Time After Time (125 page)

She strode to the fireplace and started stoking the fire with a poker. “Ummm … first of all — ”

“Penelope?”

“Yes?” she squeaked.

“Let go of the poker, sweetheart, and sit down.”

She stiffened. “I don’t need to sit down. This shouldn’t take long,” she protested, but she put the poker down.

Lucas almost smiled. She was so transparent. “What are your terms?” he asked in the same tone he used to soothe a skittish mare.

She finally looked at him. “First, Nelson will have to come with me.” She smiled apologetically. “He has become attached, and I will not break the dog’s heart by leaving him here.”

“Agreed.”

Her eyes widened. “And … and Gertie must have a retirement cottage of her own.” Then, as if realizing the boldness of her demands, she hastily added, “It doesn’t have to be grand, of course.”

“Of course.” He crossed the room and joined her where she stood by the fireplace. “Anything else?”

She took a deep breath. “Well, I did notice you like ordering people about. You shall not order me about.”

“I don’t think you would ever let anyone order you about.”

“That’s true,” she agreed. “To be honest, I thought that was going to be our main problem.”

He chuckled. “And are those all your terms?”

He wanted this over with quickly and finally have her saying her vows on the aisle, but from the look on her face, he knew they’d only just begun.

• • •

Penelope stared at him. He was agreeing to all her terms …
and far too readily
.
It made her want to find out exactly how far he’d go for duty and his dratted honor. “I want Colin to go back to school.”

“Done.”

“And for Sarah to have a London Season.”

“Agreed.”

She was beginning to enjoy this. Hmmm … what else? “My family can visit us whenever they want.”

His brows rose as he stepped closer to her. “Whenever they
need
.”

“Yes, and … you will shelter any animal that needs a home.” When his brows knotted, she clarified, “I mean, if possible.”

“If possible.”

“And you shall not have a mistress!” Good grief, where did
that
come from?

“I will be faithful,” he vowed.

That gave her pause. “
Really?
”

“Yes.”

That was unexpected. She knew noblemen usually kept mistresses. It was common knowledge that even her own father had died with his. “I see. Then, I will be faithful, too.”

“I expect nothing less. Is there anything else you want?”

She bit her lip.
Did she dare?
Well, why not?
“And I want ten thousand pounds.”

He cupped her face in his large hands and lowered his mouth to hers. “So would I,” he murmured against her lips, calling her bluff.

She gasped. “You devil! You knew all along — ”

Lucas cut off the rest of her words with his mouth as he gave her a deliciously thorough kiss. She sagged against him when he finally lifted his mouth from hers, her arms wrapped around the waist of the man she loved.

As Penelope stood there in his arms, she contemplated this momentous occasion. True, it lacked the flowery prose and grand speech that little girls dreamed of the moment when their future was sealed with the man who was to be their husband, but then, she’d never done anything the traditional way. She doubted many would-be-brides barged into their betrothed’s chamber and bargained terms like a merchant.

And this was why she loved Lucas. Ever since they’d met, he’d accepted her for what she was, with all her faults and limitations. She wasn’t blessed with looks, money or any sort of position in Society, and yet he’d come for her. After a lifetime of being ignored or merely thought of as useful, she was finally being seen and appreciated for nothing more than being herself. He’d been the man of her dreams all her life, and he was now hers.

He didn’t love her, but he seemed to genuinely want her. With this man, she could be herself without fear of disappointing him. For now, that was enough.

It had to be.

She laid her cheek against his hard chest and savored the intimacy of the moment as they stood there, holding each other. After several minutes, Lucas pressed a kiss against her hair.

“Penelope?”

“Hmmm?”

“What made you finally decide to marry me?”

She glowered at him. “Papa found your coat. You left it in my room last night.”

His eyes widened. Then he released great gusts of mirth, his massive shoulders shaking with laughter.

“It’s not funny!” She pummeled his chest.

Lucas caught her wrists and held them together behind her, holding her against his large frame while his whole body continued to quake with laughter. “I suppose we’ll have to talk to your stepfather. I’ve clearly overstayed my welcome here.”

She pouted. “Yes. He’s waiting in the study.”

He gave her another fierce kiss. Then he held her hand and tugged her along with him as he strode out of the room. “I always knew I liked your stepfather.”

• • •

The meeting had to wait until the afternoon because Penelope’s stepfather was called out to attend to one of the villagers who’d had an accident on his farm. When Dr. Walker returned, Lucas was summoned to the library for the discussion of marriage settlements.

“Please sit down, Ravenstone,” his future father-in-law said, gesturing to the rose-colored settee.

As soon as he had taken a seat, Dr. Walker launched into the many reasons Penelope did not have a dowry to speak of.

Lucas waved the explanations off, stating once again that he did not require his bride to have a dowry. He then explained the terms of the bargain he and Penelope made earlier in the day. With each word, Dr. Walker’s eyes widened until Lucas feared they would pop out of the poor man’s head.

“She told you not to have a mistress?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “Penelope can be quite forthright in her demands.”

“She can be that,” Dr. Walker averred. “I must say, my lord, you are very calm for someone who has been caught ravishing a young woman in her own house.”

He felt himself redden. “I am engaged to your stepdaughter, Dr. Walker. She is a grown woman, and my intentions are honorable. What we do with our time is no one’s business but our own.”

“Of course.” Penelope’s stepfather gave him a speculative look. “But I want to know something.”

“Ask away.”

Dr. Walker hesitated. He sipped port from his glass, appearing to mull the situation over. “You, my lord, strike me as a person who is very meticulous and deliberate about what he does. So why did you leave your coat in my stepdaughter’s bedchamber?”

He smiled ruefully and glanced at the suit of armor in the far corner of the room. “I thought it was the best way to get her to realize what she truly wanted out of this whole affair.”

“I had just come to the same conclusion myself.” Dr. Walker grinned. “Very well, my lord,” he added, shaking Lucas’s hand. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you, sir.”

A knock sounded at the door. “Lord Maitland is here, sir,” Gertie announced. “Should I show him to the drawin’ room?”

The baron burst into the library, waving Gertie aside. “I do not need to be shown to the drawing room. This is clearly where he is.” Maitland first looked shocked to see Lucas, then the baron straightened and said stiffly, “Ravenstone.”

“Maitland,” he acknowledged, contemplating the old man through the rim of his glass of port. “I was beginning to think you didn’t know where your niece has been staying all these years. What brings you to Highfield Manor?”

The baron strode to the nearest chair and sat without waiting for an invitation. “What game are you playing, Ravenstone? I demand to know what you think you are getting out of this.”

“Lord Maitland,” Dr. Walker said. “I respectfully remind you that you are in my home, and I do not tolerate such rudeness to my guests. Furthermore, his lordship is about to become part of our family.”

The baron’s palm slammed against the arm of the chair. “You fool! How could you believe this man,” he pointed a crooked finger at Lucas, “would actually want to marry the plain little chit Edmund sired?” His eyes blazed at Lucas. “Do you really think you could convince anyone that a man of your station would want anything to do with someone like Penelope if you didn’t have some hidden agenda?”

He smiled coldly. “You are one to talk about hidden agendas. What has prompted you to finally deign to visit your niece, Maitland?”

The baron frowned. “You are not going to turn this around on me. I demand to know — ”

“Lord Maitland!” Dr. Walker interrupted. “I will say again that you are in my home, and we do not tolerate such lack of respect in this house. Moreover,” he put a palm up to silence the baron’s disagreement, “Penelope is of age. It is her decision who and why to marry someone. As her stepfather, I respect her decision. And so should you, don’t you think?”

“You idiot!” the baron raged. “I do not believe this. Where is she? I demand to speak to my niece at once.”

“And so you shall.” Lucas stood up and walked over to the suit of armor in the corner of the room. He reached up and opened the helm. A pair of hazel eyes, opened wide in surprise, stared back at him.

“Butter the crumpets,” Penelope muttered. “How did you know I was in here?”

He grinned. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist being part of a bargaining situation.”

“This is outrageous!” the baron fumed as he rounded on Dr. Walker. “You have utterly destroyed years of training in proper decorum and produced this … this shameless hoyden who is not worthy of the Maitland name.”

“She is every bit a Maitland as you, Hugh.” Eleanor Walker’s usually soft voice filled the library.

Everyone turned to see Penelope’s mother, who was standing in the doorway wearing an herb-stained apron over her white muslin gown. “You visit us for the first time in fifteen years, and you have the gall to talk of proper decorum.”

Lucas watched in fascination as the soft-spoken woman sauntered into the room with the grace of the baroness she once was.

Dr. Walker spoke first in a cajoling voice. “Eleanor, my heart, this is not the time and place to bring up the past.”

“The past has come to us, Robert, and it is time we face it.” Eleanor’s expression softened as she turned to Lucas. “Penelope told me your father killed himself after Edmund tried to get out of the betrothal contract, my lord, and I would like to clarify something once and for all.” She pointed accusingly at the baron. “Edmund, God rest his soul, never cared enough about the title to confront Leonard Drake.”

Eleanor’s eyes blazed as she shifted her attention to the baron. “It was
you
who ordered him to break the contract, wasn’t it? You’re responsible for Leonard Drake’s death.”

Lord Maitland looked as if he was about to suffer from an apoplectic fit. “How dare you! I merely reminded Edmund of his responsibility to the Maitland line, as I am now trying to remind Penelope.”

“It was always about that with you, wasn’t it, Hugh?” Eleanor asked in a quiet voice. “You couldn’t tolerate the fact I married a common country physician, so you punished my daughter for it. But you have no hold over us anymore.”

“We shall see about that.”

“Please, will everyone calm down,” Penelope burst out. The hinges of the armor creaked as she slowly made her way to the center of the room. She looked so out of place, so uncertain and strangely vulnerable, even in that damned armor, that Lucas had to restrain himself from going over to her, pulling her into his arms and banishing her heartless uncle. He understood she wanted to deal with this herself, and he was willing to let her as long as he could remain where he could watch over her.

Penelope looked at everyone in the room before finally addressing her uncle. “Apologies for my attire, Uncle, but I was not aware you were paying us a visit.” She adjusted the visor before continuing, “I am sorry I did not turn out the way you expected.”

“You can be whoever you want to be, Polly,” Eleanor said encouragingly.

Penelope’s laughter was muffled by the helmet. “Mama, please, can you stop being supportive for one minute and just listen to what I have to say?”

“Of course, Polly. We are listening.”

Penelope rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to the baron. “Uncle, I have already given my word to marry his lordship. I know you will appreciate matters of duty.” When her uncle did nothing but sneer, she continued, “I intend to marry Lord Ravenstone, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop me. I would, however, deem it a great honor to have your blessing.”

Lord Maitland turned a nasty shade of red. “Of all the bloody nerve!” His hazel eyes raked Penelope from head to foot. “You are a disgrace to the Maitland line. Your father would have been appalled by this, and I am ashamed to call you my niece.”

With that last statement, Lord Maitland picked up his hat from the chair and left the room. Moments later, the front door slammed shut.

“Apologies for that, Ravenstone,” Dr. Walker muttered. “I honestly do not know what prompted Lord Maitland’s visit. He has never done that in all these years.”

“I must be getting popular,” Penelope observed, staring at the door. “So many visitors this week. First, you, my lord, and now my uncle.” She shook her head in dismissal of the entire event. “If everyone will excuse me, I will go upstairs and change.”

Eleanor Walker looked skeptical. “I doubt you’ll be able to get out of that armor without any help, Polly. I shall go with you.”

Mother and daughter left the library, leaving Lucas alone with Penelope’s stepfather once again. Uneasiness warred with his sense of victory. This was a decent family, and Maitland had been right to be suspicious of him. He
did
have his own agenda.

Dr. Walker strode to the fireplace and stoked the embers with a poker. “How odd that news of your impending nuptials would affect Lord Maitland so.”

He shrugged. “It’s not so unusual. Many families would not welcome an alliance with the tainted Ravenstone title.”

“We know you, Ravenstone, and we are far removed from Society.” Dr. Walker turned to face him. “I do not care what people say about you, I only care about my stepdaughter’s welfare. I believe it is a sound match. Penelope is an assertive sort, and she needs someone who is strong enough to handle her.”