A Reason to Rebel (29 page)

“Are you awake, Estelle?”

She did not want to have anything to do to him. She certainly had nothing to say to him that he would want to hear, but she knew he would not go away until he had said what he had come to say. Reluctantly she turned her head in his direction.

“I am awake. How could I possibly sleep in this chill?”

“That is easily resolved. All that is required is that you give me your word you will marry Cowper when your period of mourning expires, and every comfort at my disposal will be yours to enjoy.”

“What is to prevent me from giving you my word and then reneging?”

Her father waved away the suggestion. “I know you too well to be concerned on that score. You might well have developed a temporary rebellious streak, which is partly my fault, I can see that now. It was insensitive of me to spring my plans on you in the manner I did when you were still lamenting the loss of your child. Not all women possess your mother’s stoic nature and I should have taken that into account.”

Estelle gaped at her father. He
never
admitted to being in the wrong, and this was as close to an apology as she had ever known him to come.

“However, your word is your bond,” he said, looking alarmingly self-assured, “and once given you would never retract it, no matter that you might give it under duress.”

“And if I do not do as you ask, I too will be drugged and imprisoned against my will, I suppose.” Her eyes swivelled to take in the inert form of her sister. Anger at his treatment of her rekindled her temper.

“She will be none the worse for the experience and perhaps it will teach her a little respect.”

“You are a monster!”

“And you owe me an answer. What is it to be?”

“You already have my answer. I gave it to you when you came to Hertfordshire and nothing has changed. I will not marry that man.”

“This is becoming tiresome,” said Winthrop with a heavy sigh.

“I do not understand your obsession with Mr. Cowper. What does he have that you covet enough to sacrifice one of us?”

She was watching her father closely and thought she saw a mixture of surprise and alarm flare briefly in his eyes.

“That is not for you to concern yourself with.” But he did not bother to deny the assertion. “Now, I ask you one last time, will you do as I ask?”

“No, never. I would die first!”

“And there is nothing I can say to persuade you?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Think of the duty you owe to me as your father. Everything I have done to amass a fortune has been done for the three of you. And what thanks do I get for the sacrifices I have made, eh? Answer me that if you can?”

“You speak of the duty and honour due to you from your children, Father, but what of the love and understanding you ought to show to us? Do you rejoice in making us unhappy, turning us against you and driving us away, one by one?” Her voiced softened. “It should not be so, Papa.”

“Stuff and nonsense, child. I live in the real world, which is harsh and unforgiving, and has no place for sentiment.” He glanced at Marianne. “If I were to allow your sister to choose her own husband, would you then be more receptive to my suggestion? You claim to love Marianne and want only what is best for her. Prove to me that you mean it.”

“No, Father, I would not consider it, not even then.” Estelle knew that, unlike her, her father’s word was most definitely not his bond. He would say anything, make all manner of promises he had no intention of keeping, just to get his way.

“What has happened to you, Estelle? Who has turned your head to the extent that you no longer remember your responsibilities?”

“No one. I have merely got to the age where I know my own mind.”

“No, it is something more than that, I should have seen it before now. There is something different about you. You have changed in a more fundamental way.” He regarded her pensively. “Is it that Crawley man?”

“No,” she said a little too quickly.

“It is! That’s it.” His countenance was puce with rage. “Damn me, I knew it had to be something of that nature—I just knew it. Estelle, I credited you with more sense. The man is pretending an affection simply to get what he wants from you, nothing more.”

“You know nothing about the matter, sir. Do not judge others by your own miserable standards.”

“Ah, so he
has
got you thinking the impossible. He has befriended you for one reason and one reason only. God alone knows, I am ambitious for my ungrateful children, but even I know that aristocrats of his ilk use women like you for one purpose. They do not marry them, Estelle. Not ever.”

“You are making the mistake of supposing that I wish to be married again, which I most emphatically do not.” She smiled, intent upon a modicum of revenge. “Perhaps I am simply content to enjoy his protection.”

“Has he dared to touch you?” When she refused to answer, he slapped her face hard, just as he had done Marianne’s earlier. “You jade! The women walking the streets ply their trade out of necessity, but you…you have never wanted for anything. And yet you have always pretended a superiority and looked down upon your father. But now I find you have lifted your skirts for the first man who smiles at you. You disgust me!” Spittle dribbled down his chin but he did not appear to notice. “I suppose he was setting you up as his mistress, which is what you were doing in that solicitor’s office today. Well, you can forget all about that. You will not be leaving this house, or going anywhere unescorted, until you agree to marry Cowper.”

“Which I will never do,” she retorted, as angry now as he was. “You can rant and rail, threaten and cajole in your usual brutish manner, but nothing will make me agree to your terms.” She smiled, unafraid of him for the first time in her life, and revelled in the feeling of liberation as she stood up to him. “You see, I am aware now of what I would be missing should I ever again allow another man to touch me.”

She expected him to explode with anger but instead he simply shook his head. And then, with a dexterity unusual for such a large man, he grabbed her arm and pushed her face down on the bed. Lifting her skirts, he used every ounce of his considerable strength as he smacked her bare backside. The pain was excruciating but she bit on the counterpane beneath her, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out.

“So, you think you know enough of the world to be able to defy me, do you?”
Smack.
The sound of his hand brutalizing her bare flesh echoed round the room. “You imagine I am not awake enough on all suits to get the better of a mere slip of a girl?”
Smack
. “If you continue your act of bravado, you will receive this punishment and worse on a daily basis until you do as I wish.”
Smack
. He paused, breathing hard from his exertions. “You will have naught but bread and water to sustain you. I will take your sister away from you and you will see no one except Martha and me until you come to your senses. Is that clearly understood?” When she did not answer him he hit her harder still. “Answer me when I speak to you, girl, or you will live to regret it.”

“Yes.”

“Yes what? I cannot hear you, Estelle.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you will think on what I have said to you? Think of the benefits to your sister if you make this small sacrifice?”

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

“Very well. I will leave you to reflect. But just remember this, Estelle. If you do not do as I ask, then you are no use to me and I might just as well give you to Johnson. God alone knows he desires you, as any man in his right mind would, and he deserves a reward—because unlike you and your siblings, he understands the meaning of loyalty.”

With a final vicious flurry of his open palm, he released his hold on her. Estelle turned her head and looked at him contemptuously, annoyed because tears had sprung to her eyes even though she stubbornly refused to allow them to fall.

What she saw in her father’s gaze shocked and disturbed her far more than the thrashing he had just administered. His eyes were glued to her, his breath was coming in short gasps and his face was purple—with excitement rather than rage. He had enjoyed hitting her and could, had he so wished, have done anything else with her that took his fancy. He knew it and wanted her to know it too. He wanted her to understand that he had complete authority over every aspect of her life.

Estelle shuddered with disgust, and real fear, and was the first to look away.

Chapter Eighteen

“My God, Marianne!” Porter clutched his head in his hands and fell despondently into a chair. “He will kill her for sure. What in God’s name have we set in motion?”

Alex hid his dismay a little better as the full extent of his folly hit him. He resisted the urge to punch his fist through the wainscoting only by exercising the severest restraint. How could he not have anticipated something like this, he who had worried over every other detail of their plan? He had had an uneasy feeling about Estelle since leaving her yesterday. He ought to have set six men to guard the ladies, not a mere one. He was an arrogant fool who could not be trusted to lace his own boots, much less meddle in other people’s lives.

“Tell me all that happened, Bradley.” His voice betrayed none of his inner turmoil. If he was to rescue the girls, he must put his emotions aside and focus dispassionately upon finding the best way to go about it.

“Well, I took the ladies to the solicitor’s office and everything went according to plan. Once they were inside, I stationed myself at the door and kept a sharp lookout but didn’t see anything to arouse my suspicions. Then, just as I was starting to think it was time for the ladies to reappear, some cove barged into me. He apologized for being clumsy and in the second I took my eyes off the door something hard bashed the back of my head.” He shrugged and looked acutely embarrassed at having been so easily duped. “Beg pardon, m’lord. I should have realized at once that it was a sham.”

“Never mind that now, just tell me everything you can remember.”

“Well, the next thing I knew I was waking up several streets away with a headache. There was a crowd of people gathered round me, gawping and asking if I was all right.”

“I suppose no one else saw what happened.”

“Nah, like I said, they had moved me away from the solicitor’s door and must have substituted someone else in my place. I wasn’t unconscious for long but as soon as I regained my senses and staggered back to Nesbit’s office, the cab had long gone, with the ladies in it.”

“And you are sure nothing is broken in that head of yours?” Alex was aware that his retainer had only been injured because he was following his ill-thought-out orders.

“Yeah, they hit me a right cruncher and no mistake, but luckily I’ve got a tough skull. If that wasn’t the case, I’d never have survived all the facers I’ve received in my time.” He looked angry and upset. “The only real damage is to my pride, m’lord. You entrusted me with the ladies’ care and I failed you.”

“Not your fault, Bradley.”

“Who has them, do you suppose?” asked Porter.

“Their father, in all probability. They are most likely already at Farleigh Chase.”

“That is what I thought too,” said Matthew. “Which is why I said to Bradley that we ought to come here directly and let you know what had happened.”

“Good thing you did.” Alex stroked his chin in thoughtful contemplation. “It changes things, of course.”

“Yes, it gives Father the edge.”

“You do not suppose that Cowper has taken them then?” said Porter.

“Doubtful, because this time yesterday he did not even know for sure that they were in Ramsgate. We know he travelled there alone on horseback and he simply would not have had time to organize their abduction. Besides, I doubt if he possesses sufficient wits to devise such a scheme. No, when he saw them in Ramsgate he would have believed them to be in league with their father. He also would have had to accept that neither of them ever had any real intention of marrying him when Winthrop was supposed to be promoting the matches.”

“Which would infuriate him,” said Matthew.

“Quite. But it would also make him appreciate that he had little chance of inducing either of them through force. He must now be thinking that the only way to bring a wedding about is by confronting Winthrop and putting more pressure on him.”

“Yes, that is true.” Porter appeared to have recovered from the initial shock and regained a modicum of composure. “Unless he imagined the threat to their reputations might persuade one to sacrifice herself for the sake of the other.”