Corey McFadden (37 page)

“My parents died as you know when I was quite young. Romney Manor and the rest of the estate came to me, and my uncle became my guardian until my marriage or coming of age.” She paused and was relieved to see that he nodded. At least he was listening. “Uncle James had married by then, a dreadful woman with two nasty children, and they all came to live with me at Romney Manor. I believe you are acquainted with my stepcousin, Amelia?” Maude’s tone was silky, and he glared at her.

“I did not receive much mothering from my Aunt Claire. She favored her own two children, but Uncle James loves me and has always been kind in his way.” Maude felt the familiar sadness come over her. He could have been so like her precious father if only he hadn’t been imprisoned by his brandy.

“I suppose what has happened is partly my own fault. I’ve never paid much attention to the running of the household. It was my aunt’s domain, and she doesn’t much tolerate the sight of me. I guess I always thought in the back of my mind that she hated me because I really owned everything and there was nothing she could do about it. I’ve heard her berate Uncle James often enough for being a second son, and having nothing of his own to leave to her children...” Maude paused, the old bitterness flooding through her. “It’s not as though she didn’t know that when she married him,” she said almost to herself.

“I just let things go on as they were. I had my horses, after all, and I spent most of my time in the stables.” She gave him a rueful grin. “You figured that out a long time ago, didn’t you?”

He almost smiled back.

“Well, the night I had the accident with your carriage, my stepcousin, John, came to me. We were alone in the house...” Maude paused. Just talking about it brought back all of the horror.

Radford was watching her closely now, but he realized she was not even seeing him.

“He told me that the estate could not support itself and that Aunt Claire had subsidized it all these years. He said she had spent a great deal on Amelia’s Season and she needed the rest to settle on him. You see”—she turned to Radford, her eyes bleak—“I was penniless and much in her debt and I didn’t even know it.”

Radford nodded for her to go on, his eyes thoughtful.

“I didn’t know what to do. It was just awful. I had always assumed my father had left enough for me to live on. No one had ever said anything to me to the contrary. Then John...” She swallowed hard. “...John suggested that we should marry, pool our resources, so to speak, so that we could all go on as before. It all made sense in a horrible sort of way.”

She looked at Radford now, and the pain and fear in her eyes tore at him.

“I handled it badly, I suppose. I was so revolted by the idea. You don’t know him. He is disgusting, really. He spent our entire childhoods tormenting me and leering at me, and then he wanted me to be his wife. I was nearly physically ill at the thought of it. And the way he proposed, he made it seem as if I had no choice at all.” Maude looked at Radford as if begging him to agree that she had been right in rejecting John’s proposal.

“I told him no. I explained I could not think of him that way since we had grown up together. But I’m afraid my revulsion showed on my face. He was so angry. He has an awful temper. They all do in his family....” Maude was shivering now, caught up in the memory. She did not notice as Radford gently pulled the blanket up over her shoulders.

“He said...” A sob caught in her throat. “He said he would fix it so I’d have to marry him. He came after me. He tore my dress and threw me down. He got on top of me and...” Maude’s voice broke again and she stopped, unable to go on.

Radford moved closer and he put his arms around her, pulling her head down to his shoulder. She feels so good there, he thought to himself, so right.... “Shhh, shhh, my love. You don’t have to tell me any more. I understand,” he whispered into her hair.

She sat back, her eyes wild with the memory. “No, that’s not all...I mean I stopped him before....” Suddenly it was very important to her that Radford understand all that had transpired between her and John. “There was a brandy decanter on the floor. We had knocked it over in the struggle. I picked it up and smashed it into the side of his head. It shattered against his face and slashed him terribly, but it knocked him unconscious. I ran upstairs but I knew I had to leave the house. He would have killed me when he awoke, and my dear Aunt Claire would have helped him do it. He’s the apple of her eye. So I had to leave right away, before he woke up or Aunt Claire came home. My plan was to run away to London, to come to the family solicitors and see if they could protect me from these people, but I did not want to travel as a woman. I hadn’t enough money to hire a coach, and I couldn’t walk all the way as a female. It wouldn’t have been safe. So I borrowed the valet Joe’s clothes, and chopped off my hair, and ran away. I had only minutes to think it through, you see. But it was raining and I didn’t hear your carriage until it was upon me, then I slipped while trying to scramble out of the way.” Breathless now with telling the story she had suppressed all this time, she stopped.

He said nothing, just rubbed her neck gently.

They sat in silence for a moment, Maude nearly sick with the horror she had dredged up, and Radford, stone sober now with the shock of her tale, mulling it over in his mind. He did not doubt that she was telling the truth. The finest actress in the world couldn’t have lied so convincingly. His overwhelming feeling was one of great relief. He loved this woman so much; that was clear to him now. It had been unbearable to him when he had thought, in his brandy-befogged rage, that she had not cared for him after all, and had been playing him for a fool.

Finally, she sat up, and he saw that the pain still lingered in her eyes.

“Now do you see why I don’t want you to send me back?” she asked beseechingly.

“Why on earth would I do that?” he said wonderingly. “And why didn’t you just tell me right away who you were? Surely you know I’d have taken you to your solicitor’s office.”

“But I was near unconscious at first, don’t you remember? And when I awoke the next morning, I was frightened of what you would do. I just wanted to get myself to their office without telling you anything.”

“Well, did you?” In spite of his protestations to himself that he believed her, Radford was still looking for ways to strengthen her story.
Please, God
, he thought to himself,
let her be telling me the truth.

“Yes. I woke up early and slipped out of the house. I wasn’t even planning to come back. That’s how I met the duke’s people, by the way. You remember Eddie? He gave me a ride down to the market area in his cart and I found Chancery Lane from there.”

“Well, what did they tell you? Come to think of it,” he said, with a laugh, “remembering just how you looked, how did you convince anyone you were Maude Romney?”

“That’s just it. I got there too early. The office wasn’t open yet. So I went down to the river and walked around a bit. I had never been to London before, you know, and to be on my own and free, like that...” Maude looked almost wistful.

“Yes, now that I recall it, my only memories of you are of a terrible tomboy.”

He smiled at her and his eyes were warm which encouraged her to go on. “When I got back to the office, I saw Aunt Claire and John coming down the steps with our solicitor. I moved down into the stairwell of the building next door to hide but I could see and hear everything. I heard the solicitor—she called him Mr. Parsons—tell Aunt Claire not to worry, that if I came to him, he would tell me...what did he say? Oh, yes, the ‘grim details’ of my finances. And that I’d have to marry John. He was just awful. And that’s not even the worst of it. They were fond of each other, those two. It’s hard to imagine anyone being sweet on Aunt Claire, but he was touching her...you know, in
that
way...right in the street, and she was smiling at him!”

Maude’s outrage was clear and Radford’s eyes narrowed.

“But anyway, I could see the solicitor would be no help to me at all, so I came back to you, just till I could figure out what to do.”

“But, Maude, why didn’t you tell me then? Did you really think I’d turn you over to that pair of jackals? What kind of a man did you think I was?”

“Well, I really didn’t know you at first and in a way I considered you my nemesis. Our previous encounters had left me feeling a little foolish, after all.”

Maude looked chagrined but Radford only laughed softly.

“But wouldn’t you have had to turn me over to them?” she went on. “Think about it, Edward! If you had known immediately who I was, you’d have been legally bound to inform my guardian. Anything else would have been kidnapping. You could have been charged with harboring a minor and then you’d have had to marry me for sure!”

She started to laugh, but found that it turned into a sob. “Don’t you see,” she exclaimed, hiccuping, “I was trapped from the beginning. There was nowhere to turn, nothing I could do about it. You’ve never been in the position of having no money and no family you could turn to.”

He took her head in his hands and pulled her close into a hug. “I’m sorry that you did not trust me, monkey. But you may have been right at that. It would have been awkward having you about if I’d known the truth, and the law would have put you back with your guardian. In fact, I suppose the law would have agreed with your Aunt Claire and John that a marriage of the assets was the best solution. Unless, of course, you had cried rape, and that would have meant a scandal.” He was thoughtful. She had, indeed, been in an impossible situation. He wondered if he would have done nearly as well, alone and penniless.

He held her close now, conscious of her rose scent and her soft curls against his neck. She was so lovely. Thank God that grotesque popinjay of a cousin had not succeeded in  rape. He would have to find some way to deal with the baggage of her family, without allowing them to intrude further on their lives. As he turned it over in his mind, Maude sat up and pulled away, distress plain on her face.

“But aren’t we right back where I started from? Now that you do know who I am, don’t you have to turn me over? I warn you, I shall run away again, if I have to disguise myself as your horse!”

He laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous, monkey. You’ll never have to see any of those pit vipers again. Except your Uncle James, of course. That is, if you want to. He can come to the wedding.” He took one of her red curls in his fingers and twisted it. “I’ll be sorry when your hair grows back. I like it like this.” He lowered his face into her hair and nuzzled her, missing the look of pain that crossed her face.

“Edward, that is very kind of you. But surely you see that I cannot marry you now.” Maude lifted her head away from his and regarded him sadly.

“Whyever not? In fact, now is about the best time I can think of, before any of the
haut monde
catches us in our little love nest and starts making the rounds with the juicy news.”

“Can’t you see? I couldn’t possibly marry a man who felt that he had been forced to the altar. We’d have a dreadful time of it. You’d begin to resent me. After all, remember how angry you were this evening when you thought we had all laid a trap to do just that?”

Now he threw back his head and laughed in earnest. “Monkey, you are wonderful! I was angry because I thought you didn’t really care about me and that hurt. I am not used to being hurt. I didn’t like it. Besides, I’d decided to marry you last night. That’s why I hired detectives to trace your identity.”

“You did what? You hired detectives? So that’s how you knew who I was.” Maude had not stopped to wonder in all this how he had come to the knowledge that she was Maude Romney.

“Why, of course. And, moreover, your aunt has detectives out, too, that’s how I realized who you were, with two sets of detectives looking in the same area. I thought earlier that was part of her plot to...what a fool I’ve been!” He reached for her again and pulled her close. “Forgive me for doubting you and for hiring the detectives,” he said, now serious, “but I had to be sure of who you were before I made you my wife. I knew I was getting only half-truths out of you, and I couldn’t marry you under those circumstances. After all, you will be Lady Radford. I had to be certain you weren’t a famous axe murderess.”

She pulled back to stare at him, doubt on her face. “You wanted to marry me last night? But you’ve told me any number of times when I dressed you for parties and balls that you would never marry! That you think marriage is—how did you put it?—oh, yes, for silly sots who need a mother.”

“Well, that’s before I met you. At least, I’d met you, but I didn’t know what you were. But now that I do know, I am most anxious to marry you, and the sooner the better. And as far as your aunt is concerned, don’t worry any further about her or John either for that matter. I shall have my solicitors contact your uncle directly and present him with a
fait accompli
. Believe me, there will be no trouble from that bunch, unless John relishes the thought of being charged with attempted rape.”

“Oh, Edward, we couldn’t. I’d be ruined! I mean...I’m already ruined, of course, but no one knows just yet...at least...well, everyone in this household knows but I suppose we can buy them off....” She stopped in utter confusion as he started to laugh.

“Of course I won’t really do it. I think the threat will be sufficient to warn them off. Besides,” he continued, “there are some parts of your story that don’t ring true... Oh, I don’t mean you are lying, monkey,” he added, when he saw the look of consternation cross her face. “I mean about what your charming cousin told you about your finances.”

He stood up, stretched, and began untying his neckcloth. Almost by reflex, Maude got up and began doing it for him. He grinned at her wickedly. “Actually, I figure it will be cheaper to marry you than keep a valet full time...” he broke off, gurgling as she twisted the neckcloth tight around his neck.

Stepping forward swiftly, he caught her to him, lifting her by the waist and holding her up till he could kiss her lips. Gently, he set her down, then leaned his head back, his eyes closed, while she unbuttoned his shirt.