Jilted by a Scoundrel

by Cheryl Holt

But she was too gracious for that. “Thank you, but you needn’t make a fuss. I won’t have to stand up in front of everyone, will I?”

  “I’d like you to,” John said, “and you should probably start sitting at the head table with me during meals.”

  “I’d rather be with Bobby and Miss Watson. I’d be more comfortable there.”

  “Whatever you choose is fine,” John genially stated. “It’s the great part about being declared a Dunn. You can behave however you like.”

  “Will I have to…to…have my arm branded?” Jane asked.

  John scowled, Bobby fidgeted, and Winnie said, “What do you mean?”

  Jane didn’t reply to Winnie, but gazed at John. “I understand that boys have to participate, but I wasn’t sure about girls. I wouldn’t like it done to me. It would hurt, and I’m certain I’d cry.”

  John glared at Bobby. “You told her?”

  “I would never betray you,” Bobby insisted. “Please don’t think I would.”

  “Who was it then?”

  Bobby was stoically silent, and Winnie jumped into the fray. “Would someone tell me what’s going on?”

  Bobby spoke up, but he directed himself to John. “Miss Watson has learned about my oath. She’s upset.”

  “Is she?”

  They shared a male look of exasperation that incensed her.

  “Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here,” she fumed.

  “She was in the storage room too,” Bobby said to John. “She saw the boxes.”

  They shared another look, and Winnie was flummoxed by it. It seemed as if Jane and Bobby had forged an entire life at Dunworthy that didn’t include her. Suddenly, she felt separated from them, as if she was peering at them from the far bank of a wide river she couldn’t cross, and the realization left her scared and very sad.

  She’d lived with them for three years. She’d taught them and had taken care of them. She’d listened to their stories and had dried their tears. When they’d been evicted, she’d been their fiercest champion.

  As a result, she’d been fired and denied a reference from the only job she’d ever had. Mr. Slater would have been content to buy them tickets on a public coach and send them off on their own. Winnie had refused to allow it, and she’d risked all to protect them.

  But they didn’t need her anymore, so where did that leave her? If she didn’t have them to watch over, what would become of her? She’d be alone and floating free, with no duties or burdens to add structure to her days. It was a terrifying notion.

  John calmed Jane’s fears. “No, Jane, you don’t have to pledge yourself. It’s just for boys. Don’t fret about it.”

  Jane visibly relaxed. “I will be loyal though. I promise. I’m grateful that you’ve let us stay.”

  “Good.” John nodded, then stared at Bobby. “Who told her about your oath? You have to confess it to me.”

  Bobby was pained. “Don’t force me to tattle, Lord John.”

  “It’s was Huntly,” Jane confessed for him. “He was bragging about how brave Bobby had been. I didn’t believe him, and I made Bobby tell me, but the whole castle is gossiping about it. It’s not a secret.”

  John didn’t appear surprised by the news. “What have you heard?”

  “People are angry,” Jane said, “because you singled him out, but he’s not a member of the family.”

  “What is this about a brand?” Winnie demanded. “Jane, you mentioned arms being branded.”

  “It’s nothing, Miss Watson,” Bobby claimed. “I wish you’d forget about it.”

  “I can’t, Bobby. I have to always know what’s happening with you, but apparently, I’m completely in the dark.”

  Jane nudged him. “Show her—or I will.”

  Bobby dithered, glowered at Jane, then he raised his sleeve. When Winnie observed the red mark, she was so astonished she was surprised she didn’t faint. She staggered over to a nearby chair and plopped down.

  From the minute she’d arrived at Dunworthy, she’d thought it was a place filled with odd characters who harkened back to an era long past. The occupants kept to themselves and liked their traditions and customs, but she’d assumed she and John were above the peculiarities of the rustic Dunn clan.

  John had been a soldier in the army, and they’d both resided out in the greater world, had been educated and socialized, and they grasped that they were living in a modern age. What was she to think? John had returned to Dunworthy a few months earlier, and he’d already reverted to the old ways. Bobby was a casualty of that reversion.

  She started to cry. She couldn’t help it. Melvina Dunn had ignited a cycle of worry and woe, and Holden Cartwright had fanned the flames. Her stumbling on him over in town had dredged up every horrid memory of the prior three years.

  Why was life so hard? Why was she so unlucky? Was she cursed?

  John, Bobby, and Jane looked stricken, and Bobby and Jane rushed over to her, one child standing on either side.

  “Now see what you’ve done!” Jane scolded Bobby, and she patted Winnie’s shoulder.

  “Don’t despair, Miss Watson,” Bobby begged. “My arm is fine. It doesn’t hurt.”

  “I’m not really despondent, Bobby,” Winnie said. “I’m just exhausted.”

  Bobby knelt down. “I did it for you, Miss Watson. And for Jane. I can stay here—and you can stay with me. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

  He made it sound so simple, but what if John was passionately attached to Melvina Dunn? Winnie couldn’t remain at Dunworthy then, yet she couldn’t imagine abandoning them.

  She pushed herself to her feet and swiped a hand across her eyes to wipe away the tears. “Would the two of you wait for me in the main hall? I have to talk to Lord John. Alone.”

  They exchanged a quarrelsome glare, then Jane said, “Let’s go, Bobby. Don’t argue with her. You’ve upset her enough.”

  Bobby stood, but he was miserably dejected. “I’ll depart as you’ve asked, Miss Watson, but please don’t fight about this with Lord John. I was excited to pledge myself. It was my idea, not his, and I’m glad I proceeded.” He glanced over at John. “I’ll always be glad.”

  He hadn’t moved, and Jane grabbed him. “Come on, Bobby! They have adult matters to discuss.”

  John motioned to Bobby, giving him permission to leave, providing stark evidence that Bobby didn’t consider Winnie to be in charge of him any longer. The pair trudged out, and she and John were frozen in their spots. Jane shut the door, and their footsteps faded.

  Once it was silent, John rounded the desk. “I’ve been hunting for you all day.”

  “Have you?”

  He reached for her as if he’d hug her, but she was too overwhelmed to let him. She couldn’t quite figure out what was happening. The Earth seemed to have tipped off its axis, as if the floor had tilted and she couldn’t maintain her balance.

  Where to begin? She opened her mouth, and the first issue to emerge was, “You had him bind himself—without asking me. How could you?”

  “We doubted you’d agree.”

  “Of course I wouldn’t have agreed. You will release him from his vow immediately.”

  He shook his head. “No. I want him bound to me. I want him loyal. It’s a terrific ending for both of us.”

  “He’s a boy!”

  “A boy this year, but a man next year.”

  “He’s not yours to manipulate.”

  “And he’s not yours to spoil and coddle.”

  “You put a brand on his arm! You maimed him as if he were a cow out in the field.”

  “It wasn’t like that. He’s not a Dunn, and I turned him into one. We never bestow such a tribute on an outsider, but he deserved it. I chose him. I honored him.”

  “You honored him by branding him? What is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing,” he countered. “What is wrong with you? Why are you so livid? You’re being a bit hysterical.”

&nbs
p; There was probably no insult he could have leveled that would have enraged her more. It was a typically male complaint that a woman was too excitable to think rationally. From the instant her father had passed away—whenever she’d grown angry or frustrated with his lawyers or bankers—she’d hear the same sort of derisive comment. At the time, she’d felt it perfectly appropriate to be angry and frustrated, and she’d viewed their petty slurs as proof of their narrow minds.

  “Don’t tell me I’m being hysterical!” she said, but she sounded a tad hysterical.

  “Then don’t act in such an emotional way.”

  “He’s not yours. He’s mine.”

  “No, he’s not. He’s mine now.”

  “He’s an earl’s son and a Prescott. He can’t ever be a Dunn.”

  “His father might have been an earl, but the man didn’t want him, and his lofty relatives kicked him out.”

  “He needs to finish his education, then continue on to university. That has to be his path. He can’t tarry here, sweeping floors and stacking boxes. He’s destined for a bigger future than that.”

  “How would he go to university?” John asked. “Who would pay? You? Me?”

  “For the next few years, I can teach him. In the interim, I’ll work hard to search for scholarships and other support so he can attend.”

  “No. He’ll have a fine life with me. I’ll be able to give him things you can’t.”

  “Like what?” she snidely inquired. “Name one thing you can give him that I can’t.”

  “I can name three: a home, a family, and a place where he’s valued.”

  He was absolutely correct, but it galled her to be so useless and extraneous. Bobby and Jane were the only two people in the world who were counting on her, yet without even realizing the ramifications, she’d handed them over to John Dunn.

  “You’re a smuggler!” she fumed.

  “If I am or if I’m not, it’s none of your business.”

  “You don’t have to admit or deny it. I saw the cargo in your storage room.”

  “The less you know about it, the better.”

  His sanctimonious remark riled her even further. “How long have you pursued this criminal enterprise?”

  “Forever?”

  “Why am I not surprised?”

  “It’s our oldest tradition, Winnie. It’s how we feed ourselves when times are rough and our fish nets come back empty. We have to earn money to buy bread.”

  “You cannot involve Bobby in your illegal activities. I forbid it!”

  He bristled. “You don’t have the authority to forbid anything in this castle.”

  It was true, but it was a horrid pronouncement that revealed his actual opinion of her. Apparently, she was a nuisance who had no bearing on any issue that mattered.

  “Bobby and Jane are mine,” she tried to claim again.

  “Not according to Bobby. According to him, Mr. Slater at Benton has the final authority. He never officially surrendered it to you.”

  It was a generally accurate description. Mr. Slater was their legal guardian, but he hadn’t signed over custody. He’d tossed them in Winnie’s lap because he couldn’t care less about them. She’d willingly taken control of them, and she refused to relinquish them without a fight.

  “You don’t get to decide what happens to them,” she said. “I will decide, and you will not corrupt them.”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Winnie, why are we quarreling?”

  “We’re quarreling because you’ve initiated a consequence with Bobby that I deem to be very improper.”

  “You need to calm down.”

  “Are we back to me being hysterical again? Is that it?”

  “You brought them to me,” he reminded her. “You traveled across England in the hope that I would welcome them. Well, I have! Don’t you dare complain that I’m not proceeding as you wish.”

  “I am complaining, you dolt! You branded his arm!”

  He yanked up his sleeve and stuck his own arm in her face, showing her a scar of the letter “D” that she hadn’t previously noticed.

  “My brother gave me this when I swore myself to him at age ten. It was the most solemn and grand moment of my life, and I’ve never been sorry.”

  “Bully for you, John Dunn, but Bobby Prescott is not you. He’s not a Dunn and never will be.”

  “That’s where you’re confused, Winnie. He is a Dunn—from this day forward. He’ll be loyal to me, and I will be loyal to him. His kin didn’t want him, but I do. Isn’t that why you delivered him to me? So he’d wind up in a safe place?”

  It was, but she hadn’t thought ahead to what that conclusion would ultimately entail. Deep in her soul, she knew Bobby and Jane belonged to her, but if they became part of Dunworthy, she would lose her link to them. Then she’d have no one at all.

  She yearned to write to Mr. Slater so she could tell him what had transpired. She yearned to have an ally or a friend or even a casual acquaintance who might commiserate and advise. But she was alone as she’d usually been, and the more she pondered her dreary situation, the more painfully it dawned on her that she wasn’t tethered to anyone.

  He could never comprehend what Bobby and Jane meant to her, and she wouldn’t try to explain. Wasn’t it best that he’d welcomed them into the fold at Dunworthy? He’d offered them the shelter Winnie could never have provided. Wasn’t it precisely what she’d sought? Why be upset and alarmed? What was wrong with her?

  Her emotions were scorched from seeing Holden Cartwright, and even though it was ludicrous, she was feeling betrayed by Bobby moving beyond his connection to her and forging a better, more lasting bond with someone else. It left a bitter taste.

  “Are you passionately involved with your sister-in-law?” The caustic words spewed out before she could hold them back.

  He scoffed. “No, don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Why was she in your bedchamber this morning?”

  “She was haranguing at me over my accepting Bobby’s oath. My cousins are furious about it, and they don’t like that I let him promise himself.”

  “The scuttlebutt in the castle is that the lord has to marry his brother’s widow.”

  “Maybe in the era when there were Vikings plaguing the coast, but not now.”

  “Look at me and swear that you’re not planning to wed her.”

  “I swear.”

  She studied him, then said, “I don’t believe you.” But she wasn’t sure what she believed. Everything was so mixed up, and she was so sad!

  “I wish you’d at least attempt to understand some of our customs,” he said.

  “Bobby is a boy of twelve who has aristocratic blood in his veins, and you maimed his arm with a hot iron. As that is what passes for tradition around here, I don’t want to understand.”

  “Bobby is happy, and I’m happy, and this is between him and me. Your opinion is irrelevant.”

  “I realize that.” She absurdly threatened, “I could go to the law and report you for your smuggling.”

  He just rolled his eyes. “Of all the silly topics you’ve prattled on about since you arrived, that might be the most inane.”

  “Thank you for pointing that out, Lord John. I’m ever so grateful to hear how you view my intellect. I’m so sorry to have bothered you with my silly ramblings.”

  She stomped out, and he called, “Winnie! Stop right there. We’re not done discussing this!”

  “Yes, we are. It’s recently occurred to me that I’ve been loafing with you when I shouldn’t, but my idiocy is ending. You stay away from me, and I will stay away from you.”

  “Now you’re being positively deranged.”

  “Leave me alone.”

  She kept on, and he hollered again, but didn’t chase after her, which was a relief. Very quickly, she was in the main hall. Bobby and Jane were huddled in a corner, whispering frantically with Huntly and obviously watching for her.
>
  She pretended not to see them, and she continued on to her room where she slammed the door and marched over to the bed. She lay down and stared at the ceiling in a sort of trance.

  She felt numb and pummeled, as if she’d been battered with rocks. She loathed all men. She loathed her father and his bankers and his lawyers and his false friends and Freddie Townsend and Holden Cartwright and John Dunn.

  She’d like to sprout wings and fly far away, to a spot where people wanted her and were glad to have her. She’d take Bobby and Jane with her, and they’d be together forever. She wouldn’t have to share them.

  Should she depart Dunworthy? Wasn’t it time?

  It certainly seemed as if it might be. What reason was there to remain?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  John walked down the hall to Winnie’s bedchamber. He wasn’t tiptoeing exactly, but he wasn’t being blatant about his destination either. He’d had sufficient whiskey that his common sense was tamped down, but not so much that he’d behave recklessly once he arrived.

  He hadn’t spoken to her in three days. Not since their spat in his office.

  He wasn’t a man who allowed himself to be lectured, and he never argued with women. In that, he was very old-fashioned. He believed a female should know her place and stay in it.

  Her fit of pique over Bobby had been ridiculous. She’d complained as if John had mistreated Bobby, but John had recognized every stellar trait and had rewarded him for them. The boy had no prospects and nowhere to go, and John had saved him. He’d saved Jane too.

  When Winnie had traveled across England with them, she’d been anxious as to what she could expect from John, but he’d provided them with everything Winnie had been praying he would bestow.

  But was she grateful? Was she happy about it?

  No, she was not!

  Initially after their fight, he’d decided, to Hell with her!

  He’d been fascinated by her, so he’d allowed an attachment to form, but he shouldn’t have grown fixated. It was insane to obsess, insane to moon over her like a smitten swain.

  For three tedious days, he’d avoided her. He’d worked hard, had focused on his many tasks, stridently ensuring he was never in a spot where he might bump into her.