by Laura Landon
It was precious. It was breathtaking. And it was very likely something with which she might never fully come to terms. But here they were, the Duke of Townsend’s family, gathered around the massive table located in the formal dining room at Townsend Manor. Without the duchess, there were seven of them: His Grace, Duke of Townsend; Gideon and Eve, Lord and Lady Sheffield; Lord Benjamin and his wife Rachael, Lady Benjamin; Lady Anne; and herself, Lady Winnifred.
Also in attendance were Mack Wallace and his wife, as well as the five married brigadesmen and their wives, and Nick Stillman.
It had been eight months since the Duchess of Townsend’s death, and the brigadesmen and their wives had been invited to spend a short holiday in the country, away from London. The outing was what the Duke of Townsend considered their due for the assistance Mack Wallace and Nick Stillman provided in explaining the duchess’s death to the authorities without invoking questions that might bring ruin upon the Townsend name.
Tonight’s dinner would culminate the three-day event. The brigadesmen and their families would return to London tomorrow. Winnie couldn’t say she’d be glad. She’d enjoyed spending time with, and getting to know each of the brigadesmen and their wives. But she was ready to see them leave. Actually, relieved better described how she’d feel.
She studied each of the men and women seated at the table. She’d never met a group of men she held in higher regard than the men who worked for Mack Wallace. Their reputations and characters were above reproach.
And she’d never admired anyone more than the special women who’d married these men. To know the risks the man you loved took every day was a fear with which she couldn’t imagine living. To know that each time the man you loved left your side, there was a chance he might not come back to you alive, seemed beyond tolerating. Giving her heart to someone who lived with danger every day was a risk she was certain she herself could never take.
“Will you be glad to see us leave?” the man seated next to her asked. His voice was deep and rich and serious, yet there wasn’t a hint of teasing in his tone.
She turned her head and faced the scrutiny in Nick Stillman’s intense gaze. She attempted a smile, but it was difficult. Something about him caused every nerve in her body to come alive. Something about the way he studied her caused her to erect defenses she’d hoped she’d never need to use. “Do you think I’m that arrogant, sir?”
“Not arrogant, Lady Winnifred. I find you that…guarded.”
Winnie’s heart skipped a beat. “Guarded, sir? You make it sound as if I’m keeping secrets.”
“Are you?” he asked, lifting his wine glass and taking a sip.
“I assure you, I am an open book.”
His gaze locked with hers and held it. “Hardly an open book, my lady.”
“I’m sure you’ll find this surprising, Mr. Stillman, but in the three days I’ve spent with our guests, I’ve come to like and admire each and every one of them.”
“And I can assure you that they’ve enjoyed the wonderful time you and your family have shown them.”
“And you? Do you include yourself in that group?”
Winnie watched the lift of Nick Stillman’s eyebrows and the tilt of his head.
“Of course, my lady. Your family have been perfect hosts.”
Winnie lowered her gaze to the dessert in front of her. She was glad the meal was almost at an end. Glad that Nick Stillman’s visit was almost at an end. Glad that once Mack Wallace and his brigadesmen left, she’d never see any of them again. Especially Nick Stillman. His scrutiny made her more uncomfortable than she wanted to admit.
“Will you come to London for the start of the Season next year?”
Winnie shifted her gaze to where Anne sat at the table. Her enthusiasm for life that disappeared when she was told of their mother’s death was just beginning to return. Her once-bubbly personality was reappearing in small unexpected bits. Winnie could see that now as her sister laughed with the guests seated on either side of her.
Anne was seventeen now. She needed to take her place in Society. Which meant that Winnie, too, would have to suffer through at least one Season. Perhaps two, if Anne didn’t make a match her first year out.
But Winnie remained confident her sister would. She didn’t doubt those searching for a bride would be vying for her sister’s hand. Who wouldn’t want such a beauty for their wife?
“Yes, Mr. Stillman. Our year of mourning will be over. Father has talked of nothing else but going to London at the start of the Season.”
“And you, Lady Winnifred? Do you share your father’s excitement for a Season in London?”
“Of course, Mr. Stillman,” she lied. “Isn’t that the stuff of every female’s dreams?”
Winnie placed her fork on the edge of her plate. The ease with which the lies spilled from her mouth sickened her. She’d always prided herself in the honesty and integrity that had been such an integral part of her Townsend heritage…until her mother had destroyed everything the Townsend name stood for. Until the knowledge of what her mother had done had ruined everything.
Because of the decisions Winnie had made, she was forced to live a lie. Forced to be a person she hated.
Her father signaled for the men to retire to an adjoining room for the customary cigars and port. She welcomed their departure. Nick Stillman saw too much. Questioned too much.
Winnie watched the men leave the room, then listened to the females talk about their families—especially the babies that were nestled snuggly in the nursery. The brigadesmen and their wives had arrived with ten infants, all under the age of three. And Gideon had his three, his twin boys, Edward and William, and a new baby daughter, Rebecca, named after Gideon’s mother. And Ben and Rachael had come with twenty-month-old Claire, and their son, Alexander. That totaled fifteen in all. In preparation, Eve and Rachael had assigned six female servants to help Mrs. Coffee.
“I should visit the nursery,” Rachael said, “and make sure Mrs. Coffee is managing.”
“You know she’s managing,” Eve said on a laugh. “I’ve never seen anyone more capable in my life. I swear she could handle two dozen babes and not lose her composure.”
“She is remarkable,” Rachael said. “I simply want to—”
“I know,” Eve said, patting Rachael’s hand. “You just need to check. And I don’t blame you.”
After what had happened with Claire, no one minded that Rachael was overprotective with her children.
Rachael smiled, then rose.
“I’ll go with you, if you don’t mind,” Winnie said getting to her feet.
“Of course I don’t mind.”
Rachael and Winnie left the room and walked to the rooms Eve had cordoned off for an expanded nursery. The soft snores from sleeping babes, as well as the rhythmic creaks of rockers shifting back and forth made for a peaceful scene.
Winnie rushed to the open arms of her long-time nurse and accepted her hug.
“How do you do it?” Rachael asked Mrs. Coffee.
“Do what?”
“Get them all to sleep at the same time.”
Mrs. Coffee laughed. “I don’t. I’m simply wise enough to separate the ones that wake and take them away from the sleeping ones before they cry and wake everyone up.” Mrs. Coffee gave Rachael a humorous wink. “The ones still awake and crying are three doors down the hall.”
Winnie laughed and so did Rachael. Then Ben’s wife searched the baskets and cradles for the two little faces that belonged to her.
“You’ll find your babes in here,” Mrs. Coffee said, leading the way to an adjoining room.
Winnie and Rachael followed.
Five cradles lined the wall. The first three held the Duke of Townsend’s oldest grandchildren, as well as the next Townsend heir. The last two held the tiniest babes, Lady Rebecca, and Lord Alexander.
“Have you ever seen anything so amazing?” Rachael asked, brushing her fingers down her young son’s cheek. “He has his father’s golden hair
,” she said. “I’m glad.”
“Yes, and I’ve heard him cry. He has his father’s demanding voice.”
Rachael laughed. “Yes, he does.”
“Did you think we’d ever survive what mother did?” Winnie asked. “Did you ever think there was a chance you might lose Claire? Or did you always know everything would turn out all right?”
Rachael looped her arm through Winnie’s. “I’d like to tell you that I was always confident of the outcome, but I wasn’t. I don’t think any parent can be until her children are safely in her arms.”
“I’m sorry,” Winnie said. “I’ve wanted to ask you that for a long time, but I haven’t had the courage.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, Winnie. What happened wasn’t your fault. None of it.”
“I know but—”
“No, you listen to me. You were not responsible for what your mother did. I know you want to think that there was something you could have done to prevent it, but there wasn’t. There was nothing anyone could have done.”
Winnie looked at the sincere expression on Rachael’s face and wondered how she could be so understanding. So forgiving.
Winnie’s eyes filled with tears, and one drop streamed down her cheek. She turned her head to hide her emotions.
“Are you ready to return to our guests,” Rachael asked.
“In a moment. Go on ahead. I’ll be right there.”
“Very well.” Rachael placed her hand on Winnie’s arm. “Are you all right?”
Winnie forced a smile. “Yes. Fine. Go on ahead. I just need a few minutes.”
Rachael gave Winnie’s arm a gentle squeeze, then turned and left the room.
Winnie stood before little Claire’s crib and watched the child sleep. Her thoughts returned to what Rachael had said. Rachael was right. Winnie wasn’t responsible for the horrible things her mother had done. There was nothing she could have done to stop her.
But that didn’t mean she had to stand by and allow her mother to cause more harm. And that’s what would have happened if Winnie hadn’t taken the steps she had to prevent Mack Wallace and Nick Stillman from arresting her. If she’d allowed them to take her into custody, the Townsend name would have been ruined.
Annie’s life would have been ruined.
Winnie gripped the sides of little Claire’s crib with such fierceness her fingers ached. Sometimes the magnitude of what she’d done frightened her to death.
She took a deep breath when the door opened behind her. No doubt Rachael had returned to see what was taking her so long. She turned, and her breath caught.
Nick Stillman’s broad-shouldered frame filled the doorway. He took one step toward her, then another, until he stood beside her.
“How did you find me?”
“I asked,” he answered. He spoke the words softly. His hushed tone only made the low, velvety timbre more threatening.
“What do you want?”
The corners of his mouth lifted and he smiled. Two deep creases formed on either side of his mouth and a dimple dented his right cheek. The change in his features made him more handsome than any male had a right to be. Her heart raced in her breast.
“I’d like to ask you a question, my lady. And since this is our last evening here, this seemed the perfect time.”
Winnie studied him. She took note of his keen intelligence. Of his sense of observation. As if nothing was insignificant enough to escape his notice. As if he was able to see even the things no one else saw.
A sense of unease unsettled her. She attributed it to the fact that he affected her more than any man ever had before. “What question would you like to ask?”
His smile broadened. Then he turned toward her and crossed his arms over his formidable chest. “What did you do with her, Lady Winnifred?”
Winnie’s heart hammered in her breast.
“Where have you hidden your mother?”
ABOUT LAURA
Laura Landon enjoyed ten years as a high school teacher and nine years making sundaes and malts in her very own ice cream shop, but once she penned her first novel, she closed up shop to spend every free minute writing. Now she enjoys creating her very own heroes and heroines, and making sure they find their happily ever after.
A vital member of her rural community, Laura directed the town’s Quasquicentennial, organized funding for an exercise center for the town, and serves on the hospital board.
Laura lives in the Midwest, surrounded by her family and friends. She has written more than a dozen Victorian historicals, many of which have been published by Prairie Muse Publishing and are selling worldwide in English, and one which is currently published in Japanese. In April of 2012 she released her first Scottish historical and in 2014 followed with this publication, KEEPER OF MY HEART.
In October 2012, Laura experienced an amazing day when Amazon’s Montlake Romance published not one but three of her newest novels. Two of these have been optioned for publication in Russia and Turkey, and several are available in German in ebook and paperback. Her readers can be assured that she is scheduled for even more releases by Montlake Romance in the future.
LAURA LANDON IS A PRAIRIE MUSE PLATINUM
AND AMAZON MONTLAKE AUTHOR
WWW.LAURALANDON.COM
Also from Laura Landon
by Prairie Muse Publishing
SHATTERED DREAMS
WHEN LOVE IS ENOUGH
BROKEN PROMISE
A MATTER OF CHOICE
MORE THAN WILLING
NOT MINE TO GIVE
TANGLED: Boxed Set
LOVE UNBIDDEN
THE DARK DUKE
CAST IN SHADOWS
CAST IN RUIN
From Laura Landon
by Montlake Romance
SILENT REVENGE
INTIMATE SURRENDER
INTIMATE DECEPTION
THE MOST TO LOSE
A RISK WORTH TAKING
BETRAYED BY YOUR KISS
WHERE THE WOMAN BELONGS
NOVELLA
See all of Laura’s books at Amazon.com
