by Wendy Vella
The man laughed.
“I like your bravery, even if it is hopeless. Therefore, I am willing to indulge you with a final farewell to your beloved. After all, tonight will be the last time you see each other.”
“You would shoot an earl and a viscount’s daughter?” He pulled Maddie closer and whispered in her ear, “Trust me.” Only she could hear his words.
“I care nothing for your birth, only the money she will bring me. You can be found floating in the Thames, and it will be a terrible accident that you’ve drowned.” Blackley laughed. “Although perhaps you will net me more?”
No. It would not end here, Gabe vowed silently, pressing his face into her hair. They would live to raise their children and grow old in each other’s arms. He would ensure it.
“Release her now and move away.”
“A final goodbye, please, I beg of you,” Gabe said, injecting desperation into his tone.
The men laughed at him as he wrapped both arms around her.
“Start crying loudly,” Gabe said into the shell of her ear.
Her sobs were real, Gabe knew that, and loud enough to make him wince. “When I say jump, you jump into the water, Maddie, and start swimming. I will make sure you are safe.”
She didn’t acknowledge him, and Gabe knew what he asked of her was terrifying. She was bound hand and foot and would drown in seconds without him.
“Very touching. Now step away from Miss Spencer.”
“I cannot,” Gabe said, his words anguished. “Have you no mercy?”
As he spoke, he crept slowly backward with Maddie until they were inches from the water.
“Take a big breath.” Gabe clutched Maddie close to him. “Now jump!”
Curses rent the air behind them as they both fell into the icy water. Gabe felt a bullet graze his arm, but he didn’t stop. Grabbing Maddie’s arm, he towed her down with him under the water. He knew she was struggling with the weight of her clothes. Panic would be clawing at her as she fought against her bonds.
The darkness would cover them when they left the warehouse, but Gabe wanted them out into the Thames, where hopefully the tide would sweep them away from the Blackley brothers. She gasped in a huge breath of air as he pushed her upward and they broke free of the water.
“I have you now.” Gabe pulled her into his arms, keeping her afloat as they began to move swiftly with the current.
“Un-untie me, we will drown!”
“I can’t stop to do that now!”
Gripping her under the arms, he kept them both afloat and angled toward the bank.
“A few more minutes, Maddie,” he said as the bank drew nearer, and then his feet touched. Grabbing her waist, he sat her on the edge, and then followed, pulling himself out beside her.
Removing the knife from his boot, he quickly cut the ties from her hands and ankles. She was shivering, great shudders of cold wracking her body. He was no better.
“We need to move before they find us, Maddie. James is around here somewhere with your boys.”
“Wh-which b-boys?’
“Does it matter?”
Gabe lifted Maddie to her feet and tried to take her in his arms again, but she pushed away. The force behind the slap she gave his cheek was weak, but it still stung.
“What the hell was that for?”
“Y-you betrayed me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Just looking at him hurt. When he’d walked into the warehouse with one of Blackleys holding him at gunpoint, Maddie had known real fear... and pain. Lots of pain. She’d wanted to yell at him to run, even considering what he’d done, because she loved him.
“Maddie, we have no time for hysterics now. We must leave.”
“I h-hate you.”
“I just rescued you!”
“Th-thank you for that. I st-still hate you.”
He grabbed her upper arms and pulled her close until she stood on her toes... so close his cold nose now touched hers.
“I didn’t betray you.”
“My father—”
“Your father’s solicitor found information in his son’s papers. It was he who wrote and told your father what you were doing, not I.”
“B-but—”
“Shut up and listen to me.” Gabe gave her a little shake. “We have to get out of here or one of those Blackleys will put a bullet through us, and if that doesn’t happen, the cold will finish us off.”
“Are y-you telling me the truth?”
He sighed. “Yes. I told you I would not tell your father. Have a little faith, woman.”
She couldn’t help it, Maddie burst into tears.
“Shhh, have mercy, woman. Can you not weep softly?” Gabe pulled her into his chest, pressing her against his cold body, but Maddie didn’t care. He hadn’t betrayed her after all.
“Maddie, my love. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but to do that we need to get away from here. To do that, we need to move now.”
“I-I know... it’s just that—”
He put his hand over her mouth. “I need you to be quiet now. Do you understand?”
Maddie nodded.
He took her hand and towed her along the bank. She couldn’t see anything and hoped Gabe was leading them away from danger and the Blackley brothers.
He stopped, then pulled her behind him.
“We’ve got to find them.”
Maddie knew only relief at the voice up ahead of them.
“We are here, James,” Gabe said, taking her hand once more.
“My lord, have you found her?”
“I have.”
Maddie couldn’t speak, she was so cold.
“She’s extremely cold. We had to jump in the water to escape.”
“Here’s my jacket.”
Maddie nearly moaned at the bliss she felt as Gabe wrapped James’s jacket around her shoulders.
“We must get her home.”
After that everything became a blur for Maddie. They hurried from the docks with the boys.
Somehow Graham found a cart, and she was placed on that, seated in Gabe’s lap. He wrapped her in his arms, both now shivering and chilled to the bone. The cart slowly rolled through London, taking them home.
“Nearly there, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of her head. “My brave girl.”
“I-I’m sorry I thought you’d b-betrayed me, Gabe.”
“Such little faith in the man you love, Maddie. We will have to work on that.”
She looked up at him, his handsome face smiling down at her.
“How d-do you know I love you?”
“Because you always have.”
There was nothing she could say to that, because his words were the absolute truth.
Christmas Eve at Chasten was a festive affair. The house was decorated with evergreen boughs of holly, ivy, hawthorn, rosemary, and hellebore, sending sweet scent into the air. The Yule log had been lit, and games played. It was quite simply the best Christmas Eve Maddie had ever experienced—because Gabe was here.
After her kidnapping he’d asked her father for her hand in marriage, right there in the entrance of their London townhouse. Her father had agreed gladly. Gabe said that was because he was relieved he no longer had to worry about his reckless daughter.
Verity had surprised her too. Crushing her in a hug, she’d told Maddie she loved her and had been terrified at the thought they may never see each other again. Since that day they’d grown closer.
In a week she and Gabe would marry, here on her father’s estate, and she wanted that so much now. He was her life, as she was his.
Retiring for the evening, Maddie lay in bed thinking of the life she would have as his wife. She could not wait. He had bought Spoke House for her, and together they would work at making it a safe place for the children to come. Together, they would have many more houses situated around England for those who had no one else to care for their welfare.
Maddie heard the door to her room open. Seconds later, the rustle of cloth
es followed, and then he was there beside the bed, sliding beneath the sheets.
“I should be shocked.”
His laugh was a soft rumble as he slid his arms around her and settled her against his body.
“Hello, my sweet, and biddable fiancée.”
This time she laughed.
“You looked so beautiful tonight, Maddie, that I wanted to plant my fist in any man who looked your way.”
“Wonderful, then my plan worked.”
“Shrew.” He rolled her onto her back and kissed her.
“This love, Gabe, does it scare you?” Maddie cupped the cheek above her.
“No. It warms me and makes me stronger.”
“But it is also a strange thing. I thought very closely about hurling my eclair at Lady Helen when she patted your arm and batted her lashes at you, and I love eclairs.”
“Jealousy is new to me also, my sweet.”
She looked up at him, the weak moonlight letting her study each and every feature on his handsome face.
“I love you, Gabe. I love your strength and your kindness. I love the boy I once knew and the man I am still learning about. Never leave me.”
“Never,” he breathed against Maddie’s lips. Then there was no need of words as they set about showing each other their love.
THE END
Mistletoe And The Marquess
Chapter One
“Are you sure about this, Jemma? I don’t feel comfortable accompanying you without your mother in attendance.”
“Very,” Miss Jemma Partridge said as she pulled the edges of her black velvet cloak together. “It will be the last social function I attend before my marriage on Christmas Eve, and as Mother is experiencing another of her episodes, there is little to be done but for you to escort me, cousin.”
“But the Cavanagh fancy dress is not like any other ball. Masks and disguises seem to change people’s behavior, and not for the better.”
“And yet you attend every year, Thomas.” Jemma smiled sweetly. “Therefore, surely it will not hurt me to accompany you just this once?”
“It is slightly different for me to attend than you, and as you very well know, I am a man with no morals and very low standards.”
“Surely a ball held by one of society’s leaders cannot be so terrible, and you are as noble as the next man.”
She studied Thomas’s costume. Black cloak over black breeches and boots, white shirt and scarlet sash tied at his waist. He always wore the same costume every year.
“Why a pirate?”
“Woman think me dashing,” he said, flashing her a smile that she was sure had made many a heart flutter. To Jemma, he was a friend and the one person she loved above all others. She watched the smile turn into a frown. “And terrible is not the word to use when describing the Cavanagh ball. Perhaps reckless would be a better term. In fact, I think I shall turn the carriage around; it was a mistake to bring you, you got me at a weak moment.”
“But you have told me on numerous occasions that it is often the highlight of your year, and that the Cavanagh Christmas ball is not something you would ever miss. In fact I’ve heard most of society attends, therefore why not I?”
“It is and I don’t, and yes many members of society attend.” He gritted his teeth. “It is just that they are not you.”
“That makes absolutely no sense and merely confirms my belief of your double standards. Where I am concerned, you are ridiculously conservative in what events you believe I should attend, yet you are allowed to do whatever takes your fancy.”
Thomas blew out a loud breath.
“You know very well the rules for women and men are not the same, therefore, what I enjoy is not necessarily suitable for you. The guests are definitely the same as during the season, but their behavior often is not.”
“As I am sitting across from you in your carriage, I’m not entirely sure why we are having this conversation. I would also like to point out that I am a sensible woman, and fail to see what could possibly happen other than lighthearted flirtation and dancing.”
“You would be surprised how many women have been ruined by uttering just those words.”
“By you?”
Thomas looked outraged.
“I would never ruin a woman, and shame on you for suggesting otherwise.”
“Oh please, do not get high and mighty with me, Thomas Radler. I know you better than most.”
He fell silent, and she could tell he was again contemplating taking her home. Tall and lean, Thomas and Jemma could pass as siblings. Both blond, both had the same deep brown eye color, and they were often told they had many similar mannerisms. He was also stubborn like her, and she could not allow him to take her back to the house when she was so close to the ball and one final night of freedom.
“Would you have me go to my wedding without experiencing any of the excitement life has to offer? Must I go to my marriage bed to lie with Lord Crickley knowing nothing of the joys that can be experienced?”
The breath whooshed from Thomas’s chest. “Firstly, I have no wish to think of you and Crickley in any way, and secondly, what the hell are you planning? Because there will be none of that kind of carrying on here for you, and I am horrified that you would even contemplate it.”
“Of course I am not contemplating that kind of thing.” Jemma waved a hand about. “Perhaps my speech was a bit misleading, but as you can imagine the future will change drastically for me, and I wish only for one last night of fun before it does.”
He took one of her gloved hands in his.
“You told me you wanted this, Jemma, told me that you liked Crickley and wanted to marry him. I had my doubts and thought he was not suitable for you, but you insisted, as did your father. Tell me if you have changed your mind and we shall put an end to it, and then we will run away, sweetheart, just you and I as we used to. I shall whisk you away to France, and we shall spend Christmas there. You need only say the word.”
Jemma knew that his words were spoken teasingly, yet if she were to agree he would do as she asked. Thomas’s parents had died when he was two years old, so he had come to live with Jemma’s parents. She’d been born three years later.
“I love you for saying that, Thomas, and I am not having doubts about marrying Lord Crickley. I had to marry at some stage, and at twenty-four I am lucky it has not happened before now. Father was more than happy to leave me at home with mother so he could spend his time as he wished. Therefore, he did not insist that I accept any of my suitors. Now, however, it is time for me to wed.”
Jemma looked out the carriage window so her cousin could not see her eyes. See the anger that raged inside her, or the fear for what her future held.
“Your father has my undying gratitude for raising me as his own, but he is a fool as we both know, and your mother a close second.” Thomas took her hand, forcing her to face him. “I am confused by your choice of husband, Jemma. Why Crickley? I don’t know much about the man, but the little I do I don’t particularly like.”
Wise man Jemma thought squeezing his fingers before releasing them. “I’m grateful to you for all you have done for us, Thomas, but I can no longer be a burden on your time when surely you will marry soon. I also have no wish to see out my days looking after two foolish parents. Therefore, I shall be happy as Lady Crickley.”
His handsome face was suddenly serious.
“I would not have you unhappy, Jemma.”
“I shall be quite all right, I promise. I have never wished for a great passion, and undying love sounds horridly painful and to be avoided. Crickley has two children from his first wife. Both are grown, and I believe he has four grandchildren, so they shall keep me busy.”
“At any time, should you need me, then send word and I will be at your side as soon as I can.”
Jemma blinked back the tears. They both knew that after her wedding, everything would change between them. She would not see Thomas as much, nor would they share as many visits at his estate,
as her husband had one of his own.
“All will go well, Thomas, I promise. There is no need for this. I will be happy with him.”
“You’re beautiful, well-mannered, and have your own teeth, so why settle for someone Crickley’s age when you could have a younger man?”
“Charming, you make me sound like a horse.”
“A very pretty one.”
“He will be an easy man to marry, and demand little of me.”
“Why do I have the feeling you are not telling me the entire truth?”
Because she wasn’t.
Because of her father’s reckless behavior, Lord Crickley had caught him cheating at cards. His silence was bought by Jemma’s agreement to marry him, and now her life was about to change completely, and not for the better.
“Unlike you, I do not have a romantic soul and am happy to settle for a comfortable union rather than love.”
“And yet finding love was all you spoke of for many years.”
Jemma dismissed his words with a shake of her head and managed to form a smile.
“I was a girl, Thomas. Now please, no more. It is done and I will marry Lord Crickley on Christmas Eve.”
“I still believe there is more to this, Jemma, but short of having my driver take us around the roads until you tell me the truth, I can find no way to get it from you. Even then, you are more stubborn than I, so it would more than likely be a fruitless venture.”
“The carriage is stopping, Thomas, so this discussion is finished,” Jemma said, slipping on her mask.
Thomas wrapped his fingers around her wrist, stopping her moving toward the door. “If I find you have lied to me, Jemma, I will not be pleased.”
She placed a hand on his chest, as she had many times before. “Let it go now, Thomas; it is done.”
“It is simply that I wanted more for you, Jemma.”
His words were spoken softly and she felt the emotion behind them as it matched her own. But she could not let him see how she was feeling. If he had even a slight inkling of why she was marrying Crickley there would be hell to pay.
“We are not all cut from the same cloth, Thomas. I will rejoice when you have found your passionate love, but I have no wish for it.”
