The next morning Selina awoke groggy and out of sorts. Drat that man for keeping her up most of the night. She had gotten what she’d wanted for the past month. She should be ecstatic that he’d given his permission for her to move back to her cottage.
So why wasn’t she?
She dressed slowly and then sat on the bed. Because she knew in her heart that she would miss him terribly. In one short month, he had come to mean everything to her. Not only did he smile more, she did too. Returning to her cottage meant very little time alone with Colin.
And while her mind tried to convince her that it was for the best, her heart disagreed.
Unable to face him and his family yet, she rang for breakfast in her room. While she waited, she walked to the window and glanced at the vastness of his estate. She loved the view from this room. She could see the reflecting pond and the rolling hills. If she moved to the other window, she could see the horses being led out of the stables.
As much as she didn’t belong here, she hated to leave this beautiful home.
She turned at the sound of a knock on the door. “Yes, come in.”
Randall opened the door. “Mr. Baker asked you to see them as soon as you can. His father is not doing well. He thinks it might be his time.”
“I’ll get my bag,” she said, even though she doubted there was anything she could do. At eighty-five, the elder Mr. Baker had lost most of his mind. He’d been bedridden for the past six months.
When Randall turned to leave, she remembered Colin was supposed to go with her today. “Is the duke awake yet?”
“Yes, he went for a ride this morning.”
“Please let him know where I went. He wanted to greet more of the tenants with me today.”
“Yes, miss.”
She gathered her things and departed without breakfast. She passed a footman carrying her tray and picked up a piece of toast on her way down the stairs. “I’m sorry but I must leave,” she said to him.
“I understand, miss.”
She walked quickly to the Bakers’ home and Miss Baker let her in.
“He’s not well at all, Selina.”
“I shall check on him. Where is your brother?”
“Edward is with him now.”
Selina headed to the small bedroom on the main floor. Inside, the room was darkened and stunk of bodily waste. “Good morning, Mr. Baker.”
She walked directly to the windows and opened the curtains. “Why is this room so dark?”
Mr. Baker rose from his seat near the bed and shrugged. “Ain’t that what you’re supposed to do?”
Selina wanted to shake the man. “No. Get this room cleaned up right now. All chamber pots emptied and I want fresh linens on this bed.”
“Now, Miss White,” Mr. Baker strolled closer. “The man’s going to die so why does it matter ’bout the linens? It’s just more for Bertha to wash.”
The rancid smell of his breath almost made her vomit. There were very few tenants she truly disliked but this man was one. Being near him always made her skin crawl. “Do as I say, now, or I leave.”
He took a step even closer. “Go ahead and leave. Bertha’s the one who called for you, not me. He can die anytime. One less mouth to try and feed. Now you,” he said as he reached for her unbound hair, “I wouldn’t mind watching you eat . . . me that is.”
A sliver of fear wove through her. Mr. Baker had never been this overt in his intentions. “Bertha, can you come here for a moment.”
“Don’t you come in here, Bertha,” Mr. Baker shouted. “This is between her and me.”
“Indeed,” said a menacing voice from the threshold. “Somehow I think I might have a say in this.”
Selina breathed again. “Your Grace, can you please escort Mr. Baker out of this room?”
She glanced over to see a gleam of anger in Colin’s eyes.
“With pleasure, Miss White.”
“Your Grace?” Mr. Baker said with a gulp.
“Mr. Baker, you and I need to have a little conversation outside.” Colin strode toward him and grabbed his arm. He dragged him out of the room.
Once they left, Bertha entered the room. “I’m sorry, Selina.”
“I know, Bertha. I’ve tended your bruises before.” She went to the bed and examined Bertha’s father. “He is severely dehydrated. When did he stop drinking water?”
“I don’t know. Edward wouldn’t let me tend to him. That’s why I called for you.”
The man was trying to kill his own father. “All right. Try to get him to drink. And clean up this room. The windows should be open to get some fresh air in here. I’ll come back tomorrow to check on him but he might not make it.”
Bertha nodded. “I know.”
Selina gathered her things and walked out to find Colin. Leaving the house, she saw Colin leaning against a tree with a very self-satisfied look upon his face. Mr. Baker ambled toward her, holding his stomach.
“I owe you an apology, Sel . . . Miss White.”
“Apology accepted.” She glanced over his shoulder to see Colin give a quick nod. “But you are not to tend to your father. From now on only Bertha will look after him.”
“All right.” He walked away from her with a quick look back at Colin.
“What an odious man,” Colin said as they started walking to the next tenant’s home.
“You have no idea.”
They walked along in silence for a short while until Selina put a hand on his arm to stop him. She looked up into his blue eyes and never wanted to look away. “Thank you.”
“It was not any great deed. Bertha was in the next room. I’m quite sure she would have assisted you.”
Selina averted her eyes and shook her head. “No, she would not have. She is terrified of her brother. She has come to me several times with bruises and scrapes that I know he caused.”
“Dammit,” he yelled. He turned around and strode back in the direction they had come from. “I should have known about him. I’m the goddamn duke!”
“Colin, where are you going?”
“To get that man off my land.”
Selina trotted to catch up with him. “Well then, wait for me.”
He slowed down and smiled back at her. “You don’t seem too angry that I’m forcing him to leave.”
“Not at all. That man is dreadful. I honestly don’t know what might have happened today if you hadn’t shown up.”
They arrived back at the cottage to hear pottery being smashed and shouting inside. Colin burst into the house and dragged Mr. Baker outside. “Get in and see to Miss Baker, she’s hurt.”
Selina raced inside to find Bertha cowering in the corner of the room. Shards of pottery were strewn on the floor around her and blood dripped down her face. “Oh, Bertha, I’m so sorry.”
Slowly, Bertha rose to her feet. Her skinny arms trembled. “Not your fault, Selina.”
“I should have told the duke sooner. I forget that he doesn’t know as much about his tenants as I do.” Gently, she wiped away the blood and examined the cuts on her face. “These should heal in no time. They aren’t deep.”
“Thank you, Selina. If you hadn’t forced the duke to return, I don’t know what might have happened.”
She searched her bag for willow bark. “I didn’t force him, Bertha. As soon as he heard what has been happening to you, he turned around and came back. His Grace will not tolerate that kind of behavior on his lands.”
Bertha looked up at her with big brown eyes. “His Grace is forcing Edward to leave?”
“Yes.”
“But where will I go?”
Selina put the small bag of herbs on the table. Without Mr. Baker’s support, Bertha would have nowhere to live. “I don’t know,” she admitted. Unlike Mrs. Patterson, Bertha couldn’t work at the manor house while trying to care for her father.
“You will stay right here,” Colin said as he came back in. “Once your father is well . . .” He left the “or dead” unspoken. “I will find you a position.”
“Thank you, Your Grace. But what’s going to happen to Edward?”
“I told him I want him off my land immediately and to never set foot on it again.”
Bertha nodded and a look of relief washed over her. “Thank you again, Your Grace.”
“If he gives you any trouble, just let me know,” Colin said. “Good morning, Miss Baker.”
Once they left the house, Selina giggled. “You rather enjoyed that, didn’t you?”
“Enjoyed what?”
“Taking that man to task.”
“I will not stand having a man on my land who hurts women and children.”
Selina nodded. “Or the elderly.”
“Exactly.” He lowered his head and kissed her softly. “I protect what’s mine.”
Her heart pounded in her chest. Was he implying that she was his?
“Come along, Selina. We have more tenants to visit.”
After they had finished their visits, they made their way back to her cottage. Colin had told her that he’d had the servants pack up her things from Hart’s property as well as the few she kept at the duke’s home. By the time they had arrived, everything was back at the cottage.
Colin hadn’t told her about the surprise. He’d made the footman remove the bed from the room she’d been sleeping in on the third floor and bring it here. It was time she discovered he knew her secret.
Selina walked inside and smiled broadly. “Thank you again, Colin. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
She brought her bag into her bedroom and stopped at the doorway. “What is that doing in here?”
“Is there a problem, Selina?”
She turned around and glared at him. “Where is my bed?”
“Whatever do you mean? Isn’t that the bed you’ve been sleeping in for the past few weeks?”
Her face paled in the waning light. “You knew about that?”
“I learned of it just last night.”
She stared away from him as if attempting to process what she’d learned. “Who told you?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“Kate.”
She squeezed her eyes tight. “Thank God,” she said quietly.
“Why are you thanking God that my sister told me?” He folded his arms over his chest.
“The servants had nothing to do with it.”
He laughed harshly. “They had everything to do with it.” He slowly realized why she’d wanted it to be his sister who had told him. “You don’t think I would blame the servants for what they did, do you?”
She blew out a long breath and shook her head. “At first when you came back, yes, I would have believed it of you. But not any longer.” She turned to face him. “Something in you has changed. For the better, I might add.”
“I have you to thank for that,” he whispered. “I was so angry with everyone when I came here.”
“And now?”
“Now, I wish I had returned sooner. I wish I had returned from this living hell I’d let myself drown in for years.” He stared out the window and could see his home from here.
Warmth enveloped him as her arms wrapped around him. Her head rested on his back. “Grief is a horrible thing. I once watched as my mother tried to heal a young woman. She died several weeks later and the only cause my mother could think of was that she’d been so heartbroken over the loss of her betrothed that she had lost the will to live.”
Hearing her talk about her mother made his muscles tense. He hadn’t thought about what she’d done to Mary and their son in a couple of weeks. He knew it wasn’t Selina’s fault. So he inhaled deeply and released the anger.
“Are you all right?” She gently rubbed his back muscles.
Remain in the moment
, he told himself. Selina was important, not her lying mother. “Yes.”
He twisted in her arms and brought her against his chest. Holding her like this always sent desire straight to his loins. “Do you like my gift?”
“It was very sweet but I cann—”
He cut her off with a hot kiss. “Yes, you can accept it.”
“But I—”
Again, he kissed her in order to stop her from refusing the gift. But as her arms wrapped around his neck, he knew she would be happy to have that bed in a minute.
“What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.
“Kissing you.”
“Yes, but why do you keep cutting off my—”
Her arguments made no impression on him when she was kissing him back so sweetly. He wanted to move her to the bedroom now. As he took a step back, she lifted her head.
“Is this the reason for the bed?”
He pressed his lips against the pulse hammering her neck. “Your former bed was much too small for the both of us.”
“True but I hadn’t intended on sharing.”