Secret Pleasures (24 page)

Then he looked more closely at the wood’s surface
.
Finding the year 1782 roughly scratched into the altar’s surface brought back a forgotten memory
,
disjointed and displaced
.
A memory
Darien had purposely shoved aside
.

Philip had died in 1782
.
Though he had been in no condition to do much that day, much less vandalize the altar, his brother’s funeral was the last time Darien had been in this chapel
.
It was also the year he and Ivy intended to be married
.
Then he remembered.

Darien had to get on his knees to slither beneath the altar
.
He knew he hadn’t gotten taller, but his younger self had obviously been a bit more compact
.
And agile
.
But there the markings were
.
His markings
.
Above the year was the date
.
June 2
.
The day he and Ivy had picked for the wedding
.
And above that were the initials D.B + I.T
.
Darien touched the crisp, confident vandalism
.
The wound to the carved wood jolted Darien like the probing of a fresh injury
.

“What are you doing under there?”

Darien jerked and banged his head on the very solid altar table above
.
The hit sounded harder than it felt or perhaps Darien was too stunned by his recent discovery to notice.

“Are you all right?
”
Robert dropped to his knees before Darien.

“Not really.
”
Darien rubbed his head and moved from beneath the altar’s shadow
.
“It seems I’ve discovered another one of my ghost’s footprints.”

“You carved your initials into the altar, Darien
?
Do you hold nothing sacred?”

Darien
’s
thought
s turned to
Diana and his father’s reaction to the news of her death
.
Had his father actually loved her
?
Waves of guilt followed as he had to admit the truth to himself
.
Darien had used Diana so carelessly and then he
’d
tried to accuse Ivy of his own misdeeds because he could not stand himself.

He looked at Robert, explaining,
“That was to be the date of our wedding, Ivy’s and mine
.
We carved our initials a couple of years prior
.
The earl claimed he approved of the match
as long as
we had a long, rather quiet betrothal
.
He wanted Philip to announce something first
.
Unfortunately, Philip had not yet decided on his bride-to-be
,
though Westhaven had already given him two deadlines
.
Philip hated to displease
him
.”

“That was the year he died, wasn’t it?” Robert said softly
.
“We were still banished in Ireland but my mother cried for a month
.
I’m sorry I never had the chance to meet him.”

Darien rested his elbow on his raised knees and stared at his filthy work boots
.
“Philip rarely caused a stir in the family doings
.
That was my job
.
B
ut he had delayed picking a bride, forcing me to delay my wedding with Ivy
.
Perhaps I sensed what was to come, but I carved this
on
one stolen afternoon while
Ivy
visited Westhaven with her family.”

Robert stood and looked down at Darien with the same frown with which he had greeted him.

“Ivy carved her initials herself
,
”
h
e
said as he
glared up at his nephew
. 
“After I had already started the rest, of course
.
She tried her best to dissuade me.”

“
Tell me, d
o you actually intend to marry Ivy this time
?
I’m not
entirely
sure you two reuniting is a good idea
.
I’m afraid n
o good will come of any of this.
”
Robert walked off the platform that held the altar and
again
began his attack with the broom.

“Are you speaking of my relationship with Ivy or your own prospects?”

“Do you have any idea of what becoming bishop at such a young age can mean to my future?”

Darien stood and picked up the beeswax and the cloth, attacking the pews while following Robert
.
The
rediscovered carving on the
altar disturbed Darien
, drawing him to his own past
.
What if he had run away with Ivy to Scotland when his father
had
first persuaded him to extend their engagement
?
What if he could keep his nephew from making
this
mistake
of not taking action
?
Not only for himself, but for the woman he loved.

“This position means a huge financial gain
.
I would be in the military right now, perhaps overseas fighting for my life, if not for your father’s patronage.”

“And is it worth the price of your heart
?
Your mother didn’t make such a choice when she ran away with your father.”

“The circumstances were much different
.
Yours truly was on the way, as you well know.
”
Robert paused, glanced at Darien, then went back to sweeping the floor
.
“Being isolated from her family all those years was not easy on my mother
.
I suspect if she had it to do again, she’d have stayed clear of the dashing captain with his Irish brogue and dress uniform.”

“I’m sure we all would do things differently if we had the chance, or a
t
least think we might.
”
Darien found a dust pan and hand broom
.
He scooped up piles of debris and put it into a large barrel already half-full
.
“Have you even told Arianna of your feelings for her?”

“Your grandfather has basically kept my family clothed and sheltered for years
.
And being the largest landowner in the parish, he is also my most important patron
.
I am in no position to be anything other than Arianna Maddox’s Latin tutor.
”
Robert turned his back on Darien and continued sweeping.

“My relationship with Arianna proved nothing but a light flirtation, innocent in the extreme,” Robert said to the far wall
.
“I knew I had
nothing
to offer her
.
If I led you to believe otherwise, it was merely my imagination taking on a life of its own.”

A bundle of windswept papers had caught underneath the pews
.
Darien crawled on his hands and knees to yank them free.

“So you’ll be at the dinner tonight honoring Arianna and the earl’s engagement?”
Darien asked.

“After last night, I’m not sure Westhaven will welcome me back
.
I had no idea of his relationship to that actress woman or I wouldn’t have said a word
. 
Besides, I have too much to do.”

“Her name was Diana de Rachelle and you couldn’t have known.
”
Darien, however had known, but that didn’t stop him from doing the exact thing that Ivy had been condemned for
.
Instead of acting like the wounded party over the years, Darien should have done something to clear Ivy’s name, at least in regard to that particular transgression.

Darien unfolded one of the crumpled and yellowed papers.

His own name in script caught his eye, followed by Ivy’s
.
The carefully written schedule for a sermon over a decade ago included the first calling of their intent to marry
.
Though Darien expected Ivy and he would have been married by a special license like most couples of his class, his mother had a fondness for village custom
.
When she had asked him if he thought anyone would object to the publishing of the banns in the local parish, Darien had actually laughed
.
He had no idea she’d gone and done it.

“Come to dinner tonight.
”
Darien gently folded the piece of paper and tucked it in the inside pocket of his rough wool coat
.
“Especially if Miss Maddox no longer holds an interest for you
.
There will be other guests there
,
and I don’t want Ivy to feel
…
ostracized.
”

“Then let her go, Darien
.
Whatever bargain you struck with her, let her out of it
.
She’s suffered enough
.
Her past even followed her to Cornwall
,
and why she would allow all that rubbish to be stirred up again is beyond me.
”
Robert tossed down the broom and stalked outside.

Darien followed his nephew
.
Robert stood on the church’s front step, his face
tipped toward
the blue, cloudless sky
.

“The dust,” Robert said and pinched the bridge of his nose
.
“It’s giving me a headache.”

“You know, my father wanted me to marry Arianna Maddox. He’s only doing so because I refused.”

Robert curled his fist
.
“Do and I will break every bone in your body.”

“I would not think of intruding on your light flirtation, Robert.
”
Darien grinned at his usually peace-loving nephew who indeed appeared to be in need of a good brawl
.
Instead of picking a fight to accommodate him, as was Darien’s custom, he bowed
.
“Besides, if I have my way, I will never let Ivy go.”

***

The disjointed voices drifting down the long hall of Westhaven’s estate created a steady buzz
.
Darien paused and squeezed Ivy’s hand
.
She tensed as if they were about to walk into a swarm of bees
.
Once again, he became ensnared in her creamy breasts encased in a curve-hugging, low-cut crimson gown
.
A fiery opal surrounded by garnets hung on a diamond choker at her neck
.
The bold jewelry and beautifully styled dress could not outshine the allure of Ivy
.
No one for a moment would dispute that she had to be the most expensive courtesan in all of England
.
Maybe even the world.

“You look beautiful,” he said
.
“We don’t have to do this
.
You seemed nervous leaving Melody at Hank and Evelyn’s house
.
Despite all the children running wildly about, they are quite capable.”

“And miss my opportunity to play the wicked woman
?
I shall be the smote in the eye of the virgin bride
.
My worries were for Hank and Evelyn, and their brood
. 
No one shall have much sleep tonight.”

Her tone was light, playful, seductive
.
Yet, d
istant
.
They had not discussed Diana or their argument
,
but had been on their most polite behavior with each other
.
Darien found he missed their former intimacy
.
He preferred the tussled and milk-stained Ivy, a squalling child in her arms, to the charming and exquisitely dressed stranger beside him.

“Thank you for being here with me
.
Tonight, I promise not to embarrass you.”

“You never embarrass me, Darien
.
Never.
”
She touched his face and vulnerability sho
wed
through her flawless exterior.

He shrugged but looked away
.
Last night, he had lied to Ivy
.
He had never stopped loving her
.
Not a little bit, not an ounce
.
This evening, he had discarded his farm wear for a black velvet jacket and burgundy breeches
.
A black
waistcoat
with matching burgundy embroidery topped a crisp white shirt recently pressed by Evelyn
.
Darien refused to wear stockings, but his boots were black leather polished to a fine sheen
.
Not once had their Italian soles touched sheep shit
.
Darien hoped they made a striking couple
.
He intended to make this night as pleasant as possible for Ivy
.