by Lynsay Sands
"No. But I know of you. Actually, I hadn't realized you were here as well or I would have sought you out before this," he admitted with a wry smile.
"Why?" Lord Madison asked at once.
"Well, I thought we had some business," Jeremy admitted, but then quickly added, "but I think now we can forget that."
"What business?" her father asked sharply.
"It is nothing to be alarmed about, my lord. I--" Jeremy paused and frowned, his gaze sliding to Suzette and then he shook his head with a laugh. "I apologize, Miss Madison, I was about to suggest your father and I discuss this in private, but I've just recalled that you know all about it."
"About what?" she asked uncertainly.
"Your father's gambling," he said apologetically, and then turned to her father. "I happened to have a lucky streak at the tables the other night. Unfortunately, Cerberus did not have the cash on hand to pay my winnings and instead gave me your marker and suggested I collect from you. Of course, now that Suzette has agreed to marry me, I would feel an ass demanding the payment and--"
"Marry!" Lord Madison gasped, his eyes shooting to Suzette.
For her part, Suzette just glanced from one man to the other uncertainly. She felt as if the ground were shifting under her feet and wasn't certain what to think. Settling on Jeremy, she asked, "You gamble?"
"Not usually, no. But some friends convinced me to accompany them and as I say, I had a streak of luck." He shrugged, and then added apologetically, "I had no idea your father would have trouble paying until you explained why you needed to marry, else I surely would never have accepted the marker in lieu of payment from Cerberus. I understood your family was well off."
"There is no trouble paying," her father said grimly. "And there's no need for Suzette to marry. I have the money at the inn."
Suzette glanced at him with surprise. "You have the money? Where did you get--"
"I sold the townhouse," he admitted grimly.
"Oh Father," she said with dismay.
He shrugged. "We don't use it much anyway, and it is better than seeing another of my daughters forced into a bad marriage."
"Well," Jeremy said wryly. "All's well that ends well then."
"Yes," her father said grimly. "Come back to the inn with me and I shall pay you at once and finally be free of the damned thing."
When Jeremy nodded agreeably, Suzette's father took her arm and turned to lead her back to the path.
"I cannot tell you how relieved I am that it has all gone so well," Jeremy commented, falling into step behind them. "I will admit I was a bit concerned that you would balk at paying the marker and the interest."
Her father froze at once, his fingers digging into her arm.
Suzette glanced to him worriedly. "Father?"
Turning slowly, he narrowed his eyes on Jeremy. "Interest?"
"Yes." Lord Danvers appeared surprised at his reaction.
"What interest?" her father asked grimly.
"Well, let me see, when I won the marker two nights ago it was worth double what you originally signed for. I suppose it would be more than that now. However, I think I can dispense with the interest earned since then. It does seem ridiculously exorbitant for just a week's time. So just the amount I was to win would suit me fine. It shall keep the creditors at bay and give me plenty of time to find another bride."
"Double?" her father asked, sounding faint.
Jeremy's eyebrows beetled with concern. "Surely you aren't surprised? You did read the marker before you signed it?"
Lord Madison dropped her arm and Suzette peered at him with concern. It seemed obvious that her father hadn't read the marker, but then if he'd been drugged and basically robbed, she supposed he wouldn't have. Certainly, the amount had taken him by surprise and left him looking pale and old. He didn't have enough money from the sale of the townhouse to cover it, Suzette realized.
"It's all right, Father," she said quietly. "Jeremy said he would forgive the marker if we married and that is what we shall do."
"I am most amenable to that, my lord," Jeremy said quietly.
"No," her father said faintly, and then grabbing her arm again he said more strongly, "No. Come. We will talk to Richard first." He had only taken two steps before he paused abruptly and muttered, "They aren't here. They have gone to make Daniel--they should be back soon."
"They should have been back two hours ago," Suzette said grimly, silently finishing off the sentence in her head. They have gone to make Daniel marry her? Fulfill his promise? She had thought they had gone to ask him why he had rejected her, but instead she was suddenly sure they had gone to basically force him to wed her. What a choice. Life with a man who seemed nice enough, and whom she might grow to feel affection for eventually, or a man she loved with all her heart, who was forced to marry her and would then resent her for it all the days of their lives while her love died a thousand deaths? Hard choice, Suzette thought bitterly and raised her chin. "Obviously, Daniel is not eager to be made to do anything. And frankly, I wouldn't want him at this point anyway if he was forced to marry me. I shall marry Jeremy. The marker will be paid off through my dower and never be brought up again."
"Suzette," her father said worriedly, but she shook off his hand and turned to Jeremy.
"If you are still amenable, of course, my lord," she added more quietly.
"Of course," he said at once.
She nodded and turned to start onto the path.
"Please, Suzette," her father said, following. "Don't do this. Just wait until Richard and Robert return and see what they have to say."
"So that I can be told again that Daniel doesn't want me?" she asked bitterly.
"You aren't thinking clearly," he insisted, taking her arm and forcing her to a halt. "At least take the time to consider things."
"Actually, Father, I am thinking clearly for the first time since meeting Daniel," she admitted quietly. "He--I could not think at all when he was near. I did things I know better than to do before marriage." She flushed with shame as comprehension and sorrow entered his eyes and felt her throat close up as tears filmed her own. She was forced to whisper when she pointed out, "There might be consequences. This takes care of everything. The markers and those consequences if there are any."
"Oh Suzette," he said sadly.
She was frankly sick of hearing those two words together in that tone, and said with feigned unconcern, "I was an idiot. I wasn't foolish enough to think he loved me, but I thought at least he wanted to marry me for the dower."
"That's all Danvers wants," he pointed out quietly, glancing toward the other man who had paused several feet away to allow them privacy.
Suzette shrugged. "Then he can have it. I no longer care. And there are the consequences to think of. If I am with child . . ." She sighed. "It is best if the child has a name other than bastard."
"Does he know?" Lord Madison asked, glancing back toward Jeremy again.
"Yes," she said simply, and then shrugged. "It is essentially a business transaction, Father. Both of us gave our hearts to others and this is a marriage of convenience. It will be fine. He seems kind enough and I think it may work out all right in the end. I will marry him."
His shoulders slumped in defeat. "Then I shall come with you."
"You do not have to--"
"I am your father, and you are an unmarried woman; you need a chaperone. I will accompany you and stand beside you as you are married," he said firmly.
Suzette merely nodded. She was oddly numb now, empty. The decision had been made and her future was set and she felt nothing.
Chapter Thirteen
I never realized I had raised such a fool."
Daniel stiffened at his mother's words. "A fool?"
"Yes, a fool," Lady Woodrow said firmly, and then shook her head and muttered, "Letting the girl think you wanted her only for her money. What could you have been thinking?"
"It was what she wanted in a husband," he protested at once.
&n
bsp; Lady Woodrow looked down her nose at him and assured him dryly, "No woman wishes the man she loves to want her only for her money."
Daniel blinked, a slow smile curving his lips as he asked, "You think she loves me?"
"Did I say fool?" she asked the ceiling and then glanced down to him and snapped, "I meant idiot."
"Mother," he said with irritation.
"Of course she loves you, you dolt. Did you think she'd lie with every bounder after her dower?"
"Well, no, of course not, but--"
"Son, we women have it drummed into our heads from very early on that chastity is a must, that our virginity is the most valuable gift to give a husband. You men may run about rutting with every bitch in heat you come across, but we do not," she assured him acerbically.
Daniel's eyes widened incredulously. Bitch in heat? Was this his mother, the most proper Dowager Lady Woodrow? She never spoke like that, he thought and said, "But it is so soon. She can't possibly love me already."
"Lord love me," Lady Woodrow muttered, and then pointed out, "It is just as soon for you. Are you now going to try to tell me you don't love her? Because, my son, I know you well and I can tell you right now that would be a lie. Your eyes light up when you talk about her and your face goes soft. If you were thinking that you were just marrying her because you wanted to bed her, then you were deceiving yourself. You have done nothing these last ten years but cringe every time I have brought up the subject of marriage and producing grandbabies for me. You have not changed your mind and suddenly rushed this girl off to Gretna Green just because you want to bed her. Besides, from the explanations you three just gave, you've already bedded her!"
Daniel blinked and frowned.
She left him to puzzle through her words and his feelings and turned to Fairgrave, saying, "Now, Richard."
"Yes, Lady Woodrow?" He immediately stood up straighter.
"You and your friend here help my son to dress while I go have some clothing packed and a carriage prepared," she instructed. "We will leave as soon as all is ready."
"Yes, my lady," Richard said smartly and Lady Woodrow smiled and patted his cheek.
"You always were a good boy," she said affectionately and then left the room.
"Suzette's going to love her," Robert murmured as the door closed behind Lady Woodrow.
Daniel frowned. "Is that a sarcastic comment or do you really think they shall get along?"
"Oh, they'll get along like a house on fire," Robert assured him, moving to help Richard select clothes for him. "In fact, I suspect it will be the two of them against you in every argument, so you'd best start praying you and Suzette have all boys or you'll be woefully outnumbered."
Daniel smiled faintly at the advice, but just as quickly frowned as he thought of the letter and how callous it must have seemed after what they'd done in the stable. "How upset was Suzette?"
Richard grimaced and it was Robert who said solemnly, "I didn't talk to her, but I could hear her weeping from the hall. I have never heard such heart-wrenching sobs in my life. I would say your mother was right and Suzette loves you, for she truly seemed brokenhearted."
Daniel scowled at the thought and then asked, "Do you think Mother is right and the shooting and letter are connected?"
"It does seem likely," Richard said. "It would be an odd coincidence if it weren't. After all, had you returned as planned, you would have simply told her the letter was a fake."
"Yes, but if whoever shot me thought me dead, why bother with the letter?"
"Perhaps they were not sure they succeeded with a mortal wound," Robert suggested.
"All right," Daniel conceded. "But then what purpose does the letter serve except to make her think the wedding is off, and why bother with that?"
Both Richard and Robert appeared as blank faced as he felt. It just didn't make sense, or at least he didn't see the sense of it just then. But it gave him a bad feeling.
"Come, give me those clothes. I think the sooner we get back to the inn and straighten this out the better. There is something afoot here that we aren't yet seeing."
"I do not see what the rush is. Why can we not stop at an inn and rest and continue on in the morning?" Suzette's father asked plaintively.
"My lord, we have barely been on the road more than an hour thanks to your delaying," Jeremy answered with what Suzette considered amazing patience. Certainly, with more patience than she had at the moment, but then she was very annoyed with her father.
After insisting on accompanying them, Cedrick Madison had then dragged his feet as much as he could to delay the departure. He'd taken forever to pack when she suspected he hadn't really unpacked at all. They'd only stayed the one night at the inn and had planned to continue on today once Daniel returned with his mother. Surely, her father wouldn't have unpacked anything but a change of clothes. Yet he had been up in his room forever supposedly packing, and had come down only when Jeremy had finally gone upstairs and impatiently offered to help with the chore to speed things along.
Suzette had been rather impatient herself as she sat waiting in the main room. Christiana and Lisa had spent the entire time trying to convince her to wait for the men to return, something she simply hadn't wished to do. She'd suffered enough humiliation that day. So she'd sat waiting, starting in her seat each time the inn door opened, terrified it would be the men returned. Suzette had been greatly relieved when her father had finally come below.
However, even then, Lord Madison had further delayed them by insisting Suzette looked peaked and a meal should be eaten. Jeremy had tried to convince him that he would have a picnic basket prepared and they could eat in the carriage, but her father had been determined that they should eat a proper meal at the inn with Christiana and Lisa before departing. Unable to move him on the matter, they had given up and eaten, delaying their departure further.
Finally, they had left, but had not been on the road for more than an hour and already her father wanted to stop.
"But look, it is growing dark," Cedrick Madison said now. "What if one of the horses steps in a hole, or twists a fetlock? Surely it would be safer to take a room and continue in the morning? It is not as if there is any great rush," her father said, sounding determined.
"My driver assured me he could deliver us safely despite the hour," Jeremy said firmly. "We shall take rooms when we reach Gretna Green."
Suzette glanced to Jeremy to offer him an apologetic smile for her father's behavior. However, he wasn't looking her way. He sat hands clasped in his lap and twiddling his thumbs as he stared out the window. He appeared deep in thought.
"How are you feeling?" Lady Woodrow asked.
Daniel forced a reassuring smile for his mother. She sat across from him beside Robert in the Woodrow carriage, while he shared a bench seat with Richard. "I am fine, Mother. The ride hasn't started my wound bleeding and it doesn't even hurt anymore."
Lady Woodrow nodded solemnly, and then said, "I don't believe you."
Daniel sighed. He really didn't feel that bad considering. His lower back ached and burned on the side where he'd taken the wound, and he didn't feel at full strength certainly, but he suspected nothing but the passage of time to allow it to heal would resolve the pain. At the same time, Daniel was sure a good meal and some ale would fix the other issue. As far as he was concerned, he had got off lucky. It could have been much worse. Though he'd lost a bit of blood, it seemed nothing vital had been struck. That was a good thing. And he was showing no signs of fever so, hopefully, his mother had done a thorough-enough job of cleaning the wound that he had bypassed infection.
"We are almost there. I can see the inn," he announced. His mother immediately leaned to peer out the window.
"I shall go ahead and ask the innkeeper to arrange for food while the two of you see him inside," his mother announced once the carriage had stopped and Richard and Robert had assisted Daniel out of the carriage. The truth was, while he was a little unsteady on his feet, he didn't need two of them, b
ut hadn't refused the help, hoping the added assistance would mean less jostling about and therefore less aggravation to his wound. He suspected a dozen men could have been there to help and it still would have hurt like hell.
Grimacing, Daniel started forward at once to follow his mother into the inn. Much to his relief Richard and Robert merely walked beside him, there to lend support if needed, but neither man fussing unnecessarily.
His mother was standing in the door to the main room, surveying its inhabitants, when he caught up to her. Daniel immediately began searching for Suzette, but the room was empty except for the innkeeper and Christiana and Lisa. The two women were seated at one of the otherwise empty tables, their heads together and whispering worriedly to each other. However, they paused to glance around at the sound of the door closing.
The immediate change in both women was rather startling. They went from anxious worry to immediate outrage and fury in a heartbeat. Daniel couldn't help taking a surprised step back as they both suddenly rose and flew at him like a couple of harpies.
"You horrible, horrible man!" Lisa yelled.
"How could you even show your face here, you bounder?" Christiana snapped.
"You vile debaucher of innocents," Lisa added. "She loved you, you cad!"
"You've broken her heart! You should be shot for toying with her that way!" Christiana reached out to poke at him to emphasize the point, but Richard caught her before her finger quite touched him and pulled her back even as Robert hurried around Daniel to grab Lisa by the arm and stop any possibility of physical assault from her.
"Well!" Lady Woodrow's voice rang out, immediately startling both women into silence and garnering their attention as she moved to Daniel's side. Much to his amazement, she then smiled and said, "I am so glad to see you stand up for Suzette. It warms my heart to see such sisterly love. Alas, my own sisters did not turn out to be as loyal."
Christiana and Lisa stared at her blankly, and then Christiana turned to Richard and asked, "Who--?"
"My mother," Daniel interrupted quietly. "If you'll recall I went to collect her and bring her back to join the party to Gretna Green so she might also witness my marriage to Suzette."
"Yes, but you broke off the engagement," Lisa said angrily, and when he shook his head, said uncertainly, "You didn't break it off?"