The Heir's Proposal Read online

  Addie urged Fran to lie back against the sofa cushions. The girl still hadn’t uttered a word.

  “Don’t let your tea get cold, Addie.” Bryce perched on the arm of the sofa beside her. “You won’t want to stay here…” He began feeling his way, trying not to upset her.

  “But I must stay for a few weeks at least,” she exclaimed, cutting him off. She wrapped her hands around the cup, as if seeking warmth. “A man took down all the details of those in the building when the bomb hit. I gave him Diana’s parents’ address. They will want to hear from me. To hear what happened, although I can’t remember much. And there're the funerals to attend… I must visit Florence’s family, give them her wages and something extra to help tide them over. Diana would want that,” her voice lowered, and she fell silent.

  “When you’re ready, I’d appreciate you going to Langley for a while,” Bryce said. “Take Fran with you if she’d like to.”

  “I don’t know…I…”

  “I won’t be there. I need to talk to you about that.” He glanced at Monty, who tactfully climbed to his feet from the footstool by the fire.

  “Shall I help the young lady upstairs?” Monty asked.

  “Oh, yes, would you, Monty?” Addie sounded suddenly brisk. “The bedroom on the left. It’s mine. I’ll be up in a minute to help her.”

  Monty leaned down and gathered Fran up in his arms. She leaned her head against his shoulder as he carried her upstairs.

  Addie shivered suddenly and rubbed her arms.

  Bryce slid onto the sofa cushion beside her and put his arm around her. “I wish I could be here to help you through this,” he murmured,

  She gazed up at him, clear eyed now but stark with grief, wanting answers he couldn’t give. “Where will you be?”

  “I’m leaving England in three days. Monty has also received his orders.”

  She widened her eyes. “Monty too?”

  Did she care for Monty? Bryce fought down a sense of ownership he wasn’t entitled to. “There is a good skeleton staff at Langley. The housekeeper is still there. Mrs. Ruston is a good egg. She keeps everything ticking over. The army sees to the home farm and the dairy. I’ll leave everything in good order and there're the solicitors, Smith, Sloane, and Weston, should you need them. I’ll advise them to consult you on any matter that crops up.”

  Her hands flew to her cheeks and she uttered a strangled gasp. “Oh no, Bryce, if I lose you too…”

  Bryce drew her closer, her body trembling. She rested her head against his shoulder, and he stroked her soft hair. “You won’t lose me, Addie,” he growled. “I’ll come back.” It was a reckless promise.

  She clutched his lapel. “Promise me, Bryce.” She gazed up at him, tears in her eyes.

  “I’ll do my damnedest.”

  She put her hands up to her face to wipe the tears away.

  To see Addie, who was usually so determined and strong, laid so low, tore at Bryce’s heart. He fished out his handkerchief, and leaning down wiped her wet cheeks, breathing in her familiar perfume. Somehow, it made everything worse because it reminded him of the past, what they had lost, and were unlikely to find again. “Stay strong for me, Addie.”

  She nodded mutely as Monty reappeared.

  “Is Fran all right?” she asked him.

  “I gave her more brandy. I think she’ll sleep awhile.” He shook the empty flask. “I’ve run out. Shall I go out for more?”

  “No, thank you. I need to keep a clear head,” Addie said. “I’ll make fresh tea.” She untangled herself from Bryce’s arms and rose. Picking up the cups, she disappeared into the kitchen.

  Bryce looked at Monty as the clatter of crockery came from the next room. They didn’t speak. They both loved her, much good it did them.

  Chapter Nine

  Monty appeared as Addie lit the gas and put the kettle on the hob.

  “Are you all right?” He gestured to the plaster on her forehead.

  “Heavens, yes. I’ll live…” She bit her lip and bent her head over her task.

  He moved into the compact space, threatening to get under her feet. “You shouldn’t stay here.”

  “I suppose not, but…”

  “I am counting on Addie staying at Langley while I’m away,” Bryce said from the doorway. “Will you do that, Addie?”

  Monty turned and left the room.

  “I’ll call tomorrow,” Bryce continued, his voice firm. “We can discuss it then.”

  Addie nodded as she poured the boiling water into the teapot. Doing ordinary things like tea making helped to settle her thoughts. She couldn’t picture herself at Langley, or anywhere else. She felt dislocated, as if she were floating. “There’s a lot to do before I can leave London,” she said, finding her voice. Once she’d stirred their remaining bit of sugar into Fran’s tea, she turned. “I’ll just take this up to her. She might be awake.”

  “Right.” Bryce moved back into the parlor where Monty stood staring out the window. The heavy rain pattered against the glass. “Is Fran to come down to Kent with you?”

  “I hope so. I’ll ask her.”

  Addie climbed the stairs to the bedrooms. She closed Diana’s door, unable to look inside. Diana’s parents would want her possessions. She frowned. They cut Diana off and had not contacted her since she left home. Would they mourn her? Surely, all parents mourned their children.

  In Addie’s bedroom, Fran, exhausted, lay stretched out on the bed. Blood seeped through the strapping around her head, which was coming loose.

  Addie put the teacup down on the table. “I shall have to see to that bandage.”

  Fran blinked away tears. “Diana is really dead?”

  Addie sat on the bed beside her. “Yes, and Florence.”

  “I had hoped they might be wrong.”

  “I wanted to believe that too.” Addie smoothed back Fran’s pale hair from her forehead and retied the bandage. “It’s impossible to keep the magazine going now. I’ll close it down. After which, I must go to Kent, to my old home, which is Bryce’s home now. Would you like to come down in the train with me? I would really appreciate your company. Unless there’s someone you know in London where you can stay?”

  “No, there’s no one.” Fran gave a deep sigh which ended in a shudder. “I would like to come, thank you, Addie. If it’s no trouble.”

  “It will do us both good. It’s settled then.” Diana would approve, she thought. And it would be good for her too, to care for someone other than herself. The tightness in her throat threatened to give way again to tears. She rose. “Try to rest now.” She hurried out closing the door.

  Unsteady, Addie gripped the bannister, not wanting to go down to the men, who watched her so carefully. But her only refuge was Diana’s room and that was far more painful. The brittle calm she’d clung to was fragmenting. Her chest heaved as she sucked in air. Not wishing them to overhear her, she opened Diana’s door and stepped inside, closing it behind her. Diana’s perfume scented the air. Addie sank onto the bed and dragged out Bryce’s handkerchief she’d shoved in her pocket, sobbing until she ran out of breath. She lost track of time staring up at the ceiling, her thoughts skirting away from the moment the bomb hit and the terrifying scenes which followed.

  Finally, aware of the men still downstairs, she rose and tidied herself the best she could before the mirror. She looked awful, her eyes red-rimmed in her pale face, her hair stiff with plaster dust and stinking of smoke. She picked up Diana’s tortoiseshell brush and made a half-hearted attempt to tidy it. An impossible task. Replacing the brush gently on the dressing table beside its matching mirror, she left the room. Bryce and Monty’s concerned voices rose from below.

  She went slowly down the stairs.

  Bryce will be gone soon, and it tore at Addie’s heart. Diana had been right. Her dear friend was always so wise. Addie had never felt so lonely. Had never been so alone.

  The day before he was to leave England, Bryce called to see her. She was in better control of her
emotions, as she showed him into the parlor. Fran had risen early to make breakfast and was now engaged in cleaning the flat as if her life depended on it.

  Addie sat with Bryce on the sofa. She put into words what she planned to tell him. What she should have told him weeks ago. “I want you to know that you are the most important person in my life,” she said staring down at her hands unable to meet his gaze.

  Bryce reached out to settle her against him, an arm around her shoulders. “I know that sweetheart,” he said, fighting his emotions. “And you know I love you, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” she breathed the words. “I love you, Bryce.” It was good to say it. She leaned against him, breathing him in, never wanting to let him go.

  “I didn’t propose to you because it was expected of me. But it was wrong of me to try to persuade you,” he said against her hair. “You should be free to choose what you want from life, rather than what tradition has imposed on you. You know what’s best for you. Trust yourself, Addie.”

  His words had a ring of finality which scared her, as if he believed he wouldn’t return. She wanted to ask him about it. Make him tell her. But she firmed her lips and remained silent.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Bryce leaned against the rail and blinked as the sharp, salt-laden air blew his hair back from his face. The moon hid behind dense clouds, the Channel waters rolling oily black in the merchant ship’s lights. They had spent ten days waiting to leave delayed by a period of foul weather, during which an army sergeant gave them a crash course in hand to hand fighting. Bryce could handle a gun, he’d been shooting since he was a boy, but the rest he wasn’t too sure of. Those elegant moves to disarm an opponent would take time to master. He preferred to use his fists. Boxing, he was familiar with.

  Monty gripped the rail beside him. “You persuaded Addie to leave London.”

  “She promised to go down as soon as she’s settled matters in London. It will be good for her to have something to do.”

  “Agreed.”

  Bryce turned to look at him. He couldn’t read his expression in the poor light, but he didn’t need to. “You care for her, don’t you?”

  Monty paused for a moment before answering. “I never thought about settling down until I met Addie.”

  “You didn’t have to accept this mission. You could have stayed and given yourself a chance with her. It’s unlikely I’ll make it back.”

  “It’s unlikely either of us will get back,” Monty said. “And, anyway, it’s you she wants. I never had a chance.”

  “You think so?” Bryce drew in a breath. He shouldn’t let it affect him now, but it did.

  “I could have won her over. If I gave it my full attention.” Monty’s voice came out of the dark, heavy with irony. “But you love her, Bryce. Which is why I didn’t push it.”

  How the devil did he know? Bryce huffed out a humorless laugh. “God’s gift to women aren’t you, Monty.”

  “Too right,” Monty quipped.

  “Mm. Doesn’t matter now, does it.” Bryce tried to control the rush of unsettling emotions. They had no place here. If only he didn’t keep imagining what it could be like. He and Addie together at Langley. He didn’t want to feel anything. But damn it, hope wasn’t something you could tamp down and ignore when it became inconvenient. And it was damn inconvenient now. After Lord Sherringham died and Addie flatly refused to marry him, he accepted that he’d lost her. It wasn’t fair to pursue her when she seemed so determined to turn her back on all she had known. The new and the exciting beckoned. He stood aside and let her go. He’d tried to do the same. Forge a new life for himself. But the war intervened, and no matter how charming Julia was, she just wasn’t Addie. And he suspected Julia knew it.

  Did she love him? Or was it a reaction to all that she’d lost, and her fears for him? He wouldn’t know for sure until he came back. If he did. He clung to the rail and tried to clear his mind. The vital mission would require all his attention if they were to succeed and have any chance of surviving.

  As if aware of Bryce’s troubled thoughts, Monty talked about his family company and how they planned to turn their hand to aircraft engines. The government was interested.

  “Why aren’t you working for them?” Bryce asked. He suspected Monty gave his father no end of trouble.

  “I’d become estranged after my father accused me of being worthless and a great disappointment,” Monty said, confirming it. “I’ve had nothing to do with the family for a few years, apart from my two sisters.”

  “So, that’s the reason you’ve accepted this mission?” Bryce asked. “To prove him wrong?”

  “I like excitement,” Monty said. “High-speed driving and fast women. My father wasn’t entirely wrong in his assessment of me.”

  Bryce wondered if Monty yearned to earn his father’s respect. His life was a high price to pay.

  Two hours later, the captain came to find them where they sheltered out of the wind. “We’ll be nearing the island in a half hour. You’ll go the rest of the way by rowboat. Can’t get closer or we’ll come under scrutiny.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Bryce said. He thought of the next step. The difficulty of making their way down the coast, while avoiding the small company of Germans who occupied the island.

  Lights from the island appeared in the distance. As the ship cut its engines, they picked up their knapsacks containing fishing tackle, food and torches.

  “If you can do without the torches, don’t use them. Apart from being spotted, you’ll drain the batteries.’ He touched his cap. “Gentlemen. I wish you success and a safe return.”

  The sailors climbed over the side as the deck tilted in the swell. Below, the rowboat rocked on the surging waves hitting the side of the ship.

  They descended the ladder and sat where instructed to balance the small boat. The sailors took up the oars and rowed strongly, fighting to keep the boat on course through the deep rolling swell. A glimmer of moonlight shone from a break in the clouds, revealing the limitless sea. The clouds covered the moon again as the boat neared land. A cluster of lights on the west coast revealed the main settlement on the island. What they could see of the rest lay in darkness. A dull glow lit the sky some miles off. Niedersachsen.

  “A cloudless night would have been helpful.” Monty’s strained voice came out of the dark.

  “For the Germans too,” Bryce said, relieved he didn’t suffer from seasickness, but with the stark reality that this was it, they were on their way, his heart seemed to want to beat its way out of his chest. When he’d first joined the foreign office, he’d envisaged supporting the foreign minister while the inevitable talks went on. Anything he might do would hardly make a significant impact on the war. He relished the opportunity to make a difference, and volunteered for this mission with the SIS, aware it was dangerous. He didn’t have a family to mourn him, and at that stage it seemed unlikely that he and Addie would marry.

  Monty had told him he’d gone on missions for the SIS in the past. And he wanted to hear more about it.

  The boat neared shore. Adrenaline pumped through Bryce’s veins. It was the chance that they might bring it off that was exhilarating. Doing his bit for England heated his blood like wine. He couldn’t see Monty’s face, but beside him, the tension was in every line of his body. “Too late to go back,” Bryce murmured.

  “Oh, is it?” Monty replied. “I’m just escorting you to the island. You can handle it alone from here, can’t you?”

  “No. You may not be a lot of help, but you’re better than no one,” came Bryce’s quick reply as they rose to leave the boat.

  He heard Monty’s nervous chuckle as they prepared to leap ashore.

  Chapter Ten

  Diane’s father appeared devastated but placed the blame entirely on Diana for leaving home to live in London. Her stepmother expressed little sadness for her, which made Addie angry for Diana’s sake. With Star of Venus now closed, and the sad funerals behind them, she and Fran caught the train down t
o Kent. Jim met them at the station with the trap.

  Jim’s cob, Old Fred, ambled down the leafy lanes. They entered through the big wrought iron gates and the trap jingled its way beneath the ancient oaks along the avenue.

  “Is that a house?” Fran asked, her voice hushed.

  “Yes. That’s Langley. Where I grew up,” Addie said. She fought to keep her voice light. So much had happened since she’d left here. Her lightness of spirit and love of life had deserted her. There was so much loss. Papa, Diana, Florence. Would she ever see Bryce again? She swallowed the tightness in her throat. The last time she had seen him, he’d been at pains to reassure her he would be safe. She knew him so well. He couldn’t fool her. Fear had gripped her, tightening every muscle and robbing her of sleep. She was so dreadfully tired.