Chapter Nine

"H as Biegert returned from taking Sergeant Whitecliff to tour Sea Home Manor?" Violet asked when Phillip walked into the room.

"I just spoke with him."

"What did he say?"

"He said if I didn't hire Jamie Whitecliff, I was a fool. He said a few other choice words that I can't repeat in your presence, but his point was obvious."

"Wonderful," Violet said with a smile. "I hoped he would work out. I liked him very much."

"So did I. He was an excellent soldier, except when he went a little crazy that last day. I expect him to be a conscientious steward."

Phillip filled a snifter with brandy and sat down beside his wife. "You look tired," he said. "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm feeling exceptionally well."

"I'm glad."

"I think, however, we might want to consider sending for the midwife in the next day or two," Violet said. "Just in case."

"Do you think our little private might decide to make an appearance already?"

"I just think I'd prefer to have the midwife here before our baby's arrival rather than after. Otherwise, you'll be delivering your son."

A wave of panic washed over him. "That's wise, Lettie. I'll send for her yet today."

Phillip leaned close and kissed her. "I love you, Lettie. I should have told you so a long time ago."

"And I should have told you how much I love you," she answered. "I feel like I wasted a lot of time knowing that I loved you instead of saying the words. You should have known how special you are to me a long time ago."

He kissed her again, then stood and held out his hands. "Would you like to walk a bit outside?"

"I'd love to," she answered.

"I want to find Wilbert and have him send someone to fetch the midwife."

"Yes, then maybe we can walk through the back garden. More flowers have bloomed, and the park is especially beautiful."

Violet and Phillip walked to the front of the house, where Wilbert could usually be found. A broad grin lit his features when Phillip told him what he needed him to do.

"Right away, my lord," he answered, and went to find a footman to do his bidding.

From the front of the house, Phillip led Violet through the library to a set of French doors. From there, they crossed the terrace and went down the three steps that led to the center path in the garden.

"I can't believe how ungainly I am," Violet said when she nearly lost her footing. She braced her hand against her back. "I remind myself more of a duck trying to walk than a human female."

Phillip couldn't help but laugh. "I find I'm particularly fond of ducks, and you're the most beautiful duck I've ever seen."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, my lord. Oh, wait. It already has."

He laughed again. "You have the most remarkable sense of humor, Lettie."

"I have to have something to keep you interested in me, Markham. My extraordinary beauty isn't going to be enough for very long."

Phillip stopped along the path and turned her to face him. It was difficult to bring her close to him, but he wrapped his arms around her and brought her as close as he could.

"Lettie, don't talk about yourself like you are some unsightly troll. You're not. You have a loveliness about you that defies description. I see it. Everyone sees it. I owe you everything. More than I'll ever be able to give you in return. I am the one who is lacking. Not you."

Violet leaned forward to stand on her tiptoes and press her lips to his. She kissed him with a passion equal to the passion he felt for her.

"You've given me what I've always wanted, my love," she said. "You make me smile. You spoil me terribly. And in a few days I'll have the first of the many children I've always dreamed of having. I never thought I'd be so blessed."

"Well, I've got you there. I knew so from the moment we first spoke. Then you frightened me nearly to death when you said you'd changed your mind and no longer wished to marry me."

"That's only because I looked at your very handsome face and didn't want you to be horribly embarrassed every time we stepped out in public."

"I cannot conceive of any such thing ever happening. Ever," he said with a broad smile as he placed his hand on her stomach. "As you can see, I am the happiest, most content of husbands."

He leaned over and kissed her, then found a bench on the side of the path and they sat together. They had been there a short while when Wilbert approached.

"Yes, Wilbert?"

"May I have a word, my lord?"

"Of course," Phillip said. "Don't go anywhere, Lettie," he said, getting to his feet.

"As if I could travel far in this condition," she said. "Just plant me where you want me to be and I'll stay there and grow."

"That's my girl," he said with a laugh.

Phillip walked to where Wilbert had separated himself from Violet so they couldn't be overheard.

"Is something wrong, Wilbert?"

"I'm not sure, my lord. You have a visitor. Well, actually, her ladyship has a visitor."

"Who is it?"

"The gentleman says he's Lady Markham's father."

Phillip turned to look at his wife. If this was a joke, it was a poor joke to say the least. And the timing couldn't be worse.

"I'll be right back, sweetheart," he called.

"Very well," she answered, clutching her back again, then leaning back against the wrought-iron bench.

"Take me to this man," Phillip said, then followed Wilbert through the house. They stopped when they reached the blue salon. "Stay close, Wilbert."

"Yes, my lord."

Phillip took a deep breath, then turned the knob and opened the door. The man he'd come to see stood with his back to Phillip as he looked out the window.

"Lord Slushman?"

The man turned. He wore a smile—a smile that reminded Phillip so much of Violet's.

"No. Slushman is the family name. I am the Earl of Pearlman."

"Please, my lord. Have a seat."

The earl stepped forward and sat on the nearest settee. Phillip walked to the sideboard and poured two brandies. He handed one snifter to the man who claimed to be Violet's father.

"I hear that you married my Lettie," he said after taking a sip of his brandy. His tone was stiff, almost accusatory.

"I did, my lord."

"Dangle enough money in front of any man and he will jump at the chance to save himself, I suppose."

The insult was directed at Phillip, but he felt it more sharply in the way it impugned Violet's motive for marrying him. He was torn between defending their marriage and quickly returning to Violet, who waited for him in the garden. But the words were already spilling from his lips.

"You wrong your daughter, sir, but you could not know it. Violet's only intention was to safeguard your fortune, to keep your properties out of the hands of unscrupulous blackguards."

The earl scowled. "And has she done that?"

Phillip swallowed harsh words that rose to his tongue. "See for yourself, Pearlman." He extended his arms, as if to take in the entirety of a well-run household. "But know this. Your daughter made the most selfless gesture a woman can make. She gave over your fortune to save my family's legacy from its creditors. She has shown excellent sense and even greater compassion in her dealings with our mutual tenants. She is remarkable, sir. Remarkable. And it is the greatest gift of my life that she has chosen to share her life with me here at Parkwood."

By the time the last word left his tongue, Phillip felt his heartbeat escalating. But the man just sat and looked at him, and as the seconds ticked by, Phillip saw the earl's face soften.

"You love her. By God, you love her." He sighed. "That's all she ever wanted. To be loved."

"I do love her, my lord. Very much."

Pearlman closed his eyes and nodded his approval. "That's all I can ask of you. Some time later I'll have to hear your story."

"Yes," Phillip said. "But first I imagine you'd like to see your daughter."

"Very much."

"This is going to be a huge shock to her. She thinks you are dead."

"I know. That's why I asked to see you first, so you could break it to her as gently as possible."

Phillip nodded. "I'll bring her to you. She's in a delicate state at the moment."

"Lettie is presenting you with an heir?"

"Very possibly, my lord."

Violet's father's face broke into a huge smile. "That was her fondest desire, you know. A house filled with children. I told her she didn't know what she was asking for, unless they were all like her. But she said she wouldn't let them grow up as spoiled as her sister Pauline, which was her mother's doing."

Phillip smiled, then got to his feet. "I'll get Lettie now and bring her to you."

"Thank you," Pearlman said.

Phillip left the room.

"Do you think it's her ladyship's father, my lord?" Wilbert asked.

"Yes. It's her ladyship's father. There's no doubt."

"Oh, praise be. What a wonderful day. I'll tell Cook to prepare something special for dinner."

"Yes, Wilbert. Something very special."

Phillip walked to the library, then out the French doors and down the center path. He stopped at the wrought-iron bench and sat beside his wife. "I think it's time we went back inside, Lettie."

"I think so, too," she said, struggling to get to her feet.

Phillip took her arm and led her toward the house.

"What did Wilbert want with you? Did you have a caller?"

They walked across the terrace, then through the library, down the hall, and across the foyer. "Actually, the caller was for you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"Is the caller still here?"

"Yes, and he's very anxious to see you."

"Well who is it, Markham?"

"You need to prepare yourself, Lettie. This is going to be quite a shock."

"A good shock or a bad shock?"

"The best shock imaginable."

"Oh, you have me intrigued." She looked at him and smiled. "I know what it is. You got me a puppy."

Phillip burst out laughing. "No, but do you want a puppy?"

"Someday, yes, but not today. I'm going to have a baby to take care of soon."

"Yes, you are."

They'd reached the blue salon, and Phillip stopped. "Are you ready?"

"Oh, you're making me nervous, Markham."

"Just calm down and prepare yourself."

Violet reached for his hands and placed them on her stomach. "See, you have even made your son nervous. He's kicking me unmercifully."

"No, Lettie. He's jumping for joy."

"Why?"

"Because your father has returned to you."

"My…my father?"

Phillip watched the color drain from Violet's face, and then hope sprang into her eyes.

"Yes. Your father."

Phillip opened the door to the blue salon, and Violet got her first look at the father she'd thought was dead.

"Papa?" she said as tears streamed down her cheeks. She rushed forward as quickly as her body would allow her to move. "Papa! Papa! It's you! You're alive!"

"Yes, my Lettie. It's me."

Father and daughter clutched each other as if they would never let each other go.

Phillip placed his arms around his wife and moved her to the settee. Her father sat beside her and took both her hands in his.

"How did you survive?" she asked. "I got word that you died. Are Mother and Pauline alive, too?"

Pearlman shook his head. "No, dear. I was the only one to survive. And it was a miracle that I did. When the ship went down, I managed to grab on to a piece of wood. I held on until another ship that was following us picked me up. I was injured and completely disoriented. Unconscious for many weeks then out of my mind, they say. I was kept in Boston until I was strong enough to sail back to England."

Violet hugged her father again.

"Now," Pearlman said. "Properly introduce me to my son-in-law and tell me how you met. I can't imagine that you attended every ball that was held until you found him."

"Papa, meet Lord Phillip Eversley, Earl of Markham."

Phillip stood and bowed to his father-in-law. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Pearlman."

"Same to you, Markham. I was acquainted with your father."

Phillip smiled. "Please, my lord. Don't hold that against me."

"Markham's not anything like his father or his brother," Violet said with a smile.

"Then how did you meet?" Pearlman asked.

"Actually," Violet said, reaching for Phillip's hand and holding it, "thanks to the money you left me, Papa, I bought him."

"You what?"

"I bought him," she repeated. "Well, actually, I paid Mrs. Bessie Dove-Lyon, who in turn bought and paid his father's IOUs."

"Well, I knew you wouldn't find the man you would marry in a ballroom, but neither did I think you would find a husband at the infamous Lyon's Den."

Phillip lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. "You have quite a remarkable daughter, Lord Pearlman."

"Yes, I've always been aware of that. She's unique to a fault and has a good head on her shoulders."

"And you trained her well, my lord. She does the books as well as anyone I've ever seen."

"That's what she was trained to do," her father said with a smile. "Now, tell me about this place."

"This is Parkwood Manor, Papa," Violet replied. "It's ours, Markham's and mine."

"No," Phillip corrected her. "The estate is yours. It was my grandmama's estate, and one of the stipulations of our marriage contract was that Lettie got one of the estates your money made free and clear, and this is the estate she chose."

"You chose well," her father said. "I was impressed with the land as I traveled here."

"It's going to be very profitable in a few years, Papa," Violet said. "And Markham has some excellent stewards to oversee all his properties."

"I'm impressed with what you have done—both of you. I knew I wouldn't have to worry about Lettie, even without the money I left her. She has a solid head for business, and I knew she'd find a way to support herself. I have one more question, though. What pushed you to go to Mrs. Dove-Lyon to ask her to find you a husband?"

"Actually, it was your money that pushed me."

"The money?"

"Yes. I needed a husband's name to protect me from all the money-hungry lechers out there. News of your tragedy and the immense fortune you left your only surviving daughter was all over the front pages of every newspaper for a week. That brought them crawling out of the woodwork, and I knew it was only a matter of time before one of them compromised me and I was forced into a marriage I would regret."

"I see," her father said thoughtfully. "I didn't consider that. But I also didn't consider the ship we were on would go down on our voyage to America and I'd lose your mother and your sister."

"I miss them, Papa. But at least I have you with me."

"Yes, and soon you'll have the next generation of Markham and Pearlman."

Just then, Wilbert knocked on the door and announced dinner.

Phillip helped Lettie to her feet, then walked with her to the dining room.

"How do you feel, sweetheart?" he asked her. She seemed…different.

"I feel wonderful," she answered. "Like I'm ready to meet our little private."

Phillip paused and gave her a kiss. It wasn't as passionate as he would have liked it to be, but how could it be with Violet's father standing so nearby?

"We'll eat dinner, then I'll take you to your room and you can get ready to meet your son or daughter."

"Oh, it is a boy, Markham. That's what I promised you, and I intend to keep my promise."

Phillip laughed. "Well, I will be happy with whatever you decide to deliver."

"So will I," Violet said. "But this first baby will be a boy."

Phillip leaned down and kissed her again, then led her in to dinner.