He made a move to go to her but she stopped him with a lift of her hand.
“I sent you a message right away,” she said.
“I didn’t get it.”
“I know. Waverley admitted he intercepted it.”
She dabbed at the tears falling from her eyes and took a shuddering breath. “I knew I was carrying your child and I...I told my father and Lord Lathamton. I was certain they wouldn’t force me to marry, knowing I would be passing off another man’s child as Everett’s. Instead, the news pleased Lathamton.”
“That’s because it was unlikely Everett could father a child. But what would make your father go along with Lathamton’s scheme? Did he owe him money?”
Cassie shook her head. “It was my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Waverley accused Ben of being Everett’s lover. It wasn’t true, of course, but I realize now that Waverley must have threatened to spread the rumor if Father didn’t disown Ben. To save Ben’s reputation, Father agreed to Waverley’s plan.”
Cassie took a step into the room and sat on the edge of the sofa. Harrison sat beside her but remained far enough away not to intimidate her.
“Before he left, Ben came to tell me goodbye. He made me promise not to believe anything the old marquess said about him. I had no idea what he meant at the time but now I know. Waverley was behind it all. He wanted to get his hands on Hollyvine and Lathamton Estate.”
“Do you know where your brother went when he left England?”
Cassie lifted her gaze. “He went to America. I think a place called Boston. But I hear America is immense, and most of it barren and desolate.”
“It doesn’t matter how large America is or where your brother is living. We’ll find him, and we’ll bring him home. He’s the rightful Earl of Hollyvine and deserves to be acknowledged as such.”
“You would do that?”
“Absolutely. What happened isn’t his fault any more that it was yours or mine.”
She almost placed her hand on his, but stopped before they touched. “Thank you, Harrison.”
Neither of them spoke for several long minutes. Finally he turned to her. “Was Everett good to the boy?”
He had to ask, had to know that his son hadn’t been mistreated.
“He wasn’t cruel, if that’s what you want to know. He wasn’t anything. The only demand Everett ever made after we married was that I keep the boy out of his sight. I honored his request. He never saw Andrew.”
They both sat quietly on the sofa, Cassie on one end and Harrison on the other. If they’d wanted, they could have reached out and touched each other, and yet... It was expecting too much to ask that either of them make the first move to span the distance.
Finally Cassie looked at him with eyes filled with emotion. “I waited for you to come for me. Even after I was forced to marry, I thought you’d come.”
“I came to see you after the scandal broke,” he said.
“When?”
“The next morning.” It was the first time he’d admitted how desperate he’d been to get her back. “I went to your London townhouse but was refused admittance. I barged in anyway and ran through the house like a madman.”
“Father had already removed me to the country. We left before sunrise.”
“That’s what your butler told me when I threatened to break his neck.”
More tears fell from her eyes.
“He told me you’d gone to Lathamton Manor to marry.”
“I didn’t want to marry Everett. I kept hoping you’d ride into the church and carry me off and we would live happily ever after.”
“I was too proud. I’d made a fool of myself when I went to your townhouse. I refused to follow you to Lathamton Manor and beg you to choose me.”
“Didn’t you know I loved you?”
“I should have, but I was too hurt.” He turned on the sofa and reached for her clenched fingers.
She turned her head and their gazes locked.
“Andrew is the Marquess of Lathamton,” Cassie said in a soft, quiet voice. “You can never claim him.”
“I know.”
Harrison thought he knew pain. The pain he’d experienced when he thought Cassie had betrayed him had been an ache so cavernous and debilitating he wasn’t sure he’d survive. But this was a different pain. A deeper, rawer pain.
“I never stopped loving you,” he said, exposing his heart to her.
She released a loud sob, then flew into his arms. “I love you. I was furious with you and I tried to convince myself I could hate you. But I couldn’t.
Harrison kissed her on the cheek then down the side of her face and finally on the lips. “You shattered every dream I had for a life with you, but no matter how hard I tried, I could never stop loving you.”
“What are we going to do?”
Harrison laughed. “We’re going to get married. We’ve lost enough time. I have a woman I want to spend a lifetime loving, and a son I want to watch grow to be a man. I have a house I want to fill with other children so the Marquess of Lathamton doesn’t grow up alone.”
“Oh, Harrison. I love you.”
“But only half as much as I love you,” he said then pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.
“Wait until Elly hears,” Harrison said when he stopped kissing Cassie to hold her in his arms. “Do you think she’s the one who invited you to the party?”
“Yes, but that isn’t the reason I came.”
Her words confused him. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sure Elly sent me the invitation, but the real reason I came was because of the letter I received after the invitation.”
“What letter?”
Cassie walked to the writing desk and opened a secret drawer. She returned and handed him the letter. “Someone blackmailed me.”
Harrison opened it slowly and read.
Lady Lathamton,
In one week the Marquess of Fellingsdown will host a summer party. You will attend this event. Refusal to make an appearance will have disastrous consequences.
We know your secret. If you don’t want us to share your secret with the marquess, you will be there promptly for dinner, and stay until the last guest goes home.
Don’t fail us.
“Aunt Gussie and Aunt Esther,” he whispered with a smile on his face.
“Who?”
Harrison tipped back his head and laughed. “Aunt Gussie and Aunt Esther. They are your blackmailers.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. This is Aunt Ester’s writing. I recognized it immediately. But the words are Aunt Gussie’s. The Duke of Pendelton is known for inviting guests for dinner, then retiring for the evening before the last guest leaves his home. Aunt Gussie refuses to attend any event he hosts because she considers departing before your guests the height of rudeness.”
“Are you angry with them?”
“Heavens, no! Quite the opposite. I can’t wait to properly thank them.”
Cassie smiled. “Me, too.”
They kissed again, then Harrison pulled back. “I think I hear the doctor. We need to go to Elly.”
They rose and walked hand in hand across the room.
Cassie stopped before they reached the stairs. “I think it’s quite possible the Earl of Charfield has some very special feelings for Elly. Don’t you?”
“Yes,” Harrison answered.
Except he wasn’t sure whether Charfield’s feelings were real or part of the act he’d been hired to play.
If the man’s feelings were real, he prayed Elly never found out the reason Charfield had been invited, or the bargain they’d made.
The wounds she suffered today would heal a thousand times faster than her broken heart.
Brent paced back and forth in front of the bedroom door and wondered what could be taking the doctor so long.
A maid rushed in and out three times carrying basins of water and bundles of fresh towels. He’d tried to ask the girl what was happening but she ran past him in such a hurry he couldn’t get the question out.
Twice he’d heard a low moan come from behind the door and it was nearly more than he could do to remain in the hall without rushing to her side. If he could just see her for a moment he’d feel much better. Not knowing was the worst part. And the waiting.
He paced the length of the hall once more. Just when he decided he could wait no longer, the door opened.
He walked up to the doctor. “How is she?”
“On the positive side, she woke up long enough to inform me I was being too rough.”
The doctor smiled and Brent felt part of the weight lift from his chest.
“Her head will ache for a day or more, but I told Nanny Graybrim to keep the drapes closed. I left some drops to put in her tea when the pain gets too bad. She’s a strong girl. Always has been. She shouldn’t need it for more than a day or two.”
“And on the negative side?” The knot in Brent’s stomach grew.
“What happened to her didn’t do her foot any good. It’s swollen and bruised worse than I’ve ever seen it. The drops will help with the pain, but...”
“But, what?” Brent knew whatever the doctor said, it wasn’t going to be good.
“We won’t know how badly Lady Elyssa’s foot is injured until the swelling is down.”
“If it’s bad?”
“There’s a chance she won’t be able to walk.” He said his grim prognosis so there was no chance Elly could hear.
“Is there anything we can do to make sure that doesn’t happen?”
The doctor shook his head. “Pray. That’s all that will help now.”
Brent nodded. He wasn’t an expert when it came to praying, but for Elly he’d learn to be.
“Don’t let her out of bed for at least a week. Maybe longer. Then after I give her permission to get up, I don’t want her walking on that leg. She’ll have to be carried if she goes anywhere. And keep her leg elevated. That will help more than anything.”
Brent nodded.
“I’ll check back in the morning,” the doctor said. “It won’t hurt to give her a little brandy if she’s in too much pain. But not too much. Her head’s going to ache enough the way it is. No sense making it worse.”
“All right.” Brent walked to the door and the doctor headed to the stairs. Lady Lathamton and Harrison waited at the bottom. He knew the doctor would give them the same information when they asked about Elly and they would see him out.
He walked to her room and opened the door.
The drapes were drawn and the room was dark, as the doctor said it should be. There was a potent odor from the medicine and salve he’d used and the smell brought home how serious Elly’s injuries were.
Nanny Graybrim stood beside the bed and placed a fresh cold cloth on Elly’s forehead.
“Is she asleep?” He pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed and held Elly’s hand.
“She wakes every few minutes,” Nanny said, “but mostly she sleeps. That’s good, considering all she went through.”
Brent swiped his hand down his face. He could still see the look on her face when Waverley pushed her and she lost her balance. He could still see her eyes close when her head hit the wall. And he could still feel the fragile weight of her limp body in his arms.
He moved his gaze to the foot of the bed. A thin blanket covered her foot, but Brent knew the extent of her injuries. He’d seen her red, swollen ankle.
He slowly reached until he touched her hand, then twined his fingers with hers. Nanny Graybrim worked around him but he hardly noticed. He was too intent on watching her. It wasn’t until the door opened behind him that he realized he wasn’t alone with her.
Brent lifted his gaze to the open doorway. Fellingsdown and Lady Lathamton crossed the room, then stopped at the bed.
“Is she asleep?”
“Yes. The doctor said she probably wouldn’t wake for a while.”
Fellingsdown and Lady Lathamton sat in chairs someone had placed close to the bed. Fellingsdown kept his gaze on Elly’s foot. “Has she told you what happened to her?” he asked. “Why she’s like she is?”
“No.”
The corners of Fellingsdown’s mouth lifted upward and a sad smile crossed his lips.
“I should have known she hadn’t. She’s never told a soul the truth of what happened that day. Not even Mother or Father.”
Lady Lathamton rose, then took the cloth from Nanny Graybrim, and with a silent nod, the nurse left the room.
“I was thirteen years old when it happened. Elly and George were eleven. Spence nine, Jules seven. Poor Elly had the misfortune of being the only girl sandwiched between four brothers. She constantly tagged along after the four of us and we constantly tried to avoid her.
“I remember complaining to Mother once because we couldn’t leave the house without Elly following us. I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t stay at home and play with the twins. They were girls. Mother explained that there weren’t too many things Elly could do with two three-year-olds.”
Fellingsdown leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees. “One day the boys and I were playing down by the stream. We found a tunnel burrowed into the bank. It was the biggest tunnel we’d ever seen and we were sure it was dug by a sea monster. We waited all day hoping our monster would appear but it didn’t. When it turned dark, we went home, but we couldn’t wait to go back.
“The next day, we each took a weapon to slay the monster when he appeared and walked to the stream. I took a wooden sword I’d spent hours sharpening, and George had a bow and arrow. I can’t remember what Spence and Jules brought but it doesn’t matter. As we left the house, Elly ran across the yard after us. She had a club in her hand.
“We told her we didn’t want her to come with us but she followed anyway. She stayed far enough behind she didn’t think we knew she was there, but we did. And we didn’t want her with us. We were going to slay our monster. It was
our
monster and we didn’t want a girl tagging along. So we decided to lose her. And we did.”
Fellingsdown rose to his feet. He walked to the window in the pretext of looking outside even though the drapes were drawn. There was nothing to see.
“We waited all day for our monster to show up but he didn’t. Finally when it started to get dark, we gave up and went home. It was dinnertime, after all, and we hadn’t thought to bring along anything to eat.
“We washed up then went down for dinner, but Elly didn’t come down.
“Mother sent a servant up to get her. The maid returned and informed Mother Elly wasn’t in her room; that it didn’t look like she’d been there all day.
“I remember being so pleased with myself,” Fellingsdown said walking back to the foot of the bed and leaning against one of the bed posters. “Our plan to lose Elly had worked very well. Mother suggested that she might be lost, but George told her Elly was probably playing a trick on us because we wouldn’t let her come along. We were all certain she pretended being lost to get us into trouble.”
Brent gave Elly’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“Thankfully, Mother and Father didn’t believe for a moment that Elly would stay out this late intentionally. Within moments, Father called all the servants together and organized a search.
“Mother kept Jules and Spence with her because they were too young to help in the dark, but Father took George and me with him. We retraced our steps from the afternoon, but couldn’t find Elly anywhere.”
Fellingsdown was silent for several long seconds. Lady Lathamton stepped to where he stood and reached for his hand. He smiled down on her, but his smile didn’t contain happiness.
“The next day, Father sent a message to the neighboring estates asking for help. Our neighbors came with every servant they could spare. Even people from the village came to assist in the search.”
“When did you find her?” Brent asked.
“Two days later. Elly had fallen through some rotten boards covering an abandoned well. She mangled her foot when she fell. When they pulled her up, I remember looking at it and thinking that she’d somehow managed to put her foot on backwards. Her right foot was ten times larger than her left and purple and black in color.”
Fellingsdown closed his eyes. “I can still hear her screams as the doctor tried to straighten her leg. George and Spence and Jules and I huddled together in Father’s study and covered our ears to try to shut out her cries, but nothing helped. In the end, the doctors prepared to amputate her foot, but Mother wouldn’t let him. Elly was so exhausted and weak, Mother was certain she’d die. And she nearly did.”
Fellingsdown raked his fingers through his hair as if reliving every painful memory, then sat back in his chair and propped his elbows on his knees.
“Elly’s foot became infected and she developed a fever from the two nights she spent in the cold. Thankfully, she survived. But we all have scars from what happened.”
“She doesn’t blame you, Harrison,” Lady Lathamton said. “She doesn’t blame any of you.”
“But she should.” Harrison swallowed hard. “Elly is like she is because of us. Because of
me
.”
Brent understood now why her brothers were so protective of their sister. It wasn’t just because they felt responsible for her injury. They felt responsible for
her
. But there was an error in their thinking.
They thought her limp made her weak. It didn’t. Elly was stronger because of her limp.
She was the most gifted woman he’d ever met. She was braver than any of the simpering females to whom he’d been introduced, more intelligent than any person he knew, and a more accomplished horsewoman than anyone - male or female - he’d ever met.
Why couldn’t her brothers see that? Why did they allow their guilt to blind them to her strengths?
Brent wanted to list Elly’s strengths, but her low, pained moan stopped him.
“It’s all right, Elly,” he whispered, trying to keep her from moving too much. “Lie still.”
She quieted, then slowly lifted her eyelids.
“Lie still, sweetheart,” he whispered again.
“Brent?”
“I’m right here. You’re safe now.”
“Is Waverley...?”
Her voice was weak but she seemed remarkably alert.
“He’s gone,” Brent said, intending to keep the details from her.
“Dead?”
He wanted to laugh. This was a perfect example of her understanding. Her perceptiveness was far more than anyone, including her brothers, gave her credit.
“Yes. He’s dead.”
“He wanted to kill...Andrew. I tried to—”
“I know. You are the bravest person I’ve ever seen.”
“Rest a little while longer, Elly,” her brother said leaning toward her. “Parkridge and Berkingham went to get the twins. You know how much rest you’ll get once they arrive.”
Everyone laughed. Even Elly tried to smile, but Brent saw the pain it caused her.
The chatter of voices came from the hallway and Brent knew he’d lost any chance to be alone with her.
The door opened and Lady Parkridge and Lady Berkingham took control as if their mission was to remove them from Elly’s presence. They hustled Fellingsdown and him from the room.
Brent knew it would be days before he could be alone with Elly – several long, empty days and nights.
He wasn’t sure he’d survive.