Part 14 (1/2)

Fourteen.

T he morning Jared took his intended and her retinue to Broderick Abbey pa.s.sed quickly-they wereonly a half hour away from his home when Jared realized it, he'd been so lost in thought.

He glanced at Ava and her sister, both of whom had slipped into naps when their idle chatter could no longer sustain the three of them, being the strangers they really were. It had occurred to him, on the long ride home, that he did hold some affection for Ava-but the thought of marrying her still shocked him. It seemed quite unreal to him that he was on the verge of committing himself for all time, and moreover, to a woman he scarcely knew. In spite of being attracted to her, in spite of the way she appealed to him in some primal way, he could not help feeling trapped. He was about to be chained forever to a life he did not want and had never sought until his father had forced it on him.

The carriage turned up a familiar, tree-lined road that led to the abbey entrance. This was the point in the journey Jared normally felt a sense of peace wash over him. His estate was the one place on earth he was free of his father's criticism, the one place he was free to live as he pleased. Today, however, he felt nothing but a sense of dread, almost as if his father had somehow managed to invade Broderick Abbey.

Another mile and the road widened beneath tall, towering oak trees, meticulously manicured, which provided a dramatic entrance to the abbey grounds. What was left of the medieval abbey had been

swallowed up by Georgian architecture; his home stretched long on either side of what had been the abbey, four stories high and U-shaped around lawns and gardens that were the envy of many a n.o.bleman.

Jared nudged Ava; her eyes fluttered open and she smiled sleepily, pushed herself up, and yawned as she stretched her back like a cat.

”We are home,” he said, surrept.i.tiously admiring her slender form as she stretched.

”Home,” she repeated dreamily-but then her eyes sparked. ”Broderick Abbey?” she asked excitedly, and leaned across her sister to see out the window.

The forest was thick along the road. It was a fact that Broderick Abbey had some of the finest hunting in all of England, and it was precisely because Jared had kept the forests as pristine as possible. The coach rounded a corner, and the lake came into view, stocked with trout and pike. On the far end of the lake, he could see a part of the herd of cattle he raised at Broderick Abbey. It was ironic, really, for the Broderick fortune had been made on sheep trading in Europe centuries ago.

His father still raised sheep on his estate; Jared raised cattle.

”What's that?” Ava asked as Phoebe roused from her nap and joined Ava in looking out the window. She was pointing at the old Bridget Castle ruins that still marked a hill on his estate.

”That was once the home of my mother's ancestors. They were ousted by the Yorks.” He glanced at the ruins and saw a young boy atop a mound of rocks, waving as the coach sped by, and felt his heart skip a beat.

Ava laughed with the enthusiasm of a young girl at a circus as they rolled past fields where workers were cutting hay, stone cisterns used to store rainwater, more cattle, a few sheep, and stacks of hay. ”Perhaps I should have asked after your family history, sir, for my father's family ancestors were on the side of the Lancasters,” she said, referring to the medieval Wars of the Roses. ”I hadn'

t-oh!” she exclaimed, losing her train of thought as the stone gates marking the entrance to the grounds of Broderick Abbey came into view.

He supposed that there were any number of things they should have asked one another before coming here.

”Oh, Ava,” Phoebe said reverently. ”It's beautiful.” A few moments later, they sailed through the gates and around a stand of trees, pulling to a halt in front of the ivy-covered arched entry that led into a small garden courtyard before the main entry.

The carriage rumbled to a halt, then listed slightly as the footmen clambered down. Jared leaned forward to see through to the courtyard and the double oak doors of the entry as they swung open. As the footmen put a bench down and opened the door of the coach, a string of servants came running out of the house, the women in the familiar gray gowns and white ap.r.o.ns, the men in standard Broderick livery of black and gold. And of course, his butler, Dawson, who was quickly lining up the staff by rank to greet the marquis and the woman who would be his wife and their mistress.

A footman from the house stepped in front of one covered by the grime of the road and held up his hand to Ava. She hesitated slightly, glanced at Jared as Phoebe helped her on with her coat, then s.h.i.+fted her gaze to the a.s.sembled servants, who were all peering around one another to see her. With a noticeable draw of breath, she gave her hand to the footman and stepped down. And she proceeded to shake out the skirts of her traveling gown, avoiding the curious gazes of the staff as she waited for Jared.

He followed Phoebe out and offered Ava his arm. She glanced up, to his neckcloth, before lifting her gaze to his, where he could see the consternation in her eyes. He understood her uneasiness-it was a big house with a big staff, much larger than what he a.s.sumed she was accustomed to. He gave her what he hoped was a rea.s.suring smile. ”I have long admired your courage. Do not let it desert you now,” he urged her, and dipped his head to see her better, nodding almost indiscernibly to the staff. ”They will certainly respect you more if you show them no fear.”

Lady Ava pressed her lips firmly together. ”Right you are,” she muttered, then gave him a resolute nod and put a hand on his arm. He led her into the courtyard, where he began the introductions to her new staff by introducing her to his butler. ”Lady Ava Fairchild,” he said, ”please allow me to introduce you to my butler, Mr. Dawson.”

Dawson instantly bowed at the waist, and Ava extended her hand. ”I've heard quite a lot of good things about you, and it is my great pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l if old Dawson didn't look a bit surprised. He was accustomed to people like Miranda, who had a bad habit of sweeping past him as if he did not exist. The butler smiled at Ava and inclined his head. ”The pleasure, my lady, is most a.s.suredly mine.”

”You'll show me about, will you, Mr. Dawson? The abbey is overwhelmingly enormous, and I am certain I shall be lost.”

”It shall be an honor,” Dawson said, clearly pleased to be asked.

Jared next turned to Miss Hillier, his erstwhile housekeeper, and once, a long time ago, his nursemaid. Miss Hillier smiled warmly, as if she wanted to take him in her arms like a mother. In truth, she had been the only mother he'd known for the first ten years of his life. Unfortunately, Miss Hillier still had a tendency to be too motherly.

Jared put his hand on the small of Ava's back. ”Lady Ava, my fiancee,” he said, and to Ava, ”Allow me to introduce Miss Hillier, our housekeeper.”

Miss Hillier turned a beaming smile to her new mistress. ”Oh my, how lovely you are, my lady.”

Ava blushed self-consciously. ”I am very pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Hillier. I shall need your expert a.s.sistance to guide me through my duties as mistress of such a very grand house.”

And on down the line they went, meeting the staff that kept Broderick Abbey functioning. The footmen, the housemaids. The cook and scullery maids. The groundsmen, including the gardener and his men, and the stable hands, the game manager. There were three dozen of them, a veritable army.

And Ava greeted each and every one with a word and what seemed like an honest expression of interest in what they did. Moreover, Jared noticed, she touched their hands, their elbows, their shoulders, looked them squarely in the eye and smiled. It was no wonder that the staff members were all gazing rather approvingly at his intended bride, for which, Jared realized, he was relieved and pleased. Broderick Abbey was his treasure; the staff and their satisfaction with their employment were important to him. He had not realized how important until this moment.

They proceeded inside, with several of the staff running ahead to open rooms for his inspection. Dawson instructed two footmen to have their trunks brought in, and the cook to have the tea readied.

”Miss Hillier, if you will please show the ladies to their suite of rooms,” Jared said as they entered the foyer and he helped Ava remove her pelisse. ”When they are ready, I shall meet them for luncheon in the west dining room.”

”Very good, my lord.” Miss Hillier gestured for Ava and Phoebe to come along.

With another anxious glance at Jared over her shoulder, Ava, in the company of her sister, who had yet to take her eyes from the walls and ceiling, dutifully followed Miss Hillier, taking in the surroundings as they went.

Jared handed his hat to Dawson.

”If I may, my lord?” Dawson asked.

”Yes?”

”Felicitations on your upcoming nuptials. She's bonny, if you don't mind me saying.”

A small smile crept across Jared's mouth. ”She is indeed. Thank you, Dawson. Have a mount saddled, will you?”

”At once, my lord,” Dawson said, and with a glance to a footman, sent the man running.

Jared followed the footman out and down the drive, walking slowly to the stables. While he waited, he leaned heavily against a post and put his hand to his forehead. He was feeling this sea change in his life more acutely now that they were here, in his home. His decision was beginning to feel truly unalterable.

Perhaps he was only exhausted-the Lord knew he hadn't slept at all this week, his mind racing around his whirlwind marriage, those disturbing feelings of being trapped. But he was also feeling wildly empty, as if all his normal thoughts and emotions had deserted him, leaving a void for new, wild thoughts and unfamiliar emotions to fill.