The Baron's New Wife: Regency Romance (6 page)

By the end of the day Anna had truly made her mark on the family home, not only did she have a new reading room but they had also ordered new furniture for the drawing room, a new bed for her bedchamber and several chords of lavish material for new gowns. Anna had never had so much fun and it wasn’t purely down to the limitless spending but rather that the Baron had made it an enjoyable experience. His conversation had been entertaining and he relentlessly complemented his wife on her excellent taste.

To end the day well the couple dined out and shared eventful moments about the boys. They laughed about how naughty the pair could be and also how generous they were to each other when they thought no one was watching. Anna enjoyed looking at the Baron’s face light up as he smirked and told her funny stories about when Henry was little and how he welcomed his new baby brother.

They sat close to each other, enjoying the good food and delightful talk; anyone watching them would have thought them a newly married couple that were very much in love.

Chapter 9

“My dear.” Anna looked up from her reading to see the Baron walking over to her. “I looked for you in your reading room and your bedchamber. You are outdoors very early this morning.”

She put her book down and rose to kiss her husband good morning. They kissed each other on the cheek and then they both sat next to each other. Within a few short weeks they had completely transformed into a happily married couple that shared stories, advice and passion with each other. After the Baron refurbished the house to her taste and continued to shower her with attention, Anna had decided to let the past mistrust rest and focus on a new beginning with her husband. Since doing so she had opened up to him about her prior loneliness and the delight she had found in the boys; he had also confided in her of his own loneliness and that having her as a wife and mother for his sons brought him great joy.

“How do plan to spend your day?” He looked at her and waited for her reply.

“I had not got that far my love. The sun enticed me outside to read and I have yet to determine what the hours will next be filled with. Do you have a scheme in mind?” Anna hoped that he had some romantic or family adventure planned of which they would all enjoy but his answer unsettled her greatly.

“I am off to London. The new pieces for the drawing room have arrived and I wish to inspect them before they are delivered.”

Alarm bells rang in Anna’s mind. Immediately she was thrown back into her mistrust and concerns about his mistress. Doubt’s flooded her thoughts but she wanted to pry carefully before exposing her angst. 

“London. Is that really necessary? Surely they will not deliver something we have not ordered and we can always have it sent back?” She watched his reaction as she questioned him but he showed no concern.

“I have not been to town for several weeks and would like to address some business matters while I am there, so it really is no trouble to also peruse our purchases. Do not be saddened, I will return within two days.” He raised his hand and put his palm against her cheek. The Baron assumed that his wife would miss him but Anna was really concerned about the hidden reason for his trip.

“Certainly I will miss you, why don’t I come with you this time? We could visit with my parents and take in a play?” Surely he could not object to her accompanying him if it was only for business, Anna thought.

“I will not be socializing on this trip my dear. I have arranged a few meetings with various business partners and investors, but it would all be very dull for you. Next time we will arrange all sorts of entertainment for us.” He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead as if she were a little child, then he stood up to leave. “I will bring you back a special gift and toys for the boys. Goodbye.”

Anna watched as he walked away, back into the house and probably straight out to the carriage. She felt like a fool. For the past several weeks she had let herself believe that he had changed, that he had genuinely fallen in love with her and she had also let herself love him. The long nights they had spent talking by the fire when the boys were asleep and the tranquil walks that they took through the grounds had all made her give in to his wooing. Now she looked back at all those sweet memories and regretted every kind word she had said to him or any personal knowledge she had allowed him to gain. The rage bubbled up inside her as she imagined the Baron on his journey to London thinking that he had a dutiful wife at home and an eager mistress awaiting him in secret rooms.

Questions started to run through her mind; had he kept writing to his mistress the whole time? Had he always planned to keep both women? What really happened to his first wife? Had she been sick or did she go mad from her mistreatment by the Baron? Anna couldn’t control the fury which gripped her and she wanted some sort of release for the electricity she felt coursing through her veins. She shot up from her chair and raced towards the Baron’s study. This time she did not need an excuse to look around and this time she did not care who saw her and what they said, after all she was the lady of the house and could do as she pleased.

Anna passed Mr. Field in the hallway and ignored his question as she continued on to the study. She swung the door open and entered like a mad hyena panting in the summer heat. Anna immediately noticed that the painting of the previous Baroness had been taken down from above the fireplace. A large dirty frame mark was left on the wall and nothing had been hung in its place. Anna’s ferocity wouldn’t allow her a moment to think logically and query why the painting had been removed, instead her mind was focused on finding evidence of the Baron’s mistress. She headed straight to the desk and noticed that it had been organized since her last visit to the study. No letters or paperwork had been left open, everything had been put away and only the letter opener and a few pieces of stationery were left on show.

“Cleaned away the evidence.” Anna rambled to herself as she stood staring at the desk. She had previously informed the Baron that she was aware of his mistress and now, as a result, he had been more careful to put away any letters that might indicate her existence. “Well I’m not going to stay here and let you make a fool of me.”

Anna reached for the letter opener and jammed the end of the blade into the keyhole on the desk drawer until she managed to pry it open. Inside she found a pile of letters neatly bundled together and tied up with a red ribbon.

“Baroness are you quite alright?” Mr. Field had shortly arrived into the room after Anna and witnessed her vandalize the Baron’s desk.

Anna took out the letters and threw them on to the desk while she collapsed in the chair next to it. “You see! You see how he keeps his mistress while pretending to love me.” Mr. Field stood silent in the doorway not knowing whether to enter or leave.

“He has played me like a fool! Distracted me with fancy gifts and smooth words just to string me along so that he could keep his harlot. No more I tell you…No more!” At this Anna folded into herself and burst into sobs. Mr. Field rushed over and placed his hand gently on her back to try and calm her.

“Now, now. You do not know that he has a mistress, these letters could be from anyone.”

“I heard them.” Anna looked up at him with watery red eyes, “I heard the maids talk about it. Everyone knows that’s why he stays away from the house so much. He is with her, not business.”

“Tut. You cannot believe the silly chit chat of bitter maids that spend their days in idle gossip.”

“It is no good John. I have seen the letters before and read their words. It is true, he has another besides me.” Anna tried to stand but found her legs to shaky to be sturdy. “He convinced me that he had changed. Earnestly I believed and allowed myself to be taken in by his scheming. I will not endure to be made a fool of. Had it been better for both of us that he never sweet talked me, I would not care about his adultery.”

Anna continued to cry as Mr. Field tried to comfort her knowing that his words held no weight or wisdom.

Chapter 10

When Baron Hester returned from his trip he found no welcome party at the door. The butler greeted him and took care of his bags but none of the family rushed over to embrace him, in fact none of the family came to see him at all. The house seemed dark and gloomy with very little light coming in through the windows. He walked into the drawing room expecting to find one familiar face but the drapes had been drawn closed and the room abandoned. He proceeded to the dining room but again it was empty. He couldn’t hear the boys and on checking the classroom he found it vacant.

Disturbed by the cold silence he made his way down the halls and to the Baroness’ reading room. Slowly he opened the door and found his wife lying on a chaise next to an open fire. She didn’t look up or even flinch at his entrance, she simply gazed into the fire as if something had possessed her mind.

“My dear, I have returned from London.” No response. He stepped forward and wondered if maybe she was ill. “I thought you might have met me upon my return and welcomed me home…or perhaps the boys?”

“Did you.” Anna answered bluntly and didn’t look up. She had been wondering the past two days what she would say to her husband on his return and the scenario had played out differently each time in her mind. In the present she only felt rage toward the Baron that he would wander in so unaffected and enquire as to why he did not receive a warm welcome. Sharp sarcastic answers ran through her mind but she decided not to respond any further as she wanted to be calm and collected when they discussed their separation.

“Where are the boys? They are not in their classroom.”

“Mr. Field has taken them off for an outdoor science lesson, I wished for us to be alone while we discuss our future.” The Baron came further into the room and as he drew nearer Anna finally turned her head and looked at him. She could see that he was clearly confused by her sending away the boys and her nonchalant behavior but that did not stop her from continuing with her purpose.

“Our future? And what may I ask is it that you would like to discuss?” The Baron sat on the chair opposite her, perched just on the edge.

“I think it best that you take up a permanent abode in London and I will remain here with the boys, if you wish.”

“If I wish? What do you mean by this? Why would I go and live in London?”

Anna put her hand down the side of the chair and pulled out the love letters from the Barons desk. “You appear to be incapable of living without your mistress, in which case you may go to her and stay there.” She tossed the letters on the floor and they landed exactly between their two chairs. “I will not live with you and be the dutiful wife caring for your boys if you keep a mistress at the same time.”

The Baron’s face was white. He slowly bent down and picked up the letters which infuriated Anna further. “You disgust me. The audacity of you to swoon over me like a doe-eyed youth and then cavort in town with your harlot.”

The Baron stepped toward Anna and she tried her best to remain strong and defiant, but as he moved near she feared how he might react to her outburst. Then unexpectedly he knelt down and took her hands, “These letters are not what you think them.” He kissed her hand and looked up from his lowered position. “These are indeed love letters but they are from my deceased wife.”

Anna had not prepared herself for such an eccentric denial but she would not so easily believe his words. “They are signed ‘K’. No name, just the initial. If they were from your first wife why would she not sign it so?”

“I never explained anything to you about my first marriage and I see now that it was wrong of me not to. You have been hurt and laboring under a false impression. When I first met Katherine she was still very young and her parents thought her too young to marry. They believed that my feelings for her would fade and within the end of the season I would have found another but I was so taken with her that my feeling did not fade. Neither did Katherine’s and for the following year we wrote letters to each other confirming our love. Eventually her parents conceded to our bond and agreed that we could marry, which we did and had the few most precious years together.” The Baron paused and looked down at the letters still wrapped in the red ribbon.

Anna realized that she had never known the first Baronesses name as everything mentioned of her had been hushed words of gossip. She quickly felt ashamed of herself for listening to the idle words she had heard. Anna could see that the emotions of the past were holding the Baron back from continuing the tale but she still needed to hear the whole truth of what happened to his first love. Delicately she placed her hand on his shoulder and looked straight into his eyes.