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‘Mr Fernley. Good afternoon, sir.’

An older man rose to his feet with obvious difficulty. He’d been seated at the head of the ancient dining table next to where Meg and a young lad were sitting together, she with her arm around the boy’s shoulders. The lad looked up at Jacob with a mixture of fear and suspicion on his thin face, and Jacob saw him take his sister’s hand, as if determined not to let her go. The air was thick with wariness and distrust and Jacob could hardly blame them; Meg’s family had little reason to regard him with anything else.

‘Mr Wheeler. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’

He bowed, earning a cautious nod in return. He saw Meg watching closely, her attention split between her new husband and her father, but he only had a moment to wonder what she was thinking before Mr Wheeler spoke.

‘So, you’ve married my daughter.’

There was no preamble as the farmer cut straight to the point. ‘She’s explained the circumstances. I’m more grateful than I can say that you saved her from the noose, but…’ His weather-beaten face clouded even further. ‘Why would you do this? Why would you help us, knowing your brother will make your life a misery for it? You don’t know us. You owe us nothing, and yet you make such a decision on our behalf. Why?’

Jacob glanced at Meg, noting her flushed cheeks and refusal to meet his gaze. Clearly she hadn’t told her father about their previous connection. It was her choice not to, and he could hardly complain, but still it jabbed at him in a way he didn’t enjoy.

A careful answer was required. ‘My brother has wronged this village, sir. I can’t make amends for all his cruelties, but I could stop this one. It seemed the least I could do.’

Mr Wheeler’s eyes narrowed. He was a big man and Jacob felt his displeasure was something one would want to avoid, although at present his shoulders were hunched beneath his worn shirt and it was clear he was struggling to stand. One of his arms hung at a strange angle, as if it hurt him to move it, and his mouth was tight with what might have been pain. He certainly looked like a protective father, but a fraught one too, and Jacob was sure he saw deep weariness as well as scepticism in the other man’s face.

‘We’ve lived in fear since your brother inherited,’ Meg’s father said bluntly, evidently not appeased by Jacob’s explanation. ‘People who’ve been here for two hundred years are thrown off their plots under the smallest excuse, just so the Viscount can parcel up the land and rent it out again at a higher rate. There’s hunger here now where there was none before. This village will disappear eventually and there will be only one man to blame.’

He placed a hand on Meg’s shoulder, his voice hardening. ‘Now you intend to take my Margaret to his house. How can I be sure you’ll keep her safe from the Viscount, when she’ll be under his very nose?’

Meg’s face was downturned, but Jacob caught a hazel flash from beneath her lashes. Doubtless she was wondering the same thing, her father’s fears walking alongside her own.

‘Your daughter’s wellbeing is my highest priority. I won’t allow my brother any opportunity to harm her. You have my word.’

Mr Wheeler hesitated, but his son did not.

‘You mustn’t let her go with him, Pa,’ the boy entreated, staring at Jacob with keen dislike. ‘She can’t. It isn’t right.’

‘I have to, Peter.’ Finally Meg raised her head. ‘It’s the only way. If Jacob says he’ll protect me, we have to believe him. We’ve no other choice, do we, Pa?’

She squeezed her brother’s hand, attempting a faltering smile. The boy didn’t respond in kind, however; he turned away, his thin face taut, and Jacob saw pain flash through Meg’s eyes.

Instead it was her father who patted her back with gruff affection. He regarded her with an expression it was difficult to decipher, but there could be no mistaking his misgivings as he delivered his judgement.

‘I can’t pretend I trust you, sir,’ Mr Wheeler said grimly. ‘Your father was a decent man, but I fear your brother is not, and I know next to nothing of you. Forgive me for speaking plainly, but when it comes to my daughter I can’t hold my tongue.’

He straightened his shoulders, drawing up to his full height. It seemed to cause him discomfort, but he was willing to endure it to hammer his point home.

‘I’m indebted to you for saving her, but if I feel she’s in any further danger I’ll come up to the house and retrieve her myself, bad leg or no bad leg, and I’ll suffer whatever consequences might follow. Of that you have my word, and you can believe I will not be breaking it.’

Jacob inclined his head. There was a world of difference between himself and his unlikely new father-in-law, but his unfaltering commitment to keeping Meg safe was admirable. It echoed the same regard for her Jacob was trying so hard not to recognise in himself, the desire to look after her that he feared was still rooted in feelings he didn’t want to own, and he hoped nobody in the room looked at him closely enough to see it.

‘I accept that, sir. I’d like to think we understand each other perfectly.’

Chapter Four

For the first two days of her residence at Wellbourne House Meg barely left her room.

Trays of food appeared at her door at various mealtimes, the delicacies that sheltered under silver cloches so luxurious and plentiful it would have taken the villagers’ breath away, but she found she barely had any appetite at all. Her crowded mind took precedence over her empty stomach, the unstoppable whirl of thoughts that ricochet around inside it leaving her unable to focus on anything else as on the third morning she lay, unmoving, on the embroidered silk coverlet of her absurdly large bed. So far she had slept in it alone, not having seen hide nor hair of Jacob since he had escorted her to what should have been their shared bedroom—and in truth she wasn’t sure how that made her feel.

I ought to be glad. Surely the less I see of either Fernley brother the better?

The prospect of running into Anthony in some dark corridor made her shudder. He would be beside himself with rage to have her in his very house as a constant reminder that she’d escaped his wrath, although at least with Jacob present there was little chance he would try to take revenge. Staying in her room was still the safest option, however, with the added precaution of a chair placed in front of the door, although as sunlight began to creep beneath her still-drawn curtains she knew she couldn’t hide for ever…

A low murmur coming from the landing outside almost made her jump out of her skin.

‘Meg? Are you there?’