by Dayna Quince
“It’s not a crime, per se, but it is a matter of honor. You want to insinuate my presence here is a risk, yet what I think you are hiding is that her being here alone makes her an easy mark for you.”
“Bite your tongue before you lose it.” Rigsby stepped closer.
Felton didn’t back down. He didn’t need to. Rigsby was a fit man and likely a decent fighter, but he was nothing compared to the seething, violent energy coursing through Felton’s veins. He felt like he could face a tiger and win.
“Where is your honor, Rigsby?”
“How dare you question my honor.”
“I call into question your motives.”
“Thea is family. I can speak to her when I wish, where I wish. I don’t have to answer to anyone.”
“Answer to your conscience. She isn’t your property. You think you’re entitled to her simply because of your history with her. I’m sure her cousin thinks the very same.”
Rigsby flinched.
“Stay away from her. She’s made her wishes clear.” Felton felt dangerously close to losing his control. His hands shook.
Rigby stared at him, eyes narrowed. Felton marveled at his self-control. If they switched places, Felton would have knocked his teeth out long ago.
Rigby stood there, his rage evident, but he didn’t react. He maintained his calm.
“Is that all?” He shrugged.
“I think I’ve said enough.”
Rigby turned and left. Felton followed more slowly, keeping distance between them. He waited on the stairs as Rigby went into his room and then Felton went into his own. He wasn’t going to tell Thea about their confrontation. He sincerely hoped she was already asleep. On second thought he went to her door and tested the handle. It was locked. Good.
Jonathan watched the sun peek over the mountains and sighed. He shrugged into his greatcoat, grabbed his small bag and softly opened his door. No one else was awake at this ungodly and frigid hour. Jonathan realized he’d been a fool to think he could seduce her. She was far more intelligent than he and a complete novice in matters of seduction. She likely hadn’t known what he’d been about last night. Thank God. But the Major had.
For a moment, standing in that study, Rigsby had mentally prepared himself for a fight, but the more Major Felton talked, the more shameful Jonathan felt. He’d tried to seduce her. He hadn’t gotten past the threshold but dammit, he’d tried, even just in his mind. He’d intended to seduce her, without wooing her first, without giving her the slightest idea of his intentions. Christ, what was he thinking? She was a complete innocent, the most innocent woman he’d ever known. Yes, she’d been friends with his sister and privy to more sordid conversations than she ought to, but she was an innocent. Untouched, untried. Had she allowed him into her room, he would have taken full advantage of that innocence, of the delicate trust she had in him from years of friendship.
It was that reason he’d stood silently under Major Felton’s moral lecture and left without defending himself. He had nothing to defend. It was also why, as the rest of the cottage occupants slept, he would leave. He needed to withdraw and find clarity. He was making bad decisions everywhere he turned, and it was time to admit defeat and seek an outside point of view.
He was dreading the ride, but it would be far worse to stay and face Thea over the breakfast table.
* * *
Hours later, he rode into his family stables to the surprise of the stable hands.
“My lord, we did not anticipate your return so soon.”
“Warm mash for my horse, Elliot.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jonathan held back his own shivering until he got inside. He headed straight for the kitchens, his stomach growling and his hands in need of a hot fire to warm them. He received a few surprised glances but no further comments. He wondered how much the servants really knew about why he went to the cottage in the first place.
Mrs. Gabe fussed over the state of his coat and insisted removing it and draping a toasty blanket over his shoulders. He let her fuss over him and ignored his valet’s moans of distress over his clothing.
“Are my parents awake?”
“Not yet. Shall I wake them?”
“No. It isn’t urgent. I can join them at breakfast. I would fancy a hot bath.”
“Of course.”
Jonathan kept his hot tea and blanket and made his way to his room. Smith, his valet, followed him.
Jonathan undressed after the bath was ready and dismissed Smith while he finished thawing himself. The ride had been dreadful, but at least the snow had dissipated overnight leaving the roads frozen and hard. He’d kept to fields mostly to avoid treacherous patches of ice.
Sometime later, he took secret pleasure in his parent’s surprise when he strolled into the breakfast parlor.
“Heavens!” Lady Heath cried. “When did you return?”
“Earlier this morning.” Jonathan took his seat and accepted a plate of eggs and bacon.
“Is something wrong at the cottage?”
“Yes. I had to retreat.”
“Retreat?” His mother shared a look with his father.
“A Major Felton has taken up residence with our Thea. He is a friend of Winchester’s.”
“You left her there with a stranger in residence?” his mother said with alarm.
“Oh, he isn’t a stranger anymore. They’re two peas in a pod, they are. I recommended Thea return with me, but she refused.”
“Refused? Can she not see the danger of residing there with a bachelor? I’m assuming he is a bachelor,” his father responded.
“He is. He…” Jonathan loathed saying it, especially after his own despicable behavior, “he is an honorable gentleman. I’ve no fear in that quarter, but when all is said and done, she refused to return, and more importantly, refused to heed any advice from me.”
“Our little Thea is growing up, it seems.” Lady Heath sipped her tea.
“She’s taken her due from Lucy and won’t listen to reason.”
“And why should she listen to you, son?”
“We’re family,” Jonathan stated angrily.
“Not precisely. We’ve supported her when she has needed help, but in truth, she is almost of age, and we cannot control what she chooses to do.”
Jonathan was flabbergasted. “How can you say that? We’ve been her surrogate family for years now. What would Lucy say if she heard you?”
“I hope she’d appreciate that I’ve learned to try not to control stubborn women.”
Jonathan sighed in exasperation. “I’m supposed to stop caring? How?”
Another shared look between his parents. “What would you have us do?”
“Go get her and order her home.”
“Whose home? This isn’t her home.”
“This is her home. This is where she belongs.”
“What would you have us say?” His mother shrugged.
“Use the guilt you love to wield over Lucy and me.”
She set her tea cup down. “And then what?”
“What do you mean?” Jonathan frowned.
“If her family knows she is here, they will come to get her, and we have no legal recourse to stop them.”
“They already looked here, and she wasn’t here.”
“They came back,” his father said. “With a Bow Street Runner.”
“They’ve hired a bloody Runner?!”
“Watch your tongue,” his father scolded.
“Sorry,” Jonathan said sheepishly. “I simply can’t believe the lengths her family is going to find her. They never cared before, so why now?”
“I suspect there is an inheritance involved, but that’s not the worst of it. They’ve made some awful accusations about Thea.”
“What kind of accusations?”
“Accusations about her mental state. They are claiming she is not competent and is unstable, that she must be under the care of her family.”
“We’ve got to go get her. Right
now.”
“And do what? In the eyes of the law, her aunt is her guardian, and we have no standing to keep her out of their hands. They have a letter from her doctor.”
“She isn’t unstable, and to say she is not competent to care for herself or make decisions is laughable. She’s the most intelligent woman I know.”
“What will you do to stop them, son?”
Jonathan bit his tongue. “I—”
Marriage. He could see it in his father’s gaze. It was the only option. He’d already been thinking it, but to say it out loud, to have others thinking it as well, made it so real and terrifying. He still didn’t know if he could do it—to himself or to her. How could he get her to agree, if he wasn’t sure of it himself?
“Take some time to think about it,” his mother said softly.
Jonathan nodded and stood. He needed to think, and to do that, he needed to walk.
Chapter 13
Thea was greatly surprised to find only Felton at the breakfast table.
“He must be sleeping off the brandy,” she murmured.
“He isn’t here.”
“What?”
“Mr. Hale said that his horse is gone, and so are his belongings.”
Thea blinked. “Really?”
“After we spoke last night, he must have decided to leave.”
Thea paused as she was about to lay her napkin over her lap. “You spoke last night? When?”
“After…” He hesitated.
“No!” She gasped. “What did you say? What did—did you hit him?”
“Why do you think I would hit him?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Why did you speak with him?”
“He shouldn’t have come to you like that. I had to speak to him.”
“He was only being concerned.”
“Concern doesn’t drive a man to visit a woman’s room. Lust does.”
Thea felt her mouth go slack. She snapped it closed and angrily buttered her toast. “No.”
“No?”
“No.”
She didn’t look up at him, but she could feel him watching her.
“Thea, he came to seduce you.”
She set her knife down with a clatter. She flinched and looked around. “No, he didn’t. I don’t know why you would think that.”
“I’m a man, and I know how men think.”
Thea swallowed. “Is that why you came to me?”
“Don’t do this.” He wiped his hand over his face.
“What am I doing?” She laughed feebly. She wrapped her arms around herself suddenly feeling cold. “Jonathan is my friend.”
“And yet he tried to seduce you.”
“Did he say that to you? What happened during this conversation?”
“He didn’t have to say it.”
“Why would he do that? Tell me why now?”
“Because he can, Thea. Because you’re here all alone with no family, with no one to defend you.”
Thea gasped. Not because what he said wasn’t true, but because what he said made so much sense. Not for Jonathan, but for him. She clenched her fists. She didn’t want to cry, but the overwhelming urge to lose herself in wracking sobs hit her like a runaway carriage. She looked at him with new eyes but still saw the beautiful man he was. So beautiful, she had to admit maybe she was blinded by it.
She’d let herself be swept away. She’d let herself fall for a man she hardly knew. “I think I see now.”
“You see? Please enlighten me.”
“You think Jonathan wants to take advantage of me because that’s what you have done. Thieves always worry about theft, as the say.”
“No.”
“No?”
“No.” He pushed back from his chair and stood. He came around the table and kneeled beside hers. “No.”
Thea swallowed against the rush of tears. “What am I to think? I’ve been the greatest fool. I thought I could manage on my own, but the first gentleman that comes along slips right under my guard.” It was impossible now. They came full force, and she had to cover her face. She heard him stand, and then the sound of his footsteps leaving the room.
Felton left because now he really needed to hit something. He left through the front and circled around to the stables where he found a bale of hay to ease is frustration. He stopped when his knuckles burned with tiny bleeding scratches, but he wasn’t done.
He hurt. A piercing pain penetrated his chest. He staggered into the cold air again heaving great big clouds of his breath into the air.
“What are you doing out here?” Thea ran toward him, a thick blanket over her shoulders. “Are you mad? You haven’t a proper coat on. Have you learned nothing?”
“I’ve learned that even my best intentions can be construed as nefarious and, Miss Dorothea Manton, you have impinged my honor.”
“What am I to believe—” She gasped. “Your hands are bleeding!”
“Not a badly as my heart.”
She looked up at him. Her eyes were still red and wet.
“You said you trusted me.”
“I do, but I also trust Jonathan.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“Perhaps I should trust both of you.”
“Perhaps, but it’s clear you don’t.” He moved to step around her.
“Wait.” She grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?”
“Yes, I—I was shocked. It’s hard for me to fathom the idea of Jonathan wanting me in that way. We’ve been friends for so long, and I’ve grown comfortable with that friendship the way it was.”
“Well, now it’s changed.”
“I still don’t see it that way.”
He turned to face her. “You don’t see how he could have formed an attraction to you over time? How now that you are unattached and in need of protection from someone, he could place himself in that role by fair means or foul?”
“Well, when put that way… What the devil happened to your hands?”
“You’re changing the subject.”
“Yes, I find it uncomfortable.”
“You find it uncomfortable? Imagine how I feel? Why do you think I took it upon myself to dissuade him?”
“Because you’re carrying the same gallant notion that I am in need of a protector.”
“It’s not a gallant notion. It is a fact.”
“I don’t need protection from Jonathan. One word from me, and he would have realized his error in judgement.”
“Is that so?”
“He’s only acting on impulse. He…” She looked around nervously and dropped her voice. “The morning he brought me here, Lucy had suggested he marry me to protect me from my family. It was an awful suggestion and completely unwarranted. He probably feels guilty and thinks he still needs to make such a sacrifice. He doesn’t, and I will continue to remind him of that fact.”
Outwardly, Felton took that bit of information calmly, but inside, he was riled. So Rigsby was trying to marry her? Thea thought it was for practical reasons, but Felton begged to differ. Maybe it was jealousy, but if he wanted to claim her for himself, he needed to act quickly. He had very little to offer her, unlike the heir to an Earldom.
He took her arm and escorted her back inside. “You should finish breakfast. I’ve remembered an urgent errand I need to tend to in the village.” He grabbed his coat off a peg in the front hall.
“This early?”
“I shan’t be long.” He kissed her quick on the cheek and left her in the hall.
It was mid-afternoon when Jonathan finally made his way home. He walked for hours, crunching through snow, trudging down icy lanes, and finding warmth at the village pub where Mr. Tappers was always willing for a friendly game of darts. He’d played a few, and then Mr. Williams had arrived with a wild tale about a boar and bonny lass from Scotland. By then, Jonathan had been rather inebriated. He’d slept it off by the fire and woken to begin his walk home.
While walking, he’d done lot
s of thinking about love. He went over what he knew of love, the things he could see that happened between people in love. His closest examples were Draven and Winchester. Their most obvious symptom of love sickness had been foolish behavior. Draven had learned a language of flowers to woo Lady Annabelle, and Winchester had gone mostly mad, the effects of Lucy, Jonathan surmised. Winchester had fought the state of love for a long time until he couldn’t fight it anymore. Both men had changed drastically in that time.
Perhaps it was his time to change? Perhaps the reason he was so lost and confused was because he was experiencing his own transition into love? It made sense when he thought about it. There had been abject denial at first—when he saw her in the breeches. Then, when Lucy suggested he marry her, he balked again. He couldn’t love Thea, not in that way. But then…now, he could. He could imagine it. He could see her as a desirable woman now, and he still held the protective instincts he had before.
So that was it, then. He was falling in love.
He would probably be in love by the time they married, and it wouldn’t be so terrifying. He was glad to have found the answer he was searching for. It’s amazing what a long walk outdoors could do for a clouded mind.
He shrugged out of his coat and handed it to a waiting footman.
“Where is my father?”
“In his study, sir.”
Jonathan felt lighter as he climbed the stairs. He knocked twice and entered at his father’s bidding.
“Father?”
“Son?”
“I’ve come to a decision.”
“Excellent. About what?”
“About what? Have you—” He saw his father’s smirk. “Good one. I’ve been agonizing for hours, and I suppose you’ve known exactly what I should do all along.”
“Some decisions need to form on their own.” Lord Heath opened a drawer and pulled out a cigar. He offered one to Jonathan and they both sat and puffed in silence.
“So what do I do now?”
“Well, you’ll have to ask her to marry you.”
Jonathan dreaded the thought. She was completely unaffected by his presence outside her room last night. He’d given her his most seductive glance. She’d looked confused and put off by the entire show. He wasn’t exactly standing on firm ground with her.