Damsel in Distress? (17 page)

“I tried to do this in your room, before the maid and Mrs Barnes arrived on the scene.” He got up and went to where he had left his clothing in a heap on the ground. She could see the dirt on them from here; his valet would not be pleased. He dug around in his clothes and pulled something out of his waistcoat pocket, the same pocket he was digging in when they were interrupted by the maid.

When he came back to her, he didn’t rejoin her on their makeshift bed, but instead kneeled down on one knee. She sat up and reached for her dress and held it against her chest. She felt naked with him looking at her so intently. She was of course actually naked, but it was as though he could see right inside her soul, his eyes stripped everything away.

“You still can’t remember who you are.
I
don’t know who you are, but I know who I want you to become.” He cleared his throat nervously. “Will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife and taking my name?” His hand shook as he held out the most beautiful ring Harriet had ever seen. Diamonds set in gold shone in the lowering rays of the sun, sending prisms of colour through the trees and across his naked chest. The band of gold sparkled and called for her, as though it already belonged on her finger.

A tear escaped down her cheek. “Yes,” she whispered. All the doubts that clouded her mind the last few days vanished into thin air. At once, she was able to breathe deeply again, and yet she couldn’t seem to fill her lungs. She stared at the ring Philip was holding, joy coursing through her whole body. This feeling, this moment of intense bliss, was better than any orgasm could ever be.

Philip slipped the ring onto her hand, kissing each finger in turn. “I love you, Harriet soon-to-be Lady Eaglestone. You have made me the happiest of men.” His face split into a grin once he slid the ring home. He leaned forward and kissed her deeply, passionately, so thoroughly she was sure he would never stop. She hoped he never would.

***

It was dusk when they emerged from the woods and headed back to the house. The moon was obscured by clouds as it rose into the sky. They walked hand in hand. Harriet was no longer worried who saw them.

“Will it rain tonight do you think, Philip?” Harriet looked up at the ominous clouds gathering.

“It is England. Probably,” he replied dryly.

The rain started soon after they made it back into the house. Mrs Barnes had dinner set out in the morning room for them, at Philip’s request. The formal dining room seemed too extravagant with only the two of them.

Harriet enjoyed every single morsel on her plate. The chicken was especially nice. The meat was tender and pulled apart with her fork. Small potatoes were roasted to perfection and the fresh greens from the cook’s garden were some of the best she had ever tasted. Harriet was famished. If there wasn’t a footman standing near the wall, waiting to be of assistance, she would have licked her plate.

When the desert arrived, she moaned.

“You all right, my dear?” Philip asked.

She only managed a distracted nod as she dug into her trifle. The creamy texture glided off her spoon and down her throat, the sharpness of the sherry biting her tongue. She never remembered a meal tasting this good.

After dinner, Philip walked her to her room. As soon as they were out of sight of the servants, he had held her hand. Warmth climbed her arm and spread through her whole body. She was happy and at this moment in time, she didn’t care who she was or where she had come from, all she needed was the man beside her. With him next to her, she felt she could tackle the world.

“Thank you for the wonderful afternoon,” she said once they reached her door. It was hopelessly inadequate for what she was feeling on the inside, but she wasn’t sure how to show him the joy inside her heart. A smile had been etched on her face since their return to the house, so maybe he did have
some
indication of what she was feeling.

He smiled in return and leaned in close for a kiss, crowding her against the wall. Her hands snaked around his neck. “Stay tonight?” she whispered in his ear.

He growled in the back of his throat and pushed her door open.

Mrs Barnes would not approve of the new sleeping arrangements.

***

“I’m going for a ride, after breakfast, would you care to join me?” Philip asked as he pulled his trousers on the next morning.

Harriet was not yet prepared to get out of bed and said so. “Besides, I think I’m a little too sore to do any riding today.” She smiled at him and he raised his eyebrows in return.

“I did ask if you wanted me to stop,” he said with a smile.

“And I said no. I remember. I don’t regret a minute of it. Where are you going?” Harriet propped more pillows behind her head, so she could watch him dress in comfort, her heart still catching at the beauty of him.

“I thought I would ride around the estate. Japer mentioned he wouldn’t mind me having a look around while I was here, just to make sure everything is in order. He has a very good man of affairs thought, so I’m not sure why he’s worried. It’ll be nice getting out in the fresh air after spending months in London. Are you sure you won’t change your mind? I could use your company.”

She was tempted when he sent her that look of longing, but she needed a day of rest after the last few days. “Sorry, Philip. I have plans for the day. And they include sleeping in and reading a good book. Lord Bingham’s library is impressive, I’m sure I can find something that suits my fancy in there.”

“As you wish, my dear.” Philip dropped a long slow kiss to her lips before he straightened and walked towards the door. “Pleasant dreams.”

Chapter 34

Harriet lay awake in her bed, listening to the rain pounding against the house. The wind had risen to a gale an hour after Philip left this morning. She hadn’t had any luck finding a book although the library was well stocked. She had spent her day wondering if Philip was all right. When darkness fell, her worry grew and she spent the hours pacing in front of the windows, waiting for any sign of him.

Grayson had sent footmen out looking for him, but so far none of them had returned. She could tell the old man was also worried about his ward, even if he spent his energies trying to comfort her fears. She finally went to her room in hopes of allowing the elderly man some time to rest.

Lightning lit the sky in great flashes and the thunder that followed shook her bed. She couldn’t stand it any longer. She flipped the covers off and padded across the floor to the window, the plush carpet warm beneath her feet. She looked down towards the woods where the pond hid. Amazing it was only yesterday they had been enjoying the cool waters there. Now she wasn’t sure how she could stand to wait for news from Philip. She asked herself for the hundredth time, why didn’t she go with him?

Lightning flashed again and from the corner of her eye she saw something, or someone, moving around the house. Her heart skipped, could it be him? Who else would be outside on a night like this?

She quickly threw on a wrap and rushed downstairs, being careful not to wake the servants. The last thing she wanted was to wake up Grayson after his long day.

Once she reached the ground floor she didn’t know what to do. It was too dark after the lightning flash to make out the figure again and she wasn’t sure where it had been heading. However, if it was a servant, they could get in the house through the kitchen. Her stomach gave a growl at the thought of food. She hadn’t wanted anything to eat after the storm came up. She had been too worried about Philip, but her body was protesting now.

Hushed voices moving towards her down the hall stopped her in her tracks. Her heart leapt and ice ran through her veins. She recognised the sound of their voices. It wasn’t Philip and it wasn’t Grayson or Mrs Barnes or any of the other servants. It was the men who had broken into Philip’s home. It was the men who tried to kill her.

She did the only thing she could. She ran. Her bare feet made barely a sound across the floor but she caught the corner of a small table as she rushed by and it wobbled behind her. She released her breath in relief when it didn’t topple over, but the relief was short-lived when the vase it held crashed to the floor. Heavy-footed steps raced down the corridor behind her. There was nowhere to go. She rushed into the library and closed the door.

Just before it clicked shut a hand caught it and shoved it open. She screamed and stumbled backwards from the force which the man used to open the door. Her foot caught in the hem of her nightgown and she fell against a table beside one of the chairs in the room. She quickly righted herself, but it was too late. The men loomed over her and there was nowhere for her to run.

“What do you want?” she demanded. Her false bravado was quickly given away by the quaver in her voice.

“Ha, ha!” The man in front laughed mockingly at her as she retreated across the room. “That knock to your head did some damage after all, didn’t it? This is almost worth not killing you the first time.”

“What do you want from me?” she asked again. She continued to back away, not that it did any good because the men continued to advance on her. Soon she would be forced into a corner. Then what was she going to do?

“I think you know what I want, Princess.” He curled his lips into what was supposed to be a smile.

“I’m not a Princess.”

He cocked his head at her. “Aren’t you?”

She stopped her backward progress. “No. I would have remembered that.” Wouldn’t she? Things started churning in her mind and flashes of pictures flew around inside her head. Who was she? A picture stopped right behind her eyes and instantly everything came into focus.

“Ah, you do remember, don’t you, Princess?” The man continued to sneer at her.

“Don’t call me that.” The ice that coursed through her veins when the men were chasing her was nothing compared to the fear that consumed her now. She was well aware of what these men could do.

Too late, she noticed the other man had circled around beside her, and they now had her cornered. Against her better judgement, she took a step back.

“There ain’t no running this time, Princess. Where is the package?”

“I don’t have it.”

“Tell us something we don’t know. Where is it?” He took another step forward.

“I don’t know. Philip wouldn’t tell me where he hid it.” Her eyes darted around, looking for anything she could defend herself with.

The man walked closer. She stepped back and felt the edge of the bookshelf dig into her back. Oh God, he was going to kill her. After all this time, he had finally found her. And this time, there was no escaping.

“He may not have told you where he hid it, but you know where it is, don’t you, Princess? You were always too smart for your own good, and I bet that hasn’t changed.” His hand grasped her throat and lifted her to the tips of her toes, too high for her to bring one of her knees up to defend herself.

Black spots obscured her vision. She struggled to drag a breath into her lungs past the vice-like grip he had on her throat, her hands fighting to get a hold on one of the shelves behind her. She was losing the battle and just before her vision turned completely black, he released her. She fell to the ground in a heap and desperately sucked air into her lungs. Her head pounded to the point of explosion and it took a moment for his voice to penetrate.

“Where is it, Princess?”

She shook her head. He wasn’t getting that package. He’d have to kill her first. She was under no illusions that he was going to do it anyway. “I don’t know,” she rasped.

He squatted down in front of her. He reached out and grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Come now Princess, where is Daddy’s package?” He let his words sink in for a moment, then added, “We already know what is in it. We extracted
that
information from him. Too bad he gave it to us in exchange for your life. But he won’t know we broke our promise.”

Terror tore through her at his words. “What do you mean?” She struggled to keep from shivering as each wave of panic broke over her.

“We had to kill him when we were done, of course.” The man spoke calmly as though this was an everyday occurrence. She knew, for him, it probably was.

“No,” she whimpered, “not Daddy.” She heard her heart break and she curled into herself. Great racking sobs shook her whole body as the magnitude of his words registered in her mind. “You can’t get away with murdering the King, Peter!” she shouted at him.

“Ah, you do know my name. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me,” he said with a satisfied smile. “And you are wrong…we did get away with it. No one cares that the King is dead, there is already another ready to take his place.”

“No.” Her voice was stronger this time, despite the tears that continued to track down her face.

“Of course we made it look like an accident. He should’ve known better than to go driving alone without an escort in the rain, but it was not the first time he’d done it, was it?”

Her father had scoffed at the constraints imposed on a Mob King and often snuck away in disguise to enjoy ‘civilian’ life. He had a soft side his enemies didn’t know about. He actually cared about his people and if he had been a real ‘king’, he would’ve been a great monarch.

His right-hand man, Peter, did know his soft side, however, and had used it against him.

Harriet remembered now, six months ago her father had called her into his office. What he revealed to her was unexpected to say the least. He had been friends with the Quantum Physics genius, Gareth Hutchinson, for years. Her father had in fact financed his laboratory. Gareth joined them in the office that day. Harriet hadn’t noticed him when she walked in. But she had seen Peter. He stood at his usual place behind her father’s desk. He smiled at her that day, as though she was a ray of sunshine to his dark life. If only she had known what he was really after.

Her father sat behind his desk. He was a large man and well fed. His face was rosy and when he wasn’t conducting unpleasant ‘family’ business, he always wore a smile. His bright green eyes twinkled at his daughter when she came into the room. “Sit down, Princess,” her father bade her with his usual smile. “I have something exciting to tell you.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. “You remember our good friend Gareth, don’t you?”