Chapter Eight
“No frowning allowed on our wedding day.” Aubrey’s lips were close to her ear, his voice low enough to keep their conversation private.
His nearness did funny things to her insides, or maybe it was the overabundance of nerves affecting her?
It was hard to tell when her emotions were a jumbled mess of fear, relief, shame, foreboding and yes, desire for this man who was now her husband.
The justice of the peace had them sign the marriage papers with Mr. Plumber and Mrs. Allston signing as their witnesses.
“And with that,” Mr. Taylor said, as he put the papers into a leather satchel, “it’s official. Congratulations Mr. Nelson, Mrs. Nelson.”
Mrs. Nelson.
She was now his wife.
When her legs would’ve buckled under her, she settled into one of the many chairs that adorned the vast library.
Mr. Nelson went to see Mr. Taylor out and returned alone, closing the door to the prying eyes of the servants. “Are you all right?”
“I don’t know what I am.”
“I know one thing you are.”
“What’s that?”
He sat in the chair next to hers. “Married.”
“Indeed I am.” She forced herself to look at him. “I’m not sure I said thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me.”
“There is every need to thank you. You’ve saved me from certain death.”
He took her hand and brought it to his lips.
“By saving your life, I saved my own because if you had left, I never would’ve stopped looking for you.
” The combination of his heartfelt words and the brush of his lips against her skin set off a wildfire of need inside her the likes of which she had never before experienced.
“What will happen now?”
“I’ll contact our family’s legal counsel to determine how we should handle your former husband’s family and the charges pending in Ireland. I’ll move heaven and earth to free you from the horror of your past.”
“If we do that, they’ll know where I am.” The thought of them finding her had filled her with stark terror even before they tracked her to Newport.
“They’ll also know that you’re under my protection.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to hope they never find me?”
“Perhaps, but I would rather you not have to live with that threat hanging over you.”
“I’m afraid, Mr. Nelson. They’re powerful people, and they’ll want retribution for their brother and son.”
“Their brother and son was a brute who beat his wife.”
“That won’t matter to them.”
“Try not to worry. We have the truth on our side and the best legal minds money can buy working for us.”
“And your family won’t mind if you request their assistance on behalf of your new Irish wife who murdered her former husband?”
“My new wife defended herself against a violent attack. That’s the only fact that matters.”
“I wish I shared your confidence. Your family will not understand.”
“I’m not concerned about what my family thinks. I married the woman I wanted to marry for reasons that’re entirely my own. It’s none of their concern.”
She didn’t believe it would be that simple, but she chose to keep that thought to herself.
“We must move your belongings from the third floor into my suite and enjoy the wedding luncheon I asked Mrs. Allston to prepare for us.”
“But there’s work to be done.”
“That work is no longer your concern.”
“Of course it’s my concern! Your family will be here at the end of the week and the duke and duchess a week later. The house is in no way ready for occupancy.”
“I’ll see about hiring a new housekeeper tomorrow to oversee the final preparations.”
“There won’t be time to hire someone and get her here. I’m already here and well aware of what needs to be done. I insist that you allow me to finish what I’ve started.” She no sooner used the word “insist” than she recoiled from the pervasive fear that he would react badly.
“Please don’t do that,” he said softly. “Don’t think that I’ll strike you if you speak your mind to me.”
“I apologize.”
“Don’t do that either.”
“It’s apt to take a while for me to believe you won’t treat me the way he did.”
“Take all the time you need.” He stood and gave a gentle tug on the hand he continued to hold. “Let me assist you in moving your belongings.”
“There isn’t much to move. I could do it myself.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll invite one of the local dressmakers to come measure you for a new wardrobe.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Ah, but it is, my dear. I’m going to want to show off my beautiful wife at the many parties and gatherings this summer, and you’ll want to be properly attired.”
“The local hostesses won’t welcome me.”
“If they wish to entertain our friends, the duke and duchess, they will absolutely welcome you. And let me assure you, they all want to entertain the duke and duchess.”
“So you’ll blackmail them into accepting me?”
“Blackmail is such an ugly word.”
Maeve released an inelegant snort of laughter.
Mr. Nelson stopped and turned to her, his face a study of shock and longing.
“What’s wrong?”
“Absolutely nothing. It is just that you so rarely laugh, and I do love the sound.”
“I haven’t had much reason to laugh in recent months.”
“I hope to hear more of that delightful sound now that you’re safe and protected.” He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and escorted her upstairs to the third floor.
“You never said if you’ll allow me to continue to oversee the preparations for your family and guests.”
“It’s no longer necessary for you to work.”
“It may not be financially necessary, but I like to finish what I start, and the only way this house is going to be ready in time is if I continue to oversee the work.”
“It’s important to you then?”
“It is. I want your family and guests to be comfortable.”
“I’ll make you a deal. You may continue to oversee the work on the house if you allow me to provide you with a new wardrobe.”
She thought about that for a minute and decided the deal was fair enough. “I agree to that.”
“All right then. But I’ll do my best to hire another housekeeper to assist you. I’m going to want to spend time with my new wife, and that won’t be possible if she’s busy working from sunup to sundown.”
Hearing that he wanted to spend time with her set off that fluttering sensation inside her that occurred whenever he looked at her in that special, proprietary way.
Maeve opened the door to the room that contained a bed, a bedside table and a wardrobe.
Its most redeeming feature was the breathtaking view of the ocean from the one small window.
It took a matter of minutes to fold and pack her three work dresses, undergarments, two nightgowns, robe and slippers into the carpetbag she had brought from New York.
Aware of him watching her every move, she bent to retrieve the stash of money she had taken from Mr. Farthington and tucked it into the carpetbag, deciding it was good for him to know that she had the means to flee, should it become necessary.
The only other item she owned was the silver framed photo of her family that she had grabbed in her panic after the altercation with her husband.
Former husband.
“May I?” Mr. Nelson said of the photo.
Maeve handed it over to him.
He studied the photo of her parents and sisters that had become her most precious and prized possession.
Taken by the shore, the sisters were framed by their obviously proud parents.
In the middle of the group, a much younger Maeve beamed in a way he’d never seen before, as if she were right where she belonged.
He wondered if he would ever see her smile like that as long as she was separated from her precious family.
The picture gave him a better idea of exactly what she’d left behind in her haste to escape before she could be found and hung for her crime.
“I’ll take you to see them the minute it’s safe for you to return to Ireland.”
Maeve stared at him, hoping she hadn’t misheard him. She had left Ireland expecting to never return, to never see her family again. And now he was offering her the possibility of someday returning home. It was almost too much to take in.
He relieved her of the bag containing her meager possessions and once again offered her his arm to escort her from the room. The sound of the door closing behind them symbolized the end of one life and the beginning of another.
A spark of hope ignited inside her. Mr. Nelson had lit that spark and continued to fan the flame with everything he said and did.
A mere flight of stairs separated the third-floor servants’ quarters from the palatial rooms occupied by the Nelson family.
As they descended the stairs, Maeve vowed to maintain perspective.
Mr. Nelson had done her a favor by marrying her.
When his family, friends and society rejected his wife, he would, too.
It was only a matter of time before he realized he’d made a huge mistake in marrying her.
So it would behoove her to keep her emotions out of this farce of marriage.
Under no circumstances could she allow herself to fall in love with him.
As Aubrey escorted his new wife into the suite of rooms that they would share, he felt lighter than air. The beautiful, mysterious, capable Miss Brown was now his wife, and he could honestly say that since he lost Annabelle, he’d never been as happy as he was right in that moment.
The surreal aspects of the day made him feel as if he were living a dream and that at any moment he might wake to find that his fertile imagination had conjured the threat Mr. Tornquist had brought to his door as well as the solution that had made her his wife.
Aubrey’s stomach took a nasty dip when he thought about what his mother would have to say about him marrying the Irish housekeeper.
He’d told his new wife that he didn’t care what his mother thought, and he didn’t.
But he didn’t relish the unpleasantness that would surely ensue when she learned what’d transpired after she sent him to Newport to make the house ready for the family and their guests.