Chapter 18
“Well, my darling wife, it looks like we have visitors. I hope you have sharpened your story-telling skills. You’re going to need them.”
Susanna said nothing, avoiding Adam’s eyes as his hands encircled her waist and he lifted her easily from the carriage.
She glanced with growing apprehension at the dusty black coach also parked in the drive which bore Dominick’s family crest, then at the front door, which suddenly opened.
Her breath snagging painfully, she was immensely relieved to see it was only Ertha hurrying from the house, followed by Corliss and a half dozen other servants who all appeared equally distressed.
“Oh, Miss Camille, Mr. Thornton! We were wondering when you would get here!” the housekeeper cried, out of breath when she reached them.
“Mr. Dominick Spencer arrived over an hour ago, along with Miss Grymes and her brother. They’re waiting in the drawing room.
They brought us the strangest news…they said Briarwood was struck by a fire, but there hasn’t been any fire…
at least not on the main grounds. Has something terrible happened in the outlying fields—”
“Calm yourself, Ertha, nothing terrible has happened,” Adam broke in, taking Susanna’s arm possessively. She started at his touch, but forced a shaky smile to her lips as he abruptly announced, “We’ve wonderful news for you. Camille became my bride earlier this afternoon.”
As every mouth in the agitated group fell open, stunned faces turning toward her, Susanna somehow managed to say, “Yes, it’s true.
Adam and I were married today in Williamsburg.
I know this comes as a complete surprise to all of you, but we’re very happy and hope you will be, too.
” Glancing at Adam to find him staring at her, an unfathomable emotion in his gaze, she felt a dizzying warmth flood her body and she quickly turned back to Ertha.
“I take it you provided refreshments for our guests?”
“Yes…Yes, I did, Miss Camille,” the housekeeper murmured, appearing more in shock than the others. Corliss, however, was beaming broadly.
“No, Ertha, you mean Mistress Thornton now,” the maid corrected, unmistakable relief in her dark eyes, which skipped to Adam. “And Master Thornton.”
Susanna almost winced at the sound of her new name. Doing her best to maintain her flagging composure, she requested softly, “Please, Ertha, Corliss, the rest of you, if you must call me ‘Mistress,’ then use my first name. The other sounds so formal, and I’m sure Adam won’t mind…”
“Not at all, my love,” he said, bending his head to press a light kiss on her flushed cheek. “Anything to please you.”
At first startled that he would act with such familiarity in front of the servants, Susanna had to remind herself that as her husband, Adam now had a right to do that and much more. Touch her, embrace her, share her bed…oh, she didn’t want to think about it!
Perhaps it was enough for him that he was the master of Briarwood now, with the entire Cary fortune at his disposal. She doubted he wanted anything more from her anyway. He despised her. He was just mocking her with his blatant show of affection. Of course he wouldn’t want to—
“We should greet our guests, don’t you think?” he asked her, his warm breath tickling her ear. “I’m sure they will be pleased to hear there was no fire.”
“Y-yes, we should greet them,” she murmured, her legs wooden as they moved to the door, the silent servants parting for them on both sides of the walkway.
Candles had already been lit in the main hall, for the day had grown cloudy and dark with a thunderstorm brewing. Susanna found the cooler air in the house soothing after the heavy, humid air outside, and much easier to breathe. Now if only her heart would stop pounding so furiously…
“The drawing room, Ertha?” Adam asked, still tightly holding Susanna’s arm, as if he feared she might flee up the stairs. Coward! He would leave this mess entirely up to her to straighten out.
“Yes, Master Thornton,” the wide-eyed housekeeper replied, then she rounded in agitation on the other servants.
“Go on with you! Get back to your chores. You heard there was no fire, so there’s nothing to keep you here gawking.
Just pass the word along that this is a very happy day for Briarwood.
Corliss, take some of the other maids with you and see that Master Thornton’s things are moved into Miss…
Mistress Camille’s room, real quick now.
Make sure everything looks nice, you hear? ”
Susanna wanted to tell Ertha that such a task wasn’t necessary, she and Adam wouldn’t be sharing a bedroom, but she was distracted as he steered her toward the closed drawing-room door.
“I’ll go tell Prue to prepare you a special wedding supper,” the housekeeper added, appearing much calmer now that she had resumed command.
“Thank you, Ertha,” Adam said, his hand reaching for the knob. “Have it brought up to our room, along with the best wine in the cellar.”
“What?” Susanna blurted just as the door was abruptly opened from the inside and she came face-to-face with Celeste.
“I thought I heard your voices!” the young woman exclaimed, her freckled cheeks pink-spotted with exasperation.
She stepped backward stiffly as they moved into the room.
“Where have you two been? We’ve been waiting here forever, worried sick about you, and to make matters worse, your servants know absolutely nothing about any fire! Now we’d like an explanation!”
Susanna jumped as the door was shut behind them, her gaze flying to Dominick, who rose to greet her.
He was dressed in the finest clothes she had ever seen and an elaborate curled wig, his splendid attire obviously chosen for the occasion of their betrothal; in fact, he would have looked absolutely perfect except for the uncharacteristic sheen of perspiration on his face.
Irritation emanated from his every step, clinging to him like the sweet imported cologne he wore.
“Are you all right, my dear?” he asked, his ice-blue eyes growing colder as he noted Adam’s hand beneath her elbow. “I’m sure Miss Cary is quite capable of standing on her own without any assistance from you, Mr. Thornton. Kindly release her.”
“Now, why would I want to do that?” Susanna heard Adam say calmly, although she felt the tension in his tightening grasp. She sensed what he was about to reveal and wished impossibly that the floor would open up and swallow her whole, leaving this entire tangled muddle behind her.
“I beg your pardon?” Dominick asked, his aristocratic features marked with dark confusion and barely repressed anger at Adam’s insolence. “Camille, I demand that you tell this…this hired servant of yours—”
“Try husband, Spencer, and you’ll be closer to the truth,” Adam stated bluntly, his arm winding around Susanna’s waist in a clear gesture of possession.
She inhaled in surprise as he drew her close to him, but her response was nothing to the horrified gasp that came from Celeste.
Momentarily speechless, the pretty redhead’s face had become an unattractive shade of pasty white.
“What do you mean, husband?” Dominick said tightly, his narrowed gaze riveting on Susanna.
Say it! Just say it! she screamed to herself, quickly deciding it was best just to blurt out the news. The strained tension in the room was enough to blow out the windows.
“Adam and I were married today,” she heard herself say, her voice sounding strangely like someone else’s.
“Married?” cried Celeste, while Matthew, his reddened face making a stark contrast to his sister’s unwholesome pallor, simply gaped.
“Married?” Dominick rasped, his voice incredulous.
“Yes, in Williamsburg. I—I’m so terribly sorry you had to hear it this way,” Susanna sought to explain, more to Dominick than anyone else, “but it came as a total surprise to me as well. I…I didn’t know Adam held such strong feelings for me, although I had hoped all along that he did—why, ever since I first saw him at the Yorktown docks.
And when he heard a rumor from Celeste that Dominick and I were going to announce our betrothal, it finally spurred him to action.
He couldn’t bear the thought of my marrying another man. ”
“This can’t be true. It can’t be,” Celeste repeated in disbelief while Susanna, ignoring her, plunged on with her hastily conceived story, despite the silent planter’s look of pure fury.
“I’m really very sorry if I’ve hurt you, Dominick.
I never meant to insult or mislead you. That’s why I’m so glad you were late today to the races and we didn’t announce our engagement.
I would never have been able to forgive myself if I had publicly humiliated you.
It’s just when Adam spirited me from the Tates’, saying that there was a fire at Briarwood, and then proposed to me in the Grymes’s carriage, I couldn’t refuse him.
I was so happy to discover that he loved me, the last thing I wanted to do was wait three weeks while the banns were published at Bruton’s Parish.
We were married in a tavern…what was it called, Adam darling? ”
“Market Square.”
Infuriated by the restrained amusement in his voice while she was quaking in her high-heeled shoes, Susanna nonetheless did her best to continue her impersonation of a giddy bride.
“Yes, that was it! The Market Square Tavern. A delightful old parson who resides there was only too happy to marry us.” She held out her trembling left hand to display the thin strip of metal wrapped around her finger.
“See? Adam had to improvise and use a bed-curtain ring until we have time to buy a proper wedding band. It was clever of him, don’t you think? ”
She wasn’t surprised when her inane comment was greeted with dead silence.