Loving a Noble Gentleman

by Abigail Agar

  “… you do not dare behave like that in public again,” Lord Jones yelled as he towered over Charlotte who had fallen to the floor in a heap in her fancy dress which now looked torn and dishevelled. Mary did not know what had happened before this moment, but she could hazard a guess. He had been forceful with his hands again, leaving her with fresh bruises to hide. Surely whatever he thought that Charlotte had done, it was not bad enough to deserve this? Her sister was meek and quiet around him; she was like a shell of herself. There was no way that she could have done something terrible. “I will not have it.”

  “But … but I did not …” Charlotte sobbed. It seemed that she was not even sure what she had done wrong, but there probably was not anything to be honest. It did not take Lord Jones much to snap anymore. “I do not …”

  “Stop,” Mary rasped loudly, trying not to sound like a broken woman as she did. She needed some of that inner strength that she had been so proud of before, but it had deserted her. “Stop it, this is not right. Please, leave Charlotte alone …”

  On hearing her voice, Lord Jones span and glared at Mary as if she were the sole source of his anger. He almost seemed to forget about his wife on the floor as he discovered someone new to absorb his temper. His nostrils flared, and his eyes flashed with rage as he stared at her as if she was the Devil. “Are you still here?” he snarled as he took a step closer with his fists curling around until his knuckles turned a funny shade of white. “I cannot believe that my wife allowed you into my home. The ruined Roberts sister, affecting my reputation with her own.”

  Mary felt scared. Genuinely frightened, even more so than before. She felt it consume her and swallow her whole, leaving her a shuddering wreck. Much as she was glad to help Charlotte, she could not help thinking that this might well have been a big mistake. She took a step backwards as sheer terror consumed her. There was something in the way that Lord Jones was looking at her that made her feel as small as an ant. “I am sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t want to cause … this.”

  “This?” Lord Jones yelled as his arms flailed in front of him. His cheeks were redder than any human’s that Mary had ever seen before. How did Charlotte stand this? It was utterly insane. “This? You mean my marriage, which by the way is absolutely nothing to do with you I might like to add. I do not want to ever hear you speak about my marriage.”

  “I did not … I did not mean …”

  “What? You did not mean to cause offence? Well, you have done …”

  The words dragged Mary’s sister out of her daze of confusion. Charlotte’s vision had returned now after the whack she had received earlier, and she could see her husband looming down towards her sister with that same terrible glint in his eye that he had when he came at her. She could not take this; he had already taken things way too far, and she could not allow him to go after Mary. That would be the absolute worst thing ever and also entirely her fault. She did not think that he would ever do this to someone else. If so, she would have done something much sooner to put a stop to it.

  I should have kept them separate, she thought as she blinked rapidly. I should never have let Mary come into my home. Maybe none of this would have happened; maybe she would even still be at home. She would not have lost her inheritance and kept her mouth shut.

  Despite the fact that she was a very quiet person these days, her husband was always telling her off for her mouth, just as he was today. She was not totally sure what she had done, but maybe he was right. Maybe if she had not mentioned that things were difficult to Mary, then none of this would have happened.

  But there was no point in getting lost in past mistakes. Not when the effects of those mistakes were happening right now in front of her. What she needed to do was finally take action, to stand up to the man who had terrorised her life. She needed to do this for herself, for her sister, and for her baby too. If her husband was willing to go at Mary like that, then it was likely that he would not treat their baby well either. She had held onto the wish that he would at least be a good father, even if he were a terrible husband, but it seemed that dream was vanishing as well.

  “Stop,” she panted out as her tight chest tried its best to get some air in. It was almost as if she had something wrapped around her insides, refusing to let her breathe properly. “Stop it now.”

  She staggered over to him, tackling his rage head on for the very first time in their turbulent marriage. It had never been so bad before. Things had never been so violent. There had been intense rage and the odd outburst that resulted in her getting hurt, but nothing like this. This was on another scale.

  “Please, let us just talk. We need to talk …”

  Charlotte could not even finish her sentence because Lord Jones smacked his hand backwards without even looking at her and hit her in the face again. Because she was already hurt, it did not take long to knock her to the ground again. Her body fell backwards without her permission, making Charlotte feel more out of control than she ever had done before. It was awful. Even as her arms flailed around trying to grab onto something, she knew that she would find nothing. It was taken out of her hands now, and she just had to go. She hit her head so hard as her body finally reached the floor that the blackness came for her rapidly. Charlotte knew that she needed to keep her wits about her to stop this from escalating, but she could not. Her eyes fell closed, and she shut the world out completely.

  “Stop!” Mary screamed, repeating what the girls had been saying to Lord Jones ever since this whole rampage started. Despite hitting his wife again, he was still coming for her, but Mary really needed him to stop this time and not just for herself. She knew that he wanted to hit her which, of course, she wanted to avoid, but this was not about her. “Charlotte is hurt.”

  With an unexpected burst of strength, she shoved Lord Jones out the way and flew past him. There was an ice-cold sensation deep in her stomach that something was wrong, really wrong, and she needed to address that. Mary could not stand it; this was not what she had wanted at all. When she came to intervene, she hoped to make it better, not worse, just as Charlotte had warned her that she would.

  I should have listened, she thought desperately. I never should have gone against her wishes.

  “Step away from my wife,” Lord Jones growled, but there was much less conviction in his tone this time. He could see the panic in Mary’s eyes, and he could feel that there was something behind that. The red mist that had descended in front of his eyes had dissipated rapidly, and now he was not sure what to do. It was never like this. Usually, he got to calm down by himself. Now, it seemed that he had gone too far … even for him.“Charlotte?”

  Mary’s heart was in her throat as she tucked her hand under her sister’s head. She pulled her up to look into her cold blank eyes. She felt cold from the bottom of her toes all the way up to the top of her head. It left her foggy and unsure of what to do next.The man that she hated – the one that had caused this damage – was the only other person that she had here. She had to rely on him even if she did not want to, for Charlotte’s sake.

  “We need a doctor,” she gasped desperately but refusing to look at him directly. She could not meet those cold eyes, no matter what. “Charlotte is bleeding.”

  She turned and looked at Lord Jones’ body which was frozen to the spot. She could almost see his thought pattern, and he did not want to call the doctor because he did not want to take the blame for what had happened. He was man enough to cause the damage but not man enough to take the blame for it.

  “We do not have to say anything,” she said exasperatedly. “It does not matter. We simply need to get someone here to look after Charlotte. She and her baby’s lives are depending on it.” She narrowed her eyes at Lord Jones angrily. “You will do this, and you will do it now,” she gulped noisily, not wanting to say this, but knowing that she had to. “This is your baby as well. Do not let your pride get in the way.”

  As Lord Jones finally walked off, she allowed a tear to roll down her cheek.
This was scary, the most terrified that she had been in her entire life. Charlotte had been knocked out by her husband’s bad temper, which was potentially her fault for intervening when Charlotte told her not to, and now things did not look good at all. She could hardly contain the sad emotions that threatened to consume her whole.

  Please be alright, Charlotte, she begged sadly. The tear fell from her cheek and onto Charlotte’s face that was frozen in time, stuck in the moment that she was struck. Please do not be hurt. You are all that I have left. I need you.

  Chapter 28

  There was a strange atmosphere surrounding Lord Jones’ home, Edmund could feel it the moment he stepped out of his carriage. It was almost as if there was a black cloud hanging above it. He stopped for a moment and stared up at the building wondering why he had such a chill racing up and down his spine. It was almost as if he could sense that there was an emergency inside, and it was not a feeling that he liked too much. Especially as he knew what Lord Jones was like.

  I hope Mary is alright, he thought with furrowed brows. I do not want her to be hurt.

  He moved quickly to the front door and knocked hard. There was serious anxiety inside of him now, and the longer he left it, the more he got himself worked up. Edmund needed to see Mary, and he needed to know that she was safe. Right now, that was all that he could think about. His mind raced at a million miles an hour.

  “Oh, my goodness.” The door swung open rapidly, and Edmund was stunned to see Mary rather than a member of staff on the other side of it. She looked dishevelled and stressed which only served to amp up the fear inside of Edmund. But, on the plus side, she was clearly alright to some extent which allowed the tight knot in his stomach to loosen somewhat. “Your Grace, what are you doing here?”

  “I …” All the words fell apart on Edmund’s lips as his brain instantly searched for a logical solution. He tried to rationalise what was happening but could not. There was no obvious answer. “Is everything alright? Do you need help with anything?”

  Mary glanced behind her back as if she was looking for someone. Then she stepped outside the front door and pulled the door almost closed behind her. “It is Charlotte,” she said gravely. “She had a … fall.”

  “A fall?” Edmund did not believe her; he knew what Mary was suggesting between the lines, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. “Is she alright? How is the baby?”

  “The baby is fine; we got the doctor to come and check her over right away. The baby has somehow managed to survive what has happened.” Mary pursed her lips thoughtfully then folded her arms across her chest. To Edmund, it did not seem like a defensive gesture, more like she was trying to hold herself together. All Edmund wanted to do was wrap his arms around her. He knew that he could hold her together, but he had to behave with some decorum. At least for now. “Charlotte, I am less sure about. Physically, she is not doing too badly. She has some injuries, but nothing too serious, but mentally … I believe that she is going downhill, and I fear what will happen to her next.”

  Edmund nodded slowly as a crushing sadness fell down on him. He did not like the thought of anyone suffering such a horrible time. Especially not Charlotte Roberts – he could not really think of her as Jones, it did not seem right considering all that she had gone through since being married – she was a lovely Lady and the sister of the woman that he loved.

  It was just lucky that he did not come to see Mary empty-handed.

  “I have a plan,” he said very quietly so that only Mary could hear him. “One that will help you and Charlotte.”

  Mary’s eyes widened in surprise. For a moment, Edmund spotted a flicker of hope, but that was quickly replaced with the realisation that in reality, it was not possible. Edmund could understand that; she did not know his plan. Of course she would not think that it was possible because she did not know what Edmund’s plan was. Unfortunately, he could not disclose all of the information right now. Not when things were so potentially dangerous.

  “What plan?” Mary hissed. “Because things are terrible at the moment. I am not sure that it is the right time …”

  “It is the perfect time,” Edmund interjected. “You cannot allow things to get worse. Not when you consider that the baby will come sooner rather than later.”

  Mary was silenced by that; of course, she was very worried about the baby too. She loved the unborn child; it would be her niece or nephew. Judging by the way that Lord Jones flew at her without a second thought, she knew he would have hit her if the whole mess with Charlotte had not happened. If he could do that to her, she knew for a fact that he would do it to his child too. He would probably feel more ownership over his child so he would think it was his right.

  She did not want that to happen, but she feared that there was nowhere the girls could now run to.

  Lord Jones had spent the time since he hurt his wife hiding away in his office. As far as Mary was aware, he had not left the house even once. Clearly, what he had done this time had shamed him; he did not like that he had been forced to call a doctor to look after his wife after his actions, but it was not enough. Mary knew that the shame would wear off in time; soon, he would forget all about it, and the fact that they had both lied to the health professional and said that Charlotte had fallen meant he got away with it. He knew that he could do it again, and in time, Mary knew that he would. He would leave his office, and things would slowly get back to normal.

  No, not normal. Worse than normal. Mary could not let that happen.

  “What are you suggesting?” Mary whispered back. “What is your plan?”

  “I cannot give you the details now. I hope that you understand that.” Mary did not like it, but she was smart enough to understand. Edmund could not say anything too detailed just in case they were being listened to. She was very confident that they were not, but she could never be totally sure. “All I want to let you know is that I will get you and your sister somewhere that neither of you can be found.” Mary gave him a look, suggesting that she did not think it was possible. “I have a plan. I know what I am doing.”

  Edmund reached out to take Mary’s hands, and she allowed him to do so. She stared up into his eyes wishing that he could have all the answers. Mary was tired of trying to work everything out by herself, especially as she could not seem to find any solution. If this could work, it would be perfect. She would be handing the responsibility over to someone else, someone who had access to money, to resources, to areas of the world that Mary could only dream of.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked her in a hushed tone. “I mean, really trust me? I know that we have had our ups and downs, but do you really trust me? Do you believe that I can help you out with this?”

  “I …” Mary pondered this for a moment. Did she trust Edmund? There had been times when she had and times when she had not, but he had always pulled through for her. One of the best things that he had done for her was hiring Daisy in his home. He had done that to make her happy. She felt that she could trust him with her friend, her sister, and herself too. But it was not Duke Smith that she did not trust. It was everyone else. “I do,” she eventually finished cautiously. “But what about Lord Jones? How will you make sure that he does not find Charlotte?”

  “I have it all under control,” Edmund replied mysteriously. “Where we are all going, he will never be able to find us.”

  “We?” Mary’s heart skipped a beat. The dream that she had forced herself to give up on, the love that she did not want to embrace too much because she knew it would all end in heartache, it was now looking like it could be real after all. She had even not allowed herself to think of that kiss they shared, but now the floodgates opened, and it flooded her brain entirely. “You will come too?”

  “Of course.” Edmund smiled warmly. “I would love to come with you. Plus, I think that you and Charlotte will be much better off with me by your side. I think it is safer, do you not?”

  “Of course, but if we go somewhere we can never return …�
� Mary gasped, her chest grew tight at the thought of making everyone she cared about leave their old life behind. “Your business, your life, your mother …” She stared up into his eyes searching for everything that she wanted to see. The scary thing is she could spot it there. It really did seem like Edmund had some answers there inside his head. She could not extract them right now which meant she had to put faith in him. “How can you leave all of that behind?”

  “I have worked it all out,” Edmund replied a little stiffly. There was tension in his tone because he did not know what he could say to make Mary trust him. “My mother will be just fine,” he replied, sure that this was the one area that Mary was most concerned about knowing her as he did. “She has Daisy now, and she is very happy with her. I have spoken with her extensively about this. She is very aware of what is going on and is happy with it.”

  “Right.” Mary nodded slowly. She knew that she was not going to get any more out of Edmund. Not now. She had what she had, and she needed to decide whether or not she trusted him enough to go with it from that information alone. “So what is it you need me to do? If Charlotte and I go along with your plan?” She wanted to make sure that Edmund knew there was a chance that she would not go along with it.

  “I just need you to be aware that there will be a carriage waiting for you and Charlotte at the end of the road at midnight.”

  “Midnight?” Mary gasped, shocked. She could not be outside at midnight; it just was not the sort of thing that was acceptable to do. Her initial reaction was to panic, but of course, if she was going to run – if they both intended to escape without anyone knowing where they were. “Yes, of course, midnight. I suppose that makes sense. We cannot be seen.”