Harry grabbed as many glasses as he could fit between his fingers and they all trooped to the drawing room as well.
As Harry walked in, it struck him that this was the first night they’d all gathered in the same room like this. Up ’til now the awkwardness of the situation had meant that at least one person had been avoiding at least one of the others at any given time.
The Colonel was correct. It was high time to get everything out in the open.
‘May as well start,’ said the Colonel belligerently, while Harry was setting the glasses out on the mantelpiece, ‘by informing you I’ve reached my decision.’ He glowered at Lord Rawcliffe. ‘I agree with Your Lordships that the entire affair ought to be hushed up. Completely.’
Harry’s sigh of relief was cut short by Lizzie’s cry of protest.
‘You surely cannot wish to sweep murder and attempted murder under the carpet?’
Harry strode quickly to the sofa on which she was sitting and took the chair next to it. ‘Reverend Cottam has paid for his crimes, though, hasn’t he?’
‘And there could not be a punishment more fitting,’ drawled Lord Rawcliffe, ‘than for him to get tangled up in the ropes he meant to employ to drown you and Atlas with.’
‘Divine justice, that is what it was,’ said Becconsall from the mantelpiece where he was busy filling the glasses from the decanter he’d snagged from Lord Rawcliffe. ‘Begging your pardon, Lady Rawcliffe,’ he said as her husband sat down beside her and took her hand.
‘No need to beg it,’ she retorted. ‘He was wicked.’ She let go of her husband’s hand to fumble in her reticule for her ever-present handkerchief. ‘Wicked!’ She blew her nose with more feeling than grace.
‘But—’ Lizzie began.
‘No, my mind is made up,’ said Colonel Hutton gruffly. ‘It is far better for him to have ended the way he did, than for me to have arrested him and put him on trial. A man of the cloth, behaving like that.’ He grimaced in disgust. ‘Would have brought the church into disrepute. And you would have had to testify, Lizzie. Your name would have got into the papers and become the topic of vulgar gossip.’
Lizzie was shaking her head in disbelief.
‘If you understood it all,’ said Harry to her gently, ‘you would agree—’
‘How can I understand,’ she said, rounding on him, eyes burning with hurt and indignation, ‘when you have deliberately kept me ignorant of so much? For so long?’
‘It wasn’t his fault,’ put in Lady Becconsall while Harry was still reeling from the way she’d expressed a reaction he might have known she’d have. ‘My aunt and uncle, as well as Archie’s family, were the ones who made us promise to act with extreme secrecy. They didn’t want anyone knowing anything about the thefts. If it had got about that family heirlooms had been exchanged for paste, people would have been bound to start wondering whether their financial position is secure. And they didn’t want my cousin Kitty’s chances of making a good match spoilt.’
‘And to tell you the truth,’ said Lady Rawcliffe, ‘I don’t want the truth about Clement getting out, either. It won’t do either of my other brothers any good in their careers. It’s bad enough just being his sister, without everyone knowing what a villain he was. And perhaps saying that Rawcliffe only married me as an excuse to get close to him—’ She broke off sharply. ‘What?’ She looked at her husband, who had just given her a sharp nudge. ‘Look, Miss Hutton understands how you came to set Atlas on to her. And she understands, don’t you, Miss Hutton?’
Everyone turned to look at Lizzie.
‘I understand that people wanted to prevent anyone knowing about the theft of their jewels,’ she said, through tight lips. ‘And I can see how poor Mr Kellet’s friends became so angry over his murder, they vowed to avenge him. I even understand why Lady Rawcliffe and Lady Becconsall...’ She trailed off as both ladies tensed up. ‘Well, never mind that. I just mean to say that they have helped me to understand why you all swore you would go to any lengths to bring Reverend Cottam to book. And when I think of all the evil he has done—’ She broke off, shaking her head.
Lord Rawcliffe cleared his throat. ‘I had long believed Cottam was behind it all, Miss Hutton. But without proof, we could do nothing. He always stayed behind the scenes, sending others to do the actual deeds.’
‘Which was why I suggested,’ said Lord Becconsall, ‘we send someone down here, under cover, to get conclusive proof of his villainy.’
Harry winced as Lizzie shot him a wounded look.
‘It is more important to undo the evil he did, my girl,’ put in Colonel Hutton, ‘than let the world know about it. Oh, I’m not saying we will ever recover the jewels he had stolen and copied. They are long gone. But at least we can do something about Lady Buntingford.’
Lizzie’s eyes flew to his. ‘What do you mean?’
‘All that nonsense about her not wanting any visitors,’ he growled. ‘I never would have believed it if it hadn’t come from the lips of a clergyman. Why, she was the nosiest old busybody it has ever been my misfortune to...’ He pulled himself up short and cleared his throat. ‘What I mean to say is, she thrived on gossip. Would never have cut herself off like that. Even if she couldn’t spread any, she’d still want to hear it. So, long and short of it, I forced my way in, as soon as Captain Bretherton apprised me of the way it really was. Never seen anyone so glad to see me as the poor old girl.’ He chewed on his moustache for a moment, a suspicious sheen glowing in his eyes.
‘And you don’t need to ask how I could tell. She might not be able to say much, but her eyes can still shine with pleasure right enough. Even the two words she can say, she can say with such expression that you know exactly how she’s feeling.’ He tapped on the floor with his cane to emphasise his point. ‘Took me deuce of a long time to write the letter to her family to let them know they would be welcome to come and visit whenever they wished, though. Could not bear to let them know that they were all hoodwinked by that rogue. Cannot credit I fell for his nonsense myself. Didn’t want to see anyone, indeed,’ he growled.
‘I am glad she will have a bit more company from now on,’ said Lizzie. ‘I never felt I was the person she would have chosen, somehow, to be her only link to the outside world.’
While everyone else in the room seemed pleased with her response, Harry felt saddened, because she had such a low opinion of herself. How could she assume the old lady would have preferred anyone but her to bear her company?
‘You keep saying you understand, L—Miss Hutton,’ he said. ‘But you have not yet said that you forgive us for embroiling you in this affair. For putting your very life in danger.’
‘For those things I can easily forgive you all,’ she said. But then her lower lip began to tremble. ‘What I find harder, though,’ she said turning to him, ‘is the way you...you...toyed with my affections. The way you are still using me to cover up the reason for you all being in the area at all.’
Everyone went still. It was as though the whole room was holding its breath.
And then everyone began talking at once.
‘Lizzie, I thought you understood,’ said Harry, leaping to his feet.
‘Now, see here, young lady...’ Grandfather said.
‘Now the fat is in the fire,’ said Lord Rawcliffe.
All at the same time.
‘Might I have a few moments alone with Miss Hutton?’ Harry spoke to the others, though he never took his eyes from Lizzie’s downbent head. ‘And there is no use saying it isn’t proper, Colonel Hutton,’ he added when the man took a breath as though to voice an objection. ‘You’ve made me stay away from Lizzie for days now and this is the result. She’s started to think I don’t care!’
Something about Lizzie’s posture altered, slightly. She still wouldn’t look at him, but her shoulders were no longer slumped quite so despondently.
‘Very well, you’ve
made your point,’ said Colonel Hutton, before ushering everyone out of the room. Everyone but Harry, that was.
‘Lizzie,’ he said, the moment the door closed behind the last of them, ‘I didn’t toy with your affections. I explained it all, that night. While we were swimming. Don’t you remember? I told you I loved you. Didn’t you believe me?’
‘I almost did,’ she said. ‘Until I worked out that you must have just been saying it to...give me hope. Or calm me down. I was almost hysterical at one point, so it isn’t as if I can blame you for employing such desperate measures.’
‘No, Lizzie, it wasn’t like that,’ he said, dropping to his knees at her feet. ‘Think, Lizzie. Think about what happened the moment we got to shore. The way I kissed you. Why did I need to do that if I didn’t mean it?’
‘Relief, I dare say. You might have got carried away for a moment or two. But that doesn’t mean you have to marry me. I know you don’t want to. And if it wasn’t for the money...’
‘Money? Money has nothing to do with it!’
‘But you will get rather a lot, I believe, for marrying me.’
‘For marrying you? No.’ He got to his feet. Took a step back. ‘I can claim a reward for discovering Archie’s murderer. And for settling his hash. Not that it had any bearing on why I took on the case. Hang it, I’d give it all away if it wasn’t for the fact that we are getting married.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Lizzie, I can’t afford to keep you as I’d like, without it. But if I accept it, I can set you up in style, wherever you wish to live. And you will be a countess, don’t forget, with all the social opportunities that go with the title. I want to make sure you have the means to take advantage of them all.’
‘I don’t care about money or titles,’ she said mulishly.
‘But you deserve some recompense for all I’ve put you through. So I mean to ensure that you never want for anything, for the rest of your life.’
‘I don’t want some...reward,’ she said, her nose wrinkling in disgust, ‘for just...’ She waved her hands vaguely. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘You saved my life,’ he pointed out. ‘If not for your warning, I’d have tried to swim straight to shore and ended up drowning from exhaustion trying to fight the current, or dashed to pieces on the rocks.’
‘Oh...fustian!’
‘I don’t believe this,’ he said, thrusting his fingers through his hair. She was slipping through his fingers. The way mermaids always did once a sailor dragged one ashore.
He had the fight of his life on his hands if he didn’t want to see all that they’d been through turning to sea foam and blowing away on the breeze.
‘Look, Lizzie,’ he said wearily, ‘I know you must hate me. I know you cannot wish to marry me. I wish I could give you the freedom you want. But we were discovered in that cottage. Unclothed. What kind of a man would I be to simply walk away and leave you to face all the gossip and ridicule alone?’
‘It’s so silly,’ she said gloomily. ‘When nothing happened.’
‘Lizzie, you spent the night in my arms. Naked. What’s more, my girl, you...’ He braced himself to do what was necessary, since soft words had been getting him nowhere. ‘You plastered yourself to me. And kissed me back on that beach, might I add! Like a...’
‘I admit, I got a bit carried away on the beach. But that was before I realised...’ She stopped, her shoulders slumping again.
‘Realised what?’
‘Nothing,’ she mumbled. ‘It doesn’t matter.’
‘Of course it matters. My whole future is at stake.’ He couldn’t stand still. He had to take a pace or two about the room.
‘Very well, Lizzie, what will it take? Name your terms. And I will give you a new life. A better one than you’ve had under your grandfather’s guardianship, that I promise. If you cannot stand the sight of me, I will go back to sea as soon as we’ve signed the marriage lines and never bother you again, but the protection of my name you must and shall have.’
‘Is that,’ she said in a small voice, ‘what you want? To go back to sea?’
‘What I want?’ He couldn’t help laughing, a touch bitterly. ‘If I told you what I want you’d run screaming from the room.’
‘But at least you would be honest, for once.’
‘Honesty? Is that what you want? Very well then, here it is.’ He leaned back against the mantelpiece and crossed his arms across his chest. ‘What I want is to have the right to kiss you, the way I kissed you on the beach. Whenever I feel so inclined. To hold you in my arms all night long with not a stitch of clothing between us.’
She didn’t raise her head, but her cheeks went pink.
‘And what’s more, I want to see you...’ He searched for the right word. ‘Blossom. I’m sick of the way people treat you as if you are of no account. Mocking your height and making you try to be smaller than you truly are. Even robbing you of the ability to see your way about clearly. Which is why,’ he said, reaching into his pocket, ‘I bought you this. I want you to have it, even if you won’t have me.’
He tossed the gift he’d bought her into her lap.
‘What is that?’ She eyed it with suspicion.
‘Some spectacles. I know how you hate not being able to see anything clearly, at a distance. And I’d like you to always feel as confident and capable as you were in the water. Which you cannot do when you cannot see properly.’
She turned the box over. Shook it. Her fingers actually went to the latch. But then she set it down and shook her head.
‘I cannot take a gift from a man to whom I am not betrothed,’ she said. ‘It wouldn’t be proper.’
‘I know I’m not the man you would have chosen, Lizzie.’ He thrust his fingers through his hair again and turned away. ‘What woman in her right mind would choose me?’
‘I...’ she said hesitantly. Then cleared her throat. ‘I might have chosen you, if I’d been certain that your feelings were...sincere. If you’d actually proposed to me, rather than being compelled to marry me just because Grandfather found us together like that.’
He strode across the room to stand over her.
‘My feelings are sincere, Lizzie. And in spite of what you think, I’ve never lied to you. The way we met might have been...contrived. And I may have withheld some facts from you. But I do love you.’
She gaped at him.
‘Damn it, why can you not just believe me when I say I love you? Why can’t you believe yourself worthy of love? Damn your grandfather and everyone else who has ever made you feel unworthy and unlovable. Including me. I should have...when we both came back here I should have...but you see, I wanted to tie up all the loose ends. Needed to make sure that none of it would have a lasting effect upon you. And I had to summon Zeus and Ulysses, because they needed to be in agreement with my plans. And then I had to make arrangements for poor Jenny to have a proper Christian burial. Aye, and pick up the spectacles I had made by one of the finest oculists in Bath. And all I achieved was to make you think I was staying away from you because I didn’t care.’ He sighed.
‘What can I do, or say, to convince you I’m telling the truth? That I want nothing more than to be your husband and devote myself to making you happy, for the rest of my life?’
She shrugged. And turned the spectacles case over and over in her hands.
‘You might try actually proposing to me.’
‘Lizzie, please marry me,’ he said at once.
But she didn’t even raise her head from the spectacles case, let alone say yes.
‘Lizzie, you have to marry me,’ he said, planting his fists on his hips. ‘You are a woman of integrity. You are never going to be able to spend the rest of your life with the memory of being kissed senseless by a naked man, to whom you were not married, seared into your memory.’
‘It was only one kiss. We
ll, two, to be precise,’ she corrected herself, blushing. ‘And it isn’t as if the memory will be seared, exactly, into my memory, since I never saw anything much.’
And suddenly, he got an idea. Because he was almost sure he’d detected a wistful note in her voice when she’d denied having seen anything much. And she’d certainly been keen to feel every inch of him. Her hands had been all over him. If he wasn’t very much mistaken, she wanted to believe he loved her. She just lacked the confidence to reach out and seize what she wanted.
‘If you had been able to see me, would that have made a difference?’
‘I don’t see what good it will do splitting hairs. The point is, I didn’t see you and so—’
‘Then it is time to remedy the situation,’ he said, shrugging his arms out of his jacket. ‘I don’t think you are the kind of girl who could humiliate a man by refusing to marry him,’ he said, ripping his neckcloth free, ‘once you’d seen him in his natural state.’
‘What,’ she said, her eyes growing round, ‘are you doing?’
‘I’m stripping,’ he said, undoing the buttons of his waistcoat. ‘I am going to bare my all, again,’ he said, tossing it aside.
‘You can’t,’ she protested as he sat on the edge of her couch to tug off his shoes.
‘Watch me.’
She squeezed her eyes shut. ‘This isn’t the answer. If anyone comes in...there would be such a scandal. Oh, please...’
‘We’ve already had one scandal,’ he said, dealing with his hose. ‘What difference will another make? I’m done with being proper and sticking to the rules where you are concerned. You are not the kind of girl who ought to live by rules made by mere men, anyway.’
Her eyes flew open.
‘I cannot see you clearly, anyway,’ she said, blushing as he undid the buttons at the neck of his shirt, then stood up to pull it off over his head. ‘So you are wasting your time.’
The Captain Claims His Lady Page 23