Chapter Six #2
Not to mention, his mother would have an apoplexy if he suddenly uninvited the duke and duchess.
Since leaving London just over a year ago, he’d looked forward to this summer with his friends, and now .
. . Now, he couldn’t care less about their plans.
He wanted only to find a way to be with the woman who had captivated him, body and soul.
Perhaps Derek, Simon and Justin would have some advice that would help him to see a way forward with Maeve.
At the moment, he saw no such path, and despair overwhelmed him.
He was unaccustomed to problems that couldn’t be solved in one way or another, and the pain of his dilemma had him eyeing the whiskey decanter before luncheon.
While he despaired, she kept her distance, continuing to supervise the ragtag army that appeared in greater numbers every day, making it no longer necessary for Aubrey to lend a hand.
She didn’t need his help and that only added to the growing ache inside him.
A knock on the door diverted his attention.
“Enter,” he said, relieved to have the interruption. Anything to give him something else to think about.
Mr. Plumber stepped into the library where Aubrey had holed up. “There’s a man at the front door demanding to speak with you, sir.”
“What is his business?”
“He refused to say, sir.”
“Show him in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mr. Plumber left the room and Aubrey stood, came around the desk and prepared to meet his visitor.
The man, dressed all in black and sporting the muttonchops that had become fashionable in recent years, held his hat in hand as he came into the room, escorted by the butler.
“A Mr. Tornquist to see you, Mr. Nelson.”
“Thank you, Mr. Plumber.”
Mr. Plumber nodded and closed the door to leave the two men alone.
Aubrey shook the man’s hand. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for someone.”
Right away, Aubrey noticed the man’s Irish accent and felt his hackles go up.
“I have followed her trail to Newport but have been unable to locate her and wondered if you have any information about her whereabouts.”
“Who is it you’re seeking?”
“Her name is Maeve Sullivan, but we have reason to believe she may be living under an assumed name.”
Aubrey forced himself to show no reaction. “Do you have a photograph?”
“I do.” He withdrew the sepia-toned photo from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it over to Aubrey.
He looked down at the image of a younger version of Miss Brown and took a perfunctory glance before handing it back to Mr. Tornquist. “I don’t know this woman.”
“If I asked the others in your employ if they know her, would their answers be the same as yours?”
“They would.”
“Very well.” Mr. Tornquist returned the photo to his inside pocket.
“Can you tell me why it is you’re looking for her?”
“She is accused of a serious crime in Ireland, and I’ve been hired by the victim’s family to bring her back to face charges.”
Panic gripped his heart. “What serious crime is she accused of?”
“Murder.”
Aubrey felt as if he’d been punched. Maeve had murdered someone? He couldn’t for the life of him imagine that, no matter how hard he tried. But before he could do anything else, his first order of business was getting rid of Mr. Tornquist.
“I’m sorry that we’re unable to assist in your search,” Aubrey said, while praying to God that Miss Brown would remain upstairs and out of sight until the man was long gone.
“If you hear anything about her whereabouts, I would appreciate the information. I’m staying at the Marlborough Inn.”
Aubrey nodded and showed Mr. Tornquist out of the library, holding his breath as they crossed the foyer to the main door. He didn’t release the breath until the man was out the door and back on his horse heading down the driveway.
As soon as Mr. Tornquist exited the property through the front gates, Aubrey bolted for the stairs, taking them two at a time in his haste to get to her.
“Miss Brown!” Aubrey yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping to be heard over the din of workers talking as they carried out their duties. “Miss Brown!”
He encountered one of the ragtags, a Mr. Tanner. “Where is she?”
“Last I saw, she was in the water closet.” The man had two teeth and a ruddy, sun-browned complexion.
Aubrey went to the water closet at the end of the hallway and pounded on the door. “Miss Brown!”
After a full minute had passed, the door opened to a visibly annoyed Maeve. “Whatever is it that has you bellowing, Mr. Nelson?”
What did it say about his state of mind that he found her extraordinary, even when she was annoyed with him and accused of murder? “Come.” He took her by hand and half dragged her toward his bedroom where they could speak in private.
She fought back. “Mr. Nelson!”
“Not another word, Miss Brown.” The harsh words shocked her into silence. He pushed her into the room and closed the door behind them.
“How could you do this? The men will talk.”
“They won’t say a word if they wish to continue working here.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I would like to ask you the same thing, and I would caution you to tell me the truth, Miss Brown, or is it Miss Sullivan?” Only because he was watching her so closely did he see the color leach from her face and her knees go liquid beneath her.
He lunged for her and caught her when she would’ve fallen.
“Wh-why did you call me that?”
“Is it not your name?”
“H-how do you know that?”
Keeping his tight hold on her, he sat in one of the upholstered chairs, setting her on his lap. That she didn’t fight him in any way indicated her profound shock. “A man was here. A Mr. Tornquist. He was looking for a woman named Maeve Sullivan and had a photograph of you.”
“Oh God. Oh no. Oh no.”
To his great dismay, she began to cry. His magnificent Miss Brown didn’t cry, and he couldn’t bear to see her in such a state.
“Tell me.” He gently brushed away her tears with his fingertips, delighted to discover her skin was as soft as it looked.
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“You must. How am I to keep you safe if I don’t know what’s happened.”
“It’s not up to you to keep me safe.” All at once she seemed to realize where she was sitting and started to get up. “I’ll leave at once.”
He stopped her by tightening his arms around her. “No, you’ll stay right here with me, and we’ll figure this out together.”
“It’s not your concern.”
“I would like to make it my concern. Let me help you, Maeve. Please let me help.”
“There’s nothing you or anyone can do. I was a fool to think that I could escape.”
Her hopelessness touched him deeply. “Escape what?” He tucked a strand of hair that had come loose from her bun behind her ear and took the opportunity to trace the fragile shell of her ear with his fingertip. “Tell me what you’re running from. I can help.”
She swallowed hard and blinked as two more tears slid down her cheeks. “I . . . I was married in Ireland, to the son of a very prominent family. He . . . he was sweet and lovely until after we were married when he changed. He became a monster. He hurt me.”
Filled with rage so potent it threatened to consume him, Aubrey forced himself to stay calm for her sake. “How did he hurt you?”
“He hit me. In my face, so hard that my eye was swollen shut for a week. He kicked me here.” She flattened her hand on her belly. “And he tried to force me to do things.” She shuddered.
Aubrey guided her head to his shoulder. “Shhh. He can’t hurt you anymore. I won’t let him.”
“He’s dead. I killed him.” Her tone was flat, devoid of the usual animation that colored her words.
“Tell me what happened.” He caressed her back in small circles that he hoped would soothe some of the tension from her muscles.
He relished the chance to touch her and be close to her.
Hearing she had killed the man who’d harmed her didn’t change anything for him.
If anything, it made him fiercely proud to know that she’d defended herself and only added to his determination to keep her close so he could protect her from ever being hurt again.
“He beat me. He hit me again and again, until I was certain he was going to kill me. I reached for the pot on the stove, burning my hand rather badly. I threw the hot soup at him and when he came at me, I hit him as hard as I could in the head with the cast-iron pan. When he fell to the floor, I noticed he wasn’t breathing and realized what I had done.
I took the money he had hidden in one of his boots, and I ran. ”
“You were injured. How did you manage to get away?”
“We lived at the coast, so I was able to find a ship leaving for America. Because I had the money to pay for the passage, they didn’t ask any questions about an injured woman traveling alone.
The crossing was dreadful. Storms and high seas.
I was sick the entire time, and by the time I arrived in New York, I was very ill.
The ship’s captain took mercy on me and brought me to his home to recover.
His wife connected me with the employment agency that found the position here. ”
“So you only recently arrived in America?”
“Six weeks ago. And now they’ve found me.” A sob erupted from her tightly clenched jaw. “They’re going to take me back to be hung.”
“No, they aren’t.”
“They will. His family is very powerful. His grandfather is a British viscount, and his family was scandalized when he insisted on marrying me, the lowly daughter of a banker, when he could’ve had an aristocratic wife.
I was a fool. I thought it was a love match, but he had an unnatural fixation on me that I had mistaken for affection.
Almost right away, I realized I’d made a dreadful error in marrying him.
When his family threatened to cut off his allowance in retribution for marrying a lowly Irish whore, as they called me, he worked off his frustrations with his fists. ”
“I’m so very sorry that happened to you.”
She hung her head. “I’m ashamed of what I did, taking the life of another. But had I not done it, he was going to kill me. I have no doubt of it. The local constable wouldn’t have helped me. He was a friend of my husband’s.”
“You did the only thing you could do.”
“I could’ve just run and not killed him, but he would’ve come after me.” Her body trembled violently.
“Shhh, you’re safe now.”
“I’m never going to be safe as long as they know where I am. It took only two months for them to track me to Newport.” She sat up abruptly. “I must leave at once.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“But they’ve found me! They know I’m here. They’ll take me back and hang me for killing him.”
“No one is taking you anywhere. I’ll send Mr. Plumber to fetch the local justice of the peace at once.”
Her body went rigid with shock and horror. “You’re going to turn me in?”
“No, my dear lady. I’m going to marry you.”