Page 69 of A Lady's Heart Deceived
Piers shook his head. “No. I was an aide-de-camp—nothing else. I was appointed to serve the prince in a military capacity; and in the few months that I was a part of his entourage, he never treated me as being anything other than a fellow officer.”
He and the prince were not lovers. Then what is the problem?
It was only when Maggie sucked in a desperate lungful of air that she realized she had been holding her breath. “Go on.”
Piers visibly relaxed, letting go of his hair. She could just imagine how fearful he must be. If he’d gotten this wrong, she may have never spoken to him again.
“The fact that there was nothing untoward with the relationship between me and the Prince of Orange hasn’t, however, stopped some in the British Army from trying to make up rumors and circulate them. I have told you about Major Hall, under whose command I currently serve.”
“Yes, the officious one.”
“He had my name mentioned in dispatches from the battle of Waterloo as being incompetent, which in army terms means I am a coward. I was fighting alongside his men when the Prince of Orange suddenly decided he wanted to go off and engage the enemy elsewhere. I followed. Major Hall was furious. When the prince took a musket ball in the shoulder, I had to take him away to receive urgent medical attention. By the time I got back, the battle was all but over.”
“And you had made an enemy.”
“Yes. In Major Hall’s opinion, the only reason why I would have gone after the prince was because he and I were involved with one another. The real reason, of course, was because it was my job to help the prince.”
“Have you tried to speak to Major Hall?”
Piers sighed. “It’s not that simple. There are deep prejudices within some men, and Major Hall seems to think that if the prince can’t be punished for what the major considers to be an unnatural act, then he is going to make it his business to find someone who can be held to account. When I returned to England, I was shocked to discover I was placed under his command at the Horse Guards.”
“And this Major Hall has taken it upon himself to make your life a misery ever since.”
Piers’s explanation went a long way to filling in the gaps which had sat in Maggie’s mind.
“I take it that is one of the reasons why Lady Dinah kept up the pretense of the two of you still being betrothed?” she replied.
If Piers had a fiancée waiting in the wings, it would make it harder for any accusations of sexual impropriety against him to stick.
“Partly. Though she doesn’t know about the prince’s private relationships. Lady Dinah agreed to keep things quiet because we were both concerned how a failed engagement would reflect on the two of us. Major Hall’s battle report has never been a secret; nor has the fact that I am still in the army. If Lady Dinah jilted me, then society would naturally think she believed me to be a coward. That the reports were true.”
Now Maggie understood Piers’s frightening dilemma. Her doubt over him, and why he hadn’t dared to lay with her the previous night, was all too painfully clear. It wasn’t a case of not wanting, but a case of not daring.
“And you think that because the army is still holding the threat of punishment over your head that you are not in a position to take on a wife. Is that it?” He was keeping her at arm’s length because he was afraid of what the military might do to him.
“You deserve to have someone who is able to be your husband in every sense of the word. My current predicament precludes me from being that man. Maggie, if there was a way out of this mess, I would gladly take it. I’ve wasted two years of my life thinking I would get fair justice.”
It was tempting to offer him her sympathy. But hugs and soft kisses wouldn’t do anything to remedy the situation. This problem called for action. They had to come up with a plan.
He should have known by now that she was a woman always ready to help solve a problem. Maggie’s mind moved at a fast clip, figuring out their next move. Of how the two of them could come up with a way to get Piers out of this mess.
Piers didn’t deserve to be stuck in the army—left in limbo while powers unseen decided his fate. It was time to set her own needs and wishes to one side and think of what she could do to help him.
“Let us forget about last night. Everything that was said and done doesn’t matter. All that is important is finding a way to stop the army from further punishing an innocent man,” she said.
Piers grabbed a hold of Maggie and pulled her roughly into his arms. “I will never forget last night. Nor will I take back my declaration of love. You have no idea how hard it was for me not to make you mine. All I wanted was you. You were right there, all warm and willing. So damn lovely. It took every ounce of my strength not to give in and take you. The only thing that stopped me was the fear that in doing so, I was possibly going to ruin your life. If I face a court-martial and I am found guilty, I could be transported to the colonies—or even worse.”
Maggie fisted her hands and lay them on his chest. “Jonathan was right; you are your own worst enemy. Piers, you need friends. Powerful people who are on your side.”
Raising her head, she met his gaze fully. She had to make him understand just how determined she was, how stubborn. “My uncle is the Duke of Strathmore. My father is the Bishop of London. You must appreciate the sort of clout my family is able to wield. Believe me, it’s more than just getting me in the front door of the Horse Guards. And if that isn’t enough, I have my Cousin Will who I can call upon to take up your cause.”
“Will?”
“Yes Will, or Sir William Saunders, as he is shortly to be known.”
“The spy?”
Maggie nodded. “Next week, the Prince Regent is coming out of official mourning for Princess Charlotte for one special public engagement. He is going to knight my cousin for services to king and country. If anyone can get you out of this pickle, it is Will.”
