Benedict's Bride Read online

  ‘No need. There’s a woman I always visit when I’m in Poole.’ It was a lie, but Jonas didn’t trust Stephen, and he was relieved when the man sank back into his chair. Stephen had been watching him all evening, as if he knew Jonas had made up his mind to head for Hampshire and warn Lord Costain of the plot being hatched. He hoped the action would go a little way into redeeming him in everyone’s eyes, including his own. If it didn’t, at least the young woman could be kept out of harm’s way.

  He left the warm fug of the inn, which smelled of tobacco, sweat and spilled ale, passing Patrick who was coming back in. ‘I’m off after a woman,’ he said. ‘A word to the wise, Patrick. You’re already up to your ears in debt to Gould and I think I saw him palm a card, so stop gambling. Also, I advise you not to allow yourself to be drawn into a scheme to abduct your cousin. It could get you killed.’

  ‘Devil take him,’ Patrick muttered, a scowl settling on his face.

  Jonas placed a hand on his arm. ‘Don’t rejoin Stephen. Come with me to London. We’ll warn Costain of what’s afoot, on the way.’

  ‘Not until after I’ve won my money back from him.’ Shaking his arm off, Patrick lurched through the door.

  He’d done his best. A light drizzle was falling outside and the sky was overcast. The air felt clean and fresh as Jonas sucked it into his lungs. Loosening the fall of his breeches he stood by a bollard on the quay and sighed with pleasure as he relieved himself into the water.

  There was a noise behind him. He twisted, automatically putting an arm up in defence of himself. Before he could fully turn something hit him hard across the head and part of his shoulder. He caught a whiff of peppermint before his body toppled into the dark, cold water between two fishing boats that rubbed gently but relentlessly together.

  * * * *

  Now Amber Rose had been initiated into the delights of the flesh she’d become a willing partner to Benedict. She cared not that the marriage wasn’t a legal one, that would follow. She enjoyed the extra excitement of Benedict being her lover. The uncertain experience of becoming a wife in the flesh was now over with, the void now occupied by imaginings of pleasure, or indeed, learning the various ways one could practice the pleasures of love.

  She’d already discovered that to breathe gently into Benedict’s ear, or gently nip the curve of his jaw would make him shiver. She smiled as she gazed at him. She intended to learn all the ways of pleasing him, allow him any liberty he desired.

  As if he’d read her thoughts he turned, his eyes narrowed and he offered a knowing little smile. When color crept into her cheeks he chuckled, which made her blush even more.

  It was early morning. The grey smudge of the sky was streaked pale yellow on the horizon and the ghostly remains of last night’s moon hugged the last blink of a star. London was barely awake, for Benedict had wanted an early start.

  He’d said, ‘If possible I’d like to get clear of the city before the streets get too crowded, so we arrive home before dark.’

  The transport he’d utilised to carry them back to Hampshire was the London carriage with the family crest. It was luxurious and pulled by a team of four matching greys that had been bred and trained at the Brierly stud. As well as the coachman there was an under-coachman accompanying them, and a stable hand acting as an outrider. She noticed that all the men were armed to the teeth. They’d be well protected from any felons that might chance their luck during the daylight hours.

  Annie, Amber and the luggage took up much of the carriage interior. The trunk was for Jake, for they’d visited the school where his father had once been a master, and had discovered some belongings stored there that had once belonged to his parents.

  The school had not been a good one, but an institution that catered for male children born on the wrong side of the blanket to the mistresses of the merchant classes. There they were educated, in the hope they would become useful citizens. When Benedict had suggested to the headmaster that the contents of the trunk were rather sparse for the lifetime of a man and his family, the school’s owner managed to find a silver watch and a chess set with ivory pieces in his cupboard.

  ‘We sold the clothing and a silver brooch to cover his father’s debts, My Lord,’ he’d said. ‘The boy should have taken his family’s effects with him.’

  ‘How would he carry such a load, when you threw the boy out to fend for himself?’

  ‘The man had shrugged. ‘This is a school not a home for impoverished children. We have to be businesslike. If the student fees cannot be paid then we must give a place to a child who has a sponsor. As I recall, Jake Selby had a good brain. He could have easily found employment and earned enough to keep himself after he left us. He was one of our better students.’

  ‘Due, no doubt to his father’s influence.’

  ‘As you say, My Lord. Mr. Selby was a fine teacher. Master Selby is quite welcome to return to the school, should he acquire a benefactor to sponsor him.’

  ‘He was lucky enough to find a sponsor in my wife before he starved to death. But I doubt if she’ll wish Jake to return to your establishment.’ He smiled at her. ‘What are your feelings on this, my dear? We can find somewhere better, I suspect.’

  She shook her head. ‘I’d rather Jake didn’t return here. I’m sure he’ll be pleased to have something to remind him of his parents though. He held them in great esteem.’

  ‘I’ll send a cart to pick up the trunk. If you discover anything else that should have been legated to Master Selby, no doubt he’d be happy to accept what is his rightful due.’

  But there was precious little added. His mother’s sewing box with its colored cottons, a little bag covered in beads and a pair of magnifying spectacles. It had been a family that existed rather than lived well. Amber couldn’t wait to get away from the awful place, and was determined that Jake would do better than that for himself in the future.

  Benedict had stated his intention to act as one of the outriders. His parting kiss was firm rather than sensual, his mind now on the journey ahead and far removed from the previous night, which they’d spent in sensual abandonment.

  When she yawned behind her hand he gently touched her face. ‘Try and get some rest, my love. I’ll wake you when we reach the inn in time for breakfast. I’ll take you to my sister’s residence, after which I’ll visit my parents and tell them the truth of what has happened between us.’

  ‘Not everything. Just that our marriage needs to be legalised,’ he assured her with a grin, when the alarm she felt filled her eyes. He whispered in her ear, ‘I wouldn’t like them to be embarrassed by somebody else telling them.’

  ‘Of course. What about my embarrassment?’

  ‘I love your blushes.’ He kissed her again and helped her into the carriage before mounting his own horse and saying, ‘Annie, make sure your mistress gets some rest.’

  They set out with a jerk, then the horses settle into their stride. A grinning Annie placed a cushion under her head. Amber kicked off her shoes and curled onto the seat with a rug over her. Gradually, the noise of the horses, the wheels rattling over the cobbles and the creaking of harness leathers merged into one.

  Waking for a breakfast of eggs, a thick slice of smoked bacon and fried bread washed down by tea, they then set off again. The journey was uneventful, and they reached the Stratton residence just before dusk.

  ‘The family is visiting the earl and the countess to finalise plans for the wedding. They won’t be home before morning, My Lord, the butler said, and sent the servants scurrying for the luggage. ‘I believe they were expecting you to arrive tomorrow.’

  ‘I see.’ He smiled at her. ‘Don’t worry, Amber, I won’t leave you alone.’

  ‘It’s all right, you go and join them.’

  ‘Come with me.’

  ‘I don’t feel like travelling any further. I’m sure I’ll be safe in a house full of servants, and I’ll have Jake for company. I haven’t seen much of him lately and this will provide me with an opportunity to tal
k to him about his future.’ She feigned a yawn. ‘I’m desperately in need of a good night’s sleep.’

  The butler had discreetly removed himself from the immediacy of their conversation and with sharp eyes was watching the servants bring in her packages.

  Benedict’s eyes crinkled with amusement and his voice dropped in pitch, ‘Are you telling me you haven’t been sleeping well at night?’

  ‘I’ve slept deeply, but not for long enough.’ She giggled. ‘Kiss me goodbye and depart, Benedict. I know you have things to do. I’ll be perfectly all right. I won’t go out of the house and I’ll lock my door when I go to bed.’

  There was a show of reluctance as he parted with her, leaving instructions with the butler about locking the house up securely, and making sure the footmen were vigilant. ‘Station an armed man at each end of the corridor tonight, when Miss Hartford retires.’

  ‘Yes, I will, sir. The downstairs windows are already closed and locked and the servants will be instructed to keep a sharp eye out.

  Amber walked with Benedict to his horse.

  ‘Promise me you’ll take care,’ he said, and she could see the concern in his eyes.

  She kissed the hand he gently squeezed hers with. ‘I promise. You take care as well.’

  ‘I’ll see you at the altar the day after tomorrow.’

  She watched him ride away, the carriage following, for the horses would need to be rested overnight at Laconbridge. She blew him a kiss when he turned to wave at her. When he was out of sight she felt lonely, and set apart from the closely knit family she was to marry into. She wished she’d gone with him, but it was too late now.

  The butler gently coughed after Benedict disappeared from sight. ‘Miss Hartford?’

  Obviously Emma hadn’t informed her servants of Amber’s private marriage to Benedict. For that she was grateful, for the illegality of it bothered her a little. The butler politely stood to one side while she entered the house, closed the doors behind him and secured them with bolts. ‘Will you be taking dinner in the dining hall, Miss Hartford?’

  ‘I’m going up to fetch Jake. Have my dinner sent up on a tray to my room, and with something extra for Jake. Some soup and a pudding perhaps.’

  ‘Master Selby had his tea earlier,’ he reminded her.

  ‘He’s a boy. I’m sure Jake can find room in his stomach for an extra helping of food.’

  The butler smiled at her. ‘I’m sure he can, Miss Hartford.’

  The nursery maid didn’t like her routine being upset. ‘Master Selby is ready for bed, Miss Hartford.’

  ‘He can sleep in my room. There are plenty of sheets and blankets. I’ll make up the truckle bed.’

  ‘But, Miss . . .’

  ‘No arguments,’ she told her firmly. ‘I haven’t seen Jake for days. I imagine you can find plenty to do without him being underfoot.’ She took Jake’s hand. ‘Come along, Jake.’

  Jake was grinning from ear to ear. She laughed and picked up speed. Soon they were racing each other along the corridor to her room. There, they flung themselves into the middle of the bed, out of breath.

  ‘You look as though you’ve just escaped from prison,’ she said.

  ‘I have. The nursery is full of rules, Miss Amber. Even the windows have bars on them in case the children climb on the window sills and fall out. Charlotte and Susannah are nice, but they’re always telling me what to do. And they said their brother is bigger than me, and he’ll beat me up when he comes home from school.’

  Amber grinned, the girls were just like their mother and aunt. ‘I shouldn’t think so, Jake. They’re teasing you. Besides, I doubt if you’ll be here when he comes home.’

  ‘I hope not. I don’t want to fight anyone. And we don’t get enough to eat. The nursery maid said we’ll get nightmares if we eat to much before going to bed. But sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m hungry enough to steal a chicken from its coop and cook it.’

  She laughed at the reminder. ‘As long as it’s not cooked on a shovel used for dung.’

  ‘I’m too old to be in a nursery and wear silly frilled blouses and skeleton suits,’ he said morosely, ‘And they keep washing my face and hands.’

  She managed to keep a straight face. ‘That must be dreadful. See those packages over there? It’s a whole new wardrobe for you. Most of the garments were selected by myself, with some advice from Lord Costain. He thought that pantaloons under Russian tunics with plain collars and jackets were more suitable for you. There’s everything you need, including a cap to wear and a new pair of boots.’

  ‘I don’t know how to thank you, Miss Amber,’ he said. ‘You’re kind, and so is Lord Costain.’

  ‘If you grow into a decent, well-educated and polite young man who can earn a decent living for himself, that will be thanks enough. And as you won’t be in the nursery for much longer I want you to remember that our hosts, their children and their staff have been exceedingly kind to us. It would be a nice gesture for you to pen a letter in your best writing, thanking Lord and Lady Stratton for their hospitality. And also to thank the maids.’

  When she rose from the bed and straightened her skirts, Jake stood too. He looked around him. ‘This is a grand room.’

  ‘It’s the one Lord Costain uses when he stays here. I’m to marry him the day after tomorrow, you know.’

  Jake nodded, ‘The nursery maids talk of nothing else.’ He thought for a moment before gazing at her. ‘Things will change when you’re married, I reckon. I wasn’t born into the upper crust, so what will happen to me, Miss?’

  ‘We’ll discuss that a little later, but I still intend that you should go to school and make something of yourself. Lord Costain agrees with me. I imagine he will go to a lawyer and make application to become your legal guardian. I do hope you intend to take up the opportunity being offered.’

  ‘Yes, Miss Amber.’

  ‘Since you’re my best friend until you make new ones at school, I shall take you into my confidence on certain matters. I have purchased Hartford House, and I’m giving it to Lord Costain as a surprise gift when we wed. I believe he thought it would make a good horse stud when he first saw it, so I do hope we can go back there to live.’ She put her hand in her pocket. ‘In the meantime I’ve got something for you. Open your hand.’ When he did she placed the silver watch in his palm.

  Jake gazed down at it for a moment, then he flipped open the lid and looked inside. Tears filled his eyes. His lips were trembling as he gazed up at her questioningly. ‘This belonged to my father.’

  ‘Yes ... I know, dear. Now it’s yours, Jake, as is your right. Lord Costain took me to the school in London where your father taught, and we made inquiries on your behalf. We’ve brought back a trunk filled with your parents’ belongings. They were left behind at the school and stored there.’

  ‘I could only carry one bag and I put clothes and food in it, and some money. It was stolen by some bigger boys while I was travelling.’

  ‘The clothing that belonged to your family has been disposed of, we understand, and probably other personal items too. I believe it was to pay a debt your father owed. Mostly there were books in the trunk, but the headmaster returned a lovely chess set he’d stored in a cupboard, as well as a few other things. We thought you’d like to have them.’

  ‘My father was teaching me to play the game.’ To her consternation Jake burst into tears. Usually, the lad was self-contained and grown up in his ways and thinking. But he was only a little boy after all, and a brave one at that. Now he needed mothering a little, she thought. Gently she gathered the boy into her arms and held him close while he grieved for the family he’d loved and lost.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Matt Striker gazed at the man lying on the bed. ‘Will he live, doctor?’

  ‘Likely he will. It depends if his lungs become infected. Half the harbor was inside him. The broken ribs and leg should heal if he doesn’t move around too much, but that knock on his head might give him troubl
e if his skull is cracked. Do you know who he is?’

  ‘His watch is inscribed, Jonas Carlton. I’ve seen him before, in Bridport with a couple of companions. He was with the same two earlier tonight, I believe.’

  Jonas clutched his side and groaned as he heaved, and spat more water from his mouth. His eyes fluttered open. ‘Where am I?’ His groan became an agonised scream as he tried to sit up. He flopped back on his pillow, made fully conscious by the pain.

  ‘I fished you out of the harbor,’ Matt told him. ‘You had some coins in your pocket, enough to pay for the doctor.’

  ‘I hurt like hell. How badly am I injured?’

  ‘Cracked ribs and you’ve broken a bone in your lower leg. There’s a lump the size of an apple on your head. You damn near drowned into the bargain.’

  ‘Someone hit me from behind.’

  ‘Something surely did, and it wasn’t a low flying seagull. I’ve splinted the leg and bound the ribs. I can’t do much about the head except dose you up with some laudanum for the pain. If you get a fever most likely it’ll kill you, so you’ll be going into the infirmary as soon as there’s a bed available. ’

  ‘Damn it to hell, man, I’m not going into any infirmary.’ Jonas’s eyes expressed the urgency in him. ‘I need to get to Hampshire as quickly as I can. Will you fetch my horse? It’s a chestnut with a white blaze on his nose. I left it at the inn on the quayside opposite the fishing boats.’

  The doctor cackled with laughter. ‘If you think you can ride a horse, go ahead.’

  Matt grinned as the fool tried to sit up again, then the pain became too much for him. His eyes rolled up in his head and he subsided on to the pillow in a faint.

  The doctor cackled. ‘Some fools never learn. I’ll send the infirmary cart over for him as soon as there’s a bed to spare, Matt.’ He pulled the door behind him as he left.

  Matt gazed at his brother-in-law and shrugged. ‘I have a few days leave left, Tom, so can look after him. We’d best put his nag in your stable. If we leave it where it is it’ll be dished up on somebody’s dinner plate come Sunday.’