Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Perry acquired a common license for the nuptials to ensure they could be married quickly and quietly by the parish priest. The priest, a jolly fellow with an exceptional sweet tooth, had promised them to be discreet and understood the need for the hasty wedding.
Perry played the role of the eager groom well.
Though it wasn’t ideal, he didn’t require Baron Percy’s permission to marry his daughter.
Confident the man would approve, Perry proceeded with planning the ceremony, knowing the baron could not deny the history between them.
Both their families were aware of Aurelia’s existence.
Only he was kept in the dark, a fact that filled him with a simmering rage.
He penned a note to his brother about the upcoming event, expecting no reply.
Hutchins had informed Perry that his brother had been notified of the shooting and expected him to appear soon.
While waiting for his body to heal and for his strength to return to its former robustness, he grew impatient.
He awoke each morning to the birds chirping happily outside his window and the bright sun reminding him that his time was being wasted while he was on his back, a storm of emotion heavy on his chest. Charlotte had not visited him since their last conversation the previous day, and he was certain of her displeasure.
He had practically forced her to marry him.
How humiliating.
Though convenience and the happiness of their child were the main motivators, he had achieved his goal. Yes, he had eased his own conscience. It was a start in righting the errors of the past.
But her reluctance stung.
Could it be she resented his presence at Fermoy? Had he never appeared, she would have remained at the estate in peace, and he would never have known of his daughter’s existence. That seemed like a worse fate. Perry could find no regrets within him.
Only a slight hit to his confidence that she wasn’t eager to marry him.
The tension and restraint she carried every time she passed his room was tangible. She avoided him as much as she could.
Peregrine accepted her resentment, though he had his own burning anger to contend with.
Where was his daughter? Why had he not seen her yet?
He questioned the reluctantly informative servants as to her routines and her intelligence, her success in her studies, and her bright, cheerful disposition.
They offered little detail. He hungered to know more.
Thoughts of Aurelia forced the sides of his mouth to curve upward, regardless of the bitterness stewing inside.
He had a daughter. His mind floated outside his window to the lush gardens below, where his daughter once laughed and sparkled with her ebullience.
He could feel her presence in the home. Her smile not unlike her mother’s.
He wondered if she had stormy eyes like Charlotte’s when she was troubled.
Peregrine sighed and studied the ceiling roses, bored.
His legs thrummed with restless energy. Perhaps he would venture out this night, stretch his legs, and feel the grass beneath his feet once more.
He had missed the country after all the years of avoiding his past. Avoiding her.
Soon, there would be no avoiding her.
The household had been informed of his upcoming travel to the neighboring estate.
There were issues that needed to be settled before Perry fully immersed himself in married life. Family life.
Once Beauregard arrived, he would fill his brother in on his list of suspects for the shooting. There weren’t many, since Hutchins had investigated the incidence of poaching on their land and approached the local hunters, questioning their whereabouts.
It bothered Perry to the point where he wanted to forbid any outside adventures for his daughter and future wife until all was settled.
After all, if there was a shooter on the loose, who was to say they would stop at only firing one bullet?
If nothing else, he would ensure they were followed by a few footmen if they did venture outside.
Surely Charlotte would agree to this. Keep close to the estate until the shooter was found.
His brother would help him find the answers they needed. He would leave his wife and child safe at Fermoy and investigate the events at their own family estate. That would minimize the risk to his family.
His family.
How foreign a word.
He was accustomed to being a brother, even a son, though his parents had passed away some time ago.
But now, a father? A husband again?
The thought sent a thrill running down his spine.
It was a sensation he had never experienced during his first marriage.
A wedding he had dreaded. Eliza never made him feel like much of a husband.
Their first interactions were frosty at best. She feared and reviled him.
Though her options had been few, having never had a say in choosing her husband made her hard to reach.
A routine of quiet meals and following the protocols of society in public made for the development of very little intimacy.
Eliza understood the role she was expected to fulfill and never wanted for more.
They hardly touched. Their couplings were hurried and disappointing, especially when they came to nothing.
He grew to dread them. Over time, he stopped visiting her at night.
Eliza never protested or asked him to return.
Eventually, they both settled into a peaceful life at Wildwood.
The quiet was stifling and lonely.
Though unhappy in his marriage, Perry wasn’t one to seek his pleasures elsewhere.
Somehow, it was a betrayal he had no interest in pursuing.
To avoid temptation, he settled on their estate and remained quite content.
Not particularly happy. But wealthy beyond what he could have hoped as a second son and comfortable.
It was close enough to his brother that he could escape on occasion.
This new beginning with Charlotte gave him hope.
When he placed his hands on her the other day, desire thrummed through him.
She haunted his dreams. Truly, when he pleaded for her to marry him, it was as though he was possessed by an intense passion he hardly recognized.
Perry had no idea why he felt the need to be so forceful.
Desperate. There was simply an awareness, deep down in his soul, an unwillingness to ever let her go again.
If she had said no, he would have continued to pursue her until she accepted him.
His determination puzzled him, but he accepted it.
It told him something about himself he hated to admit but recognized as true.
When he first got engaged to Eliza, he would have done anything to escape the commitment.
The prospect of his second marriage, however, left him aching and longing for something he never knew he wanted.
It was a hunger that pushed him to ensure she became his by whatever means. No other outcome would satisfy him.
Surely, it was his conscience that led him.
And possibly the fact that he had dreamed of Lottie for years.
Perry refused to analyze his motivations other than to confirm that it just made sense. Charlotte needed a life beyond the walls of Fermoy, and Aurelia deserved a father. A wedding between them would satisfy both realities.
His next resolution was to see his daughter. Perry stood and walked over to ring for a servant. He would ask that they bring Charlotte and Aurelia to him with all due haste. It was time for his future wife to stop avoiding him.
Resolved, Perry stood at the window, watching as storm clouds gathered over the horizon. It would be a rainy night. Perhaps he would venture to the library and enjoy a drink by the fire tonight.
Yes.
Perry was emboldened by his many resolutions.
He turned as the bedroom door opened, a grin spreading over his face as his eyes landed on his visitor. It wasn’t a servant. It was Beauregard.
“One would think if someone wanted to kill you, they would aim better. Don’t you agree, brother?”