Midnight Bride (30 page)

"Good night, children," Louisa said firmly, making her own departure. Her leaving was a signal that the evening was over. Quietly Charles and Dunstan made their good-byes.

Dunstan stopped in front of Elizabeth. "Will you be receiving guests tomorrow morning, Miss
Beckworth
?" he asked, his eyes never leaving hers. She nodded, afraid of what he would say. "Then I will see you then," he promised.

Unable to sleep that night, Dunstan left their rooms and walked along the seashore, his coat turned up to keep out the damp. As he walked, he thought of Elizabeth. Every time he thought he had a chance with her, something happened. Once again he fingered the license in his pocket. Once again he thought of how the officers that evening had bent to hear what she had to say. By the next morning his lack of sleep and his anger had combined to put him in a dangerous mood.

"Put it off. Send a message that you are indisposed," Charles urged when he saw the determined look on Dunstan's face. "Wait until you are more in control."

"Have you changed your mind about wanting me as a brother-in-law?" Dunstan
asked,
his face cold. The dark brown jacket he wore made his face look stern.

"Of course I have not. But, Dunstan, you are not at your best. Wait to approach Elizabeth when you are." Charles poured him a cup of tea, hoping to get him to drink it. Dunstan refused.

When he arrived at the
Ramsburg
home that morning, his temper was on edge. Once again he was shown into a morning room. Once again Elizabeth waited for him alone.

He made his bow more carelessly than before.

Elizabeth
tried to deny that her heart had begun to race when he walked into the room, but she could not. Dunstan, his face serious, enjoyed the picture she made in an apricot muslin tied with darker ribbons of that color. Her curls fell artlessly about her face. This morning her neckline was high.

For a few moments they simply stared at each other, letting
themselves
look their fill. Then Dunstan walked to where she sat and took the seat opposite. "Miss
Beckworth
, Elizabeth," he said.

At the same moment she said, "Lord Dunstan." They both stopped. For a short time there was total silence as each waited for the other to begin
again.

Finally he spoke. "Elizabeth, Charles has told me about the rumors. Why didn't you write to me? We both knew something like this might happen."

"And what do you propose to do about it now that you know?" she asked, her face as blank as she could make it.

"Why, make you my wife, of course," he said. She could tell that he was surprised that she had had to ask. She took a deep breath, causing the bodice of her dress to rise and fall dramatically. "I have a special license. We can be married today," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

"Marry me.
Just like that."
Elizabeth's dreams of a marriage with a husband who loved her just for herself faded. "Why?"

The question caught Dunstan unaware. He thought for a moment trying to find some reason that would appeal to her. Finally he simply said, "We have to marry."

"Have to marry?" Elizabeth stood up and crossed to the window, pulling back the curtains to gaze with sightless eyes on the lovely garden below. She turned to face him. "Lord Dunstan, the words 'have to'
are
anathema to me. I have reached an age when I can please myself."

"And it does not please you to marry me? That is what you are saying?" he asked angrily. He rose and walked to her side, his anger evident in every movement of his body.

Realizing that he had missed the point she was trying to make, Elizabeth began again. "Lord Dunstan, please try to understand. If we are forced to marry simply because society dictates, will our marriage be successful?"

"Others have been," he said biting off every syllable.

"Have you looked around you, Lord Dunstan? How many of your friends are happily married? I can count mine on one hand, and that includes one couple I know very well. If we marry simply because we are expected to marry to eliminate the scandal, what hope do we have to fare any better?" She waited for a moment, hoping that he would answer her, would convince her that he was not simply following the dictates of society.

When he did reply, her hope was shattered. "I suppose you are unwilling to give up the admiration of those fawning officers who were with you last evening. Did you deliberately let your shawl fall so that the captain would enjoy the view more?" He glared at her.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and straightened her spine. "Are you objecting to the dress I wore last evening, Lord Dunstan?" she asked in a voice so low and quiet that
Charles,
had he been present, would have warned him to take heed. "I do not remember your objections when you greeted me last evening." Her eyes were shot with green fire.

"You were not making a display of yourself in
public
then,"
he
said sternly. He walked away from her and then turned abruptly. "I suppose you also make it a practice to lure gentlemen into your bedroom so that you can have the pleasure of turning them down when they do the right thing?"

The red flags in her cheeks were only one indication of her anger. "Lord Dunstan, I suggest you leave," she said firmly, tapping her foot and reminding
herself
that a lady did not strike a gentleman. "I regret that my answer is a disappointment to you." She held back her tears with an effort, her face strangely calm.

Dunstan, who would have given his all to call back the hasty words that had spilled out, stood there for a moment. His blue eyes were wide. He started to cross to the door and then came back, his face set in somber lines. He put his hands on her shoulders, keeping her there when she tried to pull away. "You must listen to me," he said, the despair in his voice evident. "I did not mean to offend you. I want you for my wife. And I will do anything I need to
to
assure that you will accept me." At first Elizabeth held her breath, thinking he would declare his feelings. "Both you and
Î
know that what happened that night was not planned, but because of that night, our life is planned. I cannot let you go." His hands tightened as she tried to pull back. "But I will not repeat my offer until you are ready," he said. Then he pulled her to him and kissed her, his lips as warm and as sweet as he could make them. "Think about me," he said quietly. Then he left the room.

During the next few days, Elizabeth
Beckworth
thought about Lord Dunstan more than she would have imagined was possible. As angry as she had been with him, she could not forget his lips on hers, his hands holding her firmly but tenderly in place. And he was everywhere. As Charles's friend, he was in the drawing room in the morning, with them for their walks along the
Steine,
and in demand at the parties that began to occur more frequently, being attentive to her as well as the other ladies with whom he danced, talked, and laughed.

Even that first afternoon when she had still been so angry with him, he had disarmed her. Entering the house as she and the major were leaving for their ride, he had
bowed,
his eyes friendly instead of condemning her as they had that morning. He had handed the bouquets he was carrying to the butler and smiled at her, telling them to enjoy their ride. She had looked back puzzled, not at all certain that she needed his approval yet rather unhappy because he had given it.

Had she been able to see him a few minutes later, she would not have been so confused. He had entered the drawing room with a sad look on his face. "Who died, Dunstan?" Charles asked, laughing.

His friend just looked at him with reproach. Charles, who had already had to listen to the story of Elizabeth's refusal more times than he wanted that morning, apologized. "I told you I would speak to her for you," he said, his face serious. "Tell Mama and Cousin Louisa the whole and see what they say." He had tried to persuade Dunstan to approach them earlier that day, but he had refused.

When the last of the afternoon guests had left and they were alone drinking tea, Dunstan finally gave him the nod. "Mama," Charles began hesitantly. Then as if making a decision, he hurried on. "Dunstan wishes to ask your advice."

His mother looked from him to the older man. Louisa, her face carefully calm though her eyes were sparkling, looked up from the plate of tea cakes she was inspecting. She and Lady
Ramsburg
exchanged looks. "Yes?" Lady
Ramsburg
said, patting the place beside her on the settee. Dunstan sat beside her, the despair showing on his face.

"I have made such a muddle of this," he said quietly. This time the looks that Louisa and she exchanged were worried ones. "When Elizabeth agreed to see me this morning, I was certain that she meant to say yes."

"But she did not?" Louisa asked, setting her teacup on the table beside her and leaning forward slightly.

"No. She told me that she did not believe in marrying only because that is what society expects. She said most marriages made for those reasons were unhappy ones. And she chose not to marry under those conditions and under those odds." He closed his eyes, dreading the next part but
knowing that if they were to give him any advice, they had to know. "I was angry. I said things I knew were not true." Lady
Ramsburg
raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to explain. He blushed. "I accused her of dressing improperly, of flirting." He could not and would not tell them anything more. He fell silent.

For a moment the room was in silence. Then Lady
Ramsburg
asked, "Had you discussed the situation with her earlier?" He shook his head. "You walked with her last evening, said a few words to her earlier yesterday, and then asked her to marry you this morning?"

Dunstan nodded. "I told her that Charles had told me about the rumors." The two ladies closed their eyes in despair. "I told her that she should have accepted my first offer."

"Lord Dunstan, no wonder she did not accept you," Louisa said, her hands clasped in front of her as though she were trying to keep from throwing something at him.

"What do you mean?" Both gentlemen wore puzzled looks.

Patiently Lady
Ramsburg
explained. "Elizabeth knows what society expects in a situation like this one. She does not have to be reminded. She wanted to be reassured, to know that you offered for her, not just for the woman you had wronged." Louisa nodded. "I wish you had approached me first," she said, sighing.

"Is there anything he can do to make her change her mind, Mama?" Charles asked. He had already decided on his own course.

"Be patient, be pleasant, and be attentive," Lady
Ramsburg
said firmly. "No more accusations or talking about what society expects. Let her see you as a man who wants her to be his wife because he
cares
for her. You do care for her?" Three pair of blue eyes stared at Dunstan. Red crept into his face. He nodded. All three of the watchers sighed. "We will need to make certain that you receive the right invitations. Come, Louisa, we need to write a few notes."