Authors: Cheryl Howe
“May I remind you, Major Fitzgerald, that my brother will soon be
the Earl of Westhaven
, and our son’s greatest patron
.
Not to mention the man who shall introduce our girls to London society and provide the proper dowry for smashing marriages for all three of them
.
Nothing we ask of him will be too much for my dear brother to accommodate.”
Rand released him, practically throwing him to the polished hard-wood floor
.
“How about letting a confessed murderer go free
?
He didn’t deliver then, did he?”
Darien rubbed his arm and looked at Lily
.
“I didn’t let him go free
.
He escaped
.
And Rand will have to do a hell of a lot more arm twisting if you expect me to pony all those girls of yours to an endless stream of balls.”
“I wasn’t murdered, Father, and right now, all I want to do is forget that I ever woke up.”
Lily stiffened and tried valiantly to blink back tears. She quickly turned to the curtains and fussed with the blinds
.
Rand glared at Darien and motioned with his head toward the door
.
Unfortunately, Darien’s company wasn’t any more welcome outside Robert’s room.
Arianna sat on a padded bench
.
Glaring light from the dozen floor
–
to
-
ceiling windows showed her face swollen and dappled red, but her eyes were at least dry
.
Her mother sat beside her with a firm hand on her shoulder, as if she were holding the girl in place.
“Robert would have been murdered if not for the will of that lass.
”
Rand nodded to Arianna, then turned back to Darien
.
“If I catch that Jacobson fellow, and I am not done hunting for him by any means, I intend to kill him.
”
Major Fitzgerald marched over to Arianna and her mother to gallantly bow
.
“Thank you, Miss Maddox
.
Our family is truly in your debt
.
I shall always be at your disposal if you have need of me.
”
Arianna nodded but her eyes brimmed with
fresh
tears and her lip wobbled
.
Rand gave Darien one last significant glance then strode down the hall.
Dear God
.
Perhaps he should just return immediately to Ivy
.
He needed her more than ever
.
But first he must know how Arianna truly felt about his daughter
.
And Ivy
.
B
ecause a part of his mind had not accepted that she had a right to leave and if he could get this chit to help him
…
“May I speak to Miss Maddox alone
?
I need to return to the earl’s bedside at once.”
“Perhaps, I should stay,” said Mrs. Maddox softly
.
“It’s been such a harrowing day.”
“No, Mother
.
Mr. Blackmore and I should speak alone.”
Mrs. Maddox patted her daughter’s hand, then found her way down the long hall and disappeared down the massive staircase
.
Arianna stared at him coldly
.
Darien dare not sit in the narrow space beside the girl.
Curse it all
.
He remained standing, towering over her like the threatening ogre she
most likely
expected him to be.
“You can accept Melody as your own?”
h
e blurted out, just getting to the bloody important part.
“What of Ivy
?
What of
two nights ago
?” she said through clenched teeth.
“What of
two nights ago
?
I don’t know of anything
of
significance
that occurred
two nights ago
.
”
Darien cleared his throat, wanted to tell her bluntly that he didn’t care who she bedded, but stopped himself
.
“Miss Maddox, Arianna, I did not make this unholy alliance but I find I must carry it out, as do you
.
We are both sacrificing much.”
“I’m sacrificing everything.”
“I would not stand in the way between you and Robert
.
In fact, I encourage the relationship
.
I’ll question no child you bear
.
Not even if it’s a boy.
”
Darien said the last on a bright note though he was sure she could glimpse the agony in his eyes
.
“How convenient that you two are already blood relatives.
”
Her sneer proved she didn’t intend to mimic his false enthusiasm for a miserable turn of events. “Family gatherings will be so enjoyable
.
Would you please pardon me, Lord Blackmore
?
I find I’m unwell.”
She stood abruptly
.
What the hell did he do
?
What other husband would be so accommodating
?
She could have Robert, but he would likely lose Ivy forever this time
.
He did not move out of her way, but blocked her path
.
“You never answered my question
.
About Melody?”
“Of course, I shall claim Melody as my own
.
Love her as my own,” Arianna said fiercely
.
“For Robert
.
Because he asked me to and he’s too weak for me to argue with at the moment.
”
Arianna’s voice broke and she struggled to contain herself
.
“And for Ivy
.
Not for you.
”
She turned on her heels and sprinted down the hall
.
Her feet thudded on the wooden steps, echoing through the cavernous mansion
.
How many times would he be hearing that in the next few decades
?
“Thank you very, very much, brother.
”
Darien stomped down the hall in the other direction, allowing himself to give in to a good fury
.
He found the servant’s stairs and took them two at a time
.
The door of his father’s study loomed before him in record time
.
He burst through the door and went directly for the decanters lining the side table.
Darien spotted the bottle he’d sampled from before and poured a healthy splash into an etched crystal glass
.
He tossed back the liquid, not the least bit relieved by the burn in the back of his throat
.
The glass in his hand felt thick and awkward
.
He studied the crystal
.
The initials PFB were clearly engraved on the front in bold letters
.
His father had kept Philip’s glasses.
“I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going to stop behaving.
”
Lily strode toward him.
Darien blinked, not aware she had even entered the room
.
He held the half-full decanter in one hand, the glass in the other
.
“Why did he do it, Lily
?
That wasn’t Philip, was it?”
“He always preferred the company of men, Darien.”
“No
.
Not that.” He poured a gurgling amount into the glass and drank a huge gulp that watered his eyes
.
“Hang himself.
”
It was both a relief and a horror to say it out loud.
His sister put her arms around Darien
.
“I don’t know
.
I’m not sure we will ever know
.
But I am so proud of you
.
And I think he would be, too.”
Darien gulped the rest of the liquid
.
“I would rather him be bloody well furious with me and standing here with us now.”
“It doesn’t do any good thinking of what can’t be
.
Don’t drink too much of that
.
Please, Darien
.
This situation is difficult for everyone.”
He poured more drink
.
“I must be difficult on occasion.”
“Think of Melody.”
Darien did
,
took a smaller sip and set down the glass
.
He needed to find Ivy but he waited a moment for his sister to leave.
She hesitated
.
“Don’t trouble Robert further
.
He needs his rest.”
“Then I’ll write him a note
.
I must tell him I’m sorry if nothing else.”
“He insists on doing the ceremony
.
Some bargain he’d made with Arianna.”
Darien shook his head and walked over to
the desk in the corner
.
“Than I shall do my best to dissuade him.”
He sat down
, pretending
to search
for pen and paper
.
“I’m off to father’s bedside
.
I’ll send for you if there is a drastic change.”
“Ivy is there with Melody
.
Be kind to the mother of my child and don’t speak of taking our daughter from either of us.”
He could tell Lily wanted to say more but
then
realized now was not the best time
.
She bowed her head and curtsied
.
To him
.
His sister was trained well
.
Darien would have never bowed to Philip, and his brother never would have wanted him to
.
His sister slipped into his father’s adjoining bedroom
.
Darien wasted no time getting to his real purpose
.
He pulled Philip’s letter from his pocket.
D
earest Darien,
It pains me to have to bid you a final farewell in the cold formality of a letter
.
I know you insist that you are unfit for polite society, which is exactly why you shall make such a smashing earl
.
In time, I hope you will
come to
appreciate that the burden I am laying upon your shoulders will be worth the sacrifices you will invariably be forced to make
.
But you shall have your beloved Ivy by your side
,
and I’ve witnessed the pleasure she brings to your life.
Darien tossed the letter to the desk instead of ripping it in half
.
Damn you, Philip
.
Did he not consider what the loss of his only brother would do to him
?
Would he have changed his mind if he
’d known
that his rash decision would tear Ivy along with every ounce of pleasure from his life
?
Darien carefully picked up the letter, knowing nothing written there would ever satisfactorily answer his questions
.
But, by God, he would read every word of his brother’s last message.
You have no idea how I secretly coveted your closeness, convinced as I was that I could never share that type of bond with my
betrothed
.
I have harbored a secret life for far too long
.
But to my surprise, delight and sheer dismay, I have been forced into the light by love
.
The absolute inappropriateness of the match has done nothing to dissuade me of my conviction
.
To that end, I am willing to give up everything, my life, my family, my very identity
.
But there is one thing that I absolutely cannot give up, and that is my beloved
.
There are those that will slander us,
condemn
us in the most brutal terms.
We have both been threatened, as you will
no doubt
hear in lurid detail
.
His name is Collin Jacobson, a horse breeder from Scotland
.
Please don’t feign
shock,
my
dearest
little brother
.
I expected as much from our father, but not from you
.
I will post this letter when we
have
cross
ed the border into Scotland
.
There is no use in coming after me, Darien
.
No doubt Father has already concocted the story of my demise and now must face his horror at having you as his heir
.
Maddox will be a bother
,
but I know something he’d rather not reveal, so don’t let him intimidate you,
as if that were possible.