Chapter 7
William Chambers looked at him aghast. “You cannot be serious. Marriage with a stranger?” He rubbed his temples in irritation. “There are many ways I imagine this going, and all of them end in disaster. Not to mention, if the baron finds out the marriage is a complete charade, there could be charges of fraud, a chaotic court case…dear God.”
Riordan had had the same thoughts over the past several days. “I will need your assistance to ensure no harm or consequence can damage either one of us. Of all the options available for annulment, I wish to discuss the fraud aspect. I’m using the name Riordan Black for my teaching position.”
William raised an eyebrow. “What on earth for?”
“My family is well-known, infamous even. There is the blasted curse hanging over me wherever I go. I didn’t want the townspeople and the students to be intimidated by the fact that I’m rich and my father is a viscount and my grandfather an earl. It was of paramount importance I stand on even ground in order to be accepted into the community.”
“Does this Lady Pepperdon know your true identity? Does anyone in the vicinity?”
“No, she does not, though one member on the board, Mr. Beatty, is aware and agreed with my well-meaning deception. He will keep quiet, I’m sure,” Riordan replied.
William stood and strode to the sideboard. “Good bloody hell, I need a drink.” He clasped the whiskey decanter and waved it toward him. “You?”
“Yes, please.”
Running his hand through his sandy-blond hair, he poured the whiskey, murmuring under his breath. Riordan smiled. They had shared a room at Cambridge, and William often did this when irritated or under stress.
After passing the tumbler to Riordan, William sat and huffed out a short breath. “Listen to me, my friend: In order for the fraud option to be viable, you cannot tell Lady Pepperdon your real name. The reveal has to be authentic, based in some sort of truth. Do you understand?”
Riordan crossed his legs and regarded his friend. “You mean lie? She is sure to ask me about my background….”
“Tell her nothing. It is not as if you will be carrying on conversations on personal matters anyway.” William took a long pull on his whiskey.
“I can hardly avoid it, the cottage is small.”
“What do you tell the townspeople?” William asked.
“That I’m half Irish, my mother came from Dublin, and my father is involved in factory work. None of it is a lie, though it is vague. Father is involved with factory reform work with Lord Ashley, but people assumed otherwise. I let it stand.”
“There’s your answer. Tell her that and nothing more if she asks.” William threw back another generous swallow, gritting his teeth. “I cannot believe I am going to be a party to this barmy plot. Have you spoken to her father yet?”
“No. I will when I return to Carrbury. I want a legal and binding agreement drawn up, stating the money is hers free and clear on the date of the annulment. She offered me a percentage—I will not collect. Until then, keep the amount in trust. You look after all my holdings; this will be one more item. I also want a contract for the baron to sign. The money is to be paid to this firm before the marriage takes place. Ten thousand pounds. No more, no less. The marriage will not go forward without payment.”
William made notes on his legal pad. “The baron can pay this money to the old marquess with the same result. Why would he choose you?”
Riordan smiled. “Because I am going to ensure Sutherhorne is out of the running.”
William shook his head. “I shall not ask.”
“It is wise you do not. Here is a question: how long do we keep up the pretense of a marriage?”
William laid his pen on his desk and met his gaze. “Before I answer, I want you to think about the ramifications of what you are doing. This will be a stain on your reputation. You have plans to open a progressive school. Do you truly believe people will want to send their children to a school run by a swindler? For that is what they will call you.” William paused, his expression turned sympathetic. “Annulments are part of the public record. When your true name is revealed, it will make the papers. Granted, scandals are fleeting in most cases—it well could fade from memory over time—but it could damage you, and your family, in the interim.”
Riordan had already considered it. He and his family could weather a temporary storm of scandal. They’d already endured Aidan’s antics and the constant scrutiny regarding the curse. “My family will be behind me. We stand for progressive causes. The plight of women needs attention. What better way than this? It is past time women are allowed to have property and rights.”
William gave him an indulgent look. “There is more to life than causes.”
“Perhaps. But at the moment, not in mine.”
“There must be other reasons besides women’s rights compelling you forward,” William stated.
Were there? To be honest, he hadn’t quite made up his mind. He wanted to hear all the options. Perhaps it was her late-night visit and the way she spoke of her plight with such honesty and emotion. She’d spoken to his heart. “I haven’t worked out the rest as of yet.”
“What of Lady Pepperdon? Is she willing to expose herself to scandal and censure?”
“She’s informed me that once the money is in her possession she plans to move far away.”
“And leave you to bear the brunt of gossip.” William shook his head. “Very well. I will do as you ask. You should be married at a registrar’s office. Not in the church. It is an easier process. I know it is blasted hypocrisy that you can marry civilly but must seek an annulment through the church.” William waved his hand. “More laws that must be changed. If and when the laws are amended, it will give those of us in the legal field additional clients if divorce and annulments are obtainable through the regular courts.”
Riordan smiled. “Always the charitable one.”
“To answer your earlier question, I would stay married three months at most. It’s enough time to give the marriage a little credence.” William paused. “As your solicitor I must beg you rethink this. As your friend, I know you have already made up your mind and will plow ahead regardless. I will do all I can to ensure this goes as smoothly and quietly as possible.”
Riordan reached across the desk and held out his hand. William took it and shook it. “Thank you, William.”
“I want to meet Lady Pepperdon. Let me know the approximate date, and I will make arrangements at a registrar’s office nearby. You both come here first and sign the papers. I will accompany you, to act as witness and attest to the fact that you signed your name Riordan Black.”
“Will I have to sign the legal paper as Riordan Black?”
“No, use your real name. We will have her sign it first. We can say you signed Riordan Black at the registrar’s office in error, since it is the name you’re using at the moment. I may be disbarred for this, but we might get away with it.”
“And the motivation for not telling Lady Pepperdon my true name?”
“The truth: you wanted to keep your background a secret because it would interfere with your teaching assignment. The man on the school board can verify. Gad, I need another drink.”
“You are a true friend.”
“I’m only doing this to protect you, because, as I said, you would plow ahead and damn the circumstances. This way, it may lessen the scandal.”
Riordan frowned. “Perhaps I’m making a mistake. This is all becoming convoluted.”
“You can try another avenue. Maybe you forced one or the other into the marriage.” William leaned forward. “Or, here is a novel idea: do not go through with it at all. Lend her money, it would be less cumbersome.”
Riordan shook his head. “She would not take it. Lady Pepperdon is adamant that her father owes her for her misery and is determined to collect recompense. I cannot say I blame her. Besides, how would I explain that I’m rich without revealing my true identity?”
“God, what a tangle.”
Riordan dismissed the warning bells ringing in his head. Much could go wrong, or, as William succinctly put it, all could end in disaster. Sitting in the law office, he made up his mind: he would assist Sabrina to gain her independence. The fact he found her attractive could not play a role in this scenario. Damn it, she was pretty, and he was growing to like her besides. The path was set, and since stubbornness and determination made up part of his character, he would see this complicated arrangement through to its inevitable conclusion.
* * * *
Sabrina was beside herself with worry as each day passed. Riordan sent a short note stating that he’d departed for home—wherever that was—then to London to see his solicitor friend. The blasted man still had not given her a firm answer regarding her plan.
“Sabrina, I am speaking to you.” Her father’s cold voice cut through her disquieted thoughts.
Looking up from her barely touched dinner, she met her father’s disdainful gaze. “Yes?”
“I have received word from Sutherhorne. He will be here Tuesday afternoon for a short visit. You’re to be gracious and attentive, and when he asks you to consider his suit, you are to say yes.”
“Have you made progress with whatever poor young woman you have set your lurid sights on?” she snapped in reply.
Her father’s neutral expression turned dangerous. She should not be poking the bear with a stick, but she neared the end of her rope. “You are becoming far too bold and outspoken. As it happens, I have made progress. A few more visits and the chit will agree to marriage, I am sure of it. I want you gone, and you’re to take that nosey maid of yours when you leave.” Her father sliced his roast beef. “Sutherhorne assures me he will be obtaining a special license in order for the marriage to take place immediately.”
Oh, no. Sabrina stood, nearly knocking the chair to the floor. “I believe I will take a breath of air before the sun sets.” She did not wait for her father to dismiss her or even comment before she hurried to her room.
Mary was there, placing clean undergarments in one of the bureau drawers. “Make haste, gather my cloak. I must see if Mr. Black has returned from his journey.”
“Yes, of course, my lady.” Mary hurried to the wardrobe and fetched the gray wool cloak. “I did find out a little about the schoolmaster. I’m not exactly sure where he hails from, but his late mother was Irish, and his father works in a factory. If he owns the factory, no one is completely sure.”
Sabrina had already guessed about the Irish part, seeing his first name was Riordan. Mary slipped the cloak over her shoulders. “The young lady your father is presently courting is the second daughter of the Duke of Carlton. Talk is, she is rather plain of features and her father is eager to marry her off.”
The poor young woman. Sabrina had half a mind to write her and warn her away from her father, but it would jeopardize her own plans. Or would it? Once her settlement money was safely tucked away, she could drop an anonymous note. “Mary, you are a treasure. Start gathering our possessions, pack the trunk. We may be departing sooner than we’d planned.”
“Right away, my lady.” Mary tossed her own cloak across her shoulders.
“I do not need a chaperone.”
“So you keep telling me, but I’m coming anyway. Let’s slip out the side door.”
They quietly padded down the main staircase and entered the library. The oncoming dusk caused shadows to dance across the hardwood floor. Opening the French door, they clasped hands and crossed the threshold, scurrying to the wooded area that acted as a border between the baron’s land and the school.
“His cottage is about half a mile beyond the school.”
Mary tsked. “Let’s hope there are not any wild creatures about, my lady. I don’t like the dark, let alone the woods.”
The last thing Sabrina worried about was roaming or feral animals. What if Riordan Black told her no? Where could she turn?
“Speaking of wild creatures, who is that?” Mary whispered. She pointed to a large man with shoulder-length red hair unloading pieces of furniture from a flatbed wagon. “He is quite a specimen, built like a Viking of old,” Mary murmured, admiration in her tone. “All that is missing is a sword and a fur cape.”
“How do you know what a Viking looks like?” Sabrina whispered in return.
“I read romance adventures. You should give them a try, my lady. They are a pleasant escape from life’s vile tasks.” About to answer, her breath caught in her throat when Riordan emerged from the cottage. He laughed at something the red-haired Viking said to him, and Sabrina found herself enchanted by Riordan’s warm and friendly smile. With a confident stride, he moved to the wagon and lifted a small table onto his shoulder, then headed toward the cottage.
“Well, my lady. I don’t believe I’ve seen you react like this to a man before, if you don’t mind me saying.”
Sabrina schooled her features to show complete indifference, but Mary had already seen her reaction. Her face flushed. Her breath caught. She tingled all over from the glorious sight of him. Why deny it? “What am I to do? I should walk away right this minute. I have no right to find him…him…”
“Handsome? Full of youth and vitality? Virile?” Mary interjected.
“Mary!” she admonished in a fierce whisper. But he was everything she’d described and more. Honorable, kind, capable.
“The young maids were right, my lady. He is lovely,” Mary murmured, laying a hand on Sabrina’s arm. “Better him than a mummified marquess. Who says this has to be temporary?”
“Mary!”
Her maid shrugged. “Are you going to talk to him?”
Not if there was a stranger with him. Who could the man be—a family member? “Not tonight. Not with the Viking there. I’m to see him tomorrow during the luncheon break at the school. I will speak to him then.”
Linking arms, they turned and headed toward the woods and the baron’s property. Sabrina sighed wistfully. Who says it has to be temporary? Mary had asked. But it must be. Keeping an icy wall about her heart had been the only way to protect herself from the constant hurt and disappointment she’d endured throughout her life.
No man, no matter how attractive or compelling, could be allowed to breech her frosty defenses; she had spent too many years constructing the barriers. Sabrina turned and took one last longing look as Riordan exited the cottage to unload additional items from the wagon. Oh, how he fulfilled all her youthful dreams of a heroic suitor. But those foolish imaginings had disappeared years ago and had no business rearing their heads at this stage.
She would remain resolute. Brave. No matter what he told her tomorrow she would continue to hold the reins and direct her own future. Yet a tiny part of her, a part she thought long dead, yearned for love. Ached for a man to hold her in his arms and whisper all will be well. Hungered for a man to take her to bed and show her all the ways a woman could be thoroughly satisfied and loved—for she knew nothing about it. Did not even know it existed. Except in the books Mary read.
No one would know of her secret longings. Especially a handsome, principled schoolmaster with a sensual mouth and sky-blue eyes.