The Long Awaited Lord

by Deborah Wilson

  “But what if something happens to her? I would regret not being there for her.” Her mother was ill, but Madison didn’t think it dire. “My father could likely benefit from the comfort as well.” Matthew attended her father’s lectures just as Judd had.

  Matthew looked down at the carpet under his feet and then scratched his brow. “I suppose I’ll allow this visit. You can take the carriage.”

  She was surprised by how easily he changed his mind. Once again, she noticed how tired he looked.

  “I’ll be in my chambers if you need me.”

  “Don’t sleep too long. It is morning.” She couldn’t hold back the suggestion. Even though she hated him, she hated the sight of suffering more.

  He looked up. “Yes, well… I’ll see you at dinner.”

  “Can I go without an army?” she asked.

  His demeanor changed. “You believe showing kindness to me and pretending to care will get me to lower my guard? It won’t. I know you’d run with my child the first chance you got.”

  “I won’t. I swear it.” What she needed was the other banknote she’d hidden in her room. Only then would she even think to escape.

  She had to get to the Duke of Van Dero, and she didn’t even know where he was.

  She held Matthew’s eyes and waited for his pronouncement.

  “You know, Lady Anson lost her husband recently. How do you know I’m not simply trying to protect you?”

  Madison was struck by that terrible news. She hadn’t known Lady Anson well, but she’d met her at parties with her husband. Their son was nearly a man and would now grow up without a father. “What happened? When was this?”

  “His carriage overturned this week,” he said. “The son was inside, but he survived.”

  “Could you give her my condolences when you see her?” she asked.

  He sighed, as though upset she didn’t take his earlier bait. “Let your mother do it for you. You may go see your parents, but you’ll take Lord Leo with you.”

  She nodded. “Very well.”

  He continued to watch her and then went into his pocket. He handed her a letter. The seal was already broken. She opened it.

  Matthew told her what it would say. “Lady Geneve said her neighbor’s health has improved and she thanks you for the basket you sent over. I wasn’t aware we were gifting basket to strangers now.”

  “I gift those in need.” She dared him to stop her and inflict his cruelty on others. She was already used to him reading her letters. Anything she wrote back would be read and sealed by Matthew himself. The first basket she’d ever given had been to Judd. And she’d reasoned, if he’d liked it, others might as well.

  Matthew didn’t check the baskets as well as he did the letters.

  “Well, keep them to a minimum,” he grumbled. “Coin doesn’t come from nowhere.”

  Once alone, she frowned at the door. Matthew was wealthy. He was only taunting her.

  Everyone taunted her. Including their new guest.

  That old flutter bloomed in her lower belly again.

  “If I offered to take you away, would you come?”

  He couldn’t have possibly meant his words. She should have told Matthew what he’d said. She’d learned Italian when her father had given her a book on Scarlatti, who happened to be one of her favorite Italian composers. He was one of the few who’d managed to make the transition from Baroque to Classical music. In fact, he’d been influential in it.

  Why did Lord Leo know Italian?

  What had Judd stolen from him?

  She hated that Matthew enjoyed making her doubt the emotions she’d felt for the Viscount of Arland. It was likely Judd hadn’t known everything about her either. They would have discovered more during their marriage. If only they’d had the chance.

  Judd and Matthew had been so close to one another. How could Matthew do this to his deceased friend?

  She feared to discover the answer. What if there was some justice to his anger? Matthew had allowed Lord Leo into the house, but she still didn’t know how the two had met. Had they known one another long?

  Perhaps she could convince Leo to take Matthew to his family’s estate for the shooting season. Then she’d have a chance to flee.

  She dressed as she worked it all out in her mind.

  She didn’t allow her hopes to build but remained neutral. There was a great chance Matthew would have his way and when he did, she’d not let him see her tears.

  She’d feel no sadness. She’d feel no pain. She’d feel nothing.

  She did feel nothing as she left the room.

  She followed the sound of the piano. Angered at hearing a portion of her own melody, she spoke before she could think. “I thought you came to catch a thief, not become one.”

  She stiffened as the music came to a halt. Madison decided she would not apologize. That was her song, born of her pain. No one else could have it. When she left this house, it would be all she took with her. She regretted playing it for him. She was breathing hard when he turned around.

  He smiled. “Forgive me, but it is stuck in my head and I wish to keep it there and never let it fade.”

  She swallowed and told herself she’d not be moved by the kindness in his eyes.

  He stood and started her way. “When I was in school, I found that if I involved more of my senses with the information, I could retain it better. My eyes could roam a book, my ears could hear a lecture, but grasping the work with my bare hands...” He stopped in front of her and curled his fingers into a fist before dropping it at his side. “If I touch something, I remember it always.” He smiled.

  And Madison knew he was aware of the effect he had on her. She imagined women came easily for him. His height and build made him impressive. His smile was swoon-worthy. His dark lashes and crystal blue eyes made him devastating to look at.

  Yet she found herself irritated by his flirtation. By all appearances, she was a married woman. Her husband had let him into his home as a friend. Matthew trusted him.

  This was no way to treat one’s friends.

  Matthew was beautiful, and she’d already learned that beauty could not be trusted.

  She didn’t smile at him. She didn’t want to encourage his forward behavior. “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

  ∫ ∫ ∫

  1 0

  * * *

  Madison’s face reminded Leo of stone. A smooth, gem-like pearl. Though he’d detected that she and Matthew were at odds, Lady Hivers had no intention of cuckolding her husband.

  He took a moment to consider the idea that she didn’t find him attractive, but he knew that wasn’t true. She reacted to him as most other women did. Her cheeks pinked. Her mouth parted enough to make breathing easier for her.

  But she had a will of iron, it seemed. “Lord Hivers seems to think you can protect me. Can you?”

  “Is there something you need protection from?”

  Her eyes nearly softened, but then she tightened them again. “Is that a no, my lord?”

  “I can protect you better than any man in this house.”

  Her eyes flickered with disbelief, but she asked no more. “Shall we go?”

  “How old are you, Lady Madison?”

  Her eyes rounded. “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “How about this? I ask you a question and you answer it.”

  She narrowed her eyes.

  He lifted his hand. “In exchange, you make ask me a question and I shall answer it truthfully.” Though he wouldn’t. He had every intention of lying.

  But she calmed visibly at his offer. He could see the curiosity in her eyes. Why was he here? What was his connection to Hivers and Arland?

  He wondered what question she would ask first.

  “I’m twenty-one.”

  His heart nearly stopped at her words. She was so young, far too young to be so detached.

  But then, who was he to think such a thing? He’d been born disengaged from everyone and everyth
ing.

  “What did Judd take from you?” Madison asked.

  The question was right around the subject he’d assumed she’d go for. “A jewel.”

  “What kind?”

  “Ah, it’s no longer your turn, my lady.” He walked past her toward the door. The butler gave him his hat.

  “The child I carry gets a question as well.”

  He turned to her and burst out in laughter at the severity of her features. She couldn’t be serious. “That’s not how this works,” he said as he shrugged on his coat.

  “Why not?” The butler helped her with her own. “I don’t know you. The child doesn’t know you.”

  “Well then, I’ll answer his questions when he can ask them himself.”

  Madison pouted but said nothing as she led him out the door.

  He continued to chuckle as he followed her. She was clever.

  They rode in silence for the first five minutes to her parents’ house.

  He was content to watch her as she avoided his eyes. He wanted to ask his next question, but something told him that Madison would lie just as easily as he did. Which meant he needed her trust. He needed to get on good terms with her if he were to discover the truth about Arland.

  “Forgive me for arriving so early this morning. I didn’t know I would be waking the house.”

  She shook her head. “No, I was up and Matthew should get up early as well.”

  “Should? That might be a strong word.”

  “It’s healthier for the mind. Also, he might actually retire around an appropriate time.” She lifted an accusing brow. Was she blaming Leo for her husband’s drinking?

  He decided to shift the conversation elsewhere. “I’d have my thanks given to me now.”

  “Thanks?” she scoffed and didn’t bother to look at him. Her eyes found something interesting outside. Maybe a bird. “What am I supposed to be thanking you for?”

  “For convincing Matthew to let you see your mother.”

  Her head turned slowly. “That was you?”

  “Do you believe it was you?” Perhaps the best way to get into the mind of Lady Hivers was to lend her some sound advice. “There is clearly some tension between you. Why not tell me what’s the matter and I can help you both find your way back toward happiness.” He motioned to her stomach. “Perhaps just in time for the baby’s birth.”

  Her mouth curled coyishly. Then she turned away. “Thank you for helping me see my mother, but I doubt you are a Good Samaritan. You’re after something, Lord Leonard, and I don’t think it is a jewel.”

  He was glad she wasn’t looking at him as she spoke. Sweat broke over him and he had to move to the opposite window to catch some wind.

  “Why did you do it?” she asked.

  He kept his face averted. “It’s not your turn to ask a question.”

  “Do you plan on asking your question anytime soon?” she asked.

  He glanced in her direction. This woman lived in a beautiful house with fine meals, her parents still lived and, according to Matthew, loved her very much. She’d grown up with kindness. She’d managed to catch the attention of an earl and, as she’d told him earlier, the child did not make her uncomfortable. “Why are you so angry?”

  “You played my song! It is mine!” Her eyes were hard.

  He lifted his hands. “Fine, I won’t play it again.”

  “You’re lying. I know you will.” She closed her eyes, and her brows furrowed in pain.

  “Are you all right?” He moved toward her, ready to help if she needed it.

  She lifted her hand to stop him. “He’s just kicking. I do wish he would cease.”

  “Is it painful?”

  “No, simply annoying. I want peace.” She reached out as if to touch her swollen belly but then pulled away and rubbed her temples instead. “Can we please not speak for the rest of the journey?”

  He remained quiet, choosing to not cause her further distress. He didn’t know if she was simply faking it in order to be left alone or if it were real. Either way, it didn’t matter. He didn’t want to be responsible for her losing the baby.

  In the silence, he realized that this was his first time spending any significant amount of time with a pregnant woman. He hadn’t been allowed around his mother while she’d carried his younger brother Nicholas. Then she’d died soon after.

  Without being aware of it, Leo realized he avoided women who were expecting. He didn’t even like being around Van Dero’s wife Milly while she carried.

  Perhaps Madison was actually in a great deal of pain but assumed no one cared.

  He’d spoken to Matthew after she’d left. He wasn’t sure how the conversation found itself on Madison, but he said, “Let her see her mother. You’re angry now, but trust me, you don’t want to get old and then look back over your life and see nothing but regrets.”

  He didn’t know what regrets came to Matthew, but he’d told Leo he’d allow her to go to her mother and suggested Leo join her.

  Lord Cumpterton was Arland’s teacher and perhaps he had another view of Matthew’s former friend.

  “But keep an eye on her,” Matthew had said. “She can get hysterical. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

  He hadn’t let Madison out of his sight since she’d come to fetch him for this jaunt.

  Leo was not a sympathetic man. He did not cry simply because people around him were doing it. He did not feel the pain of others. Such tender emotions had been skinned from him by his father’s hand.

  Literally.

  But he could show compassion every now and again, even when it wouldn’t be explicitly for his own gain. “I’m sorry,” he said calmly. “Forgive me. I’ve never been around an expectant woman before. I don’t know how to treat you.”

  Madison’s hands fell lifelessly to her sides. “Forgive me for my rudeness. Thank you for convincing Matthew to let me go. My pain… it’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

  “I suppose the fault rests with your husband.” He looked at her belly with meaning and then up to her eyes again.

  Her face was void of emotion and so was her voice. “Oh, he is most assuredly the cause for all my pain.” She offered no more after that.

  But he knew she was speaking about an emotional pain more than anything else.

  Leo knew all about that as well.

  He followed her into her parents’ home and was surprised when Countess Cumpterton greeted them in the foyer. Aside from the handkerchief in her hand and her reddened nose, she looked quite well.

  “Forgive me for my unseemly state,” the woman said. Her face was an older version of Madison’s, though her coloring was different. She was beautiful. “I don’t know how I fell ill. I’m a very healthy woman. I’ve made certain my entire family remained healthy. We rarely kept sugar in the house. One dessert a week. Madison rarely fell ill.”

  Madison had transformed since the moment she crossed her parents’ threshold. Everything about her seemed to brighten, even her color. “Mama, Lord Leonard does not wish to hear about that.”

  “On the contrary,” Leo said. “I am very glad to know I’m in the house of a true healer. You must tell me what it is you do to stay so beautifully full of health.”

  Lady Cumpterton colored at his compliment. Then she looked past Leo and smiled. “Lord Cumperton, we gave a guest.”

  Madison’s father hugged her and was not quick about doing it before he pulled away and turned to Leo. “Lord Hivers sent you as an escort?”

  “It is my duty to see that she is safely returned home after this visit.”

  “Better you than the parade of footmen he usually sends.” Lord Cumpterton shook his head. “I know he loves my daughter, but she’s not the Queen of Sheba.”

  Madison, who’d been staring up at her father with a look of utter love, gasped and laughed. “Oh, but I thought I was a queen. You always told me so.”

  He kissed her head and the tender gesture hit Leo right in the center of his chest. T
his was another first for him, witnessing loving parents. His friends had children, but those children were but babes. One glance at Madison and he knew she’d enjoyed her life. Her parents were kind. They adored her, and she adored them right back.

  It left Leo feeling uneasy, and he tried to think of a reason to escape.

  “Now, as for you.” Lord Cumpterton frowned at Leo. “I believe I am owed a debt.”

  Leo’s heart jumped, and he wondered what the man could be talking about.

  Cumpterton crossed his arms. “My essay on John Locke, or did you think I’d forget?”

  ∫ ∫ ∫

  1 1

  * * *

  Leo’s mouth fell open. “You remember me? That was over a decade ago.” He turned to Madison. “Yes, I’m that old.” He was thirty-four.

  Just in case she was wondering. He was thirty-four.

  Cumpterton scoffed. “You’re old? No, I’m old, but never mistake me for being senile. Of course, I remember you, Leo. You’d come and go. Take a few lectures here and there. You had the audacity to sit front row in my lecture hall and then proceed to fall asleep.”

  Leo remembered it, all of it.

  “You were a student of my father’s?” Madison asked. “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “I didn’t think it was important.” He shrugged, even as his lips turned up. He turned to Lord Cumpterton. “How is Morgan?” He was Cumpterton’s son.

  “Well! He’s in India. He’s in love with everything about that place. The food, the culture, the languages, the animals.” Cumpterton held up his hands. “And who am I to stop him? I took my fair share of extended holiday, though never so far.”

  “And you always felt me behind,” his wife chastened.

  “You get seasick,” he accused. “I offered to take you with me.”

  She bristled and stuck her nose in the air. Then she smiled. “You did. I simply missed you terribly when you were gone.” The couple shared a look Leo was used to. It communicated things that were not appropriate in present company.