Bittersweet Endeavors (41 page)

“I love you, Seth.
”
  She finally allowed herself to say the words,
as she feared
she may never have another chance.

“And I you,
Myra
.
”
  He
took her mouth into his
and kissed her hard
. 
He ran his fingers through her hai
r and then to her face.  He pressed her tight against
his chest.
  After a
soft kiss
she was reluctant to end
, he quit the room.

She
memorized
the aroma
and taste of him, as well as
the sound of his heart as it
batted
wildly within his chest. 
If
he
conf
ronted
her uncle, she feared that
their
moment
shared
was all
she would
ever have left of him.

“I need to speak to you,
Myra
.”  The rap on her door was gentle but it was loud enoug
h to rouse her from her sleep.

“Zachary?”

“We must speak.  Open the door,” he commanded.

Myra
jumped from her bed and grabbed her wrap.  Without her layers of petticoats to cover her growing abdomen, her secret
was threatened if
he
push
ed
his way through the
chair
that bound the door
by its knob
.

“Can we discuss this in the morning?”  Her voice shook and although she tried
sounding
calm and in control, her fear crept through.  “
Tis
late and I’m in no mood for argument tonight.”

“I don’t plan to ravish you,
Myra,
I promise.” 

She
felt
his smirk upon her as the words broke past the door.  She didn’t trust him.  His voice was gentle and almost human. 
Which meant it
gave
her
great reason to distrust him
.

“It’s in regard to
your visit to the cellar this evening.”

He had something to hide, if not,
she didn’t think he’d
sound
so full of concern. 
Myra
bit her bottom lip and
then
nervously
nipped
at the tip of her fingernail. 
She
wasn’
t
able to
risk him barging through the door and replied with, “I’ll be down in a moment.
”
 
After his last visit,
especially
with
his
pistol,
she refused to
confront him in her bedchamber
, but she still felt apprehensive about meeting him once dressed
, in spite of where they met
.

She rushed and
clothe
d herself but took extra caution and made
the ties
on
her bodice extra tight.
She figured a
few extra knots
may serve her well
.  Once dressed, she descended the steps until she saw the warm glow of light
that burned
steadily inside Zachary’s study.  Although more than a mite
concerned
,
she forged forward with a steadied
gait. 
Myra
was alarmed
when
she
opened the door
and the man she had confronted
in the cellar
sat inside with Zachary
.  Her heart
nearly
jumped in
to
her throat.  She took a step back
and readied her
escape, but
she was
deterred by the
broad
expanse of Zachary’s chest.  She whirled around, raised her chin
,
and fought for courage. 

“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.
  With Zachary’s proven depravity, she
thought
the worse.

The dark-skinned man’s eyes were so extraordinarily brown that they almost appeared black inside the almond shape of his orbs. 
He
look
ed
incredibly menacing, which scared her all the more when he rose and offered her the crook of his arm for her to take.

“Stay calm, I mean no harm,
Senora
,
”
he assured.
 
His arm tightened around hers and he guided her to the seat
on the other side of the room
. 

“What
ever business you and
this man may have
,
”
Myra
began
, as she looked at Zachary
.

“
Rico
Benitez
,” he
interrupted
with a curt nod.

“Mister
Benitez
,” she repeated
.
“Whatever business you have with my husband, I assure you
,
it’s no affair of mine.  I see no reason why
I should have been
summoned
here
.” 
S
he rose from her seat
and attempted
to take her leave
again
, b
ut
Zachary came to
her side
and guided
her back into her seat.  

“You
had
a visitor here tonight,
w
ife.”

Myra
swallowed hard.  What would he do now? 
She closed her
eyes
and
fought to stay calm. 
It was the first time she was thankful that
Seth
aimed
to
set voyage to England
.  By morning
’s
break, he’d be safely away from
Zachary’s wrath
, as she knew
that
he’d
not allow the offense to pass
a
fter being caught
,
again
,
with
Seth
. 

“What did you tell
Preston
about
the men you saw
?”
  His voice was soothing and
too
gentle
. 
Frighteningly calm, in fact. 
If
she was to do the choosing
, she
prefer
red
the
unpleasant
Zachary to th
e
composed
man
that stood
before her. 

“I told him
naught of what I saw
.”

Zachary quirked a brow
,
and
with a snarl, he
signaled that he didn’t believe her
. 

“Truly,”
she added.
 
Myra
shifted nervously in her seat
.  She
tried to be discreet when she
s
wiped th
e perspiration from her palms
on
to
her skirt.  “What
would I have informed him
? 
I know n
aught about your guests
.”

“
Aye
,” Zachary said sarcastically. 
“
H
ow could you
,
indeed?”

“I’ll see to it this night that he doesn’t talk,
Señor
.  He’d be asleep by now and
‘twould
make
an easy kill,”
Benitez
said calmly
, as
if killing was second nature to him
, and Myra surmised that it probably was
. 

Myra
rose
from her seat and faced
Benitez
after his threatening declaration.  “You’ll not harm Seth in any way!
Is that understood?” 
No matter what, s
he’
d
n
ot
allow it.  “If either you harm him, I’ll kill you
both
, I swear it.”
 
Benitez
stood aside her and she saw a gold tipped dagger loosely placed within his belt.  Without thought to the risk, she abruptly stood and grabbed it off his person.  She waved it threateningly in front of her, warding off
Benitez
and Zachary who stood before her.  To her chagrin, neither looked seemingly worried, as they both held matching smiles that relayed their amusement to
her
act of defiance
. 
Although,
Benitez
’s anger
quickly
emerge
d
when he approached
and wrenched the knife from her
hand, and the dagger sliced into his arm. 
He
grasped her chin
and his n
ails
dug
deep into her flesh
and
add
ed
to
her
pain.  She winced inwardly, but she
matched his deadly stare and refused him
the satisfaction of seeing her pain
or her fear
.  When he finally released her, he ran his finger down her cheek until
it met her chin.  He grasped her
tightly,
and
with so much
intensity
that she
felt
her face
bruise within his hands.

“I shall complete my business in any way I see fit,
Senora
,
and you’ll not tell me otherwise.
  As you have just proven,
you’re incapable of stopping me.
”

She
looked at her cowardly husband for the slightest assistance,
but
only
panic showed
through his eyes.
 
Benitez
was right when he announced that Zachary feared him. 
It
unmistakably
showed through
as he cowered away to the other side of the room
.
 
It wasn’t until he was away from
Benitez
that he made an attempt to help. 

“L
et her go,
Benitez
,
” Zachary said, politely.
“I
t’d be a shame
to see harm come to her ‘fore I even have
a
chance to bed her,
”
he nervously
laughed
.

He stared down at her but reluctantly let her go. 
Once
released
,
Myra
rushed
to Zachary’s side,
and was willing to beg
at his f
eet
if
Seth
was kept safe from harm.
  The though
t of Seth being slain whilst he
slept sickened her.  They’re
both
cowards!

“Please, Zachary, you mustn’t allow him to do this.  Seth truly knows
naught of them
.  He only came to help Lucia. 
As you well know, Lucia
is his sister and it’s his right to protect her! 
By the time he arrived, she was already set free
and
we told him naught of the incident. 
He didn’t see
any of
them, I swear it.”

“
I shall handle this problem now.  I’m sure you’ll already be departed by my return, so let me assure you now, I’ll keep the household in well order in
your absence
.
”
Benitez
looked at Myra, as if the reference was for her
, b
ut before she could make any sense
of his words
, he
walked to the door
.  He
lingered
there
and didn’t leave.