by Kathy Heart
“Yes,” she whispered, nuzzling the hand that he used to stroke her cheek.
“And would you like me to leave you with another kiss, to tide us over until next time?”
“Yes please,” she said and turned to face him, eager to get on with the next lesson.
He lowered his head and rested his lips for a moment on hers, but Maddi didn’t want that innocent touch again. She wanted the one that let her taste him. So she opened her mouth beneath his lips and moved closer so she could feel the warmth of his body. Her own was on fire, heat rising from her feet to her head, burning her up as he sucked on her tongue, holding her steady with an arm behind her while the other cupped her chin and raised her face so he could deepen the kiss. Maddi lost herself in the pleasure that his mouth and tongue were giving her. And when he pulled away, she moaned, and he rested his forehead against hers.
“You are delightful, my love,” he said.
“What did you call me?” she asked him, pulling away to look him in the eye.
“My love.” He bussed her gently on the lips again and added, “As you will always be. Is that all right with you?”
She smiled and nodded, and then said, “Perhaps I should have a look through your telescope before we return, in case I am asked what I saw.”
Drew chuckled, and walked with her to where Jane was now seated, looking up at the night sky. “Thank you, Lady Jane,” he said. “I know what it is to be the go between, and you are naturally gifted at it.”
Jane laughed delightedly and said, “I am pleased to be able to help, Your Grace.”
“Should you ever need my help in any way, please do not hesitate to call upon me,” he told her, and then led Maddi to the telescope where he proceeded to show her how to adjust it, and then told her what she would see when she moved it from place to place.
She was delighted with it, asking questions about the constellations, and just enjoying the brilliance of the stars. After the kiss they had shared, she was in a state of euphoria. The star-studded sky just seemed to be the jewel in the crown of her happiness.
Chapter 8
Cailean was nowhere to be found. Drew had been in town for more than a day now, but his friend was not in the room he rented, not had anyone seen him for a week before that. He had a bad feeling about it, but he didn’t know what to do. He paid Fiona a visit, but she also had no idea where her brother might have gone. She did not know how her brother made a living for them both, and Drew would not be the one to tell her. He returned to Claybourne Abbey with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
He went for a ride when he got home. His horse needed exercise, and he needed to think about where his friend might be. On the way back to the stables, he noticed movement behind the small shed that the gardeners sometimes kept potted plants in the winter. He rode over and dismounted. Being careful to keep his approach as silent as he cold, he walked around the outside of the shed, but saw nothing amiss. About to leave, he heard what sounded like a groan, and his heart picked up its pace. There was someone inside. The only door was ajar. He pushed it and stepped inside.
Cailean lay sprawled on the dirt floor, unconscious. Drew looked him over, alarmed at the possibility that his friend was dead. However, he found a faint pulse, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He put the wounded man on the horse and take him back to the house, where he had Gibson help him take him up to his own bedchamber.
“Fetch the physician,” he instructed the butler. “And say nothing to anyone about this. If pressed, say the doctor is for me.”
Drew knew he could trust the butler to be completely discreet. While he waited, he removed Cailean’s soiled clothing and had his valet bring up water so he could clean him up before he put a clean nightshirt on him.
“Bring fresh water, and have Gibson send up a bottle of brandy with glasses.”
The valet departed to do his bidding, and Drew sat with his friend, who drifted in and out of consciousness until the doctor arrived in the early evening.
“How is he?” Drew asked, once the doctor had finished his examination.
“He has lost a lot of blood, Your Grace, and his wounds are severe. He will need constant care for at least the next fortnight, but it will be a month before he is back on his feet again.” He packed away his instruments as he asked, “Do you know how he came to be so injured, Your Grace?”
“I do not, Doctor,” Drew replied. “I found him unconscious in the potting shed in the garden.”
“Use this salve on his wounds, and change his dressings daily. I will return in a week to check on his progress. Soft gruel until he can stomach real food.”
Drew noted the doctor’s instructions and passed them on to his valet, whom he would leave in charge of tending Cailean’s injuries and changing his dressings. He could also be counted on to be discreet. He was late for dinner, but he explained that he had had an emergency that needed to be dealt with immediately. No one questioned him, for which he was grateful, and dinner was a pleasant affair. When the women retired for the night, he and Percy shared a drink before bed.
“So, you’re going to take the plunge, eh? Congratulations, Drew!” His brother-in-law clapped him on the shoulder.
“I haven’t asked for her hand as yet. I want to get to know her a bit better. And besides, something’s come up which will keep me away from her for longer than I had expected.”
Percy studied his face, and asked, “Is it something that you can talk about?”
Drew nodded, thinking how much he appreciated having a male relative whom he could trust. And he realized that this was one of the reasons he admired the man who had stolen his sister’s heart. He was thoughtful and intelligent without being overbearing, and could be relied upon to give sound advice.
“It’s Cailean,” Drew told him. “He’s been badly hurt.”
Percy frowned. “Why is that an issue for you?”
“He’s in my bedchamber recovering.”
Now Percy’s brow rose, so Drew told him as much as he could, without disclosing the most damning fact about his friend. He was very much afraid that his injuries were a direct result of Cailean’s brigandry.
“Poor chap! He must have been set upon by brigands, confused by his apparel. He certainly doesn’t dress like the penniless second son and byblow of a dead duke.”
Drew smiled, more at the irony of Percy’s words than at the words themselves, since it was Cailean who was the bandit, and therefore more likely to do the setting upon.
“We’ll have to keep his presence here a secret until he is well enough to leave,” Drew said. “As it is, four people know he is here. That is more than enough.” He drained his glass and said, “I’d better go up and have a look at him before bed.”
“I’ll go up with you,” Percy said.
At Percy’s door, he bid him a soft goodnight. In his own room he checked on his friend and found him in a deep sleep and snoring lightly. He undressed and settled himself on the chaise. His valet had thoughtfully laid out fresh linens for his use. He wished to make his addresses to Madalene, but knew he would not be able to leave his friend attended to only by a servant. Still, he knew he had to give her reason to hope in a future together for them. And despite the searing kisses they had already exchanged, she was still an innocent who knew little of the ways of the world. He did not wish her to despair at his protracted silences.
Next morning, after his valet had left, he penned a brief note to her explaining that he had business to attend to that would keep him from visiting her as frequently as he would like, but that he would see her as soon as he could.
“Know that you are always on my heart, my Beauty,” he wrote, “And I will never leave you for too long. When this business is complete, I will return and you will not be without me again. Always in my thoughts, Drew.”
After he sent the note off with a servant, he went in search of Fiona, who would soon be needing his assistance once again. She obviously would need to be told about her brother, an
d he would need to leave her more coin to tide her over until a more permanent solution to their dilemma was found. He found her just about to leave her small room, the twins behind her.
“Good morning to you, Fiona,” he greeted her. “Where are you off to at this early hour?”
“It’s market day,” she answered, as though that explained everything. Drew frowned, since he knew that she was prepared to offer her services to the farmers and other merchants who frequented the town on market day in exchange for for and money to help her keep body and soul together.
“You know what I think of your plan, Fiona,” he said disapprovingly. “You are the daughter of a duke, not a strumpet! Surely you must see that your plan demeans you and your children?”
Fiona’s face clouded over, and her eyes filled with tears. “My status is no longer that of duke’s daughter, as you know, Drew,” she replied through trembling lips. “And it is because I must feed my children and provide them with shelter that I must do whatever I can. Especially as I have neither seen nor heard from my brother this past week.”
“It is about Cailean that I have come,” Drew told her. “Sit down again, and let the children rest awhile.”
He sat himself on the single chair, and took the little boy onto his lap while she sat with the girl in hers on the edge of the bed.
“He had been badly injured,” Drew began, “but he is safe now.”
“How did it happen? Where is he? I must see him.”
“I do not know how it happened, but he found me. He is with me in my home,” Drew told her, and he could see the relief in her eyes. “If you like, I can take you to visit him soon. When he had recovered his strength somewhat.”
“Thank you, Drew. I would appreciate that. But what am I to do in the meantime? There is no food left, and the landlord has already begun to threatened me with eviction of I don’t pay him. Or service him.” She dropped her head as she said the last words.
Drew saw red, but he kept his voice even. He did not wish to cause her any further distress. “I will handle the landlord, but you must promise me not to prostitute yourself to anyone. If we are to find you a good husband who will come to care for you, you must only come with these two children as the weight you choose to bear upon your conscience.”
He waited until she promised him, and then he handed her the small bag of coins that he had brought with him. “Let us go and make some purchases. When we return, I will speak to the landlord.”
Drew accompanied her through the market, holding the little boy’s hand and helping her to carry her purchases back to her small room. While she unpacked the food that she had bought, he sat with both children on his knees and hugged them to his chest, soothing them until they fell asleep. His thoughts wandered to Madalene and how she might look ripe with his seed. The thought of siring children with her filled him with new heat and desire, and suddenly, he needed to see her again. As he helped Fiona put the children to bed, he formed a plan to spend some more alone time with his Beauty.
The ride back to Claybourne Abbey was uneventful, but upon his arrival, he found his household in an uproar. Apparently Cailean had awakened delirious and had managed to escape from his bedchamber. His mother had taken to her bed with the vapors, something she rarely did, which meant he would have to do a lot of explaining. Percy had managed to capture him, though he was now domiciled in the room above the stables. Drew sighed heavily. No sooner had he put out one fire than a second threatened the peaceful order of his life. The sooner he could find a merchant ship’s captain willing to take four passengers, two of them children under five years old, to Nova Scotia, the better for them all.
Chapter 9
Maddi frowned. She was in town with her aunt and cousin, having tea in the most fashionable tea room in the High Street, when she turned her head and saw Drew. Well, the gentleman looked like Drew, but he was with a woman and two small children, and he was ushering them into his carriage. His touch on the woman was most solicitous, as though she were important to him. He bent and kissed her cheek tenderly before closing the door. But Drew was not a married man with children. She blinked and shook her head, and when she looked again, the carriage had moved off, and the man had disappeared. She must be mistaken...though she had to admit the stranger looked a great deal like Drew.
Jane noticed her frown and said, “What’s wrong, Maddi? You’ve gone quite pale.”
Maddi schooled her features. “Nothing...I just thought I saw someone I know. But it wasn’t anyone I know.”
They were in town to buy cloth for a new dress for Jane, whose marriage was about to be announced. She and Donald Campbell had become engaged only the previous week, and their nuptials were planned to take place in a month’s time...just long enough for the dress to be made, if they could persuade the premier seamstress in town to take on the job for an additional fee. Secretly wishing that her own engagement to Drew would be announced at that time as well, Maddi now wondered if perhaps she was being premature. It had been almost a month since her arrival at Cumberland Castle, and two weeks since he first asked her father’s permission to address her, but she had only seen him once in those two weeks, and though his letters were more frequent, they had not been arriving daily, as she might have hoped that they would.
Scolding herself for being childish, Maddi focused on her cousin’s discussion with her mother about which style of dress Jane should wear, especially considering that it would become her new "best” dress. Her cousin was to be a farmer’s wife now, though landowner had a better ring to it, Maddi supposed. And Donald was actually Sir Donald Campbell. So Jane would retain her title of Lady. These small things would be important for the daughter of an earl who was marrying below her station, but into a family of much wealth. Maddi wished her cousin every happiness, and prayed that the man she had chosen would be worthy of her love and devotion.
The women spent the afternoon in the dress shop, and when they emerged, they had decided upon a satin overdress embroidered at the scalloped hem in a floral pattern, over an under-robe trimmed in lace. Jane would wear a lace veil and her hair would be decorated with roses and orange blossoms. The dress would be ivory in color, so that Jane would be able to wear any number of matching shawls with it when the weather grew colder.
Maddi drowsed on the journey back to Cumberland Castle, but when the carriage stopped, she was jerked out of her doze. She followed her aunt and cousin into the welcome cool of the house, and announced that she would retire until dinner. Kicking off her shoes, she sank onto the comfortable chair and closed her eyes, too tired and troubled even to try to undress. Her lady’s maid had already laid out her attire for the evening meal, but for now, she could rest.
Drew’s family had been invited to dinner once again, and Maddi dreaded meeting the man she was now harboring doubts about. If the stranger in the High Street was Drew, her heart would be broken. She would not allow that to happen. Better to step away until things were clearer. She would ask him if he had been in town at teatime, and make her decision depending on his answer. At dinner, she tried to maintain a calm outward appearance, though she knew her cousin was casting her some concerned looks, especially when Drew arrived, and she moved away to stand by her father and mother.
Jane wandered over to sit beside her while they waited for dinner to be announced, and said,
“Maddi, have you and Drew had a falling out?”
“Of course, not!” Maddi replied too brightly. “Why would you think we had?”
“Well, you have not once made eye contact with him all evening, and every time he has made a move to approach you, you have flitted away like a butterfly. No wonder he is looking puzzled. He is as confused by your behavior as I am.”
Maddi struggled to control the color that threatened to suffuse her cheeks. “ I’m fine, and there is nothing wrong between us,” she repeated. “But thanks for letting me know that I am acting out of character. I must just be tired.”
She managed to make it through
dinner without raising any eyebrows, conversing with Drew’s sister and her husband and answering all questions or comments made to her. After dinner, Jane pulled her away into the library and said,
“You stay right here. I will be back soon.” And when she returned, she had Drew with her. “Sit you both down now,” she said, all business. “No one leaves this room until you speak to each other and clear the air. Something is wrong, and even if you can both bear to live with the tension, I cannot!” Then she went to sit in the armchair by the window and left them the space to speak privately.
Drew began the conversation with a question. His voice was pained as he asked, “What have I done to offend you, Lady Madalene?”
His use of formal address to speak to her seemed somehow significant, and Maddi gasped in shock. She felt the weight of uncertainty grow upon her heart. Instead of answering his query, she asked one of her own. “Were you in the High Street today?”
