by Vella, Wendy
“I came about Maddie.”
“Where is she?” Max’s words were raw. “We can’t find her; she was not here when we returned. None of the staff saw her leave. It is as if she has disappeared.”
“What do you know, Harry?” Rory demanded.
“One of my crew passed the Watch House as they were leading her in.”
“What!” The roar came from Max.
“I went there immediately and demanded to see her. They have arrested her on charges of theft.”
“Theft!” Max stalked to where Harry stood, as if it was he who had put her in the Watch House.
“That’s what they said. I demanded to see her, and she is holding up, but scared and clearly unwell.”
“She was sick this morning. That’s why she stayed home.” Essie looked worried. “This will not be helping.”
“Your dog is protecting her,” Harry said to Wolf.
“Hep? I wondered where he was. Likely Bran sent him to go with Maddie.”
“You’re serious?” Harry said when no one else questioned these absurd words.
“Deadly. Animals are very intuitive,” Wolf added, to which Harry simply shook his head.
“But what would she steal?” Rose asked. “She has been here with us from the day she arrived.”
“Jewelry, the sergeant in charge said. He would give me no more details.”
“From where?” Rory demanded.
“That I don’t know.”
“Where is your jacket?”
“I left it with Maddie,” Harry told Essie. “I told them I would return, and with me would be her brothers, one of whom was a duke.”
“Excellent.” James stepped forward. “I’m feeling mean, so let’s go.”
“This has to be done right, and until we know what is going on, you have to stay calm,” he said to the brothers. “I have threatened the men already, and they looked frightened enough that I believe they will treat her well until we return, but to get the information we need and her discharge, we must remain rational and calm.”
“She is my sister—”
“Think, Max. You know what these men are like. If you charge in there demanding answers, that will put them on the defensive. We must act calm to ensure Maddie is released,” Dev said.
Harry stood rocking Fleur and gnashing his teeth. Maddie needed rescuing, and she needed rescuing now. She was sick and scared. “We need to go now,” he said softly, so as not to upset the child growing limp in his arms.
“We cannot all go in,” Cam said. “James, Dev, Max, Rory, Wolf, and Harry,” he added. “Size, wealth, title, and menace. You will intimidate them. More will confuse things.”
“We will take Warwick also, as he will hear what is being said.”
“As will I.” Eden stepped forward.
“And you are a woman, and therefore, according to some men, have little or no sense,” Dev added. “Stay here, sister, please.”
“You’re lucky you added the bit about ‘some men,’” Eden muttered.
“I value my life,” Dev returned.
“Give her to me,” Emily said, taking Fleur. “She is sleeping. You have calmed her, so she will get some rest.”
“She missed you, Harry,” Rose said. Harry didn’t reply to that. He’d missed her too.
Soon they had everything they needed and had left the house. They travelled in two carriage, as James and Dev wanted to make a statement. Somber-faced, Harry shared the carriage with the Huntington brothers and Dev.
“And she is all right, Harry?” Rory said for the fifth time.
“She is. Cold and clearly unwell, but all right.” Please let her still be all right. “I put the fear of God into Sergeant Gavell that if she was not cared for while I was away, there would be hell to pay.”
“Sergeant Gavell?” Dev said. “He and I have met before. I shall look forward to our reacquaintance.”
“What I want to know, Harry, is how your crewman recognized Maddie.” Max’s eyes narrowed.
How would he answer that?
“Yes, I wondered that.” Rory’s expression matched his big brother’s.
Christ.
“Harry is an honorable man,” Dev said.
“You don’t know that,” Rory said. “You know nothing of him.”
“What are you suggesting he did?” Dev asked in a polite voice. His eyes, however, were anything but. He was standing up for Harry, and it was an unsettling feeling.
“I gave her passage from Calais to London,” he said before the matter escalated.
“Why didn’t one of you tell us?” Rory asked.
“I found her in Calais. She was exhausted and sitting on a crate holding Fleur, who slept. I asked Barney, the crewman who saw her outside the Watch, to speak to her.”
“Why?”
“I could see she was desperate.” Harry thought the time for honesty was there. Her brothers needed to know their sister had been scared and alone before she reached them.
“I then gave her passage to London.”
Rory and Max looked devastated.
“You surely saw how she arrived?”
“We did. I asked what ship she came on, but she said she could not remember,” Rory said. “There is still so much she will not tell us. Things that happened that I know hurt her. She hurt her again. We’re just not sure how.”
“She?”
“She who gave us life,” Max said in a tone that suggested he had no love for the woman.
“We know she stepped back into Maddie’s life after Jacques, her husband, died, and wouldn’t leave when Maddie asked her to, but the rest she will not speak of.”
This must be the grandmother Fleur was scared of.
“Thank you, Harry.” Max held out his hand. “Were it not for you, our sister would not be back in our lives.”
“She would have found passage. I just expedited matters.”
“For a cheap fare,” Dev said, studying him.
Harry did not reply. They traveled the rest of the way in silence. What had the mother done to her?
Doors opened when the carriages stopped, and they all stepped down and gathered outside the Watch House. Harry was sure someone had seen them, and that the fear of God was about to rain down on those inside.
“Stay calm. No yelling or threats unless what I propose does not work,” James said, straightening his jacket. Harry now wore one of Dev’s, which fit as if it had been made for him.
“What do you propose, James?” Warwick asked.
“You lot may not respect my title, but I’m not a duke for nothing, Warwick. I plan to use that to the full effect.”
They entered the building. James first, as the highest-ranking peer, then Dev. The others followed, and they approached the reception desk.
“Constable McDagger, I said I would return,” Harry said. “And as promised, I am not alone.”
The constable got to his feet, eyes wide as he took the men in. They were big, Max the biggest, but the others were close. Plus there was the look in their eyes that would surely terrify most people.
“Good evening. I am the Duke of Raven. This is Lord Sinclair, Mr. Warwickshire Sinclair, Captain Sinclair, Mr. Huntington and Mr. Rory Huntington. I understand you know Mr. Harry Sinclair?”
“Your Grace.” The man’s shoulders shot back. He then bowed so low, Harry lost sight of him beneath the desk.
“I wish to speak to your superior officer at once.” James used a voice Harry had never heard before. “Now.” The word held the right amount of bite to it.
The man ran. They heard doors open, and then a slam.
“He’s talking to someone and saying that it was the truth, you did bring a duke back with you, Harry, but more than that, there’s a lord also and others,” Warwick said.
Harry switched his vision and found Maddie again. She was where he’d left her, her color still strong.
“I hear another voice. He’s angry, demanding that Sergeant Gavell stand strong. That Maddie did s
teal from that jewelry store and the owner has laid a complaint.”
“What jewelry store?” Max asked. “She’s never brought jewelry in her life and would never steal. Maddie has always been far more honest than us.”
“We know it’s not true, Max, but what we need to find out is why and who is charging her,” James said.
“He’s coming,” Warwick said.
The man Harry had spoken to appeared. “I am Sergeant Gavell. Good evening, your Grace, Lord Sinclair.” The man addressed James and Dev.
“There are others with me, Sergeant,” James said.
“Of course. Good evening.”
“I believe it is customary to bow in the presence of a duke,” James added in a voice that would slice through glass.
The man disappeared under the table.
“We meet again, Sergeant,” Dev said, his eyes glowing green. “And under equally unpleasant circumstances.”
“Ah, indeed, my lord.”
Sergeant Gavell was doing all he could to remain unaffected by the men in his Watch House. It wasn’t working. He was nervous, it was there in his eyes as they shot from Dev to James. His forehead beaded with sweat.
“Now, my friend, Mr. Sinclair,” James pointed to Harry, “has informed me my sister, Mrs. Caron, is being detained here. I want her released at once. If my wishes are not adhered to, I will bring the full force of every magistrate I know down upon you. I would also like to point out that I am a confidant to the King, who will not be pleased when he is notified of what has occurred.”
Harry couldn’t be sure, but was fairly confident that was a lie. However, if anyone was going to get away with it, it would be a duke.
“Mrs. Caron has been charged, your Grace. She is—”
“I don’t think you understood me, so let me make myself clear.” James leaned on the desk, cutting the man off. “If my sister is not brought to me in the next few minutes, I will make your life, and the lives of those who have any hand in these trumped-up charges, hell. In fact, I will ensure that by morning you have no position here and are on the next boat to some far-off uncivilized place. And Sergeant, I will not let you pack for the journey.”
The man gulped loudly.
“It is my duty to see the l-law is fulfilled and each charge investigated, your Grace. I cannot simply let Mrs. Caron go because you wish it.”
“I do not wish it, Sergeant, I demand it and will not be leaving this facility until that has happened,” James added.
“Why have you not searched the house she lives in, if in fact you believe she has stolen something?” Rory asked. “Surely that is the first course of action you should have taken?”
Harry hadn’t thought of that.
“Well, now, we were getting to that,” the sergeant rushed to add.
“Excellent point, brother,” James said. “You simply took my sister from my brother’s house without first issuing a warrant to search the property. She was then left in a cold jail cell, unwell and shivering. What I want to know, Sergeant, is why? And also who laid these charges, because something about this entire thing has a nasty stench to it.”
The man was sweating now. “If you’ll excuse me, I must confer with my colleagues.”
“Warwick,” Dev said as the man ran away, “listen to every word.”
Dev looked at Harry and Wolf and held up three fingers. Yes, there were three others beside Maddie in the building now. He nodded.
“Gavell is talking to the other man again. His voice suggests he’s from our world,” Warwick said. “Gavell is angry that the man did not tell him Maddie had powerful people at her back. Says that this has got out of hand and now his position is in jeopardy. He is stating he has no wish to go on a voyage or for the King to find out what has been done to the duke’s sister.”
“Stroke of genius, bringing the King into it,” Dev said.
“We need to see who that voice belongs to,” Max said. “As I have a feeling it’s he who laid the charges.” He pushed on the door that would lead to where Maddie was, but it was locked and sturdy.
“His color is an angry red,” Wolf said. “He’s in the grip of a fierce rage. I have rarely seen anything like that before.”
“I have,” Dev added. “The man killed me.”
“Gavell is now arguing with the man, demanding the charges be dropped,” Warwick said. “And that he wants no part in this anymore, or the money.”
“Ah, now we understand,” James said. “Someone is throwing money around, but what we need to ascertain is why?”
“He has to be who is behind this entire thing. I’m going outside to see who leaves. I’ll walk around the building,” Dev said. “Wolf, come with me.”
The cousins left, and Max tried to get through the door again with little success.
“Clearly it is reinforced for just that purpose,” Rory said.
“Gavell is returning. Move back, Max,” Warwick said.
“Where is my sister?” James demanded when the sergeant appeared.
“The charges will be dropped, your Grace.” Gavell looked nervous. “Constable McDagger is bringing Mrs. Caron now.”
“How convenient,” Harry said. “But why the hell were they placed to start with?”
“Mistaken identity,” the sergeant said quickly. “We’ve, ah, we’ve charged another.”
“And you think that is enough to pacify us?” James snapped.
“We apologize, your Grace.”
“This will not end here,” the duke growled softly, making Sergeant Gavell swallow several times. “I smell something rotten, Sergeant, and when I uncover what that is, those responsible will be very sorry.”
“You have crossed the wrong family,” Max said, “and someone will pay.”
The door opened, and there she was, still with the little dog clasped in her arms and the book he’d given her clutched in a hand. Pale, shaking, but courageous. She made his heart ache. Harry wanted to hold her, and yet it was to her brothers she went… all three of them.
He had no rights to this woman, no matter that Ravens married Sinclairs.
Chapter 22
Maddie saw Harry first; he stood back slightly from the others. It was Max who reached for her as she walked through the door.
“Maddie, dear God, I’m so sorry.” He wrapped his arms around her. “We failed to protect you again.”
“You could not have helped, Max.” She let him hold her. Rory then patted her back. She just closed her eyes and leaned into all that strength. The fear was now gone. She was safe.
“Are you all right?” Rory asked her.
“I am.” Maddie sneezed. “I just want to go home.”
“Then we shall. Harry, take Maddie to the carriage,” Rory said. “We just have a few more things to say to Sergeant Gavell.”
“Are you all right, Maddie?” James came to her side briefly. His hug was all-encompassing, as the others had been, and she enjoyed that too. “I’m so sorry this happened, sweetheart.”
“I’m all right. Thank you all for coming to get me.”
“Did you think we wouldn’t?” His smile was gentle.
“No. I knew you’d come once Harry told you.”
“We are not finished talking yet, Sergeant Gavell,” James barked. Maddie turned in time to see the sergeant trying to escape.
“Come.” Harry took her arm and guided her out of the Watch House. “The carriage is close, just a few more steps.”
“I’m all right now, Harry.”
“I’m not,” he muttered.
Opening the door, he simply picked her up and stepped inside, lowering her to a seat. Hep, understanding all was well now, leapt off her lap and onto the opposite seat. He then turned a circle and settled down with a loud sigh.
“The book you gave me, Harry—it is wonderful.”
He sat across from her, his green eyes so bright in the dim interior of the carriage. He’d found her, and for that she’d be forever grateful. Once again, it was Harry who had rescue
d her.
“Thank you for bringing my family. I knew you would come back.”
“I told you I would.” He moved to the edge of the seat, so close to her now, their knees touched.
“H-How is your side? I forgot to ask you—”
“You had quite a lot on your mind.” His smile was small.
“How did you know I was there?”
“Do you remember in Calais, the crewman who came to see if you were all right?”
She nodded.
“His name is Barney, and he was passing the Watch House when you were being led inside. He came to my cabin and told me.”
“Please thank him for me. Had he not been there—”
“We would have found you.”
His eyes were running over her face.
“Maddie.” He took her hands in his, pulling her closer. “I knew something was wrong. I felt you; I felt your fear.”
“How?”
“I don’t know how, but it was not a pleasant feeling.”
She had never willingly touched a man, not even her husband. He’d been good and kind, but there had been no hugging or gentleness. The hand she lifted to Harry’s cheek shook. Maddie traced the edges of his cheekbones and angle of his chin. Felt the roughness of the growth of his beard. She’d touched him when he was ill, but not since.
“Maddie.” He whispered her name.
She leaned closer and kissed him. Just a brush, but that soft touch ignited something inside her. Need bloomed. She wanted him, and so much more than a mere kiss.
He let her take the lead, the kiss soft and slow—and over in seconds when they heard voices outside the carriage.
“I won’t apologize for that,” Maddie said.
“I would not ask it of you.”
She would not regret it. She felt something for this man, and yet knew that anything between then would be fruitless. She was… well, she was a widow and a mother, and Harry’s life was in France.
But for now, she would simply enjoy that kiss and hold the knowledge deep inside her that he had too.
The door opened, and Dev appeared with Wolf and Warwick. Hep leaped off the seat and into the arms of his owner.
“What a good boy you are for watching over Maddie.”
“A carriage had pulled up around the rear of the building, and a man walked out and into it before we could see his face.” Dev entered the carriage. “I would know his colors anywhere, however.”