One Enchanted Evening (Marriage by Fairytale Book 2) Read online

  Marriage by Fairytale Series: Book 2

  One Enchanted

  Evening

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and also represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher.

  One Enchanted Evening

  All Rights Reserved.

  Copyright 2018 Ruth Ann Nordin

  Cover Photo made by Love Books Daily

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  This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without expressed written consent of the publisher/author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Coming Next: The Wedding Pact

  Don’t Miss The Marriage Contract

  All Books by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Where to Find Ruth

  Chapter One

  May 1825

  “I can’t get around it anymore,” Lewis Cotter, the Earl of Pruett, said. “I have to get married, and I have to do it soon.”

  The admission hit him hard. He’d done everything in his power to avoid it, but, like so many other things working against him, it was inevitable. He had to find a wife. And he had to do it soon.

  With a heavy sigh, he turned from the large window in his friend’s den so he could face the gentleman sitting in the chair by the fireplace. Mr. Stephen Bachman was sipping on brandy, and a silver mask covered his face from the tip of his nose on up to his forehead. It’d been years since Lewis had seen his face.

  Lewis knew his friend had had his share of suffering. His friend’s first marriage had been nothing short of a nightmare. Stephen’s first wife, Eloise, had been so awful that she’d thrown a hand mirror at his face, which was why he had to wear a mask. Eloise had done many more things to make him miserable, but Lewis suspected that had been the worst of it. After that, Stephen had moved outside of London to live in this reclusive manor.

  Stephen had once been an outgoing gentleman. He’d enter a room, and before the evening was over, he’d have a group of people vying to talk to him. Lewis had envied him the ability to fit with them everywhere he went. People liked him. He had a way of making them laugh, and if there was one thing most people enjoyed doing, it was laughing.

  But that was all in the past. Stephen wasn’t that gentleman anymore. Now he was quiet and reserved. Had it not been for his second wife, Patricia, Lewis didn’t know if Stephen would have ever come out of his shell. From time to time, Lewis saw a glimmer of the person Stephen used to be, but much of it had been subdued.

  Not that he didn’t like who Stephen was now. He did. Stephen was still a good friend. He had come through for Lewis on numerous occasions. Stephen helped him out whenever he needed it. It was just that Lewis sometimes missed the optimistic nature Stephen used to possess. It had balanced out the gloom and doom Lewis had felt in his own life. And right now, he needed someone to tell him that getting married wasn’t going to be the end of the world.

  Lewis waited for his friend to speak the words he needed to hear, but Stephen didn’t oblige him. Instead, he sipped more brandy as if Lewis had just stopped by for a casual discussion.

  “Well?” Lewis finally prompted.

  “Well what?” Stephen asked.

  “I just told you I have no other choice than to get married.”

  “Yes, I heard.”

  Lewis waited for his friend to say more, but he didn’t. Groaning, Lewis went to the chair across from him and sat down so he could look Stephen straight in the eye. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

  Stephen hesitated then said, “Congratulations?” in a way that let Lewis know Stephen had no idea what he wanted to hear.

  Lewis threw his head back and ran his fingers through his blond hair. “You’re supposed to tell me that marriage will be good for me, that I’ll be very happy with a wife.”

  “You know I can’t tell you that,” Stephen softly said.

  Lewis straightened back up. “But you love Patricia. I can see it whenever she’s in the same room with you. She makes you happy.”

  “Yes, she does, but I was fortunate you brought her to me. I didn’t seek her out. I wasn’t looking to get married again. I also wasn’t looking to get married the first time, and Eloise was awful.” He finished his brandy. “I can’t promise you a lifetime of happiness. All I can do is wish you luck in finding the right lady.”

  “You’re not any help.”

  “Is it really going to help if I lie to you?”

  Grumbling, Lewis got up from the chair and strode back to the window. He crossed his arms and focused on the covered bridge with trees surrounding it. The leaves on the trees had already bloomed. It was spring. Before long, it would be summer. That didn’t give him a lot of time to find a wife, and with Stephen’s disappointing reaction to his news, he was more afraid now than he had been when he came here. What if he ended up with someone like Eloise? Or what if he ended up like some of the other gentlemen who wished they could ship their wives off to America so they wouldn’t have to deal with them ever again?

  He had known Patricia would be good to Stephen when he brought her here to marry him. Since he’d had no desire to get married and since he’d assumed his brother had lots of money, he hadn’t even considered marrying her. Maybe he should have done it. No. That wouldn’t have been a good option. Yes, she was a good friend, but she used to be his sister-in-law. Plus, he never once had a single romantic feeling for her. It would have been like marrying his sister. Not that he had one, but his imagination was good enough to let him know he would never want to marry his own sister.

  Also, she didn’t have any money. And it was really the money he needed anyway. This whole thing boiled down to money. He should never have assumed his brother had a lot of it just because he was an earl. Lewis had no idea a titled gentleman could be destitute.

  “All right,” Stephen began with a defeated sigh. “Lewis, once you’re married, all of your troubles will be over. For the first time in your life, the sun will shine brighter, the sky will be a deeper shade of blue, and the birds will sing a little bit sweeter.”

  Lewis glanced back at his friend, not amused. “It’s too late.”

  Lewis paused then decided he might be better off going to Patricia. Granted, Patricia’s first marriage hadn’t been all that wonderful, either, but she wasn’t nearly as pessimistic about marriage as Stephen was. He was worried enough as it was. He didn’t need to add someone with Stephen’s tainted view of marriage to make him worry even more.

  “Patricia’s here, isn’t sh
e?” Lewis asked Stephen.

  Stephen set down the brandy he was drinking and focused in on him. “Why do you want to talk to her?”

  “Because she might have some actual advice I can use.”

  Without saying anything else, Lewis strode to the door, opened it, and then proceeded on to the drawing room.

  “If you find the right lady, marriage will be a good thing,” Stephen called out as he followed him. “But that’s the problem. You need to find the right one.”

  Lewis made it to the drawing room, and fortunately, Patricia was there. She and her lady’s maid—Marcy, if he remembered correctly—were fussing over Patricia’s four-month-old daughter, Susanna. Susanna was sitting up in Patricia’s lap, and the two ladies had their heads bent together as they inspected the length of the baby’s gown.

  “Oh, you’re right,” Marcy was saying. “She is getting too big for it. How is that possible when it was too big for her only a month ago?”

  “She’s growing up fast,” Patricia replied. “Loretta warned me that babies don’t stay little for long. I should have expected this.”

  “They’re so sweet when they’re first born, aren’t they?”

  Patricia nodded. “They’re content to just lie in your arms and look up at you. Susanna now wants to sit up all the time.”

  Marcy took the girl’s hand and chuckled. “There’s something about babies that is so wonderful.”

  Stephen cleared his throat.

  Lewis jerked, unaware that his friend had come up beside him. He put his hand over his heart. It was a good thing he wasn’t prone to heart attacks.

  Patricia and Marcy looked up from Susanna.

  Marcy rose to her feet and offered them a smile. “I was just about to bring Mrs. Bachman some tea. Would you like any?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Stephen replied. “I already had something to drink.”

  Since Marcy looked expectantly at him, Lewis asked, “Are you making that tea with the peppermint in it?”

  Marcy glanced at Patricia, and Patricia said, “That sounds good to me.”

  Marcy turned back to him. “Yes, I can make that tea.”

  Lewis was about to say that she didn’t have to go through the trouble of making a different type of tea for his sake, but Stephen spoke up for him. “Peppermint tea would do him some good.” Stephen patted him on the shoulder then went over to Patricia and picked up Susanna. “The poor man’s going to give himself a stomach ache with all the worrying he’s doing.”

  “Worrying?” Marcy asked.

  “He needs to find a wife,” Stephen told her.

  Lewis’ face warmed. Why did Stephen have to come right out and say that in front of the maid? He had hoped to keep the matter private.

  “He seems to think all of the available ladies will be mean to him,” Stephen continued.

  Before Lewis could tell Stephen to stop it, Marcy turned her gaze to him and asked, “Why do you think the ladies will be mean to you?”

  Lewis bit back the urge to groan. Why did Stephen have to open his big mouth?

  “That’s a good question,” Patricia added. “Why do you assume that?”

  “It’s not an assumption,” Lewis replied. “It’s… it’s…” He didn’t want to say it was a fear because that would make him seem weak. After a moment, he said, “It’s a possibility.” When the two ladies didn’t seem convinced, he gestured to Stephen. “His first wife was horrible to him. She ridiculed him. She brought her lovers here so he’d know who she was having affairs with. She broke a lot of his things. She ruined his face.”

  “That’s enough, Lewis,” Stephen interrupted.

  “You think it’s appropriate to talk about my personal business, but I can’t talk about yours?” Lewis asked him.

  Really, did Stephen have any idea—any idea at all!—why he didn’t want the maid to be privy to this conversation? Patricia was one thing. She was a friend. But he didn’t know the maid. Plus…well, she was the maid! Gentlemen didn’t go around discussing sensitive topics in front of the staff.

  The maid blushed and lowered her gaze. “I’ll get the tea.”

  Still embarrassed, Lewis avoided eye contact with her as she left.

  Stephen sat in a chair next to Patricia. “Your fears are understandable. Marrying the wrong lady can be devastating.” He glanced at Patricia and smiled. “But marrying the right one can be the best thing you’ll ever do. Because of Patricia, I’ve been able to let go of the past. Why do you think I finally removed the coverings from the mirrors?”

  Lewis glanced around the room, noting the mirror that was no longer covered. “I didn’t realize you’d taken the coverings down.”

  Stephen shook his head. “You never were that observant.”

  “I didn’t notice because I have more important things on my mind,” Lewis insisted. “I had to work through my brother’s estate to get an idea of what I can and can’t afford. Forgive me for being mindful of things other than the mirrors in your home.”

  Patricia chuckled. “Lewis, this isn’t like you. You must really be worried.”

  Lewis’ shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to come across as being difficult.” He pulled up a chair and sat across from them. He leaned forward and kept his voice low. “I saw what Stephen went through,” he told Patricia. “Even if he explained how things were with Eloise, being there and seeing it firsthand was much worse than hearing about it. She was selfish and cruel when she married Stephen, but as time went on, she just kept sinking deeper and deeper into some kind of abyss. The longer she lived, the worse she got. I never witnessed so much hatred from another person before.”

  “You just said she was selfish and cruel when she married me,” Stephen said. “Make sure the lady you pick isn’t like that. Make sure the lady you pick is like Patricia.” He put his hand on hers. “She’s nothing like Eloise. If you find someone like her, then you’ll be just fine.”

  “And how am I supposed to do that?” Lewis asked. “Do you expect me to go to downtown London and hope I run into someone who’s being pursued by a gypsy?”

  “Don’t be silly,” Stephen said.

  “I’m making a point. Finding Patricia happened by chance. It wasn’t something I planned. I have to intentionally find a wife.”

  “What if we arranged for you to meet some ladies?” Patricia asked. “Then you could pick the one who’ll be a suitable wife.”

  Marcy came into the room with the tea. She placed the tray on the table and poured tea into everyone’s cups.

  “What if we have a ball?” Patricia continued.

  Stephen grimaced. “A ball?”

  “Sure.” Her face lit up with a wide smile. “It could be a masquerade ball! That way, everyone will be wearing a mask. Don’t you think that would be fun? I’d like to wear a mask that matches yours.”

  Lewis thought for sure that Stephen would say no since he never went to London. It’d been a long time since Stephen had spent time around a lot of people. He figured Stephen loved being with as few people as possible.

  But to his surprise, Stephen said, “It would be fun. And if everyone’s wearing a mask, I won’t attract undue attention.”

  “No, you won’t,” Patricia replied, looking more and more excited by the second. “You’ll blend in with everyone around you.”

  “I suppose we can send out invitations to let others know we’re having the ball,” Stephen said as Marcy handed Lewis a cup.

  Lewis smiled to thank her then took a sip.

  Patricia frowned. “We should be selective. We want there to be lots of available ladies that Lewis can choose from. Perhaps your sister and brother might help us with a list of who we should invite.”

  Lewis almost spit out his drink. Once again, they were talking so casually about his personal affairs right in front of a maid. “I think we can discuss this another time.”

  “Fine. We’ll discuss it later.” Patricia turned her gaze to Stephen and added, “I can’t wait. It’s goi
ng to be a wonderful evening.”

  Marcy handed Patricia a cup, and Susanne lunged forward to reach for it. Stephen stopped her from grabbing it and laughed. “Once they stop sleeping all the time, they want to touch everything.”

  Patricia chuckled. “Yes, she’s a curious little thing, isn’t she?”

  Stephen glanced at Lewis. “Are you sure you don’t want to hold your niece? She won’t be a baby for long.”

  Lewis was relieved to note that Marcy was leaving the room. Now Stephen and Patricia would stop embarrassing him.

  “She’s your niece, Lewis,” Stephen added. “You should take an interest in her.”

  “I am interested in her,” Lewis said after he finished his cup of tea. “I’ve just never been around children. I don’t know what to do with one.”

  As he feared, Stephen got up and set Susanna in his lap. Lewis hurried to hold onto the little girl before she could wiggle out of his lap. Good heavens, but the last thing he needed to do was drop her!

  Stephen took Lewis’ empty cup and set it on the table. “Right now, all you have to do is hold her. It’s very easy.”

  The girl turned her eyes in his direction and stared at him as if she’d never seen him before. Lewis didn’t know why the action should unnerve him, but it did. Was there something wrong with him? Did he have food stuck between his teeth? Did he have a hair that was out of place? Did he have an unsightly mole he didn’t know about?

  “Relax and enjoy holding her,” Stephen said after he returned to his seat. “You look like you’ve been told you’re going to hang in the morning.”

  Taking his gaze off of the girl, who was still intent on staring at him, Lewis focused on his friend. “I feel like that’s exactly what’s happening. How am I supposed to find a lady who’s suitable for marriage?”

  “You’ll find her at the masquerade ball,” Patricia spoke up. “You’ll be wearing a mask. Wearing one will mean none of the ladies will know who you are, and, in turn, you won’t know who they are. I really think this could free you up to be comfortable around them.”