Chapter 34

They rode back over the Old Gop and down the other side towards Valebridge. Arthur did not ride, but vanished into the rolling fastness of the Downs, announcing his intention to seek a friendly face in Wilmington. Marcus and Selina rode through the hills, side by side in companionable silence. She felt no need to fill that silence. With Marcus, she didn't need to. It was enough to be with him in that beautiful country with Valebridge rising majestic and ancient in the distance. She felt a warmth within her, as though the morning sun were able to penetrate into the depths of her body. That warmth came from Marcus. It came from his body, from what they had shared. She found herself touching her stomach and wondered to herself how long after making love was a child conceived. And would she be able to tell when it happened?

For a while, she rode, lost in a daydream of being the mother to many children of Marcus. It was a pleasant thought.

"You are smiling," Marcus observed as they reached the open expanse of the Valebridge Park.

"I am thinking of the future," Selina replied.

"What particular future?" Marcus asked.

"One where we are parents to a large family," Selina admitted.

Marcus nodded slowly, then looked up at Valebridge ahead of them with narrowed eyes. "The men of my family do not have a great record in that area," he said, after a moment's silence.

Selina thought on this, it was a sobering thought.

"Are you saying that you don't want to have children?" Selina asked, half-fearing the answer.

"No. Not that," Marcus replied brusquely, "it is more that I fear the same curse that my father and grandfather suffered. The curse that turns them into tyrants when it comes to their children. What if I am the same?"

Selina felt a flash of relief, saw the anxiety on Marcus' face, and reached out to take his hand.

"You spent the majority of your childhood in the north, did you not?" she said, remembering the diary kept by Beveridge and the journey it had laid out.

"I did, in the Livingstone household."

"And was the master of that household a good father?" Selina asked.

Marcus smiled. "He was. A stern man but fair. I felt very safe and…I felt that I belonged."

"Then that is the kind of father you will be," Selina said decisively.

"That simple?" Marcus asked.

"I believe so," Selina replied with a reassuring smile.

Marcus nodded. They were riding at a trot through the park, the castle looming large ahead of them. As they approached, Selina could see that there were people standing before the building as well as carriages. She wasn't yet close enough to make out who it was but a sinking feeling told her that she already knew. Marcus' face had grown hard as he considered the same vista before them. The people were also aware of them. As they drew closer, Selina recognized, with a sinking feeling, her father. He stood with both hands atop a cane, a top hat upon his head. He had a look of victorious satisfaction on his face. Beveridge hurried to meet his master but was followed by another man, tall and dark-haired, middle-aged with a hook nose.

"Your Grace. Thank goodness. These people attempted to force their way into the castle last night and have just returned today…" Beveridge began.

"That is quite enough from you, Mr. Beveridge," said the man with the hook nose, "Your Grace," he greeted Marcus, "I am Captain Hamilton of the Bow Street Runners."

"We are a little out of the jurisdiction of the Bow Street Magistrates, Captain," Marcus replied, glaring at Selina's father.

"This is a particularly concerning case, Your Grace," Hamilton said.

"Do not call him that. He is an impostor. I have proved it!" Voss snapped.

"Forgive me, Your Lordship, but no evidence has been presented in court and this gentleman is innocent until he is proven guilty. Therefore it is entirely proper that I call him by his title," Hamilton said formally.

Voss fumed, slamming the end of his cane down into the gravel of the drive several times.

"What is this talk of innocence and guilt?" Selina replied.

"And who, may I ask, are you, Miss?" Hamilton said, glancing at Selina.

"She is my wife," Marcus replied without hesitation.

"The marriage did not take place and cannot take place," Voss insisted, "Captain, that is my daughter and I insist that she is made to accompany me."

"That is between the two of you, Your Lordship," Hamilton replied calmly. "I was not asked to look into a case of abduction but of impersonation."

"Impersonation?" Marcus asked.

"An accusation has been raised that you have impersonated the real Duke of Valebridge, namely Duke Arthur Roy. Because of the elevated social rank of the Dukes of Valebridge, this case has attracted attention at Court. The Regent himself has taken an interest. I have been dispatched to make a preliminary inquiry and then to convey you to the Regent." Hamilton said.

Selina's blood ran cold.

The Regent has taken an interest? What possible interest can he have? Did he know Arthur? Or possibly, Marcus' father?

"I find the accusation of a man who allows his daughter to be struck in front of him and does nothing to defend her, to be insulting. This man cannot be viewed as credible," Marcus insisted, swinging himself out of the saddle and advancing with his horse across the driveway towards the entrance to the stable yard.

He pointedly ignored Voss now, striding past him as though he did not exist. Voss, in turn, was turning purple, hands clasping and unclasping over the top of his cane. His nose was swollen and red, looking sore from the blow Selina had delivered the day before. She followed Marcus and her father attempted to intercept her. She raised an eyebrow as he did, looking at his nose pointedly. Voss half raised his hand to the injured appendage as though suddenly reminded of it and stepped back.

"It is not his lordship who brings the complaint," Hamilton replied, "but the legitimate heir to Valebridge."

Marcus whirled on the man who simply stood, facing him stoically. "I am the heir to Valebridge. I am the rightful Duke!" he snapped.

"And Major Clive Drummond claims precisely the same. Furthermore, he has the ear of the Regent. Hence the involvement in the Runners, on behalf of the Crown. If you do not wish to assist me in my investigation, then it will be noted and will not count in your favor. But you will be accompanying me to Court. Unless you believe you are beyond the authority of the sovereign," Hamilton's voice pitched a touch higher at those last words.

Selina put a hand to Marcus' arm, fearful of what his temper might lead him to do or say. She remembered the look of murder that had been on his face in the church at her father's intervention. She also remembered how Beveridge had been unable to hold him back. Marcus put a hand to hers, patting it. Standing close to him she could see the ripped shirt beneath his buttoned coat and prayed her father would not also spy it. That would make him all the more outraged and risk inflaming her husband's anger more. Her father was not pleasant when angry.

"Very well," Marcus said, "I will invite you to dine with me, Captain Hamilton. Ask all the questions you wish. Am I also to meet my accuser?"

"I must politely decline the invitation to dine, Your Grace. I would not wish to be seen accepting hospitality from the subject of a prosecution. As to meeting your accuser, you will when we see the Regent, Your Grace. Major Drummond is part of his personal equerry staff."

"So be it, follow me, Captain," he threw a daggered glance at Selina's father, "as for you, Sawthorne. You are not welcome here. I would ask you to leave."

"I am not leaving without my daughter!" Voss snapped.

Captain Hamilton cleared his throat. "In the interests of law and order, may I state that His Grace has the right to order you off his property, and if you refuse, the offense is trespassing and disturbing the common peace. As an officer of the law, I would have no choice but to prosecute."

Selina watched her father turn puce and then turn and stride back towards his coach without a backward glance. Marcus turned away without a look back of his own, as though immediately forgetting Voss' presence.

"Follow me," he repeated over his shoulder.