His Michaelmas Mistress (21 page)

It was the morning of their wedding, and Julia had a frightful case of nerves. She couldn’t seem to decide on the best frock to wear, and had finally settled on a beautiful white muslin dress that had gold thread sewn through it, making it sparkle.

She chose the large marquis cut sapphire and diamond necklace set in the shape of petals that made it look as if she wore flowers. She also wore a matching aigrette in her hair. She hoped that they would give her good luck today, as her Uncle Edward had given them to her, and she always had good fortune when she wore them. She hadn’t worn them on her first wedding day, opting to be a simply adorned bride, but today, today, she wanted to feel like a queen. She wanted to be as fancy as she could be. Her maid waited patiently, close enough to be of assistance, if she needed her, but far enough away so she didn’t seem as if she hovered.

Her mother and Richard had told her that they would ride down to the church first, and she could come in the landau on her own. She hadn’t questioned them, thinking they wanted to get away from her because she was so bloody nervous. She didn’t want Freddie to get any grim thoughts in his head, doubting that she was going to show up at all.

No, she wanted to be there right on time. She couldn’t wait until they walked out of the church hand in hand, as husband and wife. No one would ever be able to keep them apart after that. No one would be able to chaperone them or tell them to get their hands and lips off each other.

No…she would be his forevermore.

There was a quick rap on the door, and her maid opened it. Julia saw her take a missive off the silver tray the footman held.

Taking the missive from her maid, Julia murmured her thanks, broke the seal, and started to read.

Dear Julia,

I write this missive to tell you that I have finally decided to let what we shared, die. I know you cannot be mine. You belong to Freddie.

I could see it the other day as you looked at him with passion burning in your eyes. I cannot remember if you ever looked at me like that, and perhaps, we shared a comfortable love…not a fiery love. And you deserve the latter, not the former, my dear. I am going away. I haven’t decided where I shall go, but I have money and freedom, and a desire to see all that I can of England. I want to remember all of the things I forgot during my stay in France, and I want to know that it was all worth fighting for. I need that.

I hope you get all that your heart desires, Julia. I might not be the man you love, but I will be your friend until the end. Should you ever need anything—you only need to write, and I shall do my best to give it to you. I pray I find the love that you have found with Lord Knightwick.

Farewell, Julia.

Cordially,

Charles

Julia dropped the letter, and sank down onto her bed. He had put their romance at rest, and she had already done so…and yet, reading Charles’s kind words made it final. Sighing, she stood back up, and looked at Gertie, and she smiled. Her heart felt a lightness, it hadn’t felt since Charles had reappeared in her life.

She felt free!

She felt as if she could take on the world because the ghosts of her past were finally done haunting her.

She would always feel fondly toward Charles—but he was right.

She loved Freddie with a passion that had been lacking in their love affair.

“It is time,” she announced.

She walked to her bedchamber door, and took one last look at the room that had been her sanctuary for twenty-eight years. She had dreamed so many dreams in this room. She had cried, laughed, and wallowed in her own misery. And now…now, she had come out of all of that darkness, and looked forward to a life filled with light.

Freddie was her heart. And he was the light and love in her life.

Sighing, she closed the bedchamber door behind her and nodded at Gertie.

“You can go down to the church with the rest of the Staff. I shall ride alone in the landau with the coachmen.”

“Yes, my lady,” Gertie smiled, and hurried away.

Julia walked down the hallway, and stopped to study a portrait of a long dead ancestor. This house would always have her heart, but it wasn’t hers anymore. She had never been fated to be mistress of Castleton Court.

That position would fall to another woman someday—if her fool of a brother ever decided to set his cap on someone. As it was, she had little hope. Richard was a lazy sort—and she didn’t think he could possibly summon the energy needed to court a lady…much less, have the stamina to be the husband to said lady.

She took the steps slowly and descended with a bit of melancholy in her heart. She hadn’t gotten this maudlin on her first wedding day, so why was she getting so mawkish this time around?

The footman opened the door for her, and she walked out into the bright sunlight. The day was unseasonably hot, and for all intents and purposes, it looked like nothing could possibly go wrong. This day was going to be her day, and nothing could possibly change that.

Once she was seated in the landau, she let out a relieved breath. She happily closed her eyes, as they rumbled down the road that would take her past Lark Hall and onward to the church.

They had almost reached Lark Hall, when a rider emerged from the trees that bordered the road, and made the driver stop. He wore a highwayman’s mask, and clothing that was altogether too fine for an outlaw to be wearing.

It was Freddie.

If he thought to take her out of the landau and put her onto his horse, he was gravely mistaken. She wasn’t about to mess herself up by riding with him on a horse—and yet, in some small way the romanticism of it all, appealed to her greatly.

He was only trying to ensure that nothing would stop their wedding, and maybe, if it made him feel good, she should let him have his way.

“It looks as if I am about to be kidnapped.”

“We…I could try to turn back, my lady,” the driver said, while the rest of the footmen looked as if they were inclined to fight.

“Don’t worry, I shall be quite all right. That is not an actual highwayman. That is Freddie. Or rather, that is Lord Knightwick.”

“Ah,” the men visibly relaxed.

“If you wish to go along with him, my lady, we shall help you down.”

Freddie dismounted, and walked over to her. “I think…now that I look upon you, I can’t go through with it. I wouldn’t want to mess up your hair or your dress, and those jewels…damnation. You look a treat, Julia.”

She smiled at him. “So do you. Now take off that silly mask, Freddie. There is no reason to cover up your handsome visage.”

He took the mask off, and threw it aside. “One of you shall have to take my horse,” he said to the footmen. One of them hopped down, and took his horse.

“And now, my love…let us be married,” he said, taking her hand. “I won’t leave you this time around. I won’t leave you ever again.”

“That is exactly what I wanted to hear, Freddie. I don’t ever want to lose you. We must have a full life ahead of us. Promise me that.”

“A full long life, and I think that even death couldn’t break our love, Julia.”

“I think you are right, Freddie.” She kissed him, and wanted to stay forever wrapped safely in his arms.

“I think,” he said huskily. “I think we should be married and then, I wonder if we could say to hell with the Wedding Feast, and return to Wilton Park instead.”

“And dash my mother’s hopes?” she asked incredulously.

“I don’t think your Mama would care in this instance. She can still have her party. She would just have to do without us for a little while.”

She laughed. “Oh, Freddie. Let us be married first, eh?”

He chuckled. “As always, my love, you are right.”

They were married in front of their friends and family in a ceremony that was everything she’d wanted the first time around. Once they signed the necessary documents, they left the church hand in hand, as everyone cheered.

It was done.

They were finally husband and wife.

No one had objected, and Freddie hadn’t left the church without her. She couldn’t quite believe it. She felt as if she walked through a dream, and if it was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

Freddie helped her climb up into the landau, and then he climbed up after her, and the driver took them away from the church.

They looked back and waved at everyone who stood outside of the church. She sighed, as the carriage clattered along the road.

“Where are we going, Freddie?” she asked, even though she already suspected the answer.

“We are going home,” he said.

She wanted to argue with him. She wanted to tell him that everyone would be waiting for them back at Castleton Court.

Would they even show up at their own Wedding Feast?

She didn’t know—and truthfully, she didn’t care. They could all make merry without them. She and Freddie had waited too long for this day, and what she’d started over a fortnight ago when she’d decided to follow Freddie after he’d left the church, to become his mistress…was finally coming to fruition. She wouldn’t be his mistress this time around, she would be his wife—but she would forever be the mistress of heart.

“We have come full circle, you and I, Freddie,” she mused.

“My father told me something that Shakespeare said last night—he said something like the course of true love never did run smooth…he said that he was robbed of having his true love in his life—and that he was happy for me that I didn’t have to suffer the same fate. Promise me that if you ever get the urge to run away you will take me with you.”

Julia laughed. “I don’t think I would ever want to run away from you, Freddie. In case you haven’t noticed, I have spent the better part of September running toward you…nothing can separate us now. Of course, I might want to run away from Scotland…but I would never leave you, my love, so do not fret.”

Freddie couldn’t wait until they reached Wilton Park. He wanted to make love to Julia and keep her within his embrace for the next couple of days. He knew she’d probably try encouraging him to make an appearance at their Wedding Feast, but he had no plans to leave Wilton Park once they reached it, and he hoped that she wouldn’t want to leave it either.

“Freddie, if we do continue onward to Wilton Park, my mother will never stop talking about our Wedding Feast that wasn’t. If you think she is going to be a formidable mother-in-law, just think what she will be like, if we shirk our duties today.”

He groaned. “Fine. You can have your way, Julia. I don’t think I can possibly deny you whatever you want. I suppose that will be how our marriage will work. You will get your way in everything.”

“You make me sound like a fire breathing dragon, Freddie. When you want to be, you can be quite stubborn. I shan’t be ruling over you with an iron first. It will be an equal marriage, and for that I am grateful. That is why I fell in love with you. You’ve never looked down at women. You have never treated me as if I am inferior to you.”

He sighed. “I love you for your all of your strengths, Julia. We will play the part of the bride and groom for a little longer, and then, then, I want us to play the part of man and wife.”

“Husband and wife,” she corrected.

“Husband and wife,” he agreed.

Life with Julia wasn’t going to be dull, of that much he could count on.

He had been raised in the slums. Worked his arse off to get out of that situation, and had found his destiny in the Army. The Army had given him so much. It had given him The Angels of Death, and friendships that would never die.

Knowing Micah had brought him to Wiltshire, where he’d met and fallen in love with Julia. Finding out that he was a duke’s son was something he’d never seen coming, and if he hadn’t had Julia by his side, he probably wouldn’t have handled it so well.

He would never be far away from the man he’d once been.

Mouse couldn’t die, so Frederick Hamilton could live. 

Julia wished she hadn’t made Freddie do this. She wanted to leave and have what they had been desiring for far too long.

“Why don’t we leave now?” she whispered, as the dancing continued.

“Thank God,” he said.

She watched as Ruby danced again with Tobias. They made a charming couple, but then again, Richard looked a little smitten as well. It would be fascinating to see which man would emerge the victor for Ruby’s hand. If she had to make a wager on it, she would bet on Tobias, because her brother…well, her brother had never fought for anything in his life, and she doubted he would start now.

She and Freddie rode back to Wilton Park in silence. They didn’t need words. They sat opposite each other, and the hunger in their gazes was good enough to communicate what they both wanted—what they both needed.

When they arrived at Wilton Park, she threw open the carriage door, and dashed down to the steps. Racing into the house, she turned back and breathlessly confronted Freddie.

“If you want me, my lord, you shall have to catch me first.” With a delighted laugh, she turned back around and hurried up the steps to their bedchamber. Freddie couldn’t be but two paces behind her, and she knew he had to be holding himself back so she could feel as if she had given him a good chase.