His Mistletoe Wager

by Virginia Heath

  When he finally strode out of the cover of trees, she simply stared back impassively and waited for him to come alongside. He tipped his hat in greeting, the permanent smug smirk curling up the corners of his mouth, went to take her gloved hand to kiss it and she snatched it away. ‘I am tired of the games. Talk.’

  ‘I know you gave birth to Rainham’s bastard. A son.’

  The news was hardly a surprise. Lizzie had been braced to hear it. ‘What makes you think he is Rainham’s?’ Only her family had ever been apprised of that detail, although the servants probably suspected as much. Many of them had been in her father’s employ at the time of her engagement and were paid well for their silence.

  ‘His age and colouring lend themselves towards him as the sire. He has Rainham’s eyes.’

  He had seen Georgie? He had to have to have made such an observation. Pieced together the truth. ‘Really? And how, pray tell, would you know that?’

  ‘I will grant you, getting a decent sighting of the lad has proved challenging. Your father’s house is well protected and the servants very tight-lipped. However, you, Lady Elizabeth, are a creature of habit. Every Tuesday and Thursday your carriage leaves Mayfair unfashionably early.’ He chuckled at her expression, enjoying the knowledge it was her mistake which had caused her downfall. ‘I confess, I stumbled across the pair of you quite by accident a month ago when I had the good fortune to be riding through Richmond Park. I was some distance away, but you are a striking woman.’ His eyes strayed to her chest. ‘When one is as advanced in years as I am, one recalls a great deal of gossip. I was sat in the church when the congregation were informed you had called off your wedding. It was quite the scandal at the time and the source of much speculation. I remember it clearly. Five years ago. The boy’s somewhere between four and five years old, and five years is the same amount of time your erstwhile fiancé had been absent from society. Such a unique set of coincidences set my mind wondering.’

  ‘So I have a son. Tell the world. I will still not marry you.’

  Ockendon acknowledged her comment with another chuckle. ‘Yes, indeed, a bastard child is a scandal to be sure, yet I had already anticipated it would not be enough to bring you around to my way of thinking. I had the devil of a job tracking down poor Rainham. For a little while I was certain he had disappeared off the face of the earth, then I recalled his family seat was in Cornwall.’ He appeared delighted at his own industry. ‘A shockingly run-down and miserable place and still no sign of your Marquess—fortuitously, he had left his usual trail of bad debt across the county and there were a great many tradesmen who were disgruntled with the fellow since his...return...but more of that later. I traced him to Bodmin Gaol and discovered he had been festering there for well over a year. He was in a dreadful state. The stress of bankruptcy had addled his mind and he was most accommodating when I offered to pay to secure his release. Told me all manner of interesting titbits. Titbits far more scandalous than your secret son, my lady.’

  He laughed again and her temper snapped. ‘Spit it out, man. Lay your cards flat on the table. If it is as bad as you are suggesting, then you already know you have won.’

  ‘Indeed, it is bad. Deliciously bad. I suppose you already know your beloved had absconded with another woman rather than marry you. But do you also know the Duke of Aylesbury sought retribution? He had him tied up and dragged back to London. He wanted him dead and was happy to toss his remains in the Thames for the fish to eat. Your lily-livered father refused to consider cold-blooded murder. He was always so upright and proper. So full of his own importance. Instead, he arranged for Rainham to be chained and smuggled on board a prison boat bound for Australia.’

  The gasp escaped her lips before Lizzie could stop it. ‘You’re lying!’ Oh, God! She hoped he was lying. The Earl watched her reaction with barely contained glee.

  ‘Isn’t it marvellous? No trial, not even trumped-up charges, just the straight and highly illegal kidnap and transportation of a peer of the realm to Botany Bay. I wonder what the penalty for such a crime is, Lizzie?’

  Her stomach plummeted to her feet. Ruination was the least she had to worry about. If this version of events were true, then her father could be facing worse than ruination. Perhaps even the scaffold. Oh, Papa! Her stomach lurched at the thought and her knees buckled momentarily until she forced herself to stand proudly. Forced her eyes to meet Ockendon’s with futile defiance.

  Ockendon’s gloved hand came up to touch her cheek and this time Lizzie did not dare pull away. This man held her papa’s life in that hand. ‘The story gets better. About a year later, your father must have got cold feet. The fool had Rainham brought back without Aylesbury’s knowledge, threatened him with it. Warned the poor chap that he was now an outcast in London and, if he escaped death by Aylesbury’s hand, would be thrown in debtors’ prison if he dared return. Ironic, really, when that is where I found him. For a man who is as weak-willed and self-centred as your former beau, a life in virtual and impoverished exile in Cornwall was a more attractive option than death. And, of course, I will be eternally grateful to your father for his spinelessness, because it left me a trail of crumbs to follow. Had he listened to Aylesbury and let Rainham’s sorry carcase become fish food, I wouldn’t stand a chance with you. Isn’t fate wonderful?’

  Lizzie’s mind was whirring. She had steeled herself to hear something bad, dreadful even, and was prepared for an epic scandal to erupt. At her worst imaginings, both she and Papa would have to flee to obscurity thoroughly ruined. But if the authorities were to arrest her papa, if he faced criminal charges—gaol or worse—there was no way she could stand by and allow such a travesty to happen when she had the power to prevent it.

  ‘What is it you want?’

  ‘I want a wife. One with powerful connections. One with a significant dowry who can give me the son my barren first marriage could not. I already know you are fertile, lovely Lizzie, although I will not condone your by-blow in my house.’

  A tiny part of her died. ‘I will never marry you if Georgie is sent away. I will not leave the care of my son to strangers.’

  ‘Georgie—so that is his name?’ He waved a gloved hand dismissively as if the cruel wrenching apart of mother and child was of no consequence. ‘I am sure your overprotective father will see to his needs and I am not a monster. You will be allowed to visit once or twice a year.’

  ‘And if I refuse?’ Her voice came out ragged, choked with sadness. Once a year! Death would be sweeter.

  ‘Then I will hand your father over to the authorities and feed your family’s secrets to the newspapers as fodder for the gossips. But we both know it will not come to that. I hold all the power now.’ He took her gloved hand and tugged the soft leather barrier slowly off. ‘You are a good daughter and would never condemn your father.’ Her skin now bared, he placed his lips against the exposed flesh and tasted the back of her hand with his tongue, his eyes never leaving hers as he did so. ‘And I know you will be a very good and very dutiful wife. Enjoy your last Christmas as a spinster, Lizzie. I shall be attending the Earl of Redbridge’s Christmas Ball on Twelfth Night. That strikes me as the perfect venue to announce our engagement, seeing as everyone will be there—including Redbridge. In the meantime, I shall have my solicitors contact your father regarding the settlements. Do tell him I will expect the dowry sweetened, won’t you? Will not settle for less than double what it is now...as a starting figure, of course. And it goes without saying he will do his utmost to bring me into those illustrious circles he moves in, seeing as I will imminently become his son-in-law. A government position in the Foreign Office or Home Office will suffice.’

  He released her hand, a hand which would now need to be washed in lye to remove the stain of him from her skin, and stepped back. ‘I shall also procure a special licence so we can be married immediately after, so you should begin your preparations, too. A wedding in St George’s
in Hanover Square might be fitting—and at least this time around you can be certain your groom will turn up.’ He smiled again. A cold, malicious smile. ‘And as I know how much you loathe society, you will be moving permanently to my estate. Away from...mischief.’

  And everyone she loved. Georgie. Papa. Hal. The numbness which had cossetted her before she stepped into the park was gone, replaced by agonising pain. Utter devastation. Ockendon saw it and his wrinkly face split into an ugly grin.

  ‘I believe I shall enjoy our marriage bed, Lizzie.’ His eyes dropped to her bosom again, leering as if he could see through the thick layers of clothes to her nakedness beneath, leaving her feeling violated. ‘Not as much as I shall enjoy spending your father’s money, or utilising his powerful government connections. I am looking forward to that part of our nuptials a great deal.’

  Chapter Seventeen

  Hal had found his feet heading down Holborn the next morning as soon as the shops were open. They led him back to Hamley’s Noah’s Ark. A quick scan of the shelves and an even quicker purchase later, he bounded into Grosvenor Square eager to share the information he had already gathered. If his suspicions were correct, then he was certain he could find a way to rescue her.

  He rapped on Lizzie’s front door with peculiar butterflies flapping in his tummy and tried not to think about what they meant. Stevens opened it and his mighty shoulders slumped. ‘Good morning, Stevens. Are we going to enact our usual tiresome rigmarole or are you going to let me in?’

  The giant butler stood aside and gestured him into the hall whilst simultaneously threatening murder with his eyes. ‘I shall see if Lady Elizabeth is at home. Stay. Here.’ One meaty finger pointed to a spot on the carpet and Hal made a great show of shuffling to stand upon it.

  ‘I shan’t move, Stevens. I promise.’

  The butler stalked down the hall towards the same drawing room Hal had visited the day before and, to vex the butler as much as anything, he tiptoed in his wake.

  ‘Lady Elizabeth, the Earl of Redbridge...’

  ‘Is here!’ Hal pushed passed the fuming servant and strode with a smile into the room.

  ‘Hal!’ Georgie scrambled off the floor in a scattering of coloured chalks and barrelled towards him. His small body crashed into Hal’s at speed. Hal hoisted him up and balanced him on his hip.

  ‘How is our snowman doing?’

  ‘He is still standing.’

  ‘Excellent news. How about we go and make him a lady-friend later? If this snow is here for the duration the poor fellow will get very lonely all on his own. Every upright snowman deserves a snow lady to make coal eyes at.’

  With the child bouncing in his arms with excitement, Hal finally turned towards the sofa to greet Lizzie and her appearance shocked him. Dark circles ringed her red, swollen eyes. Face pale and drawn. Spirit battered—or perhaps broken. Something had happened. Something dreadful. He lowered Georgie to the ground and ruffled his hair. ‘I need ten minutes alone with your mama first, young man.’ He handed him the wrapped package he was carrying. ‘Go and see if Stevens wants to play with these with you out in the hall.’

  ‘Wooden swords! Yippee!’

  Hal waited until the child had disappeared, then softly closed the door and came to sit beside her. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘I met Ockendon y-yesterday.’ She crumpled next to him, her hands covering her face and her slim shoulders racked by the force of her distress. At a loss what else to do, he enveloped her in his arms and hugged her close.

  For an age, she couldn’t speak, so Hal smoothed his hand over her hair, kissed the top of her blonde head and promised himself he would flay Ockendon at the first opportunity. ‘It’s going to be all right, Lizzie. I promise. The rancid Earl is in debt up to his eyeballs.’

  ‘Y-y-you d-don’t understand, Hal... My f-f-f-father...’ She collapsed against him again, inconsolable for several minutes.

  When she finally lifted her face from the now-sodden front of his shirt, the pain in her eyes broke his heart. He knew in that moment she was about to tell him something terrible.

  ‘My father has broken the law, Hal... He kidnapped Rainham and had him smuggled on to a prison ship under a false name. Within a few days of my being jilted he had my fiancé transported to the Antipodes as a common criminal. He left him there to rot.’

  ‘W-what?’ His mouth struggled to form words. Kidnapped. Transportation. He had not expected to hear either word.

  ‘It was a gross abuse of his government position.’ An understatement. The kidnap of a peer of the realm was a capital offence. Even assuming the Government would not wish to throw one of their own to the wolves, or suffer the embarrassment of a public trial, Lizzie’s father was potentially in serious trouble. ‘Papa must have had second thoughts, as he had him returned a year later...but Charles still spent a year as a prisoner in that terrible place and suffered many more months in atrocious conditions at sea.’ She was shaking, Hal realised, and not with cold. ‘I have no choice, Hal. I have to marry him.’

  ‘Over my dead body!’

  ‘I will not see my father arrested. He meant w-well...he was trying to protect m-me... It is my fault Ockendon knows. M-my carelessness that put my family in d-danger.’ She told him about her visits to Richmond, weeping profusely and quivering like a leaf in a storm. In her distraught state, it took a while to piece together the whole sorry tale. At the end of it, Hal realised the existence of a bastard child was merely the tip of the iceberg. It would have been better if the Duke of Aylesbury had had the snake murdered in cold blood. Now that Aylesbury was dead, the only witness to the whole affair was the man who had wronged Lizzie so grievously. The Marquess of Rainham, despoiler of innocent young women, libertine and jilter, was now the victim.

  ‘I will find him, Lizzie!’ Hal had to find him. One life and the happiness of a great many people, himself included, were riding on it. She allowed him to tug her close again and he buried his nose in her hair. ‘Without his witness, Ockendon has no case.’

  She burrowed against his chest gratefully, her voice small. Matter of fact. ‘There will be other witnesses. The crew of the prison ship might be dredged up to talk. There will doubtless be plenty of others in Cornwall. His creditors, gaolers.’ She sighed and pulled away and he wished she were not as intelligent as she obviously was. ‘He wants to announce our engagement on Twelfth Night.’

  ‘You cannot marry him, Lizzie. Your father is a respected and powerful man. It will take more than circumstantial evidence to see him sentenced. If I can find Rainham, I am confident I can buy his silence.’ Or at least he hoped he could. He had never actually tried. This was all so tenuous and needed to be more than wishful thinking. ‘We need to be one step ahead of the game. Anticipate what Ockendon intends to do. Cut him off at the knees... We have a fortnight. A great deal can happen in a fortnight.’ If this last two weeks was anything to go by, then anything was possible. And wasn’t that the truth. A fortnight ago, the only complication in Hal’s life had been his missing vigour and the eager hordes. Now he had a terrified woman, an innocent boy, a man’s reputation and perhaps even his life on the line and the most persistent and worrying pain in his own heart to consider. ‘Ockendon is in debt. I do not know to what extent as yet, but I will. I promise. I will find his weaknesses and exploit them. Once I am done, he will have no case to bring before the authorities. You have my word.’ And he had a sneaking suspicion part of his heart, too, as it was still aching at the prospect of losing her. A horrible, hollow feeling which made him nauseous.

  The thought of her miles and miles away brought a lump to his throat, yet Hal had no earthly idea how to save her. Although he had to. Somehow, by hook or by crook, he had to stop Ockendon and seal his spiteful, blackmailing mouth shut for ever. That was the only outcome he could bear. ‘I am going to need to speak to your father. He will need to be involved if we ar
e going to avert catastrophe.’ She nodded. The first signs of hope had begun to glimmer in her lovely eyes and his heart swelled. He had put that there and he could not let her down. ‘And I am going to need to bring in some reinforcements. With your permission, I would like to tell my family. My brother-in-law Aaron will be an asset in our quest.’

  She appeared appalled at this. Ashamed, even. Her sad eyes dropped to her hands. ‘I suppose the whole ton will learn I am a fallen woman soon enough, Hal, so I doubt it will make much difference.’

  Fallen woman? She wasn’t a fallen woman. She was a brave and loyal one. A wronged one. ‘Men like Rainham are practised seducers. You were young and trusting. Engaged. You had no idea you would end up an unwed mother. My family will not judge you for that.’ Or at least he hoped they wouldn’t. If they did, he might have to have the mother of all arguments with them until they saw things his way. Punches might be thrown, Persian carpets ruthlessly rolled. ‘Between us, we will find a way.’

  She nodded and attempted a smile but Hal could see she did not hold out much hope. When she bravely pulled her shoulders back as her son dashed back into the room, wielding both the wooden swords Hal had bought him aloft, her gazed fixed on Georgie and her voice came out as barely a whisper. ‘This might be my last ever Christmas with my son. Whatever happens I want him to enjoy it.’