Her Rogue by Charlotte Russell
Chapter Four
Harriet paced down the hedgerow walk for the third time. The sun shone so warmly she hadn’t brought a shawl. She was glad to be free of its entanglement when William came barreling down the path and nearly bowled her over. She managed to catch him up and snatch a quick kiss before he wriggled so much she had to put him down.
She gave his nursery maid, Janie, a grateful nod. “Thank you.”
Harriet hated putting Janie in the middle of her disagreement with Penelope and Mr. Saunders, but the young girl was the one who had first suggested these clandestine meetings. Harriet had not been able to turn down the chance to spend time with her son when she was being punished by her in-laws. From the very first day, she had assured Janie that if she lost her position over this, Harriet would find her a place at one of her brother’s estates.
She took William’s hand and led him down the hedgerow, asking him about his morning. His chatter, some of which surely only made sense to him, lightened her heart as only the sound of her children’s voices could. She needed this after the maelstrom of this morning’s meeting with Penelope and Ben.
As she and William turned around midway down the path, Harriet heard the cacophony that could only be the rest of her children. William squealed when he saw Kitty and Lucy racing toward them. Behind the two girls, Ben and Elizabeth walked side by side, in a seemingly thoughtful conversation.
But then Elizabeth looked down the row and took off at lightning speed toward Harriet. Before she could say so much as ‘good afternoon’ her four offspring fell to the ground in a giggling jumble.
Ben strode toward them, his expression so serious Hattie wouldn’t have recognized him if they’d met on the road. She’d not thought him capable of that degree of earnestness.
When he was within hearing distance, which given the noise emanating from her children was really quite close, Harriet waved her arms toward them. “I’m sorry. It seems as if someone has loosed wild mongrels on the estate.” She looked around searchingly, feeling a hint of shame at the unseemly behavior. “I wonder to whom they could belong.”
Ben looked from her to the rolling mass of limbs and skirts. “They look to me like the happiest of children. Their mother should be commended, but since she is not here I had best round them up and turn them over to the parish.”
Harriet eyed him with surprise as he helped all four of them to their feet and they wandered down the row in search of four-leaf clovers. She was so used to expecting censure where her children were concerned. Penelope would have fainted dead away to see them behaving in such an unrestrained—and messy—manner.
But this was Ben King, biggest scamp of all. He probably encouraged incivility in children just as surely as he flirted with any female over the age of eighteen. Nonetheless, Harriet couldn’t help but accept his compliment with the tiniest bit of pride.
“Let us not be too hasty in foisting them upon the parish. I’m certain their erstwhile but commendable parent will turn up soon. They are very dear, after all.”
“Indeed they are, my lady. I do not mean to intrude on your family outing. Your daughters were in need of a change and suggested a walk. I will wait over there until it is time to return indoors.”
“You aren’t intruding. There’s no need—”
He glanced pointedly at William. “I do not want to cause you any trouble. If you’ll excuse me...”
Without giving her a chance to respond, he headed to the end of the hedgerow nearest the house. Harriet watched him for a moment, unaccountably touched by his insight. This Ben was so much easier to like than the seducer and charmer he’d previously portrayed.
Then the children were clamoring for her attention. She gave it to them as they traipsed down the path. When they were only halfway back, Janie the nursery maid came hurrying toward them.
“I’m that sorry, my lady,” she declared breathlessly. “The dowager lady is on her way to the nursery to see his lordship. We must go right quick!”
Penelope never visited the nursery. She always had the children brought to her. She must be checking up on Harriet. Wistfully, she kissed her son’s forehead and handed him over to the maid. As they left, William waved his chubby hand over Janie’s shoulder.
Harriet swallowed thickly, her eyes stinging. It was doubtful she would be able to tuck him in tonight. Not with Penelope on alert.
Elizabeth came to her side and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry, Mama. What happened this time?”
Harriet’s gaze flew to Ben, who was striding toward them. She dredged up a smile and smoothed Elizabeth’s wispy hair off her brow. “Nothing for you to worry over, dearest. Why don’t you lead Kitty and Lucy back upstairs? Your tea should be ready by now. I am sure Mr. Fauntleroy is eager to resume your lessons soon.”
He had reached them by now and Harriet noted he didn’t exactly look eager to return to the schoolroom. He did, however, straighten his shoulders and nod in a scholarly way that was entirely in contrast to his unruly hair. “Might I have a word with you in the meantime, my lady?”
Harriet nodded as the girls waved and set off for the house. She’d much rather be alone right now but she supposed Ben wanted to make his first report, on which she had earlier insisted.
Ben looked back toward the house before taking Harriet’s arm and moving a ways down the path. When he turned to her, he kept his hand cupped beneath her elbow. “What is going on here, Hattie?”
“Are the girls not minding you? I will speak to them right away if they are misbehaving.”
His eyes crinkled in confusion. “Your daughters are intelligent, thoughtful, and really quite adorable but they are not the focus of my question. Your son is.”
Harriet slipped out of his grasp and directed her response toward the lawn. There was nothing for her and Ben to discuss with regards to William. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Hattie.” He waited, outlasting her ability to ignore the concern in his voice. When at last she peered up at him, he continued, “Your mother-in-law made a special point to remind you I’m to have nothing to do with your son; the nursery maid delivered a strange pronouncement about taking the young lord for a walk; Elizabeth said, and I quote, ‘I’m so glad Mama is able to see William today;’ and then that same maid arrives to whisk your son back to the house while you stoically blinked away your tears. Does that help you understand what I mean?”
He’d noticed her tears? With an effort she dragged her gaze from the depths of his green eyes. “It’s nothing for you to worry over.”
“That’s exactly what you said to Elizabeth. I’m not a child.”
“No, you’re pretending to be my daughters’ tutor. For nebulous reasons.” She took a step away from him.
“I’m not pretending to be your friend,” he snapped. He shoved a hand through his already unruly curls, causing a section to stand on end. “Why is she keeping William from you? How is she even able to do that? You’re his mother.”
She would have been able to walk away and ignore his questions, or so she told herself, if Ben hadn’t added in a soft, raspy voice, “A boy needs his mother.”
He would know. Ben, who’d lost his mother when he was barely five, would surely know that a boy needs his mother.
He’d said he was her friend. Could she really confide in him? There had been no one else she could turn to in the last few years. Even though Grandmama knew of her plight, and sympathized, Harriet was hesitant to continually drag the dowager countess into the middle of her battle with Penelope and Mr. Saunders.
“Never mind.” Ben threw up his hands and turned away.
Harriett caught his arm before he could take a step. “Ben, wait. You’re right. You should know how matters lie here at Rutledge Manor, in case it should impact your search in some way.”
“That isn’t why I asked.” He heaved a sigh. “But I’m all ears.”
Needing to move as she delved into the painful past, Harriet set off down the path again. Ben ambled beside her. “The first thing you must know is that my husband’s death was unexpected. He fell ill with a fever suddenly and died three days later. He never regained consciousness.”
“Good grief, Hattie. How devastating.”
She lifted her shoulder in a casualness she really didn’t feel but she did not want to dwell on Edward’s death at the moment. “It was, and I miss him dearly. But I have the children.”
“As dear as your children are, I can’t imagine they can fully make up for the loss of your husband.”
A mysterious frisson of anxiety spiraled through Harriet. There was only care and concern behind his words so her rebuttal was irrational, but she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “I can’t imagine you would know anything about the complex subject of marriage and children, Benjamin.”
Beside her, he stiffened and ground his jaw, though Harriet might have imagined that last action. “I’m sure you are correct, madam. Please continue on with your story.”
She took a moment to breathe, hoping to calm that odd apprehension which had settled in her stomach. This was just Ben, after all, and she was simply explaining her history as a matter of courtesy.
Finally, she swallowed and rushed through her tale. “Edward’s will dated from just after the birth of Lucy. The guardianship of any female children was left to me and my brother, Taviston. However, the guardianship of a son was left solely to my husband’s maternal uncle, Philip Saunders. Edward claimed this was just a placeholder until we actually had a son, at which time he would add me as co-guardian. There was no need to change anything after Kitty and Lucy were born. We found out I was increasing again about a month before Edward died. I urged him to make the change and he assured me he would before the child’s birth.”
Ben stopped and faced Harriet. “Hell and damnation, that’s abominable. What was your husband thinking?”
Harriet glared up at him. “He was thinking he was too young to die.”
His eyebrows flew high. “He had a will; he knew death was a possibility. Was the late Lord Dunstan an idiot in other matters as well?”
“Ben, that’s not fair. You didn’t know Edward.”
“I know he should have made provisions for the mother of all his children to be a part of their lives from the moment you told him you were expecting your first child.”
Harriet had no response as she’d thought exactly the same thing every single day since William had been born. And every single day, guilt had seared through her for being angry with her husband. Edward was gone. Shouldn’t she cling to memories of companionship and happiness instead of dwelling in anger?
Then there were the days where more insidious questions nagged her. Had Edward purposely excluded her from the beginning? Had he ever intended to change his will? How much influence had Penelope had on her son’s guardianship decisions?
But those thoughts were just as unfair as Ben calling Edward an idiot. Her husband had never once indicated he thought she shouldn’t have a say in raising a son of theirs. Edward had cared for her, he’d loved their girls, and he’d often praised Harriet’s mothering skills. He’d just run out of time.
Light pressure on her face brought Harriet out of her reverie. She blinked as Ben’s thumb swept across her cheek, leaving her skin electrified. She froze as that tendril of disquiet she’d noted earlier blossomed out from her center.
Ben seemed oblivious to her heightened awareness as he continued to stroke her face. “I’m sorry, Hattie. You’re in an untenable situation.”
Every rationale part of her brain told her to step back, to break the inappropriate contact. This was Ben King, a scamp and scoundrel who’d shown there was nothing more than a bit of fluff between his ears.
Then she made the mistake of looking up into his eyes. Not a single bit of fluff in the green depths. Just sincerity, compassion, and the merest speck of desire.
No, no, no. Not desire. How ridiculous. That was simply the innate flirtatiousness he couldn’t seem to suppress even around eighty-four-year-old dowager viscountesses. It meant nothing. Harriet was old enough to be his...well, his older sister at least.
She moved to pull away but at that exact moment Ben stepped closer, enfolding her in an embrace. Cheek pressed to his coat, Harriet asked, “What are you doing?”
Although really she wanted to ask, why do you smell so good? The combination of bayberry cologne, saddle leather, and wool was far headier than she would have imagined. And the solidness of him... It took the greatest of efforts not to melt into him but somehow, she managed.
“Being a friend,” Ben answered, his mouth dangerously close to her forehead. “I can understand your confusion as your knowledge of friendship seems as lacking as my knowledge of marriage and children.”
“I’ve had friends,” she said in her defense, though she wondered if she spoke as merely an excuse to maintain their cozy position.
Moving his hands to her shoulders, Ben created a space between them. “Truthfully? I couldn’t stand to look at the misery on your face any longer, Hattie.”
His admission electrified the uneasiness invading every pore of her body. Harriet took two large steps backward. “You really should return to the schoolroom. The girls will be finishing up their tea.”
Ben was silent as they headed back to the house but about halfway there, he said, “Have you no recourse? Surely Taviston could have some influence.”
Her brother was a duke now, and influential in the way of all dukes, but even he couldn’t fight this battle.
“Mr. Saunders’ guardianship was confirmed by the Court of Chancery after William’s birth. Edward’s will was clear and as that clause hadn’t changed in the three different wills he made over nine years, there was no cause to dispute his intention.” A gust of wind blew straight into her face and Harriet was glad of its bite. “I try to tread carefully but when I displease Mr. Saunders or Penelope, he forbids me to see William.”
The situation galled her to no end. She wanted things to change but she, an eldest child who’d always been able to fix things and make them better, had no power here. She’d even been too ashamed to tell her family how Saunders was treating her.
“Why is he so beastly?” Ben’s voice vibrated with underlying outrage.
“He’s quite full of his responsibilities as guardian of a peer. He likes to wield his authority where William is concerned, though as yet Mr. Saunders doesn’t have much personal interaction with my son, thank goodness. Penelope simply does his bidding.”
They stopped at the end of the hedgerow where they would still be out of sight of anyone from the house. Ben cocked his head. “So what did you do to earn their wrath and lose precious days with your son?”
Harriet wished he hadn’t worded his question quite that way, but she answered him anyway. “I danced with you.”
He seemed startled at first but then his expression darkened, and he looked utterly unlike Benjamin King the charming rogue. “You are taking a great risk in inviting me here.”
“Perhaps.”
“I wish you’d told me. I would never have agreed to this. I could have found my way into the house without making an association between us known.”
“I decide what risks I take, Ben.” She smiled up at him. “Besides, I owe you, remember?”
He did not return the expression and in fact his voice was gravelly and deadly serious as he said, “I’ll tread carefully too, Hattie.”