“Bah. You’ll both prove an embarrassment to me.” He waved a hand. “I have tasks to accomplish yet this day. Keep me informed regarding your marriage.”
John scowled. She didn’t like it when he did that, for it marred the lines of his handsome face and put shadows in his eyes. “Will you not come to the ceremony? It will be held in the Earl of Hadleigh’s drawing room two days hence.”
“I’d rather not.” The baron ran his gaze up and down Caroline’s person, and she shuddered from the attention. No, he wasn’t a good man. “I have much to do this week.”
“You’re a damned fool, Father.” John launched to his feet. “I’m not surprised you wouldn’t even do this for me.”
“Yes, well, I had so much hope when you’d become a Navy man, and now this. Can’t even manage a decent union.”
“Fuck off. I am happy with my choice.” When he held out a hand to her, she slipped her fingers into his palm while gaping at him from his use of vulgarity. Such an interesting word. As he closed his fingers around hers, he brought her into a standing position. “We have a full schedule this afternoon. Please excuse us.”
His hold on her hand brought a modicum of peace, but he shook, either from anger or something else, she couldn’t say. She wanted to soothe him as he did her, but how? “Have us let tea,” she murmured. A blush warmed her cheeks, for yet again her mouth jumbled the words her brain had given.
“Indeed.” He looked at his father with narrowed eyes. “Miss Storme and I will have our wedding trip in Derbyshire, at Hadleigh Hall, should you wish an explanation for our absence from Town.” Ice mingled in his tone for the first time since she’d met him.
I don’t like the man who upset him.
But the baron had nothing further to say, apparently.
With a huff, John renewed his grip on her hand and quickly led her from the study. He kept silent on the way out of the house with its modest furnishings and décor. Some of the rugs were worn in places and the wallpaper faded in others. Only when they’d gained the privacy of the carriage did he speak.
“My father will never be proud of me or what I’ve managed to accomplish in my life. He cannot even appreciate you.” He slammed the vehicle’s door shut as if to emphasize the point. He rubbed his gloved hands over his face. “He’s maddening.”
The raw emotion in his voice tugged at her chest. Caroline frowned. She leaned forward and rested a hand on his knee. “You are not him, John.”
“What?” Confusion roiled in his golden-brown eyes.
“Never will he see good, you are now.” Well, drat. Concentrating, she tried again. “I see you, the man you are.” She patted his knee. “Strong, good, honorable. Your father will never be that, and you will never be him. There is happiness in that.”
“Yes.” Delight crossed his face. He grinned and her cheeks heated. “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Fondness danced in his eyes. “Thank you for that.”
She nodded. “With you I am wanted. I hope same to you do.” He never made her feel less than when she stumbled over her words, never suggested she stay in her rooms because she couldn’t abide loud noises or crowded places.
“Caroline Storme, I believe we’ll be quite content as friends in this marriage.” His grin widened as he rapped on the ceiling of the carriage. “Hyde Park, if you please, Ames.”
“Of course, Mr. Butler,” the driver replied. Seconds later, the vehicle lurched into motion.
“I don’t have many friends,” she admitted in a small voice. “Or any.” Her mind revisited her life while in the asylum. While she’d come to know various members of the staff there, none of them availed themselves to secrets or shared confidences. Some cared nothing at all for the patients there, and oftentimes took out their frustrations on the weaker ones with fists or kicking with boots. There wasn’t an opportunity to know any of the other inmates more than passing acquaintances, for she had been confined to her room. Caroline sighed and came back to the present with a tiny start. “Until you found me on that snowy lane, I’d never felt comfortable talking to anyone.”
Thank goodness the words came out in the proper order. It was easier with him than even the members of her own family.
John sat back against the plush squabs of his bench. “That was quite a day, but I’m glad I came back into your life.” He remained silent for a few seconds. “For fear of inciting your wrath, I think you need me more now than you did at Christmastide.”
“The anger that is always with me here,” she touched a hand to her heart, “is never for you.” For long moments, she held his gaze. “You are rescuing me by marrying me.”
“Perhaps.” He shrugged, his big shoulders elegant, and she liked how the fabric of his green jacket pulled along the breadth of them. “I rather think it’s opening the door to your cage and encouraging you to hop out. Given enough of a chance, you can rescue yourself.”
Her easy smile wavered. “You aren’t a hero?”
“I never claimed that I was.” John leaned forward, rested his forearms on his knees so that his big hands dangled between his legs. “However, if you need to see me as such, I’m keen on being whatever your imagination demands. I am doing this for you because I believe you deserve the power of choice.”
“No one cared ever about that.”
“I do.” An impish grin curved his lips while an answering light twinkled in his eyes. “Oh, before I forget, I want to give you something.” Before she knew what he was about, John shoved off his bench and knelt on the floorboards in front of her even though the narrow aisle could hardly accommodate his large frame. “When I saw this, it immediately reminded me of you.”
Excitement tingled down her spine as he drew out a ring from his waistcoat pocket. “Why?” Despite the rain and gloom outside the windows, the stone gleamed with a light of its own.
“This opal is dainty and delicate but holds an internal fire that brings out its true colors.” While he spoke, John tugged the kid glove from her left hand. “That’s what you are, and like the opal, you are strong, Caroline. Never forget that.” Once the glove fell to her lap, he slipped the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. The silver was cool and smooth against her skin. “Don’t listen to anything others might say.”