehead he watched her grey eyes dazzle.

“
and
one for the library, I can imagine holiday mornings in there with our babies someday, sitting before the fire while their daddy plays and mommy sings.”

He could picture it in head perfectly, the thought alone made him want to go out and purchase every piano he could find and place one in every damn room in this house, “I love it Amelia, I absolutely want that to become a reality for us.
I’ll see to it as soon as we get back to London. Are you packed?”

Nodding, “Yes, I’ve got four trunks, I took as much as I could fit since I don’t know how long we’ll be there, is that okay?”

“Of course, with just us in the coach we’ll have plenty of room for our trunks, my traveler even has a bed, one of the few in existence. I wanted to show you something before we left, I wanted you to do a little, eh, shopping per say before we left.”

Raising a brow, “Shopping, at this hour?”

“Yes, in my family vault for jewelry. I haven’t gotten a chance to show it to you yet and I want you to browse for anything to take with us, especially for our w
edding day, whenever we hammer t
hat out. Come, you can look while I pack.”

Taking her hand he walked her into their wardrobe and stopped before his boot shelf, looking down at her, “
Reach in right here,” liftin
g his hand to underneath the mahogany
shelf
, “and press this hidden button.
”

Doing as requested, Amelia pushed the button and stepped back as the entire wall opened revealing the hidden vault.

“Sweet Jesus… I have never seen anything like this in all my life,” stepping into the room Amelia looked around in awe, spinning around catching his eye, “you did not jest about the size of this vault.”

Shaking his head, “Nay, I did not,” raising his hand to the shelf of velvet jewelry boxes in every shape and size, “pack anything you like in these, we can toss your
selections in my trunks before
we leave, anything you want Lia, take as much as you want.”

The room seemed to be straight out of a dream, at least as large as the wardrobe she shared with Alastair the vault was deep and wide. Standing still as Alastair lit the pillar candles throughout the room she saw priceless jewels lined in slanted velvet lined cases that di
splayed the jewels at waist height
.

Kissing her cheek he gave her a quick smack on the ass and walked out of the vault to pack, “Enjoy yourself Lia, I’ll be right out here packing. It shouldn’t take me a long time, I have a lot of
clothing already at the castle.”

Turning back towards the rows of endless jewels she started on the left and slowly walked around the room viewing the collection in awe.
Each necklace had matching earrings, bracelets. Jaw dropping diamonds dazzled next to priceless gems artfully crafted into one of a kind jewelry. There were broaches and stickpins, rings galore and an entire display of diadems that took her breath away.
The display cases themselves were breathtaking, she’d never seen a jewel vault in her life.

Behind her in the adjoining closet she heard Alastair tossing his trunk open followed by his roguish voice, “They are all yours now Lia, pick something please…”

Fidgeting, she walked over to the
stack of
velvet lined boxes
used to transport the precious items from place to place
and found one for suitable for a crown, she knew without a shadow of doubt she’d need a diadem upon her head when she married her
prince. Lifting down the protective box she silently walked over to the wall and stared at the selection
before her. These crowns had to rival what the Queen had in her collection, there were small petite ones and commanding diamond crowns that looked as if they belonged with the royal collection indeed.

For generations her famil
y had passed down the Somerset C
rown at Salthill mansion in south
ern
England,
her own mother had worn it along with Helena and Genevieve. Since she was a little girl she had dreamt of being married at her family’s seaside estate just as all her ancestors had. She had followed tradition so rigorously it felt quite odd to imagine breaking generations of tradition, although she would always he a Somerset in her heart, she was about to start her own family and become a Bancroft
bride
, the Duchess of Blackstone.

Thinking of the estate her brothers had gotten married at, she thought about her ancestral home with joy.
She had her own wing at Salthill; it was her favorite of all their estates, even
Gideon and Luke’s castles in the north
couldn’t top it
. It was where her family gathered every Christmas; it held many dear memories of her parents as well.

“We’re moving too fast, aren’t we?”

Surprised at his nearness, she had no clue he was standing behind her until he spoke, jumping at his voice she turned around and looked up at him, “I was thinking of my parents again, of tradition and of Salthill.”

Hugging her tightly he rested his chin on her head, “We don’t have to get married at Castle Blackstone Lia, if you’d rather wait or better yet, change our direction to Salthill instead of my castle, we can.”

“No, my future is with you at Castle Blackstone, Salthill will always be apart of who I am. We’ll always be welcome there and have our own private wing for our family, but our wedding will be in Scotland at your ancestral estate.
I wasn’t second guessing our decision to go north, only thinking of the past.
”

“As long as that is what you want Lia, now, if my memory is correct there is a special crown upon that display, one we can start our own traditions with. When gifted with my golden pistol the King and Queen also bestowed me with a gift for my future wife, a crown.”

“I didn’t know that.” She whispered, looking up at him.

“No, not very many did actually. Here, let me show you, it is my wish you wear it on our wedding day and someday pass it down to our son’s
wives
, or our
daughter
s
upon her wedding day
, and even our grandchildren
.”

Goosebumps ran over her arms as he said the words, watching him step up to the wall of ornate headpieces she scanned them trying to pick out the one the royals had bestowed on him, stepping around to his right side she saw him reach up and pick the
one placed in the center.

Eyeing the diadem her jaw dropped, it was more than a small tiara, but less than a full crown, it was simply perfect. Rich sapphires complimented the thousands of diamonds and filigree that he held in his large hands. It wasn’t overly ostentatious but it did demand attention, it would go perfectly with the gown she planned to wear, “Oh, it is breathtaking!”

Nodding over to the crown box, “Open up the box love, we’ll pack it for our trip. I’m glad you like it, when the King and Queen gave it to me I had no idea what to do with it. My mother had already passed, and I was unmarried. It has sat in here since the day they gave it to me, waiting for you.”

Holding the ornate box as he sat it on the black velvet that lined the box, he closed the lid and put it under his arm, “Pick out some selections my sweet, I’ll finish and we’ll be on our way to Scotland for a vacation of peace, and of course our wedding.”

Kissing his jaw, “I do think London is catching on to you men sneaking off to get married, none of us have been married at Westminster like they’d assume.”

“Once again they’ll assume we are going south to Salthill for a wedding like we did for your brothers, alas, they’ll be wrong again. We’ll come back eventually, when you are ready.”