Chapter Sixteen #2
“I will have someone tend your horse and bring in your bag,” he instructed, as he took up the reins for both horses.
Her husband bussed his grandmother’s cheek and paused for a longer kiss from her.
“Tonight,” he whispered close to her ear as he embraced her.
Annalise’s heart skipped a beat. Did he mean tonight they would finally consummate their marriage?
Before more could be asked or said, he walked away with the horses, leaving her alone with a woman who obviously did not approve of her.
“Let us go inside,” Lady Klare ordered and walked away from Annalise before more could be said. Once inside, Lady Klare ignored Annalise beyond saying to another woman, “Agnes, this is Beaufort’s wife. He has placed her in charge of my house. I am taking myself off to my chambers.”
“Is Lord Beaufort joining us?” the servant asked.
“It seems my husband means to learn what he may before the wedding tomorrow,” Annalise explained with a bit of embarrassment.
“Just like himself,” the woman said with a shake of her head.
“Like his grandfather in that manner. I am Agnes Felix. My late husband served as Lord Klare’s land agent.
Naturally, I be brought on to assist Lady Klare.
For lack of another word, I am the housekeeper.
How long have you and himself been married, if you don’t mind me asking? ”
“A fortnight,” Annalise explained.
“A fortnight!” Mrs. Felix said in surprise.
“And you spent much of it traveling to Klare Fields.” The woman directed Annalise towards the stairs.
“Let’s find you proper quarters, and then I’ll show you about.
” Annalise followed the woman to the upper story.
The house was quite dusty, and peeling paint was prominent in most of the corners.
“How large is the staff?” she asked with as much casualness as possible.
“A cook and several local girls to clean, but they know little to nothing on how things should be in a fine house. Also, they speak very little English.”
“Are they teachable for both?” Annalise asked. “Lord Beaufort wishes his grandmother to live comfortably. He has charged me with bringing necessary repairs to his notice.”
“Then you mean to hire in others to repair and clean the manor?” the woman asked.
Annalise stood very still to assess the situation in which she found herself.
The next few minutes would determine how successful she would be as Beaufort’s wife.
“His lordship has indicated such is what he views as my role in this matter, but please convey a few points to those who wish Lord Beaufort’s and my patronage.
I am not a fine English lady, if that is what people believe.
Instead, I was raised upon a sailing ship traveling the coastline of America; hence, I am not afraid of heights, having climbed the sails in the midst of a storm many times.
Therefore, warn those repairing the plaster they may expect me to climb high enough to inspect their work.
The same can be said to the roofers. I am also as handy with a dust cloth, a mop, and a broom, as I am with a sword and a rapier.
Tell them I may not speak Gaelic, not yet, anyway, but I am capable of giving orders in French, Portuguese, and Spanish, if they are willing to learn a new language.
I have, along with an Irish uncle and cousin, often set up housekeeping in a strange land, so Ireland will not be considered anything but my new home.
“Before the wedding tomorrow, if we could begin with making lists of repairs, mending, cleaning, and the like, I would know satisfaction. After the wedding, we might consider who to employ. I would prefer to spread the salaries among a number of families. From what I viewed on my ride in, more than one family requires assistance.” She would speak to Beaufort regarding this decision and pray he would agree.
Klare Fields was far from the worst she had encountered.
She would make Beaufort proud, and perhaps he would come to love her.
In the end, Beaufort had not returned to the estate early enough for them to share what they had each accomplished in a few short hours nor finally to share a bed.
Again, Annalise had cried herself to sleep.
He was gone again before she rose, though she had purposely risen early to speak to him.
If the bed in the adjoining room had not held his imprint, Annalise would think he had slept elsewhere.
“Is her ladyship to join us this morning?” she asked Mrs. Felix when Annalise followed the woman to the kitchen in the early morning hours.
“Lady Klare will have her breakfast later,” the woman said diplomatically. “Would you prefer to break your fast in the room above?” the woman hinted.
“I would be happier to sit at a simple table with you,” Annalise responded politely. “I found paper and a few pencils and returned to the rooms we inspected yesterday and began a list.” She had wanted to share it with Beaufort last evening, but…
“Tea?” Mrs. Felix asked.
“Do we have cold milk? When I lived in Honduras, I desperately missed milk. My mother said it was because I was still growing. She would always pour milk over bread she made with corn. Actual corn, not what the British call wheat and such with their corn laws.”
“Perhaps you are already knowing a babe,” Mrs. Felix suggested.
Annalise knew such was not possible, so she kept her denial to herself.
In the late morning hours, Beaufort returned to the house for both his grandmother and Annalise.
He was to escort them to the glen outside the village where the wedding ceremony was to occur.
He had placed Lady Klare at a table with several other elderly ladies before taking Annalise on his arm to escort her about the area.
At Mrs. Felix’s suggestion, Annalise had left her hair down, only braiding the sides to be pinned in the back with an ornate hair clasp.
Beaufort appeared pleased with her appearance, and Annalise knew a bit of happiness.
“Me lord.” A man bowed before her husband. His red complexion suggested he was likely a farmer; even though the sun was not as strong in the autumn as it was in the summer, men still tilled the soil. However, he was better dressed than most she had viewed.
“The father of the bride,” her husband had whispered upon the man’s approach. Gaelic exchanges followed, but as she knew no Gaelic, Annalise simply smiled. “This is my wife, Lady Beaufort. My lady, this is Daniel Sagran. He has much of the land to the west of Grandmam’s estate.”
The man swept the hat from his head and bowed. “God bless your ladyship. You dost me family a great honor. Might I have the honor of introducing you to others?”
When Beaufort agreed, the man led the way across the open field.
“Thank you for agreeing to my grandmother’s scheme for today. It would be an insult to the community if we did not attend,” her husband explained in soft tones.
“Was such what her ladyship wished? For me to appear too English?” she asked, but there was no time to learn Beaufort’s response.
Mr. Sagran called to a pretty blonde, who wore a plain cotton dress and a floral laurel in her hair. Even so, Annalise thought the girl quite beautiful. “Equal to Lady Theodora on her ladyship’s wedding day,” she murmured as Beaufort directed her forward.
“Meredith, you be blessed, child,” Sagran declared. “His lordship himself means to see you married and he brung his new lady to greet you.”
“It be good luck when a stranger be at the wedding,” the girl declared with a smile.
An hour later, Mr. Spencer conducted the ceremony.
They had both stood to the side, along with his lordship’s grandmother to witness the exchange of vows.
Later, they were seated on the same bench of the head table with the newlyweds and the vicar.
Ham. Potatoes. Salted herring. Mutton. Carrots.
And plenty of homemade beer was consumed.
Finally, two men brought out their fiddles, and people moved to a flattened area of a nearby field to dance.
A piper joined the other musicians, and the newly married couple led others in a dance of complete abandon, and Annalise could not help but enjoy the obvious happiness in the community, though she had also viewed its extreme poverty.
Another thought struck her. This is what family truly means.
It is not lavish clothes and grand houses.
It is people who truly care for each other.
Later, she stood along the rim of the field and watched the dancers while Beaufort drank with several men and listened to their complaints.
A few of Lady Klare’s tenants offered to dance with her, but she, as politely as possible, refused.
“I have no idea of the steps,” she declared.
At last, Beaufort returned to claim her, standing behind her with his arms about her waist. She leaned back into him and enjoyed his heat along her body.
Annalise was very aware his gesture was one which would never occur in London.
“I am grieved, my lady,” he said as he nuzzled the curve of her neck. “I should have returned earlier last evening, but I…”
“It was only one more night,” she said with as little rancor as she could manage. Annalise had no desire to argue with him, even though he had harmed her equally as well as if he had stabbed her with a knife.
“Yet, I do not deserve you,” he repeated.
“Your own wedding ceremony should have been as joyful as this one. Instead, we spoke our vows and after a toast or two, we were on the road. I was blind to having my own way, and you were the one who suffered. Instead of treating me with bitterness, all I have known is your forbearance. I wish—no, I beg that we may start fresh. I mean to treat Lady Annalise Beaufort with the honor she deserves.”
After that, they walked among his late grandfather’s people, always hand in hand. Later, they joined the others in escorting Sean and Meredith into a small cottage that had been thoroughly cleaned and decorated, where the couple would spend the night.
Twilight was falling. “We should see my grandmother home,” he said.
“Could we not dance together at least once, my lord?” she asked in hopeful tones.
“Absolutely, my lady.” He led her to where the dancing took place.
“Might we have a slow reel for this dance?” he asked the fiddler.
Then, Beaufort took her into his arms as if they were dancing a waltz in a London ballroom.
After a few missteps, they adjusted to the tempo and danced as if they had danced together for a thousand years.
“I adore having you in my arms, Lady Beaufort,” he said softly as he nudged her closer.
Afterwards, they drove his grandmother home and saw Lady Klare settled.
Annalise was feeling a bit awkward as he led her back to their suite.
“I assuredly may retire to my quarters, but I would prefer to share your bed, if you believe such is to your liking,” he suggested as they stood together in the room’s middle.
Annalise swallowed hard. They were finally going to consummate their marriage. “Yes,” she whispered.
He immediately cupped her face and lowered his head to claim her lips, while one hand caressed her neck. “I promise all the harm I have caused you is a thing of the past,” he groaned as he peppered her cheeks with a row of kisses.
Annalise wished to be closer still, but Beaufort raised his head, and, for a moment, she wondered why he had stopped, but he quickly bent and lifted her into his arms to carry her to her bed.
“You are so beautiful,” he said as he followed her down, and, for once in her life, she actually felt pretty.