by Jane Charles
Again, the tears flowed from Davina.
Rose poured her a cup of tea and pressed it into her hand. “Tell me what is wrong and we will see what can be done to fix it.”
“I’m not sure it can be fixed. He hates me.” It was what she feared would come, but a part of her had hoped Ian would understand once he knew the truth and her reasons.
Foolish, silly hope.
“I am sure that’s not the case. Now tell me what is wrong,” Rose said calmly.
At her request, Davina found herself telling Rose everything from the first time Ian had kissed her and the challenge, to his walking out the door a few moments ago, leaving out the caresses they’d shared.
“Your uncle did put you in an impossible position,” Rose finally said.
“Ian doesna see it that way. I should have told him when he returned.”
“We both know you could not.”
“And now I’ve lost him. Alistair may make him marry me, but I’ll never have him. Not like before.”
A small smile pulled at Rose’s lips. “I am not so certain.”
“How can ye not be?” Davina demanded.
“He is angry and hurt, and I understand about trust, but a heart does not change overnight.” Rose squeezed Davina’s hand. “He just needs time and I’m sure all will be well.”
“I wish I could believe ye.” Instead, in time, she’d be married to a man who wished to be with anyone but her. And with that thought, her tears began to flow again.
Guilt ate at his gut as Ian rode home and his anger dissipated. She’d lied to him, or omitted the truth and had not corrected his incorrect assumptions, so how could he trust Davina in the future?
Except, everything had been to protect her family, which he understood. In the same circumstance what would he have done?
Except, nobody in his family would lower themselves to kidnapping, so he’d not be in a similar circumstance.
Blast, all of his thoughts were turning in circles on themselves.
She should have told him at the first opportunity.
Except, what would he have done? Kept the secret to protect Davina by protecting her uncle, or would he have rescued Lady Bentley, thus losing Davina when her uncle was arrested?
Aye, he could understand her dilemma, but that did not make any of this right.
Aiden had put them in this position. He was the one behind Davina lying to protect him, and it would be Aiden who would demand marriage once he learned the truth. Ian would be linked to that family for the rest of his life. The nephew-in-law of a kidnapper.
Bloody hell this was a mess.
How could he be certain that in the future Davina might not do the same thing if she wished to protect a family member? Would Davina lie or deceive to protect him or her, instead of confiding in Ian? How could he be married to a woman if she didn’t rely on him and trust that he could take care of and protect her in all things?
That was the crux of the matter. He did understand why she made the decisions that altered what they were now, and perhaps he could find forgiveness for her, but it was trust in the future that concerned him. That would take time. Just how much, he wasn’t sure.
As he entered the drive to Grant Manor he noted three carriages being driven toward the back of the property, toward the stables, as another stopped at the front. This could mean only one thing. Bentley and the Trent brothers had arrived.
Chapter 22
“Bentley and his brothers are ridin’ this way,” Donovan announced as he marched into the house.
Davina’s stomach felt as if it had just flipped and twisted on itself.
“Gather the children,” Rose announced. “Everyone get settled.”
Her heart was beating a thousand times a second, but Davina and Arabella rushed upstairs for their younger cousins. They’d just gone up there following dinner. Hopefully they weren’t ready for bed yet.
“I’m worried,” Arabella whispered.
“As am I.” It wasn’t just her uncle’s fate that weighed on Davina, but any future she faced with Ian. He claimed there would be one, but how could she marry him knowing he didn’t want her any longer?
The very idea sickened her, but she could not dwell on her heartache now. That was not what her Uncle Aiden needed.
Thankfully the children were still playing when she stepped inside the nursery. “Gavin, help Hugh gather his soldiers.”
Gavin, who was twelve and thought himself much too old to be playing with toys, rolled his eyes, but did as Davina asked.
“Clarinda, please pick a book both ye and Fiona will enjoy.”
Instead of Clarinda doing her bidding, Fiona ran to a table and picked up a beloved book.
“Now, come along,” Arabella said.
“Where are we goin’?” Gavin asked.
“We are goin’ to play in the parlor this evenin’,” Davina answered. It really wasn’t so unusual for the children to join them in the back parlor after supper, but they’d never had their toys outside of the nursery before.
When they arrived back downstairs, Ewan and Niel were already playing chess. Uncle Aiden and Rose were on the settee sipping tea. Sheena was seated on the other side of Rose trying to stitch as Rose had taught them. Alistair and Donovan were in one set of chairs, talking while Cameron stood by a window with a glass of brandy in his hand. Arabella quickly took up her stitching and settled into a chair as Davina led Clarinda and Fiona to another settee and had them sit on either side of her as she opened the book.
“Boys, play with your soldiers before the fire,” Rose suggested.
Hugh rushed to do so because he loved his soldiers while Gavin reluctantly followed.
“Pretend to be enjoying yerself,” Uncle Aiden warned his oldest child.
With a sigh, the twelve-year-old boy sat on the floor across from his brother.
Davina wasn’t sure if Gavin understood what was happening, but she suspected he’d picked up on the tension in the room tonight because he would normally have balked at playing soldiers with his younger brother.
“The Earl of Bentley, the Marquess of Brachton and Lady Brachton, Viscount Acker, Misters Jordan Trent, Matthew Trent, and Sebastian Stanwick,” the footman announced.
If so many family members had come, then they were certain to arrest the lot of them. It was all Davina could do not to pull her younger cousins close to protect them.
“Please, show them in,” Uncle Aiden said graciously.
The footman barely had a chance to turn before Bentley stormed into the room, his brothers directly behind him. He drew up short and looked around. As soon as Madeline entered, Aiden and his nephews came to their feet.
Davina sucked in a breath. They were a formidable bunch. Tall, fit, stern and each carried an air of authority.
This was Maddie’s family? She was such a kind, genteel lady while the gentlemen with her were in part, terrifying. Of course, it could be the circumstances. In a different setting, they might be rather pleasant.
“You are coming with me, Rose.” The first gentleman in the door demanded.
Davina held her breath and closed the book.
Rose did not move. “You sounded much like your father just now, Clayton.”
He stiffened at her words.
“I no longer take orders from anyone,” she informed him quietly but with determination.
Davina didn’t know which brother was which, or which of the two were brothers-in-law, but she suspected that Clayton was the Earl of Bentley, as he was the one who issued the order.
At Rose’s words, one gentleman’s eyes grew wide with shock while another one smiled. From their reactions, she assumed they were brothers to Bentley.
The one Rose addressed as Clayton glanced around the room and seemed to pause when he noted the boys in front of the fire and then the girls beside Davina. “Perhaps we should discuss matters in private.”
“Don’t you wish to meet Laird MacGregor’s family?” Rose offered sweetly.
/> “Not at this moment,” he ground out.
Davina stood and took Fiona’s hand. Arabella set her sewing aside and took Clarinda’s while Sheena helped the boys pick up their soldiers as they knew that Hugh would not leave them behind.
Donovan came to his feet. “I’ll have Davina take the girls and children upstairs. The rest of us will be close if needed.”
Davina bristled at his words. Donovan didn’t need to have her do anything. She understood the severity of the situation, her responsibility to the children, and why Rose had planned on Bentley finding them in this manner. She only held her tongue because the Trents were in the room.
As they exited into the corridor, the door was shut behind them.
“Go upstairs,” Donovan ordered.
Davina gasped. “Ye canna tell me what to do. I have a right to ken what is goin’ to happen.”
“Now is not the time to argue with me” He narrowed his eyes and leaned toward Davina. “Ye forget that after Aiden, I’m the eldest and it’s time the lasses in this house realized they cannot dictate to the men.”
Her mouth popped open.
“Perhaps if someone would have taken ye over their knee some time ago, ye wouldna have led Ian Grant on a merry chase. Now get your arse upstairs,” he hissed quietly.
All three of the females gasped in outrage.
“I mean it. If I have to, I’ll carry ye all up and lock ye in yer rooms.”
Arabella narrowed her eyes on her brother. “We will go only because of the Trents, but doona think ye can start orderin’ us about.” With that, Arabella and Sheena stomped up the stairs, their four cousins following them.
Davina, however, stood where she was.
Donovan pointed up the stairs.
Oh, she’d like to give him a piece of her mind, but now was not the time. With a huff, she followed after her sister and cousins.
The whisky burned a trail down his throat and Ian wished he could enjoy the fiery liquid, but it was impossible to relax when he knew Bentley and the others were now confronting Aiden. Maddie insisted on going along to keep her brothers and brothers-in-law from doing anything foolish, like stringing Aiden up from the highest tree, but that didn’t mean she’d be successful.
What if Maddie was wrong and she couldn’t control her brothers and Aiden was arrested? Davina would be destroyed and horrified, and it would be up to him to comfort her. And, despite everything, he would take care of Davina as best he could.
Why the blazes had she gone along with such a fool plan in the first place? It wasn’t as if Aiden was a tyrant and they all lived in fear of him. Did anyone in Annagburn possess any sense whatsoever?
Despite her poor judgment, Ian didn’t want Davina to suffer.
Bridges was the only gentleman who remained behind with Ian, and now he paced the floor, sipping whisky as well. While they were on edge, his mother and Lady Acker, who had arrived earlier in the day, sat enjoying tea and a very pleasant conversation.
What was it with these women? Did they not understand the severity of the situation? They behaved as if this was nothing more than a small scandal, easily dismissed.
“Mr. John Trent and Viscount Marston,” the footman announced.
He’d been told that the youngest Trent brother was to have met up with Marston at Danby Castle where they’d planned on visiting since the two were married to granddaughters of the duke. As Bentley had explained, all of the wives had been sent to Danby Castle for protection from the madman who had kidnapped Rose. It shouldn’t be a surprise that John would bring Marston with him to see that justice was done. “Show them in,” Ian answered.
“Are my brothers not here yet?” John demanded when he stepped in the room.
“They’ve been here and are off to get Rose,” Bridges answered.
“They know where she is?” Marston uttered with surprise.
“Tell us.” John demanded.
Ian and Bridges shared a look. The situation was volatile enough without those two rushing in without having all of the facts.
“Pour them some whisky, Ian,” his mother said. “You two need to sit.”
“We are not going to cool our heels waiting,” John argued.
“Sit!” Lady Acker ordered.
John and Marston shared a look, then they slowly took seats. A grin started to pull, which Ian quickly suppressed and then winced at the pain in his jaw and cheek. Besides, he shouldn’t smile at a lady chastising a gentleman, it only encouraged them to continue ordering men about when it should be the other way around. A lesson he learned far too late. Aye, as he and Davina moved forward, he would make certain she realized the consequences of defying or deceiving him. Only then could they live harmoniously. What those consequences would be, he had no idea, but he was certain he’d think of something when the time came.
“Rose is well,” his mother started. “Madeline believes she is in love, which is why she didn’t bring Rose back when she discovered her yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” John yelled.
“Let us explain,” his mother said as Ian handed Marston and John each a glass of whisky.
The two sipped as they listened to Lady Acker explain the situation from the beginning to the end, then handed them the letters Rose had written to Lady Acker for John to read.
“Golfing, breeches, whisky,” John said in surprise.
Apparently, Rose had enjoyed golf and wearing breeches even more.
“Falconry and fishing?” Then his eyes went wide. “She doesn’t want him harmed?” John looked up. “What madness is this? These letters do not sound like Rose.” He tossed them on the table.
“That is what I thought at first,” Lady Acker said. “But, when I spoke with Madeline and learned of the ball and how happy her mother was, I’ve begun to change my mind.”
Ian refilled his glass and settled back as the ladies explained Madeline’s reasons and her belief that the two were in love.
When they were finished, John tossed back his whisky and stood. “Where are these MacGregors?”
The last thing anyone needed was more hotheads rushing in, but as John was a Trent, he had a right to determine for himself how his stepmother fared, and Ian gave him the direction to Annagburn.
However, Marston and John had barely made it to the foyer before the door burst open and Bentley entered, followed by his brothers, brothers-in-law and a grinning Madeline.
“Told you so,” she taunted.
“Where is Rose?” John demanded.
“With MacGregor,” Bentley sighed and strode into the sitting room. “I need whisky, Brachton.”
“All of us do,” Acker said as he settled into a chair.
“Why didn’t you bring Rose back?” John demanded.
“We did,” Jordan answered. “At least she left with us.”
“MacGregor stopped us on the road and took her back,” Matthew shook his head and chuckled.
John gaped at them. “And you let him?”
“Yes,” Bentley said as he accepted a glass of whisky.
Bentley, Madeline, Matthew and Jordan stood together facing the youngest Trent brother.
“I gave MacGregor five days to prove he deserved to keep Rose,” Bentley explained.
“Keep her?” John yelled. “Did you forget he kidnapped her and demanded a ransom of jewels?”
“No,” he answered as if it was a minor inconvenience.
“He has no right to keep her, and it is not your position to make that decision.”
“No, it isn’t,” Bentley agreed. “It is Rose’s decision.”
“She’s not in her right mind,” John argued. “Did you read her letters?”
Bentley leveled his eyes on John. “Rose is in possession of all of her faculties.”
“I had a long talk with her, and I stand by her decision,” Jordan added.
John looked from one sibling to the next as if the lot of them had lost their minds. “He is a criminal who kidnapped her,” John reminded them.
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br /> “The point is, MacGregor didn’t need five days. He met us on the road, with his nephews, and declared himself.”
“That’s all he needed and you handed our stepmother back over to him?”
“No,” Jordan answered, then cleared his throat. “She ran to him and declared her love.”
Were the Trents getting misty-eyed? What the blazes was wrong with everyone?
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
“She’s in love,” Madeline answered.
“More importantly, she’s happy,” added Jordan.
“For the first time ever, I suspect,” Bentley said quietly.
John narrowed his eyes on Matthew. “Are you about to cry?”
Matthew fished a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed his eyes. “I’m not ashamed to admit it. For the first time, Rose is truly happy and in love and in complete contrast to who she was before. I didn’t see it right away, but it fully hit me in the chest when we returned here.”
The other two brothers nodded and also drew out handkerchiefs.
Ian just shook his head. Maybe he should get the smelling salts in case the Englishmen started swooning too.
“I knew she wasn’t happy before,” Clayton said. “So many choices taken from her, forced to marry my bastard of a father when she was only fifteen, Madeline sent off to school when she was only twelve, then we all married, and she’s never really had someone for herself. Not like we do.”
“Her life was miserable, but I didn’t realize how much it had to have been until tonight,” Jordan added.
“Not exactly miserable,” Maddie said, but the other three shot her a look.
“Miserable,” she finally concurred. “I don’t think she realized it herself until Aiden, though.”
Her brothers nodded.
John took a step back. “You’ve all lost your blooming minds. First those letters from Rose, which I am sure were penned under duress to make everyone think she was fine and probably dictated by MacGregor, and now the three of you are standing here sniffling like ladies? Is MacGregor some sort of sorcerer?”