A Christmas Surprise (16 page)

As Aleece stepped out into the night, she paused, wondering if she was doing the right thing. Was sending Debbi to alert her parents while racing pell-mell into uncertainty the right thing to do? With a breath to calm her nerves Aleece glanced down at the all too familiar and comfortable blade glistening in the moonlight.

Since when have I ever conformed to what is expected
, she thought before continuing her journey to the folly.

Reaching the steps, Aleece noticed Thomas’s mount was secured to a tree branch. After a glance around to see if anyone was in sight, she slowly made her way up to the door.

She knew the first thing she needed to do was find out where in the room Mr. Thomas was and the position of his attacker. Stepping to a nearby window, she glanced in and let out a sigh on seeing Thomas was alive.

She watched with increasing anxiety his mouth move, like he was talking to someone. Whom she couldn’t tell, but knew it had to be Seth. With care Aleece stepped further along the casement in hopes of seeing the man who’d ruined her evening but wasn’t going to destroy her life.

Then, she spied him staring into the cold fireplace. What shocked Aleece was this wasn’t the man they’d thought had started the fire at the Smyth house but his twin brother, Casey. Little known by most, the only difference between the brothers was the right earlobe. Casey had lost his to a vicious dog bite in his youth, which had turned him bitter.

She knew as the boy grew he became more violent until, at times, he was uncontrollable.

Right now she didn’t much care. The man had a knife and, from what Aleece could see, was already bloodied. Her only hope, it wasn’t her Mr. Thomas’s, and from what she noticed it wasn’t.

To save him and at the same time their life together, even if it wasn’t what her parents wanted, she needed to act and act now.

Taking a deep breath, she settled the sabre at her side partially hidden by her skirt. With a firm grasp on the door handle, in one movement she swung the door open, following it in.

“Aleece, what on earth do you think you are doing?” Mr. Thomas called out.

Aleece spared him the briefest of glances when she watched, Casey spin about raising his knife filled hand taken by surprise by her sudden appearance. She countered by bringing her sword arm up to the
en garde
position.

She stepped further in and with a flick of her saber forced Casey away from her love. Aleece watched the villain move toward her, raising his weapon to counter her move. With practiced skill she parried his blade from her then swept the saber down catching his wrist with the tip, breaking the skin, which forced Casey to drop his blade.

As it clattered to the floor Aleece stepping closer, leveling her sword point at his chest. “Now, sit down and don’t move,” she ordered.

Now she could reply to Mr. Thomas’s earlier question. Without taking her eyes from the now cowering Casey, she said, “Saving you. What does it look like?”

“Thank you. But do you always charge headlong into a situation, not knowing all the facts?”

“I deemed it safe and knew I could take him by surprise, which as you can see, I did. Now, let’s get you free and this scoundrel down to the mansion so father can deal with him.”

In less than a minute Aleece released his bonds. She watched as he rose, rubbing his wrists. What she didn’t like was the pinched lip glare he leveled on her.

“My dear, I can assure you that once we marry this foolishness will cease and desist immediately.”

Chapter Thirty

“Good luck, son. I made the same threat to her mother when we married, and as you can see, it did not work,” the Duke of Carlisle announced, stepping into the folly.

“And my Aleece takes after me so nicely. Doesn’t she?”

Aleece spun around, her mouth open in surprise at the sudden arrival of her parents. Quickly collecting her wits, she gestured to Mr. Thomas.

“Mother, Father.” She paused on seeing two other men behind them. Recognizing the Duke of Somerset, instead of making her bows, she saluted him with the sabre still in her hand.

“My dear Lady Aleece, you are everything your father has told me and… it seems more,” the duke replied.

She forced her lips into a faint smile, not sure how to take the his comment.

“And who is this gentleman?” Aleece asked, fixing her eyes on the last man.

“That, my darling, is my former commander, Colonel Martel,” Thomas announced.

“Colonel Martel.” Aleece saluted him as she had the Duke of Somerset and wasn’t surprised when he returned it.

“And you, sir, I take it are the love of my daughter’s life?” Eleanor stated.

Aleece wasn’t surprised to see her mother step up and buss Thomas on the cheek.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Well, son, I am glad to say you have made an excellent choice in a wife,” Kenneth said.

Aleece took a step back so she could look at both men. She then settled a glare on Mr. Thomas.

“What does he mean ‘son’?”

“Exactly that, my dear, but let us deal with that in a moment. We still have my kidnapper to deal with,” he pleaded.

“I assume you are referring to the ruffian cowering in the corner,” Martel queried.

“We can deal with him in a moment. First, I want to know what Somerset meant by ‘son’,” Aleece said as she scowled at Mr. Thomas.

“Just that, my dear…” he started but quickly was silenced when the saber in Aleece’s hand was directed at him.

“Don’t you even begin to ‘my dear’ me. If what Somerset said is true then you’ve deceived me from the first moment we met,” she all but screamed.

“Darling, we never meant it to go on for so long,” her father said as he used a finger to move the saber point in a safe direction.

“Ah, but you did.”

“Yes,” Somerset interjected, “and for that we are truly sorry. In retrospect, your father and I should have made him tell you precisely who he was. I’m sure his reasons are sound, maybe sounder than his brain.”

With a glare Aleece glanced over to him. “And exactly what would those reasons be? And they’d better be good as my saber is hungry for a little more blood.”

“It’s very simple—”

“Simple, like your mind probably,” she countered.

“Woman, silence,” he said. “Will you let me finish.”

“If, and I repeat if, we are to marry that is the last time you will ever tell me to be silent. Now that we have that settled, why the act?”

“Having spent the past many years in the army, I learned that to succeed you had to have people who believed and trusted in you and your decisions. I wanted to find a wife who cared not only for herself, me, and our children, but the people who worked on the many estates I have and will inherit. Not some silly girl with more hair than brains. Thus the reason I presented myself as a well-heeled gentleman. I knew the mammas wouldn’t be interested in me, as they wanted their half-witted daughters to marry a peer.

“This allowed me to search out the perfect, for both of us, companion to spend the rest of my life with. When I first saw then met you, Aleece, combined with the report Jeff gave me I knew you were the one who would be my wife. When I arrived here the day of the fire and saw you risk everything to save an infant, that cemented it. If I hadn’t let the masquerade go on for so long, I would have approached the duke and offered for you. As it was I had to play the charade out, and trust me, if your father had selected another man, I would have interceded.”

Aleece glared at the two dukes then turned to her mother. “Mother, what do you think I should do? Granted both fathers deserve some sort of punishment for what they did and I’m sure he also does,” Aleece said with a glance to him.

“Well, darling, one way to get a man to listen is hit him where it hurts, in the purse.” She turned to the two dukes and grinned. “Gentlemen, I’m sure the contract is already made out and only requires both parties signature, but a revision is in order. Each of you will increase Lady Aleece’s allowance by ten thousand pounds annually.” She then looked over to Thomas. “And you, sir, will never, ever lie to Aleece again.”

As one, all three agreed.

“Good, now that that’s settled, let’s deal with that boy,” Aleece announced.

“Colonel, everyone, this isn’t Seth Travers, whom we thought had started the fire at the Smyth’s house, but the actual culprit, Casey Travers, his twin brother,” Aleece announced.

“Yes, I can tell by the ear,” Simon said. “Why, boy, did you do that dreadful thing? Don’t you know you could have been the instrument of someone’s death? Well, out with it!”

“Your Grace, it was because of that Sally girl. If she hadn’t refused my brother, he’d be safe,” Casey mumbled.

“What do you mean safe?”

“Aye, my brother got drunk when she refused him and was swept up by the pressgang. I know what I done was wrong, but I just couldn’t help it. For what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry for all the hardship I caused and wish I could undo what I did.”

Aleece couldn’t help but notice how downcast the boy seemed. What she did find interesting was whom Casey was looking at when he’d been talking.

“Well, I guess it’s off to the hulk for me, right, Your Grace?”

“Yes. I’ll send for the constable, but in the meantime, we will secure you in the cellar.”

“Father,” Aleece interjected. “Might he be better off working off the monies it will take to rebuild the Smyth house?”

“I don’t understand,” he replied.

Aleece looked over to Martel. “I don’t know if any of you noticed but he has been looking toward the colonel since he entered.” She glanced over to Casey then said, “Father, might I suggest that Casey join the Guards in whatever capacity the colonel sees fit. This way part of his wages could be withheld and sent to the Smyth’s to purchase lost goods.”

She peered around, wondering what her father and the colonel thought of her idea. Aleece watched as they talked in hushed tones as she settled a hand on her stomach, hoping to quell the nervousness within while feigning a smile when she joined her mother.

Casey, she was pleased to see, was led away by Martel and Debbi, who’d remained outside.

When a warm hand touched her, she relinquished her weapon.

“Probably a wise move, darling,” Mr. Thomas whispered in her ear.

“Now that everything is settled I have one question, m’ lord, how were you able to escape them? Surely they knew you or at least your father?” Aleece asked but with a crinkled brow to make sure he knew she still wasn’t pleased with him.

“Aleece, can this wait until after we return to the ball in both our honors,” her mother, who’d been silent until now, pleaded.

With a disgusted huff, Aleece took his arm and led the way toward the mansion.

“M’ lord, if you expect a positive answer this evening then briefly, how did you avoid the mommas and their charges?” Aleece said, more an order than request.

“As you know, the ancestral home is in Northern England and when I was old enough I went to Eton then directly to university. When I came down, I followed pater’s footsteps and went into the Guards.”

“So you never made an appearance in a Season, and being so far removed we would never have met.” A happier more relieved sounding Aleece replied.

“Yes. Then when I was wounded, I came home to repair and, once well enough, made the occasional trip to London. I knew at some point I would need to take a wife and wanted to scout out the enemy, so to speak. But, as a female, you know that. The
ton
is the one place where you women are the hunters, we the hunted.”

“I would have to agree with you on that point. But I wasn’t looking for just any husband, I wanted the right one. A man who would love me, and as far as you being next for the dukedom, even if I had known, it would not have mattered. I fell in love with you the first time we met at Almacks.”

“Yes, it was the same with me. But, and I am sure you understand, I needed to make sure. That’s why I kept up the ruse and might I add if I wasn’t the one picked by our fathers, I still would have appeared at the ball and asked for your hand.”

Aleece gently squeezed his arm to focus his attention directly to her. “You know there is no reason why you can’t teach the
ton
a lesson in love.

“Slip away and I’ll give the excuse that you went to change or something. All the guests should have arrived by now, not to mention wondering why and where the hostess and host were. They, along with your father, will be explaining away what happened so that will give you a the opportunity to not only clean up, but make an majestic entrance, right down the grand staircase.”

“Give me ten minutes to make my arrival and make sure you are in the middle of the floor.”

Chapter Thirty-one

With a bright smile, Lady Aleece glanced toward the top of the grand staircase leading into the ballroom. There, in all his magnificent handsomeness, he stood whispering something to Horsfall. She could only guess it would be direction on how to introduce him to the slowly hushing crowd.

She watched as he straightened and began to scan the multitude spread out before him. With one nervous stride then increasingly relaxed steps Aleece glided to the center of the room. She noticed several guests tried to impede her progress but with ease she deflected questioning glances.

She lifted her eyes to him, a warming smile on her face. Only when she witnessed his advance to the center of the top stair did she let herself show worry. Whatever he was going to do, it would most certainly set a new standard. She returned his subtle nod and waited as still unannounced descended the staircase.

All around, Aleece could hear people start to talk in hushed tones. Then, like on some unseen direction, the mass of people parted leaving a path for him to approach her. A stirring from both sides of the room near the stairs brought forth four tall, broad-shouldered men. Each a match in height and breadth except in hair color to him. They, she wasn’t surprised, were dressed out in the uniform of the Guards.

Silence once again filled the huge ballroom, as with bated breath Aleece watched her love took the final step down to be surrounded by the men. As one, the five marched toward her, not stopping until the two leading soldier were just past where she stood. This set Thomas two feet in front of her.