Married In Haste Read online

  Despite Loretta’s friendship with Celia, whom Loretta had assured him was not the same person she used to be, Loretta seemed to have a good feel for people. If she was getting along with Ava, then it stood to reason that he just might be fortunate enough to get along with her, too. And really, Ava did seem like a very sweet person. He had thought she was sweet when he talked to her during their dance. It had just been the embarrassment of falling in front of everybody that had persuaded him not to pursue her.

  Thankfully, it was looking as if Ava wasn’t clumsy by nature after all. She managed quite well during the dinner. She didn’t spill her drink, drop any food, and she didn’t fall out of her chair when the meal was over. She had conducted herself perfectly. And that relaxed him further. Now he wouldn’t have to worry that she might do something to embarrass him at any future dinner party or social engagement.

  He regretted that he had been so hard on Ava. It really hadn’t been her fault that she tripped at the ball. Anyone could’ve done it. Another lady had stepped in her way as she was turning to leave the dance floor. It was funny that he could recall that now that he wasn’t letting his fears get in the way of common sense.

  Usually when the meal was over, the gentlemen and ladies would separate, but since the whole point of this evening was for everyone to get acquainted with each other, they all returned to the drawing room.

  “Do you know Lady Steinbeck?” Loretta asked Ava as she rocked her daughter in her arms.

  “I see her from time to time,” Ava replied. “But I’m not friends with her. I’m friends with her sister-in-law, Lady Farewell. Do you know who she is?”

  “I’m afraid I don’t,” Loretta said. “I’m more acquainted with Lady Steinbeck.”

  “That’s not surprising, given the difference in your ages,” Brad said.

  “I wouldn’t say the difference is all that much,” Loretta replied, shooting him a pointed look. “I’m not that old.”

  “I never said you were old,” Brad assured her. “It’s just that you two entered your first Season at different times. I think something like that would make a difference in who you get to be friends with.”

  Loretta relaxed. “It seems that most people think ladies are old when they get to be in their mid-to-late twenties. If you’re not already with a husband, you’re considered a miserable old spinster, and people feel sorry for you. However, you can be a gentleman in your thirties and forties, and people still think you’re young.”

  “I always thought that was silly,” Ava spoke up. “There’s so much pressure on the lady to marry in her first Season.”

  “It’s unfair pressure,” Loretta agreed. “I didn’t marry during my first Season. I married during my second, and that was only because I had Brad help me make a deal with Tad.” She offered Tad a smile. “I don’t regret it for anything in the world. But I still think it’s unfair that I had all this pressure to get married in the second Season so that I didn’t end up pathetic when I entered the third.”

  “There’s no denying that the rules for gentlemen and ladies are different,” Ava’s aunt inserted. “Maybe it has something to do with children. A lady can only have children for a short time in her life, but a gentleman can be well past his prime and still sire them.”

  “I don’t think ladies would want to have children when they’re past their prime,” Brad said. “Isn’t carrying a child and giving birth hard on a lady’s body?” He looked at his sister since she recently had experience in that area.

  “It’s not as difficult as gentlemen think it is,” Loretta replied. “We’re not fragile little creatures who can’t handle much. The truth is, we can handle as much as gentlemen can.”

  “I beg to differ,” Tad said. “I was there through the pregnancy and the birth. I honestly don’t think any gentleman can handle either of those. If you ask me, ladies are much stronger.”

  Loretta’s smile widened. “Is it any wonder why I love you so much?”

  “Which brings me back to my point,” Brad said. “If you need your strength for bearing children, then doesn’t it stand to reason that you’d want to be young?”

  “That wasn’t the point of this discussion,” Loretta replied. “The point was that it’s not fair for ladies to be considered old and useless by the time they’re reaching thirty.”

  “Who said anything about being useless?” Brad asked.

  Dinah turned to Ava’s aunt and asked, “Will I be old when I’m thirty?”

  “That depends on your definition of old,” her aunt replied. “Some will see you that way. Ava’s right. She did have a lot of pressure to find a husband in her first Season.”

  “Did you feel that pressure before you married our uncle?” Dinah asked her.

  “I did. I think all ladies do.”

  “Then why don’t all ladies marry?”

  “Not all ladies want to marry.”

  Ava nodded. “Aunt Grace is right. My friend, Lady Farewell, is friends with Miss Tumilson, a lady who just turned thirty. She has no desire to get married.”

  “Some people are better off staying single,” Tad said. “That includes ladies and gentlemen. I used to think that I was meant to be single. Fate, however, had other ideas, and I’m very happy for it.”

  Brad watched the silent exchange between Tad and Loretta. He didn’t think it was possible, but Tad seemed to fall in love with Loretta more and more each day.

  Loretta went over to Brad, cradling her sleeping child in her arms. “Why don’t you hold your niece for a while? It’ll be good practice for when you have your own child.”

  Brad hesitated. It wasn’t that he didn’t like holding Rosamond. He actually enjoyed that. But the last time he’d held her, she’d spit up all over his clothes. He really didn’t want the same thing to happen again, especially in front of people he barely knew.

  “Come now, Brad,” Loretta encouraged. “I did the hard part by carrying her and then giving birth to her. The easy part is holding her.”

  Since everyone was watching him, Brad took his niece in his arms.

  “You two look nice together,” Loretta said. “Just wait until you have one of your own.”

  Brad was sure his face was red from her comment. The conversation of having children was much too private for his liking. While he was sure her comment was innocent, it still embarrassed him all the same.

  “Who would like to play charades?” Brad asked, eager to turn the conversation to something else.

  Fortunately, everyone liked this idea so much that they forgot what they were talking about and started playing the game.

  ***

  “I can’t believe you don’t want me at the wedding,” Stephen said as Brad had the valet help Brad get dressed for the ceremony. “It’s because of me you’re getting married today.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Brad replied.

  The shameful article in the Tittletattle still bothered him. It would probably always bother him. Imagine someone like him, someone who had tried so hard to keep a pristine reputation, ending up with the reputation of a rake.

  Stephen rolled his eyes. “You take everything way too seriously. You do know you take everything way too seriously, don’t you?”

  “Someone has to be serious in this family. Otherwise, who would make up for your reckless behavior?”

  “I don’t do things any different than most gentleman do.”

  Brad shook his head in aggravation, an action which hindered his valet from adequately combing his hair. Brad offered an apology then turned his attention back to his brother. “I don’t care what the rest of the gentleman in London are doing. They aren’t my concern. You are.”

  “I don’t want to be your concern. I’m nineteen. I’m no longer a child.”

  “You act like one.” He immediately regretted the comment. It wasn’t a fair one to make because he’d come across children who had more sense than Stephen did.

  “You must think most of the gentleman in London act like children
then,” Stephen replied, crossing his arms.

  The truth of the matter was that Brad did think most gentlemen acted irresponsibly, so he chose not to respond. Instead, he turned his attention to his reflection in the full-length mirror beside his armoire. Thankfully, one thing was going in his favor this morning. His valet had done an excellent job of making sure his attire was clean and neatly pressed. He’d also made sure that there hadn’t been a single nick on his face when he had shaved him, and he was currently making sure every strand of his dark hair was in place. Even if this wedding hadn’t been in his plans, Brad was determined to make the best of it, and part of that was to make himself as meticulous as possible.

  As if he could read his mind, Stephen smirked. “You’ll never survive tonight. You can’t stand the slightest wrinkle or stain on your things. I hate to bring this to your attention, but being with a lady in bed can be a messy experience, especially if you’re doing things right.”

  Brad frowned at him. “You think I’m so much of a simpleton that I don’t know what to expect?”

  His eyebrows rose. “Do you?”

  “Of course, I do.”

  “How?”

  “That’s not your business.”

  Stephen chuckled. “You don’t know anything. You’re only saying that to avoid further embarrassment. You are as pure as a new layer of snow. You don’t have the faintest idea of what to expect tonight.”

  Brad felt his face grow hot in anger. So what if he didn’t know what to expect? Was it really any of Stephen’s business? Was it anyone’s business? And worse, did the valet have to listen to this conversation?

  “That’s enough,” Brad barked. “You’re not coming to the wedding, you’re not coming to the wedding breakfast, and you better not harass Ava after we’re married. You’ve caused her enough grief already. Leave her alone.”

  “Are you telling me that you don’t want me to have anything to do with Ava after you’re married?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “How is that going to be possible since she’ll be living here?”

  “This place is big enough for everybody. Just don’t enter the same room she’s in.”

  “That’s absurd. Do you really expect me to eat at different times from you two? Of course, that’s assuming you plan to eat meals with her. Do you plan to eat meals with her?”

  “Yes, I plan to eat meals with her.”

  “Then what am I supposed to do while you’re eating?”

  “I expect you to do the same thing you have been doing ever since I cut your allowance. I expect you to eat at a time when I don’t.”

  Ever since he had stopped giving Stephen an allowance, his brother had refused to be around him. It was just his luck that Stephen would insist on being around him after Ava came to live in the house with them. But why should he expect any different? His brother loved to irritate him.

  Brad was going to have to find something to do with him. He wasn’t sure yet what that would be, but he was going to have to think of something. Because if he didn’t, his brother would be a thorn in his side for the rest of his life. And he would be a thorn in Ava’s life, too, just because she was married to him.

  Once the valet finished getting Brad ready, he dismissed him then turned his attention back to his brother. “I don’t care if you go to another room in this townhouse or if you leave, but you will not attend the wedding or the wedding breakfast. If you refuse to do as I wish, I shall send the butler to throw you out of this townhouse.”

  Stephen sighed. “Very well. It’s not like the wedding is going to be all that exciting anyway.”

  It wasn’t until Stephen left that Brad breathed a sigh of relief. He was definitely going to have to do something with his brother. For now, he had to turn his attention to the wedding.

  Chapter Nine

  Ava wasn’t able to sleep most of the night on the eve of her wedding. Each hour that brought her closer to the ceremony only made her more and more anxious about the day. She hadn’t seen Brad since the dinner party, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Obviously, if he was in love with her, he would have made an effort to see her before today. When the dinner party ended, he had kissed her hand and thanked her for coming. It was a polite gesture. It was the kind of gesture a gentleman could give any lady, whether she was a relative, a friend, or a love interest.

  By the time she, her aunt, Timothy, and Dinah reached Brad’s townhouse, she was a bundle of nerves. The footman led them into the drawing room where Brad and the vicar were already waiting for them.

  Without meaning to, she checked the time on the clock above the fireplace mantle and saw that they were fifteen minutes early. She had insisted Timothy and Dinah not take too long to get ready so that they could be early. Now that she knew how important it was to Brad that people were punctual, she wanted to make sure they weren’t late. By arriving early, she was hoping to set a good precedent for how things would be between her and Brad in the future.

  Smiling, Brad came over to her. “You look very pretty, Miss Baynes.” Then he turned to her aunt, brother, and sister and let them know he was glad they were able to attend the wedding.

  Even after having dinner with them a few evenings ago, he was surprisingly formal. Was he like that all the time, or was it because he was nervous?

  Brad turned and introduced them to the vicar, and after they exchanged greetings with him, the vicar said, “It’s a pleasure to be marrying a couple under joyful circumstances.”

  Surprised he should say that, Ava asked, “Are most of the couples you marry unhappy?”

  “Sadly, yes,” he replied. “Most of them are marrying because their relatives arranged the match or because they were caught in a scandal. More often than not, it’s a scandal that brings them together. Neither the groom nor the bride is happy in that case.”

  Brad’s eyebrows rose, and Ava suspected he was thinking the same thing she was. Their marriage was the result of a scandal. Didn’t the vicar take the time to read the Tittletattle? The news of the incident in his bedchamber was circling all over London. Ava decided not to tell the vicar about it. If he didn’t know, then he was better off for it.

  Brad, apparently, was of the same mind she was because he was quick to change subjects. “We’re glad you could come here today. I know you have a busy schedule.”

  “This is what I’ve been called to do,” the vicar replied. “I am wondering how you met. This seems like such a good match. Did you meet through friends or at a ball?”

  Not wishing to squash the vicar’s vision of her and Brad’s relationship, Ava decided to speak up and say, “We met at a ball. It was the one Lord Youngtown was hosting, in fact.”

  “Was it?” the vicar asked, looking very pleased by this news.

  Ava nodded. “We each had a dance card, and when it was his turn to dance with me, he did. The rest led us to where we are today.”

  The vicar let out a contented sigh. “Isn’t it wonderful when you meet someone and fall in love right away? We should all be so fortunate.”

  “Yes, we should,” Ava replied, wishing things had happened exactly the way he thought they had.

  The footman came into the drawing room and announced that Loretta and Tad had arrived. Glad for an excuse to end the conversation, Ava turned to the new arrivals, surprised when she didn’t see Rosamond with them.

  “Our daughter was up most of the night,” Loretta said. “We decided to let her sleep at home.”

  “I hope she’s all right,” Ava’s aunt spoke up.

  “She’s fine,” Loretta replied. “She took too long of a nap yesterday. She wasn’t tired at all.” She shot her brother an amused grin. “At least we got here on time.” Then she winked to show him that she was only teasing him.

  “Well,” Brad began, “since everyone is here, I suppose we should get the ceremony underway.”

  The vicar motioned for Brad and Ava to stand in front of him, and once they were, he
began the ceremony. Through the entire thing, she tried to pay attention to what the vicar was saying, but she was acutely aware of the fact that Brad was standing so close to her. It was difficult to concentrate on anything but him. She wondered if this was something everyone went through when they married or if it was because she was in love with him.

  Brad didn’t seem to have any trouble reciting his vows. He didn’t stumble on anything he said, and each word he spoke was well pronounced and smooth. So it was probably just her. Unlike him, she struggled through her part quite a bit, and she had to keep clearing her throat in order to get the words out properly. It was times like this she wished she was eloquent in speech. Actually, she wished she was eloquent in all things. Brad was going to be the perfect husband and she was lacking in so many ways.

  When the ceremony was over, the others came over to congratulate them. It was at this particular moment she was glad Brad had had the foresight to have everyone meet at his dinner party. It was nerve-racking enough to go through the wedding. It would have been worse if she’d had to get married in front of strangers.

  During the wedding breakfast, she was beginning to feel optimistic about the marriage. Brad seemed to be warming up to her, if the fact that he smiled at her a few times was any indication that he was pleased. Two times, he had even asked her questions. Yes, things seemed to be looking better between them, and she was looking forward to seeing how things progressed from here.

  ***

  After the wedding breakfast, Brad introduced Ava to the staff and then he left her to tend to the task of telling her lady’s maid where she wanted everything in her bedchamber.

  Meanwhile, he went to the den and worked on his ledger. Having spent time with her since the ball and the scandal, he thought she was an agreeable lady. She didn’t complain about things like some ladies did, and she made an effort to get along with those around her. She seemed to have a very pleasant disposition. The more time he spent with her, the more hopeful he was that this marriage would not be a disaster after all.