Authors: Nichole Matthews
He flew down the stairs and stormed into the sitting room interrupting a burst of laughter as Aunt Adele,
Piper
,
and Rockwell sat
talking and sipping tea a
fter a long afternoon of
finishing
the
decorations for
their
Christmas
celebration
.
“Parker?” Piper came to her feet as he banged through the doors. “What’s wrong? Is it Poppy?”
She rushed forward to meet him.
He grabbed her hands tightly between his and shook his head.
He needed a moment to gather his wits before he could speak.
“Have you seen Persephone?”
Piper
glanced towards Adele, worry in her eyes. “She said she was going to her room to rest.”
Adele put her teacup down so hard it rattled the other dishes. Her hand flew to her neck, worry evident in her eyes.
Parker
dropped Piper’s hands, holding
up the
crumpled piece of paper
that had been left in his room. “This says she is going after Granville.” He tossed a look at Rockwell. “I have to go after her.” His eyes burned. “He will kill her. She knows too much.”
Piper pressed both fists to her mouth to stifle her frightened cry.
“Dear lord.”
Adele grew
even more
pale, her hand shaking as she brought it to her chest. She raised her head so that her gaze met Parker’s. “Parker
?
”
Parker lifted his hand. “We
wi
ll find her.”
Rock
well paused
long enough to press
a soft kiss across Piper’s cheek. “Saddle the horses.”
“Being done as we speak.”
Adele stood. “Have you checked on Tillie?”
“She is
safe and sound
in the nursery
with Mrs. Collins
,” Parker assured.
Adele’s hand rested atop her heart. “Thank goodness.” She sigh
ed, deep and heartfelt. “Then Persephone
will be returning.”
“If Peyton
should
arrive
with
in the next bit inform
him we’ve gone after Granville
. He will know where we’ve headed
.”
Parker turned to Rockwell. “I’m sending a rider to
Allingham
Park. We
have need of
Hawksley’s
assistance.”
Rockwell
’s
brow furrowed. “Hopefully not.”
“I’ve written to
Hawksley
and so has Piper.” Adele looked up, her face etched with worry. “He was going to visit
Rosebriar
soon
at our behest
.”
Parker leaned down to kiss his aunt’s cheek
, overwhelmed by the unwavering support of his family and friends
. “You’re a godsend.” He managed a small smile. “An interfering
busybody, but a
godsend
, never-the-less
.”
“Bring her home, Parker,” Adele whispered.
***
“Y
ou’ve tracked her where
?” Granville sputtered.
“She’
s been found in Ashford, my lord,” Cooper repeated. “She
’
s a guest of the Marquis
of Ashford
.
She
is staying at
Rosebriar
, his country seat. I gathered that she had been
there
for
some weeks.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,”
Granville muttered under his breath
rubbing
his
forehead. “This can’t be happening.”
“What, my lord?”
Cooper backed up. Granville looked angrier than he had ever seen him before. Cooper’s gut knotted because he was scared to death of this man.
Granville pushed up
from his chair sending it clattering
to the floor,
his eyes wild.
They played me. The bastards played me and I fell for it.
He paced back in forth behind his desk. Then with a growl he sent the contents of the top crashing to the floor with one swipe of his forearm. Papers scattered and ink splatte
red across the spines
of the priceless books lined neatly on the shelves.
Cooper cowered. “My lord?”
“That
bastard Peregrine was here
a
month ago
.”
Rage exploded in Granville’s eyes. He upended his chair as he shot forward.
“Son-of-a-bitch!”
“I-I-I don’t follow, my lord.”
Cooper lift
ed his gaze to Granville, fear evident
in his eyes.
“Do you not know anything?”
An an
gry flush spread quickly down Granville’s
neck and across his cheeks. “Peregrine is Ashford’s brother
, you idiot
!” he said wildly.
“They fucking played me and greedy bastard that I am I fell for it.” Granville walked around his desk and stood in front of Cooper
, laughing
.
Cooper instinctively stepped back
as Granville neared and
backhanded him. His head flew back and he could taste the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.
Granville eyed the line of blood that slid slowly from the corner of Cooper’s mouth and licked his lips. His eyes dilating as irrational pleasure spiked his heart rate. He watched as fear flew into Cooper’s eyes, his throat working furiously to swallow the terror.
Granville reached for the fall of his trousers and pushed Cooper to his knees. Cooper dropped without question. He didn’t want to die.
Granville’s head fell back on his shoulders and his eyes closed as Cooper’s firm lips and wet mouth surrounded his engorged flesh. “Make it better, Cooper.” He groa
ned. “Make it better or else.”
Fear shone brightly in Cooper’s eyes as he looked up from where he knelt. Granville’s fingers threaded tightly into his hair holding him steady.
A Prisoner.
A reluctantly, willing prisoner.
Oh, the grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.
“
M
y father knew there was something unsavory about you, Uncle
.” Persephone pulled
a face, sort of a sneer crossed with wrinkl
ed nose, to convey her disgust. She held
the pistol she’d pilf
ered from Pa
rker’s desk drawer
trained on Granville’s chest, level with his heart
, knowing she stared into the eyes of unadulterated evil
.
She was afraid she would be sick with the fear that ran through her veins
and nearly froze her in place
, but she wet her dry lips and forged ahead. “He knew.” She shivered even with the
fur-lined,
long, sturdy traveling cloak over her shoulders.
She should have asked Parker for help. She should have trusted him with her past.
Even though exhaustion mingled with her fear, s
he forced herself to stand straight
and push back
.
His eyes sparked hatred, but he immediately shuttered them.
“You’re just distraught, Poppet
.” A corner of his mouth tipped up. The power of his voice swept through her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around her body and hide.
She hated him.
She despised him for how weak he made her feel.
She hated all of the
men who gained pleasure from inflicting
pain and humiliation. Their life of privilege and ease not enough to give them peace, they felt it necessary to hurt others for their own amusement.
“Don’t call me that.”
Her heart pounded and cold sweat
trickled between her breasts, but she was careful not to show any outward reaction, but panic curled in her stomach.
After a few slow, deep breaths, she gathered her wits.
He reached out a hand to touch her, his mouth curved in a sneer. “Would you prefer that I call you a harlot?”
He stare
d coldly in her direction
slowly walk
ing
toward her.
She instinctively edged away
, his gaze chilling her right to the bone.
“Do. Not. Touch. Me. Again. Ever.” Her hands shook with the force of her anger; her face flushed bright, her teeth gritted painfully at the evi
lness reflected in his eyes. H
er fist
clenched tighter on the p
istol.
His menacing gaze ran over her slowly, inch by inch.
“Got a little backbone since you’ve been gone, I see.”
She bi
t her lip to hide its tremble, at the same time she searched the darkened room. “I’m surprised to find you alone, Uncle.”
Her heart pounded hard beneath her breastbone.
“I won’t be for long.”
He stepped closer.
A tremor ran through her.
“Don’t come any closer
.” She forced herself not to retreat, to stand her ground
even with the panic wrapping around her and filling her head.
He raised an eyebrow
at her reaction
.
Nothing had ever escaped him. Not a flinch. Not a hitch in breathing. Nothing.
“I’m impressed with
your ability to evade me for so long
a time.” Granville smiled like a snake. “I’ve had men scouring the countryside for you for weeks, months
even
.”
It took all of her strength not the drop her eyes. “
Perhaps if you had found me worthy to expend your own energy and your own time and sought me personally you would have found me.” She looked at his face with an indifference she didn’t truly feel.
“The only thing you bother to expend energy on is your own perverse desires.”
She stood stiffly waiting for him to strike, because he always did. When you least expected it. He
would
lash out and pain would always follow.
“My brother was a weak man.” Granville scowled at her,
his eyes cold,
his nostrils quivering with scorn
.
“He should have sold you to the highest bidder as soon as you came of age.” An icy brittleness layered her uncle
’
s words.
She raised her cold, oddly vacant stare to meet his eyes. “My father was a kind and loving man. He trusted you. He trusted you to be a man of honor.” She paused to draw breath. “He gave you everything you needed and it still was
not
enough.” Persephone’s voice rose higher with each word. “And you are a bastar
d with perverse inclinations
of whom
I am no longer afraid. Without ropes and chains to hold me, are you afraid of me, Uncle?” she control
led her voice, pitching her tone
to sound uncaring of his response
,
steadying the pistol in her hands as best she could
.
Her arms were growing tired with its heavy weight
but she had to persevere
.
“Of course not.” He snorted derisively.
“What was it about me that offended you so?” Her resolve strengthened with each of his disparaging comments.
“Everything about you offends me,” he snarled.
“I will echo your response,”
she said bravely.
“I will expose you as the monster you are.”
He gave a deep laugh.
“You have no proof, Poppet
.”
She cringed at the pet name he had given her.
“I have a daughter,” she replied darkly. “Wh
at other proof do you require
?” s
he asked quietly, her lungs clenched, squeezing out the meager amount of air in them.
“I know for a fact that you have been intimate with more than one man. You on the other hand have no proof the babe is mine.” He flicked his wrists. “It could be the bastard of any number of men.”
Persephone swallowed the bile that rose up in her throat.
“You only know that I’ve been intimate with more than one man because
you
are the one who sold me to the highest bidder
with
less than honorable intentions.
N
ight after night
you tossed
me from man to man
with no regard to my feelings
,
my future
,
or my soul.” She glanced up, with a flash of self-derision. “And you cannot prove that she i
s not,
”
she added.
“
I w
ould
tell the world what you ha
ve done if
the repercussion of your actions
would not harm my daughter. U
nfortunately
,
the
effects
of your actions would fall on her and she would be branded a bastard
forever. I will not have that,
”
she cried out.
“I will not allow you to ruin her life as you
have done
mine.” Sparks flew from her green eyes burning with rage.