Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (23 page)

“That’s fine with me. I don’t care for dark, closed in spaces anyway. I’ll wait out here for you.”

He was gone for about fifteen minutes, and she started to get nervous when she noticed the tide was starting to come in. Finally, Matthew came out of the caves. Margaret and Mr. Boling were with him, and by the expression on Matthew’s face, she could tell he was furious.

Margaret’s clothes were all disheveled, and her hair was hanging down her back. Peter’s clothing was also disheveled, so whatever they’d been doing, they’d been doing it together. Helen cold icy fear rushed to the pit of her stomach.

“Margaret, Mr. Boling, follow me back to the house now, and you’d better not disappear on me.” Once they were back to the house, he said, “Margaret, go upstairs to your room. I’ll be up shortly to speak with you.” Matthew looked over at Helen. “Will you please go upstairs with Margaret and stay with her until I get there?”

“Of course.”

Matthew grabbed Mr. Boling by the arm and jerked him into the study. Helen had never seen Matthew so furious. She hoped he didn’t do anything he might regret. The expression on Matthew’s face told Helen that something terrible must have happened.

When Helen got Margaret up to her room, she asked, “Margaret, what happened? Why are your clothes a mess? Did you and Mr. Boling do something that you shouldn’t have?”

With a belligerent expression on her face, Margaret retorted, “I’m in love with Peter, and there isn’t a thing you or my brother can do about it!”

“Oh Margaret, what have you done? Did you let him take liberties with your person?” Helen certainly hoped that Margaret hadn’t allowed Mr. Boling to touch her. She hoped it hadn’t gone any further than kissing.

Margaret started crying. “I told you we’re in love, and yes, we’ve been intimate for weeks now. He told me we would get married just as soon as he gets his inheritance from his uncle. He’s Viscount Hartford’s heir, and the viscount isn’t expected to live much longer. Once he dies we’ll get married.”

Helen felt sick to her stomach. Surely, Margaret hadn’t allowed him to take her virginity! “How intimate have you become with Mr. Boling? Please tell me you haven’t given him your innocence?”

Margaret went over to her bed, lay down, and turned her back on Helen, refusing to discuss anything further. Soon there was a knock on the door, and Matthew entered. He looked as if he had aged five years in the last thirty minutes. There were lines of tension all around his mouth and a crease between his eyes.

Matthew solemnly said, “Margaret, I’ve spoken with Mr. Boling, and he’s leaving to go get a special license so the two of you can be married right away. He should be back here in two days. I just hope this doesn’t ruin your life. You’re entirely too young to be getting married, but at this point there’s no other solution. Mr. Boling says he’s in love with you and that he wants to marry you, but I don’t trust him. He’s just too wild and immature to even be considering marriage.”

“I know you think I’m too young to know my own mind, but I know I love Peter, and we will be fine,” Margaret derisively replied, “His uncle is on his deathbed, and when he dies, Peter will become the viscount. We’d planned to wait until that happened, but since you had to be so overbearing and sneak up on us like that, we’ll just have to move up our plans!”

Matthew sighed, clearly at his wit’s end. “There’s no use in continuing to discuss this. What’s done is done. Helen and I will leave you alone now. Why don’t you get cleaned up, and we’ll see you at dinner.”

Matthew and Helen left the room and went to his study to talk. “Helen, I caught them being intimate. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Why would she do this? Doesn’t she realize she’s probably ruined her life? I don’t trust Boling at all, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he just disappears. What will we do if that happens? She’s ruined!”

“Surely Mr. Boling wouldn’t do a thing like that. Margaret says they’re in love, and they were already planning on getting married.”

“Well, only time will tell if this is really going to happen. I’ve got to find Gregory and let him know what his friend did to his sister. I’ll see you at dinner.” Then Matthew turned and left the room.

Helen went upstairs to their sitting room and sat down on the couch.

What a shock.

How could Margaret have been so foolish?

She was only sixteen and far too young to be getting married, but under the circumstances, there was nothing else to do. She just prayed that Mr. Boling came back. Poor Matthew was so devastated by this. All Helen wanted to do was hold him and tell him everything would be all right, but she knew…that might not be the case.

Dinner was a solemn affair. Matthew could tell Gregory was in a state of shock over what had happened. He was so angry about what his friend had done to his sister that he was talking about challenging him to a duel. Of course, Matthew had to calm him down and convince him that a duel would only make the situation worse. Gregory’s other friends were very quiet throughout the entire meal. Margaret chose not to come down to dinner and had a tray sent to her room instead.

The next two days were very tense because Matthew feared Boling wouldn’t show up again. He didn’t know what he’d do then, because he could hardly challenge him to a duel, since he was so young. If Boling didn’t come back, he’d have to get in touch with his family and let them know what he’d done.

Mr. Boling showed up three days later, and he did indeed have the special license. Margaret cried when she saw him. Boling seemed to be more than willing to marry Margaret, and had a long talk with Matthew.

“Sir, I know Margaret and I went about this the wrong way,” Boling said, “but I do love her, and I promise I’ll be a good husband to her. I know I don’t have any money right now, but my prospects are promising. I’ll be a viscount in the near future, because my uncle isn’t a well man. Of course, I don’t wish for his death. I’m just being realistic. The doctors don’t give him long to live. If we could impose on you for a while, I’d appreciate it. I don’t want Lady Margaret to suffer while we wait for me to inherit.”

Matthew poured himself a glass of brandy and looked over at Boling. “I’ll allow you to live here, however it will be on my terms. You’ll no longer stay out all night, and there will be no gambling or excessive drinking. This is a major step you’re taking, and you must start acting like an adult, since you’ll be taking on adult responsibilities. You do realize you won’t be able to continue your education, don’t you?”

Boling hung his head in shame. “I understand all that, sir. I didn’t take school seriously, and so I don’t deserve to finish my education. Lady Margaret has to come first. I promise no more excessive drinking, and of course, no more gambling. To be quite honest with you, my lord, I don’t actually enjoy gambling. I did like to spend time with your brother, and since he likes gambling so much, I went along with it. I appreciate you allowing us to live here, and I promise you’ll not regret it. I’ll do my best to make Lady Margaret happy because, whether you believe this or not, I do love her very much.”

After Matthew talked with Boling, he went and got the vicar so they could get married. Margaret was ecstatically happy and did make a lovely bride. When Margaret and Boling said their vows, they looked very solemn and seemed to understand the importance of what they were promising to each other. Helen quickly put together a wedding breakfast and invited just a few of their closest friends. Helen also held a celebration for Matthew’s tenants and the farmers, which added credence to their marriage.

Matthew just hoped she wouldn’t live to regret this marriage.

God knows he wasn’t ready to marry at one and twenty, and Boling was only twenty.

He hoped Margaret didn’t get with child right away. She was too young to be a mother. Matthew knew his father had spoiled Margaret, and so in many ways she was younger than most sixteen-year-olds were. Boling wrote to his mother and told her about his marriage.

Lord knows how she was going to feel about it.

Boling’s only source of income was an allowance that he received from his uncle, so obviously the couple would be dependent on family to survive.

Matthew knew Gregory was very angry with Boling, and this situation with his sister had damaged their friendship. Of course, it didn’t stop him from going out with his other two friends. They were still staying out until all hours of the night. Matthew was about ready to ask Harold and Melvin to leave his home. Maybe if they left, Gregory would settle down. He didn’t know what was going to happen to his brother if he kept acting up. At least they would all be gone by the end of next week, because the new school term would be starting.

Helen had been wonderful through this whole ordeal. He couldn’t ask for a more supportive wife. He thanked God every day for bringing her into his life. He’d been so involved in this situation with his sister, that he hadn’t been able to spend much time with her or the children. Now that everything seemed to be settling down, he’d see if she wanted to take Christina and Catherine for another picnic on the beach. The weather was already starting to turn cool, so if they were going to do it, it needed to be soon. He’d ask her if they could do it this afternoon.

Chapter 15

Fall 1820

Matthew found Helen in the nursery with his daughters. She was reading them a story and he loved seeing her so animated. Whenever Helen talked, she used her hands quite a bit, and his daughters finally seemed to be warming up to her. God must have been looking out for him because he had certainly blessed him by bringing Helen into his life.

When Helen looked up, Matthew smiled. “How would you lovely ladies like to go to the beach for a picnic? Since the weather’s so fair today, I thought it would be a pleasant outing for us.”

Christina and Catherine ran over to him and hugged him around his legs. Christina said, “Oh yes, Papa. We would love to go. Do you think it’s still warm enough to get in the water?”

“Yes, so why don’t you go with Katie and get changed, all right?” Matthew smiled down at both his daughters and laughed when they ran to get their bathing costumes. While the girls went to do that, Matthew turned to Helen. “Why don’t you go get your bathing costume also, and we’ll all go swimming?”

Helen grinned. “I’d like that Matthew. I’m so pleased you thought of this. Your daughters love spending time with you, and it’s been a while since we’ve been able to do anything like this. I’ll go get ready and meet you out front in ten minutes. Will you bring the girls, or do you want me to?”

“I’ll wait here and bring them once they’re ready. See you in ten minutes.”

After meeting out front, Helen, Matthew, and the twins walked to the beach. While the water was a little cool, it still felt marvelous, and soon they were having a wonderful time. Matthew would toss the girls in the air and catch them just as they were hitting the water and they would squeal with delight. Helen laughed, and Matthew looked over at her and grinned while he continued to play with his daughters. After they swam for a while, they got out and had their picnic.

After everyone ate, Helen and the girls built another sand castle, and it was the best one yet. When it was time to leave, Christina and Catherine cried because they didn’t want to go home yet, but Matthew persuaded them to come along without any fuss. He was so pleased at the difference in his daughters, and he knew that he owed it all to Helen. By the time that they got back to the house, the girls were falling asleep, so they carried them upstairs and laid them in their beds.

Leaving the nursery, Helen turned to Matthew and said, “That was so much fun. I’m sorry to see the summer end. It’s hard to imagine it’s almost the middle of September already. Do you realize we’ve been married for over two months? In some ways, it seems much longer than that, because so much has happened. You warned me that your brother and sister were challenging, but I would never have imagined how much. I will say this, I’m certainly not bored with my life!”

Matthew loved to see Helen so happy. Her bright blue eyes were glowing with joy, and her pretty cheeks were flushed a delicate pink. He felt his shaft harden, and he realized that he’d been so distracted that it had been a fortnight since he’d come to her bed. He would remedy that tonight!

“Well, hopefully things will calm down next week once Gregory leaves to go back to school,” Matthew replied. “We’ll just have to wait and see what happens with Margaret and Boling. So far, they seem to be getting along well. Of course, it’s only been a week. You know what I’d like to do? Spend a quiet evening alone with you, with no distractions.”

“Let’s do that. Right after dinner, we’ll go to the library and we can read to each other. Then we can retire early so we can enjoy some time alone. Well, I’m going to my room now. I think I’ll take a quick nap before dinner so I don’t get tired too soon tonight. I’m counting on you to have big plans for me tonight!” Matthew laughed as he watched Helen walk down the hall to her room.

He definitely did have very big plans for her tonight!