“Oh, dear.” Mellie stepped close to Caroline. “It’s been like this all morning. I tried to pry a bit and find out what’s wrong, but she won’t talk—the poor dear. I’ve got to get to work. Perhaps she will talk to you.”
“Thank you, Mellie, for having her last night.” Caroline turned her back to Grace and lowered her voice. “She is the sister to Lord Wrotham. She has been missing, and her brother is glad to have finally found her. He will come for her today. I don’t know what she has been through, but I want to shield her from any scandal.” She met Mellie’s gaze. “Can I trust you to have discretion?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Mellie’s eyes were wide. “You can count on me.”
“Thank you.”
Mellie gathered her sewing basket and left Caroline and Grace alone. Caroline walked to the table to sit next to her. Grace had set down her mug and was attempting to stem her tears with the sleeve of her dress. She gulped in several large breaths.
“Grace, take heart; your brother will be here soon to fetch you.”
This news seemed to start the poor girl’s tears all over again. Caroline reached out to cover the woman’s hand. “What’s so upsetting? Isn’t he kind to you?”
Was Cage Morgan a cruel brother? Had Grace been running from him? Caroline couldn’t fathom the good-natured Lord Wrotham having a dark side. But she had been wrong before to trust good looks and charm. Perhaps she was just a terrible judge of character.
Grace turned to face Caroline. “Oh, no, he is a good brother. When he is around, but that’s just it, I’m so ashamed. I believed all the wrong things that everyone said. I should have made different choices. I should have…” she hiccupped as a sob escaped. She folded her arms and lay her head down. Her thin shoulders shook with the emotions she let loose.
Caroline was at a loss. She didn’t understand anything of what the woman was talking about. She ran a hand up and down Grace’s back in what she hoped was a soothing gesture. Whatever Grace had been through, it was clear she would need time to heal.
The one thing she could empathize with was the feeling of being deceived. She had also made a huge mistake by believing in the wrong person. She hadn’t spoken about Mr. Roger Valentine in years, but perhaps it would make Grace feel better to know she was not the only one to trust the wrong person. “Grace, listen to me. You are not alone in making mistakes.”
The other woman raised her tear-stained face. She sniffled loudly. “I’m not?”
“The year I turned seventeen, I met a man named Roger Valentine. He was a cousin of my sister-in-law, my brother’s first wife. He’d come to stay for the month of August along with several other guests Lydia had invited. She always had to have people around to admire her; otherwise, she became desperately unhappy.” Caroline rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Mr. Valentine was very sophisticated, and his dry wit sharp as a knife. He began paying special attention to me. We went for rides, and during card games, he always paired with me. He was charming and attentive, and I loved every moment. It was my first taste of courtship. I was so flattered by the attention I ignored all the little clues that could have saved me from what happened next.”
“What happened next?” Grace asked.
“One afternoon, he sent a note and asked me to join him for a ride. Once we had traveled maybe a mile from the house, we came upon a carriage stopped right in the middle of the road. Valentine and the driver pulled me from my horse and shoved me inside. Valentine climbed in beside me, and the carriage took off. When I asked what the blazes was going on, he replied that we were on our way to be married. Wasn’t it so romantic? I slapped him across the face and demanded to be taken home. I remember his charming smile turned into something ugly. Then he slapped me across the cheek.
“His plan was to race for the Scottish border. He had gone to my brother to ask for my hand, but Gilchrest refused, said I was far too young to marry. He knew that Valentine was a gambler and a rake. He only tolerated his presence because he was Lydia’s cousin.”
Caroline sucked in a long breath. She vividly remembered her panic. Everything about their relationship turned upside down in those frantic moments. Why was he acting so cruel? Why was he insisting they elope? She had been so naïve, so sheltered she hadn’t comprehended his true motivations.
“How did you escape?” Grace’s eyes widened.
“My horse found her way home. When the stable master told my brother my horse had returned home without me and that I rode out with Valentine, Andrew quickly deduced what was happening. He and the stable master rode out after us. When they caught up, I had been missing only about six hours. No one but the family ever knew what happened. My brother exiled Valentine to the continent to avoid any scandal.”
Grace laid a hand on hers. “Were you compromised?”
The lie she had told everyone, the one where she assured her family nothing had happened, was on the tip of her tongue. But it wouldn’t come out as she stared into Grace’s eyes filled with quiet understanding. Tears gathered in the corners of her own, and she worked to swallow the large lump that formed in her throat. She spoke the truth for the first time. “Not entirely ruined in the truest sense.”
After she refused to marry him and insisted again he take her home, Valentine had gagged her with his handkerchief and tied her hands together. While tying the knots at her wrists, he had complimented her, telling her how beautiful she was, how she would be so happy once they were married. His insane babbling had been more frightening than the blow to her cheek.
Then he had kissed up her neck and across her jaw, all the while undoing her riding jacket's buttons and pulling down the chemise underneath to expose her breasts. He had taken out his manhood and roughly pleasured himself while he squeezed her breasts and tugged painfully on her nipples.
“You’re mine now. You belong to me, Caroline.” He called out as his face twisted in agony or ecstasy. Even now, she wasn’t sure which it had been.
In those horrible moments, she knew that if this was what it meant to be claimed by a man, what it meant to be desired, she wanted to never belong to any man. So she lied to her motherand her brother. She would not sacrifice her future by telling anyone she had been used like that.
Grace’s hand squeezed hers, bringing her back to the present. “You were lucky. Your brother was there to save you.” Her gaze dropped to the table. Her finger drew circles on the wooden top. “Cage saved me once, but this time he was not there. I was told he was dead, and it felt like when my mother died all over again. I was all alone. I panicked, and at the first opportunity, I ran away.” She shook her head but didn’t elaborate any further. “I cannot face him yet.”
Caroline’s heart went out to this woman. She needed time to gather herself before Morgan began peppering his sister with questions Grace was not ready to answer. “Morgan lives in bachelor apartments; no women are allowed. Perhaps, I can convince him to let you stay with me just until he can arrange better accommodations for you. Then you’ll have a little time to decide what it is you want to do.”
“Really?” Grace gripped her hand.
“Leave it to me.” Caroline grinned. “I’m excellent at getting my way.”
Chapter 22
