by test
“I know you won’t if you break your ties with the Widow Baker.”
“I must really go and get something to eat, I am quite starved.”
“Mother is right in her concern for you, Richard. Before the Widow went after you, she went after me. She is a gold digger. Worse, she is nothing more than a whore.
Do not think you are the only man paying for her services right now?”
“Then, I shall give her gold, until I tire of her, it makes no difference to me if she has other men in her bed, just as long as I don’t find a man in her bed when I have need of her.”
His mother pursed her lips, remaining silent.
“You will bring yourself nothing but heartache,” Hart prophesized.
“Hart, I don’t think you should be preaching to me at the moment. Look at the fruits of your recent labors.”
His mother sighed. “Don’t waste anymore of your breath, Hart. It is a lost cause.”
“That’s me … the family’s lost cause.” Richard smiled. “I’ll be leaving for Spain in the next few weeks … do not worry, mother—I will endeavor to make you proud.”
He left the room without a further word.
“On the bright side, Richard might not be here when Mallory finally tracks you HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 102
down,” Margaret’s eyes sparkled.
“Mother, I do believe you are anticipating that moment.”
“Perhaps, I am. Then we all won’t have to live on pins and needles waiting for the ball to finally drop.”
He looked back at Maeve, who had remained inconspicuously quiet during their entire drawn out conversation.
“Lady Gemma will pull through. It’s not as nasty of a fever as I originally thought. You may rest easy in knowing that in a few days, she should be as right as rain.”
His mother pushed herself up from her chair, sighing. “Then, my work here is done until tomorrow. No doubt Charles has worried himself sick. I’m going to go and ease his mind and then make sure that cook prepares something fortifying for him.
We’ve all had quite the scare.” She let out a shaky sigh.
Hart remained silent, looking at Gemma’s pale drawn face. Her blond hair was spilled out over the pillow and the room had warmed up considerably. As a result, her hair was almost dry. Her eyes were shut, and for a moment, he just savored the beautiful sight she created.
“I’ll stay here,” he murmured, dryness prickling in his throat.
“That would probably be the best. Had it been a serious fever, Hart, mark my words, I would have sent for her mother.”
“I know—I wouldn’t have held you back.”
“That’s that, then.” Nodding her head, she left the bedchamber.
“I’m going to go and change out of these wet and soppy clothes, Hart, I’ll be back in a little while to check on Lady Gemma.”
“Thank you, Maeve.”
“Hart?” Gemma coughed.
“I’m here.”
“I wish you weren’t.”
“I see that tonic Maeve gave you has made you feel like yourself again.”
“I feel like hell. Scratch that, I feel like death warmed over. Why is it so hot in here?” she moved restlessly in the bed, sweat beading across her brow.
“You’ll feel cooler soon. At least you’re talking now.”
“When I feel better I want to meet your entire family—including Joseph.”
Her words startled him—and unnerved him.
“You forget … Joseph is dead.”
“No—he isn’t.”
“You are still in the throes of the fever. You are talking in your delirium.”
She snorted. “I do feel like I’m floating on a fluffy cloud up in the sky—but I assure you, Hart, I have my faculties about me.”
“Joseph is dead. You are quite lucky my mother isn’t here. Talking about Joseph and saying he’s alive is a low blow. You need to hold your tongue when you see my mother. Are we understood?”
“Don’t lecture me. Lecture Andrew. He’s the one that told me Joseph is still alive.”
He shook his head. His wife not only had a fever—but the fever had turned her stark raving mad.
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How could he keep her from upsetting his mother?
HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 104
Chapter Nineteen
“Mallory?” Elizabeth asked.
“I’m setting off for Spain in the morning—now that we know Susan is alright
.…”
“You were hurt yourself, are you certain you are quite well? I .…”
“During my pirating days, and my war days, I worked with far worse.”
“Mallory, I don’t know why you’re so worried—you kidnapped me, and I was
fine,” she stated.
“Hart MacKinnon isn’t me.” He started pacing back and forth with his arms
crossed behind him.
“I know that, dearest. But, he seems like a perfectly normal man.”
“Except, for the fact that you were scared out of your wits during the almost siege of Mallory Hall. They shot Stewart for God’s sake!”
“Stewart is on the mend. He’ll be recovered soon enough.”
“Your blasé attitude toward my sister’s abduction is enough to give me a fit, Elizabeth. What has gotten into you? I swear, sometimes I don’t recognize you!”
“The house has been much quieter. That in itself should be counted as a blessing in disguise.” She smiled up serenely at him.
He made a scoffing sound. “You almost sound happy to be rid of her … I can’t believe you. Mother is at this moment taking a rest because she’s worried herself so.
She is absolutely beside herself! And yet, your eyes are twinkling your cheeks are rosy
… for all we know Hart could be doing wicked things to Gemma.”
“Delightfully wicked, most likely. I caught that gleam in Hart’s eyes when he was staring at Gemma.” She sighed. “Mallory, really, you must try not to worry. In my opinion of Gemma I feel quite secure in the knowledge that she can take of herself. You, on the other hand, have a problem on your hands. You know full well that you could be at risk! They already reported in the papers that Captain Morgan is a St. Martin … since we don’t have too many male St. Martin’s running around, you could have issues if the authorities decide to press charges.”
“That, my dear, is all hearsay.”
“Regardless, you could still be at risk,” she said plaintively. “Pray, do start to give some consideration to your own well-being. I don’t want your neck on the line for
.…”
“For Gemma? Is that what you are insinuating?”
“Gemma knew full well what she was doing when she told me to get Susan to
safety. She walked into the enemy’s hands with a clear head. She knew—she wanted to do this. Don’t make all of her actions go for naught.”
“You just don’t want to see her again. You’d rather have her gone forever!”
Elizabeth paled. “Don’t say that. I would never wish that on Gemma. Admit it, Mallory, when Gemma was here, the two of you were constantly at odds. The only time she semi behaved was when Hart was around. Like it or not, he has a calming influence HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 105
on her.”
“She had her fair share of verbal sparring sessions with Hart, Elizabeth! I grow weary of this conversation. Like it or not .…” he said, using her words against her. “My sister is my sister, and I will not abandon her. We can fight like cats and dogs, but no one else will ever harm her while I draw breath! Do you understand? Being an only child, I know you have very little knowledge of the sibling bond, but it doesn’t die just because we had an argument. She put her neck on the line for my family—now, I must repay her in kind, and if you ever try to convince me to abandon her again, I will react this same way. We don’t often argue, but when we do .…”
“I don’t wan
t to fight.” She walked toward him. “I just wanted to see if you would see sense. Since you seem bound and determined to put yourself out on a limb in front of all of England, then, I will support you.”
* * * *
“Don’t worry about what the authorities will do to me. I have friends in high places that knew what I was doing at sea—they always turned a blind eye—I have no reason to believe that they won’t in this case. Once they find out that Gemma was taken under force—”
“I don’t think that will be an issue, Mallory.”
His sister Ann walked into the breakfast room. “Have you seen the morning
paper, yet?”
She slammed it down on the table. “You’ll want to read the announcement of marriage between our Gemma and he.”
“What?” Mallory gasped.
“It’s all in black and white there—he has forced her into marriage—she is legally tied to him now. We have no idea where she is … or what state she’s in and you’re arguing with Elizabeth about whether or not you’ll be charged for being the infamous Rafe Morgan. I don’t care at this point, you always figure out a way to slip out of a sticky situation. I’m sick of you dragging this family through the mud with you. I want you to find our sister!”
“Ann, calm yourself,” he ordered.
“Or, what? You’ll send me up to my room? I’m sick of that superiority complex you have as well, Mallory. We did fine without you when you were on campaign—if only you’d allow me to pursue Gemma.”
“They left no discernable trail … we have no idea where Gemma could be.”
“You haven’t even made the proper inquiries,” Ann pointed out angrily.
“I have my men working for me pounding the docks to find out where he took
her.”
“Balderdash. What do you take me for? A simpleton? I overheard some of your conversation with Elizabeth. She seems quite happy to be rid of Gemma. Of course Elizabeth wouldn’t want you risking your neck for Gemma—why should she? She’s not one of us.”
“Ann—you go too far,” Hart snapped, looking over at Elizabeth. Elizabeth
merely dropped her head to look at the floor.
Ann gave a triumphant glance toward Elizabeth. “You should take her silence as her admission of guilt.”
“Do not paint me as the villain in this particular scenario, Ann. I didn’t arrange HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 106
for Gemma to be taken captive,” Elizabeth whispered. “She willingly put herself in the line of fire to save Susan and I.”
“And you repay her by condoning Mallory’s disregard? You should be lighting a fire under his arse! You should be telling him to get a move on in finding her and bringing her home! This is no joke, Elizabeth! The man that took Gemma is not Mallory—he is not just seeking revenge for having his inheritance stolen from him, he’s exacting revenge for having his brother taken from him—money and lives are not even comparable. He is seeking revenge for a death! He will do whatever it takes to pay us back! What do you think he’s going to do to Gemma? Love her and cherish her?”
Slowly, Elizabeth’s face transformed. Mallory knew he should be interceding on her behalf, but Ann’s words were finally sinking into his thick skull. She was right—
Hart wasn’t like him—
“You were so bloody stupid, Mallory. You wanted to get her away from that little son of a bitch, Kilworth that you went and hired her a keeper! For the love of God, Mallory! You were away from us for so long, that you didn’t even know that she would have seen sense in time and broken off the engagement. I was already finding the evidence needed to sink Kilworth’s ship and yet, you as the upstanding brother thought you would swoop in and save the day. We might be females, but we aren’t insipid little idiots! Hart MacKinnon turned out to be far worse than Kilworth—I do hope you are happy with yourself! And, don’t even let me get started on that bloody Spaniard, Herrer.
Maybe they are both making poor Gemma’s life miserable,” Ann railed, her face turning red with her anger.
“Ann?” Their mother’s soft voice interrupted Ann’s heated words.
“Mama? I thought you were still resting,” Ann’s furtive gaze went to their mother.
“I feel restless. I can’t seem to stop thinking of Gemma. I’m so distraught.
Mallory, have you heard anything on her whereabouts yet?”
Elizabeth snatched the paper and was perusing the article announcing their
marriage intently. “Mallory—you said that Hart came from a distinguished noble blooded family—right?”
“Aye.”
“Then, why don’t you just use his family ties to track him down? He’s probably with his family if they hold that much power.”
“What family? What family ties does this blackguard have?” His mother
demanded.
“It says here that his mother is a Lennox.”
“Then, I know what to do.” He’d never heard his mother talk like this before—but he knew one thing—she was on a mission, and she never backed down until she completed that mission.
HIS LADY’S KEEPER Marly Mathews 107
Chapter Twenty
Hazy misty images clouded her brain. Gemma tried to move but found that her arms and legs weighed like a ton. She couldn’t wait until she was feeling better and they’d all go and watch the opera. A strange sensation started to prick at the back of her mind … she wasn’t alone in bed.
Rolling over, she opened her eyes. Her eyelids weighed a ton as well. Her mouth felt dry and yet, sticky. She pinched her face up. Recognition flooded back to her.
Hart.
Taking her one hand, she poked him soundly in the side, making him jump. He was reaching for something, and she realized it was his pistol a moment too late.
“What the hell?” He had the pistol in his hand and was turning to level it at the door when he must have finally risen out of his sleepy stupor.
“Gemma? Why did you poke me?”
“I poked you because you are in my bed. I like to sleep alone, thank you.”
She’d been awake for a few days now, getting back her strength through
fortifying broths and draughts courtesy of Maeve. She hadn’t had any real food though, her stomach was grumbling, telling her it was time for something solid. In the couple of days since she awaken from her fever, Hart had kept his distance. She’d almost believed he’d given up on her, on them, but he hadn’t. Here he was sleeping once again in her bed. Obviously, Maeve had told him she was strong enough to have her husband back in her life. The first few days had been hell getting back on her wobbly legs and trying to get the room to stop rocking from side to side.
“I don’t.” His eyes twinkled with good humor. “In the future, I advise you to not rouse me so suddenly and abruptly. I’m known to wake up shooting.”
“Always on the defensive .…” her voice trailed off. It was still night.
“What happened to the morning?”
“You slept through that and the afternoon, and most of the early evening. It’s around midnight, now, I’d imagine. I take it your last exercise session with Maeve wore you out.” He looked over at the clock. “Aye, it’s half past twelve.”
Her stomach sunk. “But I feel as if it should be morning, I’m hungry, and
thirsty.”
“I’m happy to hear that you are feeling better.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say that I feel tickety-boo, but I do feel better than what I did when you found me running away from you. Why did you remain away from me? You must have known that I’ve been out of the throes of the fever for the last few days.”
His eyes sparked with a mysterious twinkle. “So, you openly admit that you were trying to escape me?”
“Why shouldn’t I? It’s well known that is the duty of the captive to attempt to escape their captor at every and any opportunity.”
“You aren’t my captive! You are my wife!” he bellowed.
“Well, y
ou didn’t need to shout that at the top of your bloody lungs!” She sat up.
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The sheets fell off of her. A sudden thought occurred to her.
“How long did you say I was out? And how long have you been in my bed?
Maeve never really did tell me how long the deep fever fit lasted. I know I was talking in my sleep, and I felt like I was drowning I was so tired.”
She searched his face. His hair was sticking up all over the place, and his eyes were bloodshot. His face was shadowed with dark stubble from a lack of not shaving.
“The fever put you out of it for more or less two or three days.”
“Two days? Huh. Did you nurse me back to health?” Sitting up, she crossed her legs beneath her, and rested her hands on the coverlet.
“I left that up to Maeve and my darling mother. I, on the other hand must have worked some new grooves in the floor.” He let out a shuddering laugh, scrubbing his hand over his face. He grunted. “I’m thankful to see you awake and not talking fustian nonsense anymore.”
“Fustian nonsense? I don’t follow.”
She looked longingly over at a bowl filled with fruit. Licking her lips, she looked over at him. “Would it be possible to go down to the kitchens and rustle up some solid food?”
“It might be. I guess we could go and open the kitchen.”
“Good. I’m so hungry.”
“Nothing heavy for you until you’ve had time to adjust. You need to take it easy.”
“I’m beginning to get that. Maybe Maeve had me on light broths and tonics for a reason.” A wave of disorientation washed over her when she swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Whoa. Where’s my dressing gown? I left it on the foot of the bed ….”
He’d sprung to his feet quicker than she. Already, he wore his slippers and dressing gown. “It might be chilly down in the kitchens. I’d like you to wear this with your dressing gown.” He handed her a knitted muffler to wear beneath her dressing gown. Her hair was still hanging loosely around her shoulders. Slipping her feet into slippers that fit her rather well, she stood up and allowed him to assist her in getting on her muffler and dressing gown. She was still quite shaky on her feet, despite the fact that Maeve had massaged her limbs frequently and walked her around the room several times.