His Shadowed Heart ((Books We Love Regency Romance)) (21 page)

“’Twould seem I find you as charming as ever, Your Ladyship,” he mocked, rising to face her and executing a short bow. “I wonder your husband survives your viperous tongue. He has my greatest admiration. However, with your coming, I do believe I have remained long enough. I achieved what I came to do, therefore, with your very kind permission, ladies, I will depart. Though you must know it grieves me to leave such gracious company.”

“I assure you, your departure will be no occasion for grief,” replied Lady Victoria sweetly. “Indeed, quite the opposite, sir. With great gladness we wish you good night.”

Caroline rang the bell and a footman appeared immediately at the door, almost as if he had anticipated the call. “Lord Massey is leaving immediately,” she informed. “Be so good as to ensure his departure. I would not wish that he should be distracted from his course.”

Incensed at being so summarily dismissed, Massey snatched up the gift and flung from the room and thence the house, leaving the two sisters-in-laws to congratulate themselves on his departure.

“I hate that man,” stated Caroline hotly, as she sat beside Victoria on the chaise, feeling a weakness brought on by the confrontation.

“He is certainly someone not to be encouraged,” agreed Victoria, “and Richard would be exceedingly displeased at his visit. He must be denied access in future.”

“Orders will be given to that effect,” agreed Caroline. “He makes my flesh crawl. I wish Richard was here to deal with the man. He would certainly know what to do.”

*****

He would most certainly have known what to do but at that precise moment, he was standing on the deck of a clipper that was entering the Channel and therefore, whatever opinions he may have had on the subject, were irrelevant. The thought that within a day, he would be in London and once he had reported to Horse Guards, he would be free to return to Waverly House, rendered sleep impossible. He leaned against the rail of the deck ignoring the salt spray and icy wind that stung his face and whipped his greatcoat about his legs, straining his eyes through the darkness for the first shadows of land, knowing this would prove that he was at last home.

*****

Victoria having taken Julia to afternoon tea with Lady Diana and her brood, Caroline wandered somewhat aimlessly about the house. She had had no wish to accompany them. Instead, she desired only to be left alone with her thoughts, and a sadness overcame her, wishing for nothing more than her husband’s return.

Taking up the Ladies Journal that lay on the hall table where Victoria had abandoned it only a short while earlier, she wandered into the library to stand briefly within its portals before going to sit in her husband’s chair that was drawn to the hearth. Although only a sullen flame flickered amongst the coals, she drew up her feet and made a half-hearted attempt to read. The latest fashions and footwear danced before her misted eyes as she indulged in a moment of self-pity and allowed the tears to rise, but this would not do, and she dashed them away with an impatient hand.
I must not appear weak for Richard’s sake, she thought to herself. I must prove to him that no matter what, I can be relied upon to cope. It would not do that he should think me faint-hearted.
She felt a hand drop on her shoulder. She had not heard the door open, and startled, she rose to her feet, only to be crushed instantly to her husband’s breast. The suddenness of his appearance took her breath away, and once more, the tears came, but now they were tears of joy. The roughness of his coat against her face and arms proved that she was not imagining his return and all she could do was to repeat his name over and over in an attempt to reassure herself that he was indeed home. His garments smelled of earth and the salt air of the sea and she held him even closer, feeling the comfort of the pressure of his arms about her. Eventually she raised her face to his but, as he would have kissed her, she drew slightly away and smiling, passed her hand over the stubble that sprang so vigorous and dark from his cheeks and chin.

“Ah, I am not fit to appear before you,
my lady,” he said with mock contrition, catching her hand and pressing his lips to her palm. “Perhaps I should have waited until I had bathed and changed before presenting myself to you. Though I must warn you, that I have half a mind to keep the beard, it suits me don’t you think, and is well in keeping with the company I have been obliged to seek these past few weeks?”

She smiled, reaching up to take his face in her hands. “You may keep your beard and anything else you have a mind to, my love. Only do not leave me in such uncertainty ever again. I feared so for your life. I couldn’t have endured it for much longer.”

He chuckled deep in his throat and tightened his hold once more. “Then it’s as well that I chose this moment to reappear. Now kiss me and I will prove to you that I am very much alive, sweetheart. These past weeks have been interminable without you. I pray we are never separated again.”

He kissed her passionately and long but when they finally drew apart, he was amazed to see Caroline laughing as she lifted her hands to her now flaming cheeks. He raised a quizzing brow as he captured her hands and attempted to draw her once more to him, but she held away.

“What now?” he queried in amused amazement. “Does my embrace not find favor with you? Am I now to be shunned?”

Chuckling mischievously, she feigned hauteur, “I am afraid—yes, very much afraid, my love, that the beard must go,” and she tweaked the stubble playfully. “Indeed, sir, I do believe that I must positively insist you shave immediately. How else am I to prove how much I have missed you?”

He stood away and bowed solemnly. “If that is the penalty I must pay, then so be it. I will instruct my valet to draw my bath and prepare my razor immediately and when all signs of my journey have been eradicated, you will have no excuse whatsoever for denying me, and I shall demand the homecoming I deserve.”

“Your mission was a success?” she asked sober
ly.

“Undoubtedly!”

“And you will not be required to return to Spain?”

“On this issue, no. I believe the problem to be resolved as we received information to that effect before I left Portugal. Now, I will tarry no longer,” he said turning for the door. Then stopping to tease, he said, “When I return, you will tell me how you have fared in my absence. I have no doubt you have made good use of your time without me and have left a trail of broken hearts in your wake.”

*****
*

“Henry need not be troubled on my account,” stated the earl as he sat with his wife and sister over supper that evening. “I will deal with the situation now that I am returned. I go to Lordings on the morrow.”

“We!” corrected Caroline. “Whether you like it or not, I accompany you. You will not escape me so easily again!”

The earl stretched his hand across the table to take hers in a firm clasp. “You will stay here with Victoria and the child,” he said. “I will not lay you open to possible dangers, but by God, I will see an end to the matter. Justice will be done!”

“If you do not take me with you I will simply follow on my own,” replied Caroline determinedly. “I am not so poor-spirited that you need leave me behind. Whether you wish it or not, I shall accompany you.”

“It is not your courage I doubt, Caro, just my need to know that you are safe. Therefore, you and the child remain.”

Encountering a pleading look from her sister-in-law Victoria joined in the conversation, “You need not worry about Julia, Richard. I will take her home with me. Surely, you must see that Caroline needs to be with you. She has spent so many weeks in uncertainty, that to deny her your company now would be cruel.”

The earl eyed his wife uncertainly. “Do I appear cruel, sweetheart?” he asked. “It is not my intention, but even I begin to hate the very thought of Lordings, so what right have I to inflict it on you?”

“The thought of remaining here without you, is far more terrifying than the thought of returning to Lordings with you,” she replied. “There will be nothing to fear if you are with me.”

The earl turned to his sister. “Then I thank you, Victoria, for your care of Julia. I hope her stay with you need only be short.”

“The child is welcome for as long as is necessary,” said Victoria. “Indeed, we will be prodigiously pleased to have her. Henry will be delighted to have a child in our midst again and the girls will positively dote on her. I do believe she will be spoiled.”

“And that is something you have so often accused me of,” chuckled the earl.

“Pish,” replied his sister turning a haughty shoulder.

Chapter Thirteen

The earl handed his wife down from the chaise when it was halted before the stone steps of Lordings. Even the immediate opening of the door and Mrs. Lloyd the housekeeper coming forward to greet them, did not make the portals seem more welcoming to the couple. Dismissing the carriage to the stables, they mounted the steps to the entrance hall that was brightly lit by many candles. The earl looked enquiringly at the housekeeper. “Were we expected?” he asked, perplexed.

Mrs. Lloyd dropped her eyes and clasped her hands nervously before her. “The day is dull and we keep the house well
-lit at all times, my lord,” she said apologetically.

“You deem it necessary?” he asked still puzzled.

“In view of the happenings, yes, sir.”

“And what happenings might these be?” he asked removing his coat and giving it, along with his gloves, into the hands of the footman who stood expectantly at his side.

Caroline slid her hand into the crook of his arm; she had seen the look of disquiet on the housekeeper’s face and thought it boded ill.

“If
Your Lordship would be so good, I would speak privately with you,” Mrs. Lloyd said uneasily.

“Whatever needs to be said, you may say in my wife’s presence,” replied the earl. “If you would but come into the library, you may speak quite freely.”

The trio went into the library, the earl closing the door firmly behind him before taking his seat at the desk. Caroline came to stand behind his chair and they faced the housekeeper who appeared reluctant to begin.

“We were talking of happenings
…?” prompted the earl. “To what type of happenings do you refer?”

“There have been problems
….” stated Mrs. Lloyd hesitantly.

“No problems were reported to me,” said Caroline, a small frown puckering her brow. “In my husband’s absence, did you not think to inform me of any matter for concern?”

“I chose my words wrongly, my lady,” said Mrs. Lloyd apologetically. “It is so difficult to explain exactly what has been occurring.”

“Then you must try,” stated the earl, becoming impatient.

“Things have disappeared, sir.”

“Stolen?”

“Not exactly, sir. Sometimes they reappear in a different part of the house, sometimes not. It is difficult to say exactly what is happening to them.”

“You will be talking to me again of ghosts,” said the earl, with a deal of irritation and Caroline laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. He patted it reassuringly and continued in a calmer manner. “Tell me what exactly has gone missing?”

“Mainly Her Ladyship’s things.”

“My wife’s things?” he asked incredulously.

“Your former wife’s belongings, sir.”

He rose impatiently, almost toppling Caroline as he pushed past her in his agitation. “My former wife’s belongings were put into storage in the attic. Who would know where to look for them? Who would have had the time to look for them before being discovered?”

“They went during the night, sir,” said Mrs. Lloyd in a small voice.

“Day or night, why was a vigil not kept?”

“The men were afraid of her ghost, sir. Indeed, some of the staff have already left your employ, as they couldn’t stand the strain. My lady’s portrait has completely disappeared. A thorough search has been made of the house, but it is nowhere to be found.”

“Caroline, you must return to London immediately,” snapped the earl, rounding on his
wife. “I will not have you here. You will go at once.”

“No!” she responded shortly. “I stay!”

“You will do as you are told,” he commanded sharply, taking hold of her arm.

“Indeed I will not,” she replied, calmly looking up at him. “No matter what, I stay with you.”

Mrs. Lloyd stood looking from one to the other in bewilderment. “What am I to tell the staff, sir?” she asked hesitantly. “They will need some direction.”

“You may tell them whatever you like,” responded the earl. “’Twould seem they have already made up their minds on the issue, but know this, now that I am returned, I shall get to the bottom of the matter whatever it costs.” Without waiting for any further reply, he strode out of the room, slamming the door in his wake.

*****

Going in search of her husband, Caroline finally found him in their bedchamber, sitting in the hearthside chair with his head in his hands. Immediately, she went to him to kneel at his side and put comforting arms about him. Without looking at her, he reached out to draw her tightly to him and, as he pressed his face into her neck, she felt a tremor pass through him.