Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Alistair looked to the space beside him, saw that it was empty, and was flooded by a sudden feeling of deep anxiety.
It was silly, he knew. There was no need for it.
But when he had turned his head, he half-expected to find Yvette sitting next to him, and to realize that she was not… well, it upset him greatly.
He rolled his eyes at himself and shook his head.
There is no need for that. We have the rest of our lives to spend together, so what are a few hours of being apart? Nothing in the grand scheme of things.
In fact, Yvette was the one who suggested that she not join Alistair today.
He had asked if she wished to be by his side for this, but she’d elected to leave it in his capable hands.
Rather, she opted to spend the morning with Hugh, who was thrilled to bring Yvette to the lake where he might show off his swimming skills.
Alistair imagined the two there right now, the laughter, the fun they were surely having. His heart swelled to picture it, and again he wished that he could be with them.
Alas, before he was able to commit to a life with the woman he now loved, there was one thing that he needed to do first. It was not an arduous task. It was not one that would bring difficulty. It was just something that he had to do, and until he did, he and Yvette would not be able to marry.
So it was that Alistair brought his attention back to the inside of the carriage.
It was slowing down now, an indication that he was about to arrive.
He pushed thoughts of Yvette from his mind and focused on the present.
This would not take long, and he reminded himself for the hundredth time not to lose his temper.
So long as he does not give me a reason to lose it…
The carriage came to a sudden stop, and Alistair sighed as he looked out the window. There, he saw Vicar Norleigh’s small home, and he could picture clearly the drunken vicar inside right now, no idea how his life was about to change.
“Your Grace…” The carriage door opened, and the footman stepped to the side to allow him out.
“This won’t take long,” Alistair sighed as he climbed outside. “Five minutes, I suspect. If I am lucky,” he added with a bitter chuckle.
And then Alistair drew himself up, fixed his attention on the small home, and started toward it.
His purpose here was twofold. First, it was to tell the vicar that Alistair intended to wed his daughter.
Second, it was to tell the vicar what was expected of the man, now that his daughter would be a duchess.
It was this second part that Alistair did not look forward to.
What kept him going, and what allowed for Alistair to look beyond this minor confrontation were thoughts of Yvette and their future.
He still could not believe how lucky he was, not to mention how stupid he had been.
To think that he thought she was angry at him for lying to her, and that alone was why she was avoiding him.
In truth, she loved him, and so sure was she that he could never love her back that she had committed to leaving him behind to save her the pain of rejection.
Which was all my fault. Was I braver, was I not so self-involved, I might have seen earlier how she felt. Dammit, had I been able to admit to myself when I first knew how I felt, none of this would have happened.
It was a small regret to have, seeing as they had now agreed to wed. And Alistair’s only concern was that he very nearly lost her completely. If he had… he could not imagine what he might do.
But those were thoughts for another time. As he reached the vicar’s home, he drew himself up and braced for the worst.
“Vicar Norleigh!” He knocked on the front door and pushed it open. “It’s me!” He peered inside, noting how empty the little house felt. “Are you home?”
There was no direct answer, but Alistair heard cursing coming from somewhere within, followed by a loud thump. He groaned and rubbed his eyes, knowing exactly what awaited him.
Sure enough, Alistair wandered through the home and into the office, where Vicar Norleigh sat behind his desk, a bottle of whiskey in hand, the stench of sweat and liquor hanging thick in the air.
“I suppose I should not be surprised,” Alistair sighed with disgust as he entered the office. He looked the drunken vicar over and clicked his tongue. “Perhaps I should be grateful that you are awake.”
“Your Grace…” Vicar Norleigh burped. “Wh – what are you doing here? If I had known you were coming…” He tried to sit himself up but he fell back in a slump.
“Would you have gotten more drunk?” Alistair said. “Is such a thing possible?”
“Doubtful!” The Vicar tipped the bottle upside down to show that it was empty. “You don’t have anything on you, by chance? I could use a top up.”
Alistair groaned and rubbed his eyes. “This needs to stop. The drinking… the state of you. It’s finished, Vicar Norleigh. No more.”
Vicar Norleigh pouted. “You think I want to be like this? You think… you think that I enjoy it! I have nothing left! My congregation…my flock… they have moved on. The children too. Everyone.” He buried his head in his hands. “They have left me. And it’s all your fault.”
There was a small part of Alistair that felt guilty when hearing Vicar Norleigh’s accusations.
After all, things had been going well for the man before he had taken Yvette away from him.
She was the one who kept an eye on him, ensured that he did not return to the bottle, and helped to build him back up from the drunken sob he was after his wife had passed.
But Alistair was not here to apologize. Nor was he here to be made to feel bad. Yes, the vicar had erred slightly, but the damage was not so great that it couldn’t be fixed. Which is exactly what Alistair intended to do.
“Enough of that,” Alistair snapped. “The self-pity… this woe-is-me parade that you’re insistent on throwing for yourself, I am done with it.” He walked around the table and snatched the empty bottle from Vicar Norleigh’s hands. “As are you.”
Vicar Norleigh blinked in surprise at the change in tone. “It is not… I do not want to be this way, Your Grace. But I have no choice.”
“Of course you have a choice. However, I do recognize that you might need some help.” He looked down at the drunken vicar, making sure that the man was paying him full attention. “We’re going to start by getting you sober. For good this time.”
Vicar Norleigh snorted. “It is not so easy as that.”
“Of course it is. To begin with, when I leave here today, you are to come with me. You will stay at my home for as long as it takes to break you of this habit.”
“I… I am…” He looked bewildered.
“After which, you will return here so that you can bring this parish back to what it once was. I admit, it might take some work…” Alistair looked about the messy office.
“But I am willing to hire help so that you will not be on your own. As well as that, I will also be making monthly donations – donations that I expect to be put to good use.” He looked down his nose at the vicar, his tone hardening.
“And I will be keeping a close eye on you, Vicar. Know that I will.”
“Your Grace!” Vicar Norleigh stammered and tried to sit up straight again. “I do not know… this is too much!”
“It is not.”
“After all I have done…” He shook his head. “How can I ever repay you?”
“By doing as you are born to do,” Alistair said. “Spreading the word of God to all those who wish to hear it. That is your charge, and I cannot abide it being wasted.”
“But why?” Vicar Norleigh asked. “I… would it not be easier to get somebody else?” He scoffed and bowed his head. “It might be easier to do. I am damaged goods, far too broken to fix.”
Alistair sighed and rested a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Ordinarily you might be right in this. Alas, this has become personal for me, and I feel it is my duty to help.”
“Personal?” He snapped his head up. “What does that mean?”
Alistair chuckled. “I came to see you for two reasons today, Vicar Norleigh. One was to offer you help, as I have done. The second is to ask for your blessing, that which I hope you are willing to give.”
“My blessing?”
“Yes…” Alistair smiled. “I wish to marry your daughter, and I have come here to ask for your permission to do so, as is right.”
Vicar Norleigh looked as if he had seen a ghost. “You… Yvette… you wish to marry her?”
“I do.”
“I do not…” He gave his head a shake. “How much of that whiskey did I drink?”
“Too much, but that is irrelevant. The simple fact is that I love your daughter, Vicar Norleigh, as she loves me. And we intended to wed so the entire world will know it.”
“But you are… she is…”
“Our status is irrelevant,” Alistair spoke over him. “Our love for one another is what matters. Now, do you give us your blessing?”
Vicar Norleigh blinked his eyes; they were bloodshot and watery. He looked at Alistair as if the man was speaking gibberish, no doubt certain this was some sort of joke. But Alistair held the man’s stare, determined for him to know the truth of it.
And finally, after much silence, Vicar Norleigh smiled. It was a funny thing, that smile, the way it seemed to fight back the drunken stupor of the man, almost sobering him up, such was its power.
“Yvette…” He laughed. “I cannot believe it.”
“Nor can I.”
“Of course I do.” Vicar Norleigh leapt from the chair, nearly fell, and Alistair had to take his shoulders to keep him from doing so. “Of course I give you my blessing.”
“And you will marry us,” Alistair said. “Yvette was rather insistent.”
That was when Vicar Norleigh started to cry.
He wept openly and freely, allowing the tears to fall down his cheeks.
Alistair pulled the man into a hug, and Vicar Norleigh blubbered all over his chest, wetting his shirt, making such horrendous noises that Alistair wondered what the footman thought to hear them.
“Come on…” Alistair kept an arm around the man’s shoulder as he led him from the office. “Let us get your things and take you out of here.”
“My daughter… a duchess…” He laughed again. “I cannot believe it.”
“You'd best start,” Alistair said. “Because it is happening.”
It was a simple thing for Vicar Norleigh to collect his few belongings after that, at which point Alistair led the man back to the carriage. There, they climbed inside, the doors closed behind them, and they started their journey back to the manor.
Vicar Norleigh was still drunk, but he was sobering quickly. And as he looked out the window, watching the fields pass him by, he wore a happy smile that spoke of his happiness and how he looked forward to what was to come.
Alistair joined him in this smile. His world was about to change, and he saw only good things in his future.
He had a brother whom he would help to raise and mold into a better man than he was.
He would soon have a wife with whom he would spend the rest of his life.
They would start a family together. They would make memories worth cherishing, ones that were better than all those that came before.
Alistair’s life had not been easy. He had many a tragic memory of his childhood that were better off forgotten. But those bad times, every single one, had led him here, and if that was the price he needed to pay for his own happily ever after, then he was glad to have paid it.
It is a small price to pay for what awaits me. And I would pay it again, one hundred times over, without blinking. For Hugh, for Yvette… for our future together.