Almost a Countess by Jenna Jaxon

Chapter 18

“I must say,” the Duchess of Ostroda said as she sipped her champagne, “I am actually relieved that you are so handily taken care of, Dora, and at last beyond your father’s power. Melchior has been out of control ever since your brother died. You know of his latest scheme to marry your niece to a man three times her age, do you not?”

“Yes, aunt. Judith recounted the whole sordid story to me.” Dora sighed. She wished she truly was beyond her father’s power to control her. “However, as it all has turned out well for Judith and Anna, I am very happy for her and her new husband.” She turned to Violet, who was making a face at the drink in her hand. “You would like him very much, Violet. He is truly a kind gentleman. Is something the matter?”

“The bubbles are tickling my nose. I keep wanting to sneeze.”

Everyone laughed, and the room seemed to relax. Unfortunately, from the look on Tris’s tense face, the fireworks were scarcely over.

“Aunt Mimi, you must be tired. If you like, I can have Mrs. Carlyle show you to your room. Let me ring for Hanson. Did you bring Marcella with you?”

“You know I would never step the first foot on a journey without her.” Marcella was her aunt’s lady’s maid of twenty years. At least her aunt would have everything settled just as she liked when she retired. After all this excitement, she would need a good rest.

And once her aunt was out of the room, she and Finn could hopefully allay any fears Tris and Violet might have. She assumed there would be many.

“I believe I will go up now.” Her playful glare rested on her and Finn. “I’ve had all the excitement I can stand for one evening. Although do not think I will not have an interview with you two in the morning.” She nodded vehemently.

“We will await it with light hearts, Duchess.” Finn smiled his brightest at her. “There is naught we willna answer for ye.”

If only that were true.

Aunt Mimi rose. “I will see you both in the morning, then. Lord Trevor, Lady Trevor, good evening. I suppose I must expect excitement to be de rigueur wherever you are to be found.”

“It would seem that way, Duchess.” Tris bowed, his smile warm and charming. “I look forward to another escapade when we next meet.”

“So pleased to see you again, Duchess.” Violet curtsied then subtly elbowed her husband.

The door opened, and Hanson appeared. “Yes, Miss Harper?”

Her aunt turned to her, a black frown marring her face. “Why does your butler still address you as Miss Harper, Dora?”

A sickening roiling in her stomach made Dora hope when she cast up her accounts all over her aunt it would create enough of a diversion for her to think of an answer.

But Finn stepped forward and whispered something in Aunt Mimi’s ear.

Her aunt’s face cleared instantly. “Ah, I see. Very well.”

Amazed and intrigued, Dora turned to the butler. “Hanson, please show the duchess to her room and ask Mrs. Carlyle to make sure she has everything she requires.”

“Of course, miss. Duchess.” He led Aunt Mimi out and shut the door.

There was a moment of silence as she turned back to face the others.

“Have you two lost your minds?” Tris’s voice boomed so loudly she prayed Aunt Mimi couldn’t hear it down the corridor.

Dora rushed to Finn’s side, afraid Tris might actually try to throttle him. “Can you please lower your voice and act in a civil manner?” she hissed at him.

“How did you ever concoct such an unbelievable, ridiculous, brainless story?” Tris strode to the sideboard and splashed a good third of the decanter of cognac into a tumbler.

“’Twas spur o’ the moment, Trevor.” Finn looked at Dora, a warm, approving light in his eyes. “Ye were magnificent, mo chridhe. Genius, in fact.”

“But what has it gotten you?” Tris’s voice rose again as he strode back toward them. “You’ve lied to the duchess, and presumably she will take that lie to Dora’s father. Then he’ll come up here himself to throw you out or worse. And when he finds out about your little deceit, Dora will be the one to bear the brunt of his rightful anger, as Aberfoyle will be long gone by that time.”

“What it gains us, Trevor, is time.” Finn raised his chin and stared into Tris’s haughty face. “Until he learns the truth, he canna press for this marriage tae Sir Harry. I will have time tae go tae London, take care o’ this scurrilous business with Scarlet then journey on tae Wiltshire and ask for Dora’s hand properly.”

“You’re going to do what?” Trevor’s eyes bulged.

“I want tae court Dora.” He grinned at her. “I took yer words today about yer father’s reaction as a challenge.”

She stared at Finn, heart pounding in his chest so hard she believed the others could hear it. Happiness washing over her, she grasped Violet’s hands, squeezing her fingers with sheer joy.

Coolly, Finn turned his attention back to Trevor. “Why would ye find that sae astonishing? Just yesterday ye said ye’d make sure I married her if her reputation was at stake.” Finn shrugged. “I’m saving ye the trouble o’ forcing me tae it.”

“You said you’d force him to marry me, Tris?” Dora swung around from Violet, scowling so hard her face hurt. “How dare you insinuate that you have any say in my life whatsoever?”

“If your reputation were disparaged because of Aberfoyle’s actions, you bloody well would marry him.” Trevor looked fit to be tied by the double attack.

“So ye approve o’ our marrying, then?” Finn grinned as he heaped flaming coals on Tris’s head.

“No!” Throwing up his hands, Trevor stalked back to the sideboard and poured a generous drink.

Finn gave her a quick smile and followed the weary man across the room. “Ye canna have it both ways, man. Either ye think we should marry or ye dinna.”

“It’s not that bloody black and white, and you know it,” Trevor growled but poured Finn a glass of her best port.

“I ken I love the lady. If I’m able tae take care o’ her, isn’t that enough for ye?”

Stunned, Dora could think of nothing else. He loved her. He’d actually said the words. Dora grasped Violet’s hand, her heart swelling with happiness.

“How can you tell you love her? You’ve only known her two days.”

“Romeo and Juliet fell in love at first sight.” Grinning at Trevor, whose face darkened with each passing minute, Finn poured himself another drink.

“And look how well that turned out.”

“I dinna care if ye approve or no’, Trevor.” By his tone, Finn seemed to have had enough of his lordship. “I’ll be asking Miss Harper’s father for his blessing, not ye.”

“And you expect to receive it from Lord Downing?” Tris scoffed at him. “You are either mad or a fool. If you attempt to deceive Downing or thwart his wishes in any way, you’ll have a better chance of marrying the newly widowed Empress Catherine of Russia than Dora.”

“Surely not, Tris.” Violet spoke up from the sofa. “Lord Aberfoyle is an earl, and a very eligible parti. Wouldn’t Lord Downing wish her to marry as advantageously as possible?”

“You do not know him as I do, my love. He will go to any lengths to best whoever tries to usurp his power.” He nodded at Finn and Dora. “They have just sealed their fate to never be married, unless they wait until Dora reaches her majority. If you can fend your father off for two more years.”

“If Lord Downing willna see reason,” Finn walked back to the sofa and slipped his arm around Dora’s shoulders, the feeling warm and secure, “then we will make our lie the truth. After I resolve the issue o’ my arrest, I will return here with my uncle, and Dora and I will journey tae Aberfoyle and marry in Scotland.”

“Who is this uncle of whom you speak, Aberfoyle?” Tris emptied his glass. “You conjure him up so frequently, as you would a talisman, I begin to wonder if he is real as well.”

“Och, he is as real as ye or I, Trevor. The Marquess of Abernethy.” Finn pronounced the name as though it were sacred. “My mother’s brother and a very powerful man in Scotland.”

Tris nodded and looked more respectfully at Finn. “I’ve met him. A shrewd man and a good orator. Very canny in the Lords. You certainly have excellent connections if Abernethy’s your uncle.” He stood, stroking his chin. “I’m not certain that his name might not pique Lord Downing’s interest. The better connected you are, the more likely Downing will see a way to exploit it. And therefore allow your marriage.”

“Then we should set out tomorrow at first light, Finn,” Dora spoke up. The sooner they found Lord Abernethy, the sooner these uncertainties would be resolved. They had to get Finn’s name cleared before anything else could happen.

“What do you mean ‘we’?” Finn and Tris said together.

“I shall accompany Finn to London in my carriage, posing as his wife. Then, as soon as we find his uncle and have his name cleared, we can—”

“Go no further, Dora.” Tris looked as though any patience he may have possessed had evaporated long ago. “You will not compromise yourself irrevocably by posing as Aberfoyle’s wife. By the slimmest of chances, you have escaped censure here. Once you leave this house, you will be subjected to the scrutiny of all manner of people, who will ruin you with one well-placed on-dit in London. It cannot happen.”

“I believe Trevor speaks the truth, my love.” Finn took her hand. “For the self-same reason. Yer reputation will be in shambles, and ye will never recover from it. I will return for ye, leannan. I swear it.” He stroked her cheek, his touch light as a butterfly’s. “I swear it on my life.”

“No.” Dora glared first at Tris then at Finn. They were not going to browbeat her into submission. She’d made her plan, and now she would stick to it. “Violet and I were discussing this very plan when we were interrupted by Aunt Mimi. I declare I will not be parted from Finn. To that end, we will journey to London together as man and wife. Scarlet and his men will not be looking for a carriage, especially one with a man and a woman in it. It will be the best way to throw them off Finn’s trail.” She looked at them defiantly. “Unless you have a better plan.”

“I think you may need to alter your plan, Dora.” Violet, who had been silent all this time, spoke quietly from the sofa. “You must see that your aunt’s presence changes things.”

Of course, Aunt Mimi’s arrival would make their immediate departure most peculiar. She couldn’t abandon her aunt at the estate, but neither would she agree to remain behind. There must be some way for her and Finn to travel together without raising her aunt’s suspicions. “What if we waited a few more days then traveled to London with my aunt?” This scheme had possibilities. Dora’s mood brightened. “We simply say that Finn has business in London, and we can travel together, Aunt Mimi in her carriage and us in mine.”

“Out of the question.” Tris’s words sounded before she’d gotten her last word out.

“And why not, grumpy goose?” His gainsaying any idea she came up with had gotten more than tiresome.

“Because if you are posing as husband and wife, you will be expected to share a single room.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Tris looked more forbidding than ever. “Dora’s reputation will be in absolute tatters.”

Dora turned to Finn, her heart suddenly racing. Ever since their kiss, she’d allowed herself once or twice to think about what it might be like to be married to Finn.

Her faux husband, however, glanced away from her gaze. “Is something wrong?” she whispered.

“Aye,” he growled back, “but no’ with ye.”

“What?”

Finn merely shook his head and shifted his stance.

Dragging her attention back to Tristan, Dora continued her argument. “I do not see a problem, Tris. Once Finn’s business is sorted out, if we can be married as quickly as possible, will it truly matter? I cannot imagine that you and Violet waited until the minister pronounced you man and wife.”

“Dora!” Violet gasped.

“That was uncalled for, Dora.” Tris tried to scowl, but the effect was spoiled by his pink-tinged cheeks.

“Yet you do not deny it, Tris.” Dora didn’t mean to embarrass her friends, but why would they hold her and Finn to a different standard?

“Even if it were true, it is still beside the point. I cannot condone such behavior.” Her former fiancé was taking his role as protector to extremes, which was sweet but very inconvenient at the moment.

“I have a suggestion that may suit everyone.” Violet’s tone was more forceful this time. Her brows had come down in a delicate frown that made her look uncommonly fierce. “Tell the duchess the truth, Dora.”

“What?” Dora exchanged glances with Finn, who looked equally startled. “Why?”

“So that Dora can accompany Finn to London.”

Finn cocked his head, as though considering her words. “How does that help the situation?”

Violet smiled and patted the place next to her. Reluctantly, Dora sat. “If you confess your story to your aunt, but tell her the whole true story, I believe she will still be an ally for your intent to marry. She did not seem very sanguine about your father’s scheme of the arranged marriage, and she seems to approve of Lord Aberfoyle very much.”

“Please, my lady,” Finn broke in, “after ye’ve assisted Dora and me sae much, I beg ye tae call me Finn as Dora does.”

“With pleasure, Finn. If you will call me Violet, as Dora does.”

Finn turned to Tris, eyebrow raised. “Am I allowed this familiarity, my lord?”

“My husband does not control which of my friends I allow to address me by my name, Finn.” She stared at him evenly.

“Begging yer pardon, my lady, but I’d prefer no’ tae meet yer husband at dawn.” He glanced at Tris then back at Violet. “I have sae many other methods o’ swift death currently at my disposal.”

“If she has no objection to the familiar address, Aberfoyle, neither do I.” A smile puckered Tristan’s mouth. “However, do not suppose that I will offer a similar invitation for myself.”

Finn chuckled. “I would never expect it, my lord. Violet, please continue with yer version o’ the plan. After we confess the truth about our situation, what next?”

“You must ask the duchess to act as chaperone on your journey to London. She will be returning there shortly, so you will not discommode her. And her presence in the carriage will fulfill the expectation of propriety very nicely. The two ladies will have their own room, and you yours. As for Lieutenant Scarlet, he will be searching for a man on horseback or a single man or even a man and woman in a carriage. There is nothing to make him suspicious of two women and a gentleman traveling to London together.”

“I have to say I think it will serve.” Tris leaned against the sideboard, his face relaxed for the first time that evening. “It takes everything into account, from confessing to the false marriage, to Aberfoyle’s reason for going to London, to the need for a chaperone for the enamored couple.”

Finn took Dora’s hand. “It will be difficult tae tell yer aunt that we lied tae her, but I believe Violet’s plan is a sound one. What dae ye think, leannan?”

Disappointed that she would not have the opportunity to share more than a stolen kiss or two with Finn during the journey, Dora still had to agree that the plan should work. “We should tell Aunt Mimi at breakfast and get the unpleasantness over with. Then we can plan our journey in earnest.”

“And Violet and I can return to our home and await your letter telling us of your progress with getting the charges dismissed.” Relief made Tris’s gaze at his wife even more loving. “We will be glad to sleep in the same bed for more than one or two nights.”

“No’ that I think there will be much sleep going on,” Finn whispered in Dora’s ear, making her gasp with laughter.

“Hush.” She batted at his arm. “Behave.”

“No’ when I’m around ye.”

Her cheeks heating, Dora rose. “Shall we say good night, then? Will we see you at breakfast, my dears?”

Slipping his wife’s arm through his, Tris grinned at them. “Oh, we would not miss the spectacle of your confession to the duchess. I await the morning eagerly.”

“Good night, Dora. Good night, Finn.” Violet strolled from the room, arm in arm with her husband.

Dora sighed as they left. If only Finn would look at her with the love Tris had for Violet, she would be happy until the end of her days. However, she must be patient. They had been together but little as of yet. Love as deep and true as she wished for took time and perhaps a trial by fire to bring it forth. Now they would have more time together to affect a deepening regard for one another.

They emerged into the corridor and turned toward her chamber.

“One thing I’d like to know, Finn.”

“Name it, m’eudail.” He raised her hand to his lips.

“What did you tell Aunt Mimi as to why the servants still called me by my maiden name?” That had been the biggest flaw in their clapped-together story.

“I merely told her that we had instructed the servants tae continue tae call ye Miss Harper and no’ Lady Aberfoyle because we had no’ announced the marriage tae the world yet. Once it was announced, ye would be called by yer proper title, my lady.”

They stopped before her chamber door.

“What will your wife’s proper title be, Finn?” She’d not even thought about the fact that should they wed, she would have a title, like her mother had.

“Ye will be the Countess o’ Aberfoyle, called Lady Aberfoyle by servants and peers alike. For now, however, you are almost a countess.” Finn glanced down the corridor, but there was no one in sight. Quick as lightning, he sank his mouth onto hers.

Dora hadn’t been expecting it, but she took full advantage, pressing back, reveling in the closeness between them that seemed to ignite fires throughout her body. He pulled her against him and a hardness down below both startled and excited her. Finn did desire her—more than a little, from the feel of it. Hopefully, in not so very much longer, they could indulge in more than stolen kisses. Much more.

At last, Finn broke the kiss with a groan. “If I dinna stop noo, I willna stop at all, mo chridhe.” He stepped back. “I want ye enough tae want tae wait, tae make our first night together as perfect as it can be.”

“I understand, Finn.” She didn’t necessarily agree, but if he wished to wait for them to wed, she supposed she could have restraint as well. “It won’t be long, though, will it?”

“Nae, my love.” He stared deeply into her eyes, and a thrill raced through Dora. He looked at her with a hunger she’d never seen, a look of desire beyond any she’d ever experienced. Her knees weakened, and she was glad she could lean back against the wall. Finn bent his head to taste her lips again, whispering, “No’ very long at all.”