Protection (21 page)

“I’m fine,” Nathaniel said, directing Lisa’s gaze back to his face. “Copeland won’t
bother you again, or Edgeley,
for that matter.”

Lisa flinched, and he wanted to ask what they’d done to her, if she was hurt anywhere
other than her bruised wrists and glowing red cheek. But the questions were too personal
to be posed with another man present.

“Hugh?” Nathaniel gestured with his head, and his friend dragged Copeland’s body into
the hall.

“I’ll go and see if your father has arrived with the carriage,” he said from the doorway
while keeping his eyes averted from Lisa’s barely clothed form.

Nathaniel nodded and turned his attention back to Lisa. She was trembling, but the
blanket on the bed was stained with God knew what. After shrugging out of his now
torn coat, he wrapped it around her, covering her legs as best he could.

“It’s all right, sweetheart. You’re safe now.”

“I know . . . and thank you.” She wiped away the tears that ran down her face. “I
was certain you would come for me, but I didn’t think it would be in time. They were
too strong for me to fight, and that horrible doctor . . .” She ducked her head against
his chest.

“Did they . . .” Nathaniel took a deep breath. “Did they hurt you?”

“They were going to. Lord Copeland threatened awful
things, and that horrible Lord Edgeley slapped my face. They said they were looking
forward to making me scream. If Sam hadn’t seen where I was taken, and if you hadn’t
gotten here when you did . . .” Her voice broke again, and Nathaniel held her tightly
while she sobbed against his shoulder.

His eyes stung with tears of outrage for what she had been put through and relief
he had arrived in time to save her from any more brutality. Determined to let her
cry for however long she needed, Nathaniel rocked her in his arms. But Lisa surprised
him by sitting up after just a few minutes, her eyes wide with panic.

“What is it?” he asked as she clambered from his lap.

“There are girls being held prisoner—
little
girls. We have to save them. Copeland said he had accomplices, and they might come
and take them away.”

“It’s all right.” Nathaniel stood and clasped her shoulders. “Michael is watching
the children.”

Lisa slumped against him before asking in a shaky voice, “Would you help me don my
clothes?”

“Of course,” he said, holding her steady and doing what he could when her trembling
limbs made the task difficult. He was almost finished buttoning up her coat when a
knock on the door announced his father’s arrival.

“You take care of Anneliese,” the duke said, assuring Nathaniel he would deal with
both the authorities and the press that had gotten wind of the abduction. “I’ve sent
word to Sir George. I’m sure he and Penelope will be waiting impatiently for her return.”

“But the girls,” Lisa said as Nathaniel lifted her into his arms. “I told them I would
come back for them.”

“We’ll check on them on our way,” he promised, unwilling to deny her anything, though
her insistence she was too heavy for him to carry fell on deaf ears.

“Indulge me,” he said. “I’ll have to put you down soon enough.”

“Not if I can help it,” she muttered, and he smiled at his betrothed’s indomitable
spirit.

Chapter 19

Secrets

Nathaniel wasn’t surprised when Lisa insisted on seeing the girls settled at the charity
home, a temporary measure while it was determined who could be safely returned to
their families and who would need a permanent haven.

“You’ll visit us again, my lady?” one of the older girls asked.

“I promise
.
” Lisa drew her into a hug before embracing each child in turn.

“You can’t stay with us?”

A curly-haired moppet clung to Lisa’s arm, and Nathaniel’s throat tightened. Kneeling
beside them, he answered for her. “Lady Anneliese needs to see a doctor, a
good
doctor,” he added when the girls cringed at his words. “But we’ll both return to check
on you in a few days’ time.”

“Sooner.” Lisa eyed him firmly.

“We’ll see.” Nathaniel didn’t have the heart to argue, though he had no intention
of allowing her to overextend herself.

After running the gauntlet of newspapermen waiting in front of Stanton House, he had
the carriage driven around to the rear of the mansion. Lisa insisted she could walk,
but when she tried to stand, her knees buckled.

“That does it.” Nathaniel lifted her in his arms. “I’m carrying you up to your room.”

“But you’ve just been in a terrible fight.”

“I’m perfectly well.” He silenced her with a look. “It’s you
I’m worried about.”

“I’m all right . . . now,” she whispered, clinging tightly to his neck.

A tearful reunion with her father ensued, followed by others with a contrite Rebecca
and Margaret, and a very relieved Penelope. Eleanor, who’d arrived with her husband
earlier in the day, kept her distance, which was probably a good thing. But Ruth hovered
in the background, her swollen eyes revealing the fears she’d had for her mistress
and friend. Once the tale had been told several times—Sam’s ingenuity, Lisa’s bravery,
and Hugh, Michael, and Nathaniel’s derring-do remarked upon—Nathaniel left her with
her carers to confer with Hugh and his father.

“The doctor is singing like the proverbial canary.” Hugh smiled with satisfaction.

“And I have assurances from the authorities they
will
act upon his disclosures, despite the fact a number of Copeland’s accomplices are
gentlemen,” Thomas added. “The doctor disclosed the addresses where more girls are
being held, some in much worse shape than the ones you encountered, I’m afraid.”

Nathaniel’s shoulders slumped. It was a good thing the second home would soon be ready,
but he wasn’t sure where they would house the girls in the meantime.

“Don’t worry.” His father patted his back. “I’ve told the officer I’ll take responsibility
for their care. I’m sure Margaret won’t mind if we use the east wing until the new
home is ready.”

“Thank you,” Nathaniel said. “Lisa will be relieved to know the girls are being looked
after. I would have undertaken organising something
   
myself—”

“But you’ve got your hands full with the wedding. Please give Anneliese my best wishes
for a speedy recovery from her ordeal.”

“Mine, too,” Hugh added.

“Gladly,” Nathaniel said, though he wasn’t sure when he would get the chance.

Holding Lisa in his arms had been the silver lining on the thunderous events of the
otherwise dreadful day. He didn’t expect to see her again until morning, so he was
overjoyed when Sir George summoned him to his daughter’s room later that evening.

“Nathaniel . . . son . . .” Lisa’s father met Nathaniel outside her room and clasped
his arm. “I can’t begin to thank you for saving my daughter today.”

“It was my pleasure, sir.” The two men shared a rueful smile at the memory of the
first time Nathaniel had uttered those words. “But it was a team effort.”

“Yes, and I’ll be thanking the others directly, as well as devising a suitable method
of reward for young Sam. Though how I can ever thank him for the quick thinking that
led to Anneliese’s rescue . . .”

His soon-to-be father-in-law’s voice broke, and Nathaniel took a moment to reply,
his own throat uncomfortably tight.

“Lisa already has a soft spot for the boy, but he’s earned my undying gratitude for
his efforts today.”

“I’d be proud to count him as part of my family,” Sir George said gruffly before surprising
Nathaniel by drawing him into an embrace. “Just as I am proud to call you son.”

Nathaniel returned the hug, his relationship with Lisa’s father having come a long
way since their becoming acquainted
at the palace. When he was certain he could speak without betraying himself, he decided
to take what he hoped would be considered only minor advantage of the situation and
asked permission to bid Lisa good night.

“As to that . . .”

Nathaniel suppressed a sigh, but before he could apologise for overstepping the mark,
Sir George continued.

“Anneliese is quite shaken, as you can imagine, and I’m worried her dreams won’t be
pleasant. I’ve asked Ruth to stay with her for the night, but I believe it is your
company that will bring her the most comfort.”

“Sir?” Nathaniel wasn’t sure he’d heard correctly.

“Go to her, son. She needs you. I trust you not to take advantage of the situation.”

“But what of the servants, the household?”

“I’ll deal with any repercussions, though I don’t imagine anyone begrudging the two
of you one another’s company after the events of the day. Ruth will sleep on a cot
in the dressing room, and I’ll be in to check on my daughter periodically. If anyone
asks, I’ll say you spent the night in a chair by her bed, though I wouldn’t advise
it . . . hell on one’s back, and it
is
only a few days to the wedding. Just lie on top of the covers. Yes, that should do
nicely.”

Nathaniel couldn’t suppress a grin, but it faded when he entered Lisa’s bedroom.

Sitting up in the bed, she was wearing a white nightgown with ruffles at the collar
and wrists. With her eyes huge in her pale face, she appeared young, and fragile,
reminding him of the girl he had made his mistress all those months earlier.

“Nathaniel?” she asked when he hesitated to approach.

“You look exhausted. I should leave you to rest.”

“But Papa said you can stay with me.” Lisa’s lower lip trembled, and he stifled a
groan.

“Only if you want me to.”

“Of course
I want you to . . . unless, after today, you’d rather not. I promised I’d be careful . . .”

Crossing the room in three strides, he gathered her into his arms. “My God, Lisa.
Please, don’t think for one minute you did anything wrong. You were brave and resourceful,
and I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I was so afraid, Nathaniel. Afraid of what they were going
to do to me, but mostly afraid I would never see you again.”

His vision blurred, and he pulled her close. “I was terrified I wouldn’t find you
in time . . . or at all.”

Lisa began to sob in earnest, and Nathaniel struggled to maintain a semblance of control.

“I’m sorry to be such a watering pot,” she said when she had finished weeping and
reached for a handkerchief.

Not yet able to speak, he shrugged and wiped his own eyes with the back of his hand.

“I keep thinking about what they were going to do to those little girls,” Lisa continued.
“What they were going to do to me
.
Lord Copeland was without mercy, Nathaniel, and I’m
not
sorry you killed him. Does that make me a bad person?”

“Not in my book.”

“Speaking of which, I apologise for being so easily duped at the bookstore,” she said,
her words tumbling over one another. “You warned me to be careful, especially when
news broke of my involvement with the charity. But Maggie was so convincing, and with
Lord Copeland supposedly fled abroad, I thought you were being overprotective. I was
shocked to discover Lord Edgeley’s involvement, as we’d seen neither hide nor hair
of him since you banished him from Worthington. If I had known he was lurking, I would
have been much more wary.”

Groaning, Nathaniel hung his head.

“Nathaniel?” Lisa frowned. “Lord Edgeley said some things that made no sense. It sounded
like he was blackmailing you, and when you put a stop to it, he and Lord Copeland
decided to kidnap me instead. But that can’t have been the case . . .” Her words faltered,
but she continued when he reluctantly met her gaze. “You wouldn’t have kept something
so important from me.”

“I was trying to protect you,” he whispered hoarsely.

“From what?”

“Worry, distress . . .”

“By keeping me in the dark?” She pulled out of his embrace. “You don’t think being
kidnapped and assaulted was distressing?”

“I should have told you what was going on—”

“Yes, you should have.”

The colour had returned to Lisa’s face, and her green eyes flashed. She had never
looked more beautiful, but Nathaniel kept the observation to himself. She was furious
with him,
and she had every right to be. While the sentiment wasn’t in keeping with society’s
dictates regarding the treatment of women, he could neither fault her logic nor deny
her experience.

“I mean it,” she said when he didn’t respond. “If there is one thing I have learned,
it’s there is nothing blissful
about being kept in ignorance. I’m not a child, Nathaniel. I’m to be your wife
.
If our marriage is to be successful, you need to start treating me like your helpmate,
not some frail, feeble-minded creature who must be cosseted and shielded from the
truth. I won’t stand for it in the future.”

“Nor should you,” he said, and she blinked.

“You’re agreeing with me?”