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Was her mother smiling? The tiny curvature of the lips added smile lines to her grim bearing. Alice cast her mind back to the rider. Not retired or ancient, quite youthful, for a colonel. “He looked a fine man in appearance, but I know nothing of him.”
Her mother relaxed her posture and it pleased Alice, the bad air between them had begun to clear. “You do know him. Perhaps it is too far gone in your memories. Edmund is the son of one of your father’s dearest friends, long deceased. The colonel has visited here, but not in many years. He remembered you though, quite a promising start.”
Alice now understood why he had a familiarity about him. For the first time since her mother had entered the room, curiosity about the mysterious colonel over took despair at her predicament. “Is he a kind man?”
“As an officer he will be strict, of that you can be assured, but yes, he is a decent, kind man. As a boy, he was too. He made something for you, do you not remember?”
“No,” Alice peered about the room, searching for a clue. What possibly could he have given her?
“It is in the old nursery. The doll’s house. He fashioned it for you, him and Grainger.”
Alice pictured the rather makeshift toy in her old nursery. She hadn’t the heart to throw it away, believing it should be given to her own children. A fortuitous premonition given that she was about to marry the man who made it. “What happens next?”
“You will tidy your face and hair, put on your prettiest dress and meet your betrothed.”
Half an hour later, Alice took tentative steps downstairs to the drawing room. Listening to her mother, she had gone from fury and despair to resignation. She dried her eyes with a face cloth. No more tears. She was to marry a colonel. She would have her gallant soldier in his uniform. Was that not her dream?
Opening the door, she immediately dropped into a curtsey before her parents and the scarlet uniformed colonel. Lifting her eyes, his face, no longer hidden under a cocked hat, he could be seen clearly in the light. A fine set of manly attributes greeted her: grey eyes, faintly chestnut hair swept forward about the temples and square shoulders exemplified by his epaulets. Brass buttons shone, as did his black boots. One hand clasped behind his back, the other holding his cocked hat. His regalia completed by a sword in its scabbard, hanging about his thigh. Alice gulped, def
initely not old in years, but a demeanour that exuded elegance and vitality.
“Miss Aubrey, Alice,” He bowed his head. Throughout his salute, his eyes remained fixed on her. She could easily grow to like his pale eyes. His voice, too; a soft, deep tone, which made her spine tingle slightly.
“Sir,” responded Alice, unable to articulate anything further. The colonel hypnotised her with his unwavering expression. He didn’t leer or ogle, something quite different greeted her compared to most men she met. Did he like what he saw in her? She had been so foolish the previous night with the young officers who had flattered her with false enthusiasm. She hoped the colonel would express his desires unambiguously. Would he tell her how he felt? Why he wanted to marry her?
“Excellent,” said her father, clapping his hands and rubbing them together gleefully. The fatigue immediately lifted from his face. “There is much to discuss. Please be seated, Ned.”
Alice noted the informal nickname, a courtesy that didn’t extend to her, his bride to be. She had yet to earn it, she assumed.
She sat mute while carefully crafted plans about her future were made without her involvement. She wanted to interject, express her opinions, but the conversation took place above and around her.
“The colonel will openly court Alice. We are keen, are we not, Jane, to quash any unpleasant rumours,” said her father.
“Chaperoned, of course, on every occasion,” added her mother gravely.
Alice listened in silence as they laid out their plans. The couple would walk the streets, the green parks and attend the parish churches to hear the banns read. Perhaps a small ball, too.
Edmund kindly dismissed the need for a dowry, requiring that Henry only pay for the cost of the wedding and breakfast banquet. His lack of demands for money relieved Alice, she didn’t want to burden her parents. A kind man, her mother had said. Alice hoped this was an indication of that benevolence.
The wedding would be simple. Alice suppressed the desire to pout. She had often discussed with her mother her ideas for a grand wedding. However, her father was adamant it wouldn’t do to attract too much attention to the family’s plight.
“I agree,” said the colonel. “Best keep this understated.”
Alice pursed her lips. Did his lack of interest in a grand celebration extent to her? Was she not worthy of merriment and entertainment? Oh, no! She fretted at the idea of marrying a dull man. Would he dance with her or throw extravagant parties? The colonel seemed far too serious a man to consider such frivolity. Maybe she could change him. If fluttering her eyelashes didn’t work, she would have to rely on other feminine wiles and hope he would indulge her.
The colonel continued to discuss the wedding day. A broad grin grew on his face as he absentmindedly waved a hand back and forth. “We will travel to my estate in Buxton on the night of the wedding and once there, begin our new life together.”
Wedding night! Her insides bubbled with a strange sensation. What happened on a wedding night was something her friends sniggered about but never provided any substance. She suspected none of them knew any more than what she did, and all that she knew involved less clothing and a great deal of touching. Embarrassed by her thoughts, she felt the heat in her face rising.
At his keen words, Edmund glanced over to the dumbfounded Alice and offered her the sweetest of smiles. “Don’t fret, Alice. I will be a good husband. You will not regret this, nor will I.”
Regret? She dearly hoped she wouldn’t regret her parents’ decision. Colonel Seymour had kindled the beginnings of a fire inside her. She wished to see where it took her.
Chapter Four
The weeks of courtship flew by. There had been numerous outings, always accompanied by Edmund’s future mother-in-law. It had afforded the couple the chance to interview each other. He found Alice, beneath her spoilt exterior, to be intelligent, kind-hearted and attentive. However, he was about to witness a side of her he deemed less appealing.
During a stroll along a riverbank—her mother a few paces behind—Alice made a request. “Please, sir. Do me the honour of meeting my most cherished companions.” She fluttered her eyelashes, as he had seen her do on countless occasions when asking a favour of her father. It did seem to have an endearing effect, something he hadn’t expected so soon in their relationship.
