Harlequin Historical September 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Christine Merrill

  ‘In what way?’ he said, seeming to grow larger with each word.

  ‘He...’ She struggled to find an answer that would not simply turn her brother’s anger against Alister who, though not the man she had thought, was also not some sort of villain who deserved punishment. ‘He said that after we were married I could not visit Peg.’

  ‘Really?’ Hugh replied with a contemptuous raise of an eyebrow.

  ‘And he has not even managed to get to this inn to meet me,’ she added. ‘I no longer believe he will ever manage to take me to Scotland. And he does not like my dogs,’ she added, hoping that this would be enough to convince him.

  ‘And that is all?’ he said, clearly suspecting that it was not.

  ‘Of course,’ she said quickly. ‘He never laid a hand on me, if that is what you are expecting. I just do not like him any more. And I promise you will have no more trouble from me, if we can just return to London and never speak of this again.’

  Before he could answer, Michael appeared in the doorway of the tap room, smiling far too broadly for a man who had done nothing more important than settling the bill with the innkeeper.

  ‘L-Lady Olivia.’ There was a strange stutter in his greeting, as if he had been about to greet her as Liv, before seeing her brother and remembering the proper form of address.

  ‘Mr Solomon,’ she said, carefully putting distance between them. ‘My brother has come to escort us home.’

  ‘Home,’ he said, in a tone that all but gave away the plans they had made last night.

  ‘Back to London,’ she said, willing him to understand the value of discretion.

  ‘Where else would she be going?’ Hugh was staring at him with the same penetrating gaze, as if daring him to answer with the suspected truth of what had been going on.

  Michael’s smile disappeared and he squared his shoulders as if ready to defend her with fists if needed. ‘Yesterday evening Lady Olivia made it quite clear that she did not want to return home. She is not happy there. And, for obvious reasons, she does not feel safe. I thwarted her elopement, as you hired me to do. But I will not be party to sending her back to a place she does not wish to be.’

  It was exactly the sort of thing she would have hoped her lover would say, given the opportunity. But what she wanted, more than a show of bravery, was some assurance that Michael would live to escape with her some other day.

  It was clear from the postures of the two men in the room that what she might want right now did not matter. They were staring at each other, each glare a threat. The tension between them crackled through the air like lightning.

  ‘That is not your decision to make,’ her brother said in a soft and dangerous voice. ‘Nor is it hers. I am her guardian and I decide where she will live.’

  ‘All the same, I will not move from this spot until I hear from her own lips that she wants to go back to London,’ Michael said, folding his arms and blocking the doorway.

  ‘Do not be ridiculous, Mr Solomon,’ she said with a forced laugh. ‘Of course I want to go home. Where else would I go?’

  ‘Where indeed?’ her brother said, staring at Michael as if he expected an answer.

  ‘I have no idea,’ Michael replied, his jaw tightening. ‘But as long as she is sure, I will go and see about transport.’

  ‘That will not be necessary,’ Hugh said with a smile. ‘She will return with me in the Scofield equipage. You may return by whatever method brought you here. And...’ his smile widened into a self-satisfied smirk ‘...since she assures me that her time running off with Clement is officially at an end, I will no longer be needing your services. When you return to London, I will have my solicitor settle with you. Thank you for your time.’ The look he gave Michael was the same cold glare he used whenever he chose to dismiss someone from his presence. It was a look that sent even the strongest of men scurrying for the door.

  But Michael only stared back at him, ready for the challenge.

  Something must be done to end this before she had another dead lover to answer for. ‘Thank you for your help, Mr Solomon. It was a pleasure knowing you.’

  He turned to her now, as if noticing that she was in the room for the first time. ‘Thank you, Lady Olivia.’ His expression was as distant as her brother’s and even more convincing. There was none of the warmth that there had been on the previous evening, or any of the days before that. There was only the blank expression of a man who knew his place and would not presume above his station. Then he turned and walked away.

  She could not let him go thinking that it was over between them. Despite what her brother had said, she had no intention of giving him up so easily. She made a hasty excuse to Hugh about needing to see to the packing of the luggage she had not brought, then slipped out of a side door to find Michael holding the reins of a hired horse, ready to mount and ride out.

  ‘Michael,’ she said, hurrying up to him before he could set off.

  ‘Lady Olivia,’ he said with a subservient bow that was a mockery of all they had done in the weeks together.

  ‘I could not let you go without saying goodbye.’

  ‘I believe you did so just now, in the tap room,’ he said, turning his attention back to the horse.

  ‘That was for my brother’s benefit,’ she said, smiling at him, then glancing over her shoulder to make sure that they were not being observed from the windows.

  ‘Your brother,’ he said with a shake of his head.

  ‘I could not let him think that anything had happened between us,’ she reminded him. ‘I am sure he suspects, and you are in enough danger as it is.’

  ‘And so you conveniently denied me, just as you have done with Clement for two years,’ Michael said, unsmiling.

  ‘That is not the same at all,’ she argued.

  ‘Of course not. Clement was at least allowed the privilege of offering for you. I am not even worth that.’

  ‘Hugh will say no,’ she said, annoyed at his stubbornness.

  ‘Then let us forego the refusal. Run away with me now,’ he said, his expression softening. ‘We will be able to travel faster on horseback than by carriage and will be in Gretna in no time.’

  ‘He will find us there, and bring me home alone,’ she said with a shudder. ‘You should know by now what he is capable of.’

  ‘I really have no idea,’ Michael said, smiling at her. ‘But I know he has done nothing to me so far.’

  ‘Not for want of trying,’ she insisted. ‘First the horse in Bond Street...’

  ‘We have no proof that it was anything more than an accident,’ he insisted.

  ‘The very next day he upbraided me for being with you there. He all but admitted that he had seen us.’

  ‘A coincidence. Nothing more.’

  ‘And what about the thief that set upon you after he saw us at Vauxhall?’

  ‘I was in an area known for footpads,’ he said with a shrug. ‘I have no reason to suspect your brother of any of this.’

  ‘You do not know him as I do,’ she insisted.

  ‘I know that your sister married without incident,’ he replied.

  ‘She had to run for her life. And she has made no effort to return to the house since. I have no idea if she is well or ill, or if she is staying away specifically to keep her husband safe from Hugh.’

  ‘All the more reason to leave now,’ he said, reaching for her hand. ‘You admitted last night what being in his house does to your nerves. You can be free of the nightmares if you run away with me now. I can deal with his threats to my person once you are away from home and I know you are safe.’

  She glanced back at the window of the inn and saw a shadow behind the curtain. She pulled away in case it was her brother, embarrassed to discover that it was only a maid. When she turned back to look for it, Michael’s hand was at his side again.

  ‘Perhaps it
is nothing more than that you are ashamed to be seen with me,’ he said with a sad smile.

  ‘It is nothing like that,’ she said, thinking of Richard Sterling, and of her father, slumped over his desk and the blood soaking the carpet. ‘After what we did last night, I cannot lose you.’

  ‘And yet you have,’ he said, shaking his head. Then he mounted his horse and rode away.

  * * *

  He had been a fool. And over a woman who he should have known from the first would never care for him. He had been so careful in the past not to let himself believe lies and open himself to what might happen if one gave way to tender emotions when in the arms of a beautiful woman. Pleasure had always been more than enough to justify the act. But last night he had fallen asleep thinking of a future that meant nothing to her.

  She wanted nothing more than to escape her brother. When Clement had failed, she had settled on him. If he had not failed, he’d have shackled himself to her for life. But he had, and she had left him almost as quickly as she had succumbed to him.

  So he had gone to the stables immediately after being dismissed by Scofield and hired the biggest brute of a horse they had. Perhaps a stallion that might throw him and knock sense into him if it did not kill him outright.

  Then she had come to him again, tempting him. There had been room on the horse for two, if she’d been willing. But she had proved to be just as hesitant and faithless as he’d thought. Even if he’d been able to persuade her to Scotland, she’d have spent the rest of her life looking over her shoulder for her brother and not into his eyes. Now that he’d allowed himself to admit that he wanted a woman to love him as she claimed she did, it had been impossible to settle for less.

  He galloped towards London, making sure to leave well ahead of the Scofield carriage so there would be no chance that he might embarrass himself by meeting them on the road. If he was lucky, he would never see either of them again and could pretend that this whole unfortunate incident had never happened.

  Of course, the activities of the previous night would be hard to forget. He had been with more than his share of women but had never had a more affecting night than the one he had shared with Liv. After the way she had responded at Vauxhall, he had been more than eager to offer for her, hoping for a lifetime of passion. The desire for coupling had clouded his mind. It had not been love, because there was no such thing.

  Of course, whatever the feeling had been was new to him and left him hoping that it would stay for the rest of his life. Even now, he could see the look in her eyes as she had climaxed, one of delighted surprise, and a smile that had been just for him, a thank-you for the gift of satisfaction.

  And then she had turned her back on him the first chance she’d got. She had claimed it was fear for him that caused her sudden change of heart. If so, it insulted him that she did not think he could protect himself or her. It was no surprise that, when the first problem arose, she cast him aside, just as she had Clement.

  He spurred the horse, trying to get another ounce of speed from him. The quicker he was home, the better. And the sooner he would remember what he had always known: that he was better off alone.

  * * *

  There was no sign of Michael in the coach yard as Hugh helped her into the big black carriage with the Scofield crest on the door. It was probably just as well. If she had seen him again, she was not sure that she could have helped bursting into tears.

  For his safety, it would not do to display too much emotion over her parting from him. It would be better if Hugh forgot all about him by the time they got back to London. Of course, that meant that her life would return to one of confinement and solitude, with not even Michael for company.

  Perhaps she could find a way to contact him. His mother had said the house was on Gracechurch Street. Was that enough of a direction to deliver a letter? If she tried to send it, would it be possible to get it past Hugh and whatever new guard he might hire to watch her?

  She swallowed another tear, reminding herself that, at the very least, she now had memories to sustain her.

  ‘Did you lie with him?’

  Now she was choking on those tears, almost too shocked to speak. ‘I beg your pardon?’

  ‘You spent the night alone with Solomon. Did you attempt to win his cooperation by offering him favours?’ Her brother was staring at her dispassionately, as if he had not just said the most shocking thing she had ever heard. She supposed it was better than his usual jealousy, but not much.

  ‘I cannot believe that you would suggest such a thing,’ she said, turning her face to the window so he could not see her blush.

  ‘That answers my question,’ he said, still unemotional. ‘It was foolish on your part. If he allowed me to take you away, and he accepts the exorbitant amount of money I pay him, he will not come back to rescue you again. You have gained nothing.’

  ‘I have gained his safety, I hope,’ she said, staring back at him defiantly. ‘If I promise that I will not see him again, I would hope that you will not track him down and defend my honour over whatever lurid scenarios you are imagining.’

  He gave a short bark of mirthless laughter. ‘I have no intention of defending your honour if you will not.’

  ‘Then he is safe, as long as I stay away from him?’ she said, wondering if she could trust a man who killed with impunity.

  ‘His safety is totally up to you,’ he said, reaching into his pocket for a newspaper, signalling that the conversation was at an end.

  ‘And what of Alister?’ she said.

  ‘What of him?’ he said, not bothering to look up.

  ‘Is he safe?’

  Hugh put the paper down, disgusted by the interruption. ‘If something was going to happen to Alister Clement, it would have happened long ago. But that does not mean I will allow you to marry him. He is a mealy-mouthed weasel, and always has been.’

  ‘I agree,’ she said. ‘But I still would not want to see him hurt.’

  ‘You agree?’ Newspaper forgotten, Hugh was staring at her in surprise. ‘I thought you were lying to me back at the inn, to distract me from Solomon.’

  ‘You were right all along. He was never the right man for me, and I would not have been happy if I had married him.’

  ‘Then I should have paid Mr Solomon far more than I did,’ he said with an incredulous expression. ‘The man was a bounder who abandoned you after he got what he wanted. But at least he has convinced you to cry off Clement.’

  ‘He did not abandon me,’ she said, then added, ‘because nothing happened.’ Announcing that she had abandoned him for his own good would not make the situation any better with Hugh. And, above all, she wanted Michael to be forgotten and unharmed. ‘I have no intention of seeing him again. Why would I?’

  ‘Because you probably think you are in love with him, just as you thought you were with Clement,’ her brother said with surprising astuteness.

  ‘That would be very foolish of me,’ she said, pretending to agree.

  ‘You are young, and impetuous,’ he said, continuing to lecture. ‘I hope you will not get into the habit of letting your emotions drive you into situations that are not good for you or the men around you. It is why I keep you cloistered. I cannot trust you not to make things worse for everyone.’

  Now he was making it sound as if everything that had happened was her fault for being unreasonable. She bit her tongue, resisting the urge to argue, for it would not help her case.

  ‘Some people are not meant to marry,’ he said, giving her a significant look.

  ‘Like you, for example?’ she said and watched him flinch.

  ‘Like me,’ he said, drawing a breath that made the admission sound more difficult than it needed to be. ‘And you as well. Once you are reconciled to the fact, life will be easier for both of us. If you agree not to run away, then I will not need to hire guards to keep you.’


  ‘Then I promise not to run away,’ she said, wondering if that was all that was needed to settle the matter.

  He laughed. ‘On the day when you truly mean that we will finally have an understanding. In the meantime, we shall go home and things will go back to normal, but without the help of Michael Solomon. From now on, I shall watch you myself.’

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Back in London, Michael sat in his empty house, lethargically planning his next move. Another job would be necessary, eventually. But the need was not urgent. When Scofield had paid him off, he had been more than generous.

  Too generous, in fact. The size of the settlement hinted at knowledge on the Duke’s part, and the desire to buy off a man deemed inappropriate for his sister. The idea made Michael want to tear the bill to bits and return to Scofield House to throw it in the Duke’s face.

  But one could not eat pride, nor was it likely that a little extra money would make any difference to the way Liv felt about him. She wanted someone who would take her away from her brother, whether it be a king or a footman. But it would not be Michael. Not any more.

  There was a knock on the door and a short time later the housekeeper announced the arrival of Mr John Solomon.

  ‘Tell him I am not at home,’ Michael said, reaching for the brandy decanter, in no mood to deal with the other problem in his life.

  ‘He will not listen if you do,’ said the man, who had apparently taken the liberty of following the servant into the house.

  Michael waved her away and then glared at the man standing in the doorway. ‘Am I to be allowed no privacy in my own home?’

  ‘I should think I have given you enough privacy by spiriting your mother away,’ he said with a satisfied smile.

  ‘I would rather not think about that,’ Michael said, giving the man a pointed look. It was annoying to see the origins of his own features as he did so. Though he had not wanted to believe the fellow’s claims or trust his mother’s memory, the truth was written in flesh and bone right before him.