The Seduction of Sarah Marks (11 page)

Her brows knit together. “You told no one else of your plans to marry me before you left Easton Park?”

“You’ve met my family. A rowdier bunch you’ll likely never run across. They would have had opinions, badgered me to death. Hell, Ridley probably would have followed me. No, I planned on returning from the Continent with my wife in tow some three or four months into our marriage.”

She stood. “Good. Then I wish for an annulment.”

I knew it.
Despite his head full of fire, a rueful laugh escaped him. “Impossible. The marriage was consummated.”

She paled and pressed a knotted fist against her stomach. Then she straightened and settled a cold stare upon him. “Oh, I do recall that part. Which is why I called you a beast. You hurt me, Eastleigh.”

He swept a hand across his forehead. “If I caused you pain, I am sorry. You indicated nothing of the sort, Lilith. Even when I inquired, you said not a word. Although I once dallied with half the young widows in London, I had never before been with an innocent. I was as careful as I could be under the circumstances. There shouldn’t be any discomfort next time.”

“Next time? Never!” Her voice rose with each word. “You nearly tore me asunder.”

Oh hell.

Whatever reserves he had left dissipated like water through a sieve. Pressing the heels of his palms to his temples, he squeezed as if to exorcise the demons spearing his head and shouted. “For God’s sake, Lilith, you lay there stiff as a goddamn board! I suggested we wait, but you insisted we ‘get the deed done’, and then you proceeded to set your rigid legs apart just enough for me to…to…”

Oh, hell.

“We made a mistake, Lilith. But at the time, I thought you might be right—get the wedding night over with, then enjoy a tour of the Continent while we—”

Damn his pounding head. He had to end this conversation in a hurry. “Let’s discuss this on the morrow, after you’ve rested.”

He paused and, locking his gaze with hers, softened his voice. “After you’ve had time to think about our kisses, about how you’ve responded to them in a way that tells both of us there’s hope for a well-matched marriage. In every respect.”

Her mouth dropped open at his words. She stared at him, as if she’d never connected one act with the other. Then her lips formed a pale white slit. “You lied easily enough before. Tell the courts the marriage was never consummated. You have the clout to do whatever might be needed to see that an annulment is granted.”

“Why? So you can run back to your dear father and let him beat you to within an inch of your life? No. You are my wife and as such, you are under my protection. What if you are with child? Have you thought of that?”

She wheeled around and stomped to the window, her back to him. “I am certain I’m not with child, so if you refuse an annulment, then I ask you to have pity and grant me a settlement so I can live on my own.”

He sat for a long while, staring at her stiff back, growing wearier by the moment. Damn it, he’d fought enough battles to consume several life times. The last thing he needed was to jump headlong into a war with his wife.
His wife.
What a bloody mess.

He hauled in a deep breath and, letting out a heavy sigh, pressed his fingers to his temples again. “I have an urgent need to end our discussion for today. A good deal of recollection has come your way. You need time to mull things over. Sleep on what you are asking of me, Lilith. If, on the morrow, you still wish an annulment, we will discuss it further.”

She moved a bit closer to where he sat and lifted her chin. “And if, during the night, I should change my mind? What then?”

Derisive laughter spilled from his gut. “Perhaps by then my mind will have moved in the opposite direction, and I will want nothing further to do with you.”

He paused, their gazes locked. And then something deep inside drew out his words like the Excalibur being drawn from the stone. “However, my dear wife, if it turns out you decide to fully commit to this marriage in every respect, then you had better damn well yank that rod out of your arse, move into the chambers next to mine, and leave the bloody door between us unlocked!”

He pushed back his chair and stood, nearly keeling over. He had to get out of there. Had to get to his rooms. Get his powders.

Too late.

A seed of hot pain, deep inside his brain, burst into a fiery vision of bloodied bodies strewn about, of dead and dying horses. Cannons roared above cries and screams, and the smell of acrid gun powder burnt his nostrils all over again. Layered beneath it all was the echo of a male’s voice gasping his name, begging for help. Over and over, the mournful sound rolled through his head—and fell into his battered heart.

“G…get…Hemphill.” Unable to focus, he attempted to make his way around the desk, but his boot snagged the corner. He tripped and pitched forward.

Chapter Twelve

“Eastleigh!” Lilith screamed.

In the seconds it took for the double doors to fly open and a small crowd to rush in, blood spilled from Eastleigh’s scalp and pooled on the hardwood floor.

“Bloody hell!” Ridley bent to one side of his brother while Hemphill knelt near Eastleigh’s head. Thomas and Sebastian gathered around them, both cursing.

Lilith’s knees gave way. She sat with a hard jolt on the nearest chair and bit down on her knuckles to keep silent. Her mother sidled in. She stood off to the left, not bothering to so much as glance Lilith’s way.

“A head wound can be shallow and still bleed vigorously,” Hemphill said, examining Eastleigh’s scalp. “So while I suggest you do not panic, someone get me a cloth. I’ll need to put pressure on the injury to staunch the flow of blood before we make any attempt to move him.”

Three pristine handkerchiefs shot out of breast pockets like white flags waving. The brothers stuffed them into Hemphill’s hand.

“He’s out cold,” Ridley said, his words filled with dark fury.

“That’s the worry,” Hemphill said, not looking up from the handful of linens he pressed against Eastleigh’s wound. “No telling what another knock on the head has done to his memory. Someone ready three or four footmen to carry him to his chambers.”

Sebastian stood. “We’re his brothers.” Shedding his tightly fitted jacket and tossing it aside without a glance as to where it landed, he rolled back his sleeves. “We’ll see to him.”

Thomas and Ridley stood and did the same. In the process of casting off his jacket, Ridley shot Lilith a glare so ominous her already queasy stomach nearly lost its contents.

“I don’t know what the devil went on in here,” he growled. “But when I return for my clothing, you had better have answers for me, because I intend to have them.”

Lilith bit the inside of her lip in a vain attempt to hold her nerves steady. “He had a headache that had worsened, so he was attempting to leave when he tripped coming around his desk. I think he hit his head on the sharp corner of the chess table on the way down.”

The contempt in Ridley’s narrowed eyes could have cut steel. “If he didn’t have a headache before you arrived, then he damn well has one now.”

Lilith flinched. But then she recoiled from the wince and let the hurt settle inside her. Truth was truth. Ridley had every right to be angry with her. “What happened to your brother is entirely my fault.”

“Enough!” Hemphill shouted. “Let’s get him moving or call the footmen to do the deed.”

At the sight of the dark stain eating up the pristine white cloths pressed to Eastleigh’s head, a small moan escaped her lips.

Thomas kneeled next to the doctor. “I can manage to keep the handkerchiefs on him long enough to get him to his bed.” He replaced Hemphill’s hold with his own, slipped his other arm beneath Eastleigh’s neck and shoulder area, then nodded to his brothers.

“Ready on three,” Ridley said, and with a fluid motion that could not have been better orchestrated, the brothers lifted Eastleigh as though he weighed little more than a young boy and carried him off.

Hemphill started to trail behind but paused long enough to shoot a glance at Lilith. “I knew he had a megrim coming on when I left you two, but even you noticed his condition? I have a need to inquire so as to know best how to treat him.”

She nodded. “He’d grown quite pale, and he kept scrubbing at his neck and pressing at his temples the entire short while that we conversed. I asked if he was all right, but he shook off my inquiry and kept on with the conversation. Finally, he said he had to discontinue the discussion, and after a few more words, he made to leave.” She glanced at the blood stain and looked away, unable to bear the sight of what their argument had caused. “That’s when it happened. The fall, I mean.”

Hemphill settled an authoritative regard on her mother. “Mrs. Stokes, I would advise you to take heart and see to your daughter while I tend to her husband. Lilith, the chamber you used prior to your leaving has been made ready. Wait for me there, and I’ll come to you as soon as I am able. Do not, under any circumstance, bid Ridley entry with his temper gone off the way it has.”

He turned to exit and nearly ran into Mum, her eyes wide. “What’s happened to my Augie?”

“He took a fall,” Hemphill called out as he disappeared from sight. “See Lilith gets to her chambers, if you will.”

Mum is to see me to my chambers?
Had Hemphill lost his senses? But when Mum stretched out her hand in a compassionate, beckoning gesture, a kind of strength shone in the depths of her eyes that gave Lilith a sudden measure of comfort.

And the meek shall inherit the earth.

Lilith swallowed the bile in her throat and went to Mum, whose arms swept around her. Tildy stood outside the door, wringing her hands. “Would you tend to my mother, Tildy? Are there chambers ready for her?”

“Indeed, my lady. I’ll be caring for the both of ye.” Tildy gave a small bow of her head, and the sweep of her skirts told Lilith there had been a bend of the knee as well. How bittersweet—a show of respect for a short-lived lady of the manor.

“Mrs. Stokes,” Mum said. “Would you care to join us for tea? Tildy will see to having it brought to your daughter’s chambers since she’s to remain there until the good doctor can see to her.”

Lilith’s mother swept past them and into the corridor, head down with her eyes cast to the floor. The color in her cheeks deepened. “I think not. Show me to my rooms, if you will, Tildy.”

For the first time, Lilith became acutely aware of how her mother had never come to her aid, no matter what her father had said or done. A familiar, hollow ache caught in the pit of her stomach. But for whatever reason, the feeling left her, replaced by an odd sense of compassion. Mother had been afraid all her married life. She still was.

No wonder her mother felt fear. It raced through Lilith’s veins now, as well, right behind confusion and hurt. What a mess she’d made of things. And what if the fall had done damage to Eastleigh’s memory again? Ridley was right—this was all her doing.

A squeeze of her hand, and Mum said, “Come, dear. We can wait this out over tea. You look as though you are about to expire on the spot.”

“I feel as though I might, at that.” With shaking fingers, she took Mum’s bent elbow, as much to guide Mum as to steady herself. As they exited the library, two parlor maids rushed in, each carrying a bucket of steaming water, brushes, and cloths.

Lilith glanced back at them. They were already on their knees and leaning over the dark stain on the floor. That was Eastleigh’s blood—blood that would not have been shed if not for her.

A sickening shockwave ran through her.

God in Heaven, what have I done?

The French mantel clock had barely chimed five times when a knock sounded. Lilith rose from where she sat at the table across from Mum and moved to the door, unlocking it once Hemphill had announced himself.

Lilith had to swallow hard to get her throat to work. “How is Eastleigh?”

Doctor Hemphill entered and scrubbed his hand over his eyes. “Hard to say. I stitched up his head wound and filled him with laudanum, so he’s still unconscious. We’ll keep the treatment going for three to five days. From past experience, that is what was required when a megrim this bad set in. The danger is that if the brain swells, we won’t know until it’s too late, but if we withhold medication at this point, he could easily have a setback with the amnesia. The next twelve hours will tell us if there is any engorgement, but if that’s not the case, we won’t know whether he’s had a relapse in memory until he awakens.”

Lilith began to pace, biting her lip and rubbing at the chills running up and down her arms. Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. “Lord in heaven. If we lose him—”

“Get hold of yourself, Lilith. It does no good to consider those kinds of thoughts. I like to remember that we’ve pulled him through worse.”

“Oh, dear,” Mum said. “I’m going to go sit with him.”

Hemphill turned to her. “He’s sleeping, Mum.”

“Well, that didn’t stop me from holding vigil in the past, did it?” She was out the door in a flash.

Oh, how Lilith wanted to be the one rushing to his side, but his family was likely gathered around him. She would be the last person they’d want to see. She pressed her fingers to her lips and sucked in a breath through her nose to keep from weeping. Turning her back to Hemphill, she moved to the tall mantel and pressed her forehead against the marble, cool on her skin despite the fire burning in the hearth below.

“Will you keep me apprised of his condition?” Her words trembled when they left her mouth. She suddenly realized she cared about Eastleigh far more than she wanted to admit to herself.

“Of course. But you’re his wife, you should be—”

She raised a hand. “Please. His family would have my head should I attempt to see him at this point. I ignored the obvious worsening of his condition and selfishly asked him for an annulment. I believe that’s what sent him over the edge.”

Hemphill’s eyebrows shot up. “An annulment? But—”

“Since we three are the only ones aware the marriage was consummated—and I know for certain I am not with child—I asked him to cooperate.”

“You mean you asked him to lie.”

Her stomach did a flip at Hemphill’s words. She took in another breath to try and release the tension in her chest. Little good that did. “And now look at the horrid situation I have created. I should leave the premises as soon as possible. I would not care to have Ridley toss me out on my behind.”

“You are Lady Eastleigh, he cannot do that. Besides, I talked him out of confronting you. He and his brothers rode off to inform their parents of Eastleigh’s accident.”

“But they’ll be back. Then there’s that bully Will to deal with.” Unable to hold back her tears, Lilith covered her face with her hands and wept.

Hemphill touched her shoulder.

She flinched and jumped back as if the contact burned her.

He dropped his hand and stepped away from her. “You act as though I was about to strike you.” His brows stitched together. “Good God, Lilith. Is this the result of having spent years with an abusive father?”

“I’m sorry. I…I confess, I can be a bit alarmed by a man’s touch. I had no business thinking I could manage a decent relationship with a man when they frighten me so. I have done Eastleigh a terrible injustice.”

“Which is why you asked for the annulment, isn’t it?”

Unable to face Hemphill’s scrutiny, she stared over his shoulder at nothing, her chin quivering. “In all likelihood, you’ve got things right.”

He reached toward her, but then, as if thinking better of it, dropped his hand. He moved to the door and opened it. “Eastleigh is in a deep sleep, but it might do you a bit of good to sit with him awhile. Mum is there with him, and I’ve chased the rest of the family from his room for the time being. You’ll be safe.”

Lilith wrapped her arms around herself against the sudden chill at the idea of stepping out into the corridor. God knew what kind of gossip was running rampant.

“You’ll have your privacy. I’ll see to it.”

They made their way along the corridor to Eastleigh’s chambers and entered the darkened room. Lilith paused a moment for her eyes to adjust. Then she stepped to the side of the bed. Eastleigh lay before her, deathly still, his face ashen. A white bandage was wound around his head. Dark blotches stained one side. She fisted her hand against her mouth to keep from crying out.

Hemphill brought a chair next to where Mum sat and motioned for Lilith to sit. Then he moved to the other side of the bed and carefully went about changing Eastleigh’s bandage.

Mum reached out and covered Lilith’s clenched hands with one of her own and whispered, “We’ve been through this before with his headaches.”

“But not with a wound.”

“Oh, dear. You should have seen him when he first arrived from the Crimean—”

Hemphill shook his head, quieting them. He came around to where Lilith sat. “You’re still my patient,” he said quietly. “You need your rest now.”

“You’re right. I’m enervated. I can see myself out.” She stood and made for the door, but it opened before she reached it.

Will!

Lilith felt the blood drain from her face.

Hands on her hips, feet wide apart, Will blocked the doorway. “We’re going to have a little talk, you and I.”

Hemphill rushed around Lilith and boldly pushed Will back until they stood in the middle of the corridor. He glanced over his shoulder. “Lilith, stay in the room.”

He turned back to Will. “You will not disrupt either of my patients. If you insist on badgering Lady Eastleigh,” he growled, “I will have you tossed out. Do you understand?”

Lilith had only
thought
she’d endured Hemphill’s sternness in the past. The severe tone of his voice had her standing at attention.

Will glared at Lilith over the doctor’s shoulder, then marched along the corridor and stomped down the stairs. If looks were daggers, Lilith would be dead.

With the little dignity Lilith had left, she managed to make her way to her room without stumbling over her own feet. By the time she got there, she was weeping so hard she couldn’t see to grasp the door’s handle.

Hemphill opened it for her. “I suggest you allow me to administer a small dose of laudanum to help you rest. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal.”