The Wedding Affair (Rebel Hearts series Book 1) Read Free

once of course, and I am hoping the admiral will allow me to make the announcement to your family at dinner tonight before I have to go.”
    “You are leaving?”
    “Nothing to worry yourself about.” He patted her hand. “A pressing matter of business requires my return to London for a few days. Mother prefers not to travel with me so she will remain behind if that is agreeable. I should be back as soon as my business allows, and with luck I will have time enough to speak with the archbishop about a license while I am away. We can then be married and return to London before May entertainments have truly begun.”
    Sally was a little surprised by his haste to wed. The end of April was two weeks away. He had never given the impression that he was so anxious for them to be man and wife. It gave Sally little time to prepare for her new life, but she could do it for the right reason. She wanted to be a wife, to have a home of her own and someone specific to care for. “Yes, everything would be perfect for a dinner announcement. I am sure my father would be very pleased to have you do so after your talk.”
    She took a step toward him, prepared for a kiss to seal their bargain. Ellicott saw her purpose and smiled gently before lowering his face to hers. His lips claimed hers, delivering a dry, closemouthed kiss that lacked any spark of passion whatsoever. When he drew back after a moment, confusion filled Sally. It was an important day. Why did he not kiss her properly?
    He squeezed her fingers and released her. “We should go back inside before your mother or sister or aunt or cousins come looking for us. I should not like to have them think us scandalous.”
    Her mother’s voice hailed them urgently from the other side of the wisteria. “Lord Ellicott! Sally, darling!”
    Ellicott glanced her way with a sly smile and then laughed. “You see, barely enough time for a private proposal before we are sought out. The sooner you are mine, and away from here, the better.”
    “I am sorry.” Sally smiled until her face ached. “My mother is very protective and a stickler for observing propriety.”
    “I understand.” He drew back, his eyes dancing with mirth. “You of course would never allow liberties. Your brothers would be very quick to demand satisfaction of any who slighted you.”
    Sally’s heart sank, but she kept her smile pasted on her face. Her brothers would not wait on any duel before obtaining satisfaction. They would take matters into their own hands immediately and teach the scoundrel a lesson with their fists. There might not even be a body to be found afterward. Sally’s brothers were dangerous men and not to be crossed. Navy men, used to having their own way. She was glad the war against France allowed for their absence from Newberry Park at such a time. Ellicott needed to remain ignorant of their true natures for a little longer.
    And unaware of hers too.

    ~ * ~

    “N ot long now,” Felix Hastings, captain of His Majesty’s frigate the Selfridge, said to his companion as the end of their journey came in sight. Newberry Park, nestled on the windswept Essex coastline, had undoubtedly been designed to intimidate lesser mortals. Home of the Duke of Rutherford and his large family, the estate possessed a tree-lined drive that meandered through lush grounds and led to a large redbrick-and-stone mansion perched high on a distant hill.
    He had never expected to see this place, let alone be invited.
    Manicured gardens bordered the grand home, but his eye was drawn to the sweeping views of the wild sea, which was lit by the dazzling afternoon sun. It was as pretty as had been described to him once.
    “Thought we would never get here,” Gabriel Jennings, former captain of HMS Persephone , grumbled sleepily from his spot across the carriage.
    Felix spared a brief glance at the shabbily dressed man and had to wonder if he was finally sober enough to make sense. “You could have stayed behind in London. My