The Wedding Affair (Rebel Hearts series Book 1) (30 page)

“The war cannot last forever,” Sally whispered hopefully as a figure inside the drawing room claimed her attention. Aunt Penelope. “Do we have smelling salts nearby?”

“Behind the elephant statue on the mantel. Why?”

“Aunt Pen must have heard the news. She already looks as if she might faint from the scandal of my second failed wedding.”

“We will catch her should she fall,” her mother whispered. “It is what our family is best at.”

“Indeed it is.” Sally smiled and then strode inside to explain.

Chapter Thirty-Three

A
fter being made to cool his heels for five and forty minutes in the secretary’s office, Felix was finally seen by the man best suited to correct a mistake. He took a deep breath as he swept into Admiral Greer’s office with the reluctant Jennings close on his heels. The dark-paneled room was cluttered with more maps and folders than Felix had ever expected. A short man sat behind a large desk, poring over even more papers. “Admiral, thank you for seeing me at such short notice.”

The portly Greer raised weary eyes. “Captain Hastings, what an unexpected honor.” Greer cast a glance behind him. “You! What the devil are you doing here?”

“Admiral Greer.” Jennings nodded, doing his best to appear contrite. Felix had warned Jennings that a certain amount of humility on his part would be needed today if they were to have any success.

“He is with me,” Felix said.

Greer appeared very unhappy and shuffled some papers around. “Well then, take a seat. What can I do for you?”

“I have come to ask, to plead, for Gabriel’s reinstatement as captain.”

Felix gestured to Jennings to come closer and sit down.

Greer sucked his teeth. “Is that so? Did he convince you he had not meant to shame me?”

“Actually, I meant to shame myself,” Jennings said in a low voice.

Greer adjusted his bulk in his chair. “And you did a fine job of it I must say.”

“And he is sorry for the trouble he caused,” Felix added. “For everyone, but especially to you. It was not well done of him, but grief and drink robbed him of his dignity that day.”

Jennings said nothing to correct him, and he was grateful not to be contradicted. It had to be said that Jennings had been a fool. It had to be easier if someone else said it for him.

Greer’s gaze finally settled on Gabriel, his eyes hard and assessing. “You, sir, are lucky not to have faced me on the field of honor.”

“I know,” Jennings said quietly. “And yet I would not have deserved the expense of the shot, let alone the burial.”

Actually, it was probably Greer who was lucky that Jennings was incapable of answering his door when the seconds had called that night. Jennings had been so under the weather that it was said he had oozed from his chair without any semblance of having bones within his limbs. And Jennings had stayed that way for fully eight months. Tubby Greer had not come out from behind his desk in years and likely would have been incapable of matching Jennings’s former skill with a sword or pistol. Two lives had probably been saved thanks to his inebriation.

“I will vouch for him,” Felix added. “He has changed.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“It is not as if I can lose my late wife again,” Jennings remarked. “I have made my peace with her loss and vow never to let love affect me again.”

Greer grunted and turned his attention to Felix. “He is reinstated at half pay.”

“Half pay?” That was not enough, but it was a starting point for negotiations. Felix wanted Jennings to command a ship again. During the journey to London, he and Jennings had talked about his future if this meeting went badly. The only way for Jennings to prove himself again and put the past behind him was to find an active profession. He was best suited to command a frigate.

Greer took papers from a desk drawer, scrawled a signature, and handed them to Jennings. “Give these to my secretary on your way out.”

The reinstatement had come so easily that perhaps Admiral Greer had always meant to reverse his decision if given the opportunity without the loss of honor. He nodded. Greer had at least some compassion in his soul. Felix sat forward. “What about a ship?”

“There are none”—Greer scowled—“so even if he was sober enough for sailing his way out of a mere hip bath, there is nothing more that could be done.”

“There must be a ship somewhere,” Felix protested.

Jennings grasped his arm. “Hastings, you have done enough for one day.”

It was not enough. “What if a command were to become available today?”

Greer’s eyes narrowed, and then he shook his head. “Planning to murder a fellow captain? That is one way to do it, I suppose, but terribly untidy.”

The sarcasm was not amusing, but there was a way. Felix’s solution was not simple and would likely cause argument within the admiralty, but he was the only captain who had means and motive to make the offer. He took a breath. “What if I step aside?”

“Hastings.” Jennings gasped, almost leaping from his chair. “What the devil are you suggesting?”

Greer turned his full attention on Felix, eyes alight with amusement. “You would resign as captain of the
Selfridge
for the sake of a drunkard’s soul?”

“For my own,” he insisted. “But only if Captain Jennings assumes command.”

A devious smile curled Admiral Greer’s lips. “Well, well, well. Do I sense friction between you and your esteemed benefactor? What will the Duke of Rutherford say? He likes to throw his weight and money around the admiralty.”

If Felix returned to marry Sally, there probably was not a lot he would say against his resignation. “There has always been friction, but in this I feel I have the Duke of Rutherford’s complete support.”

Jennings gulped. “What are you doing?”

“Taking that risk we talked about.” He studied Jennings. “No doubt Rutherford will expect the same terms as he attached to my agreement.”

“Half your prize and to stay away from the Ford ladies.” Jennings considered that for quite some time before nodding. “I can live with his conditions. But are you sure?”

“Never more so.” He turned to Greer and smiled. “Now, Admiral, tell me how much blunt it will take to get my friend aboard the
Selfridge
as soon as possible and underway as captain. I am willing to grease as many wheels as is necessary. What do you want?”

“Information.” From another drawer, Greer fetched a fresh sheet of paper. His smile was utterly cunning. “Captains, please resume your seats so we can make this official.”

Epilogue

One month later

N
o matter his location, mornings were Felix’s favorite time of day. Newberry Park grounds and staff were stirring to life. Chimneys sent up tendrils of smoke from various parts of the distant great house. The Fords would be rising soon and going about the business of being a family.

But without Sally in their midst, the day by necessity was a little less bright. Her marriage would have come and gone, and she was miles away.

“Why, Captain Hastings, you look the very image of a country gentleman.” The duke smiled as they met on the grounds of Torre Cottage. The old man seemed particularly spry today as he navigated the white crushed-shell paths that circled the cottage, twirling his canes as if he had no need of them.

Felix glanced up at the house. “And that is what I am, what I will be once the final paperwork is done. I resigned my commission and have come to take up residence.”

“Indeed you have.” The duke chuckled. “I was the recipient of the most irritated message from my son a week after you left, so I had some idea to expect you. It seems you only left Newberry to tender your resignation, but you also solved the problem of what to do with Captain Jennings at the same time. Giving him your ship with my apparent blessing was a masterstroke. Very neat of you.”

“Jennings needed an occupation, and he has traversed that trade lane more times than I have. He will be the best man to keep an eye out for Fredrick.” Felix smiled and swung the gate open to his new abode. Thanks to listening to Sally’s hopes and dreams for this place, he had a list of chores to carry out before the house was habitable and ready to accept visitors. Not that he expected many.

A small black face peeked at him from under the nearest shrub. He crouched down and held out his hand. “Is that you, Hercules?”

The beast crept out slowly, hissing, avoiding the duke and his swinging canes.

“Overgrown rats, every last one,” the duke complained but he was smiling.

“They have a certain charm.” Felix smiled as the creature came close enough to receive a scratch. He scampered away to the undergrowth of a large shrub as soon as he had had enough attention, and Felix stood again. “If nothing else, my living here will offer a haven for the cats since Sally could not take them with her.”

“Would it surprise you to learn there was no marriage?” the duke asked.

Felix froze and then faced the duke. “She called it off?”

“Seems a wise choice on her part, considering she is in love with you.” The duke pointed his cane at Felix’s chest. “But I knew as soon as she saw you and you cleared the air that she might change her mind about marrying that fortune hunter. I expect news that I will bounce a great-grandchild on my knee before the year is out.”

“Ah, Your Grace?” Felix frowned at the duke. The old man was far more devious than he had given him credit for. “How long had you been planning our reconciliation?”

“Ever since you sent the breach of promise back. I knew then you had not played my granddaughter false. And I know our Sally’s nature. A woman in love has a certain look about her,” the duke advised sagely. “I understand the impediments that made it seem like you walked away the first time. You were young and foolish, but do not think I will allow it a second time.”

“I am not going anywhere. No matter how many times Rothwell or her brothers hit me for making yet another mess of her life.” He glanced around him and smiled. “I am home to stay.”

“Good. Come for breakfast tomorrow.”

“I would like permission to call on Sally,” he told the duke.

“You do not need my permission. I expect it of you. And I am also sure she will show herself soon enough.” He turned back momentarily. “Oh, and I took the liberty of arranging this. Just a trifling convenience that will make your homecoming so much more enjoyable.”

Although intrigued, Felix tucked the letter into his coat pocket while he waited for the duke to leave in his carriage. He would read it later. He picked up another of Sally’s cats that had appeared at his feet. He scratched the white ball of fluff beneath the chin and looked up at what passed for a cottage in this part of the world, a place that would become his new home. It was, overall, a bit smaller than his ship, but his living quarters were bound to be a vast deal more comfortable.

He would have a proper large bed here, and hopefully Sally would be in it very soon.

As he stared at the six front windows and high pitched roof, he discovered a fire was burning inside.

Puzzled, he advanced on the door. “Hello,” he called out, expecting a servant to appear. “Is anyone at home?”

There was a rush of footsteps inside, then all was quiet.

He let himself in, allowing the cat to wander where he would. To the left was a quaint little sitting room, decorated in rich hues of blue with white piping on the cushions. To the right was a dining table, and to his surprise it was set for two.

He smiled. “Sally?”

She peeked around the doorframe, smiling broadly and with tears in her eyes. She was a vision in blue. His favorite color. She was so beautiful his heart skipped a beat.

“You came back to me,” she murmured, a broad smile spreading over her face.

He hurried down the hall and embraced her. “For you. Only for you. I am home to stay if you will have me.”

She shrieked and her arms tightened around him. “Yes, Felix. I will have you.”

He spun her around and then set her on her feet. He touched her face, her lower lip, and then kissed her brow. “I thought you would not be here.”

“I knew I could not marry Ellicott even before you left.” She brushed the corner of her eye, wiping away a tear. “But I did not want to say anything and make you change your plans.”

“I missed you.”

“Felix, you were only gone a month.”

“An eternity.

“I have been too busy to miss you,” she confessed, wincing.

“So I see.” He laughed and glanced around, approving of everything he saw, comforts that would make Torre Cottage their home when they wed. “I had thought this house had been left empty, but you have achieved so much.”

“It took three weeks to refurnish the house to my satisfaction.” Sally smiled as she glanced around proudly. “I have moved heaven and earth so you would have somewhere to lay your head on the night you came home.”

“For us both to lay our heads.” He took her hand in his. “Marry me, Sally. Marry me and this time do not leave me at the altar no matter what your father says.”

“I could never be so foolish again.” She leaned close. “I cannot live without you in my life.”