Chapter Nine: Blood Moon by Rosaline Saul
MAGGIE WAS EXPECTING to get a word for word account of everything they had eaten, said, and done at Manor Burke, but her parents said surprisingly little about it, apart from acknowledging that the house was incredibly beautiful.
Maggie felt as if she really wanted to know more. “What did you think of Beatrice,” she asked eventually.
“Beatrice?” Cathy echoed.
“The young girl,” John reminded her. “She was noticeably quiet. I think she was a little disappointed you were not there, as indeed, they both were.” He looked at her concerned. “How are you feeling this morning, Maggie?”
Maggie felt a flush of embarrassment. “Much better, thank you, Father. I think I will go to London today to start my search for another position.”
“And I think you need a couple more days of rest,” her father said firmly.
“Everything has worked for the best,” Cathy added softly to no one in particular.
Later that morning she decided to do some light work in the garden. At first, her father physically prevented her from leaving the house, but she eventually convinced him she was feeling a whole lot better and she just had to get some fresh air. She promised him she would not overdo the physical exertion. She needed to be busy. If she had to stay in bed again, she would go insane. Maggie seethed as she pulled at the stubborn weeds in the vegetable garden. A man who was planning to marry, even if it was a marriage of convenience, should not be conducting a flirtation with another girl as Joseph was doing with her. The worst part of her raging anger was her certainty that Joseph knew exactly the effect he had on her. His caresses. His soft kisses. It was a subtle form of torture.
She saw a movement from the corner of her eye and turned her head a little in that direction. She pushed her dishevelled hair away from her face, narrowing her eyes against the sun. Her hand stayed hanging in mid-air and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Joseph Burke was a couple of feet away from her. His face was without any expression. For a moment it felt as if she had turned to stone.
When he reached her, she managed to ask accusingly, “How did you know where I am?”
His brows lifted. “I went to your house, knocked on the door and requested to see you by name. Your stepmother was kind enough to inform me where you are. She gave me a message for you. It is time for you to come back to the house. You promised your father you would not overdo it.”
Maggie lifted her chin. “How much longer do you intend to maintain this persecution?”
“I am sorry you regard my attention in that light.” His voice was deceptively calm. “I am merely anxious to ensure you are fully restored to good health.”
“I am very well, as you can see for yourself. If that was indeed all you needed to know, I shall be glad for you to take your leave.”
“No,” he said. “That is not my only reason for being here. I have come here to offer you a job.”
“A job? You want me to work for you?”
“Not exactly.” He paused. “I believe Beatrice told you about Madame Anne, her older companion?”
“Yes, she did mention her briefly. What of it?”
“She is no longer part of my household,” he said curtly. “It was wrong of me to think a woman of her stature would be good company for a girl so young.” He smirked. “She was not even a good prison guard.”
“And that is what you are looking for? A better guard?”
“No, no.” He made a dismissive gesture. “That would be futile. What I want is a companion for Beatrice, someone she can like and trust. Someone, she can confide in. She discussed her situation with you, so you seem to be the obvious choice.”
“I do not think so.” Maggie shook her head. “I am a tutor, not a chaperone.”
“That is even better. I have business associates and she will have to meet these people occasionally. She needs to be educated.”
She could not believe they were having this conversation. That he even had the sheer arrogance to offer her such a position.
He asked, “Will you be capable of doing this?”
Maggie felt anger rise from somewhere deep within her. “Capable, I am. Willing, I am not.”
“I see. I again apologise for having you arrested. For assuming you were guilty. Can we not move past that?”
“Beatrice is not my concern,” Maggie said obstinately.
“Then may I ask that she becomes one of your concerns. She does need you.”
Maggie snorted, not very ladylike. “This is ridiculous.”
“What is so laughable?”
“This entire situation.” Maggie felt the sudden need to escape from him. A strange fear was threatening to overwhelm her. She lifted her hand and wiped beads of perspiration from her forehead. “I am feeling a little faint. You must excuse me; I have to get home.”
He reached for her. “Allow me to escort you.” There was a hint of laughter in his voice.
“I can manage,” she said.
Joseph clicked his tongue reprovingly, as he stepped closer to her. “Come.”
Maggie tensed as his hand came up to her elbow, anticipating the feel of his fingers against her skin. She was terrified of her own reaction.
He grasped her elbow firmly, yet gently and started steering her in the direction of the house.
When they reached the house, he said briskly, “Relax. Your ordeal is at an end.”
“Thank you,” Maggie said in a forced voice.
He chuckled amusedly. “Do not take civility too far, my dear. I know you would like to send me to hell.”
Maggie wanted to smile, but she did not dare. “That is not the least of it.”
“Just the same.” He looked at her with a serious expression. “I would like you to consider my offer of employment.”
Maggie looked up at him in hateful silence.
“Has anyone ever told you hiding your feelings are not one of your greatest assets?” He asked.
“You are familiar with the reason for my recent dismissal from my previous employment?” The look on his face confirmed he knew. “And your recent behaviour toward me proves I will be walking into the same situation, this time with my eyes wide open.”
“You have nothing to fear. It will not happen to you in my household and I am prepared to pay you handsomely to secure your services.”
“I cannot be bought.”
“And you cannot work for free.”
Maggie bit her lip. “Do you not see how it is? You and I will never be able to co-exist.”
He said clipped, “We would not have to co-exist. I am employing you as a companion for Beatrice, not myself. My interests keep me away from home for extended periods of time, so we will seldom meet.”
“You will risk me telling Beatrice you do not care about her.”
“If she believed you, she will be wrong. I care for her deeply.”
“I could encourage her not to be forced into getting married to someone she does not want to marry. To rather marry the one, she loves.”
He paused for a moment. “I was hoping you could change that.”
“How can I do that?”
“By bringing her to a more accepting frame of mind. By getting her to realise that getting married could make her happy.”
She gasped. “You want me to turn a young girl into a submissive wife,” Maggie asked in outrage.
He smiled. “Exactly.”
She started to turn away from him. “It cannot be done.”
“I think it is entirely possible.”
“But you are so wrong,” he said softly. “As my wife will discover for herself once her nights are spent in my arms.”
Maggie looked down at the grass beneath her feet. She felt an unfamiliar emotion of envy and regret tremble inside her, and it confused her.
“You know so little about me, yet you are so quick to judge,” he said grimly.
Maggie retorted, “Touché. It seems we have something in common.”
He shook his head as if to clear his mind. “Do you only have the one reservation of why you cannot accept my offer?”
“No.”
“Sadly, Beatrice will be disappointed. It was her idea I offer you the position.”
“Please tell her I am sorry.”
“I hope you will tell her yourself. Please do not let the way you dislike me prevent you from being her friend. She would really like you to visit her.”
Maggie swallowed. “I do not think it will be such a good idea.”
He lifted his hands in an exasperated gesture. “Why not? I have accepted your decision, so what harm can it do?”
“I may not be around for much longer. After all, I need to earn a living.”
He looked confused. “And yet you will not take work when it is offered?”
Maggie was not entirely sure if it was his arrogance or what it was about him, but she had to get away. When he was talking about marriage, he seemed so sincere, so why would he marry for money? “You will have to excuse me now.” She turned away from him.
He took two steps around her and stood between her and the house. For a moment, he just looked down at her. “I have made you angry,” he said apologetically. “You are afraid of me, and it is not my intention.” He took her unresisting hand and raised it to his lips. “Good day, Maggie. I hope someday our paths will cross again.”
Maggie was really starting to feel a little dizzy. She should have listened to her father. Being out in the sun all morning could not be good for her recovering body.
“Should you change your mind about the job I offered, let me know. I will send a coach for you.”
Maggie snatched her hand away from him. “Good day, Count Burke.”
She turned and walked with her head held high toward the house with its wildflowers growing in abundance in the garden in front, creating a picturesque image of peace and harmony.
Continue reading Chapter 10/17
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