Protected by the Major (6 page)

‘You think he was murdered?’

‘Yes, I do.’ Captain Mainwaring frowned. ‘I do not think it was merely robbery—there must have been another reason, perhaps a fear of blackmail. Something that Lethbridge feared to have known.’

‘What leads you to believe so?’

‘Because of something I discovered in my cousin’s things.’ Captain Mainwaring frowned. ‘I discovered it only a few weeks ago. Roger’s mother asked me to sort out her son’s personal possessions, because she could not bring herself to do it. Everything had lain untouched for four years...and I found a letter addressed to Lethbridge. It was the letter of a young man with more passion than sense—and it threatened to reveal a secret. But it had never been sent.’

‘A secret?’

‘The secret was that Lethbridge was a cheat. It was written just before Lethbridge married, and spoke of “the means you used to force that sweet lady to wed you”—which suggested some sort of coercion on the count’s part. When you told me she had been forced to wed him I knew that I must be correct in my assumptions.’

Hallam stared at him in horror. ‘So he cheated Sir Matthew at the card tables and then blackmailed him into allowing Maddie to marry him. He is a worse rogue than I imagined.’

‘A cheat, a blackmailer and a murderer,’ Captain Mainwaring agreed, looking grim. ‘We need say nothing of his other vices, for he is not the only one to have such secrets—but cheating at cards and blackmail are surpassed only by murder.’

Hallam nodded, his expression grave. ‘Where does the marquis come into it?’

‘I believe he’s won rather too much money from Lethbridge of late—but there may be more.’

‘I am not sure I understand you?’

‘Supposing Rochdale knows that he is a cheat and has threatened to expose him?’

‘He would want to lure the marquis into some kind of a situation where he could be rid of him?’

‘If Rochdale has some hold over him, Lethbridge must murder him or face exposure...unless he can buy the marquis off in some way.’

‘My God!’ Hal shuddered with disgust. ‘Maddie told me that her husband had ordered her to entice the marquis. He would sacrifice her to keep his secret? His own wife! Could any man be that vile?’

‘A man such as Lethbridge would do anything to save his own skin.’

‘Yes, I dare say,’ Hallam said, his mouth curling in distaste. Captain Mainwaring’s revelations were so disgusting that it made it imperative to free Maddie from her marriage—and urgent.

‘I must get her away from that devil!’

‘And how do you intend to do that?’

‘I can see only one way—and that’s to accuse him of being a cheat in public. If I did so in private and asked for her release, he would simply deny it and find a way to murder me. No, I must contrive to play cards with him and accuse him in front of reliable witnesses.’

‘He will call you out if you do, for he has no choice.’ Mainwaring frowned. ‘He is a crack shot, Hal, and good with the foils.’

‘I am also thought an excellent marksman and sufficiently skilled with the foils.’ Hallam’s jaw hardened. ‘It is the only way to put an end to her misery, Jack. And if what you believe is true, he deserves to die. I cannot allow him to use her...to sell her to Rochdale in return for his silence.’

‘I should have liked to see him hang, but as yet I have no proof that his hand was on the pistol that took Roger’s life. Though I would swear I’ve seen him cheat.’

‘We must have proof of it,’ Hallam said. ‘I want you to sit down with him at the table while I watch. As soon as I know how he does it, I will accuse him.’

‘And I’ll stand by you as your second. He plays tonight at Lord Hartingdon’s house. Do you have an invite?’

‘Yes,’ Hallam said. ‘And you?’

‘Tonight it is,’ Jack Mainwaring said. ‘If you can spot him cheating, we’ll break him one way or the other.’

Chapter Four

M
adeline’s heart thudded wildly as she saw Hallam coming towards her. Hyde Park was filled with people, walking or riding, some in open-topped carriages. Once wild and teeming with game and the favourite hunting ground of a king, the park was now a popular place of pleasure and amusement for people of all classes and ages. It was a favourite haunt for ladies, because they could be sure of meeting friends as they drove or walked in the beautiful surroundings.

Lethbridge’s coachman had dropped Madeline and her maid at the park gates and would return in two hours, which should be sufficient for them to walk around the park and greet friends. She had not been sure that Hallam would be there that afternoon and she felt a surge of pleasure as he came up to her.

‘Maddie, I hoped you would come,’ he said, taking her hand to bow over it. ‘How are you? I have been thinking of you. He did not punish you for your behaviour at the ball?’

‘No, for it seems it had the desired effect, even though I thought the marquis angry with me when he left us. Yet he has accepted an invitation to dine next week.’

Hallam nodded. ‘I believe Lethbridge has a plan to save himself from ruin and it involves using you.’

‘Save himself? Is he in some trouble?’ Madeline said and frowned. ‘He was pleased because I had done what he asked, so the marquis could not have told him what happened in the garden. He sent me a message to say he was looking forward to meeting me again.’

‘You must be careful not to be alone with Rochdale,’ Hallam warned. ‘I believe him to be both depraved and ruthless. Your husband is a fool to court his company for he may discover that the marquis is more deadly than he knows.’

A little shiver went through her. ‘I fear that Lethbridge hates me now. He blames me for not giving him a child, but indeed, it is not my fault. Now he speaks of a bringing an illegitimate child to his house and making him his heir.’

‘He could not so insult you?’

‘He could and would do anything that pleased him. While he holds Papa’s notes he knows I cannot defy him.’

Hallam glanced back at Sally, who was following them a short distance behind. ‘She is to be trusted?’

‘Yes, of course, always.’

‘Have you tried searching for your father’s notes?’

‘No...’ Madeline bit her bottom lip. ‘I believe he keeps them in his bedchamber. I had thought to honour my promise, but he does not honour his.’ She lifted her gaze to meet his as a thought occurred to her. ‘Would it be very wicked of me to steal and destroy them?’

‘I think your husband does not deserve loyalty, Maddie. After the way he has behaved to you, you are entirely justified in stealing the notes. They belong to you for you were promised them when you wed him.’ His eyes held hers with a burning look that made her tremble inside. ‘You know that I would be happy to take you away. We could go to Italy or Spain or perhaps further away—somewhere that your husband would never find you.’

His words aroused new hope in her. Perhaps there was a chance of escape if she could recover her father’s debt?

Yet might Hal demand more than she could give? Madeline knew that she felt tender love for Hal, but was she too deeply scarred to love him in a physical way?

‘I think once I had gone he would not bother to search for me, at least if I were no longer in England,’ she said, her throat catching. ‘He spoke of giving me my freedom if I do what he wants.’

‘I thought you had already done so.’ Hallam frowned. ‘He has no right to demand more of you, Maddie. Do you know what he wants of you?’

‘No...’ She hesitated, then, ‘I fear it may be something to do with the marquis. I think...but no, he could not want me to allow Rochdale to my bed, could he?’ She shivered at the thought.

‘Damn the man,’ Hallam growled low in his throat. ‘If he asks you to allow Rochdale to seduce you, refuse him, leave the house and come to me at once. I will promise to give your family a home at my estate if he turns them from their home.’

Madeline’s eyes were misty with tears as she attempted to smile at him. ‘Lethbridge is a gentleman. I cannot think he would do something so vile as to give his own wife to a man like the marquis.’ Her words were meant to reassure him, but in truth she knew that her husband might stoop even that low to gain what he wanted.

‘If you think that, you do not know him,’ Hallam said. ‘I cannot tell you just what kind of a man your husband is, because what I know was told me in confidence—but do not trust him, Maddie. I believe him to be in desperate trouble and he might be capable of anything to protect himself.’

Madeline inclined her head to a passing lady and gentleman, then turned to look at Hallam once more. ‘You should leave me now, Hal. People I know are walking here and if you stay with me longer my husband may come to hear of our meeting.’

‘Very well. I would not have harm come to you,’ Hallam took her hand in his for a moment, looking at her tenderly. ‘Do not despair, Maddie. I have not been idle. Perhaps your release may come sooner than you think.’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, but he inclined his head and walked on past her. Sally joined her and she resumed her walk about the park, stopping to talk to various friends for a few moments here and there, before making for the park gates where the carriage was waiting to take her home.

What had Hallam meant when he spoke of her release? She prayed that he would not do anything foolish, for unhappy as she was she would rather continue in the same way than have him risk his life for her sake.

* * *

Returning home an hour or so later, Madeline discovered that her husband had left word that he would not be home until late that evening. She was free to spend the time as she wished, for he had an appointment that did not include her.

Glancing through the invitation cards she’d received for that evening, Madeline thought that there was nothing she really wished to attend. Instead, she would spend a quiet night at home, perhaps reading or playing the spinet for her own amusement.

She went up to change for the evening, but then decided it was not necessary. She would take off her walking clothes and wear a loose sacque gown because she had no need to go downstairs for dinner.

‘You may bring me a tray up, Sally,’ she had told the girl and when she did so, ‘I shall spend the evening in my rooms reading. I will not need you again tonight. You may retire early or go out for an hour or two with a friend.’

‘I should like to visit a friend for an hour or so, but I shall be back by ten should you need me, my lady.’

‘Thank you, but I do not think I shall require help,’ Madeline said.

She had ordered a light supper and ate a few of the tasty morsels her cook had prepared, then picked up a book of Lord Byron’s poetry and begun to read. However, her mind was not at ease and after some minutes she put it down, rose and went through the dressing room. She paused and knocked, but there was no answer from her husband’s chamber so she turned the handle and went in.

Her heart began to race because she was very conscious of being where she had no right to be. Lethbridge did not encourage her to enter his rooms and she knew that he would be angry if he returned and found her here. She had come to search for her father’s notes. Hallam’s words had lingered at the back of her mind since leaving him and now she had gathered sufficient courage.

Her eyes moved round the room, lingering on the opulent bed with its four mahogany posts with the heavy silk curtains, the matching chests that stood each side, and the magnificent armoire, also a large mahogany desk with an elbow chair. It had not taken her husband many minutes to fetch the notes he’d given her the other evening so he had not locked them away in a secret compartment. No doubt he believed that she would not dare to touch them if she found them—and indeed, until this moment that had been the case. She would not even have considered searching for them, but something had changed in her and she no longer felt that it would be wrong of her to touch her husband’s things.

Breathing deeply, she began to search the chests, opening each drawer in turn and being very careful to return everything exactly as it had been. She glanced in the armoire, looking in the drawers that contained silk stockings and cravats, also several handkerchiefs, with embroidered initials in the corners. There were no papers of any interest other than a few receipts for items of clothing.

She walked softly over to the desk and pulled out the top drawer and discovered a leather folder. Opening it, she saw the sheaf of notes immediately: one that signed over her father’s estate and another for ten thousand pounds.

No wonder he had been unable to pay. What could her father have been thinking of to play so deep? He had gambled away more than his estate was worth and must have been ruined and shamed had Lethbridge demanded payment.

Madeline held her breath, her hand reaching towards the papers when she heard a sound outside the door. Snatching up the notes, she closed the drawer and fled into the dressing room just as the door into the hall opened. From behind the open door of the dressing table, she saw her husband’s valet enter carrying a pile of clean linen. He began to place the things in the drawers of the armoire. Madeline fled through the dressing room into her own bedchamber.

She was trembling, though whether from excitement or the fear of being caught she was not sure. For a moment she could not move, because she felt too weak, then she walked towards the fire and stood before it gazing down into the flames.

She had her father’s notes. She could destroy them by casting them into the flames and then... Her heart was racing so fast that she could scarcely breathe. It was what she wanted to do so very much, but did she have the right? Lethbridge had promised to return them to her father when she married him, but he had reneged on his promise. According to the bargain they had made, the notes were truly her father’s property. Madeline had every right to destroy them. Tearing them across three times, she tossed the pieces onto the fire and watched them burn. A feeling of elation rushed through her. Her father was free of the threat of shame. Madeline would send him a letter in the morning, telling him that the notes were destroyed.

Her elation lasted only a few moments. She had made certain of her father’s freedom—but was she herself truly free?

Hallam had told her that he would take her away with him and care for her. She could leave her husband this very night. Yet she knew him to be a vengeful man. Would he not seek to take revenge on both her and Hal? Would she in fact endanger the life of the man she loved?

Madeline was tempted to run, but fear held her. If she took the chance for freedom, Lethbridge would find some way of seeking his revenge—either upon her and Hal or her family...

Tears slipped slowly down her cheeks. She brushed them away, feeling empty and drained of hope. For years she’d thought of the notes as being the tie that kept her chained to a husband she did not love, but now she was frightened to leave him.

What ought she to do? If her husband discovered the loss of the notes he would be so angry and sure to punish her—but if she ran he might kill both her and Hal.

Did she have the right to endanger Hal’s life? Perhaps she should simply slip away somewhere by herself....and it would be best not to see Hallam again. Her life meant nothing to her, but she could not bear it if Hal died for her sake.

She would write to him, tell him that she could not see him—and then she would slip away, go down to the country and hope that her husband did not force her to return.

* * *

Hallam read the note that had come to him that morning. He knew Madeline’s hand immediately and his heart quickened with excitement. Was she ready to come away with him?

Scanning the brief lines, he stared in disbelief for some minutes before screwing the notepaper into a ball and tossing it into the fire. She did not wish to see him again. She had considered his offer and decided that she could not leave her husband. She begged his pardon and asked him to forget her.

‘Damn the rogue!’ Hallam exclaimed aloud. What had her wretched husband done to her now that she felt forced to write this letter to him? Had he not known better he would have thought her indifferent to him, but the look in her eyes when they met in the park told him that she still felt something for him.

Why did she feel constrained to stay with a brute who hurt and humiliated her?

Hallam found it impossible to understand. Of course there were the notes, but something could be done—and her family could live on his estate if the worst happened.

He must see her again despite this foolish letter, but first he had business with her husband. Mainwaring had played with him the previous evening and lost a thousand guineas and Hallam had watched, positioning himself so that he could see in a mirror on the wall at Lethbridge’s back. The count had made one fatal mistake. Hallam had seen him prick the corner of a card and them push the pin into the cuff of his velvet coat. Because of his frills and the heavy embroidery on the sleeve of the evening coat, it would be almost impossible for anyone to see the pin, but Hallam had seen him use it twice and was now certain of his facts.

It only remained for him to call the count a cheat and arrange the duel that would free Madeline of her husband once and for all. However, he had been unable to establish when the next opportunity might arise for the count had spoken of perhaps going to the country shortly. If he did so that would mean postponing the confrontation, for he could hardly force his way into the count’s home to call him a cheat—nor could he follow him to the country. He could only hope that Madeline would be safe until the opportunity arose to force a quarrel on her husband.

* * *

Madeline saw Hallam as she entered the ballroom that night and her heart caught. She longed to go to him, but knew she must keep a distance between them. It would be foolish to arouse her husband’s suspicions for nothing. Lethbridge was in a better frame of mind than of late. Nothing more had been said of the marquis, nor had her husband mentioned anything he wished her to do for him, and she began to think she had imagined that he had some idea of giving her to the marquis.