by Rose Gordon
“It’s possible,” he conceded. “But not probable.”
She sighed. “Why are you so sure it was him?”
“Because if it had been anyone else, they would have had enough foresight to take a shot when I was more vulnerable and not in a second story room they couldn’t see inside of,” he countered.
“Oh,” she said quietly. “I guess you’re right.”
He smiled. There was no guessing about it. He was right and she knew it. “However, I still wonder how he found us,” he mused.
“Well, what he lacks in sense, he makes up for in cents,” she said, giggling at her own pun.
“You think you’re funny, don’t you,” he teased with a grin. Good thing he’d been to America before or he wouldn’t have gotten it. “But, I admit, you make a good point,” he continued. “Coins slipped into the right palm can get a man far.”
“And Robbie has access to more than most,” Madison added. “His father runs a bank and Robbie is the vice president.”
The doctor got up and mumbled something to Madison about taking care of his shoulder so it didn’t get infected again and quoted her some exuberant price for his fee for coming out to the middle of nowhere to attend him.
Madison dug in his coat pockets and paid the doctor the small fortune he’d quoted.
“Unless he came over here with bars of gold or bags of money, all the money at his father's bank won’t do him much good,” Benjamin told her as she walked back to his bedside. “He can go into every bank in London and say he’s the vice president of a bank in America until he’s blue in the face and they still won’t give him one pound without him exchanging dollars, or more preferably, gold. And he’d have to have a hefty sum if he were able to fund an investigation that would have led him here so quickly.”
Madison came to sit by his side, making him ache to take her into his arms and hold her close. “Does any of this matter?”
“Yes,” he burst out. “The man clearly wants you back. He’s not going to stop now. Once he realizes I’m still alive, he’ll just try again.”
“I think you’re giving him too much credit.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m just being careful, Madison. He’s determined to have you.”
“I don’t know why,” she said with a sigh. “He didn’t seem to want me too badly before.”
“Yes, he did,” Benjamin muttered. The man had obviously wanted her bad enough to make up lies about him in order to win her affections back, he thought bitterly. He wished he could tell her that, but she didn’t want to hear it. She wanted to leave the past in the past and perhaps it was better that way. He’d won her once. He’d just have to do it again. It would just take more effort this time.
She said something he missed due to his pondering.
“All right,” he said, pulling himself up to sit against the headboard. “First thing, why exactly am I naked?”
Madison blushed a bright shade of red. “Sorry, I…uh…I had to take you clothes off to take care of you,” she stammered uneasily.
He smiled. “Madam, while I appreciate your concern for my health and wellbeing, I just hope you controlled your urges and didn’t ravish me when I was in such a defenseless state. I do have my virtue to protect, after all,” he teased before dodging the pillow she swung at his head.
“You’re terrible,” she said laughingly.
“I know,” he agreed, setting his hand on hers. “Thank you for staying and taking care of me. I appreciate it.” His voice was uneven and full of emotion.
“You’re welcome,” she said quickly. “Second?” she prompted.
“Right,” he clipped, arranging the covers around his waist. “We need to figure out how he knew to come here.”
“Couldn’t he have just followed us?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “First, that would mean he was at Rockhurst, which he wasn’t. I know that because the carrier that delivered your note generally works in London. If Robbie was near Rockhurst he would have used a messenger from Bath.”
“Could the messenger have followed us?”
Benjamin twisted his lips as he contemplated that. “Not likely, but possible, I suppose. But remember we left suddenly. Too suddenly for his benefit. There was no time for him to ferret out information from any of my servants before we left.”
“Because they didn’t know we’d be leaving,” she finished for him. “But what I actually meant was could the messenger or whoever have literally followed us?”
“I know what you meant. And you’re right, that would be the only way possible,” he agreed. “However, unlike you, who could sleep through a stampede, I cannot. If they’d been following us, I would have heard them.”
“Not necessarily,” she countered. “They could have stayed far enough back you didn’t hear them.”
“Not at night,” he said, turning her hand over and slipping his fingers in between hers. “At night the visibility is so limited, they’d not drift back that far. Not without the risk of losing us anyway. Especially since we passed through Bath. There are several turn offs in Bath that lead in all different directions. He’d have had to stay fairly close to see which way we went. Anyway, that’s all assuming he followed us. Which also doesn’t seem likely because he’d have had to have been staying at Rockhurst to know we’d departed. Even Brooke and Andrew didn’t know.”
“So what you’re saying is if he knew we’d left it was only because he’d been staying on the property close to the gamekeeper’s cabin and heard us depart,” she said slowly.
He nodded. “Exactly. So there’s no way he could have followed us.”
“We’re back to figuring out who Robbie bribed, then,” she said with a shrug.
“Which leads us nowhere, unfortunately,” Benjamin said sourly. “And as you pointed out earlier it really doesn’t matter. The fact is, he’s here now and I’ll have to find a way to smoke him out of his hiding place.”
She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes to look at the ceiling. “If I was right and it doesn’t matter how he got here, then why did we just have to discuss how he got here?”
“Because I wanted a reason to talk to you,” he said simply with a hint of a smile. “I know you it’s not the most romantic conversation we’ve ever had. But you’re my wife and I like talking to you. I like hearing your ideas.”
“You seem to find a way to reject them all,” she retorted playfully.
He moved his good shoulder up in a lopsided shrug. “Can’t help that. Put the pillow down, Madison! All right, all right, you were right about the only way he could have followed us was if he’d done it in a literal sense. And I even acknowledged it. Now put that pillow down before you swing it at me too much and the feathers fly out. I rather like my pillows fluffy.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Are you certain it was even him?” she asked again, tossing the pillow on the bed.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “And if it’s not, then it’s someone he hired to do the job for him.”
She swallowed and nodded. “What do we do now?”
He grinned. “I’ll just wait for him to strike again. In the meantime, you keep fussing over me until I’m better.”
“Who knew the Dangerous Duke would want a woman to fuss over him,” she said laughingly.
“Not just any woman,” he said genuinely. “Only you. Always you.” He leaned forward and pressed a tender but chaste kiss to her lips.
***
It didn’t take long for Robbie to strike again. Only about five minutes from the end of their romantic moment to be exact. And since the man lacked the sense God gave a flea and had less than an ink drop of creativity, he tried the same tactic again. Except this time, the window was closed and the ball shattered the glass before flying over their heads and straight into the wardrobe.
“That does it,” Benjamin said irritably, ripping off the blankets and jumping out of bed. He ran to the door and almost had it yanked open when Ma
dison gave a delicate cough.
“I believe you’re missing something,” she said, humor filling her eyes.
He looked down and saw he was indeed missing something. “Why is it the first time I’m naked in the presence of both you and a bed I have to go chase your deranged, lovesick suitor?” he grumbled, trying to pull his trousers on.
“Don’t worry,” she said lightly, finding him a shirt. “You’ll be naked in a bed with me again.”
His eyes flew to hers and a grin took his lips. “And when will this be?”
“When you’re about fifty and time for you to sire an heir is running out,” she teased.
He shook his head. “It better be before then or I’ll go mad.”
She laughed and swatted him playfully on his good shoulder. “Are you sure you have to go?” Her voice had taken on a serious, strained note.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
“But you’re not well. You just woke up no more than an hour ago. Your right arm is virtually useless,” she argued.
“Madison,” he leaned down to tie his boots the best he could with one hand, “I’m not going to wait for him to strike again. He may not be a good aim, but eventually he’ll hit something besides my shoulder and a wardrobe. And if it’s you,” his voice broke and he swallowed. “I’d never be able to live with myself if that happened.”
“But he’s already long gone,” she argued. “It’s been at least two minutes since that shot. He may not be very bright, but he’s not going to wait outside for you to come find him. He’s probably run off, see—”
“Madison!” Benjamin yelled, wrapping an arm around her waist and hauling her across the room. “Do not go near that window again. Now, listen to me. I want you to follow me down the hallway. There’s a room just a few doors over that I want you to stay in. I think you’ll be safer there than you are here. Promise me you’ll stay there. Promise me.”
“Oh, all right,” she said with a sigh.
Grabbing a handful of lead balls and his flintlock rifle from behind the wardrobe, he shooed Madison out of the room and led her down the hall.
“What are you planning to do with that?” she asked, her eyes becoming as large as tea saucers.
“Just some light hunting,” he said with a slim smile.
“Do you need such a large gun?” she asked, eyeing the gun in a way that resembled someone looking at a bug that dared crawl on the table during dinner.
He nodded his head once. “Yes. I want to make sure I get him. This will shoot far enough that I can be back a few hundred yards and still get him.”
“Oh. Do you think his is as big as yours?”
“No,” he said with a chuckle.
“I meant his gun,” she said, her lips twitching.
“Oh, well, in that case, probably. There’s no way he would be able to shoot into our room if he had a pistol. They don’t have the same distance. Nor can they get the same altitude. See, if it was a pistol, he’d have to be stand—”
She cut his words off with a quick kiss. “No more explanation necessary.”
He smiled and opened the door to the room—or perhaps closet, depending on who you asked. “All right, in you go,” he said, trying to get his gun ready for the first, and hopefully only, shot.
“I don’t think so,” she said defiantly, crossing her arms. “This isn’t a room, it’s a closet. It doesn’t even have windows.”
“Exactly. But you promised. So, in you go,” he encouraged, giving her bottom a little swat of encouragement.
She groaned and he sent her his best ducal glance. “Oh, please. That look does nothing to cow me. If you want to see a look that gets results you should get to know Brooke better.”
“I believe I’ve seen the look you speak of,” he said honestly. “Twice actually.”
“And did it scare you?” she asked with a cheeky smile.
“Yes, and I’ll be happy to tell you all about it when I return,” he said quickly. “Now, get in there so I can go hunt the goose and get back to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“All right,” she said, resigned. “But you owe me for this.” She stepped into the little space and scowled.
“I’ll do whatever you ask of me. Just stay in the clo—room, please,” he said with a quick kiss. He shut the door quickly and flew down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He swung the front door open and ran in the direction he was certain the shot had come from.
He knew Madison made a valid point. Robbie wouldn’t be such a fool to be lurking in an open field or even around the edges of the forest. He probably scrambled away before the smoke cleared. Probably one of the smartest things he’d done in his life. But Benjamin still had an advantage: tracks.
The coastal regions were always wet from rain. Even if it hadn’t rained in a few days, the ground would still be soggy enough to leave his tracks.
He ran over to where he assumed the shooter had to have been standing in order for the bullet to have come inside at such an angle. He slung his gun over his shoulder, looked down at the ground and groaned. His bullet wound hurt more than he wanted to admit. Madison had been right on that point, too. His right arm was virtually useless. It hurt too much to even try to move it. Good thing he favored his left eye when he shot. He could just prop the end of the gun on something and fire against his left shoulder without causing any pain in his right. He hoped.
Scowling, he surveyed the land. The grass was at a moderate length. It was taller than he’d have liked it to be while searching for footprints, but it was short enough that if he scoured enough he’d find them.
Walking closer to a little knot of trees, his heart picked up. Not only were there boot tracks, but Robbie had carelessly left a small box of lead balls and powder on a fallen log. “Careless fool,” Benjamin muttered, pocketing his find.
Following the trail Robbie had so thoughtfully—or thoughtlessly rather—provided, Benjamin walked with his gun cocked and ready to go at a second's notice. He walked through the forest for a good half a mile when he abruptly stopped his feet and swore.
He frowned as he looked down at the small rock bottom creek that ran right in front of him. It was only three feet wide and couldn’t be more than ankle deep. But that was deep enough. Deep enough to lose a trail. The rocks on the bottom were large enough they wouldn’t shift around a boot to leave a print and the water ran just enough not to allow the mud form his boots to stick to the rocks. He shook his head. Either this was a stroke of genius or luck. Considering Robbie was involved, it was probably the latter.
With a sigh, he released the cock on his gun and sat down. He was tired and in pain. Robbie, it appeared, had gotten away again, and wasn’t likely to return anytime soon. He looked at the offending creek for a minute. Then tore his gaze away in irritation. Just as his eyes left the creek, something on the other side of the creek caught his attention. Another set of boot prints.
He jumped up and leapt across the little creek. He looked down at ground and frowned again. These boot prints were side by side, not one in front of the other. How odd. Another oddity, the new set was considerably larger than the ones he’d followed to the creek.
He set his gun down and put his foot next to the boot prints that was on his side of the creek. It was big. Not quite as big as his boot, but close. He scanned the ground to see if there were any more. There weren’t. Whoever left these, had to have walked to the spot via the creek and just stood here.
Benjamin stepped back across the little creek and ground his teeth. There was only one reason for two sets of fresh tracks to exist: Robbie had an accomplice.
Chapter 23
Madison felt like an eight year old girl during a thunderstorm hiding in the hall closet. Surely Benjamin was overreacting. Robbie wouldn’t shoot at them and then be so dimwitted as to try and come into the house to collect her. If he was, he had another thing coming. She’d sooner brain the man than go off with him.
Time crept by in that dark little
closet that was positioned right above the kitchen. Voices and sounds from the kitchen drifted up to her ears. Apparently most of the footman were on break and were enjoying a game of cards in the kitchen. They were awfully rowdy with their laughter and cheers. Cook was banging around pots and pans, getting ready for their evening meal and yelling at all the men for dragging mud into her kitchen on their shoes. She smiled. As angry as she had been about being dragged here against her will, she was beginning to like it.
All the staff had been more than friendly with her since she’d come. Cook offered to cook anything she wanted. Hatley, the informal butler, commanded all the inside footmen to do whatever she asked. Which they did. She hadn’t been outside much, but she imagined Billings would act as her groom if she wanted to go riding. She knew one day they’d have to leave to go to Glenbrook, but hopefully not for a while yet. She rather liked it here.
“Madison,” Benjamin said tightly, opening the door to the room she was in. “Grab your things, we’re leaving.”
Madison gasped. Had he read her mind? Shaking her head, she said, “What?”
“I said, we’re leaving. I just instructed Billings to ready the carriage,” he informed her matter-of-factly.
“But, you’re not well,” she protested. Why did they have to leave now?
He hefted her stubborn body over his good shoulder and carried her down to their room. “I’m well enough,” he grunted. “Now, the carriage will be ready in fifteen minutes. Will you?”
“Hmm, I don’t know,” she said caustically, blinking at the clock. “I sure hope so. Let me see. Clothes?” She looked down at the same wrinkled blue gown she’d been wearing since they’d left Rockhurst and kicked her foot out from under the hem to reveal her slipper and stocking. “Check. Personal items?” She grabbed her reticule and dropped her brush, mirror and toothbrush inside. “Check.” She looked back at the clock. “Do I win a prize for being early? It only took me fifteen seconds!”
He shook his head. “Very good. Now you can help me.” He started grabbing his clothes from the wardrobe and haphazardly threw them into a trunk.
