In Love with a Stranger (18 page)

Chapter 21 – Mummy Poppins

WILLIAM

There was really nothing I could do to console Hannah. Her shop was gone, and even though she’d had most of the important things out of the apartment, there was no way to save the years of hard work she’d put into her shop to make it successful. 

My father would pay. There was no way I was letting him off the hook. He’d be prosecuted for his part in it, forced to pay restitution, and hopefully, he’d spend some time in jail, blemishing his “good reputation.” That bastard was going down, even if I had to tie him up and drag him to the U.S. myself for him to be tried. He was not going to get away with it, and I had to find a way to punish him for sending someone to attack my girl seven years ago. I’d had it with him. All ties would be cut. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with that man anymore.

I called Camille to ask for her flight information to Scotland and to get the scoop on the latest bullshit my parents were trying to sell. She wasn’t buying it, either. I told her what Marvin had said, and she knew how my parents felt about me marrying Hannah.

“They’re still playing innocent. I think mum might’ve been in the dark on the whole thing, though. She’s a crying mess and is worried about you. She was beside herself, when she heard you’d been hurt. I don’t think mum’s evil enough to try and do something like burn Hannah’s shop down, William.”

“No, but she’s married to an arse who is. She probably still thinks he’s innocent of the first attack, too,” I accused.

“I told her…”

“William!” my mother’s worried voice cried. I could hear Camille in the distance, demanding her phone be returned.

“What do you want, Mum?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with that fire, William. Please, believe me. I’d never condone such behavior or risk hurting my son or granddaughter.”

“But you’d risk your daughter-in-law,” I stated flatly.

“So you’ve already married.” She didn’t sound pleased.

“Goodbye, Mother.”

“No, wait, I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. Camille told me you were hurt in the fire, but she didn’t say any more.”

“Debris fell on my sleeve, burning my arm. I burnt my hand brushing it off and putting out the flame on my shirt. I’ll have some scarring, but it should be fine. Duncan and Carter also have minor burns, and Duncan broke his arm. We all were treated for smoke inhalation,” I snapped.

“Are you happy now? Your husband destroyed her shop and almost killed us. The man he hired to start the fire disabled the alarms, so the fire department wouldn’t be alerted, and neither were we. We barely got out with our lives, Mother, so you tell that bastard you’re married to that he can go fuck himself. I never want to see his face again, unless it’s in a courtroom!” I hung up, too angry to continue the conversation.

I was trying to settle myself down, since the girls would be back soon. They’d gone out shopping in the village to get some clothes and do the final fitting for their dresses. Hannah had purchased her gown online at a local shop and did the same with the other dresses as well. Ophelia had done wonderfully with keeping Hannah and Penelope distracted by keeping their focus on the wedding.

The castle was beautiful, and the staff had nearly everything ready for the wedding. There were just a few minor things to take care of, our clothes being one of them. My mates and I already had our tuxes. We were much simpler to fit. Camille was cutting it close, flying in tomorrow morning. I realized I hadn’t gotten her flight information from her, which had been the whole point of that last call.

Frustrated, I rang her back.

“I’m sorry, William. She’d stopped in for tea. When you called, I left the room, but she must’ve followed.”

“It’s fine, Camille, when does your flight get in?”

“I was able to get an earlier one than I thought. I’ll be arriving late this afternoon, hopefully before the dress shop closes. Maybe if you ring them and let them know I’m coming, they’ll hold it open for me.”

“I’ll let Hannah know.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Better now that she’s here and focused on the wedding. She needed a break from that mess.”

“William?” I heard Hannah call me.

“In here, beautiful. I’m on the phone with Camille. She’ll be flying in this afternoon. She’s hoping to get into the dress shop before they close.”

“Excellent!” Hannah snatched the phone from me and chatted away with my sister. She looked so at ease it really was a relief.

“Daddy!” my daughter jumped into my arms. “You should see all the clothes we bought! Aunt Ophelia bought one of everything in the store. The lady was so happy and gave us flowers.”

I wasn’t sure if I understood her correctly. I stepped into the main room of our suite and saw the mountain of bags.

“Tell him, Aunt Ophelia!  Tell him you bought one of everything!”

“We bought one of everything, but it was a quaint little store with unique designs. Bonnie makes them herself. I was really worried, when Hannah told me she wanted to buy the dresses locally. When she found the perfect dress here online, I thought it was a fluke, but Bonnie really has talent. Our girls needed clothes, and these are originals, William. I bought a few samples as well to take back with me to New York.”

“So you really bought one of everything.”

“Well, two of some things, but yes, one of everything in either Hannah’s or Penny’s size, and they had some really cute coordinating mother-daughter outfits that weren’t too Stepford-esque or cheesy. I think you’ll like them.”

“I like anything my girls wear.” I pulled Penny into my arms and kissed the top of her head. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“What about mom?”

“She’s the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“What about Ophelia?”

“He’s allowed to think your mom is prettier than me. In fact, he’d be in trouble if he didn’t.”

“Who’s in trouble?”

“Dad’s not allowed to think Ophelia is prettier than you.”

“What?”

“That was not…” I started.

“He said you were the most beautiful woman in the world, and Penny asked about me. I explained to her that he’s supposed to think you’re prettier…”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Ophelia is a model and fashion designer. She’s supposed to be prettier than most people,” Hannah excused.

I yanked my girl down into my lap. “But she’s not prettier than you to me.” I kissed her lips softly, and she giggled, blushing lightly. “See, you’re proving my point with that smile.”

I kissed her again, a little too deeply, and Ophelia cleared her throat. “Child in the room over here.”

“We need to call Bonnie and let her know Camille will be in later today. The shop is supposed to be closed, but I think she’d open it for us,” Hannah changed the subject.

“I need to go to the mainland to pick up my suit. I can take her to the shop.”

In the end, Hannah was pretty insistent about coming with me. Just as Ophelia and Hannah suspected, Bonnie had no problem with opening the shop for Camille. Her flight was a little early, so we hurried to the baggage claim, and I watched for her luggage. Her pink and green trunk was easy to spot.

“Hannah!” my sister cheered and enveloped my girl in a hug. “I’m so glad I was able to get here earlier. Were you able to get ahold of the shop owner?”

“Yes, and she’s waiting for us. Are you up to a fitting?”

“The flight wasn’t bad. I’ll be fine. The faster we get that done, the sooner we can have some fun.”

I was hefting the trunk into the boot, when I realized we’d need to hire a second car when we left for home. There was no way we’d be able to fit all of our luggage into the tiny car we’d hired. I was sure the women were used to large American cars and hadn’t planned their packing with small foreign cars in mind.

“William!” I thought I was hearing things for a moment, but then I heard my name again. I turned around to see my mother rushing toward us. I looked over at Camille, who looked just as shocked as I did.

“How did you get here?” I demanded.

“I followed Camille. I knew she was coming to see you, and I was able to get on the flight, even if it was in
coach
,” she sneered, straightening her jacket. I realized she didn’t have any luggage with her.

“What are you doing here, Mother?”  I wasn’t in the mood to play her games.

“He didn’t start that fire…” she started, and I turned my back on her, not willing to listen any further.

“Stop and listen to me, William, you have to understand. He’d never start that fire, because he wants Hannah to say in New York. He’d never get rid of her livelihood. That shop was keeping her in New York, right where he wanted her to stay.”

“What do you mean? I know he doesn’t want me to move to the states.”

“He doesn’t, he has other plans for you, but destroying her shop wasn’t one of them. It wasn’t him.”

“What other plans?”

“Are you wed yet?”

I wasn’t sure if I should answer her.

“William, this is very important, and I must know, are you wed yet?”

“Why would that matter?”

“Because he has a plan to stop it. I came to warn you. I knew you wouldn’t take my calls.”

“So you expect me to believe that you’re supportive of my marriage now?”

“No, and I’m still not, if there’s no prenuptial agreement, William. If you add up all the time you’ve actually been together, you’d realize you’ve really only spent less than three months in this woman’s presence.  How well do you really know her? How do you know she didn’t burn down her own shop with the intent of collecting the money?”

“Stop!  You need to leave, Mother!” I ordered, not wanting to hear another word.

“If she’s what you want, I won’t stand in your way, but your father does have a plan.”

“Then tell me what his plan is.”

“He’s falsifying a marriage certificate. You can’t get married if you already are.”

“How can…?”

“He’s blackmailed Brittney Smith into being the wife, and if he succeeds, you’ll legally be married to that woman, William. If you’re not wed yet, you must do it now, before he has a chance to file any papers.”

“Why is he doing this? What the hell is wrong with him? You have to see he’s a sick man, Mum. No one in their right mind would go through so much trouble…”

“He has his reasons.”

“Reasons? There’s no reason for him to be so…”

“William, you don’t know your father as well as I do. I know why he’s doing this. I know why he’s acting this way. It doesn’t excuse it, but I understand it. Now, if you’re to be wed, I’d like to be in attendance,” she said, fluffing her hair a little. The gall of her was amazing, but my soon-to-be wife’s tender heart was even more amazing.

“We’d love to have you there, Emmaline.”

“No reason to lie, dear, but it was kind of you to say so. I only have two children, and I don’t want to miss this important step in William’s life, even if I believe it’s in the wrong direction.”

“That’s it. I’ve had enough of you. Get your own room and catch the next flight out, because you won’t be staying with us,” I hissed at her.

“William,” Hannah admonished. She really was too kind. “She’s being honest about her feelings. She’s trying to be supportive in her own way.”

“Don’t make excuses for her. Why are you even standing up for her? She’s treated you horribly!”

“She’s a mother, and that’s something we both have in common. I may not know why she’s doing what she is, but I understand where she’s coming from.” Hannah opened the door to the car and waved for my mum to get in.

“I swear, if you say one offensive word to Hannah, I’ll pull over and leave you on the side of the road, and that’s not a threat, it’s a promise,” I growled at my mother.  She’d better not step out of line, or her being stranded in Scotland would be the least of her problems.

Chapter 22 – Forging Ahead

HANNAH

Emmaline was quiet for the ride into town. When we pulled up to the little dress shop, she didn’t look impressed.  She had the good sense to keep her mouth shut, though, because I knew William was on the verge of leaving her on the side of the road.

“I have the dress ready for Camille, and yours is ready for its final fitting, if you want to take it with you when you’re done.”

“That sounds like a great plan,” William cut in.

His mother was wandering around the shop, and it seemed to put William on edge.

“Would you like to find a dress for the wedding as well, Ma’am?” Bonnie asked her.

Emmaline let out a huff. “I suppose so.”

“William, you have to go out, while Hannah tries on her dress.” Camille shooed him out the shop door. I wasn’t thrilled about being left with his mother, but Camille wasn’t far.

“Your dress is lovely,” Emmaline startled me, when she commented on my gown.

“Thank you, it seemed very fitting for where the wedding is to take place.”

“And where is that?” she asked. I wasn’t sure I should answer.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

She turned away, clearly offended, but I wasn’t about to let her leak to her husband where we were. I could understand why she’d want to be there for her son’s wedding, but I still didn’t trust her.

I redressed in my street clothes and carefully tucked my dress into its bag. Bonnie came out with the other three dresses, wearing a big smile. “Camille’s dress fit like a glove. They’re all ready when you are.”

I’d already paid for them online before we’d arrived, so I gave Bonnie a parting hug, ready to leave.

“I’d like to try these on,” Emmaline cut in.

“Oh, well, go right ahead,” Bonnie led her back to the dressing room. 

I took the gowns outside and heard William on the phone. “Yes, as soon as possible. Do you think he’ll be ready this evening? Wonderful, thank you.” He turned to me smiling and gave me the thumbs-up. He opened the trunk to our tiny car, and I gently folded all the dresses in. “So they’re ready to go, then?”

“Yes,” I answered back, amused by his excitement.

“Brilliant. I have the castle manager on the phone. He’s calling the registrar in to marry us tonight. I know it’s not what we’d planned…”

“It’s fine, William. I’m sure it’ll still be lovely.”

Camille and Emmaline came out with another dress bag, and we gently added it to the ones already in the trunk. Emmaline looked confused when we boarded the ferry, but she didn’t say anything.

The concierge helped with our things, showing Camille to her room, and then led Emmaline to another. “The wedding will be in an hour, just before dinner,” William announced and ran off to the room Duncan was staying in. That was where the men planned on getting ready.

Ophelia was rushing around me, and Camille was bouncing excitedly, but my little Penny didn’t look happy. “Is everything alright, Penny?”

“Why is she here?” she asked with a glare firmly fixed on Emmaline.

“She’s William’s mommy. She wants to see him get married,” I answered.

Penny crossed her arms, looking very displeased, but she didn’t have time to complain anymore. Ophelia thankfully distracted her by helping her get ready.

There didn’t seem to be a lot of time to get ready, as the women swarmed around me. I’d already showered and put my makeup on, before our trip to the airport. My hair only needed to be pinned up, which Ophelia did in record time.

Brody knocked on the door and peeked in. “Are you ladies ready? The men are getting restless.”

“Yes, I think so,” I answered, looking everyone over. They all seemed put together.

Brody reached out his hand to me. “Do you still want to do this?”

“Yes, Brody.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Lisa and I could always get you and Penny out of here, if you wanted to run.”

“You’re being silly. You know I love William.”

“I know, I just wanted to be sure, before I handed you over to him.”

The wedding procession went quickly, and before I knew it, I was standing before William, promising to spend the rest of my life with him.  The ceremony was followed by a quiet dinner. We still planned to have the little reception the following evening, because it’d already been planned.

Penny went to stay the night in Camille’s room, while William and I started on our honeymoon.

“Don’t tear my dress, please. I really love it.”

William bit my neck in response, not happy with my request. He was finding it a little difficult to remove. “I think your dress is beautiful, but I truly hope you don’t ever buy another one like it. These fasteners are impossible.”

“Should I call Ophelia in?”

“No, I’ll get it, just give me a minute.” He let out a frustrated growl after another minute and just yanked my dress open, popping the clasps completely off. “You can have Bonnie fix it tomorrow,” he said, as he shoved it down my body. He had my breast in his mouth before I could complain. He lifted me up, not detaching from it, and ran me straight to the bed, then he tugged off the little bit of lingerie that was left.

I giggled at his eagerness and fought to get his clothes off, because he refused to let up on what he was doing to my body. When I finally got his pants open, he barely let me shove them down to his knees, before he thrust right into me. His grip was tight, and he grunted out, “Mine.” With a little finagling, I was able to shove his pants down a little further with my feet, giving him more range of motion.  He was acting like a man on a mission, and he came faster than usual and collapsed on top of me.  I twined my fingers in his hair, wondering what the hell that was all about.

“There, we’ve consummated our marriage, so no one is taking you away from me.”

When he said those words, it all made sense. He was still worried his father would step in and cause trouble.

After a few moments of rest, he moved off of me, undressed all the way and then climbed under the covers. “Now, let’s do this right.”

I laughed and gave him a playful shove. “I should hope so. I expected more on my wedding night.”

“I didn’t want there to be any question on whether or not we’re consummated. The marriage can’t be annulled…”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s how it works anymore.”

“No, I’m pretty sure that if…”

“William,” I reached down, grabbing him firmly, because I was done with the debate. I didn’t have to say anything else. He jumped on me like a man possessed all over again, except this time, his mission was making sure I screamed his name.

The way he worked me over the rest of the night, and well into the wee hours of the morning, I was sure everyone knew we’d consummated our marriage, very thoroughly.

There was a knock on our door, signaling room service. William slapped the side of the bed, looking for a “snooze button,” making me laugh. He peeked an eye open at me, and my distraction caused me to trip into the doorframe.

He jumped up quickly, moving to my side. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine, but I’m hungry.” I pulled my robe tighter and opened the door to pull the cart in.

“Tell them to hold on. I’ve got a tip for them,” William called, tracking down his pants. He rushed back and reached around the door, handing the worker a tip.

“Good morning, and congratulations,” she said with a smirk and a wink. I wondered if the whole castle had heard us.

“So, what do we have planned today?” William asked me.

“Well, we were going to get our dresses, but we have those already. We have a photographer coming to take pictures, and the flowers will be delivered today as well.”

“You also need to have your dress mended,” he reminded me. I gave him a glare, but it was weak. “I present to you my éclair as a peace offering.”

“Well, I declare, you know just how to charm a girl,” I fussed like a southern belle, and William looked completely lost.

“Éclair, not declare.” He held up the pastry for me, and I snatched it out of his hand and straddled his lap.

“There’s something else you have that’s cream-filled I’d like to get my hands on.”

“I believe you’re the one with the cream filling.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I bet if I sucked hard enough, I could get some cream filling out of you.”

He moaned, pulling my mouth to his. Breakfast was over.

The food was cold when we finally got around to finishing it, but it was still good. There was a knock on our door, and William went to answer it. He’d put on more than his boxers this time, and it was a good thing, too. Penelope jumped into his arms. “Hey, Poppet, have you been having fun this morning?”

“It’s alright. I was sneaking around the castle and found a tower,” she hissed, like it was a secret.

“Were there any princesses besides you in it?” he asked.

She let out a sigh, her shoulders going slack and a pout on her face. “No, Mary, the castle lady, said the princess ran away and got married, kind of like you two did, but I didn’t think you ran away. We just walked here, and then we rode a boat, and walked again.”

“Sorry, she keeps losing me,” Camille said, hurrying into our room.

“It’s fine, we were up anyways. Can you tell Ophelia that I need to take my dress back to Bonnie’s shop again?”

“Of course, but why, was there something wrong with it?” she asked worried.

“No…”

“Yes, there was,” William cut in. “The clasps malfunctioned. She needs to sew a new set in, preferable some that I can get off.”

Camille laughed at her brother’s expense. “Have a little trouble getting off last night?”

“Oh no, I got off just fine, as well as my wife,” he said with a huge grin.

“Little ears,” I reminded. He didn’t think Penelope understood yet, but we could never be too careful.

We met everyone down in the dining hall for lunch a little over an hour later. I had my dress zipped up in its bag and set aside discreetly. Ophelia had set up an appointment with Bonnie after lunch. The registrar who’d married us joined us for lunch as well.

“You look tired. Did you not like your room?” Duncan asked him.

“The room was lovely. Unfortunately, its proximity to the bridal suite did have its downfalls.” The old man gave me a cheeky wink.

Everyone had a good laugh at my expense, until they were interrupted by a man dragging a woman in behind him. His eyes settled on William, and he grinned triumphantly. “You can’t get married.” He held up a piece of paper. “You’re already married, to Brittney. Say hello to your husband, Brittney,” the man ordered, shoving her forward.

The girl moved over to where William sat fuming and stood by him, not saying anything.

“I’d like to get a look at that paper,” the registrar who’d married us demanded.

William had yet to say a word, he just held a steady glare on the smug man, and I wondered if he was another person who worked for his father.

“This is a very interesting document, Sir. Can you tell me where you got it?”

“It was purchased from the local registrar. William snuck out of the castle after he and Hannah went their separate ways last night, and he met up with Brittney. She’s his mistress, and she told him she was pregnant, so he married her. He can’t get married to Hannah this evening. It’s off,” the man said a little too proudly.

I was shocked that no one was saying anything to him about us being married the evening before, or how I was pretty sure the whole castle knew exactly where William had been most of the night.

“I didn’t catch your name,” our registrar pressed the stranger for answers.

“My name is Henry Greyson. I’m William’s father.”

“Well, Mr. Greyson, I’m looking at this thing, and I can tell you right now that I don’t think it’s real.”

“Of course it’s real! That paper would hold up in any and all courts. William is married.”

“That’s one thing we can agree on. I don’t believe he signed
this
paper, though.”

“How would you know? You weren’t there, I was. I was a witness, see.” He pointed to another spot on the falsified marriage certificate.

“I’m not sure what you witnessed, but it wasn’t these two getting married last night.”

“Now see here, William is married and must not even think of entering into another relationship. I have the paper that proves it, and I’ll take this all the way up to the high courts. This is a legal document, and it must be respected as one.”

“Your document is a forgery, Sir. You’re going to jail,” the registrar stated plainly and nodded to Mary, the castle manager, I guess to call the police.

“This isn’t forged!” Henry insisted.

“I’ve witnessed William Greyson’s signature, and that’s not it.”

“He can’t deny it just because it isn’t convenient.”

“I know for a fact that document is forged.”

“It is not!” Henry huffed indignantly. “Who do you think you are?  William snuck out of the castle and married Brittney Smith, who is now a Greyson. I know you can’t account for his whereabouts…”