Historical Romance – The Best Of The Year

‘Lethbridge often has his friends to dine. I am his hostess at dinner—but when they play cards I retire for I am not allowed to gamble more than a few shillings at the loo table.’

‘Do you wish to?’

‘No, not at all, but neither do I wish to watch others gamble. I believe Lethbridge and his friends play deep at times.’

Hallam nodded. He had heard that the marquis was wealthy and perhaps that was why Lethbridge hoped to lure him into one of his card games. Perhaps it would be better to watch the count and his friends at play before taking a hand himself.

‘May I take you home, Madeline?’

‘Thank you, I shall go alone—if you would send for my carriage for me, please?’

‘Yes, of course. Go up and put on your cloak. I will make your excuses to your husband...tell him that you felt a little faint and decided to leave.’

‘Thank you. He will be angry, but perhaps he will wait until tomorrow before venting his anger on me. And I truly have the headache.’

Hallam smiled at her, then bent his head to kiss her hand. They parted, he to order her carriage brought round and she to put on her cloak.

* * *

When she came downstairs, Hallam escorted her out to her carriage and assisted her inside. He held her hand a moment longer.

‘I should like to meet somewhere—do you walk or ride?’

‘Sometimes I walk with my maid in Hyde Park on fine afternoons.’

‘Can you trust her?’

‘Yes, with my life.’

‘Then meet me one day this week—perhaps tomorrow.’

‘I am not sure. Perhaps the following day?’

‘I will visit the park every day between two and three,’ he said. ‘Do not despair, Madeline. I will find a way to free you from Lethbridge.’

She smiled, but said nothing, sitting back in her carriage. Hallam told the man to drive on and then went back into the house.

It was time to seek out Lethbridge and discover what kind of a man he was—and why he was so fortunate at the card tables.

* * *

Hal had rescued her from the marquis. She trembled as she recalled the way he’d looked at her. At first he’d blamed her for her shocking behaviour, but he’d understood once she’d told him that her husband had forced her to flirt with the marquis. He’d asked her to run away with him...he must still care for her a little, if only sufficiently to protect her from her husband’s spite.

If only she dared to run away. And yet could she ever find happiness after the pain Lethbridge had inflicted on her? There were times when she thought she had been scarred too deeply. He had done such things to her...things that shamed her and made her feel unworthy of a good man’s love.

Madeline lay in bed for some time, wondering whether her husband would come to her in a rage, and, when in the early hours of the morning, she heard him enter the house, she tensed to receive the onslaught. However, he did not enter her room and after half an hour or so she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

It was morning when her maid drew back the curtains and presented her with a tray of hot chocolate and sweet rolls.

‘Did you sleep well, my lady?’ Sally asked.

‘Yes, I did eventually.’ Madeline sat up and smiled at her. ‘Has my husband asked for me?’

‘No, I do not think so, ma’am.’

‘Very well. I shall get up when I’ve eaten my breakfast. Is it a nice day?’

‘A little wet this morning,’ Sally replied, ‘but Cook says it will clear this afternoon.’

‘We might go walking this afternoon,’ Madeline said. ‘I shall decide later.’

Sally nodded and left her to the enjoyment of her hot chocolate. She was just finishing her rolls and honey when the door to the dressing room opened and Lethbridge entered her room. Madeline put her tray to one side and waited, expecting the tirade to begin. She was surprised when her husband looked at her with a wry smile.

‘It seems that you have charmed Rochdale, madam,’ he said. ‘I invited him to a card evening next week and he accepted. He does not yet know that he is to be my only guest. You must have intrigued him for he told me to give you his best wishes and tell you that he looked forward to seeing you soon.’

‘Oh...’ Madeline was surprised for she had quite expected the marquis to refuse after the scene in the garden. ‘May I have the rest of Papa’s notes now?’

‘Later,’ he said and glared at her. ‘I do not see why you want them. I shall not ruin my wife’s father. Unless...’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Do you think to get them and then leave me?’

‘No, of course not,’ she said, but her cheeks were warm.

‘You are ungrateful, Madeline. Why I bother with you I do not know. I could find a dozen willing women to fill your place—and I’ll warrant they would give me a child in return for what you have.’

She raised her head. ‘Yes, I dare say they might. Yet I have never refused you, sir.’

‘I’ve paid for you and I intend to get my money’s worth out of you yet. If I can’t get a son from you, I’ll bring the boy my mistress bore me here. She’s a whore, but worth two of a sourpuss like you. If she were a lady, I would marry her. I dare say her son would make me a better heir than any you could give me. At least he would have some spirit in him.’

Madeline felt the colour drain from her cheeks in shock. How could he say such cruel things to her?

‘Why do you not divorce me?’ she asked, her throat tight with misery. ‘You could marry again and get yourself a legitimate heir.’

‘Maybe I shall,’ Lethbridge said. ‘God knows, I am sick of your pale face and your complaints. Yet I may need you again to persuade Rochdale to my way of thinking. Behave yourself and do as I tell you and I may give you your father’s notes and your freedom.’

Madeline watched as he walked from the bedchamber. What did he want of her now? She had cheapened herself by flirting with the marquis and she knew that Rochdale would not be denied a second time. She’d imagined he would be angry and refuse her husband’s invitation to dine, but he had accepted and sent her a message. Was it some kind of a veiled threat?

Was he imagining that he could seduce her under her husband’s nose—perhaps with Lethbridge’s permission?

What did her husband want from the marquis? He had always been possessive and jealous, but now it was almost as if he were prepared to give her to Rochdale—but in exchange for what?

Madeline shuddered. She had felt sick and ashamed after that encounter in the garden. He had meant to force himself on her, she was certain, and might have succeeded if Hallam had not arrived in time.

She would not allow it to happen. Madeline knew that her husband still held the biggest part of her father’s debt to him and nothing would make him part with it. He’d promised to give it to her if the marquis accepted his invitation, but now he wanted more from her. It was always the same; he would never keep his promises whatever she did.

She would not give him what he asked of her. The very idea of allowing the marquis to paw at and kiss her made her feel ill. Was Lethbridge trying to humiliate her, because she had been cold to him—or was there a deeper reason for his hints?

* * *

Lethbridge was a cheat. Hallam was as certain as he could be without proof that the count had been systematically robbing his friends at the card table, perhaps for months or even years. He was not certain whether Lethbridge marked the pack or kept important cards tucked into the frills at the ends of his sleeves. He was almost certain that he’d seen a card disappear into the count’s sleeve, but he’d also noticed him stroking the corner of a card as if feeling for a mark, though he could not have sworn to either at this stage.

What was certain was that the count was very careful if he was cheating. He usually lost the first couple of hands and then began to win steadily throughout the evening. He was said to have the devil’s own luck, but it seemed no one suspected him of cheating—though Hallam had seen someone else watching him closely at the table.

He decided to seek Captain Mainwaring out and ask him his opinion. After searching various coffeehouses and clubs, Hallam ran his friend to earth at Cribbs’s Parlour, where he had been watching a bout between one of the professionals hired to help the gentlemen learn the science of the game.

‘I had begun to think you had gone out of town,’ he said. ‘Lunch with me at my club, Mainwaring? I want to ask your opinion of something.’

‘Delighted. I’ve been wanting to see you. I heard a rumour I think may interest you, Hal.’

Hallam waited as his friend watched the bout conclude, paid a small gambling debt, and then they left together, strolling through the chilly streets towards White’s, where they could be sure of a decent meal.

‘You’re interested in Lethbridge, aren’t you?’ Captain Mainwaring said as they began to walk. ‘Mind telling me why? I have my own reasons for being interested.’

‘He is a bully and a brute and mistreats his wife,’ Hallam replied. ‘If you will keep this to yourself—I intend to do my utmost to set her free of him.’

‘That will not be easy. Lethbridge is a jealous man, which was why I was surprised to see her flirting with Rochdale the other evening—until I heard a whisper concerning a certain evening at the card table...’

‘What happened?’ Hallam raised one eyebrow. ‘I do not follow you?’

‘Lethbridge lost a great deal of money to the marquis—several thousand pounds, I understand.’

‘But he can stand the nonsense.’ Hallam frowned. ‘He is very wealthy, I imagine?’

‘He was certainly wealthy even a year or so back, but I’ve heard whispers that he has lost money in other ways...investments that turned bad. And he had a long run of bad luck at the tables, until it miraculously turned.’

‘Miraculously? You think there is a reason for his change of luck?’

‘Lethbridge is a cheat.’

‘Yes, perhaps but can you be certain? On the face of things, he appears to be a gentlemen of unblemished character.’

‘Hardly that, Hal. He is known to haunt certain vice dens of the worst kind, besides being a cheat and perhaps more.’

‘What do you mean more?’ Hallam asked. ‘I knew he was a bully and I suspected him of being a cheat—do you know how he does it?’

‘I think he must mark the cards very lightly, because he never wins at the first or second hand, which means he must need time to mark a few cards.’

‘Yes, I thought it might be that—a pinprick or something no one would notice unless they looked for it.’

‘Yes, I dare say.’ Captain Mainwaring frowned. ‘I believe him to be responsible for the death of my young cousin Roger some years back. The lad came into his fortune at eighteen and his only guardian was his mother, who could deny him nothing. Imagine the result when he found himself let loose on the town with money to burn. I was fighting in Spain at the time, but his mother tells me Roger played too deep and was found with a pistol to his head in his lodgings.’

‘My God! You suspect Lethbridge of fleecing him at the tables?’

‘He and a few others, I dare say—but I do not believe Roger killed himself. He was badly dipped, but the estate was intact. He could have recovered with some careful management—and a magnificent diamond parure was missing, which he’d taken from the bank. As far we know it did not form part of any wager he made, though he may have sold it to pay his debt.’

‘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

Madeline’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.