“How did you ever get to know me so well?” she asked.
“I love you with all my heart. I have made a study of everything about you, and I am delighted to know that I have not even grazed the surface. I will enjoy spending a lifetime learning every last detail of what is going on in that wonderful mind of yours.”
“I do not know whether you are teasing me or if I should be flattered, Michael.”
“Then choose the more pleasant option, my love.” He kissed her so deeply, every last thought went out of her head. All she could concentrate on was the feel of him next to her.
He pulled back and stared at the fire.
“Michael, are you all right?”
He cocked his head. “My headache has subsided. I seem to have been cured. I shall put it down to your wonderful medicine.”
They made love again, then slept for a few hours before Michael quietly slipped out of the room.
Chapter 16
Break my fast
Tell Middleton no
Convince Mother to accept Michael
Lovely Michael
It would be quite a day.
Elinor awoke ravenous. She dressed and had an awkward and private chat with her maid, Josephine, who practically tore the sheets from the bed and carried them away like a thief.
Trotting down to break her fast, she was sore but deliciously alive. She took several sausages and coddled eggs. There was some lovely bread, and she popped several pieces on her plate.
Dory and Lady Collington were already in the room. Both stared at her as if she had three heads.
“Good morning Lady Collington, Dory.” Elinor bobbed and walked to the table.
Lady Collington frowned more severely than usual.
Dory’s eyes were wide as saucers.
“Is something wrong?”
Dory leaned in. “I do not know, Elinor. You tell me.”
“As far as I know, everything is fine. Are you feeling well?”
“I am quite well.” Dory cocked her head.
“Perhaps you should sit down before the weight of your platter topples you over,” Lady Collington said.
“Yes. Thank you, my lady.” She sat next to Dory.
“You seem to have a hearty appetite today.”
Elinor blushed. “Yes. I woke up with a frightful hunger today.”
The older woman took a last sip of her tea. She gave Elinor another appraising look before getting up with only minor help of her cane. “I must go and find your mother. I have several very flattering things to tell her about Kerburghe, and I feel there is little time to waste.”
Both women stared after the dowager before returning to their plates. Elinor could have sworn her dearest friend hid a snicker. Was it that obvious? Could everyone in the house tell that she had allowed Michael to spend the night in her bed?
Heaven forbid.
She had better avoid crowds for a while, just in case.
It was late morning, and they were the only two in the room. Elinor was grateful to learn the gentlemen had gone shooting and wouldn’t return until luncheon. Then there were to be games outdoors to take advantage of the good weather.
She wouldn’t have minded seeing Michael, but she did not think she could face Middleton that morning. She might blush, and he might get the wrong idea. Or the right one. Either way, it wouldn’t be favorable.
A long silence filled the room. Dory was her oldest friend. She could share anything with her. “Do I look so different?”
Dory patted her arm. “Not to worry, dear. I think your secret is safe. Though, I would recommend you stifle the constant humming and the daft smile.”
“What?”
Dory lowered her voice. “You came into the breakfast room humming, ignored that we were sitting here, and turned from the buffet with the most ridiculous smile on your face. I shall not even mention the quantity of food you procured. Suffice to say, at this rate Sophia will have to send the servants to market on a more constant basis.”
“Oh.” Elinor wanted to crawl under the table.
“Should we take a long walk after you’ve finished that troth? Perhaps you could stand a talk between friends?” Dory smiled.
It was exactly what she needed. “I would like that very much.”
It took a significant amount of time, but Elinor finished every bite of food on her plate.
The two ladies walked to the far end of the gardens, where there was a lovely fountain and some bushes that were not so high as to conceal prying eyes. A series of benches lined the square, and there were several varieties of flowers in bloom.
They sat, and Dory looked from one end of the garden to the other before turning back to Elinor. “So you have slept with Michael Rollins.”
“Yes.” Elinor liked her directness and loved that she could answer honestly without worry of recrimination or judgement.
Dory watched her for several moments. “You do not seem devastated by the event, at least not in the negative sense. Does his grace intend to marry you?”
“Yes.”
“And you wish this as well?”
“Of course. I love Michael. You know I do. I am still working out my anger over him abandoning me, but last night went a long way toward that goal. The problem is Middleton.”
Dory waved it off. “I see no issue. Kerburghe has offered. Middleton has not. You have only one option. Your mother can’t argue with that.”
Elinor stared at the pebbled path at her feet.
Dory’s legs swung back and forth. She stopped them. “Oh, I see. Middleton has also offered. Has he gone to your mother?”
“No. He said he would wait for my answer before he did.”
“Then perhaps this will all work out. You will have to tell Middleton that you will not marry him.” Dory lowered her voice. “It is imperative that your mother never knows he has offered.”
“Yes. I know.”
“And, forgive me for saying so, but your mother is easily influenced by the ideas of others. We must start to talk up Kerburghe until she thinks him a saint.”
“Yes. I agree. I confess I planned to ask for your and Sophia’s help with that.”
“Consider it done.”
“Thank you.”
She and Dory had been friends since infancy. Their families’ country estates were next to each other. They had been through everything together. Elinor cleared her throat. “Shall I tell you everything, or would you prefer to be left in the dark?”
Dory grinned and clapped her hands. “I thought you’d never ask. I want to know every detail. From the look of you, I can see that it was not what my mother describes as a horrible experience.”
Elinor placed her palm against her cheek. Something would have to be done about all that blushing. She willed any embarrassment away. “It was the farthest thing from that, Dory. It was spectacular.”
For more than an hour, Elinor related every detail of the previous night. When she wasn’t asking questions, Dory sat wide-eyed and listened intently.
The hour grew late. The gentlemen would have returned from shooting. Elinor bubbled with the memories of the previous night.
Dory pulled on her hair and wrung her hands. Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks pale.
“Should I not have told you, Dory?”
Dory blinked several times and shook her head. “Of course you should. It’s about time someone did. All this speculation cannot be good. I am happy to hear it is pleasant, but astonished that what you have described could be.”
“I think lovemaking is something better experienced than described. I do not know how to explain it, but I promise it was extremely rewarding and much more intimate than I’d expected.”
With a long sigh, Dory stood. “I suppose I shall have to wait for my own husband to fully understand, but I appreciate your sharing your experience. I must say, it puts my mind at ease. I know you would never lie to me, and perhaps my mother’s
experiences are colored by her distaste for my father.”
“I imagine so.” Elinor took Dory’s arm, and they walked the garden path back to the house.
* * * *
Elinor jumped at the opportunity to go down to the river and fish with Michael’s brothers rather than play lawn games.
The three of them trooped down to the river and cast their lines.
Shelton caught a small trout within a few minutes, but after that it was slow going.
Finally, there was a tug on her pole. She shouted out her excitement.
Sheldon and Everett came running, both of them laughing.
“Pull it in, Lady Elinor,” Everett said.
“Give me the pole. I’ll get it.” Sheldon reached for her pole.
“Don’t you dare touch my fishing pole, Shel. I can do this myself.”
Her arms strained against the fighting trout. She pulled the determined fish ashore.
Sheldon leapt on the slippery, flapping creature.
Exhausted from the fight, Elinor collapsed on the grass.
Sheldon managed to wrangle the fish and held it up for viewing. “Are you going to marry my brother?”
“Sheldon,” Everett scolded. “That is none of your business.”
Sheldon attached Elinor’s fish to the stringer. He wiped his hands on the grass before turning toward his brother. “Don’t you want to know?”
“Yes. But it’s not appropriate to ask questions that are not your business.”
“Michael is our business.”
Before the argument got too out of hand, Elinor broke in. “It’s all right. Yes. I am going to marry your brother. But this information is only for the four of us. We must keep a secret until Michael has an opportunity to speak with my mother. You do understand that, don’t you, Sheldon?”
The boy’s grin was contagious. Covered in water, mud, and fish scales, he was a sight. “I can keep a confidence, Lady Elinor. You need not worry about that.”
He looked just like Michael, dark hair and blue eyes sparkling. Did Michael smile that brightly before he went into the army? Had Michael ever been so carefree? She didn’t think so. He was serious and haunted, the price of being his father’s eldest. He always had a lot to overcome.
The bushes behind them shook and something crashed through.
Certain they were about to be attacked by a wild boar, Elinor screamed.
Everett shielded Elinor and Sheldon.
Three men with guns burst through the row of overgrowth.
“That is very touching, Lady Elinor,” a short, round man said. His skin was freckled, and what was left of his red hair stood straight up on top of his bulbous head. Blue eyes bugged out from above his fleshy cheeks. If it hadn’t been for the two enormous men with guns flanking him, he might have been a circus entertainer.
Elinor moved beside Everett. “Who are you, and what do you mean, bursting in on private land?”
He came closer and Everett stepped out again.
“You are in no position to ask questions, my lady. I have the guns; therefore, I have the upper hand.” He might have been reading instructions from some kind of “attacking innocence” handbook.
It would do no good to panic. The man must want something, and it was better to discover what it was from the start. “May I inquire as to the nature of your visit, sir?”
He smiled and bowed as she were a queen and they’d met at a ball. “I have come to take you away from all of this.” He gestured to the surroundings.
“The hell you say.” Sheldon pushed forward, trying to get past Elinor and Everett.
She put out her arm and stopped Sheldon, who now had guns pointed at him. “May I have your name, sir? You cannot expect me to run off with a man to whom I have not even been introduced.”
“Indeed.” The bow that followed was so low, his face turned cherry red, and his hair flapped in the breeze. “I am Carter Roxton,” he declared.
She almost laughed.
“Lemmy’s brother? Pretender!” Sheldon renewed his effort to push through.
It was all Elinor and Everett could do to hold back Sheldon.
“Sheldon, be calm. Those guns are not toys. Stay back now,” she whispered.
“Better listen to her, boy. I do not want to kill you, but I certainly will if need be.”
“And if I do not wish to go?” she asked Roxton.
He sighed. “I am afraid that is not an option, my lady. You must come with me in order for justice to be served.”
“What justice?” Everett demanded.
Roxton had been gazing at Elinor as if she were the moon, but now he turned to Everett. His eyes narrowed, and his voice clipped. “Justice your brother has denied me until this point.”
It made no sense. Elinor looked at Everett, who shrugged. Clearly, this man was deranged.
“Hold these whelps while I load the woman,” Roxton ordered the armed men.
The two brutes rushed forward, grabbing Everett and Sheldon in their meaty hands. Both boys fought, but they were no match for the ruffians.
Elinor beat on the arms of the one holding Sheldon. “Let them go.”
Sweaty arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her away.
She clutched Everett’s arm.
Roxton tugged harder, robbing her of her breath and her grip. “Time to go.”
“You’re mad if you think I am going anywhere with you.” Turning, she scratched his face only a hair away from his eye.
His hand lashed out and struck her across the face with such force, her own eye might become dislodged. Pain seared her cheek and she tasted blood. Shocked, she clutched her cheek and stared wide-eyed at her assailant.
“Terribly sorry you made me do that, my dear. Please refrain from such behavior in the future. I should hate to have to harm you.” He spoke in a calm voice that sent chills up Elinor’s spine.
He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the trees.
The boys hollered and called out.
Praying they would not be harmed, she struggled to free herself.
Once the trees were behind them, Roxton threw her up into a waiting carriage. A third gun appeared, held by the driver. He was slightly smaller than the others, but still as big as the carnival man who lifted the elephant. A moment later, she heard a loud whistle and the rustle of trees. Roxton climbed into the carriage and sat across from her.
“I hope you are comfortable, my dear, it is a long drive.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“To my lands. I have a lovely castle in the lowlands. You and I will be happy there.”
The weight of the carriage shifted as the other two kidnappers leaped on its back.
Already moving, the carriage tottered back and forth as if being shook. Someone screamed. As Roxton stuck his head out the window, Elinor tried to open the other side door. It was locked or stuck. Everett lay on the ground, wrestling with one of the kidnappers.
A gun fired.
Elinor screamed.
The man got up, looked down at Everett’s body, shook his head and ran toward the still-moving carriage.
“No!” Elinor watched Everett getting smaller and smaller as her kidnappers took her away. He didn’t move. Sheldon ran out of the woods as they turned a bend in the road.
She sat back down. Tears were streaming down her face.
“That is a shame.” There was too much joy in Roxton’s voice for him to sound sincere.
“You’ll hang for this,” she said.
“I do not think so. I am a duke. Dukes don’t hang.”
There was no possibility this idiot was a duke. “The duke of what?”
Unbelievably, he tried to make a bow from the seat. “Duke of Kerburghe, at your service.”
He was mad. That was the only explanation. She would have to think of what to do, but first she had to get more information. And getting that from a madman wasn’t going to
be easy.
* * * *
“Mike, is that your young brother running like the devil?” Thomas leaned on his crocket mallet.
Sheldon ran toward them, legs and arms pumping like mad. His face was red, and neither Elinor nor Everett was behind him.
Something was wrong. The hair on the back of his neck stood as it often did when he was on a mission. Michael’s heart sped up. Elinor. Had something happened to Elinor? Where was Everett? He ran toward Sheldon.
Thomas’s footfall was just behind him. By the sound of shouts and running, a few others followed as well. Daniel, he was sure, and perhaps a few more.
When he reached Sheldon, the boy collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.
“What’s happened, Shel?” Michael grabbed Sheldon’s shoulders.
“She’s been taken, Mike. We tried to stop them, but they took her, and now Everett is shot. There was so much blood.” Tears ran down Sheldon’s filthy face.
“Taken, shot, blood,” echoed in his mind.
Daniel arrived on horseback with another in tow. His friends from Eton always knew what was needed.
Sheldon cried into his hands.
Michael pulled him into his arms, and, in spite of his own panic, kept composed. “Sheldon, can you show me where Everett is?”
Sheldon nodded.
Michael swung onto the horse, then lifted Sheldon behind him.
“I’ll send for a doctor,” Daniel called out and relinquished his horse to Thomas, who followed Michael.
They found Everett exactly where Sheldon had left him in the clearing. His skin was sickly white, and his left leg bled through a tightly bound field dressing made from a torn piece of Sheldon’s jacket.
Michael jumped from the horse and cradled Everett’s head. His heart pounded, and what had started as the best day of his life plummeted into horror. “Everett, talk to me.”
His eyes fluttered open. “I tried to stop them, Michael. I am sorry. I really did try.”
“I know you did, and I am very proud of you. Now stay with me until we get you back to the house, you hear me. Don’t you dare die. I forbid it.”
“Yes, sir,” he whispered.
Foolish Bride Page 17