Historical Romance – The Best Of The Year. Кэрол Мортимер

is a friend of Lord Ravenscar and it was impossible to repulse him—but you are safe enough here.’

      ‘Yes, I know.’ She smiled at him. ‘I understand completely, Hal. Besides, Lord Rochdale is accepted everywhere despite whispers about his private behaviour. If I am ever to go into company again, I must accept that we may meet—and there is no proof that he...’

      ‘None. If we had even the smallest proof, Adam would have turned him out immediately even if it offended his relatives.’

      ‘Do you think he knew I was here?’

      ‘We cannot be sure,’ Hal said. ‘He knows now, however, and we must be extra vigilant.’

      ‘Yes.’ She bit her bottom lip, for the marquis’s arrival had cast a shadow over the evening. ‘I wish he had not come—but there is nothing we can do.’

      ‘He will not harm you. I shall make certain he cannot come near you.’

      ‘I would retire to my room, but that is the coward’s way,’ Maddie said. ‘No, I shall not let him drive me away. I will enjoy the evening despite him.’

      ‘We shall be going down to supper soon,’ Hal said and reached across the divide between them to take her hand. ‘You will let me take you down?’

      ‘Yes, of course, thank you.’ Maddie smiled. ‘Should you not be doing your duty and dancing with the guests?’

      ‘I have danced with three very silly young girls and with two married ladies. I think I have done my duty this evening and shall now devote myself to you, Madeline.’

      ‘You may take me for a little turn on the terrace before supper if you will,’ she said. ‘It is very warm and I should like a breath of air.’

      ‘Yes, of course,’ he said and offered her his hand. ‘You have only to say. I wish always to please you.’

      Madeline took his arm. They walked through the crowded rooms to the French windows. Hal opened one of the long glass doors and they stepped outside. The night air was cool, but not cold, and there were strings of lights on the veranda and in bushes and trees at the edge of the lawns.

      ‘This is much better,’ Madeline said. ‘I must confess that it has not been easy this evening, for I am an object of curiosity and the ladies are discussing my situation. Some pity me and others condemn me for not observing strict mourning.’

      ‘You must not mind them, dearest,’ Hal said and reached for her hand. He carried it to his lips and kissed it briefly. ‘You have done nothing wrong. It is acceptable for a widow to attend an evening of this nature providing she takes no part in the dancing.’

      ‘I must show some respect or lose my reputation—but I have wanted to dance with you, Hal.’

      ‘Not as much as I would wish to have you dance with me,’ he murmured and laughed softly. ‘I should like to take you in my arms and hold you close as we waltzed.’

      ‘One day,’ she said and smiled up at him. For a moment she thought he would reach for her...would kiss her...but with a sound that might have been a moan of passion or a groan of self-denial, he stepped away from her. ‘I have been thinking, Hal. When my affairs are settled I think I should like to go abroad for a few months. In France or Italy I should not be obliged to pretend to be in mourning for a man I disliked intensely.’

      ‘Yes, that might be best,’ he agreed. ‘We could even make it our honeymoon. When we returned the whole affair would have blown over.’

      ‘But you have things to do here,’ Madeline said. ‘Your estate, your commission to be resigned...’

      ‘Once I set the estate renovations in hand I shall be entirely at your disposal. As for my commission, it was my intention to journey to London and visit headquarters so the thing may be done in the proper manner, but I shall wait until we are certain Rochdale has left the district.’

      ‘Oh, Hal, you make me feel so much better...so protected and cared for,’ she said and reached out to touch his hand. Just at that moment they heard the strains of the supper waltz and impulsively she took his hand. ‘Dance with me here,’ she whispered. ‘No one will see us.’

      ‘Maddie, my love.’

      Hal placed a hand at her waist and took her right hand, drawing her close. They swayed to the music, dancing in the shadows of the night, lost in the sweetness of the moment, their unspoken feelings in tune as the world and its censure was forgot. Madeline felt herself swept away by a kind of magic as the years melted away and she was once again a young girl, dancing with a young man she had fallen in love with at her very first ball. All of the hurt and pain of the last few years had somehow melted away and she wanted to be held in his arms for the rest of her life.

      After the music died away, Hal stood with his arms about her still and she looked up into his face, her heart beating frantically. He lowered his head, kissing her so softly that it was like the touch of a flower petal, as soft as gossamer and so brief that she hardly knew it had happened. Almost at once he released her.

      ‘Forgive me, I forgot myself,’ he said. ‘It was the magic of the music...’

      ‘No, no, do not beg my pardon,’ she whispered. ‘I liked it...you know that I—’

      The sound of a slow clapping of hands interrupted her and they both turned to see that they had been observed. A man stood in the shadows of the garden, but as they stood as if turned to stone, he walked towards them. Madeline drew her breath sharply as she saw him clearly in the light of the lanterns.

      ‘How touching,’ Lord Rochdale said, a malicious leer on his face. ‘The grieving widow and her lover...and Lethbridge hardly dead a month.’

      ‘Madeline does not need to answer to you or anyone,’ Hal said coldly. ‘It is none of your business, but since you take an interest, we are to be married as soon as it is possible.’

      ‘Romance lives,’ the marquis sneered. ‘I had no love for Lethbridge. He was a cheat and worse. But perhaps he was right to believe that his wife had a lover.’

      ‘No! That is a lie!’ Madeline cried.

      ‘Spread such lies and you will answer to me,’ Hal said furiously. ‘Come near her again, Rochdale, and I’ll kill you.’

      ‘As you did her husband?’

      ‘It was not I that killed him—but an assassin.’

      ‘Paid by someone, presumably. And who had the most reason to see him dead?’

      ‘You are mistaken, sir. I might have killed the count in a duel, but I am no murderer.’

      ‘Have I said you were?’

      ‘If I were you, I should leave a house where you are not welcome. And my warning stands. Come near Madeline again and I shall kill you.’

      ‘You are welcome to the lady. I have other interests,’ Rochdale said. ‘However, I demand payment of the debt your husband owed me, madam—twenty-five thousand pounds. I shall give you one month to pay or I foreclose on the estate and shall tell what I saw this evening. If you wish to keep your secret, make arrangements to pay me.’ He inclined his head. ‘May I be the first to felicitate you on your engagement.’

      They watched as he walked past and into the ballroom, which was now empty because everyone had gone down to supper.

      ‘Hal...’ Madeline said, her hand trembling as she placed it on his arm. ‘Do you think he is telling the truth? Did Lethbridge truly owe him so much? I do not know, but I think his whole estate can be worth no more than fifty thousand pounds at the most, and if there are other debts... It may be impossible to pay such a sum.’

      ‘I was told that Lethbridge had lost a large amount at the tables to Rochdale,’ Hal said looking grave. ‘A gambling debt is normally a debt of honour, but you can only pay what the estate will fetch.’

      ‘And