The Devil Rogue (36 page)

“You’re the only one I want
.
If nobody tries to stop
me, there’ll be no bloodshed.”

Lady Blackridge
remained quiet during the exchange.

Angela held
out
her hands
in a pleading gesture
.
“T
ell my why
you need me
.
”
She wasn’t
about to go
anywhere with this madman.

He
appeared to think
for a moment, and then snorted, shrugging his shoulders
.
“What the hell
.
I don’t see why not
.
”
H
e
was
in a strange humor
.
“I’ll begin by telling you that
Blackridge
isn’t the honorable savior you believe him to be
.
Didn’t you ever wonder
why
he wanted you so badly
?
Oh, you’re a beautiful woman, just like your mother
was
, but no real gentlema
n would have dishonored you by making an offer of purchase.”

Angela heard Lady Blackridge’s gasp
.
“What are you talking about?”

“Lord Blackridge planned to ruin us both from the beginning
.
You see
, a friend of
Blackridge’s
met his demise in a most unfortunate manner, which he traced back to us
,
or rather
,
me
.
He just assumed you were involved, as well.”

“Who
wa
s this friend?”

“One of your beaus, John Winston.”

Angela sucked in
a
breath
sharply
.
“
You killed him?”

“No, dear, I only blackmailed him
,”
T
he
B
aron said with an impatient sigh
.
“
The two miscreants I hired to rough him up bungled the job
disastrously
, I’m afraid
.
It was quite regrettable.
”

Angela
didn’t see any signs of regret from
T
he
B
aron
.
In fact, he spoke about it in an eerily unemotional way, as though he were detached from it completely.

“
Blackridge’s
scheme was to ruin me financially and you
socially
.
Seems it worked.”

“No!” Lady Blackridge cried
.
S
eeing the devastation
that had to be clearly written
on
Angela’s
face
, she shook her head and said, “Don’t—”

In
that
one
moment, Angela’s heart turned to glass, shattering in
to
a million pieces
.
It had all been a lie
. A
vicious, tearing, heart-ripping lie
.
She
ignored the viscountess,
mustering
the strength to ask, “He’s going to turn you in, then?”

“Incredibly, no, but that’s the least of my worries
.
I’m to answer to your father
for all my past
transgressions
.”

“My father?”

“He’s here, in
London
, and non
e
-too pleased with me
.
You don’t know who he is, do you?”

“No.”

“
Why, he’s king of some small country, which makes you a princess, my dear
.
It’s rather like a fairytale in a sickening sort of way
.
”
T
he
B
aron
’s
expression show
ed
his disgust at the idea.

Her father was a king and she a princess?

Impossible.

Improbable.

Highly unlikely.

Could it be true
?
Suddenly, s
he hated
her
real
father
for leaving her to be raised by this horrible man
. S
he hated Ian for using her
,
for making her fall in love with him when hi
s motive
had been
revenge all along.

A movement in her peripheral vision caught Angela’s attention, just before Mrs. Brown charged in, br
oom in hand
. She
bash
ed
T
he
B
aron o
n the back of the head with a loud
thwack
.
He tumbled forward, dropping his gun
.
It discharged as soon as it hit the floor, the sound magnified by the confines of the room
.
The bullet whizzed past Angela’s right side, barely missing her, striking a vase
.
The ceramic
exploded, sending shards flying in every direction
.
One of the tiny projectiles struck Angela in the forehead, just below her hairline
.
A trickle of blood ran down between her eyes
. T
he indomitable
Lady Blackridge screamed.

All this
occurred
within only a few
second
s
, though it seemed to
Angela
to have happened
in slow motion
.
She blinked her eyes, realizing there was a pile of bodies on top of
T
he
B
aron
.
Phillips, Mrs. Brown,
Mrs. Haversham,
Mrs. Olsen, Rosemary
, and dear, sweet old Connors
,
had all jumped on
Eberly
, and were presently beating the tar out of him
.
The scene would have been
quite
amusing
if she hadn’t been in shock at the moment.

The other servants were standing by with mops, brooms, pans
, and various other implements,
apparently having grabbed whatever was at hand to use as weapons.

“What the bloody hell is going on in here!” Ian’s voice boomed as he rushed into the room
.

When his gaze settled on
Angela, face pale,
body
frozen like a marble statue
,
blood trailing down her forehead,
he was
immediately
at
her side
.

He
lightly gripped
her upper arms
.
“Angela, my love, are you all right?”

Did he just say,
my love
?
His concern seemed genuine, but how could she be sure
?
It no longer mattered
,
not after what he’
d
done
.
Angela didn’t know if she would ever be able to forgive him
.
Without looking at him
,
she said, “I’m fine.”

To l
ook
at him
would only
weaken her resolve.

Producing a snowy white handkerchief,
he
dabbed tenderly at the cut on her forehead
, his fingers trembling slightly
.

Th
e
servants had
successfully
subdued
Eberly
,
who
now
stood with
his arms held behind his back by
Phillips
.
The
once
chaotic sounds of scuffling, cursing, and shouting
were replaced by a hushed silence
as everyone turned toward the stranger who had entered the room.

Angela looked up to see a man dressed in elegant splendor
,
a man with the regal carriage of
royalty
.
She blanched as
the
reality
of it
set in
.
Was this her father?

“My God, ‘Tis my sweet Anna who stands before me!” the man exclaimed, his eyes glistening with unshed tears
.
“Angela,
precious daughter, it is I, your father.”

A dozen sets of eyes shifted from the man to Angela and back again
.
No one dared speak as she mutely gazed upon her true father for the first time in her life
.
He matched Ian in height, but his frame was stockier
, more muscled
.
The only evidence of his age could be found in the streaks of gray
running through
his dark brown hair, and the lines in his face
.
His dark eyes reflected joy, sorrow, and the wisdom of a man well acquainted with the vagaries of life.

What does one say upon meeting one’s father for the first time
?
“Where have you been?” Angela asked
pertly
.

In a tender voice filled with emotion, he answered, “
I’ve been in purgatory, fighting my way back to you, sweetheart
.
Please allow me to tell you the whole story.
”

Feeling an overwhelming need to
be gone
from
Ian’s
hous
e, she made a quick decision
.
“Will you take me with you
,
away from this place?
”

“If that is your wish, certainly,” her father
said
.
H
e
hesitantly
looked from her to Ian.

“Angela,” Ian said in a low, cautionary voice.

Angela directed her attention to Ian
.
“I know what you’ve done
,
what you did for your revenge,” she stated flatly
.
“Even he, pathetic man that he is,” she
said, her chin jerking in Eberly’s direction,
“
d
eserves a fair trial
,
not your medieval notions of retribution.”

Ian moved toward her, his hand reaching out
.
“At least give me a chance to explain
—
”

“I need no explanations!” Angela shouted
, backing away from him
.
It was the first time anyone, even Rosemary, had ever heard her raise her voice in anger
.
“I’ve had enough of lies and deceit
.
I’m leaving with my father
. W
e have much to catch up on
, and he
has much to answer for
.
I’ll send for my things later.”

Remembering she had set Sprinkles down on the sofa when
Eberly
had burst into the room, she
scooped up the kitten
, not wishing to leave him behind
.
She might hate Ian at the moment, but the kitten was the most beautiful gift she’d ever been given.

Ian stood as though carved from wood, his hand dropping to his side
.

Before Angela made
it
through the doorway,
however,
Viola stepped into her path
.
“You must reflect on your decision, little one,” she rasped in her aged voice
.
“Go now with yo
ur father, but remember where your heart truly lies
.
Everything will come together, you will see.”

Viola
grinned. A
mazingly
, she
still had all her teeth
.
She placed her hand on Angela’s arm,
her
fingers looking
like
the twisted roots of an ancient tree
.
“The circle is complete.”
Then she retreated, melting into the background as silently as she’d appeared.