The Vengeful Bridegroom. Kit DonnerЧитать онлайн книгу.
anxious to depart this claustrophobic atmosphere.
“Colgate. One more thing. Have you considered my offer for your lovely sister, Miss Madelene?”
Clasping his hands in front of him, Matthew bowed his head slightly. “Ah, yes, my lord.” He paused. “Although my family is honored by your request, I fear that my sister has already accepted another’s hand in marriage.”
The count snickered, reaching for his snuff. “I believe you misunderstood me, Colgate. I was not offering matrimony for your sister, since I understand she has no dowry. I am also not willing to settle for no as an answer. You see, I have decided to take your sister, Madelene, back to Florence with me. That is the best solution for all. See that you provide the dagger and your sister within a fortnight.”
Matthew nodded and found his hands trembling. He would think of something. Better to let the count believe he would follow his orders. By the time Matthew returned the dagger, Madelene would be safely married and living in Scotland, far from the powerful count. He hoped.
Mr. Brelford did not seem inclined to converse as their carriage rocked down the cobblestone streets of London and out into the dirt and stone lanes of the country. Madelene couldn’t remember the route she and her brother had taken years ago to Dumfries, and the opaque night only curtained the view outside her window.
With little else to occupy her, Madelene fell into an uneasy sleep.
“Miss Colgate, we are stopping here for the night.” She vaguely recognized her husband’s voice through a haze of sleep and felt his strong hand on her shoulder.
Voices of the groomsman and ostler could be heard outside as Madelene rubbed her hands and her face to bring herself into wakefulness. Her neck pinched where she had rested it near the window, and her back ached from the bumps and jolts along the way. She was glad to escape from the confines of the carriage and to gain distance from her—the stranger whose nearness disturbed her.
Madelene followed him into the Cock’s Crow Inn where Great George, the innkeeper, showed them into a private dining room for a light repast. Great George must have been named for his size and bellowing loud voice, for she had no doubt his voice could be heard miles down the road.
Exhausted beyond thought, she removed her bonnet and stifled a yawn behind her red glove. Feeling the need to be wit-filled taking their first meal together, Madelene stretched her arms above her head and walked the perimeter of the room a few times to undo the stiffness remaining from the carriage ride. She noticed the clock on the fireplace mantel showed nine o’clock.
The door banged open when Great George swept into the room, hurrying his servant girl with bread, cheese, and wine for them. Bowing to Mr. Brelford, he told them, “We haven’t had travelers for a day or so. We’re right glad of your fine company. Mary, there, will fix up a room for you.” He twisted his rotund self out the door, yelling over his shoulder, “Pork pies on their way!”
All the while, Mr. Brelford remained silent, in deep thought standing by the window. Her legs unsteady, exhaustion hung on her shoulder, Madelene couldn’t decide which she was in more dire need of, food or a bed. She certainly had little energy to ponder her predicament other than self-assured Mr. Brelford had arranged for two rooms, which would enable her to have a good night’s rest.
“Help yourself to the food, Miss Colgate, ah, Mrs. Brelford. You must be hungry,” Brelford told her politely, then turned his attention to the window again. Madelene wondered what he saw in the darkness.
She glanced over at this stranger, still too new an acquaintance to call “husband.” “Please sit. I find I cannot dine whilst you stand. Share the bread with me?” she asked her husband evenly.
He cast a cool gaze her way before joining her at the small table.
Gabriel had never been hesitant before in any situation, but now he had wedded his enemy’s sister, he took time to contemplate his actions and wondered whether the revenge he demanded from Matthew Colgate could be enjoyed at the altar of Madelene’s innocence.
And then there was the Count Taglioni, whom he had met a few times while in Florence due to Gabriel’s friendship with the count’s niece, Alessandra. He didn’t approve of the count then, and his opinion hadn’t changed since Taglioni had arrived in London. When Gabriel learned the count showed more than a passing fancy for Miss Madelene Colgate, it proved unsettling.
He knew what had to be done. Now he could hardly accept she was his wife, and little did she know her surname to be Westcott and not Brelford. She had signed the registry before him, and he made sure she had been called away before he signed his true surname.
By the time Madelene’s brother, along with the rest of the ton and the count, heard the news of the marriage, he and Madelene would be long gone from Town.
Yes, Miss Colgate had indeed captured his attention at the time of their one and only meeting. He remembered her deep blue eyes shooting arrows at him on the dueling field for wounding her brother.
Her dazzling blue eyes certainly had left her mark on him. She never understood it might have been worse for her brother. Gabriel could have killed Matthew. Later, he realized while caring for his sister, Lucinda, in Florence, he wanted his revenge to last longer.
And Matthew Colgate provided the perfect opportunity by arranging a wager that someone would marry his sister in three days. Of course, his own pocket would increase in coin from winning the bet, but he continued to want the young man to suffer. Suffer he must, since there was no way Matthew could know his sister’s location and the status of her welfare.
A niggling thought that perhaps Matthew might be relieved and unconcerned his sister could not be located bothered him briefly, but he dismissed it out of hand. What brother would not care about his sister?
Yes, everything was falling into place, just as he had planned. Gabriel would decide when the time was right to return Madelene to her brother. When he divorced her, it would bring shame on the Colgate name and both brother and sister would be unwelcome in polite society. They would be ruined.
As for him, he could easily find a replacement bride, but there was more to consider than simply finding a wife. He would also need a mother for his children.
Madelene. His wife. The beautiful Madelene that no man could tame. Rumor had it she had broken many a heart with her own heart unengaged.
Gabriel knew his heart to be safe from her wiles, but after seeing her on the dueling field, tending to her brother, he had wanted her. Wanted to possess her. He wanted her to look at him with as much tenderness as she had given to her brother, undeserving though Gabriel himself might be. Perhaps only then would his lust for revenge be satiated. Perhaps.
“Mr. Brelford, you seem quite lost in thought. I would prefer we converse to break the silence.” She reproved him with a smile.
He scratched his beard, deciding how best to answer her request. “What had you in mind to discuss?”
“How long do you anticipate our journey to Dumfries? I’m sure Matthew told you about our Aunt Bess? I remember she’s rather hard of hearing but quite kind. I hope the weather will be pleasant during our stay, until, of course, we’re able to return to Town and seek our annulment.” She smiled tentatively at him and hurried a glass of wine to her lips.
“Yes, Aunt Bess,” he murmured and continued to stare at her. Truth will out soon enough. He supposed he should admire her pluck since she had been hastily wed and removed from her only known home and family. And where was the famous temper he had been warned about? The woman before him painted a picture of docility and femininity and seemed as devious as plum pudding.
Gabriel sighed in relief when Great George burst into the room with the hot pork pies.
“Eat up! Eat hearty! Mary says your room is quite ready,” he informed them, his smile broad and warm. He bustled out the door, whereupon silence again spoke the loudest in the room.
Gabriel watched Madelene eat quickly and wondered if she had given any thought to