Next to the master bedroom was a small servant’s room and Joshua crawled into the empty bed wondering what the next day would hold—forgiveness or another cold day.
When he awoke the next morning he splashed cold water on his face in the basin on the washstand and dressed. When he stepped out of his bedchamber he discovered a small woman with a pail in her hand. “Lady Arundale asked me to come and ask you if you would like your breakfast in your chamber.” The little maid gazed at him with clear blue eyes, but he caught a touch of judgment in her tone.
Joshua realized that Elizabeth commanded loyalty—first from Jaimison, then Botter and now from this short snip of a girl. It needled him that they all felt the need to protect his wife from him. The woman hadn’t shifted her gaze from his face but he sensed that he’d made her uneasy somehow.
He lifted one eyebrow. “Does it look like I will? What is your name?” he snapped.
Her eyes widened. “Sarah MacDonald, sir. I am maid to Lady Arundale.”
“No, you are maid to both of us, correct?” He narrowed his gaze on her face. “I am master of Arundale, Sarah. Do you wish to be forced to find another position?”
Her spine straightened and she squared her shoulders. “If you wish to let me go, my lord, that is your prerogative.” For a moment, he thought she would stop there, but then she blurted out, “But I’d think you’d want your wife to have more help, not less, seeing as how she’s been run ragged by the group of lazy relatives you dumped on her.” Color drained from her face, showing she knew she had stepped over the line, but her chin tipped up and she held her ground.
His mouth kicked up into a smile. Yes, the little maid would most definitely do for him. He hated subservient and cowed servants. He nodded, “You’re correct. Despite your vicious tongue, Sarah MacDonald, I like you. Inform Lady Arundale that I will be down in ten minutes.”
Her mouth opened and then shut with a snap. Her skirts rustled as she rushed away to do his bidding.
He’d dealt with his brother in part. Badly. He’d dealt with his wife in part. And almost been shot. Now, it was time to deal with his cousin. His lips pursed in frustration. Melinda was a problem. Another legacy of his Arundale heritage.
Joshua and Melinda shared a common grandfather, the old Earl of Arundale, Charles Fitzwilliam Arundale, who had fathered four surviving children. Joshua’s father, Edward Arundale, had been the eldest son. None of Edward Arundale’s siblings had lived long enough to produce children except for Melinda’s mother, who had married a rather poor baronet.
For reasons Joshua had never understood, his maternal grandmother, Lady North, had taken Melinda in. Lady North’s patronage had not ended well. Melinda’s marriage to a younger brother with no fortune and fewer prospects had enraged Joshua’s grandmother. After young Merick’s death, Melinda had been left pregnant and homeless. She had thought to convince her distant rich cousin to marry her, pointing out the wisdom of providing safety for his inheritance. After all, Melinda had the next male heir in line if he and Perry were to die childless, but Joshua had already been in love. With Elizabeth.
Why hadn’t he considered what Melinda might do to his innocent wife? It was clear that Melinda manipulated her. In London, Joshua had learned of some the exploits Melinda had enacted. Her lying was legendary. Her avarice a matter of discussion. Gifts of money, it was said, earned little but a kiss, but Melinda never passed up an opportunity to obtain it.
She had told many that she expected Joshua to come home, divorce Elizabeth and marry her. Her torturous method of enlisting highly regarded and rich noblemen to begin the process of seeking a divorce in Joshua’s name was fraught with scandal. When he’d come home and found her dressed more fashionably than his wife he’d known it was going to be a battle.
He met his cousin at the top of the stairs. “Cousin,” he greeted her.
Her smile was brilliant. “Joshua! What a poor welcome you received yesterday.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Oh? I found dinner to be quite delicious.”
Melinda waved her hand. “Parker is an excellent cook. That isn’t what I meant. I’m sure you could have had a warmer welcome from your wife and your brother.” She hooked her arm through his and whispered, “Perhaps they’re not glad you’re home for…well, the obvious reason.” She kept her gaze averted as she lied to him.
“Enlighten me,” he said in a flat tone.
She squeezed his arm. “Lizzy is still young and she and Perry have been thrown together much.”
Anger swept through Joshua, tightening his muscles. “You accuse my wife of infidelity?”
“Ten years is a long time, my lord.”
He stopped on a step in the middle of the staircase. “I see.” Carefully, he removed her hand from his arm. “You will pack your bags and be gone by the end of the week, Melinda.”
She gasped and clutched her heart. “You’re making me leave Arundale Hall? How can you do that to your heir?”
“I don’t believe I mentioned Gerry at all, cousin.” He resumed his walk down the stairs. “You will go back to Lady North. Perhaps she will be more…generous in her dealings with you than my wife has been.”
An unpleasant flush reddened Melinda’s face. “You can’t do this to me. I will demand that Gerry come with me.”
Joshua turned away from her. “And you will lose. I’m afraid your adventures in London will count against you. There will be no money for you and if you do try to take Gerry, none for him.”
Her voice was shrill. “He’s my son,” she practically screamed.
At the bottom of the stairs, Joshua whirled to face her. “Indeed, cousin? Then why has my wife been the one to comfort him, care for him and feed him? It seems all you’ve done in my absence is drain the goodwill of a woman who is your better in every way.” He smiled, but felt no amusement. “The rumor you’ve begun of your impending nuptials to me upon my return must be quashed. You understand, I’m sure.”
“Please do not do this, Joshua. Think of the scandal.”
He glared at her. “The scandal? Truly, Melinda? This from a woman who has a reputation for flattering men for money? Of seeking gifts and jewelry in return for little but your smile?” He shook his head. “I do not fear the scandal when you leave, but I won’t tolerate the scandal that will come if you stay.” He turned away and headed for the dining room. “Be gone by the end of the week or I will have Jaimison and his men throw you out, scandal or no.”
It probably did not speak well of Joshua that when he heard the strangled sob from his cousin’s throat he had a supreme sense of satisfaction. And no sympathy at all.
*
Raised voices outside the dining room reached Elizabeth’s ears but she refused to eavesdrop even though she longed to do so. She sighed. Those years of training held and had served her well in the past.
After all, if it hadn’t been for her mother’s strict adherence to social niceties, Elizabeth could never have convinced Lady North to show her Lady Arundale’s things. If it hadn’t been for the constant pretense of interest in the old lady’s bigoted opinions, Elizabeth could not have obtained the diary that had proved to be her salvation.
So despite the fact that she knew the voices to be those of her husband and Melinda, she did not crouch by the door and listen to their argument.
“He’s sent her packing,” Sarah announced from the doorway.
Elizabeth stared at her maid. “What?”
“I heard him. He’s given her until the end of the week to get out or he’ll have her thrown out.” Sarah grinned. “He’s given her a good piece of his mind as well.”
It was difficult but Elizabeth managed a frown of disapproval. “Sarah, you shouldn’t derive such pleasure from her discomfiture.” But she couldn’t help asking, “What of Gerry? Did they discuss him?”
“He told her she had to leave him here.” Sarah rushed to Elizabeth. “Oh, I’m so glad for you, ma’am.”
She smiled at Sarah. How could the maid know what Elizabeth knew? That packing Melinda off meant nothing. It only meant that Joshua didn’t like being manipulated. Whatever hope she had that Joshua had come home contrite and willing to be her husband had been killed last night. She’d put a bullet in the wall to emphasize it. What man would want a woman who capitulated to a man’s touch one minute and tried to kill him the next?
Her lips tightened. He’d deserved it, the bastard. “Thank you, Sarah. Now run along and tell Parker to serve breakfast.”
Sarah curtsied and disappeared through the kitchen door. Elizabeth laid the silver on the table and fixed the flowers. Her hand was still on one of the morning roses when Joshua strode through the door. Even though she’d known he was coming, her hand jerked and she snagged it on one of the thorns.
“Let me see it,” Joshua said.
“It’s fine—”
“Elizabeth,” he said in a warning tone.
She held up her finger. Fascinated, she watched his eyes change from the cool gray, so dear and familiar, to the luminous blue that sent her heart racing. His teeth stretched and he slowly licked her wound. It was wicked and erotic, though all he did was lay his tongue on her hand. She shivered and closed her eyes. He owned her, heart and soul. Her brave words, her defiance, meant nothing against this torrid emotion he wrenched from her.
“All better,” he whispered.
The jagged scratch was gone, but another wound—deeper and unseen—still pained her. She gazed into his face. “When will you allow me to see it?”
He froze. “See what, my lady?”
“The Beast of Arundale.”
His nostrils flared. “You need never see it. I am in control of it.” He abruptly dropped her hand and turned away.
“I want to see it.”
“No.” He turned his back and sat down at the head of the table.
She took a deep breath and walked out of the room.
The front door seemed as if it were miles away but she reached it and yanked it open. Bastard. The stubborn ass. The fact that he had put her pleasure before his own the night before had given her a glimmer of hope that perhaps they could start again. But he refused to accept her love when she offered it. All he wanted was capitulation. Nothing had changed. Love was a gift he spurned. Only her submission mattered. She was an acquisition, a piece of property to be used up and tossed away when he was finished. She should have shot him and been done with it.
She stomped to the stables and waved off Botter to saddle her horse on her own. The actions of routinely placing the blanket, the reins, the saddle, all soothed her. By the time she climbed onto her Shadow’s back she was calmer.
“You intend to ride before breakfast?”
She almost fell off her horse when Joshua spoke from the door of the barn. He grinned and nodded to the stable man. “Get my horse.”
“Leave me alone, Joshua.” She gripped a crop in her hand. When had she become so violent? A pistol and now a crop?
“I made a promise, my love,” he said smoothly, and mounted his horse. “I intend to keep it. Lead on. I’ll follow you.”
She gritted her teeth and clenched her fingers around the handle of the crop. It occurred to her that she would enjoy slicing that crop right across his arrogant face. Instead she careened out of the stable and galloped out onto the moor.
It was her favorite pastime when the stress of the house was too much to ride recklessly across the moors. The bitter wind, the hostile ground, the darkening skies never deterred her. Once she’d ridden like a madwoman in a torrential downpour.
Now she ran from a demon she was well familiar with. His grinning face had haunted her nightmares and now the real man rode steadily behind her. Hooves pounded and mud flew as she raced her husband through the treacherous landscape.
Had she ever wanted the horse to stumble and put an end to her responsibilities once and for all? That was a question she’d never answered. All she knew was that she felt free when the horse took the bit in his teeth and ran recklessly through the heather. Her heart skittered and her pulse accelerated when Shadow jumped another hedge, barely clearing a fast-rushing stream on the other side.
Suddenly, large hands reached over and gripped her reins, yanking back on them and stopping Shadow. She turned in the saddle to glare at her husband. “I didn’t ask you along.”
“I will not allow you to kill yourself,” he snapped, his breathing heavy.
“You haven’t been here. And now suddenly you want to stop me?” She tried to yank the reins away. He held fast and something within her snapped. After ten years of complete neglect, he wanted to lay down the law, treat her as though she were subject to his will. Never!
“Elizabeth—”
She laid the crop across his neck.
Horrified, she stared at the resulting welt on his skin. What had she become? She dropped the crop as if it had burned her.
His eyes glittered that tell-tale luminous blue. “That was a mistake, little flower.”
For a split second, the years fell away and Elizabeth remembered other times, better times, when he’d used that endearment. But the threat in his gaze recalled her to the present.
Fear replaced any guilt or shame she experienced and she tried to reel her horse away from him. Instead, he yanked the horse closer to his and grabbed a fistful of her hair in his hand. She struggled, the horses restless beneath them. He hauled her into his arms, forcing her to kick free of her saddle.
She thought he was going to kiss her. How wrong she was.
He laid her face down over his saddle and lifted her skirt to her waist. She tried to squirm away. “Let me go, Joshua.”
“No.” He struck her backside with a firm hand. She cried out.
“What are you doing?” she snapped and tried to get away from him.
“I’m giving you the spanking you deserve.” He struck her again and again, his calloused hand hot against her skin through her petticoat. The pain diminished and she realized she was becoming aroused.
Damn him
, she thought and struggled anew.
She moaned when his hand struck her at the junction where her pussy throbbed and wept. Her nerves sizzled with pain and with something more dangerous and powerful. His hand connected with her enflamed flesh and she fought both her arousal and his dominance.