The Chevalier (18 page)

It was a fortnight into September, she realized with a start. Constance and William must have returned to the city or were on their way. Surely, Roland could not refuse to let her visit next door. However, it rained that afternoon and she resolved to wait until the following day.

As it turned out, Constance must have been thinking about her too for the next morning as Madeline was coming down the stairs, she heard Constance’s voice in the hall.

“Would you please tell the Comtesse that Lady Constance Havington is here to visit.”

She heard the butler say that she was indisposed and not receiving guests. Then Madeline heard her friend say she had been told exactly the same thing on two previous occasions. Madeline was so shocked that it took her a moment to move or speak. By then, Constance had been shown out. Madeline hurried down the stairs, confronting the butler.

“Fredericks, what is going on here? How dare you refuse to announce my friend to me!”

The English butler squared his angular jaw. “Just following orders, Madame. That is what the Comte has told me to say.”

“Well, I will go visit my friend at once.”

The butler stepped between her and the door. “I am afraid not, Milady. I have strict orders in that regard.”

“I will see my brother then.” She tried to remain calm but her sense of outrage was great.

The butler nodded and went to inform Roland of her demand. Madeline had only been this angry once before in her entire life; that was when Gareth Eriksen had called her those vile names and then arrested her for treason. How she wished she had never laid eyes on that man!

Roland walked toward her, leaving the study which had once belonged to her father. He looked cool and calm dressed in dapper light blue silk breeches and matching waistcoat. His eyes fixed on her coldly, the very same way they used to look at her mother.

“Is there some problem,
ma chere
?”

“You know there is! Why am I not allowed to see my friend?”

“Until we decide what will become of this child you carry, I do not want any strangers lurking about the premises. We want no one spreading gossip or carrying tales.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Constance is a friend, not a stranger.”

“
Bien
, but she is your friend. To me, she is but a stranger.”

“I wish to visit her now,” Madeline persisted.

“You may not leave the house.”

“I am not a leper.”

He was beginning to look just as angry as she felt. “You are
enceinte
and you have no husband. This is a great humiliation, as much in England as in France. I am protecting you, foolish girl. Must everyone know of your ruin?”

Madeline was close to tears now. She cared little about her reputation among the English, but what her brother thought of her mattered a great deal. Roland saw her tears and relented slightly.

“What I do is for your own good, never doubt it.” He took her into his arms. “It is time that you and I discussed the future. You know that there are those who are able to rid you of the burden you carry and none will be the wiser. I have made certain discreet inquiries on your behalf.” He rubbed his hand along her spine, and it felt as if a snake were slithering a serpentine path down her back. Madeline began to shiver.

“Are you saying that you want me to do away with my child?” She stared at him in horror and disbelief. “That would be murder!”

“Hardly. It is not a child yet. Besides, it could only destroy your life.”

“No, I won’t hear of it, Roland. It goes against everything I believe.” She realized that she was shouting and her voice was very shrill. She was very close to losing control.

“All right,” he said in a softly placating voice. “I believe you to be quite foolish. However, if you insist on trying to carry this
enfant
to birth, we will then pay someone to take the child afterwards. But, I will not take you back to France until this nasty business is over. You shall not disgrace yourself with those who matter. I will not permit it.”

She understood now that Roland would never allow her to keep her child after it was born. She went back to her room without another word, shocked, lost in thought. Well, what had she expected? Of course, her brother who was so proper a gentleman would feel humiliated.

Perhaps she should feel relieved, she reasoned. This child was not the result of great love between a husband and wife, but rather the culmination of a lustful perversion. Yet it was not the child’s fault. The child in its innocence could not be held responsible for the mistakes of the people who created it.

Perhaps Roland was right to insist that she give her child away. How would she care for a child by herself? Gareth had told her that growing up as a bastard had carried a great stigma. Ironically, if she kept his child, the same thing would happen all over again. It would be best for the
enfant
, she reasoned, if she did as Roland wanted. But she must make certain that her child had a good home. Otherwise, there would never be peace for her. And so she accepted her brother’s decision without protest.

♥ ♥ ♥

Gareth never expected to return to the Highlands of Scotland, but he was a man with a mission. No longer was he in uniform and that made matters easier. As a civilian, he could come and go as he wished. It therefore seemed utterly absurd that he should be riding with such concentration to the very same place that he had left not much more than three months ago.

He told himself the only reason he was going back to Glencarnan was to let Andrew MacCarnan’s family know it would be yet another month before they could expect the chieftain’s release, but that he would indeed be coming back. Gareth knew the reception accorded him would be hostile, yet he had chosen to come himself rather then send some lackey with the information. He refused to admit to himself that his real reason for coming back to the Highlands might possibly having something to do with the fact that he could not stop thinking about Madeline de Marnay. He doubted that she would even speak to him. Did he even want her to? But he knew in his heart that he must see her again, no matter what the consequences. He had thought himself well finished with her, but his mind would not let him rest. He had behaved badly toward her and he knew it. His conscience would not be at peace until he spoke with the girl again and knew that she would be reunited with her betrothed. Then perhaps he would stop thinking and dreaming about the girl at last.

 
Eighteen

“You’re not welcome here, Englishman. I thought I made that clear some months ago.”

“I have news of your son, Madame. Do you still wish me to leave?”

The fiery-haired woman reluctantly indicated that he should enter and he followed her into a drawing room that had seen better days. “In yourself, we do not welcome you, but news of the MacCarnan is always precious.”

“He will be released in one month’s time, perhaps two at most. If he’d been imprisoned at Inverness, as so many others were, the release might have been managed sooner, perhaps in a fortnight.”

“Ye might have sent word. Ye need not have put yourself to this trouble. Why did ye come back to the Highlands? Not for love of the MacCarnan I’ll warrant.”

Her words were direct and there was a sharpness in her eye which he would have liked to avoid.

“Does it matter? Let us just say that I felt I owed your son a debt of honor. With his release from prison, I will consider the debt paid.”

She did not offer him any form of hospitality, nor did he expect it. They stood there staring at each other warily like old adversaries.

“Happen you owe Madeline something, I believe.”

“Is she here?” he asked uneasily with some small hesitation.

“Nay, her brother came and took her away with him. He’s her lawful guardian it would seem.”

Why did he feel so disappointed? He knew it was for the best not to have to see the girl again. He should not feel anything in regard to her. Silently, he cursed himself for a fool.

“Just as well that she is with her family,” he said.

“We’re more her family then that French fop,” Anne MacCarnan responded fiercely. “And ‘tis your fault that she went off with him!”

“Whatever are you talking about, woman?” She was a foul-tempered harpy and he regretted ever coming to see her.

“I’ll be direct. Our Madeline is with child. She was too ashamed to stay with us because of it.”

He stared at her in surprise, unable to think of anything to say.

“You don’t believe me?” she asked, misinterpreting his silence.

“Are you certain?”

“Of course mon, I’ve birthed four of my own in my time. I know the signs well enough.”

“Your son will soon be free to marry. There will no longer be any obstacle in the way of their match.”

Her face was like a thundercloud. “And how can he marry her now that you’ve disgraced the girl?”

“I’m certain I was not the only man to be with her, Madame,” he said woodenly.

The remark only seemed to make her the more furious. “Are you now? Then you are the stupidest man I have ever had the misfortune to meet! Ye do not know when ye have taken a virgin?”

“I believe Mademoiselle de Marnay may have been too proud an aristocratic lady to admit her lack of virtue,” he said with careful restraint. “I can understand why she might have led you to believe her innocent.”

“The devil himself would not take a maiden’s virginity and then deny it!” The woman’s temper was as fiery as her hair.

“You say the girl was innocent. How can you know for certain? Why your own servant, Jenny, told me otherwise.”

Anne’s deep green eyes gave him an incredulous look. “You would believe one so jealous of Madeline she’d say anything to discredit her? You addlepated oaf! Jenny hates our Maddy because Andrew wishes to marry her. Jenny has foolish dreams for my son though the Good Lord knows that he has never encouraged the lass. But you should have known better. Madeline cared about you. I knew that from the first. She spoke but good of ye. And what have you done to her? What’s wrong with you mon? Get out of my house and let me know nothing more of you until you have righted the terrible wrong you’ve done to our Maddy!”

“Forgive me, Madame, but there’s no proof that you are correct in your assumption regarding the lady’s lack of carnal knowledge. ‘Tis only natural you’d wish to think well of her but more likely she’s no better than she ought to be.”

The woman frowned at him with indignation. “I know the girl well and there is no one more virtuous or unselfish. As to her purity, I do have proof that she was chaste until you took her maidenhead.”

Suddenly, she was shouting for her daughter. The girl arrived hurriedly, looking pale and frightened when she saw Gareth. He did not imagine the look of hatred that darkened her eyes.

“Beth, tell this gentleman what happened the day you found Madeline after she’d been swimming. You were upset and told me she’d been crying.”

The girl swallowed hard and looked embarrassed. “Mother, do I have to say in front of him?”

“Aye, lass, ye do. ‘Tis important that you tell just the truth.”

The girl nodded her head and lowered her eyes. “I found Madeline crying and holding a bloody garment in her hand. I was afraid she was hurt. She didna want to tell me but I knew it had something to do with you. Later she admitted that her pain came from losing what should only be given to a husband.”

“That undergarment is still in the wardrobe you shared, is it not?” The girl indicated that it was with an incline of her head. “Go get it. Let the man have his proof.”

“No, I do not question what you say nor impugn your integrity.” His voice was no longer calm.

“I want you to have evidence so that you may not doubt the girl or your own culpability in the matter.” When he did not speak, Anne MacCarnan continued, setting her jaw and raising her sharp chin. “You hurt an innocent and now she is suffering for it. If you have any decency at all, you’ll make amends for your actions. ‘Tis in your power to do so. Surely, ye can not be as cold-hearted and cruel as ye would seem.”

Gareth left the MacCarnans almost in a daze, Anne MacCarnan’s words just beginning to sink in. His head reeled from what he had been told.

He had taken a virgin, treated her like a whore, and gotten a child on her. He felt a stronger sense of self-loathing than he had ever felt in his entire life. He who prided himself on his keen, analytical powers, how had he so badly misunderstood what was so apparent to others? Had he completely misjudged the girl? But somewhere inside him, he knew the answer. He was afraid of feeling any real emotion for a woman, and he had erected barriers. He mistrusted Madeline at the first provocation, fearing to be hurt again. Better to do the hurting then to be hurt himself.

After his mother’s death, he had closed himself to feeling, to trusting. In his child’s mind, by taking her own life, his mother had broken faith with him; he who had worshipped her, loved her with total devotion. Women were not to be trusted; they left you when you most needed them. Hadn’t she understood that he loved her, that he was just as hurt by his father’s abandonment as she was? She didn’t really care or she wouldn’t have left them like that. It was too painful to think about even now. He had locked it away from his conscious mind for so many years that it amazed him how the thought of her suicide could still pain him so much. Then when he’d finally thought to trust a woman again, Leandra had betrayed him.

He rode down through the glen in a confused state hardly knowing where he was going or what he was doing. What was he to do about Madeline? Could it be true? Could she be having a child? His child? He knew now that he must see her. Would her brother be taking her back to France? Surely not yet. They would go to London, back to the townhouse there. He planned on finding her and they would talk. Then he would know exactly what to do.

♥ ♥ ♥

No one visited the townhouse these days. Madeline was feeling lonely and isolated. She was not allowed to visit with Constance or see anyone else either. She missed her cousins and friends in the Highlands terribly. In fact, she was beginning to think that she had made a serious mistake leaving with Roland. Anne had not judged her ill for what she’d done. Perhaps others wouldn’t either. The Scottish might seem a hard, austere people, but Madeline had learned that they were good-hearted and fiercely loyal as well.

The commotion downstairs caused Madeline to open her bedroom door. She could hear Roland’s voice raised in anger and wondered who had made her normally calm, controlled brother so furious. Then she heard the second voice and her surprise was total. Surely, he had not the audacity to come here! Why had he come? In spite of her desire to simply close her door and ignore his presence in her home, Madeline wanted desperately to confront him. She began walking toward the stairs and could hear the raised voices quite clearly.

“I insist on speaking with Madeline de Marnay,” Gareth Eriksen was saying. Yes, it was his deep, resonant voice; there could be no doubt.

“As her brother and guardian, I must demand that you tell me why you have made this request.”

“That, Monsieur, is something of a delicate and personal nature which I am prepared to discuss only with your sister. Why is it that you will not let me see her?”

“I need not explain my decisions to a stranger.”

“I am not a stranger to your sister.”

“What are you to my sister? State your business at once or leave this house!”

Madeline thought that the conversation had gone on quite long enough. She went toward the stairs and called out Gareth’s name, but found herself being restrained by strong arms.

“Let me go!” she cried out. It was incredible, insupportable! She was being half-dragged, half-carried to her bedroom by her brother’s valet.

“Madeline!” It was Gareth’s voice. “What’s wrong?”

She heard him bounding toward the stairs. Then there was the sound of an altercation, but she was pushed into her room and the door was securely locked behind her from the outside. She began to bang on the barrier furiously, but to no avail.

What had they done to Gareth? She doubted that any real harm could befall him. After all, he was a soldier and more than a match for any man in Roland’s employ. Yet, she chewed her lower lip in frustration and agitated concern.

♥ ♥ ♥

Gareth did not like Roland de Marnay from the moment he laid eyes on the man. He had met this kind of individual before and always had the same visceral reaction. The fellow was a preening peacock, too full of himself; a snobby aristocrat who only valued those with a title or rank greater than or equal to his own. Obviously, de Marnay’s reaction to him was similar in nature. He coldly looked down his aquiline nose at Gareth. But Gareth smiled to himself and thought that he could easily squeeze the life out of this fellow with just one hand if he chose to do so. Physically, the man was nothing in comparison to his own size and muscular frame.

“I would see Madeline,” Gareth repeated, summoning himself up to his full, imposing height. He expected de Marnay to back down and was surprised when he did not.

“You English are quite insolent. This is not your home and you may not make demands here. I have people who will throw you out.”

“I doubt very much that they can,” he said in his perfectly controlled voice. “But of course they may try.” He gave de Marnay an amused smile that seemed to infuriate the Frenchman all the more.

“Why do you want to see my sister?” The slate gray eyes sharply assessed him.

“It is on a private matter which concerns no one but myself and the young lady.”

The eyes narrowed threateningly. “From where do you know my sister?”

“From here in London and also Scotland.”

A look came over de Marnay, a look of such outrage that for an instant Gareth drew back.

“You are the one, aren’t you?”

“What are you talking about, man?” But he knew, really he knew.

“She told me nothing, but then she would not. The shame, the humiliation is great. You are the one who ruined my sister! Don’t even bother trying to deny it. I can see it in your eyes. Well, you shall pay for it with your life. Consider yourself challenged.”

“To a duel? I won’t accept. I don’t duel. An idiotic waste of time at best.”

De Marnay’s face became as red as a blood-sun. “You will accept my challenge! I will uphold my family’s honor, although you yourself obviously have none.” De Marnay gave the challenge again. “I demand satisfaction,” he said.

“I have no desire to kill Madeline’s brother,” Gareth told him with disdain.

“You will not have the pleasure,” De Marnay replied scornfully.

Gareth thought he heard Madeline’s voice calling out from somewhere upstairs. He turned and quickly moved in that direction. At that moment, de Marnay shouted several names and servants came hurrying forward.

“Throw this man out of my house!” he demanded.

Three men descended on Gareth, none of whom were separately a match for him. He even held his own against them collectively. He was determined to have his conversation with Madeline, despite the interference of her rooster of a brother. Blows were exchanged and Gareth was actually getting the better of the others, when de Marnay caught his attention with the wave of a pistol barrel in his direction.

“I am an excellent shot as you will find out if you do not leave my house immediately.”

“Just tell Madeline I came to speak with her,” he said evenly.

“I will see you tomorrow at dawn and then you may discuss what you wish to say to her with me. If you do not come, not only will everyone know you are a coward, but I will be forced to hunt you down like a mad dog as a matter of honor.”