The Earl's Desire (35 page)

“
I would like to stay here with her, my lord,” Robert said numbly.

“
It’s about time you tell me why you disappeared,” Merrick said, looking at the young man for a long time. Robert looked at him, and then he lowered his gaze to Christine.

“
And who are you, my dear?” he said to Christine.

She stiffened, staring up at Merrick.

“
My fiancée,” Merrick said.

“
Your what?” Robert burst out in shock.

“
She is my fiancée,” Merrick said again.

“
I see. I guess I missed a lot when I was gone, huh?” He shook his head.

“
Why did you disappear?” Merrick asked again.

“
I disappeared… I disappeared.” He stared into the distance. “We were going to elope. We planned it, but when it was time, I waited for her and she never came. I waited there for a whole day, and she never came. I went looking for her. At first I thought she had changed her mind, but Claire, I thought, was not like that. She loves me, and I love her. I knew she would come. I began to have doubts, however. So I went looking for her, but I couldn’t find her. I realized then that something must indeed be very wrong. I knew then that something must have stopped her from acting out our plan. So tonight, I came to confront her, that woman, but of course she denies it all. Poor Claire, she told me she was having our baby. She was so happy.” Robert took hold of Claire’s limp hand, brought it up to his lips, and he kissed it lightly.

“
What are you planning to do with Claire?” Merrick asked.

“
What am I planning to do with her? We planned to elope and then get married, of course. But now that has changed. I’m still going to marry her though,” he said, looking down at the sleeping form beside him.

“
I congratulate you then,” Merrick said.

“
Thanks,” Robert responded.

Merrick took Christine’s hand, and they turned to go.

“
I’m sorry for the way I acted toward you. I hated you because you seemed to have everything that I don’t, but wanted. Money, looks, and title,” Roberts uttered.

The two men stared at each other for a long time. Then as they reached an understanding, they both nodded. Merrick and Christine left.

TWENTY-THREE

Merrick sat behind the desk in his study with a glass of brandy in his hand, staring into space. The last of the guests had just left about an hour ago, and it was now two in the morning.

All was now quiet in the Hall as the guests had retired; even Christine had decided to stay in her room because of her grandmother’s condition. He had ushered her to bed an hour before, and though she had tried to insist that he come with her, he could not for he had unfinished business to attend to.

The door opened, and Merrick saw Lord Queensbury entering the study. He nodded at the man and gestured for him to sit down. Lord Queensbury did and made himself comfortable.

“
I’ve got some information,” Merrick said, watching the older man.

“
You have? Well, that is good.” The earl nodded. “What did you find?”

“
My men found that the family you have been searching for is not yet dead,” Merrick began.

“
Hmm, that much I know,” Queensbury said, staring at the desk but not seeing it.

“
That much you know?” Merrick raised his eyebrows.

Queensbury looked at Merrick, nodding his head. “Indeed, Huntingdon, that much I know, at least since this night.”

“
Since this night?”

“
Aye, they were here.” The earl sighed. “It was the Smiths. They are the family I was searching for,” he said. “Hard to believe that you spent years searching for them, and in the end, they were right in front of your nose, eh?”

Merrick leaned toward the older man. “You hired my men to look for this family? Why? You’ve never told me why you wanted them found.”

The earl gazed into Merrick’s eyes, and then he slowly turned to stare out the window. “It was eighteen years ago,” he began. “I met her down at the stream. She was very beautiful. The first time I saw her, I wanted her, and I knew I loved her then. She was a sweet seventeen-year-old girl.” He turned back to Merrick. “Her hair was a golden brown, and her eyes were a bright violet color. I promised her marriage, and she became pregnant. I told my father, but he was against the whole idea. I wanted her to live with us in our country manor, but Father would have none of it. I was betrothed to Stacy.” The earl shook his head. “I told Sophia that I would come and get her, and we’d live in my London town house. I had already disassociated myself from my family by then, so in love with her I was. It was winter then, and I was on my way.” His throat became tight with emotion. He couldn’t seem to go on. But he had to go on because the weight of this secret had been dragging him down for years, and it was finally too much to bear. He needed to get it out of his system.

“
It was winter. I was on my way to get her and her family, but once I got there, there was nothing left. It was all gone. The manor was burnt down. There was nothing. I searched around the village; nobody had seen anything. I kept searching, Huntingdon. I have kept searching to this day.” The earl turned to Merrick and stared at him. “You must wonder why I married Stacy, eh? Aye, my father forced Stacy upon me. She told my father that she was pregnant with my child. I assumed that was true. What is a man to do when he was drunk? Well, I did the honorable thing. I married her. He saw us through the marriage ceremony, and then a day afterward he died.” He finished his tale, his eyes brewing with tears.

“
I’m sorry, Lord Queensbury,” Merrick began.

“
It was a long time ago now, Huntingdon. I make no apology for it,” the older man commented.

“
I’m sure we both are thinking along the same lines; perhaps tomorrow I should talk to the Smiths about this. Although the possibility that Christine is in fact your daughter remains strong in my mind,” Merrick commented.

“
Do you really think that girl could be my daughter?” Lord Queensbury smiled.

“
Indeed, you do not realize that she has the exact same hair and eye color as the woman you loved?”

“
Aye, at first when I saw her dancing with you, I thought it was my Sophia dancing with your father, I… oh God!” The earl buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking.

Merrick came around to the earl and patted the older man’s shoulder. “It is getting late, Lord Queensbury. It is best to get to sleep. We’ll deal with this in the morrow.”

The older man looked up at Merrick and nodded in agreement. “You are right, Huntingdon,” he said and left the room.

Merrick shut the door and walked toward the window. He smiled to himself and thought what a small world this was. He was getting rather tired, and he missed Christine. He wanted to be with her. He walked toward the door, but it was opened before he could reach it. Allan came in. He looked alarmed.

“
Merrick! ’Tis important. Lady Queensbury is missing. A groom told me he saw her being taken to one of the old barns not far from here.”

“
What?” Merrick rushed forward, frowning.

“
Merrick, we have to do something. Should I send for the redcoats?” Allan frowned, raking his hands through his blond hair in frustration.

“
How long ago was this?”

“
I’m not sure. It was about half an hour ago, I think. It wasn’t long. Perhaps they hadn’t gotten far yet. We could still catch up with them, I’m sure.”

“
Yes, let’s go now. With luck, they won’t get far.” Merrick rushed out the door. Allan nodded and followed behind.

It was dark outside. The slight breeze brushed past them, cooling their hot skin. The two men saddled their horses and were off in an instant.

They had been riding hard for fifteen minutes when they saw the small barn. Bright candlelight spilled out through the windows.

Allan halted his horse and jumped down. Merrick did the same and tied his stallion to a tree.

“
What do we do now?” Allan asked as he came toward his cousin.

“
We go and see how many of them there are. With luck we might be able to take them down and save Lady Queensbury,” Merrick said and nodded.

Under cover of darkness, they started to creep toward the barn.

Merrick rushed forward, his mind concentrating on the task ahead. The cool breezes rushed past him. Then he felt that something was not right. He hesitated, frowned, and then turned. He saw a dark figure swinging a large log toward his head. He felt a sharp pain rush through his head and neck. The pain was severe, and his head ached like hell. He put his hand to his head and felt wetness. He tasted and knew it was blood—his own blood. And then the world darkened around him. He saw the half moon blurring, turning from one half moon, to two, to three, and then… he knew no more.

* * *

Christine jerked the breeches up about her waist for the third time. They slipped again as she tried to button them. Her hands were shaking, which was why she couldn’t seem to do up her breeches properly. She tried again, and thank God, it worked. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was shaking all over. She needed to follow them and fast.

She had been looking out the window thinking about Claire and Robert when she saw two men ride out on horseback. She had no doubt that one of them was Merrick, for she knew his bearing well. He was hard to forget, for God’s sake. Once she got her coat on, she rushed out the door. She was midway across the room when she halted in horror. Her heart thumped in her chest. She was scared, scared of the woman standing in the doorway, the woman who was staring at her with anger, with hatred.

Anne stalked toward Christine. Once she was close enough, she grabbed a bunch of Christine’s curls and tried to rip them from her head. Christine’s body shook with fright. She tried to push the taller woman away, but it was no use for she was far too small. Anne tilted Christine’s face back and sneered down at her. Her eyes turned a dull blue.

“
Whore, is that what you are? Whore, you dressed as a boy and seduced the earl, didn’t you? You whore!” She slapped Christine’s face, sending her crashing to the floor. Anne reached down and grabbed Christine’s throat with one hand, and with her other hand she grabbed a bunch of Christine’s hair.

“
Whore, you thought dressing as a boy would make you stand out from the rest of us, did you? How dare you? He was mine, mine from the beginning. You slut, how could you!”

Christine shook her head. The pain was unbearable. “Please, Lady Anne, it wasn’t like that. Please, let me go,” Christine begged, trying to push Anne away.

“
It wasn’t like what? Slut? Like what?” She sneered, her hand tightening around Christine’s throat.

Christine started to kick Anne in the legs. She couldn’t back down now. This woman had no right to abuse her. Lady or not, she would fight back. She had too much to live for. Merrick needed her. His life would not be happy without her.

She gathered every ounce of strength she possessed to fight back. She started to shake her head from side to side to loosen the grip on her throat. She held on to Anne’s wrists and used her legs to kick her.

Anne’s grasp on Christine’s throat loosened. Christine moved her head up and bit Anne’s wrist.

Anne screamed and leapt back. She stared at her wrist, and then, full of anger, she turned to look at Christine.

“
How dare you? I am a Lady. You’ll pay for this, you slut!” she screamed, her face red, her eyes a dark stormy blue. She stamped her feet and rushed toward Christine.

Christine ran, but she was caught and thrown back against the wall. Anne slapped her face again, twisting her against the wall. Then she started ripping Christine’s shirt, staring at the white flesh exposed to her. It angered her to see the skin so smooth and beautiful. She grabbed Christine’s skin and started to pinch it. She did it repeatedly.

“
No. Stop it, Lady Anne. Stop it!” Christine screamed. She tried to push the other girl away, but it didn’t seem to work.

“
Whore, you deserve this. How dare you take him from me? How dare you, slut? He was mine. Mine!” Anne screamed. “I will kill you like I let him kill that slut Claire. And I’ll stand and watch while he kills you,” she screamed and laughed. “I’ll let McLean kill you, you hear me?
You whore!”
Anne screamed.