Jo Beverley - [Rogue ] (35 page)

Eleanor simply stood and stared but Amy sprang forward. "Nicholas, are you mad? We were brought here by force!"

He pushed her away. "Don't support her foolish schemes!"

As Amy fell back in horror, he redirected his attack at his wife. "Since you have been so unwise as to come here," he said coldly, meeting her wide blue eyes, "you may as well know the truth. Tonight I leave with Madame Bellaire, the woman I have always loved. You know I would never have married you if my brother had not forced me by threatening me with penury. You have my name. I will not let you or the brat starve. Be grateful for that."

At the admission, Eleanor felt an icy rage boiling in her and was glad of it. It killed, for the moment, the pain. "I want nothing from you," she choked out. "You are despicable!" She struggled for words to express her feelings, and then spat, "Oh, go wallow with your middle-aged whore!" and turned her face crying to the wall.

He lunged to lean over her before the spark of laughter could be seen in his eyes. God, he wished he'd seen Therese's face at that hit.

"Better than a silly chit always wanting my attention and creating scenes!" he choked out.

When Amy started a protest he swung on her. "Shut up!"

He looked around in desperation, hoping he looked as if he was speechless with anger and trying to be sure he had covered enough ground to satisfy the watcher. He decided he had. Now to see if he could salvage something for his brave, wonderful darling.

"I have had enough of this," he said coldly. "I am having you sent home." He turned Eleanor and put his hands tight around her neck. Blue eyes clashed with brown. "If we ever meet again, madam, you will be more controlled and discreet. Do you understand? Controlled and discreet."

Eleanor's face seemed to freeze and she swallowed. "Yes, I understand," she whispered, staring at him.

"Remember," he snapped and strode out of the room.

Amy ran to Eleanor. Eleanor wrapped shaking arms around her.

"How could he?" choked the younger woman.

"Because he is despicable," said Eleanor stonily. "Don't speak to me of him."

In a few moments their captor came to lead them down the stairs again to the same curtained carriage.

"Are they really taking us home?" whispered Amy as soon as they were inside. "Just like that?"

"I'm sure they are. Nicholas would never let them hurt you, at least."

"Oh, Eleanor!" Tears of disillusion ran down Amy's face. "How could he?"

"We will not discuss it," said Eleanor, dry-eyed.

The coach came to a stop. Their guard helped them quickly down. "There you are ladies. Just a few streets from home. I said you had nothing to fear. Good night!"

Eleanor watched the carriage disappear and then set off briskly for Lauriston Street and home, refusing to respond to anything Amy said. Hollygirt nearly collapsed when he opened the door to them.

"Mrs. Delaney! Thank God. And Miss Haile. Heaven be praised!"

Instantly Mrs. Hollygirt was there too, with the rest of the staff following.

Jenny fussed over Eleanor until she put a stop to it.

"Hollygirt, I want tea," Eleanor said in a brisk voice. "Sweet and well laced with brandy. Send a message to Lord Middlethorpe immediately."

"Yes, ma'am," said the butler, patently relieved to find her in command. "But we were to send a message to Mr. Cavanagh's."

"Then do so, Hollygirt. Who knows we were missing?"

"Mr. Layering gave the alarm, ma'am. But I don't know who he told."

The tea came quickly and Eleanor made Amy drink some of it, though she did not like it. Eleanor herself found it very comforting.

As she sipped and grimaced, Amy looked anxiously at her friend. "Eleanor, are you all right?"

"I'm thinking. I wish Peter were here. I wonder if he is waiting at Cavanagh's." With sudden exasperation she said, "I need to know what's happening!"

After a few more minutes of silence, Amy asked in a small voice, "Eleanor, is Nicholas usually so horrid to you?"

"No." Eleanor looked at the girl, knowing her faith in all mankind had been sadly shaken. She couldn't help her yet. "Please, Amy, I can't discuss it at the moment. I must know what's been happening first. Don't you see? If Nicholas knew we'd been kidnapped, then he would not believe we had gone there of our own free will."

"But then why say it?"

"I don't know. But don't think too badly of him yet. It might have been the only way to get us out of there safely. But I still don't understand. Why take us hostages only to let us go? I wish I had more facts."

Suddenly Eleanor saw another problem. "Amy, we must think of a tale to tell your mother, and any other people who may have heard we were missing. I don't think they should hear the truth."

"But what tale?"

"An expert once told me to stick as close to the truth as possible," Eleanor replied with a smile. "Let me see. I don't want to involve my brother, though I'll tear his eyes out if I ever see him again. We left his house then. What about Thomas? Heavens, I forgot all about the poor man."

She rang the bell and made enquiries of Hollygirt.

"I was about to come to you, ma'am. He has just come in, having been knocked out and trussed up. He was dumped not long ago near here and managed to free him-self and make his way home. But he's in a poor way, ma'am."

"I will come to him. Amy, can I leave you here for a while?"

"Oh yes, Eleanor. You go to the poor man."

Thomas was groggy and was sitting at the kitchen table having nasty weals on his wrists dressed. When he tried to rise Eleanor waved him to stay seated. It suddenly came to her how well they had been treated by the same ruffians who had done this.

"What happened, Thomas?"

He groaned. "I'm right sorry, Mrs. Delaney. I was taken like a fool. Knocked out from behind! I never expected anything there, though."

"Why should you have?" Eleanor reassured him. "As you see, we are safe. You have had the worst of it. What happened to your wrists?"

"Well, ma'am, when they dumped me, they nicked the rope so as I would be able to break it, but it took some doing. It's nothing much, ma'am."

It looked terrible, and he winced as Mrs. Cooke dabbed at the swollen flesh with a cloth.

"You must rest," said Eleanor, "but I need to speak to you for a moment. Alone."

When all the servants had left she asked, "Have you told anyone where you were attacked?"

His brow furrowed as he thought. "Don't reckon I have, Mrs. Delaney. I wasn't up to saying much as would make sense until a minute or two ago."

"Well, I would rather no one knows we were abducted from my brother's house. It is rather embarrassing."

"Yes, ma'am, I see. What should I say then?"

"I think we should say we were attacked as we walked to Lady Middlethorpe's. Will it hold water?"

He nodded. "There's a treed walk thereabouts. It could have happened there."

"Excellent. You have a good brain, Thomas. You were knocked out there and know nothing else. Now get some rest and don't worry. You did your best."

She told Amy of the story. "Oh, Chestnut Walk. Yes, it could have happened there. I have always disliked it, so dark and damp."

"Well, today I insisted we walk that way, and we were abducted—blindfolded, I think—and we don't know where we were taken."

"What of our escape? How do we explain that without mentioning..."

Eleanor's heart ached to see the girl couldn't even bear to mention Nicholas's name. "We climbed through a window," she explained. "We were kept on the ground floor, you see, by very careless kidnappers. We fled until we came to streets we recognized. We were far too distraught to notice where we were held."

The sound of arrivals brought them both to their feet.

"At last," said Eleanor, as Peter and Lord Middlethorpe burst into the room. Peter hurried over to Amy, who flung herself into his arms and burst into tears. Lord Middlethorpe took a more restrained but comforting hold of Eleanor's hands.

"Are you all right?"

"Perfectly. Amy is upset, that is all."

He smiled slightly. "And you are not?"

"Not yet. There is too much to do. Francis, I must know. Did Nicholas know we were kidnapped?"

"Yes. Peter came and told us. He went off prepared to do anything to ensure your safety. Were you held by Sir Lionel?"

"No, by Madame Bellaire."

Lord Middlethorpe was dumbfounded, and it was at this moment that Peter and Amy, in one another's arms, joined the discussion.

"But why should she?" Peter asked. "She had everything she wanted."

There was no chance to answer as a new arrival was heard. Eleanor watched the door hopefully, but it was not Nicholas who entered but Lady Middlethorpe, come to gather her daughter to her bosom.

After a moment she turned reproachful eyes upon her son. "Francis, you could have come to support me through such an ordeal."

"I was trying to find Amy, Mother. I couldn't be in two places. At least they are now both safe."

"Thank God! What happened?"

Eleanor told their story, adding a few realistic touches and receiving very strange looks from the gentlemen. They did not contradict her, however. Lady Middlethorpe wondered at length about the reason for it all, then swept a reluctant Amy away to her home. She hinted that her son at least should accompany them, but he put her off.

As soon as she was gone he demanded an explanation from Eleanor of the story she had told.

"Well, I don't want my brother's part in this to become common knowledge, and I doubt it is wise that Nicholas's involvement be heard of either. I am sorry to lie to your mother, Francis, but I think it's for the best."

"Yes, you're right," he agreed, giving her a penetrating look. "But I hadn't thought of it. You are become very formidable, Eleanor."

She raised her chin. "I suppose you would rather I faint and weep and leave everything in the capable hands of you men? It is you who got us into the predicament in the first place. Now I want to know exactly what has been going on."

He looked uncomfortable. "You mean in addition to you and Amy?"

"I mean everything. What difference can it make now? I gather things have come to their climax."

He sighed and capitulated, giving her the outlines of the plot. "Nicholas was to get the names of the conspirators this evening and then take Madame Bellaire away. She believed he was fleeing with her to the Americas, but he intended merely to see her safe out of the country with ample money for her needs."

"Poor woman," said Eleanor.

"She is a double traitoress and a whore," Peter protested, and then apologized for his language.

But Eleanor had not noticed. She had been absorbing the story she had been told. "Do you mean Nicholas was not part of the plot? Oh, what a fool I've been!"

"Part of it? You didn't think...?"

"I thought he was deep in it. The pearls!" she said with sick horror. What would he say? Oh, what did it matter? "So he went there as arranged, and then what? Of course, she wanted proof that it was she he loved. She was listening and watching!"

The gentlemen looked at her in amazement as her eyes glowed and she laughed.

"Eleanor, are you all right?"

"I have solved it all!" she declared happily. "We were in Madame Bellaire's house, as I suspected. Nicholas came into our room and acted a grand scene. It was quite unlike him. He was rude, he snarled, he berated me. I hated him," she said with a reminiscent smile. "I told him so. But then he said a peculiar thing. He accused me of always pestering him and creating scenes. Well, it was completely untrue, and I thought it very strange. Then he tried to throttle me."

"What!" they cried in unison.

"Not really, though I think Amy was convinced. He had his hands around my neck quite tight, but not so I couldn't breathe, and he was tickling me at the back. I knew then it was all an act, but I didn't know why. Now I realize there must have been a peephole and Madame Bellaire was watching. He was convincing her he had no feelings for me and was totally hers. I suppose a jealous woman is not quite sane."

"But to abuse you like that!" protested Peter.

She turned on him sharply. "It was probably that or see me mistreated or killed. I doubt Madame would be charitable to her rival if he refused. I am concerned about what she will do if she realizes she is being tricked."

"What can she do?" said Lord Middlethorpe. "By then the die will be cast and her only desire will be to be out of the country." He glanced at his fob watch. "It is gone eleven o'clock. There should be news soon. But Eleanor, you should go to bed and rest."

"Do you think I could sleep?" she asked. "In fact, I'm hungry. Can I order something for you?"

So they sat and ate sandwiches, watching the clock and waiting for news. There was another arrival and they all turned expectantly to the door, but it was only the marquess.

"Luce, what's happening?" asked Lord Middlethorpe.