The Ghost and Jacob Moorhead (25 page)

“And so you will,” said Jacob, looking around. “He is here, is he not?”

Jenna smiled and moved her hand just a trifle nearer the chill that was her lover. “He is here.” She looked up to where he stood as close as he dared to where she sat by the window.

“Does this mean we can go to London and on to Brighton?” asked Jacob.

Jenna’s smile broadened. “Yes, it does. You must see your solicitor, of course, which takes you as far as London, unless you wish him to come here?”

Jacob, with a glance toward Verity, shook his head.

“Good. I would enjoy your company on to Brighton. I can stay with Mary while you go to London.”

* * * * *

Mary, meanwhile, was seated with Rube and his brothers. She looked from one to the other. “You see,” she said gently, “whatever our varying cultures say, Rube and I have fallen in love with each other. Shocking, of course—” She smiled a quick smile at Rube who sat, his features frozen that she’d reveal their secret. “But I cannot do without him. If this means my family will ostracize me—” She shrugged. “Well, I cannot care. I am in England infrequently in any case. Rube? Will you too chance the unforgivable? Will you wed me and we continue our adventures together as man and wife?”

Rube’s eldest brother spoke a few words. Softly, Rube translated, just in case Mary had not quite got the meaning. “His dreams. He says he has learned this will happen in his dreams.” Rube and Mary smiled at each other.

The man spoke again and this time sternly.

Mary’s mouth formed a line, the corners twitching and her eyes twinkling. “Of course we will come home with you and be married by your laws… But first we will be married here in England by ours.” She looked around. There were nods from the brothers, although the youngest grimaced. “You do not think we should wed by my laws?” asked Mary.

“Oh, it isn’t that. It’s just that marriage… Well, I just hope I never have to marry anyone.”

His elders chuckled and he turned a trifle red.

Rube ruffled his hair. “I felt much the same at your age. I’m afraid it is one of those things that happen to one as one gets older. One changes.”

The lad shook his head. “Not
me
,” he said and this time when his ears heated up, it was more from anger at his brothers’ teasing than embarrassment as it was the first time.

“So that is settled?” asked Mary.

The eldest gave another still longer speech in his and Rube’s language. The middle brother translated. The gist of it was that their father had hoped to bring Rube home before the two fell in love, but he’d feared it was already too late and, if it was, then he didn’t wish to lose a son and would welcome Mary to the family even if she were not exactly…

When the brother couldn’t find a proper word, Mary suggested, “Not exactly suitable?”

They all laughed and Mary and Rube, finally alone, made plans to go into York and apply to the archbishop for still another license. “He will think we’ve altogether given up banns in this household,” said Mary, laughing. “I’ll go tell the family and see how soon we may accomplish all so we can get on the road south. The sooner we’ve seen your father and received his blessing in person, the sooner we may be off to our former colonies in America and the sooner I can find a wise man or woman to teach me what is known in their culture of the healing arts.”

So. Still a third wedding entertained the neighbors who then had still more about which they could gossip. Lady Mary wedding that foreign prince… Well. Really! But there was some envy in the nubile breasts that Lady Mary had found herself such an exceedingly handsome husband—even if his complexion was an odd golden color.

Chapter Seventeen

London was hot and smelly. The river flowed sluggishly and the boatmen rowing Jacob and Verity from Mary’s estate to where they could easily reach the Inns of Court and the solicitor’s office were forced to work harder than usual even though they rowed with the water’s flow. The newlyweds didn’t much care how long it took. They were still far too involved with each other. The boatmen ignored the rustles, the giggles, the soft chuckles and other revealing sounds, leaving Jacob and Verity free to loll among the cushions in the bow of their transport.

Eventually, however, they reached their destination and, standing on the steps climbing up from the river, Jacob asked that the boatmen pick them up at a different set farther upriver about the time the moon rose that evening. “We’ll dine at the Redmond Hotel,” Jacob told Verity, “and return upstream when the sun is set and the temperatures are not so enervating.” He then led Verity to his solicitor’s rooms where, the man having been warned by letter of their arrival, Jacob was soon confirmed as heir to High Moor, all the proper papers signed and sealed and hands shaken all around.

“There is another thing,” said Jacob to his solicitor but turning a smile toward Verity. “It has been an exceedingly odd spring and early summer and I am afraid we married in something of a rush. There was no thought to settlements and wills and such legal necessities.”

He and the solicitor discussed Jacob’s wishes as Verity listened, her eyes widening more and more. “But that is too much,” she finally exclaimed.

“I’ll not have you or any children we produce suffering if something were to happen to me.” Jacob spoke in a firm no-nonsense tone and Verity subsided. “We’ll say no more on that head.”

The solicitor, however, had a great deal more to say but hesitated to state his objections to Jacob’s plans while Jacob’s new wife sat there listening. Still, after one or two glances at Verity, he did so.

Again Jacob shook his head. “Verity will learn what she does not know. She has already proven to me she is competent, that she has an excellent head on her shoulders and that she is sensible enough to ask for advice if there is something she needs to know but does not. I wish that she be, in case of my demise, fully in charge of High Moor.”

“But trustees…”

Jacob smiled. “Unnecessary so long as my wife survives me. On the other hand, if there are children… Verity, we must discuss who we would make guardian of any offspring. I’ve a suggestion or two…” He glanced at the solicitor. “We mean to return north from Brighton in a week or so and will stop here. Just leave space for names of guardians and trustees in the proper place in the documents and we’ll fill in what is needed. We’ll have made our decision by then.”

There was a little more discussion but soon Jacob and Verity departed and strolled along the Strand toward Piccadilly. “You’ll like the hotel where I mean us to dine. It is small and off the main streets, so very quiet. Mary reminded me of its existence. So…what would you like to do until it is time for dinner?”

“I’ve a few things I need to purchase…if that would be all right?” The discussion of allowances and settlements had left Verity in something like shock but, when she’d recovered, she realized she was rather excited by the notion she could order new clothes over and above what her aunt had purchased for her in York. Besides, there were things she still required. Most important was that she be measured for new shoes and slippers, something she needed badly. The thought was irresistible.

“You’ve never indulged yourself in the London shops, so you are in for a treat. Now let me think where we should begin…”

“And how do
you
know where I should shop?” she asked, a glint in her eye.

“Now, Verity,” he said, laughing at her teasing tone.

The laugh broke off sharply when a voice Jacob knew well shouted his name. Jacob rolled his eyes but stopped and turned to face the new Earl of Everston. “Good day to you, Mud. I’d like you to meet—”

He was rudely interrupted. “I knew you’d never stay in the northern wilds. I knew you’d leave and come south. I knew you’d fail to inherit. I
knew
…”

Verity, who had taken an instant dislike to the man, decided his lordship had gloated quite enough. “But you know nothing,” she said in a soft carrying voice. “We’ve just come from the solicitor. Jacob has been confirmed in his possession of High Moor.”

The earl’s mouth dropped open and his eyes bulged in an unhealthy manner. “I don’t know you,” he said. “You have nothing to do with this.” He turned back to Jacob, “Now I’ll just take myself off to my solicitor and inform him…”

Jacob too had no interest in prolonging the discussion. “You do that. You’ll find my wife did have something to do with
this
. Come, Verity. Let us proceed directly to a good warehouse and choose the fabric for your new gowns. Then we’ll stop in at Madame Justine’s for measurements and so that you can decide on styles. And, after that, we’ll have you measured for boots and the slippers you need and…” He walked off still listing all they had to do that day, leaving his cousin standing, open-mouthed, on the pavement behind them.

“Mel, are you here?” asked Jacob softly. He heard a rather evil chuckle and a satisfied and definite
Yes
as they strolled on down the street. Once they rounded the next corner, Jacob stopped Verity and they peeked back around the corner. “Stunned like a fish gasping for air. You cannot know how pleased I am to have given dear old Mud such a delightful shock.”

“Delightful?” asked Verity, doubtfully.

“Delightful to
me
,” said Jacob.

And me
.
But only Jacob heard the ghostly voice.

Then, grinning, Jacob tugged Verity’s arm and they set off for the warehouse of his choice where he chose six or seven lengths of material over and above the four sensible choices Verity made.

The rest of the day passed in equally delightful fashion. And the boat trip back up the Thames with a glorious moon climbing up into the sky behind them was still more enjoyable. And then the days they passed at Mary’s estate while Verity’s new gowns were completed went by in a cloud of happiness for everyone.

Only one person stewed and fretted and wished they could continue their journey immediately.
Fiddle on all lovers
, ranted the ghost and Jenna laughed at him.
You don
’
t understand
, he continued.
I want to get to Brighton to see if Cousin Sarah has come out of her shell
.
I want to discover if she too will fulfill my hopes
.
I want her to give up the nonsense of eternal mourning
.
She is too young to become a recluse
,
a bitter woman longing for a man who wasn
’
t even worthy of her
—
not that you
’
ll ever convince her of that
.

But Jacob refused to travel on until Verity’s new clothes arrived. “I’ll not have her embarrassed,” he told the ghost who, at the most embarrassing of times, would whisper demands into Jacob’s ear. “We’ll go when we are good and ready.”

And that is what they did.

About the Author

Jeanne Savery began writing when she stopped being a perpetual student. After a long apprenticeship, her first sale came the same year she turned fifty.

She has two kids, three grandchildren, and a wonderfully supportive husband. Hubby has itchy feet, so the family traveled whenever he found funding. Savery has lived at both ends and in the middle of the U.S.A. as well as in England, Australia, Germany and India, and has traveled here and there in Europe.

It goes without saying that whenever she and her husband leave home, a laptop travels with her.

Jeanne welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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