Page 19

Chapter Nineteen

With the highs come the lows…

T hey returned, albeit reluctantly, to the phaeton he’d left parked just off the path when it had become too dense for the vehicle. Caleb helped Marina into it and then climbed up behind her. They’d been away from the vehicle no more than ten minutes but those ten minutes had been quite revealing. Her passionate response to his kiss had left him reeling with desire for her. It also left him hopeful—hopeful that infatuation and desire might grow into something so much more.

It was mere chance that as he walked to the other side of the phaeton, he’d gone behind it rather than in front. The toe of his boot struck something. Thinking it a stone that might damage a wheel, he bent to retrieve it and remove it from the path. But it was no mere rock. It was a pin—a vital one. A quick examination of the vehicle’s wheels showed him that the one on the right, the side where Marina was seated, had been sabotaged. With only one pin, it might have well gotten them as far as Park Lane. But the moment they left the park, bouncing along the cobbled street beyond, would have brought immediate disaster. She would likely have tumbled from the vehicle to the hard stones and, depending upon the traffic, been trampled by a horse or crushed under the wheels of an oncoming vehicle.

Turning back, he walked toward her. “Someone has tampered with the wheel. We’ll not be driving anywhere in this. But we’re close enough to your home that I think we can walk relatively safely so long as we stick to the more crowded areas.”

“Tampered with?” Her eyes widened in shock, then her expression grew shuttered. And again, he knew that she was hiding something. “Do you mean in the short time we were gone, someone attempted—they’re watching us, Caleb. Even now!”

He nodded, fully aware that she was correct. It was that thought which fueled his urgency. “The crowd in the park is thinning as the promenade hour comes to an end. We need to make haste, Marina. Let me get you to safety and then I will try to discern who it is that poses a threat to you.”

“Don’t you mean to us?”

He shook his head. “I very much fear that you are the target and I’m not certain what that signifies beyond an increased need to protect you at all costs… that means I must see you to your uncle’s house before I begin a very thorough search of the park. If this person has left any clue of their identity behind, rest assured that I will find it.”

“I can help you find him… her,” she corrected far too quickly. “Whomever it is! Surely two sets of eyes are better than one.”

He realized then that she had suspicions of who might be behind the attacks, but for whatever reason she was not sharing them.

“No. This person, whomever it may be, clearly has marked you as their target. The carriage outside Gunter’s and now this? Marina, let me see you home safely. Trust that I will get to the bottom of this.”

Caleb offered his hand, and she accepted it. He could tell from the firm set of her chin that she was not pleased. Whether by his assertion that she was the target or by his unwillingness to allow her to place herself in harm’s way, he couldn’t say. Regardless, his first priority was to see her to safety.

“I dislike being relegated to the background while you deal with this. I’m not helpless,” she insisted. “And by virtue of being the intended target, surely you must realize what a vested interest I have here!”

“No, you are not helpless. You are strong, capable, intelligent… but just because you can face danger does not mean you should.” He held out his hand once more.

With a heavy sigh, she capitulated, allowing him to help her down. From there, they walked swiftly, making their way toward the crowd gathered near the gate. From there, they exited the park and quickly made their way up Park Lane to Marina’s home. He scarcely breathed until they reached her door. But once she crossed the threshold, he did not hesitate. He turned to make his way back to the park.

“You can trust me, Marina… With both your life and your secrets,” he vowed.

She glanced up at him, their gazes locking for a moment. Then she looked away.

“When you are ready,” he said, “you will tell me. Whatever it is, we can deal with it together.”

“When you say such things,” Marina whispered, “you give me the thing I fear most.”

“And what is that?”

Her voice was whisper soft as she murmured, “Hope, Caleb.”

*

As they arrived home, the butler ushered her inside, quickly taking her coat and bonnet even as Caleb rushed away. It was clear the aging retainer thought their behavior quite odd. And then Marina looked up to see Willa standing on the stairs looking at her quite curiously. “Is something amiss with the earl, Marina?”

She had to tell them. But how much? She’d kept the secret of Stanford’s plot for many reasons. Firstly, it was humiliating to own that she’d been so blinded by his charm that every single misgiving she’d had about him during their engagement had been brushed aside with foolish optimism. And then there was the very real fact that her uncle might possibly kill him. If it were scandal she hoped to avoid, that would certainly not be the way to go about it. “I don’t wish to revisit it repeatedly. Let’s find Uncle Devil and I shall explain it to you both at once,” she said.

“He’s in the study,” Willa said. “I will be right behind you.”

Marina made her way down the short corridor and knocked upon her uncle’s door. Inside, she could hear one of her cousins getting a dressing down. They were always into some mischief. That bit of normality made her smile.

As she entered, her cousin looked imminently relieved. But her uncle took one look at her and instantly knew something was wrong. He dismissed Gervase with a stern warning and then asked, “What’s happened?”

As Willa had entered just behind her, Marina went on with her explanation. “We left the phaeton to walk for a bit in the park and while we were away from it, someone tampered with the wheel. Apparently on the side where I would have been seated. Caleb escorted me back here and returned to the park to investigate.”

“Marina, this is the second such incident! Something must be done,” Willa said, her concern evident in the tightness of her voice.

“Something will be done,” Devil said. “None of this business started until the rumors of your betrothal to St. Aiden began making the rounds. I cannot help but think the two related. The question, Marina, is whether you have been targeted because of your involvement with him. Perhaps calling off this engagement would be for the best.”

Marina shook her head. “I don’t wish to call off the engagement!”

“You are not in love with him. You hardly know him,” Devil protested.

“I mean to marry him, uncle,” she stated firmly. “Not to avoid scandal but because I want to marry him.” It was the first time she’d voiced that thought aloud though it had been hovering along the periphery of her mind from that fateful encounter at the Crowdens’. It was shocking to her just how much she meant it. It was clearly shocking to everyone else as well for the entire room fell silent for a full minute.

When her uncle did speak, he was insistent. “Infatuation is no basis for marriage.”

“Perhaps not,” Marina conceded. “But he’s a good and honorable man. He’s a man who, even against my protests, puts himself at risk to ensure my safety. You yourself have said you can find nothing about him that would mark him as an unsuitable match… and I have met no other gentleman with whom the prospect of marriage is tolerable, much less something to be anticipated.”

Willa stepped in then when it appeared her uncle intended to argue further against it. “If the betrothal is the cause of danger, there are two ways to end it. Cry off and be done. Or marry quickly… and there are reasons to do so.” With that, Willa produced a bit of paper cut from news sheet which had been tucked inside the pocket of her gown. “I found this in the scandal sheets this morning. I fear there will be more to come.”

Marina accepted the slip of paper and began to read, her heart sinking with each word.

A certain young lady of the ton has made quite the spectacle of herself of late. For the past week, Miss M.A. has been squired about town by the Earl of St. A., to whom she is newly betrothed. While the banns have not yet been posted, it is being put about that their understanding is quite firm. Contracts have been signed, as well, and this author has been informed that there are clauses included in the contract to disavow any financial ramifications should Miss M.A. decide to cry off. Such doubt from the outset hardly bodes well for this tremulous union. It remains to be seen if this marriage actually takes place or whether this is simply an elaborate scheme to camouflage her loose behavior at a recent ball which was touted as the event of the Season. Of course, even if the betrothal is legitimate, that is no guarantee of a wedding actually taking place. After all, Miss M.A. does have quite the history there.

—From the London Ladies’ Gazette

Marina stared at the paper with a sick feeling in her stomach. While she certainly had no intention of crying off, and everything she had learned about Caleb in the interim had only made her more certain of the match, the gossip rag eliminated any possibility of backing out. Even her uncle would have to see that, if she failed to marry now, when it had been intimated that they were cultivating such a lie in the eyes of society, it would be ruin for both of them.

“I can’t cry off now, not even if I wanted to! Everyone would assume it had been a sham all along,” she said.

Devil’s jaw clenched. “Damn them. Damn the lot of them. I will not see you forced to the altar by anyone.”

Marina walked toward her uncle and placed her hand on his arm. “No one is forcing me. Perhaps, initially, it was more about the situation. But now, it’s about him. About the two of us. Please do not worry for me.”

“I do not know how to do anything else,” he admitted gruffly.

“Then find yourself another purpose,” she suggested and waved the offending paper before him. “This is the mystery to solve. How were these details known to the author? Is it Lady Crowden, perhaps, getting her revenge? Or Elizabeth Whitmore in a final act of pettiness and spite?”

“Or Stanford Williams?” he queried.

Marina nodded. “Yes. Or him.” The mere mention of his name jangled her already fraught nerves. It brought back that feeling of panic that had simply overwhelmed her when they’d walked into the church that morning. “But I’ve no wish to talk about him. I want to talk about this!” She waved the piece of newsprint once more. “How could they possibly know the details of the contract? Where would they have gotten such information?”

“I do not know, Marina. But regarding the wedding, you do understand what this means, don’t you, Marina?” Willa asked.

“I do,” Marina said and handed the slip of paper to her uncle. “There is now only one course of action we can take to avoid ruin for myself and for Isabella in the future. Another scandal attached to this family’s name will be detrimental to her future. The things whispered about me are proof that not even a decade or more is long enough to wipe the memories of society matrons… We need to marry more quickly than anticipated.”

Devil scanned the article and bit out a curse.

“If scandal is the only consideration, then, yes, it would be best to marry,” Devil agreed. “But scandal is not my only concern, Marina. Your happiness is paramount. If you have qualms, if you have concerns about him, scandal be damned.”

Marina was quiet for a moment, thinking of how to respond to the obvious worry that both her aunt and uncle had for her. In the end, she could only speak to her intentions and her hopes. “I do not have questions, qualms, or concerns. The more time I spend with the earl, the more convinced I am that this is for the best. I know it isn’t the love match you both had hoped I would make, but there are many instances where the vows precede the sentiment. While I do not love him yet, I could love him… without any difficulty at all, I daresay.”

“There are also many instances where vows are spoken and no sentiment ever develops,” Willa said softly. “What happens, my darling girl, if you find yourself unable to love this man?”

Marina was far less worried about her ability to love him than his ability to love her. “If I do not marry him, I will never marry at all. After this… I would be an untouchable in society. Shunned. There would be no hope of redemption. The idea of a love match would be lost to me regardless. And I can’t think only of myself. This impacts you and all of my cousins as well. I intend to speak with the earl when he calls later. I think, under the circumstances, a special license should be procured and we should marry posthaste—assuming, of course, that one will be granted.”

Willa turned to Devil. “You can arrange that can’t you?”

“If not, I know someone who can,” he answered. “Are you certain, Marina? We could travel. Take to the Continent. It would all be long forgotten perhaps by the time we returned.”

She smiled sadly. “The ton , as you well know, forgets nothing. They simply ignore it when it no longer interests them. But it is always there, ready to be invoked on a petty whim. Surely the continued mention of my mother’s disgrace is proof of that?”

There was silence in the room then, all of them only too well aware that she spoke the truth. Then Marina spoke, her voice solemn and low. “There are things that you do not know. Things about my betrothal to Stanford and why I elected to call off the wedding.”

Devil looked past her, his gaze locking with Willa’s. Then he said simply, “Go on. Tell us everything.”

Marina took a deep breath and then let it out on a sigh that spoke volumes, even to her own ears. “After the way he carried on in the aftermath of my crying off, I don’t think it’s any secret now that he was only after the marriage settlement you had offered. But something happened the night of the Fairringtons’ ball… That morning, a letter was delivered to me here warning me of Stanford’s perfidious nature. And that night, after he’d excused himself to speak to a business acquaintance, he didn’t rush off the card room as he’d said but slipped down the corridor toward the doors that led out to their small terrace.”

“You excused yourself and followed him,” Willa surmised. “You were acting very strangely that night. I’d since put it down simply to your nerves about the upcoming wedding and your doubts, but now… what did you learn?”

“I overheard him speaking with a woman on the terrace—professing his love for her and his disdain for me. Just as the letter had stated. I didn’t recognize her voice at first, though I knew it was familiar. It was only after they walked inside that I knew… It was Lady Crowden,” she explained.

Willa gasped in shock. “Oh, that wretched woman! And she was one of the few that openly questioned his accounting of things!”

“Because it served her purpose,” Marina summed up. “She might have professed her love for him, but neither of them is capable of such a fine feeling. They are both selfish and self-serving to such a degree that they could never truly love another… but there was more in the letter. And I’ve never spoken of it to anyone. This letter, signed only ‘A Concerned Acquaintance’ hinted that if I were to go through with the wedding, Stanford would find himself a widower before long. That my death would be tragic and garner him endless amounts of sympathy and all the while, he’d have been the very one to end my life.”

“Do you believe that?” Devil asked.

“Everything else in the letter proved true,” Marina said. “I had no reason to doubt it.”

Both Willa and Devil grew silent, her aunt in shock and her uncle in fury. So Marina continued. “And the reaction you are having right now, Uncle Devil, is the very reason I elected to keep this secret. We cannot afford the scandal that would result from you challenging him to a duel or simply killing him in cold blood.”

“There is nothing cold about my blood right now, Marina,” he said, his voice thick with anger and other emotions. “But I will make an effort not to call the blackguard out, if only for your sake. If he comes near you, I will act as I see fit to keep you and everyone else I love safe.”

With that, Marina rose and walked around the desk. Leaning down, she kissed his cheek. “I love you. And I will be forever grateful that you’ve shown me what a man and a gentleman ought to be.”