‘I din’t see ‘im leave, yer lordship, an’ yest’day we wos that busy, I din’t notice the ‘orse wos gone until nigh on sunset since the cove had insisted on lookin’ after the animal ‘imself. Asked fer a poultice an’ some stew as I remember. Ugly fella ‘e wos – the bloke, not the ‘orse…’ He paused to chuckle at his own joke, but seeing their serious faces, gave a small cough and hurriedly continued. ‘Wore a scarf round ‘is face nearly all the time, but I saw ‘im pull it down fer a few seconds and ‘e ‘ad a scar right down the side of ‘is face.’
‘Do you know who he was?’ the Earl asked urgently.
‘I’d never seen ‘im before, but when I told Dilly about it last night – it wos me night off an’ me an’ Dilly are courtin – she reckoned it sounded like the fella wot lives in Carlinfud ‘all.’ He gave another pause and fiddled with his cap before adding, ‘You know what, Milord, all this talkin’ ‘as me throat right parched…’ and looking at the Earl expectantly.
Sighing, Christian ordered a tankard of ale be brought to their table. ‘Pray continue,’ he demanded in a tone no one in their right mind would argue with.
The ostler gave a small bow. ‘Thank you kindly yer lordship, that’s right kind of you.’ He caught sight of the Earl’s narrowed eyes, and hurriedly got back to his tale. ‘As I wos sayin. This fella, he lives in a big old ‘ouse about two miles from ‘ere. Keeps ‘imself to ‘imself on account of ‘is ‘orrible scar. I reckon ‘e must ‘ave took a sword to ‘is face durin’ the war.
‘Did you tell any of this to the man who was asking questions yesterday?’ the Earl quizzed him.
Jed shook his head. ‘Don’t ‘old wi’ furreners, ‘an anyway, I din’t remember ‘til I told Dilly yest’day evenin’.’
‘So, his house is called … Carlingford … Hall? And you say it’s a couple of miles from here?’
The small man nodded. ‘As the crow flies, I’d say. If you wos takin’ a carriage, you’d ‘ave to go all the way to the crossroads, then turn left. The track to the ‘ouse is about a mile down that road. I’ll warn you though, you’ll not get a carriage the size o’ yours down there easy, an’ I don’t reckon the fella wot lives there is over fond o’ visitors.’
Christian nodded his thanks and handed the ostler a shilling. ‘Thank you, Milord, this’ll go towards our weddin’. Dilly’s right keen to tie the knot as soon as possible.’ Christian fought a smile at the young man’s glum face. Clearly, Jed wasn’t in quite such a hurry to get leg shackled.
***
Nate was still sitting at the kitchen table as the sun came up, though he took no note of the glorious artist’s palette of orange and gold splashed across the sky. All he could see in his mind’s eye was Mercedes Stanhope’s face.
And he knew without doubt that allowing her into his life was the biggest mistake he’d ever made in the whole of his sorry existence. He should have found some other way of helping her.Anything but bring her here,into this house.
He put his head down into his hands in anguish. How could he have known that simply seeing her sitting across from him, conversing with her would make himwant.
After the long-ago humiliation with Genevieve, he’d been so bloody careful. Kept himself to himself - focused entirely on his army career. Being so far away from England had suited him perfectly. And then came Waterloo and he didn’t have to guard his heart anymore. Who the hell would want someone who looked like a monster out of some dark fable?
His reaction to Mercy had taken him completely by surprise. He’d thought himself immune to a pretty face, but it wasn’t just her face, lovely as it was – it was everything about her. And in the deepest corner of his heart where he kept the dreams he barely even acknowledged to himself - she was exactly as he imagined his wife would look.
A low whine had him lifting his head up to see Ruby staring at him anxiously. He shook his head to clear it. What the bloody hell was he doing to himself? Climbing restlessly to his feet, he told himself that his reaction was simply because she was the first female with whom he’d shared an actual conversation since … in truth he couldn’t remember when. He whistled for Ruby and headed towards the door. Mercedes would be gone by theend of the day and out of his life forever. Dreaming about things that could never be, was not how he’d made it this far. Focusing on the here and now, putting one foot in front of the other – that was how he’d survived the loneliness.
The problem was, he’d opened Pandora’s box and glimpsed the one thing he wanted more than anything else, and now he had no idea how to shut it again.
Thrusting the treacherous thoughts out of his head, he stepped outside and breathed in the crisp, cold air, directing his footsteps round to the front of the house. But before he had the chance to step off the path towards the distant trees, Ruby began barking. Seconds later, a carriage appeared round the bend in the drive.
Chapter Ten
Mercedes was awake long before dawn. Indeed, she’d spent the majority of the night tossing and turning, her mind going over and over the events of the day before, starting with their ridiculous wager.
Nate had bet that her father wouldn’t arrive until after ten in the morning, while she declared categorically that he’d be here before eight. And just like that, they’d gone from being complete strangers to … she wasn’t sure what exactly.
Though he’d said no more about who he’d bought the ring for, she learned that he’d received his scar during the Battle of Waterloo and that the man who inflicted it had been trying to remove his head at the time.
‘I was one of the Duke’s aides-de-camp and on my way to give him a message. Fortunately, his grace saw me fall and had me taken to his own surgeon. The man saved my life.’
‘Were you riding Duchess?’ Mercy asked, shuddering at the thought of what the battle must have been like for both horse and rider.
He nodded. ‘She took a wound to her side. The only reason she wasn’t destroyed on the spot was because I refused to leave her. Neither of us fought again after that day.’
‘Where did you go?’
For a moment, Mercedes thought he wouldn’t answer, then he sighed. ‘I was recuperating for months – couldn’t even get to Brussels. And when I was finally well enough…’ He shrugged. ‘I had nothing to come home for.’ He gave a dark chuckle and waved his hand around the room. ‘My triumphant return to the ancestral pile only took place once my father was dead and buried.’
She wanted to ask him why he’d lived like a hermit from that day. Clearly, the scars he carried were not solely physical. Instead, he firmly steered the conversation back to her and she found herself telling him all about her family.
When he went to check on Duchess, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to go with him, and standing in the stable, feeding the mare a wizened carrot while Nate looked at her hoof, she felt a surprising sense of peace.
