Dare to be Mine (6 page)

It was rumored that more than one
unhappy Fredrickson wife had jumped to her death over the years. Percy's
great-grandfather had begun destroying the castle himself after having lost his
dear wife to a depression so severe that she had cast herself down before her
husband's eyes. Her needless death gnawed away at him until he likewise joined
her after seeing to the castle's near demise.

Elyssa found the view from the cliffs
breathtakingly beautiful and haunting. She could see why the original builder
wanted his family's home built near the edge of the cliffs. Its serene beauty
gave a feeling of security, of being able to take on whatever life threw your
way. on either side of ed to ">CHAPTER

It was that pull to the cliff’s
borders, that
urge to get as close to the edge as possible
that bade Elyssa closer to the brink. Though she was in no real danger of
falling below, Elyssa tripped over a tree root protruding above ground, and
cried out as she stumbled forward. Strong hands yanked her up before she hit
the ground.

"Careless little fool, what are you
doing up here?" Daniel demanded as he pulled Elyssa away from the edge of
the cliffs. She seemed not a bit affected and Daniel wondered if indeed the
legends weren't a bit true after all.

Irritated at the domineering set down,
Elyssa meant to deliver a tongue lashing to
whomever
was taking it upon himself to scold the earl's wife as if she were a young
child. However, one look into those eyes of dark gray gave Elyssa cause to
suppress her verbal rebuke. Her breath drew in sharply and she felt alarm at
first, for Percy had been most adamant about her staying out of this man's
sight. Why was he there at the cliffs? Had he perchance followed her?

The initial sense of fear faded
immediately, for Elyssa recognized that any anxiety she felt over the stranger
was not concern that he might do her bodily harm, but rather the chance she
might fall prey to his wicked charms once again.

Daniel received only silence in answer
to his query and he drank in the sight of the young woman. This was definitely
the same lovely vixen that had caught his fancy the night before, although in
the light of day Daniel could scarcely believe he'd been taken in so deeply by
the young lady. She was admittedly beautiful, but was not the sultry
enchantress he remembered from his dreams the night past.

Today she wore not a lacy nightgown with
a revealing slit up the leg, but rather a servant's plain dress. Her hair was
pulled back behind her head rather than loosely drenched about her shoulders.
She was obviously sneaking a break away from her chores, Daniel mused inwardly,
and it would appear she deserved a brief respite, for her appearance displayed
the look of a hard worker. Daniel smiled softly as he reached out to gently rub
the smudge from her smooth cheek.

Elyssa flushed at the gesture,
aggravated at
herself
for so quickly losing her
self-made promise to remain unaffected by the man.

"It would seem you have a habit of
oft being where you should not," Daniel said with a friendly smile. escaped her lips and
toward ">CHAPTER

Frowning at his comment, Elyssa replied,
"I beg your pardon?"

"Out in thunderstorms, nearly
falling off of cliffs....I would say you are drawn to danger, miss." That
thought brought a twinge of fascination for the young woman and already Daniel
was wondering how he'd found her beauty lacking for even a moment. Her emerald
eyes sparkled in mischievousness, the hint of a smile leaving Daniel wanting
fervently to be the one to make her genuinely smile, to amuse her, for surely
she had a lilting, irresistible laugh.

Though she didn't see herself as someone
drawn to danger, Elyssa found she did want to join the handsome man in
conversation for a bit, so indeed, perhaps he was right after all. And if he
found her the least bit interesting and perhaps a little mysterious, why should
she destroy that notion so soon?

"It may be that I am not enticed by
peril, but rather by some chance, danger is attracted to me. After all, you are
here, are you not? And I sense a definite menace about you."

A smile tugged at his lips, for his
suspicion that her voice would be sweet was indeed true. Daniel relished her flirtatious
words, the wicked gleam in her eyes, seeing a glimpse of the enticing female
he'd held in his arms mere hours ago. Only now, rather than her provocative
appearance of last night, it was her words and silky voice that threatened to
make him succumb to her charms.

"On the contrary," his husky
voice replied, "I believe it is you who are dangerous, for already I am in
fear of losing my heart to you."

Elyssa smiled in amusement at the
blatant flirting of the cad, and she was helpless to enjoy their simple banter.
Rarely had she ever had the chance to enjoy a man's attentions, thanks to her
parents’ strictness, and Elyssa was determined to enjoy the brief chance now.
She would certainly not encourage the man on any higher level, but meant only
to talk to him, perhaps learn a bit more about him. Never before would she have
been party to such familiarity with another man, but Elyssa was tired of
feeling so completely alone. It was nice to have someone take an actual
interest in conversing with her.

"I wonder how many hearts have been
lost by just that declaration alone," Elyssa remarked, smiling.

"None that ever mattered," he
responded softly. Elyssa self- consciously cleared her th too close for comfort, g">CHAPTER roat, his words giving
the distinct impression that he actually cared what she thought about his
amorous affairs. She turned away from him as nonchalantly as possible, walking
a bit closer toward the cliffs.

It was easy to see that she was not a
simpleton, eager to hear any man's words of admiration, and it pleased Daniel
that she was not simply a coquette ever in search of a tryst. He saw no ring on
her finger and assumed her to be unwed. Not that that always made a difference,
but Daniel was pleased nonetheless.

She was a servant, to be sure. Of
course, he'd already figured that from the night before. Her clothes and
smudged face gave evidence that she was indeed a hard working employee of his
father's, and suddenly he pitied her, for surely Percy was a harsh employer.

"Do you enjoy living in the
mansion?" he asked curiously.

Surprised at his abrupt change in
subject, Elyssa thought for a moment before replying, her arms wrapped about
herself. "It is rather lonely," she admitted ruefully.

"Yes," he agreed, "it
does get overwhelming at times. A person could get lost within its walls."

"How true," Elyssa commented.
She turned back to face him, the hint of a smile gracing her lips. "It is
so beautiful though. The
most lovely
romantic mansion
I have ever seen."

Daniel felt a touch of sadness in her
words and wondered just what it was that had the lovely woman so melancholy.
Perhaps she and her stable hand had had an argument. He hoped she wasn't
planning anything rash by coming to the cliffs. She didn't seem the type, but
then who could explain the past mysterious deaths?

"I must admit I've never thought of
Greystone as being romantic or beautiful, but I suppose it is grand to someone
who has not been surrounded by wealth his entire life. Frankly, I find it
rather cold and foreboding myself."

Elyssa gave him a confused look and
assumed that he must indeed live in a fine mansion if he found Greystone
lacking in the least. He was most likely wealthy beyond imagination. She
wondered unconsciously if he'd made his own fortune by the sweat of his brow or
had simply been born with a silver spoon in his mouth and another waiting in
his hand. Most likely it was the latter. escaped her lips and
toward ">CHAPTER

"And where do you live?"
Elyssa asked, stepping closer to him, her tone of voice betraying a bit of
aggravation at his obvious snubbing of her home.

"Wherever I please,"
came
the hesitant response. "I most recently resided in
Paris. Have you ever been there?"

"Yes, I attended finishing school
there for a year. I find Paris very lovely," Elyssa replied.

Daniel chuckled at her sarcasm, for the
young lady had obviously never attended any finishing school in her life, else
she'd not be employed as a servant at Greystone.

"You find that humorous?"
Elyssa
asked,
her hands on her hips.

"No," Daniel replied, shaking
his head slowly, regretting that he'd hurt her feelings. She obviously wanted
to impress him, and while it would normally irritate him to be fibbed to by a
female, he found Elyssa's charm too difficult to resist. Unwittingly, he
reached forward and cupped her chin gently.

Elyssa found his scrutiny unsettling,
for his dark eyes delved into her very being. She feared he could see her
vulnerability, that he could sense her loneliness. Surely he could hear the
thunderous beating of her heart. What was wrong with her? What was it about
this man that threatened to steal her will and yes, even her heart, though he
would do nothing but break it into a million
pieces.
It would be fatal to her heart to read anything more into their chance meetings
than what they were, just coincidental encounters on Percy's estate.

The stark beauty of him left Elyssa near
breathless and she struggled to breathe normally lest he think her a complete
ninny to continue staring at him so. His strong jaw clenched as his eyes turned
darker and Elyssa's fingers longed to caress the jet black hair fallen
carelessly about his handsome face.

Expelling a shuddering breath, Elyssa
pulled back from him, closing her eyes as she turned her back to him in effort
to break his spell and gather her thoughts. A few seconds later she felt his
hands come to rest upon her shoulders and she panicked. Stuttering as she
stepped away, Elyssa said, "I must go now. I have to return to the
mansion. Goodbye." emerald orbsethi

Daniel called out to her as she rushed
away and he fought the urge to follow her. Staring at the fading sight of her,
Daniel reached up and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. It was certainly strange,
this unlikely intrigue the girl held over him. He knew she felt something more
than passing for him, but she was fighting it. Fighting an attraction toward
him for what, or rather whom?

Perhaps she fancied herself already in
love with another. It wouldn't be the first time Daniel had been the cause of a
woman's heart turned fickle, and the challenge of that with this young lady was
looking more and more tempting.

"Wake up, Lady Fredrickson!"
Elyssa cried out as the maid's hands rudely awakened her from a restless sleep.
She sat up suddenly as her eyes opened, searching about frantically.

"What is it?" Elyssa cried.

"I am sorry, milady, but you seemed
so distraught in your sleep. I was bringing in your breakfast, as Lord
Fredrickson said you wouldn't be downstairs today. You were thrashing about and
crying out about something. Please forgive me for waking you so abruptly."

"That’s all right. I was merely
having a bad dream. Thank you for your concern." Elyssa's fingers glided
through her long tresses and she moved to the edge of the bed, her thoughts on
the troubled dream she'd been having.

It was a vision of her wedding to Percy.
She had watched him slide the ring onto her finger, but when she'd looked back
up into his eyes, it had been the mysterious stranger returning her stare
rather than Percy, a smirk on his face. His dark eyes had turned cruel and he’d
scorned
her a
fool. It was an intense doom she
fearfully felt, her struggle to scream coming out as a stifled cry instead.
That must have been when Cora awakened her, and not a moment too soon. Could
she not even remain completely faithful in her dreams?

"You say my husband told you I
wouldn't be down today?"

"Yes. He said you weren't feeling
well last night and he wanted to make sure you get plenty of rest today."

"I see," Elyssa replied
softly. She turned down Cora's offer to help change into a gown for the day and
dismissed her. What would be the purpose in dressing up anyway, knowing she
wasn't welcome downstairs? She felt like making a flamboyant entrance into
Percy's business meeting in retaliation. Of all the nerve!

"I will not be forced to remain a
prisoner in my room," Elyssa muttered aloud.

Still, Percy's decision was for the
best, she mused. If she were to interfere with his wishes, there would be
trouble for certain. Besides the inevitability of an argument with Percy, there
would be the difficultdisappointmenthi him andy in trying to appear unaffected by the other man's
nearness, a thing her husband would be helpless not to notice.

Elyssa picked sparingly at the
breakfast, having only a few bites of egg and a drink of juice. She read for a
while until the book became a complete bore. Tossing the heavy volume across
the room in frustration, Elyssa frowned at the thought of having to spend
several more hours alone in her room when she could be outdoors enjoying
herself.
Anywhere but there in her lonely room.
She
walked over to the window and gazed out at the gardens, awash in color. Autumn
was coming quickly this year, but the myriad of blooms still flourishing
beckoned Elyssa to enjoy a few stolen moments in the gardens.