His Christmas Angel (A Regency Holiday Romance Book 8) (9 page)

“You are not a devil. You are my guardian angel. You are my saint.”

“Don’t let my family hear that. They will die of laughter,” he said, a cheeky glint in his eyes. “Cyril won’t be able to pull a straight face again.” She laughed again. He made her feel so euphoric. She felt as if she floated amongst the clouds with him by her side.

“I…I was going to wear the necklace you gave me, but I took it off before I left the house…I think…if I am going back with you…I shall put it on. It looked ever so pretty with this dress.”

“You look like something out of a dream. You are quite captivating. You will enchant our guests.” He gave her his arm, and she took it gratefully. “Now, come on back with me, and I shall escort you up to your bedchamber, where you can put on the jewels, and then, I shall walk you back down to the vicar. I shan’t let you out of my sight until we have become man and wife. I won’t let you get cold feet again.”

“It wasn’t cold feet,” she confessed. “I have no doubts about marrying you, Clarence. I do not fear married life with you. How could I? You are such a kind man. You…you have gentleness to your soul, something that most men lack. I…I only wanted to save you the grief that my father will give you once I am your wife. This is only the calm before the storm. Someway, somehow, he will ruin our happiness. He won’t stand for us being happy—he must be plotting as we speak, on how to destroy our joy.”

“Stop thinking about that blackguard,” he growled, he stopped, and turned to her. “I want you to stop fretting about him. He holds power over you whenever you think about him, Ann. Don’t give him that power. Take it away from him. Be happy to spite him. Live your life as if he doesn’t exist. That is the only way you—no, we, can ever hope to have peace.”

She nodded her head. “You are right. You are so wise for your tender years.”

“And as for that,” he sighed, as they walked into Evesham House. “Let us not bring up my age again. I might be younger than you…but I am not a boy anymore. I am a man, and I don’t want you be confused about that ever again. I am more of a man that your father could ever hope to be.”

“I know you are, Clarence,” she said, smiling.

Arm in arm, they walked into the house, past his family who had gathered in the large Entrance Hall to watch for their return. Without pausing, they made their way up the staircase, and headed for her bedchamber. Once they reached her bedchamber, he left the door open, and led her into it.

He helped her take off her snow white cloak, and sighed, his eyes sweeping hungrily over her. She looked like a Grecian Goddess fit for Christmas. The irony made him smile, and he looked around the room, settling his gaze on the jewel case that held the parure of jewels. He walked over to it, and lifted the lid, reaching inside for the necklace. “You will have to lock this up in the future. I trust our staff…but you can never be too careful, Ann. You must take care.”

“Yes, yes…you are quite right. I have never owned something of such value before, Clarence. I still can’t quite believe that it is mine—I keep having to tell myself that all of this isn’t a dream.”

He smiled. “You will have to get used to it. Everyone in the family is generous when it comes to giving gifts.”

She took a deep breath, and wrung her hands nervously. He walked back over to her, and placed the necklace around her neck, securing the clasp. She fingered the jewels, and he caught her wistfully smile. “If… Oh, it isn’t important—you were right, Clarence. I must hold fast to your advice.”

“No. What were you going to say?” he asked softly. “You mustn’t feel as if you have to hold anything back from me.”

“I was going to say that if my father saw me now…his eyeballs would fall out of his head. He would give anything to have these jewels. They could settle his debts with Sir Wilfrid, and he might just have something left to spare—oh, how envious he would be. Maybe…maybe he should have tried to sell me to you.”

“You father is a despicable cad for thinking he could sell you to any man, Ann,” he stated through clenched teeth. Anger surged through him. If that was how her father had measured Ann’s worth, the blackguard needed a good thrashing. In his humble opinion, Ann was priceless. And yet—had her father come to him asking for the money—he would have been sorely tempted to give it to him, so he could have Ann…but he would have felt like a pig about doing it. Still, the temptation might have been too strong to deny. No matter what he’d done, he would never consider Ann as his possession. “Ann…I must make a confession to you.” She looked up at him with her innocent gaze, and his heart stopped for a brief moment. “If your father had come to me…”

“I know, Clarence. I know you would have been tempted—but I think you would have come to me first to tell me what my father plotted—you might doubt that—but I do not. No matter what…your heart is always in the right place. Poor Mama. I wish she could see how you have saved me. Mama never had anything like this—she did bring some jewels into the marriage, but they had to be traded for paste ones long ago. She has managed to hold onto the white topaz and tourmaline necklace Father bought her when she gave birth to James…I think that’s because Father wouldn’t let her part with it,” she sighed mournfully. “My father and my brother know how to squander money above all else. I think you are quite right, Clarence. I need to stop thinking about my life before I came to this house. I escaped here. I knew that when the carriage pulled away from Broadway House that it would the end of an era. Let us start anew. I want us to have the most magical Christmas I have ever experienced.”

“I would like that too. We shall have a lovely honeymoon together.”

“I…I don’t think I want to travel beyond England until—well, until we are settled into a routine as husband and wife.”

“I understand. You want to get to know me a little better before I take you away from everything you know. Perhaps, we can one day holiday in Italy.”

“I already know you, Clarence. We have known each other for as long as I can remember. We can be considered old friends, can’t we?”

“And I think that is a pretty good foundation for us to start married life out on,” he murmured. He had to get her down to the vicar. Already, he was entertaining scandalous thoughts. Thoughts he wouldn’t be able to act upon until later this evening.

Taking his arm, she leaned up to kiss him delicately on the cheek. He gave her that devilishly charming grin of his, and they walked out of her bedchamber arm and arm, ready to face the vicar.

Clarence kissed Ann, and sealed their union.

They were now man and wife. He looked adoringly into her eyes. She looked back at him with a soft smile. Arm in arm, they turned to face their guests. His mother was dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief, and he didn’t know if she was touched by the ceremony or if she had become a watering pot because she still believed Ann to be ill matched for him.

He, Ann and the witnesses went with the vicar to the Library, to sign the necessary documents. He kept glancing at Ann, as they went through the motions. She looked a little pale, and her eyes were filled with a hint of sadness. He prayed she was wistful at not having her mother by her side on such a special day, and not because she had settled for him as a husband with little choice in the matter.

Once they were finished signing everything, he watched her hasten from the Library. Giving chase, he left everyone else behind. She had almost reached the staircase. “Ann, where are you going?” he called after her.

She stilled, and looked back at him. “I…I wanted to have some time alone.”

“There will be time for that later. Right now, we should go back to the guests, and start the celebrations. I rather thought we would have a small bite to eat and then, maybe we could have some music and dancing.” He didn’t tell her that while they were all in the Dining Room, the Ballroom would be made ready for the wedding festivities. “You are no stranger to balls, and other sorts of fetes, Ann. I can’t account for your behaviour. I never thought you were shy.”

“I know,” she said, her voice quivering slightly. “I am being silly. I shan’t do anything to disappoint you. Whatever you wish, I shall do.” Her voice had a hint of resignation to it, and he tried desperately not to dwell upon it.

He held out his arm for her, and obediently, she walked toward him and took his arm. He didn’t want her coming to him out of a sense of duty, and yet, he couldn’t allow her to run away on him again.

“You can’t keep running, Ann. It just won’t do. I can barely keep up with you,” he jested.

She smiled. “I…I shall endeavor not to run away like a proper little chit.”

“Is anything amiss?” It was his father, coming to check on them. The rest of the guests were making their way toward the Dining Room. They were not standing on ceremony today.

“Nothing at all, Pop,” he said steadily. “Ann wanted to go upstairs and have a moment to herself before we started the celebrations, but I had to remind her that now that she was a Deville, time alone would be in scarce supply.”

His father laughed. “Aye. We do like to spend time together. Your mother wanted to have a word alone with Ann. She is waiting in the Library, Clarence.”

Ann swallowed thickly, and he watched what little she had left of colour drain out of her face. He felt as if he should keep her from going to his mother—or at least go with her. By his father’s stern visage, he didn’t think he would be welcomed in the Library. He could only pray that his mother didn’t hurt Ann’s feelings. She was particularly delicate today.

“I shouldn’t keep Her Grace waiting.” She pulled away from Clarence, and he watched her dash for the Library. He was going to follow her, only to find that his father wasn’t going to let him, just as he’d thought.

“Leave her be, Son,” his father said gently.

“I don’t want to leave her alone with Mama.”

“Your mother doesn’t bite, and Ann will have to find the backbone to deal with Etta at some point in time. I daren’t think she will put her through her paces, the way my mother did to Etta. No…I warrant they will have a nice little chat, and then, they will come and dine with us. You shouldn’t fret so. The women in our lives shall deal with each other whether we like it or not, and your mother is one of the nicest women I know. She’s not mean spirited. She is only concerned—and as your mother that is her right.”

Clarence swallowed thickly, and he wanted to give his father a retort that would sound clever, but he came up empty. He sighed heavily. “I only seek to take care of Ann.”

“And she’s fortunate that she has a husband who cares so much—but you cannot be with her every minute of every day, Clarence, nor I wager, would she want you to be with her every moment of the day. Now…why don’t we go and sit with the rest of the guests?”

He looked longingly in the direction of the Library, sighed heavily, and followed his father.

*****

The door shut softly behind Ann, and at the sound, Clarence’s mother looked her way, and pinned her shrewd gaze on her. Ann wanted to crawl under the furniture or hide behind the curtains.

“Welcome to the family, Ann,” Marietta said, beckoning for her to come closer to her. Should she curtsy to the women? How was she supposed to act around her now that she was Clarence’s wife?

Nervously, she dipped into a curtsy, and watched Marietta sigh heavily. “You needn’t do that when we are alone, dear. Now, come and sit. We can’t keep the others waiting for long, and I wouldn’t want to miss a course, would you?”

Ann couldn’t think of eating. She would be lucky if she was able to take a few sips of her soup, and she had no idea how she would keep anything down with the way her stomach was rolling.

“I saw your mother yesterday in Hyde Park. She wanted to relay her felicitations to you and she wanted me to tell you that she sent her love to both you and Clarence. I fear…I fear that life hasn’t been easy on her since you left. She looked quite pale. I wanted to help her, but I didn’t know how. I know that her pride would have kept her from accepting any money from me.”

“I should have remained. I should have weathered the storm with her.”

“No…no, you shouldn’t have. I have had time to contemplate what went on with you and your father, and I believe that you acted properly. You couldn’t have resigned yourself to a life spent with a man like Sir Wilfrid. I have met him on a few occasions, and I do not think I would wish him on my worst enemy. However, I do think that you and Clarence should leave Town as soon as you can. I…I fear that once he returns from France, he will make life difficult for you two. He is a dangerous sort of man, and I think we might have to enlist someone to deal with him. Someone who specializes in dealing with his sort. I do believe that Valentine has already taken the necessary measures, so you needn’t fret. No one shall hurt you…or Clarence, our family shall make certain of that.” Marietta’s eyes settled on the jewels that Ann wore. “My son has already started to spoil you and I see that you found a frock to wear besides the one that I had suggested.”

“I…I didn’t do it to cause any offense to you, Your Grace,” she said hurriedly. “The frock you gave me was lovely—and given the time of the year, it called to me. I couldn’t resist looking like a Christmas Bride.”

Marietta waved her hand dismissively. “I am not that petty, Ann. I do not care one way or the other about what dress you wore to marry Clarence. This one is quite lovely, and I would hazard a guess that it came from Ginny.”

“It did, Your Grace,” she said softly.

Marietta smiled. “Ginny has always had such good taste. She most rightly thought this colour would suit this time of the year, and you did look every bit the part of the Christmas Bride. I have never seen Clarence so happy before. I…I hope that the two of you have a life filled with happiness and much blessings.” She stood up, and Ann followed suit. “And now, dear, I think we should return to the rest of the party. I know that Clarence is probably imagining all sorts of terrible things. He probably thinks I am raking you over a bed of hot coals right now.”

“Clarence can be a little…”

“Overprotective?” Marietta suggested. “Aye. He is much like his father in that regard. When we were first married, Valentine worried about me being left alone with Mother Francesca. I don’t know what he thought his mother would do to me, and while she can be quite formidable, and sometimes I wished I was someplace else whenever she is around, I wouldn’t trade her for any other mother-in-law because while she can be severe, she loves her family deeply. Though she can at times be a big thorn in my side, she has been there for me when I have needed her, and if anyone attempts to bad mouth me, she will attack that person with animated vigor, and I hope I can be there for you whenever you need me. In short, as a family, we might quibble with each other at times, but we shall defend each other against any outside assault. Since you are now family—you shall enjoy the same courtesy.”

“Thank you, Your Grace. If I should ever have need of you I shan’t hesitate to ask you for help.”

Marietta smiled. “There. We have decided to be friends, haven’t we?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, I can tell Ginny that she doesn’t have anything to worry about. She won’t have to needle me about accepting you anymore. I could tell the same thing to Clarence, but it won’t keep him from worrying. He can be a real worrywart sometimes, and heaven knows he frets needlessly.”

“I shall assuage his concern as soon as we have a moment alone.”

“Splendid,” Marietta smiled. “I am so happy we cleared all of that up. Now let us go back to the Dining Room, eat the good food that awaits us, and well, eat, drink and be merry,” she laughed.

Ann could only pray that tomorrow she wouldn’t die—she would much rather think that from here on in, she could take life easy, for she had a man who loved her by her side.

Marietta walked ahead of her, and she dragged her feet. She was dilly-dallying. She didn’t want to go into that room, filled with people, most of them, the family she had married into—some of whom she barely knew. Balls and the like had always been difficult for her to cope with. In the past, she had always put on a brave face and regarded them as something she had to do out of daughterly duty. Now…now, she had wifely duties to perform. She couldn’t do anything to please herself from here on in. But really, had she ever done anything to please herself? She sighed, instantly realizing the answer to that. No…no, she had never done anything for herself. The only person in her family that encouraged independent thought was her mother.

“Your Ladyship,” a footman said, coming up to her with a tray that contained a missive. “This was just delivered by a footman from another house. It is addressed to you.”

She looked at it. Slithering dread enveloped her, as she recognized the handwriting. It was her father’s penmanship.

Carefully, as if it might burn her, she reached her hand out for the missive. It was light in her hands, but to her it made her feel as if she suddenly had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

“I don’t have the time to read it now. Pray, have it taken up to my bedchamber,” she said, placing it back on the tray, and with a rustling of her skirts, she moved away from the footman, and hurried toward the Dining Room. As she entered the room, all eyes feasted on her. She bit her lip in her self-conscious manner, and nervously smoothed down the fabric on her gown. Clarence’s eyes lit up like a thousand candles, as they clapped on her, and he stood up and hastened to her side. He brought her around to sit beside, him and she focused on the merry chatter they were all taking part in, and tried to lose herself in this new world she had married into.

The Pratts all looked at her, and smiled. Clarence’s Grumps was nothing but smiles today, and his Granny Ma keenly resembled Marietta Deville. There was only a small assembly of Pratts, and compared to the Lovetts they looked like a small branch of the family indeed.

She studied the Lovett relatives. Lady Knightwick reminded her of Ginny. They might not be close relations but the Lovett blood wasn’t too diluted in the Deville line, at least not yet. Her husband, Lord Knightwick, was even larger than Lord Spaulding, and he cast quite an intimidating figure, even sitting down!

The rest of The Angels of Death had made the trip to London as well, as they had all married into the Lovett family. She wondered if Lords Prescott and Spaulding would follow suit and find themselves a Lovett maiden to marry. It seemed as if Mrs. Lovett had done her duty by her husband—and then some, as they had a larger brood than her family or Clarence’s. They looked more in love than Clarence’s own parents. Their love enveloped the room, casting a warm glow about the Dining Room.

“Ah, the happy couple arrives,” Valentine said, standing up. “To start off this evening’s festivities that are planned to celebrate your marriage to my eldest son, I would like to make a toast. I wish you and Clarence all of the happiness in the world, and I want to officially welcome you to the family. To yours and Clarence’s good health!” he said, raising his coupe.

She noticed that instead of wine, he held a coupe of champagne in his hand. If they were having champagne with their dinner, it certainly was one expensive meal!

“Cheers,” everyone said, clinking glasses.

“Well said, darling,” Marietta gushed, as Valentine sat back down.

“Thank you, Pop,” Clarence said.

“Thank you,” Ann said softly. Clarence reached down, and grasped the hand that she had sitting in her lap. She almost pulled away. Overt forms of affection like this wasn’t something she was accustomed to. Somehow, she would have to get used to it all. She hoped it wouldn’t take her too long to acclimate herself to her new way of life now that she was the Countess of Evesham. 

“Are you looking forward to your time in the Country, Lady Evesham?” Lady Knightwick asked.