Grasso, Patricia (8 page)

Her gaze dropped from the sky's oceanic horizon to the narrow lanes below.
Civilization?
Keely thought. How could these English even breathe? She felt as though London's crowded conditions were suffocating her.

Keely's thoughts drifted to the man she would meet that day. What kind of man had sired her? Could she really find happiness as an English lord's daughter? It seemed a preposterous notion, yet her mother had seen it.

Bright streaks of orange light crept higher over the horizon. The rising sun, different each day of the year, seemed especially inspiring on this fateful morn. Was that a good omen?

Keely drew the hood of her robe up and covered her head. If only she could be outside to
feel
the rising sun.

"Myrddin, greatest of Druids, guide my words," Keely began her greeting of the dawn. Trying to get closer to the rising sun, she pressed the palm of her hand to the window pane and chanted, "Father Sun kisses Mother Earth.... Father Sun kisses Mother Earth."

After completing this morning ritual, Keely sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to concentrate on the impending meeting with her father. Unfortunately, a certain copper-haired earl paraded across her mind's eye instead, and that made her think of the danger threatening her cousins. The Earl of Basildon had remarked that Odo and Hew looked familiar; it would be only a matter of time before he realized that her cousins were the culprits who'd robbed him.

Keely pondered her dilemma. According to her mother's teachings, she could cast the magic circle and beg a favor. A single favor—anything more insulted the Goddess's generosity.

Keely sighed. She had planned on asking for her father's acknowledgment, but now her cousins faced life-threatening danger—the earl's retribution. Her choice was no choice at all.

Fetching her satchel, Keely withdrew a black cloth bag and emptied the holy stones it contained into her hand. From these she chose nine: one white agate for spiritual guidance, two dark carnelians for courage and protection, two rose quartzes for healing, two black obsidians for positive power, and two purple beryls for breaking bad luck. Then she pulled her tiny golden sickle from the satchel.

Keely walked to the center of the room and made a makeshift circle with the stones, keeping only the white agate and the golden sickle in her hands. Entering the circle from the west, she closed it with the agate and said once again, "All disturbing thoughts remain outside."

Walking clockwise around the inside of the circle, Keely pointed the golden sickle toward its invisible periphery and fused it shut. She walked to the center of the circle, faced the east, and whispered: "Stones of power, love, and lore, aid my spell, I do implore.... Spirit of my journey, spirit of my ancestors, spirit of my tribe—aid my cause. Keep Odo and Hew safe from harm. Let Richard Devereux drink without injury from the River of Forgetfulness." Bowing her head, she added, "I give thanks to these holy stones, my venerable spirits, and this sickle of gold."

Keely walked to the circle's western periphery and picked the agate up, breaking the enchantment. She gathered the rest of her stones, put them back into the cloth bag, and sat on the edge of the bed to meditate on her father and await the appointed time.

At noon, Keely and her cousins dismounted in the front courtyard of Talbot House, London's most magnificent mansion. Keely looked up at the sun riding high in a cloudless blue sky. She knew that forever afterward, the midday sun would remind her of the day she finally met her father.

"Maybe we should have left our belongings at the tavern," Odo remarked, remembering what had transpired at Ludlow Castle.

Keely shook her head. "If Robert Talbot refuses to acknowledge me, we will return to Wales."

"Are you certain?"

"My mind is set."

"I hope that earl we robbed doesn't live nearby," Hew said, glancing around nervously. The tavern's proprietor had already informed them that all of England's nobles kept residences in the Strand, London's most elite section.

"Harbor no fears on that account," Keely told them. "I've invoked the Goddess's power for your protection."

"Too bad you didn't ask her to make us invisible," Hew muttered.

"Why, cousin," Keely said with a smile, "I never thought of an invisibility shield."

"No dallying," Odo said. "Time to meet your father, little girl."

Keely paled at his words but nodded. She was as ready as she'd ever be. Together, she and her cousins entered the duke's mansion. Surprisingly, no one stopped or questioned them. Inside the main foyer, servants hurried past them while a couple of men-at-arms stood near the wall on their left and talked together.

When they tried to enter the great hall, a servant blocked their path and demanded, "Who goes here? What is your business?"

"We want the duke," Odo replied.

"Is there a problem, Meade?" a man's voice called from inside the hall.

Meade glanced over his shoulder and said, "No, Your Grace." Turning back to the three intruders, he snapped, "The duke has guests and cannot be disturbed. Now, get out!"

Keely's heart sank, and her bottom lip quivered in her valiant struggle to control her aching emotion. She was being turned away. Again.

"We've traveled many miles to see his high-and-mighty," Odo growled at the man.

"We aren't leaving, you turd," Hew added.

Keely stifled a nervous, horrified giggle. "You mean
toad,"
she whispered.

"He means
turd,"
Odo said.

"Take your doxy and leave," Meade ordered, pointing a finger toward the door, "or I'll call the guard."

"Call all the guards you want," Odo said, lifting the hapless servant by his neck and flinging him into the hall, where he crashed on the floor.

A woman screamed.

A man cursed.

A third voice boomed, "What is the meaning of this?"

With Odo and Hew marching in front of her and blocking her view, Keely walked into the great hall. The scene wasn't exactly as she'd envisioned, but she'd made it inside.

"Are you the Duke of Ludlow?" Odo demanded.

"Yes."

At that, the Welsh giants stepped aside, and Keely found herself standing only inches before a powerfully built, middle-aged nobleman. His startling violet eyes and thick ebony hair matched hers.

"Are you Robert Talbot?" Keely asked in a small voice.

The nobleman paled, and his eyes clouded as though he were caught in the midst of remembered pain. "Megan?" he asked in an aching whisper, one of his hands reaching toward her. "Is it you?"

"My name is Keely," she told him. Oh, why did he seem so tortured? He had, after all, deserted her mother.

Duke Robert shook his head as if to clear it. His imagination was playing a cruel prank on him. Megan had been dead these past eighteen years.

"Where did you get that?" the duke asked, dropping his gaze to the dragon pendant, glittering against the crisp whiteness of her linen blouse.

"My mother gave it to me," Keely said. Her hand shielded the pendant. It was her mother's legacy to her, and she'd rather die than let anyone take it away, sire or not.

"And where did she get it?"

"My sire
gifted
her with it," Keely told him, her violet gaze locking meaningfully on his. "Eighteen years ago."

"What is her name?" the duke asked, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Megan Glendower."

"Does your mother still live?" he asked, unable to mask the eager, hopeful tone in his voice.

Keely shook her head. "She's been dead these past two months."

Duke Robert closed his eyes against the rush of tears welling up in them, and an anguished moan escaped his lips. He took several deep calming breaths, cleared his throat, and gave her a wobbly smile. From beneath his shirt, Duke Robert pulled his own pendant. Diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, and gold formed the dragon's lower body and tail.

"This is your pendant's mate," he said, his violet-eyed gaze searching hers for any sign of the love that already swelled in his heart for her.

Determined to save herself from the heartache of another rejection, Keely flicked a glance at the pendant and feigned indifference, saying, "Yes, I see."

"Child, I am your father," Duke Robert announced.

"Her father?"
sounded another voice.

"Damn," Odo muttered behind Keely.

"Double damn," Hew echoed his brother's sentiment.

Keely turned toward the owner of that strangely familiar voice and froze. There stood the earl whom her cousins had robbed. "Triple damn," she murmured, realizing her magic had failed her.

Ignoring the earl's outburst, Duke Robert looked around at the crowd of curious spectators lingering about and shouted, "Get the hell out of my hall!"

The Talbot retainers and men-at-arms tripped over each other in a mad scramble to obey their lord. Almost instantly, the hall emptied.

"After eighteen years," Duke Robert said to Keely, "what have you to say to your father?"

"I have no father," she replied, her voice tinged with bitterness, her gaze never wavering from his. "You sired me, nothing more. If Megan hadn't made me swear to present myself to you, I would be far away from here now."

Her insolence brought an instant reaction from the duke, but not the one she would have expected. Something flickered in his intense gaze, and then his chiseled lips split into a broad grin.

"Chessy, did you hear that?" Duke Robert called to the voluptuous woman standing beside the earl. "She's got my proud spirit, don't she?"

"I can see that she does, Tally," the woman agreed with a smile and a nod of approval.

The pride in the duke's voice touched Keely's heart, and for the first time since her mother's death, she felt hope and optimism stir within her breast. "I hope your man is uninjured," Keely said. "Odo and Hew are fiercely protective of me."

Duke Robert glanced at his majordomo who, at that very moment, was limping out of the hall. "I believe Meade will survive." He turned his attention on the giants. "For delivering my daughter to me, I am forever indebted to you," he said.

"Oh, Tally," gushed the woman. "How utterly heartwarming."

"Come, child." Duke Robert held his hand out. "Meet my friends."

Keely looked at the outstretched hand for an excruciatingly long moment. Finally, she smiled shyly at the duke and placed her hand in his.

"I present Lady Dawn DeFey, the Countess of Cheshire," Duke Robert said.

Though she appeared to be in her early thirties, youthful beauty still clung to the countess. Auburn-haired and brown-eyed, Lady Dawn was voluptuous of figure. When she smiled as she did now, two adorable dimples decorated her cheeks and made her look even younger. She wore a red and gold brocaded gown, more suitable for a court gala than an afternoon in front of the hearth. Diamonds and gold draped her neck, earlobes, and fingers.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, my lady," Keely said, curtsying. "You were aptly named for the day's most beautiful moments."

"Tally, the dear child is as sweet as an angel," Lady Dawn complimented her. "So much pleasanter than that bitch you sired.... Take my advice, Devereux. Look to this daughter instead of the other."

"Morgana cannot help the way she is," the duke said in defense of his absent daughter. "She takes after my late wife's family. You'll see, my dear. She'll come around."

Duke Robert turned Keely to his other guest. "I present my neighbor, Richard Devereux, the Earl of Basildon."

"The kindest of fates have brought us together," the earl said with an easy smile, stepping forward to kiss her hand. "I knew we would meet again, my beauty."

Keely's hand trembled in his. Her head spun dizzily, and her stomach churned in response to the topsy-turvy spinning.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Keely cried as the world inside the hall became unfocused, and she found refuge in a faint.

"She's swooning," Richard said. He caught her before she hit the floor and lifted her into his arms.

"Oh, dear!" the countess cried.

"This way, Devereux," the duke ordered. "Carry her upstairs."

Richard followed Duke Robert out of the hall, past the surprised retainers who'd been eavesdropping in the foyer, and up the stairs to one of the bedchambers. Behind them marched Lady Dawn, Odo, and Hew. At the countess's order, the two Welsh giants waited in the corridor.

Setting Keely down on the bed, Richard stared at the face that had haunted his dreams the previous night. She was even more exquisite than he remembered—her beauty and fragility reminded him of a rare exotic butter-fly.

Keely regained consciousness slowly. When her eyes fluttered open, she found the earl's vivid emerald gaze fixed upon her and worry etched across his features. Keely looked at Duke Robert's expression of concern and tried to rise.

"Stay down and rest a moment," Richard said, his hands gently pressing her back onto the bed. Keely did as she was told.

"Do you have any pain?" Lady Dawn asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Keely shook her head, but the movement made her stomach churn. She covered her mouth with her hand.

"Was it something you ate?" Richard asked.

"No, your presence at the tavern last night ruined my supper."

His emerald gaze narrowed on her. "Breakfast, then?"

"I had none," she answered.

"Child, when did you eat last?" Duke Robert asked.

" 'Twas supper, the day before yesterday."

"Silly chit," Lady Dawn said, relieved the malady was so easily cured.

Keely watched the countess cross the chamber, open the door, and call for Meade. Within minutes, the servant appeared, listened to her softly spoken instructions, and then left to do her bidding.

"You'll feel better shortly, my dear," Duke Robert said.

"Lady Dawn has ordered a light lunch for you," the earl told her.

"Afterward, you'll sleep," the duke added. "You're not to rise from that bed until tomorrow."

Keely realized they were being kind, but she felt so conspicuous lying on the bed while the earl's intense gaze devoured her. In truth, he appeared hungrier than she.