He must have been looking as if he didn’t agree, for Berwick said, “It’s the best way to do this, my boy.”

Thalia had a worried look in her beautiful eyes. “If you do not wish to remain—”

“Of course I do. I am just not used to matters being taken out of my hands.” Even though his marriage had been disastrous, honoring his father’s plan had been his decision. It was the only time he and Berwick had truly argued. “What do we do now?”

Hawksworth had been refilling everyone’s glasses with champagne—no one had been interested in tea—and set the bottle down. “Tomorrow, you and I, representing Talia, shall work out a settlement agreement. Berwick has a plan to trick Somerset into signing it, but even if he does not, I will dower Thalia, as I did for Euphrosyne.”

Kendal’s jaw tightened. “I don’t care about her dowry.”

“But I do.” Thalia squeezed his hand. “I care.”

“Very well.” Catching her eyes, he gazed at her, and despite all the scheming to get them together, he did not want to even think about how much luck had played into their meeting and falling in love. “I will hazard a guess that she is not of age.” She shook her head. “How and where are we going to marry?”

Berwick grinned. “Do you remember Whiteadder Hall?”

“Yes.” Kendal had loved playing there as a child and hearing the stories surrounding the old house. “That is perfect.”

The rest of the group leaned forward in their seats, but Thalia asked the question. “Where is it?”

“It’s west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, on the border with Scotland.”

“If Somerset does not agree to the wedding, would we travel across the border to marry?”

“I’d planned to do that with Euphrosyne.” Markville frowned. “He abducted her before we could depart.”

“We need not leave the property at all.” Kendal smiled smugly. “The estate’s chapel is in Scotland.”

“Excellent.” Thalia’s smile could not have been wider or more adoring. “That will solve everything.”

Kendal only prayed she was right.


THAT EVENING, everyone was in good spirits as they left the house for town. Kendal had been to midsummer revelries before, and vowed he would keep Thalia at his side. Thankfully, she must have had the same thoughts, as she turned down every request to dance and remained with him throughout the evening. It was his right to be the only one to stand up with her. They were betrothed. Or as betrothed as they could be. Everyone in her family agreed with the marriage except the duke, and that would have to do.

They skipped and twirled in the country dances, which at times left them almost breathless. Her aunt had had the forethought to bring lemonade, as the only thing available locally was ale.

He had two glasses, and offered a taste to Thalia, who wrinkled her nose adorably. “I am not fond of ale, no matter how good it is.”

At one point, he danced her behind a large chestnut tree and kissed her, teasing her lips open and sweeping his tongue into her mouth, tasting the sweetness of the lemonade. She tentatively touched her tongue to his, and his knees almost buckled as his cock hardened. The one thing he had not asked was how long it would be before they could marry. After the story about her sister’s abduction, he would not make Thalia his until he had a ring on her finger.

But her soft body pressed against his, and her hands slipped over his shoulders. Kendal pulled Thalia against him, skating his hands down her back and over her bottom. God how he wanted her. Her breasts pressed into his chest, and he had to touch them, and press his knee between her legs. He could feel the heat at the apex of her thighs. She moaned, and he had the urge to throw her into a coach and flee for the border, now. When she shattered in his arms, it was all he could do to keep from spilling. If only he could make love to her.

Then another couple, who were much more overtly amorous than they were, which at the moment was saying something, decided the tree was a good place to indulge in their lust. When the woman lifted her skirts, Kendal led Thalia away.

Hell and damnation! He’d better marry her as soon as he could. He calculated how long it would take to travel to Whiteadder Hall, just a few miles from Berwick-upon-Tweed, and realized the journey could not be done in less than three days with all of her family and the children accompanying them. More likely five days. If that was the case, how soon could they depart for Whiteadder? Thalia had said she was fixed here until June. But did she have to be? Could he convince her family to move to Whiteadder much sooner?

Thalia kissed his jaw. “You are being very quiet.”

He gazed down into her eyes and knew he’d never tire of them.

“What are you thinking?”

“How quickly we could wed.”

Mirth replaced the solemn look and warmed the blue. “As far as I am concerned, the sooner the better.”

“I feel as if I have known you all my life.” It almost scared him how much he loved Thalia, when a day ago he had not even known she existed. What would have happened if he had ignored Berwick or if Kendal had escorted one of the ladies at Hull to the fair today? So many things could have gone awry, and he never would have met her.

“I feel as if I have been waiting for you.” She gifted him with another of her smiles. “Did I tell you that when Meg found out Somerset”—Kendal noticed that duke’s children rarely referred to the man as “father”—“had betrothed Laia to the old duke of Bolton, she invited Guy to her house and suggested he marry her instead?”

Kendal couldn’t stop himself from laughing at his vision of the former Guy Paulet’s stunned expression. “What did he say?”

“That he would have to meet her first.” Thalia grinned. “If I am not mistaken, two weeks later they had decided to wed.” Her finely arched brows drew together. “Euphrosyne and Markville fell in love before then. And Hawksworth said that the first time he saw Meg, he wanted to marry her. Although it took him a long time to convince her that she wanted to marry him. Do you think falling in love quickly runs in my family?”

Something obviously did. If Kendal were being poetic, he might say it was a purity of heart. Perhaps the way their father behaved made them more prone to want to find someone to love. Could the lack of love or even friendship in Kendal’s first marriage have made it easier for him to fall in love when he finally met the one lady who was perfect for him? “I don’t know, but it might be that the heart knows what it wants regardless of time.”

The sun was starting to slip in the sky when Lord and Lady Hawksworth reached Kendal and Thalia. She began to discuss something with her sister-in-law, while Kendal sidled up to her brother. “How soon can Thalia and I marry?”

“There are details to be worked out. Can we discuss it in the morning?”

“If you wish.” He hated the delay, but he agreed that many pieces of the puzzle had to be put together, and tomorrow would have to do.




CHAPTER 5




THAT EVENING, when they returned from the celebration, Thalia’s sisters took her to her bedchamber and bid her a good night.

“He will still be here in the morning,” Laia said.

“Hawksworth said there will be a meeting about when you and Kendal can wed.” Euphrosyne hugged Thalia. “We shall come up with a way to make it soon.”

“The thing we must remember is that you are supposed to be in Wiltshire. That adds at least two or three days to any travel schedule we give Somerset.”

Trust Laia to think of the details when Thalia would be happy to leave tomorrow. “I am glad you are keeping account of everything.”

Her eldest sister bussed her cheek. “That is what Guy says.”

It was all she could do not to go to Giles’s room. Her body still hummed with what they had done earlier. No wonder her sisters and Meg liked being married so much. And to think that when Thalia had awoken this morning, she’d had no idea what a momentous day it would be. Her sisters had been right when they had predicted something good would happen here.

Her maid brushed out Thalia’s hair, and she caught a glimpse of the combs she had purchased at the fair. “I really should tell Hawksworth to repay Kendal for everything I borrowed today.”

She could feel her maid laugh along with the brush strokes. “My lady, I don’t think it makes a difference now.”

“Perhaps you are correct.” She would ask in any event.

Once Thalia was in bed, she was certain she’d not be able to sleep, but the next thing she knew, Mannering was pulling back the bed hangings. “Lady Hawksworth suggested you might wish to rise, my lady.”

Glancing around, Thalia found the clock. It was almost nine in the morning. She was usually up at seven. How had she slept so late? “Thank you.”

When she reached the breakfast room, only the older members of the family were not present.

Giles rose and pulled out the chair next to his for her. “All of us except Hawksworth waited for you before we began eating.”

Quartus sniggered, a sound she had never heard him make before.

“I thank the rest of you for waiting,” Thalia said. “I know my brother well enough not to expect him to wait.”

“A wise lady,” Guy Bolton said.

Her aunt, uncle, and Berwick entered as a second round of tea was brought. Her uncle took the seat at the head of the table, and her aunt sat next to him. Berwick found a place on the other side of Giles.

He placed a pot of strawberry marmalade next to Thalia’s toast.

“Where did you find that?” she picked up the jar.

“At the market yesterday.” His smile was a bit smug. “When my servants arrived, I sent one of the grooms back for it.”

“If I did not already love you, I would for that alone.”

“Hmmm.” He rubbed his chin. “I must make sure no other gentleman brings you strawberries. I might have to call him out.”