Winter Wishes: A Regency Christmas Anthology

by Cheryl Bolen

  “But why are you doing this...?” His words fell away as her eyes narrowed.

  “Should I perhaps simper and curtsey to them? Play the piano and sing? Oh dear.” She pressed a hand to her lips. “There is no piano here, how will I cope?”

  “Maddie, stop now,” Gabe snapped. “I’m merely attempting to understand what is—”

  “Or perhaps pat them on the head and hope they do not freeze or starve to death when they walk out into the brutal world they inhabit,” she interrupted him. “You know those twelve days of Christmas our families always looked forward to, Gabriel? The dancing and balls. The boughs of greenery and burning the Yule. Well, these children have no idea of such things. They have rarely if ever known joy or a full stomach. They had no idea there was goodness in this world.”

  “So, what? You’re providing them with some goodness? You, a young woman who should know better than to venture into Spitalfields.” Gabe’s anger climbed at the realization of what she was doing. “How can you be so reckless, Madeline? I’m sure your parents—”

  “Leave them out of this,” she hissed. “This has nothing to do with them.”

  “Because you haven’t told them what you are doing,” Gabe said, knowing he was right when she looked away.

  “Just leave, and don’t come back. There is nothing for you here. Go back to your cosseted life, Lord Lockhart.”

  “Don’t dismiss me, you little baggage.” He felt the leash on his temper slip. She’d always been able to get a rise out of him with very little effort. “You will allow me some confusion. The woman I have come to know this season—”

  “You know nothing of me, nor do I wish you to!”

  “I just—”

  “I do not want to hear anything you have to say, Gabriel. Why can you not understand that? This,” she waved a hand about, “is something I must do. I have not asked for your help, nor do I want you here. Leave at once.”

  “I merely—” Gabe cut himself off and covered her mouth with his hand when she opened it to interrupt him once more.

  “If I may actually be allowed to finish a sentence, I will explain that you must admit, this,” he looked at the children, “is not something I would have thought you involved in. Once, but not now.”

  She bit him.

  “Ouch!”

  “Your hand was cold.”

  “How? It’s in my glove.” Gabe shook his hand hard to stop the sting of pain.

  “Look.” She exhaled slowly through her teeth. “We don’t like each other anymore, so I think it best you forget about anything you have seen, and we can carry on with our lives, avoiding each other.”

  “You think I can simply walk away and leave you here? Carry on with my day as if this has not occurred?” Gabe couldn’t believe she thought him capable of that.

  “Of course you can,” she scoffed. “Is it not your belief I have changed beyond recognition also? After all, your attitude toward me has been dismissive from that night we met at the ball.”

  “Because of your attitude,” Gabe said with a calm he was far from feeling.

  Her brows drew together. “My attitude? What about yours?”

  “What about me? I simply greeted my old childhood friend,” Gabe said. “You treated me like a stranger. Giggled inanely, then said some ridiculous, extremely feather-brained things. I could not leave fast enough.”

  He watched as she drew in a large breath, then released it slowly before speaking.

  “You said, ‘it seems you have changed a great deal, Madeline,’ in a tone that suggested it was not for the better.” She gritted out the words. “You could not even see I was nervous at meeting you again after so long. The man who once.... Well, never mind. The point is I was nervous, overawed at my first ball, and feeling like I was about to cast up my accounts on your polished evening shoes.”

  He hadn’t believed her nervous… hadn’t even contemplated that fact. Perhaps he should have.

  “I am the same person, Madeline.”

  She barked out a laugh that held no humor. “You are nothing like the gentle, sensitive boy I once knew. You’re snooty, and your attitude suggests you think yourself superior to everyone else. Most of the women, married and not, are enamored with you, but terrified to even smile at you as you’re usually scowling. The men are in awe of you, the formidable earl with the ruthless reputation.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Gabe wasn’t going to lie, her opinion of him was a surprise. It was also uncomfortably close to what Elliot had said last night. Yes, he wasn’t one for social chitchat, but he wasn’t rude... or hadn’t thought he was.

  “I’m not repeating myself when clearly you heard.” Maddie folded her arms.

  “Well, if it’s a character assassination that you want, let me oblige,” Gabe said, feeling nettled. “You’re obnoxious and parade around the ballroom with your minions most evenings as if you were a bloody princess.”

  “I beg your pardon?” She looked outraged now.

  “I’m not repeating myself, as clearly you heard.” He threw her words back at her.

  They glared at each other.

  He didn’t want to notice her beauty at that particular moment, but angry color filled her cheeks. And her brown eyes were darker, almost black now. Her skin was like porcelain, soft to the touch, he was sure. Her top lip had a perfect bow shape to it. Gabe had heard men waxing on about her beauty, and it was even more evident this close and in such a drab setting.

  “I loathe you. Now leave,” she muttered as someone started coughing behind her. “There now, Jody.” She hurried back to the young girl and handed over a handkerchief she dug out of her cloak. “Take some slow, deep breaths for me.”

  “Can you fix my doll’s hair?”

  Gabe located that voice and found a little girl holding up a pile of rags for him to inspect.

  “’Tis knotted.”

  He looked to where Madeline crouched beside the other girl. She didn’t appear to be moving to help.

  “Pleassssse,” she begged.

  He couldn’t just ignore her; nor could he leave. No way was he leaving Madeline here in such a place, even if she was a mouthy little baggage.

  “What is your doll’s name?” He moved closer, whispering so the story listeners would not be disturbed.

  “Maddie!”

  “It is a name for a sweet-natured lady,” he said with a heavy dose of mockery in his tone. Maddie ignored him.

  “And I am Emma.”

  “Hello, Emma, I am Gabriel.”

  “Can you untangle it?”

  He took the grubby doll but couldn’t achieve what he needed to with his gloves on, so he handed it back and removed them.

  “It’s quite tangled.”

  “I should brush it more, like Maddie says I should brush mine too. Bath day is for that, me ma says.”

  “Very likely,” Gabe muttered as he wrestled with the knots... of which there were several. Twisted lumps in the material that had been that way for some time, he guessed.

  “Do you live here, Emma?”

  “Sometimes when Ma has visitors, she lets me come here to sleep.”

  Gabe didn’t want to know who those “visitors” were. He wasn’t immune to the plight of others and gave money on the streets where he could. He sat in the House of Lords and played his part in getting laws passed to make things better for those less fortunate than himself. But he could do more.

  The truth was, whatever Maddie was doing here would no doubt put him to shame. Although he’d never admit that to her.

  “I can do that.” A hand reached around him to grab the doll.

  “I have it.” He lifted it out of Maddie’s way.

  “But there is no need as I am here now, and surely you have no wish to sully your hands with such a job.”

  Handing the doll back to Emma with a smile, he turned to face Maddie. She didn’t look happy.

  “Your opinion of me is very lowering, Madeline.”

  “As yours is of me.” />
  She didn’t back away, wasn’t cowed by the scowl that was very likely on his face now.

  “Is it spelling time now?”

  The question interrupted their stare down.

  “Soon, Jay. Let me just see Lord Lockhart to the door.”

  “I will stay for spelling time,” Gabe found himself saying.

  “Why?”

  “Because I was always a great deal more proficient at it than you.”

  If she could breathe fire, now would be the time. Stomping away, she muttered something unflattering he didn’t catch.

  He moved to stand beside two boys as they attempted to form letters on the paper Maddie had obviously supplied them.

  “You will find it easier if you hold the pencil like this.”

  After a few aborted attempts, the boys got the hang of holding it the right way. He helped them form the letter A, and their smiles told him they were happy with the results.

  “Have you met the Duke of Wellington?”

  “I have.” Gabe nodded.

  “Is he short?”

  “Ah, well, shorter than me at least.”

  “I heard he sleeps in his uniform.”

  “Very unlikely, as the sword would be extremely uncomfortable, surely, and what of the hat?”

  The boys snuffled out a laugh. Unlike his nephews and nieces who laughed loud and free, these two were more subdued.

  Gabe felt it then. Guilt, that he had so much and they so little. He wondered if this was what prompted Maddie to do what she had.

  “I want to meet him,” one of the boys said. Like the rest of the children in this room, he was thin-faced, large-eyed, and grubby. “Maddie says if we learn well, maybe one day we will.”

  Gabe doubted that but didn’t speak the words. “Very likely,” he lied.

  Deciding that he needed to inspect this place Madeline was clearly spending time in, he left the children to their letters and, without looking her way, slipped out the door.

  Once a family of prosperous Huguenots had lived here, he was sure. So much had changed over the years, and now the grand house was cold and empty.

  He found beds in a room, and a table and chairs. Every other room on the lower floor was empty.

  What the hell are you doing in this place, Madeline Spencer?

  Chapter 5

  Maddie finished the lesson, and still Gabriel had not returned. Making sure everyone had food, she had James stoke the fire.

  “Another story, please, Penny. I shall return shortly.”

  Her maid nodded, and she left the room to look for the large, dark lord. She doubted he’d left the building, no matter how much she wished it was so.

  She had at least told him how she felt now, as he had her. It surprised her that Gabriel believed she had changed so much from the girl he’d known. She’d fooled everyone, just as her mother wanted her to. She and her mother had struck a bargain when she entered society. She behaved in public, and her mother would allow her some freedom, as long as she didn’t get into trouble.

  Until she’d visited Spoke House, she’d kept to her part of the bargain.

  Was she wrong about Gabriel? Could some of the boy she’d once known be in there somewhere? He'd certainly been gentle with Hetty and the boys.

  Taking the stairs down, she found him wandering through the deserted rooms. Ignoring the small jolt she received looking at him, Maddie approached.

  “Why are you still here?”

  “Why were you in Lord Haswell’s study looking at the Deed of Sale for this property, Madeline?”

  So, he had found what she’d been looking for that night.

  He was tapping his hat idly against one large thigh, for all appearances mildly curious. Maddie knew better; Gabriel had an inquiring mind and not much escaped him. He was also fiercely determined. If he wanted answers, he would ensure he got them.

  Folding her arms once more, she refused to answer him. He smiled and simply looked at her. That was something they’d always had in common. Stubbornness.

  His overcoat was black and hung open, revealing a jacket of deep green. His collar was a crisp white, and his breeches the same. The man was ridiculously handsome. Miss Little had said he should be painted or immortalized in ivory. Maddie had wanted to throw up.

  His eyes were unusual, a blue so pale they were piercing in their intensity when focused on you… as they were now. Maddie had never seen another with that color. She’d loved to look at them when she was a silly, naïve young girl. She’d spent nights dreaming about them one day looking at her with longing and love.

  They were now narrowed and cool.

  “I have nowhere to be, Maddie, and can stand here or follow you around all day if need be.”

  “This is my business, not yours.”

  “As you have already said. However, I want to make it my business. Perhaps I could ask Lord Haswell?”

  “You wouldn’t!” That would be a catastrophe.

  “Then tell me what I want to know.” He stood there comfortable with the knowledge he held all the power. A man of title and substance. A man who did not rely on anyone for his survival. A man she’d once called friend.

  “I don’t understand why you care!” Frustrated, Maddie only just refrained from stomping her foot.

  He didn’t speak, just looked at her in that steady way he had. Her father had the same look. Maddie had never been able to perfect it because she couldn’t stay quiet or still for that long.

  “All right!” His smile had her wanting to hurl something at him, but nothing was at hand. “I offer these children a place to come. I help teach them to read and write, and when they cannot go home, they stay here. They come and go, some don’t return, and I don’t ask where they have gone for fear they are dead. But this house is for the children no one but me cares about.” Her voice rose as emotion took over. She was passionate about these children, and she would not let him stop her doing what she did.

  “Does your family know?”

  She ignored his question.

  “Lord Haswell intends to sell the house to another, and they will turn this place in to a brothel,” she said instead.

  She’d surprised him, she knew, as his eyes widened. It was the only reaction he made. Again, unlike her; she would have at least gasped.

  Maddie’s family was always trying to get her to think before she spoke or acted. But as she’d told them, she did that most evenings, she couldn’t be expected to continue doing so during the day also.

  “I doubt a brothel in Spitalfields—”

  “Are you calling me a liar?”

  “Is there any chance I could finish what I am saying, Madeline?”

  She fell silent.

  “Would be a popular choice, but it would depend on the type of brothel and what it offers.”

  “I don’t care about that! I want him to stop his plans to sell. We pay him a decent rent—”

  “We?”

  “Now who is interrupting.”

  He snapped his teeth together.

  “He is just being greedy and has no need to sell it but will not discuss the matter with us. I cannot approach him because I am a woman, and therefore supposedly without sense or the ability to discuss such things.”

  “Well, to be fair, the woman you are in society vastly differs from the one before me today. In fact, appearances suggested to me you were without sense,” he said in a reasonable tone that had her wanting to slap him. “However, it seems you are still the old Maddie, if a little different on the outside.”

  “I am not without sense!”

  “I said you appeared to be without sense. Please note the difference.”

  “Don’t you dare use that bloody sanctimonious tone with me, Gabriel.”

  “How is it you manage to keep all that fire hidden from society? The simpering and gushing must be extremely taxing on you, the woman who can’t let a person finish a conversation without voicing her opinion. You must spend most evenings gnashing your teeth in fr
ustration at some of the foolish conversations going on around you.”

  “We are all hiding in some way, Gabriel, even you. And I recite Greek mythology when things get too taxing. It calms me.”

  He barked out a laugh.

  Maddie dug her feet into her practical black boots as he walked closer, stopping a mere handful of inches away.

  “How do you know Haswell is not in need of money, Maddie? Perhaps that is why he is selling.”

  “I just do.”

  “Which tells me nothing, so please continue.”

  “Don’t use that tone on me!”

  A black brow rose. “Tone? I merely asked a question.”

  Which she did not want to answer, so she changed the subject and took a different route to get him to stop prying and leave the building. The flattery one.

  “Thank you for helping my children. It was very kind of you, Gabriel.” She even forced a smile onto her face.

  “I am not a monster, Maddie. I have family members who are children. Surprisingly, I can even spend time with them and enjoy myself. Even more surprising is they seem to like my company. I would have hoped you realized I was capable of such behavior.”

  “As I would have hoped you knew me better.”

  His sigh was loud.

  “Tell me how you became involved in this, Maddie, please?”

  Maddie thought through her options. They were extremely limited. He knew about Spoke House now and could make things extremely difficult for her and the residents if he chose to tell anyone what he had learned. Her hands were tied, and it seemed she had no choice but to tell him the truth.

  “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to keep this information to yourself.”

  “Continue,” he said in a tone that had her hackles rising.

  “I am not a member of your staff; pray do not treat me like one.”

  His smile was small. “You really haven’t changed much, have you? The mouthy little baggage who used to torment me just has a polished veneer now and has learned to act like the perfect lady in front of her peers.”

  Choosing to ignore that comment, Maddie continued with her story.

  “I stumbled across Hetty shivering outside a shop one afternoon not long after I’d arrived in London. She told me she was lost. I asked where she lived, and she directed me here. This was the place she stayed when she could not go home.”