Leo tossed his glass into the hearth, feeling a small sense of satisfaction when the cup shattered and the flames roared to life. “And you think Henry, a man who helped murder his own uncle, is best to carry that title?”
The old man brushed his hand over the back of the chair. “Henry might not be perfect, but he knows what I want, knows how to run this estate, and knows how to hobnob with society. Henry knows how to conform.”
“So that’s it then?” Leo asked, spreading his arms wide.
Samson slipped into the room, closing the door behind him.
“Samson,” Leo said with a nod. “Not only a butler, but a murderer as well?”
“I do what I can, my lord,” the man replied.
Leo laughed and shook his head, but all the while his attention was on Archie’s son. Colin crossed his arms over his chest, looking unconcerned as his gaze flicked from Lord Roberts to Samson.
“What will it be? Something untraceable like poison? Or will it be pistols?”
“Pistols would be easiest at the moment,” Grandfather said, drawing a small gun from his jacket pocket. “The constable can be paid off.”
“Of course he can. Your friends are truly honorable.”
Merda
, he had to find Ella and escape. Where could they have hidden her away?
His grandfather stared unblinkingly at the ground, a moment of silence blanketing the room. Was he actually thinking twice? Taking in a deep breath, he finally looked up at Leo. “It will go quick, Leo, God’s truth. One shot and it will be as if you slept.”
“I’m touched by your generosity. And Colin, will he be lucky enough to get the same treatment?”
“Of course. We’re not monsters.”
Merda
, the old man truly meant what he said. He honestly didn’t believe himself to be a monster. “If this is honorable, civilized society, I think I prefer the jungles.”
His grandfather shook his head, and frowned sadly. “If only you’d stayed there, my boy, this wouldn’t have to happen.”
Before Leo could respond, the old man lifted his arm. Leo stiffened, holding his breath. Beside him, he knew Colin had his fingers wrapped around a pistol hidden under his jacket. Archie’s son met his gaze and gave him a slight nod, as if waiting for Leo’s approval.
Could he do it? Could he give the command to have his own grandfather shot?
“I can’t do it,” Lord Roberts said and dropped his hand, shocking Leo. “Samson.”
“Of course, my lord.” Samson raised his arm. Before Leo had time to respond, the servant’s finger twitched over the trigger.
A blast rang through the room.
Samson’s eyes widened, and he cried out, slumping to the ground.
“Well, that was easy enough,” Colin said, standing. “Who’s next?”
Samson groaned from the floor, holding his leg where the blood seeped from his wound.
Lord Roberts faced Archie’s son, his eyes narrowed. “You honestly think you can leave this estate unharmed? The place is surrounded. Right now men are running toward the sound of your gunfire.”
Colin grinned and snatched up Samson’s pistol. “Well then, we’ll have to make sure we leave before they get here.”
“Where is she?” Leo snapped, in no more mood for small talk.
His grandfather’s gaze jumped to him. “Who?”
“Ella, where is she?”
The old man looked down his nose at Leo. “I haven’t the slightest idea. Henry locked her away somewhere.”
Leo grabbed his grandsire by the collar and jerked him forward. “Tell me where she is. Now.”
His thin lips curled into a look of disgust. “Honestly, Leo, her? Dear God, she’s barely more than a peasant.”
“Where is she?” Leo roared.
“I don’t know.”
The door flew open, and a wide-eyed maid stumbled inside. “My lord. Fire.”
His grandfather jerked from his grasp, Leo obviously forgotten. “What? Where?”
The maid clenched her hands together, twisting her white apron. “Attic, upstairs. Tally noticed the smell when she was up there looking for linens.”
Icy fear raced through Leo, and he knew…he knew where she was. “Ella.” He ran from the room.
“Leo!” Colin cried out.
He didn’t stop, didn’t even look back as he started up the steps. “Ella, she’s in that attic—I know it.”
Every step Ella took sent fresh pain shooting through her ankle. Merely by thinking of Leo, she’d managed to make it into an adjoining room away from the flames and smoke. If only she could make it out of the blasted castle. She wouldn’t let them win. She would avenge Leo’s name, his family if she had to die trying.
Sweat trailed down her neck, her body heated from effort and from the fire taunting her heels. “Hurry, Leo, please.”
Smoke billowed from the open door, thick and suffocating. With a cry, she kicked the panel shut with her good leg and leaned back against the wall. If she could break down this room’s door, she may be able to taste freedom.
Gritting her teeth, she stumbled toward the door she knew led into the hall and wrapped her fingers around the porcelain knob. It was still cool to the touch, which meant the fire was confined to the rooms. With a rush of joy, she pulled. It didn’t budge. She pulled again. Nothing.
“No!” she cried out, pounding her fist against the wooden panel.
Sobs wracked her frame, and weak, she slumped to the floor. All for nothing. She’d die here…alone, and they’d win. The smoke billowed under the door, producing a gray fog that forced the fresh air from her lungs in a wrenching cough. Slowly, she inched across the floor and lay against the far, cool wall. This was it then: Her life would be over soon enough. Leo would not make it in time, and he’d blame himself for her death.
She wouldn’t die screaming or begging for help from those who wouldn’t come. Instead, she closed her eyes and pictured Leo…the first time they met and the instant warmth he’d stirred within her. She remembered that day at the waterfall…the folly…that night in that empty house, just the two of them. And she pictured the other day when she’d handed him the journal, the last time she’d seen him.
Her body began to tingle, and a slight warmth seeped into her core, spreading to her limbs, consuming her form. Her breath caught, and she stilled. A familiar feeling, wild and warm, entered her soul, and suddenly she felt whole again.
“Leo.” She bolted upright and stared at the door, horrified and thrilled at the same time.
He lived! He was here! Elation gave way to dread. No. No, he couldn’t come for her. He’d die in this fire. Yet, she felt him moving nearer all the same, she felt his panic…his anxiety…and something more…something heated and pulsing, something so strong she couldn’t seem to breathe…his love.
He loved her.
Ella’s hands covered her mouth, trapping her sob.
Leo loved her. The feeling seeped into her soul and wrapped around her heart, healing and comforting. He loved her, and he’d do anything to save her, even if it meant dying in the process.
“No!” she cried out. “No!” She closed her eyes and focused on him, urged the man to go back. “Leave,” she whispered. “Go.” But it felt as if she’d hit a brick wall. He wouldn’t turn; she had no control over Leo.
Crying out in frustration, she tried again, pouring her energy into his soul. Her mind hit his hard body, going no further. It was hopeless. He wouldn’t listen.
She loved him, loved him more than anything, and because of her, he’d die.
Pain shot through Leo’s skull causing him to stumble.
“What is it?” Colin asked, hesitating beside him.
Leo braced his hand on the wall. “I don’t…I just keep having this feeling, this urge to turn around…like someone is pushing me backward.”
Colin frowned. “She can talk to you? With her mind like she does the animals?”
He spun around to face Colin, the blood draining from his body. “Ella? Oh God, it’s Ella?”
“She wants you to go back?”
Leo nodded. He pushed aside the unsettling feeling and rushed up the last flight of steps.
“You could die, Leo,” Colin called out, running up the stairs after him. “Perhaps she’s warning you because it’s hopeless.”
“I won’t leave her,” he snapped, irate that Colin would even contemplate such a thought.
Colin grinned and slapped him on the back. “I know you won’t.”
The soft hiss of the consuming flames grew in volume. As they raced through room after room of the long attic, the scent of smoke grew stronger. Gray fumes billowed from beneath the first door they came to, so thick, they were forced to stop.
“The heat’s too intense, the smoke too thick. She can’t possibly be in there and still be alive,” Colin yelled over the roar of the fire.
The words sliced through his gut. Leo paused, his frantic gaze searching the long corridor even as his eyes burned from the fumes. She could be in any one of the rooms. “Come on, Ella, where are you?”
Then suddenly the resistance faded, and only an urging warmth seeped into his body. He felt her. He couldn’t explain why or how he knew it was Ella, but he knew. “This way.”
He didn’t wait for Colin, but raced down the corridor to his left. Her presence grew stronger with each step he took. “Here,” he said, reaching the last door. “She’s in here.”
He jerked on the door, but it didn’t budge.
“Merda,”
he snapped. “Ella, are you there? Ella, for God’s sake, answer me.” He waited, his breath held…waited.
There was no response.
“Are you sure?” Colin asked.
Leo nodded. He was sure, positive she was in there. He couldn’t explain how he knew, but he knew.
As one, they stepped back. With a roar Leo and Colin rushed to the door and slammed their shoulders into the solid wood. A crack rent the air, and pain shot through Leo’s arm.
“Again,” he snapped out. He and Colin stepped back. Without hesitation, they slammed into the door once more. The wood cracked, allowing the thinnest trail of smoke to seep through. Lifting his foot Leo kicked it the rest of the way open. Gray smoke billowed from the room in a cloud of suffocating fog.
“Ella!” Covering his mouth, Leo dove into the plume. “Ella.” Frantic, he searched the room, trying to decipher her shape from other objects in the dark area.
“Leo,” Colin cried, urging him on. “Hurry.”
Leo ignored the man.
Merda,
he’d stay until he found her. Through the blackness, he spotted white. Leo rushed to the corner of the room. Ella appeared through the haze, collapsed on the floor, her white stockings visible through the thick smoke.
“Ella.” His hands moved up her still form. She wasn’t trembling, her chest wasn’t moving, she wasn’t responding. “Ella!” He shook her, and her head lulled to the side, her eyes closed. Icy panic coursed through his body.
“No!” he cried out, his heart shattering in his chest.
“Leo, now, we have to leave.” Colin pushed him out of the way and scooped her into his arms.
Barely aware of the stinging smoke, Leo followed Colin. They raced down the hall until they reached the landing. Splintering wood crashed behind them as a wall toppled over and sent a burst of flames toward them.
“Give her to me, now,” Leo demanded.
“Fine, here,” Colin pushed her still form into his arms, and they stumbled down the steps.
Footmen raced past them, buckets of water in hand. Maids ran back and forth, up and down halls, carrying valuable objects from the house. Cradling Ella’s still form to his chest, Leo made his way down the steps. Through the open door below, he could see the dark sky, beckoning him to freedom. It wouldn’t be too late—he couldn’t be too late. He burst through the front door and breathed in deep the fresh air. Gently, he laid Ella upon the soft grass.
“We’re free now—you can breathe, Ella.”
Black smoke marred her pale skin. He brushed her golden-brown strands from her face, his hands trembling. “Ella,” he said, shaking her shoulders. “Breathe.”
She didn’t respond.
He shook her harder. “Ella!”
“She’s dead!” His grandfather screamed, his face pulled into an angry snarl. “Dead and she deserves it. She’s destroyed our estate. Everything…everything I’ve worked so hard for.”
Anger poured through Leo’s veins, bubbling under the surface. Growling, Leo lunged for the man.
Colin grabbed him by the shirt and jerked him back. “Ignore him—Ella needs you.”
Colin’s words had their desired effect. Leo jerked his attention from his grandfather and focused on Ella. So pale, so still. Dear God, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t feel a thing. She wasn’t dead. He wouldn’t believe that. Yet, why wasn’t she moving? Why weren’t her eyes opening?
“Please, Ella, please, don’t leave me here alone,” he whispered.
Colin settled next to him and pressed his hands to her chest. “Close, but not quite dead yet. If she were gone, I wouldn’t be able to help.”
Leo jerked his gaze to the man, but he couldn’t seem to work his mouth to ask what the hell he meant. All he cared about was that Colin seemed to think Ella still lived. She still lived.
Closing his eyes, Colin pressed one hand to Ella’s upper chest and one to her belly. He took in deep, slow breaths. His hands began to tremble slightly.
“Colin, what the hell…”
Colin’s hands turned a pale white. Did they glow? Stunned, Leo merely sat there. A gasp broke from Ella’s lips, the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard.
“Ella?” Leo leaned closer, his fingers tightening on her shoulders.
Ella’s eyes flew open, and she sucked in air, coughing at the same time. Her eyes wide, she struggled to sit upright.
“Ella!” Leo started to pull her toward his chest, but Colin put out his arm. “Give her room to breathe; she needs the air.”
Reluctantly, he let go.
Again and again, she alternated between coughing and sucking in gulps of air. Finally, her gaze landed on him and tears filled her wide eyes. “Leo,” she rasped.
Leo pushed Colin aside and grabbed her, pulling hard against his chest. “I knew you still lived, I knew it.” Her body was warm against his, warm and full of life. He wanted to tighten his grip, but knew she needed room to breathe. He wanted to move his hands up and down her body, to feel every inch of her, to know she was real, that she lived.