Montgomery - The Heiress Part 28

At that, for a fraction of a second, Jamie's eyes looked as though he wanted to beg her to stay, but then they changed. "I hope you do not do this for any misplaced n.o.bility."

He did not say he would do so, but she knew that with one word from her, he'd fight for her. To the death.

With what she hoped was insouciance, she threw back her head and laughed. "Oh, Jamie, how droll you are. Did you really think I was going to give up the Maidenhall inheritance to marry an impoverished earl? Look at you! What do you have that I could want? Just taking care of your eccentric family would be a lifetime responsibility. A crazy mother, a blind sister, and another who cannot make up her mind if she is a boy or a girl. Why would any woman want that? All I wanted was something to pa.s.s the time until my father came to get me."

"Yes," he said coldly, "I can see that now. You must have had a good laugh at all the things I said to you in private."

"I shall dine out on them for years. Now, excuse me, I must go. My father awaits me." With that she swept aside her skirt and walked past him. "Come, Tode," she said as she pa.s.sed him.

But Tode held Berengaria's hand tightly and said, "I am not coming."

Axia knew that if she thought about that statement, she would collapse. It seemed that today she was losing everything. Turning, she looked at Frances and raised her eyebrows in question.

Instantly, Frances held out her hand, and together, without one glance backward, the two women walked toward where Perkin Maidenhall waited with saddled horses.

Chapter 30.

Tomorrow was Axia's wedding day.

She made no pretense at being happy at the prospect of such a day, for she knew without a doubt that it would be the unhappiest day of her life. No, she corrected herself, that would be the day three months ago that she had last seen Jamie. Yes, that had to be the worst day of her life.

Since then she had many times wanted to write to him, explain what she had done and why, but her fear kept her from contacting him. What if he believed her? she kept asking herself. What if he knew that she loved him and believed that her prank of exchanging places with Frances had been innocent?

With one hand on her belly, she raced for the chamberpot to be sick again for what had to be the thousandth time that day. Maybe some small part of her had known that she was pregnant when she left Jamie. Maybe she had realized that she had to protect their child as well as her husband.

True to his word, her father had delayed her wedding to Gregory Bolingbrooke until he saw that his daughter was pregnant, and when she was, he upped the bride price. "Selling his own grandchild," Axia had muttered, but nothing that had happened to her since she'd left Jamie seemed to matter to her.

She had been told by the women her father had hired to take care of her that she was going to live like a queen. No more would she "have" to scrimp and save; no more would she spend days in a shed trying to concoct a perfume. From now on she'd have servants who could antic.i.p.ate her every thought. People would dress her, undress her, cut her food for her. "And shall they chew it?" she'd asked, but no one had understood. It seemed that the goal of all the people on the earth was to do absolutely nothing. It was inconceivable that a woman as rich as she would consider selling cloth from a peddler's wagon as one of her favorite memories in life.

But Axia tried not to have memories, tried not to think or feel anything. She had already been told that her child would be taken from her at birth and given to others to raise. "London is so unhealthy for a child," she was told.

"Then why do I have to live in London?" she'd muttered, but no one understood her sarcasm or her anger.

And anger was what grew inside her daily. Why hadn't Jamie believed in her? Why had he thought only bad of her? And had he actually known who she was? Had he courted her for her money? Her father had said that Jamie did not want her if he could not have the Maidenhall gold with her.

"It is time for bed now," a pretty woman whispered beside Axia. All the women her father had hired were pretty, not as beautiful as Frances, perhaps, but all lovelier than she, Axia, was.

With a sigh, Axia raised her arms and allowed the women to start unbuckling her from the heavy satin dress she wore, a dress that was so stiff it imprisoned her, hampering her movements. Hanging from a hook on the wall was her wedding dress, all of cloth of gold, so heavily encrusted with gold lace that she did not know if she would be able to walk with it on.

And tomorrow she would meet the man she was to marry. In these months neither he nor his father had shown the slightest interest in seeing Axia, for it was her father's money they wanted, not her.

When at last Axia was down to her linen undergarment, the bedcover was pulled back, and she climbed the steps to get into bed. Only at night did she have any privacy, so only then did the tears come.

But tonight she did not cry. Tonight when she was alone in her room, the candles extinguished, her eyes were hot and dry, and the only word that was in her mind was Jamie. Jamie, where are you? Jamie, do you ever think of me? Do you miss me as I miss you? Jamie, did you ever love me?

It was very late before she fell asleep, and even then she was restless, tossing about in the bed, thinking she heard odd sounds, waking, then falling asleep again to dream that people were chasing her.

When she did awake, it was to fear, for someone had his hand over her mouth and a heavy body was on top of hers. Frightened, she could not seem to focus her eyes.

Then she realized it was Jamie on top of her. Immediately, she was afraid, afraid for his life. If her father found him here, he would have Jamie murdered.

"Do not speak," he said softly, and she could see that there was blood on his face and his doublet was torn in several places. What had he been through to get to her?

"I have been to France and found the vicar who married us," he whispered. "And I have found the witnesses, and the parish register has also been found. If it is your wish, I can prove that we are indeed married." He hesitated. "But only if you wish it. If you want to marry Bolingbrooke-"

He was cut off when Axia had managed to get her arms from under the covers to put them around his neck and glue her mouth to his.

"We do not have time for this," Jamie managed to whisper, making no attempt to pull away from her.

It was Axia who finally turned her face away. "I cannot go with you," she whispered. "My father-"

"h.e.l.l and d.a.m.nation to your father!" Jamie said fiercely as Axia put her hand over his mouth and looked anxiously toward the door.

But Jamie pulled it away and began kissing it.

"My father will disinherit me," she said. "He will give me nothing, and he will do awful things to you. You do not know him."

"I know that he is merely rich; he is not a king with power of life and death. Axia, I want you, not your money."

Axia blinked at him for a moment. "But what of your family's needs?"

"We have moved in with my Montgomery cousins."

"Oh, Jamie, you did not want to do that. You will not like living on someone else's charity."

He kissed her softly. "I will do whatever I have to to be with you. I love you more than I love my pride."

It took Axia a moment to comprehend what he was saying, and she knew how very romantic this was but also how very impractical. "Your sisters hate me. They-"

Jamie kissed her to silence. "If they are angry at anyone, it is at me. Everyone misses you very much."

At this Axia looked skeptical since she remembered that Berengaria and Joby had arranged her kidnapping.

When Jamie saw the look on her face, he smiled. "Much has happened in these months that you have been gone from me. Tode and Berengaria are in love and want to marry. You were right, Berengaria says he is the most beautiful man she has ever seen, and she's been trying to mix perfume, but she says she needs you."

Watching her, Jamie knew he was making some headway when he saw the spark in her eyes at the word need.

"Joby does not want me," Axia said.

"Joby feels worse than anyone, except me, of course. She says that you loved me so much that you were willing to give up the Maidenhall fortune for me. She says she could never love a man that much. Do you? Do you love me that much?"

Axia took a deep breath. "More than that much. I love you-" Shaking her head, she started to push him off of her. "No, no, it will not work. My father will ruin you. He will-"

"Yes, I know, but not even your father is more powerful than all the Montgomery clan. If we must, we will go live in Scotland. My family owns places in Scotland that not even G.o.d can find. But it is all your wish, Axia, my love. If you will but follow me."

Looking up at him, she caressed his cheek. "I would follow you to the ends of the earth."

"Even if I have no gold?" he asked softly.

"You have given me all the gold I want," she answered, meaning the child she now carried, but she would not tell him of that now. That would come later.

After a moment she pulled away from kissing him and said, "How do we get out of here? My father's guards-"

"Come," he said, pulling her out of bed, then when she stumbled, he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the window. Four stories below, the rising sun behind them, were what could only be described as an army: thousands of men on horseback.

"Who?" was all she could manage to whisper.

"Montgomerys from England, Scotland, Ireland, and France. I would have brought more, but the ones in America did not arrive in time."

"Jamie," she whispered. "You did this for me?"

"That and more. I love you, Axia. With all my heart and soul. I love you more than gold, more than myself." Pausing, he kissed her lightly. Will you come with me now... wife?"

"Yes," she said. "I will follow you, my husband, anywhere."

Epilogue.

"What is it?" Axia asked sleepily. Now, in the last month of her pregnancy, all she seemed to want to do was sleep. After much discussion between her and Jamie, she had insisted that the two of them live in the deep, remote mountains of Scotland, away from anyone who could find them. Jamie had protested virulently, but after he'd found out that Axia was pregnant, he'd given into anything that made her feel safe. And safety from her father was what she now needed most. Nothing Jamie could say could alleviate her terror of him. She seemed to think that he was all powerful and all evil and that no one on earth could fight him.

"It is letters," Jamie said, holding up the leather pouch that showed the effects of its journey across sea and over mountains. Since their voluntary exile, they had heard little of the outside world, and Axia liked it that way. She feared hearing that her father was turning the world upside down to find her, then hearing Jamie swearing to kill her father's men upon sight. Or worse, maybe her father was offering great rewards for Jamie's head.

"Axia," Jamie said patiently, "it is not good for the babe to be so fearful."

With difficulty, she sat up. "If those letters can find us, he can."

Jamie did not have to ask who "he" was, so he gave a great sigh as he sat on the bed. "These were sent to my uncle, and he has sent a lone messenger all the way here to give them to us."

"He was sure to be followed."

"Yes," Jamie said sarcastically, "and no doubt I will be dead by nightfall. Do not look at me so, Axia! It was a jest." After some minutes, he was able to loosen the strings that held the pouch shut, then turned it upside down onto the bed. Two letters fell out and with a gasp, Axia saw the familiar writing of her father.

"He has found us," she gasped.

"No, his letter has been forwarded to us. Axia, do not hide under the covers, come and read what the man has to say."

"He will threaten us with death. He will-"

"This is from Frances," he said, holding up the second letter.

For a second, Axia was speechless. She had not heard a word about Frances or from her since her father had separated them after they'd ridden back to London. Many times she had asked, but no one had an answer for her.

"Which shall I read first?" Jamie asked, holding the two letters aloft.

"Frances," Axia answered, wanting to postpone hearing her father's threats as long as possible.

Smiling, Jamie opened Frances's letter, but as he began to read silently, his face changed. "h.e.l.l and d.a.m.nation," he muttered, his eyes wide.

Axia s.n.a.t.c.hed the letter from his grasp.

"My dearest cousin," Axia read aloud, "I know that you always thought that I was helpless and stupid, but I want you to know that I learned some things from your clever ways. After Jamie took you away, your father came to tell me what had happened. Yes! that is true: he came to me in person to tell me. He did not seem angry, only very sad, and I was sure it was because he was going to have to go back on his bargain with Bolingbrooke. I know that it is said that no one can best him in a deal, but it is also said that once the bargain is made, Perkin Maidenhall honors his word.

"Oh, Axia, I do not know where I got the strength to do what I did, but I pretended I was you and afraid of nothing, so I made a bargain with your father. We agreed that since Bolingbrooke had never seen you, perhaps he would not be displeased when he saw me standing at the altar beside him."

At that Axia looked up at Jamie, her eyes wide, and in the next second she began to read again.

"So I married Gregory Bolingbrooke, and now I am known as the Maidenhall heiress. I did not think you would mind because I know how much you hate the t.i.tle. But as much as you hated it, Axia, it is as much as I love it. All the attention! I wear the most splendid clothes!

"But I am sure you are not interested in that. Your father has settled enough on me that I am rich beyond imagining, and if it is not all the money he has, no one but he knows that.

"Axia, I know you will think I am stupid, as you always have, but there is something I must tell you. I am entrusting this letter to Jamie's relatives and no one else because you must burn it. If what I am about to tell you became general knowledge, it could ruin me.

"Axia, I am pregnant with Tode's child."

When she read that last sentence, Axia was so stunned, she dropped the letter, so Jamie picked it up and began to read.

"You must never tell Berengaria, who is Tode's wife now, but only Jamie, for I think he will understand how it was in those days when Tode and I were held captive. He was so good to me, Axia, so very good."

"I should say that he was," Jamie said, making Axia s.n.a.t.c.h the letter from him and keep reading.

"Axia, do you not think it is ironic that Tode's child is going to be the heir to the Maidenhall fortune? Unfortunately, it is an irony I can share with few people.

"I never thanked you for all that you did for me. And I'm not going to now. You and Jamie will have to come and stay with Gregory and me, and I will thank you then. By the way, I quite like my husband, and even though he never touches me, he is wildly happy about the baby, and he has never asked me a question about who the father is. Nor has his father.

"My love to Jamie and tell him I am so very happy that he didn't marry me. Yours with love, Frances."

When she'd finished reading, Axia fell back against the pillows. "I have never heard anything like that in my life. Tode! And Frances! And they were doing that while I was so worried about them when she was being held prisoner. They-"

"If you say another word, I will think you are jealous. Now, we shall read this," he said, holding aloft her father's letter.

"No," Axia began, but Jamie paid no attention to her as he broke the seal and began to read.

To my dear daughter, As you know, I am believed to know more about business than any other man in England. I know how to choose merchandise. I can tell good cloth from bad. I know how to tell quality in furs, in food, in land and ships.

And I know how to judge quality in men.

You think I did not love you because I never saw you. But you are the only thing I ever have loved. I locked you away to protect you, to keep you safe. Had you lived among men as my daughter your spirit would have been tainted, corrupted by the power of money. I gave you what you could not buy: freedom to be a person and not the bags of gold you so often think people see you as.