Kane, Samantha - Brothers In Arms 3 (10 page)

“Freddy?” Valentine sounded a little startled at the change of topic. “He’s, well…he’s Freddy.”

Kurt laughed. “That says it all, and says nothing.” He shrugged in his usual manner, the movement speaking volumes. “He is young and inexperienced, but a good man I think. He likes to laugh and that is always good in a peer.”

“He must be very aware of his position if he is at all like his mother.” Leah couldn’t stop her moue of distaste.

Both Kurt and Valentine burst out laughing. “Freddy?” Valentine said with good humor. “No, he is nothing like that. Brett spends half his time reminding Freddy who and what he is.”

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“Brett?” Leah inquired.

“Brett Haversham. He’s Freddy’s constant companion. He was good friends with Freddy’s older brother Bertram during the war, was injured in the same incident where Bertie died. Since he came back Freddy’s hardly left his side.”

Kurt’s tone was neutral, so Leah had to ask. “Are they lovers, like you two?”

Kurt looked thoughtful for a moment. “No, I am sure they are not, although Freddy I think would like to be. But Brett, he puts Freddy off.” Kurt shrugged again in bewilderment.

“Will he like me?” Leah didn’t want Kurt and Valentine’s friends to look down on them for their marriage to a simple country widow with children. Their friends sounded so sophisticated. No matter what they said, a duke was a lofty friend indeed.

“They will love you,” Valentine assured her, kissing her neck, “if only because we do.”

* * * * *

“What the hell?” Valentine muttered behind her, and Leah opened her eyes. She’d dozed off to the rhythm of the carriage, in the security of both men’s arms.

“What is it?” she asked groggily, sitting up and stretching. She followed his gaze out the window and saw the cottage ablaze with lights.

“Oh my God!” Leah was frantic. Something must be wrong. The cottage should be dark this time of night, the children in bed.

The carriage came to a halt, and Valentine threw open the door, jumping down and turning to lift Leah out. She ran for the door, Valentine and Kurt close behind her.

Before she could reach it, the door flew open and Sir Horatio stepped out in her path.

She barely had time to stop before his arm drew back and delivered a ringing blow to her cheek, knocking her down. She saw stars and lay there dazed for a moment.

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“You filthy slut, I had to lie to the Duchess to cover up your whoring,” he hissed.

“I’m taking these children tonight. I will be back in the morning to discuss your punishment.”

“You pathetic bastard,” Valentine ground out, and Leah’s vision cleared in time to see him haul Sir Horatio off his feet by his cravat. “Do you gain your pleasure by abusing those weaker than you? Do you dare take on a man instead of women and children?” Valentine held him suspended on his toes with one hand and backhanded him across the face with the other.

“You foul whoreson,” Sir Horatio gasped. “You’ll pay for that, and for what you and your foreign lover took from me tonight.” Valentine threw him on the ground as if he were trash. The older man’s face was livid with fury. “Leah was mine, mine. I was willing to marry her, but now I won’t. She’s not good enough now. I’ll get everything I want without having to wed the whore. And you will be driven from the neighborhood, from England if I have my way.”

Kurt and Mrs. Northcott had rushed to Leah’s side as soon as she went down, and she now sat on the ground, her mother’s arms around her. Kurt walked over to stand in front of Sir Horatio for a moment then he bent his knees to squat in front of the fallen man. His voice was all the more menacing for its quietness.

“It is you who will be leaving, Marleston, if you value your life. By next week, Leah will be Mrs. Westridge. As of tonight both she and her mother, and the children too, will be at Cantley with us. You will never touch them or see them again. I will make sure the Duke knows of this incident, and you will no longer be welcome at Ashton Park. And yes, Valentine and I do have that power. You are through being the bully.

There is nothing left for you here.”

Kurt stood and turned his back on the older man, completely disregarding him as a threat. Sir Horatio was left gasping like a fish on the ground. Kurt turned to the door and saw Bastian and Esme there. “Come,
meine kinder
, let us go and pack your things,”

he said gently, and Esme let him pick her up and carry her inside.

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Valentine picked Leah up in his arms and her mother hurried inside ahead of them.

As he walked past Sir Horatio, Leah’s head on his shoulder, he paused and looked down. “By the end of the week, or I will kill you,” he said in a flat voice, and Leah didn’t doubt his words. She buried her face in his neck and wrapped her arms tightly around him. She didn’t want to see Sir Horatio ever again, not even lying on the ground in defeat.

“I think I will love you too,” she whispered, looking up at Valentine after he kicked the door closed behind them.

He smiled down at her. “Of course you will, my dear. It’s all part of the plan.”

Sir Horatio was livid. He waited until the door closed and then started to rise. It was only then that his footman hurried over to help him. The man had been standing off to the side near Sir Horatio’s carriage, hidden in the shadows. He’d wanted to surprise Leah when he confronted her with her treachery and perfidy. He hadn’t counted on the two unnatural bastards being with her.

“Get away!” he snarled at the servant. He hoisted himself to his feet with difficulty, his tight corset making it hard to do. “I see you didn’t rush to my assistance when I was being assaulted by that ruffian.”

“Well, I…” the footman stuttered, clearly afraid to continue.

“Never mind, you fool,” Sir Horatio ground out. “I don’t need your assistance. I have my own ways of making them pay.”

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Two days later Leah and the children were settling in at Cantley nicely. Bastian and Esme were enthralled with the nursery, which contained some old toys left by the previous owners. Their pleasure at such tawdry cast-offs nearly broke Kurt’s heart.

He’d sent off two of the footmen to buy every toy available in the village. He was firmly determined to make them the two most spoiled children in Christendom.

Valentine had taken over Bastian’s lessons until a tutor could be found. He’d sent off a notice to the
Times
and was hopeful he’d have some decent inquiries soon considering the salary he was offering.

And Leah was finally letting herself relax. Being free of worry was such a new concept to her she was having trouble adjusting. She’d actually pinched herself so hard that morning trying to make sure it was all real she’d left a bruise on her arm. She was also trying to learn how to take care of a household the size of Valentine’s. Yesterday at breakfast she’d asked Valentine what would be required of her as his wife.

“You will take care of the house I should imagine,” he’d told her vaguely.

Leah had sighed with impatience. “Yes, but what exactly does that entail, Valentine? How many servants do you have? Have you a housekeeper? Will I be responsible for the household accounts as well?”

He’d looked at Kurt, lost. “I, I don’t really know Leah. Kurt handles all that.”

Leah had seen then how it would be. “I see. And now I will too.”

Valentine had smiled ingeniously. “Exactly, my love.”

Kurt laughed. “Valentine wishes to have a pack of dogs and a stable of hunters, my dear, and perhaps a racehorse or two. And in his free time he shall also raise children.

The other details of his life he leaves to you and me.”

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Samantha Kane

Rather than be annoyed Leah was euphoric. To be able to oversee a house like Cantley was a dream come true. She needn’t worry about money, they’d made that clear. Between the two of them they were quite solid financially, their money invested well and growing daily.

She’d spent the morning with the housekeeper, as it turned out Valentine did indeed have one. She was a no-nonsense woman with a bit of a cockney accent and she made no secret of her origins with Leah.

“Mr. Westridge and Mr. Schillig hired me out of the stew,” she told her baldly. “I ran my own house there with a few girls, but was needing to go on the up and up you see. They give me a chance, and a couple of my girls as well.”

To say Leah was startled was putting it mildly. “I see.” She decided to speak as plainly as Mrs. Cadwalter. “Will they be a problem, do you think?” She’d heard tales of street girls lying their way into a position in a good house only to pick up their old ways with the other servants and their masters.

“Not at all, mum,” she’d firmly declared. “Hired us because they served with our misters they did. All died in the war you know. Looked us up to see how we were doing, and being the gentlemen they are offered us a better way. We’d never do nothing to embarrass them.”

Leah was moved almost to tears. How like Valentine and Kurt to do something like that. She felt petty for thinking ill of these women for even a moment. She knew how hard it was for a widow with no means in this world.

“I’m quite glad to hear it, Mrs. Cadwalter,” was all she said. “Shall we begin with a tour of the house?” Her head was spinning by teatime with all the information she’d received. Linens, menus, accounts, servants—she could hardly keep it all straight. She finally realized what it meant to be the wife of a wealthy man, and the responsibilities it entailed.

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Leah took tea with her mother in the back garden. “I wonder if I should send someone for the boys,” she muttered as she poured her mother a cup.

“Is that what we’re calling them?” Marjorie said archly. “I wondered.”

Leah slowly put the teapot down and looked at her mother. “I’m sorry. I guess I haven’t really discussed anything with you. I failed to see that this affects you too.”

Marjorie instantly put her cup down and took Leah’s hand. “No, darling, I’m sorry.

I didn’t mean anything by that remark. It’s just, this is rather…” She flapped her hands in the air and then gave up. “I’m not sure what this is quite frankly.”

Leah bit her lip and contemplated a lie, but in the end opted for the truth. Her mother would be here quite a lot, even after she moved back to her cottage. She would figure it out eventually. Leah was uncomfortable with the idea of lying to her anyway.

She’d stood staunchly by her side through her disaster of a marriage and the calamity of Thomas’ debts.

“I’m going to marry Mr. Westridge,” she started, “as soon as possible.”

“I gathered that from Mr. Schillig’s comments last night,” Marjorie replied. “But what of Mr. Schillig? What is his role here?” Her look was shrewd.

“He is Valentine’s lover and will be mine as well.” Leah’s voice was steady, her tone perhaps a touch defensive, but she felt her face flame as she spoke.

“I see.” It was Marjorie’s turn to be startled. She looked away for a moment. When she looked back she too was blushing, but she forged ahead. “And is this what you want?” She reached for Leah’s hand again and gripped it tightly. “No one’s forcing you? We can find another way to thwart Sir Horatio, if this is against your will.”

Leah grabbed her hand with both of hers. “Oh no, Mama. This is what I want. They are both good men, and they need me. I care for them both already. True, I entertained their proposal at first because of our circumstances, and because almost anything was better than Sir Horatio. But now, now I can see a happy future here for me and the children. They are honorable men, and they respect me and care for me in return. We can make it work, we can.”

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Marjorie closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them Leah saw the love and determination that had always supported her. “All right then,” Marjorie said briskly. “If this is what you want, then we shall all make it work.”

Leah leaned over and hugged her. “Oh thank you, Mama, thank you.”

Marjorie cleared her throat and asked Leah about her morning. She was telling her all about Mrs. Cadwalter when they were interrupted by Esme’s shrill, frightened scream from somewhere in front of the house. Leah dropped her cup to the ground and was running before she even thought about it, Marjorie close behind. They rounded the side of the house to see Sir Horatio dragging a screaming Esme toward his carriage.

There were several soldiers standing near him and the maid who’d been assigned to watch Esme was nowhere to be seen.

“Esme!” Leah shouted, running to her.

“Mama!” Esme screamed and tried to pull away from Horatio toward Leah. Before Leah could reach her she was grabbed roughly by one of the soldiers and shoved back.

Her mother caught her before she fell.

“She’s my daughter!” Leah cried. “What are you doing?”

“Esme?” Leah heard Kurt cry out and turned to see him charging through the front door, the maid who’d been watching Esme close behind. Kurt bellowed with rage as he saw Sir Horatio dragging the little girl and he didn’t break stride as he tackled the older man to the ground. Horatio let go of her and she tried to run to Leah but was snatched up by the same soldier who’d grabbed Leah. She was screaming hysterically by now, and Leah was crying, trying to get to her, but another soldier blocked her path.

“Let go of me, damn it!” Leah heard Kurt shout, anger and desperation in his voice.

She looked over and saw two soldiers hauling him off Horatio.

“What the hell is going on here?” Valentine’s voice rang with authority.

Leah turned to him with relief. “Valentine! They won’t give me Esme!”

“Release her at once,” Valentine demanded, his face suffused with cold rage.

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Horatio ignored him. “Find the boy,” he ordered the soldier in front of Leah.

“What did you say?” The tone of Valentine’s voice caused the soldiers holding Kurt to look at one another nervously.