Scoundrel (Lost Lords of Radcliffe Book 4) (35 page)

“Don’t worry about him,” Ralston said. “He won’t bother you.”

“You rogue! You scoundrel!” Lambert bellowed. “You can’t steal away with my bride!”

He moved as if he’d rush after them, but Mr. Hubbard was already through the doors and outside. Ralston stood in Lambert’s way, solid as a marble statue.

“You can’t depart yet.” Ralston looked and sounded very lethal.

“He can’t barge in like this!” Lambert complained. “It’s my wedding!”

“Weren’t you listening? The vicar declared the ceremony to be over. So technically, it’s
not
your wedding.”

“Lambert,” Alice moaned, “you have to stop her.”

“How would I do that, Alice? How precisely would I?”

“I don’t know, Lambert, but you’ll think of something.”

“Shut up, Alice. For once, just shut the hell up.”

His dreams were shattered, his hopes dashed. His one chance to stay out of debtor’s prison had crumbled to ashes.

Ever since Harold’s death, Lambert’s fiscal condition had been dire. But after Faith had returned and matrimony began to seem likely, he’d spent money like the rich man he felt destined to be.

He’d bought carriages and clothes, furniture and wine. He’d even hired a chef from France. He’d been on the verge of mending his problems, but his plans were wrecked. All of them were wrecked!

If only he’d sent Alice packing when he’d first considered the idea, but no, he’d tried to be generous, to be charitable. He’d let her remain at Heron Hall, and she’d repaid him with betrayal.

He was so enraged, he truly thought he might murder her when they arrived home. He’d bury her in the woods and say she ran off with a traveling peddler. No one would miss her. No one would mourn her.

He sank down in the front pew as Alice nagged, “Lambert! Get up! Go after her!”

“Alice, I swear to God, if you don’t shut up, I will come over there and strangle you.”

The two older women who’d been praying hadn’t left. They gasped at Lambert’s threat, and he groaned with dismay.

Witnesses!

Now he wouldn’t be able to kill Alice as he so fervently desired. He was cursed! Cursed!

He attempted to stand; desperate to march out so he could be alone in his misery, but Ralston shoved him down.

“Not yet, Mr. Newton. My friend, Mr. Hubbard, needs to gallop a few more miles before you chase after him.”

“Bugger off, you…you…criminal.”

“I’ll bugger off very soon. Until then, just relax.”

* * * *

By the time Mr. Hubbard reined in and Faith slid to the ground, she was angrier than she’d ever been. If she’d have been holding a pistol, she’d have shot him through the center of his cold, black heart.

“You cur! You dog!” she spat. “How dare you drag me off as if you were some sort of crazed…berserker!”

They’d halted alongside the road, a thick copse of trees shielding them from passersby. With the agility of a circus performer, he leapt down from his horse, and he was laughing, preening, proud of himself and the chaos he’d caused.

“Why, Faith”—he looked vastly amused—“you seem upset.”

“I’ll show you
upset
, you wretch! What is wrong with you?”

“I couldn’t let you shackle yourself to that deceitful bounder. You never wanted to. You must have told me so on a dozen different occasions.”

“It’s my business. Mine! Not yours!”

“Should I have left you there? If you’d like to return and proceed with the ceremony, your cousin would be amenable. Shall I take you back? Your stepmother would certainly be glad.”

His comment brought her up short. Her head was spinning, and she couldn’t focus. What was true? What was real?

From the moment the lawyer’s clerk had delivered the foreclosure papers, she’d been in a quandary. Nuptial events had progressed so rapidly that she hadn’t had a second to rationally assess her situation.

Clearly Alice and Lambert had manipulated her, had pushed her toward matrimony to serve their own ends. At any point, she could have said
no
, but their coaxing had been so subtle, so cunning.

By marrying Lambert, she’d assumed she found the means to protect herself, to protect Alice and Faith’s tiny half-sisters, but obviously there were schemes afoot she hadn’t understood. How bad was Lambert’s fiscal dilemma? How large was Faith’s dowry?

Alice and Lambert were fools. If they’d explained about the money, she wasn’t sure but she expected she’d have still agreed to wed Lambert. It wasn’t as if she’d had a line of suitors eager to propose. She’d have behaved sensibly—to save her family home. Yet with their shenanigans exposed, their every word and deed was suspect.

She was such an idiot! Such a gullible dunce. Would she ever learn to be wary?

“I can’t go back there,” she muttered.

“Good. Now stop shouting and let me speak my piece.”

“I don’t wish to hear you
speak
. Ever!”

“Do you know what’s occurred to me, Faith?”

“No, and I don’t care to know either.”

He ignored her snotty reply. “It’s occurred to me that you can’t be left to your own devices. You simply don’t possess the shrewd caution that’s necessary for a female to survive in this world on her own.”

“I have plenty of caution, thank you very much.”

“How many times have I rescued you?”

“Not that many,” she grouched.

“Four? Five?”

“Not that many!”

“You’re an accident waiting to happen.”

“How kind of you to mention my flaws. It’s been wonderful chatting, but I’d rather not continue.”

She shoved by him and headed for the road—though her destination was a mystery. Where would she go? To Heron Hall? To do what? To listen as Lambert and Alice whined and pleaded and lied?

“Where are you going?” he asked as if reading her mind.

“To Heron Hall. Where would you suppose?”

“Please permit me to accompany you so I can sit in the corner and eavesdrop as Lambert makes his excuses. And while we’re at it, I’d like to point out that that stepmother of yours is really astonishing.”

“I don’t need any advice from you about my family, Mr. Hubbard—especially since you don’t have one. You’re hardly an expert, so don’t presume to lecture me.”

It was a terrible remark, but she couldn’t keep herself from voicing it.

They’d only been parted a few months, and she hadn’t had enough time to completely free herself from his influence. Looking at him, watching him strut and swagger, she felt as if he was pricking her over and over with the tip of a knife. Each move, each word wounded her. She wanted to lash out, to defend against the onslaught.

“No,” he said, “I don’t have a family, but I’m about to put one together. A very
big
family with loads of children.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m getting married.”

The news was like a blow. “To who?”

“To you, you silly goose.”

“You’re a lunatic, and I’m leaving.”

Again, he ignored her. “Just so you know, I came to propose last week.”

“You did not. You came to extort money from my father. Too bad for you he was deceased so you couldn’t swindle him.”

He clucked his tongue like a scolding hen. “First off, I’m very sorry about your father. I realize you weren’t close to him, but I’m sorry all the same.”

It was aggravating that she’d confided so many details about her personal life. It reinforced how important she’d let him become. “Stop trying to console me.
I
am none of your business.”

“And second, your stepmother is a first rate, first class liar.”

“That’s certainly the pot calling the kettle black. If there was a contest for liars, you’d win every prize.”

“You’re correct. I would.” He appeared cocky and inordinately pleased with himself. “I had a difficult childhood. I wasn’t a rich, pampered girl who lived in a mansion, surrounded by servants.”

“
Touché
, Mr. Hubbard. I grew up spoiled and horrid.”

“Yes, you were coddled, while I was on my own and had to make my own way. It was exhausting, and I had to fib occasionally just to get by.”

“You poor baby,” she sarcastically crooned.

“I’m good at deceit and fabrication, but your stepmother could teach me a few tricks. You should have seen how miserable I was when I rode away after speaking to her.”

“You were miserable? Ha! A likely story.”

“I was very miserable. I came with my hat in my hand, determined to grovel, to debase myself by begging you to wed me, but she told me you were already married.”

“I wasn’t,” Faith snapped.

“Well, I didn’t know that, now did I? I must tell you—at the time—I deemed you to be very fickle. You were so fond of me in Africa, but mere months later you were happy to marry your cousin.”

“I didn’t have any option,” she fumed. “In case you weren’t aware, I was kicked out of the convent.”

“Yes, Rowena informed me. She’s staying at my apartment in London. In fact, she was the one who figured out that Lambert and Alice had to be scamming you. That girl has a devious mind.”

“The only person of my acquaintance who’s
devious
is you.”

“Aren’t you curious as to why I was so eager to propose?”

“No,” she petulantly insisted, although she was dying of curiosity. But she’d cut out her tongue rather than inquire.

“You have to hear why,” he said.

“I don’t want to!”

No doubt he’d weave a long and convoluted tale that would play on her sympathies. She’d start to feel sorry for him. She’d start to…to…care, and she absolutely refused to care about anything!

She tried to push by him, but rude oaf that he was, he wouldn’t let her pass.

“Get out of my way!” Her teeth were clenched so hard she was afraid she might break a tooth.

“No. I’ve explained why you can’t be allowed to traipse off on your own. You need protection like no female I’ve ever met.”

“I will not be lectured by you! And if I needed protection—which I don’t—I wouldn’t accept it from a reprobate such as yourself.”

He chuckled. “You used to like my vile qualities.”

“That was before you left me standing at a coaching inn in London. Matters have become quite a bit clearer since then.”

“You slapped me!”

“You deserved it, and if you don’t watch out, I’ll slap you again.”

“You really pack a wallop.”

“Yes, I do.” She glared. “I’m glad we hashed that out. Now then, if you’ll excuse me…?”

“I can’t. You’ve been kidnapped so you can’t just trot off.”

“I’m not asking you to release me. I’m telling you you’re mad, and I’m not staying here with you.”

“I’ve inherited a big, fancy estate,” he suddenly announced. “Can you believe it?”

“You…what?”

“When I returned to London, there was a fellow hunting for me. Everywhere I went, he was hot on my heels. I thought he was a creditor, hoping to have me jailed as a debtor.”

“I’m surprised he wasn’t.”

“Once he caught up with me, I learned he was a lawyer’s clerk.”

“And…?”

“I told you. I’ve inherited an estate.”

“From who?”

“From my father. Apparently he hadn’t forgotten me after all. My French relatives hid it from me, but the last of the despicable bunch finally died. People were trying to trace the title, and it led them to me.”

“To you…” she mumbled like a dolt.

“Yes. So let’s review what we discussed that day in London.”

“You said we couldn’t be together because you couldn’t…support…me.”

She stumbled to the end of the sentence.

“Exactly,” he agreed. “I couldn’t support you, but guess what? I can certainly support you now. The minute I found out about the property, I rode to Scotland to propose. It was the first thing I did.”

“That can’t be true.”

“It is. I went to Scotland, then to Heron Hall, but your stepmother ran me off. But I’m back—like a bad rash. You’ll never get rid of me. You don’t have the right medicine.”

She gaped at him. He seemed sincere, but he was such an accomplished liar, and she was so naive, it was difficult to gauge his level of honesty.

“What’s it called?” she asked.

“Oakhurst.”

“Where is it?”

“In Surrey.”

“Have you visited?”

“Yes. There’s a huge house and barns and outbuildings and equipment. It’s dilapidated though. My French kin were either too poor to maintain it or they were penny pinchers. It will take an enormous amount of work to make it habitable.”

“An estate…” she mumbled, shocked and astounded.

“The land is fertile, but everything needs repairing. The crops haven’t been productive for years, and the whole place requires some intense attention.”

“From you?”

“And
you
,” he shot back.

To her great consternation, he dropped to one knee and clasped her hand. She struggled to draw away, but he simply tightened his grip.

She started to tremble. “Don’t do this, Chase. Please!”

“Hush. Listen to me.”

“Please, Chase,” she tried again, but as usual she might as well have been talking to a log.

“I love you,” he declared.

“No, you don’t.”

“I do, and you love me too. Or at least you used to and it can’t all have vanished. Might there still be a sliver of affection buried down deep? Could I rekindle it?”

“No,” she said, “there’s no affection remaining.”

Which was a lie. When he was charming, when he was wonderful, she didn’t have the fortitude to resist him. But she’d been down a passionate road with him once before, and she’d crashed at the end.

She wouldn’t put herself at risk ever again, wouldn’t let her heart be broken. She’d never survive it a second time.

“I know I’m horrid,” he said.

“Yes, you are.”

“I know I behaved very hideously toward you.”

“You did.”

“But I behaved very well too, didn’t I? You can’t deny it.”

“I won’t deny it.”

“We were happy, I think. For awhile there, we were very happy.”

“We might have been,” she churlishly admitted.

“What if we could be happy like that every day for the rest of our lives?”

“It’s not possible.”

She attempted to lift him to his feet, but of course he wouldn’t budge.