Lady Vivian Defies a Duke (27 page)

A man approached from a back room, his protruding belly arriving seconds before the rest of him did. “Welcome, Your Grace. What brings you to the Wild Boar at this hour?”

“I’m seeking the gentleman who arrived in the coach outside. Did he take a room?”

“Aye, he was lookin’ for a spot for his wife to rest. But he ain’t here now. Saw him slip out back ’bout half an hour ago. Figured he might be lookin’ to hire a driver and outrider since he managed to lose ’em along the way.”

“And the lady was with him?”

The innkeeper hitched a thumb up. “She be restin’ above stairs still. Last door on the left.”

Luke paid the man several coins then motioned for Vivi to follow him. She peeked at the man from beneath the rim of her hat as she passed and met two narrowed slits for eyes.

Drat!
He probably suspected she wasn’t a man.

Vivi tried to imitate Luke’s wider-legged amble, but almost tripped over the longer pants leg. Giving up the pretense, she scurried up the stairs behind him. He stopped outside the last door on the left and stared at it.

“I have kicked doors open in the past, but it can be painful. And then there would be the cost for repairs.”

Vivi reached for the handle and pushed it open. She grinned up at him. “Obviously, I’m the brains of this match.”

“Well played,” he said with a wink.

Their playfulness disappeared when muffled sobs sounded from the dim room.

Luke slipped inside. “Johanna?”

There was no answer. Only louder cries. He moved to the curtains and drew them open. Early morning light pushed its way into the room, revealing a crumpled heap on the bed. It was Johanna, and her legs were drawn toward her middle.

When Luke would have charged over to her, Vivi held up a staying hand. “Miss Truax, it is Lady Vivian and Luke. We have come to bring you home.”

“I know who you are,” she managed to croak out. “But I have no home any longer.”

Vivi cautiously crossed to the bed so as not to startle her. “Your home is with your family. You are as much a part of the Forest clan as anyone.”

She shook her head, another sob bursting from her.

Vivi moved to place a comforting hand on her hair. “We can debate this later. Are you hurt?”

She buried her face against the covers and cried even harder.

“Johanna, what has he done to you?” Luke came forward. “I swear he will pay.”

“Leave me be,” she moaned.

Vivi tried to catch his attention and flicked her gaze toward the door. His lips set in a thin line.

“Go,” she mouthed and motioned for him to leave them alone. His frown deepened, but he left, closing the door behind him. She sat on the bed beside Johanna and brushed her hair behind her ear like Patrice had done for her when she was a young girl. She didn’t ask any questions or lend any commentary. She had been on the receiving end of well-meaning comments in the past, and no matter the speaker’s intentions, the words could hurt. She just allowed Johanna to cry until her tears began to subside.

“Why are you being nice to me?” she asked between sniffles.

“I don’t know.” Vivi sighed softly. “Maybe because I have made mistakes, too, and I know how horrible I have felt afterward.”

Johanna held her hair aside and gazed up with narrowed eyes; her bottom lip protruded mutinously, reminding Vivi of a child. “Have you ever tried to hurt someone intentionally?”

She shook her head and swallowed hard. “Is—was that your intention? To hurt me?”

“No.” Tears welled in the other woman’s eyes and slid down her cheeks. “Not like this. He said he loved you.”

Vivi concluded she referred to Mr. Collier. “I’m certain the scoundrel said a lot of things that were untrue.”

“He told me he couldn’t live without you. That he wanted to marry you. I feel the same way about Luke.”

Vivi’s stomach turned, and bitterness crept into the back of her throat. She didn’t want to feel jealousy or anger, especially when she had won Luke’s heart. But she had trouble ignoring that she could have been suffering Johanna’s fate hours earlier. Vivi could be ruined and destined to a life of solitude because of Johanna’s machinations.

The other woman rubbed the back of her hand across her nose and regarded Vivi warily. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

Vivi forced herself to speak calmly. “Why did you help Collier escape?”

Johanna hid behind her curtain of hair again. “We had an understanding. If I helped him, he would take me with him and give me his name. It seemed like the best prospect available to me. I couldn’t stay with the duchess any longer. Not when His Grace plans to turn me out.”

“You don’t know that.” Neither did Vivi, but would he have come looking for Johanna if he felt no responsibility toward her?

“When we stopped here, Mr. Collier said I had to prove my dedication. I didn’t know what he meant, but then he brought me to the room. Then he—” She whimpered and Vivi wanted to have the man at gunpoint again.

She smoothed a hand over Johanna’s back. “It’s all right. You do not have to talk about it.”

“H-he said I had failed.” Johanna took a shuddering breath. “That he would never marry a loose woman like me, and then he left me.”

Make that two guns pointed his direction. Never had Vivi despised anyone as she did that despicable excuse for a man. “He will pay for what he has done. Luke will see to it.”

“It doesn’t change anything. My life is over.”

There was a soft knock, and the door slowly swung open. Luke eased into the room. “May I come inside? I have a proposition from Viscount Brookhaven. He hopes you will consider his offer.”

“No,” Johanna mumbled. “Please, I cannot show my face to anyone ever again.”

Vivi grabbed Johanna’s hands and pulled. “Oh, come now, Miss Truax. You are made of sterner stuff than this.” Eventually, the other woman sat up on the edge of the bed beside Vivi, her head lowered and hair falling forward to shield her face.

Vivi nodded to Luke to indicate he should proceed.

“Lord Brookhaven feels responsible for your circumstances, at least to some degree. Had he not brought Jonathan Collier to Irvine Castle, none of this would have happened.”

“I am to blame,” Johanna said. “Please tell Lord Brookhaven I do not hold him responsible. I harbor no ill feelings toward him.”

The door swung open wider, and Lord Brookhaven filled the threshold. “That is a relief, Miss Truax,” he said with a smile. “If you hated me, it might make life a tad more difficult for us.”

Johanna blinked up at him. “How so, my lord?”

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “I think we may be able to help each other, Miss Truax. It seems you need a home, and I have need of a wife to manage my household.”

Johanna gazed at him warily as if she expected he was playing a trick on them all.

“Uh…It’s a rather daunting undertaking,” Brookhaven said and scratched his whiskered jaw. “I can understand your reluctance. Perhaps you have heard tales of my offspring?”

She shook her head.

“Oh! Well, splendid. I had feared—” He waved his hand in the air like he wished to wipe away his last statement. “It doesn’t matter. I bid you to say nothing until you understand the terms. My wife left me with six offspring, five boys, all of them as wild as March hares, and one sweet young girl, who may be mute. She is still a youngster, so there is a chance she may speak eventually, but I cannot say with certainty she will. I have had difficulty keeping a governess, and I haven’t time to place another advertisement or conduct interviews. My duties call me away often, so there would be many days the children would be under your rule alone.”

“Did you mean to say that you wish for me to be a governess to your children?”

“No, no. I have gone that route and every one of the women has left us. A wife seems the better bet.”

Tight lines appeared around Johanna’s mouth. “I see. A wife cannot leave so easily.”

Lord Brookhaven pointed at her and grinned. “Exactly. You are a clever one, Miss Truax. In case you are wondering what you will receive in return, besides a roof over your head, I will provide a reasonable clothing allowance so you may dress as one would expect of a viscountess. And you will have ample pin money to purchase whatever you would like for entertainment.”

The harsh lines in Johanna’s face began to soften. “Do you want more children, my lord?”

He shrugged. “Not particularly, but if you find you are with Mr. Collier’s child, I shall claim him as my own.”

Vivi and Johanna gasped.

“So there you have it, Miss Truax. All the terms of my proposal. Would you like time to consider it before you reply?”

She stared at him with her mouth agape. Lord Brookhaven began to fidget with his cravat and shot a look at Luke. When a bead of sweat popped up on his forehead, Vivi elbowed Johanna in the side.

“Yes,” she blurted. “I mean, I don’t need time to consider. I accept.”

Lord Brookhaven blew out a long breath. “Very well. Then I shall await you in the dining room. We should have a good meal before we set off for Gretna Green.”

When the viscount left, Luke gave Johanna a brief nod then spoke to Vivi. “I will send for Brookhaven’s servants. I’ll be in the stable yard. Will you be long?”

“I want to assist Miss Truax with setting herself back to rights then I will join you.”

“Very well.”

Johanna’s head dropped when he quit the room without a word for her. “He hates me now.”

Vivi patted her leg. “Give him time.”

Johanna took Vivi’s hand in hers. “I don’t deserve your kindness, my lady, but know I am your humble servant from this day forward.”

She squeezed her hand in response. “Allow me to send for water and then we can start on your hair.”

***

Luke couldn’t help but smile when Vivian came out of the inn and tugged up the waistband of the trousers she was about to lose. Even with her hair tucked under a hat and dressed like a bedraggled gentleman after a long night at the tables, she was breathtaking. He couldn’t believe his good fortune in finding a wife who suited him so well.

Brookhaven would not be as lucky, but since the viscount seemed to be in the market for a household manager, he hadn’t made a poor deal. Johanna would manage his household, and Luke had warned Brookhaven he might find himself managed as well. Nevertheless, the viscount was a grown man.

“Shall we go, Lord Vivian?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “I suppose we should before everyone begins to stir at the castle. I’m not certain I could explain my attire.”

Luke linked his fingers and offered her a leg up. Once she was settled in the saddle, he squeezed her thigh. “The advantage to being a duchess is you need not explain yourself to anyone. A few days under Mother’s tutelage and you will be well prepared to manage anyone who tries to tell you differently.”

She giggled. “She is outspoken at times. I like that about her.”

He mounted Thor and signaled him to begin the walk back to Irvine Castle. The return trip would take longer with Brookhaven’s mount tied behind his horse, but Luke didn’t mind. He was with Vivian.

“How many children do you want?” she asked as they rode side by side down the dusty lane.

“Not six!”

“But that is how many your mother bore.”

“Yes, but my siblings are all terribly annoying. My parents should have stopped with perfection.” He grinned at her. “You shouldn’t mention that in front of any of them, mind you.”

She laughed. “Your secret is safe.”

Although she spoke in jest, he knew she was being truthful. He would always be able to trust her with his secrets, with his heart, and she could trust him to do the same, although he would love to tell his brothers of her antics at Brighthurst House. Richard and Drew would find the tales amusing, but it was also something special he and Vivian alone shared.

“Do you know what I thought when I first saw you in the spring?” he asked.

A pink flush brightened her cheeks. “I’m afraid to hear.”

“I thought you were a vision, like the ladies I saw at my bedside at Twinspur.”

She raised her brows. “Who came to your bedside?”

“I don’t know. I couldn’t see faces. I am not even certain they were women. They radiated with a warm light, and I felt everything was going to be all right again when they were there. I had the same sense when I looked at you.”

She walked her horse closer and held out her hand. He linked his fingers with hers. “I thought you looked like Sir Launcelot on your stallion.”

“From
Le
Morte
d’Arthur
? Vivian Worth, how would you have any knowledge of that scandalous tale?”

She shrugged. “My brother shouldn’t have left the book sitting out. I am not responsible for my curious nature. You should prepare yourself, Your Grace. I fear I may scandalize you often.”

“I hope so,” he said with a wink. “But seeing as how you haven’t done or said anything scandalous in the last thirty seconds, I’m not sure whether to believe you. There is a lake on our land. Would you care to join me for a morning swim?”

“My, that would be scandalous indeed, if we were discovered.”

“I imagine it would, but where is the fun in playing it safe, dear Vivian?”

“Very well. Lead the way.”

As he guided his horse ahead of hers, she cleared her throat. He looked over his shoulder to find her grinning wickedly. “Nice view, Your Grace.”

He chuckled and turned back toward the lane.

“Luke?”

“Yes, darling?”

“I love you.”

His heart grew to twice its size. Never could he have anticipated the impact of those three little words, but they meant the world to him. “I love you, too, water sprite.”

Vivi was unable to stand still as she waited by her husband’s side to receive their wedding guests. She felt as if she might float off into the night sky without Luke’s arm anchoring her to the ground.

When he had suggested they exchange vows before Vicar Ramsey and invite the entire village to witness their nuptials, she had been more than a little hesitant. She was certain no one would attend and she would be humiliated on what should be the happiest day of her life.

She had been wrong about the good people of Dunstable.

Every man, woman, and child had piled into the church that morning then made their way to Brighthurst House for the wedding breakfast. Perhaps it was curiosity over what type of gentleman would take the unruly Lady Vivian Worth as his wife. Or maybe it was simply because nothing exciting had happened in their small village for years.

Whatever the reason, the guests had arrived in jovial moods and seemed to have no memory of her past. Of course Luke’s demands that Mrs. Honeywell personally call on every resident in the county to explain how she had made a grave mistake likely had something to do with the reception Vivi had received upon her return.

Now, the celebration had carried over into the evening with Mr. and Mrs. Honeywell hosting a dinner and dance as penance. What a change in attitude Vivi’s elevation to duchess had wrought. Mrs. Honeywell had been dogging her heels at every opportunity that day, practically begging for ways to serve her. If Vivi were the vindictive type, she would have run the woman ragged trying to fulfill her requests. Instead, the dowager Duchess of Foxhaven had seen to the deed.

“Welcome to Lichefield Hall,” Mrs. Honeywell gushed as Lord and Lady Eldridge moved down the receiving line. “How happy Mr. Honeywell and I are to open our home to the duke and duchess’s friends and family. Mr. Honeywell and I have been close family friends with Lady Brighthurst and the new duchess for ages.”

Vivi almost laughed aloud at the fib, but she covered her response with a friendly smile for the earl and countess. She had learned to employ a few tricks over the last few weeks, and she would have them perfected before she and Luke returned from their honeymoon and took up residence in London for the season.

Luke covered her hand with his and smiled at her. “Are you having fun?” he whispered in her ear.

“This is the best day of my life.”

“This is just the beginning. It is my mission to make every day the best of your life.”

“My, you will be busy, won’t you?”

Luke fanned his fingers out over the small of her back, his firm touch making her feel protected and desired at once. “Fortunately for me you aren’t difficult to please.”

A fresh wave of exhilaration swept over her with the arrival of a new guest. “Oh, look! It is Dottie Kennicot. Or rather, Mrs. Quinn now. I wonder what she is doing in Dunstable.”

“She’s here to see you, of course. Vicar Ramsey’s bride thought a reunion with your dearest friend would be a fitting wedding gift.”

A thrill chased through her every time she was reminded of her cousin’s happy circumstances. Not only did Patrice enjoy a peaceful and loving existence with the vicar, she suspected she was with child.

Vivi glanced up at Luke. “Did you arrange for Dottie to be here this evening?”

“Go speak with her. She has traveled a long distance.” He gave her a gentle push toward her old friend.

She weaved through the guests gathered on the veranda and faltered in her step when Dottie met her gaze. They both stared at each other, frozen for a moment. Eventually, Dottie lowered her head and curtsied. “Your Grace.”

Vivi rushed forward to grab her hands. “Oh, my molasses! We have been friends far too long for such nonsense.”

Dottie’s eyes filled with tears even as she laughed. “My dearest Vivi, I have missed you so. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me for turning away from you?”

No longer did she feel the sharp edge of rejection she had once experienced when she recalled those days with no friends to share her burden.

“You had no choice, Dottie. I have never blamed you. Besides, you are here now. Come, allow me to introduce you to my husband.” Vivi linked arms with her and leaned close to speak in confidence. “He puts Sir Launcelot to shame.”

Dottie giggled, sounding just like the young girl she used to be when Vivi had read the book to her in secret.

Toward the end of the night, Vivi felt lighter than she had in years. She had married her perfect match, made her family proud of her, and renewed a friendship she had missed more than she had known.

Luke motioned for her to join him. Reaching his side, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her away from the other guests, down the stone stairs, and into the night. The same starry sky that had witnessed those precious moments when she and Luke were discovering each other now bore testament to their deep love and affection.

“Thank you for this day,” she said. “I never thought I would come back here, much less be welcomed.”

Luke put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close to his side as they walked into the meadow. “You needn’t thank me. I would do anything to make you happy.”

She pulled him to a stop. “You have never asked me what happened that day.”

“I know everything I need to know,” he said and wrapped her in his arms.

“Still, I would feel better if I told you. I stayed the night in the stable and Owen kept me company, just as Mrs. Honeywell said, but I promise, the only thing on my mind was Maggie.”

“Maggie?”

“Yes, you have met her. She has sad, brown eyes and says moo.”

“The milk cow? Why, in God’s name, was a cow on your mind?”

“Because she was in labor. Why wouldn’t she be on my mind?”

He shook his head and laughed. “How silly of me. Please, continue.”

“Well, she had been laboring with her first calf all day and into the night. I couldn’t leave her until after she had given birth. The poor thing was scared out of her wits.”

“Only you would be concerned with the emotional welfare of a farm animal.” Luke hugged her close and kissed the tip of her nose. “And you wonder why I am madly in love with you.”

When his lips covered hers, her mind was at peace. Her past would stay in Dunstable, forever put to rest, while she enjoyed a future with the man she adored. And what an exciting future that would be.