Chapter Four
Candace’s stomach was tied into a bunch of knots as she stood in the vicar’s residence. Corin had sent her a curt missive instructing her to come here for the wedding ceremony. Since she didn’t have any desire to go to his townhouse, she sent a reply agreeing to the arrangement.
Thankfully, Anna and Jason had come. Candace was the only person who knew the truth about Jason. That his real name was Alastair, and that he had been the sickly twin of Jason when both boys had been born. Right after Jason’s death, Alastair had come into Anna’s life, and he had stepped into the role of her husband. The two were happy. There was no denying that. And they had a three-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter together. For the sake of secrecy, Anna and Candace had agreed to call him Jason instead of Alastair, and that was how Candace thought of him.
If only all stories had such happy endings. Candace had no delusions that she was going to find a gentleman who was as good to her as Jason was to Anna. She had been happy enough to settle for the life of a widow. She had been perfectly content living her own life the way she wanted to. And now that was about to be taken from her, unless she, Anna, and Jason managed to convince Corin to let her retain her freedom. Which was why she wasn’t going to give Corin any grief today. If she could somehow appease him, he might let her live apart from him.
She closed her eyes and prayed he might do so.
“It seems the bridegroom is late,” the vicar said.
She opened her eyes. “He told me to be here this morning at this time.”
“Yes, I know. He told me that, too,” the vicar said. “I was wondering if he makes it a habit of being late. If not, then something might have happened to him.”
“I don’t know anything about his habits,” Candace snapped. “All I know about him is his title.”
“This is a marriage borne of necessity,” Anna hurried to tell the vicar. “Neither the bride nor the bridegroom are all that happy about the match.”
Candace secretly thanked her friend for interrupting. While Ian was alive, she never would have spoken in such a snappy way to someone, but something about having been under Ian’s thumb and then freed of him brought out a part of her that fought everyone and everything that threatened her freedom. And the vicar was about to have a part in restricting her to another husband. Not that it was his fault. It wasn’t. He hadn’t had a part in the scandal.
She took a deep breath and released it. “Forgive me, Vicar,” she said. “I haven’t had much sleep in the past week.”
In fact, she hadn’t had more than two hours of sleep each night since the scandal. Each time she closed her eyes, she relived every moment of her first marriage. It took all of her will to keep going. The only hope she had was that her second husband might consent to living in different residences.
The vicar offered her a kind smile. “It’s all right, Lady Hedwrett. I understand.”
Returning his smile, she went to Anna and waited with mounting dread for Corin to arrive. Mixed in with the dread was the spark of hope that maybe—perhaps—he had run out of the country. If such were the case, then all of her problems would be solved. The more time passed, the brighter that spark grew. But then at the half hour mark, Corin showed up, looking disheveled with hastily put on clothes, a day’s worth of stubble on his face, and his hair barely combed.
What had he been doing all night? Sleeping around with all the ladies who’d take him to bed? Getting drunk? Gambling? Candace gritted her teeth. He was no better than Ian. This only confirmed it. She was going from one miserable marriage right into another, and who knew if she’d be lucky enough to be a widow twice?
“My apologies,” Corin told the group then directed his attention to the vicar. “I received word that my younger brother took ill, and I had to arrange for a doctor to go to him. I didn’t get to sleep until after four, and I woke up late. I came as soon as I could.”
A likely story. Candace rolled her eyes and glanced at Anna and Jason to see if they believed such nonsense. Anna looked her way and shrugged.
The vicar cleared his throat. “If we are all gathered together, I can begin the ceremony.”
Corin nodded. “There’s no one who came with me.”
Candace wasn’t surprised. For all she knew, there was no younger brother. He could very well be making the lad up.
Knowing she had no choice, Candace went over to the vicar. But before he spoke, she turned to face Corin. “Before we begin, I have a request to make of you.”
“I don’t think you’re in the position of making requests,” Corin replied, a sharpness underlying his words. He was struggling to remain polite but was having difficulty doing so.
But Candace was not going to let his bad mood deter her. She would not let fear hold her back anymore. So keeping her tone firm, she said, “I want to live in separate townhouses.”
Corin’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and he finally gave her a good, hard look, as if to determine how serious she was.
Anna hurried over to her side. “Think of it, my lord. There are benefits to such an arrangement. Your marriage will still satisfy the scandal, but you won’t be restricted to the bonds of a wife. Your life will still be your own.”
“It will be a marriage in name only,” Jason added.
Corin’s gaze went from them and back to Candace. “I was going to propose the same thing once the ceremony ended.”
Candace felt that flutter of hope emerge once more. “You were?”
He nodded. “I was going to suggest an arrangement where you live in your townhouse, and I live in mine. I will allow you an allowance once a month. But only once a month. You will not be allowed to spend more than what I give you.”
“You’re worried about how much of your money I’ll spend?” Candace asked.
“Isn’t every gentleman worried about how much money his wife will waste?” Corin asked.
“I’m not,” Jason spoke up. When everyone looked at him, his face grew pink. “But then, my wife is sensible when it comes to spending money.”
Candace turned her attention back to Corin. So he was worried about money. He was afraid she’d be one of those wives who would run his estate into financial ruin. This could very well work to her advantage! She had more than enough money to last her three lifetimes if she wished. But he didn’t realize that because if he did, he wouldn’t make such a ridiculous offer of an allowance.
“I have another idea,” Candace began. “If you don’t come to my bed, I won’t take a single farthing from you.”
The vicar gasped, but she ignored him.
Corin studied her expression. “Are you being serious?”
“Very,” she replied.
“But he needs an heir,” the vicar told her, and despite his hushed tone, everyone could hear him. “He’s a titled gentleman.”
“He’s a titled gentleman who’s worried about his money,” she replied, not breaking eye contact with Corin. She could tell by the way Corin’s eyebrows furrowed that he was weighing the pros and cons of such an arrangement. “What good is an heir if there’s nothing in the bank?” she continued, hoping it would settle the debate he was having within himself.
At once, he made his decision. “I’ll accept that arrangement,” he told her.
“Good,” she said. “Then our marriage will truly be in name only.”
“And our lives can remain as they are now.”
Feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders, Candace relaxed. Anna’s plan had worked. They’d managed to get her married without the bonds of the arrangement stripping her of her freedoms. She turned back to the vicar and proceeded through the vows, knowing none of them would tie her into another painful marriage. She would still get to live the glorious life of a widow.
***
For ten months, Candace and Corin lived separate lives. Until Celia intervened. And then everything changed.