Page 56 of Beloved Beast

“Yes, yes, get on with it,” Luke said.

Marcus cleaned the wound with alcohol, and using needle and thread, looped large stitches through the skin. Gillian bit her lower lip as she watched. “You’re not going with Miss McKinnon?” Marcus asked as he placed a thick wad of gauze over the laceration and bound it.

“No.”

That single word caused her heart to cramp in pain. Logically she understood it, as they had discussed it at length. But to hear it spoken so emphatically hurt more than she bargained for.

“My name is Gillian Browning,” she replied. Luke gave her a warning look, but she shook her head to dismiss it.

“Fine, we can leave right away…” Marcus said.

Luke shook his head as he pulled his tattered shirt down covering the bindings. “Give me the keys.”

“I think not. I’ll drive, that way we can talk on the way. I want to know more about what’s going on, and how it is you are here. Besides, you’d better not, considering your injury.” Marcus headed for the door. “I’ll collect my coat and keys.”

He left the room, and Gillian sat on the arm of the chair then embraced Luke. He laid his head against her shoulder. “Can we trust him?” she murmured.

“We’ve no choice, my love. Especially since you told him your real name.”

She kissed his cool cheek. “Promise one thing. Get to know your brother. You don’t have to bother with the rest of the Maddens, but I see something in him. I know it’s daft to come to such a conclusion already, but I believe he is worthy of your friendship. And perhaps your trust. It’s the reason I told him my name. Deep down, I believe I do trust him after all.”

“You may be right. We will see how it goes.” He pulled her to him and kissed her hard. “I do love you, Gillian. Never doubt it. And I am proud of how you have handled all this.”

Marcus returned, and Gillian flushed to be caught in such an intimate embrace. Luke slowly stood as he grasped the arm of the chair to steady himself. Once upright, he grabbed his jacket and trench coat and walked tall and straight to the doors leading outside. A remarkable recovery. As Reed Parker’s notes predicted. “If you will both bring the luggage.”

By the time they loaded the car and set out toward Brighton, it was already ten minutes past six. The sun had completely set and the sporadic rumbles of thunder had moved off. The late winter/early spring storm amounted to nothing.

Luke sat in the front passenger seat while Gillian sat in the back. Of course it was a Rolls-Royce, probably from the late thirties. Going by the plush richness of the car and the study, the Maddens were wealthy. But then, so was Luke. She listened to the men’s conversation.

“Can’t you go any faster?” Luke demanded.

“I am already driving over the speed limit. Have no worries, I’ll have you there before seven. The docks you say?” Marcus asked.

“Yes. We’re being met there. You lost part of your leg about a year ago at Dieppe?”

Marcus glanced quickly at Luke. “How in hell did you know?”

“I keep tabs on my family. Will you be returning to university to continue on with your studies? Medicine, was it?”

Marcus didn’t answer right away. “Medicine and Science. Return? I don’t know. It’s been a damned long recovery and my head is not in the right place. It’s why I came to the estate, to be alone. I suppose to brood and feel sorry for myself. It’s a Madden trait, it is not?”

A brief chortle escaped from Luke’s throat. “I suppose it is. You’ll know when you are ready to move forward. Maddens are also not quitters.”

“Will you tell me how it is you are here, looking as if you haven’t aged a day?” Marcus asked, his voice quiet and serious. “Though I may not outwardly show it, I am in complete shock. I find it hard to take in.”

“Another Madden trait, hiding emotions. I can’t talk about it now, but know this: you cannot tell anyone else in the family I exist. It will have to remain a secret between us. If you can agree to those terms, then I will tell you my tale. But only after I feel complete trust exists between us.”

Marcus nodded. “Fair enough. Another reason for believing you: Several years back during one of my trips home from school, I visited the vicarage and had a look at the records. I found a marriage listing between you and a Glenna Parker. It is after your death date. At first, I thought it shoddy bookkeeping, but something told me to rip the page from the book and take it. It is hidden in my safety deposit box. The date is correct, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It is.”

Marcus exhaled. “God. Anyway, it is too bad the family is not to know. William, our brother and the current Earl of Whitestone, is an honorable man. His oldest son and namesake now carries the courtesy title of Viscount Ravenswood. My brother has been a real support during my convalescence. I think you would like him. For one thing, he is nothing like our father. And neither am I.”

“Do you remember him much?” Luke asked. “The old earl, I mean.”

“No. He was an elderly man when I was born. Died when I was twelve. All I remember is a bad-tempered, frail man who did not possess much warmth. Not much love between my parents, though I was told he loved his first wife, your mother. You were not to be spoken of, that’s for certain.”

“My father knew I lived,” Luke revealed.