Bittersweet Endeavors (37 page)

Seth
grabbed
her
around her waist
just as she
leaned forward
to take the plunge. 
It wasn’t
un
til he managed to return her feet to the safety of the ground
that he felt the
fear leave him.  Yet anger
quick
ly
replace
d
his concern
.

“What
are you doing?”
he yelled.

“I . . .
”
She
lowered her
head and her
cheeks blushed in shame.

She
should be ashamed
, but
when
she
fell to the ground and wept uncontrollably,
Seth’s
heart went out to her. 
Myra
leaned against the
balcony wall
,
b
ow
ed
her
head and hugged her knees to her chest. She hid
her face from his sight. 

“
I beseech you, Seth.  Y
ou mustn’t tell Zachary what I was going to do.”

Seth forced her to look at him and t
ears cascaded down her cheeks
. 
The fear
he saw
in her eyes made him cringe
inwardly.  He wanted t
o take her into his arms and cradle her there forever. 

“Hush,” he
soothed
.  “
Tis
fine
,
I’ll not say a word.  But
pray tell,
what
brought this on?
”

Her body tensed and she quickly came to her feet.  “You have to go, Seth.  He’ll return soon, and if he finds you here, he’ll kill you.”

Seth straightened and his muscles tensed.  “I
do no
t
fear Frederickson,” he assured.

“Please, Seth, you must go.” 

With a shove, she urged him to move away
and pushed
him toward
the side
door that led into the great hall
. 
It was a
different door than Zachary
had taken on his departure, but Seth wouldn’t leave
.

“I cannot leave knowing you may pull a foolish stunt like this again,
Myra
.”  In a tender caress, he brushed an ebony strand of hair from her face.
“What the devil has gotten into you?”

Seth almost felt regret
the moment her red, tear-stained eyes met his.  Even in such emotional disarray
he found her to be the
most beautiful woman he
’d
ever
laid
eyes upon. 

“What of the child,
Myra
?  Would you kill the child by such a coward
ly
act?”

Her
a
mber
eyes widened
and
the golden glint sparked by the
sheen of the
moon’s light
.  The
fear she felt mirrored in their reflection.  Her hand
rose
to her open mouth and she began to tremble. 
Her
chin lowered to her chest and
she
wept
with heavy, sorrowful sobs.  Truth be told, he believed she
had
forgot she even carried a child within her. 
He wondered w
hat would
have
frightened
her
inso
much that she
’d wish to end her life.

Myra
opened her mouth but no words escaped.  More tears streamed from her eyes and she lowered her head again. 
H
e wanted to reac
h out to her
and l
et her know she didn’t have to go through her pain
alone
, but he
couldn’t
, he hadn’t the right.

“Please, Seth, you must go before he returns.  I promise not to do something so foolish.  I don’t know what came over me.” 
Myra
looked at the door.  She wrung her hands together in the folds of her skirt and made another plea.
“I
only intended to jump
below
and
escape
. Run away where no one would ever find me again
.  My intentions were not as
lethal
as you
mayhap think. 
T’was
unwise
, but
my intent was
not deadly. 
Now p
lease, you must leave!”

“What
did that
bastard do to you?”  The faded bruise on her face stirred his anger anew.  He looked at the door and secretly wished Zachary would walk through.  He wanted to incite the man’s anger insomuch
that
Zach
ary
would call
him out.  But that w
ould only add to
Myra
’s pain
,
so
he relented. 

“I’ll go, but I’ll have your solemn vow before I take leave that you’ll never do anything
as
foolish as this again.  I couldn’t bear it,
Myra
.”

“I swear it,” she said weakly
under breath
. 
“
T’w
as foolish of me, I know.”

Seth ran his fingers through his hair.  Exasperated, he sighed.
 
“
Why,
Myra
?  Why marry him?  I saw how he treated
you out here on this balcony
, as well as the markings on your face
.”

“There are many reasons why, Seth
.  T
hey all matter naught now that it’s all said and done.” 
Myra
closed her eyes for a moment and
Seth
watched on as
she
tried
not to weep.
  Yet, the tears trickled slowly down her cheeks.
Seth wanted to reach for her but anger captured him
by her words
.

“It matters naught?” he
said
harshly
.  “We were engaged to be married upon my return and it matters naught?  For the love of God,
Myra,
I
escaped death
and
c
a
me
home
to hear
that
the woman I love
was marrying another man!  Then you tell me the child you carry is
mine once
it’s
too late! 
Aye
,
Myra
,
it matters!  Indeed, it matters
greatly
to me.
  Pray tell, why did you marry him?”

Myra
looked at him thoughtfully
and
then reached out
and softly caressed
the side of his cheek
.  “Things happened beyond my control, Seth.  Prior to my coming to the colonies, my uncle killed my family and is now holding my sister captive to retain my silence for his
ghastly
deed.  T
i
s why he forced me
into
a life of
servitude
.”

”That
doesn’t explain why you married him,
Myra
.”

Myra
shook her head.  “Once Zachary discovered my identity and learned of my secrets, he forced me.  I
f
not, he’d have sent a
m
issive
to my uncle
and provoked him into killing my sister
.  I’ll not have
my sister’s
blood on my hands
, Seth.  I couldn’t bear it!” s
he cried.  “
She’s all I have left. 
That’s why I couldn’t tell anyone of my true identity
.
”

“Not even
me
?”  Seth glared at her.  “Yet you trusted
Lucia.
” 
He
resented Lucia enough already
, but
his
knowing
that
Myra trusted her more
than himself
caused a twinge of jealousy within him.

“I didn’t want you involved.”

“I’d have helped you, you know that!  I
could’
ve retrieved her for
you
whilst I was there
.  All you needed to do was trust me
enough to tell me
.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t.  I
didn’t was tangled in this, Seth.  I didn’t want to
see you murdered by him, too!
  I rather had
risked losing
you
r love
than
see you
dead.  Tis why I made the decision I did.
” 

Wild sobs
over
took
her and Seth reached out and brought her into his arms.  He hugged her close until
her cries
subsided.  He pushed her gently to arm’s length and held firm
by
her shoulders.
 
“
Myra
,” he whispered.  “Do not play me false.  Is the child truly mine? 
As you’ve been accused, d
id you bed Frederickson after I left
?”

“
Nay
, the child is yours.
”  The word
s came as
a faint whisper
off her lips.  “
I
have n
ever,
nor
shall
I ever share his
bed
.
  He’s more enamored with th
e title he thinks he can procure
than he is of me
, but The
K
ing
shall
never let him have it after his treason.
He’s a fool!
”

His fist
s
clenched
repeatedly
at his sides.
He wanted to believe her. 
If she spoke the truth, he wondered why his
father
lie
d to him.
 
The thought alarmed him that h
is father
was
capable
of
such
cruel
ty
.

“I wanted to explain thi
s
t
o you, Seth.  I tired that
day
by
the lake when
you returned, do you remember?”

“I’ll never
forget that day,
Myra
. 
I believed the child was Zachary’s
, especially once I walked in on the announcement of your intent to marry him
.
For good cause, anger starved my reason.
”

“
When you rejected me by the lake, you gave me no other choice but to see it through, Seth
, especially
for
the
for sake of our child
. 
Your father
lied to you so we’d not be together.  He’s been conspiring with Zachary from the
beginning
.  That’s why he sent you away
and offered me to Zachary
!  Can’t you see
that it’s he who betrayed you?
”

“
My child
shall
bear another man’s name
,” he whispered.  A pain ached
deep within him.
Seth backed up
and
sieved
his hair
through
his
fingers.
He star
t
ed for the door.

“Where are you going?”
She
reached
for his arm
and
stop
ped
him
.

“I need to confront my father and then
I shall
make things right for us,
Myra
.”