“I’ll be right there,” she called in a shaky voice, defying Sir George’s order for silence once again, hoping he’d leave Mrs. D. alone if she stayed far enough away. To him, she murmured, “If I don’t go up there, she’ll come down here.”
Sir George gave her one final glare, then jerked his chin in Mrs. D.’s direction. Olivia lifted her buckets of water and tried to walk normally, whistling to Artie to follow her up the hill. Mrs. D. held out an arm and Olivia passed her one of the buckets, threading her free arm through Mrs. D.’s, hoping to draw strength from the older woman.
“Just a few more minutes and you’ll be safe,” Mrs. D. whispered.
Olivia spent her remaining energy maintaining a calm countenance and a regular stride all the way back to Mrs. D.’s cottage. Once she rounded the corner into the little kitchen garden, she let go. Dropping her bucket and leaning against the stone wall of the house, Olivia covered her face and cried out her terror, her anger, her relief that no one had been hurt today. Mrs. D. hugged her, let Olivia cry on her shoulder as Artie leaned against her legs.
“How bad was it this time?” Mrs. D. asked when Olivia had cried herself out.
“You heard the shots?” It was all Olivia could bring herself to say, but it was enough to convey the danger they’d been in. Sir George had described his pistols in detail over the last few weeks, including the animals he’d killed with them.
Mrs. D. hugged Olivia to her again. “You poor girl.”
“I can’t live like this anymore,” Olivia choked out. “What am I going to do?”
Mrs. D. rubbed Olivia’s back in slow circles, and Olivia let the motion and the gentle breeze calm her, let them carry away thoughts of what could have happened at the base of the hill. When she’d cried her last, she lifted her face and wiped her eyes, bending down to give Artie his own hug and kiss. “You’re a good boy, loup-garou.”
“You do have one option.”
Olivia straightened, keeping one hand on Artie’s furry head as she faced Mrs. D. “Teverton?”
Mrs. D. didn’t react to the name, but she didn’t have to. It was a discussion they’d had before. Lord Teverton was Olivia’s closest living relative and head of her family, but the only thing she knew about him was that he owned an estate near Liverpool.
“What if he turns me away?”
No one could legally force Olivia to marry Sir George, but if she went to Teverton for help and he refused, her only choice would be between George and slow starvation as the demand for her work continued to decline and her past slowly caught up with her.
“But what if he doesn’t?”
Olivia pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. What if Teverton was an honorable man who promised to protect her? Did she even have paper to write him a letter and ask?
“What about His Grace?” she said suddenly, dropping her hands to her sides. The breeze picked up, carrying with it the scent of the mint growing a few feet away.
Mrs. D. took a step back. “What about him?”
“Well...he’s here. Teverton is all the way in Liverpool. Or at a different estate completely. And the duke ought to be amenable to my situation—if I am hale and hearty, I can continue paying my rent every quarter.”
Mrs. D. shook her head faintly. “You can’t mean to ask him for help.”
“At least I’ve made his acquaintance,” Olivia replied slowly. “Better the devil you know.”
“Devil is right,” Mrs. D. said, her mouth pulling into a pucker as if she’d eaten something sour. “I know we helped him this afternoon, but that was basic decency. You know what they say about the man.”
Olivia did know. She’d borrowed a battered copy of a story called The Vampyre from a friend in the village the previous week, and had read it aloud to Mrs. D. and Mrs. H. after dinner one evening. They two older ladies had exchanged a knowing look, and it had taken some doing to get Mrs. Hatch to elaborate.
“The Duke of Rhuddlan,” she’d said with a shudder. “Some think he’s like that. A vampire.”
She’d refused to speak of it further, and Olivia had let it drop. But she’d made an inquiry or two when she returned the book a few days later, and Mrs. Hatch wasn’t the only person who thought there was something unholy about His Grace.
Olivia frowned at Mrs. D, recalling the fraught conversation they’d had about Olivia’s past when Sir George had first come calling. “Does that mean you believe the rumors about me?”
Her neighbor made a little gasping noise. “Of course not! I would never—”
“Then perhaps the rumors about him are equally as malicious.”
Mrs. D. stood staring for several moments, but eventually nodded. “Perhaps.”
Olivia felt Artie’s fur slide through her fingers as he bolted away after a rabbit. “Then I’ll make an appointment to see His Grace.”
She felt calm for the first time in months, despite Mrs. D.’s disapproval. Nothing in her life had immediately changed, but at least she had a feasible plan. If the Duke of Rhuddlan tossed her out on her ear she’d be right back where she started, but she tamped that fear down. One thing at a time. And now she had something she could do.
About the Author
Maggi Andersen lives with her husband, a retired lawyer, in a quaint old town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. She has a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing.
When not creating stories, Maggi reads, enjoys her garden, long walks around a town known for its beauty in spring and autumn, and feeding the local wildlife. Her kookaburras (Australian Kingfishers) prefer to be hand fed.
Maggi is an Amazon to Historical Romance author. She has published more than 30 novels and novellas many of which are bestsellers, and some nominated for awards. She writes in several genres: contemporary and historical romance, romantic suspense, mysteries, and young adult novels.
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Author Book List
The Baxendale Sisters Series
Lady Honor’s Debt
Lady Faith Takes a Leap
Lady Hope and the Duke of Darkness
The Seduction of Lady Charity
The Scandalous Lady Mercy
The Dangerous Lords Series
The Baron’s Betrothal
Seducing an Earl
The Viscount’s Widowed Lady
The Kinsey Family
Unmasking Lady Helen
Regency Sons
Captain Jack Ryder – The Duke’s Bastard
Standalone Stories
The Marquess Meets His Match
The Baron’s Wife
Hostage to Love
How to Tame a Rake
An Improper Earl
Caroline and the Captain
The Earl and the Highwayman’s Daughter
Stirring Passions
At the Earl’s Convenience
Lord Bartholomew’s Christmas Bride
The Duke’s Mysterious Lady
Diary of a Painted Lady
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Waving at the Moon
Murder in Devon
With Murderous Intent
Twined
Finding Daniel
A Night of Angels: A Magical Holiday Collection
A holiday collection from Dragonblade Publishing authors.
Eleanor Fitzherbert’s Christmas Miracle by Maggi Andersen
Childless widow, Eleanor Fitzherbert has resigned herself to a life alone, because most unmarried gentlemen wish for an heir. But after a young sweep gets stuck in the Duke of Broadstairs' chimney, and a handsome viscount comes to his rescue, surprising things begin to happen.
A Gift From a Goddess Page 19