Madelene’s mouth fell open and she shook her head frantically. “No. Is that what she told you?”
“Bonnie didn’t tell me anything. It was your face. You might as well have confessed the moment I walked in.”
“But I didn’t go into your study.”
He didn’t say anything, simply raised his brow and waited.
“I went into your bedroom.” She looked down at her hands as they fidgeted with her teacup. “And more specifically, your armoire.” She swallowed nervously. “I was looking for?—”
“Something of value?” he interrupted.
Her brow dipped and she suddenly looked offended rather than guilty. “I’m not a thief,” she said coldly.
What was he doing? She wasn’t a criminal, and yet here he sat, interrogating her as if she were. “I’m sorry, Madelene. I’m tired and grumpy and I obviously jumped to some incorrect conclusions. Forgive my rudeness. I’ll be quiet and listen.”
She didn’t speak again for a moment, distrust making her uneasy. Self-loathing soured his stomach. The last thing she needed was another bully.
“What were you looking for?” he prompted.
She shrugged. “I just wanted to find something that might tell me a little about you.” She looked up at him. “I am sorry, Simon.”
“You’ve nothing to apologize for, Madelene. I’m the one making false accusations. You are welcome to go anywhere in this house except my study. If I didn’t want you in my bedroom, I would have said so.”
“You’re not angry?”
“Of course I’m not.”
“Well, now I'm glad Bonnie came after me and brought me back.”
“Did you leave the house? That, I did ask you not to do.”
Her panic was back. “I didn’t plan to, but then Bonnie appeared in your doorway while I was looking in your wardrobe. She thought I was stealing something. I knew she would tell you and I panicked.” A sudden sob broke from her lips. “I don’t want to go back to Auburn Ridge. Please don’t send me back.”
“Hey,” he said softly, but she didn’t hear him. He was a bloody cad. He hadn’t meant to frighten her. He knelt down beside her and took her hands in his, squeezing gently until she looked into his eyes. “I will never take you back there, Madelene.”
“But what if you thought I had stolen from you?” Her voice was jerky. She tried to stem her crying as she wiped her tears.
“Not even if you did steal from me.”
“Really?”
“Really.” He got to his feet. “Let’s go to the drawing room where it’s more comfortable.” He held out a hand and led her from the room and up the stairs. He poured himself a much needed drink. “Would you like something?” She shook her head decisively. He returned the decanter to its place. She was perched on the very edge of the sofa, still looking uneasy.
Rather than settling into his usual chair, he sat beside her on the sofa, leaning back. He took a sip of his whisky and placed the glass on the side table. She turned to look at him and he patted the back of the sofa. He needed her to know she was safe with him. Slowly, she scooted herself back, but her body was still stiff.
“I know you have a lot of questions, Madelene. The truth is, I don’t have very many answers, but I promise I will do my best to make sure you’re safe. That means I’ll never take you back to Auburn Ridge. It also means I won’t be returning you to your father. For now, I don’t have any better answers than that, but you’re safe here until I can find a more suitable solution.”
She turned to look into his eyes for a moment before finally relaxing. “Is this what you do? Rescue women in need?”
He choked on his whisky as he laughed. “Don’t get any romantic notions about me being some kind of savior, Madelene. I’m simply not a monster.”
“Bonnie asked if I was one of your strays, so I assume that means I’m not the first.”
He let out a long sigh. Bonnie was a fine housekeeper, and a good friend, but not always very discreet. “The others, if you want to call them that, were not like you. They merely stayed here a night or two until I could get them settled back with their families.”
“Did they also come from asylums?”
“No.” He didn’t typically share with people what he did, but she needed to understand, at least a little bit. “I work for the Intelligence Services. For the past year, we’ve been working through a list of people who entered into fraudulent marriages. When we take the men away to be arrested, the women need somewhere to go. So far, we’ve always been able to find family to settle them with, but sometimes it takes a day or two, so they stayed here during that time.”
