by Laura Landon
“Then I suggest we leave the carriages here and make our way on foot,” Wallace said.
They agreed that was the best strategy, and Ben went to the carriage to get Rachael and Winnie. He knew Rachael wouldn’t agree to stay in the carriage and wait for him to bring Claire to her. She would insist on going with them, and if he refused, she’d follow anyway. Having her where he could keep an eye on her was much safer than leaving her, and wondering where she was.
When Rachael and Winnie disembarked from the carriage, he led them to where the rest waited for them.
“You’ll please stay out of sight until we have Her Grace apprehended,” Mack Wallace said to Rachael and Winnie. “The child’s safety depends on you following these instructions. Do I have your word?” he asked.
Rachael and Winnie answered in the affirmative, then Wallace motioned for Ben to lead the way.
Ben gave Rachael’s hand a final squeeze before he left. He knew how nervous she was. He felt the same. He couldn’t allow himself to believe that they wouldn’t find Claire well. He couldn’t allow himself to consider that his mother had taken Claire and gone to another hiding place. He couldn’t entertain for one moment that they might have to endure even one more hour of not having Claire with them. And if he felt this way, he couldn’t imagine how Rachael felt.
The five men made their way through the thick grove of trees on the back side of the cottage. When they were almost in the open, Mack Wallace held up his hand. They stopped.
Ben listened for any sound coming from the cottage, but they were too close to the ocean to hear more than the rhythmic pounding of the waves slapping against the rocks below.
They stayed hidden among the trees while they evaluated the area. They hoped that the duchess wasn’t awake yet. Hoped that if she was, she wasn’t watching from the one window in the rear of the rundown cottage. Surprise was essential if they wanted to capture her before she could harm Claire. Or hold Claire hostage in order to escape.
Ben couldn’t abide the possibility that they’d come this close to getting Claire, only to fail and lose her again.
He cast a glance over his shoulder to where Rachael stood. Winnie had an arm around Rachael’s shoulder in support. Ben was glad Rachael wasn’t alone.
Ben turned his attention to the instructions Mack Wallace was giving.
“Nick,” he ordered his brigadesman. “See if you can look through one of the windows. We need to know where Her Grace is located in the house.”
Nick Stillman nodded, then made his way to the cottage. Ben watched the brigadesman push his stealthy way through the thick brambles and overgrown bushes along the tumbledown shack, then look through the window. He evidently didn’t see Her Grace, so he made his way to another window.
It seemed to take forever before he returned to them.
“I didn’t see her,” he whispered. “But the babe is there. I couldn’t see her, but I heard her.”
“Is she crying?” Ben asked.
Stillman nodded. “She sounds angry. And hungry, if I had to say.”
Ben closed his eyes as a wave of relief washed over him. Claire was crying. That meant she was alive.
He looked over his shoulder as Rachael brushed a tear from her cheek. He wanted to rush back to her to tell her that Claire was alive. That everything was going to be all right, but Mack Wallace was issuing more orders.
“Nick, take Lord Sheffield with you to the front of the cottage. Your Grace, you and Lord Benjamin will remain here with me. When you reach the front, Nick, kick in the door and rush inside. When I hear you enter, I’ll enter from the back.”
“Are you ready?” he asked, and Nick Stillman pulled out a pistol he had in his pocket, as did Mack Wallace.
Ben’s heart raced in his chest. The magnitude of the danger they faced couldn’t be ignored any longer. Ben knew the threat his mother posed. Any mother who would shoot her own son wouldn’t hesitate to shoot strangers. Or the stepson she’d hated from the time he’d been born.
“Be careful,” Ben said to Gideon. He clasped him on the shoulder and squeezed.
“I’ll be fine. And we’ll get your daughter back.”
Ben nodded, and that was all he had the opportunity to do before Nick Stillman motioned for Gideon to follow him.
Time seemed to stand still while the brigadesman and Gideon disappeared into the copse of trees and were gone.
Ben listened for the crashing sound of breaking wood when Nick Stillman entered the cottage. He listened for his mother’s cry of alarm. He listened for the slightest sound from Claire, because that was where he intended to head. He’d let Mack Wallace and Nick Stillman take care of his mother. His only goal was to save Claire.
They waited for what seemed an eternity. But all was silent except for the chirping of the birds in the trees, and the waves hitting the rocks at the base of the nearby cliff. And then he heard it.
Wood crashed with a loud explosion.
Nick Stillman cried out to alert them that they were to enter from the back of the cottage.
Claire screamed in fright.
Ben had never heard a sweeter sound.
He rushed through the broken cottage door behind Mack Wallace and headed for the sound of Claire’s screams. He located her in a corner of the main room, out of sight and clear from harm’s way.
Without casting a glance at the commotion from the men in the room, he reached into a crude, make-shift cradle, and lifted his sweet baby girl into his arms.
“Hush, sweeting,” he said, cocooning her small body in his arms and holding her close to his chest. Her crying didn’t halt, even when he rocked her in his arms and patted her back to comfort her, but he didn’t care. She deserved the right to voice her complaints.
“It’s all right, sweetheart,” he crooned. “Your papa has you. You’re safe now.”
Tears spilled from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He couldn’t believe this nightmare was over. Couldn’t believe he finally had Claire safely in his arms.
It wasn’t until he felt a firm hand on his shoulder that he realized the commotion in the room had quieted. He turned to find Gideon at his side.
“Do you have her?” he asked, swiping the wetness from his face.
Gideon shook his head. “Take your daughter to her mother, then bring Rachael and Winnie back.”
Ben let his gaze take in the somber mood in the room. Mack Wallace and his fellow brigadesman were in conversation with his father. The Duke of Townsend stood near a small, rough-hewn table in the center of the room. He held a piece of paper in his trembling hands and his eyes were focused on it, but the lack of color to his face told Ben something was terribly wrong.
“What is it?” Ben asked.
Gideon led the way to the group of men. When they reached them, Gideon took the paper from the duke’s hands and handed it to Ben. Ben scanned the words on the paper.
I can’t go on like this. I’m sorry.
E
Ben read the words again. “Bloody hell,” he whispered, then looked at his father.
“Is this Her Grace’s handwriting?” Mack Wallace asked.
The duke nodded. “Yes, Ernesta wrote this.”
Gideon clasped his hand on Ben’s shoulder again. “Take your daughter to her mother, then bring your wife and Winnie back. Winnie needs to know.
Claire was still fussing, although her loud screams were now only whimpers.
Ben carried her out of the cottage and into the sunshine.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Rachael paced the area in front of the carriage without turning her gaze from the spot where Ben should appear with Claire.
“Everything will be all right,” Winnie said from beside her. “Claire will be fine,” she said. But until Rachael saw her, she couldn’t push the doubts away.
“What’s taking them so long?” Rachael said, looking more intently across the open meadow. “Surely it couldn’t have taken this long.”
“It only seems like a lo
ng time because you’re so anxious to see Claire again. But she’s fine. I know she is.”
Rachael prayed Winnie was right.
She kept up her march of frustration—and then she saw him. Or rather, she heard Claire’s angry cry. It was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.
It seemed to take forever before Ben came into view, but when he did, Rachael ran toward him as fast as she could make her feet move. When she reached him, she stretched out her arms and took Claire from Ben.
Tears of joy streamed down her face as she rocked little Claire in her arms. “Oh, my precious, precious love,” she cried, pressing kisses against Claire’s tiny cheeks. Rachael had never been so happy. She’d never experienced such relief. Her baby was safe.
As if little Claire knew she was safe now, her crying ceased.
Ben gathered Rachael and Claire to him and held them. Rachael’s tears started again. Her family was safe. Her husband held her in his arms, and Rachael felt more complete than she’d ever felt in her life.
He held her until her tears stopped. “Rachael, you and Winnie need to come inside.”
Rachael shook her head. “No, Ben. I don’t want to see her. I don’t want to hear any excuses she might make for why she—”
“She’s not there,” he said, stopping her words.
Another wave of fear for her child, and for Gideon’s twin sons slashed at her. “She’s escaped? She’s still out there?”
“Just come. You, too, Winnie.”
Ben wrapped his arm around her and they made their way back to the cottage. When they were close, Lord Sheffield came out to walk with Winnie.
Something was wrong. The expression on Gideon’s face told her it was. The sober expression on Ben’s face confirmed her fears. “What is it, Ben?”
“You’ll see when we get there.”
They walked to the cottage. When they entered, the room was empty, except for the Duke of Townsend. His face was void of color, and his features were drawn. Most telling, though, was the haunted expression in his gaze. He’d received a shock. And that shock had sapped the strength from his body.
The Duke of Townsend sat in one of the two chairs in the room. The regal bearing Rachael was used to seeing was absent. His bent shoulders indicated he carried a very heavy burden.
“Is the child unharmed?” His Grace asked when they came close to him.
“Yes. She’s well,” Rachael answered.
“Good,” he replied, then lowered his gaze again.
Claire was quiet now. Rachael had brought some soft food to feed her in case she was hungry, and her favorite stuffed toy. For the moment, Claire was satisfied clutching the toy. She’d demand to be fed soon, but Rachael hoped they’d be on their way by then.
“Where is Mack Wallace?” Ben asked.
His Grace remained silent. Gideon, Marquess of Sheffield answered. “He and Stillman went out to see if they could find any sign of your mother.”
Rachael lifted her head and let her gaze lock with Ben’s. He reached for the scrap of paper that lay on the table in front of his father and handed it to her.
Rachael looked down and read the short message.
A strangled sound escaped from somewhere inside her and she swayed from the shock.
She’d considered how this tragedy would end, but never had she considered this. Never had she thought the woman who’d threatened her in the garden, then stole Claire and took her to this rundown shack would take her own life.
Ben placed his arm around her waist when she staggered, and held her secure. Then, he took the paper from her trembling fingers and handed it to Winnie.
Rachael couldn’t imagine how Winnie would take the news of her mother’s death and she wanted to be there for her. She handed Claire to Ben, then went to Ben’s sister and wrapped her arm around her. Gideon remained at his sister’s other side.
Winnie read the words, then the paper fluttered to the cottage floor and she swayed on her feet.
Gideon and Rachael supported her while she regained her balance, then her gaze shifted to where her father had risen from his chair. She took a step toward him and he raised his arms.
Winnie rushed into the duke’ arms, and father and daughter clung to each other.
Rachael felt Ben’s arm wrap around her again and she leaned into him. She needed him as he needed her.
A commotion at the door brought everyone’s gaze to where Mack Wallace stood. “Do you recognize this?” the investigator said, holding up an embroidered square of linen.
The Duke of Townsend took it. “It’s Ernesta’s,” he said pointing at the ‘E’ embroidered in the corner. “Where did you find it?”
“Near the cliff,” Mack Wallace said, then led the way out of the cottage and across the open meadow. “We found it here,” he said, pointing to the ground.
“You might want to see this,” Nick Stillman said standing on the edge of the cliff a few feet from where they were. He pointed to something below.
Everyone walked to where the investigator stood. When they reached the edge, Rachael looked down, along with Ben and the others.
“Do you recognize it?” Mack Wallace asked, pointing to what looked like a large square of red material caught on the branch of a tree growing out of the side of the cliff.
“It’s Ernesta’s cloak,” His Grace said in a choked voice.
“I would say this is where she jumped,” Mack Wallace said, pointing to the ground. “From the way the grass is trampled here, I’d say she stood at this spot for some time before she jumped.”
Rachael buried her face against Ben’s chest and he held her close. Winnie stood on her father’s left and the Duke of Townsend wrapped his arm around his daughter’s shoulder and pulled her against him. The Marquess of Sheffield stood on the duke’s right and placed a comforting hand on his father’s shoulder.
Rachael couldn’t imagine how difficult this was for them to absorb. Reading the duchess’s words stating that she intended to take her life was far different from standing at the spot where she’d deliberated her decision, then acted upon it.
“We’ll search for the body, of course,” Mack Wallace said after he’d allowed them an adequate time to come to terms with what had happened. “But there’s the possibility that Her Grace might never be found.”
The Duke of Townsend only nodded his response.
“Thank you,” the Marquess of Sheffield answered for his father. “We appreciate everything you and your men did to help us.”
Claire took that moment to begin to fuss. Ben reached for her and Rachael handed her to him.
“We need to get Claire home now,” Ben said. “She’s been through enough.”
The Duke of Townsend led the way to the carriages and they all followed. They hadn’t gone far at all before Claire was asleep in her father’s arms. She slept as peacefully as if she’d never been in danger. As if her life had never been threatened.
Rachael looked at the stricken expressions on His Grace’s face and knew it would take a long time for him to come to terms with what the duchess had done.
She shifted her gaze to where Winnie sat. Rachael suddenly realized how fragile she seemed. Rachael had always thought Winnie was the strongest of them all, next to Gideon. But sitting next to her father, she seemed small. Defenseless…alone. The faraway look in her eyes said that she might never forget what her mother had done.
Rachael leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder. She breathed a sigh of contentment when he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and brought her closer to him.
This was where she always wanted to be.
. . .
Ben looked down at his wife nestled in his arms. Their lovemaking had been as fierce and passionate as his wounded shoulder could sustain, as if through their actions, they’d needed to erase everything they’d been through since his mother had kidnapped Claire and they thought they might never see her again. As if the giving and sharing of their love closed the door on a past
they wanted to forget, and opened the door to a new future.
Ben slowly rubbed his hand over Rachael’s bulging stomach. The new life they’d created grew stronger every day. “This isn’t the kind of marriage you bargained for,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Is it? As I’m sure my family isn’t the sort of family you dreamed of marrying into?”
She tilted her head back and looked at him. “If you remember what it was like for me after the scandal, I’d abandoned any hope of marrying at all.”
“So you consider yourself fortunate that I offered for you?” he teased.
He heard her unladylike guffaw. “What I remember, my love, is the look of relief on your face when I refused your father’s offer.”
Ben placed his forefinger beneath her chin and tipped her head back. “I was such a fool,” he said, then brought his mouth down to cover hers.
“I love you, Rachael,” he whispered when he lifted his mouth. “I never thought it was possible to be so happy. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find someone so perfect.”
“I’m hardly perfect, Ben. You only need to mention my name to Julia Bentley and you’ll hear just how imperfect Society considers me.”
Ben tipped back his head and laughed. “I pity the poor man who is unfortunate enough to get her for a wife. He’ll have a long, unhappy life awaiting him.” He lowered his head and kissed her again. “And we, my love, will have a lifetime filled with as much happiness as two people can create.”
“I love you, Ben.” Rachael lifted her hand and cupped his cheek. “Even more than I loved my mysterious lover wearing the fox mask.”
EPILOGUE
Lady Winnifred blinked several times, determined to bring the precious sight into focus. How she’d found the courage to follow the carriages on that fateful night she still couldn’t reconcile. But she’d found her mother’s hiding place. And now the tears that had framed that horrid time were replaced by new smiles, not carefree smiles, but the smiles of people who knew what they’d very nearly lost and now counted as a blessing every moment they had together.