by Wendy Vella
Two days had passed, and still Max had not called. Essie tried not to let her family see that her heart was breaking. Tried to smile and converse when required, but inside she was crumbling all over again, only this time it was worse, and far more painful than the last.
In desperation, she had called upon Max early this morning to ensure he was not sick. His butler had simply said that Mr. Huntington had left town for an extended visit to a property he owned, and he was unsure when he would return. When Essie had questioned as to where, the butler had said he did not know.
And that, she had realized, told her exactly how he felt about her. His declarations of love and intention to speak to Dev had been empty lies, and now she was left to pick up the shattered pieces of her heart once again. She had been a fool for the second time over that man.
But he seemed so sincere, a voice inside her head cried. Was she such a fool to believe he really did care? Had the magic they shared in his conservatory meant nothing? Was he so good at his lies that she had fallen again for a man who could not love her in return?
I love you, never forget that. Surely there was a reason he had not called? Surely he would return and tell her why he had left without word? Please, come back to me.
“What is wrong with you?”
Cam thumped the breakfast table with his fist, and the three Sinclairs present all jumped out of their seats.
“Wh-what did you do that for?” Essie pressed a hand to her chest, where her heart was thumping hard.
“For two days you have had a brittle smile on your face, and answered everything directed at you with a polite sweetness that is making my teeth hurt.”
“Cam, we discussed this, and decided we would wait for her to tell us,” Dev said softly.
“Yes, because we need to respect her wishes.” Cam waved a hand at his brother. “To hell with that. I no longer wish to wait. She is hurting again.” Cam’s anger faded away on the last word. “I cannot stand to see it.”
“There is nothing wrong. For heaven’s sake, Cam, stop being dramatic.”
He stared at her hard, as did Dev, and it took all her willpower not to look away.
“You color is lighter,” her eldest brother said. “Weaker, as if you are suffering in some way.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about.” She tried appear confused.
“Can you not tell us what has upset you, Essie?” Lilly got out of her seat and came to wrap an arm around her. “Please, dear. Tell us what is wrong.”
She felt the pressure of tears behind her eyes but refused to let them fall. Never again would she cry because a man did not love her.
“I will return in time for the births, but I want to go to Oak’s Knoll, now, today.” Desperation had her rising from the table. Now she had made up her mind, she wanted to leave London at once.
“Will you not tell us what has happened?” Dev’s concern was written all over his face. “Who has hurt you?”
Essie shook her head.
“I cannot let you leave London in this condition, Essex, and you cannot ask that of me.”
“It’s Huntington, I know it is!” Cam hissed, getting to his feet. “I’m going to confront him, and I don’t care if he is James’s brother!”
“No, Cam!” Essie cried, but he had stormed from the room before she could do so.
“He is not there. Dev, you must go after him.”
“How do you know he is not there?”
“I-I paid him a call this morning, to get some herbs.”
Essie held her breath as Dev looked at her. He then shook his head, and walked from the room, leaving her to exhale... loudly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“Do you know, Essie, I am usually an astute judge of character, and I’m of the opinion that Max Huntington is a good man. I even would go so far as saying he would rather hurt himself than you.”
Lilly had taken the seat beside hers. One of her gloved hands touched Essie’s arm.
“Now that your silly brothers have gone, we can talk, just the two of us. Come now, tell me what is going on inside you, please.”
“He said he loved me, Lilly.” Essie could hold back no longer. It felt good to say the words after holding them inside for two days. Lilly would not judge her, nor would she track down Max and beat him senseless, as her brothers would.
“Then he does, Essie.”
“But he promised to come here and speak with Dev two days ago, and yet did not. And when I went to his house this morning, I was told by his butler that he had left word he was leaving town, and did not know when he would return.”
Lilly made a humming sound. “You of all people know that what we see or hear is not always the truth, Essie.”
Essie thought about Max. About the moments in his conservatory when he had made love to her, when they had shared what they held in their hearts, and the secrets he had kept inside him for so long. His words were the truth.
“Dear Lord, Lilly,” Essie said as she realized how wrong she had been to doubt him. “I have allowed my fear to cloud my thoughts. I was so afraid he had turned from me, deceived me as Tolly did, that I did not allow myself to see that he would never do that. Not Max.”
“Max is not Tolly, is he, Essie?”
“No!” She surged to her feet. “He would not hurt me, Lilly. He loves me.”
“Yes he does, so what do you wish to do about that?”
“We need to go to Max’s house, Lilly. Will you accompany me, and help me convince my brothers not to murder the man I love... when we locate him, that is?”
Her sister-in-law smiled.
“Of course I will. Do you think I would miss this?”
When they arrived at Max’s house, it was to find her brothers, James, and another man, whom Essie recognized as one of Max’s employees, Edward.
“I tell you he would not simply have left without telling me,” Edward was saying, and his tone told Essie he was worried about his employer.
“So you have said, but as my sister is upset, and I hold Huntington responsible—”
“No!” Essie stepped up behind her brothers. “Max is not responsible for my pain. He loves me, as I love him, and he would not have left if he had not been forced to.”
She wasn’t sure why she believed this now, but she did... vehemently. Max loved her.
“You love him?” Dev looked horrified. “You don’t know this man, Essex.”
“I do know him, and he would not have willingly left London and me. He was to come to speak with you just two days ago and ask for my hand in marriage.”
“I beg your pardon?” Dev glared at her.
“I love him, and we are to marry.”
“You don’t even know him!” Cam roared. “His past could be littered with brutal acts and fiendish endeavors—”
“It’s not. He has told me some of it, and I care nothing for that, only him.” Essie knew she was right. Knew that Max was a good man.
“When have you spent time together to come to this conclusion?” Dev’s words were a low growl. “If he touched you, he is a dead man.”
“That’s my brother you speak of, Sinclair. Have a care.”
Her brothers spun to face James as he entered the fray.
“You know nothing of him, and yet you will stand at his back?” Cam looked horrified.
“He is a good man, Cam, and you said so yourself. He saved my sister, and rescues boys being mistreated on ships. He runs a house for them, for heaven’s sake. Don’t jump to conclusions simply because you believe he has hurt Essie. Especially when she has declared otherwise.”
Cam and Dev exhaled in unison.
“Hello, family, have I missed the fun?” Eden arrived.
“You no doubt heard it all, my love.” James took her hand in his. “But in short, I am attempting to stop your brothers from beating mine to a pulp when we locate him.”
“I did hear it all, and have to say I side with James and Essie in this. Max is a good man. Anyone who
treats our little ones with the respect and kindness he does, could not have hurt Essie, or left her after declaring his love.”
“Essie does not know her mind!” Dev snapped. “She has been hurt before, and was lured by Huntington.”
“That will do, husband,” Lilly said calmly. “You sister is no simpleton. She knows her own mind. And Max is not Tolly.”
“Exactly, thank you, Lilly. Now stop behaving like a caveman, and let us work out where the man I love has gone!” Essie snapped.
“If I may interject?”
Essie had forgotten Edward was still standing in the doorway to Max’s house, overhearing the entire discussion.
“What?” Dev rounded on him, forcing Edward to take a step back.
“I would like to say something.”
Essie grabbed her brothers’ arms and forced them to retreat and give the man some room.
“Let him speak.”
Edward cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.
“Well, speak!” Cam demanded.
“Pay them no mind.” James stepped forward and held out his hand to Edward. “I am the Duke of Raven, and Mr. Huntington is my brother.”
“Ah… Max is your brother, your Grace?”
James smiled. “Indeed he is, and I find I like the idea hugely.”
Edward stuttered out his name as he bowed and then took the hand.
“My name is James, Edward. If I may call you that?”
Edward nodded.
“Please ignore the two Neanderthals at my back and tell me what you wish to say?”
“Max would not leave London without telling me first. He would also not leave Miss Sinclair, if he has vowed to wed her. He is the most honest, loyal man I know.”
“In what capacity do you work for him, Edward?”
“I am his steward, but we are friends. You see, it was Max that saved me when we were crew on a ship. The captain would have killed me, but Max intervened. He then threw the man overboard, and we believed he would drown.”
“Surely that is not the act of a rational man?” Cam exploded.
“Captain Rutley had been whipping and beating his crew and most especially his cabin boys for years... among other things. He deserved his fate and a great deal worse,” Edward said softly.
“Dear God, was it he who did that to Huntington?”
“It was, Cam,” Essie said. “Max told me about it.”
“Christ.” Cam lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Edward, I had no right to judge him in light of what I have learned.”
Edward pulled a letter from his pocket and held it out to James.
“It is written in Max’s handwriting, but signed from M.C.R. Huntington. Max would never sign anything but Max in a missive to staff or me. It is his way, and always has been. He will not stand on ceremony with those who he believes are his equals.”
“C. R. Do you believe he was trying to tell you something?” James said, and Essie prayed he was. Prayed it would lead them to Max, because the panic inside her was growing.
“I do. I believe that he was taken by Captain Rutley.”
“And you believe he has had him for two days?” Dev questioned in a surprisingly calm voice.
“Yes.”
“We will help you look for him. That will be the only way we can ascertain whether you are right, and whether he has mistreated my sister. But if he has, even his lofty brother will not be able to save him.”
Max had lost count of how long he had been chained to the wooden pile. His hands were bound around the wood, and his feet shackled together. High tides had reached his neck, and he’d managed to stay upright, but he feared his strength was waning, and the next one would drown him because his legs were threatening to give out. Cold had seeped into his bones, and shivers wracked his body. His eyes kept closing. In short, he was running out of time.
He’d yelled so much his voice was hoarse, and still no one came. Only Rutley, every few hours to look down on him and laugh.
“Essie,” he whispered. He focused on the vision of her in his arms that night in his conservatory.
“I love you, Max.”
Did she believe he had deserted her? Did she believe he had run from her love? Surely she knew he would not do that. But then, someone had hurt her before; why would she believe his words now, so many days after he had promised to call on her brother? His disappearance would be seen as a sign of his perfidy in her eyes.
Thirst clawed at his throat, hunger gnawed at his insides, but still he felt hope. He could not have found his first and only love just to have his life snuffed out, not now.
“Help me!” He roared the words with the last of his strength. “Dear God, help me, please,” he whispered, slumping against the wood.
The aches in his body were nothing compared to the pain in his heart. He felt the muscles in his legs quiver, and then suddenly they gave out, and he was sliding down the pole and into the water below. It enveloped him as he struggled to keep his head above.
“Essie,” Max whispered.
“It came from over there, I tell you.”
Max heard the words, and struggled to speak. “Help.” It was a pitiful rasp.
“Over there!”
The sound of running feet made him fight to stay upright. Looking up, he searched the wharf above.
“Help!” he managed again, and seconds later he was rewarded with a face appearing, and then several more. He tried to focus, but could not make out the features.
“Down here,” he rasped.
“Christ!”
“Max!”
It couldn’t be. “Essie!” Please God, let him not be dreaming.
“Hold on, Max, we’re coming!”
He struggled to his feet, using his arms to work his way back up the pole. Essie was here. Dear God, he was weeping like a babe.
He saw a pair of legs dangling over the platform above him, and then they were followed by a body, and he saw it was the duke, his brother, being lowered into the water.
“It’s all right now, Max, I have you.”
A jacket was lowered around his shoulders, and the warmth was bliss.
“Drink this. Just a sip.”
Max allowed James to drizzle some brandy into his mouth, and it burned down his throat, but the warmth was bliss.
“Shackles,” Max whispered. “Keys.”
“We will get you out, no matter what it takes.”
He squinted through gritty eyes into his brother’s face.
“D-don’t want to d-die.”
“You’re not dying when I’ve just found you,” the duke snapped.
“Essie.”
“Yes, and she loves you, so focus on that while I work out what we’re going to do. Also on the fact that you have to convince those two idiots she’s related to, to agree to letting you marry her.”
He couldn’t focus, and he struggled not to let the darkness consume him. He had to stay strong for her.
“Focus on my voice now, brother.”
The duke was looking at the shackles on his hands.
“He’s shackled!”
Several curses rained down on them from above.
“Let me down there now!”
Max heard Essie’s cry, and the sound of her distress had him struggling.
“No!” He managed to put some force into the word.
“Yes, or I’ll jump in!”
“God save me from hardheaded Sinclair woman,” the duke said.
Several more curses were heard, and Max slumped back against his brother as his legs gave out again.
“Get down here, Sinclair, I need your help!”
Max heard another splash, and suddenly Lord Sinclair had arrived.
“My sister is being restrained,” he gritted out. “By Edward.”
“How are we to get him out, Sinclair?”
Max slumped against his brother; even talking was beyond him now.
“The pole is too high to lift him over, and we could hurt him if we t
ried to break the shackles. I don’t suppose any of you Sinclairs can pick a lock?”
Sinclair cursed.
“What?” the duke said.
“Send her down, Cam, we need locks picked!”
“No!” Max tried to lift his head.
Lord Sinclair bent so his face was level with Max’s.
“Your beloved is a master lock picker, Huntington, so be on your guard, and don’t bother locking drawers with things you don’t want her to see.”
“Essie?” James questioned.
“Hard to believe, isn’t it. The gentlest among us could have a career as a criminal. She learnt from a man in Crunston Cliff. He made a living out of stealing, but when she saved his dog from an infection, he was devoted to her.”
Max couldn’t believe they were standing waist deep in water discussing this. “Do something,” he whispered as Essie’s legs appeared above him. “St-top her.”
“Lower her,” Sinclair said, ignoring him. “One thing you need to learn very quickly, Huntington, is that you can’t stop my sisters from doing anything.”
“I— Please sh-she should n-not be here. S-see me like this.”
“Be still, brother, this is the only way.” James said the words into his ear.
Max watched Essie fall into her brother’s arms. Felt his heart leap that she was so close.
“Essie.” Her name was barely a whisper now.
“Max.” His name was torn from her, and he could do nothing to hold her, nothing to ease her fears. She moved as close to him as she could, and pressed her face into his neck. Max closed his eyes and inhaled.
“Essie, I-I love you.” Through the long hours alone, he had thought only of her. His fight had been for her, them, and the life they would have together.
“I love you too.”
Her lips touched his cheek, and then she pulled away, and he bit back the words to make her stay. He felt her hands on his face. “B-be strong for a little longer.”
“Pick the locks on his hands, Essie, and then we can lift him out, and you can do the ankles later. He is cold, and needs attention quickly,” James said.
Max focused on her, saw the worry in her sweet face. His woman, he thought as she pulled a pin from her hair. He concentrated on that thought alone.