Montgomery Family 01 - Lost Pleasures Found (22 page)

Henry leaned forward, ran his fingers through his hair, and said, “I still don’t understand why you were so afraid of my parents. Nelson would never have let them take your child. He would have protected you and Mary Elizabeth with his life. You should have had more faith in him than that. I’m very curious as to why you didn’t get my solicitor’s letters. Did you think that I would die and leave you without anything? I can’t believe that you would be so slow-witted. You should have known better!”

Melody sat up straight and, with incredulity on her face, said, “I don’t know why I didn’t get those letters, and I am not slow-witted! I was so distraught when you died that I wasn’t thinking clearly. We never discussed finances, so I had no idea what you owned or how much money you had. I didn’t even know who your solicitor was! You should have made sure I was aware of all that before you went off to war! I’m not to blame here. I only did what I thought I must! I’m sorry, Henry, but I did what I felt was best for Mary Elizabeth and myself. I don’t know what else to say. I’ll understand if you don’t want to stay married to me. I’m sure there must be some way that we can end our marriage without a scandal.”

Now Henry really felt ready to explode, but he took some deep cleansing breaths, stood up, and started pacing the room again as he derisively said, “Melody, that is ridiculous! Of course, I don’t want out of our marriage. Even though I’ll probably never understand why you did what you did, you are still my wife, and you will be so until the day you die. So, I’ll hear no more talk about ending our marriage. We’ll get through this some way. You are right, though. I should never have gone off to war and not explained everything to you about our finances. I guess I was so concerned about what was happening that I didn’t think of the future or what would happen if I were to die. I’m sorry for that, but you still should have realized that I wouldn’t have left you without resources.”

With sadness written all over her sweet face, she leaned back on her pillow again and sighed and then she said, “We aren’t going to get anywhere like this, so we need to just try to move past what has happened. Neither of us can go back and change anything, so it serves no useful purpose to continue to argue about this. I need to concentrate on getting my strength back. Henry, you need to be very sure that you don’t want out of this marriage. I’ll make a very poor duchess. It’s not something that I ever wanted.”

Henry belligerently looked at her and said, “Well, I never expected to be the duke either, but here I am, and I have no choice but to meet my obligations head-on, and so will you. You have no choice either. I’m sure we will learn how to handle our new responsibilities as time goes on. The important thing now is to get you well. So you’re right, we won’t talk about this anymore. Later, after we get back to Sanderford Park, we can sort it all out.”

H
ENRY KNEW THAT they could not end their marriage, and he did not want to anyway. He knew he would need to find someway to get past the fact that Melody had married, and worse than that, she had given her body to Brandon. He had liked Brandon, but that did not mean he wanted to share Melody with him. When he spoke with her the next day, he said, “Melody, we have to stay together. We are legally married, and the only way we could end our marriage would be for me to accuse you of adultery, and neither one of us would want to live through a scandal like that. Both of us need to put Mary Elizabeth’s best interests first, and it would definitely not be beneficial to her if her parents went through a nasty divorce. There will be no further discussion about ending our marriage. I’d much rather talk about my beautiful daughter. I’m a bit overwhelmed by the thought of fatherhood, but I’m thrilled about Mary Elizabeth. I do hope she will warm up to me eventually, and I’m sure she will. We’ll just take everything one day at a time. Once you’re fully recovered, we’ll return to Sanderford Park.”

Melody gazed at Henry as she said, “Henry, I need time to get used to you being alive, and I need you to be patient with me while I adjust. I’m overjoyed you survived, but, nonetheless, it’s all very overwhelming. However, my feelings for you are just as strong as they were before you left for the continent. I agree that we need to take things one day at a time, and I’m sure we’ll be fine soon.”

Leaning forward in his chair, he replied, “I understand that all of this is rather shocking. It’s unusual for someone to come back from the dead. I just hope it doesn’t take you long to adjust because I want you to fully be my wife again in every sense of the word.”

They stayed in Doncaster for two weeks so that Melody could regain her strength again. Since Melody’s house was so small, he stayed at Doncaster Stables. He spent part of each day with her so they could get to know each other again. Mary Elizabeth did not want to have anything to do with him. Melody tried to talk to her, but she refused to believe that he was her father. She kept insisting that her papa was in heaven with the angels. Little Brandon was too small to understand, so he seemed to accept Henry without question. Henry found some coaches at Doncaster Stables, had them repaired, and made ready for the long journey.

Millie and Mrs. Worth packed up the cottage. Since Mrs. Worth’s children were all grown and her husband was gone, she decided to come with them as the children’s nurse, which pleased Melody immeasurably, since she had grown quite fond of her.

They left Doncaster the first part of June. Henry and Melody rode in the main carriage, and the children rode with Millie and Mrs. Worth in the second carriage. The trip was long and exhausting, mainly because of the children, and Melody still grew tired easily, so they could not travel very far each day. Henry suspected that the upheaval of it all was why Melody was recovering so slowly. At least, she was finally putting some of her weight back on, but she was still far too thin. He was still trying to move on from what he saw as a betrayal.
Henry
knew
he
should
not
feel
so
resentful
that
she
had
moved
on
with
her
life,
but
dammed,
if
he
could
just
forget
it.
He could tell that Melody knew he had not forgiven her, and he knew that it bothered her. They tried to converse, but it was uncomfortable for both of them. Melody ended up reading or doing needlework, and he either read the newspaper or pretended to sleep. Every night, when they stopped at an inn, Melody would retire to her room and have a tray sent up. She would spend time with the children, and then she would go to bed. Henry would eat alone in the dining room, and then he would drink until he felt he could go to sleep. He had never really been much of a drinker, but it was the only way he could sleep without dreaming, and he was getting damned tired of living in a perpetual state of arousal.

By the time they were close to Sanderford Park, the children were inordinately irritable, and had been crying for days. Finally, they arrived. All the servants were lined up to greet them as Henry had sent word that he was bringing Melody home.

Once the children were in the nursery, Henry left Melody in their rooms and went to find his mother. As soon as he started talking to her, it was obvious she was back to her old vindictive self again. He should have known it was too good to last. She was not willing to accept Melody back into the fold. Henry tried to be patient as he said, “I need you to accept Melody and treat her with the respect she deserves as my duchess and wife. You have a beautiful granddaughter named Mary Elizabeth. When Melody thought I was dead, she married her best friend, Brandon Foster. They had a child, and his name is Brandon. I expect you to treat him as if he were your grandchild in truth. He is not to blame for this situation.”

His mother looked furious. She stood up, came over to him, and said vehemently, “You are entirely too accepting of what Melody has done. You need to be very careful that she does not wrap you around her little finger again. How can you be sure that this Mary Elizabeth is even your child? At least she is a girl, so she will not be able to inherit.”

Henry looked directly into his mother’s eyes and said, “There is no doubt about Mary Elizabeth’s parentage. For one thing, the timing alone shows that she’s my daughter, and besides, she looks just like Helen. So you can put that idea out of your mind.”

The duchess returned his stare as she replied, “Well, I guess we will just have to make the best of a bad situation. I will treat her as you expect, but do not expect me to like it. I have never understood what you saw in her to begin with, but it is too late to do anything about it now.”

As Henry turned to leave the room, he said, “You’re right about that. Going forward, you will be pleasant to my wife, and let me say this, if I find out that you have said anything to hurt her, you will answer to me. I’m the head of this family now, and you need to remember that!”

He went to their rooms and found Melody already asleep in her bed. She looked so tired, yet so very lovely. He wanted to wake her up and kiss her all over, but he knew that he had promised to give her time to adjust to everything. Besides, it would not be right to make love until he could move beyond his feelings about her going on with her life. He went into his room to think about all that had gone on while he had been gone. He was feeling very overwhelmed and much older than his eight and twenty years. He truly found it amazing that he was a father. He never doubted that Mary Elizabeth was his child. She looked so much like Helen, when she was a young child. He knew there were bound to be difficult times ahead, but he still loved Melody very much. He would just have to try harder to get over his anger at what he irrationally saw as her betrayal.

He never expected to be the duke, nor had he ever wanted to be. He was just a soldier. He had never wanted to be anything other than that. At least, he had spent that short period of time going over everything with his father before Nelson had died. Henry went down to what had been his father’s study; it was his study now. Stallings had left several reports on his desk for him to go over, but he was just too tired to peruse them that night. He poured himself a large snifter of brandy and proceeded to get royally drunk.

The next day, Melody woke up, and the room was full of sunshine. At first, she could not remember where she was, but then it all came back to her. She was back at Sanderford Park. She hastily dressed and went to find her children in the nursery. Mary Elizabeth came running to her, as soon as she saw her. Melody went down on her knees and gave her a big hug. Then she picked up Brandon and hugged him close. “How are you feeling this morning? I know that all of this must be a little strange to you, but this is your new home. Look at all the lovely toys for you to play with. These toys belonged to your father and his sisters when they were children. Mary Elizabeth, look at all these beautiful dolls. Won’t you enjoy playing with them?”

Mary Elizabeth looked at her mother with her big blue eyes and nodded her head. “Yeth Mama, I tink I like it heyo.”

The nursemaid came over and introduced herself. “I’m Suzie, and I have been taking care of Lady Wyndham’s children, your grace.” At first, Melody thought her mother-in-law must have walked into the room, and then she realized that Suzie was addressing her.
How
strange
it
was
to
hear
herself
being
addressed
as
her
grace!
She was not sure she could get used to that.

Melody asked, “Have my children had breakfast yet? They usually eat porridge.”

“Yes, your grace, and a fine breakfast it was! The children especially liked Cook’s special oatmeal,” Suzie replied.

“Well, good, I’m glad they enjoyed it.” Melody then turned to her children and said, “I’m going to leave you with Suzie now, but I’ll see you later after I go and talk to his grace, all right?” She looked over at Suzie and asked, “Where is Mrs. Worth? She’s my children’s nurse.”

“She went to get something, but I’m sure she’ll be back any minute. Do you want me to go find her for you, your grace?” Suzie asked.

“No, I’ll speak with her the next time I come to the nursery.” Then after giving Mary Elizabeth and Brandon a hug and a kiss, Melody turned and left the room. After she closed the door, she took a deep breath and thought to herself,
now
it
is
time
to
find
Henry.
She went downstairs and went to the study to see if Henry was there.

Melody knocked firmly and with purpose on the door. Henry said, “Come in.” When he saw her he added, “Melody, don’t you look refreshed. Did you sleep well?”

Melody looked at Henry and smiled, then said, “Yes, Henry, I feel much better after a good night’s sleep. Did you sleep well yourself?”

Henry came around to the front of his desk and leaned back against it as he said, “It felt strange to be in my father’s room, but I did sleep, and I feel much refreshed. Were your rooms acceptable? Please feel free to redecorate if you want.”

“My rooms are fine. I may want to change them later, but for now, they will do. I’m sure your mother was not happy about moving out of them.” Melody looked around the study, remembering the last time she had been in it and felt deep sadness roll over her. This was where Nelson had told her about Henry’s death and that was one of the last times she had seen Nelson alive.

“I had Mother move out of the rooms before I left to bring you home, and while she’s not happy, she’ll adjust once some time has gone by.” Henry looked up and saw Melody’s face and asked, “Are you all right? You look incredibly sad.”

Melody met his gaze and said, “I’m all right. I was just remembering the last time I was in this room. It made me think of Nelson and how horrible it is that he’s gone.”

Henry took her hand in his and gently said, “I miss him too. I also miss my father. I’ve been going through some of his papers. There’s so much to learn, and I don’t really know where to start. I never expected I would have to be responsible for all of this. I just hope I’m up to the challenge.”

Melody wiped a tear from her eye, and then she smiled bravely as she said, “I’m sure you’ll have it all well in hand in no time. You have always been very quick at everything, and I’m sure that once you get everything under control, you’ll do splendidly.”

Henry looked reassured and nodded his head. Then he asked, “How are the children this morning? Do they seem to be all right in the nursery? I’m sure that all of this must be very overwhelming for them.”

“Children are quite resilient, and they adjust quickly to a new environment. As long as they have toys around them, they’ll be fine. How did your mother take the news about Brandon?” she asked.

Henry sighed deeply and said, “Much as you would expect. She’s back to her old vindictive self again. I knew it was too good to believe that she had mellowed. I told her she was to treat you with respect. Have you seen my sisters yet?”

As she watched Henry walk back around his desk, she replied, “No, I came to see you first. I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet. How about you? Have you eaten?”

Henry shifted some papers around and said, “Yes, I ate an hour ago. I’ve been going over some reports Stallings left for me. I expect he’ll be here soon, so we can go over them together. Why don’t you go into the breakfast room? I’m sure you’ll find my sisters there.”

Melody nodded her head as she replied, “I think I’ll do that. I’m very hungry, and I seem to be getting my appetite back. Before you know it, I’ll be back to my old plump self again.”