Beastly Duke and the Winsome Bride

by Charity McColl

  He sighed and leaned against the thick glass window. Just before leaving for the war, he had been courting Lady Mirabelle Weston, the daughter of an earl. She was a beautiful and strong woman, or so he had thought at the time, and they had promised to marry immediately the war was ended. Well, the war ended and he came back home a broken and badly scarred man. Mirabelle took one look at his face and shuddered. When she left, she never returned and the next thing he knew was that the ring and jewellery that he had given her had been returned with a note, breaking off the engagement.

  “Will I ever find a woman to love me for just me,” he wondered, as he turned around to get into the large four poster bed. Thomas had been by earlier and lit a fire that warmed the room, and as he slipped into bed, his last thought was that it would be nice to have someone to laugh with, someone to love and who would cherish him for the rest of his life.

  4

  Desperation

  Robin Sikes was a mild mannered man, and he often thought that was the reason that people took advantage of him. He didn’t like confrontations and always sought a peaceful solution to all conflicts.

  However, the conflict in his own household was proving too much for him to handle, and he knew that unless he did something drastic, his daughter’s life was about to be ruined. He loved his three daughters equally, but Samantha was his favourite, perhaps because he had loved her mother so much and she was his first love. But that didn’t sit well with Hannah, who had claimed to be Tamara’s best friend.

  When Tamara died during childbirth, it was Hannah who had stepped in and helped with the little infant, holding and caring for her as if she were her own child. Since Hannah lived with her aunt, who was their neighbour, she would always be there to take care of little Sam, and with time Robin decided that the best thing he could do for himself and his daughter would be to marry Hannah. And for a while things were fine, but then the cracks started appearing when Hannah got her own daughters, first, Tracey and then, Abigail.

  Samantha was only four when Tracey was born and because Hannah was focused on the little baby, Robin spent a lot of time with Sam. He had no idea that his second wife didn’t like it at all. When Abigail was born two years later, Samantha’s problems started. At the tender age of seven-years-old she had to take care of her two sisters, cleaning them up and making sure their bedrooms were tidy, even though they had two servants to do the work.

  Robin didn’t notice at first that his lovely daughter was shrinking within herself, and when he did, it was years too late. She was already her stepmother’s slave and the only thing Hannah refrained from doing was hitting Samantha. Robin had found her hitting the child one day and almost went wild, terrifying Hannah. She never made the mistake again, but the verbal and emotional abuse went up a notch. When Sam turned twelve one of the housemaids was dismissed and when she was fourteen, the second also left.

  His little girl had only known pain for so many years, and now this. He shook his head as he listened to what Lord Daniel Cross was saying. Daniel was a baron, and very wealthy. He was a friend of Hannah’s and Robin never bothered to find out in what way, because the things his wife did had stopped surprising him. Now that the family was doing well, she had acquired some airs that he hadn’t realized had been there all along, and made it seem as if the family was more prosperous than they actually were. She got invited to balls and parties, to which she often took Tracey and Abigail, but the time she started insisting that Sam go with them, Robin got suspicious.

  And his suspicions were proved right because Daniel Cross was now asking for his permission to court Samantha. Daniel was handsome enough, and any other parent who wasn’t him, might have been honoured to receive the request. However, Robin knew many people in London and beyond, and even though he never broadcast it to his wife lest she take advantage of it, he was friends with very many nobles due to the nature of his work as a senior police constable. Hannah had been hinting at getting to know who his bosses were, so she could find a way of getting him an even higher promotion. Robin was a man of integrity and he knew that the methods his wife would employ to make it happen might not be the right ones and he wanted nothing to do with it.

  Robin had found out through friends that Daniel was a very cruel man. He often beat up his servants, and was a widower twice. If the rumours were to be believed, his wives died as a result of the injuries they suffered at Daniel’s hands. Yet, Hannah was now pushing for the man to marry his daughter. Samantha was a lovely girl with a gentle heart, and Daniel would destroy her within days. That was something that Robin wasn’t going to let happen, and he knew that he had to find a way to get his first child out of Hannah’s life or else she would end up shattered.

  “My daughter will not be this evil man’s third wife and victim,” he thought to himself, even as he smiled at Daniel and accepted another cup of tea from Hannah.

  * * *

  “Do you think Robin will agree?” Daniel looked at Hannah Sikes with desperation in his eyes. He was obsessed with Samantha and wanted her for his wife, and he would do anything to get her to be his. “He seemed very quiet when we were talking about me courting the girl.”

  Hannah laughed, “You worry too much, Daniel. Samantha is as good as your wife, and it is because I have said so. Robin is a shy man and when it comes to his daughters, he always leaves the decisions to me to make. The girl is turning twenty in a few weeks’ time, so on her birthday you will propose to her and the engagement will then be official. But remember, Samantha has to have the best gowns, hats and jewellery, or else people will think you’re not a suitable groom.”

  “Of course, of course,” Daniel smiled. “Whatever you need, I will provide. Just bring me a list of all that is suitable for a young woman and I will provide you with the funds to ensure that Samantha shines like the sun on the day we get engaged.”

  “Good, good,” Hannah licked her lips, her eyes greedily devouring the bills that were in Daniel’s hands. She watched as he peeled off a number and handed them to her.

  “You’re a good mother-in-law, and this is for you to begin preparations for Samantha’s birthday. Make sure there’s no other like it, for a long time. The London season has closed, but I want everybody who is anybody to attend, and I suggest that the party be held at my house since yours isn’t large enough.”

  “Whatever you say, my lord.”

  5

  Evasion

  Robin knew that his wife was puzzled at his behaviour but he didn’t care. His daughter’s life was much more important than what Hannah thought. Being a constable had its merits because one of his colleagues had told of how they had been drinking in one of the pubs when Daniel’s servants had come in. The two men began talking about their employer and how he was getting ready to propose to some twenty-year-old girl on her birthday. According to the men, the girl’s mother was quite agreeable and Daniel had been paying her money to ensure that all went according to plan.

  He wanted to thank his colleagues for the information but he didn’t want them to know that it was Samantha who was being referred to. He preferred to keep his home life private, but thanked the Lord that he had found out what his wife was planning. That was when he asked for leave from work, and spent his days reading newspapers and hanging out around the house. Hannah couldn’t go anywhere without letting him know and he found that she was getting quite uncomfortable because, in the past, she would do whatever she wanted.

  And what is more, whenever she mentioned that she wanted to take any of the girls with her, he wouldn’t give his permission and he could see how frustrated she was getting. He knew that she was planning for the party, which according to Daniel’s men, would be held at the baron’s residence. That was the last place that Robin wanted his daughter to go because he didn’t put it past the wicked man to compromise her virtue and so force him into allowing the marriage to take place.

  “Darling, I need Samantha to accompany me to the market,” Hannah came into the sitting room where Rob
in had just finished taking tea. “We won’t be long, I need her to help me choose some materials for her new gowns.”

  Robin made a show of folding the newspaper and then turned his eyes to his wife, a smile on his face. “Why don’t I accompany you? I find that these past few days in the house have made me yearn for the outdoors. Besides, I am stronger than Sam and can carry more. I will be your porter, my love.”

  There was a flicker of annoyance on Hannah’s face, but short of arguing, there was nothing she could do. Robin knew he had scored one against her, but he had to get Samantha out of this house before Hannah and Daniel forced her into a situation where her life would be destroyed.

  That evening as he was reading the papers, he came across an article that caught his eye. It was about Lord Alastair Callum, who had suffered terrible injuries during the just ended war. The article spoke of how the man was now living like a recluse up in the north, on his grandfather’s estate because London couldn’t bear the sight of him. According to the newspaper, sources close to Lord Alastair said he had no servants to take care of him because most people were afraid of looking at his face.

  An idea began forming in Robin’s mind and for the next few days, he could think of nothing else but Lord Alastair and his reclusive life up in Inverness.

  * * *

  Her husband was in a good mood, which was a nice thing because Hannah was getting desperate. The days were flying past and Daniel was beginning to get impatient. He had been asking for Samantha to visit him at his residence, but each time Robin came up with an excuse for her not to go.

  Now Daniel was threatening to take matters into his own hands and convince Robin to allow him to marry Samantha, but Hannah couldn’t have that. She had gained a lot in terms of money and gifts from Daniel and she didn’t want that to stop.

  “My love,” Robin sat on the couch in their bedroom, smiling at his wife. “A few weeks ago, you came to me with Lord Daniel and I listened to what he had to say. But since then, I haven’t heard back from him. Did he change his mind about marrying our Samantha?”

  Hannah sat up and blinked twice. “I haven’t seen Lord Daniel, but if you would like, I could ask him, or what do you suggest?”

  “I suggest that we invite him for dinner so that he can tell us what his intentions are towards our daughter. Samantha is coming of age and I would like to find her a suitable husband, but since Daniel came first, I would like to give him the chance to prove that he was serious about his request, and not merely jesting with us.”

  Hannah wanted to jump up and dance a jig. Everything was finally falling in place. “I think we should invite him soon, because Sam’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks’ time and perhaps that would be the best time for them to get engaged.”

  Robin pretended to be thinking, then nodded. “Whatever you say, my pet. I trust that you will need some money to prepare for the dinner. Since I’m still on leave, whatever you need done, please let me know.”

  On the night of the dinner, Samantha sat with a bowed head, listening as her father and Daniel conversed. They seemed to be getting on very well and her heart sank. Had her father decided that this man was to be her husband? It didn’t bear thinking about. The few times that he had looked at her or touched her, she had felt her skin crawling, and it was Abigail who had told her about the birthday party that would be held at the baron’s house in her honour, and which would also be the day she and Daniel got engaged.

  Samantha was an intelligent girl and she knew that if she as much as stepped into the threshold of Daniel Cross’s house, she was doomed. Nothing would make her, and seeing her father laughing with the man almost broke her heart.

  “I am so pleased that you accepted our invitation at such short notice,” Robin said. “There are many things that you and I need to discuss, my lord. My lovely wife is a good planner and organizer, and leaving all arrangements to her is the best thing to do. She has brought Samantha up from when she was a little girl, and she has our daughter’s best interests at heart.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Actually, Mrs. Hannah told me that Samantha’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks’ time. I’m thinking of holding a large banquet in my home on that day and then proposing to her.”

  “Perfect, perfect,” Robin nodded. “As her father, if there’s anything you would like me to do to help, please let me know.”

  “Don’t worry about anything, sir, I have it all taken care of. Just make sure that Samantha outshines all the ladies at the party, she is a special girl and I want the whole world to know it on that day.”

  “Indeed.”

  Two days later when Hannah was rejoicing at her victory, her husband called her into their bedroom. “Pray tell me, my love, how is everything going?”

  “Perfectly,” Hannah laughed happily. “Daniel is proving to be a good son-in-law, he asked me to provide him with a list of all those we would like to invite. This is going to be a very stately affair and I want to get everything right.”

  “For sure,” Robin rubbed her shoulders. “There’s just one thing, you know that Tamara’s relatives live on the other side of London, and it has been a while since we visited them. You need to do the invitations for Samantha’s birthday party and then I will deliver them. It will be in order for them to know that Samantha is being well taken care of.”

  Hannah nodded. “I thought about that too, and you have just made my work easier. I will get the invitations to you, how many do you need?”

  “Tamara had a large family, so what you can do is give me blank invitations, about twenty of them and when I arrive there I will ask her brother, who is now the head of the family, how many people will come. In that way, I will also get to know how many we can expect to the wedding and prepare accordingly.”

  6

  The Diversion

  “Samantha, if you don’t hurry up you will make your father late,” Hannah shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Coming, Ma.” Samantha didn’t know what was going on in her house these days, but she was an obedient girl and the evening before, her stepmother had told her that she and her father were going to visit some of her dead mother’s relatives.

  “There you are, now make sure you’re on your best behaviour. I want your uncles to know that you’re a well brought up girl. We also need them to agree to come to your birthday party and later on, your wedding, in honour of your mother, who was my best friend.”

  “Yes, Ma.”

  Samantha sat in the carriage, looking outside the window. Her father was observing her and he could see the lines of fatigue on her face. This child had suffered, but this was the end of it and after today, his daughter would be free from torment of any kind. He just prayed that his plan would succeed.

  As the carriage rolled out of London, Samantha looked at her father in surprise. “Papa, this isn’t the way to Uncle Jeremy’s house.”

  “Of that, I’m fully aware. I told the footman that we were visiting your Aunt Clarissa first, and she lives in Watford. Thereafter, we will return to Harlow, where Uncle Jeremy lives.”

  “Pa, but I have no Aunt Clarissa.”

  “That I’m very well aware of, but the footman doesn’t know, and neither does your stepmother,” he winked at her and that was when Samantha knew that this wasn’t an ordinary visit to her mother’s relatives, it was an escape plan.

  When the carriage dropped them off in Watford, they hired another to Harlow, where they changed to another going to Essex, and finally the train to the coastal port of Suffolk, where they caught a steamship all the way to Scotland. It was a long journey but Samantha was glad to be away from the house of torture.

  “Pa, where are we going?” She asked him when they had been on the water for two days. She had a nice small cabin room and Robin insisted on sleeping outside her door for her protection. He hadn’t snatched his beloved daughter out of the jaws of the devil only to have her end up in a worse situation.

  “To Inverness.”

&nb
sp; “That’s all the way up in Scotland. Do we have relatives there?”

  Robin smiled at his daughter, shaking his head. “You will know all that in good time my child.”

  * * *

  Alastair was walking on the moors when he noticed someone hurrying towards him. It was Thomas and he looked a little excited.

  “My lord, there are visitors all the way from London to see you.”

  “Do we know them, Thomas?”

  “No, my lord. The man says his name is Robin Sikes and he has his daughter Samantha with him.”

  Alastair tried to think if the name sounded at all familiar to him. It didn’t. “Did they give any indication of the nature of their visit?”

  “Mr. Sikes wouldn’t speak to anyone else, my lord. He insists on speaking only with you.”

  “Well, if they have come all the way from London, it must be very important. Make them comfortable in the parlour and I will join you shortly.”

  “Yes, my lord.” Thomas turned to leave.

  “And Thomas.”

  “My lord?”

  “Perhaps you would care to inform them of the nature of the man they are about to meet. I don’t want anyone fainting in shock when they see my face.”

  “Very well, my lord.”

  Alastair took his time going back indoors. This was his special time, and even though it was autumn, he loved the outdoors. The fresh air, the fact that he could put off his hood and let the wind blow through his hair that he had let grow long. This was his world, his life, his kingdom and he never let anything interrupt the two hours of him being one with nature.

  But finally he had to go in and meet his visitors, still wondering who they were. Just as he had told Thomas, they were in the parlour, a nice brightly coloured room with a blazing fire in the grate.