by Rose Gordon
This book is entirely a work of fiction. All names, events, places and locales are products of this author’s overactive imagination. Any resemblance to people, events or places is merely a coincidence.
TO WIN HIS WAYWARD WIFE
Amazon Edition
Published by TALC Publishing
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2011 Rose Gordon
Cover picture © Dreamstime.com—used with permission
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission. Thank you for respecting the author, their time, and ideas enough not to reproduce this book.
Other Titles Available by Rose Gordon
Intentions of the Earl
Liberty for Paul
And Coming Fall, 2011
Her Sudden Groom
Her Reluctant Groom
Her Secondhand Groom
To Win His Wayward Wife
Rose Gordon
For my youngest son who wakes me up every Saturday morning at quarter to seven so I can make Belgium waffles by coming in my room and screaming, “It’s time to make the muffles, muffle maker!”
And to my husband who has encouraged me in all of my hobbies, including painting; and even allowed me to display the painting I did of him even after our oldest son looked at the picture and said, “That doesn’t look like Daddy. It looks like the teacher from Brown Bear!” (Just in case you don’t know, the teacher from Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? is a woman…)
Chapter 1
August, 1813
London, England
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…”
Madison Banks knew it was her brother-in-law, Paul Grimes, who was speaking. She heard his voice and listened to his words, but she couldn’t seem to force herself to focus on them. Instead, her focus was directed solely at her groom.
He was tall, handsome, titled and wealthy. Every girl’s dream come true. Except hers. To be honest he gave her the chills. And not the good kind, either. No, these chills were the kind that sent people into hiding. He sent her into hiding. Not to say he was mean to her, because that would actually be a lie. He had been extremely nice to her at one point—which was part of the reason why she now found herself standing up in front of hundreds of people pledging her life to him.
It all started eight short weeks ago when her parents had just gone away to America to make arrangements to have their household moved to England, her father’s homeland. Her sister, Brooke Black, Lady Townson, along with her husband Andrew, Lord Townson, stepped in to act as her chaperone and guardian while her parents were away.
At first things had gone well. Very well, in fact. Brooke played her chaperone’s role in regular Brooke fashion. In short, she wasn’t a very good one. She often allowed Madison to go on unchaperoned carriage rides in the park and would leave the room for half-hour intervals to go check on her newborn while Madison was left unattended with a gentleman. Madison hadn’t complained about such things. She rather enjoyed that Brooke gave her the freedom Mama hadn’t allowed.
However, it wasn’t due to Brooke’s lack of chaperoning skills that led to Madison’s demise. That was completely her own doing.
A month ago she’d been at a ball surrounded by countless gentlemen fawning over her bright blonde hair, clear blue eyes and porcelain skin, all the while, she was thinking what a load of simpletons they all were. Why couldn’t anyone notice anything deeper about her than her outward appearance, she wondered. She knew she’d acted shy and withdrawn the previous Season, but she’d been dancing waltzes and going to numerous social events for the past few months and all anyone could notice was her looks.
No one cared about the charitable works she did for others. Nor did anyone see her personal talents. No; all anyone saw was her striking beauty, and they were all so struck dumb by it they couldn’t function properly in her presence.
Annoyed with the inane comments of the imbeciles around her, she decided it would be best to dance and endure the company of only one dullard instead of a dozen. The orchestra started playing the opening strains of a waltz and Madison caught sight of her brother-in-laws walking across the ballroom. Curious, her eyes shifted to search the direction they were walking, and that’s when she thought her world was about to collapse around her.
Directly across the ballroom from Andrew and Paul stood Robbie Swift, the no-good, filthy cad who ruined her life. No, wait, that wasn’t entirely true. Her family may blame him for ruining her life, but they knew just as well as Madison did that she was just as responsible.
Robbie had been a local banker’s son back in Brooklyn, New York. He’d been tall, handsome and undeniably charming. He’d had all the workings of a young girl’s fairy tale husband.
He was only two years older than Madison, and when she and Brooke were young girls, the three of them would play together (when they could manage to ditch their youngest sister, Liberty, that is). As they entered their teenage years, Robbie was no longer a playmate but just another person of acquaintance. He’d attend her father’s church and played the flirt to all three of the Banks sisters. Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on who you ask—Madison was the only member of the Banks family who could abide him.
Brooke could hardly tolerate him as a playmate when they were younger, and her feelings for him didn’t change as they grew older. Only because of Madison’s never ceasing protests did Brooke finally quit trying to fling rocks at him with a makeshift slingshot.
Liberty wasn’t much better in hiding her dislike for Robbie. However, instead of hurling rocks at him or pouring large quantities of salt in his tea like Brooke, she’d drone on and on about how much she didn’t enjoy his presence and wished he’d either marry Madison or go find another girl to annoy.
Mama and Papa were the only ones who attempted to cover their dislike for him. They’d casually have conversations with her, dropping hints about other eligible gentleman or suggest she take a break from the courtship with Robbie and see what happens.
But no, Madison didn’t want their advice. She wanted Robbie. She had to have him no matter what. For a brief time she considered taking her parents advice and focusing on another gentleman, but when she’d heard he’d made some unflattering remarks about her, she strengthened her resolve and started to pursue Robbie like a cat chasing a mouse.
The problem was she, being the cat, had been declawed, not that such a thing was possible, mind you, but metaphorically of course. She could chase him into a corner and almost have him in her clutches, then he’d scurry away and she’d be on the chase again. This cat and mouse game where she chased him and he escaped her grasp at the last minute went on for five years. Yes, that’s right five years! Now some would say a courtship is usually about five months. Or some might even be five weeks. And then, of course, there are the ones that are rather odd at five days. But five years? That’s unheard of. And yet, that’s how long the cat chased the mouse. Actually, cat and mouse is a bad analogy. A better analogy would be a puppeteer and puppet. However, in this analogy, Madison would undeniably be termed the puppet.
For five years she danced to his tune in hopes of becoming Mrs. Robert Swift. And in the end, that honor went to a weak ninny named Laura Small.
Laura was a spoiled southern girl who had never so much as seen needle and thread in a person’s hand as they weaved it in and out of cloth. She’d grown up in southern Georgia on a booming cotton plantation. She flounced her way into New York spending money as if it grew on a cotton plant. She used her sugary-sweet southern voice to get the men to do her bidding with nothing more than a few compliments and a sickening grin. Within a week, she was the belle of all the balls
. Within another week, she was Mrs. Robert Swift.
While Madison and Robbie had an unusually long courtship of five years that led nowhere, Laura and Robbie had an unusually short courtship of five days that led to the altar. Talk about the injustice of the world!
Only a month after the blessed event of two heartless, coldblooded creatures becoming one, Madison’s family decided it was time to visit Papa’s family in England.
Their intention was only to stay a few months, but when her older sister, Brooke, married an earl and announced a few months later she was in the family way, her parents decided to stay a bit longer. Then came the unexpected marriage of her younger sister, Liberty, to a country vicar named Paul Grimes. When it turned out that two of their three daughters were happily married in England, Mama and Papa decided it would be best if they took up residence in England as well, which was why they were absent for the ball.
She’d been in England over a year now and had attended more balls than she cared to count. Not that she didn’t like to dance, she did. The problem was she didn’t want to marry. Robbie’s betrayal had cut deep. Deeper than she thought possible. So brutal his treatment of her, she didn’t think she could ever trust a man again.
She’d lived her life constantly lost in a daydream for nearly a year before allowing herself to open up and enjoy life again. She’d erected walls around her heart and vowed she’d never be so careless as to trust another with it again.
So naturally, when she saw that miserable scoundrel that had the nerve to call himself a man, she started to panic. Hundreds of questions swirled around in her head, but they all came down to: what did he want now. She knew he hadn’t come here for anyone else. He only knew one other person in England besides her family, and that person was a commoner. She knew he wasn’t here for Liberty or Brooke, she was certain of that, which meant he was here for Madison.
Knowing he’d probably spotted her already, she fought to keep her calm as she weighed her options. She could dance the night away with any number of gentlemen that were currently swarming around her like bees to a hive and ignore him in hopes he’d leave. She could make her way to seek refuge with her sisters and wait for their husbands to toss him out like she knew they were about to do. Or she could slip out of the ballroom and run to her bedchamber for the remainder of the night.
Glancing at the herd of sheep dressed as gentlemen that surrounded her, she ruled out option number one. Shifting her gaze to where Brooke and Liberty were, she saw she’d have no choice but to walk directly in front of him as she walked to the staircase that led to Brooke’s look-out. That only left retiring for the evening. That wouldn’t be a bad option, she supposed. She’d just have to make her way to the side doors and walk through the gardens to get into the main part of the house.
Plan in place, she excused herself from her adoring pack and started to walk in the direction of the gardens. With each step she took, she felt her blood pumping faster through her veins. She could feel his razor sharp blue eyes staring at her as she made her way to the edge of the ballroom. Reminding herself to breathe and stay calm, she forced a smile to her lips as she passed a handful of curious guests. She heard footsteps behind her and almost froze. He was following her. Had Andrew and Paul not been able to rid this place of his unpleasant presence?
Willing herself once again to calm down, she out reached her shaking, clammy hand to open the door. Her palm so sweaty she could barely hold onto the knob as she gave it a twist. Swallowing the lump of panic that had formed in her throat, she tried again. Relief temporarily flooded her when the door swung on its hinges and she was able to slip outside.
Though the gardens were dimly lit, Madison had been in them enough she could navigate them with a blindfold. All but running, she scurried down the steps, around the shrubs, through the bushes and over a concrete bench in an effort to get to the door. She grasped at the brass knob to open the door just as she heard her name being called.
Her hands froze. Her heart froze. Her blood froze. It was his voice. The voice that used to whisper in her ears words of love and affection. The one that made promises of a future filled with love, happiness and children. The voice she’d tried for so long to forget.
“Madison,” he called, turning her skin to gooseflesh.
Ignoring him, she tried to open the door. There were no lights around the door, if she could just slip in and lock the door behind her, he wouldn’t be able to find her. But that was the problem, she couldn’t slip in. The knob wouldn’t turn. It was locked.
“Blast,” she exclaimed quietly through clenched teeth. She remembered she’d once swiped a key to the front door and kept in her reticule. She just hoped it would work for this door.
“Oh, Madison darling, where are you?” Robbie drawled, causing her fingers to tremble as she dug for her key. “I know you’re out here.”
She wanted to yell. She wanted to scream in frustration. She wanted to get this blasted door open. Her fingers closed around the key and she held it tightly as she pulled it from her bag.
“You know you want me,” he said, his voice sounding closer than before.
Her fingers shook as she tried to jam the key into the keyhole. Every time she came close to getting the tip in, her shivering hand would miss and she’d scratch the knob with the end of the key.
“You know, those two body guards you got in there should have known better than to just escort me out,” he said with a chuckle. “They have no idea of our feelings for each other, eh. Oh well, who could fault them for thinking I’m too much a gentleman to jump a fence to get to the woman I love. That’s right, Madison, I said love. I love you. Now come out of hiding so we can talk.”
Madison’s hands briefly stilled from their chore of trying to get the key in the lock. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Love. Did the man really think after all this time he could prance back into her life to say he loved her and everything would be all dandy between them? If that was his great plan at winning her back, he was completely addled.
“Now come on, pet,” he drawled again, making her blood curdle. “Get your luscious derriere out here so we can talk.”
His words shocked her and the key she’d been holding slipped to the ground to make a light ringing clink on the flagstones. All the blood seemed to rush from her head and she began to panic again. What if he’d heard the key hit the ground and came closer? Numbly, she tried to bend down to pick it up. Halfway to the ground, she saw a shadow that caused her to freeze in place.
Too dark to make out the face of the man next to her, she stared in silent shock as a giant hand reached down and picked up the brass key. The man stood up and slipped the key into the lock with extraordinary ease before putting his hands on her waist and helping nudge her into the dark house.
No lamps were lit inside and the pair stood in complete darkness.
“Thank you,” she said at last.
“You’re welcome,” a vaguely familiar voice returned behind her.
They stood together in silence for another moment while Madison waited for her heart to slow down to normal. But the longer she waited, the more she realized it wasn’t slowing down. Robbie was still outside yelling for her and becoming more crass each time he spoke.
“Oh, why is he here?” she muttered to herself. “Why can’t he just leave me alone?” She brought her hands up and covered her face. She felt like she was going to faint. Just as she could feel herself about to crumple to the floor, two strong hands came up and pulled her backward to rest against his hard body.
“It’s all right,” he murmured in her ear. “I told Townson I saw the scoundrel jump the rock wall. He’ll take care of him in a minute.”
Madison nodded. “Thank you,” she said softly. Robbie was right when he pegged Andrew as too good a gentleman to guess Robbie would come back. Andrew was the sort that stayed calm and always gave people the benefit of the doubt—at first. Then, if they betrayed his trust, they normally regretted it.
Sh
e’d heard tale from more than one source that he’d been involved in a number of fisticuffs. His most notorious partner being the Duke of Gateway, the man who’d tried to pay him last spring to ruin her sister Brooke. Those two had apparently had their share of scrapes over the past fifteen years and had each broken the others noses at one point. She had no doubt that with Andrew being built like a tree the way he was and Robbie being no bigger than a twig, Andrew could easily break him. “I hope he doesn’t kill him,” she remarked when she heard Andrew’s angry voice.
“He won’t,” the voice behind her said. “Do you love him?”
“Who? Andrew?” she asked, automatically ruling out the chance he could be asking about Robbie. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I? He’s always been kind to me.” Not to mention he was her brother-in-law.
“What of Mr. Swift?”
Madison closed her eyes. “No.”
“Then why don’t you want him hurt?”
“I didn’t say that,” she corrected. “I said I hoped Andrew doesn’t kill him. In case you didn’t see him, Robbie is as big as a quill. All Andrew has to do is hit him once and he’ll snap in half.”
The man chuckled. “You think they’re unevenly matched, do you?”
“Of course,” she burst out with a nervous giggle. “I’m not a coldblooded monster or anything, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing Robbie roughed up a little. At the same time, I don’t want his blood on Andrew’s hands. Anyone who’s ever seen Andrew knows it wouldn’t take any effort on his part to hurt Robbie.”
“Do you think Mr. Swift is a weakling who cannot defend himself?”
“Yes,” she answered bluntly. “I mean no offense to him in that regard, but the truth is, I’ve seen the man felled by a pebble my sister shot at him from a makeshift slingshot.”
“Was this a reenactment of David and Goliath put on for your father’s church?” the man asked, his chest rumbling with a chuckle.