“Come on, lazy bones. Fresh air is good for you.” He could understand her reluctance. He would much rather be upstairs in bed too, where they could enjoy the freedom of the house for once but, as it was, he had one considerably more important task to perform.
He eyed the grounds around the house ruefully, and realised that despite the house’s remote location, there weren’t all that many places they could go. Most of the walks went through the Dinnington estate, or Marchwell, unless they went in completely the wrong direction and headed off toward Brumpton Marches, which was the last place he wanted to go.
“Come on. Lets go and explore the beach.”
“But we have been there times,” Prudence gasped and sighed when he ignored her and dragged her toward the narrow path that led down to the sandy shore.
Once they were there, the small cove proved to be a haven against the stiff sea breezes. It was nice not to be buffeted by the icy winds but she was cold, regardless of the thickness of her shawl. He, however, seemed to be perfectly warm, even in his shirt sleeves. She sighed and closed her eyes as the sun made a valiant attempt to break through the heavy clouds. The thin sliver of warmth on her face felt wonderful and eased her earlier discontent. She couldn’t help but smile at the mischievous glint in his eye and, not for the first time, wondered what he was up to.
“Tell me, Prudence, would you say that we get on alright?”
Prudence’s eyes popped open and she studied him. She frowned at the cliffs at the far end of the beach for several moments.
“I think so, yes, why?” she replied hesitantly.
“Have you given any more thought to allowing me to send for a doctor to take a look at your mother?” He held a hand up when she took a breath. “I have been giving the matter some thought. Your mother isn’t well enough to travel, but we can send for a doctor from Bodmin to come and take a look at her. The doctor in Marchwell doesn’t even need to know that she has been seen. It will afford the family some privacy and it also means that your mother could get some medication to help her if there is any available. She was quite distressed again last night, and doesn’t seemed to have improved any this morning.” He knew because he had escorted Eloisa into the room to help Agatha with her breakfast.
The woman had wailed and whined, ranted and raved before she had launched herself at her daughter with the feral eyes of someone who had long since lost their grip on reality. Even his hardened heart ached for the situation the young family faced, while the man in him refused to simply sit back and allow the ladies to be lunged at, threatened and menaced by their own mother. He knew that Agatha couldn’t help it, but he had no intention of allowing the woman to hurt anyone who was trying to help her. She needed medication, if only to curb her wild inclination to actually hurt people.
“Doctors and medication are really expensive, Stephen, and we simply cannot afford it.” She held her hand up when he took a breath to argue. “I don’t want to have an altercation on this. Although it is wonderful to have the pantries full for the time being; Robbie hasn’t eaten so much meat since he was a little one; it just isn’t right that we spend so much money on a doctor, even without taking into consideration the cost of the medication he may wish to give her. For the time being, we have no choice but to continue as we are and hope that she will get better.”
“I don’t think that is likely to happen though, Prudence. Do you?” He didn’t bother to hide the doubt in his voice and watched a faint flicker of fear sweep over her face. He hated to see it, even for the briefest of moments.
“I don’t know. Some days she is almost lucid. On other days, she rants and is downright nasty, but we cannot afford to do anything other than what we are doing.” She knew what he was suggesting and didn’t want to offend him by being abrupt, but couldn’t countenance any alternative. Her pride simply wouldn’t allow it. Before she could speak, he made the offer that she had been dreading.
“I will pay for it a -”
“No!” She snapped, her voice louder than she had intended. She immediately regretted her outburst and she cast him an apologetic smile. Feeling slightly dejected, she kicked absently at the pebbles on the beach as they wandered along the shoreline. “It isn’t fair for you to pay. It will cost a small fortune and it really is fine. We manage.”
“But you shouldn’t just manage, Prudence. You should be able to live a little. You should be able to get some medication for her to at least ensure that you aren’t attacked when you go in to see to her basic duties.” Personally, Stephen couldn’t think of anything worse than living the half-life that Agatha had. She hardly ever came out of her room and, if she did, had very little idea where she was. “You need to hand over a little of the responsibilities, Prudence,” he chastised gently.
“To who? Eloisa? She already does more than her fair share, I cannot expect her to do anything more. The others shoulder their share of the burden as well. Even Robbie, and he is only ten.”
“I meant to me,” he replied and drew her to a stop. He moved to stand in front of her and held her hands in his. “I will have you know that I fully intend to remain at Cragdale once my work on this particular part of the investigation is over. Harry and Marcus will move on, and I shall have to go to London to speak to my boss but, when I return, I will do so with the intention of making Cragdale my home.”
“You don’t understand,” Prudence whispered. “If my uncle Bernard got wind of you living in the house, unchaperoned, with me, the entire family would be kicked out without a backward look. As it is, you are here to carry out your work for king and country. We are doing out bit to protect England’s borders from the French. Even Bernard, as unsympathetic as he is, cannot argue with that. Once your work here is done, however, there is little reason for you to be in the house. He will use scandal and besmirching of the good family name to ensure that we are thrown out and cast adrift, and that is before he demands to see mother and uncovers the true nature of her state of health.” Tears pooled on her lashes and she struggled to contain the wave of misery that swept through her.
“Then we will just have to ensure that Cragdale is no longer Bernard’s responsibility, and we deny all criticism by ensuring that we go about matters correctly from now on.”
“What do you mean?” She frowned at the firm determination in his voice.
Stephen sighed and studied the wet sand beneath their feet. He glanced up and waited until her gaze met his. “I am asking you to marry me, Prudence,” he replied gently. “I cannot think of any other way that we could live at Cragdale together without bringing censure and scandal upon the good Freestone family name. I won’t allow you or the others to be cast out, and I simply will never allow you to be destitute with barely a penny to your name.” He held a hand up when she took a breath to speak. “Now, I am not saying that I am any rich man, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I have made more than enough money over the last few years to ensure that we can repair Cragdale, and restore it to its former glory, purchase more than enough furniture to replace that which is already damaged, and keep the pantries well stocked throughout the year, and not even halve the amount I own.”
“You want to marry me?” Everything else he had just said had passed over her in a blur. Her mind had locked onto his first words and refused to budge. She swallowed. Hope sang in her veins at the same time that dread fell into the pit of her stomach. What if she had misheard him? What if he had said ‘one day’, and she had not heard it? What was she going to do if he did mean it?
“Of course I do,” he sighed and drew her carefully into his arms. “What? Do you think that I take my landladies to bed wherever I stay?” He lifted his brows and looked down at her. “I don’t make a habit of bedding innocent ladies and then careering off into the darkness to the next bed. I am not that kind of man,” he replied in a rather prim voice that made her smile. “Since I first saw you digging the garden the other week, I have been unable to get you out of my head. You are there; morning, noon and nig
ht. You are the first thing I think about when I wake up, mainly because you are there right beside me where you should be.” He kissed her cheek when she began to snivel. “You are definitely the last thing I think about before I go to sleep, mainly because you are there right beside me then too.” He smiled when she hiccupped a sob. “I cannot think of anywhere else I would rather be.” His voice trailed off into a whisper, mainly because he was about as choked up with emotion as she was.
Prudence couldn’t help it. Tears trickled slowly down her cheeks. In such a few short weeks, this man had come to mean so much to her that the thought of waving him off with the knowledge that she might never see him again, tore her heart in two.
“What about your job though? I mean you won’t be able to work here once your investigation is over. We are a long way away from everything really.”
“My colleagues manage to make it work and they are married. Some also have children. It would mean that I have to juggle my work a little, but I am fairly certain that most of the work I will be given will keep me this side of Bodmin, or as close to it as I can get. There will be some work that will take me further afield, especially if my colleagues need a hand. Just like Harry and Marcus have arrived to help me, I will have to reciprocate at some point. It is just the way we work in the Star Elite, I am afraid. It does mean that I will be gone for a couple of weeks at a time, but I won’t be gone for long, and I will always ensure that I come back.”
In reality he hated the thought of having to leave the sisters alone at Cragdale for any length of time. The knowledge that they were perfectly capable of functioning as a family unit and running the house alone didn’t sit comfortably with him, even with the additional knowledge that Rufus was nearby and would undoubtedly keep a keen eye on them on his behalf.
“Are Marcus and Harry married?” she whispered, unable to gather her thoughts.
Stephen gave her a mock frown. “Now, don’t you go getting any ideas where those two are concerned. I know with certainty that they are not married, but they have no intention of getting married either.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean –” She stopped and batted him on the shoulder when he merely grinned at her. “Stop it.”
“You haven’t answered me,” he chided with a mock frown. He couldn’t help it. He placed a tender kiss on her lips and rested his forehead against hers. “Marry me,” he pleaded, his voice husky with emotion.
“I would love to,” she whispered, and felt a fresh wave of tears trickle from the corner of her eyes. Anything else she was about to say was snatched by the gasp that escaped her when she was suddenly lifted off the ground and swung around in a circle. Her squeal of surprise echoed around the stone cliffs that surrounded them and echoed the laughter that followed.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The rest of the day was spent the way that Prudence had originally wanted, although Stephen’s slight detour had been the best part. Many hours after they had returned to the house, they had reluctantly left the warmth of the bed and made their way downstairs to await the arrival of Rufus and the ladies. As the hours ticked by, with no sign of anyone returning, Prudence began to feel a little unnerved.
“I don’t know what’s keeping them,” she sighed as she cast a dark look at the window.
Stephen glanced up from his seat before the stove where he was brushing sand off his boots. Dusk had given the sky an eerie glow that warned them that complete nightfall would soon be upon them, but it was still too early in the evening for him to begin to grown concerned.
“They are fine, darling. Rufus is with them, don’t forget.”
“I know, but the market was over hours ago.” She glanced at the clock. “What else is there to do in Brumpton Marches?”
Stephen placed his boot down and walked over to draw her into his arms. He placed a kiss on her head and stood for a moment to simply savour being able to hold her without the teasing they usually got when they were openly affectionate toward each other.
“Given how Robbie eats, I am sure that Rufus will have taken them to the tavern for sustenance before bringing them home. I am sure that they have all had a wonderful time in the town. You know how much they enjoy their visits.” He paused and tipped her head up for a kiss. “Next week, we are going too.”
Her eyes lit with pleasure while a small voice warned her that she couldn’t lose sight of the fact that Stephen’s presence in the house depended on his investigation of Levant.
“Am I worrying too much?” she asked with a frown. Had she turned into a worry wart and lost the ability to have some fun?
“No, you aren’t. You have been under threat from Levant and Bernard for far too long. Circumstances have demanded that you are a tight-knit family, and it is unusual for any of you to be out late at night.” He eased back to look at her. “When was the last time you went out at night?”
Prudence looked at him guiltily. “The night that I hit you on the head.”
Stephen studied her. “You hit me on the head?” He frowned at that. “I could distinctly remember that I kissed you that night.”
“You did.”
When she made no attempt to expand on her explanation, Stephen coughed and looked down at her. She looked warily up at him and realised that he wasn’t going to budge, or allow her to, until she told him everything. She rolled her eyes and quickly outlined what had happened to him on his first night at Cragdale. When she lapsed into uncomfortable silence, he shook his head chidingly and drew her over to the chair before the fire.
“I can understand now why you are worried,” he murmured and eased her onto his lap. “Given what happened to me, I can only be fearful of Rufus’ welfare.” He ignored her smothered laugh, and slid her a teasing look. “I think that if he isn’t back soon, I will go out to look for them. I am sure that Harry will want to help look for them too.”
As if on cue, the rattle of the latch on the front door heralded the arrival of Harry.
“Evening all,” he called as he stalked into the kitchen with his boots in his hand.
“Have you seen any sign of the ladies?” Stephen asked. He held Prudence still when she tried to slide off his lap and watched Harry move to the fireplace before them to get warm.
Harry frowned and shook his head. “No, sorry. Were they due back by now?”
“It is just unusual for them to be out this long, that’s all.” Prudence sighed.
She felt slightly uncomfortable, brazenly sitting in Stephen’s lap while Harry was there, and pushed awkwardly to her feet. When Stephen merely smiled at her, she rolled her eyes and hurried to the table to continue the dinner preparations.
Harry, bless him, carefully kept his opinions to himself although the mischief that twinkled in his eyes made her blush fiercely.
The next hour passed painfully slowly for Prudence. By the time the clock chimed seven, she was a bundle of nerves and had taken to wringing her hands anxiously while she paced backward and forward in front of the windows that overlooked the driveway.
Stephen shared a concerned look with Harry. He had to admit that it was highly unusual that Rufus hadn’t brought them back by now. He certainly hadn’t mentioned this morning that he was going to take them anywhere else. What could have delayed them?
“I will go and see if I can find them,” Harry declared with a scowl when he couldn’t stand the tension any longer, and bent down to put his boots on. His horse had been stabled inside the old ramshackle barn and, although he would never say anything to his very hospitable hostess, he didn’t want to leave the beast in there too long in case the whole thing collapsed with the animal inside.
Stephen stood and moved toward Prudence. “I am sure that they have just been delayed, that’s all. There is no need to worry.”
Prudence’s smile didn’t match her eyes and she struggled to fight the urge to lay her head on his shoulder. The crunch of the gravel on the driveway outside made her jump and she raced toward the sitting room window to peer through the gloom.
/> “They are back,” she shouted, and raced through the house so that she was in the driveway by the time Rufus drew to a stop beside the front door.
“Where have you been?” she demanded as soon as he drew to a stop. Whatever else she was about to say remained locked in her throat at the sight of the fear on Eloisa’s face as she opened the carriage door. Behind her, still inside the conveyance, Georgiana, Maggie and Madeline were clearly terrified about something.
Rufus jumped down and looked worriedly at Stephen. “Robbie has gone missing.”
“Oh, good Lord,” Prudence whispered.
“What? When?”
“Sometime this afternoon,” Eloisa whispered and hiccupped a sob. Rufus moved to her side and slid a comforting arm around her waist. His support gave her the strength to recount the details. “He was beside me, and then asked if he could say hello to someone he knew. I was only vaguely aware of him asking but, before I could turn around and say anything, he had vanished. It was the last I saw of him. We have searched everywhere; asked around the shops and houses, and everything, but there is no sign of him. It is just like he has vanished.”
All the while Eloisa talked, Stephen studied Rufus, who clearly had other things he wanted to say but had chosen to keep to himself in deference to the presence of the ladies. Stephen looked down at the horror on Prudence’s face and cursed the latest turn of events. The fear was back, and it fuelled his temper far more quickly than anything else ever could.
“Why don’t you take everyone inside, Prudence, and get them warm? We will be there in a moment.” He stood back to allow the ladies to move into the house. Once the door was closed behind them, he turned to Harry and Rufus.
Rufus sighed. “I hate to tell you, but I saw that thug, Will, in town.”
“Levant is back?” Harry snapped in disgust. He wished to hell that Marcus had not left as quickly as he had and considered the distance his colleague could have covered since the moment he left. Even if he did manage to head in the same direction, Marcus would be too far away to get back in time to be of any use to help find Robbie. It was down to Stephen, Harry and Marcus to find the boy and bring him home.
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