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gloved hands held before her, she moved them restlessly, clearly in distress.
    ‘Hal, you should not have come,’ she said on a sob. ‘I know you mean to help me, but if he should see you he will think the worst. I...I cannot explain, but he imagines I have a lover and has demanded the man’s name. If he thought...’ Hallam reached out for her restless hands, catching them in his. ‘Oh, you must not...’ Her voice broke and a tear slid down her pale cheek.
    ‘Tell me, does he beat you?’
    ‘No, of course not,’ she said quickly, but in her agitation her stole had slipped and he saw the dark bruises on her upper arms. He exclaimed wrathfully and touched one gently with his finger, his mouth hardening as she flinched. ‘He did not beat me. He...pinches me when he is...frustrated.’
    ‘The evil brute!’ Hallam bent his head to kiss the bruise. ‘My sweet Maddie. I shall call him out and kill him.’
    ‘You must not,’ she said, her eyes wide with fear. ‘They would arrest you—and you might be tried for murder, even if he did not kill you first.’
    ‘Then I will force him to call me out,’ Hallam said. ‘Or you may run away with me, Maddie. You cannot wish to stay with such a brute?’
    ‘I never wanted to wed him,’ she confessed. ‘He holds my father’s notes and if I tried to leave him he would ruin my family. I cannot bring shame on my mother and sister. My father would bear it, but my family...where would they live? How would my sister ever find a suitor?’
    ‘It is unfair that you should sacrifice everything for them,’ Hallam said, staring at her in despair. ‘So you had no choice—you sent me away for their sakes? You do love me, Maddie. I know you do.’
    ‘No, you must not think it. You must forget me,’ she whispered, throat catching with emotion. ‘I am desperately unhappy, Hal, but I am caught fast in a trap and I cannot escape.’
    He moved closer, looking down at her for a moment before he bent his head to kiss her lips. They parted beneath his and for a moment she allowed his kiss, but then, as his hand slid into the hair at her nape, she froze and moved away, turning her back to him as her shoulders shook.
    ‘I cannot...please, do not waste your life loving me. I can never be the wife you deserve.’ A sob broke from her then, ‘I never wanted to hurt you. Please believe me, Hal. I was forced to wed him and I cannot leave him no matter how I feel...’
    ‘I shall find a way to set you free of him somehow,’ Hallam said. He was reaching out to touch her cheek, but she flinched away when they heard someone call her name and the colour left her face.
    ‘I must go,’ she said and tears stood in her eyes. ‘Please forget me, forget what I just said. You cannot help me. Lethbridge would ruin my family and kill you. Honour demands that I keep the vows I made when I married. I beg you, forget me.’
    Hallam tried to hold her, but she slipped away and walked from the rose arbour into the open garden. He heard the sound of voices and knew that she was speaking to her husband. The count’s voice was harsh and it took all Hallam’s will-power to stop himself from rushing out to confront him, but Maddie had begged him not to and he could not make a scene here.
    He must seek Lethbridge out another day and see what could be done to help Maddie. If she would go with him, he would take her away to France or Italy. He had little fortune and she had none, but he would find a way of supporting them both somehow. His estate might be sold and perhaps he could become a soldier of fortune, offering his sword to any that would pay.
    Yet she’d spoken of honour and her family’s ruin. It was foolish of her to think of honour when her husband was so cruel to her, but her family’s ruin was another matter. He could do little for them and he knew that she would never walk away from her unhappy marriage if it meant their downfall.
    The only way was to force a quarrel on Lethbridge. If the count