Looking outside, Leonie expected to see an expanse of well-manicured lawn. Instead, she found herself looking at what was little more than sheep pasture. Ahead, there was the house, or what looked like a house, although it lacked uniformity.
Something was wrong with it.
As the coach drove closer, she realized that one of the walls was collapsed. A good portion of the house just wasn’t there.
Furthermore, no one could tell what color the walls were because ivy as thick as a man’s arm had engulfed the building. Some ivy climbing walls was charming. This was alarming.
And the rooks! Big, black birds sat along what might generously be described as a roofline. They were in the trees all around and jumping in the ivy on the walls. Leonie prayed there was a roof—one could not tell from this vantage—and not a gaping hole, because if there wasn’t, with that many birds gathered, the insides of the house would be more ruined than the outside.
Roman had dismounted and stood in front of the house hugging people who could only be his family members. They apparently had been waiting for him. He said something to them and they all looked at the oncoming coach expectantly—and suddenly, Leonie feared she would be ill.
How could she look at that disaster of a house and meet his family with any sort of grace?
In that moment, she realized her morally superior husband had been painting rosy pictures of his assets to hoodwink her.
That she had been chastising herself for not being honest while he had been equallydishonest.
Leonie was no fool. There wasn’t enough money in the world to repair what needed to be done to that house. Fifty thousand pounds would not even make a dent—and she was married to the folly.
A rage she’d never experienced began building inside her and grew stronger with every turn of the coach wheel leading to her husband.
Chapter 15
So, Leonie had chosen to accompany him instead of returning to London.
Roman could not lie to himself and say he was not pleased.
When he had given his ultimatum, he’d been so angry he hadn’t cared which direction she chose. In fact, his life would have been easier if she had returned to the city.
That she willingly followed him to Bonhomie gave him a sense of satisfaction, and saved him from making excuses to his family about a missing wife. He knew they would already be upset at his abrupt marriage announcement. He would have plenty of questions to answer about that. Of course, Leonie really had no other meaningful choice but to join him. He certainly was not going to pay her expenses, not when he had more pressing needs in Somerset.
However, traveling alone, he had a good amount of time to think. The forty thousand pounds after paying the gambling debts was a magnificent fortune... until one considered all the work Bonhomie needed. He must take great care with his finances and not be overeager. Right now, the rent from his tenants brought in two thousand pounds a year. That could be increased, but only after much needed repairs had been made to yeomen’s cottages and the fields replenished.
Oh, yes, there was much to do and Roman was anxious to begin. Bonhomie was his home. The future for his children.
He had been so busy with his plans for his wife’s dowry he had barely registered the poor condition of the roads or the overgrown banks around them. He saw all as it could be and his chest swelled with pride.
At the sight of Bonhomie’s walls, he had kicked his horse into a canter.
A shout had gone out that he was coming. His sister Dora and his mother had seen him from the front window. They’d hurried out the door to greet him. He had reined in the tired horse and hopped down in time for them to now throw their arms around him in happy greeting.
The Gilchrists were a dark-haired lot, although his mother’s hair was turning white. Dora was thirty and a handsome woman with an opinionated nature. She and their mother were both of middling height and their eyes were blue instead of the gray that had come to Roman and his sister Beth by way of their late father.
“We just received this post from you—” his mother started.
“Youmarried?” Dora cut in.
“Who is she?” her mother worried. “Is she with you? We’ve been cleaning the house to make it ready.”
“Yes, she is with me. She is coming in a coach,” Roman said. “And thank you for preparing the house.”
“But youmarried,” Dora repeated as if she could not fathom the idea. “Did youknowthis woman before you married her? You’ve only been gone three weeks and you never mentioned a word about courting anyone.”
“Dora,” their mother softly cautioned. She was a peacemaker and they all knew too well how Dora could be overbearing. She was younger than Beth by a year but one wouldn’t know by Dora’s behavior.
Fortunately, Roman had much practice in handling his sisters. “I did know her. I’ve known her for years,” he answered easily, and was saved from saying more by the appearance of his stepfather, David, and his brother-in-law, Lawrence, a good-natured man with brown hair and eyes. They came from the side of the house. Lawrence carried a saw. They were both in shirtsleeves and acted as if they had been hard at it. David’s hair was all white, his jaw lean, and his blue eyes keen with intelligence. Few details escaped him.
“You have a bride,” David said in way of greeting as he held out his arm. Roman noted that his limp was more pronounced and he was favoring his left side. He was thankful he had been able to return from India in time to help his parents.
