Page 28 of Secrecy (The Chaplain’s Legacy #4)
I t was late the following day before the carriage was mended and they were able to continue the journey to Harfield, but Tess did not mind. She existed in a glow of such happiness that nothing could puncture it, although the bed at the inn was intolerably lumpy, the food was no better than average and the locals thronged the inn to ogle at the stranded baron and his entourage.
She spent the day in the tiny parlour with Edward, pretending to play chess but in reality talking unstoppably about everything and anything, and stealing kisses whenever the opportunity arose. By the middle of the afternoon, however, the coachman was satisfied that they could safely proceed, so into the carriage they went, Betty eyeing them with a knowing smile and even the innkeeper and his daughter, their pockets unusually full of coins, were aware that something had changed since their arrival.
A sleety shower came and went, but the wind was still icily chill as they arrived at Harfield, to find a post chaise and pair drawn up outside, its window down as the butler spoke to the occupants, a man and a woman.
“Wait here a moment while I see what is going on,” Edward said to Tess. Walking across to the post chaise, he called out, “What is it, Jeffries?”
Tess could not hear what Jeffries said, but she saw Edward peer into the chaise and then recoil abruptly, his face black with rage. Moments later, he opened the door and a man of around forty descended, and was hustled into the house by Edward, the butler scurrying after them.
This was so intriguing that Tess called for Harold to open the door for her and strolled across to the post chaise. The woman inside had drawn up the window again, but Tess opened the door.
“Good day, madam. Will you not step inside to warm yourself? The wind is bitterly cold out here, and if your friend is to be engaged for some time with his lordship—”
“No, no! Thank you kindly, but it’s best if I stay out here.” She was young, not much above twenty, very pretty, and rather showily dressed, making a little money go a long way. Her accent was not a northern one. Not a lady, Tess deduced, but she could not quite work out where she fitted into society.
“I must disagree with you. Come inside and let me find you a fire.”
She hesitated. “I should not. If I should meet one of the ladies…”
“It is a large house. There is little danger of it. Do come inside.”
Another gust of icy wind settled the matter, and she stepped down from the carriage and followed Tess into the house, Betty hurrying in their wake. A rather harassed footman admitted them, showed them to a small antechamber and lit the fire.
“Where is Lord Tarvin?”
“In the small study, madam.”
“Tell him where I am, will you? And send in some tea for Miss—?”
“Goodlake.”
“Very good, madam.” He bowed himself out.
“Tea… I really shouldn’t.”
“Why ever not? Since your gentleman friend has business with Lord Tarvin, you are just as entitled as he is to the hospitality of the house.”
She gave a throaty laugh. “I don’t think so, dear. The ladies wouldn’t like it if they knew.”
“Lucky they do not know, then, is it not? Do take off your coat, Miss Goodlake. There is no knowing how long your friend may be. Is he a friend… or a brother, perhaps? He is too young to be your father.”
Another laugh. “Let’s just call him my friend, for now. You know my name, but I don’t know yours. I know you don’t live here, because it’s only two older ladies.”
“At present that is true, but before too long this will be my house. I am Miss Nicholson, and I am betrothed to Lord Tarvin.”
Miss Goodlake squealed. She had already untied her bonnet, but now she hastily began to fasten the ribbons again. “There, you see, that’s just what I was afraid of. You shouldn’t have anything to do with me, miss, you being a lady an’ all, and bein’ his wife before too long.”
“Are you an opera dancer?” Tess said interestedly. “Or… oh, you are not Edward’s mistress? Oh, you are! How delicious! How absolutely delicious! And to think I thought he was stuffy!”
Miss Goodlake stared at her, but Betty harrumphed in dismay. “You really shouldn’t be in the same room with the likes of her,” she said to Tess. “It’s not right, bringing her under the same roof as good Christian folk.”
“That’s just what I say,” Miss Goodlake said. “I shouldn’t be here, by rights. Edward would be so cross with me.”
The door opened, and a small train of footmen entered, bearing trays of tea and an array of cakes and pastries. Miss Goodlake eyed them hungrily.
“There, now! Sit down and let me pour you some tea,” Tess said calmly. “Oh, these apricot tartlets are very good. Mrs Johnson’s speciality. Or would you prefer the cherry cake?”
Miss Goodlake would have needed an extraordinary level of willpower to resist these offers. She removed her bonnet and pelisse, and by the third apricot tartlet and second cup of tea, all restraint had been swept away. Only Betty, glowering in the corner and refusing to be appeased by a macaroon, was still disapproving.
It was at this point that the door opened and Edward stormed in, with the man from the post chaise behind him. Before Edward could say a word, Tess jumped up and laid a hand on his arm.
“Is this not delightful? I do not suppose you expected to see Nellie here, did you?”
“I most certainly did not!”
“Nellie, will you not introduce me to your friend?”
“This is Mr Ramsbottom, milady… Miss Nicholson.”
“Oh, Mr Ramsbottom!” Tess could not help laughing. “You have been following us all over the north of England. Have you concluded your business with Lord Tarvin satisfactorily?”
“I have, yes. It’s all right, Nellie, he said yes.”
“Oh, thank goodness!” Nellie turned to Tess. “He wants to marry me, you see.”
Tess burst out laughing. “And you had to get Edward’s permission, of course, to release his mistress.”
“Tess!” Edward said with an enormous sigh. “What an incorrigible girl you are! You should know nothing about mistresses, especially mine. You are supposed to believe me as pure as the snow.”
She only laughed harder. “Edward, you are twenty-seven years old and a single man. Why should you not keep a mistress if you want to? Once we are married, of course, it will be a different matter.”
“That’s the spirit!” Nellie said. “You keep him in line, dear.”
He shook his head. “Yes, this is very timely, Nellie, and I am sure Ramsbottom will look after you very well. It is a better arrangement for you to be a respectable baker’s wife rather than a mistress, but really, you should not be in this house.”
“Why should she not be here?” Tess said. “This is your house, Edward, so it is for you to say who comes into it and who does not.”
“My mother would not like it,” he said.
“Are you going to be driven by your mother forever? All those games you played, pretending to be courting and having no intention of marrying any of those insipid society ladies. Is it not time to put all the secrecy behind you and run your life however seems good to you? And if your mother dislikes it, she has a perfectly good house of her own to live in.”
With impeccable timing, the door opened again, and Mrs Edward Harfield came in, her eyes scanning the room, lingering on Tess, and then settling on Edward.
“Here you are, Edward. We were expecting you to join us in the Blue Saloon as soon as you arrived.”
“I had business to attend to.”
“Was it so urgent that you must keep your poor mother waiting? No news from you for a week, apart from a brief note to say that you had arrived at Myercroft. I was in terror that some dreadful mishap had occurred. Then you appear without warning, and I find you entertaining guests in my house.”
Edward hesitated, and Tess could see the precise moment when his face settled into a harder expression.
“This is my house, Mother, and I will entertain whomever I please within it.”
Two spots of colour appeared on her cheeks. “And whom does it please you to entertain?”
“Oh, do you want an introduction? Certainly. This is Nellie Goodlake, my mistress — no, I beg your pardon, my former mistress, and this is Ramsbottom, who is her intended. He is a baker from Clerkenwell.”
Mrs Harfield’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly. Tess was enjoying the scene enormously, but she did wonder if Edward had perhaps pushed her too far, and she might actually swoon away. She was made of sterner stuff, however.
“We shall discuss this later, Edward. For now, will you get these persons out of my house?”
Nellie and her middle-aged swain were all too ready to escape from a family fight, and within moments were gone, Edward accompanying them to the door. Betty took the opportunity to disappear, too.
“Would you like a cup of tea, Mrs Harfield?” Tess said in her most affable tones. “An apricot tartlet, perhaps?”
She did not deign to reply, but as soon as Edward returned, she said icily, “Edward, I have never been so outraged in my life! Bringing disreputable females here, ignoring your own mother and now that girl is usurping my position as mistress of this house.”
“First, you have never been mistress here,” Edward said calmly. “Lady Tarvin is mistress of Harfield Priory until I marry. Second, Tess is merely practising for when she becomes my wife.”
“You would marry that disgraceful chit? If she has led you astray—”
“Not another word! Tess is my future wife, and I will not stand by and hear her abused. She is the woman I choose to share my life, the woman I love with all my heart, and you had better learn to like it.”
“If you think I will stay under the same roof as that girl, then—”
“Excellent. That saves me the bother of asking you to go. You have a fine house of your own at Hunsworth Hall, and it has never seemed wise to me to leave it empty. You may leave as soon as you have packed.”
She had one more throw of the dice to attempt. “If I must go, then Myrtle must go, too. If you are going to install a wife here, however unsuitable, she cannot stay either.”
Edward actually laughed. “Good try, Mother, but Aunt Myrtle has a right to be here. She has been mistress of the Priory for thirty years, and it will be helpful to Tess to have her advice while she settles into her new duties. If, later, she wishes to leave us, the west lodge is a suitable size.”
“So she is to be always on hand, is she, while I — your own mother — am banished!”
Edward sighed. “Enough, Mother.” He held the door open for her. “I shall see you at dinner. In the meantime, you have some packing to organise.”
Head high, she marched out. When she had gone, he closed the door gently and turned to Tess with an expression that she could only interpret as guilty triumph.
“Too much?” he said.
“That was magnificent,” she breathed. “What a man you are!”
He caught her in his arms and kissed her with a passion that left them both breathless.
***
T ess was pleased to discover that they were only to spend one night at the Priory. The evening was one of the most uncomfortable she had ever spent, as Mrs Harfield tried anger, icy contempt and even tears to change Edward’s mind, but he was implacable. He was never less than polite with her, and an outsider would have thought him rather affable, but Tess could detect the steel beneath the gentle words.
Only Lady Tarvin was there to see them off the next morning, and since the rain was sheeting down, there was no lingering over the farewells.
“With such an early start, we will be at Corland well before dinner,” Tess said as the carriage splashed down the drive. “What time do you think we shall arrive?”
“At Corland? Not for several days.”
“Oh. Are we going somewhere else first?”
“We are indeed.”
“Are you going to tell me where?”
“I am not sure I should. I fear you might be disappointed.”
“Why would I be disappointed?”
“Because you wanted to do this in the middle of the night in a hired post chaise, but I hope you will agree with me that this way is more comfortable. And we are taking Betty, Harold and Deakin with us, too.”
“Do you mean… are you seriously telling me that we are eloping?”
“We are. At least, if you agree, we are. If not, it will be an abduction instead. We are only sixty miles or so from the Scottish border, so if all goes to plan, we can be married over the anvil today.”
“Ohhh! My mother will hate it!” She laughed out loud. “How clever you are!”
“My mother will hate me marrying you, however it happens. My darling, I am afraid we will still have to have the banns called in the regular way. There must be no shred of doubt over the validity of our marriage.”
“But if you plan to call the banns anyway…”
“Tess, if you think I am going to wait weeks and weeks for you, then you are very much mistaken. If we go to Corland unwed, there will be a great deal of fuss about wedding clothes and a ball and doing things properly and any amount of nonsense. And the longer it takes, the greater the risk that you will think better of it, and that I could not bear. So, elopement it must be. We can call the banns later, or we could bolt for town and get a special licence, if that would amuse you more, but it must be done properly under English law. I am sorry to be so stuffy, but there it is.”
“An elopement followed by a special licence… that would be very amusing. And a honeymoon as far from Corland as you can contrive.”
“Oh, a challenge! Let me see… Cornwall, perhaps? Ireland? Or—”
“No ships, if you please. The very thought of bobbing about on water makes me feel ill.”
“Then it will have to be Cornwall, or else back to Scotland. Although I suspect the weather is better in Cornwall. I am not fond of relentless cold rain.”
Tess laughed and rested her head on his shoulder. “Dear Edward! It is going to be so much fun being married to you.”
“I hope so,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on her brow. “I do very much hope so.”
THE END