by Vella, Wendy
Chapter 11
“It’s the soaking in my special mixture that does the trick, Mrs. Caron. I leave it overnight.”
Maddie sipped her tea as she sewed the split seam back together.
“Of course, you also have to boil them to get the stains out of the cloth.”
She was sitting in Max and Essie’s kitchens chatting with Mrs. Gripe, the housekeeper. Fleur was at the park with Essie and Luke, and she was doing something that had always been a part of her life. Maddie wasn’t used to being idle, and here that was how she felt.
Three weeks, she’d been living in this house, and it was getting easier, but there was still wariness between her and Max, and a wariness of this life she was now living. It wasn’t comfortable for her yet, but it was getting there.
She wasn’t comfortable with servants looking after her—making her bed and cleaning her clothes—as this was something she’d always done herself.
“I used to light the fires in a grand house for a while. My hands had so many burn marks on them by the end of the day,” Maddie said.
Mrs. Gripe hadn’t been pleased when Maddie appeared in the kitchen four days ago while she was taking tea with the other staff, but after she’d explained she merely wanted something to do, and why, she had unbent enough to let her do some mending.
“I’ve heard those Parisians can be quite risqué,” Mrs. Gripe said.
“Oh, they can,” Maddie agreed. “They wear pantalettes that have lace trim and embroidery beneath their dresses.”
“No!” Mrs. Gripe looked suitably scandalized and the kitchen maid, Maisy, wide-eyed.
She dug a few more juicy tidbits from her memory and soon had more gasps coming from the housekeeper.
“Hello, ladies.”
Maddie hadn’t heard Max approach.
“Mr. Huntington!” Mrs. Gripe looked horrified as he stopped beside the table. She prepared to rise, but he waved her back to their seat.
“Enjoy your tea, Mrs. Gripe, and that delicious-looking cake. I was merely looking for my sister, and here she is.”
Maddie noticed the lines at the side of his eyes when he laughed. She’d not seen him laugh often when he lived in France. Picking up the plate of cake, she held it out to him. Max took the largest piece and started eating.
“Is she annoying you?” He nodded to Maddie but spoke to the housekeeper.
“Oh, no indeed. Mrs. Caron has been a great help and sews a neat stitch. Of course, I told her it wasn’t necessary she did so, but she insisted.”
“I’m sure she did.” Max took a bite but kept his eyes on Maddie. “What had you laughing when I arrived?”
“Mrs. Caron was telling us about Parisian society, Mr. Huntington.”
“Was she now?”
Maddie knew why he’d raised a brow. She did not often offer conversation when she was with the family upstairs.
“I was just going to the park. Would you like to come with me?” He placed the last piece of cake in his mouth and made a humming noise that had Mrs. Gripe smiling.
“Of course, if you wish.”
“Do you wish to?”
“Fleur is in the park, and I would like to see her.”
“Then we shall do so.”
Maddie nodded. She then placed the sewing she was doing in basket with the others she’d mended.
“Can I just add, that is a superb cake, Mrs. Gripe, and please thank Mrs. Smiley for it. I shall look forward to another slice later.”
“I’ll be sure to have some sent up on the tea tray, Mr. Huntington.”
Maddie said goodbye and headed back upstairs with Max on her heels.
“I shall get my bonnet.” She ran past him and to her room. Her room, she thought, walking through the door. It was large, with a big bed and two chairs. The colors were the softest peach and blue, and it was lovely and so far from what she was used to, Maddie was sometimes scared to sit on anything for fear of dirtying it. Fleur had moved to the nursery with Max’s children, and loved it there also.
Maddie missed her but knew that this was making her happy. It would be mean of her to stop that happening.
“Are you happy in here?” Max had followed her.
“Thank you, it is very nice.”
“But?”
“There is no but. I can never thank you enough for what you have given Fleur and me.”
“I don’t want your gratitude, Maddie, I want your friendship. I want you to be comfortable here with us, and yet seeing you with Mrs. Gripe, I realized you are far from that. In fact, that is the most relaxed I have seen you since you arrived looking scared and exhausted.”
Maddie turned away from those eyes that clearly saw so much. The big brother who had now softened all those hard edges and become a gentleman. A father and a husband.
“This is a very different life for me.”
“I understand that, truly I do. But I just want you to talk to me, tell me what you are feeling. Tell me what you left behind. You are closed up so tight, sometimes I fear you will burst.”
“I talk to Rory.”
“You’re comfortable with Rory, but you do not truly talk to him. I know it will take you time to feel comfortable here with us, but it is my hope that you will.”
“I am… mostly.”
He laughed. “At least that is honesty.”
“I do like it here, Max. It is just an adjustment. Before, there was just Fleur and me.”
“And now she is being cared for by others, and you struggle with that?”
“It is change, and I am adapting. But this life you lead is as different as night is to day from my life in France. I am adjusting, but it will take time.”
“It’s my hope that soon you will have no need to go to the kitchens and sew to feel comfortable. You could achieve that state with any one of us.”
“I do like it here, Max.”
“Well, that is something, then, and pleases me greatly.”
Soon they were walking out of the house into another sunny day.
“Will you tell me about your life after you left us, Max?”
“We will take a detour to the park, if you do not mind, Maddie.”
“I don’t mind.”
She listened as he talked, really talked, for perhaps the first time since the day she’d arrived. There was a distance between them, but Maddie thought it was closing. He told her of arriving in England and how he had built his fortune.
“Essie saved me, really, and not just because I was shot and landed in her herb garden. She taught me what was important in life. Taught me that if you open yourself up to the right person, the rewards are vast.”
“I’m glad she saved you, Max. She is a wonderful woman.”
“She is, and my other half. Did you have that with Jacques? Rory said he was a good man.”
“He was, and no, we did not love each other, but there was respect.”
“You married him for safety and stability, didn’t you, Maddie? To escape the life you’d always led?” Max’s face was somber when she looked his way. “I should have come for you sooner, then you need not have wed.”
“No. Jacques gave me Fleur and security. I can never regret that.”
“Then for that I am glad. But I still should have come for you.”
“I was happy.” And she had been for a brief time. She’d had what she’d always craved. Safety and a family.
“I just want you to know that I am here for you and Fleur, Maddie, and always will be. I will never abandon you again.”
“I understand why you left now, Max, even if it has taken me time to accept that what I always believed was not true.”
“We are a family now,” he said, taking her fingers in his. “A big, boisterous, happy one.”
She let him swing her hand and enjoyed the contact when before she would have shied away from it.
“They are definitely boisterous.”
“It is an adjustment.” He laughed. “Thank you for speaking to me, Maddie. It
means a great deal, as does having you and Rory here with me.”
The fear inside her eased another notch. Slowly the knot of tension was unraveling, and Maddie felt the first kernel of hope grow. Maybe, just maybe, her past would not follow her to London and this life was a new beginning.
“As you know, the Ravens and Sinclairs live on this street, Maddie.”
“It is most odd.”
“Extremely, but we are odd, so it fits, and society has a lovely time laughing about it. They have named it Clan Close.”
“And that doesn’t bother anyone?”
“Some of us don’t walk in society, and if we do it is a rare occasion, and the others have never really given a care for what people think.”
They walked to the end of the street, where it curved around to lead off into another road.
“That house there”—he pointed to a tall white building that had black wrought iron fencing. Unlike some of the other houses, it was not quite as grand. Next to it were two more, butted up to each other—“is where Kate and Rory will live. I have as yet not told them that.”
“It is a very grand wedding gift.”
“I can afford it.”
“Is there anyone left on this street who is not a member of this family?”
“Three houses actually, and they are not budging as yet.” Max smiled. “But they will not sell to anyone but me, I have at least got that promise from them.”
“Are you so sure you will need more houses?”
“Society expects it of us.”
“Hello, siblings.” Rory was waiting for them when they arrived. His eyes went from her to Max, and he smiled but said nothing further. “What’s this about, Max?”
Pulling out a bunch of keys, Max moved to the house Kate and Rory would one day live in and opened the door. He then disappeared inside.
“I guess he wants us to follow.” Rory placed a hand at her back and nudged Maddie forward.
They walked through the door and found the house empty. Max was in a parlor, looking out the window. Rory went to stand at his side, Maddie stayed in the doorway.
“I have purchased this house and the one next door.” Max turned to face her.
Her brothers were handsome men, she thought. Both tall and big men, they were so similar now. Their faces were no longer angular and drawn. Happy, Maddie thought, and that was a wonderful thing.
“This one is for you and Kate, a wedding present from Essie and me,” Max said calmly, as if he was handing over a set of crystal goblets.
“Max, we—”
“I have not been a good brother to either of you.”
“You had reason,” Rory said.
“Perhaps, but that does not exonerate me from leaving you in her hands.”
Her. No one needed to ask who that was. The evil, perfidious witch who had sold her daughter to the highest bidder.
“Maddie, what is it?” Max came to stand before her.
“Nothing.”
“It is not nothing.” He gripped her shoulders. “Your face has lost all its color. What did she do to you?”
“Who?”
“That woman who gave birth to us. I will never call her Mother, as she is not fit to wear such a title.”
“It matters not; it is done now.”
“It matters to us, Maddie,” Rory said. “Tell us what happened to have you come to England. Only then can we fully move on.”
“We are your brothers; lean on us,” Max added.
Dare she tell them some of what transpired? Perhaps Rory was right, and this could help them move on.
“After Jacques passed, Fleur and I were still grieving. She came to the house.”
“What? Why? I thought she wanted to never see any of us again after you married.” Rory looked angry.
“Did she hurt you or Fleur?” Max’s words were a soft growl.
“No, not at first. She said she was sorry and wanted a place to stay, as she had nowhere else to go.”
“And you believed her? Oh, Maddie, no. How could you have been fooled,” Rory said. “That woman always has an agenda.”
“Maddie has always had a softer heart than us,” Max said. “And she was vulnerable, and we were not there for her… again,” Max said. “God, I’m so sorry, Maddie.”
Could she tell them all of it?
“What did she do?”
“For a while, nothing. She seemed to have changed.”
“Some people are just born evil, and that woman was one of them,” Rory said. “She’ll never change.”
“The cottage was small. Two bedrooms. I gave her one, and Fleur and I the other, and then men started arriving.”
Max cursed. Rory looked grim.
“She was living under your roof and having men pay for her services. Nothing has changed, it seems. She still has the morals of a gutter rat,” Rory snarled.
“I hope you kicked her out?” Max asked.
“I tried, but she would not go and they kept coming. English and French men.”
“Christ, it turns my blood cold to think of you alone with her,” Rory said.
“I am no weakling, brother. I can look after myself.”
“And while it is good to see you acknowledging that, you are no match for someone like her. She is a master manipulator, and because you are her child, she tugs on your heartstrings,” Max said.
He was right there—Maddie had never given up hope that one day her mother would love her, even after all she had done to her children.
“I believe I have finally learned to expect nothing from her,” Maddie said, remembering that night.
“What did she do?”
“It matters not, only that she will not have the chance to do so again. I will never allow that woman to come near Fleur or me again.”
“We will ensure it,” Rory vowed.
“But I still want to know what had you fleeing France,” Max said.
“Hello.”
Maddie wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed when Kate walked into the room.
“This conversation is not over,” Max said. “We will talk more, and I want all the details, Maddie.”
She nodded but said nothing more. It was not a time that she wanted to relive, especially considering what she’d done to escape.
“A note arrived stating you wanted to see me here, Max.” Kate looked from Max to Maddie, and then Rory. “I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?”
“There will never be a time when you are not welcome, my love.” Rory took his fiancée’s hand in his and pulled her to his side. Maddie saw the concern on his face as he looked at his siblings.
Max touched Maddie’s cheek. “You are safe with us,” he said, then turned to Kate.
“This is your new home. It’s a gift from Essie and me. You need to tell your fiancé that you are happy to accept it, as I fear he is going to argue with me otherwise.”
Thoughts whirled around inside Maddie’s head as she walked from room to room behind the others. Should she tell her brothers what she had done? They would understand, but then what could they do about it? No, she was better off pushing it to the back of her head and hoping there would be no consequences to her actions.
“Seen enough?” Max asked, heading back outside.
“It really is lovely, Max. We cannot thank you enough.” Kate kissed his cheek.
“Thank you, brother. It does not sit well, but we are grateful for such a generous gift.”
“The house next door is identical, Maddie, and it is for you and Fleur if you wish it.”
“Wh-What? I mean, pardon?”
He didn’t say the words again, simply stuck his hands in his pockets and watched her.
“B-but I can’t accept that.” Her eyes were running over the facade.
“Well, it is in your name, so no one else can own it. If you don’t want it, you can sell it.”
Maddie had no words. Instead she walked through the gate and touched the front door. Number 17 Clan Close
, and she owned it. Was it possible? She, Madeline Caron, who had lived in a cottage, milked cows, and sewn her own clothes.
“It is very grand.”
“Not so grand compared to others.” Max had followed her. He now stood at her back, a strong, steady presence, she was coming to realize. “You said Jacques gave you security, Maddie. This will give you and Fleur that also. I know you have no wish to live with Essie and me, even though we are happy to have you both. Here you will be close enough should you need us, but it will give you the privacy and solitude I also know you need.”
“I-I don’t know what to say.”
“You have to say nothing, I only wished you to know that it is yours should you need it. I have also set up an income for you and Fleur.”
She faced him. “Max, it is too much.”
“Did Jacques leave you anything?”
“There was little left, only the house, and his brothers want that if they can get her out.”
“I wish them luck. That woman always stays where she is not welcome.”
Maddie shuddered just thinking about what had transpired over the last few weeks before she left France. Her mother ranting and throwing things when Maddie had asked her to leave. Fleur had been terrified of her grandmother.
“Unless something else is stopping you from staying here, then I see no reason for you not to move into this house, sister.”
“Dear God!”
The cry came from Kate, who had wrapped her arms round her waist. Her face had leached of all color, and she was leaning against Rory.
“Who is it?” Max demanded.
“I-I don’t know.”
“Maddie, come!” Max took her hand, and soon they were running down the street.
“What is going on?”
“Someone is injured! Someone of Sinclair blood.”
“How do you know?”
“They know.” He looked grim. “They feel when another is in danger or pain.”
She didn’t understand, but the worry etched on the faces of the others had her keeping the questions inside her head.
Up ahead, Kate was sprinting with Rory. They reached Cambridge and Emily’s house and found the others gathered there.