“Lord Tipton did this? He bound a gentlewoman?” Dr. Perth’s voice was incredulous. The doctor studied her wrist and turned it over, gently touching the raised areas. “These are deliberate injuries, lass.”
“Are you saying Lord Tipton did this to you?” Rage gripped him and he clenched his fists.
Max could not miss the stubborn set of her chin. After a moment of silence, she nodded slowly, keeping her face turned away from the two men.
Cold anger surged through his body. Max fought it down. If he had learned nothing else in service to the Crown, it was to get all the information before reacting. There were a lot of questions, and he gave a silent prayer that Maggie would cooperate. She could be stubborn, especially with him. He would let Perth ask the questions. He trusted Perth’s instincts and his uncanny ability to get information from people. He had served with Max under Wellington at Ligny, and he had grown to rely on him. Max trusted Perth’s medical expertise. There were none better.
Perth glanced at Max and nodded subtly. “Lady Tipton, is there anything else you can tell us? Ye mentioned to me earlier ye were afraid of a man ye had seen in your parents’ home. What can you tell us? Why were you there? Did you recognize the man?” He peppered the questions at her, but in a slow, easy manner, softened by his burr.
Wide-eyed, Maggie bobbed her head. “Nash Slade—he is my uncle’s man. I saw him meet with my uncle several times before he sent me…away.” Her voice was throaty. “I believe he was going through my father’s library.”
“What the devil was…?” Max stopped mid-sentence when Perth coughed. Restraining himself was going to only get harder.
“Did you see what he was doing?” The doctor’s inquiry was calm and temperate.
“Pulling books from my father’s library shelves. He’d open them up and toss them.” Her eyes rimmed with tears. “Please don’t let that man find me,” she pleaded in Max’s direction.
Perth looked at Max. “He could’ve been looking for something.” He looked closely at Maggie. “I need to ask, did this man harm you?”
Maggie shook her head warily. “No. My dog took off after him, and I fell following him. Once before, he tried to kill Shep in a fit of rage, and I was afraid I would lose my pup. So, I grabbed the fire poker and ran after them.” She turned to Max. “I tried to stay hidden, but Shep is very protective and would not stay still. He does not let men come near me. Except for you.” She smiled weakly. “He growls when any man comes near me, but he especially hates Slade.”
Max could not ignore a tingle of pride about Maggie and the poker. The two of them used to have fake sword fights. For Maggie, it had been great fun. But he had always wanted her to know how to defend herself, and it was a way to do it without alarming her. And he was not surprised about the dog. “Yes, he clung to you from the moment we found him. You were inseparable. You risked your own life to save him…ultimately both our lives.” He smiled for a moment, unable to disguise the admiration he felt for her generous nature. But then he turned serious. “Please continue. Tell us what happened, Meg.”
“Mr. Slade kicked Shep into the air. I hit him with the poker, and he grabbed me and threw me down the front steps. But Shep cried out. I know he hurt him. That is why I need you to help him.”
Recalling the vertical jumps, Max picked up her hand and turned it over, gently rubbing it with a smile. “Shep is doing fine, but Dr. Perth will examine him.” Max nodded to Perth, who acknowledged the gesture with a quick nod of his own.
“Yes, I had a quick look, but I assure you that I will finish assessing your dog,” he said, a meaningful look in his eyes. “But first, I need to know a bit more about your health. Ye have many injuries and they look recent. How did ye get them?”
Max could no longer contain the emotion in his voice. “Did he…did he accost you…in any other way?”
She squeezed her eyes closed and whispered, “No. My husband did. Fergus demanded my obedience, and when he was not satisfied, he…punished me.” Her voice choked out the last words.
Silence hung over the room for what seemed an eternity.
Maggie swiped at the loose hair hanging down her forehead and looked up at Max. “I am so…sorry about what I did to you, Max. But Uncle Silas betrothed me to Lord Tipton, and he made me leave immediately.” Tears poured from her eyes.
The doctor dabbed an ointment on her wrists and began wrapping them. “Did your husband follow you here?”
Max wanted to know too. His clenched fists itched to grab the man’s neck. The ache in his heart told him that all had not been as he once believed. Was Meg forced away? Guilt washed over him for having doubted her. Still, it would not change the circumstances. She was married, no matter how it had happened. Tipton was her husband, not him.
Shep burrowed closer to Maggie, and she gently pet his head. “I truly do not know.” She fell silent. “I tried to protect myself. I pushed him away, and he fell out the balcony window.” Her admission was so low, it was almost whispered.
“What?” both men responded together.
“Fergus came home that night from drinking and whoring and beat me. It happened whenever he was drunk. I was so upset over… I was upset. He tied a rope to my wrists and tried to bind me to the bedposts, but I fought him this time. I shoved him. The balcony door was open, and he fell backward onto it. I think he may have gone over the side. I did not take the time to look. I opened the door,
