Chapter Five #2
Thewlis, possibly now trying to conceal a smirk, for never once in their long acquaintance had Fitz ever seen alcohol pass the man’s lips, departed.
For a few minutes, Fitz lay back in bed allowing his body to accustom itself to the brightness of the day.
Unusual for London, with its perpetual fogginess.
There might even be a hint of a blue sky.
Well, at least it wasn’t raining as it had been last night as he’d staggered home.
Thank God it hadn’t been far, and he’d not run into any riffraff.
Walking across Green Park in the early hours of the morning while foxed and armed only with his cane was perhaps not his best decision. But he’d arrived home safely. Sort of.
With a groan, he pushed himself to a sitting position in bed and broke open the seal on his letter. His pounding head necessitated him peering at the page with narrowed eyes in order to make out the words.
Good heavens.
He read it a second time, and then a third. Had he but known it, the letter was almost an exact copy of the one Georgiana had received a short time since.
My dear Captain Carlyon,
You will be happy to discover that I have informed Miss Frampton that you are agreeable to all her terms as regards what we discussed and, as the matter is of the most urgent, I have taken the liberty to acquire a Common Licence for you both.
I have conferred with the incumbent clergyman, the Reverend Andrewes, at the Church of St James on Piccadilly and we have set the date for tomorrow morning at eleven of the clock.
I shall attend myself as witness, and you are at liberty to bring a friend if you so wish.
Until tomorrow,
Elizabeth Dove-Lyon
The events of last night galloped back into his head with a vengeance, making it ache even more.
How had he forgotten so important a thing as this?
He’d agreed to marry someone, admittedly whilst in his cups, and he’d done so in front of the Black Widow of Whitehall. Not someone it would be wise to cross.
But…marriage?
The door opened and Thewlis entered with a tray bearing a large coffee pot and a small cup and saucer. He was going to need all of that.
Thewlis set this tray down and surveyed his master. “Is something troubling you, Captain? You appear to be a trifle pale.”
He might as well tell him. The man was going to find out soon enough. “You are correct. I am more than a little troubled. I’ve just remembered that last night I agreed to marry someone I’ve never met. This letter,” he waved it at his man, “recalled it to my mind.”
Thewlis’s normally unperturbable and lugubrious expression morphed into one of astonishment.
No doubt he’d imagined, much as Fitz himself had, that his master was likely to remain a bachelor for life, albeit one with a taste for the company of women who could not be described as ladies, and for rich and frustrated widows.
Or perhaps because of this predilection.
“Married, Captain? Are you sure? When you came in last night you were much the worse for wear. You might have misunderstood what was said to you, might you not?”
Faint hope of that.
Fitz shook his head. “I hope not, for I was assured that the young lady in question is quite the heiress, which is just what I need. Well, I need the money of an heiress if not the company, as she’s bound to be some sort of bluestocking, or have some other trait I’m not going to like.
Although…Mrs. Dove-Lyon did say she thought her passing pretty.
So she might not be too unpleasant on the eye.
” He paused. “Providing she was being honest with me, that is.”
The reason the young lady in question was so anxious for marriage leapt back into his head, but he decided on the spot it might not be something he should share with Thewlis.
“And the letter was specific in stating that you agreed to marriage?”
“It was.” Unlike Georgiana, his relationship with his servant did not incline him to sharing all things.
He folded the letter up. “I am to meet the young lady, Miss Frampton, tomorrow morning at eleven at the Church of St James in Piccadilly, which by a fortunate coincidence is not far from here. And we are to be married. Mrs. Dove-Lyon suggests I bring a friend as witness. For that, Thewlis, I choose you. No need to disturb any of my friends as I’m feeling right now as though they’re not all that good for me.
If it hadn’t been for Dugdale I’d never have got in so deep and lost so much money.
Money I couldn’t afford. And if I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have needed to find myself an heiress so promptly. ”
Thewlis pursed his lips. “It seems you found such a useful young lady at a most opportune moment.”
Fitz frowned. Thewlis was right about that.
Although, if he was honest, the heiress seemed to have found him.
Mrs. Dove-Lyon had somehow known how much money he’d lost in her establishment and picked him out of the crowd.
Could she possibly have engineered his downfall?
No. Too unlikely, especially with the final wager on the snails.
No one could manipulate snails, could they?
But he had to admit, now that he thought over last night, a rich heiress was something he’d frequently longed to come across and ensnare, and now one had fallen right into his lap.
Feeling pleased with himself, he poured his coffee. Better get this down him and see if it made his hangover go away.