Chapter 13: Affairs of the heart

The party was more than glad to pull up in the circular drive of Terrell Manor.

Victor was first out of the coach and was soon happily being hugged by his cousins. He’d loved the idea of spending all of winter with them and had been more than enthusiastic in the trip north. He had a lot to tell them about his trip.

The kids were soon carting him off to show him his new room as he was going to be in the communal nursery with them. Nanny Dee followed in their wake to keep an eye on him. She was sure that she would have as much fun here as Victor would. He was a lively boy and ran her ragged at times.

She had been very thankful when Druid Andy had joined the party for more reasons than one. He was darn fine between the sheets, and she suspected that since they now had help with Victor, they would find a little more time for themselves.

Lord Tah seemed to manage to keep the other children in line, and she hoped Victor would simply be included. She had been worried about her job when told that Andy would be joining them, but Ulani had reassured her that her hands would be full again in a few months since she was expecting twins.

Andy’s services would also be needed for some time to come, and the fact he had taken a fancy to her was a blessing to her way of thinking. Her life was looking better and better every day. She was also incredibly happy that her mistress finally had her lover back.

She liked Vincent and knew that he loved Ulani. She suspected he would be as bad as Lord Tah and Lord Ty with regard to their wives and children. Working for Gifted people who were also Lords wasn’t a new experience for her. However, finding out just how much these men loved and cherished their wives and children was.

Dee had no regrets coming to work for Ulani when her King informed her of her new position. While she was supposed to report to him what Ulani did, it wasn’t until Vincent turned up that she had anything of significance to tell him.

She was an impoverished cousin and at first living on the farm had been a challenge since she was used to city life. Yet, since she had arrived at Ulani’s estate, Ulani had treated her more like her dear cousin, who was helping her in her time of need, than as her maid and nanny. Ulani certainly didn’t behave the same way as the Ladies at court did.

Dee had learnt that Willow and Prue were also cut from the same cloth. They could play the game of Ladies of the Manor, but they worked just as hard as any of their staff did. As soon as she had entered Terville Manor, Dee could feel the harmony and the protections that surrounded these people.

She knew Victor would be safe as long as he was on the grounds.

As far as royal weddings go, it wasn’t a huge affair.

Vincent and Ulani elected for the open church service like Willow had and the ballroom at the Manor was once again put to appropriate use. They invited those they had to and those they really wanted too, but not necessarily those who wanted invitations.

Mr Gary Snidel, the wedding Planner who had organised Willow’s and then Prue’s weddings, did a superb job. He was getting exceptionally good at doing weddings for the rich and important. He was not the least surprised that Ulani didn’t want fussy, having dealt with her soon to be sisters-in-law. It was just as well he did elegant very well.

Having been notified before the couple went south of what was expected; he was ready by the time they turned up in Bavindor. They did still need two weeks to get the suits and dresses finalised. Prue and Willow had given him a lot of help. He had been delighted when the High Priest and Druid Williams again agreed to share the delivery of the ceremony.

Since the incident at the church, with the mad Lord trying to shoot Willow, the security of the church had been seriously upgraded. The security at the Terrell Mansion was even tighter. Since two Kings, several princes and princesses, and most of the Dukes would be attending the affair, no one got upset about the visible guards and constables.

Many knew that for every guard they did see, there was one they didn’t. When the Duke who was getting married was part of the constabulary, you could bet your last dollar that he was going to be protected. Especially one as popular as Vincent was.

Lady Michelle Rothberg was a little put out that Vincent’s wedding overshadowed the announcement of her pending marriage to Earl Leigh Karlson. However, since hers would be towards the end of the season and the Arrondales and Terrells insisted that the reception would be at the Mansion, she was mollified.

She was not a stupid girl and knew that since her beloved happened to be the best friend of Duke Arrondale, her place in society was well established. Being a Duke’s daughter herself and catching an Earl was a most respectable outcome since there were not that many Dukes or even Earls to be had. Especially, young and handsome ones like her Leigh.

Michelle also got on well with Prue and Willow, and she had liked Ulani when she met her. She was not as driven as these three women were to pursue a profession. However, she had been raised for the role she had selected for herself and was content.

Leigh, like his friends, Lord Karl Westerwood, Lord Gill Evens and his soon to be brother-in-law Earl Mikael Rothberg were all delighted that Vincent had found Ulani. It had been arduous work keeping Vincent’s spirits up after she had disappeared. They had all been worried about Vincent and his dark moods, over the last few years.

The friends knew something had happened between Vincent and Ulani, but not what. One look at Victor soon answered that mystery. Of all people outside the immediate family, they were also the least surprised to learn that Vincent was a devoted father. They, after all, knew Ty quite well and knew that Vincent was cut from the same cloth as his cousin.

They were also not shocked to learn that Ulani was pregnant or that she expected twins. They reasoned that if Vincent had ridden her bare-back once, he’d do it again. For a man who had been fastidious about using skins with his many conquests, he had only one good reason to not wear one.

One aspect about the whole affair of Vincent finding Ulani that did have the friends and family worried was when Vincent and Ulani told them about Albert Arrondale being back in the country. Their latest encounter that ended with the death of Franky Yates and the discovery of Vincent’s half-brother Caleb had them all spellbound at the telling of it.

Ulani’s cousin Gail was able to draw an exceptionally good likeness from Ulani’s description of Albert. Ty sent it off to the printers to be reproduced as a Wanted Poster. Hundreds of them were posted all over Bavindor the week before the wedding, and they were even sent to the other cities in the Kingdom.

The guards and constables at Vincent’s wedding and later reception were all happy that the day and evening went off without any unexpected fan fair that they had to deal with. No one had reported anyone lurking about who shouldn’t have been.

Kyle and Hardy, as Vincent’s personal guards, did get a bit worried when they saw Vincent waving a finger at King Dahl and talking to him with a slightly raised voice. They settled down when the King chuckled at Vincent, then hugged him and welcomed him to the family with several back slaps.

The gossips reported that Vincent had been cranky with the King for upsetting Ulani and threatening her with exile if she didn’t marry him. He’d told the King he was perfectly capable of doing his own courting without interference. Kyle and Hardy both chuckled; as they knew just how much ‘courting’, the couple did before the wedding.

They noticed that Ulani did smile at her father when she danced with him a little later, so they guessed things had been sorted out to their satisfaction. They also noticed that King Jonas was not backward in attracting and chatting up the women.

The fact that Jonas looked like a version of how Tah would look if he stayed fit and healthy at sixty-five, meant he didn’t have much trouble getting the ladies of many ages to surround him. It was also well known that he was on the prowl for a new wife and he looked virile enough to satisfy one too.

The boys did wonder if he would go home alone, from this visit.

Kyle and Hardy were rather surprised when two very pretty ladies who were of their age group, came up to them and looked them up and down.

The slightly older one, who was, in fact, two years younger than Kyle’s age of twenty-seven, latched onto his arm, squeezed his bicep and purred as she rubbed against him, “Yes, you’ll do very nicely.”

“Sorry ma’am, but what will I do nicely for?” Kyle found himself asking the very yummy boobs that were pressing into his arm.

Alice gave a small laugh and attracted his eyes to hers before saying, “My father said that you and your friend are both Detectives of some renown. And that you will become part of Duke Arrondale’s Ministry in Arron Hills. In our books, that makes you both worth a good look.”

“My sister Amelia and I have decided that we don’t wish to marry Earls and would rather just be good wives and have a couple of nice children to men who may appreciate us. Duke Arrondale and Duke Terrell would not let you be their personal guards if you were not of good heart. The fact you are both deliciously well-built and cute are pluses.”

Amelia, who was twenty-four and a year younger than her choice, Hardy, had attached herself to his arm. She then added, “So Alice and I have decided to give each of you the chance of obtaining a very desirable wife. Do you think you and Hardy would be daunted to have the King of Ausland as your father-in-law?”

Hardy paled as he realised who was hanging off his arm. “You’re having us on, right?” he said to Amelia. “Did Vincent put you up to fun with us?”

Amelia gave him a huge grin that was full of mischief. Hardy found he rather liked her adorable grin and her lightly turned up little nose. The big brown eyes were also nice. Amelia hugged his arm into her more than substantial bosom and replied, “My dear Hardy, Alice and I are most serious in our intentions to court you and Kyle.”

Alice then added, “Father said your friends Caleb and Seth won the toss to go with Vincent and Ulani and that you two are staying here with Victor. So, we have decided that gives us a chance to prove our intentions are honourable in that we do intend to use our womanly whiles to make sure that you choose us as your wives.”

“Ladies, as flattered as we are, surely you can do better than us beaten up old Detectives?” Kyle replied still sure that someone was pulling a joke on him and Hardy. As a rule, gorgeous ladies of quality didn’t proposition them.

“Well, there is one or two boxes we do need to have ticked before we cart you off to see the priest,” Amelia said and batted her eyelashes at Hardy as she pressed into his side.

Hardy looked down, and like Kyle, he had no complaints about the abundance of boob being presented for his inspection. The dresses the ladies wore emphasised their upper body with their tight bodices pushing up the lovely flesh and pulling in on their tiny waists.

Hardy had a feeling that these two ladies were also superbly fit and the little callouses he felt on Amelia’s fingers indicated they didn’t always wear their gloves when they rode. Feeling brave, Hardy turned and slipped one of his arms around her waist and pulled her into his body.

With his other hand, he slid it up behind her neck and said on to her lips, “Let me guess what one of those boxes is?” He then pressed down on her lips and sucked gently on them.

Hardy wasn’t quite sure where he was or how long he had been kissing Amelia by the time he finally lifted his lips from hers. They both looked at each other rather dazed for a bit longer before reality came crashing in on them and they did realise where they were.

Amelia grinned at Hardy, “Oh yes, I do think you will do.”

Albert and Carol were not happy to see the posters.

Gail had outdone herself, and the likeness was as good as a photograph. Albert had been keeping a low profile. He mostly stayed in Carol’s townhouse and didn’t venture out too often during the day. Carol did most of the running around.

Carol only had the cook who lived-in, and the woman was smart enough to keep her mouth quiet, once Albert let her know what would happen if she didn’t. Carol otherwise used a cleaning service who knew how to be discrete. Albert always made himself scarce when they came once a week.

If anyone asked about her guest, she informed them that, he was her cousin and he was recovering from a terrible facial injury. She was relieved that she had come up with the idea before they left the farm. With half his face covered in the bandage, the dark eye-shades, hat and the scarf she had acquired for him, you couldn’t tell it was Albert.