The Heiress (25 page)

Before Suzette could respond, a woman’s voice drew her attention to the fact that Daniel hadn’t come alone.

“For heaven’s sake, Daniel,” she admonished, as she dismounted. “Untie them. The poor girl is standing there in practically nothing. She must be freezing, and no doubt they are both hungry and exhausted. Explanations can wait until we get them safely to the inn and warm.”

“Oh, yes,” he muttered and quickly moved around to the side to examine how they were tied together. Suzette hadn’t a clue how Danvers had done it, other than that he’d used her dress for rope, which left her nearly naked and cold, as the woman now approaching them had suggested. Suzette stared at her, noting that even tromping through the dark woods at night the lady had the air and grace of . . . well a true lady. Suzette knew she would have been tripping over unseen obstacles and twisting her ankle on uneven ground. Not this woman. She was steady and graceful and elegant even as she slipped a small knife from her sleeve and handed it to Daniel.

“Here, this will help,” she said.

“Where the devil did you get that?” Daniel asked with surprise.

“I brought it with me from home. I brought a small pistol along on the journey as well,” she informed him calmly, and then raised an eyebrow. “Did you not think I would pack weapons as well as clothes for this trip, what with everything that has happened?”

Daniel just shook his head and turned back to begin slicing through the makeshift rope. The moment he did, the woman turned her attention to Suzette and moved around in front of her.

“You must be Suzette. It’s lovely to meet you, dear, I’m Daniel’s mother, Catherine Woodrow,” she said in greeting, sounding for all the world as if they were meeting over tea.

“Er . . . it’s lovely to meet you too,” she said uncertainly, feeling a little befuddled by the situation and what she should do. Normally she would have taken the lady’s hand or . . . well, something, but she was standing there trussed up to her father, her hands bound behind her back, unable to do anything but smile crookedly.

“Daniel has told me a great deal about you,” Lady Woodrow informed her with a smile as she undid and removed the cape she was wearing. “And I can’t tell you how pleased I am that he has finally found a girl he is willing to marry. I was beginning to despair of that ever happening.”

“Oh . . . er . . . I—” Suzette’s vain attempt to respond sensibly died as the cloth binding her to her father suddenly went slack, taking all of its support with it. She hadn’t realized how much she’d been leaning into her father’s strength until those ties were gone, and she started to crumple toward the ground as her knees gave out.

“Here we are,” Lady Woodrow said brightly, wrapping the cape around Suzette’s back and catching her all at the same time. She kept one hand on her arm, but her other dropped to her waist, taking some of Suzette’s weight for her as Daniel saw to her father, cutting his bound hands now so that he was completely free.

“Are you all right to walk to the horses, my lord?” Daniel asked, keeping a steadying hand on her father’s arm for a moment.

“Fine, fine,” Lord Madison said on a little sigh and then turned to Suzette and Lady Woodrow. He offered a small smile and nod to the Dowager Countess, and then glanced to Suzette with worry. “Suzie hit her head quite hard. She was unconscious for a long time and needs looking after.”

“We will get you back to the inn and see to you both,” Lady Woodrow said solemnly, shifting her hand from Suzette’s waist to her shoulder so that Daniel could move the cape aside and slice through the rope binding her hands.

The moment he was done, Daniel handed his mother back her knife and then scooped Suzette up into his arms with a pained grin that made her frown. Before she could comment on it, Lady Woodrow spoke up, drawing her attention.

“I fear we didn’t think to bring extra horses, Lord Madison,” Lady Woodrow announced, slipping her knife back up her sleeve. She then slipped her arm through Cedrick Madison’s and started him toward her horse as if she were strolling through the gardens, and added, “I fear you shall have to ride back with me.”

“I’m sure it will be my pleasure, Lady Woodrow,” her father said solemnly.

Suzette frowned as she noted that his limp was even more pronounced now than earlier. The hopping probably hadn’t done it any good. He would need to rest it and perhaps apply a warm compress to ease the ache.

“I was telling the truth, Suzette,” Daniel said quietly, drawing her attention to him as he started to carry her toward his own horse. “I promise you I didn’t write that letter.”

“I know,” she said on a sigh. “I’m sorry I believed it, but he knew about the stables and—”

“You don’t need to explain,” he assured her as he reached his horse. Daniel then paused and admitted, “I was angry at first that you would believe I would break it off so coldly in a letter, but when I read what he’d written about the stables—” He shook his head. “Of course you would believe it was me. We thought we were alone.”

She nodded, but didn’t comment. Suzette really didn’t want to discuss the fact that Danvers had been watching them in the stables. She just didn’t want to think about it. Between that and the cruel comments in the letter, Danvers had managed to tarnish the experience for her somewhat.

Daniel kissed her on the top of her head, careful to avoid her injury, and then asked, “Can you stand for a moment while I mount?”

“Yes,” she murmured.

“Hold on to the horse,” he instructed as he set her down.

Suzette leaned against the beast and watched as he mounted. He then helped her climb on to the animal’s back as well.

“Just relax,” Daniel suggested as he settled her before him. “You are safe and we will have you back at the inn and comfortable in no time.”

Suzette nestled against his chest, trying to keep her head still to stave off the worst of the pain as he urged his mount to a canter.

The ride back to the inn probably didn’t take long, though it seemed interminable to Suzette. All the jostling about had her head aching so badly she felt sure that if she’d had anything in her stomach she probably would have tossed it up by the time they arrived at the inn. Fortunately, they hadn’t eaten since first setting out with Danvers, and that was long gone.

As they broke out of the woods and entered the courtyard Robert and Richard came rushing from the stables.

“Did you get him?” Daniel asked, drawing his horse to a halt.

“Danvers?” Richard asked with surprise, moving to take Lady Woodrow’s mount by the bit as she reined in beside them with Lord Madison in the saddle behind her. “No. Was he not with Suzette and Lord Madison?”

Daniel shook his head. “He left them tied in the woods and was supposed to be headed here in search of a hack to carry them on to Gretna Green.”

“We’ve seen no sign of him,” Robert assured him, moving up to take the bit of his horse.

Daniel scowled, but then said, “Here, take Suzette.”

He passed her down like a child and Robert released the horse and caught her to his chest at once. He then frowned as he looked her over and noted her head wound. “What happened to your head, Suzie? Did Danvers do this?”

“No, I hit it on a rock,” she said wearily.

“It’s my fault,” her father said with disgust as he dismounted. He turned to help Lady Woodrow down, explaining, “I meant to knock Danvers off her, but they both went down and there was a boulder behind her. A damned big one too. I should have taken a look about before I rammed the man.”

“What was Danvers doing ‘on’ her?” Daniel asked, taking her from Robert.

Suzette glanced to him with surprise. He sounded strange, his voice cold, angry and afraid all at once.

“He was choking her,” her father answered in oddly reassuring tones and Suzette couldn’t help noticing that all the men were suddenly relaxing a bit as if this answer were more acceptable than whatever they’d been thinking. That’s when she realized they had all immediately assumed the man had been trying to ravish her.

Still, Richard asked, “Why the devil would he try to choke you? He couldn’t marry a corpse.”

“He took offense to something I said,” Suzette answered primly.

“Or perhaps several somethings,” her father muttered.

Much to Suzette’s relief, Daniel didn’t ask what she’d said and turned toward the inn with her. Heading for the door, he said, “I’ll see her settled in a room and then come back. Danvers should have been here by now. We will have to search the woods.”

Unsure whether they were staying or not, they hadn’t rented rooms at the inn and had to tend that now. Even so, they were soon upstairs in a room and Daniel was setting her on a bed.

“We need to speak when I get back,” Daniel said quietly, pressing a kiss to her nose before straightening. “But I need to go search for Danvers now.”

“You need to remove your coat and shirt and let me look at your back,” his mother countered, leading Christiana, Lisa and Cedrick Madison into the room. Christiana and Lisa carried water and cloths and bandages, while her father just looked bewildered as to why he was there.

“My back is fine,” Daniel said grimly, turning toward his mother.

“What is wrong with your back?” Suzette asked with a frown.

“He was shot. That is why he didn’t return to the inn as expected,” Lady Woodrow announced.

“Shot?” Suzette gasped, looking Daniel over more carefully. She couldn’t see his wound through his clothes, but he did look a little pale, not so much she would have guessed he’d been wounded though. The fact that he’d been shot explained why he hadn’t returned as expected, however, and Suzette immediately wondered if Danvers had done it. He
had
shot his driver in the back after all. Apparently, the man didn’t like to face the people he tried to kill. Well, except her: they’d been face to face when he’d tried to choke her.

“You are not leaving this room until I see your back, Daniel,” Lady Woodrow said grimly. “You have been riding about and lifting Suzette up and down and I am sure it has probably reopened. Now strip.”

When Daniel scowled and looked as if he were debating ignoring the order, she threatened, “I will send for Richard and Robert and have them hold you down while I tend it if I must.”

“Oh very well,” he snapped and began to shrug quickly out of his jacket.

Satisfied, Lady Woodrow then turned to Suzette’s father. “What about you, my lord?”

Cedrick Madison stood a little straighter. “Me?”

“Did you sustain any injuries that need tending?”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” he assured her quickly, sidling toward the door.

“Then why did I notice dried blood in your hair when you dismounted out front?” Lady Woodrow asked pointedly. “And why are you limping?”

“Oh, I just . . . the leg is an old injury. As for the head, well, I took a blow earlier,” he admitted reluctantly, and quickly added, “But that was hours ago and I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll just—”

“Sit down and I shall take a look at it after I tend Daniel and Suzette,” Lady Catherine ordered firmly.

Cedrick Madison sighed, his shoulders slumping, and then moved to sit in one of the chairs by the fire.

Suzette, Christiana and Lisa had been watching this all rather wide-eyed, but as Lady Woodrow moved to a now topless Daniel they all glanced at each other and suddenly burst out in grins. They had grown up pretty much without a mother, and really, Lady Catherine Woodrow was a revelation of sorts.

Chapter Seventeen

S
uzette opened her eyes to a warm fire-lit room and glanced sleepily around, wondering where she was.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

The comment drew her gaze to a chair by the fireplace and the woman getting up from it. Daniel’s mother. Lady Woodrow had tended Daniel’s back and let him leave, with a firm admonishment to be careful, as he’d headed out to help Richard and Robert search the area for Danvers. She’d then tended Suzette’s head wound, cleaning it but deciding it didn’t need stitching, before giving her something absolutely vile to drink and telling her to sleep. Suzette had obediently lain down and closed her eyes as Lady Woodrow had moved on to tend to her father. She’d been sure she wouldn’t sleep though. Her head had been pounding horribly. However, she had drifted off in the end, though she wasn’t sure for how long.

“How are you feeling?” Lady Woodrow asked, pausing beside the bed and bending to press the back of her hand to Suzette’s forehead. “You don’t have a fever. Does your head hurt?”

Suzette shook her head slowly. “No. Thank you.”

“Good.” She nodded with satisfaction.

“Did they find Jeremy?” Suzette asked, glancing toward the door.

“You haven’t been asleep very long. They are still looking,” Lady Woodrow said and then grimaced. “I suspect they won’t find him though. He must have spotted us at the inn and judging from that letter he sent supposedly from Daniel, he seems smart enough to go to ground like a fox in the hunt. I’m sure it’s not the last we’ll see of him though.”

“The letter? You read it?” Suzette asked weakly, her stomach turning over when the woman nodded.

Lady Woodrow considered her expression, and then settled on the side of the bed and took one of her hands in her own. “That letter was meant to make you feel shame, but you shouldn’t.”

“Shouldn’t I?” Suzette asked on a sigh. It hadn’t exactly been proper behavior as the letter had pointed out.

“Well, if you should, then so should I,” Lady Woodrow announced. “Because Daniel’s father and I anticipated our vows as well, and also on our way to Gretna Green.”

“Really?” Suzette asked with surprise. Lady Woodrow seemed so . . . well . . . so much a lady. It was hard to imagine her in the throes of passion.

“I was young once too, you know,” she said with a grin. “And Daniel’s father was the most wonderful man—charming, handsome, smart, funny. We were so much in love.” She sighed sadly, and then glanced to Suzette. “Daniel is much like him, and if the two of you have only half the happiness his father and I shared, you will be very lucky indeed. But I think you will do better than that.”

“I will try to make him happy,” Suzette assured her quietly.

“I know you will, and he will do the same,” she said with certainty, and then added, “He loves you, you know. I knew that within moments of his telling me he was marrying you. I have never seen him speak of anyone as he did you.”

Suzette swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. That was the most wonderful thing she’d ever heard.

“And I think you love him too,” she added.

“I do,” she admitted on a whisper.

“So you will marry him even though he isn’t poor?” Lady Woodrow asked with amusement.

Suzette scowled and then chuckled and shook her head. “Yes. Of course.”

“Good.” She patted her hand and stood. “I shall go see about getting you food. Now that your head is not hurting, you are probably hungry.”

“Thank you,” Suzette said and smiled faintly as she watched her go.

Once the door closed behind the woman, Suzette lay back in the bed with a little sigh, contemplating the possibility that Daniel might love her. It had been lovely and reassuring to hear from his mother, but would be even nicer coming from Daniel’s lips.

Suzette smiled wryly at the turn her life had taken. She had started out thinking she couldn’t possibly find love in the short time she had, so would have to settle for a husband who needed her dower enough that she could set the rules of their relationship and protect herself from an abusive marriage like Christiana had with Dicky. Instead, she’d found a man who didn’t need her dower and who might actually love her. And who she definitely loved. On top of that she was gaining a mother-in-law whom she already liked a good deal, and thought she might come to have great affection for rather quickly. Lady Woodrow was definitely living up to her son’s compliments and descriptions. She was a woman Suzette thought she might look up to. Certainly, she admired how she’d handled the men earlier. The woman was masterful and there was a lot she could learn from her.

Suzette wasn’t sure how she’d got so lucky, but was grateful she had.

“T
here. You look perfect,” Lady Woodrow pronounced, standing back to survey her handiwork.

Suzette beamed under the woman’s approving expression and peered at herself in the mirror Daniel’s mother had brought in. She wore her finest gown, a short-sleeved, empire-style dress that was so pale a pink as to be mistaken for white. On top of it she wore a sleeveless red pelisse with gold trim. Her maid, Georgina, had helped her to bathe and dress, but Lady Woodrow had then shooed the woman away and taken over helping with her hair. With it still wet from the bath, she’d worked carefully around the head wound in the hair above Suzette’s ear, and arranged her long tresses in an array of pin curls on top of her head. The effect was quite lovely.

“You are beautiful,” Lady Woodrow announced. “You and Daniel are going to give me beautiful grandbabies.”

Blushing now, Suzette laughed, and turned to hug her. “Thank you, my lady.”

“You are most welcome,” Lady Woodrow assured her, hugging her back, but then complained, “ ‘My lady’ sounds so stiff. You may call me Catherine if you wish, or—” She paused briefly and bit her lip, and then admitted, “I hope someday you will feel comfortable enough to call me Mother, but I would not pressure you to do so.”

“Thank you. I should be pleased to call you Mother,” Suzette whispered, moved by the offer. And it was true. She and Lady Woodrow had sat talking for hours the night before, after she’d returned with a meal for Suzette, only stopping when the men returned with the not unexpected news that Danvers could not be found. They had retired then, but had woken to continue their chatter as they dressed and went down to breakfast with the others and even during the carriage ride for the last leg of the journey to Gretna Green. It had taken three hours, but that time had passed in a trice for Suzette as she and Lady Woodrow chatted about books they’d read and things they liked to do, while her father and Daniel looked on smiling indulgently. Well, her father had smiled indulgently, Daniel had smiled, but his had been with a combination of indulgence and relief, and she knew it had been important to him that she and his mother like each other. Fortunately, they did. At least, she certainly liked and respected Lady Woodrow.

“Well.” Daniel’s mother gave her a slightly watery smile, and turned toward the door. “I shall go tell your father you are ready so he can come collect you.”

Suzette watched her slip from the room and then peered down at herself with a little sigh of pleasure. The gown she was wearing was really more appropriate for a ball than a marriage in the courtyard of an inn presided over by a blacksmith, but Suzette didn’t care. She wanted to look nice for her wedding. And she looked as nice as she ever had in her life, as good as she could, she thought, and hoped Daniel thought so too.

She smiled to herself at the thought of Daniel, and then her smile faded a bit and she released a little sigh. While Suzette had spoken a lot to Lady Woodrow since being rescued and brought to the inn, she and Daniel had never got to have that talk he’d mentioned. The men had been weary on returning from their search. They had apparently scoured the area on both sides of the inn, traveling as far as the overturned carriage on the one side and then just as far in the other direction, searching both the road and the woods for Danvers.

All of them had been both tired and disappointed not to have found the man, but Daniel was still recovering from a wound and had looked exhausted and pale, and Suzette had agreed when Lady Woodrow had insisted he find his bed and talk to Suzette in the morning. However, there hadn’t been much chance to talk this morning either. Suzette had slept late, probably a result of the tincture Lady Woodrow had given her before they retired, and had rushed to dress and get below, arriving just as everyone sat down to break their fast. Once finished with their meal, everyone had been eager to get on with their journey and get this business done before something else could go wrong, so there hadn’t been any chance to talk then either. And the moment they’d arrived in Gretna Green, Daniel had sent Suzette and the other women to ready themselves while he went to speak to the blacksmith.

Now it was time to get married and they hadn’t had their talk. Suzette wasn’t sure what he’d wished to discuss with her. He had already told her that he hadn’t written the letter, which she’d pretty much figured out by then anyway. She thought perhaps he was going to tell her that he wasn’t poor and in need of her dower, but she already knew that too.

In truth, Suzette was hoping he’d wanted to declare his feelings for her. Her father and his mother had both said that Daniel loved her. It would be nice to hear it from him though. But then she hadn’t told him she loved him yet either, Suzette realized, and then glanced to the door when a soft knock sounded.

Crossing the room, she pulled the door open and smiled when she saw her father in the hall. He wore knee breeches and a frock coat and looked all ready to attend a ball. He also had his cane again and she supposed that Daniel and the men had collected it from the overturned carriage for him while searching for Jeremy Danvers.

“You look nice, Father,” she complimented.

“And you’ve never looked so beautiful, Suzie,” he said solemnly, and then added, “Your mother is probably weeping in heaven with pride and happiness for you.”

“Oh.” She waved a hand before her suddenly watery eyes and grimaced at him. “Don’t say things like that, Papa. You will have me weeping at my own wedding.”

“Sorry, child.” He kissed her gently on the cheek and then urged her back into the room so he could enter.

“What are you doing?” she asked with surprise.

“I wish to speak to you before we go below,” he said solemnly, pushing the door closed and urging her across the room to sit on the side of the bed. He settled himself next to her, took her hands in his and eyed her solemnly. “I just want to be sure you are positive this is what you wish to do.”

Suzette frowned. “Was it not you who was trying to convince me to rethink marrying Jeremy and staying at the inn to wait for Daniel?”

“Yes,” he agreed.

“And now you’re trying to talk me out of marrying Daniel?” she asked with bemusement.

“No, no,” he said at once, squeezing her hands. “No, Suzie, I’m not trying to talk you out of it at all. It is obvious to me that you two love each other and I think he is perfect for you.”

“Well then what—?” She fell silent when he patted her hand.

Smiling wryly now, he shook his head. “I am not doing this right. It is just that you and Daniel have had such an unusual courtship. Well, really, you haven’t had a courtship at all, and I just want you to be sure. I don’t want you to feel you have to marry him because of anything that’s transpired . . . and I want you to know that if you wish to take more time to get to know him now that there is no need or rush to marry, I will support you in that.”

Suzette relaxed and leaned forward to hug him, whispering, “Thank you, Father. That means a great deal.” Sitting back she added, “But I don’t need more time. I want to marry Daniel.”

“Well, good.” He smiled, and then gave a little sigh and said, “I suppose it shall just be Lisa and I from now on then . . . and she will be off marrying her own husband soon enough too.” He shook his head. “It seems like just yesterday when you were all my little girls running around playing.”

“We will always be your little girls, Papa.” Suzette squeezed his hand. “You are always welcome to come visit Daniel and me at Woodrow. And now that you’ve sold the townhouse you will have to stay with Christiana and Richard when you go to town. You will see us. You are still our father and a part of our lives.”

“Of course I will,” he agreed, managing a smile that seemed weak at first, but then became more sincere as he said, “And you will all give me lovely grandbabies to spoil and watch drive you as mad as you all drove your mother and I.”

A surprised laugh slipped from Suzette and she shook her head. “Both you and Lady Woodrow are on about grandbabies and we have not even married yet.”

“Hmm.” Her father stood and offered his arm. When Suzette stood as well and took it, he urged her toward the door saying, “Lady Woodrow seems a fine woman.”

“Yes, she does,” Suzette agreed with a smile as he led her out of the room. “I like her already.”

“Well, it’s mutual. She told me so herself.” He paused to pull the door closed, and then urged her along the landing toward the stairs, asking, “Are you nerv—?”

When his question stopped mid-word and his steps faltered, bringing them to a halt, Suzette glanced to her father curiously and then followed his gaze to what had caught his attention. A man had just come out of one of the rooms further along the landing. He was a good distance away, even so, Suzette could see that he wore the coarse clothes of the working class and a short single-breasted jacket that was popular with stablemen. Assuming he worked in the stables here, Suzette was just wondering what on earth he was doing in a guest’s bedchambers when he turned toward them and she saw his face. She was just registering that it was Jeremy Danvers when he spotted them and pulled his pistol from inside his jacket.

“I
thought you said she was ready?” Daniel asked, glancing fretfully toward the inn. His mother had come down several minutes ago and sent Lord Madison up to collect Suzette. The group had then immediately moved out into the courtyard to wait . . . and wait.