Chapter Fourteen
Piers made it to the secluded spot a half hour before Stacey did. He took a walk around the carriage, easing the muscles in his legs. Granted, he did a substantial amount of sitting because he spent a lot of time reading, but he wasn’t used to spending a lot of time in a carriage.
All morning, he had been looking forward to seeing Stacey. He had tried to tell himself that it was because he wanted to tell her how well things had been going for him. Their plan was working much better—and much faster—than he could have dreamed possible. Ethan and Christopher had welcomed him as soon as he entered White’s yesterday, and they had played a few games of cards. During the games, they had mentioned the dinner party and how they needed to get together again in the near future.
There had been some debate over whether Christopher would be allowed to attend Ethan’s next dinner party because Catherine really wanted Lord Roderick’s wife there. To which, Christopher said he might have to invite Piers and Stacey to his own dinner party if Ethan was going to exclude him. Their fight had been a good-natured one, and Piers had been flattered.
Piers had wanted to visit Stacey right after he left White’s. It’d taken all of his willpower to wait until this afternoon to see her. All through the night, he’d thought of little else but telling her how much she’d helped him.
But that was only part of why he wanted to see her. He could have sent her a missive telling her everything. Instead, he’d chosen to use the excuse in order to see her.
He dug the two tickets for the ship from his pocket. He had to give these to her. Usually, he was glad to settle his debts to another person, and he owed these to her. The sooner he gave her these, the sooner he would settle the account.
And yet, he experienced a reluctance to do so. Once he gave them to her, it made her passage to America final. She’d leave London with her mother, and he’d never see her again. In all of his time of plotting a way to establish friendships, he hadn’t given any thought to falling in love.
He put the tickets back in his pocket. The truth was, he had them yesterday when he saw her at the park. He’d been debating when to give them to her. Upon first seeing her, he had planned to hand them over. But as they talked, he was reminded of just how pleasant the dinner party had been, and he didn’t think it would have been nearly as pleasant if she hadn’t been there.
Of all the people he’d met, she was the easiest one to talk to. He was comfortable with her. He didn’t feel like he was pressured to be someone he wasn’t. He could be himself with her, and he felt accepted.
He was sure this all stemmed from the fact that they were both pretending to be a couple. Not only did it give them something to talk about, but they were in on a secret no one else knew. Still, that didn’t negate the fact that he enjoyed being with her as much as he did. It didn’t take away from the reality that he was starting to seek out ways to spend time with her—time that had nothing to do with their ruse.
He heard a horse neighing, so he turned his attention to the carriage as it pulled up close to his. He couldn’t be sure from this distance, but it looked like the crest on the door was Lord Steinbeck’s.
The footman opened the carriage door, and Stacey stepped down from it. Piers waited to see if anyone else had come with her, but the footman shut the door, leaving him to assume she had come out here alone.
He was ready to walk over to her, but she gestured for him to stay where he was.
“I don’t want anyone to overhear what I’m about to tell you,” she told him when she reached him.
He frowned. She seemed more serious than usual.
She glanced over at the servants who waited at the carriages. “Can we walk further away?”
He thought they were far enough already, but, noting the worried expression on her face, he took her by the arm and led her further down the path. If they had been in London, he never would have been so forward with her. But without the restraints of London holding him back, he felt at liberty to take her by the arm. And it was nice. He rather enjoyed touching her. She didn’t pull away from him. That was a good sign. Maybe she enjoyed it, too. Or at least, she didn’t mind it. She was willing to let him do it.
When they came to a stop, he asked, “What’s troubling you?”
She glanced behind them as if she expected one of the servants to follow them. On impulse, he looked back. They were still with the carriages.
“Stacey, what is it?” he gently pressed, his gaze going back to her.
“My father is really angry that you wouldn’t let him be my chaperone at the dinner party. He made up some scandal about you that he wanted reported in the Tittletattle.” She lowered her gaze and added, “He wants people to think you were caught in a compromising situation with two ladies.”
His jaw dropped. Her father was trying to spread that kind of rumor about him through London? His mind quickly went to different tyrants in history and how they dealt with people who’d upset them. Even if the person’s cause had been just, the tyrant used cruel measures in dealing with him. He should have known her father wasn’t going to idly sit back and accept what he’d done. He should have known her father was going to find a way to get back at him.
“It’s not in the Tittletattle,” she hurried to tell him. “I checked, and thankfully, there’s no mention of you in it.”
“But that doesn’t mean there won’t be a mention of me in it at some point,” he filled in for her.
“I’m sorry, Piers. I knew my father was furious, but I never thought he’d do something like this. He’s been after me to get married for the past two Seasons. I didn’t think he’d ruin my chances of securing a husband.”
“He’s doing this so you’ll be forced to end our betrothal.”
She nodded.
It was an intelligent move on her father’s part. Granted, it was a rotten one, but her father was being clever about it. If people believed the scandal, then they would applaud Stacey for not marrying him. That would leave her reputation—and her father’s—intact.
“I didn’t know what to do except warn you,” Stacey said. “You’re such a good gentleman. I’d only dreamt gentlemen like you existed, and then I met you and realized people like you were real. I don’t ever want anything bad to happen to you.”
He caught the way her chin trembled and hurried to say, “I know you don’t want anything bad to happen to me. You’re a very sweet lady. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you.” Well, his feelings were starting to go deeper than that, but he wasn’t sure if he could voice them.
Tears filled her eyes. “I can’t stop my father. I’ve already decided I’m not going to end the betrothal even if he succeeds in spreading that horrible rumor about you and the two ladies. But other than not ending the betrothal, I don’t know what to do.”
“You can marry me for real.”
The words came out of Piers’ mouth before he had time to carefully weigh them. She cared about him. She might not love him, but she cared enough to risk coming outside of London to warn him about her father. She also cared enough to keep up their charade to the very end. She was willing to defy her father in order to protect him.
How could he not give his heart fully to a lady who was willing to do all of this just for him? It was something his mother and father would have done for each other. They would have sacrificed anything if it meant the other could’ve been happy. He loved her. Yes, it all happened so quickly that he could hardly believe it, but it was true. He loved her. And she was deserving of his love.
He brushed away her tears and cupped her face in his hands. “You don’t have to go to America. You can stay here with me. I’ll take good care of you. I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll treat you well. You’ll never want for anything.”
“What about my mother? I can’t leave her with my father.”
“She can live with us. I have plenty of room in my townhouse.”
“Really? You’d be willing to take her in, too?”
“I’d do anything you ask of me.”
She blinked back more tears then hugged him. “Thank you, Piers.”
He didn’t know why she was thanking him. He was more than willing to do it. Even if he hadn’t met her mother, he figured her mother was just as eager to get away from the Duke of Cathorn as Stacey was. Why else would Stacey ask for passage to America for her and her mother?
Pulling away from Stacey, he took the chance on doing something he’d never done before. He kissed a lady. And the experience was much better than he had expected it would be.
Better yet, he was kissing the lady who would soon be his wife. They were no longer pretending to be engaged. Now they were engaged for real. And the prospect filled him with so much joy that he thought his heart just might burst.
When the kiss ended, he clasped her hands and said, “Since your father is determined to ruin our betrothal, I think it’s prudent we marry as soon as possible.”
She nodded. “I agree.”
“I can obtain a special license. We could be married tomorrow afternoon at the vicar’s residence.”
“Do we have to wait that long?”
Surprised since he thought tomorrow was quick enough, he ventured, “I don’t think I can get a special license sooner than that. There are certain things I have to do in order to get one.” And that was another thing. He needed to find out what to do in order to even get a special license.
“Some people have eloped,” she said. “Can’t we do that?”
“We can, but what about your mother?”
“She’ll be fine. My father will know she had nothing to do with this. I was only able to see you today because my father left the townhouse before you arrived. If he had seen your carriage, he never would have let me see you. I told the butler I was going for a walk in Hyde Park. That only gave me enough time to get out here to talk to you. But I had to warn you about what he wants to do to your reputation. After all the kindness you’ve shown me, I couldn’t let you be ignorant of it.”
He studied the expression on her face, once again touched that she should care so much for him to go through all of this trouble to warn him about her father. If he wanted to marry her, then he needed to act in haste. Too many times in the past, people failed to act fast enough, and they lost battles, sometimes even wars, because of it.
Right in front of him was a chance he never thought he’d have. If he didn’t do what she was suggesting, he might not get the opportunity back. Her father really might stop them from getting married.
“All right,” he said. “We’ll go to Gretna Green, but I need to get some money and some clothes. We should stop by your townhouse and get your things, too.”
She shook her head. “Let’s just go to yours. I don’t want to take the chance that my father will stop us.”
He was ready to protest because he couldn’t have her not changing clothes at any point during the trip. They would be in the carriage for days, and they’d have to sleep at inns along the way. This wasn’t an afternoon excursion. But something in her anxious expression prompted him to heed her advice. He wanted to marry her. He didn’t want anything to get in the way of that. Her father could very well be back at his townhouse by the time they returned to London.
“We’ll just go to my townhouse,” he finally allowed.
He would have to find a shop along the way to Gretna Green and pick up some clothes and grooming supplies for her.
He glanced at the sun and then took his pocket watch out. It was already getting late. If they didn’t leave soon, it’d be too late. Taking her hand in his, he led her back to the carriages.