Chapter Four #3
“Unfortunately, we’ve plans to return to the lieutenant’s home immediately,” Louisa stated. “Besides, given the circumstances, I think a celebration could be held off for a few months.”
“Louisa,” her uncle began. “I know it’s not been easy, since your mother’s passing, but I did promise her that I’d take care of you like you were my own.”
“And I very much appreciate that, Uncle, but I assure you, this has truly little to do with appearances. The fact is that the lieutenant’s home needs a few repairs, and he is needed back there at once.
As his wife, it is my obligation to accompany him, and a dutiful wife is exactly the sort of woman everyone’s always intended for me to be, so… ” She nodded.
But her uncle did not appear convinced.
“I would like to extend an invitation to the both of you to Fenwick Park this October,” Rhys said then. “And, it would be my honor to offer Miss Kitty a dowry upon her wedding day. If I may be so bold as to offer.”
That caught Malcom’s attention.
“A dowry?” he repeated. “I assure you, Lieutenant, that I am more than capable of handling my nieces’ finances—”
“Of course.”
“But I am also not so arrogant as to not accept your offer.”
Louisa smiled just as a number of equally paced “thuds” sounded from the hallway. Mrs. Hummel was likely dragging Louisa’s trunk down the steps. Rhys stood.
“I should go help Mrs. Hummel.”
“Yes, but really, we should take our leave.”
Though her uncle seemed hesitant, he couldn’t argue. Instead, the man stood up and held out his hand to Rhys, who grasped and shook his hand firmly.
“I trust, given your history as a war hero, you’ll do right by her.”
“I will.”
The elderly man nodded.
“Very well.”
Goodbyes were blessedly swift and sweet, with only a tear or two shared between the sisters before Rhys escorted his new bride back to the carriage.
Overall, meeting Louisa’s family had been pleasant and informative.
Louisa’s uncle had been eerily at ease with all that had transpired, considering that his niece had gone from missing person to wedded wife over the course of a single morning.
Their cook was hardly an exemplary servant, but it didn’t seem to really bother anyone, not to mention Louisa had a talent for appeasing old hunting dogs as well as their masters.
She was able to manage all the immediate changes with ease, although something continued to irritate Rhys since their carriage left city limits.
Who was this John Harper fellow?
Though they hadn’t spoken much since leaving her uncle’s home, Rhys was aware of the unspoken subject that lingered between the two. Louisa had been quick to dismiss her uncle’s inclination, but she had specifically stated that there was no one she fancied.
It had taken an hour from leaving her uncle’s house before Rhys could no longer help himself. Leaning back in his seat as he watched her from across the carriage, he waited for her eyes to catch his and when they did, she gave him a pleasant, if neutral, smile.
“Who is John Harper?” he asked evenly as the smile vanished from her face.
“He’s no one.”
“Your uncle thought it was relevant enough to mention in front of your new husband.”
“Because he was mistaken. That’s all.”
She was lying still, but Rhys wasn’t the sort of man who would play these sorts of cat and mouse games. Whoever this man was to Louisa, he was no longer.
Leaning forward, elbows on his knees, Rhys spoke.
“I may be hard of hearing, but I’m not an idiot. Nor will I be treated as such.”
Louisa’s eyes went wide.
“No, of course not—”
“Whoever this Harper fellow was to you, he is not anymore. Do you understand?”
A flash of indignation sparked in her eyes.
“I assure you, Mr. Harper is not someone to concern yourself with,” she said, her tone icy for the first time since meeting.
It irritated Rhys, but he was determined to make his intentions clear from the beginning.
“Our marriage may have started off unconventionally, Louisa, but I intend to live as normal a life as husband and wife. I’m not one for secrets or affairs and if you thought to marry someone quickly so that you might continue some sort of dastardly affair, well—”
“Mr. John Harper is dead,” she stated quickly, causing Rhys to pause. “He died last winter.”
Rhys frowned.
“But your uncle—”
“Is old and senile and cannot remember much of anything these days,” she said quickly.
“Which is why I wasn’t so against the idea of marrying a stranger.
My cousin, who will inherit my uncle’s estate soon, is a selfish man who will think nothing of removing me and my sister from his home once my uncle passes.
” She glanced out the window. “I intend to be a faithful wife. Besides, there isn’t a man alive who would tempt me. Not when…”
But she didn’t finish her thought, but she didn’t have to. Louisa had been telling him the truth. She wasn’t in love with anyone else because the person she loved had passed away.
“I’m sorry,” he said, too quickly, as she looked back at him. Rhys had known his fair share of people taken too soon. “May I ask, who he was to you?”
Louisa’s cheeks paled at the intrusive question. Though they were married, they still hadn’t known each other longer than a day. It felt bizarre, asking the question, but then they were alone, and he was curious.
Louisa blinked a few times before answering.
“He was a lovely man. Kind and studious,” she began, her tone gentle.
“A true and refined gentleman. We were friends for years, and he was my greatest confidant, but he was often ill. He told me a dozen times how he almost died as a child from scarlet fever. He wasn’t terribly strong because of his illnesses.
Sometimes he needed help climbing stairs, but he was brilliant,” she said, her eyes shining for a moment.
“He was so terribly clever. He knew everything. Well, not everything, but he at least knew something about everything. There was never a lull in conversation, never a subject too obscure.”
“How was he so clever?”
“He read. Books upon books. He was the greatest reader. He even told me his dream was to read all the books in the world, even though it was impossible.” Her smile turned wistful as her gaze drifted down. “He proposed to me, not a week before he passed away.”
Rhys stared at her.
“Did he?”
She nodded.
“Yes, but he asked me not to tell anyone. He knew he wasn’t long for this world,” she said with a frown.
“Kitty and I went to visit him, having heard of his sickness, but the doctor didn’t allow us to stay long.
He asked me to marry him though, right in front of Kitty.
I accepted but kept my promise to keep it secret.
” She cocked her head. “I always wondered if he knew he was going to pass away. Sometimes he asked me as some sort of joke, knowing that he wouldn’t be around to do so, but I only think that when I become overtired. ”
She looked up at Rhys.
“So that’s why the whole marrying a man in a gambling hell wasn’t such a strange concept,” he stated.
She shrugged.
“I’m grateful to be married. Particularly to someone so honorable,” she said, causing Rhys to rankle within himself. “And I promise to be a dutiful and faithful wife. It’s the only way I’ll get to see John again.”
Rhys’s brow lifted.
“You mean, in heaven?”
She nodded.
“I do.”
Rhys leaned back against the velvet cushion of the coach, unsure how to proceed.
He did not believe in heaven, or any sort of afterlife.
He couldn’t, having seen the horrors of war.
Surely no good God would allow such suffering, such innocent deaths, and yet, the idea that this woman, whom he barely knew for more than twenty-four hours, was promising to be a good little wife for the rest of her life so that she might get to see her former sweetheart made Rhys tense in places he didn’t understand.
He should be happy to hear this. He had a guarantee that his wife would be good and faithful. And he had promised a marriage based on convenience, not one tinged with emotions. But something about Louisa’s lack of affection set him in a dark mood for the rest of the day.