A Christmas Affair (37 page)

“For a start,” Amanda said with a sugary smile, tiring of the charade. She’d only give him enough rope to hang himself, and then she would neatly cut him off. She also intended informing Justin of the man’s perfidity. It was obvious he was not to be trusted.

Before Teale could respond to her new demand, the
sound of violently raised voices reached their ears, and then the door to the room was flung open as Justin pushed his way in past the protesting clerk.

“Justin!”

“Your Grace!”

Amanda and Teale both stumbled to their feet at Justin’s appearance, their faces wearing identical expressions of disbelief. Justin barely spared Amanda a glance before stalking over to the desk and plucking a terrified Teale out of his chair. “I warned you,” he snarled, shaking the solicitor as a terrier would a rat.

“Justin! Have you gone mad?” Amanda streaked around the desk, grabbing wildly at Justin’s arm. “Put him down this instant!”

Justin tore his eyes from Teale’s purpling features to glare at Amanda. “Damn it, Amanda,” he gritted, his breath coming harshly between his clenched teeth, “you don’t know the bloody nonsense this fool has been spouting. . . .”

“Oh, don’t I? I’ve spent the past half-hour listening to it,” she returned tugging determinedly at his powerful arm. “Blast it, Justin, I said put him down! You’re choking him.”

Justin’s fingers released their murderous grip, and he stared down at her, a sick feeling of horror washing over him. “You can’t believe him,” he said, his voice shaking with fear. “Amanda, you can’t believe I agree with him. . . .”

“Ah, but she does, Your Grace,” Teale gloated, rubbing his aching throat and glaring at Justin with obvious malice. “Only if you wish to secure your freedom from her, it will cost you ten thousand pounds. That
is
the price you demanded, isn’t it, Miss Lawrence?” His malevolent gaze was transferred to Amanda.

“Why, you odious little man!” She started forward, her own hands reaching for his throat. “You must have known I was only twigging you! How dare you say such things!”

Justin grabbed her by the skirts and hauled her backward. “You demanded money?” he asked harshly, his hands clamping on her shoulders as he whirled her around to face him. “From me?”

“From him!” Now it was Amanda who was swamped with a feeling of horror, but that horror was diluted by a fury that was greater than anything she had ever known. She tried to tamp it down, but it burned ever hotter, until her temper exploded out of control.

“All right, that is it!” she shrieked, pulling free from his hold and glowering up at him with her fists resting on her hips. “I have had enough! This was to have been my wedding day, the happiest day of my life, and what do I get instead? A trip through a blizzard that would have killed a lesser woman, and almost an entire hour listening to some mewling little twit spouting the biggest pack of lies it has ever been my misfortune to hear!”

“You insolent baggage —”

“And now you have the audacity to actually believe that I would take money for ending our engagement.” Amanda ignored Teale’s outburst, concentrating all of her fury on Justin. She’d crowded against him and was jabbing her finger at his chest. “How could you believe such a thing of me?
I
believed you were innocent at once. But then of course I love you, and I know you would never ever go back on your word! Apparently it is asking too much to assume you —”

“You love me?” Justin interrupted, his anger and disbelief giving way to incredible, joyous hope.

“Well, of course I do,” she snapped, still glaring at him. “Although I am sure I must be mad to do so. You are the
most arrogant, overbearing, opinionated man I have ever met, and I —”

“Shut up, Amanda.”

“I will not shut up! And furthermore you—” She got no further as Justin swept her up in his arms, his mouth claiming hers in a kiss of unrestrained passion and love. Her struggles ceased at once, and she flung her arms about his neck, returning his kiss for all she was worth.

“I love you, Amanda,” he whispered between ardent kisses. “I love you more than anything in this world. Don’t leave me, don’t ever leave me, my darling.”

“Never” she vowed fervently, cupping his strong face between her hands and gazing up at him with tear-filled eyes. “I wouldn’t leave you now even if you ordered me to go.”

“I would stop breathing before I would do that,” he replied, his own eyes shining with a suspicious brightness. “I am everything that you say I am — pompous, overbearing, arrogant — but I love you, and I will go on loving you until the moment I die.”

“I never said you were pompous,” Amanda denied when they stopped kissing.

“Perhaps not this time,” he agreed, his hands sliding down her neck to rest beneath the sweet curve of her breasts. “But I seem to recall hearing the accusation from you at some point in the past, and will be hearing it again in the future, I daresay,” he added with a whimsical smile.

Amanda smiled weakly in response; then her smile vanished. “Justin” — she searched his face with solemn eyes — “are you
certain
this is what you want? Mr. Teale said things have changed, and-and he is right. You’re not the same man you were when you first offered me marriage, and I wouldn’t want you trapped by your promise. You
must be certain I am the wife you want, the wife you need. I couldn’t bear it if you came to regret your decision.”

Her loving generosity touched Justin’s heart, and he bent his head to give her a reassuring kiss. “You
are
the wife I need,” he assured her softly. “And the woman I want above all others. You’re right when you say I’m not the same man who first proposed to you; that man was cold inside, and dead to everything save a grim dedication to what he conceived of as his duty. You were right to refuse him, my love.”

“But—”

“Inheriting Edward’s title and fortune isn’t what changed me,” he continued softly, his fingers tracing the soft bow of her upper lip. “It is you who has changed me. You and your delightful family who took an angry, bitter soldier into your hearts and made him believe in the miracle of love.”

They fell to kissing, lost to everything save each other. When they raised their heads, it was to find themselves quite alone, the open door mute testimony to the speed of Teale’s flight. Justin glanced at it and smiled ruefully.

“It is good that he had the sense to leave,” he said turning his head to grin at Amanda. “I probably would have killed him if I’d gotten my hands on him.”

“Why bother?” Amanda’s shoulders moved in a delicate shrug. “He is really of no consequence. Besides, if it hadn’t been for him, it might have taken us weeks to declare our true feelings for each other.”

“Would it?” Justin bestowed a playful peck on her nose. “For your information, ma’am I went to Aunt’s house today with every intention of laying my heart at your feet.”

“Really?” She was entranced by the very notion.

He nodded. “I woke up this morning thinking that this
was the day we were to be wed, and the realization it was not to be filled me with such despair that I thought I should go mad. It was then that I knew what I had to do.” He stepped back from her and extracted an official-looking document from his pocket.

“What is this?” Her brows wrinkled as she took it from him.

“Our marriage license,” he said, his blunt fingertip flicking the thick paper. “You will note the date.”

“January tenth,” she read, smiling in pleasure at the sight of her and Justin’s names set down together.

“Today’s date.”

“I know.”

“Amanda,” Justin spoke succinctly, “this is our marriage license, with today’s date on it. Don’t you understand what that means?”

Comprehension dawned. “We can still be married?” she gasped, raising joy-filled eyes to his. “Today?”

He nodded again, grinning at her expression. “On the way to Aunt’s I stopped at St. George’s. The vicar is there, and he has agreed to marry us this afternoon—if you are willing” he added, with sudden diffidence. “I’ll understand if you want to wait until we can arrange for your family to be present.”

For a moment Amanda was strongly tempted to take him up on his generous offer, but only for a moment. “No.” She shook her head decisively. “I would like having them, there but it really doesn’t matter. So long as the minister is there I shall be more than content. Besides”—she cast him a teasing smile—“the twins would never forgive me. They have been longing to have you as their brother since the moment they clapped eyes on you.”

He laughed, then grew serious. “There is just one more thing. About my appointment to Madrid—”

“You must do your duty,” she interrupted, laying her head against his shoulder. “I understand now. I only protested before because I was afraid you’d find some charming señorita and fall madly in love with her.”

“There was never a chance of that,” he told her firmly. “Not since Christmas Eve when we stood beneath the mistletoe. I knew then that my feelings for you weren’t those of a brother for a sister. Even if I hadn’t learned about Amelia and Charles, I think I would have found some other excuse to end our engagement. But you have distracted me. What I was going to say is that I have decided to refuse the appointment. I’m not going to Madrid.”

“You’re not?” Amanda’s voice quivered with joy.

“I’d decided to refuse it even before Edward’s death. The military life is fine for an unmarried man, but a man with a wife and children has other responsibilities. I was going to tell you sooner but. . . .” He gave a sad shrug.

They both fell silent as they thought of Edward and his untimely death. Amanda slipped her arms around Justin in a loving embrace, silently vowing that she would help him survive the devastating loss of his beloved brother.

“I suppose we should be going,” Justin said after a long silence had passed. “Teale is certain to return sooner or later, and it would probably be best if I was gone. I am still strongly tempted to make him pay for his machinations. Let’s go home.”

Amanda’s heart swelled with love at the words. “Yes,” she agreed softly “let’s go home.”

Epilogue

Stonebridge Hall, Christmas Eve, 1814

“To the right. No, Justin, not my right,
your
right,” Amanda directed from her nest of cushions on the settee. “Are you sure you were once in charge of placing the artillery? I vow, I’ve never seen anyone with a poorer sense of direction.”

“That’s because you’re looking at it from the wrong angle,” Justin replied, unperturbed by her hectoring tones. “Come up here and look at it.”

“I’d love to, but a certain
arrogant
male I know would have my head if I dared attempt such a thing,” she said with a roguish smile. “He is such a tyrant, you’d scarce believe it.”

Justin cast a wry glance over his shoulder, his eyes resting possessively on his wife’s gently rounded belly. “Oh, I’d believe it, all right,” he drawled huskily. “Now, mind you stay there. I have something for you.” He gave the angel’s gossamer wings a final tug to set it in place and then climbed down the ladder the footman was holding for him.

“Wait until we’ve finished dinner before lighting the candles,” he instructed. “I don’t want any accidents.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” the young man responded, flicking the beautifully decorated tree an uncertain look. He’d never heard of anything so queer in all his days, but if it made his
master and mistress happy, then he supposed he could learn to tolerate it. Besides, it was rather pretty.

When he’d gone, Justin settled on the cushions next to his wife, his arms stealing comfortably about her thickening waist. “Feeling better?” he asked, enjoying the feel of his child beneath his hands.

“Mmm,” Amanda replied noncommittally, sighing as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “Where did you find such a large tree? It must have cost a fortune.”

“In Northumberland, and yes, it did,” Justin answered each of her questions in turn. “But the price will be well worth it. I can’t wait to see the look on Belinda’s face when she sees it.”

“Yes, shell doubtlessly declare it the
bestest
tree she has ever seen,” Amanda agreed with a soft laugh at her younger sister’s probable reaction to the ten-foot tree. “I’m only sorry I wasn’t able to be of more help to you.”

“I enjoyed it,” Justin assured her, and was surprised to find it was so. Following their hasty marriage, they’d stayed in town long enough to see Amelia and Charles safely married off, and then they’d retired to the country. In the ten months since then, he’d flung himself wholeheartedly into the family life, and with each passing day his joy and love increased even more.

Amanda drew a deep breath as another pain knifed through her. The pains were getting closer together, and she knew it would soon be time to send for the doctor. But for the moment she was content to stay where she was, safe and warm in her husband’s arms.

“What was that?”

“What?”

“That.” Justin frowned as Amanda’s stomach jerked beneath his cupped palms. “Is that the babe moving?”

“Yes,” she said, gasping slightly. “I think he must be getting anxious for Christmas to get here.”

“Well, he shall just have to wait.” Justin moved his hand
in a soothing circle. “Meanwhile his papa has a present for his mama,” and he handed her a small, gaily beribboned box. “Happy Christmas, Lady Stonebridge.”

Her fingers trembled as she tore off the ribbons and scattered them about the settee. She fumbled a little with the lid of the white velvet box; but finally she was able to open it and the sight of the small pin nestled inside brought a soft gasp of pleasure to her lips. “Oh, Justin, it’s beautiful!”

“Do you like it?” He sounded pleased.

“Like it? I adore it!” she exclaimed, lifting the pin from the box and turning it toward the firelight. Fashioned out of emeralds, the pin was a miniature fir tree, its tiny needles dusted with a coating of diamonds so that it glittered in the light. She’d never seen anything lovelier, and her eyes were sparkling with tears as she gazed up into her husband’s face.

“It’s the tree we saw in the woods last year, isn’t it?” she asked, tears wending their way down her cheeks.