While Passion Sleeps

  While Passion Sleeps

  The Reluctant Brides Series

  Book Three

  by

  Shirlee Busbee

  New York Times Bestselling Author

  Published by ePublishing Works!

  www.epublishingworks.com

  ISBN: 978-1-61417-924-5

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  Please Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Copyright © 1983, 2017 by Shirlee Busbee. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Part One

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Part Two

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Part Three

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Part Four

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Meet Shirlee Busbee

  Dedication

  My husband, HOWARD, who was just as supportive as ever and who worked so hard with me on the book. Honey, I couldn't have done it without you!

  Prologue

  THE TALE BEGINS....

  Ill news is wing'd with fate, and flies apace.

  ~John Dryden, "Threnodia Augustalis"

  "Are you going to say something to her today?" Melissa Selby asked her husband of less than a year.

  Lord Selby, his blue eyes staring out at the frosty winter landscape typical of England in February, answered in a bored tone, "My dear Melissa, considering the entire reason we left London and traveled in the dead of winter to Maidstone was to speak with my daughter, I hardly think I shall delay my conversation with her for long." He looked across the elegant room in which they sat sipping afternoon tea and smiled cynically. "Believe me, my dear, I want this settled just as much as you do."

  Satisfied with his answer, Melissa stirred her tea and asked idly, "Do you think she'll prove troublesome?"

  Lord Selby chuckled and remarked, "Not if she is wise. Elizabeth has always been a biddable girl, and when I explain the unpleasant alternatives to her, I'm positive she will look upon your choice with more than a little favor. He will offer for her?"

  Melissa looked thoughtful. "He should. After all, you will make a generous settlement on her... and I understand he has some rather pressing gambling debts."

  "Won't his father cover those? I thought you said that he was from a wealthy family?"

  "Well, yes, but apparently this trip to England was to make him stand on his own feet, something he hasn't done very well. I think he will be happy to marry Elizabeth and take her to America if you hint at the size of the fortune that will become hers when she marries." Her voice took on an uncertain note, as it always did when she mentioned his long-dead first wife. "It is a shame that your daughter is the very picture of her mother, although I suppose Elizabeth could be considered appealing in an insipid sort of way."

  Lord Selby sent his new wife a derisive look, conscious of how much she resented Elizabeth and her dead mother. "Yes, she does resemble Anne at the same age, but you have nothing to fear—my infatuation with Anne died within two months of our marriage." His voice reflective, he murmured slowly, "I should have seduced the chit—she was only a squire's daughter—instead of being foolish enough to marry her. It was stupid of me."

  Melissa nodded in agreement with that statement and said, "Well, then, it's settled. Shall I send a note to him today?"

  "Hmmm, why not? The sooner they meet, the sooner we shall know if he is attracted enough to make an offer for her." A frown creasing his forehead, Lord Selby added, "It may not come about, you know—he and Charles Longstreet are reported to be lovers, and if Mr. Ridgeway's taste runs in that direction, he may not want a wife at all."

  An expression of distaste crossed Melissa's features. "I think we have nothing to fear. I have heard several times that another reason for Mr. Ridgeway's trip to England is to find a wife. I like to think that a young, malleable creature like Elizabeth will be exactly what he would want. She won't make demands upon him, and he can continue to live his life just as he pleases." Scornfully she ended, "It'll be years before the silly chit realizes that her husband has no use for her in the marriage bed... not that it should make any difference to her one way or another."

  When a servant informed the "silly chit" that her father wanted her in the library, Elizabeth made her way to that room with a sense of foreboding. Not quite seventeen, as blond and pretty as she was kind, Elizabeth dreaded her father's visits, and she had been thankful for the years she had spent away from his country estate in a strict boarding school for young ladies. At least there she was spared his caustic remarks and sarcastic sallies. It had gotten worse since his marriage the previous year to Melissa. Their infrequent visits filled her with dread—her father was indifferent and Melissa made no attempt to hide her dislike of his only child.

  Entering the library, she was relieved to find only her father present—it was so much more difficult when he and Melissa took turns baiting her. Determined not to let him intimidate her more than he usually did, Elizabeth lifted her small, rounded chin and said politely, "Good afternoon, Father. Did you have a pleasant trip from London?"

  Lord Selby looked her up and down and decided that she really did resemble Anne at the same age... perhaps a bit prettier, he conceded, eyeing the full, soft mouth and the large violet eyes. To her greeting he replied, "You are aware that it is winter? That the roads are either muddy bogs or slick with ice, and that even the best coaches are bound to be freezing despite warmed bricks and such?"

  Flushing as much from his tone as the content of his words, Elizabeth nodded.

  Seeing her flush and the nod, he finished bitingly, "Then you realize what a stupid question that was."

  Elizabeth remained silent. Nothing she did found any approval with him.

  An expression of boredom settling over his features, Lord Selby said flatly, "Sit down, Elizabeth. I have something of importance to tell you."

  Her mouth dry and her heart beating a little faster, she did as s
he was told, taking a seat in one of the chairs near his desk.

  Lord Selby stood behind the desk, his clothing a symphony of blue and gray, from the expertly tailored blue frock coat to the gray moleskin trousers that showed off his manly figure. His eyes on her face, he stated bluntly, "Melissa and I have decided that it is time to take care of your future. She has chosen a nice young man she thinks will suit you admirably. He will probably be arriving to look you over in a few days."

  Her face white, Elizabeth stared back at him and couldn't control the instinctive protest that rose to her lips. "But—but... I am not even seventeen yet! I-I-I had hoped that I would be allowed one season in which to—"

  "Find a husband?"

  Elizabeth's eyes flashed and rashly she replied, "Perhaps not. I do not know if I want to wed. At least not right away. My entire life is in front of me, why should I be rushed into marriage?"

  Almost gently, although his eyes were hard, Lord Selby said, "Let me explain a few things to you, my child. You are not an unintelligent girl, despite some of your obviously stupid comments, and I think you can understand what I have to say."

  Elizabeth glanced away and bit her lip to keep from saying something she knew he would cause her to regret. Without being aware of it, the fingers of one hand tightly balled up the material of her fine lavender wool gown.

  Indifferent to her reaction, Lord Selby asked coolly, "Now then, if I may have your attention?" When Elizabeth's gaze was fixed painfully on his face, he continued, "Quite frankly, Elizabeth, you are a reminder of a marriage I should never have made. Every time I look at you I see Anne, and to tell the truth, I find it a bore. Even more so now that you are no longer in school and will be continually underfoot whenever Melissa and I are in residence." His face taking on a sardonic cast, he continued, "Melissa does not like you, as you know. She finds your presence inconvenient. And now that there is the possibility that she may be breeding, it is imperative that we tidy up all the reminders of my first disastrous marriage. You do understand?"

  Elizabeth understood very well. Melissa had never made any attempt to hide her dislike, and now that she was possibly carrying Lord Selby's child, she would be even more jealous and spiteful. Certainly she would not care for any comparisons being made between her child and Anne's, nor would she want any shadows from the past to interfere with her marriage.

  Woodenly, hiding the hurt and dismay that she felt, Elizabeth answered, "I see."

  Lord Selby smiled. "I rather thought you would. Now then, the young man we have in mind is from America. He comes from a good family and is considered handsome." His voice derisive, he added, "I can almost guarantee that he will not abuse you physically, nor make too many demands upon your body."

  Elizabeth blushed hotly and wished the floor would swallow her up at such plain speaking. She was a well-bred young woman, but she had some inkling of what her father was referring to; she found it intensely embarrassing, as would any gently reared young lady of 1836.

  Forcing herself to act unflustered, she asked, "But suppose we don't suit? Suppose I-I-I don't like him?"

  "But you shall, my dear, especially when I point out the alternatives." His voice hard, he continued, "We have this time chosen a nice young man. Refuse him, and the next man we choose might not be so pleasant. Would you like being married to the Duke of Landsdown?"

  As the Duke of Landsdown was notorious for his bestiality as well as his ugly, aged body, it was no wonder that Elizabeth blanched and shrank against her chair.

  Lord Selby noted her reaction indifferently and went on smoothly, "I see that my point is taken. You will like Nathan Ridgeway. I intend to do the proper thing and settle a sizeable fortune on you, so do not fear that I am turning you penniless from my door... at least not yet. But refuse Mr. Ridgeway, and whatever paternal interest I have in you may vanish."

  Staring at Elizabeth's rigid form and her white, stony face, he stated bluntly, "I have given you all the creature comforts since your birth, but now I want you out of my life. You will have a fortune and a kind husband, and if you are wise, you will take that and be content. The alternatives are not pleasant. Even if I continued to let you live on my bounty, it is improbable that you would be happy with the life you would have to lead, for you would always be an outsider to the family Melissa and I intend to have. Your presence would be suffered, and if your intrusion into our lives grew too annoying, I'm positive that another, though less suitable marriage could be arranged—one you might not like as well. And if you have some idea of making your way alone, think hard, Elizabeth, of what the future would hold for you." Brutally he finished, "Marry this young man and take yourself out of our lives."

  Elizabeth glanced up at him, unable to hide the rebellion she felt, but years of rigid training made it impossible for her to defy him.

  Lord Selby was aware of her turmoil, but confident of her acquiescence. "Of course," he purred, "the decision is all yours, my child."

  PART ONE

  THE CHILD BRIDE

  February 1836

  We do not what we ought

  What we ought not, we do

  And lean upon the thought

  That chance will bring us through

  ~Matthew Arnold,

  "Empedocles on Etna"

  Chapter 1

  The wedding was over. Upstairs in the large, gloomy room she had known all her life, the very new Mrs. Nathan Ridgeway, nee Elizabeth Selby, gazed in apprehensive wonder at the wide, intricate gold band around her slim finger. She was married! Married to a man she barely knew. A man who would shortly take her from England and everything she knew.

  America was such a long way from Maidstone, England, she thought with a shiver. A long way from the gentle rolling valleys and woodlands of Kent. But that was what she wanted, wasn't it? To make a new life—a life full of warmth and love? To be, at last, loved and cared for? To be more than an unwelcome reminder of a match her father had decided was unworthy of his proud title and great wealth.

  Her mouth vulnerable, a shadow in the violet eyes, Elizabeth stared at herself in the cheval glass, wishing as she had so often in the past that her mother had lived, that Anne had not died giving birth to her. There were so many questions she needed answered, so many things she needed to know about being a wife... and there was no one to whom she could turn. Certainly not her father or Melissa. She took a deep breath. No, she couldn't ask Melissa, aware Melissa considered Lord Selby's first marriage a dreadful misalliance.

  But her marriage would be different. Nathan loved her. And, well, she would make herself love him. Already she respected him, and, given time, she was sure the mysterious emotions she had read about in the few novels that came her way would overtake her and sweep her into a wonderful world of passion and tenderness. She and Nathan would find love together. They would love each other forever.

  Her thoughts gave her little peace, and with a brave attempt to stifle the fears and doubts that surfaced, she concentrated on the simple task of undoing the tiny pearl buttons on the slim-fitting cuff of her wedding dress. It was a gorgeous gown of heavy, milk-white satin, and, in a gauzy veil studded with hundreds of seed pearls, her silvery curls gleaming through its folds, she had looked like an ethereal creature from another world as she had walked slowly down the aisle of the family chapel not more than an hour ago.

  Guiltily aware that she was deliberately wasting time and putting off the moment when she would have to join the guests downstairs, she worked faster at the buttons. She should have rung for a servant, but, knowing how rushed they all were with the elaborate preparations, she hadn't wanted to take any of them away from their tasks. Now she wished she had—unfastening the back of the gown was going to be difficult, and if her stepmother Melissa came and found her still not changed...

  Sighing, her young, finely molded features pensive, she eventually was able to unfasten the gown and disrobe, laying aside without regret the beautiful, extravagant wedding gown. The gown meant little to her—it, like
the entire wedding, had been planned for its propriety. Everything must be just so for the wedding of Lord Selby's only child.

  And Elizabeth was a child, a lonely, lovely child, raised by servants, knowing little of her father except that he occasionally filled the huge rooms of Three Elms with his aristocratic friends and periodically trotted her out for inspection and comment. What she knew of life and the world beyond Maidstone was gleaned from books. Books were her only solace, in books she could lose herself and dream away the long empty hours.

  Naturally she had gone to a fitting seminary for young ladies, but, painfully shy, uncertain in her relationships, she had made only one friend.

  Stella Valdez was everything that Elizabeth, or "Beth" as Stella called her affectionately, was not. Tall and dark, with laughing black eyes, forthright, two years older than Elizabeth and full of confidence, Stella was everything that Elizabeth longed to be. Having a family that adored her and being extremely warm-hearted herself, Stella had efficiently taken the small, pale girl under her wing. And through all the bewildering time at Mrs. Finche's Seminary for Young Ladies, Stella had shielded the quieter, gentler Elizabeth from the occasional spitefulness of some of the other girls. But then Stella had left, joining her family in the Mexican province of Coahuila, and from then on Elizabeth had simply endured her time at the seminary until her course was completed and she possessed the attributes necessary for a young lady.