Page 93 of In the Prince's Bed
He squelched the burst of unfamiliar guilt. All right, so her days might not go quite as she hoped, but at least the nights would be better than anything Sydney could give her. Of that, he was sure.
The carriage shuddered to a halt in front of the Merivale town house, jolting her mother awake. Mrs. Merivale blinked and looked around. “Katherine…where…Oh. Forgive me, I must have dozed.” She cast him a bright smile. “You will come in and have some supper, won’t you, Lord Iversley? I daresay Lady Purefoy’s wretched fare was scarcely enough to keep a man’s body and soul together, especially after he spent the day racing about the countryside.”
“Tempting as that sounds, I can only come in for a few minutes,” he said, as his footman hurried down the stairs to open the carriage door.
“Nonsense, I won’t hear of it. Katherine told Cook to prepare some cold viands for our return, and it will take Thomas only a moment to set it out and uncork the wine.”
Alec climbed down from the carriage, then handed the two ladies out. No point in waiting any longer to break the bad news to them. “Actually, I have to be up before dawn’s light. I must return to Suffolk by nightfall tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!” Katherine exclaimed. With a frown, she took the arm he offered her. “But you just returned!”
After her mother took his other arm, he led them both up the stairs. “You forget that I still have my problem with the tillers—I must finish dealing with that. Not to mention that I must prepare my staff and make sure that Edenmore is in a condition suitable for your arrival.”
“You needn’t make a fuss for me,” Katherine protested.
“It’s no fuss, believe me. After we’re married, I want to be able to take you right home and have you be comfortable.”
“Won’t you take a honeymoon trip first?” Mrs. Merivale asked, as they entered the house.
“Perhaps after the spring planting is done, but not right now. As it is, I can barely spare the time to return to London for our wedding later in the week.”
“A week is not enough time to plan a wedding, my lord,” Mrs. Merivale snapped, as Alec handed his hat and great coat to Thomas. “When you said a small ceremony, I didn’t think you meant it. Why, you’re an earl, for heaven’s sake. We should at the very least—”
“I would prefer just ourselves. Fortunately, I’ve already acquired the special license, so as soon as I return from Suffolk we can marry.” Thank God the archbishop happened to have a son in the cavalry who sang Alec’s praises. He glanced down at Katherine. “Is that all right with you?”
He held his breath. If Katherine preferred a big wedding some weeks hence in Heath’s End, he wasn’t sure he could keep up appearances or hide his true financial state from his skittish intended that long.
“I don’t much care whether we have a large wedding.” Katherine lifted her troubled gaze to him as Thomas took her coat. “But a week really is a short time, especially if you spend part of it in the country. You and Mama still have to speak with Papa’s solicitor and arrange the marriage settlement—”
“Just a formality, my lord,” her mother put in quickly. “But it must be done. And you’ll be delighted to find that Katherine—”
“—has a small dowry,” Katherine finished, casting her mother a dark look.
He stiffened. So she didn’t trust him enough yet to tell him of her fortune. Meanwhile, he still had to evade questions about his own finances.
Mrs. Merivale and the solicitor wouldn’t much care about his situation, however, as long as he promised Katherine a certain amount of pin money and a sufficient jointure in case he died first and left her a widow. He could promise the latter easily. By the time he died, he intended to have a substantial income.
As for pin money, he fully intended to give Katherine a nice portion of the fortune she would inherit. He’d even be willing to offer her mother some of it in exchange for her cooperation. So he could probably manage the meeting with the solicitor without revealing too much of his current state of affairs.
“Of course I’ll meet with your father’s solicitor, and that can be done upon my return. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours. Then we can have a small ceremony here, and afterward—”
“No, no, my lord, how can you think of such a thing?” Mrs. Merivale let out an exasperated sigh. “But there is no use talking to a man about these things when he’s hungry.” She turned to Thomas. “Is the food laid out in the dining room?”
“Yes, madam. I set it out as soon as I heard you drive up.”
She waved her beringed hand toward the dining room. “Katherine, take his lordship off and feed him while I fetch the wine. And do tell your intended how impossible his plan is. Why, the wedding might not even appear in the papers if we do it his way.”
Mrs. Merivale marched off, leaving them no choice but to follow Thomas into the dining room. But as soon as they entered, Katherine turned to the manservant. “That will be all for now, Thomas. I’ll ring if I need you.”
“Very good, miss,” he murmured.
After he left, Katherine faced Alec. “Must you return to Suffolk so soon?”
That caught him off guard. He’d expected complaints about the small wedding. “Believe me, I’d rather stay with you until we marry, but duty calls.” Not wanting to discuss it further, he scanned the room. “Perhaps Ishouldeat something before I go.” He shot her a wicked smile as he headed for the sideboard. “I suddenly have an enormous appetite, thanks to our…er…vigorous activity earlier.”
Though she blushed, she ignored his insinuation as she came up beside him. “What if Mama and I were to go with you to Suffolk?”
He froze as he was picking up a plate. Blast. “That wouldn’t be wise.”
