The Duke's Alliance Book Two: A Dangerous Husband (2 page)

He met his grandmother in the hall. 'My dear boy, what a horrible thing to have happened. Forgive me for not offering to help but I am not good with either illness or injury.'

'I didn't expect you to be personally involved, Grandmamma, you have organised the staff and that's all that was required of you. Can you please convey my sincere apologies to Lady Madeline and tell her I'm not able to speak to her?'

'Of course, I understand. I'll suggest that she returns to Silchester Court as no doubt his grace will be some time with you.'

The duke joined them. 'My sister can go to visit Miss Bagshot who is a near neighbour of yours, I believe.'

'Do it.' Grey smiled apologetically at his abrupt order. 'I beg your pardon, your grace, I'm overfond of issuing orders. I can lend you a nag so she has no need to return here.'

'My brother Bennett is similarly afflicted – comes of being a military man. If you could send for my carriage I'll speak to my sister.' The duke strode away and Grey cursed silently. He had offended the man and he desperately needed his help. Lord Sheldon, his brother, would have been better, but the duke must do in his stead.

He would wait in the study and try and marshal his thoughts. In order to get to this chamber he had to walk past the library. As he passed a slight noise came from behind the half-open door. He froze. Could it be an intruder? He steadied his breathing and crept forwards.

*

Madeline settled the ladies as the tea arrived. One of them drew her aside. 'My dear, would you be so kind as to fetch my book? It's in my apartment. I find the stairs a sore trial these days. A footman will direct you there.'

'I should be pleased to get it, Lady Grimshaw.' Madeline hurried off and soon found the rooms she sought. The chambermaid helped her search, but the book wasn't anywhere to be seen.

'Her ladyship was in the library earlier, miss, you could try there.'

'Thank you, I'll do that. Where will I find this chamber?'

The library was on the ground floor and easy to locate. The helpful footman pointed to the door and dashed off on another errand leaving her to enter alone. As she stepped in a curtain moved at the far end of the chamber. A careless servant had left a window ajar – she would close it as draughts would not be good for the leatherbound books that filled the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. She admired the book stand that enabled a reader to peruse a large volume without breaking its spine and paused to scan the titles. Good heavens! There was an entire section in French and another in Italian.

Then she spotted the missing volume on a side table by the fireplace. As she stooped to collect it something whistled past her ear and thudded into the wall. She staggered back and, unable to keep her balance, fell towards the fire.

Chapter Two

Grey hurtled through the door as Lady Madeline fell into the flames. He was at her side in two strides and with one hand he snatched a fistful of her skirt and with the other he grabbed a flailing arm and heaved with all his strength. He managed to prevent her head hitting the mantelshelf but couldn't prevent the fine muslin of her gown from dropping into the fire.

As the material caught he threw the girl to the floor and frantically rolled her over whilst beating at the flames with his hands. After a few seconds the danger was over and he sat back. 'Are you burned? Let me see your legs.'

She whispered urgently. 'I'm quite well, sir, but there's a murderer behind your curtains. He threw a knife at me.'

He moved his head to indicate he'd understood. 'Let me assist you to the
chaise longue
.' The room smelled of burnt cloth and fear.

He pulled her to her feet and under the pretence of helping her was able to slip the poker under his jacket. She understood perfectly and made a great fuss of feeling faint.

'I fear the shock has made me unwell, my lord, would you kindly open a window for me?'

Once she was seated he moved smoothly towards the windows at the far end of the library but kept his head turned towards the girl as if unaware of the intruder. 'I'll do so immediately, my lady. What a dreadful thing to happen, it's hardly surprising you're feeling faint.'

His instincts warned him that whoever was hiding behind him was about to attack. In one swift movement he swung round using his momentum to propel the iron poker sideways and his blow found its mark. The intruder screamed and collapsed taking the curtain down with him. Grey used the material to his advantage and rolled the man inside, then picked the flailing body up and banged the man's head hard against the floorboards. The struggle ceased and the bastard went limp.

'Have you killed him? Do I need to find some cord to tie him up?' The plucky girl was beside him apparently unbothered by the violence.

'No thank you; the man's unconscious. I'll get my men to take him somewhere so I can interrogate him when he recovers his senses.' She was standing by his side and her ruined skirts were revealing far too much of her slender legs. He was about to suggest she retire and allow Humphries to find her something to wear when she gasped and swayed.

His arm shot out and he caught her as she swooned. What had caused her sudden collapse after being so stalwart throughout the past five minutes? Then he saw a growing pool of blood spreading across the boards. His blow with the poker must have done more damage than he'd realised.

With the girl senseless in his arms he strode down the room and shouldered his way out. He shouted for attention and two footmen appeared at a run. 'Here, take Lady Madeline, she has fainted. Put her in a guest room and let Lady Carshalton know she's needed. Her gown caught fire, but she's unhurt apart from the shock.' He passed her across to the more robust of the two and rushed back into the library shouting over his shoulder as he did so. 'Send his grace to me immediately.'

He could apologise to the girl later for handing her over to his staff like an unwanted parcel, but now he had to do what he could to save the life of the assassin – he needed him alive if he was to find out who was behind these attacks.

*

Madeline recovered from her swoon as she was being carried along a passageway and for a moment was unable to focus her mind. Then shock at her position in the arms of a servant restored her. 'Put me down. I am perfectly well and able to walk on my own.' She was almost dropped such was the relief of the unwilling footmen given the task of conveying her away from the horrible scene in the library. 'I want to speak to the duke. Where is he?'

The men exchanged worried glances and she was about to speak sharply when one of them looked at her skirts. Her cheeks suffused and she nodded. 'Direct me to a bedroom, but I still need to speak to the duke.'

'I'll conduct you to a chamber, my lady, whilst Sid here fetches his grace.' The speaker pointed to a hidden stairwell. 'Up here, my lady, it will save going through the main part of the house.'

She followed him in silence. Her thoughts were in turmoil. Someone had tried to kill her, she had almost been incinerated and then Lord Carshalton had grievously injured her attacker. What was going on at Heatherfield? First the gamekeeper had been shot and now this. The footman led her to a guest chamber and opened the door with a bow.

'I shall fetch Mrs Humphries to you as soon as she's free.'

He vanished leaving her alone in a prettily furnished sitting room. The needs of the injured came before hers and so she settled down on the padded window seat prepared to wait until her brother arrived. She wanted to go home, not to remain here and be given someone else's garments to wear. Lord Carshalton should have taken care of her himself. It was rag-mannered of him to hand her over so carelessly to a servant.

This morning she had been bored and longing for some excitement, but having a knife thrown at her and then being almost incinerated wasn't what she'd had in mind. If she was honest she'd rather hoped to renew her brief acquaintance with the attractive man who had danced with her at the ball. Now she cordially disliked him. He was a violent and dangerous man and not a gentleman, for if he was he wouldn't have treated her so shabbily.

A while later a footman arrived carrying a tray with her luncheon but there was still no sign of either the housekeeper or her brother. Her appetite had deserted her and she ignored the tray and then resumed her seat in the window embrasure.

From this vantage point she could see across the park to the attractive woodland where the shooting incident had taken place. The intruder in the library and the wounding of the gamekeeper had to be linked, but why would she have been targeted? It made no sense. She had never visited Heatherfield before and was a mere acquaintance of Lord Carshalton.

Had she been mistaken for someone else? The more she pondered the conundrum the less she understood it. The only person who could throw some light on this unpleasant business was Lord Carshalton himself and he was hardly likely to come up and explain. When Beau eventually came to find her she would get her answers from him.

The time dragged and she paced the floor hoping someone, anyone, would come to explain what was happening downstairs. Until she had a cloak to cover her gown she couldn't leave this chamber and she'd been incarcerated for over two hours.

Eventually there was the welcome sound of footsteps heading in her direction. Beau was coming at last. She ran to the door and flung it open to see Carshalton. Having the man she blamed for her situation in front of her was too much for her fragile control.

'I could have been murdered and it's your fault. How could you abandon me to your staff like this? You are no gentleman and I intend to leave these premises immediately. Why has my brother not come to find me?'

Instead of being offended by her tirade he merely smiled and gently pushed her back into the sitting room. 'Hush, child, there's no need to shout. I'm not in my dotage.'

Being treated like a schoolroom miss was the outside of enough and she glared at him. 'Don't you dare patronise me, Carshalton, I'm no child and well you know it.' If she'd stopped there all might have been well but she was too incensed to think clearly. She raised her hand and poked him hard in the chest. It was like pushing at a wall. 'You didn't think me childish when you flirted with me a few weeks ago. I've been waiting for two hours for a cloak to put over my gown so that I can leave here – why hasn't one arrived?' This was accompanied by a second push.

His eyes narrowed and his friendly smile vanished. 'That will do. Sit down and be quiet before I do something we will both regret.'

She backed away hastily until she could positon herself behind a solid chair. Without the support of this her legs would have given way. Then she remembered he'd told her to sit but she was incapable of further movement.

'I asked you to be seated. Was there some part of that instruction you failed to comprehend?' His tone was mild but there was steel in his words.

Her fingers refused to release their grip and she was incapable of speech. To her horror unwanted tears trickled down her cheeks.

His expression changed instantly to concern and he was at her side. 'Come, sweetheart, I didn't intend to make you cry.' He uncurled her fingers and with his arm around her waist carefully put her on the daybed. Then he wiped her tears away with his handkerchief. 'There, that's better. I'm a brute to issue orders as if you were a soldier in my corps. Can you forgive me?'

She sniffed and the soft cloth was returned to her. She blew her nose and managed a weak smile. 'It's I who must beg your pardon. I should not…'

'Enough, it's forgotten.' He folded his length onto the chair she'd been clutching and smiled. 'I'm afraid you will be even more annoyed with me when I tell you the duke has left on a mission for me. The carriage is waiting, so you can leave as soon as my housekeeper finds you something to cover your gown.'

'Beau wouldn't depart without making sure I was unhurt.'

'I told him you were all right and being taken care of. Therefore, there was no need for him to waste time visiting you when there was something more urgent for him to do.'

Her wariness was replaced by anger at his abrupt and unhelpful remark. 'Since I arrived here this morning someone has tried to kill me and then I fell into the fire, and that's the best you can say? You’re despicable and I shall depart now – I don't care if I've no cloak. There's no one here whose opinion matters to me.'

She scrambled to her feet and marched towards the door but he was quicker and his bulk prevented her escape. 'You shall leave soon, but not until I've told you what happened after you were brought here. Don't you want to know?'

She retreated but didn't resume her seat. 'I'm waiting. Kindly get on with it as I'm not going to remain under your roof a moment longer than necessary.'

*

Grey wanted to shake some respect into the furious young lady who had the temerity to defy him. He clenched his fists and swallowed his ire. 'The man in the library met his maker before I was able to interrogate him but I'm certain he was part of a plot to kill me.'

She looked less than impressed with his words and he didn't blame her. Good God, the wretched girl was tapping her foot. 'You arrived inopportunely and the man attempted to kill you in order to stop you warning me he'd gained entry to Heatherfield.'

'Is that it? I care not who is attempting to assassinate you, sir, but now I've been made part of this and so has my brother.'

He prepared to explain why he believed he was being hunted but she raised a hand to prevent him speaking. 'I don't want to know anything else. The duke will tell me when he returns.' She tilted her nose in the air and pursed her lips. 'Am I allowed to leave or do you intend to add abduction to your list of sins?'

He stepped to one side and bowed. He didn't trust himself to say anything polite. She sailed past him and as he watched her his anger changed to something far more dangerous. A wave of heat surged through him and there was an uncomfortable tightness in his breeches.

The girl had piqued his interest by her rejection and he intended to demonstrate to her that he wasn't a man to turn down such a challenge. He had a moderate amount of success with the fairer sex – indeed was renowned amongst his peers for having some of the most attractive ladies on his arm.

He had no intention of seducing the girl, that would be atrocious behaviour, but he wanted to demonstrate to her that he wasn't the villain she supposed he was. He would keep his lustful thoughts to himself but that was going to be dammed hard as, without doubt, she was both highly desirable and intelligent. This was a lethal combination in his experience.

By the time he reached the entrance hall the carriage was pulling away. His charm campaign must wait until he met Lady Madeline again. Ned Bishop should make a full recovery in time, so the doctor had told him, which was a relief as the man was invaluable to him.

Smith and Jenkins had returned from their search and were waiting to speak to him. He'd had refreshments sent to them so they would be content for a while yet. Before he could see them he must ensure that his grandmother and her friends had suffered no ill effects from the excitement of the morning.

He found them in the small dining room where a cold collation had been laid out as usual.

'Grey, my dear boy, I do hope you haven't upset Lady Madeline.'

'No, Grandmamma, I haven't. I would say that she was enraged rather than upset.' He helped himself to a generous plateful and joined the ladies at the table.

'I'm not surprised she was angry with you. She came for a pleasant visit and was almost burnt to a crisp and her lovely gown was quite ruined.'

'A slight exaggeration, but you have the gist of it. I went upstairs intending to apologise and made a sad mull of it and only made matters worse. The fact that the duke agreed to assist me, and he left without talking to her, added to her annoyance.' He munched his way through several slices of succulent, home-bred ham before resuming the conversation.