Chapter 28
Madeleine dodged the wagons choking the drive and dismounted near the front door. Her gaze frantically swept the estate grounds, but there was no sign of Garrett. He had probably gone up the road to direct the rest of the cavalcade.
She dashed into the house and up the stairs, deciding to share her unsettling news with him after she had changed.
If she didn’t find him then, he would have to wait until she returned.
She took only an instant to glance in each room as she passed, relieved to see that the upstairs had been left remarkably untouched.
No doubt because Hawley’s pompous commanding officers had enjoyed these rooms, she surmised with disgust, hurrying down the hall to her own chamber.
She pushed open the door, stunned to find everything exactly as she had left it but for the unmade bed. She did not waste time contemplating who might have slept there. She rushed to the wardrobe, her hands shaking as she unbuttoned her riding coat and whisked it from her shoulders.
If she left for Tullich immediately, Madeleine thought as she twisted out of her skirt, she would be at least halfway there before dark. The road was clearly marked. She would have no trouble finding the village nestled on Loch Ruthven’s western shore.
She quickly dressed in a frayed fustian gown, reveling in the freedom of the wide skirt, then kicked off her riding boots. She replaced her silk stockings with thick, woolen ones and donned a pair of sturdy brogues. Lastly she fastened a heavy tartan shawl around her shoulders for added warmth.
It felt so good to be dressed in her old clothes, she thought, flying to the door.
With a last glance at her room, she sped across the hall and down the side stairs.
Glass crunched beneath her shoes as she walked through the drawing room to the front door, but she gave it little heed.
She stepped outside into the fading afternoon sunshine, searching for her mare.
She spied the animal munching contentedly in the tall grass just beyond the drive, a soldier holding the reins. Her eyes widened as the young man clucked his tongue and began to lead the horse toward the stable.
Madeleine ran after him, shouting above the din of rumbling wagon wheels, bellowing cattle, and neighing horses.
“Hold on with ye!” she cried, catching up to him. “Where are ye taking my horse?”
“I’ve orders from Major Marshall to brush her down, m’lady,” the soldier answered, still walking.
“I’ll take care of it,” she said, yanking the reins from his hand. “‘Tis my mount, after all.” Before he could stop her she had hoisted herself into the saddle and swerved the mare around, only to find herself suddenly yanked out of the saddle from behind and enveloped in a strong pair of arms.
“What!” she gasped, struggling to wrench herself free from whoever was holding her around the waist. “How dare ye! Let go!”
The arms only tightened, drawing her closer. Warm breath fanned her neck, and she shivered, tensing at the familiar voice which was just above a whisper.
“You must realize I can’t have you stealing out by yourself, Madeleine, not with so many of Hawley’s soldiers about. As your husband, I’m determined to protect you, yet I can’t be everywhere at once. I’d rather you remain here with me, at least until my own soldiers arrive from Fort Augustus.”
Madeleine twisted in Garrett’s arms and glared at him over her shoulder. “I believe I have more to fear from ye than from Hawley’s soldiers,” she said angrily. “Let go of me, Garrett.”
To her surprise he did, though he still stood very close to her. Too close. She stepped back, hugging her arms to her chest in a vain attempt to quiet her trembling.
“Where were you going?” he asked, his eyes staring into hers in a manner which never failed to disconcert her.
“I think ye mean where am I going,” she responded tartly, trying to compensate for what he was doing to her senses.
She fought to keep her voice steady, her words spilling forth in a rush.
“I just spoke with Meg Blair, and she told me Glenis never arrived at her home the night ye discovered I was Black Jack. I sent Glenis to Meg’s, thinking ‘twould be safer, then the next morning she was to set off for her sister’s in Tullich.
” She paused to catch her breath, wondering why Garrett was looking at her so strangely.
“No one’s seen her since that night,” she continued, “not here or in the village, so I’m going to Tullich to see if she’s there—”
“Glenis didn’t stop at Meg’s,” Garrett interjected quietly. “You don’t have to worry after her, Maddie. She’s fine.”
Astonished, Madeleine could only stare at him.
“Glenis is at her sister’s in Tullich, just as you wanted her to be.”
“How…how do ye know?” she asked hoarsely, her mind racing. Why hadn’t Glenis gone to Meg’s? Surely she must have realized it was dangerous for her to be on the roads so late at night, considering what was to happen.
“Perhaps we should go inside to discuss this, where it’s quiet,” Garrett suggested, glancing at the commotion around them. He took her by the elbow before she could protest and steered her toward the front door.
Madeleine had to half run to keep up with his determined strides. She stumbled over the threshold but he caught her, supporting her with his arm until they were in the drawing room. He practically forced her down into an armchair, then stood in front of her so she could not rise.
“You’re not going to appreciate what I have to tell you,” he said cryptically, “so I’ll stand here until you hear me out.”
“What?” she demanded loudly, her temper kindled by his rough handling.
“Glenis didn’t stop at Meg’s because she went to find me,” he said slowly, watching her face. “And she did, on the road to Inverfarigaig. She told me you were Black Jack, Madeleine, and she told me where we could find you and your kinsmen, at the yew tree near Errogie.”
“Ye’re lying,” Madeleine said in disbelief. “Glenis would never have betrayed me—”
“She didn’t betray you,” Garrett cut in harshly.
“Glenis saved your life, Maddie, the lives of your kinsmen, and the lives of my soldiers as well. If she hadn’t found us there would have been a bloodbath, and all because you had some idea I wouldn’t believe you were Black Jack if you simply gave yourself up. ”
“Would ye have believed it, Garrett?” she said bitterly.
“I don’t know,” he answered, heaving a sigh. “It doesn’t matter now.”
“Aye, ye’re right,” Madeleine said, staring past him and out the grimy window. “It doesna matter.”
She felt numb. Never in a thousand years would she ever have imagined Glenis would play the traitor. She could hardly comprehend it.
Her dear Glenis, the woman who had cared for her since she was a babe. She was her confidante, her friend…and a traitor.
Madeleine swallowed against the tears welling up in her eyes. “What else did Glenis tell ye?”
“She told me why you began raiding, to keep your people from starving,” Garrett related, his voice very low, “and she explained how you managed to sneak from the house without anyone noticing, through the secret tunnel.” He smiled wryly, glancing at the drawing room closet behind her chair.
“I could scarcely believe it when she told me you were the one who nailed me on the head.”
Madeleine said nothing, still staring into the distance. She remained silent even as Garrett gently tilted her chin upward so she was looking into his eyes.
“Glenis said she could not return to Mhor Manor, Maddie,” he said quietly. “She thought you wouldn’t want her around because she’d betrayed you. I wanted to argue with her and tell her it wasn’t so, that you wouldn’t think she was a traitor since she had saved your life—”
“Ah, but ye’re wrong, Garrett,” Madeleine interrupted him vehemently. “Glenis Simpson is a traitor. I never want to see her again.” She jerked her head back, and his hand fell away from her chin. “Are ye finished? If so, I’d like to retire to my room.”
Garrett seemed stunned by her bitter words. As he moved away from the chair, she stood up and walked woodenly to the archway. She leaned on the wall, needing the support.
“If ye were thinking ye might fetch Glenis from Tullich, save yerself the trip, Garrett,” Madeleine barely managed, tears threatening to overwhelm her at any moment.
“She’s never to set foot in this house again.
Not if ye want to have any peace at all.
” She started toward the stairway, then paused, meeting his gaze once more.
“I take it I’m restricted to Mhor Manor ‘til yer soldiers arrive, if I heard ye correctly?”
Garrett nodded. “It’s for your own safety, Madeleine. I don’t trust Hawley’s men. My soldiers should be here within a few days, Sergeant Fletcher and the others, the same men who were here before, except for Rob Tyler. Then you may go where you wish—within reason.”
Madeleine smiled weakly. “Funny,” she said.
“Ye dinna trust yer own kind and I dinna trust you and Glenis…” She paused, nearly choking.
“Glenis betrayed my trust.” Her voice fell to a ragged whisper, her eyes misting over.
“There seems to be a dearth of trust these days, wouldna ye say, Garrett? And there doesna seem to be any help for it.”
She turned and fled up the stairs, barely making it inside her room before she doubled over, her body wracked by silent sobs. She slammed the door shut and sank to the floor with the corner of her shawl over her mouth, crying as if her heart was breaking.
Her world was so completely torn apart, so upside down, she didn’t know if she would ever make sense of it again.
First she had lost her father, now Glenis.
Her final bond with the past was irretrievably broken.
Her future loomed before her, bleak and bereft of any hope for happiness.
All she had left was Garrett, a man who had usurped her land, a man who had saved her life and married her because she was useful to him.
And she had once believed she loved him!