• Chapter
One •
May, 1814
The pounding of French cannon thudded in John Grayson’s brain. Acrid
smoke stung his nostrils while his horse’s hooves dug into the dry
Spanish earth. Screams of dying soldiers assaulted his ears. The battle raged
around him, and Gray lost his bearings. He swung his horse toward a clearing.
From the mist a figure ran toward him, a woman clad in a gown as yellow as
the sunshine, raven hair billowing behind her. Rosa? What was she doing in
this ungodly place? He spurred his horse toward her. The fool. He’d
told her not to follow him.
"¡Vete!" he yelled. "Go back!"
Oblivious of the carnage around her, she stretched her arms toward
him. Her bright-colored dress fluttered behind her like wings
of a butterfly, molding against her rounded belly as she ran.
Canister
continued to shower from the incessant guns, its shot spattering
the ground around him. He opened his mouth to bid her take heed,
but an explosion of cannonade drowned his words. In the sky where
threads of blue still peeked through the smoke, the canister
arced and headed directly toward her.
As the canister tore her apart,
sending pieces of her skittering through the dirt and flying
into the trees, Gray heard amused laughter.
Leonard Lansing’s face loomed before him, grinning as Lansing
so often did when scorning the rules. "What luck! Free of the
leg-shackle, old fellow."
Gray woke in a sweat, half sprawled
on his bed, panting as if the French cannon had been pelting
his dingy London rooms. It had not been real. It had merely been The
Dream. The only battles he waged these days were with his own demons.
The pounding continued, more urgent and coming from his door.
The sound echoed in his skull like ricocheting musket
balls. Gray clutched his head and forced his body into an upright
position. A sharp pain in his side made his breath catch. He’d
moved too quickly for his still healing wound.
"Stubble it!" he
growled. "I’m coming."
Ah, his head! How many bottles of brandy had he consumed? He could
not precisely recall. In fact, he barely recalled staggering back to
his rooms.
Something caught round his feet and he stumbled, grabbing
the back of a chair to keep from falling. His coat, thrown in
a heap on the floor. At least he’d
not slept in it, though he still wore the clothing he’d put on
the previous day. His waistcoat flapped open and his shirt hung
out of his trousers. Both reeked of stale alcohol and cigarillos.
More pounding. Who the devil would call at this ungodly hour?
Gray
flung the door wide.
The bright midday sun poured in from the hallway, blinding him and
throwing the figure standing in the doorway into silhouette. For a
brief second he thought it was Rosa returning to haunt him. He clamped
his eyes closed, rubbed them with his fingers, and cautiously opened
them again.
"Are these Captain Grayson’s rooms?" The
woman’s voice
was tight and her breath rapid.
Gray’s heart pounded so hard
he could not speak. But this was not Rosa. Too tall. Too English. Skin
too pale, like French porcelain.
He forced his mouth to move. "One might say."
She stepped
forward, grabbing the doorjamb and leaning against it. "Please.
May I enter?"
Gray stepped back. Her face was taut. She nearly fell into the room.
"Have
. . . have I made your acquaintance?" He did not recall her,
though she looked the sort a man would not likely forget. Her
fair skin was framed by hair the color of polished mahogany. Her large
eyes were the blue of a clear spring sky, but they were rimmed with red. Her
rosebud pink lips were compressed into a thin line.
She wrapped her arms around her waist, a gasp escaping that perfectly
formed mouth. It was then Gray noticed the swelling of her belly.
By
God, she was with child.
Gray drew his hand through his hair. What hellish retribution was
this? The only fathomable reason for a pregnant woman to seek him out
was . . . unfathomable. A nightmare of a new sort.
"Oh," she
moaned, squeezing her waist. "The baby is coming!
It is too soon. Too soon."
Gray pressed his fingers against his throbbing temple. Let it not
be so. She could not possibly give birth to a baby in front of him.
It was too cruel a joke for God to play.
She reached out, as if trying
to grab hold of something. Gray obliged her by stepping forward,
and bloodless fingers wrapped around his arm like a vise.
"Please get help. The baby. I can feel the baby." Her voice
trailed into a wail and her knees buckled.
Silently cursing,
he helped her to the threadbare rug on the floor. The dust tramped
into its nap by countless boots had wafted into his nostrils.
Who was this woman? He considered running out the door. If he ran far
enough perhaps the nightmare would cease, or perhaps he could
find help. Some woman. Any woman.
She rolled to her side, grabbing her knees and rocking. The skirt
of her dress was wet. That meant something, but Gray was uncertain
what - except that there was no time to seek help.
Gray wheeled around
wildly, considering what to do. At the same time he tried to
mentally compute the months. Where had he been nine months ago?
After Vitoria, after that damned night with Rosa, he’d accompanied
Lansing to Gloucestershire. Lansing had traded his commission
in the 13th for a militia post, and Gray had thought to have one last
lark with his friend. That was before Lansing’s antics turned
sour on Gray’s tongue, however. Gray shook
the memory out of his still throbbing head and opened the cabinet
where the maid-of-all-work stored blankets, towels, and linens.
He grabbed them all.The woman’s breath
was coming in rapid bursts. Her eyes were wide and bulging. He’d
seen a foaling mare with that same expression.
Terror.
It inexplicably registered with him that this woman had the
appearance and speech of a well brought up young lady. He would
not have dallied with a respectable miss, would he?
Could he
have repeated the dishonorable behavior that still plagued his
conscience? Truth was, he and Lansing had remained quite permanently
drunk in Gloucestershire, and Gray could not recall everything he had
done there. Could he have met this lady? Even so, would she have frequented
the kinds of places where he and Lansing sought entertainment?
He dropped the linens at her feet.
"Will my baby die?" she
managed between breaths.
He gaped at her. Now she’d given him another even worse anxiety.
His conscience could bear only so much. She clutched her abdomen,
grimacing in pain.
"Do not fret." He attempted a reassuring
smile, but felt none of it himself. "I know precisely what to
do. I grew up on a farm and have witnessed calving and lambing
and . . . what might you call it? . . . kittening?"
"Get me a proper midwife!" She rose up off the floor, grabbing
the cloth of his shirt in her fists.
Daggers shot from her blue eyes. She was like one of the Furies. Tisiphone,
the avenger of murder.
That was fitting.
Good God! Citing the Classics. He was turning damned bookish.
No time
to dwell on that. He had bigger problems to ponder. Like a baby
about to be born on his floor.
Gray eased the Fury back to the floor and fell to his knees.
The woman convulsed in pain. Trembling himself, Gray
pushed the blankets underneath her, pulled off her shoes and
stockings, and pushed her skirt above her waist. Hesitating only a
moment, he worked at removing her undergarments, fumbling like a lad
taking his first tumble. He needn’t have worried. Her eyes no
longer focused, the liquid blue hardening like glass. She stared past
him, concentration inward.
"The child is coming." Her voice
turned eerily calm. Gray felt a line of sweat trickle down his back.
From
between her legs, something round and full of dark hair appeared. "The
baby’s head!" he said, his voice cracking.
This could not
be happening. Gray thought longingly of the bottle of brandy
on his bureau. Would that he could pour the warming liquid down his
throat until sweet oblivion was his.
Instead he grabbed a
towel and held it ready.
Half-sitting, she strained, face red. She made a low moan that gradually rose
in pitch. Gray watched in fascination as the dark-haired head pushed out of its
confines. She collapsed and the head disappeared again.
"You’ve lost it," Gray said.
"What do you mean,
I’ve lost it?" she gasped, her eyes looking
a bit wild.
"It went back . . . inside," he explained.
"Don’t
you think I know that?" she rasped. "It’s inside
me." Her face was red now, and her muscles tensed. Suddenly she
wailed. The intensity of the sound pierced deep into his gut.
"It is coming!" he said, dropping the towel.
The head moved out slowly as she strained. With one final feral
cry, she pushed. The baby shot out, landing in Gray’s bare
hands.
The woman sat up, grasping for the baby. "Is my baby
alive? Is my baby alive?" Her
fury was gone. Fear replaced it.
Gray turned away from her. The infant made no sound, no movement.
It was deep purple. Oh, God. That could not be a good
sign. He hurriedly wiped off the child, jostling it as he did
so. It was a boy, but so small, much smaller than he’d
expected. Would such a tiny baby creature have had any chance
to survive?
"Give me my baby!" She grabbed his arm, nearly
knocking him off balance. How the devil could he tell this woman
her baby was dead?
At that precise second, a cry burst from the miniature mouth. Tiny
arms fluttered and shook. Gray laughed with relief.
"Oh!" the
woman cried. She released Gray’s arm and held her
hands out for the infant.
He unwrapped the cord from around the newborn’s abdomen and
placed him into her hands.
Deuce. He’d have to cut the damned cord. But before he figured
out that unpleasant task, she groaned again. As she clutched
the baby to her chest, her body convulsed again.
The afterbirth
plopped down on the blanket between his knees, followed by a
gush of fluids.
"Bloody hell."
Unmindful of his difficulties, the woman cradled the baby in
her arms. "Dear,
dear baby." Tears rolled down her cheeks, but her face was radiant
with joy. She fingered each tiny hand, counted every tiny toe, examined
every inch of him. "You are a boy! A lovely boy."
Gray stared
at the infant. He’d never seen a newborn, except for his nephew,
but only a glimpse when the boy was swathed in blankets. "He’s
well equipped."
She glanced at him. "Well equipped?"
He gestured with his
fingers. "You know, his . . . male parts."
Lifting one eyebrow, she regarded him with reproach.
He cleared his
throat and jumped up to rummage through a box on the bureau,
searching for a piece of string. He grabbed his razor. Not wishing
to think too much on the task he would put the razor to, he tied off
the cord and cut it, wincing at the same time. That odious job done,
he pulled the blankets out from under her and folded them into a bundle
containing all the unpleasantries of the birth.
Turning back, he caught sight of her gazing down at her baby.
Her face was aglow as if lit from within. Her dark hair
had come loose of its pins and tumbled around her shoulders in
disordered curls. She put Gray in mind of a statue of the Madonna
he’d seen in a Barcelona church. As he watched, she placed her
lips on the soft down of the baby’s head.
His throat went dry.
An overwhelming wave of regret washed over him, leaving an incredible
void inside. He continued to stare at the mother and child, but all
he saw were the blackest recesses of his soul. Had he been a better
man, he might have held another infant as she held this babe. Would
that child have been as wrinkled as this little one? Would it have
turned the same healthy shade of pink? Would its cries have been as
angry? This little creature ought to be angry. Gray had delivered him
into an abominable world.
The woman then lifted her eyes to Gray.
Tears clung to her dark lashes like tiny jewels. She smiled at
him, a look of wonder on her face. Gray’s breath
caught in his throat. She was a living, breathing Madonna, sharing
with him an intimate moment he did not deserve. He thrust his
own misery aside.
"Let me help you to the bed," he said. "Hold the baby
tight."
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End of Excerpt. Like it? Order
it.
The
13th Light Dragoons
The Napoleonic war greatly influenced the Regency period. Its final battle, Waterloo,
is one of history’s most famous. It is no surprise that a Regency Romance
hero is often a soldier, but few British soldiers who fought in the Peninsular
War, when Wellington drove the French from Spain, also fought at Waterloo. My
hero in The Improper Wife (Warner Forever, November 2004), came
from a cavalry regiment that saw action in both: The 13th Light Dragoons.
A commission in a cavalry regiment was highly prized. To wear a dapper uniform
(the 13th had blue uniforms with buff facings) and sit tall on a beautiful horse
was considered quite dashing. Not all the duties of a light dragoon officer were
glamorous, however. More time was spent in skirmishing, escort, patrol, and piquet
(sentry) duties than in cavalry battle charges.
In 1811 on the Peninsula, the 13th was involved in the controversial
cavalry charge at Campo Mayor that led Wellington to reprimand them for
their “undisciplined ardor” and conduct “that of a
rabble.” Later Wellington learned the true details. The 13th had
charged in order, exhibiting skill and bravery only to be forced to abandon
their captured guns and prisoners, because the promised support never
arrived. Wellington never withdrew the reprimand.
Several weeks later, before the siege of Badajos, the 13th again showed
their true worth in a similar charge at Los Santos by successfully breaking
500 French cavalry, chasing them for ten miles, and bringing back 150
prisoners. The 13th Light Dragoons showed more success against the French
in 1814 during the crossing of the Saison, leading up to the battle at
Orthes. In their last action on the Peninsula, the 13th charged four
squadron of French cavalry at St. Gaudens, breaking them and scattering
them through the town. Shortly thereafter Wellington’s army marched
on to France and Napoleon surrendered.
When Napoleon returned to face Wellington at Waterloo, one of the most
tragic incidents of the battle was a cavalry charge. The Scots Greys
and other inexperienced regiments went on a bloodthirsty rampage after
retreating French only to be cut off and slaughtered themselves. The
13th Light Dragoons were deployed elsewhere during Waterloo, where they
repelled all manner of French cavalry, cuirassiers, carabiniers, and
horse grenadiers. The 13th also assisted the British infantry during
the French mass cavalry charges that almost cost the British the victory.
The history of the 13th Light Dragoons includes enough drama, bravery,
and glory to make it a regiment worthy of a Regency hero. The words of
Tennyson memorializing a later battle of the 13th Light Dragoons, The
Charge of the Light Brigade, are just as apt for the 13th’s
Regency soldiers:
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made…
• Reference: Fletcher, Ian. Galloping
at Everything: The British Cavalry in the Peninsular War and at
Waterloo 1808-1815, A Reappraisal.
Stackpole Books, 1999.
• This
article was written for The Regency Reader, November
2004. To receive The Regency Reader go to The
Beau Monde Website
:: back to top ::
:: “Emotionally intense and richly
romantic... beautifully written... simply superb...” — John
Charles, Booklist
:: “This book heralds the entry of
an original voice in the genre.... Perkins adds her dynamic,
fresh voice with a memorable story (à la Sommersby)
and unforgettable characters.... Be sure to add this one to your
must-read list!” — Kathe Robin, Romantic
Times BOOKclub (read the whole
review)
:: “Diane Perkins has used superb pacing,
realistic dialogue, and gentle humor to enhance The
Improper Wife... it is
the sensitivity the author applies that lifts her story into
the reader’s
heart.
The reader cannot put the book down! Well done, Ms. Perkins.” — MaryGrace, Historical
Romance Writers, a Romance Designs Community (read the whole
review)
:: “The Improper
Wife is a very satisfying
romance. ...an amazing storytelling talent...” — Kris
Alice, A
Romance Review (read the whole
review)
:: “Wow. What a beginning! The
Improper Wife grab holds of you on
the first scene and doesn't let go as you are taken on an emotional
roller coaster ride, filled with passion, danger and deceit...
If this debut is but an example of Diane Perkin's work, her star
will go far and shine brightly....” — Ingela, Historical
Romance Club
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