Fenella J Miller Read online

  “Well that was very remiss of you, young man. You must take better care of young ladies and not expose them to danger. What if it had bitten her?”

  Alexander grinned, unrepentant. “Then she would have kicked me, and we would both have laughed.”

  Alex chuckled; it was good to be home. “Son, you are incorrigible. I should dust your breeches for making such a remark to your papa.”

  Amanda’s face paled. She must think he was serious. He gathered her close and her little body was trembling. “Sweetheart, I was joking. Look, Alexander is not bothered, is he? I would not raise my hand to a child or a woman. Ever.” She pressed against him. When he looked up, Alexander was in the yard.

  “Papa, I’m going to tell Mama you’re here. Amanda, come with me.” Alex straightened, the child hanging round his neck. “Come along, miss, I shall take you in. I think you need to wash your hands and face, don’t you?”

  She reached up to touch the scar that ran across his forehead, the only reminder of the injury he had received all those weeks ago. “Does your head still pain you? When Aunt Eleanor hit you with a stick there was so much blood, I thought you would die.”

  Alex stared. “You saw me when I was injured, Amanda?”

  She smiled. “Yes, when you were shaking Ned. Aunt Eleanor hit you on the head. Then Betty took us to the maze and I didn’t see you again until we came here. I like you, you’re a nice papa. I wish you were my papa.”

  Gently Alex placed the child on her feet, giving her a little push. “Can you find your way back in to the nursery? There’s something I must do.”

  The child nodded and trotted off. He was stunned. Eleanor had lied to him, he had not made improper advances. She had married him under false pretences. His stomach revolted. He turned away to cast up his accounts on a nearby carriage wheel. He finished retching and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. How could she have deceived him like this?

  He had given her everything, fallen in love with her, and she had betrayed his trust. He wanted to turn round and ride away, never come back, never have to face her again. No, he couldn’t do that. His children needed their father in their lives. He would not abandon them because he had lost the woman he loved. But from this moment Eleanor would be as a stranger to him.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Would Alex return to his apartment first, or come to seek her out? What she had to say to him should be said in privacy. He must be eager to see her or would not have returned early. She had best wait in her sitting room.

  Eleanor ran the length of the long gallery, sliding to a halt on the shiny parquet floor in order to emerge like the mistress of the house and not one of the children. He would take about five minutes to reach her chambers; she had been more than that getting there herself. He should be here any moment.

  She stepped into her bedchamber. Alex wasn’t there. There were voices in the large dressing room where Sally and her junior sat to do the mending. She pushed open the door. The two young women looked up in surprise.

  “Lord Bentley is back unexpectedly. He will be visiting me here, I wish both of you to find duties elsewhere.”

  “Of course, my lady, we shall wait for you to ring before we return.”

  Eleanor flushed scarlet. Never mind, better they thought she was about to tumble into bed with Alex than they knew the truth. She paused at the long mirror shaking out the creases in her dress. If she had known he was returning she would have worn something prettier than a simple sprig muslin.

  Did she have time to change? No, apparel was of little importance at the moment. What was going to happen to her after she had told him? She was going to tell him the whole, everything that she had kept from him these past three months. It would be the end of her marriage, but his life was more important than her happiness.

  The sitting room door crashed open. Surely that was not him? He was not one to bang doors like her brother did. She hurried in to face a man she did not know. Her beloved Alex had turned into a hard-faced stranger. He carefully closed the door, turning the key behind him with one hand.

  His eyes travelled inch by inch from her head to her toes. Something wonderful died inside her. “I have just had the most enlightening conversation with your niece, my lady. Can you guess what it might be about?”

  She grabbed the back of a chair for support. She nodded; unable to answer, frozen by his arctic stare.

  “You tricked me into marrying you. I made no improper advances to you. I had no need to make you an offer. You used my loss of memory to your advantage. You have broken my trust. You are a liar and I am no longer your husband.”

  Tremors shook her as the blood drained from her face. It was too late to try and explain why she’d behaved as she had. He had to know about her brother’s wickedness, that it was Edward’s intention to murder Alex.

  “Please, my lord, I know you hate me and I cannot blame you. But there is something I have to tell you.”

  His eyes glittered and he shook his head. He had aged several years since she’d seen him last. “Hate you? I could never hate you, Eleanor. I shall always love you, I’ll never want another woman. However, I cannot like you any more, I despise you for what you have done. See, what you have condemned me to? Henceforth I must live like a monk, never experience the joys of intimacy. This is your fault. You must live with that, as I must live with your betrayal.”

  He turned his back. Before she could protest, he deftly unlocked the door and vanished. She was too distressed to call him back. She should run after him and make sure he was aware of the danger that stalked Blakely Hall. How could she warn him if he wouldn’t speak to her? She must find her brother, beg him to take her instead and not harm Alex.

  The sound of her sobbing cut him to the quick. He wanted to return, take her in his arms and tell her it didn’t matter and he forgave her. But he couldn’t, honesty was more important than love. He felt wetness on his cheeks and angrily brushed it away. He could not go about in public like this; he was unmanned—knew not which way to turn. He must retire to his rooms, and find solace in a decanter of brandy.

  He hesitated, disoriented by his unhappiness. Where was he going? Yes, to his apartment, no more than a few strides from the door he had left. He flung open the door to his sitting room and found Foster, grey faced, waiting there.

  “My lord, I must speak urgently to you.” His man stopped, stepped forward as if to take his arm. “My lord, you are unwell, has something happened to disturb you?”

  Alex dropped into the nearest chair burying his head in his hands, fighting the urge to give in to his misery like Eleanor next door. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms; the pain restored his equilibrium. He raised his face.

  “Foster, she betrayed me. I didn’t attack her, she attacked me. I had no need to marry her, she was not compromised but she let me believe I had behaved in the most reprehensible way. How could she have done that?”

  “You don’t understand my lord. She wanted to tell you, but I advised her against it.”

  Alex gaped at his man. “You knew she married me falsely?”

  Foster shook his head. “No, not at the time my lord. May I be seated? There are things I have to tell you.”

  Alex listened with incredulity.

  “That bastard beat my wife? Starved her? Treated her in the most appalling fashion? No wonder the poor love was so desperate to escape she grabbed my offer without question. I wish she had told me at the time, that I did not find out from a child.”

  The ice around his heart dissolved. What Thorrington had done was unforgivable, inexcusable. Eleanor’s sin paled to insignificance beside her brother’s heinous crimes.

  “Now, let me get this straight. Thorrington was behind the attack on me a few weeks ago? He wants to kill me in order to regain control of my wife’s fortune? It beggars belief! The man’s insane. Whatever happens to me, he can’t touch her or her money. I knew what sort of man he was the moment I met him and have arranged matters accordingly.”r />
  His despair was replaced by a fury so intense his vision clouded. “Foster, get Thorrington’s trunks packed, have his coach brought round, he will leave these premises when I’ve finished with him. Lady Thorrington and the children must remain here under my protection.”

  Foster nodded. “I saw Lord Bentley by the mausoleum, sir. My lord, forgive me for saying so, but you shouldn’t go alone. Please consider waiting until Tom and I are ready to accompany you.”

  Alex smiled grimly. “I don’t intend to kill him. I shall give him the same treatment he gave my wife. I shall make sure everyone in Town knows him for the bastard he is. He will be received nowhere, will have to rusticate at home, or live abroad.”

  Should he take his riding whip and use that instead of his fists? No, he wanted to feel the man’s pain when he struck him. He took the stairs three at a time, ignoring the startled expressions of the footmen who stood permanently on guard in the Grand Hall. They jumped to open the front door. Foster was right behind him. No doubt his man had already sent word for Tom to come from the stables and join them at the mausoleum.

  What in God’s name is Thorrington doing there?

  Alex hated the place. The crypt had been built by his great-grandfather to house the remains of the Bentley family. He never set foot in the building; the marble floors and stone effigies depressed him. He had no intention of being buried there; Anna was laid to rest in the family plot in the village churchyard. She was in the sunshine, not locked away in a dark stone vault.

  He slowed his pace, gathering his thoughts, hardening his resolve. His white fury had abated somewhat to be replaced by a clinical determination to mete out the punishment the man deserved.

  He rounded the corner and came face-to-face with his adversary. Not giving the man time to react, he drew back his fist and punched him with a satisfying crunch on the jaw. Alex had removed his jacket before he’d left his chamber; small wonder the footman had been startled by his appearance.

  Thorrington fell backwards, blood spurting from a split lip.

  “Get up, you snivelling coward, I have not finished with you yet.”

  Alex saw the man react. With remarkable agility for a man who’d just been floored, he sprang to his feet with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. “So, you know it all. Don’t think it will stop here, Bentley. I shall get what is mine, one way or another.”

  Alex’s rage took over. He stepped in quickly, landed two smashing blows one after the other. The first broke his opponent’s nose, the second blacked his eye. Thorrington staggered, recovered and aimed two feeble punches in retaliation. These were easily dodged. A few more quick jabs to the ribs and Thorrington collapsed like an empty sack.

  “You hurt my wife and you hurt your children. You will not do so again or I will kill you. Do you understand me?” Each remark was punctuated by a sharp prod in the man’s back. He would not demean himself by kicking him.

  Thorrington was an abject, defeated man, no longer worthy of his attention. From the look of his cheek his jaw was broken. Good. Alex blew on his bruised knuckles. “Foster, Tom, throw this object in his carriage. Make sure his coachman and valet understand they are to deliver him to his house. Failure to do so will earn my extreme displeasure.”

  Eleanor dried her eyes on her skirt. She no longer cared what she looked like. Her life was over. The man she loved had rejected her and she didn’t blame him. Foster was not at fault either for advising her not to tell Alex; this had been her decision and she must live with the consequences.

  She needed to be alone, to get away from the house and not risk having to speak to the children or Jane. Where could she go? A gust of wind, and the rattle of rain on the window reminded her everyone was inside. She would venture out. Getting wet would do her no harm. There was a small garden hidden away in the grounds, behind a large beech hedge; the little summerhouse there would be ideal for her purpose.

  Not bothering to collect her pelisse or put on her bonnet, she ran from the room. The footmen gaped at her disarray. She ignored them; decorum was the least of her problems. They were paid well enough to disregard what didn’t concern them.

  She ran through the hall and down the central passageway to the side door which led directly to the garden. She closed it quietly behind her, pausing in the stone arch to view the dismal sight of the rain lashing down. A soaking was what she deserved. If she caught a congestion of the lungs and died then it would be the Almighty’s way of punishing her.

  The grass underfoot was slippery, making it difficult to run, and her thin muslin skirts were soon sticking to her legs. By the time she reached the summerhouse, she was drenched to the bone. Her teeth chattered despite being inside. Inside was dry and the padded seat comfortable to curl up on. She squashed herself into the far corner, in the darkness where she wouldn’t be seen. Bringing her legs up under her chin, she hugged her knees and lowered her face to touch them.

  Was there anything positive to be discovered in the catastrophe that had befallen her? Foster would have told Alex about her brother by now. They would take care of matters between them. The situation was out of her hands. The water drummed on the wooden roof—her tears fell as heavily as the rain.

  Perhaps there was one thing she could cling to, Alex had not said he would send her away. She could live under the same roof as him, share in the upbringing of their children. That was something. To see his dear face every day must be enough for her. The worst had not happened—he had not sent her back to live at Tendring Manor.

  Her teeth clicked so loudly they could be audible outside. She was shaking violently and couldn’t think straight. To venture out dressed as she was had been a very bad idea.

  Alex flung open the door to Eleanor’s apartment. Not in there. He ran across to look in her bedchamber; that too was deserted.

  Where the hell is she?

  Where would she go in order to be solitary? The rain pelting against the window made him glance across the park. His heart stood still. He must be mistaken. No, Eleanor was stumbling across the grass.

  What in God’s name is she doing outside in such a flimsy gown? She will catch her death, she is scarcely recovered from her last bout of illness. This was his fault; he had driven her out of the house with his rage. If anything happened to her now…

  It did not bear thinking of.

  He snatched a comforter from the back of the chair, put it under his arm and raced along the corridor. He hurtled down the staircase. If he had not been so concerned, he would have laughed at the look of stupefaction on the footmen’s faces. No doubt today would be a topic of conversation amongst the staff for many years to come. Their eccentric behaviour would be discussed for decades.

  He raced full tilt along the passage and, finding the side door unlatched, shouldered his way through to take the steps in one bound. He thundered across the grass. His boots had better purchase on the quagmire. She was going to the summerhouse. He had never disturbed her when she had disappeared in that direction several times in the early days of their marriage.

  The sunken garden was almost three inches deep in water. He splashed his way through and stepped into the gloom of the small wooden building. She was shaking so violently her teeth were rattling. She had already suffered so much in her life. He had promised to protect her, not make her miserable. In two strides he was at her side.

  A warm blanket was draped round Eleanor’s shoulders. She inhaled the familiar scent. Alex had come for her; by some miracle, he had changed his mind. Nothing mattered now, she was safe and warm in his embrace.

  “My darling, I’m so sorry. It’s all over, you must forget the past. I should not have spoken to you that way, I should have waited for your explanation. Do you forgive me?”

  She snuggled closer. His arms tightened. He was as wet as she. His shirt was sodden, but where was his jacket? “Alex, you’re soaking wet and in your shirtsleeves.”

  She felt the rumble of his chuckle beneath her cheek. “Of course I am, you silly goose. We
are both drenched. However, you have a blanket around your shoulders to keep you warm.”

  She reached out a hand, linking it round his neck, pulling his head down so she could see his face. The love in his eyes was unmistakable. “Alex, I’m so sorry. Do you know about my brother as well?”

  He grinned, almost cheerfully. “I’ve given him a taste of his own medicine, sweetheart. He has gone, you will never be bothered by him again. And neither shall your sister and her children. They are now under my protection.”

  “Did you kill him?”

  His chest vibrated. “Bloodthirsty baggage! No, I did not. I punched him several times, broke his nose, and hopefully a few ribs as well. Then I had him thrown into his coach and sent on his way. He will be a social outcast from this moment forward.”

  Her shivering stopped to be replaced by a delicious warmth, an all too familiar heat spiralling down to her nether regions. How inappropriate to feel this way in the pouring rain after all that happened. Could she be considering the possibility of making love?

  He kissed her gently. “My darling, even I draw the line at being intimate in here. We should go back, have a hot bath, and then see what happens.”

  She relaxed into his arms, knowing before the afternoon was over they would be skin to skin sharing an ecstasy she had not known existed until a week ago.

  Eleanor suffered no ill effects from her soaking and if she had been happy before, now she was incandescent. Her burden was gone. Alex knew everything there was to know about her. She had told him of the wretched life she had been obliged to live until he had saved her. They heard no more from her brother. Jane was also free of the degradation she had been suffering at Edward’s hands these past few years.

  The house was full of laughter, and plans for Alexander’s birthday party the following week were progressing wonderfully. She and Alex decided to invite the villagers as they were owed a party after the one that had been cancelled.