Guarding Danger: Sinclair and Raven Series

by Vella, Wendy

  “—has sailed without me.”

  Pulling out his knife, he cut her ties while Max and Rory freed Rose and Emily. Harry pulled Maddie to her feet and held her. His arms were squeezing her, but he didn’t seem able to stop.

  “No!”

  Harry pushed Maddie behind him as a woman appeared in the doorway with a gun in one hand. The mother, he thought. The similarities were there.

  “Well, well, well, how lovely to see you again, Estelle, and under such pleasant circumstances,” Max said.

  “You can’t take them!” she cried. “I want the money.”

  “I don’t think so. In fact, I think what you’ll be wanting soon is a nice quiet little cell where you’ll live out the rest of your days in hell. Exactly where you put your children for years,” Rory said.

  “Lower the gun, Mrs. Huntington.” Harry stepped away from Maddie and the others, drawing her fire. He had no wish for it to go off and the woman he loved to be hurt.

  “Stop moving or I’ll shoot you!” The gun wobbled in her hands.

  “It is over, Estelle. Drop your gun.” Max moved to the left, and her hand turned toward him. Harry took the shot, and the gun fell from her fingers.

  “You shot me!” She clutched her hand.

  “You should have aimed for her heart, Harry, and rid us of her for good.” Maddie reached his side. She unwound his necktie and stomped to where her mother leaned on the wall, weeping.

  The sound of feet heralded Cam, Wolf, Dev, and Nicholas arriving. The husbands running to their women.

  Harry moved closer to Maddie, as did her brothers, and watched as she bound her mother’s hand tight.

  “Why are you doing that? She doesn’t deserve your kindness,” Max said.

  “I will never be like her,” Maddie said when it was done. “Never. And this proves it.”

  “I will take her now,” Mr. Brown said. He grabbed Estelle’s arm and walked her away, and Maddie felt nothing but relief.

  “It’s over,” Max rasped, grabbing his siblings into a hug. “She will trouble us no more.”

  Maddie cried then, and Harry stood silently at her back, wanting to hold her. Needing to tell her what was in his heart. But he could wait, as she’d waited for him to come to his senses.

  As it turned out, he got no chance to speak with her. A carriage was borrowed, and the three weary women traveled back to London in that.

  When they arrived at Max’s house, he was there to help her step from the carriage.

  “Will you allow me a few minutes, please, Maddie?”

  “I want to see Fleur and Daisy, then go home.” She refused to look at him.

  Surely she hadn’t fallen out of love with him in a matter of hours? Following her inside as his stomach clenched, he wondered what he should do now.

  “Take her into that room,” James whispered in his ear. “And don’t take no for an answer. There is a key inside; turn it so her brothers don’t bother you. Go now while they are occupied.”

  He stepped to her side, wrapped his fingers around her wrist, and tugged her sideways.

  “Harry, what are you doing?”

  “I want to talk to you.” He nudged her through the door, then turned the key in the lock.

  “I need to see Fleur and Daisy.”

  “They can wait a few more minutes; this cannot.”

  Her hair was loose, her dress dirty, and his heart felt full of love. How had he been foolish enough to believe he could walk away from this woman? He would have lived half a life without her.

  “Step aside, Harry. I should wash, and I am hungry.” She looked everywhere but at him.

  “Why won’t you look at me?”

  She did, and he saw the devastation.

  “Maddie.” He stepped closer, but she backed away from him.

  “Pl-please let me leave.”

  “I will never let you leave me. I love you.”

  “No!”

  “Yes.” He felt like he was missing something. Why did she not believe him? Why was she behaving this way when on the ship she’d been so different? “I didn’t think I knew how to love, Maddie, until you came along. I believed I knew what I wanted, the path I’d set for my life. You taught me different.”

  “Harry—”

  “Let me speak, please, sweetheart.”

  She folded her arms as if to protect herself. As if he would hurt her.

  “My father was a fair man, but a cold, unloving one. He taught me to hate any Sinclair that carried my blood and made me promise to never form a bond with any of them.”

  “It was wrong of him to put that on you, Harry. You have to know that?”

  “I think I started to believe it when I first met them, my family. They were open, loving, and accepted me when I had done nothing to prove my worth.”

  “You are worthy.” Her eyes were fierce as she defended him.

  “Thank you, and I promise to always try to be for you and our girls.”

  “No.”

  Harry closed the gap between them, grabbing her arms, forcing her to face him.

  “You love me, I know you do.” Please God, let it be true. Harry wasn’t sure he could live with any other result.

  “I can’t!”

  “Why can’t you love me, Maddie?”

  “You saw her, that woman, my mother. She is my blood!”

  “Yes.” He had no idea where she was going with this.

  “I am part of her!”

  And then he understood. Like Harry, she bore the scars her childhood had left behind.

  “As I am not my father, you are not your mother, my sweet. You are kind and loving. I think it is I who is unworthy of you.”

  “You are worthy of anyone.” She looked at him, and the fear he saw in her eyes burned deep in his chest for the pain she’d suffered.

  “Where has the fire gone that you showed me on my ship, Maddie? The confidence that has blossomed inside you?”

  “She does this to me,” she whispered. “She makes me weak.”

  “Don’t let her—and you could never be weak.”

  She raised her chin and looked at him.

  “Much better. I love you, Madeline Caron. For me, there will be no one else. It is you I want a life with. You I want to build our family around. You have made me see what love is and have hope for a life I’d only ever dreamed of. Please tell me you still love me.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and she looked like her brothers in that moment.

  “My love is not a fickle thing, Harry Sinclair. I have never given it to a man before, and I did not do so easily with you. I love you and always will.”

  “Excellent—”

  His words were interrupted by a fist thumping on the door.

  “Are you in there, Maddie, with Harry?” The door handle rattled as Max tried to gain entry.

  “As I was saying”—Harry pulled her closer—“I love you with all that I am, Maddie. You are the other half of me. If you left me, I would sail the seas a broken man.”

  Her lips tilted.

  “Are you laughing at me, woman?”

  “That was very dramatic, Harry.”

  “Maddie,” he whispered. “Tell me you love me. Tell me you will be my wife.”

  “It scares me how much I love you, Harry. Scares me because of where I came from and the life I was forced to live for so long.”

  “Happiness scares you?”

  “Yes.”

  “As it does me, but if we navigate it together, it will be easier. My grandmother made me realize what a fool I was being by refusing to acknowledge what lay in my heart. It was like suddenly the sky had cleared and there it was, the truth of what I felt, laid bare before me.

  “But your home is in France.”

  “My home is wherever you are. I have nothing without you.”

  He pulled her closer until they were just inches apart.

  “You hurt me after we made love, Harry. I do not give myself easily to others, but with you I took a chance, and you
turned away.”

  “Because I am a fool.”

  Her smile was small.

  “But you are the fool I love.”

  “Say you’ll marry me.”

  “I will, Harry. I wish it with all my heart.”

  There was nothing else to be said after that. Harry gathered his love close, and for long minutes no words were needed.

  Finally they both had found peace and a place to lay their hearts.

  Chapter 36

  Harry sat with Fleur on his left and Daisy on his right in the little church on Raven Mountain. His grandmother, who was extremely happy with Raven Castle and her connection with the duke and duchess, sat beside Daisy.

  Heloise Paquet wore a crown Eden had insisted she don for the wedding, which sat in her upswept hair and gave her a royal air, according to James. His family were more than happy to pander to his grandmother’s delusions of grandeur.

  “Your flowers are lovely, Daisy. They make you look like a princess.”

  “Thank you, Grandmère.” Daisy leaned into her grandmother, who she loved as Fleur did.

  Harry had told Maddie last night that Heloise had softened. When he was a child, she’d rapped his knuckles for any small transgression. Fleur and Daisy seemed able to do what they wished around her. Maddie had told him that was because her life was no longer a struggle, and she did not have to work from sunup to sundown, which Harry had not even considered, much to his shame.

  “Does Bran look nice too, Grandmère?”

  “He looks noble,” she said, patting the dog’s head where he sat pressed between her and Daisy.

  The groom was standing with his brothers, James and Max, and looking pale. All wore black jackets and waistcoats with a silver stripe that Fleur liked. Tall and impressive, they were men he now counted as friends.

  It always amazed him that when the actual day came to exchange vows, the groom and bride were often nervous, even when they’d given and received their love freely already. Surely this was just a formality.

  “Uncle Rory’s hand is shaking, Harry.”

  “I can see that, Fleur. I think he’s excited about marrying your aunt Kate.”

  “I’m going to marry Luke. He said so.” Fleur swung her legs back and forth, kicking the pew in front. The woman turned to look at them.

  “Don’t kick the seat, sweetheart.”

  “You’re that Harry Sinclair. I can tell by your face.” The woman had a craggy face and lips that almost folded inside her mouth.

  “That’s a very nice hat,” Fleur said in her sweet little voice.

  In fact, it was a hideous creation. Mustard in color, with huge red and green flowers pinned all over it and a tuft of what looked to be straw on the top.

  “I particularly like the nest of birds on the crown.” Fleur was excellent at flattering people. It was a rare talent, Harry had told Maddie yesterday, that would ensure she did well in life, even if there was no truth in her words. The woman’s hat truly was hideous.

  Harry shot a look at his grandmother and was pleased to see she was chatting with Nicholas, who had taken the seat beside her. She was likely to comment on the woman’s hat, and it would not be flattering.

  “Harry is going to be my papa. And this is Daisy, she is my sister. And wedged down beside her is Bran. He is my sister’s eyes. And it is my uncle Rory who is marrying my aunty Kate today.”

  The woman looked at Daisy and Bran, and her lips pulled out from her face and curved upward into a smile.

  “Well now, I know Bran. I met him when your uncle Rory was here. He stacked my firewood for me, you know. I’m Mrs. Radcliff.”

  He’d heard mention of Mrs. Radcliff. According to Dev, she knew the entire history of every occupant that lived in Crunston Cliff and was a formidable woman.

  “God’s blood, Sybil Dally, if I see you and your man kissing on the main street again, I’ll be showering you both in a bucket of water. It’s no place for such carrying on!”

  Harry turned to see a woman scurry into the seat across from them, red-faced.

  “And you, Lenny Tattler. Have the sense to tidy yourself up before you court that sweet Milly Reid. Woman will run a mile if she gets a whiff of your scent!”

  Lenny Tattler shot Mrs. Radcliff a look that suggested he’d like to fire back a volley of insults. Instead he dropped into the nearest seat too, which happened to be occupied. The woman squawked. Lenny was thrown sideways and landed luckily in a spare seat beside her.

  Harry turned back to face Mrs. Radcliff. She was smiling, looking very happy with herself.

  “Well now, I believe the bride has arrived.” She faced the front again.

  “Is she as fierce as she sounds?” Daisy whispered.

  “More so.” Harry placed and arm around his girls. His girls. In the two weeks he’d been in their lives, his love for both of them had grown, as it had for their mother.

  Harry was living with Dev and chaffed that Maddie and the girls lived in that house without him. They had not set a date, but it would be soon, he vowed.

  With happiness and the knowledge she was safe and loved, Maddie had blossomed. She laughed freely, teased, and had a wicked sense of humor. Harry fell deeper under her spell every day.

  Harry had told Max and Rory he would buy his family their own house. He knew he would end up living exactly where Maddie was already, but he would insist on paying for it, no matter the battle he would face to do so. A man had his pride.

  He loved this big, odd, and wonderful family he’d fallen into.

  Turning as the music started, he saw her, his beautiful, brave girl. And she took his breath away.

  She wore pale blue, and it floated around her body as she walked. In her hair was a wreath of flowers. He felt that fierce tug of emotion he always associated with her now, the need that reached all corners of his body.

  His love. His life.

  “Mama looks beautiful.” Fleur sighed.

  As she reached his side, she smiled at Fleur and then him. That special smile that spoke of her love. Her eyes passed to Daisy. Harry leaned down to tell her how beautiful her mother looked, and she smiled. He loved coaxing these from her. Like Maddie and Fleur, Daisy had not had much reason to smile in her life. He would be ensuring that changed.

  The service was lovely, but as he could only see Maddie and she him, they spent the entire time gazing at each other. When it was over, he ushered the girls out of the church. They instantly went to where the other children gathered, Daisy’s hand in Bran’s fur as he led her where she wanted to go.

  Harry moved to Maddie’s side, back slightly from the newly wedded couple, watching with a smile on her face.

  “They look in love,” he said, placing a hand around her waist. Harry had noticed that too about his family: they touched those they loved often and cared nothing about who saw. He’d embraced that.

  “That was lovely, wasn’t it, Harry?” She leaned into him.

  “I don’t remember any of it. All I could see was you.”

  She turned to face him, her hand taking his.

  “Let’s do this soon, Harry.”

  “Now? I’m sure we could get the minister to marry us too. I have the license.” He was only half joking.

  “Really?”

  “Really. I love you, sweetheart. I don’t want to live another day apart.”

  Her eyes shot left and right, and Harry had no idea who she was looking for.

  “Could we?”

  “If you don’t want to wait, I’m sure we could. But if you want to have the dress and everything else, then I will wait.”

  “Oh.”

  “Oh?”

  “Oh, yes, please.”

  “Are you sure, Maddie?”

  “I love you, and I don’t want the dress and all the rest. I just want you living in our house with the girls. I want our family complete, Harry.”

  “Christ, I love you.” He kissed her. “Stay here, and let me see if I can arrange it.”

  “I want
to help.”

  They spoke to Rory and Kate to make sure they did not mind sharing their wedding day. Both had been excited at the prospect. Max, James and Dev, were next. No one put up a protest.

  “We are going to marry also, Grandmère,” Harry took his grandmother to one side. I’m sorry if it is a rush, but we love each other and have no wish to wait.”

  “Excellent. I can wear my crown longer.”

  After that, the entire thing went off without a hitch.

  He was soon standing at the altar with Wolf, Cam, and Dev, and in she came with Max, behind Fleur and Daisy, and of course Bran. Emily, Rose, and Samantha followed.

  Everyone was happy about the impromptu second wedding. Elated, actually, and Harry had to say he was no different.

  “It’s the Sinclair and Raven way to be odd,” Mrs. Radcliff declared.

  Harry couldn’t stop smiling.

  “I do,” he whispered, leaning in to take Maddie’s lips.

  “They’re not meant to kiss yet!” Hannah squealed.

  “Well, they weren’t meant to be getting married either, so I think it’s all right,” her mother said.

  “You may kiss the bride.”

  He pulled her closer and leaned in. “I love you, Mrs. Sinclair.”

  “Oh, and I love you, Mr. Sinclair.”

  * * *

  Read on for more about Harry and Maddie!

  Bonus epilogue - Guarding Danger

  Not ready to leave Harry and Maddie yet? Find out what they are doing five years from now by clicking here: Bonus Epilogue

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