Read If You Were Mine Online

Authors: Rebecca King

Tags: #fiction, #romance, #mystery, #historical romance, #regency romance, #historical mystery, #mystery suspense, #mystery action adventure romance

If You Were Mine (7 page)

BOOK: If You Were Mine
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Not long until we get there now, darling. We will soon have
you safe and warm. Everything will be alright. You’ll see,” Dominic
wasn’t sure she had heard him, but it gave him some measure of
reassurance to assume she had. The alternative was too much to
contemplate.

Isobel
was vaguely aware of Dominic’s hushed whisper, but couldn’t summon
the energy to respond. It sounded as though his voice was coming
from a long way off, and she couldn’t quite reach him. No matter
how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get her eyes to open. The
battle to open her eyes was just too great for her dwindling
strength, and within seconds the meagre supply of energy she did
have suddenly evaporated, leaving Isobel at the mercy of the
pervading darkness once more.


Isobel?” Dominic was worried. His voice held a more
commanding edge when she didn’t respond.


Isobel?” he twitched his shoulder lightly in an attempt to
wake her, and cursed fluidly when her head lolled back, her eyes
firmly closed. Whether it was starvation, cold, exhaustion or fear
that had caused her to faint, Dominic couldn’t tell but the urge to
get her to Havistock nipped at his heels. Without further ado, he
pulled her tight against him, dug his heels into the horse beneath
them, and cursed the distance to the house. Having dispatched his
groom to summon the doctor several miles back, Dominic cursed
fluidly when rain began to pelt down on them, adding to her already
perilous predicament.


Cursed weather,” Dominic muttered starkly, eventually drawing
to a halt in front of Havistock Hall’s heavy oak doors. It took
little effort for him to juggle Isobel enough to kick the front
door open, and within mere seconds, Dominic had them both inside
the warmth of the Main Hall.


Manvers!” Dominic bellowed, mounting the main staircase, two
steps at a time. He was oblivious to the puddles his booted feet
left behind. “Manvers, where are you? Quickly man!”

Within
seconds, his trusted butler, Manvers was running down the hallway
from the kitchens, Mrs Holcombe, his housekeeper, and what appeared
to be the entire house staff behind them.


Get someone to see to my horse. Shut the door quickly and
lock it Manvers,” Dominic ordered heading straight toward the
master suite. “Do not open that door to anybody, unless I am
informed first, do you understand?” He didn’t wait for Manvers’
assent.


Mrs Holcombe, please I need your assistance,” he shouted,
disappearing down the corridor leading to his own suite of rooms.
“Bring some hot water and warm food quickly!” He was vaguely aware
of the stunned silence behind him for several moments, before the
house burst into a flurry of activity.

As he
strode through the upper hallway, he never paused to consider
placing her in one of the opulent guest rooms, instead heading
directly towards his own suite of rooms in the rear of the
house.

She was his, and he was going to keep her as close to him as
possible.
Etiquette could go to
hell.
He didn’t care if she was ruined by
simply being alone with him. She was his, and now he had her, only
death could snatch her away from him, and that was something he
wasn’t about to let happen without a fight.

He
carefully placed her in the middle of his bed, cursing at how small
and fragile she looked against the brocade cover. Where the hell
had she been? Having endured the living hell of the battlefields,
he had become far too familiar with human misery, and the terrible
destruction, man could inflict upon man. However, nothing could
have prepared him for the severity of her plight. From the
appearance of her, it was evident she had quite clearly nearly
starved to death, and was wearing inadequate clothing to keep her
alive throughout summer, let alone the long, harsh winter months to
come.

Fighting
down the burning tide of anger, Dominic shook off his jacket and
boots, thankful that Manvers had already lit the fire to ward off
the evening chill. Within minutes, Dominic had it roaring heartily
in the grate, suffusing the room in welcome warmth.

He was
in the process of removing Isobel’s sodden outer clothing when Mrs
Holcombe and two maids appeared in the doorway.


My stars,” Mrs Holcombe muttered, gazing at the half starved,
slightly wild creature the master had just brought home. Barking
quick instructions to the maids beside her, Mrs Holcombe moved
toward the bed and began to help remove sodden clothing.


Cook is bringing some broth in a few minutes my Lord,” Mrs
Holcombe informed him, somewhat aghast. “If you want to leave her
with us now, we’ll see to her. We can move her to the
room-.”


No!” Dominic winced inwardly at the almost shout, but offered
no apology as the women immediately froze and stared at him. “She
is to stay here with me. Just get her out of these wet clothes and
warm her up. The doctor is on his way, but we cannot wait for him
to arrive. She must be warmed up and quickly.”

He
watched in satisfaction as the import of his words sank in, and the
women immediately moved to assist him.


Please Sir, leave her with us. I can promise you she will be
safe. You must get yourself warm and dry as well,” Mrs Holcombe
replied fervently, wishing he would leave them to deal with their
unusual charge, such was the unconventionality of their situation.
“You’ll be no good to her if you catch a chill
yourself.”

It
became apparent after several attempts to untie the laces of her
shirt that he was more of a hindrance than a help.


Sir!”

The
shock of finding Isobel was beginning to wane and Dominic
eventually became aware of the disapproving censure of the women in
the room when he was about to release the tight bindings covering
her breasts. Realising he needed to preserve Isobel’s dignity,
Dominic nodded in weary defeat and with one last searching look at
her, reluctantly turned toward the door.

Two
hours later, his plate of food barely touched on the desk behind
him, Dominic stood before the hearth, staring down at the glowing
flames jostling heartily in the grate with an absent frown on his
face. The doctor had been and gone, and the news was not
good.

One of
the staff was quickly dispatched to summon Peter’s presence at
Havistock as a matter of urgency. Not only did he need to know
about his sister’s survival, but he also needed to be informed of
her ill health, and the imminent danger to her life.

God
forbid the doctor was indeed accurate, and her life was hanging in
the balance. Dominic stared thoughtfully into the fire for several
moments and tried to marshal his whirling thoughts. Surely, he
couldn’t lose her now.

A sense
of unfamiliar helplessness washed over him. The memory of the
rasping hollowness of her cough when she had ridden in his arms was
strong. Putrid lungs could kill even a person of relatively good
health, for someone as malnourished as Isobel...

Quickly
closing off the macabre thought, Dominic pushed away from the
hearth and strode towards the door. Suddenly, he had the pressing
need to be with her and not waste even one single, precious
moment.

 

Isobel
felt weight pulling her down. Wrapped in something soft and heavy,
she was unbearably hot.

Trying
desperately to pull herself free, she slowly became aware of a
strange noise, over and over. Her head throbbed in rhythm with the
stabbing pain behind her eyes. Everything within her ached
fiercely.

Her
thoughts spun around and around as she fought desperately to pull
herself free from the kaleidoscope of confusing colour. Shades and
shapes merged, and Dominic’s beloved features appeared before her.
Out of the haze, his beautiful green eyes glinted brightly as they
shone lovingly at her. She could hear the soft murmur of his voice,
but simply couldn’t find the strength to answer him. Her mouth
wouldn’t work.

She
didn’t know if she was dreaming again, but this dream felt
different. There were no swirling mists through which he appeared.
The kaleidoscope of colours around him made her dizzy and confused.
She felt muddled, as though something was holding her down, and she
just couldn’t shake it off.


Come on now, you must drink some.”

Isobel’s
drowsy gaze locked on to his beseeching look as she felt something
being held against her lips. Instinctively, she opened her mouth
and swallowed the warm concoction, coughing violently as it settled
harshly on her cold and empty stomach. It tasted slightly salty,
and warm, but other than that Isobel had no idea what he had just
given her. She tried desperately to move her head away, but found
herself held more firmly against the solid wall of his chest, his
face mere inches from her own. Once again, something was placed
against her lips.


Please, you must drink this now,” his rich, masculine voice
held a stern tone of authority that even Isobel couldn’t
ignore.

She
frowned, wondering what she had done to incur his wrath. Despite
trying to plead with him with her eyes, she couldn’t find the
strength to keep her gaze locked on his and eventually gave up,
reluctantly allowing him to feed her the strange concoction until
exhaustion overtook her, and she once again slipped into the
darkness.


That’s more than we have been able to get down her since
yesterday Sir,” Mrs Holcombe declared, settling the blankets and
sheets around the prone woman lying before them.


It’s not enough though,” Dominic eyed Isobel’s pale face
against the white cotton pillow. “She needs more if she is going to
survive.”

Frustration seethed within him at the sheer helplessness of
the situation. Although she was drinking the broth Cook had made
her, there had been no improvement in her condition since the day
she had arrived, and that had been nearly three days
ago.


I’ll sit with her for a while,” Dominic informed Mrs
Holcombe, sinking into the chair beside the bed. Ignoring the women
as they collected various items from around the room before
eventually leaving, he picked up Isobel’s limp hand. He wondered
what she had endured during her time away. Her long, tapered
fingers were calloused and marked. Slowly, he trailed the sharp
protrusion of the bones, following the blue veins upwards toward
her wrist. No lady should have been put into the position she had.
Nobody, male or female, should ever feel so desperate in their
situation that life on the streets was the only way out.

Carefully lifting her hand off the sheet, he slid his fingers
between hers, holding her hand palm to palm. Placing a soft kiss on
the soft skin of the back of her hand, he placed their entwined
hands back on the bed before him. Gently, he lay his head down next
to them and allowed exhaustion to claim him.

She was
alive. Now all he had to do was keep her that way.

 

 

CHAPTER
FOUR

 

 

Isobel
slowly became aware of wonderful softness beneath her fingertips.
The soft, fine silk captured her fingers in its gentle snare, and
tickled her fingertips. All of her senses locked onto the feeling
as she slowly moved her fingers, feeling the silken mass swirl and
shimmer in response.


Isobel?” Suddenly, the silk was gone causing Isobel to break
out of her reverie. She slowly dragged her eyes open, astonished at
the sheer effort such a small movement could take.


Dominic?” she swallowed harshly at the scratchy burning in
her throat. “What? Where?” She tried to pick her head up off the
pillow, only to find the energy she thought she had, evaporate like
a puff of smoke.

Her
chest ached, and breathing seemed such hard work.


You are at Havistock Hall, my darling,” Dominic replied
softly, giving her a gentle smile of reassurance. Quickly, he rose
and tugged on the bell pull beside the bed before returning to her
side. “You are perfectly safe now.”

He
fought hard to control the sheer relief that surged through him,
and carefully eased her off the pillows high enough to hold a cup
of water to her lips. He watched as she drank greedily.


Safe?” Isobel croaked hoarsely, wincing as the throbbing
headache increased in strength. “Why does my head hurt so?” Her
throat felt raw and hot.


Because you haven’t eaten enough, and are quite poorly,”
Dominic’s voice was sterner with the stark memory of the last few
hours. “You must eat and rest if you are to get well
again.”

Isobel
took advantage of her elevated position to study the room around
them. Entirely masculine in design, the dark oak panelling gleamed
in the firelight. Decorated in reds, browns and golds, it was
clearly Dominic’s room. Isobel frowned as she eyed the heavy
marbled fireplace, and solid furniture adorning the
walls.


Do you have any idea how worried we have been for you?” His
eyes scanned her pale features, tenderly tracing each new curve and
hollow. Even with her hair cut unfashionably short, with her
startling blue eyes she had an ensnaring beauty about her that made
him wonder how she had succeeded in fooling anyone into thinking
she was a boy.

BOOK: If You Were Mine
4.64Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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