Chapter Nineteen
“There, there, please stop crying.” Nancy patted Meredith’s shoulder. “What’s done is done.”
“It will not help the situation,” Bethany said. “Once a rake, always a rake.”
Meredith sobbed harder. She’d been such a fool. So na?ve. Gullible and… And wanton.
There was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” Nancy called sharply, clearly irritated at the intrusion. “We do not wish to be disturbed.”
“Lysander. Miss Jones’s presence is requested by Mrs. Dove-Lyon.”
“What?” Meredith bolted upright and dashed at the tears on her cheeks. “Now? Oh, God, can you help me pack? I am to be thrown onto the streets in the middle of the night. Oh, heaven help me.” Meredith leaped up and pushed damp strands of hair from her brow. “I will be murdered by morn,” she wailed.
“Get a hold of yourself.” Nancy grabbed her by the shoulders. “Stop this.”
“But…?”
“You will not be murdered by morn.”
“Although it would be a way out of this scandal.” Bethany shrugged.
“Shut up, Bethany. That is not helpful,” Nancy snapped. “Now pass me that brush we must do something with Meredith’s hair before she goes downstairs.” She angled her face at the door. “Give us two minutes, Lysander. She won’t be long.”
“Let me.” Bethany took the brush and started on Meredith’s hair.
Meredith stood stock-still and let her fuss. She was helpless and hopeless to the situation.
“Now blow your nose.” Nancy handed her a kerchief. “And dry those eyes. This amount of hysteria will only amplify your guilt.”
She dabbed at her face. “But I am guilty of everything of which I am accused.”
“Shh now.” Nancy pinched her chin. “Head up.” She set about powdering Meredith’s hot cheeks.
Bethany finished with her hair and squirted Meredith with the new French perfume. “Oh…this is fancy.”
Meredith bit on her bottom lip to keep a new sob inside. Her chest was tight and her heart thudded with foreboding.
She was in a serious predicament with Mrs. Dove-Lyon. The path out of it would not be an easy one.
“There.” Nancy stepped back and scrutinized her.
“The best we can do under the circumstances.” Bethany tugged at Meredith’s gown to pull out the creases. “The rest is up to you.”
“Wish me luck.” Meredith blew out a breath. She had to get a grip of her emotions. Mrs. Dove-Lyon didn’t like crying.
“Apologize, be contrite, and take whatever punishment she doles out with grace. That will impress her.” Nancy squeezed her hand. “I’ll be waiting here to help in any way I can.”
“Thank you. Thank you both, for everything.”
Meredith stepped from the room. Lysander nodded at her then turned to the stairs.
She followed him until she’d reached Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s office then knocked quietly on the door.
“Enter.”
Meredith stepped in to the candlelit room. It smelled of incense and the pile of books on the desk appeared to have grown considerably since she’d last been in the room.
“Ah, Meredith. You are here,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said.
“Yes, and I am so—” Her apology stalled in her throat. Because in the corner of the room, in the shadows, stood Jules.
Their gazes connected. Her mouth fell open. What on earth was he doing in here?
“Finally,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said, spreading her hands on the desk and the light catching on her large rings. “I have both the culprits of this stupendous scandal before me.”
‘Stupendous scandal.’ Oh, Lord. That didn’t sound good.
Meredith ducked her head and linked her fingers. Her cheeks flushed with shame.
“I hope you are both aware of the gossip flying around the Lyon’s Den right now? It will be in every corner of the ton by this time tomorrow.”
Meredith nodded.
Jules was silent.
“Gossip that you pretended to be wed whilst on a trip to Paris. A trip that I hadn’t even given my permission for.” She paused. “You lied to me, Miss Jones.”
“I am so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Meredith fought to control the tears.
“You weren’t thinking about your reputation, not for one second, that much is clear. I was under the impression that you wanted to marry a gentleman of London. How on earth can that happen now?”
“Yes, I do, I did, but… But that wasn’t going so well and I—”
“Decided to do a hop, skip, and a jump over the water to Paris with Mr. Habsburg here, about whom I am sure you were warned by many of my girls.”
Meredith nodded and squeezed her eyes closed. She pinched the bridge of her nose until it hurt.
“This really is all my fault,” Jules said firmly. “I persuaded her, tricked her, even, with the promise of learning about art, something Mered… Miss Jones is very interested in and dare I say is showing a talent for. There could be quite a future for her in the industry.”
Meredith looked up at him. His jaw was set tight and his chin held high.
Why was he defending her when he could walk away from all of this without consequence?
But herself? Not a chance. She would be left with a reputation in tatters and a swelling belly.
“And I also dissuaded her from having a chaperone, Miss Dove-Lyon. That was also my fault and I regret it deeply. It would have saved us a lot of reproach.”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon nodded. “That it would have. And the lie about being married, specifically to Mr. Delaware, tells me more about that little gem of deceit.”
“Again, entirely my fault.” Jules set one hand on his hip and with the other gestured at Meredith.
“It was a ruse so we could be seen out in public together without drawing suspicion. My idea again. We were in a hotel. We wanted to dine at the restaurant, go to cafés. It was simply to avoid gossip.”
“Yet we brought it to our doorstep,” Meredith added. “Your doorstep, Mrs. Dove-Lyon. I really am sorry. It was a foolish thing to do.”
“It was, incredibly so.” Mrs. Dove-Lyon stood and set her hands on the desk. She leaned forward. “But the question now is: what are you going to do about it? This marriage lie?”
Meredith shook her head. “I suppose I should leave, go back to Wales.” She could only hope her mother would have her over the doorstep when she found out about all of this.
“No, no, that will never do.” Mrs. Dove-Lyon straightened. “You are bound together by this scandal. You must rise above it together.”
“But how?” Meredith asked. “There is no way out.”
“I believe there is one.” Mrs. Dove-Lyon looked at Jules. “And so does the man at your side.”
Meredith turned to him. Confusion swarmed within her. What was Mrs. Dove-Lyon talking about?
“I do?” Jules said.
“Yes, Mr. Habsburg, you most certainly do. Now I suggest you get on with it. Time is of the essence in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“Oh. Well I…” He frowned.
“Now,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon said. “No time like the present and it is rather late.”
“Meredith,” Jules said. Then he cleared his throat.
She frowned at him. What was about to happen? What did he know that could be a way out of their situation?
“I…” He reached for her hand. “I want to…”
His touch was familiar and calming and she pulled in a deep breath as warmth spread on her flesh.
“I am deeply sorry for all the ways in which I have wronged you,” Jules said, looking into her eyes. “But I believe we are not just bound together by this scandal, but also by our hearts.”
“What… What do you mean?” she whispered, her heart fluttering now.
“Mrs. Dove-Lyon, in her wisdom, has shown me how to read my feelings for you. It is as though they were a language I hadn’t learned, yet now I have.”
“Your feelings for me?”
“Yes, I am happy when I am with you. I am in awe of you. You make me want to be a better man…for you.”
She said nothing. Her breathing picked up. Where was this going? She didn’t dare hope, for hope was as fragile as glass yet still, it was there. It existed.
“So please,” he said. “I wish to renew my proposal for our ongoing acquaintance and ask that you…” He dropped to one knee and looked up at her. “Would do me the very great honor of being my wife, Meredith?”
“Your wife?” The word mistress, which had been rattling around her head for days, suddenly evaporated. “But… But you’re not the marrying sort, Jules. You told me that. Everyone knows that.”
“It seems I am…if marriage is to you.” The right side of his mouth twitched, just a little, the start of an anxious smile. Rare on him but very endearing.
She tugged his hand until he stood. “Jules, I adore you, and…”
“And I love you.” He moved closer. “That is the feeling I have here.” He tapped his chest. “Love. I see it now. Know it now.”
She sighed. “And I have loved you for a long time, but…”
“How can love come with a ‘but’?” His eyes narrowed.
“But…you must promise me a few things if I am to be your wife.”
“I will promise you anything.”
“No more suspect art deals, of any kind.”
He nodded briskly. “I will try my best, though sometimes it is the only way to—”
“Mr. Habsburg,” Mrs. Dove-Lyon snapped. “Please, listen to this young woman who has wise words for you.”
Meredith pulled in a breath. “And you have to at least try to move on from all this resentment about the branch of the Habsburg dynasty your ancestors were denied. It was centuries ago. You, and your father, and your grandfather before him have made your own way, made your own great successes and wealth. Maximilian is an unhealthy obsession that must be overcome now, while you are alive.”
He pulled in a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I will do my best.”
“You must if you want me to be your wife. Ghosts from the past are not to be part of our family.”
“I do want you to be my wife. No more ghosts.” He reached for her other hand and drew both to his lips. “I want you more than anything. More than any ancestry, or titles, or pieces of art.” He paused. “I want you, Meredith, at my side. Today, tomorrow, and every day after that.”
“Oh, Jules.” Meredith’s eyes prickled with emotion. “Are you speaking the truth?” She hardly dared believe it.
“I swear on my life. I will be a husband who makes you proud, a husband who is always by your side. I will keep nothing from you.”
“Including duels at dawn?”
His mouth gaped for a second. “How do you know about…?”
Mrs. Dove-Lyon coughed exaggeratedly.
“Yes, yes, including duels at dawn,” he said. “Absolutely.”
She nodded. “If you really are sure…then yes…” She pulled in a breath. “I will be your wife.”
Suddenly, she was in his arms and his lips were on hers.
Meredith forgot Mrs. Dove-Lyon was even in the room and clung to his jacket as she sagged against his body.
He tasted of everything she’d ever need.
Her heart was so full, it was overflowing with love and the heavy cloak of doom that had been weighing down her shoulders was suddenly lifted. Gone. Evaporated.
She was to be a wife.
The wife of Jules Habsburg.
“Well, finally, we got there.” Mrs. Dove-Lyon clapped.
They pulled apart and Jules grinned at her in that devilishly naughty way that had her body trembling for him. She giggled and enjoyed the fizz of longing that went up her spine.
“I apologize,” Jules said to Mrs. Dove-Lyon, “for that sudden display of affection.”
She waved her hand at him. “Oh, do not apologize. It is only right to share a kiss after promising your lives to each other. The only thing to arrange now is the wedding.”
“The wedding…of course,” Jules said.
“Which will be tomorrow.”
“‘Tomorrow’?” Meredith gasped.
“Yes, the sooner there is a real wedding ring on your finger, the sooner the scandal goes away. But don’t worry.
I will arrange everything. I can acquire a special license.
The minister will come here and the ceremony will be a quiet affair, no fuss, no fanfare, just a union that fixes this terrible fix. ”
Jules nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Yes. Good idea, excellent idea. And then we can kiss this sorry situation goodbye and…”
“Kiss each other to your heart’s content.” Mrs. Dove-Lyon waved at Meredith. “Now off you skip and be sure to tell Nancy—she will help you with tomorrow’s attire and ease any wedding-night nerves. She is well-versed, having four married sisters.”
“I… Oh…” Meredith felt a flush of heat travel up her chest. “Yes, good idea, of course. Wedding-night nerves.”
“Ah, I see that you have no wedding-night nerves.” Mrs. Dove-Lyon frowned. “All the better that we get this wedding over and done with then.”
Meredith didn’t need Mrs. Dove-Lyon to say the words ‘with child.’ They were hanging in the air between them.
And that was something she couldn’t face, not yet, not until she had a real ring on her finger.
So she bid her, and Jules, goodnight, and raced from the room, desperate to get to Nancy and Bethany and tell them the news.
Because this was an outcome she never could have predicted. Wouldn’t have dared hope for.
But this is what was to happen. She was to be a bride.