The Husband Campaign

Chapter Five

And so she was married. She stood before the rector, her parents and a few friends among the dark wood paneling and soaring stained glass windows of St. George’s Hanover Square. She repeated her vows and listened to John repeat his in that gruff voice. It wasn’t until she said, “Till death do us part,” that a tremor ran through her. She could only hope no one else noticed.

She continued smiling as they returned to her parents’ home and the receiving line down the corridor as guests progressed to the wedding breakfast at tables her mother had had erected in the withdrawing room. She accepted congratulations, thanked the noble guests for their good wishes. She counted three dukes, two marquesses and an earl who was related to the king. And all of them seemed far more interested in making her husband’s acquaintance than in wishing her well.

John did not appear the least bit humbled by the attentions paid him. He stood beside her, nodding, exchanging few words. His sharp features and hooded gaze reminded her of a falcon she’d seen once. That bird had been wary, gaze sweeping the grassy lands for prey. She didn’t like the thought that perhaps this time she was the mouse.

“Well done,” Lord Danning said, next in line to congratulate them. A tall man with golden hair, his ready smile to her and John eased her tension. But it was the sight of Ruby beside him that truly raised her spirits.

Marriage obviously agreed with her friend, for Ruby’s green eyes positively sparkled, and her mouth was stretched wide in a grin. Her red hair was tamed under a fashionable chip hat, an ostrich plume curling down around her ear to tease her cheek.

“As soon as you’re finished,” she said, giving Amelia’s arm a squeeze, “come find me. I can’t wait to hear all.”

Amelia wasn’t sure how much she dared relate with so many other people about. But after the guests had been seated for the wedding breakfast, she managed to slip away with Ruby into the gardens behind the house.

“I know the two of you met when you were up at Fern Lodge with us, but I won’t believe it was love at first sight,” Ruby declared in her forthright manner. She linked arms with Amelia as they strolled the white-rocked paths among the low boxwood hedges. “So what happened? Did he follow you to London? Plead his case on bended knee?”

“Not quite,” Amelia admitted, going on to explain the situation. When she finished, Ruby’s face tightened.

“Not the most auspicious of beginnings,” she agreed. “Do you at least admire him?”

Amelia thought hard. He was cool but generally considerate in a rough sort of way. He was not much of a conversationalist. He did not seem to be particularly devoted to family.

“He is by all accounts good with his horses,” she finally said.

The faint praise hung in the sunny morning air a moment. She glanced at Ruby, and suddenly they were both giggling.

“He looks presentable in a jacket and trousers,” Ruby offered.

“His nose is not offensive,” Amelia countered.

“He does slip out of services on Sunday to race his carriage,” Ruby assured her.

“And he isn’t an avid fisherman,” Amelia proclaimed triumphantly.

Ruby hugged the sides of her emerald gown as if to hold in her laughter. “Oh, so true! You are very fortunate there, you know. On my honeymoon, I learned fifteen different ways to entice a trout to rise. Who would have thought the silly things so fussy!”

“Or so determined,” Amelia agreed.

Ruby sobered. “Indeed. I never thought I’d give the time of day to a trout other than to gobble him down for dinner. But I have come to care about such things as fishing because he cares about them. I’m sure it will be the same with you and Lord Hascot.”

Amelia could only hope her friend was right. In truth, she’d always enjoyed riding. Why shouldn’t she enjoy helping John with his horses? Perhaps they could find companionship of a sort, at the very least.

Her doubts returned the moment they stepped out of the house for the carriage.

She had changed into her travel attire, a corded surge gown of navy blue with a feather-trimmed bonnet, and John had changed into a rough tweed coat and brown trousers. Her mother took one look at his scuffed boots and turned her back on him. But Amelia could see him frowning at the lumbering travel coach and wagon standing behind his trim carriage.

“What’s all this?” he asked.

Before Amelia could answer, her mother drew herself up. She’d been far too busy with her other guests the past few hours to pay much attention to her daughter or new son-in-law. Now she affixed him with an imperial glare.

“These are Amelia’s belongings, her contribution to your home, sir,” she informed him.

He eyed the chair leg poking out of the canvas covering the back of the wagon. “My home is sufficiently furnished, madam. You may keep your castoffs.”

“Well, I never!” her mother cried, face reddening.

Amelia stepped in the middle from long practice. “They are not castoffs, my lord, but a few pieces of which I am very fond. Being a bachelor household, your home likely lacks some of the things a woman needs.”

Now he frowned at her. As frowns went, it was fairly formidable. His dark brows drew down over his long nose in a V that made his deep brown eyes cavernous. She imagined his staff must duck and scurry when they saw such a look. Being her father’s daughter, she had seen worse.

“Such as?” he demanded.

“A jewelry case?” Amelia guessed. “A dressing table? Poetry by Shakespeare and Everard?”

His brow cleared. “Very well. But it will all have to come later. I intend to make Dovecote Dale by dinner tomorrow, and I won’t be held up by the pace of that wagon.”

“Now, see here,” her mother started, but Amelia’s father came out of the house just then, approaching them with measured tread. As if Amelia’s mother saw defeat coming, she called to her servants to do as Lord Hascot requested.

That necessitated a rush among her parents’ staff to ensure Amelia had what she’d need for the next three or four days before the coach and wagon reached the farm. Then it was time to say goodbye.

Her mother went so far as to hug her, her arms wrapped around Amelia’s shoulders, her head resting against Amelia’s. She couldn’t remember the last time her mother had been so demonstrative, and tears pricked her eyes.

Then her mother whispered, “Remember your vows, Amelia.”

Her vows? Did her mother think she would be unfaithful? The very idea hurt so much that the tears overflowed. Her mother must have noticed them as she disengaged, because she patted Amelia’s hand.

“There now, it shouldn’t be so hard,” she said, voice unusually quiet for her. “You were always an obedient child, until recently. Just see that you treat your husband with a similar level of agreeability.”

Obedience. Agreeability. That was what her mother expected of her. Normally, it was what Amelia expected of herself, as well. “Honor thy father and mother,” the Bible said. She would continue to honor them, but she was no longer their child. And though she was Lord Hascot’s wife, she could not help feeling that perhaps she might at last become her own person.

Her father merely extended his hand, and she accepted it in farewell.

“I trust we will see you in London this fall,” he said, and Amelia could tell by the way his pale blue gaze shifted to John that he was addressing her new husband.

She couldn’t help glancing at John, as well. He stood next to the open door of the carriage, waiting for her to climb in.

“I come to London in the spring for a sale at Tattersalls,” he said. “Amelia is free to come whenever she likes.”

Her father released her hand and turned to offer his arm to his wife. That was all that need be said. She blinked back the tears and went to join John in the carriage. When would she learn that nothing about her warranted her father’s attention?

Would it merit her husband’s? And if it did, would she want his attention?

She watched him as the coach sped out of Mayfair. He had taken the rear-facing bench with his back to the driver, leaving her the leather-upholstered forward-facing seat. With the curtains drawn back from the windows, light flooded the compartment so that she could see every plane of his face, the way his coat draped his tall frame, the grip of his gloved fists on the edge of the bench. This was the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life.

The man who would sire her children.

Heat flushed up her face. Surely they needn’t discuss children so soon. They had just wed. He was in a rush to return home. But he’d said he wished to reach the farm by tomorrow dinner. That meant they would spend the night together along the way.

Lord, help me! I don’t think I can do this.

* * *

Across the coach, John watched Amelia. Her face had turned that delicate pink it did when she was concerned about something, and now she took a deep breath and folded her hands in the lap of her dark blue gown. She was frightened and trying to pretend otherwise. He’d seen similar behavior in a horse new to the herd.

Of course, she’d been tense all day. In the pale satin gown beside him at the altar she’d stood so still she’d looked as if she was made of fine crystal. He’d felt the tremor pass through her when she’d said her vows. She was still no surer of their decision to marry than he was.

He leaned back, but the leather behind him was less forgiving than the look on her face. “You will make an excellent wife, you know.”

She raised a brow. “On what do you base that assessment, sir?”

She seemed to think his confidence a complaint. Given the man who was her father, he could understand why.

“It is my impression that all young ladies in Society are schooled in the efficient running of a household,” he explained.

She continued to regard him. “So you lack a housekeeper, a butler.”

“I have a butler.” Why was the seat feeling harder every moment? John shifted, trying to get comfortable. “I have an entire staff, but they have received little attention with my efforts focused on the horses. I’m sure improvements could be made.”

He thought she relaxed a little. “I’d be happy to help there. And I’m looking forward to helping with your horses, as well.”

His muscles stiffened as if in protest. “I need no help with the horses.”

She inclined her head. “I didn’t mean to imply that you did, my lord. I trust you located the one that had disappeared the day you found me in the stable.”

John nodded. If she intended to merely talk about his horses instead of attempting to manage them, he could oblige. It was the one topic of conversation where he actually felt confident. “We did. She crossed the bridge and wandered toward town. A farmer alerted us, and we brought her home.”

“Do they wander a great deal?” she asked, surprise in her voice.

“Not at all. Horses are herd animals. They feel safer together. But Contessa is another matter.”

“Contessa.” She smiled as if the name pleased her. “Quite a lady, I take it.”

“Our queen. She leads the herd. Contessa is a direct-line descendent of the Byerley Turk and one of the finest animals you’ll find in England.”

“I’ve heard of the Turk,” she said, eyes wide as if the relationship impressed her. “Father has several descendants. They are all exceptionally fine animals. Did Contessa race?”

“No,” John said, and even now the memory hurt. “She was the first horse I bought myself when I was still at university. My father thought I was becoming too attached. Maudlin sentimentality, he called it. He sold her to a colonel who took her to the Peninsula.”

Her hand pressed against her pretty pink lips a moment. “Oh, no! Did she see action, then?”

“A great deal. She was finally pulled down on the Spanish frontier. The colonel thought enough of her to send her home to recuperate, but it was clear she’d never support a cavalry run again. And I was able then to buy her back. She was the first horse I brought to Hollyoak.”

Could she hear the pride in his words? Did she appreciate its source? He’d never met anyone who could understand his devotion to his horses. He knew most men saw them as nothing more than transportation, perhaps an acknowledgment of their prestige. They were far more to him. No horse had ever spurned his friendship, lied to his face or stabbed him in the back.

“Small wonder you went looking for her in a thunderstorm.” She smiled at him, and even though he’d felt justified in his efforts for the mare, his work suddenly felt noble. It was as if Amelia approved of him.

Dangerous stuff that, his emotions turning on her smile. He refused to be so easily led again.

“You needn’t be concerned I’ll set you a similar task,” he assured her. “You’ll have enough to keep you busy without dealing with the horses. Buyers appear frequently, often without warning. As I said, I expect you to deal with those who come merely to look. That includes keeping the wives and daughters occupied.”

“And safely away from the horses,” she said.

It was in him to agree, but something in the way she said it told him agreement wasn’t wise.

“I’m more than happy to show a lady my stock,” he said instead. “But I’ve found most have little interest.”

“Perhaps if you asked,” she replied, gaze dropping at last, “you might find them quite interested indeed.”

Was she talking about his buyers or herself? She certainly seemed interested in the conversation. She had looked out for Belle as best she could that night in the stable, and she had risen to Contessa’s defense when she’d initially heard the mare was missing. Still, he could not believe his horses would ever be as important to her as they were to him.

She seemed to think the conversation finished, for she lapsed into silence. Her gaze went to the window as if hoping to see their destination in the distance. He knew they had far to go yet. Gazing backward from where he sat on the rear-facing bench, he could see that the stone buildings of London were disappearing to be replaced by golden fields of grain and neat hedgerows. As they took a bend in the road, he spotted another fellow following them. John frowned.

“Something wrong, my lord?” Amelia asked.

Had she been watching him? John shook his head, as much at his vanity as to answer her question. “There’s someone behind us,” he said. “Cob of a horse, swaybacked, hollow sides, which generally means poor pasture or not enough grain. And he pulls too hard on the bit.”

Amelia turned to eye the road back. “You can tell all that at a glance?”

John shrugged. “You can tell a lot about a horse and his rider if you know where to look. This fellow isn’t comfortable riding. He’s holding the reins too far out from his body and using his heels over much.”

“I see what you mean.” She turned to eye John now. “Is he following us?”

Was that worry he heard in her voice?

“Anyone can use the king’s highway,” he replied. “But there have been no reports of highwaymen along this route. I wouldn’t be concerned.”

She nodded, but he wasn’t sure she believed him.

The afternoon stretched. John busied himself planning an extension to the main stable block, but when the coach finally pulled into the yard of the Fox and Hound Inn that evening, Amelia still sat primly across the coach, hands folded in her lap. He offered her a smile as the carriage stopped. The smile she returned was small and tight.

What had he done to offend her? Had she expected scintillating conversation after their other encounters? Or was she a woman who held a grudge for every little slight? He didn’t like thinking about his future in that case. The good Lord knew there were all too many ways John had found to offend people, even without trying!

“Lord Hascot, Lady Hascot, welcome!” the innkeeper warbled on seeing them, his broad smile at odds with his lean frame. “Your rooms are ready, just as you requested, my lord. May I serve dinner in the private parlor in an hour?”

“Make it a half hour,” John told him. “I’m famished. This way, my lady.”

“Rooms?” she whispered as he led her toward the stairs, and something trembled in her voice. “Separate rooms?”

“Of course,” he said.

Then she finally smiled at him, and he nearly missed a step from the blinding brilliance.

She’d thought he’d intended them to sleep together, and she clearly wasn’t thrilled with the idea. He should have expected that. Caro had cooed over him, calling him her brooding darling, but he had never been sure that was a compliment. Certainly he’d never mastered the flowery language that was supposed to set women dreaming of sweet kisses. Perhaps he should have let Amelia bring her poetry in the coach.

Then again, he wasn’t ready to consummate the marriage, either. He would have to be six feet under not to find those platinum tresses, that lithe figure attractive. But people were not as simple as horses, and it took more than attraction to make a good marriage, the kind that nurtured children.

His father might have questioned John’s attachment to his horses, but John thought a proper father would take an interest in his offspring, show them how to get on in the world, introduce them to important things like prayer and riding. Right now he stumbled over the former and would probably be too critical of the latter. And he would certainly never condone raising a hand to his child.

“Never fear, your ladyship,” he said as he left her at her room, the scent of orange blossoms hanging tantalizingly in the air. “I do not intend to claim my matrimonial rights until we are both satisfied it is the best course.”

If he was not the man he was, he might have taken exception with how happy that seemed to make her.

Still, he could not fault her that evening. Now that she was no longer concerned about how they would spend the night, she was pleasing company.

She presided over the meal; he could think of no other word for it. She folded her elegant hands once more and recited the grace with bowed head. As if she was honoring him as a guest in her own house, she served him from the ragout of beef the innkeeper brought, offered him seconds when he gulped it down and made sure he was given the largest piece of the peach tart that accompanied the meal. Through it all, she kept up a steady stream of polite conversation that required no more than a nod from him unless he wished otherwise.

Indeed, the evening and the next day passed in such undemanding comfort that he was surprised to hear the rumble of the wheels as they crossed the River Bell, which marked the edge of his property.

He had purchased Hollyoak Farm on his twenty-fifth birthday with monies left him by his mother and immediately set about improving it. Now solid stable wings stretched parallel to each other out behind the house, pasture and planted grain waving away in all directions. He could see Contessa dashing across the nearest field with the odd gait the old lady had conceived to compensate for her injury. The very air smelled sweeter as he opened the carriage door in the yard behind the house.

Across the back of the building, his staff had lined up to welcome him and his new bride in the glow of a setting sun. John walked beside her, told her names and positions, nodded his appreciation for their gesture. Amelia smiled graciously, greeted each person by name after John had introduced him and made an appropriate remark about their positions.

By the time they reached the end of the line, he couldn’t help noticing that half his men were grinning like idiots and another third were blushing like debutantes at their first ball. A few, however, frowned, clearly skeptical of the success of this newcomer in their ranks.

He was not nearly so skeptical. In fact, he had a feeling that, unless he was very careful, Amelia was going to be entirely too successful—at managing his life.

Chapter Six

So many people, and all here to greet her. It was rather gratifying. Amelia turned her smile on her new husband, who did not look nearly as happy as she felt.

“And may I see the stables?” she asked sweetly.

If anything, his scowl deepened. “Perhaps another time.”

As he took her arm, his men melted into the background, away from his scowl. They knew to be obedient. She was beginning to think obedience to be overrated. It was clear that if she wanted to learn more about her husband’s horses, she would have to insist.

For now, she focused instead on the house. She knew from her previous visit that the corridor from the rear door led straight through to the front. As she entered this time, she smelled garlic as if from a recent meal emanating from the room to the left.

“The kitchen,” John confirmed with a nod in that direction. “And the staff hall. My library is opposite.”

An odd place for a library, but then she supposed it gave him a clear view out to the stables while he worked.

The way along the dark-paneled walls and through an arch under the main stairs was familiar. The man waiting by the front door was not. He was not as tall as John, his arms and legs stuck out as if someone had sewed them on carelessly and his red hair was so curly it looked as if a rouged puff sat on his head. His smile was the widest she’d seen at Hollyoak Farm.

“Lady Hascot,” he said with a bow so deep he nearly lost his spectacles. “Welcome home.”

“This is our resident veterinarian,” John said as he straightened. “Marcus Fletcher.”

“Dr. Fletcher,” Amelia said, offering him her hand, which disappeared inside his long-fingered grip. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“Fletcher has his own quarters on the property,” John explained as the man released her hand. “He generally takes his meals with me.”

“If that pleases you, your ladyship,” the veterinarian hurried to add.

She imagined some brides would be highly incensed to find another person sitting daily at the table. All she could think was that at least she and John would not be stuck trying to converse with one another again. “I’m sure that will be delightful, Doctor,” she told him.

He beamed at her. “Excellent! Not tonight, of course. I have a patient I must see to.”

John stiffened beside her. “One of the horses is ill?”

“Firenza,” his veterinarian replied with a grimace. “I think she may have found some water hemlock by the creek. I noticed it last week and had Peters root it up, but she may have stumbled on a stray patch. All the symptoms are there.”

“Is it deadly?” Amelia asked, but John had already stepped away from her to take the doctor’s arm.

“You’ve purged her, of course? Good man. Can she stand? We should walk her about the stables to keep her breathing.”

“She’s still having convulsions.” Dr. Fletcher was moving back the way they had come, John pacing him. “I’ve taken the liberty of clearing out the other horses near her to keep from frightening them.”