In the end, she was left with confusion – about what was right, about her own feelings, and about what to do the next time that she saw Lord Hungerwood.
She slept but an hour or two, and rose not rested at all. Perhaps the time in the Park would settle her mind. The day was bright and beautiful, and she knew that Daniel would be full of energy, and desperate to be out and playing. That thought was enough to encourage her to start the day, and by the time she took a seat at the breakfast table, she had decided to simply enjoy the morning, and leave deep thinking until later in the day.
The Park was quiet, with few others about – most likely because half of London had been up late attending various Balls and other social events, Marion thought. Daniel was unconcerned by the lack of other children – he had rarely had other children to play with for most of his life, and had become adept at entertaining himself. Even Nanny seemed tired, and simply walked about, watching him as he ran and kicked his ball about. Every so often, Daniel would run to her, and ask her to throw the ball for him, then speed off again after it.
Marion watched, wishing that she had half so much energy, laughing when Daniel, in a playful moment, tugged on Nanny’s bonnet strings, before running off giggling. With a smile, Marion lay back on the blanket, and allowed herself to rest in the warmth of the spring sunshine, and the gentle touch of the light breeze.
~~~~~
Sin rode through the Park, knowing that he would wind his way through the shaded paths to the point where, lately, he always paused. The point where he could watch Lady Scartwick and her son. As he rode, his mind replayed the events of the previous evening’s Ball. He had been a fool of the worst kind.
What in God’s creation had led him to believe, for even a moment, that she would let him kiss her? It did not matter that he wanted to, what mattered was that he had begun to forge what he hoped was a true friendship with her, this woman who had been served so badly by his brother’s actions. And now, it was most likely that he had ruined it completely, in a single moment where he had allowed desire to overrule sense.
His horse was fidgety, keen to run, obviously sensing Sin’s unease and confusion, yet perversely, Sin had taken the ride slowly, needing the quiet that brought to allow him to think. What would he do, if she went back to treating him coldly? The idea of it made him shudder – he very much wanted to continue from where they had been, before he had been fool enough to be tempted to kiss her. The memory of the moment when she had fled from his arms was bitter. Most of his disappointments and troubles in life had come from other people’s actions. This time, it could be laid at no one’s door but his own.
As he approached the group of trees from which Lady Scartwick could usually be seen, a movement amongst the trees ahead of him caught his eye. It was rare for anyone else to take this path in the morning, and he looked ahead curiously, wondering who it might be.
~~~~~
Marion started upright as a scream rent the air. She was on her feet before thought had time to intervene, instinctive fear for her child driving her. Across the grass, near the shady cluster of trees, the Nanny stood, her bonnet loose in her hands. The screaming was coming from her. Marion and the Duke reached her at the same moment.
“Gone! He’s gone! I but looked away for a moment, to capture my bonnet – Master Daniel had pulled the ribbon undone, and it blew off. When I turned back, he was gone. Look – his ball lies there in the grass, but he is not anywhere. Oh! Oh! What can I do?”
Cold fear settled in Marion’s core.
She chided herself for being silly, for assuming the worst. In all likelihood, he was simply hiding, peeking out at them, and quietly laughing at how frantic they were. She took a deep breath.
“Nanny, please be calm. Are you sure that Daniel is not hiding somewhere, to be mischievous?”
“I looked my Lady. And he has never hidden for very long before – he is far too fond of laughing at me for not finding him. Where can he be?”
Nanny wrung her hands, to the detriment of her bonnet, which she seemed to have forgotten. The Duke looked at Marion, and she could see as deep a fear in his eyes as she felt herself. When he spoke, there was a tone to his voice which told Marion that he was remembering Martin – and losing him.
“We must all search – how far can one small boy go in a few short minutes? Let us walk all through the trees here – for surely there are many hiding spots big enough for one boy.”
They began to search. As they did, on the trail which wound through the trees, a horse thundered past, far faster than was supposed to be allowed in the Park. Marion realised, as her eyes followed the horse, afraid that Daniel might get himself in its path, and be trampled, that the rider was Lord Hungerwood. What was he doing? Why was he here, and riding so fast?
~~~~~
Lord Frederick Cardston was leaning against a tree, again, watching a small boy run about, a pastime which had ceased to amuse quite some time ago.
Today, he was determined, he would take the chance, and capture the child. At the Ball the previous evening, Marion – in his thoughts he would not dignify her with the title of Lady Scartwick – had again rejected him. Her arrogance offended him – she, who was commoner born – how dare she turn her nose up at the idea of marriage to him! At the time, he had simply smiled, and passed it off as nothing, but her continued rejections annoyed him – more and more. She would do whatever he wanted, once he had the child, he was sure. And the old Duke would pay a ransom to get his heir back. Just the thought of the money made Cardston almost salivate.
The child ran closer, kicking the ball before him. The Nanny was quite a distance away, but watching him. Cardston waited, hoping, gritting his teeth. After this was done, he would be happy never to step off the road in the Park again. The Nanny spun, clutching at her bonnet, which had been lifted from her head by the breeze. Cardston leapt forward, scooping the child up, and getting a hand over the boy’s mouth before he could call out. The ball rolled to a stop, unregarded, as he turned and sprinted back towards where his carriage waited.
There was no sound of pursuit. If luck was with him, the Nanny was still running the other way, chasing her bonnet. Reaching the carriage seemed to take ages, but reach it he did. He opened the door, and dragged the boy in, then quickly wrapped him about with the rope that lay waiting. The knot was inelegant – it would not hold a man, but a small boy was a different matter. The child looked at him, shocked silent, as he slipped out, shut the door, and climbed up to take up the reins. Thank God he had chosen to train his horses to stand and wait, even if no one held them. He needed no witnesses.
He drove off, as steadily as he could, not wishing to draw attention, and prayed that the child would stay reasonably quiet.
~~~~~
Sin had watched with dawning horror as the figure ahead of him moved away from the tree he had been leaning against, and surged out to lift the child off the grass in one smooth movement, at a time when the Nanny’s back was turned, as she chased after her bonnet. For a moment, shock had held him immobile, then battle hardened reflexes had taken over.
He urged his horse forward, going from a slow walk straight to a gallop in two strides, his focus entirely on the running man holding the wriggling child. He cursed when the man reached a carriage, thrust the child inside, and very quickly reappeared, to climb up and take the reins.
The carriage began to move, and Sin urged his horse faster. He could not allow the blackguard to get away, to steal Martin and Marion’s child – whatever his reasons for doing so. As he reached the trees and raced through them, he was peripherally aware of people, moving about, calling the boy’s name. He could not stop to tell them what had happened, or he might lose the carriage.
As he came out of the trees onto the gravelled road, he was pleased to see that the carriage was not moving fast. Perhaps the driver sought to avoid drawing attention. If that was the case, he had already failed – for Sin was gaining on him. He urged the horse faster again, just as the drive
r glanced back, perhaps hearing the hoofbeats.
The carriage began to go faster, and Sin cursed under his breath again – he had hoped to get closer before the man realised that he was pursued. He leant low over the horse’s neck, urging him to even greater effort, and desperately changed his path when unaware pedestrians stepped out, or other carriages passed. Ahead of him, the kidnapper’s carriage was still some distance away, also now finding the need to avoid other traffic. Sin gasped as it narrowly missed locking wheels with a carriage passing in the other direction.
Soon, the carriage ahead was careering about, rocking wildly as the driver tried to outpace Sin. But Sin was gaining on it. He braced himself, studying the carriage as he finally drew abreast of it. There – what he had hoped for. A handhold stuck out, designed to allow the driver an easy grasp as he climbed up. He brought his horse in, dangerously close to the rapidly turning wheel, and leant out.
Kicking his feet free from the stirrups, he grasped the handhold on the carriage side and swung himself, flicking his legs back, over the horse’s rump, then forward again, towards the steps. His arms were strained to the utmost, and his muscles threatened to give way, reminding him just how little exercise he had been doing, since returning to shore. His horse dropped back away from the carriage. His feet hit the steps before his hands lost their grip, and he rapidly hauled himself up and onto the box, to land beside the driver.
The man turned his face to him, wide mouthed in horror and fear. Cardston! The man was a cad, but this was more than Sin had thought him capable of. Sin gave him no time to recover from the surprise – he swung hard at him, a solid punch to the side of the jaw.
With his other hand, he just managed to grab the reins as Cardston dropped them. Cardston slumped, half falling, and Sin grabbed him with his aching hand, and pulled him back onto the seat, just far enough to prevent him going over the side and beneath the wheels.
Sin turned his attention to the road ahead, and desperately steered the carriage horses away from an oncoming vehicle. He set about steadying them, bringing them back under control and down to a sedate pace. He barely managed it before they reached the Park gate. There, he turned the carriage, earning curses from other drivers, and set off back towards where Lady Scartwick and the Duke could be seen standing beside the road, staring in his direction.
~~~~~
Marion kept searching, moving steadily through the trees in parallel with the others, until they reached the road edge, without finding Daniel. She looked along the road, and froze in place. Lord Hungerwood was riding faster now than before – it seemed that he urged the horse to its greatest possible speed. Just ahead of him, a carriage raced dangerously along the road, weaving in and out of other carriages, barely missing pedestrians. It seemed that the carriage was attempting to prevent Lord Hungerwood catching up to it.
Why would he? And what had the person driving the carriage done? Could it have anything to do with Daniel’s disappearance? At that thought, terror filled her. If Daniel was in that carriage… the Duke reached her, and for a moment she turned her head against his shoulder, unable to watch.
But the need to know what happened overcame her, and she turned back. Lord Hungerwood had reached the carriage, and ridden up beside it. With a feat of agility that stunned her in its demonstration of his strength and courage, he swung himself from the galloping horse onto the racing carriage. His horse immediately slowed, swinging away from the carriage, and turning back towards where Marion and the Duke stood.
The carriage rocked and swayed, shifting wildly about the road, and Marion wished that she could see what was happening. All she could do was pray that both Daniel, if he was in that carriage, and Lord Hungerwood, would be all right. The carriage slowed, and, in the far distance near the gate, she saw it turn, and start back towards her.
Closer, she realised that Lord Hungerwood’s horse was still loose, moving towards her, scaring people who walked along the paths as it ran, although it had slowed from a gallop to a trot. Without considering anything more than the fact that it needed to be caught, Marion moved towards it, her hand extended, and her voice soft as she spoke. It slowed more, its ears flicking curiously at her. Eventually it stopped, and allowed her to approach. Cautiously, she waited while it sniffed at her, before gently grasping the reins near the bit. It did not pull back, so she scratched it in that spot just above the eye ridge, where she had learned that most horses like to be scratched. It lowered its head and nudged at her.
After a few moments, Marion turned, and led the horse back to where the Duke stood, where Lord Hungerwood was just drawing that carriage to a halt. Beside Lord Hungerwood on the box, there slumped a man she loathed.
Lord Frederick Cardston.
At that moment, Marion heard a noise from within the carriage – first thumping, and then an enraged yelling which she recognised all too well. That was the sound of an angry and frustrated Daniel. Her fear eased a little – if Daniel was making that particular set of sounds, then he almost certainly was not hurt – simply frustrated in some major way.
She handed the horse to the Duke, and rushed to open the carriage door. She reached it at the same moment as Lord Hungerwood did, almost colliding with him. For one moment, despite everything, she paused, as if time stood still. His deep blue eyes, so full of concern, caught her, and her heart missed a beat – she remembered that moment – was it only last night? – when he had almost kissed her. Quickly, she turned back to the carriage. He opened the door, and she climbed in.
“Mama! Let me out! That bad man tied me up and I CAN’T UNDO IT!
Daniel’s voice rose to an indignant shout at the end of the sentence, and Marion was hard put not to laugh at his expression. At this moment, at least, there was no fear in his manner, only complete annoyance. She bent over him, shushing him a little, and turned him so that she could reach the knot – it was poorly tied, but had pulled tight from Daniel’s struggles and took some time to release. When the rope was removed, he flung his arms around her neck.
Lord Hungerwood reached past her, and pulled the rope out of the carriage, coiling it in his hands. Marion looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“For Cardston.”
“Good. I hope your knots are better than his!”
Lord Hungerwood laughed.
“My Lady, after six years at sea, I would hope so!”
He assisted Marion, still carrying Daniel, who clung to her fiercely, out of the carriage, then went to deal with Cardston. Daniel watched as the unconscious Cardston was securely tied.
“Good. The bad man deserves to be tied up.”
“He certainly does, Master Daniel, and we will make sure that he can never do bad things again, to you, or anyone else.”
Lord Hungerwood’s voice was firm, but Marion heard an undertone to it, which made her look at him curiously. Nanny came rushing over to her at that moment, and Daniel, after a minute’s consideration, agreed to release his stranglehold on Marion, and allow Nanny to take him. He looked at Nanny’s rather twisted and damaged bonnet, then made a little scrunched up face.
“Nanny – your bonnet?”
“The wind blew it off, Master Daniel, after you undid the ribbon, and it got… squashed… before I could save it.”
“I’m sorry. I promise not to undo your ribbons again.”
“You are forgiven.”
Nanny hugged him to her for a moment, and Marion sighed, glad that Daniel had so many people who loved him. She turned back to find Lord Hungerwood standing closer than expected, his eyes upon her. He was rubbing one hand with the other, and the movement drew her eye.
“Are you hurt?”
“My fist is bruised, perhaps – Cardston has an unfortunately solid skull.”
A bubble of slightly hysterical laughter escaped Marion. She repressed it.
“How did you come to be here, to know what had happened, in time to save Daniel?”
“I was riding – I usually take the quieter paths through the tre
es, and along the streamside – and from the distance, I saw a movement in the trees ahead of me. I saw the moment when the man sprang from the trees and grabbed Daniel, while the Nanny was chasing after her bonnet. It was obvious that he was up to no good, and I set off in pursuit. He had a long start on me, but I was determined – for I knew whose child he had kidnapped. I did not know that it was Cardston, until the moment before my fist met his face, though.”
“How… how did you know it was Daniel?”
He flushed a little and looked away for a moment.
“I ride most mornings. I must confess to you that I have often passed this point, and paused a moment, to watch him run and play. I am glad to see that Martin’s child is happy. He looks so like his father.”
That was as close to him speaking the truth to her that she had heard, on the matter of Martin’s death. For now, it was enough. Marion took one step forward to close the distance between them, put her hand on his arm, and rose up on her toes, leaning forward to brush a petal soft kiss on his lips.
“Thank you.”
Chapter Twelve
After a short conversation in the Park, Cardston had been bundled into his own carriage, and, with Sin’s horse tied to the back of it, Sin drove it sedately through the streets to Stafford House, following the Duke’s carriage with the Duke and Duchess, Marion, Nanny and Daniel. At Stafford House, Sin oversaw the transfer of Cardston, now awake and uttering a string of profanities, to the care of two burly footmen, who were given instructions to take him to the parlour, and hold him there until he could be questioned.
During that short drive, Sin’s mind had been in turmoil. She had kissed him! Was it only gratitude? Or was there more to it? It had been the veriest brush of her lips, yet it had burned him like a branding iron, sending heat through every part of him. And now, here he was, invited to Stafford House. The Duke must know of the rumours, of his supposed part in Martin’s death, yet he had invited him without question. What should he say? What should he tell all of them? What had seemed a clear choice for his family’s honour, all those years ago, no longer seemed clear at all.
Restoring the Earl's Honour: Sweet and Clean Regency Romance (His Majesty's Hounds Book 17) Page 9
