Protected by the Major (11 page)

‘Thank you...’ She gazed up at him, looking puzzled as she began to think more clearly. ‘But if those men who tried to kidnap me just now were not sent by my husband, who sent them? I cannot think who would want to kidnap me.’

‘I am not certain, for there might be several men who would wed you for your fortune,’ Hallam said.

‘My fortune?’ she asked in a bewildered tone. ‘I have nothing but a few clothes and trinkets Sally packed for me.’

‘I do not know exactly how your fortune stands after your husband’s death, but I believe he has no other family—unless there may be a distant cousin. I imagine that much of what he owned will come to you once any debts have been paid, though of course the title will lapse since there was no son, unless a relative is found.’

‘I think he had none...that I’ve heard of.’

‘A distant cousin could inherit the title and the estate if it is entailed—but your settlement, jewels and carriages would belong to you and you might have a claim on at least one of the houses.’

‘I want only my jewels and sufficient to live on,’ she said, instantly repulsed by the idea of a fortune from her late husband. ‘The settlement that should have been mine on marriage is all I require.’

‘I think your father may have other ideas about what is your due. After I told him of the way you were treated, he said that you were welcome to return home and he would claim your rights on your behalf.’

‘I am glad Papa accepts that I was not treated fairly but...’ She looked up at him. ‘I do not wish to live with my family. I fear that Papa might try to marry me to another rich man when my period of official mourning is done. If I place myself under his jurisdiction he can command me to obey him once more.’

‘Yes, he might,’ Hallam agreed. ‘You alone should decide what you wish to do about your husband’s fortune, but I imagine your father has already claimed it in your name. I know he intended to contact the count’s lawyers immediately.’

‘Please, do not ask me to go home,’ Madeline said, her throat catching with emotion. ‘I would prefer a house of my own if I can afford it.’ She could not beg him to take her to his home unless he asked her to be his wife. Yet had she the right to ask so much of him? Would he want her if he knew what the count had made her suffer—and its terrible toll on her?

‘No, I shall not take you to your father’s house,’ he said, thinking that he would not truly trust Sir Matthew to take proper care of his daughter. ‘I want to make you safe, Maddie. I want to protect you and care for you—if you will let me?’

‘Oh, yes, please, Hal,’ she said on a sob. ‘Take me somewhere safe. I cannot stay here after what happened this morning. Who do you think sent those men to kidnap me?’

‘I cannot be certain, but I suspect the Marquis of Rochdale.’

‘Lord Rochdale...’ Madeline’s throat tightened and she swayed towards him. ‘No, oh, no. I could not bear to be his prisoner, Hal. I fear that man more than my husband...he will not forgive me for leading him on and then repulsing him in the garden that night. It is surely his reason for trying to have me kidnapped. He wants to punish me.’

‘That may be part of his reason for wanting you in his power,’ Hal said thoughtfully. ‘But there may be others.’

‘You think he wants Lethbridge’s fortune?’

‘Perhaps. I think your husband may have owed him a large sum of money from a gambling debt.’

‘He shall be paid somehow. If the estate passes to me, I shall pay all his debts.’

‘You are owed something after the way he treated you, Maddie. You must keep enough for yourself.’

‘I wish that I need take nothing from Lethbridge. I hated him at the end. My settlement is mine by right and it would surely be sufficient—if my husband has not already spent the capital. He was deeply in debt to Rochdale, I believe...’

‘I have little fortune, but I should be honoured to offer what I have.’

‘Oh, please, do not speak of the future yet. I feel...abused, unclean,’ Madeline said and shuddered. ‘If only my father had not been so foolish with his money and I need never have wed him.’

‘As to that, I have been told that Lethbridge cheated your father at the card tables, just as he cheated others. I exposed Lethbridge for a cheat at the tables and he challenged me to a duel...but a friend of mine believes that he once killed a young man to protect his secret.’

‘He was an evil man and I shall not mourn him,’ Madeline said and now the shine of tears in her eyes had been replaced by anger at the way that both she and her father had been tricked. ‘I refuse to wear black for him. Why should I?’

‘I do not require it of you,’ Hallam said, ‘however, I fear we must observe a period of mourning. If you were to marry before six months were out, people might suspect that I tried to murder your husband to get you. And I
would
have killed him if I’d had to, Maddie.’

‘Hush,’ she said and pressed her fingers to his lips. ‘Speak of him no more, Hal. I would prefer to forget him.’

‘We shall do our best,’ he said and smiled at her. ‘You asked me to take you away. My cousin, Adam Miller, has just returned from his honeymoon in Scotland. He is to stay at Ravenscar for a few weeks before travelling abroad and my uncle has asked me to join them for a time. Adam and I have business to discuss. I shall take you there for you will be safe with my family.’

‘What if the marquis finds me again?’

‘Adam will have the keepers patrol the grounds, Maddie. Ravenscar is well staffed and protected and you will be safe there.’

She was hesitant. ‘I hardly know them. And Lethbridge was a friend of Mrs Miller’s father...’

‘Jenny is a lovely person and I know she will welcome you, as will Adam,’ Hallam said. ‘I would take you to my home, but it needs refurbishment and is too close to your friend’s farm to be safe for you until we have settled with whoever is trying to abduct you. I intend to sell out my army commission, but I may be called back to the regiment in the meantime. If that happens, I would wish to know that you were safe with my cousins. If I left you alone, I should not know a moment’s peace.’

‘Yes, perhaps that would be best,’ Madeline said, giving in because she had nowhere else to go, though she could not like the idea of imposing on people she hardly knew. ‘You, Hal, shall guide me, for the time being. I have nothing until Lethbridge’s affairs are settled and must rely on the generosity of others...’

‘You know that all I have is at your disposal, Maddie,’ he said. ‘There is little enough, God knows, but I hope to settle things soon and then I shall at least be able to provide a comfortable home for you should you wish it.’

Madeline hesitated. He was gallant and generous and she wanted to accept his offer, but he’d made no mention of his feelings. She could only accept if he were to offer her his heart. And even then, could she be the wife he deserved?

Lethbridge had soiled and despoiled her. Now that she was free of him she should be thinking of the future, and she wanted nothing more than to be Hal’s wife, but she was not certain she could ever allow a man to touch her again—even the man she loved.

Would Hal still love her if he understood what her husband had done to her?

* * *

‘I am sorry you must leave us,’ Hattie said and kissed Madeline on both cheeks. ‘Yet I know that it would not be safe for you to stay here if this wicked person is bent on kidnapping you. We would care for you as best we could, but we could not protect you if he is determined to take you captive. You will be safer with the major’s family.’

‘I would not wish to bring harm to you,’ Madeline said. ‘I’ve been content here and thought I might like to live nearby, but for the moment it may be best if I live with Hal’s family. They have a big estate and if I stay within its bounds I should be safe enough. Once again this man—whoever he may be—must find me before he can harm me.’

‘It beats me how he came to find you here,’ Hattie said, looking distressed. ‘He must have had you followed.’

‘Yes, or someone followed Thomas perhaps, which makes me anxious for him, though I would not say so to Sally,’ Madeline said. ‘I believe Hal scared the rogues off this time and it will be a while before
he
sends someone else to hunt me down. Perhaps he will not bother now that he knows I have such good friends.’

She could only hope that the marquis would decide she was not worth the bother and forget her. There were many women richer and more beautiful than she—even if her husband’s money came to her. Why should he waste his time pursuing her?

‘We must pray he will not.’ Hattie nodded and patted her hand. ‘You will write to me and let me know how you are?’

‘Yes, of course.’ Madeline embraced her. ‘Perhaps I can visit again soon in happier times. If God wills it I may even come to live near you one day.’

‘He’s a good man,’ Hattie whispered in her ear. ‘I think you could not do better than wed him when he asks.’

Madeline felt the heat rush into her cheeks and glanced at Hal, but he was speaking to Sally and noticed nothing. He’d hired a chaise for her and Sally and would himself ride beside them with a groom he’d found somewhere. The man was ex-army by his look and no doubt handy with his pistol. Thomas had not yet returned from London, but Hattie had promised to tell him where to find them, though she swore that she would not say a word to anyone else.

‘Wild horses would not drag it from me,’ she said, ‘but I’ll send your young man to you, Sally, when he returns.’

Sally blushed, but she was feeling too anxious over Thomas’s late return to do more than thank their kind hostess. She gathered up a few of their belongings and went out to the chaise.

Madeline followed, glancing back to watch as Hal took his farewell of the farmer. They seemed to have much to discuss and she wondered what could be keeping him, but then they shook hands and Hal came out just in time to hand her into the chaise.

‘Jenkins was telling me of some land that has come up for sale,’ he said. ‘I’ve asked him to buy it for me if it goes for a price I can afford.’

‘You are thinking of settling here, then?’

‘Yes, I believe it will suit me,’ Hal said and smiled in a way that made her heart beat faster. ‘I have good friends here and with some improvement and perhaps in time an enlargement, the house will make a comfortable home. To settle my father’s debts I must sell his estate. What little remains may be invested here. I do not have a fortune to offer any lady, Maddie, but I hope it may be enough for the woman I care for—if she loves me.’

‘I am certain it would be,’ she said and her heart fluttered.

‘I am not yet in a position to ask anyone to wed me,’ Hal went on, ‘but we shall speak more of this another time.’

She murmured something appropriate for although she longed to declare her love for him, she did not wish to make him feel he
must
wed her. Hal had loved her to distraction once, but she’d hurt him, sending him away with harsh words. He’d fought a duel with her husband for her sake, and he would protect her from the marquis, if it was he that was bent on abducting her. But did he still love her? He had spoken vaguely of caring for her and keeping her safe, but Hal was a man of honour. By his code he could do no less. Madeline was not certain that he loved her as he once had, for she knew he would do his utmost to protect any lady he discovered in trouble.

When he looked at her sometimes her heart raced and she believed that he did love her, but at other times she was uncertain. He would wed her rather than see her at the mercy of unscrupulous rogues who wanted her for her beauty and perhaps the fortune they imagined Lethbridge had left her—but Madeline wanted him to love her as he had before she married.

Perhaps if she was certain of his love she would be able to give herself to him...to welcome his touch in their bed. It was what she wanted, longed for—to be loved and to be able to love in return. Yet even the thought of intimate relations brought a rush of unwelcome memories, making her stomach twist. If she shuddered when Hal touched her intimately, he would be hurt. In time he would turn from her as her husband had and then he might hate her.

What was she to do if this feeling of being soiled never left her? Must she remain unwed and alone for the rest of her life? Tears caught at her throat, but she could not let them fall. She could not tell Hal of her fears—because she could not bear to see the gentle kindness in his eyes turn to scorn. How could she expect him to understand her fears...the revulsion for the intimate side of marriage that Lethbridge had instilled in her?

No man would continue to love a woman who could not bear his touch: it was not to be expected.

What would become of her if she sent Hal away?

She was a widow now and Hal would not be the only gentleman to admire her. If she chose to re-enter society once her period of official mourning was over, she might find a man who loved her for herself and took no account of her fortune or lack of it. In her heart, she knew there was only one man for her—but she was already in his debt and could not allow him to offer for her out of sympathy or a misguided sense of duty.

Oh, how she longed to be as she’d been when she was a young girl and first in love, when she had not known what it was like to be abused and scorned, to think of herself as worthless. Lethbridge had told her she was frigid, and could not give a man what he needed.

What if he was right? What if she could not make Hal happy, even though her heart ached with love for him?

Glancing sideways at his handsome profile, Madeline felt her love for him warming her, melting the ice she’d built inside as a barrier against pain. She hoped that they would have time to get to know each other again before Hal was forced to report to his regiment. Perhaps they might fall in love all over again...perhaps she would be able to make herself smile when he touched her.

She must conquer her fears. She was determined to put the past behind her. She would forget the things her husband had done. She would find happiness again...

Oh, please God, let her find a way to overcome this fear inside her.

Chapter Eight

‘H
al told us that he intended to bring you here,’ Jenny Miller said. She was a pretty, spirited girl and looked very happy. Madeline took to her instantly. ‘You are very welcome to stay for as long as you wish, Lady Lethbridge.’

‘Please, do not call me by that name—it is distasteful to me. I am Madeline or Maddie to my friends.’

‘Then I shall call you Maddie, if I may,’ Jenny said and took her arm. ‘I am sure you are weary from the journey and would like to go to your room and make yourself comfortable?’

‘Yes, I should,’ Madeline said gratefully. ‘You have a beautiful home, Jenny.’

‘Ravenscar Court is not truly our home,’ Jenny confided as they walked up the magnificent staircase arm in arm. ‘Adam is having some work done at his estate, and, besides, we are staying here to keep Lord Ravenscar company while his son Paul is in Italy. He has been in terrible affliction over the death of his eldest son, as have we all. Mark was to have married my best friend, Lucy Dawlish, and it was to be with her and attend the wedding that I came down. The tragic events of that time drew Adam and me together—and we feel we would wish to keep Lord Ravenscar from feeling lonely until Paul returns. We hope for his return by spring and then we shall take a trip to France or Italy.’

‘I heard something about Lord Ravenscar’s son Mark being foully murdered, but do not know the details,’ Madeline said. ‘Please tell me only enough so that I may not trample on his father’s feelings unaware.’

‘Mark was murdered here at his home,’ Jenny said. ‘Adam, Hal and Paul discovered the murderer’s identity and he has paid for his foul deed. But do not let us speak of it, for you have problems of your own.’

‘You must not pity me,’ Madeline said. ‘My marriage was not a happy one and I am relieved to be free of it, though shocked, of course, by the circumstances of his death. This other business remains a mystery for we do not truly know who tried to have me abducted, though we suspect it to be the Marquis of Rochdale.’

‘Adam told me that he knew the marquis to be a wicked man who might stoop to an act of this nature. You must be very careful not to give him an opportunity to harm you.’

‘Yes, I know. It is the reason I am so grateful to you for giving me a home until things are settled. I am not certain of my situation, though I hope to have a home of my own in the future.’

‘You do not wish to return to your family?’

‘No, I think not—if I have a choice.’

‘Is Hal to act on your behalf in the matter of your settlement?’ Jenny asked. ‘I know that Adam or Lord Ravenscar would be glad to help if you needed advice.’

‘I think my father intends to claim the estate in my name, but I need very little,’ Madeline said. ‘I dare say there may be papers from the lawyers to sign—and I should be glad of advice if Hal were not here when they came.’

‘He has promised to stay with us for a few weeks while his estate is being refurbished,’ Jenny said, smiling. ‘He and Adam are good friends and I think they intend to go into business together—and of course they both wish to be of help to their uncle until Paul returns.’

‘Yes, I believe Hal mentioned something of the sort,’ Madeline agreed. They had reached the upper landing and Jenny stopped outside one of the guest bedchambers. She opened the door and invited Madeline to enter. ‘This is one of my favourite rooms in the house. It is normally given to a couple, but it is large and I thought you would find it comfortable. If you stay with us some weeks, as I hope, you may spread your own things about and make it home.’

Madeline thanked her and after some more conversation, Jenny left her to make herself comfortable. Sally had already unpacked her small trunk but she was aware of how few clothes she had at her disposal. It had been well enough to wear the same simple dress for three days at the farm and then let Sally wash it, but it would not do here. Somehow she must acquire more clothes, even if it meant parting with some of her precious trinkets.

Madeline allowed herself a sigh. She did not wish herself in possession of a great fortune, but she could wish for some of the clothes and personal possessions she’d been forced to leave behind.

Her life was still precarious for she did not truly know how she was to go on in the future. She must discover how she stood with regard to the settlement that ought to have been hers from the start of her marriage and at least to recover some of her own things. If nothing more, she must be entitled to recover her clothes.

She would speak to Hal about it later, she decided. She ought to write to her father, but she did not wish him to demand her return to his house, which he had the right to do since she was not yet five and twenty and no longer a wife.

Glancing at herself in the beautiful dressing mirror, she tidied her hair and her gown before going down to join her hostess in the parlour for tea.

* * *

‘I can see why you were devastated when she married Lethbridge,’ Adam said when he and Hallam were alone in Lord Ravenscar’s library. ‘She is very lovely—and will be quite wealthy, I imagine, once his estate is settled.’

‘From what Sir Matthew told me, the count had no family whatsoever. I suppose that was why he was desperate to get himself an heir. One can understand it in the circumstances, but he was a devil to Madeline. I cannot be sorry he is dead, Adam—though to shoot a man in the back is cowardly work.’

‘Yes, most disagreeable. It leaves one with a bad taste in the mouth. But Madeline must be relieved to be free at last.’

‘He treated her abominably.’

‘Yes, most unfortunate for her. Still, I confess I am glad you were not the one that killed him, Hal. I know you would have killed him for her sake, but it would have been a shadow over your life.’

‘Yes, perhaps,’ Hallam agreed. ‘Murder is a foul crime, Adam, and it did feel a little like that to shoot in cold blood. But he shot first and would’ve killed me if he could. I feel no regret for his death.’

‘Nor should you—though someone undoubtedly took advantage of the situation to murder him. You have no idea who it was?’

‘No...unless...’ Hallam shook his head. ‘It occurs to me that it may have been the same person who tried to abduct Madeline. Rochdale wants her and I believe Lethbridge owed him a large sum of money.’

‘Would any man do murder for such a thing?’

‘A man like that would do worse. I fear for her, Adam. If I should fail her, she would be at his mercy.’

‘You should not doubt your abilities, Hal.’

‘I would back myself against any man in a fair fight, but a damned rogue who could murder a man and then attempt to abduct his wife does not fight fair.’

‘Indeed, you are right. I’ve spoken to my uncle. We shall double the guards patrolling the grounds while she is here,’ Adam said and frowned. ‘If you fear for her, you must expose this man for the devil he is, Hal. It would not be possible for you to protect your own estate as we may Ravenscar.’

‘I know—but it will not be easy. Rochdale covers his tracks well. I made a few enquiries in London and, apart from a few whispers of depravity was unable to discover anything that could have him arrested.’

‘I trust you do not plan to challenge the marquis to a duel?’

‘No, for it would not serve. I have never met the man to my knowledge, other than to glimpse him at a large gathering, and I doubt he would oblige me.’

‘Have you considered going abroad to live?’

‘It would not be my first choice,’ Hal told him. ‘I shall try to discover what Rochdale wants of Maddie. If he is willing to settle for money, she would be better paying him off.’

‘It seems to me that her family has served her ill. Her father should never have let her marry Lethbridge.’

‘He had little choice for the count could have ruined him.’

‘Yet to give one’s daughter to such a man...’ Adam shook his head, then his gaze narrowed. ‘Do you intend to ask her to marry you?’

‘Yes, of course, in time. I must settle my affairs first and she must observe a period of mourning. I would marry her at once, but I must have thought for the future. I should not wish her to be censured by society.’

‘No, most certainly not,’ Adam agreed instantly. ‘She will be safe enough here, Hal. But I should not permit her to return to her father if I were you. He might see a way to use her to his own advantage.’

‘Yes, I did see a gleam in his eyes when he learned she was a widow.’

‘He sold his daughter to a man not fit to kiss her feet,’ Adam said. ‘A man like that might do anything.’

‘Well, Maddie thinks much the same and has expressed a wish not to return to her former home. I intend to enquire into the particulars of the count’s estate. While I am uninterested in his fortune, she is entitled to the settlement left her by her grandfather, which ought to have been protected in law. I should wish her to have that for her own use. You know my circumstances. I cannot give her as much as I would wish, Adam. Indeed, had she not been in danger, I dare say I should not have thought of approaching her again.’

‘Because she broke your heart?’

‘That...and the fact that she could do so much better. She has been used to moving in the highest circles. I can offer only a medium-sized house in the country and a comfortable living. If she had something of her own, it might serve and she could spend a few weeks in town if we had what is due to her. I do not wish to make her a prisoner of poverty after the life she has led.’

‘You are worthy of any woman,’ Adam said. ‘Pray do not undervalue yourself, Hal. Besides, your fortunes will come about in time. We shall make a reasonable living from importing wines together. I believe you have more to offer than you know.’

Hal smiled and agreed, but he could not help wondering how Maddie would take to living in a small country house. He would naturally give her all the comforts he could, but he was unable to offer a smart London house or to give her all the jewels and clothes she deserved. It was his intention to see what could be recovered of her personal possessions, but as to the huge fortune that might come her way...it was his opinion that they would do better without it, even if it was on offer to them.

* * *

‘You look lovely this evening,’ Hal said when she came down to the drawing room before dinner that night. ‘That colour becomes you, Maddie.’

‘The gown belongs to Jenny,’ she replied, a faint flush in her cheeks. ‘Sally had time to put up only a few gowns for me and she chose the simplest she could find, for she knew we must go into hiding. They were very well for the farm, but not right for dinner here. Jenny saw my lack and loaned me this gown. It fits well enough for we are much the same size, though I prefer my gowns to be a trifle more modest. Jenny bought this in Paris and it was all the rage there—but I am glad to have a stole to cover my shoulders.’

He smiled and reached for her hand, carrying it to his lips to place a kiss within the palm. ‘You are too modest, Maddie. You look charming—and this style is all the rage even in London now.’

‘Yes, perhaps.’ A flush of heat touched her cheeks. ‘I fear to wear such gowns for they draw the eye of gentlemen I prefer not to notice me. Lethbridge liked even more immodest gowns—I believe it was the gown he forced me to wear that night that brought the marquis to attempt seduction.’

‘Rochdale is not here, Maddie,’ Hal said gently. ‘Adam is a perfect gentleman and I would never do anything to hurt or distress you.’

‘I know.’ She lifted her eyes to his with a look of appeal. ‘You do not know what my husband did to me sometimes. The different ways he hurt me, Hal. I have not told you, but after the first few weeks of our marriage he was unable...he could not play his part in my bed...and he blamed me.’

‘Was he violent to you?’ Hal asked, a little nerve flicking at his temple.

‘Yes, sometimes. He often pinched me, but his rages took all forms. He would shout and throw things, smash things I liked and tear my pretty gowns. He accused me of pride and coldness and withheld anything he knew might please me’

‘I wish that I had known—that I could have taken you away.’

‘Until I had discovered and burned my father’s notes I dared not leave him. He gave me jewels, but only allowed me to wear them when it pleased him, and he never released my settlement. When I fled I had only a few trinkets of my late grandmother’s.’

‘I shall recover what I can for you,’ Hal promised. He reached out and touched her cheek. Madeline did not draw away, but he saw a flicker of something in her eyes and knew that he would have to be careful with his lovemaking. She had been ill treated and would need to overcome her nervousness of physical affection.

‘I know...I do not trust my father to handle my affairs, Hal. He is a gambler and even though he no longer has the threat of his debt to Lethbridge, he might seek to keep as much of my late husband’s fortune as he can. And he might withhold what is rightly mine to force me to return home.’

‘I shall look after everything—if you give me your permission?’

‘I wish you would do so,’ Madeline said fervently. ‘I want only my clothes, my personal possessions and the settlement that was mine on marriage, but withheld.’

‘You may be entitled to more,’ Hal said. ‘If you refuse it, Lethbridge’s fortune might revert to the Crown with his title.’

‘Please do what you think right,’ Madeline said, looking at him with such appeal that it took all his strength of will not to gather her into his arms and tell her of his love. ‘I know only that I want to forget that I was ever married to that man.’

‘You shall forget it,’ Hal promised. He leaned towards her, brushing his lips lightly over hers, keeping his hands away from her so that she should not fear what he might do next. ‘I want you to be happy, Maddie. You have told me how he hurt you. Please believe that I would never hurt you in such a way. I care for and respect you too much—and it is my hope that we may marry one day.’

‘Oh, Hal,’ she said, her voice catching. ‘I think I should like that so much, but...’

‘You know it cannot be yet,’ he said and ran a gentle finger down her cheek. ‘We need time to get to know one another again. You were badly hurt...’