Chapter 6
Six
“Ihave done it. Everything has been arranged.” Tobias strode into his cousin’s London townhouse, tapping his breast pocket.
He had just obtained a special license so that he and Rowen could be married in ten days.
As he knew that his fiancée would be staying with his cousin until the wedding, he had decided to pay him a visit.
That way, he could tell Warner, and if his fiancée had not arrived by the time he needed to leave, he could trust in his cousin to deliver the news.
As soon as he walked into the room, two small heads whipped around. Felicity and David toddled towards him, and all the cold efficiency that he had been holding onto melted away.
“Uncle Toby!” Felicity was slightly faster than her brother, flinging herself into Tobias’s arms with the kind of wild abandon only toddlers could have.
Tobias caught her easily and spun her around, making her laugh and squeal in delight. Then, he felt David tugging on his trousers.
“Me! Me! Me!” the boy burbled, gesturing with his arms as Tobias threw his goddaughter into the air.
Felicity clapped her little hands and let out a delighted shriek, laughing in a way that felt like warmth bursting through thawing ice. He found himself smiling back, grinning so broadly that his cheeks ached.
He caught her gently, making silly noises and laughing as her brother clung to his other arm. He picked the little boy up easily and spun them both together.
“Careful!” Adele reached towards them, but Tobias saw his cousin place a reassuring hand on his wife’s arm.
“Weeee!” David cried as they spun in a circle. “Up!”
Tobias obliged and carefully lifted his godson high up, feeling the delighted shrieks worm their way into his chest and settle there. He held both of the toddlers easily.
“Papa turn!” Felicity twisted in Tobias’s arms so suddenly that he almost lost his grip. “Papa!”
Tobias quickly put her on the ground, and David took advantage of his distraction and clambered onto his shoulders, tugging on his hair while he did.
“Oh, Davey. No, darling. You mustn’t pull Uncle Tobias’s hair. That is not very nice.” Adele shook her head at her son.
“Sowwy.” David released Tobias’s hair.
“That is all right, little one,” Tobias reassured him. “I know you did not mean to hurt me.”
“Papa, I birb!” Felicity cried out as she flailed her arms and wobbled on Warner’s shoulders.
Tobias heard Adele’s sharp intake of breath and realized that he had taken a step towards his cousin, ready to catch the child if she fell. His cousin murmured something to Felicity as she laughed, apparently unaware of how close she had come to disaster.
“Fliss, perhaps you should be a quiet bird? After all, Uncle Toby looks like he might want to tell us something.” Warner tilted his head ever so slightly towards Tobias and arched an eyebrow in question. “You said you had everything arranged?”
“The license for the wedding. I have obtained a special license so that we might get this over and done with as expeditiously as possible.”
“Just what a woman wants to hear from her future husband.” The scent of violets told Tobias exactly who it was before he had even turned to face her. “That he wants the wedding over and done with. Delightful.”
Rowen stood in the doorway of the drawing room, wearing a heavy traveling cloak. Her long hair fell across her shoulders, and her grey eyes flashed with barely contained fury. The smile on her face was so sharp it could have cut glass.
“Would you rather have had the banns read? I did not peg you as such a traditionalist.” Tobias’s voice was silky smooth, and he felt a thrill run through him.
“Tradition has very little to do with it, dear Tobias.” She said his name with venomous sweetness. “It would just be nice to have a say in our wedding.”
She tugged off her traveling gloves, revealing just a hint of pale skin.
Tobias felt a tug in his chest, his mouth suddenly turning dry. He shook his head slightly, eyes darting to Rowen’s face as he fixed an easy smile on his own.
“Aunty Row!” Felicity called out from behind him before he could say anything.
Tobias felt David shift on his shoulders and guessed that the toddler was waving at Rowen. Her face softened as soon as her eyes fell on the children, and it transformed her entirely. Where she had been all hard lines and cold fury before, she was now soft and sunny.
His breath hitched, and his heart leapt in his chest. Then, her gaze flicked to him once more and turned icy, although she quickly softened it.
A thrill went through him, and with a start, he realized he felt the same way he did before a big battle. The thrill, the danger.
He kept his expression neutral, even as he sensed a crease threatening to form on his brow. Rowen’s eyes did not leave his face for an instant.
Oh, there is fire in her.
He quashed the feeling, stamping on it like a bug. “The Archbishop is a busy man, Rowen, and I did not expect you to arrive before this evening. In any case, I assumed you would be tired from your travels.”
“How thoughtful.” Rowen’s tone made it clear that she felt the exact opposite. “And where are we to be married exactly, or do you wish for me to intuit that?”
She was trying to bait him, but he would not give in.
He gave her his most languid smile and shrugged, careful not to dislodge David. “St. Catherine’s. It is large enough to hold a good number of people, and the journey is easy from here. And the priest has given us leave to use one of the rooms as a crèche for the children.”
“I had rather hoped to be married elsewhere.”
“Then you should have let me know sooner.”
“I would have if you had bothered to ask. And are you planning on having us married at the crack of dawn?”
“Eleven o’clock, actually. This Saturday, to be precise.”
“That is in three days! You cannot be serious.”
“And why would I joke about such a thing? There is plenty of time to prepare for what needs to be done. I have done most of the legwork already.” He waved her objection away.
On his shoulders, David imitated the movement.
Rowen took a step towards him. “Oh, you have, haven’t you?”
“The license has been secured, the church has been booked, and the priest has been notified.”
“And what about my dress? Or are you expecting me to get married in my previous wedding gown?”
“And have the ton think poorly of my dearest wife? Of course not. I expect you to wear a dress worthy of a duchess.”
“Then you should postpone the wedding. A dress like that requires time.” She gave him a smile so venomous that he could practically taste it.
He arched an eyebrow at her. “And you have plenty. Besides, I have already contacted Madame Genevieve and booked out the shop for you and the children tomorrow. The carriage will pick you all up around noon.”
“I was planning on going to Mrs. Green on Oxford Street.”
“Mrs. Green does not make children’s clothes. You will go to Madame Genevieve.”
“Mrs. Green happens to be a very dear friend and one of the few people who can wrangle Alistair and Georgie into a fitting and not have it end in tears. If I am to have a dress worthy of a duchess, she will be the one who makes it.”
Tobias could see the triumph in her eyes.
He took a step closer to her, swinging David into his arms as he did. “See that it is. I want everyone to see just how ravishing my bride is.”
To his satisfaction, spots of color appeared on Rowen’s cheeks, and her eyes narrowed. “Then you should give me ample time to prepare for the ceremony. Three days is nowhere near enough.”
“I am certain you will make it work. After all, you are so very…” He let his eyes roam over her body. “Capable.”
“Then you will welcome my thoughts on the rest of the wedding. Such as the menu for breakfast.” She flashed a smile that sent a thrill through him.
He gave a wolfish grin, inclining his head towards her slowly. “Of course.”
His heart sped up, hammering a wild beat in his chest. Every inch of his skin buzzed, as though he were standing at the heart of an electric storm. The usual numbness faded, replaced with something wilder. Something he had not felt since he had been on the battlefield.
What is wrong with me?
He made to shake his head, remembered that David was still on his shoulders, and stopped. The wolfish grin was still on his face, and he forced himself to keep it there.
I need to take back control.
“I think we should have guinea fowl,” Rowen declared.
“It is not the season for them,” he said without hesitation.
“That did not stop the Baron Damson at his daughter’s wedding.” There was a challenge in her eyes, and he heard clearly her unspoken words.
He was only a baron, and you are a duke. You should be able to do such things with ease.
“If your heart is set on them, then I shall see that it is done.” He waited for the triumph in her eyes to fade before continuing. “But if we are to have guinea fowl, then we must have white wine with the meal. And champagne for the toasts.”
“For such a gamey meat? I think red wine would be far more suitable.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
Without missing a beat, Tobias gave a languid shrug. “If it were a wedding dinner, perhaps. But it is not. Besides, red wine will eclipse the taste.”
“Then perhaps we should have a wedding dinner instead of a breakfast.” Her smile was dagger sweet.
He made a dismissive gesture, still holding her eyes. “The wait would be too long between the ceremony and the event.”
“Then have the ceremony later.”
“The time is non-negotiable, My Lady.”
“If red wine is too heavy for breakfast, then we should have cider instead.” Rowen changed tack.
You will not disarm me so easily, bride of mine.
He took another step towards her, his nose wrinkling in distaste. “Cider is a foul drink, and I will not have it at my wedding.”
“Our wedding.” She met him with a step of her own. “And I do not like white wine.”
“Then drink champagne,” Tobias replied smoothly. “We will not have cider—it is common and vulgar, which you are not.”
“In case it escaped your notice, Captain—” Rowen began.
“Colonel, actually.”
To his satisfaction, her nostrils flared with anger. “I am not one of your soldiers, and I have no intention of letting you order me about. I will have a say in my own wedding.”
“No, you want to have your way. And that is not how this agreement will work,” he retorted.
She glared at him. “I have no wish to be married in three days.”
“Why? Do you wish to delay the repairs to your estate? Is it better for the house to crumble into nothing?” Blood thundered in his ears as he closed the distance between them, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
“If I did not know any better, I would say it is a clever ploy so that you might remain under my roof longer.”
“You arrogant b—”
“Would you like to see your rooms, Rowen?” Adele interjected, putting herself between them and lifting David from Tobias’s arms. “I am sure Davey and Fliss are itching to see Georgie and Alistair, and you must be exhausted after your journey.”
The toddler’s eyes were wide, but he did not look alarmed. Tobias felt a surge of relief as the thundering in his ears faded.
“This discussion is not over.” Rowen turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
“Oh, I beg to differ, bride of mine,” Tobias murmured.
He ran a hand through his hair and realized that one of his fists was clenched tight. His jaw was tight, and every muscle in his body felt like a coiled spring, ready to snap. His eyes narrowed as he watched her leave.
How does she get under my skin so easily?
“Was that really necessary?” Warner had his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against a wall.
“She started it.” Tobias knew he sounded petulant, but he did not care.
“And you continued it. You can hardly blame her for being upset at you making decisions for her.” Warner shook his head. “It would not kill you to be a little kinder.”
“She should know what she is getting into. If I give in to her now, I will spend the rest of my life doing it. She is not marrying for love, and she would do well to remember that.” Tobias straightened his cravat.
“I suspect she is more than aware of that, Cousin,” Warner replied drily. “If you keep pushing her like this, it will not end well.”
“I would not need to push her if she did not insist on wrestling for control at every opportunity,” Tobias growled. “I have no wish to spend the rest of my life fighting for power.”
“Then do not do it.” Warner let out an exasperated sigh. “If I did not know any better, I would say you enjoyed it. It is certainly the most animated I have seen you, bar when you play with the children. Honestly, Toby, I do not understand why you behave like this with everyone who is not a child.”
“Children are more tolerable company than adults.”
The children do not know the truth about me. They do not know what kind of man my father was.
Tobias swallowed.
Warner gave him a pointed look. “You might find people more tolerable if you did not antagonize them at every opportunity. Not everything has to be a fight, you know.”
“If I want your advice, I will ask for it,” Tobias snapped. “This is my marriage, and she will be my wife. The invitations need to be sent out soon. Tell her that I expect a guest list by tomorrow, and that she will be at the church on time.”
“Toby—” Warner began.
Tobias held up a hand. “No, Cousin. I will not hear it. She needs to understand that I am not hers to control. That this is a business arrangement, not a partnership.”
He swept out of the room before his cousin could say another word, and stepped out into the busy London street. As he stalked back to his house, he rubbed his jaw with the palm of his hand.
“The sooner this is over, the better,” he growled, the scent of violets lingering in his nose.