Page 77 of A Widow for the Earl
“Yes, but how did you know to comehere? Today?” Vincent asked incredulously.
“I paid a brief visit the Archbishop of Canterbury to see if any special licenses had been granted. I was informed that one hadbeen granted to Frederick, with the date of the wedding, and the venue. It was all so very simple,” Julianna replied, shrugging. “You would have done well to involve me, instead of riding off like that.”
Vincent blinked. “You visited the Archbishop of Canterbury?”
“Yes. You say that as if it is difficult? He is always in London at this time of year. If you had used your brain instead of your impulse, you would not look as if you have not slept for a week,” Julianna replied, tutting.
Beatrice felt the breath leave her lungs as Julianna turned her attention toward her, narrowing her eyes. “Now, how are you?”
“I have… been better,” Beatrice fumbled to reply.
“I expect so, after all you have been through,” Julianna said, nodding. “I shall speak with the magistrates on your behalf about ensuring that Frederick is punished appropriately for his crimes. You shall never be called a murderess in the scandal sheets again, Miss Johnson, if I have anything to do with it.”
Beatrice swallowed thickly. “Thank you, Lady Grayling.”
“Julianna, if you please,” the older woman corrected. “If you have captivated my son enough that he would hare off into the night for you, then we ought to be more informal with one another. Indeed, I expect you will soon be part of the family.”
Beatrice blinked in astonishment, wondering how the older woman could say something so encouraging in such an aloof tone of voice. It was clear that Beatrice still was not her favorite person, but perhaps this was a good sign.
“Goodness!” Beatrice shook her head, remembering something. “Someone ought to inform the household here about the Marquess. A physician should be sent for at once. Frederick did not name the poison, but there must be someone with some knowledge of it.”
For a moment, Julianna’s stern expression softened. “I will tend to it,” she looked at Vincent, Duncan, and Cyrus, “since you gentlemen cannot be trusted not to burst in, going about everything in the most difficult fashion. But first, Vincent, I should like to know why you kept this… affection a secret from me?”
Beatrice glanced at the man she loved, stifling a chuckle as he stared at his mother, like he wished she had not appeared with six constables in tow at all. It did not make him seem weak, but charmingly normal. A man who was as embarrassed by his mother as anyone else.
“It is not an affection, Mother,” he replied stiffly. “IloveBeatrice. I have loved her for some time, but I made some mistakes.”
At that, Julianna’s entire demeanor changed. Like the sun appearing after endless rain, her face brightened, a grin spreading from ear to ear. She clapped her hands and screamedso loudly that even the ghosts in the chapel graveyard must have jumped.
“I did not know youlovedher, my boy!” she squealed, rushing at the pair like a charging bull, wrapping her arms around them both.
It is news to me, too.Beatrice smiled to herself as she endured the older woman’s effusive embrace.
“Well, there is a priest and a perfectly good chapel,” Julianna continued, pulling back. “You should marry now! Oh… but then I will not be able to invite all of my friends. And I suppose you do not have a license for it. And this is not our estate. No, no, you should not marry now. You should wait, and make it a grand spectacle. Yes—yes, I shall begin planning as soon as I have informed the Marquess that he is not going to die.”
She broke away from the bewildered couple, and took off down the hill, hitching up her skirts as she ran for Merricold Manor.
“I should return to Valery, so she does not worry herself sick,” Duncan said, with a knowing look upon his face. “You two should make your way back slowly. Your mother will be occupied for at least an hour, running back and forth.”
Cyrus nodded. “Yes, I should be getting back to Tess.”
Exchanging a look, the two gentlemen pulled themselves up into the saddles of their horses, and with a nod to the couple, beganto make their way down the hill. Leaving the pair alone in the beautiful late morning sunshine.
“I am sorry that you had to hear my confession that way,” Vincent said, once the two other gentlemen were far enough away. “I am sorry I did not reveal it sooner. And I am sorry, my love, that I ever left you.”
Beatrice turned to him, relieved and confused, all at once. “Why did you?”
“It is no excuse, in hindsight, but… I made a vow to protect my family first,” he replied unevenly. “When I kissed you, IknewI loved you, but I feared what it might mean. If we were to wed, I knew there was a chance I might leave my family without their protector. It was foolish, but I left so that I could keep my promise to them first. What I did not realize until later was that my love for you was also a promise, to protectyoutoo.
“It is no secret that I never wanted to fall in love,” he continued, smiling. “But, with you, I had no choice. I fell in love anyway. I love you, Beatrice. I love you, and even if it is not today, I think it would make me happier than I have any right to be if you would consent to be my wife.”
She considered making him squirm awhile, scolding him for abandoning her and believing in her curse. But she, too, had worried for his safety regarding her curse. And though hehadbriefly left her, he was not the same as her parents; he had come back for her when she needed him the most, and he had stopped at nothing to ensure that she was safe.
So, she put him out of his misery.
“I did not want to marry again either, and Ididtell you that I did not want you to die, so I suppose I am partially to blame for your concern about my curse,” she said with a smile. “But, against my wishes, I have fallen hopelessly in love with you too. I love you, Vincent. I love you, and though it willdefinitelynot be today, and I may need to disappoint your mother about the size and grandeur of the occasion, I will marry you. Of course, I will marry you!”
She was in his arms again a moment later, holding tight to the lapels of his tailcoat as he pulled her close. Smiling up at him, she felt the tangled web of the last year unraveling as he bent his head and kissed her.
