“This estate belongs to my husband’s brother,” Audrianna said as the carriage moved closer and the true size of the house loomed larger. “Perhaps, when he returns from Bohemia, if that physician is successful in curing his paralysis, he can enjoy country life again. If he must continue to live as an invalid, however, he is better in town, where at least he can have company more frequently.”
Verity thought it unlikely that the Marquess of Wittonbury would ever return to England, let alone live here again. She knew that Audrianna doubted it too. His departure had been under a cloud of scandal that would have been more damaging if he had not sacrificed so much in the war. But Audrianna always hoped for the best, and for the return of the brother-in-law with whom she had forged a special bond.
The coach stopped in a large courtyard flanked by two embracing wings. A servant helped Audrianna out. Verity followed just as their husbands swung off their mounts.
The day had turned hot and sultry once the rain passed, and everyone expressed relief upon entering Airymont’s reception hall. Its inlaid marble floor and relatively spare furnishing made it a cool sanctuary. Refreshments were brought while servants carried luggage away.
“There is a yacht over at Southend-on-Sea,” Lord Sebastian said. “We can go sailing tomorrow if the weather is fair.”
Hawkeswell brightened at the suggestion. The two men discussed the yacht, the coast, and what sport might be had. Verity sipped her punch and allowed her presence to recede.
She had learned how to do that after Bertram became her guardian and came to live in the house she once shared with her father. She had discovered that if she withdrew into herself until others became muted to her awareness, she in turn became muted to theirs.
This had been useful the last two years in Daphne’s house too. Since she was not required to be any particular place at any particular time, she had also been able to make herself scarce when necessary. When Lord Sebastian visited, for example.
However, in avoiding him she had also avoided seeing Audrianna in her new life as his wife. She had not been to their wedding, and had never seen Audrianna’s new home in London. The full meaning of her friend’s good fortune had thus escaped her until now, as she sat on a fatly cushioned chair in a reception hall that was larger than most cottages, glancing up at a ceiling soaring thirty feet above her head, while her humble shoes rested on a floor composed of four different-colored marbles.
Audrianna did not seem intimidated by these surroundings. Lord Sebastian and Lord Hawkeswell lounged comfortably, as if they expected nothing less of their abodes. She, on the other hand, had never before seen such effortless luxury, even though she was an heiress and her father had amassed a fortune of note.
Some invisible, inaudible signal caught Audrianna’s attention and she stood. “The housekeeper will show you to your chambers now. There is a small lake not far from the back of the house, through the garden. Shall we all join together there at five o’clock, and dine alfresco?”
Lord Sebastian thought that an excellent idea. He congratulated his wife on her cleverness while the housekeeper led Verity and Hawkeswell away.
Two stories above, the woman handed Hawkeswell over to a manservant waiting at high double doors, and escorted Verity to similar ones thirty feet away. Verity looked over at the proximity of Hawkeswell’s chamber just as he did the same with hers. Then his doors opened and he disappeared within.
“I hope that this apartment will find favor with you, Lady Hawkeswell,” the housekeeper said, opening the doors to reveal a large chamber awash in fashionable green hues. “It has good air in the summer, and shade in the afternoon. Please let me know if it does not suit you.” The three windows had already been opened fully, so that good air could enter.
It was the first time anyone had called her “Lady Hawkeswell.” She almost turned her head to see the important woman whom the housekeeper addressed. Instead she went to the window and looked out. Positioned at the end of a back wing, it faced east.
The scent of the sea seemed stronger up here. A good sturdy tree grew right outside, but to the left she could spy part of the flower gardens. Beyond a shrubbery at the back she glimpsed the blue of the lake that Audrianna had mentioned.
“It will suit me very well,” she said, since it appeared the housekeeper was waiting for approval.
Audrianna entered then, along with a young woman. The new servant was introduced as Susan, who would serve as her lady’s maid. Susan began unpacking under the housekeeper’s keen eye. They both showed no reaction on seeing how little Verity had brought, and how plain and lacking in embellishment it all was.
It did not take long to settle her. They left her with water for washing.
Audrianna fingered two stacks of letters and papers on the bed. “These must be the letters that you told me about in the carriage. The ones Lizzie Smith received when she queried the archbishop’s men and those proctors about annulments. What are these newspaper cuttings?”
“I have been saving notices and such that address the area around my home.” Verity opened a drawer and slipped the letters inside. “I suppose I should hide them. With Hawkeswell’s chambers so close, he may wander in.”
“I could hardly put him in the other wing, Verity. He may guess that you have confided to me about this bargain you struck, but it would be better not to make it blatant that you did.”
“He has given his word. He is not without honor. I do not think it matters which chamber he uses.” She believed that in her mind, but his proximity would do her nerves no good.
“I suppose if his honor appears to be wobbling, you can have one of your headaches.” She smiled conspiratorially.
“I truly do suffer from them in the spring season, Audrianna. I did not lie about that.” Her face warmed. “Not as often as I claimed last spring, when I needed to avoid Lord Sebastian, of course. Do you and the others hate me for lying to you? It was not a big lie, and I had little choice, but a lie is a lie, of course.”
Audrianna took her hand and encouraged her to sit on the bed with her. “It was a small deception. I am glad that you told me, however, and also confided about this bargain you have struck with the earl. Daphne, Celia, and I were honored that you shared all the rest with us that last night in Cumberworth too. I will do what I can to help you with your plan, because I do not believe any woman should be forced into a marriage.”
Audrianna spoke hopefully, but another emotion showed in her eyes.
“You do not think it will work, do you? You think that this marriage will stand,” Verity said.
“I think that he is an earl, and that it will stand or not according to his preference. Celia and Daphne told you that too, and they are far more worldly than I am.”
Celia and Daphne had indeed said as much, and it had discouraged her. She had spent two years planning how she would resurrect herself and petition for freedom. It would have been hard, and possibly not successful, but she would have had a fighting chance at least.
Now she feared she had very little chance to even get a hearing, because Hawkeswell could stop her at the outset if he controlled her movements. Unless, as her friends said, she won him over to the idea too.
She had these few days in Essex to achieve that. One week at most, with no danger of a consummation of the marriage. Those letters in the drawer indicated an annulment could be granted even with one, if the evidence were clear, but that lack of consummation would help. Furthermore, lack of children was almost essential.
Celia had suggested that Hawkeswell’s preference would hinge on the money. Verity had been contemplating that for two days now.
“No matter what happens with Hawkeswell, now I can at least set about discovering just how Bertram carried out his threats, despite the bargain he deceitfully struck with me. Now that I am of age, Bertram can no longer touch me, whether I am married to Hawkeswell or not.”
“And if you do learn the truth of it? What then?”
“I will make amends to that family as best I can, and seek to rectify any injustice done because of me.”
She would have to do much more than that, of course. If the worst had happened to Michael Bowman, she would have to change the plans she had made for her life after she procured that annulment.
She wondered whether Hawkeswell might be sympathetic if she explained matters more fully. Not the part about Michael, of course, but the rest of it. Surely he would understand that the life she needed to live would be nigh impossible if she remained here in the south and if she were Lady Hawkeswell.
Perhaps if she revealed her dreams and her heart, he would realize just how much they did not suit each other. Maybe he would decide being rid of her was a good idea after all.
Audrianna scooted off the bed. “I will leave you to rest, and see you at dinner. The servants will escort you to the lake if you fear getting lost.”
“I can see it from my window, so I am sure that I will find my way.”
No sooner had the door closed behind Audrianna than Verity went to the secretaire in a corner of the sitting room that flanked her bedchamber. She sat down amid the varied green hues decorating the room, to compose the first letter to the world of her childhood that she had written in two years.
H
awkeswell surveyed his apartment while the valet did his duty with the baggage. It was a comfortable set of rooms, but then, he expected no less of one of Wittonbury’s properties. He judged the carpet to be from Brussels and the silk at the windows from India. The furniture was old enough to possess a nice patina, but new enough to indicate the property had been redecorated not many years ago.
He could not help but compare it with his own property, or what was left of it. Not a thing had changed at his country seat in more than a generation, except for the Titian that had mysteriously gone missing after one of his father’s gambling disasters.
Fortunately, his grandfather had bought well, with a good eye that equaled his extravagance. Except for some worn upholstery and drapes, the house did not look too bad because quality always holds up to time. Still, it all begged for maintenance too often deferred, and for re-modeling to bring it into the current century in both appearance and conveniences.
The valet hummed while he pressed in the dressing room. Hawkeswell listened for other sounds, from the apartment next to his own. He had half expected Audrianna to put Verity and him at opposite sides of the house. Perhaps Audrianna had not been plotting with Verity on managing him after all.
He left the valet to his duties, and strolled out to the corridor and down to Verity’s door. He knocked and waited a good while before the latch turned. She appeared startled to see him.
“Have you been made comfortable?” he asked. “Are your chambers adequate?”
“More than adequate, and I will be very comfortable, thank you.”
Silence fell. She half hid behind the door, refusing to open it entirely.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked.
“I was just about to write a letter, and—”
“I do not have to ask, Verity. I do not have to knock.”
She bit her lower lip, then pushed the door wide. “Won’t you please enter?”
The main chamber seemed comfortable enough. Not quite as large as his own, it held some chairs and a large bed draped in silk the color of green apples. He went to the windows. His own had better prospects. A large tree that he had noticed grew right outside one of hers. A bird at its top chirped melodically.
“This tree is too conveniently placed. I suspect you know how to climb trees, for all your practiced etiquette.”
She smiled, and almost laughed. He wished she would do so. He had never heard her laugh, he was very sure.
“I was once a good tree climber, but I was a child then.” She rose on her toes, and peered past him, out at the one in question. “I would say that is a four-minute tree for someone in practice. I, on the other hand, would probably fall and break my neck. Did you come here to judge its convenience?”
“I came to make sure you are pleased with the accommodations, and to say that I am going to take a turn in the garden. Join me.”
She glanced over her shoulder, to a secretaire visible in the attached sitting room. “As I said, I was going to write a letter.”
“I think that you will enjoy the garden more. You do like them, don’t you? Gardens?”
She flushed. “Yes, I do like them. The letter, however—”
“Can be written tonight.” He strolled to the door, stood aside, and gestured into the hall with his arm, by way of both invitation and command.
Whether she accepted the first he did not know. Her expression, however, indicated that she recognized the latter. She joined him.
V
erity stepped down the stone stairs, into the garden that stretched beyond the house’s veranda. Hawkeswell took her hand and guided her, to ensure she did not trip. She could hardly object to the familiarity implied by that touch, but it did disconcert her.
She had been careless in forging their agreement about this house party. She should have found a way to make him accept that while they were here, they would act as if they were not wed at all, with all that meant, and not merely delaying the physical consummation.
If she had been more thorough in her requirements, he would not now be acting as if he was a husband who could demand her time and attention, and enter her chambers whenever he chose, and take her hand at will.
He had made it clear that he assumed he could do all those things. She suspected that he had arrived at her door, and invited her to accompany him to the garden, specifically to make the point.
It was a lovely property, however. This house was not used much, but the gardeners maintained these acres meticulously. The veranda descended to a large courtyard garden flanked by two back wings. Along with the two in front, it turned the house into a gigantic
H
.