A Lady in Danger: A Suspenseful Regency Romance Read online

  Rachel, who was the closest to being out in society, was the perfect image of a young lady. She was proper, respectful, polite, and had the nicest smile. I liked to think that she got that smile from our mother, not her father. It was something I hoped we had in common with one another. She had gorgeous blonde hair, though, which set us apart, a reminder to all who knew us that we were merely half siblings.

  I knew I had no reason to be sitting at my vanity, staring off into the distance and daydreaming any longer. Surely, I’d be the last down to breakfast, and I was certain to be reminded of it.

  Almost as if on cue, there was a soft knock on my door.

  I closed my eyes and sighed. Time to begin the day…I thought.

  “Yes?” I asked, trying to sound as pleasant as I ought to.

  “Lady Maryanne, your father has requested your presence at the breakfast table.” It was the voice of Mr. Barrow, the family butler.

  My heart softened as I rose and walked over to the door. I pulled it open.

  Mr. Barrow wasn’t a very tall man, only standing a head above me, but his kindness more than made up for it. His hair had gone grey over the years, and he had developed a balding patch at the back of his head. He had grey eyes that reminded me of the ocean.

  “Good morning, Lady Maryanne,” he said, a smile stretching across his face. I noticed a few wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and my heart sank ever so slightly.

  “Good morning, Barrow,” I said, stepping out into the hall. “I apologize if the Lord Rupert was unkind to you on my behalf.” I struggled to call my step father my father in front of others. I terribly missed my late father, and it never felt honoring to him, regardless of my mother’s decision to remarry.

  He shook his head good naturedly. “Not at all, my lady. My concern was for you, as it always is. I did not wish for you to go hungry up here in your room.”

  “I could always trust you to bring me some table scraps,” I said with a wink as we started toward the main staircase.

  “I would bring the whole meal to you if your mother would allow it,” Barrow said, returning the wink.

  “What is the tone this morning?” I asked, my smile slipping a little. “I’m concerned that Lord Rupert will be frustrated yet again at the lack of success of his ball.”

  “I’m not entirely sure,” Barrow said. “I’ve been tending to some of Lord Rupert’s personal business this morning and haven’t had much of a chance to interact with him and the Lady Rupert.”

  It was still strange for me to hear my mother referred to as Lady Rupert instead of Lady Warrington, which had been her title before father had died. I assumed I would adjust, but it had been almost twelve years since his death…

  “What of my day?” I asked. “Does my mother have some luncheon for us to attend? Or perhaps there is yet another ball this evening? I swear on my life, if I must dance another dance, my feet will surely fall off.”

  Barrow smirked. “Well, I don’t know about a ball, but Lord Rupert was insistent that you join them this morning.”

  My heart fluttered. “Why, though?”

  Barrow shrugged his shoulders as we began to descend the staircase. “I assume there is something they wish to discuss with you.”

  My stomach twisted into painful knots. “I assume they wish to reprimand me for how I treated Lord Phillip last night.”

  “No, I don’t think that’s it, my lady,” Barrow said gently. “I think it is something more important than that.”

  A chill ran down my spine. “I was afraid of that.”

  We reached the bottom landing and turned the corner heading toward the eastern side of the house. The first of the morning light was filtering in through the windows, grey and dull behind the clouds, ridding the floors of any separation between light and shadow. The earthy scent of the wooden beams beneath our feet rose and met us as we walked.

  Barrow bowed as we came to a stop outside the dining room.

  “Will you stay here and wait for me?” I asked, hesitating before stepping inside.

  “I will always wait,” Barrow said with a nod.

  I took a deep breath and allowed him to push the door open.

  The dining room was a large room, decorated with chandeliers and wood paneled walls. A fireplace along the back wall, flanked on either side by two windows, was crackling merrily, giving the impression of warmth on such a cloudy day. Rain was beginning to trickle down the window panes, and a flash of lightening lit up the clouds over the distant forest.

  It was hard to enjoy the view, even as dreary as it was, over the sounds of Lord Rupert and my mother bickering.

  “There is no reason why you must always insist on having the paper during breakfast,” mother was saying. “Instead, you should spend some time talking with your daughters in the morning. It is, in fact, one of the only times during the day that you see them,” said my mother.

  “I have ample chances to discuss things with them during the rest of the day,” came the gravely voice of Lord Rupert. He was a small man, no taller than Mr. Barrow, with a pointed nose, high cheekbones, and small, beady eyes. His dark hair had been combed over to hide that it was thinning. “This is the only chance I have during the day to catch up on current events.”

  “Oh, yes, you have so many things to do when you are hold up in your study upstairs,” mother said with a frown, folding her arms.

  I cleared my throat, and Lord Rupert turned his gaze on me, his moustache bristled unpleasantly as he glowered up at me from the head of the table. “There you are.”

  I curtsied just as I should, and headed straight for my seat at the table beside my mother.

  She didn’t seem any more pleased. She and I shared the same mahogany hair, but that was where our resemblances stopped. I think there were some days when she looked at me and could see only my father staring back at her.

  “What took you so long?” she asked, sitting as straight as she always did, glaring at me down the length of her nose.

  “I was just getting ready is all,” I said, looking away as one of the servants laid a napkin across my lap. My mouth watered as they set down the potatoes and stewed rabbit for breakfast. I picked up my fork and began eating at once.

  My little sister, Rachel, was sitting across from me and looking as prim and proper as she always did. She gave me a small smile as I lifted my goblet to have a drink of cold water from the spring. Of course, she was sitting just like mother, casually glancing in Lord Rupert’s direction as he glared at me down the table.

  “We expected you down here at eight o’clock, just like every other morning,” Mother said.

  “Perhaps I am ill,” I said. “We were home very late last night, and in case you’ve forgotten, I spent a great deal of the evening dancing with all of the men that you put before me. You must forgive me if I am a bit fatigued.”

  Mother rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to Lord Rupert.

  “I told you that we were going to far,” she said to him. “Two balls in one weekend is far too much for her.”

  “She’s young,” Lord Rupert said. “Besides, it is necessary to ensure that we find her the right match, which, I might add, seems to have worked in our favor.”

  I blinked, looking over at mother. “What is he talking about?”

  She turned her gaze back to me, which had softened toward me somewhat. “We have found a suitable spouse for you, and he has agreed to marry you.”

  I stared between them. “You have? Well…how wonderful.”

  Wonderful it most certainly was not.

  I knew this day would come. I had known all along that eventually, my mother would tell me they had found someone to accept my hand in marriage.

  I had expected to feel some joy, something akin to excitement, even. I was to be a wife. I would be able to be the woman of my own household. I would be out from underneath the thumb of my step father, who had no love for me or my mother. I would be, in a sense, free.

  So why was it that I was
filled with such dread? Why was I so frightened to hear the answer of who this mysterious man might be?

  I took a deep breath, attempting to steady my racing heart.

  “All right, well…who is he, then?"

  Chapter 2

  The rain cleared a few hours after breakfast. The sun had been anxiously waiting to be seen, drenching the dewy grass with brilliant light, casting rainbows into the air above the lake at the far side of the estate. Raindrops clung to the branches of the trees that lined the walking path through the rolling hills, and I took the time to enjoy each and every one of them.

  Perhaps enjoy was a strong word. I was gazing at them all to distract my mind from thinking about what mother told me at breakfast that morning.

  I didn’t think I was quite ready to face Lord Rupert again, not when he had been so vehemently angry about my lack of excitement when they revealed the name of my betrothed. There was nothing to be done about it. I was not going to lie to him or to my mother. I think he was hoping that I would grovel at his feet, praising him for doing me what he considered such a favor. It was hard to swallow that he seemed to desire a match that suited him more than it suited me.

  I slowed my leisurely stroll as I stepped onto the low bridge that crossed the wide, shallow river that ran all through Lord Rupert’s estate. I leaned against the smooth, wooden supports and gazed into the glassy water below me as it snaked its way between rocks, gurgling happily, carrying leaves along like tiny rafts toward exciting new places.

  I sighed a heavy sigh, leaning my head on my arms, allowing the sound of the wind through the trees to wipe away my frustrations.

  I jumped as the sound of dogs barking drew my attention further long the path. I raised my head and looked, seeing two enormous sheep dogs bounding across the bridge toward me.

  Beaming, I turned to greet them.

  They collided with me, and we quickly became a tangle of fur and limbs. I laughed as wet, sloppy tongues licked at the side of my face and all over my outstretched hands. My fingers brushed through thick, tangled grey and white fur, while black noses sniffed at the inside of my ears and the hem of my dress.

  “Down, George. And you as well, Leo.”

  I looked up and saw a young man strolling toward me, only partially frustrated with the overactive pups.

  “Well, good afternoon, Lord Matthews,” I said, straightening as best as I could with dogs trying to leap all over me.

  The young man’s face split into a broad smile. He was tall and thin, with sandy colored hair that was always a bit too long for his mother’s liking. His eyebrow arched as he drew closer, his hands sunken into the pockets of his trousers.

  “And a good afternoon to you too, Lady Maryanne. How are you doing this fine day?” He caught up with me and managed to pull Leo off of me; he was trying to jump up to lick at my face again. He was very nearly succeeding as well.

  “Miserable, really,” I said, scratching George behind his floppy ear until his leg began to twitch. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been more disappointed with my life.”

  “Well, then perhaps we should form a secret society,” he said with a smirk. “The unhappiest people in the world. You may only join if you are utterly dissatisfied with your life.”

  “Only one of us is allowed to be miserable at a time, Jonathon,” I said with a playful glare. “Because then the other has the obligation to cheer the other up.”

  “Obligation, you say?” he asked, nodding. “That is quite the duty, since it is often I who has the impossible job of cheering you up.”

  “You are terrible, Jonathon Matthews,” I said, but the smile never disappeared from my face.

  “Come along, Maryanne, and tell me your latest tales of woe. But hold your breath, because I believe I shall top them,” Jonathon said. His blue eyes danced with mischief.

  “My mother has announced that I am to be married,” I said, falling into step beside him as we made our way across the bridge.

  “That is no great surprise,” Jonathon said. “She has been saying that very thing for years now, hasn’t she?”

  “She has, but it is a surprise when they have given me the name of the man I am to marry,” I said, looking up at him, my brow furrowing.

  “And who is the lucky man to be?” he asked.

  “A one Colonel Richard Nash,” I said, my nose wrinkling.

  “I am acquainted with the man,” Jonathon said, nodding. “Father knows him quite well, as my uncle served alongside him when he was a soldier.”

  “He’s dreadfully old,” I said, my heart sinking.

  “He’s your father’s age, is he not?” Jonathon asked.

  “Yes, he is, which means he is twice my age. But after all these balls I have attended, why could I not have met a younger man who would marry me?” I asked.

  Jonathon shrugged. “Perhaps all those young men had been spoken for. Or perhaps they simply did not care for your inability to dance.”

  I gave him a playful whack with the back of my hand. “My dancing has nothing to do with it. I’ve never met the man myself, so I do not think he has the slightest inkling about my dancing.”

  Jonathon grinned down at me. “To be quite serious, Maryanne, the Colonel is a highly respected man, especially in London. He rose through the ranks of the government quite quickly, and he is quite powerful. He would make a good match for any young woman.”

  I looked up at him, my eyes wide and my mouth a thin, tight line. “Jonathon, you are the only person that I can say this to, because you are the only person I know who has any sense at all. I could not care any less about that man’s standing in the government. All I care about is how he will be as a husband, and my greatest fear is that he will be positively wretched.”

  “Wretched?” Jonathon repeated. “My, that is quite a strong word, wouldn’t you say?”

  I shook my head. “I know nothing of him. All anyone will say is that he is a good match. Is he only a good match because he will be able to provide me a home and perhaps some children? There is more to life than that, Jonathon. I want to fall in love, to have a beautiful life with a man who would cherish me.”

  “You are saying this all as if you already know he will not,” Jonathon said, the skepticism clear on his face. “Maryanne, if you know nothing of him, then how can you judge him so quickly?”

  I folded my arms against the chill of the morning. Even with the sun up, there was still some of the icy morning clinging on. The winter was surely not far off. I sighed heavily. “Perhaps you are right,” I said. “He could be the kindest man I’ve ever met. Well, aside from you, of course, Jonathon.”

  Jonathon beamed down at me.

  We continued walking for some time, the dried and fallen leaves crunching beneath our boots as we meandered the winding paths.

  “You know, it is quite amusing that you bring up your engagement today,” Jonathon said after some time in silence.

  I looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

  He didn’t look at me, but I saw a sad smile tugging at one corner of his lips. “I also have been informed of a match to be made. For me. Apparently my parents found a woman for me to marry.”

  “Do you have no say in it?” I asked, dumbfounded.

  Jonathon lifted his head, staring out into the green pastures that painted the landscape before us, and shook his head. “No…it appears I do not. As I am not the oldest and am not to inherit my father’s title, then I shall be lucky to find a match at all. I will not have a great deal to offer, yet my father found a baron with a young daughter. It seems she just turned sixteen.”

  The look of sadness on his face drew out a strange sense of worry in me. “Why do you look so downtrodden?”

  He looked over at me, trying to force a smile, but I saw straight through it like a pane of glass. “Our lives are going to be changing soon, aren’t they?”

  “Indeed…” I said, my voice trailing off.

  The silence that pressed in on us was now somewhat uncomfortable,
like a wet cloak draped over top of us.

  Neither of us wanted to admit that we were going to miss these walks we had taken together almost every day since I had first moved in to Lord Rupert’s estate with mother when they were married. Jonathon had been my very first friend, and the brightest part of my life since my father had passed away. I wanted nothing more than to have him by my side through everything that was about to pass in my life.

  We stopped at the crossroads that separated his father’s estate from Lord Rupert’s, and my heart sank.

  “You know, Maryanne, even though we are going to be living away from one another and be married, that doesn’t mean we have to stop being friends,” Jonathon said.

  I looked up at him, and my eyes stung with tears. “Oh, Jonathon…what am I ever going to do without you being so close?”

  Jonathon swiftly took me into his arms and held me against him, just like he did when he was eight years old and I cried for the very first time about my father’s death. I didn’t cry now. I didn’t wish to seem quite so pathetic as a girl no older than six was.

  “I will always be just a letter away,” he said. He pulled away and smiled down at me. “Besides, what good is there in getting upset? It takes all the fun out of our conversation, and I don’t want today to be an unhappy day.”

  “How can it not be?” I asked, brushing out the skirts of my dress. “I am to be married to a man that I hardly know.”

  “Try being me,” Jonathon said, holding out his arm to me. “I am to marry a girl whose father has eyes that look like a frog’s.”

  My eyes widened as I linked my arm through his. “Well, I am to marry a man who supposedly has no interest in social gatherings.”

  “That’s nothing,” he said as we began to stroll up the path toward Lord Rupert’s estate. “I am certain that this woman is going to be as dull as a stone at the bottom of a riverbed.”