A Marriage of Convenience

by Miller, Fenella J

  ‘Have that food and water sent immediately. I wish to be ready to ride out again in thirty minutes.’

  ‘I’m afraid the fire’s not lit in the main chamber, my lord. I will see to it immediately, but Lady Upminster’s room is always warm.’

  ‘I’ll use Lady Upminster’s room but have the other prepared for me. I’ll need it later, no doubt.’

  Smith scuttled off and Leo, with Jenkins at his heels, stepped into his wife’s bedchamber. This was the room where Eleanor had slept alone, away from him, for the past few weeks. The space was dominated by an enormous, old-fashioned, heavy oak bedstead. His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared at the images that flooded his mind.

  Angrily he shook his head. He had decided to give Ellie her freedom if she wanted it so such fantasies were pointless. He flung his bags on the floor and dropped onto the fireside chair wondering if dry clothes were really worth the trouble.

  ‘Allow me, sir.’ Jenkins deftly removed both boots and set them down beside the fire to gently steam. Leo slumped back, closing his eyes for a few moments, trying to marshal his thoughts. This was one campaign he couldn’t afford to lose; if he got this wrong the life of his precious wife might well be snuffed out.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Voices were approaching the hut and Eleanor guessed this wasn’t a rescue party she could hear. Her captors were returning expecting her to be cowed and shivering with fear. She was an Upminster; she wouldn’t succumb so easily. If she was to die tonight it would be sitting up, facing her murderers defiantly.

  Pride and anger gave her strength to roll over onto her front, then caterpillar-like she wriggled until the wall was against her back. The voices were nearer; she wasn’t going to have time to complete the task.

  Desperately she drew her bound knees up towards her face and stretched her fingers down until they could grasp the ropes that restricted her legs. Then as the bar was being lifted from the door she braced her back, shuffled her bottom, and she was sitting upright facing the opening door. She was also considerably warmer; her effort had restored some heat to her frozen limbs.

  A lantern was held high, temporarily blinding her; she blinked rapidly, wanting to see who her captors were. The black shapes at the door moved forwards and she recognised one of them. As she had suspected the hated Foster had come to gloat at her misfortune.

  ‘Well, well, not so high and mighty now, are we, my lady?’ he sneered.

  ‘I don’t see what you hope to gain by this abduction. If I do not return to Wenham, Lord Upminster will hunt you down and kill you.’

  ‘Lord Upminster will be glad I’ve rid him of an unwanted burden. Why else would he banish you to this backwater?’

  ‘You are mistaken; he is at this very moment riding here. There is still time for you to save your life; release me and you might still live.’

  He stared at her. His thin lips curved in the semblance of a smile. ‘If what you say is true, then my days are numbered anyway. If you’re lying then your demise can only be of benefit to me.’

  ‘My people will know it was you. Are you so stupid you have not realised your tenure as estate manager was over as soon as an Upminster took residence at Wenham?’ She had his full attention now. ‘Whilst Lord Upminster didn’t know this estate existed you were safe. Whatever happens to me, he will retain all that is his; including your house and certainly your life. The rich remain so because they never let the money owed to them go unrepaid.’

  The two unkempt men who had accompanied him began to mutter to themselves. They must know what she said was true. Whatever the outcome of tonight’s events, their master’s days of power were over and their own lives in mortal danger.

  The sidled backwards and disappeared into the blackness. Foster hesitated then he turned to leave also. ‘Mr Foster, please untie me; I can find my own way home. Surely you don’t wish to have my death on your conscience?’

  He stopped and his empty eyes met hers. ‘It don’t matter to me, either way. In fact it will please me to know you’ve perished, for your interference has ruined my life.’

  The door closed plunging her back into freezing darkness and her defiance crumpled. She had failed. She was going to be left to die in a miserable hovel and there was nothing she could do about it apart from pray.

  She stiffened, alerted by the sound of stealthy footsteps approaching her prison again. Foster, or one of his henchmen, had changed his mind and was returning to silence her for ever.

  Leo was back downstairs, changed, fed and much restored, as two of Jenkins men appeared at the kitchen door. ‘Anything?’

  ‘Yes, my lord. There are signs of a struggle in the empty stall at the end of the row. It’s hard to search outside, what with the snow and the dark but there’s a trail of broken branches leading away towards the village.’

  ‘Good man. You’ve confirmed what I already suspected. Send Sam to me if he returns before we leave, now get something to eat and drink. I’ll need you again soon.’ He turned to Jenkins. ‘How well do you know this area?’

  ‘Well enough, my lord.’

  ‘Is there a hostelry in the village? Somewhere the malcontents can meet and gain courage from their ale?’

  ‘Indeed there is, my lord, at Wenham village. It’s a rat hole, little better than the hovels they live in.’

  Leo looked at his fob watch. ‘The ringleaders will be nursing their grievances over an ale pot. I want all the men, armed and ready, and outside in ten minutes. We’re going to Wenham; I daren’t wait for Sam to return. We must hope we meet him on the way.’

  If the men thought a march through the snow in the dark was asking too much of them they didn’t say so. They were battle hardened soldiers and went where they were bid without complaint. Having a full belly made them ready for anything.

  Jones wanted to join them but was told to stay and guard the manor. Jones knew better than to argue.

  ‘Jenkins, I want the men marching in file; heavy footed, fully armed; let the rabble know we are coming to rout them.’

  ‘Yes, my lord.’ When the men, half sozzled, heard marching feet outside, they would think the Militia had arrived. The rest would be easy.

  Lanterns swaying, blobs of brightness in the white, the men set out; Leo rode behind mounted on a sturdy hunter. He forced himself to concentrate on the task in hand when every sinew screamed to be searching and rescuing his beloved Ellie. A lesser man might not realise that unless he disbanded the mob first, not just his wife would die, but dozens of women and children. The militia would be mustering in Norwich and when they descended on an area death and destruction followed in full measure.

  Sam’s small group met Leo as they reached the outskirts of the village. ‘My lord; I have two of the ringleaders here. Do wish to speak to them?’

  ‘Bring them. Let’s get this over with.’ Leo dismounted smoothly and gestured for his men to form a circle of light around him. Sam dragged the terrified men forwards; they had been forced to run behind the horses roped together by the hands. Whatever defiance the men might have been considering crumbled when they saw the formidable giant waiting to question them. A bloody death was staring them in the face.

  ‘You will tell me, now, who is behind this trouble?’ He didn’t need to ask a second time. In moments he had all the information he needed to hang Foster and his henchmen. ‘Sam, you and Davies come with me. Jenkins, take these objects back to the village. They can tell the rest of the miscreants what will happen if they’re still there when I arrive tomorrow morning.’

  Jenkins led the prisoners back along the lane and Leo was satisfied the danger from civil unrest was over. Now he could concentrate on finding his beloved girl and punishing her attackers.

  ‘We need to travel quietly, Sam. Foster will have guards on the door; we don’t want to alert them.’

  The snow underfoot cushioned their progress and apart from the occasional jangle of a bit the four men travelled silently in the silvery light. Leo reined in. The others ha
lted behind him. There were voices coming from the lane ahead.

  He dismounted quietly and with his hand over the nostrils of his mount led it through the hedge and into the field above. He was followed by one other horseman. Sam vanished, in similar fashion, up the bank on the far side of the path.

  Leo drew his sabre and crouched, coiled to spring upon the men approaching in the lane below. These were the bastards who had abducted Ellie. His mind was clear, his decision made. The two men walked blindly into his trap. It was over in seconds. They fell dead in their tracks, snuffed out instantly, given no time to cry a warning to anyone else waiting by the hut.

  He wiped his sabre blade casually on his breeches and slid it back into its scabbard. Two men had died and not a word had been spoken. Leaving the horses he gestured and crept forwards, almost invisible against the hedgerow. Sam took a man and circled left, Leo with the other, went right. There was no sign of anyone else on guard, but he never took chances.

  He raised his fist; Sam and the men understood and all dropped to one knee in the snow, rifles cocked and raised, ready to fire if anyone appeared in the doorway.

  Leo carefully lifted the bar. He stood to one side, pistol out, and yanked the door open. He paused, holding his breath, waiting; then he heard a sound from within. He dropped his pistol and charged, caution forgotten, into the hovel. Eleanor was alive!

  ‘Leo, oh Leo, thank God, it’s you! I thought it was Foster returning to finish me.’

  ‘Ellie, sweetheart, what has he done to you. Sit still, I’ll have these undone in a second.’ He sliced through the ropes with a knife he had pulled with the ease of long practice from inside his boot. A lantern was lit and held up by one of his men.

  Her arms and legs were free but for some reason they weren’t moving. She had been held for so long in one position all feeling must have vanished. Leo removed his coat and draped it around her shoulders. She was too quiet, too cold, her expression dazed. ‘Ellie, Ellie, talk to me. Are you hurt? Darling, did he harm you?’ He shook her gently trying to make her concentrate. She was finding it difficult to speak. She leant closer, resting her dirty face on his chest.

  ‘I am well, now you are here, Leo, but so cold… so very cold.’ Her voice was little more than a whisper but it was enough to reassure him

  ‘I’ll have you safe and warm very soon, my love. And no one will ever harm you again; I’ll take better care of you in future.’

  He regained his feet and, holding his precious burden to his heart stepped out into the moonlight. His broad back made a perfect target. Sam, a fraction too late, had seen Leo’s assailant. Foster didn’t live to see the havoc his shot had caused.

  Leo staggered and fell to his knees still cradling Eleanor. ‘Sam, take her’ he groaned, but managed to stay upright just long enough for Sam to drop his smoking rifle and leap forward to catch the unconscious girl. Leo, his mission complete, pitched into the snow and joined his wife in the twilight world that hovered between life and death.

  The smell of hot toast and melted butter finally roused Eleanor from her stupor. She rolled over, yawned, stretched and opened her eyes. Then she blinked again, not sure her first glance had been correct.

  ‘Yes, child, it is I, Sophia, come to minister to the invalids.’

  Eleanor pushed herself up onto her elbows and stared open mouthed at her fashion-conscious sister-in-law dressed in a brown dress, with high collar and long, neatly buttoned sleeves. She wasn’t sure if the plain outfit or Sophia’s presence in her bedchamber surprised her most. ‘What are you doing here? I don’t understand at all.’

  Sophia grinned, an expression seen as rarely as a plain outfit. ‘It is a long story.’ She placed the tray of hot toast and weak tea down on the side table within easy reach of her patient. ‘Here, let me help to sit you up. I expect you are as weak as a kitten.’ She grasped Eleanor firmly under the arms and expertly moved her up the bed. She had obviously done this before - another surprise! ‘Do you know, you have been asleep for three days? I woke you sometimes and spooned water down your throat but you never fully revived, until now.’

  ‘There’s something else I haven’t done for three days, Sophia. I must get up, now, at once.’

  Her urgent tone carried a hint of desperation. Sophia deftly flicked the covers back and helped her swing her legs to the floor.

  ‘Let me help you, my dear; your legs will be wobbly after so long in bed.’ The trip to the discreetly screened chamber pot and back taxed Eleanor’s depleted strength and she was glad to regain the comfort of her bed. Her stomach gurgled alarmingly startling both women into fits of giggles.

  Sophia put the tray across Eleanor’s lap. ‘Here, I think this is what you need.’ The toast was rapidly demolished and the tea drunk thirstily.

  She leant back feeling almost like her old self. ‘Now, Sophia, tell me how you come to be at Wenham acting nursemaid to me.’

  Her sister-in-law pulled up a stool and sat down. ‘When you ran away the duke was beside himself. It is odd, but after so many years without seeing or speaking of his youngest son, now he can think and converse of nothing else.’

  ‘I suppose having rejected Leo so unkindly he’s afraid he will die before he has made amends.’

  Sophia nodded. ‘Yes, I am sure that is correct. Anyway, when the message came to say you had been found the duke decided we must up sticks and travel at once to Monk’s Hall to be there to welcome you back.’

  ‘He was very sure Leo would persuade me.’

  ‘All the Upminster’s get their way in the end, do you not realise that?’

  She smiled. ‘Of course, I do. Now, go on; you are all at Monk’s Hall, I follow the tale so far; but how are you now at Wenham?’

  ‘His grace wasn’t content to wait but decided we should travel on, regardless of either our, or your, feelings on the subject. Gareth tried to explain you would need time alone together to sort out your differences but the duke, as usual, ignored him. He insisted Leo would need his trappings as he left with only a single change of raiment in his saddle bags. And so here we are.’

  She looked round the sparsely furnished room. ‘While I am glad I came, for no one else could have acted as nurse, I will be relieved when you are both well enough to travel back to the comfort of Monk’s Hall.’

  Eleanor shot upright, her complexion pale. ‘Both? Sophia, is Leo hurt? I must go to him.

  ‘Leo is going to make a full recovery, my dear. Gareth and the duke are watching over him like a hen with a single chick.’ She smiled. ‘Poor Sam is hardly allowed to help at all.’

  ‘Poor Leo, you mean.’ Eleanor relaxed again, her initial panic over. ‘He must hate all the fussing. He will recover far better if affairs are left to his man.’

  She leant out of the bed, almost losing her balance, and grabbed the bell strap, giving it a vigorous pull. ‘In fact, I’m going to insist Sam’s put in charge.’ Sophia opened her mouth to protest but changed her mind. Mary came in, bobbing a curtsy, before turning, face wreathed in smiles, to Eleanor.

  ‘You’re awake last, my lady, we’ve been that worried. What can I get for you?’

  ‘I wish you to relieve the marchioness from her duties as my maid. And I wish Sam to resume his duties with Lord Upminster immediately.’

  ‘Will I speak to Sam, or…?’

  Sophia laughed. ‘No, Mary, you can leave it to me. I’ll go at once to Lord Upminster’s chamber and deliver Lady Upminster’s message.’

  Eleanor’s plan had worked as she knew it would. When the door closed behind Sophia she turned to Mary. ‘I need a hot bath, Mary. I still have the smell of the hovel on my hair. After that I wish to get up.’

  ‘There’s a bath being sent up already, my lady. You relax a while; you’ve had a nasty experience.’

  ‘It appears it wasn’t as nasty as Lord Upminster’s. How was he injured?’

  Mary hesitated and Eleanor frowned. ‘You must tell me, Mary, I insist.’

  He was shot in the back by that devi
l; but it was a clean wound and he’s making a full recovery.’

  ‘And Foster?’

  ‘Dead, my lady; Sam shot him.’

  ‘Good. I’m glad; he was a wicked man.’

  Mary busied herself placing screens and setting up a hip bath in front of the fire. Then she hung several towels to warm on a wooden stand. The sound of shuffling footsteps heralded the arrival of hot water.

  Eleanor hated the fact that having a bath involved so much backbreaking work for so many people. When they returned to Monk’s Hall she would insist Leo put in fixed baths in the dressing rooms attached to the main suites. At least then only the hot water would have to be carried upstairs, for the cold would exit through the pipes attached to the bath.

  She had forgiven Leo and was prepared to start again. At the thought of what this would mean her blood surged round her body. There was so much she had to learn about him, and more importantly, about being a wife. She couldn’t wait for the instruction to begin.

  The warm bath restored her and removed the final residue of her captivity from her person. She sat, cross-legged, in front of the roaring fire whilst Mary brushed her hair dry. ‘It will have to do, Mary; I wish to get dressed. Find something pretty for me, I don’t care what, but please make sure it has long sleeves and a warm underskirt.’ She had Mary arrange her freshly washed hair simply behind her head then thread it with a ribbon, leaving it hanging down in a heavy dark cloud.

  The dress she wore was too loose, but the high waist and wide hem helped to disguise her loss of weight. The russet colour suited her, making her eyes appear more tawny then green. ‘Are you finished, Mary? The sash is tied beautifully and my wrap is arranged just as it should be. Please stop fussing and let me go.’

  ‘There, I’m done. You look lovely, my lady. A little darkness under the eyes is all there is to show of your ordeal.’

  ‘Thank you, Mary.’ She walked towards the communicating door desperate to see Leo, but unexpectedly reluctant to go in. As she hesitated, Mary took matters into her own hands and knocked hard on the wooden panel.