Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (6 page)

“Helen one of the things I most admire about you is your directness. I’ll go see him tomorrow. I’ll come by to see you tomorrow evening after I return from seeing your brother. Why don’t we plan to attend the opera? I know you mentioned you enjoyed that, and we can talk before we go. Is that agreeable to you?”

“Of course, that sounds delightful. I always enjoy the opera, and I look forward to our talk. Now, can we please take our ride?”

Matthew laughed and escorted her out to their horses. They were soon galloping along Rotten Row. Helen was so pleased that they shared a love of horses. That was just one of the many things they had in common.

When she returned from her ride, she went to find Aunt Miriam and tell her what had transpired. Helen was comfortable with her decision and was relieved to have it all worked out. Devonshire sounded lovely, and Helen felt she would like living there. The idea of living next to a beach was intriguing, and she also looked forward to meeting Matthew’s daughters. She was thrilled he already had children, since she loved them so. Spending time with her nieces and nephews was very rewarding, and she knew she would love his daughters, once she got to know them.

Helen found Aunt Miriam in the morning room. “Well, congratulations are in order. I’ve just accepted a marriage proposal from Lord Collingswood.”

Aunt Miriam looked at her with a surprised look on her face. “Darling, of course I wish you the best, but I do feel you should spend more time getting to know each other before you decide to get married. Lord Collingswood does appear to be a fine gentleman, but two weeks is a terribly short time. What would it hurt if you spent a bit more time getting to know each other? Surely, there’s no rush to get married. I hope you’ll at least wait a couple of months before you actually wed.”

“My mind is made up, and I don’t want to wait to get married. Matthew is going to see Henry tomorrow, just as a formality. When he comes back tomorrow night we’ll set the date, but I’m going to suggest a month from now, which will give me enough time to plan a small wedding. I don’t want an elaborate affair. I want to be married at St. Nicolas, the parish church in Cranleigh. Do you know where Kathryn is? I want to share my good news with her.”

Just as Helen said this, Kathryn came into the morning room and asked, “What good news are you talking about?”

“Lord Collingswood and I are getting married.”

Kathryn stood there, momentarily speechless, obviously shocked by Helen’s revelation. “Helen, how can you decide to marry him so quickly? You’ve only known each other two weeks. I like Lord Collingswood, but I just wish you wouldn’t rush into this.”

“As I just told Aunt Miriam, my mind is made up, and I’m at peace with my decision. Please, just wish me happy. I promise you, this is what will be best for me. I’m ready to get on with my life. The sooner I’m married, the sooner I’ll be able to have children. You know that’s my fondest desire. Matthew and I have seen each other two times a day for the last two weeks, and you’d be surprised how well you can come to know someone in that amount of time.”

Kathryn sighed deeply. “All right, congratulations. Your mind is obviously made up about marrying Lord Collingswood, so I’ll just pray that this works out for you the way you want it to.”

Matthew left for Sanderford Park early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking. The sky was overcast, and he hoped the rain would stay away, at least until he got there. Since Apollo was so strong he made excellent time, but unfortunately, the rain started just as he entered the driveway. It poured so fiercely that he was soaked by the time he reached the house. The groom took his horse, and Matthew went up to the door.

Someone, the butler he was sure, opened the door and let him in. He tried not to drip too badly, but he wasn’t successful. The butler took his greatcoat, and at least his clothes underneath were reasonably dry. He gave his card to the butler who showed him to a drawing room, and then the butler went to see if Helen’s brother would receive him.

Matthew looked around at the well-appointed room, noticing the highly polished mahogany furniture and deeply cushioned sofa. The room was elegantly furnished, but it looked comfortable, and had a lived-in feel about it. The butler reappeared. “My lord, if you’ll follow me, I will take you to His Grace.”

They approached a room which was probably the duke’s study. The butler knocked and Matthew heard a man’s voice say, “Come in.”

The butler opened the door and said, “Your Grace, Lord Collingswood is here to see you.”

A tall, muscular man, who was obviously Helen’s brother since he was the masculine version of the very feminine Helen, stood up and extended his hand. “Please, take a seat. I’m sorry, but have we met before? I don’t seem to recognize your name. What can I do for you?”

After shaking the duke’s hand, Matthew took a seat. “Good afternoon, Your Grace. We haven’t had the pleasure of meeting before. However, I know your sister, Lady Helen. That’s why I’ve come to see you. I’d like your permission to pay my addresses to your sister. We’ve gotten to know each other over the past two weeks, and we both feel that we will suit.”

Henry stared directly into his eyes. “You’ve only known each other for a very short time. How can you be so sure you’ll suit?”

“We’ve seen each other twice a day for the last fortnight, and we’ve agreed that we’ll suit each other very well. You’d be surprised how well you can get to know someone when you know beforehand that you want to see how compatible you are.”

Giving Matthew an appraising look, Henry replied, “I would want to know more about you before I give you my approval.”

“I can appreciate that. I just inherited my title from my father last year, so I’m now the eighth Earl of Collingswood. To give you a little more background on me, I spend most of my time in Devonshire, which is where my family seat is.”

Henry interrupted, “While Helen likes the country, she also enjoys the season every year in London. It sounds as if you don’t usually come for the season, and I know she would miss it if she wasn’t able to come to London each year.”

“I understand Helen enjoys the season, and once she’s given me an heir, I shan’t have a problem with her participating each year. While I haven’t taken my seat in Parliament yet, I plan to do so just as soon as I have my estate running smoothly.”

“Why do you need to get your estate running smoothly? Please explain this to me. I still feel this is rushing things a bit. I will need more time to investigate your background.”

Even though this started to get Matthew riled, he kept his calm demeanor. “I can understand that you want more information about me. During the last few years of my father’s life, he let things run down a bit, and even though I tried to help him, he wouldn’t accept my help. My father was very set in his ways. While I’m not a wealthy man, I can comfortably afford to take care of your sister and any children we may have.”

“I’m sure you would make an acceptable husband, but I still feel this is terribly fast. Why do you want to marry my sister?”

Though it was difficult, Matthew continued to remain calm, even though he wasn’t used to being questioned so thoroughly. “I’m the father of twin daughters, and my late wife passed away giving birth to them five years ago. I need a mother for my children, and I feel that Helen would be an excellent one for them, and she has assured me she adores children. She’s shared with me that she’s anxious to marry because she wants to have children, so we’ve decided we would suit each other.”

“While I understand your desire to have a mother for your children, I want Helen to be wanted for herself, not just as a mother for someone’s children.”

“I do want her for more than just a mother for my children. We’ve become friends, and I esteem her greatly. We would like to marry next month, once I have completed my mourning period. Do I have your permission to pay my addresses?”

Henry leaned back in his chair and gave Matthew an assessing look. “I’d rather see her give this more time before she makes a decision of this magnitude. I want Helen to be sure she’s making the right decision, and I don’t feel that knowing each other for two weeks will do that. I won’t contemplate a match without additional time to get to know you. I’d want to verify everything you’ve told me before I’ll give you my blessing.”

Matthew adjusted his cravat, which suddenly felt too tight, as he tried to keep his impatience hidden. “Helen and I have discussed this, and while we understand your concern, our minds are made up. I really just came here as a courtesy to you. We’re going to marry regardless of your feelings. Helen is of age and doesn’t need your permission to marry.”

Henry stood up so forcefully that his chair flew back several feet and hit the wall. He looked Matthew directly in the eye, and with an arrogant expression on his face retorted, “You will not marry my sister without my permission!”

Standing up, but still remaining calm, Matthew said, “We will marry with or without your permission. I promise I’ll take good care of Helen, and she’ll be content with our marriage. We both want the same thing. She wants to be a mother, and I need a mother for my daughters, and of course an heir. We respect each other tremendously, and we have much in common. Helen told me she’d spoken with you recently and assured you she didn’t want a love match, but companionship instead. I’m willing to offer this to her. I ask you for Helen’s sake—please give us your blessing. This is very important to her.”

“Well, when you put it like that, I don’t have much choice but to give you my blessing,” Henry replied, taking a step forward to glare at him. “You just need to know that if you ever hurt her in any way at all, I’ll come after you, and you’ll regret you were ever born. Do I make myself clear? Oh, and I’ll be verifying the information you just gave me. Helen is an heiress, and I will stop this marriage if I feel that you’re a fortune hunter!”

Matthew adjusted the sleeve of his dark green riding coat to give himself a moment to get his anger under control, and then he glared back at him with his own arrogant expression as he declared, “There’s no reason for you to threaten me. I understand you completely, Your Grace. I am
not
a fortune hunter, and you’ll find that out when you check me out!” Matthew took a deep cleansing breath, giving himself time to keep his composure. “If you will give me some paper, I’ll give you the name of my solicitor. He’ll give you all the information you need, and he’ll handle the marriage settlements.”

“You can count on me to check you out thoroughly and not with just your solicitor’s information!” With a supercilious expression on his face, Henry handed Matthew some paper and a quill, and Matthew wrote out the information and handed it back to Henry.

“I promise, I’ll never hurt your sister, Your Grace,” Matthew said, trying to alleviate the tension in the room. “She’ll be my wife, and I’ll always show her the respect and consideration she deserves. While I don’t love Helen, I respect and admire her tremendously. I promise you, we’re well suited for each other. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave. I promised Helen I would be back in time to take her to the opera. I look forward to hearing from you through my solicitor.” Matthew bowed to him, and then he turned and left the room.

The trip back went much better because the rain had stopped, and the sun had come out. When he got back to town, he went to his hotel and took a bath so he would be ready to take Helen to the opera. While he was in his bath, he replayed his conversation with Helen’s brother over in his mind. He’d had to reel in his temper to keep himself from lashing out at her brother.

While he could understand why Sanderford had reacted the way he did, he didn’t appreciate the fact that he’d threatened him. While he may not love Helen, he admired her prodigiously. At least he knew when Sanderford had him investigated, as he so politely put it, he would find out that Matthew was telling him the truth.

Leaning back in the tub, he allowed his mind to drift to Helen. He became aroused just thinking about her. Helen exuded an inner fire that spoke of passion, so he knew he would enjoy having her in his bed, and in his life.

Yes, he felt they would definitely be very compatible.