Benedict's Challenge (Regency Club Venus 3) Read online

  Chloe had no idea how much time had elapsed since then, nor the reason she was currently lying in a comfortable bed in one of the guest bedchambers at Winter House wearing only a night rail.

  Oh God, did that mean someone had removed her clothes? That they had seen—

  “I am the one who carried you up to this bedchamber and undressed you,” Benedict, seated in the chair beside the bed, softly answered the panic he could now see flitting across his guest’s expressive face.

  Eyelids few wide again as she looked at him with those deep and mesmerizing blue eyes.

  Anger burned within him when he saw the fear in their depths. “I will not harm you, nor will I allow anyone else to do so,” Benedict stated gruffly.

  Some of her terror faded, but it did not go away completely. “How long have I been here?”

  “Only since this morning,” he answered. “You seemed more in need of warmth and sleep than occupying a bed in the infirmary I keep for my patients at the back of this house. Although I have applied salve and dressings where necessary,” he added briskly. “My housekeeper has also been keeping a broth warmed and ready for you to eat once you were awake enough to enjoy it.”

  Chloe was aware that there were several things His Lordship had missed out of that explanation.

  Firstly, Benedict Winter did not ask how she came to be at his home at all this morning, in need of warmth and sleep.

  Secondly, he did not enquire as to how she had come by the injuries that had needed his attention.

  He had also made reference to having an infirmary at the back of this house. If that was the case, then why had he chosen to bring her into his home and have his housekeeper stand in readiness to provide her with hot broth?

  “I warn you against attempting to think up some lie to tell me in regard to your condition,” he now stated bluntly. “I may not know your name as yet, but I know exactly where you were residing until a week ago. And with whom,” he added in a hard voice. “Look at me,” he demanded when Chloe’s gaze shifted sideways. “What is your connection to Lord Gordon?”

  She swallowed round the sudden lump that had formed in her throat. “Might I please have some water to drink?” She hoped that was what was inside the jug on the side table, a glass beside it, both just temptingly out of her reach.

  “Of course.” Lord Benedict poured some of the water into the glass. He moved to place his arm about her shoulders as he helped her sit up enough to be able to drink it.

  The water tasted like the purest nectar to Chloe’s parched throat.

  She also became totally aware of the strength of the man standing beside her, and could breathe in his light cologne and male musk.

  “I am still waiting for an answer,” Lord Winter demanded after he had gently helped her to once again lie back against the pillows.

  Chloe stared at him, not wanting to admit she even had a connection to such a monster as Lord Gordon.

  Winter sighed his impatience with her silence. “How old are you?”

  “Nineteen.”

  Yet another young woman aged nineteen, the same age as the missing niece Gabriel was now searching for. “Where were you born?” Benedict demanded.

  She blinked at the fierceness of his tone. “Ireland. My mother was Irish, my father English,” she added when he raised one dark brow in a demand for further information.

  “You do not have an Irish lilt to your voice.”

  She shrugged narrow shoulders. “That is because I was only born in Ireland, at the home of my maternal grandparents, and shortly thereafter, my parents returned to their own home in England. My Irish grandparents have since died, and I never knew my father’s parents,” she added sadly.

  “Nevertheless, you will tell me their names.”

  She looked away. “If you will just return my gown to me,” she murmured, “I will then be able to leave here and—”

  “Your gown is destroyed beyond repair,” Benedict dismissed harshly. “I had to cut it off you so that I might attend to your…wounds,” he explained at her shocked expression.

  Chloe’s heart began beating so fast and loud at the thought of this man seeing those unsightly stripes upon her bottom and the tops of her legs, she felt as if that organ was about to jump out of her chest.

  She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. “Then perhaps I might borrow a gown from a member of your staff so that I can be on my way? Or—or perhaps one of your wife’s gowns she no longer needs or wants?” Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to her that this gentleman could be married. But, as he was probably aged in his early thirties, it should perhaps have done so.

  “I am unmarried.” He instantly put a stop to any more speculation on that subject. “And I have no intention of allowing you to leave me—here,” he corrected harshly, “before I have received a full explanation as to how you came here in this condition, wearing only an inappropriately thin gown against the cold and wet weather outside.”

  Chloe felt another wave of dizziness, one that threatened to sweep her into darkness for a second time today.

  “But first I would like you to tell me your name,” he added in a gentler voice.

  She swallowed. “It is Chloe.”

  Benedict believed that to be another name for the Greek goddess Demeter, patron of new growth and fertility. He was also aware Chloe had not supplied him with a surname.

  “Do you know my name?” he prompted gently when she offered no surname.

  “Doctor Lord Benedict Winter,” she recited in parrot-like fashion.

  His expression was rueful. “I believe Benedict will do.”

  She blinked. “Is such informality allowed?”

  He smiled. “If the only name I have to call you is Chloe, then you may call me Benedict.”

  She swallowed. “I will try to do so.”

  “Good.” He nodded his satisfaction. “I repeat, who is Lord Henry Gordon to you, and why were you living in his household? Do not be afraid.” He placed a hand gently upon her shoulder when Chloe flinched with apprehension. “I will not let anyone take you away from here against your will.”

  She gave a sad shake of her head. “You said that before, but I know it is not a promise you can keep.”

  His jaw tightened. “You would not have come to me at all if you had not believed I could protect you.”

  Her lashes lowered. “I came here because I heard your name that day and had nowhere else to go.” A tear slid from beneath those long lashes and down her pallid cheek.

  Knew of nowhere else to go or had no one else to go to, Benedict wondered.

  But these were questions that would have to wait for another time. The immediacy of assuring Chloe of her continued safety was paramount. “I have very powerful friends, in both high and low places,” he added the latter ruefully.

  As Gordon had accused, Benedict had long been a friend of the Prince Regent, and Prinny was the highest power in the land. Jimmy Brown was now also Benedict’s friend, and he knew that Jimmy had been given his beating the previous week because he acted as a Robin Hood to those he believed to be under his care: London’s poor and those unable to help themselves. Benedict was aware Jimmy now included Chloe in that protective care.

  Indeed, even now, Jimmy had his cohorts standing by waiting for the instruction to seek out Lord Henry Gordon and ensure that the man received as many painful blows to his over-bloated body as this young lady had stripes upon her slender bottom and thighs.

  Not that Benedict had allowed Jimmy to see those stripes, but Jimmy’s admission regarding his own violent past ensured the younger man could guess at their severity. Nor had Jimmy shared knowledge of Chloe’s injuries with his friends. The younger man was, Benedict had learned, both discreet and mindful of a lady’s reputation. All Jimmy had needed to know to offer Chloe his protection was that a defenseless woman had been subjected to a horrific beating.

  Benedict knew that Jimmy would give permission for his friends to release the fullness of their
retribution upon Lord Henry Gordon the moment Benedict said he could.

  For the moment, Benedict needed to continue to reassure his guest as to her safety here, after which he would ensure she was fed so as to start regaining her strength.

  He had been deeply shocked at how thin she was once he had removed all her clothes. So slender, in fact, it appeared as if the slightest breeze might carry her away from him.

  Something Benedict could certainly not allow to happen.

  This young woman—Chloe—had haunted his thoughts and dreams since the moment he first saw her. He had no intention now of allowing her out of his sight again until he knew exactly what Lord Henry Gordon was to her and why the older man had injured her so cruelly.

  “We will talk of this again once you are feeling stronger,” Benedict reassured.

  Because Benedict fully intended making it his mission in life to discover who Chloe was and how best she might be removed from Lord Gordon’s home for good.

  Chloe’s first thought, once she had eaten as much of the hot broth and fresh bread and butter as she was able, was that she now needed clothes so that she could leave this house and the people living here. Most especially Lord Benedict.

  She had not been thinking clearly this morning, only determined to make good her escape from Gordon House when the opportunity arose to do so. Otherwise, she would have known better than to come to Winter House. Once Lord Gordon discovered where she was, and she had no doubt he would do so eventually, the older man would take delight not only in punishing her but also in ensuring Lord Winter was brought to task for having helped her. Lord Gordon might even accuse the younger man of kidnapping her, a crime for which there was no doubt a hefty prison sentence.

  She must leave here—

  “Are you feeling well enough to travel, do you think?”

  Chloe turned her startled gaze upon Lord Benedict as he quietly entered the room and closed the bedchamber door behind him. He had left her alone for a short time to give her privacy after she had assured him she was capable of using the chamber pot behind the screen alone and then feeding herself. “Travel to where?”

  “Surrey,” he answered as he stood at her bedside. “I have an estate in that county. I also have urgent business there in need of my attention, and I thought perhaps you might appreciate a few days of relaxing in the countryside.”

  This man wished her to accompany him to his estate in Surrey?

  The lure of it, the freedom from fear it offered, completely overwhelmed Chloe for several seconds. Indeed, the mere thought of being able to leave London, and Lord Gordon, far behind her, filled her with such relief, it took her several more minutes to remind herself she could not involve Benedict any further in the unhappiness that was now her life.

  “It is very kind of you—”

  “I think once you come to know me better, you will discover that kindness is not a part of my nature,” he drawled dryly. “Indeed, I believe most people, well acquainted with me or otherwise, would claim the opposite to be true.”

  Chloe’s cheeks warmed with indignation on his behalf. “Then they do not know and appreciate you for the kindness I now do.”

  Benedict was momentarily taken aback at the fierceness of the conviction in Chloe’s tone.

  “You took me in,” she continued firmly. “Not just to treat in your infirmary, but to rest within your household. And without knowing a single thing about me other than that I was in need of your assistance.” Her voice grew husky with emotion. “That kindness and generosity of nature means more to me than you can ever know.”

  Possibly, but Benedict wished to know. Indeed, he intended to demand Chloe tell him of her circumstances, most especially how she came to be living in Lord Gordon’s household. He certainly did not see any family resemblance between that portly man and this beautiful and tiny slender reed.

  But Benedict had decided further questions on that subject could wait.

  He had received another letter from his housekeeper in Surrey this afternoon. Nothing of any urgency, but it had reminded him of his responsibilities there. It was not, however, the reason he now wished Chloe to accompany him to Surrey.

  No, that was because of the information relayed to Benedict a short time ago by Jimmy and his friends. Information which required Benedict now urgently remove Chloe from London.

  Jimmy’s cohorts had discovered that Lord Henry Gordon had employed several men to look for Chloe. Rough and violent men Jimmy knew, and had warned were not opposed to committing the occasional murder if they were paid well enough.

  How Lord Gordon came to know such men was of no consequence, nor was Benedict in the least apprehensive on his own behalf regarding these men. He was more than capable of defending himself. But this was not about him, and he did not wish for Chloe to be hurt or injured, physically or emotionally, any more than she already had been.

  As Jimmy was nowhere near recovered enough as yet to return to the hardship of his life in St Giles, Benedict hoped the younger man could be persuaded into coming into the country with them.

  Benedict had also spoken briefly with Julius Soames while Chloe ate. He had explained the situation to his close friend. He had also requested Julius keep an eye on Lord Gordon, and on the men he had hired to look for Chloe, and report to him if Lord Gordon seemed about to visit Surrey any time soon.

  Julius was enough of a friend not to have asked for too many details.

  Which was as well, because Benedict did not have them to give.

  Chapter Four

  Chloe could not believe how much her life had changed in such a short time.

  Her escape from Lord Gordon’s house.

  Locating and then collapsing outside Lord Benedict’s home.

  Waking from her faint to find herself cozily ensconced in a bedchamber inside Winter House.

  Having hot broth and freshly made bread and butter to eat.

  Being allowed to sleep through the night, warm and safe, in that comfortable bed.

  In the morning, after she’d been served a delicious breakfast in bed, a large box had been delivered to the bedchamber by Benedict’s butler. Inside it, Chloe discovered a new gown and undergarments. Not of the same blue silk Lord Gordon always insisted upon Chloe wearing, this gown was a deep violet, which seemed to give her eyes a similar hue. There was also a matching bonnet and cloak, the latter having a warm black wool lining and the same violet silk on the outside. Soft black leather gloves complemented these outer garments.

  A cloak, bonnet, and gloves which Chloe now wore for the carriage journey into Surrey. Seated with her in the carriage was Lord Benedict Winter and a young man who had been introduced to her as Jimmy Brown.

  Chloe had no idea what the relationship could be between the two men when they were obviously so different in circumstance and speech. Although the fact the younger man wore a bandage upon each arm would seem to indicate Jimmy was another of His Lordship’s patients.

  Lord Winter remained mostly silent during the journey, and Chloe appreciated Jimmy’s conversation to fill some of that silence as they traveled farther and farther into the countryside.

  A second carriage had left London shortly ahead of them, conveying both Lord Winter’s valet and the luggage.

  Their own carriage eventually turned down a long driveway, where deer grazed on the grassland either side of them. The large and majestic house at the end of that driveway, with its turrets and two wings off the main house, was beyond anything Chloe had ever seen before, and she could see that Jimmy was equally as awestruck.

  Chloe had lived with her parents in a small manor house, a quarter the size of this one, until their deaths two years ago, after which she had been consigned to the attic of Lord Gordon’s London home.

  The changes in her circumstances now were due to Benedict, as he continued to insist she call him.

  She knew that some might think his silence was due to him being either taciturn or disapproving of his present company. But Chloe had witne
ssed his genuine affection for the irascible Jimmy as the two men chatted with Benedict’s valet this morning while the first carriage was being loaded to go ahead of them.

  She was also completely aware of Benedict’s continued and many kindnesses toward her. Not only had he taken her out of London, well away from Lord Gordon’s reach, but Benedict had told her that one of the trunks being loaded into the other carriage contained more new gowns and clothes that he had purchased for her to wear.

  Benedict might deny it all he wished, but she knew him to be the kindest gentlemen she had ever met.

  The magnetic draw of this man, which had so affected Chloe the previous week she had forgotten everything else and so been caught by Mrs. Tailor as she stared down at Benedict from the gallery, had also returned and deepened the longer they were enclosed in the carriage together.

  He smelled so clean, of pine trees and sandalwood, along with that male and enticing spice which added to his allure. His mere presence made Chloe’s pulse pound and her heart sing.

  “Mrs. Underhill will show you where you are both to sleep,” he informed Jimmy and Chloe once they were all standing in the cavernous marble entrance hall of the house. “You may enter all parts of the house except for the east wing.”

  “Is that where ya keeps ya wife, the mad Lady Winter, locked away?” Jimmy came back cheekily.

  Benedict’s gaze turned icy. “It is enough that you have been told not to go there.”

  “Right. Sorry.” Jimmy looked suitably chastened. “Understood. No goin’ inta the east wing.”

  Benedict instantly felt like an arse for behaving in such a cold and arrogant manner toward his friend. Not that he did not wish both Jimmy and Chloe to heed his warning, but perhaps he could have done it a little more… Kindly was the word Chloe seemed to have assigned to him and his behavior. Benedict could not relate to that description of himself, but he would rather Chloe looked upon him that way than be cowed by his normal arrogance and coldness.