Unrequited Love

by Rebecca King

  “You have an ally in Sophia.” Ryan was starting to like the woman already.

  “Is he here?”

  “Cedrick?” Ryan experienced a flash of anger.

  “Father.”

  “I don’t think he knows you have been found yet. I have left that to Norman and the men.”

  “Norman and the men?” Sian frowned.

  Ryan explained what had happened once the alarm had been raised and looked ruefully at her. “You have had half the county out looking for you.”

  Sian winced, but it was more to do with the pain in her head than anything else.

  Ryan opened his mouth to speak only for a deep shiver to sweep through Sian. She winced when her stomach roiled in protest against the movement and her head began to pound even more.

  “Look, get changed.”

  Sian looked helplessly at him. Ryan realised then that she had nothing to change into. He returned to the room a moment later with one of his shirts, which he handed over to her.

  “Will you be all right by yourself, or do you want me to get one of the maids to help you?”

  “I can manage,” Sian whispered.

  She remained where she was until he stepped out of the room. When he had gone, she awkwardly sat up and slipped out of her dress. Seconds later, she slid beneath the covers of the freshly laundered bed with a heartfelt sigh of relief. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt safe, protected, and so at peace with her world that she was fast asleep within seconds.

  CHAPTER TEN

  When Ryan crept back into the room an hour and a half hour later it was to find Sian tucked beneath the covers sound asleep. He closed the door quietly behind him and tiptoed across the room. Perching on the edge of the bed, he took a moment to study her. His gaze turned to the narrow gash on her forehead. It had already started to turn purple and looked painful, but Ryan had been assured by the doctor it would fade in time, with plenty of rest and relaxation.

  He looked up when Mabel eased into the room. The look on her face warned him that she had uncomfortable news.

  “What is it now?”

  “Her father is downstairs and wants her moving home.” Mabel sighed as she eased into the chair on the opposite side of the bed.

  “I don’t give a damn what her father wants, she is not going anywhere. The doctor has ordered her to have complete bed rest and that is what she is going to have. Do you really think it is fair on her to have Wilhelmina and Cedrick hovering over her while she tries to recover? They hardly create a relaxing atmosphere, do they?”

  “She is very disappointed in her father right now.”

  “Who can blame her?” Ryan snorted. “I am very disappointed in Arthur right now.”

  “He has told you about our situation.” It wasn’t a question.

  Ryan’s face was grim when he nodded. “What I don’t understand is that if there is no dowry why Arthur is so determined to get her wed. I mean, she is hardly an expense, is she?”

  “Arthur has been told by Wilhelmina that his girls should be married by now, so that is what he is trying to do.”

  “What does Wilhelmina have over him?” Ryan asked. “Has she leant him some money in the past, or given him something, or does she know something about Arthur that she is using to blackmail him? Why does he seem willing to listen to her and only her?”

  “I wish I knew. Nothing, not even his marriage, is as important as that hideous woman,” Mabel sighed.

  “You do know that Sian is prepared to leave to avoid having to marry Cedrick, don’t you? I doubt you will be able to get her to return once she has gone,” Ryan warned.

  Mabel squinted at the anger she could hear in his voice. “You care about her, don’t you?”

  Ryan nodded. He could see no reason to lie to the woman. She had to know. Someone had to know, aside from Norman that is.

  “I don’t care for my husband,” Mabel told him bluntly. “There is no point lying about it. He is not the man I married. I now bitterly regret marrying him. There, I have said it. It is scandalous of me, I know, and there is nothing I can do about it, but it is fact. Because of it, I will advise you to do everything you can to avoid being married for duty. Don’t do it to yourself. Nobody should feel forced or obliged to marry anybody for family honour, a family name, or any reason other than love. A marriage should be based on love and love only. A solid marriage can survive anything if it is based on a mutual desire, respect, and love. Take it from me, accepting anything less is not worth the misery.”

  “I have no intention of marring anybody else. I am in love with Sian.” Ryan’s gaze fell to Sian, who was blissfully unaware of the conversation.

  He knew the silence that lengthened between him and Mabel contained the question ‘why don’t you offer for her then’, but he wanted Sian to be the first person he discussed marriage with. Norman knew how he felt, of course, but then Norman knew everything about him, good and bad, and vice versa. Norman knew him well enough to be able to guess where his true affections lay years ago, not least because Ryan had shown very little interest in anybody else since he had met Sian. While Mabel knew he loved her daughter, she had no idea just how much Ryan’s love bordered on outright adoration.

  “It will cause a scandal,” Mabel whispered.

  “Her running away and having half the village out looking for her you mean?”

  Mabel shook her head. “Her disappearing the day before her engagement is announced makes it clear to everyone that she is not a willing participant, and this is no happy union.”

  Ryan nodded. “The villagers aren’t daft. You are likely to draw the attention of the gossips who will speculate why she must be married off at all, especially to someone like Cedrick. He is unconnected I take it?”

  Mabel nodded. “The only connection I am aware of him having is to Wilhelmina.”

  “Who is unconnected. Does Cedrick have wealth? A mansion of his own? A good income?”

  Mabel shook her head. “I cannot say. Do you know something, I am not even sure Arthur knows anything about him? Wilhelmina has declared Cedrick and Sian to be a good match and that is enough for Arthur.”

  “Well, we all know better,” Ryan snorted.

  “What could we do to stop him?”

  “The engagement is to be announced tomorrow?”

  “God, I hope not,” Mabel breathed, looking horrified.

  They were interrupted by a gentle knock on the door. A timid looking maid poked her head around the door.

  “There is a gentleman downstairs to see you, sir. A Mr Arthur Mullens, sir.”

  “I will be down in a minute,” Ryan sighed.

  “He says he has come to collect his daughter and wife,” the maid continued.

  “Is he alone?”

  “He has a lady with him, and a younger man, sir,” the maid reported.

  Mabel winced and paled.

  “You stay with Sian. I will go and send them on their way. I take it you are happy to stay here with Sian while she recovers?” Ryan paused by the door.

  “I would love to, but I cannot leave Martha and Lucinda to that harridan,” Mabel whispered. She looked so miserable that Ryan took pity on her.

  “Well, then, they shall both have to stay here too. This house has eighteen bed chambers. I am sure we can find a room or two for them.” Ryan smiled. “It will stave off the gossips. Sian will have a suitable chaperone while she is here. God knows, it won’t do her reputation any good for news to get out that she has been staying at my house all by herself.”

  He paused and blinked at that. When he turned back to look at Mabel, their eyes met. Rather than leave the room, he placed a hand on the doorknob and leaned on it but didn’t open it.

  “We really cannot leave Wilhelmina to rule that house alone. Frances has already threatened to quit if she has to take orders off her,” Mabel advised him. “On the other hand, if we planned an extended stay with my cousin, we could stay here until our visit to Sophia was arranged. Then w
e can all go just as soon as Sian is well enough to travel. If you don’t mind us all staying, that is?”

  “Of course I don’t,” Ryan replied. “In fact, I insist upon it. If Arthur enjoys Wilhelmina’s company so much, he can keep her company, can’t he? Meantime, I shall arrange for the staff to make up your rooms. I will be back soon.”

  Ryan’s gait was almost jaunty as he stalked down the hallway and raced down the main flight of stairs. He lifted his brows when he immediately saw three people hovering uncertainly in the entrance hall. Wilhelmina glared at him but then remembered who he was, and dutifully dipped into a clumsy curtsey. Ryan ignored her and turned to Arthur, who looked pale and drawn but stubbornly resistant to familiarity.

  “How is she? I hear that the doctor has been,” Arthur began without preamble.

  “Yes. Sian is as well as can be expected under the circumstances.”

  “Is she ready to come home?” Arthur looked worriedly at Wilhelmina, who was sizing up a gold embossed vase on a highly polished side table, as if trying to judge its value.

  “The doctor has said she isn’t to be moved for the time being. She fell about twenty feet and hit her head and then was out in the rain for some time. It is going to be a miracle if she doesn’t come down with influenza. Right now, she is suffering discomfort from a head injury. The doctor has given her something for the pain, but she has to stay here.” Ryan’s tone was clipped as he gave them the report.

  “Is my wife here?”

  “Yes. She is with Sian now. You can leave them here. They are more than welcome.”

  “We insist on them coming home. They have inveigled themselves on you enough. I am sure if she is carried, Sian won’t be hurt by a little journey back home,” Wilhelmina suddenly interjected. “Her recovery will be that much swifter if she is lying in her own bed, in the safety of her family, don’t you think?”

  “No. I don’t think, madam,” Ryan bit out coldly. “I didn’t realise you were a medical expert. The doctor, a medical professional, has said she isn’t to be moved and so she isn’t going to be moved. It is that simple.”

  He threw Wilhelmina a dour look and turned back to Arthur. “Mabel will return soon to fetch a few belongings. The doctor has warned that Sian is expected to sleep a lot in the next few days. I have suggested that your daughters should also stay here, not least to keep Mabel company while Sian is sleeping but also to keep Sian company when she does wake up. That way, everybody can stop worrying and Sian can have the peace and quiet she needs but company when she is awake. She will also have a suitable chaperone.”

  It wasn’t a question. His tone left Arthur in no doubt that this was Ryan’s house, the people in it were his guests, and he would be the one to decide who stayed and who left. While Sian was under his roof, Arthur had no authority over her.

  Arthur opened his mouth to object but, after a quick look at Wilhelmina, nodded. “I thank you for your generosity. I hope they don’t inconvenience you too much. If there is anything I can do, please send for me.”

  “I would like to see my fiancé,” Cedrick piped up.

  “Sian has assured me that she rejects any engagement ergo nobody is her fiancé,” Ryan argued. “I am afraid that you are not going to upset her by trying to force her to accept you while she is ill. Go home.”

  He threw Arthur a dour look and suspected that there was more the man wanted to say but didn’t wait around to find out what it was. He nodded to the footman hovering beside the front door. The liveried footman swung the huge oak door open, effectively giving the guests a good look at the long driveway that they were expected to use.

  “I should like to see my daughter, if I may?” Arthur asked, his tone stiff and formal.

  Ryan hesitated. He suspected that the older man doubted Sian was truly ill.

  “You are welcome to go up, Arthur, but please keep quiet.” He motioned to the footman, who closed the door again. Ryan then pierced Wilhelmina and Cedrick with a dark look. “Stay here.”

  Minutes later, Ryan opened the door to Sian’s opulent room and allowed Arthur to enter. He heard Mabel’s gasp and saw her wide, accusing eyes, but merely turned to Arthur.

  “As you can see, nobody is lying to you. She is not well enough to be moved.”

  The man hovered several feet away from the bed. From his standpoint, Sian looked pale, tired, and very ill. The gash on her forehead looked wickedly painful on her beautiful yet unnaturally pale features. Arthur knew then that it would be cruel to even attempt to move her.

  “I thank you for looking after her,” Arthur murmured.

  “Someone has to,” Mabel glared. “She wouldn’t be like this if you hadn’t tried to force her into marriage to that oaf of your sister’s.”

  “She has to be wed,” Arthur persisted.

  “Why? Do you doubt my word when I said I would help you sort out your financial problems?” Ryan challenged, his eyes flashing fire at his one-time friend.

  Arthur muttered something and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “You know how bad our financial situation is.”

  “Well, why are we accommodating guests then? If we cannot afford to keep our own daughters, feeding not just Wilhelmina but that oaf she struts around with is not going to help, is it? I don’t care what you say, Arthur Mullen, you are not going to force any of our daughters into wedlock. Seeing as we are such a burden to you, we are all moving out,” Mabel declared flatly.

  “Really,” Arthur snorted disparagingly. “And where are you going to stay? Here?”

  He snorted again, as if it was ludicrous to even suggest such a thing, but Ryan folded his arms and leaned a broad shoulder against one of the posts of the bed Sian lay in. At some point during her parent’s argument, Sian had woken up, and lay gazing sleepily at him. Ryan placed a finger over his lips to warn her to let her parents argue, not least because she would learn a thing or two.

  “Well, yes, actually. Ryan has kindly agreed to allow us all to stay while Sian recovers. I fully intend to use the time to arrange an extended visit to Sophia. She is more than willing to have us visit, and won’t try to force the girls into marriage while we are there,” Mabel huffed.

  “You cannot just pack everything up and go,” Arthur protested.

  “Watch me,” Mabel sniffed.

  Arthur stared at her as if he had never met her before in his life.

  “You might be prepared to do whatever it takes to accommodate your sister, but I am not. I refuse to return to that house with that vile creature in it, and yes, I do mean Wilhelmina. She is not, and I repeat not, going to force Sian or anybody else into marriage. I don’t care what scheme you have cooked up with her or that fop, Cedrick. Sian is not going to be engaged to him. So, if you have put an advertisement in the newspaper, I suggest you remove it because it is not going to happen, and that is final, Arthur Mullens, whether you like it or not.”

  Arthur blinked at his wife and lifted his brows. He opened his mouth and lifted a finger but then seemed to realise just how angry his wife was. Being a wise man, most of the time, he knew when to keep his mouth closed and instead, slowly turned to Ryan.

  “I take it you are happy with this arrangement?”

  Ryan nodded. “I think it is the perfect solution to everybody’s problems right now.”

  “My wife running off to see relations is not the perfect solution to any problem.”

  “You just don’t want to be stuck in that house with Wilhelmina by yourself. With us there, we bear the brunt of the woman’s bombastic behaviour whereas you hide away in the study and pretend everything is all right. Well, it is not all right. Have you been to see her house to find out if she is telling the truth? Have you paid her bills yet with money we don’t have?”

  “Mabel,” Arthur warned.

  “Ryan has to know what dire financial difficulty we are in. You cannot lie to him. He is a business partner. If we cannot pay the bills we will have to move and then what? Even if the girls are wed, you will destroy what’s
left of your reputation if it gets out that they were forced into marriage and hate you for it.”

  “Do you not think that our financial difficulties might have something to do with why I want them married?” Arthur bit out. “At least married they will still have roofs over their heads. It is something I cannot guarantee anymore.”

  “Then get Wilhelmina and that Cedrick out of the house because you cannot afford to keep them either. I think they have leeched enough, don’t you?”

  “I have a duty to look after the relations, Mabel. You know that. I am not going to bring shame upon the family by turning my back on her.”

  “But you don’t have an open purse. She has an allowance yet always wants more. Why is she not made to stick to the allowance or curb her own appetite for things? Why should we suffer, or your daughters be sold off into marriage, just so she can keep buying dresses she cannot afford, and travel around as if she is aristocracy?”

  “You don’t understand,” Arthur growled.

  “No. None of us understand. So why don’t you explain it, Arthur?”

  “I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

  “Yes, you do. This involves me, and I am your wife. If you cannot talk to me, who can you talk to?” Mabel folded her arms and lifted a querulous brow in her husband’s direction.

  Arthur truly began to look angry and was shaking when he rounded on his wife.

  “I am the master of the house and I shall make the decisions. I am not having any more of this foolishness. Get your things. You are coming home with me. Sian can stay here until she is well enough to travel. She has two days to recover. If she is not at home by then, I shall bloody well come and fetch her myself. What I am not going to do is allow you to make a mockery of this family by thwarting the promised engagement or throwing tantrums like this. Get your things. I shall wait for you downstairs.”