A Hero Returns Page 8

  "No, it would be improper to call you by your Christian name."

  "I do not care about improprieties. It is just a name, my name. I want to hear my name spoken in your voice."

  She seemed to struggle for a few moments before saying, "You are absolutely right… Charles."

  He had to stop himself from asking her to say it again. Instead, he said, “I am so glad that you liked the garden."

  "I am so happy you brought me to see it. Thank you for that."

  Charles wanted to tell her how he felt but he worried about scaring her. “I very much like spending time with you."

  Beatrice stared into the water. "I have enjoyed our time together, as well."

  "I would like to court you. If you are agreeable." He held his breath waiting for her response.

  She nodded slowly as if she had not quite heard him. "I am most agreeable."

  "Yes?"

  She turned to him. "Yes. Although I do not know what my mother will say."

  He stepped closer to her. "Hopefully she will be happy for you. For us. I know that I am happier than I have ever been since I have been spending time with you."

  "I share in that." She said looking up at him. "What if she is not agreeable?"

  "Do not worry, my sweet Beatrice," he said looking down into her beautiful face. He was in love with her, he could admit it now. Nothing would keep them apart. "I will not let anyone come between us."

  "Oh, Charles, I so want to believe you."

  She was so close that he could control himself no longer. He leaned down toward her pausing briefly expecting her to stop him, but she did not. He continued with his intent and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were soft and inviting, and he forced himself to pull back. She sighed into his mouth and he kissed her again, a long lingering kiss that left him breathless.

  Voices in the garden caused him to remember where they were and he stepped away from her.

  "Propriety says I should apologize," he told her.

  "But you do not care much about impropriety," she said repeating his words with a smile.

  "Exactly," he said and then waved a hand toward the path that led back to the terrace. "We should go back before the gossips wonder where we have gone."

  "Yes, I suppose we should."

  They had only just walked back into the ballroom when Charles was almost immediately beset by Lord Castborough.

  "Good evening, Father."

  "Good evening, Miss Beatrice," his father said cordially. "Charles, I would like to speak to you for a moment."

  "Of course, Father," Charles answered. He nodded at Beatrice to let her know he would be back momentarily.

  His father left the ballroom and Charles followed him into the Westerton's library.

  Charles waited for his father to speak. His father paced behind the desk for a moment and then finally said, "I was wondering about your courtship with Lady Judith."

  "There is no courtship with Lady Judith,” Charles told him trying to hold his temper. “Nothing has changed since the last time that you spoke to me about it."

  His father nodded with a grumble. "I am sorry that I discouraged the match, I should not have interfered the last time."

  "It is fine. I have no interest in courting Lady Judith.” Charles hoped that this would be the end of it.

  "No?" His father asked was a raised eyebrow.

  "No, I do not." Charles had no idea why his father did not believe him.

  "Lady Judith would be a very favorable match, perhaps you should reconsider."

  "There is nothing to reconsider, Father. I have no interest in courting Lady Judith."

  His father began pacing again. "I have just been talking to Lord Colchester and we believe..."

  Charles interrupted his father. "It is of no matter what you and Lord Colchester have discussed. I still have no interest in courting Lady Judith."

  "Charles, now that you are back from your adventures on the Peninsula. I think it is time for you to think about your future. You must be responsible, I will not let you gad about like a dandy. I already made that mistake with Philip, I will not let it happen again."

  Charles wanted to lash out at his father, but he held his tongue. "I have already begun making plans for my future."

  "Have you?" His father asked his skepticism clear on his face.

  "Yes, and you are right."

  "Good, good." His father's face was smug. "So then, you will consider a courtship with Lady Judith."

  Charles was already moving toward the door. "No, I will not. You need not have interfered as I have the matter in hand."

  Furious, Charles left the library and went in search of Major Stewart.

  Chapter Twenty

  After Charles had left the brief meeting with his father, Beatrice stood in the corner of the ballroom not sure what she should do. She still felt a bit warm, but she was sure it had more to do with Charles' kiss rather than overexertion from dancing. Her cheeks burned thinking about it. It had been wrong of her to not push him away, but she had felt cared for and safe. It had been exciting and comforting at the same time.

  Looking around the ballroom she saw that Henrietta was dancing with Captain Wainwright. Mr Townsend was thankfully across the room and she decided to go get a drink of punch from the refreshment room before he saw that she had returned to the ballroom. Beatrice smiled at Lady Agatha and Lady Matilda on her way out of the ballroom.

  She had just picked up her glass of punch when Lady Judith and Lady Sarah walked into the room. Lady Judith immediately locked eyes on Beatrice and walked over to her.

  "I saw you dancing with Henrietta's brother," Lady Judith said to her.

  "Matthew?" Beatrice asked knowing that Lady Judith was actually talking about Charles but not wanting to talk to her about it.

  "No," she said with the sniff. "I am talking about Lieutenant Repington. I am quite certain you are aware of the brother I meant."

  "Oh?" Beatrice nodded. "Yes, I have danced with the Lieutenant."

  "I just wanted you to know that he is just biding his time."

  "All right," Beatrice said calmly taking a sip of her punch. “If you say so, it must be true.”

  "Until he marries me that is. He is merely having some fun while he can. Because very soon he will be announcing our courtship and I am sure that our engagement is not far behind."

  Beatrice knew that Lady Judith was lying, that she was only trying to upset her. Still, though, Beatrice could not help but wonder about Charles' interest in her. She refused to let Lady Judith see her upset and so she said, "Lieutenant Repington can do whatever he likes. It is of no matter to me."

  Lady Judith looked taken by surprise. It was as if she expected an argument or at least some sort of disappointed reaction.

  Beatrice walked to the door but stopped and turned. "Congratulations to you both. I wish you the best."

  "Thank you, Miss Beatrice," Lady Judith said magnanimously.

  Beatrice left the room and went out to the hall thoroughly annoyed and upset. not only about Lady Judith's words but that she let the spoiled girl upset her. When she looked up Beatrice realized that she had gone the wrong way and found herself in the conservatory. It was quite beautiful, paned windows covered one entire wall. An exquisitely ornate pianoforte stood in the middle of the room. Distracted, Beatrice walked into the room walking towards the paned windows.

  "There you are," a man's voice said from the door.

  Beatrice felt a twinge of dread go up her spine. She looked up to see Mr Townsend standing in the doorway. "Mr Townsend, I just stepped in to look at the room. I should be getting back now."

  "Please do not leave on my account,” he said to her.

  "Oh of course not," Beatrice laughed nervously and tried to move past him. "I do not want to Henrietta to worry."

  "Henrietta will not have even known that you are gone. She is dancing with that Wainwright fellow." He moved to the side blocking her even further.

  Beatrice backed awa
y and tried to stay calm. "Still I should get back it would be unseemly if we were to be caught here alone even though we are doing nothing untoward."

  "Aren't we though?" He gave her a sly smile and again she felt the dismay overtake her otherwise good mood.

  Beatrice took another step back. "Well, I am certainly not doing anything untoward. I would like to go back now. Please move."

  "No." Mr Townsend folded his arms are crossed his chest. "I have told you before that you must learn how to behave and I am afraid this may be the only way to teach you that lesson."

  "I do not understand what you were talking about, nor do I care." Beatrice did not trust Mr Townsend at all and the thought of being trapped in the conservatory with him only caused her to panic more. Acting much braver than she felt, Beatrice, squared her shoulders and moved toward the door. "I am going back to the ballroom. So move out of my way now."

  Mr Townsend reached out to grab her but she was ready for him and she ducked out of the way. She moved around the pianoforte and as she expected, he pursued her.

  "You stupid chit," he spat at her. His hands were on the pianoforte. "I would think you would be happy to receive my attentions. You could be the Countess of Marlsfeld."

  "I would not. You are speaking in untruths," she said trying to distract him. "You are not the heir."

  He let out an exasperated cry. "I will be once that useless fop dies. It has already taken him too long to die. Even after I replaced his medicine with water and syrup, he is slipping away much too slowly."

  Beatrice stifled the gasp that had come in response to his evil admission. It had seemed as though he did not realize what he had said and she did not want to give him another reason to detain her.

  "I do not want to be a countess."

  He began to move around the pianoforte after her but moving away from the door. It was still a fair distance and she knew that he would catch her before she could get out the door.

  "I do not care. Once Lady Judith discovers us in a heated embrace your reputation will be ruined and you will be forced to marry me." He slapped a hand onto the pianoforte. “This would have been done with over a week ago if Repington had not intervened in Hyde Park. Lady Judith was waiting with some others to catch us alone.”

  “You are horrible. I cannot believe you would do such a thing.” She looked around frantically for anything she could grab to hit him with.

  “Do not worry about Repington, I will take care of him, too,” the man’s face twisted in an ugly snarl. “I did not tell Lady Judith about that part.”

  Spurred into action by his statement, Beatrice suddenly grabbed the large silver candelabra that had been standing on the pianoforte and threw it at Mr Townsend. She did not wait to see if he had been injured but simply ran from the room as fast as she could.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Beatrice ran down the hallway not looking back when Mr Townsend called after her. Relieved to find Henrietta and Captain Wainwright in the hall outside of the ballroom.

  "Beatrice! What has happened?" Henrietta asked.

  "It is Mr Townsend," Beatrice said trying to catch her breath. "I just escaped him, he had me trapped in the conservatory."

  Captain Wainwright quietly asked, "Are you harmed?"

  Beatrice swallowed. "No. I was able to keep away from him. I threw a candelabra at him and managed to run away."

  "Thank the Heavens, " Henrietta breathed.

  "It was awful. He said that Lady Judith would find us in a heated embrace and I would have to marry him."

  Major Wainwright swore under his breath. "That man this vile."

  "He was telling me that could not believe that I did not want to be a countess."

  Henrietta confused. “The countess? But he is not the heir."

  "No, he is not,” Captain Wainwright answered. “Although elder brother is very sick and may not survive."

  "But it is Mr Townsend's fault." Beatrice was nearly in tears. "He has been tampering with his brother's treatment. He is trying to kill his brother by seeing to it that he does not get the medicine he needs. He is waiting for his brother to die."

  Henrietta gasped. “No! Even he is not that reprehensible. A murderer?”

  "Yes, it is true. He admitted it to me. He has been replacing the medicine with sugar and syrup."

  Captain Wainwright turned around looking into the ballroom and motioned for someone to come out.

  A moment later Matthew appeared. "Is something amiss?"

  Major Wainwright and Matthew stepped away and spoke for several moments. Beatrice heard him say, "I need to go speak with Lord Marlsfeld immediately."

  Matthew nodded and stepped back into the ballroom.

  "How did you get separated from Charles?" Henrietta asked.

  "Your father needed to speak with him and they left the ballroom. I went to the refreshment room for some punch and Lady Judith came in after me."

  "Lady Judith, of course. What a horrible creature."

  Beatrice sighed. "Yes, she is. She told me that Charles was only spending time with me so that he could have a last bit of fun before he married her."

  Matthew snorted. “She is lying. Charles wants no more to do with her than he wants to go back to the Peninsula."

  "I knew she was trying to upset me and the worst part is that it worked. I ended up going the wrong way when I left the refreshment room and that is how I ended up in the conservatory."

  Before she could say anything else, Mr Townsend walked up to them. He smiled slightly at Beatrice and said, "Oh, this is where you have gotten to, my dear."

  "Mr Townsend, we do not wish to speak to you," Henrietta told him, stepping between him and Beatrice.

  He looked down at Henrietta his smile turned menacing. "Go away, Lady Henrietta, lest you cause a scene that Miss Beatrice would not appreciate."

  "Oh?" Henrietta asked loudly. "And where have you and Lady Judith been? I have not seen either of you in quite a while."

  "What?" he asked her surprised. Suddenly, people began to gather in the hallway.

  "You and Miss Judith both went toward the refreshment room but neither of you was there a few minutes ago." Henrietta turned to a young lady. "Miss Thea, you were there. Did you see Lady Judith or Mr Townsend?"

  Lady Thea shook her head, her eyes wide. "No, I was in there with two other girls and the only other person that we saw was you, Lady Henrietta."

  "No, I... I,” Mr Townsend stammered. “I have not seen Lady Judith all night."

  Just then, Lady Judith came around the corner and stopped suddenly seeing the crowd gathered. Her eyes cut to Mr Townsend's, guilt playing across her face. A murmur went through the crowd.

  Only snippets of conversation could be heard. Lady Judith was alone with Mr Townsend... Her reputation... ruined... they will surely be wed soon…

  Lady Judith looked horrified for a moment and then her face was suddenly a mask of serenity. "Mr Townsend, there you are."

  "Were you looking for Mr Townsend?" Matthew asked sounding quite helpful.

  Mr Townsend shook his head trying to get her to be quiet.

  Lady Judith beamed at Matthew, she seemed quite overjoyed that he was coming to her rescue and did not comprehend her mistake.

  "Yes. Mr Townsend asked for my help." She turned her smile on Mr Townsend who looked positively sick. "I am sorry that I was not able to help you find Miss Beatrice."

  "They lie,” Lady Agatha said.

  Lady Matilda replied, “It must be true."

  Lady Judith's smile faded as she tried to figure out what had happened.

  A woman pushed her way through the crowd. "Judith, what is going on here?"

  "Mother! I..."

  Lady Agatha spoke up. "Your daughter has been missing for some time as has Mr Townsend. They were both caught sneaking back into the ballroom when they were discovered."

  "Discovered?" Lady Colchester asked looking between Lady Judith and the dowager. "What do you mean?"

  "They have been c
aught lying." Lady Matilda threw up her hands. "Mr Townsend claims to have not seen Lady Judith all night and yet Lady Judith has just said that she had been helping Mr Townsend find Miss Beatrice."

  All eyes turned to Beatrice and Lady Agatha asked, "Do you know anything about this?"

  Beatrice looked straight at Mr Townsend and said, "No, I do not know what either of them is talking about."

  Lady Agatha turned to Lady Colchester. "Perhaps you should take Lady Judith and Mr Townsend into the library to make arrangements."

  "Arrangements?" Lady Colchester asked.

  "Yes, for the Banns."

  "The Banns..." And Lady Colchester fainted.

  "Wait!" A woman's voice called out as Beatrice his mother pushed through the crowd. She pointed at Beatrice and said loudly, "No, it was Beatrice. She was with Mr Townsend."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The crowd gasped. Charles, who had been standing in the open door to the library, stepped out into the hallway.

  He could see Beatrice, her mouth open but unable to speak. The hurt of her mother’s raw betrayal unmistakable on her face.

  His anger spiked again. His voice edged with steel he asked, "Lady Taltham, surely you are not trying to compromise your own daughter's reputation?"

  Her mother began to sputter. "No, I... She and..."

  "I cannot imagine a mother who would try to ruin her daughter's life."

  "Why do you care?" Her mother seemed to have found her voice again.

  He stopped in front of Lady Taltham. "Why do I care about what happens to Miss Beatrice?"

  "Yes.” She looked over at Beatrice. “She has been a thorough disappointment.”

  Charles shrugged. "Because I love her. She is far from a disappointment to me."

  The crowd gasped again.

  Her mother whirled on her. "Beatrice!"

  Beatrice was staring at Charles with surprise and hope.

  "Charles!" A deep voiced bellowed.

  Charles rolled his eyes at Beatrice and then grinned. "Yes, Father."

  Lord Castborough folded his arms. “Your Mother and I do not approve of this."

  "Thank you for your opinion, Father,” Charles said, not taking his eyes off of Beatrice. “I do not care."