“Yes, my man, George, worked in the wars as a medic of sorts.”
“He did a grand job of fixing your wound. You, not so much.”
“George is with the carriage. I’ll be sure to convey your approval to him,” he said sardonically.
“I’ll just put a quick couple of stitches where you’ve torn them, but you need to rest for a while. At least a week. No more shenanigans or chasing after ruffians and scallywags.”
“I’d love to, as soon as they quit chasing me and those under my protection.” And by extension, those under Lillian’s protection. Her sense of honor was truly innate, much like that of her father’s. It begged the question of how someone like Jarvis could be so different, and more, Robert, son of the same parents but with such different values than those of his parents. He tensed as the doctor dumped whisky over his wound.
“Sorry, Your Grace,” the doctor said with much too cheerful tones.
“You’re enjoying this immensely,” he said with gritted teeth, but the doctor still understood and just laughed.
“I do enjoy my work,” he said placidly, not at all fazed by Clarence’s bad mood.
With a notch of respect for the doctor rising, Clarence kept biting down to keep from letting out a cry of pain as the needle dug in.
“The skin is red and angry, so this probably hurts more than last time,” he put in apologetically. “You’ll have to be careful of infection. Protect it as much as you can. I saw too many men who survived bullets, only to die of subsequent infections.”
The last of the stitch was knotted, and the doctor put his tools away while Clarence buttoned up his ruined shirt. Before he could get up, Lamberth walked in the front door, shoulders drooped, dejection written in every crease of the older man’s face. He stood and went to him, but Lamberth shrugged his help away.
“I will thank you to leave my home and never come back,” Lamberth said tiredly.
“What?” Clarence couldn’t believe his ears. Here he had Lillian wrapped up waiting to go to Mother’s, and the earl was…what exactly?
“I cannot let my daughter marry someone whose vengeance put her in danger. More, whose family helped in her kidnapping.”
If Lamberth had punched him in the gut, Clarence couldn’t have hurt more. But regardless of his own guilt, he couldn’t leave Lillian unprotected. So he finished buttoning his shirt and tucked it in to give him time to think. What he decided on saying was simply, “Your son is still out there with intentions to hurt your daughter. You can’t afford to shun any help in protecting her that is at your disposal. I shall leave now as you are no doubt overwrought with the conditions we found Lillian and Janice in. But I will remind you, that it was your own brother and son who perpetuated it.”
Anger started slaking its way into his mind. It wasn’t just his family who had committed dishonorable acts. They both had reasons to be ashamed of their families. But hell would freeze over before he abandoned Lillian.
“I’m well aware of my son’s role in this,” Lamberth bellowed.
“Then you will protect the rest of your family from him, regardless of the cost.” Clarence saw the hesitation in the older man’s face. No blame as it had to be hard to find out your son to be capable of hurting their siblings and parents the way he had, but also, no trust for Lillian’s care. For tonight, she’d go to Mother’s as planned, and he’d worry about tomorrow later.
“He is not the one whom we caught hurting her!” Lamberth’s accused.
Enraged, Clarence simply clenched his fist and stalked out the front door where Henry had driven back around for him. Liilian’s safety came before his own anger. He lifted himself into the carriage and again held Lillian as they traveled the short distance to his house. It worried him that they were so close to the Lamberth’s, but it would have to do for tonight. He’d have George bring in extra help if they stayed longer.
Lillian gazed up at him, concern in her eyes, but she didn’t ask, just laid her head trustingly on his shoulder. He had to think of something.
His mother showed some surprise at their impromptu guests and more than a little concern at all the bandaged up persons being thrust upon her, but she ordered like a general on the battlefield and induced her servants into moving quick step to prepare rooms.
It hit him then how lucky he was to have his mother, and more, his father before he died. Lamberth wasn’t an evil father, but he seemed to be stuck on protecting his son, even at the cost of his daughter. In Clarence’s estimation, his own father would never have protected him if he’d been dishonorable enough to do that to one of his own sisters. Whom should have come out to check on all the commotion.
“Where are my sisters?”
“Alexandra and Michaela are off on a short trip to Scotland. Meaning they will only be gone a couple of weeks. They had an invite from a friend of theirs to stay for a week. Considering the injury and the sudden disappearance of your fiancé, I thought it best to have them out of easy reach. Told them to stay a couple of extra days.”
He smiled. “Shrewd as ever, Mother. And it is a relief. I will figure out what to do for Lillian’s further safety tomorrow. For now, I will send extra men over to help in case of trouble.”
In an uncharacteristic show of affection since he’d become an adult, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. “I know you’ve been troubled since your father died. I hope that whatever it is that is bothering you will be laid to rest soon. You have a future now. Lillian is a woman to cherish. I recognize the inner strength of her. Most ladies of her rank would not have stayed by your side, particularly when so much of it meant she sat on the floor. Do what you need to do to protect her and make her happy, son.”
He pulled her in for a hug, his throat working to hold back the tears. He’d needed those words of encouragement more than he knew. “Yes, Mother. I will.”
He left her mansion and walked next door to his own. George and Farnsworth both met him in the bedroom. Farnsworth helped him undress and held the shirt up, a distasteful scrunch of his nose giving away his opinion. “Shall I have this cleaned, my lord,” he said in a neutral tone.
“No. I want it gone from here.” Exhausted more than he’d been since the weeks following his father’s death, he waved away their attempt to get him into something different and dropped down on his bed, laying full out on top of the blankets with his trousers still on.
The next morning, shouting woke him. Groggily, he blinked his eyes open.
“I will speak to him at once. At. Once.”
“Bloody hell.” Clarence tossed on the first shirt he found and buttoned it up as he flew down the stairs to cut off Lamberth before he’d shoved his way through the house. He motioned for the earl to follow him into his study.
“Lamberth,” he said mildly.
“Where is my daughter?” Anger, yes, but something more lay behind the earl’s eyes.
“She is safe.”
“I demand to see her.”
“And you will. But tell me what’s happened?”
The earl’s eyes widened a split second before the facial features changed to bland façade. “What makes you think something’s happened. I am merely upset that my daughter has disappeared again.”
“Hmmm…” Clarence walked over to the bar and poured a glass of sherry, offering it to Lamberth who stared at it a moment before taking it. With his own glass in hand, Clarence then moved to the window and stared out as he took a sip.
“I think, that is a partial truth, making it a partial lie,” Clarence intoned mildly. “If I were to bet, I’d place the word merely as the culprit.” He turned in time to see the color leave Lamberth’s face. “So, tell me what else has happened.”
“I want my daughter with me. Now,” Lamberth blustered instead.
“She is not here. I will take you to her once you’ve told me the truth. Until then, I will be happy to wait here all day for you to decide if she’s important enough to you.”
The color infused back into La
mberth’s face until it was as ruddy as a fisherman’s. “She is. How dare you suggest otherwise,” he seethed.
“What. Happened.” Clarence set his glass down and stalked over to the earl until they were nose to nose. “You tell me now, or I’ll hide Lillian away and die in goal if necessary before I’ll turn her back over to the father who hasn’t protected her from his own brother, and now won’t make up his mind to protect her against her own brother. I vow to you, that unless you convince me that it is Lillian you will protect, you will never see her again.”
Rash words, but the earl was determined to remain cagey, and Clarence had no energy or patience for such shenanigans. Lillian would be safe, even from her own family. He’d promised her. And whatever else had ever been said about The Dark Duke, none had ever accused him of not keeping his word.
The earl shook as he took a seat on the chair near the desk, his color pasty again. He sat the glass on the oak top then dropped his head into both hands. Deep sobs left him. “I thought…I had my suspicions about Jarvis. He wasn’t invited over of late, but sometimes, he’d just show up. I had no proof, you see. Just…instinct. And her brother, I’d hoped he would grow out of it. And then…these events.” He sat back, dejected, defeated. “I’ve failed her, haven’t I?”
Clarence held no gladness in having broken the earl. After all, many high-born families treated their daughters as nothing more than brood mares, and it was only recently that the shift had started to see women as capable in their own rights. Much of that turn around could be attributed to the Napoleon Wars and the women left to run the estates, sometimes better than the men who owned them. Still…
“Yes, you have. In my estimation, Jarvis should have had no contact with either brother or sister. It may have been Jarvis’ influence which pushed young Robert over the edge. Now, swear to me, sir, on all you hold dear that you will protect her. Tell me what has you distraught this morning, then, maybe, I’ll tell you where she is.”
The earl stood and squared his shoulders. “A maid came screaming that she was gone. I rushed to her room and found bullet holes in the blankets on her bed, and gun powder and hole in a pillow which had been tossed to the side.”
Clarence leaned against the bookshelf nearest him. What if he’d not risked moving her? What if he’d left her there for the night? “Did the peelers take Jarvis away yesterday?”
A brief hesitation then, “Yes, he’s been dealt with.”
He noted the hesitation and wondered at the cause, but he hadn’t the patience for the earl’s caginess. “Then you know who it is, don’t you? Who it’s likely to be and could get around your home with no one the wiser?”
“Robert,” the earl replied grimly.
“Under the circumstances, she should stay under my protection.”
“I will not have her marrying you, and as such, her being under your protection is not seemly nor will it help her find a more appropriate suitor.”
“Father?”
Both men turned in surprise at Lillian’s entrance. “Clarence?”
Clarence pushed the earl to the side to take her hands in his. Her eyes held a shadow in them that hadn’t been there when he dropped her off. “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.
“I’m much better. I had to sleep with the light on, but I did rest. What is Father saying?” she inquired.
“I will not have you marry the duke,” her father interjected.
Clarence reluctantly stood back so she could see him.
“Father, I will not marry anyone else, either. You can’t force me.”
“Maybe not. That damn codicil in your grandmother’s will forbids it. However, I can refuse you to him. Until you are of age to be on your own without scandal, I can force you to come home.”
Clarence clenched his teeth, anger thrumming through him at the implied threat to her reputation. “After everything, you’d still deny us?”
“Yes. Your cousin did everything she could to hurt my family, tortured my daughter. It’s likely none of this would have happened if it weren’t for her or you and your bedlam family. I’d rather see her die alone than be in the clutches of the Canterburys.”
“Father!”
Clarence lost his anger as fast as it had come. He’d probably feel the same way about his sisters if he were in Lamberth’s shoes. Before he could think of something to defend himself, Lamberth grabbed Lillian by the upper arm.
“You are coming home right now. I suggest, you don’t try to stop me, Clarence. You are not in your best form of late.”
Clarence’s hand automatically went to his side. “Lillian?” His deepest fear was being realized. She was being taken from him, put into danger, and he couldn’t stop it.
“I’ll go home with him. For now. I don’t want you in trouble,” she said, her eyes imploring him to…what?
He had the sense she tried to tell him something, but his heart hurt so bad from her choice to leave, that he couldn’t think past it. “I can’t…how can I protect you there?” he asked, desperately wanting her to stay.
“I will protect her,” Lamberth said angrily and drug her out of the room and out of his house, out of his life.
Unless…
A plan began to form in his mind. He’d need Mother’s help, and of course, George and Henry. The biggest risk would be sneaking in to get her. Someone cleared their throat, surprising him.
“Your Grace, your cloak and this one was left in the carriage. They’ve been cleaned. What shall I do with it?”
A huge smile spread across his face. “That’s Lamberth’s. I’ll take it.” And suddenly, he knew how’d he get in. He figured it would take about three days to have everything ready, including recruiting her friend, Lady Sarah to help.
But…if Lillian was willing, it could work. After having time to think, would she decide she hated his whole family the way he initially had with Jarvis, the way her father had with his? Despair warred with hope, and he pressed his lips together. No, she was better than all of them. She couldn’t abandon him.
Could she?
Chapter Twenty
Lillian allowed Father to drag her out of the house then jerked her arm away. “Let go. I allowed you to take me from there to protect him. I am furious right now. You have no right. No right. We are to be married.” Angrily, she blinked back tears and walked as fast as she could to the carriage. She’d send for her things later.
“You are not. I will not allow it.”
“You can only stop it for a short time. I will move out, if I have to. I have my own places. It just means no money for a companion or a maid. Mayhap, I will move Hermione in with me. Or Sarah. Or I will go live with her. I am tired, Father. Tired of your insistence on treating me as if I am nothing.”
“I just want you to be protected. Living on your own won’t do that for you. People will talk. Worse, there are unscrupulous men out there who would take advantage.”
“You mean like your brother? Or mine?”
The carriage pulled up to their house, and she jumped out, not waiting for his response. The painful landing reminded her of just how low Jarvis would go…and to walk more carefully.
“Lillian! I am sorry! I won’t let them hurt you anymore!” Father called after her, a claim she didn’t believe.
Without so much as a glance behind her, she went up to her rooms. At least Janice was still safely away. She’d have to figure out how to keep and pay her and move out. Anger took her all the way to her room before the throbbing in her feet beat out the frustration. At least someone had changed her bedding. It would be fresh for her gilded cage. She laid on her bed, one hand over her face.
She couldn’t move out on her own. For all of her blustering to her father, if she could have, she’d have done it last year. One more year. That’s all she’d need. Right now, the money from her estates paid for the bare minimum necessary to run them, and the rest went into the trust which she couldn’t touch yet. She needed to survive for a year. Avoid her brother. Easy. It
would be easier if she could stay at Sarah’s town home.
She’d send for Sarah. That’s what she’d do. Sarah would have a way out of this mess. When a servant came and brought her foods, she had them send a message out to her friend. If she were lucky, she’d hear back today. Sarah would be agog when she heard about the kidnapping. Hopefully, she’d not heard anything yet.
A knock followed by the door opening had Lillian looking up expectantly. “Mother.”
“Good morning.” She swept along with her usual grace and bent over to kiss Lillian on the cheek. “How are you? I am sorry about your ordeal. Do you need to talk about it?”
Lillian didn’t want to talk about it, but hearing Mother’s soft voice offer comfort, she couldn’t resist a hug. “Why is Father so stringent? All he’s wanted was for me to marry well. Now, I have a duke ready to marry me, and he won’t budge. Did Grandpa fight you marrying Father?”
“Yes, he did. He couldn’t see past the brusqueness to the heart underneath. I did. He is not as bad as he seems. He’s trying to protect his family. That includes you.”
“By keeping me from becoming a duchess?” Lillian wasn’t fooled..
“No, that’s personal for him. The Canterburys nearly caused you to be killed and possibly used his own brother and son to set you up. Your father is reacting as much out of guilt as anger. Though, he is not talking much.”
“He’s refused to hear about my ordeal. Told me he’d taken care of everything. Why won’t he listen?”
“Something is bothering him. Please, give him time. He’ll come around.”
The pain in her voice had Lillian pausing in her own self-pity. “Oh, God, Mother. I am a sorry excuse for a daughter. I was so caught up in my ordeal, I hadn’t thought how this must be affecting you.”
“It is painful when a mother has to choose between her children, yes. However, unlike your father, I knew Robert was lost to us long ago. I never told you this, but Robert came to me before. He wanted you punished for slapping him. I asked what he’d done to deserve the slap. He’d been furious, but finally admitted to having pinched you in the arm. You were so young then. It became worse as you grew older. Our lots, those of wives and daughters, have never been easy ones.”
Darkest Valentine Page 17
