The Rake's Rebellious Lady (18 page)

‘Yes, I see,’ Caroline said and looked at her grandfather, who was now sleeping soundly. ‘It is odd, but I have never considered him old. He is always so full of pepper that we take him for granted.’

Doctor Harris looked at her kindly. ‘Do not despair, Miss Holbrook. He may yet be spared to you for some years to come.’ He took his large silver watch from the pocket of his waistcoat and glanced at it. ‘I have another call to make—but if you should need me at any time, please do not hesitate to send for me.’

‘Thank you, sir. You are very kind.’

Caroline brought a chair to the side of her grandfather’s bed and sat down beside him. His right hand was lying on the cover and she reached out to touch it with her own, wondering what he had wanted to say to her so urgently. The doctor’s medication had obviously worked before he could communicate with her, and so she would sit quietly with him until he woke from his sleep.

She let her thoughts return to the few minutes she had spent alone with Sir Freddie. She had sensed that he was about to ask her to marry him—but did he truly care for her or was he merely offering out of a feeling of responsibility?

She had tried to deny her feelings for Sir Freddie, but, as her grandfather had said, you either loved or you did not; if she admitted what was in her heart, she had loved Freddie from the very beginning. There was something about him that had drawn her to him as a moth to the flame, a certain look, his smile and the way his ready wit matched hers. Whenever he was with her she felt alive and happy. She had not wanted to admit it, but now she could no longer pretend to herself that she was not head over heels in love with him.

But she must not reflect on her own feelings now. She glanced towards the bed as her grandfather stirred restlessly in his sleep, and she thought she heard him murmur a name.

‘Angelica…’ The words were slurred, indistinct, but had a desperate ring to them. ‘My beloved…do not leave me…’

He was calling for the young wife he had loved and lost, Caroline thought. None of them had truly understood his grief, she realised now, or the loneliness he had imposed on himself after Angelica’s death. Why had he done that? Was it grief or for some other reason that he had punished himself? Feeling her heart twist with pity, she stood up and bent over him, kissing the papery softness of his cheek.

‘I am here, dearest,’ she said. ‘Rest now. There is nothing to fret for. I am here…’

He murmured something, but the frown faded from his forehead and he seemed to rest easier. Caroline stroked his brow for a moment and then resumed her seat until he seemed to settle. She sat with him, watching as he slept peacefully until Jenkins came to tell her that her brothers wished her to go downstairs and eat dinner with them.

‘I shall watch over him, miss,’ the valet said, nodding at her encouragingly. ‘He speaks of you often to me, Miss Holbrook. If there is any change, I shall send one of the maids to fetch you at once.’

‘Yes, perhaps…’ Caroline got to her feet. She bent to kiss her grandfather’s cheek once more. ‘I know he is safe in your hands, Mr Jenkins. I shall come again for an hour or so later this evening.’

She went down to the dining parlour, answering her brothers’ anxious inquiries as they sat down to dine together. As children, they had found the Marquis daunting, a figure
of awe, but of late they had begun to know him and a shadow of anxiety hung over them all. He had been a dominating figure in their lives, and it would seem odd if he were no longer there.

* * *

It was just as Caroline and her brothers were about to rise from a rather sombre meal that one of the maids came to tell her that her grandfather was awake and asking to see her.

‘Oh, thank goodness!’ she cried, feeling the relief sweep over her. ‘I shall come at once.’

She went quickly up the stairs and hurried to her grandfather’s bedchamber. She tapped the door and went in as she was bid, halting as she looked towards the bed, hardly knowing what she would find. However, the Marquis was sitting up against a pile of pillows, taking a little refreshment from a cup that his valet held for him. He waved Jenkins away as he saw her.

‘Enough for now, thank you.’ Lifting his hand, he motioned to Caroline to come forward. She did so, thinking that he looked a little weary, but seemed to be otherwise much himself. As far as she could see he had not been paralysed and it appeared that his doctor had been right in saying that the seizure had been slight. ‘Well, there you are, Caroline. Jenkins told me you were anxious, so I thought it best to have you up to see for yourself that I am as right as ninepence. It was just a little unpleasantness, nothing to worry about at all.’

‘I am glad to see you recovered, Grandfather,’ Caroline said with a smile. He was clearly not as well as he claimed, but he was not at death’s door, for which she was heartily grateful. ‘We have all been a little anxious, you know.’

‘Humph,’ the Marquis grunted. ‘I hope you had the sense not to send for the rest of the family?’

‘We thought it best to wait, sir.’

‘Good. I don’t want Sebastian or Claude troubling themselves to come all the way down here. I’ve nothing to say to either of ’em!’

‘Grandfather! You should not say such things.’

‘No, you shall not pull caps with me, Caroline. I don’t mince my words. Never have done and it’s too late to begin now. There’s no wrapping it up in clean linen. I don’t give a fig for either of ’em and they care less for me. I ain’t saying it ain’t my fault, but that’s the way of it.’

‘I am sorry for it, sir.’

‘Well, I ain’t and we’ll say no more of it. You and your brothers are here and that’s enough.’ He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, but opened them again as she moved away from the bed. ‘No, don’t go yet, girl. I have something to tell you. It concerns you more than your brothers.’

She saw that his hand was trembling and she reached for it, holding it gently in her own. ‘You should not distress yourself, Grandfather. Surely it may wait until you are feeling better?’

‘I’ve been lucky this time,’ the Marquis told her and grimaced, rubbing at his chest as if he felt some discomfort. ‘It would be easy to put off what must be done, but if I do you may have grief of it one day.’

‘I do not understand,’ Caroline said and held his hand a little tighter as she felt him quiver. ‘How does your secret concern me?’

‘It is time that you knew the whole story. It may shock you, but I would not have you live in ignorance of the truth. You see, it concerns my Angelica. You will have heard stories of her, I dare say?’

‘I know that you loved her very much, sir.’

‘She was my whole world,’ the Marquis said, his voice ragged with remembered grief. ‘I loved her more than my life. Her happiness was my only concern and I would have done anything to please her—though I know that what I did was wrong. I make no bones about it. Guilt for my sin has haunted me through the years, but I did it because I loved her and I could not bear to deny her anything.’

Caroline sat on the edge of the bed, looking at him in pity as she saw his anguish. ‘You do not have to tell me this now, sir. I see that it affects you deeply. Whatever it is, it may wait.’

‘No, child, let me speak,’ her grandfather said. ‘I have told you that Angelica’s family did not wish her to marry me?’ Caroline nodded, wondering what was troubling him so much. ‘She defied them and ran away with me because she loved me. She was brave, if reckless…’

‘She loved you as you loved her, Grandfather.’

‘It was her dearest wish to have a child,’ the Marquis said. ‘But I was older and I ought to have been wiser for her sake…it was my fault that she died.’

‘What do you mean? I do not understand you, sir. I thought Grandmother died of a fever?’

‘It is a long story and began the first time I saw her. My Angelica. She was so beautiful that I could not resist her. Even when her brother told me…’ His voice faded to a harsh whisper and he closed his eyes as if it were almost too much for him.

‘Tell me, sir. It may ease your pain.’

‘I knew that she was delicate,’ the Marquis said. ‘Her brother did not wish her to marry at all. He warned me that she must never have a child…that the strain of it would be too much for her heart.’

‘How could he know that for certain?’

‘He claimed it was a hereditary weakness. I did not care for such things. I only knew that I wanted her…loved her. I had my heirs. I did not need or want more children, but Angelica did. I tried to avoid giving her a child, but she guessed what I did and she begged me to give her a baby. I gave in to her pleas and by doing so I killed her. I adored her and I killed her. She was not strong enough, you see, and caught a chill that finished her off. Before she died she begged me to love our son and I did love him more than any other. When he married your mama, I thought that he could have married better. I have not been fair to your mama—or to you and your brothers, Caroline. Now I would make recompense. I cannot make up for what I did to Angelica, but I shall do what I can for her grandchildren.’

Caroline was silent for some minutes after he had done. ‘But you were not to blame for her death,’ she said at last. ‘Angelica wanted a child and you gave in to her pleas…that does not make you a murderer.’

‘Her brother called me that and he was right,’ the Marquis said. ‘I was warned that she was not strong enough, but I stole her from her family. I married her and I gave her a child…a child that ultimately killed her. Her brother hated me for it, and I have hated myself…’

‘I am sorry that you have suffered so much, Grandfather,’ Caroline told him. ‘But why do you feel that this concerns me?’

‘Angelica’s weakness was hereditary, Caroline. They told me that it does not pass to the male line, but only to the female…’ His eyes were sad as they rested on her face. ‘You are so very like her that I fear for you.’

‘You think that I might carry Angelica’s weakness?’ Caroline glanced up at him, her eyes wide with shock. ‘But
that is foolish, Grandfather. I am as healthy as can be. You need not concern yourself on my account.’

‘It did not show in Angelica until she caught a fever after giving birth…it might not come out in you until later.’

‘It will not affect me,’ Caroline said quickly. ‘I know that it has worried you for my sake, sir—but I am quite well.’

‘I do not say that you should never marry, child,’ the Marquis said. ‘But you must be aware that you might never be able to give your husband a child.’

‘You cannot know that,’ Caroline cried. The idea suddenly distressed her more than it should. She had been told by more than one person that it was imperative that Sir Freddie’s wife gave him an heir for the sake of the family name. Now Caroline was confronted with the thought that she might not be able to marry the man she loved. ‘No one can know such a thing. I am perfectly well.’ Her voice rose as she tried to deny what he was telling her. It could not be true! It must not…

‘Do not be angry with me, Caroline,’ the Marquis begged. ‘Angelica’s death has weighed on me all these years and of late I have begun to fear for you.’

‘I am not angry,’ Caroline told him, but her thoughts were whirling in confusion. ‘You must rest now, sir. You have told me what you think I should know, and I am grateful—but there is no need for you to worry for my sake.’

Caroline’s heart was heavy as she left her grandfather and went to her room. If she did carry this mysterious illness in her blood, she could not in all honesty marry Freddie. He needed an heir and she might simply be too delicate to give him one.

A
fter spending a restless night, during which she slept little, Caroline visited her grandfather’s room to see how he was. Jenkins was with him, and she could see that it was not a good time to call, but at least she was able to reassure herself that he had taken no further harm.

She went downstairs, but did not join her brothers in the breakfast parlour. Instead, she walked down to the stables and asked the groom to saddle a suitable horse for her. He asked if he should accompany her, but she shook her head, allowing him to help her mount, and setting out at a good canter, which soon developed into a headlong gallop.

The wind in her hair and the exhilaration of riding helped to blow away the confusion of her thoughts. She covered much of the estate, passing two tenanted farms and a lake, and returning at a slower pace an hour or so later. It was as she was passing the Home Woods that something caught her eye, and instinct made her duck her head over her horse’s neck. Her instinctive reaction may have saved her, for she heard the shot whistle harmlessly by as she raced on, her heart hammering wildly in her breast.

Arriving back at the stables at a fierce canter, she flung herself down and left the horse standing for the groom, while she ran up to the house. Her brother Nicolas was coming from the front door and he frowned as he saw her.

‘Why didn’t you ask me to accompany you if you meant to ride?’ he asked, and then, seeing her white face, ‘What happened, Caroline?’

‘Someone took a shot at me as I passed the Home Woods. I caught a glimpse of him in the trees and ducked forwards over my horse.’

‘Go into the house and stay there!’ Nicolas commanded, his face like thunder. ‘This thing wants sorting once and for all.’

Caroline did not stay to argue. She found Tom in the back parlour he favoured. He was reading a news sheet delivered from the Receiving Office with some letters. She related her story to him breathlessly. Tom shot up from his chair immediately, his expression a mirror image of his brother’s.

‘Where are you going?’ she asked. ‘You are still recovering from that damage to your arm, Tom.’

‘I can walk and I can shoot if need be. I am going to help Nicolas look for this rogue,’ her brother said. ‘We’ll take some of the men with us. It is time this fellow was stopped or we shall none of us be safe.’

‘Oh, Tom…’ she said but there was nothing she could do to stop him for he was clearly determined.

After he had gone, she tried to find something to occupy herself, but ended by pacing up and down in an agitated manner, until one of the maids came in to announce a visitor.

‘Sir Frederick Rathbone to see you, Miss Holbrook.’

‘Sir Freddie!’ Caroline ran to him, her hands outstretched. She was so relieved to see him and it showed in her expressive face. He took her hands, his strong fingers closing round
hers in a way that instantly calmed her. ‘I am so glad you have come! My brothers have gone to look for a rogue who fired on me as I rode past the Home Woods, and I am afraid that something will happen to them.’

‘Someone fired at you?’ Freddie’s expression darkened, becoming one of outrage.

‘Yes, when I was out riding this morning.’

‘You were alone?’ Freddie swore beneath his breath. He had thought her brothers had more sense than to allow it, and yet he knew her well enough to be sure that if she wished to ride alone nothing would stop her. ‘This becomes serious, Caroline. I think I shall go in search of your brothers and see if they have had any luck in finding this rogue.’

‘Oh, please take care,’ she said. ‘Must you go? I dare say it was merely a poacher misfiring.’

‘If we discover that it was so, I shall be relieved. I think there must be a more sinister reason behind these attempts and I must ask you to remain in the house for the moment. Please excuse me, Caroline. I came here for another purpose entirely, but that must wait for the moment. I shall return with your brothers…’ He gave her a rueful smile and left.

Caroline stared after him as he walked from the room. It was almost more than she could bear to be cooped up in the house when everyone else was out searching for the rogue who had fired at her, but she knew that she must obey her brothers and Sir Freddie. They were risking their lives for her sake and she could not make things more difficult for them by flouting their wishes.

After a while, a maid came to ask if she would step up to visit her grandfather for a few minutes. She did so, finding him looking much refreshed after his valet had finished ministering to him.

‘What is this I hear, miss?’ he asked, frowning. ‘Jenkins has it that someone fired at you from the Home Woods—is that true?’

‘Yes, sir, though I wish he had not told you. The doctor said that you were not to be upset.’

‘I should be more upset if I were not told something like that,’ Bollingbrook said. ‘I trust you were not hurt, girl?’

‘Only frightened for a moment,’ Caroline said. ‘But it is odd that this has started happening now, is it not? It seems that someone wishes me ill, though I do not know why.’

‘I dare say it is a matter of money,’ her grandfather told her, looking angry. ‘I have recently changed my will. You and your brothers will benefit substantially when I die, Caroline—and you are to have something when you marry.’

‘But surely…’ She looked thoughtful. ‘Who would know that you had changed your will, sir?’

‘No one ought to know anything,’ he growled, ‘and I shall have something to say to my lawyer if it turns out that this is at the bottom of it. Someone in his office must have spoken of it—and I shall want to know to whom he betrayed what should have remained secret!’

‘But who would want us dead? Not my uncles or cousins?’

‘I do not think it for the estate is entailed and they must have expected I might leave you something from my private fortune—but I have not always lived as I ought, Caroline. There is another: a child I fathered on a trip to Jamaica before I met my Angelica. I went there to see the property left me by my second wife, and had what most would call a shameful affair. Later, when I returned home, I learned there was a child, a son—but I was married to Angelica by then and I told my overseer to take care of it. I believe a good family adopted the child, and I know little more.’

‘I see…’ Caroline bit her lip. She had always known there were secrets in her grandfather’s past, though she was shocked at this revelation. ‘It is unpleasant, sir. To think that someone wishes to kill us for the sake of money—but, of course, we cannot be sure of anything.’

The Marquis looked thoughtful. ‘A man makes mistakes in his life and there may be others with a grudge against me. Well, we must just hope that the rogue is found, whoever it is, and an end made to this affair.’

‘Yes, Grandfather.’ Caroline sighed. ‘I must own I do not find it comfortable to be the target of someone’s malice.’

The Marquis gave a shout of harsh laughter. ‘I dare say you do not, girl. If I were younger I should be out there looking for the rogue now, but I imagine I may leave it to your brothers.’

‘And Sir Freddie,’ Caroline said. ‘He has gone to help them.’

‘Who the devil is he?’

‘Someone I like very well, sir.’

‘Ah, the wind is in that quarter, is it? Send him up to see me when he returns to the house.’ The Marquis frowned. ‘Do not forget what I told you, Caroline. He will have to be a certain kind of man to accept that you should not have a child.’

‘You do not know that for sure, sir.’ Caroline wrinkled her brow in thought. ‘He wished to speak to you yesterday, sir—but was prevented by your discomposure.’

‘Well, I am much recovered now, girl. I shall see him at his convenience. Give him my compliments and ask him to step up and see me if he will when he returns.’

‘Yes, Grandfather, I shall do so—though I am not sure when that will be.’

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. ‘Caroline, Caroline,
you are so like your grandmother. You have her reckless spirit, her certainty…’ His eyes shadowed with doubt.

‘I am glad to be like my grandmother in so many ways,’ Caroline told him. ‘But please do not worry for my sake, sir.’ She smiled at him as she prepared to take her leave. ‘Is there anything I may do for you?’

‘No, I am well cared for. Jenkins is a good man and I rely on him completely—but you will come and see me again before you leave?’

‘Yes, of course.’ She hesitated, and then, ‘I had thought perhaps you might wish me to stay until you are on your feet again?’

‘No, though I thank you for the kind thought. You must go to your mother, Caroline. I shall speak to Tom about this incident. I think he should put off his visit to Jamaica until this business is settled.’

‘You must do as you think best, sir.’

‘Yes, yes, I think I shall rest now. You may leave me, for I am sure you have plenty to do.’

Caroline left her grandfather to go downstairs again, and it was not long before she heard voices in the hall and then her brothers and Sir Freddie came into the parlour where she was sitting. She got to her feet, looking at their faces, sensing that they were pleased about something.

‘Did you catch him?’

‘Not quite,’ Nicolas said, ‘but Sir Freddie winged him as he went by on his horse. One of the grooms had spotted him in the woods and we went after him. We thought we had him cornered, but he got away after firing a shot in our direction—though I think he will not be bothering any of us for a while.’

‘I merely clipped him in the arm,’ Freddie said. ‘But it may
be enough to quieten him for a while—and in the meantime we must take what precautions we can to prevent something like this happening again.’

‘But how can you do that?’ Caroline asked.

‘In London, I had you followed for the last few days you were there. I had made no similar arrangements for your grandfather’s estate, but with his permission I shall do so—and in Bath something similar will be put in place.’

‘You had me watched in London?’ Caroline stared at him for a moment, and then laughed. ‘Yes, I see…I thought that someone was watching me that night in the gardens. Do you remember, Nicolas? When I was speaking to George Bellingham and you came out to look for me? I thought then that someone was there, spying on us.’

Nicolas nodded. ‘I went to search for her, because Tom and I had decided that she might be in some danger if she wandered off alone, but she was safe enough with George Bellingham. We thought all this bother might be down to the business in Jamaica…for the inheritance, you know.’

‘You mean the son Grandfather had whilst in Jamaica,’ Caroline said. ‘He told me that you knew about that, Tom. I dare say it might cause a scandal if it came out—but that is nothing compared to what is happening now. If this person is trying to kill me…you and Nicolas may not be safe from his spite.’

‘Good grief,’ Nicolas said. ‘Heaven knows what more scandals the old man has up his sleeve.’

Freddie smiled, lifting his brows. ‘I dare say there are skeletons in the closets of a good many families, some of the very highest distinction. However, I agree that we must see that this remains a family secret.’

‘A family…ah, I see,’ Nicolas said and grinned. ‘I think I
will go up and have a word with Grandfather before supper. The old reprobate has plenty to answer for, though I shall not make a fuss for he is not up to it. Tom, will you come with me? I have something particular to say to you.’

‘Oh, very well,’ Tom said. ‘I shall speak to you later, sir. You will stay to dine with us, I hope?’

‘Certainly, I should be very happy to do so.’

Freddie smiled and inclined his head as Nicolas steered his brother from the room. It was obvious that the younger brother had realised what was going on and would no doubt explain to Tom as they went upstairs.

Caroline had taken a seat by the window. She sat resolutely looking out into the garden, her cheeks a little pink, her hands clasped in her lap until she sensed that Freddie was beside her. As she turned her head to look at him, he went down on one knee.

‘Oh, no, you must not,’ she said, a little flustered. ‘At least, there is no need… I am sure that the last thing you truly wish is to make me an offer, sir. Only think of the scandal it might bring to your family if this Jamaican connection were to come out.’

Freddie rose and fetched a chair so that he might sit next to her. He reached out and took her hand, looking into her eyes as she gazed at him, clearly anxious. ‘What is this foolishness, Caroline? You must know that I care for you—that it has been my intention to ask you to marry me for a little while now?’

‘I have thought perhaps…’ She stopped and blushed. ‘I had hoped you might…but this must alter things. I feel that you have been caught up in something that is not of your making, sir. If you felt obliged to make me an offer, this must set you free.’

‘If I wished to be free.’

‘Do you not?’ she asked, looking at him uncertainly. ‘Only think of the scandal, sir.’

‘Was it so wicked, Caroline?’ He raised his brows. ‘Your grandfather is not the first gentleman to get himself a bastard son.’

‘There is more…’ Caroline hung her head. ‘Grandfather told me last night.’

‘Another skeleton in his closet?’ Freddie smiled oddly.

‘This one concerned his third wife—my grandmother…’ Caroline hesitated, suddenly knowing that she could not bear to tell him and see the light fade from his eyes. ‘It is something that I believe you should hear from him. I do not regard it myself, but it must be for you to make up your own mind.’

‘Is it so very terrible?’

‘No, perhaps not—but only consider, I have been reckless.’ Caroline hung her head. ‘I teased you into taking me to that prize fight and I would have gone up in the balloon if the rope had not snapped. And I fully intend to be with you when you race Nicolas tomorrow…’ Her eyes were dark with emotion. ‘Do you think that—considering what you now know of my family—I should make the right kind of wife for you, sir? What would your uncle say?’

‘If I told him, he would probably say that it was a deuced coil but all for the best, Caroline. He told me that he and your grandfather had quarrelled years ago, but that he was prepared to make it up if Bollingbrook would agree.’