The School of Charm: Books 1-5

by Maggie Dallen

  Could he swear to such a thing?

  Perhaps not.

  He had no idea the extent of her troubles, and for that he could kick himself. Why had he not tried harder? Why had he not done his due diligence and checked into her story?

  Because he’d been distracted, that was why. For the first time in his life he’d been besotted, and the effect had been to turn him into a blind, lovesick fool.

  He hurried into the servants’ quarters and had the butler call for his carriage.

  He might not be able to save Addie from whatever trouble she was in…but he was certainly willing to die trying.

  Chapter Eleven

  Addie wasn’t fully able to take a deep breath until she’d launched herself into Reggie’s room and found him sleeping soundly under his covers.

  Only then did she slump against the doorway, a sob of relief welling up in her which she stifled with a hand over her mouth, water dripping down her cheeks from the downpour that had started just as she’d reached the school’s front entrance.

  She allowed herself three blissful seconds to revel in relief and happiness that Reggie was here, unharmed…and then she moved into action.

  Duncan was here. In town, if not at this school. But, if he’d tracked Reggie to Mrs. Grishny’s, it was only a matter of time before he found him here.

  As quietly as she could, Addie gathered what few belongings they’d had before they’d arrived, neatly setting aside the borrowed gowns and hair pins as she once more donned her traveling frock. The very act felt like stepping backward in time. Gone was the silvery, ethereal silk, and in its place was a rough, worn brown garb that reminded her of all she was leaving behind.

  I want you to be my wife.

  She stilled in her movements, closing her eyes tightly against the rush of pain.

  He’d been serious. Her mind was still trying to wrap itself around that fact. Yes, he’d kissed her, and she’d never doubted that there was a very real connection between them—there had been from the first moment their eyes had met and held.

  Back when she’d thought he was a kindly doctor.

  Back before he’d taken her life into his hands, and saved her and Reggie, and talked to her like she was an equal.

  Back before he’d kissed her.

  She drew in a deep, steadying breath, systematically forcing away the sensations and emotions that were making her weak when she needed to be strong, soft when she needed to be hard.

  Duncan was here. The man with the cold, hard voice was here. Lord Everley. Not that having a name to the voice did her much good. All it did was confirm that he was a lord, which meant he held even more power than Duncan.

  Duncan was here, and he had powerful friends working with him. That was what was important right now. The only thing she could afford to think about. Reggie’s safety was more important than her happiness. And Tolston? Well, she had a feeling he was her happiness.

  The life he’d offered so unexpectedly and rashly…it sounded like every dream come true. To be wed to a man who looked at her as he did, who cared about her more than he cared about society’s expectations, who was a good and honest and dutiful man she could respect and admire.

  He was a man she could love.

  Her breath came out shaky as tears brimmed her eyes.

  He was the man she did love.

  It was useless to deny it when her heart was breaking at the thought of leaving him.

  A noise below stairs had her swiping at her arms and moving into action again, this time more quickly. The last of her belongings packed, and Emmaline’s money safely tucked into a sewn-in pocket inside her dress, she was ready to wake Reggie and snag the first mail coach she could find, to whatever town it was headed next.

  It did not matter where she went next, did it? Any small town would do to start over. Her future looked bleak no matter what backdrop she chose. It would be a life lived simply and without hopes of a dashing earl who’d offer for her hand.

  Small price to pay, really.

  This cozy safe haven, the school, the earl, Miss Grayson and the other girls…she’d always known she would have to leave them behind. This life had never been for her, and she knew it. She told herself that as she carried a fussing Reggie down to the great hall and through the drawing room where she’d had her first kiss.

  A kiss that had turned her world on its head.

  All part of a fairytale life that had never been hers, not if she wanted the anonymity that would keep Reggie safe.

  She just wished her heart would listen to reason.

  She blamed that heavenly kiss for her distraction. Passing through the scene of the crime, as it were, she let her mind wander back to that moment, reliving every detail so it would be burned into her memory to be replayed over and over until the end of her days.

  “I will admit, you are slightly more clever than I’d expected.” Duncan’s voice behind her made her freeze. Her limbs went numb as shock, and fear collided in her belly, making her feel sick and winded at once.

  The house was quiet but for his voice, which was so level, so calm. Like they’d bumped into one another in Kensington Garden and not in this dark, nearly deserted townhouse late at night.

  She spun around to face him and wished she hadn’t. He was close. Too close. And now Reggie was between them. Addie’s grip on him tightened, and he made a sound of protest, still half asleep and unaware of the danger that surrounded him.

  Duncan’s smile made her bones turn to ice as he made a tsking sound like he was berating a small child. “What a naughty little girl,” he said. “What were you thinking, running away from Uncle Duncan like that?”

  She took a step backward but froze again when his smile faltered. The glimmer in his eye went from jovial to cruel and back again so quickly she thought she might have imagined it. Months ago, she might have chalked it up to imagination. She had done just that multiple times, telling herself it was merely her imagination.

  But now she knew better.

  He hid it well behind his easy smile and his quick laughter, but this man was rotten to the core.

  Rotten and insane.

  He gave her small, cajoling smile that didn’t fool her one bit. Holding his hands out beseechingly, he took a small step forward. “Come now, Addie. Be a good girl and hand over the boy.”

  “I’d die first,” she bit out between teeth clenched with fear.

  He tilted his head to the side. “I was truly hoping it would not come to that.”

  “You have lost your mind,” she hissed.

  “No, my dear, I’m afraid you are, addled one.” He spoke so evenly, so pleasantly. That alone was chilling. “After all, everyone knows that you were already beside yourself with grief after the loss of your parents. To lose your brother, too?” He tsked again. “Why, it would be too much for any young girl to handle.”

  Panic raced through her, curdling the contents of her stomach and making her feet feel leaden as some distant part of her brain scrambled to form a plan. To run or to scream for help? Screaming would only bring the housekeeper, maybe the old butler if he heard. They were no match for a young, strapping man like Duncan. “Why?” she managed.

  He looked puzzled. Amused, even. “Why? Why what?” There it was. A flicker of insanity that made her certain of her next move. She had to get out of this house. Run as fast as she could and scream her head off as she did.

  Someone had to be around. It was London, after all. Even in the dead of night, people were around.

  “Why, why, why?” He repeated the question dazedly as he gave her a look of confusion. “Why, what, my dear? Why would I want to be the lord and master of my own estate?” he asked. “Why would I want to have enough money to pay off all my debts?”

  “If it’s money you want—”

  “It’s money I need,” he shouted, losing all pretense at civility. “I owe debts to people far crueler than I,” he said, his voice softening again as he shifted closer. “They do not forgive debts, a
nd they do not allow anyone to walk away.”

  “Fine, then, if it’s money you need—”

  “You asked me ‘why,’” he interrupted. “Well, I have a question for you? Why should a little brat like him get all the riches when he’s done nothing to earn it? What makes him so special?”

  “My father—”

  “My father, my father,” he mocked her in a high-pitched voice. “I am tired of hearing about your precious father. Would you like to hear about my father? He was your relative, you know. Your father’s cousin, but he came from the bad side of the family, you see.” He sneered and took a lunging step forward that made her scream as she turned her body to better protect Reggie.

  “No one will believe you,” she said. “I’ll tell them—”

  “You’ll tell them what? That your kindhearted, generous guardian gave you a fright? It would be my word versus that of a young grief-stricken girl who few people have even met before. I’ll take my chances.”

  “I won’t let you do this!”

  He laughed, and that laughter was worse than any shout or curse she could imagine. It skittered over her spine and made her knees grow weak with fear. “You say that as if you had a choice.”

  He lunged before she could turn and flee. She managed to crouch to the floor, using her body to shield Reggie, her scream for help turning to a shriek of pain as his fingers dug into her hair, and he wrenched. His other hand clawed at her face, her neck. Her screams turned to whimpers as she did her best to protect Reggie, who wriggled and wailed within her tight embrace.

  Duncan’s voice turned to an indecipherable growl as he clawed at her, muttering curses with a frenzy that made her think he’d gone over a ledge that he’d never come back from. “You stupid girl,” he started. “When I get my hands on you—”

  He broke off with a shout as Addie felt him torn off her. Cool air replaced the weight of Duncan’s hands on her body, and she slumped to the side, gasping in relief as Reggie wailed beside her.

  “You bloody son of a—” The rest of the growl was lost in the sound of punches and strikes as a fight broke out beside her.

  Tolston. She recognized his voice at once, but the sight of him there, red with anger, his hair tousled in the melee. He looked too good to be real.

  For a moment she had to wonder if she’d survived the altercation with Duncan at all. Maybe she had died, and this was heaven.

  He looked like an angel to her now, all avenging righteousness as he battled her enemy. She gasped and held Reggie tighter as Duncan landed a blow that sent Tolston staggering backwards into an end table. But rather than come for her, Duncan fled toward the front door shouting something about retribution and payback as he went.

  The sudden silence when he left was stunning and brief. “Are you all right?” Tolston asked, stumbling toward her with a franticness about him that made her chest hurt. His hands were moving over her face, her shoulders, her hair as she assured him she wasn’t seriously hurt. He did the same to a still-crying Reggie before bolting toward the door, following in Duncan’s wake.

  The housekeeper burst into the hallway with a fire iron overheard making Addie’s heart leap with fear before she recognized who it was wielding the weapon. “We’re okay,” she said, though her shaky, breathless voice said otherwise. Scooping up Reggie, she shoved him into the housekeeper’s arms. “Watch him, I must help Tolston.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Alec always thought true murderous rage would cloud a man’s vision, but this was not the case. In fact, he felt more clearheaded than ever before. His priorities were indisputable.

  Keep Addie and her brother safe.

  Kill anyone who tried to harm her.

  Addie was safe. Now it was time to wreak vengeance on her attacker, whoever that man was. He paused for only a heartbeat outside the front door, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his hands clenched at his sides. Then he heard the sound of a horse’s whinny around the corner, and he bolted in that direction.

  There he was. Stumbling haphazardly and clutching at his ribs with one hand as he snatched for the reins of the horse he’d hitched nearby for a quick getaway.

  What had he been planning? To kidnap Addie? Her brother? Both of them?

  Questions would have to wait. Keep her safe, kill the man who harmed her. Rage had him barreling toward the other man, who turned at the last second and lunged toward him.

  Knife.

  He became aware of the flash of silver at the same time it pierced his side. A glancing blow before Alec struck his arm away, the knife flying out of his hand as he tackled him to the wet ground.

  Rain made their wrestling bout a slick mess as mud had them scrambling, their limbs and hands scrabbling for purchase as they tried to best each other.

  Thunder had the horse whinnying beside them, rearing up in distress at the sounds and the scuffle.

  A shout from the road had him looking over, and the sight of Addie running toward him—toward danger—had him acting on instinct. Go to her, keep her safe.

  The attacker might get away, but he had to make sure she was safe from harm. He’d gone no more than a foot in her direction when chaos broke out in the form of thunder, lightning, and Addie’s shriek.

  He saw her eyes widen in shock, but she wasn’t looking at him, she was staring behind him. He spun around and watched as the horse reared up on its hind legs again, its eyes rolling with distress as it kicked and reared, heedless of the still body beneath its feet.

  The attacker had been trampled.

  A few moments later, Alec had managed to steady the horse and pulled the man from further danger, but it seemed as though the damage had been done.

  “What can I do, my lord?” The old butler, wrapped in a robe, appeared at his side, staring down at the prostrate man with the feeble pulse.

  “Call for the doctor,” Alec said, though a large part of him wanted to say let him rot and walk away.

  Between the two of them, they got him back into the house and laid him on the couch. Miss Grayson and the others hadn’t returned yet, and once the doctor arrived and the servants were busy assisting him, it was only Alec and Addie left, waiting quietly by the fire.

  “Is Reggie all right?” he asked, breaking the silence as he handed her a glass of spirits, that she stared into as if it was a mystery, but she did not take a sip.

  She nodded. “He will be. I got him back to sleep.” Her lips curved up in a humorless smile as she turned her glance from the liquid in her glass to him. “Can you imagine? He’s back to sleep as if nothing ever happened.”

  He sank onto the settee beside her, noting the way her hands clenched the glass in her hands and a shiver had her trembling despite the heat of the fire. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he nudged the glass with his free hand. “Take a sip, it will warm you.”

  She looked at the glass but didn’t lift it to her lips. “I—I do not feel anything. Is that normal?”

  He squeezed her shoulders, his heart aching in his chest for this woman who had been through so much. “You will. I’d wager you are in shock at the moment. Your body and mind are processing all that has happened.”

  She nodded. “I suppose you are right.”

  “We’ll have the doctor look at you when he’s done in there with…” His voice faded as he realized he still had no idea who that man was.

  “Duncan.”

  He stared at her, willing her to share. Not wanting to push her, not like this, but needing her to trust him.

  She turned to him with a trembling lower lip, and he forgot all about his pride, his hurt feelings over her lack of trust. “Hush, little one,” he said, pulling her closer until she rested against his chest. “There will be time to talk later.”

  She nodded against his chest, and for a moment they sat in silence, the only sound the crackling of the fire and a distant sound of servants bustling about, doors opening and closing. They sat in silence for so long, he’d begun to think she’d fallen asleep. But her soft
whisper cut through the silence. “Thank you.”

  He squeezed her shoulders. “No need to thank me, love. Haven’t you learnt yet that there is nothing I would not do to keep you safe?”

  She turned slightly, burying her face in his chest and clutching at his jacket so fiercely that the cloth crumpled in her fist. At last she wept, and he held her close as she let out all the fear, the anger, the relief.

  Stroking her hair, he held her tightly, wishing he could do more but not knowing how. He found himself murmuring reassurances into her hair. Telling her it would all be all right, that she and Reggie were safe now. That nothing bad would ever harm them again.

  He wanted it to be the truth. He wished he could keep that promise, but the truth hovered in the back of his mind.

  She was not his to protect. Maybe she never had been.

  She was not his—not yet.

  But she would be.

  At least, he hoped she would be.

  It was only now though that he fully understood how little he knew of her, of her life. And that he vowed to remedy.

  When she was ready.

  The arrival of Miss Grayson and the other girls put an abrupt end to their intimate moment. The doors flew open, and the normally cool, calm, refined Miss Grayson looked more flustered than he’d ever seen her. “What is going on here?”

  Addie bolted upright, startled and embarrassed, no doubt.

  “I-I’m sorry,” she started, before he cut her off by pulling her back into his arms. Propriety be damned. He shot Miss Grayson a meaningful look. “I will explain all later, but first…” He nodded down toward Addie. “She needs rest.”

  Miss Grayson recovered herself, turning toward the handful of girls who were staring wide-eyed at the scene before them. “Prudence, tell Mrs. Baker we will need a hot bath. Delilah, Louisa, help Addie to her room, won’t you?”

  The lively redhead and a dark-haired beauty rushed forward, wrapping their arms around Addie and helping her to her feet, and leading her slowly toward the door.