Captive Surrender (27 page)

“
I don’t
think that is likely to happen though, Prudence. Do you?” He didn’t
bother to hide the doubt in his voice and watched a faint flicker
of fear sweep over her face. He hated to see it, even for the
briefest of moments.

“
I don’t
know. Some days she is almost lucid. On other days, she rants and
is downright nasty, but we cannot afford to do anything other than
what we are doing.” She knew what he was suggesting and didn’t want
to offend him by being abrupt, but couldn’t countenance any
alternative. Her pride simply wouldn’t allow it. Before she could
speak, he made the offer that she had been dreading.

“
I will pay
for it a -”

“
No!” She
snapped, her voice louder than she had intended. She immediately
regretted her outburst and she cast him an apologetic smile.
Feeling slightly dejected, she kicked absently at the pebbles on
the beach as they wandered along the shoreline. “It isn’t fair for
you to pay. It will cost a small fortune and it really is fine. We
manage.”

“
But you
shouldn’t just manage, Prudence. You should be able to live a
little. You should be able to get some medication for her to at
least ensure that you aren’t attacked when you go in to see to her
basic duties.” Personally, Stephen couldn’t think of anything worse
than living the half-life that Agatha had. She hardly ever came out
of her room and, if she did, had very little idea where she was.
“You need to hand over a little of the responsibilities, Prudence,”
he chastised gently.

“
To who?
Eloisa? She already does more than her fair share, I cannot expect
her to do anything more. The others shoulder their share of the
burden as well. Even Robbie, and he is only ten.”

“
I meant to
me,” he replied and drew her to a stop. He moved to stand in front
of her and held her hands in his. “I will have you know that I
fully intend to remain at Cragdale once my work on this particular
part of the investigation is over. Harry and Marcus will move on,
and I shall have to go to London to speak to my boss but, when I
return, I will do so with the intention of making Cragdale my
home.”

“
You don’t
understand,” Prudence whispered. “If my uncle Bernard got wind of
you living in the house, unchaperoned, with me, the entire family
would be kicked out without a backward look. As it is, you are here
to carry out your work for king and country. We are doing out bit
to protect England’s borders from the French. Even Bernard, as
unsympathetic as he is, cannot argue with that. Once your work here
is done, however, there is little reason for you to be in the
house. He will use scandal and besmirching of the good family name
to ensure that we are thrown out and cast adrift, and that is
before he demands to see mother and uncovers the true nature of her
state of health.” Tears pooled on her lashes and she struggled to
contain the wave of misery that swept through her.

“
Then we will
just have to ensure that Cragdale is no longer Bernard’s
responsibility, and we deny all criticism by ensuring that we go
about matters correctly from now on.”

“
What do you
mean?” She frowned at the firm determination in his
voice.

Stephen sighed and
studied the wet sand beneath their feet. He glanced up and waited
until her gaze met his. “I am asking you to marry me, Prudence,” he
replied gently. “I cannot think of any other way that we could live
at Cragdale together without bringing censure and scandal upon the
good Freestone family name. I won’t allow you or the others to be
cast out, and I simply will never allow you to be destitute with
barely a penny to your name.” He held a hand up when she took a
breath to speak. “Now, I am not saying that I am any rich man, not
by any stretch of the imagination, but I have made more than enough
money over the last few years to ensure that we can repair
Cragdale, and restore it to its former glory, purchase more than
enough furniture to replace that which is already damaged, and keep
the pantries well stocked throughout the year, and not even halve
the amount I own.”

“
You want to
marry me?” Everything else he had just said had passed over her in
a blur. Her mind had locked onto his first words and refused to
budge. She swallowed. Hope sang in her veins at the same time that
dread fell into the pit of her stomach. What if she had misheard
him? What if he had said ‘one day’, and she had not heard it? What
was she going to do if he did mean it?

“
Of course I
do,” he sighed and drew her carefully into his arms. “What? Do you
think that I take my landladies to bed wherever I stay?” He lifted
his brows and looked down at her. “I don’t make a habit of bedding
innocent ladies and then careering off into the darkness to the
next bed. I am not that kind of man,” he replied in a rather prim
voice that made her smile. “Since I first saw you digging the
garden the other week, I have been unable to get you out of my
head. You are there; morning, noon and night. You are the first
thing I think about when I wake up, mainly because you are there
right beside me where you should be.” He kissed her cheek when she
began to snivel. “You are definitely the last thing I think about
before I go to sleep, mainly because you are there right beside me
then too.” He smiled when she hiccupped a sob. “I cannot think of
anywhere else I would rather be.” His voice trailed off into a
whisper, mainly because he was about as choked up with emotion as
she was.

Prudence couldn’t help
it. Tears trickled slowly down her cheeks. In such a few short
weeks, this man had come to mean so much to her that the thought of
waving him off with the knowledge that she might never see him
again, tore her heart in two.

“
What about
your job though? I mean you won’t be able to work here once your
investigation is over. We are a long way away from everything
really.”

“
My
colleagues manage to make it work and they are married. Some also
have children. It would mean that I have to juggle my work a
little, but I am fairly certain that most of the work I will be
given will keep me this side of Bodmin, or as close to it as I can
get. There will be some work that will take me further afield,
especially if my colleagues need a hand. Just like Harry and Marcus
have arrived to help me, I will have to reciprocate at some point.
It is just the way we work in the Star Elite, I am afraid. It does
mean that I will be gone for a couple of weeks at a time, but I
won’t be gone for long, and I will always ensure that I come
back.”

In reality he hated the
thought of having to leave the sisters alone at Cragdale for any
length of time. The knowledge that they were perfectly capable of
functioning as a family unit and running the house alone didn’t sit
comfortably with him, even with the additional knowledge that Rufus
was nearby and would undoubtedly keep a keen eye on them on his
behalf.

“
Are Marcus
and Harry married?” she whispered, unable to gather her
thoughts.

Stephen gave her a mock
frown. “Now, don’t you go getting any ideas where those two are
concerned. I know with certainty that they are not married, but
they have no intention of getting married either.”

“
Oh, I didn’t
mean –” She stopped and batted him on the shoulder when he merely
grinned at her. “Stop it.”

“
You haven’t
answered me,” he chided with a mock frown. He couldn’t help it. He
placed a tender kiss on her lips and rested his forehead against
hers. “Marry me,” he pleaded, his voice husky with
emotion.

“
I would love
to,” she whispered, and felt a fresh wave of tears trickle from the
corner of her eyes. Anything else she was about to say was snatched
by the gasp that escaped her when she was suddenly lifted off the
ground and swung around in a circle. Her squeal of surprise echoed
around the stone cliffs that surrounded them and echoed the
laughter that followed.

CHAPTER
FOURTEEN

The rest of the day was
spent the way that Prudence had originally wanted, although
Stephen’s slight detour had been the best part. Many hours after
they had returned to the house, they had reluctantly left the
warmth of the bed and made their way downstairs to await the
arrival of Rufus and the ladies. As the hours ticked by, with no
sign of anyone returning, Prudence began to feel a little
unnerved.

“
I don’t know
what’s keeping them,” she sighed as she cast a dark look at the
window.

Stephen glanced up from
his seat before the stove where he was brushing sand off his boots.
Dusk had given the sky an eerie glow that warned them that complete
nightfall would soon be upon them, but it was still too early in
the evening for him to begin to grown concerned.

“
They are
fine, darling. Rufus is with them, don’t forget.”

“
I know, but
the market was over hours ago.” She glanced at the clock. “What
else is there to do in Brumpton Marches?”

Stephen placed his boot
down and walked over to draw her into his arms. He placed a kiss on
her head and stood for a moment to simply savour being able to hold
her without the teasing they usually got when they were openly
affectionate toward each other.

“
Given how
Robbie eats, I am sure that Rufus will have taken them to the
tavern for sustenance before bringing them home. I am sure that
they have all had a wonderful time in the town. You know how much
they enjoy their visits.” He paused and tipped her head up for a
kiss. “Next week, we are going too.”

Her eyes lit with
pleasure while a small voice warned her that she couldn’t lose
sight of the fact that Stephen’s presence in the house depended on
his investigation of Levant.

“
Am I
worrying too much?” she asked with a frown. Had she turned into a
worry wart and lost the ability to have some fun?

“
No, you
aren’t. You have been under threat from Levant and Bernard for far
too long. Circumstances have demanded that you are a tight-knit
family, and it is unusual for any of you to be out late at night.”
He eased back to look at her. “When was the last time you went out
at night?”

Prudence looked at him
guiltily. “The night that I hit you on the head.”

Stephen
studied her. “
You
hit me on the head?” He frowned at that. “I could distinctly
remember that I kissed you that night.”

“
You
did.”

When she made no attempt
to expand on her explanation, Stephen coughed and looked down at
her. She looked warily up at him and realised that he wasn’t going
to budge, or allow her to, until she told him everything. She
rolled her eyes and quickly outlined what had happened to him on
his first night at Cragdale. When she lapsed into uncomfortable
silence, he shook his head chidingly and drew her over to the chair
before the fire.

“
I can
understand now why you are worried,” he murmured and eased her onto
his lap. “Given what happened to me, I can only be fearful of
Rufus’ welfare.” He ignored her smothered laugh, and slid her a
teasing look. “I think that if he isn’t back soon, I will go out to
look for them. I am sure that Harry will want to help look for them
too.”

As if on cue, the rattle
of the latch on the front door heralded the arrival of
Harry.

“
Evening
all,” he called as he stalked into the kitchen with his boots in
his hand.

“
Have you
seen any sign of the ladies?” Stephen asked. He held Prudence still
when she tried to slide off his lap and watched Harry move to the
fireplace before them to get warm.

Harry frowned and shook
his head. “No, sorry. Were they due back by now?”

“
It is just
unusual for them to be out this long, that’s all.” Prudence
sighed.

She felt slightly
uncomfortable, brazenly sitting in Stephen’s lap while Harry was
there, and pushed awkwardly to her feet. When Stephen merely smiled
at her, she rolled her eyes and hurried to the table to continue
the dinner preparations.

Harry, bless him,
carefully kept his opinions to himself although the mischief that
twinkled in his eyes made her blush fiercely.

The next hour passed
painfully slowly for Prudence. By the time the clock chimed seven,
she was a bundle of nerves and had taken to wringing her hands
anxiously while she paced backward and forward in front of the
windows that overlooked the driveway.

Stephen shared a
concerned look with Harry. He had to admit that it was highly
unusual that Rufus hadn’t brought them back by now. He certainly
hadn’t mentioned this morning that he was going to take them
anywhere else. What could have delayed them?

“
I will go
and see if I can find them,” Harry declared with a scowl when he
couldn’t stand the tension any longer, and bent down to put his
boots on. His horse had been stabled inside the old ramshackle barn
and, although he would never say anything to his very hospitable
hostess, he didn’t want to leave the beast in there too long in
case the whole thing collapsed with the animal inside.

Stephen stood and moved
toward Prudence. “I am sure that they have just been delayed,
that’s all. There is no need to worry.”