* * *
‘Well, this is progress indeed!’
Maddie laughed as she watched Grant parade up and down the sickroom. It was a rare sunny day, but it was not safe for him to go outside, so she had opened the window to allow in the fresh air. The sounds wafted up to them from the courtyard below: laughter from the stable hands, the occasional bark of a dog. Grant was dressed in his own breeches and top boots, but his shirt and coat were beyond repair and although the voluminous cut of Sir Edmund’s shirt presented no problem, his frock coats were all too tight for Grant to slip on without causing him pain, so he strode back and forth in his silk waistcoat, the shirt sleeves billowing out and concealing the fact that his arm was heavily bandaged.
Maddie watched him, thinking how much he had improved in the past few days. The gaunt, drawn look had gone from his face and he was moving again with the lithe agility of a cat. Only the slight stiffness with which he held his left arm gave any indication that he was injured.
‘I am feeling much better,’ he told her. ‘We can now plan how we are going to get you away from here.’
She shook her head. ‘No. We have already agreed we should part now.’
‘We have agreed nothing of the sort! Quite the opposite, in fact. I am going to escort you.’
‘We said we would discuss that when you were well enough,’ she corrected him. ‘And in the meantime, I have made my own decision. Sir Edmund will find me a guide. You must look to yourself and your family. You have said that you will not return to Ardvarrick—’
‘I cannot return. For my parents to harbour a fugitive would be a disaster for everyone at Ardvarrick, if indeed it has not already occurred. I dare not take the risk of returning to them. However,’ he went on, before she had a chance to speak again, ‘I am the best person to take you west. I know the land and the best routes around it. More importantly I know the people.’
‘But I have decided to decline your services.’
‘The devil you have!’
Her chin went up. ‘I shall pay you for your trouble so far—’
‘Do not be such a damned fool, Madeleine. You know I am not doing this for the money.’
‘I certainly did not ask you to do it for any other reason!’
That gave him pause. They were glaring at one another, but although he kept his eyes locked on hers, he was aware of the high colour in her cheeks, the way her breast was heaving beneath the modest muslin fichu she had draped across her shoulders. He clenched his hands at his sides lest he be tempted to reach out and shake her.
Or to drag her close and kiss her senseless!
‘Very well,’ he ground out. ‘Let us not spend our time arguing. We will discuss the matter with Sir Edmund and let him decide.’
‘Very well.’
He could see from her pursed lips that she was not wholly convinced, but he made no further attempt to persuade her. Instead he asked her to read to him for a while and later challenged her to a game of piquet, Grant’s left arm being sufficiently healed to allow him to hold his cards, even if the shuffling and dealing were proving difficult.
They said nothing more about leaving Calder House, but Grant could not be easy. In his opinion, Maddie was looking prettier every day and he was concerned that the more the English Major saw of her, the more likely it was that he would try to seduce her. Or worse. The army’s behaviour in Scotland had been less than exemplary, as he and Maddie had both witnessed. No, he must get her away and soon.
* * *
Madeleine continued to play the docile guest in the McBinnies’ household, but she was growing increasingly restless. It would take several days, if not longer, to reach the French ship and she could not afford to miss the rendezvous. She approached Sir Edmund and asked him if he could find her a guide, but his answer was cautious.
‘I could, of course, but I thought it was agreed Grant Rathmore will escort you. We expect him to be well enough for the journey very soon.’
‘But you know how dangerous it would be for him to venture into an area where he might be recognised.’
‘There is that,’ replied Sir Edmund in his careful way. ‘Although it might be worth the risk in order to see his parents one last time before going off to France.’
‘Alas, that is one thing he swears he will not do. Which is why I would rather he did not put himself in such danger solely for my sake.’
She waited as her host digested her words, then he nodded.
‘We must decide upon a reason for your departure. It will not do for you to slip away without notice.’
‘Of course not. The officers would be obliged to raise the alarm and you and Lady McBinnie would immediately come under suspicion.’ Maddie sighed. ‘I can see this will not be easy, but I must go and soon.’
‘I agree, but pray do not upset yourself. We will think of something.’
With that she had to be satisfied, but Lady McBinnie was growing anxious, too, as Maddie discovered when she helped that lady to collect flowers from the garden later the same day.
‘I fear Major Rutter suspects something is afoot. He is perfectly civil, but he joked yesterday that the house must be in very fine order, for all the work you and Anne are doing.’
‘Oh, dear. Do you think he suspects I am avoiding him?’
‘I am sure of it,’ replied Lady McBinnie. ‘He said as much to me yesterday, but it is only natural that I should do my best to keep Anne and yourself out of harm’s way. Och, if only they would move on! But, alas, I fear we have made them too comfortable. They consider themselves perfectly situated here.’
‘It is very frustrating, especially when I need to organise my journey to the west.’
Lady McBinnie patted her hand and replied with a complacency that Maddie could not share.
‘Well, we must see what transpires in the coming days. I am sure that between them, Sir Edmund and young Rathmore will come up with a plan. In the meantime, we must make the Major believe that you are truly very busy here. I shall take pains to tell him that you gathered all these blooms for the table. But what else can you do today? I have it! My tea service is in need of washing. If Major Rutter should ask me, I shall tell him that is what you and Anne are doing. If he has any pretensions at all to gentility, he will know Meissen porcelain is far too precious to leave such a task to the servants!’
* * *
‘...repique and two quatorzes, plus a sequence of six and forty for capot... I win!’ declared Madeleine, giving a little crow of delight. She glanced at her opponent as she gathered up the cards. ‘Is your arm paining you, Grant? I do not usually best you quite so easily.’
‘No, no, my arm is healing well now. But I beg your pardon, my mind was otherwhere.’
She looked up, enquiring, but he merely bade her deal again.
‘Sir Edmund was telling me there are reports of a French frigate off the coast at Stonehaven,’ she told him, keeping her voice casual. ‘He says it is taking up Jacobites and he has contacts who could get you there. You could be safe in France in a sennight. You should go.’
‘I will, an you will come with me.’
‘My father has made other arrangements for me.’
‘Which involve a perilous journey into the Western Highlands.’
‘Sir Edmund will provide me with an escort.’
‘No. I have promised I will take you.’
She thought of him injured, risking his life for her, and knew she could not bear it if he was to suffer more on her behalf.
She said firmly, ‘And I have said I do not want you to do so. Pray you, Grant, do not argue further. My mind is made up. Now, shall we cut for the first deal?’
Grant shrugged and said no more, which was what Madeleine had asked of him, but somehow she felt no satisfaction in the victory. Knowing they would soon be going their separate ways did nothing to raise her mo
od, but she told herself it was for the best. She was enjoying his company far too much.
Madeleine lost the second game and they tied on a third, after which they agreed to stop. The next hour was spent in quiet companionship, Grant reading and Maddie with her head bent over her sewing. She looked up presently, and found Grant watching her. Under such scrutiny she felt the heat rising up through her body and attempted to conceal it with raised brows and a look of cold enquiry.
‘I was thinking how unusual it is,’ he told her. ‘We have not said a cross word to one another all day.’
‘Heavens, that will never do!’
‘No, no, I am serious, Madeleine. I am enjoying it very much, just sitting here with you.’
His smile only heightened her confusion and she looked away.
‘You would soon grow tired of this inaction,’ she muttered, giving her attention to her mending.
‘But at the end of a day spent out of doors, what could be better than to come in and sit like this? Quietly, with friends, and no need to put oneself out to make polite conversation. How comfortable that must be.’
Friends! Sudden tears threatened, but Madeleine blinked them away. Such contentment could not last. He would soon be calling her obstinate and quarrelsome again and wishing himself anywhere but in her company.
Which was good, she told herself, because she was the daughter of an adventurer, a man of precarious fortune who lived by his wits, while Grant Rathmore was the son of a laird. If he was ever to rebuild his life in Scotland, he would need to ally himself to a woman of impeccable breeding and respectability. One with a good dowry, too. Someone like pretty Anne McBinnie, who had known him all his life and was so sweet natured that she never caused him to lose his temper. Anne would be the perfect match for him, if only he could see it.
The thought gave her no pleasure. In fact, it made her perfectly miserable, but she hid her feelings beneath a dismissive tone when she responded.
‘Do you really think it would be an ideal life? I think it sounds decidedly...provincial.’ She set the final stitches in her darning and snipped off the thread. ‘There, another sheet mended. I shall go and add it to the pile in the linen room.’
‘And then you will come back?’
‘Not today. Mrs Forbes will be sending up your dinner soon and Sir Edmund said he would call in upon you this evening.’ Grant was frowning, apparently deep in thought, and she gave in to the temptation to add, ‘I suppose I could come back later and read a little more of Robinson Crusoe, if you wish. Grant, did you hear me?’
‘Hmm? Oh, yes, that is kind of you, but perhaps you are right. Not tonight, Madeleine. By the time I have spoken to Sir Edmund it will be growing late.’
His smile was perfunctory, as if his thoughts were far away.
She was dismissed and it was hardly surprising, when she had been so dismissive of his company. Provincial! She had made it sound like an insult, which is what she had intended, even though she could think of nothing more delightful than to spend the rest of her days with Grant Rathmore. She should not feel guilty for planning to leave without him. He would be well rid of her.
* * *
The mood in the drawing room was definitely far more cheerful and relaxed when Maddie joined the family there before dinner. This was soon explained by the fact that Colonel Sowton and the Major were at the barracks and would not be returning until the morning.
‘It will be so pleasant to take dinner en famille,’ declared Lady McBinnie as they took their seats at the table.
Anne giggled. ‘Mama! That is hardly complimentary to Madeleine.’
‘Miss d’Evremont knows I meant no slight to her,’ replied the lady, bending a warm smile upon Maddie. ‘I consider her very much one of the family now.’
‘Thank you, ma’am.’
‘Perhaps Grant could come downstairs to join us later in the drawing room?’ Anne suggested. ‘What do you think, Papa?’
‘I will ask him when I go upstairs,’ replied her father in his solemn way.
‘I believe it would do him good to see something other than those four walls,’ Anne continued. ‘We can alert the servants to keep watch, so that we are not taken unawares if the officers should return. It would be so pleasant to be able to sit together for an evening. What think you, Maddie?’
Quietly, with friends, and no need to put oneself out to make polite conversation.
Grant’s words returned to haunt her. How could she have been so disparaging?
She said quietly, ‘Yes, as long as there is no risk.’
Sir Edmund nodded. ‘You are wise to be cautious, but I would vouch for all the servants within the house.’
* * *
However, when Sir Edmund came back from his visit to the sickroom he was alone.
‘Rathmore thought it best to remain above stairs,’ he told the assembled company.
‘Perhaps the thought of the stairs was too much for him,’ opined Anne, sighing.
‘I shall ask Mrs Forbes to send up a cup of hot chocolate,’ said Lady McBinnie.
She went to rise, but her husband waved her back to her chair.
‘No need, my dear. Hanson is going up to help him into bed this evening. He will see to everything.’
Madeleine wondered if Grant really was too tired, or if he did not wish for her company. Perhaps that was the reason he had declined coming downstairs this evening. She was heartily ashamed of herself for such a lack of manners, but she could do nothing about it tonight and refused to make herself miserable over mere speculation.
* * *
Despite a dreamless sleep, Madeleine’s first thought upon waking was that she needed to see Grant and as soon as possible. She must once again make her peace with him. She dressed quickly and went down to the morning room to collect a copy of the Gentleman’s Magazine that she had seen there the previous evening. Sir Edmund had the periodical sent to him from London and she thought he would not mind if she took it upstairs to Grant. A peace offering. She hoped it might atone somewhat for her rudeness yesterday.
The route along the winding passages and through rooms full of trunks and abandoned furniture was very familiar to her now and she barely noticed them as she hurried to the sickroom. She reached the door and out of habit she stopped, looking about her and listening to make sure she had not been followed. Then she laughed at herself for being foolish. The officers were not even in the house, so there was no one to question her. Still smiling, she opened the door. Only to find that the room was empty.
* * *
Madeleine looked about her, feeling slightly sick. The bed had been stripped and all signs that anyone had recently occupied the room removed. It was as if Grant had never been there. She turned and rushed out. The maid was on her way up the stairs and Maddie stopped her.
‘What has happened to Mr Rathmore, Eilidh, do you know?’
‘Why, mistress, he’s gone.’
‘Gone!’
‘Aye, ma’am. Late last night. The master said it would be safer for him to be going then, especially since the clouds were making it so dark.’
‘Sir Edmund knows of this?’
‘Aye, mistress, ’twas he who told me to clear the room first thing this morning.’
The girl smiled, bobbed a slight curtsy and moved on, leaving Madeleine to make her way down to the breakfast room.
* * *
Lady McBinnie was alone at the table, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
‘Ah, good morning, Madeleine. Are you come to join me?’
‘No, ma’am, I am looking for Sir Edmund.’
‘Oh, dear, you have missed him. He has ridden out with his steward. I understand the recent rains have caused a deal of damage in the village. Is it important?’
‘Grant has gone.’ The look of surprise upon the lady’s face told Maddie that Lady McBin
nie knew nothing of it. ‘Eilidh says he left last night and that Sir Edmund instructed her to clear the room this morning. I hoped he would explain to me what has happened.’
‘Alas, he has said nothing to me, so I cannot help you. My dear, pray do not look so anxious. I am sure Sir Edmund would not have allowed Grant to leave if he had not thought it for the best. Will you not sit down and break your fast?’
But Madeleine could not share Lady McBinnie’s complacency. Guilt had quite destroyed her appetite, Grant had left Calder House and she was very much afraid that she had driven him away.
* * *
Madeleine was surprised how much she missed Grant. She kept herself busy, helping Lady McBinnie, and, in the afternoon, working with Anne in the stillroom, but all the time she was thinking how much she would have preferred to be with Grant, reading to him, talking or even just sitting with him, watching him while he slept. She felt quite wretched, not knowing where he was, if he was well, if he was safe. Her misery was compounded because she had been unable to ask him not to think too badly of her.
She did not see Sir Edmund until she joined the family in the drawing room just before dinner and even then there was no opportunity to speak to him about Grant because Colonel Sowton and Major Rutter were present. She summoned up a cheerful smile with which to greet them.
‘Have you been patrolling with your Dragoons, Colonel?’
‘Ha-ha...no, mistress, I leave that to the Major, although he tells me it was dull work today. Ain’t that so, Rutter?’
‘It was an uneventful day, but tomorrow we will be patrolling north of here. There have been reports of Highlanders spotted in Glen Orrin.’
‘Well, I hope for your sake this dashed rain has cleared by the morning,’ replied the Colonel, glancing towards the windows. ‘Why, ’tis as dark as winter outside now!’
Conversation moved on to the weather and Maddie was relieved there was no mention of the patrols having caught a wounded fugitive. However, her concern for Grant was not much allayed and she made an effort to converse with the officers in case she could glean even more information. In this she succeeded very well, but in trying to discover anything of interest, she knew she was treading a dangerous line. She did not wish Major Rutter to think she might encourage his advances and, after a few moments’ tête-à-tête with him, she made an excuse to move away and join her hostess.
Harlequin Historical May 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Page 16
