Tenacious Trents 03 - A Reluctant Rake (48 page)

“I love you,” he murmured before the
carriage came to a halt before a large brown manor
house.

“We’ve arrived,” she
grinned.

All relief he felt only a moment before
disappeared. It was time to meet her father.

Audrey allowed Jordan to escort her to
the door. The news had stunned her but not for herself but what it
could do to Jordan, his current step-mother and the rest of the
family. Nothing would make her ever turn from Jordan and she would
be by his side through this and support the rest of the family in
the days or years to come when the truth finally emerged because
the truth always did, especially in London Society.

The door was opened by Wilton, the
family butler for as long as she could remember.

“Your parents are gathered in the
drawing room with Mr. Trent’s family,” he announced.

“My family is here?”

The man nodded. “They have been for a
day and have recently begun discussing sending someone after the
two of you.”

How did they all get here so quickly
and why?

Wilton leaned in. “Some suspected you
might have gone off to Gretna Green, Miss Montgomery,” he
whispered.

Audrey giggled. “I wouldn’t do
something like that to my mother. She would never forgive
me.”

“It did cross my mind, several times,”
Jordan admitted.

Audrey looked at him in
surprise.

“I am a bit anxious to marry you,” he
admitted in a way that warmed her heart.

She linked her arm in his. “Shall we
see who all is waiting for us?”

“Yes. I am a bit curious
myself.”

The parlor, her mother’s favorite, was
up one flight of stairs and faced south, overlooking the gardens.
Audrey and Jordan stepped inside the room and she was shocked to
discover his entire family present. Well, not Adele and Julia of
course, but the ones she had met in London.

“It is about time you arrived,” her
mother scolded as she came forward. “I’ve been worried sick about
you.” She grasped Audrey’s wrists and she gasped. Though Jordan had
shown great care in soothing lotion on her bruises, they were still
a bit swollen and sore.

Her mother’s eyes narrowed and she
yanked off Audrey’s gloves, exposing the greenish-brown bruising.
Her mother gasped. “Did he do this to you?”

“Of course not!” Really, sometimes her
mother was too much and Audrey realized another wonderful benefit
of marring Jordan. She would never have to live with this woman
again.

“Agnes, let them settle in and have
some tea before you start hounding Audrey and this young man with
questions.”

She turned to see her father
approaching, arms out. He engulfed her in a hug that extinguished
all irritation she felt for her mother at the moment. No doubt her
mother would chastise him later for showing her such affection in
front of other people.

“Papa, I would like to introduce you to
Mr. Jordan Trent. He saved my life.” She added that part so that
Papa would be more open to Jordan’s request, not that Papa would
deny him but Audrey wasn’t about to risk anything at the
moment.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir.”
Jordan stuck out his hand.

Papa shook it but narrowed his eyes on
Jordan. “We shall see how much of a pleasure you think it is
later.”

Oh dear, Papa was going to give him a
hard time. She just prayed Jordan didn’t mind.

Her father led her to the gathering
before the fire. A tea service was set and Audrey recognized
everyone except an older man sitting beside Mrs. John Trent. She
quickly learned that he was the lady’s father and a vicar. Perhaps
they wouldn’t have to wait three weeks to be married. How long did
it take to get a special license?

John Trent moved from his
seat and allowed Audrey to sit and her mother pressed a cup of tea
into her hand. “I want to know everything that happened from the
moment you left my sister’s house,
without
a chaperone or companion
until
now.”

Audrey’s face heated. She
wasn’t about to tell her mother
everything
and glanced back to
Jordan who gave an abridged version of the events.

“And that is why my wrists are
bruised,” Audrey added when he was finished.

“The two of you have been traveling
alone? From Bath to here without even a maid?” Her mother demanded.
Audrey stiffened her spine and waited because mother was building
up to one of her outrageous moments. “You are ruined.” The woman
began to pace. “Ruined, I say. I will never be able to hold my head
up again. What will people think? They will talk about us and our
daughter. This is absolutely horrible.”

Jordan’s family watched her with mild
interest and a bit of humor.

“He did save my life, Mother.” Really,
would her mother rather save face and lose a daughter or suffer a
bit of scandal in order to keep Audrey alive?

“Sir,” Jordan cleared his throat.
“Might I have a private word with you?”

“I should hope so,” her father answered
and led Jordan from the room.

“While they are talking and deciding
what is to become of you, I insist you go upstairs and change. That
dress is wrinkled beyond repair and you shouldn’t appear so when we
have guests.”

Audrey stifled a groan and looked to
Grace. “Would you mind coming with me?”

Grace hopped to her feet and moved
toward the door before Audrey’s mother could mutter a word of
protest.

Grace leaned back against the closed
door and grinned once they entered Audrey’s chamber.
“Well?”

“Well what,” she asked
innocently.

“You blushed when your mother demanded
to know everything that happened.”

Audrey fell back on her bed and
laughed. “Swear you won’t tell a soul.”

Grace did so and skipped over to the
bed. “You anticipated the vows!”

Audrey’s face heated. If it were anyone
else but Grace she would deny it until she was in her
grave.

“Do you think me wicked?”

Grace flopped down beside her. “No more
wicked than me.”

Audrey sat up and looked at her closest
friend. Her husband was a vicar, or at least had been at the
time.

“Apparently none of the brothers have
waited until their wedding night.”

Audrey’s mouth popped open in shock.
“Even Bentley,” she whispered.

“Even him and given Jordan’s
reputation, he was the least likely to wait until the vows were
spoken.”

“Why is everyone here?” It seemed odd
that Jordan’s entire family would travel to Grosmont in the middle
of the Season.

“To see the two of you marry, of
course.”

“But the banns need to be read.” She
stopped speaking when Grace laughed.

“Jordan asked Bentley to get a Special
License as soon as he was released from Newgate. When we received
the note of what had happened, though there wasn’t much detail, we
traveled here because nobody was about to miss Jordan Trent repeat
the vows of matrimony.”

“But Papa hasn’t even agreed.” Though
she didn’t expect him to deny Jordan, Audrey hated to assume all
would end as she wished. There was still the chance they would need
to travel to Gretna and she really didn’t care how she and Jordan
married as long as they did.

“Your father has already agreed,” Grace
announced. “He and Bentley spent a good deal of time in private
discussion after we arrived. Your father simply wants to meet with
your future husband and perhaps make him squirm.” Grace paused and
looked up. “Yes, those were his words ‘I have but one daughter and
I am going to make this as unpleasant for the young man as possible
before granting permission’.”

“Oh, poor Jordan.”

“He will survive.” Grace jumped up from
the bed. “Now it is time to get you ready.”

“Ready?” Audrey stood and
stretched.

“I have no doubt you will be Mrs.
Jordan Trent before the sun sets and you do want to look your best
do you not?”

“My mother didn’t seem as confident,”
Audrey said a moment later. The woman acted as if Audrey would need
to be locked away and hidden from society for traveling alone with
a gentleman.

“Your father didn’t tell her and swore
us to silence.”

Audrey’s mouth popped open. “She
doesn’t know I am to be married today?”

“He didn’t trust she wouldn’t say
something to you or Jordan and thus ruin the torture your father
wanted to put him through.”

Jordan grasped the glass of brandy Mr.
Montgomery had given him, unable to take a drink as the man laid
out his life before him. How did Montgomery learn so much about
him? He knew his finances to a detail and his position as a
solicitor and Jordan found himself confessing his desire no longer
wishing to be a magistrate and why. He was going to help the
accused innocent and he could not do that while prosecuting their
cases.

“There is one thing you do not know,
Sir.”

Mr. Montgomery studied Jordan and
waited. He quickly filled him in on the truth behind Adele and
Julia’s death.

Montgomery simply nodded before saying,
“Sometimes we cannot help what has happened in the past and that
which is out of our control.”

“But if the truth becomes
known.”

“It will be handled by your family,” he
assured Jordan. “I am assuming Audrey knows.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Then that is all that
matters.”

“There is one more thing,
Sir.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Another
potential scandal brewing?”

“No,” Jordan quickly assured him. “I
wish to purchase property in the area. I know Audrey would like to
raise racers.”

The man’s face broke in a grin. “Yes,
she would and you are a wise man to give that
consideration.”

“I tended to my own horses growing up
but know nothing about racers and training,” Jordan admitted. “Will
I need to hire someone to help her, or does Audrey have enough
experience. I am a bit concerned that she is a lady and this is a
gentleman’s sport.”

Mr. Montgomery laughed. “Audrey knows a
good race horse better than anyone I know. But you will have to be
the one who joins the Jockey Club and arranges for the horses to
race and all of the business. They will not allow a woman to do
so.”

Jordan suspected as much.

“But, she will teach you all you need
to know.”

“Then I shall leave it in her
hands.”

“However,” Mr. Montgomery added. “You
will not be buying property close to here.”

This rather surprised him. Jordan
actually liked the idea. Besides Audrey being close to her family
and Jordan being able to learn about race horses, Matthew and Grace
lived in the area as did Madeline and Brachton when they weren’t in
Scotland.

“My wife will not give Audrey a
moment’s peace and chastise her for not being a lady and insist she
attend to her wifely duties, entertain guests, go on visits, and
certainly stay away from the stables.”