A Talent for Trouble (28 page)

Grayson cleared his throat. “What will you do with him?”

Mei stepped closer to him and shrugged. “Why you care?”

Grayson looked at Mei for a long moment. “I would not want him to die.”

“I said he will not, but . . . not your concern. We deal with Francisco. No more about him.” She smiled a genuine smile. “Thank you for helping my Ming.” She turned and gestured to her husband, speaking rapidly in Chinese. Chao stepped forward and, to Grayson's surprise, held Ming out to him.

Grayson took the little girl and drew her close.

“We leave. You say goodbye.” Mei looked to Mr. Blackheart and Theodore, and then to Hamilton and Zayne. “You go too.” She waved toward the door, and everyone—including Felicia, who sent Grayson a reassuring smile—walked out of the room, leaving him with Ming in his arms. He moved to a chair and sat down, tilting Ming's chin up so he could look her in the eye. He forced a smile.

“I have to go now, darling, but you have your mama and papa back.”

Ming frowned. “You come.”

Grayson blinked when he felt tears sting his eyes. He drew in a breath and slowly released it. “I'm afraid I can't. You belong with your mama, and she loves you very much. She crossed an entire ocean to find you, as did your papa.”

Ming's little brow wrinkled, but then she smiled and patted his cheek. “Okay.”

And that was it. He set her down, she ran to the door, and then Mei was there, scooping her up. He didn't see them leave because his eyes were now filled with tears, but then Felicia was back by his side, taking his hand into hers and squeezing it tightly.

“She'll be fine, Grayson. She's where she belongs now.”

“I know, but it's difficult to let her go.”

“Yes, it is, but it's the right thing to do.”

“You two, come on, now,” Mr. Blackheart said, poking his head into the room. “We're getting the distinct impression the
crew is readying this ship to leave, so if you don't want to end up in China, may I suggest we make our way to the dock?”

Grayson got to his feet, kept Felicia's hand tucked into his, and followed Mr. Blackheart through the ship, down the plank, and finally to the dock. He looked around, noticed far too many policemen to count, and grinned. “So Theodore wasn't exaggerating when he said the police were here.”

Mr. Blackheart returned the grin. “He takes this type of matter very seriously and began setting things into motion right after he saw Felicia drive off in your phaeton—something, I might add, that took years off my life as I was forced to watch her careen through the streets.” Mr. Blackheart shuddered. “It took everything I had to keep up with her and yet stay out of sight.”

Grayson frowned. “When did you meet up with Theodore, Hamilton, and Zayne?”

“Here at the docks. Sam told Theodore, right after Felicia was seen driving away from the park, that they should go to the docks. He's a bright boy, that Sam, but stubborn too. He was not pleased when Theodore wouldn't let him come here but instead made him promise to look after his sisters.”

Felicia smiled. “That was a wise choice on Theodore's part. Sam would never refuse to look after his sisters.” Her smile suddenly disappeared. “I think they're pulling up anchor.”

Grayson turned and watched as the anchor was lifted and the ship began moving. He realized he'd never see Ming again, but instead of feeling the grief he'd been expecting, he found himself happy for the child, knowing she wouldn't face the prejudices she would have if she'd remained with him.

His eyes welled with tears when Ming suddenly appeared at the railing, held fast in her mother's arms as she waved cheerfully at him. His hand, seemingly on its own accord, rose and waved back, waved until the boat moved so far away that he couldn't
make Ming out any longer. He turned to face Felicia and found a river of tears trailing down her beautiful face.

“She'll be all right,” he said.

Felicia took a deep breath and nodded. “She's not the one I'm worried about.”

Grayson took a deep breath of his own and slowly released it. “I'm fine, really. Strange as it may seem, I feel better than I have in years. I know you'll find this odd, coming from me, but I get this feeling that God might have had His hand in this business today.”

“I'm sure He did, but what do you mean?”

“Everything got wrapped up so nice and tidy. I found out the truth regarding my past, Ming found her parents again, Francisco will not get rewarded for the evil he has done, and . . .”

He looked up and found Theodore, Mr. Blackheart, Zayne, and Hamilton watching them. He narrowed his eyes, which caused all the gentlemen to grin back at him, but they dutifully turned around and disappeared down the dock.

“Where was I?”

“You were saying ‘and . . .'”

“Ah, quite right, well, and . . . since everything is coming together so nicely, it might be exactly the right moment for me to tell you that, since I'm no longer a murderer, well, I would be delighted if you would agree to marry me.”

“You want me to marry you because you're not a murderer?”

“Well, I mean, I love you—”

Before he could get another word out, he felt a sharp shove against his chest, and the next second, cold water washed over him as he tumbled off the dock. He splashed to the surface, pushed his sopping wet hair out of his face, and scowled up at Felicia, who was peering at him from the edge of the planks.

“Are you out of your mind?” he sputtered.

“I do beg your pardon, Grayson,” Felicia called down to him.
“I might have acted a touch hastily. Did you, perhaps, actually make the claim that you love me before you hit the water?”

She really was incredibly exasperating. He dipped under the water for a brief second, kicked his feet, resurfaced, and then, after he spit water out of his mouth, managed a nod.

A brilliant smile blossomed over Felicia's face. “But, that's marvelous because I love you too and would be honored to become your wife. Although, you really do need to work on your romantic side.”

Grayson went motionless at her declaration and promptly sank. He struggled back to the surface, spit out another mouthful of horrible-tasting sea water, and blinked when he discovered Felicia bending down to offer him her hand. He took it, hefted himself to the dock, and before the infuriating woman could get a single word out of her mouth, he kissed her.

O
NE
WEEK
LATER

F
elicia knew she was grinning like a lunatic, but she had no control over it whatsoever. She'd been grinning on and off for no apparent reason ever since Grayson had proposed, and even though people were beginning to watch her a little oddly, she simply couldn't help herself.

“I must say, this is a lovely day to be out and about. Central Park is absolutely gorgeous at the moment, but . . .” She looked down at her gown and then lifted her head, catching Arabella's gaze. “I feel rather overdressed. Are you quite certain this rally we're attending is to be a formal event?”

Arabella evidently didn't hear her, because instead of answering Felicia's question, she turned to Ruth, who was waving a delicate fan in front of her face and standing underneath the shade of a large tree. “You must be tickled pink that Felicia and Grayson are engaged.”

Ruth smiled. “Indeed, I'm beyond thrilled. Although . . .” She
caught Felicia's eye. “I am disappointed that you won't allow me to plan a large wedding. Why, every mother dreams of the day she gets to see her daughter exchange vows, yet all you're willing to allow me to plan is a simple service at the church with a small gathering back at the house afterward. Add to that the fact that you've yet to tell me when you'd like to hold this all too small affair, and I must admit, I'm not having much fun.”

Felicia wrinkled her nose. It was somewhat odd, but for a woman who was supposed to be downright disappointed, her mother's eyes seemed to be sparkling quite a bit. She blew out a breath, wondering what plotting was currently going on in her mother's diabolical mind. “I don't want a large wedding, Mother. After that debacle with Reverend Fraser and having wasted so many years trying to be someone I'm not, now that I've finally found the gentleman who loves me for who I am, well, I don't see the need for a lot of fuss. I just want to marry the man—simple as that.”

“That's rather sweet . . . and nauseating at the same time,” Agatha said, slipping up to grab Felicia's hand. “I am happy for you, my darling, but I do wish you weren't going to be moving so far away.”

“Grayson wants to resume his role as earl and finally take over his estates back in England.”

“Noble of the man,” Ruth said with a nod. “And he did tell me and your father that we'd be welcome to visit any time.” She grinned. “Since the man has six homes, I'm fairly certain there'll be room enough for everyone to visit, including you, Agatha.”

Arabella stepped closer to her. “I've just realized something—you're going to be a countess.”

“Don't remind me. That thought makes me a little queasy.”

Ruth shook her head. “Nonsense, you'll make a fine countess, and have you told everyone you and Grayson have decided to adopt Sam and his sisters?”

“Well, no. There hasn't been much time, what with everything going on, but after the rally today, I'm sure I'll be able to have a chance to catch up with everyone.” Felicia looked around. “And speaking of the rally, shouldn't we keep moving? I wouldn't want to miss it.”

Arabella opened her reticule, pulled out a watch, looked at it for a moment, dropped it back into her reticule, and nodded. “I suppose it is almost time, which means we should get moving.”

Agatha gave Felicia's hand a tug, and the ladies began walking, chatting about this and that as they strolled along.

“I thought Eliza was joining us today,” Felicia said as she peered into the distance, unable to detect even a hint of a crowd just yet. “And forgive me, but wouldn't it have been easier if we'd had the carriage deposit us a little closer to the rally?”

“Eliza's probably already waiting for us,” Arabella said, “and it was such a marvelous day that I thought everyone would enjoy a nice long walk.”

Felicia noticed that everyone was acting more and more peculiar the farther they walked. “I'm all for long walks, Arabella, but since this is a formal affair and we're dressed in silks, this hardly seems the appropriate time.”

Arabella shot an unreadable glance to her, then turned her head forward again. “Ah, well, you see, the walk is actually a way to allow Agatha time to gather her emotions before she has to once and for all bid Zayne goodbye. He is leaving tomorrow, if you recall, and this time he says he means it.”

“I can't believe you just said that,” Agatha exclaimed before she let out a good snort. “I'm fine with Zayne leaving, as I've said over and over again.”

“Of course you're fine, now that you've walked off all those pesky lingering emotions,” Arabella muttered before she nodded her head ever so slightly in Felicia's direction.

Felicia narrowed her eyes and was considering demanding an explanation immediately, but before she could get a single demand out of her mouth, Agatha suddenly came to an abrupt halt, tugging Felicia to a halt in the process. She then grabbed onto Felicia's arms and tried to turn her around, while Arabella suddenly began waving her hands to the side, as if she were trying to swat away a bee or . . . distract someone.

Felicia dug in her heels and swiveled her head. “I think that's Eliza up ahead. Eliza, wait up,” she called.

Eliza turned rather slowly, looked down, thrust a bouquet of flowers she was holding behind her back, and sent them what appeared to be a halfhearted wave.

Everyone was behaving quite oddly. Felicia drew in a breath and opened her mouth to insist someone start talking, but snapped it shut when a familiar voice spoke directly behind her.

“Ah, Miss Murdock, you're here.”

She turned and found Reverend Fraser smiling back at her. “Reverend Fraser, this is a surprise. I thought you were still on your wedding trip.”

Reverend Fraser's smile widened. “Mrs. Fraser and I got back just last night, and I'm thankful we did. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this special occasion for the world.” He lowered his voice. “Before I say another word though, please allow me to apologize most profusely for sending Reverend Bannes to New York. I had no idea you'd settled your affections on Mr. Sumner, or I would never have attempted to meddle in your life.” A rather sheepish expression crossed his face. “It would appear I did you a grave disservice, Miss Murdock, seeing as how I failed to realize you thought of me as something other than your minister.”

Felicia waved the remark away and grinned. “You mustn't give it another thought, Reverend Fraser. I fear I was simply suffering from a bad case of delusions for quite a few years. You were meant to be with your lovely Julia, just as I'm meant to
be with my Grayson. But tell me, you said something about a special occasion. Are you and Mrs. Fraser planning on attending the rally as well?”

“Rally? No, I'm here for the . . . Good heavens, do you not know?”

Ruth came marching up beside them, took Reverend Fraser's arm, and pulled him away, something about “a surprise” drifting back to Felicia on the breeze.

She looked at Arabella. “What surprise?”

“It really would be nice if just one of my ideas would go according to plan.”

Felicia swiveled on her heel and found Grayson standing a few feet away from her. For some reason, the man had thrown what looked like a large burlap sack over his clothing. “Why are you wearing that?”

“You know the bride isn't supposed to see the groom's outfit before a wedding,” he muttered, “but I saw that mayhem was about to descend, so I had no choice but to intervene.”

All the breath left Felicia's body in a split second. “Wedding?”

“It was supposed to be a surprise, but obviously that's gone the way of the wind now.”

“You're not supposed to see the
bride
,” Felicia heard herself say, having no idea why those particular words came out of her mouth. Her pulse was galloping through her veins as pure happiness settled over her. Something odd was indeed going on, and that something seemed to be a wedding—hers.

Grayson had apparently taken it upon himself to give her a romantic adventure, one that seemingly had been planned with the help of her family and friends.

In that moment she realized once again that he was the perfect gentleman for her—a gentleman who understood she had a talent for trouble, but a gentleman who would save her from that trouble every time.

He understood her as no one else ever had or ever would.

Before she could say another word, Grayson whipped the sack off himself and threw it over her head. “These pesky traditions. How's a man supposed to keep them straight?”

She snorted through the burlap. “You've already seen me.”

“Yes, well, I'll pretend I haven't.”

“Honestly, Grayson, why are you trying to smother poor Felicia?” a voice she recognized as Eliza's asked. “If you must know, tradition states you're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding, but we'll have to settle for you not seeing her in her bridal dress.”

“But I did see her dress. It's quite lovely,” Grayson said.

“She's not wearing the gown she currently has on. Her mother only suggested she wear that gown so that she wouldn't feel out of place traveling here with Agatha and Arabella, who insisted on dressing properly for the wedding. I've brought her a real gown.”

“Which I won't be able to wear if I lose consciousness from having this hot sack over my head,” Felicia called.

“Oh dear, I do beg your pardon,” Eliza said, and a second later the sack was pulled from her, but it wasn't Eliza who stood before her—it was Grayson.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much.”

“There's no time for smoldering looks just yet,” Eliza said firmly, stepping between them. “We need to get Felicia ready.”

“I need to speak with her first.”

“You'll have your entire life to speak with her, Grayson.”

Felicia grinned when Grayson arched one aristocratic brow at his sister, which had Eliza arching her own aristocratic brow in return, right before she threw up her hands and stepped to the side. “Fine, but make it snappy.”

Grayson looked around, seeming as if he wanted to ask all
of their friends and family members who were currently in their vicinity to leave, but then smiled at them instead right before he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips.

Her pulse hitched up another notch.

“Before we exchange our vows, I wanted to tell you some things.” He smiled and drew her closer, pressing a kiss on her forehead before he leaned back. “I love you, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“I love you too.”

“I wasn't done.”

He really was somewhat of an impatient gentleman at times, which made her love him all the more.

“I know you've always wanted a husband who was a man of faith, and I do think I'm on the right path. I've made my peace with God and asked Him for His forgiveness. Because my very soul seems to be lighter, I believe He's accepted my plea and granted me my request.”

Felicia's eyes brimmed with tears, and she gave a loud sniff.

Grayson dug into his pocket, produced a handkerchief, and pressed it into her hand.

“You will make the perfect countess because you're such a compassionate woman, and we will have countless tenants who will welcome you and who you'll be able to fuss over and . . .”

Felicia reached up and placed her fingers over his lips, effectively bringing his speech to an end. “I'm going to marry you no matter what you say.”

Grayson grinned. “Are you insinuating that you'd like to get this wedding underway?”

“Yes, please.”

Grayson turned and motioned Ruth forward. It was apparent her mother had been weeping throughout Grayson's speech, but she took Felicia's arm, let out one hiccup, straightened her spine, and nodded to Eliza, Arabella, and Agatha. Her friends
escorted her a short distance away to where a tent had been set up. Piper, Beatrice, and Harriet were standing in front of the tent, all dressed in identical purple dresses, matching bows, and clutching what appeared to be bouquets of violets.

“We're your flower girls,” Piper proclaimed. She nodded to Sam, who was standing off to the side. “He's going to be Uncle Grayson's best man, and Ben's going to be the ring bearer.”

Piper steered Felicia into the tent, and before she knew it, with the help of her mother and friends, she was dressed in a stunning gown of white trimmed with delicate lace, a sheer veil hiding her face from view.

Ruth let out a sniff. “You look exquisite, and I must tell you, it was exceedingly difficult for me not to let you in on the secret. I knew you wouldn't mind not being in on the planning of the wedding, but . . .” She suddenly dissolved into tears but waved Felicia's offer of an embrace away. “No, my tears will stain the silk.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “I'm just so happy for you, my dear. You've found your prince charming.”