Captive Surrender (9 page)

“
If you wait
for one moment, I will escort you all home.”

“
That isn’t
necessary, really,” Prudence offered only to watch the man stalk
toward the door.

“
I think that
we had better start as we mean to go on, don’t you? I am going to
be a visible fixture at Cragdale and, if I cannot be there because
I am conducting business, I will arrange for one of my men to pay
you a visit to check on you. Until then, we need to be seen out and
about together so that we can make sure that everyone knows we are
close acquaintances. It will ensure that Levant understands that
you are not vulnerable.”

He gave Prudence a direct
look that rendered any further argument she may have had completely
useless, and she closed her mouth with a snap.

Silence settled in his
wake, and they all stared askance at each other at the speed in
which matters had been taken out of their hands. Having been forced
to always be the one in control of everything, Prudence felt an
immediate sense of relief that was rapidly followed with acute
wariness. Was he being genuine? Did he really intend to go to such
lengths to protect the family? If so, why? She didn’t have much
experience with magistrates, but was fairly certain that the old
magistrate, Mr Bloombury, wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to
help the family.

Rufus puffed out his
cheeks and took longer than usual to put his cloak on. Given that
the family didn’t have a man in the house, he felt that it was down
to him to ensure that there was a visible legal presence at
Cragdale. If he had to get his own solicitor to issue Levant with a
warning to stay away from the house and family then he would do so,
however he wasn’t sure whether he would be crossing a line between
professional courtesy and personal interest in taking such
steps.

Not for the first time,
his thoughts turned toward the delightfully intriguing Eloisa, and
he wondered whether this determination to visit Cragdale on a
regular basis had more to do with his driving need not to let her
leave his house without having some way to contact her again. He
turned around, and froze at the sight of his visitors in the hall
behind him.

Clearly they
are eager to leave
, he thought ruefully,
but merely smiled at them as he waved toward the front door. He had
a curricle out back, but it wasn’t big enough to fit seven of them
in, so they would have to walk.

“
Ladies;
gentleman, after you,” he bowed officiously at Robbie, and shared a
grin with the lad as they followed the ladies out into the
rain.

The walk to Cragdale took
only a matter of minutes, but it was made in relative silence. He
was aware of the curious looks the family snuck him. Did they
really believe his offer of help? It didn’t matter, because he
would prove his mettle. He had every intention of following through
on his promise to ensure that Levant got the message and left them
alone. If visiting Cragdale, and getting to know the family, in
particular the delightful Eloisa, helped to instil their confidence
in him, then so be it.

“
Thank you
for agreeing to help us,” Prudence murmured as they turned into the
gates at Cragdale.

“
Oh Lord, not
again,” Eloisa whispered.

Rufus was busy thinking
about how the top of her head reached his shoulder when he caught
her looking at him in consternation. He smiled down at her, and was
about to open his mouth to speak when he realised what, or rather
who, had caused such worry to fall upon her beautiful
face.

“
Good
afternoon, ladies,” Levant growled. The dark scowl on his face
matched the disgruntled look he threw at Rufus.

Prudence mentally
applauded Rufus for his insistence in escorting them home and,
rather than politely reply to Levant as good manners urged her to
do, she merely remained silent and allowed Rufus to take the
lead.

“
I am glad
that you are here, Levant,” Rufus declared as he grabbed Eloisa’s
hand in his. She was visibly trembling with fear – or cold – and he
wanted to reassure her. To ensure that Levant was as convinced as
it was possible to be, Rufus glanced down at Eloisa and winked
cheekily, and was rewarded by a tell-tale blush that she couldn’t
hide.

“
I understand
from the ladies here that you have been making a pest of
yourself.”

As he spoke, his gaze
raked Humphrey coldly from head to toe. “Let you out again, did
they, Brown? How long will it be before I have to put you away for
good?” Although his tone was conversational, the ruthless menace
behind the comment was written on his face. His message was clearly
received and understood by Humphrey who, now that he faced the man
who could hold him to account for his crimes, appeared to have lost
his usual belligerence. Rather than answer, the large man merely
looked awkwardly at the ground.

A tall, dapperly dressed
man to the right of him remained silent and unmoving, but was
watching the interplay curiously. Rufus knew that the man was
called Charles Taylor, but as yet had been unable to find out
anything about the man’s background, or even where he came
from.

“
I take it
that you have nothing better to do with your day than associate
with him, Taylor?” Rufus drawled and nodded toward Levant. He had
done his homework well and watched the supposed man of business
jump in alarm at the mention of his name. Rufus merely smiled
coldly and turned his attention to Levant, and the rider beside
him, who seemed to have far too much of an interest in Prudence; if
the way he was staring at her was any indication.

“
I think,
Levant, that you had better stop pestering these ladies. They have
made it perfectly clear that they are not interested in selling out
to you, or anyone else for that matter. As I am taking over their
personal business for the time being, I suggest that any further –
offers – for their property, or them, are made directly to
me.”

“
So you are a
man of business now?” Levant scoffed and flicked a narked look at
Prudence. “Hopefully, you will be much better at that than you are
a magistrate.”

“
I am very
efficient at everything I turn my hand to and now that I have a
personal stake in what happens at Cragdale, I endeavour to ensure
that everyone who resides here remains happy.” He gave Eloisa the
most loving look he could manage, and it made her blink owlishly at
him with a mixture of shock and wonder. He fought a chuckle and
traded a grin with Prudence, who wasn’t as over-wrought as her
younger sister.

Prudence watched the
interplay avidly. Her own dealings with Levant had always made her
feel cheap and sordid; like she had soiled her hands and couldn’t
quite get them clean enough to rid herself of all trace of him.
This time though, from the look on his face, it was Levant who was
tense and on edge. She didn’t mind one bit that Rufus had seemingly
adopted Eloisa as an excuse to repeatedly visit the house; nor did
Eloisa, if the look of adoration she gave him was anything to go
by. Prudence smirked and nudged Maggie, who was openly
sniggering.

Prudence fought a smile
and shared a look with Madeline, then found her gaze captured by
the handsome stranger she had been trying so hard to ignore was
there. Once again, there seemed to be something about her that
intrigued him. She felt his piercing stare right down to her core
and wasn’t sure what to do about it. Should she ask him what he was
staring at? Then she would have to speak to him, and in doing that
would acknowledge that his attention made her uneasy. She threw a
dark look in his direction that was at odds with the warmth that
began to thrum through her veins.

He was tall; taller than
average, and had a lithe grace about him that bespoke of a hidden
strength that she knew would make him a ruthless adversary. Even
from several feet away she could sense the power in his heavily
muscled thighs as he sat astride the horse and the tension in his
thick corded muscles of his forearms as they rested on the saddle.
The rain didn’t seem to bother him at all, and he seemed completely
oblivious to the thinness of his pristine white shirt that was
soaked to the skin, and revealed every square inch of masculine
flesh beneath.

Prudence swallowed
awkwardly and tried to keep her face averted from the sight he made
atop the huge chestnut horse, but failed miserably. She was only
faintly aware of Rufus issuing his warning.

“
Unless there
is some dire emergency at Dinnington that nobody else in the area
can help out with, I am telling you now, Levant, to stay away from
Cragdale, and keep your men away too. The ladies have come to me in
my capacity as magistrate to complain about your regular visits
because they are an unwelcome intrusion. I, for one, have
absolutely no intention of allowing them to sell the house to you,
or anyone else, if they don’t want to. Because of that, your visits
are pointless. So, I suggest that you take your men, and go home. I
also warn you that I have my men investigating your recent property
transactions in the area. If any of them should look to be
suspicious or unfair in any way, then I shall ensure that you meet
with the full weight of the law.” Without a further word, he waved
the ladies before him and clapped a hand companionably on Robbie’s
shoulder as he directed him around the horses.

By the time they reached
the door to the kitchen, Rufus glanced back to study the four
riders as they disappeared out of the driveway. He frowned at the
direct look the last man on the right; the tallest, and by far the
most lethal, gave him before he disappeared from view. There was
something about him that warned Rufus that he needed to be on
guard. The man was far too observant; far too menacing, and far too
fixated on Prudence. There was an almost military bearing about him
that gave Rufus pause to consider how the man could have made
contact with someone like Levant. What on earth was going
on?

It was only when he
stepped into the hallway that he realised he still held Eloisa’s
hand. She made no attempt to ask for it back though and merely
stood, dripping wet and shivering next to him. Upstairs, a rhythmic
banging started at the sound of movement downstairs. Maggie and
Georgiana gasped and hurried toward the stairs leaving an
uncomfortable silence in their wake.

Prudence turned awkwardly
toward their guest. “Would you like to stay for tea?” There was
little else she could say without having to explain that the noise
upstairs was their mother, but her hopes that he would take his
leave were dashed when he nodded and released Eloisa’s hand so he
could remove his cloak.

“
I think that
I will, if I may. I want to ensure that Levant has left the area
before I leave.” Although Rufus’ voice remained impassive, his
attention was locked firmly on the distress of the woman upstairs
who wailed randomly about nothing in particular, and whose voice
was occasionally blanked out by the sound of the heavy thumps she
made.

Prudence nodded and
hurried to the kitchen. If she was honest, she was glad to have a
few moments to herself. Once again, the stranger on the horse had
stared at her with a fixation that had been more than a little
unsettling? Was that what he had been brought here for; to unnerve
her? If so, it had worked. Still, Rufus was here now and, if his
interest in Eloisa was anything to go by, would be around more
frequently from now on and for that Prudence could only be glad.
However, it didn’t go anyway toward giving her any idea what she
should tell him about her mother upstairs.

She put a pot of water
onto the fire to boil and stared absently into the flames while she
waited. She saw little of the red, orange and amber glow; her mind
was locked firmly on the ripple of muscle beneath the shirt that
had clung so lovingly to his very masculine chest. It was difficult
to believe that any man who was so wonderfully handsome could be
involved with someone as abhorrent as Ludwig Levant. It was only
when the pot began to bubble over and created a loud hiss as the
water hitting the flames that her attention was drawn back to the
new problem that had presented itself: what to tell Rufus about her
mother.

CHAPTER
FIVE

“
We are going to get some kindling,” Prudence
called later that night. When silence greeted her, she shared a
frown with Robbie and moved to the sitting room.

Georgiana had already
decided to retire to bed early, and had left Madeline sewing before
the fire in the library. Maggie had gone to put mother to bed for
the night, and Eloisa was alone in the sitting room, staring
absently into the fire. Prudence sighed at the dreamy look on
Eloisa’s face and shook her head. She had been like that ever since
Rufus had taken his leave several hours earlier. None of them had
managed to get much sense out of her, in spite of the repeated
bouts of teasing and many, many unanswered questions. Prudence
merely smiled softly at her younger sister and couldn’t find it in
her heart to issue her a warning. Rufus was a wonderfully sincere,
caring and gentle man who had an air of calm authority about him
that never ceased to assure them that he did mean what he said and
would help them.

Throughout their tea
earlier that afternoon he had glanced several times at the ceiling
but had never once raised question as to who it was wailing and
weeping, and why they were locked upstairs. He had merely drunk his
tea while reassuring them once more that he was going to visit
Levant and investigate his behaviour. Before he left, he took one
final opportunity to give them further advice about keeping the
door locked, not opening it at night to anyone, and had promised he
would return the following day.