Marblestone Mansion, Book 1 (Scandalous Duchess Series, #1)

by Marti Talbott

  “Are you not joining me?”

  “Not tonight, Olivia.”

  “But...”

  “‘Tis American wine and I doubt you will like the taste, but it will help you sleep.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “You are not staying? You do not desire me? It has been three years.”

  “For you, perhaps.”

  Her mouth dropped. “But not for you?”

  “In a place such as this, there are always women who are willing.”

  “You mean a prostitute?”

  “Or two or three.”

  She looked shocked, but only for a moment. “I suppose I can forgive you, you are a man after all.”

  He was astonished; it was not the reaction he hoped for. “You can?”

  “Of course I can, I love you that much and more.”

  She took the glass and sipped the wine, ignoring the bitter taste. “You are right, I do not like it.” Even so, she drank the glass empty and handed it back for a refill. It took a moment, but she finally saw the anger in her husband’s eyes. “Oh, very well, I am sorry I hurt the child. I sometimes lose my temper, is all. Please allow me to tell her how sorry I am.”

  “She is resting, perhaps in the morning.”

  “In the morning then.” She glanced at the open door, got up and tried to close it, but Hannish put his hand out to stop the door. “Why do you let the servants intrude on our privacy? I wish to be alone with you.”

  “I dinna wish to be alone with you.”

  “Oh, Hannish, I did not mean to hurt her. Can you not forgive me? I have forgiven you, and I so want to be in your arms again.”

  “Olivia, a MacGreagor does not harm a woman or a child. ‘Tis an old family edict and you knew that when you married me. I cannae just let it pass.” He refilled her glass, handed it to her and set the bottle back on the tray.

  “I shall not do it again, I swear it.”

  “Indeed, you shall not.”

  She set the glass on her dressing table and tried to wrap her arms around his neck, but he took hold of them and prevented her. “How long am I to be punished?”

  “I have not yet decided.”

  “You have not changed your mind about going back to Scotland, have you?”

  “When I married, I married for life. If I am to have children, I must go with you.”

  She was relieved and when she heard the bell, her eyes quickly brightened. “Is that the telephone? I wager it is for me.”

  “I will send for you if it is. Now, you best get ready for bed.”

  “Will you be back?”

  He didn’t answer. Hannish simply walked out the door and closed it behind him.

  *

  Alistair was already halfway up the stairs when Hannish started down.

  “The tele for you, Sir,”

  “I shall take it in the study. Come with me, Alistair, I want to talk to you.”

  “Aye, Your Grace.”

  Hannish continued down the stairs, crossed the parlor and walked into the study. “Call me that again, and I will take it out of your pay.”

  “Aye, Mr. Hannish.” No one was happier to hear that than Alistair. It confirmed Hannish was staying in American...and so were they all.

  Hannish quickly picked up the telephone earpiece. “MacGreagor here....Cameron, it is good to hear your voice too...nay, I was awake...You did? That is glorious news...What?...Aye, ‘tis true...I am very certain and quite relieved...Very good. Cameron, I am sending Olivia back tomorrow...Hello, are you there? ...I will explain later. Might you meet her train? ...Aye, I shall telephone with the details. Thank you and do call anytime...you will not wake me. I miss you too, little brother. Good bye.”

  He hung up the phone, walked to his desk, pulled the chair out and sat down. Exhausted, he put his head in his hands for a moment and when he looked up, Keith was setting a tray on his desk with the second bottle, only this one was Scotch instead of wine. Keith excused himself and hurried back upstairs to see if there was any news of Sassy’s condition. He was worried sick about her and didn’t care who knew it.

  “Sit down, Alistair,” Hannish poured scotch in the glass and handed it to his butler. “There is much to do and little time to do it.” He pulled a roll of American dollars out of his desk and began to peel off enough to see to the expenses. “As I said, there is something I wish you to bring back and I am pleased you will be there to see to it yourself.

  I managed to secure the last stateroom on the HMS Umbria. It leaves every Saturday and you have just enough time to get Olivia on it. Meet the ship at Pier 40 on the North River, at the foot of Clarkson Street. I have sent for Dugan’s cousin Egan, and the other servants Olivia refused to bring. They should arrive the day after you get there, if all goes well.”

  “Dugan’s cousin? Mr. Hannish, how good you are to us.”

  “Yes, well I do not feel so good about myself just now.”

  Alistair downed the scotch. “Shall I tell Dugan?”

  “‘Tis up to you.”

  “He might need a good word or two by the time we get the duchess on a ship,” said Alistair.

  “He might at that.”

  *

  He was halfway down the hall when Hannish saw Sassy and Sarah come out of McKenna’s room. Sassy was holding her head and looked a little unsteady on her feet. “We’ll have none of this,” he said.

  “She wants to sleep in her own bed and Sarah will stay with her,” said McKenna.

  “Aye, but I’ll not have her passing out on the stairs.” He leaned down, picked Sassy up and nodded for Sarah to lead the way.

  Sassy glanced back to make sure McKenna was coming, and then wrapped her arms around his neck and laid the uninjured side of her head on his shoulder. “I might cry now.”

  He turned sideways and eased her through the door to the back staircase. “I would not blame you if you did. Does it hurt terribly?”

  “I have had worse. Mr. Hannish, must you go back to Scotland?”

  “Is that what might make you cry?”

  “Aye. You are happy here, I can tell.”

  He stopped at the top of the stairs and waited while Sarah opened the next door. “You need not fret, Sassy, I am not going back to Scotland.” He followed Sarah and McKenna into Sassy’s room, and carefully set her on the edge of the bed. “Sleep now if you can. Is there anything you need?”

  Sassy looked up at him. “Mr. Hannish, might I hide from your wife from now on? All the Scots do.”

  Sarah fluffed the pillow and giggled. “You’re a Scot now, Sassy? Did I not hear you claim to be an American earlier?”

  “You might have,” Sassy admitted.

  “Well, we Americans are glad to have you, Sassy,” said Hannish. “Can you rest now?” When she nodded, he walked to the door and joined McKenna. “Mrs. MacGreagor will be leaving in the morning. You’ll not have to hide for long.”

  In the hallway, Charlotte heard it all and hoped he would notice her, but when he came out, he went back down the stairs without so much as a glance her way. McKenna saw her, but who cared about that.

  *

  The rest of the night was hardly quiet. In the room next door to Olivia’s, Hannish could hear his wife repeatedly demand to see him. He tried to go to sleep, but then she began to pound on the locked door between the two rooms and sleep became hopeless. Determined not to give in to her demands, he got up and sat in a chair instead.

  His mind was flooded with an unthinkable mixture of rage for what his wife had become, and pain for the lost dreams that were now dashed against the rocks. He was certain of only one thing, a future life with Olivia would be miserable for them all. He had to keep her in a place where she could not hurt anyone, and tried to think where that could be. He considered having her committed, but from what he had heard, places for the mentally dangerous were as bad as Sassy’s orphanage. Thankfully, the weeks it would take her to get back to Scotland would give him time to think the possibilities through.

  At l
ast, the pounding stopped and he heard the thud of a bottle fall to the floor. He waited for a while longer, and then went to see if Olivia managed to get into bed or was lying on the floor. Prescot looked haggard, but he was still sitting in a chair next to the door so Olivia could not get out. Quietly, Hannish opened the door and looked in. His wife was sound asleep in her bed and for a moment, he gazed upon the face he still loved in spite of himself. Just as quietly, he closed the door, dismissed Prescot and went back to his room.

  CHAPTER 7

  Olivia had a well-deserved raging headache when Hannish carried her breakfast in on a tray, yet she wasn’t about to let that stop her. “Are you not the most handsome maid I have yet to see? She sat up, stretched and let her sleeping gown expose the upper half of her bosom. “I need a maid to dress me, or shall you do it?” Before he could answer, Olivia slipped out of bed, untied the strings to her gown, lifted it over her head and tossed it away.

  He tried not to look upon her nakedness as he set the tray on the table. “You are leaving this morning.”

  “Am I never to be forgiven?” she pouted.

  He ignored her, picked up her sleeping gown and handed it to her. “It may take a week or two, but I will forgive you in time.”

  Her eyes instantly lit up. “Truly?”

  “Truly. I wish you to go back to Scotland and prepare for my return. I shall come in time for the rest of the season. You do still have my formal clothing, do you not?”

  “Of course I do. They will need cleaning and you are right. I shall need time for the alterations on my new gowns.” She dropped the sleeping gown and tried to go into his arms. Again, he stopped her. “There is no time for that now. I reserved a seat for you on the afternoon train.”

  “I hoped we might start our family.”

  “We will, when we are both in Scotland. I do not wish to miss a moment of it.”

  “Very well then, I shall need money for my expenses.”

  “Alistair is going with you and he will pay your expenses.”

  “Alistair? I would rather pay my own expenses.”

  “Have you no money left? I have given you a very generous allowance.”

  “Well, yes, but everything was very expensive in New York.”

  He was having trouble holding back his anger and decided he best leave, before he said what he desperately wanted to. “Get dressed, Olivia. If you are not dressed in an hour, I shall be forced to dress you myself in the first garment I find.” He walked out and closed the door, leaving a naked Olivia alone to stare after him.

  When Hannish went back to the kitchen, it was clear by their smiles that the Scots had spread the word to the Americans - the duchess was going and Hannish was staying. He was surprised to find Sassy at the table eating everything in sight and it made him feel a little better, but not much. It didn’t appear as though her eye was going to blacken after all, but she had her hair loosely piled on top of her head as though it still hurt where Olivia had ahold of it. “Where might my sister be?”

  “Still in bed,” Sassy answered. “That awful banging kept her awake.”

  “I am sorry, I dinna consider how it was keeping everyone else awake. Sassy, you need not work today. I would rather see you outside in the sunshine or perhaps you might read a book. There are a few in the library you might enjoy.” Before she could argue, he turned to Prescot. “We are to receive a visitor from Scotland this afternoon, a Mr. George Graham. Take him to the study and then notify me of his arrival.

  “What do you mean to do to him?” McKenna asked, walking to the table and sitting down.

  “I mean to delay his return to Scotland, nothing more.”

  She wasn’t certain she believed him, but did not pursue the matter. She did give Prescot a pleading look as if to beg him to stay close at hand when Graham came. “Brother, will you be needin’ me to do anything this morning? I am hoping we might set a date for the ball today and I’ve invitations to order.”

  Sassy joyfully clasped her hands together. “A ball?”

  “Aye, Sassy, and I shall need you to help me. Are you willing?” McKenna asked.

  Sassy thought about it and frowned, “Well, no, Miss McKenna. I know nothing of balls. Millie would do much better, or Donnel. Come to think of it, even Keith would be more help than I.” She made everyone laugh and she meant to. She had come to enjoy putting a smile on everyone’s face, especially with the spiteful duchess in the house.

  A bell began to ring and everyone looked at the bell board on the wall. McKenna gasped. “Olivia found the bell in the water closet, Hannish.”

  Hannish set his cup of tea down. “I best see to her, she had nothing on the last I saw of her.”

  *

  For the next hour and a half, the tension was thick in Marblestone Mansion. Something could still go wrong and everyone held their breath. Olivia managed to fix her own hair and dress herself, but not pack her things. So while Hannish took his wife outside to enjoy the fresh air, Millie and Sarah made haste to throw everything in Olivia’s travel bag and steamer trunk – everything except her dreaded wooden brush. As soon as they were finished, Keith and Ronan carried the luggage down the stairs and loaded them on the wagon. At the same time, Alistair and Dugan added their travel suitcases and got aboard. Both had shed their uniforms for more informal clothing. Once everything was finished finally, Ronan got set to drive the carriage and Keith got ready to follow with the wagon.

  With her hand wrapped around his arm, Hannish turned his wife and walked her back toward the waiting carriage. “You look beautiful as always. I had almost forgotten how glorious you are.”

  “I am disappointed not to have spent at least one night alone with you, but I suppose another few weeks will be bearable.”

  “For us both.” He smiled, stopped, took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. “I can hardly wait.” He whispered. He closed his eyes and held her in his arms for a long moment before he let her go. “I fear you will miss the train, my love.”

  “Are you certain you cannot come home with me?”

  “I’ve this place to sell and the servants to find positions for. You understand.”

  “Always the sweet Hannish; thinking of everyone else first.”

  He helped her into the carriage and then closed the door.

  “You are not taking me to the train?”

  “I cannae, I must wait here for our friend George Graham.”

  Olivia wrinkled her brow and it was the last expression he saw before Ronan loudly smacked the reins against the back of the team and jerked the carriage away.

  Hannish nodded to Alistair and Dugan as the wagon passed, and then looked for the carriage between the trees. He remembered to smile and wave when he was certain Olivia could see him, and kept watching until it was completely out of sight. Then he bowed his head.

  At the window of the second floor sitting room, McKenna had tears in her eyes. Sassy put her arm around McKenna’s waist and tried to comfort her. “He truly loves his wife, does he not?”

  “Aye, ‘tis the hardest thing he has ever done, sending her away forever like that. Harder even than leaving her three years ago.”

  “‘Tis my fault. I knew to stay clear of her.”

  “‘Tis not your fault, ‘tis Olivia’s.” She wiped her tears away and tried to smile. “Come, we have work to do and planning a ball will help distract my brother.”

  “Mr. Graham, it is good of you to come all this way to give your report,” Hannish said, as he walked into his study. “Please sit and be comfortable. Would you like some tea? Of course you would.” Hannish walked to the wall and pulled the cord. “I trust you had a good journey?’

  George Graham removed his hat, sat in a chair, crossed his legs and set his hat on his knee. “I did, Your Grace, very good indeed.”

  Hannish was not impressed with the man’s appearance and for the life of him, could not see why Olivia would prefer him. His mustache nearly covered his upper lip, his beard appeared to be just growin
g out, and although it matched the color of his mousy brown hair, there were places that most likely would not fill in well. The bald spot on the back of George Graham’s head refused to be covered by long strands of hair, and the man had dull brown eyes. “Are the repairs completed?”

  “There are a few things, here and there, but it is mostly finished.”

  “What sort of things are left undone, precisely?”

  “I have not yet managed to get the gardens finished, but that will come along nicely now that it is spring.”

  “Then you intend to go back to Scotland?” Hannish asked.

  “Naturally. Is Olivia not about?”

  “Do you mean Duchess MacGreagor?”

  Graham squirmed in his seat a little. “Aye, Duchess MacGreagor.”

  “She is not here.”

  The unwelcome visitor sat up a little straighter. “Not here? But she said...”

  “You were on the train with her?”

  “Well yes. She invited me to come and I was more than happy to see she arrived safely.”

  “Why did you not make yourself known at the train station?”

  “Well, I thought...I mean...I...you drove away before I could.”

  “I suppose I did.” Hannish stopped talking when Brookton entered with a tea tray and set it on the desk. He watched Brookton pour a cup of tea, hand it to Graham and then pour a second cup for him. Still, he waited until Brookton left before he spoke again. “Mr. Graham, your services have been very expensive.”

  “That is precisely what I have come to discuss, Your Grace. When might I be paid?”

  Hannish stared at the man. “You have not been paid?”

  “Not this past year complete.”

  “I see.” He took a slow sip of tea and considered what that meant. “I find I am confused. I sent the funds to my wife and she claims to have paid you in full.”

  “You sent her the funds?”

  “I had my banker in Scotland see that she got them on the first of every month, just as you were promised.”

  “I assure you...I have not been paid.”

  Hannish was quiet for another long moment. “I believe my wife has swindled you.”

  “See here, Olivia...Duchess MacGreagor would never do a thing like that.”