Montgomery Family 01 - Lost Pleasures Found (21 page)

The woman immediately curtsied and replied, “I’m so sorry, your grace, please come in.” The woman took him into the parlor, and she said, “Please take a seat. I’ll be back in a moment.” Then as she turned to leave the room she added, “I’m Mrs. Worth, by the way. It’s an honor to meet you, your grace,” and then she hurried away.

Henry started pacing and decided to follow Mrs. Worth. He went up the stairs and saw Millie coming out of a room at the end of the hall. Millie looked at him with an astonished look on her face, and then her face grew pale as Henry demanded, “Take me to Melody now! Mrs. Worth called her Mrs. Foster, and I want to know what is going on, right now!”

As Millie took a deep breath, she said, “My lord, we were told you were dead! Oh my goodness, how can this be? Your wife is very ill. I’ll take you to her at once.”

She opened the door to allow Henry to enter the room. He looked over at the bed and saw Melody lying there. She was so thin that he almost did not recognize her. Her beautiful hair was dull, and she had dark circles under her lovely eyes. He was extremely concerned when he saw her and he asked, “What’s wrong with her?”

Millie hesitantly answered, “The doctor says she has influenza, and she has been like this for several days. I can’t seem to get her fever down, and she can’t keep anything in her stomach. She loses everything I try to give her. I’m frightened for her life!”

Henry rushed over to Melody’s bedside and felt how hot she was. He immediately demanded some cool water and towels. He started bathing her in the cool water to try to bring her fever down. Millie told Henry that she had to go check on the children.

Henry was curious about these children, but he would worry about that later. Melody opened her eyes, looked at Henry, and started crying. Henry gathered her into his arms and told her that everything would be all right. She closed her eyes and fell back to sleep. He continued to bathe her with the cool water to get her fever to break. Millie entered the room, and he asked, “When was the last time the doctor came to examine my wife?”

“He should be here soon. He comes by every morning to check on her, and he leaves us some medicine for her. In fact, we thought you were the doctor when you knocked on the door.” As Millie said this, there was a knock on the door downstairs, and shortly after, Mrs. Worth showed the doctor into the room.

Henry turned to the doctor and urgently said, “Do something for my wife. Surely, there’s something that we can do, besides just bathe her with cool water. Help me here, Doctor. I can’t lose her after having found her again.”

“It is in God’s hands now. All you can do is keep giving her the medicine and hope for the best. Who are you, by the way? And how are you married to Mrs. Foster?” the doctor asked.

“I’m Henry Montgomery, the Duke of Sanderford, and I’ve been her husband for almost four years. Why are you calling my wife Mrs. Foster?” demanded Henry, getting angry and wondering what was going on.

The doctor became very flustered as he bowed and said, “I am sorry, your grace, but I have known your wife for quite some time as Mrs. Foster. I treated her late husband when he passed away a couple of months ago. I … I do not understand. How is she your wife?”

Henry was stunned with what the doctor had just told him. He could not grasp the fact that Melody had remarried.

Millie entered the room and tried to explain to the doctor, “Mrs. Foster was married to this gentleman, but then she was told he had been killed at Waterloo. She moved back home with her parents. She found out she was with child after she got to her parents’ house.” Millie turned to Henry and continued, “My lord, she was devastated by your death. We were afraid that she would lose the baby. She was that upset. Her mother nursed her back to health, and she was able to keep the child. Your wife gave birth to your daughter on January 5, 1816, and then her parents died that spring from influenza.”

Henry interrupted and asked, “But how did she become Mrs. Foster? Surely she didn’t forget about me so quickly.”

“After her parents died, she was left with no place to live and barely any money. She had no choice but to remarry or starve,” Millie explained.

“That is simply not true! She could have contacted my parents! She would have inherited everything I owned, upon my death! My god, she was my wife, for Christ’s sake. Why didn’t she go to them or answer my solicitor’s letters?” In an agitated state, Henry began to pace back and forth.

Millie fearfully replied, “I don’t know the answer to that, my lord, but I’m sure that she had her reasons. She married Mr. Foster in the fall of 1816, and they moved here to Doncaster, where he had a teaching post. That little girl downstairs is your daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and she’s two and a half years old.”

Melody groaned, and they all looked over at her. Henry rushed to her bedside and felt her forehead. It was dampened with sweat and felt cool. Her fever had broken.

“Thank God, her fever has broken. Doctor, do you think she’ll be all right?” he asked as he looked over at him.

“She should be fine now that the fever has broken. Just get her to take plenty of fluids, and give her some gruel. And whatever you do, make sure she stays calm. She is sleeping now and will probably sleep for quite some time. I recommend that you continue your discussion downstairs so that your wife can get her rest, your grace,” the doctor replied.

Millie stayed with Melody while Henry escorted the doctor out. After the doctor left, he went to find Mrs. Worth. She was in the kitchen watching the children. He looked at the little girl and was amazed at how much she looked like Helen. There was no doubt that this was his child. Henry turned to Mrs. Worth and asked, “Could you go relieve Millie and ask her to come here? I’ll watch the children while you’re gone.”

“Of course, your grace, I’ll go get her for you right now.” Mrs. Worth curtsied and left the room.

Henry kneeled down in front of his daughter and said, “Hello, sweetheart. I know you don’t know me, but I’m your father, and you look just like your aunt Helen. May I give you a hug?”

Mary Elizabeth looked at him with her startling blue eyes and started to cry. “You not my papa! My papa go to angewls. Mama tolded me!”

Henry was at a loss; he did not know what to say to his daughter. Obviously, she had looked at Mr. Foster as her father.
Lord,
what
a
tangle
this
was!

Millie hesitantly entered the kitchen and curtsied as she asked, “I understand that you’re now the Duke of Sanderford. If I may ask your grace, how did you become the duke?”

With irritation in his voice, he replied, “My brother passed away in March, and then my father died on April 5, so that’s how I became the duke. When did Melody meet Mr. Foster?”

With great trepidation, she quietly said, “I believe that she had known Mr. Foster all her life. They were childhood friends, your grace.”

Henry thought a minute and then asked, “What was Mr. Foster’s full name?”

“Mr. Brandon Alton Foster III and she started seeing him the winter after your daughter was born, your grace. He helped her find a place to live when she had to move after her parents died. He would come by a couple times a week to check on Lady Montgomery. By the end of that summer, your wife was very concerned about finding money to make ends meet,” Millie said, as she looked at him with fear in her eyes. “Mr. Foster had just accepted a position here in Doncaster. He asked her to marry him and come with him. I do know that she seemed relieved when he asked. I think she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to survive and raise Mary Elizabeth, so she married Mr. Foster.”

Henry looked very angry, and, in frustration, ran his fingers through his hair. “That is just nonsense! She should have gone to my family. She had no reason to be afraid. They would have made sure she was well taken care of, her and my daughter. She never even wrote them and told them about the child. What could she have been thinking!”

In a trembling voice, Millie replied, “Your grace, as I said before, she must have had her reasons. I’m sure she’ll share those with you, once she’s feeling better.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to wait to find out more. As you have said, she must have thought she had a good reason for not contacting my family. Thank you, for telling me all this, you have been very helpful. Can you watch the children, while I go up to my wife?” Henry tried to modulate his tone because he realized that he was scaring Millie and none of this was her fault. As difficult as it was, he would just have to wait for answers, until Melody was feeling better.

“Certainly, your grace,” Millie replied. “It’s time for them to take a nap anyway.”

M
ELODY SLEPT THROUGH the night, and Henry stayed by her side. The next morning she woke up, and when she saw Henry, she looked at him and whispered, “I must have died and gone to heaven, because how can you be here with me any other way.”

Henry looked at her and said, “Obviously the reports of my death were false. I’m very much alive. I’ll explain it all later. We just need to concentrate on you getting well. You have been very ill, and you need to start eating, so you can gain your strength back. I’ve never seen you so thin. Let me get you something to eat. I’ll be right back.” Melody started to cry. Henry sat down beside her and put his arm around her. “It’s all right, my love, please don’t cry. You know I can’t stand it when you cry. I’m back, and I’ll take care of you. Sweetheart, I’m going to go get you some food now, but I’ll be right back. Just rest until I return, all right?” Then Henry left the room. He returned in a few minutes, and Mrs. Worth was with him. She had some porridge, and Henry fed it to her. Melody kept looking at Henry as if she were seeing a ghost.
How
could
Henry
be
alive?
Where
had
he
been
for
the
last
three
years?
Oh,
if
only
she
were
not
so
weak,
she
would
make
him
tell
her.

Henry finished feeding her, and she ate the entire bowl. Mrs. Worth said that it was the most she had eaten, at one time, since Mr. Foster had died. Henry was glad he was able to get her to eat. It was obvious that she probably had not been taking care of herself. He was anxious to hear Melody’s story, but he knew she was still too weak to get into it yet. He tried to conceal his anger and frustration, because he did not want to upset her, but it was very difficult, since there were so many unanswered questions in his mind. Mrs. Worth left the room and took the empty bowl with her.

Melody looked embarrassed and asked, “Henry, can you get Millie for me? I need her to help me get cleaned up. I feel as if I haven’t bathed in days.”

“Of course, my dear, I’ll go get her now.” Then he left the room.

Over the next week, Melody continued to improve, and she even seemed to put some weight back on, now that she eating again. Henry spent part of each day at her side. Their conversation was very stiff, and they were not comfortable with each other. He was trying to be patient and not show his anger, but he was failing badly.

Finally, Melody said, “Talk to me, Henry, I’m sure you have questions, because I know I do. Where have you been for the last three years!”

Henry was furious with Melody
.
How
could
she
question
him
about
where
he
had
been
for
three
years!
He
wasn’t
the
one
that
went
and
married
someone
else.
How
in
God’s
name
could
she
have
done
that?
Surely
their
love
meant
more
to
her
than
sixteen
months
of
grieving.
If
she
had
died,
he
would
never
have
married
again.
Oh
god,
the
pain
of
all
this,
it
was
killing
him
to
know
Melody
had
been
with
another
man.
That
was
not
supposed
to
happen.
He knew he had to get his anger under control because Melody was still recovering from her illness.

Henry sat down in the chair, leaned back, and tried to relax. He took several deep breaths and began his story. “It’s a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short. I was injured at the Battle of Waterloo. I sustained a head wound and I was shot in the leg. I was found on the battlefield by some Franciscan monks. They carried me back to the monastery. There was no way to identify me because someone had taken my clothes, so I was completely naked. The monks took care of me, and I remained unconscious for almost a month. When I finally woke up and could talk, I had no memory of who I was. They nursed me back to health, but my memory didn’t return. Since there was no way to know who I was, the monks let me stay with them. I became their bookkeeper of sorts. After a period of time, I started to have dreams … of you I now know, and then some flashbacks of the battle. In late January, I was helping the monks repair a wall that had fallen, and I fell and hit my head. When I woke up, I remembered who I was and immediately thought of you. Father Francis lent me the funds to return to England.”

“But, Henry, that was months ago. What have you been doing since you came back to England?” she asked. “Surely, you wanted to see me. But … , maybe, you didn’t. Maybe you found someone else and just don’t want to tell me!”

Henry stood up with so much force that his chair tipped back and fell to the floor. He roared, “I’m not the one who forgot about you! You’re the one who forgot about me. God Melody, how could you get married to someone else. If the tables were turned, I would have grieved for you for the rest of my life!”

Melody burst into tears as she said, “I never forgot about you. I did grieve for you this entire time you’ve been gone. I can’t believe you could say anything like this to me.” She rolled over on her side with her back to him, and he felt terrible about yelling at her.

Henry sat back down and said, “This is not getting us anywhere. I’m sorry, I yelled at you. Let me continue with my story, and then you’ll understand why I didn’t come to you right away. When I arrived back in England, I immediately went to Sanderford House but found out that the family was in the country. I then traveled to Sanderford Park. When I got there, I found out that Nelson was dying and that my father was ailing. Then they told me you had left after you found out about my death. Helen told me that Nelson had taken you to your parents and that after about a year, you quit writing to them. I didn’t feel that I could leave because of Nelson. He died on March 10.”

Melody rolled back over and said, “Oh, Henry, I knew Nelson had been ill, but I didn’t realize it was that serious. I can just imagine how difficult losing him was. I thought the world of Nelson. I can’t believe he’s gone.” Tears rolled down Melody’s cheeks, and Henry sat down beside her on the bed and put his arm around her.

“I’m sure it’s a shock to hear of his death, but you can understand why I wasn’t able to come to you right away. After his funeral, I left to go to London and speak with your aunt Miriam. When I got there, I found out that she was out of the country. I then went to see your friend Susan, but she was unavailable. I received a message from my mother, telling me that my father had had a heart attack and that I needed to return home at once. Father died on April 5,” he said.

Melody gasped as she exclaimed, “Oh no, not your father too! How awful it must have been for you to come home and find me gone, Nelson dying, and then to lose your father too! I’m so sorry, Henry. Oh goodness, that means you’re now the duke! Oh lord, that means I’m … a duchess, doesn’t it?” Melody started crying even harder, and Henry tried to comfort her, but he felt uncomfortable because his anger was still seething right under the surface. He had to stay calm so they could get through this.

He patted her on the shoulder and said, “It’s going to be all right. We’ll get through all of this somehow. It took me weeks to get everything settled so that I could come for you. When I arrived, I found out that, your parents had died and that you had moved to Doncaster. That’s when I came here, found out that you had married again, and you were gravely ill. Melody, why didn’t you contact my parents when yours passed away? You know they would have taken care of you. You didn’t return any of my solicitor’s letters. You had inherited everything that I owned. There was no reason you should have felt compelled to marry to survive. What were you thinking?” Henry stood up and began pacing the room as he continued, “I don’t understand why you felt so desperate that you had to marry or starve as your maid so politely put it. Please explain to me what you were thinking because, for Christ’s sake, I don’t know!”

With tears rolling down her cheeks, she took a deep breath as she said, “I was devastated when I received the news of your death. After the funeral, I just wanted to go home to be with my parents. Nelson took me. He was so patient and kind to me, but I found it too difficult to be around him because he looked so much like you. I asked him to leave. I was exhausted because I had cried the whole way to my parents. They called in the doctor, and that is when I found out that I was with child. At first, I was so ill that I couldn’t even think straight. Finally, I started feeling better physically. I was so pleased that I was going to have your child. I knew I would always have a small part of you through the baby. I was just going to wait a little while, and then I would write to your family and tell them about the baby. Each letter I received, I would answer, planning on telling them in my next letter, but then I started to get scared, so I didn’t tell them. Henry, I never got any letters from your solicitor. God knows, I would have answered a letter like that, especially after my parents died. I was afraid that when your parents found out about the child, they would take her away from me. You have to understand, Henry. Your father was a very powerful man, and I knew he detested me. I became convinced that I could never tell them about our child. Several months after she was born, I quit answering their letters altogether because I was afraid I would say something accidentally, and then they would come and take my daughter. As you found out, my parents both died that spring. The house was owned by the church, so I couldn’t continue to stay there. My parents left me five hundred pounds, and that was all I had to my name, aside from their personal belongings and some furniture.”

Henry continued to pace furiously back and forth, as he interrupted, “You couldn’t have been thinking! I would never leave you without resources!”

“That may be true, but at the time, that was what I thought. Now do you want to hear the rest of my story or not?” Melody asked.

“Yes, by all means, please continue!” Henry sat back down in the chair, folded his arms across his chest, and waited for her to continue. He tried to get his temper back under control because he knew Melody was still very weak from her illness and the last thing he wanted to do was upset her and make her sick again.

Melody leaned back on her pillow, looking so pale and weak that it made his heart ache.
Oh why did this have to happen?
Then she slowly continued, “I found a small cottage on the edge of town and moved there. My friend Brandon helped me move. As you already know, he had lost his wife, so we gained comfort from each other. He would come to check on me a couple of times a week. When he was offered the position in Doncaster, he didn’t want to leave me alone, so he asked me to marry him. I didn’t want to marry him because I knew that I could never love him. He told me he knew I would always love you but pointed out to me that you were gone, and nothing would bring you back to me. At least, we cared for each other, and there were worse reasons to marry than friendship. I considered writing to your brother, but I knew he was newly married, and I was afraid he wouldn’t have time to protect me from your parents. I didn’t want to have Mary Elizabeth grow up without a father. I tried to think of what would be best for her. That’s why I married Brandon. It wasn’t a love match, but I knew he would make a good father for Mary Elizabeth. My marriage to Brandon was comfortable; he was a wonderful father, a good husband, and he was my best friend. If I had had any idea that you weren’t dead, I would have waited forever, but I have always been a very practical woman and knew I had to move on with my life. I hope you can understand why I married him.”