Chapter 55
Emmeline’s maid helped Caroline to dress after her bath and she was very kind with her, speaking in a hushed voice and wielding a gentle hand with the hairbrush.
Caroline tried not to imagine what she might have heard had occurred, but if Reg was talking with the kitchen staff and Edgar was moaning and groaning for all to hear then they must have some ideas already.
“The name’s Lottie, miss,” she said, “and I’m very happy to wait on your ladyship.” Hearing the trace of a Cornish accent in her voice, Caroline flushed. Lottie must have accompanied the Farises from Penarth, which meant she must be only too aware of Caroline’s vicious reputation.
She gave no indication of it though as she helped her first into a nightgown she had never seen before, a high-necked ruffled affair which she guessed was either new or a loan from her hostess.
Then her own ruby dressing robe appeared, with the matching velvet slippers, and Caroline felt rather better about herself.
She hoped her plaid walking gown could be salvaged, for it was her favorite day dress.
What a pity she had not been wearing the old burgundy!
She decided against having her hair dressed, for she did not want to tarry any longer and miss the Gerrards’ nuptials, so it hung loose down to her waist. Lottie escorted her down to the floor below afterward to Teddy’s room and left her discreetly at the door.
Caroline knocked and walked in to find Teddy and Gervaise sat on the floor arranging dolls into small piles. “Ah, here you are, Caroline.” Gervaise patted a spot on the rug next to him. “Come and take a seat. You are just in time for the ceremony.”
“Look what Cook made for me!” Teddy said, jumping up and rushing over to a side table to gesture to a gaudy little cake decorated in swirls. “It’s the wedding cake.”
“Miss Pomfrey specified that particularly violent shade of pink for the icing,” Gervaise explained. “She was most specific.”
“It’s her favorite color,” Teddy explained. “But you already know that as you made her wedding gown.”
“Yes, I already knew that,” Caroline agreed, lowering herself onto the rug.
“And now that you’re here, we can hold the ceremony,” Teddy said with satisfaction. “We did not want to have it without you.”
“And how do we proceed?” Caroline asked with interest.
“We have to stand the couple on top of the cake,” Teddy said, carefully picking up the cake and walking it over to the rug where he set it down in the center.
“Sorry, they are going to stand on the cake?” Gervaise asked for clarification, flashing her a puzzled look.
“Yes,” Teddy said impatiently. “Miss Pomfrey said so. She wants to stand right in the middle of the cake and for all the soldiers to stand around the edge with their sabers drawn. Then they have to stand like that all night, and in the morning, they will be married. Is that not so, Caroline?”
“Oh yes, indeed, it is quite common practice in the part of the country that the Pomfreys come from,” she agreed serenely.
“You see,” Teddy said to Gervaise in a superior manner.
“Well, what Miss Pomfrey wants, Miss Pomfrey must assuredly get,” Gervaise murmured, and started arranging the soldiers’ stiff little arms until they stood brandishing their swords aloft.
The three of them sat in silence as they carefully placed the soldiers around the edge of the cake with Miss Pomfrey and Captain Gerrard in the very center.
The groom had a tendency to topple over which was vexing but luckily his bride’s skirts were so voluminous they gave him something to lean against.
“Yes, she likes that,” Teddy said once they were all arranged to his satisfaction.
“And tomorrow Miss Pomfrey will be no more,” Gervaise sighed.
Teddy’s face fell. “What do you mean, she will be no more?” he demanded.
“Well, she will be Mrs. Gerrard,” he explained reasonably. Teddy’s frown deepened and it was clear he did not like this idea at all.
“Well, in the Pomfreys’ part of the country, it is customary for the married couple to take on a double-barreled name,” Caroline said hurriedly. “So tomorrow morning they will be known as Captain and Mrs. Pomfrey-Gerrard.”
Teddy’s frown cleared like magic. “Yes, the Pomfrey-Gerrards,” he said with relief. He turned a stern look on Gervaise. “It is clear you do not know much about weddings, Godfather,” he said pityingly.
“What a good thing I have you two to teach me,” Gervaise agreed.
A throat was cleared in the vicinity of the door and Caroline turned to find Lord Faris stood leaning against the doorway. “It is time for Teddy to take his bath,” he pronounced and would not be dissuaded however much his son and heir protested.
“You can see Gervaise and Caroline in the morning, Teddy,” his father said firmly.
“They are staying with us for a few days so you need not worry you will miss them.” He duly admired the pink wedding cake, and they heard him agreeing the double-barreled surname sounded very fine as he carried Teddy off to his bath.
Shortly after Lady Faris appeared in the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt,” she began apologetically, then her gaze snared on the bizarre pink cake covered in toy soldiers. “Oh!”
“You have interrupted the wedding ceremony of the Pomfrey-Gerards,” Gervaise said blandly.
Caroline was pleased to see he did not look faintly embarrassed about the fact.
“The regiment must stand vigil over the couple all night,” he explained, his eyes dwelling on the luridly colored cake.
“And then, come morning, they will be joined as one in holy matrimony.”
“I have no idea where Teddy gets these ideas,” his mama responded helplessly.
“The cake was originally intended for the two of you, but somewhere along the way, Teddy became convinced it was for his toy wedding instead. I’m afraid he took over, rather.
” She winced. “Cook ought not to have let him convince her to turn it such a garish color.”
“I’m not sure commemorative cake is really appropriate under the circumstances in any case,” Gervaise murmured and Emmeline immediately looked contrite.
“No, of course, how tactless of me. I’m so sorry, Caroline…”
“No, no, please don’t apologize,” Caroline said hurriedly, kicking out her slippered foot to nudge Gervaise’s in reproach. She frowned meaningfully at him before turning back to Emmeline. “You have been most kind in accommodating my brother and me under very trying circumstances…”
“It’s not your fault they brought Edgar to town,” Gervaise argued. “They brought that entirely upon themselves!”
“Well, I like that!” Lady Faris gasped, before she could stop herself. “If you had not behaved so disgracefully toward Caroline in the first place—!” She broke off her words, her hand flying to cover her mouth in dismay. “Oh!”
Gervaise smirked and Caroline flashed him a quelling look.
“Please do not trouble yourself on my account, Lady Faris,” she said, clambering to her feet.
“But you must not think Gervaise behaved badly. In fact, if he had not fled with me from Penarth, then I would likely not have survived to tell the tale.”
Lady Faris looked uncertain how to take this, looking from one of them to the other.
She heaved a huge sigh. “I must not plague you with questions,” she resolved, “but will instead demand explanations from Jeremy later. But you are indeed already wed?” Caroline nodded.
“Well, thank heavens for that! I cannot tell you how pleased I am to hear it. Jeremy always maintained that Gervaise would do the right thing, eventually.”
Gervaise now stood up, dusting his knees and looking rather irritated. “Indeed, he did everything he ought,” Caroline said quickly. “A very sweet clergyman called Canon Petrie married us at…” Her mind went blank.
“St Catherine’s in Shoreditch,” Gervaise supplied swiftly.
“Yes, Shoreditch,” she repeated gratefully. “We traveled most of the journey from Penarth to London with Canon Petrie acting as our chaperone.” As this was something of an exaggeration, Caroline did not dare look at Gervaise to see how he took this.
Lord Faris appeared over his wife’s shoulder.
“Well, I’m vastly pleased to hear that,” he said, resting his hands on his wife’s waist. “I thought I was going to have to call you out, old chap. Honor bound, and all that. After all, you met Miss Halperston under my own roof and Ballentine would have left me little choice in the matter.” He dropped a kiss on his wife’s cheek.
“I would only have made him wing you, Gervaise,” Lady Faris explained. “And then insisted on your sickbed that you did the decent thing.”
“Whilst I was too weak from blood loss to protest, presumably,” Gervaise said dryly.
“Well, there is not the smallest need to seek reparation on my behalf,” Caroline assured them. “Gervaise insisted we were married.”
“I begged for her hand, in fact,” Gervaise corrected her. “Repeatedly.”
“Yes, he behaved beautifully, so you need not reprimand him,” she agreed.
Jeremy’s gaze narrowed, as though this was going a bit too far to be believable, but Gervaise simply reached for Caroline’s hand and brought it to his lips.
“Will you both be joining us for dinner?” Jeremy asked. “It looks like cake’s off the menu,” he said, flickering his gaze to the Pomfrey-Gerrard cake and wincing. “I don’t think any of us will fancy it after it’s been trampled under a regiment’s worth of feet.”
“Or would you prefer a tray sent up?” Lady Faris offered compassionately.
“A tray,” Gervaise answered at once.
“If it is not too much trouble,” Caroline added swiftly.
“Oh, of course not,” Emmeline assured her. “Your brother is also having a tray. He does not feel much up to company either.”