Heart of the Diamond (48 page)

Blake stared in confusion at the man in the doorway. Standing every inch as tall as Blake, he had gold hair swept back from a striking face. Pale blue eyes sparkled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Charles?” Blake could not believe the boy he remembered could have grown so large.

“In the flesh.”

Blake strode forward to pull his cousin into a hug. “Good God, man, it has been too long!” They separated. “I hope we can spend more time together once I have found my fiancée.”

Suddenly serious, Charles' gaze met Blake's in regret and the hint of shadows from the past. “I intend to help you find your Nicole. She's a special young woman. That whole family is damned wonderful. What can I do?”

“How can I turn down a request like that?” Blake turned to Sophia who wiped at the tears streaking down her cheeks. He attempted a reassuring smile. “Aunt, I wonder if you would go to Nicole's mother. She will be beside herself with worry.”

Sophia sniffed. “Of course, Blake, but what can I do to help her?”

“The church will need decorating—you know more than I of all the preparations necessary for a wedding. I do intend that there be a wedding today, even if it takes place at midnight. And it will be
my
wedding.”

“Good luck, my darling.” She moved forward to envelop Blake in a teary embrace.

Taking her arm, Blake led her to the door. Charles stepped aside, then sauntered further into the library.

Sophia turned again, but Blake put his fingers over her lips. “When I return with Nicole, we will have time to talk more.”

As Sophia moved to the stairs, he turned back to the solemn group. “Where do you suppose he has gone and how is he getting there?”

Tunstell raised his hand hesitantly. At Blake's nod he spoke. “Among the receipts was one for a coach and four. The Runner I hired said the man had also hired a footman.”

“But Teddy came to the Hall on horseback,” interjected Jonathon.

“Then we have our answer,” Blake said. “Somehow, Teddy must have had the coach ready for him when he needed it. Did your Runner happen to learn if Bartholomew procured a marriage license, Tunstell?”

The man shook his head.

Anger seethed beneath the surface as an ever-present threat to Blake's self-control. “If he has no license then he must be on his way to Scotland.”

Charles came forward to take Blake's arm. “If the blow to her head was bad . . . I want you to be prepared for what we might find.”

Blake clenched his fists at his side. “Teddy Bartholomew had best pray to God she is well. If he has harmed her in the slightest, God shall be the only one who can save him.”

“Teddy, remove this blanket at once! I cannot breathe, my head is positively splitting, and my hair shall be nothing but tangles!”

From the sway and bounce of the floor beneath her, Nicki surmised that she had been tied up and tossed onto the floor of a coach. Just as she came to that conclusion, the vehicle jolted over a particularly deep rut, tossing Nicki against the base of the seat.

“I hope that did not hurt you, dearest,” Teddy said in conversational tones.

“Deuce take it, Teddy! I shall be covered in bruises. At least untie me and allow me to sit in the seat.”

“You forget how well I know you, Nick. It wouldn't upset you a bit to leap from a moving carriage. No, you can remain as you are until we reach our destination.”

Nicki bit her lip to stifle another curse. Perhaps she was going about this the wrong way. She took as deep a breath as she was able with her face covered in the scratchy wool. The pain in her head throbbed with each beat of her heart.

“I promise I will not leap from the coach, Teddy. Please, I . . . I cannot breathe. I fear I shall faint.”

Silence met her wheedling speech. Nicki waited, hoping he was squirming in guilt. “You actually expect me to believe you could faint?”

Heat suffused her cheeks, but she swallowed her anger once again. “I have not eaten since yesterday, Teddy. It must be close on to ten o'clock. You have not even given me water.” She searched her thoughts desperately for a stronger argument to sway him. “And I should be seen by a physician at once.”

“Whining does not become you. It is hardly believable. I've seen you knocked from your horse by a low hanging branch, then get to your feet without a whimper.”

“Damnation!” Fury washed over Nicki. With a terrific effort, she swung her bound feet around and kicked with every ounce of her strength. She knew she had hit soft flesh when Teddy cried out in pain.

She gave a snort of satisfaction. “There is plenty more where that came from if you insist on keeping me trussed up like a prize partridge!”

Moments later, Teddy grabbed her bound feet and she was tipped over onto her back, her skull slamming against the floor. Sharp pain shot through her head, and Nicki feared she might become ill. Then she realized he was loosening the ropes. She chose to maintain silence, fearing further antagonizing might cause him to change his mind about freeing her.

The blanket lifted and Nicki sucked in cool, fresh air. She glanced at Teddy, who watched her with devilish mirth twinkling in his amber eyes. “You're right, Nick. Your hair looks like a lion's mane.”

Nicki raised into a crouch, an admirable feat considering the coach traveled at immoderate speed over an extremely rough road. The wheels struck another pothole and she fell back into the seat with a jarring thump.

“You will not be laughing when Blake overtakes us. You will regret every bruise.”

“Blake won't find us—
if
he decides to follow. You seem so sure he'll want you back.”

“Of course he will. We are to be married today.”

Teddy retrieved the throw from the floor and tossed it at Nicki. She watched as he reached inside his jacket and removed a decorative silver flask. “How could I forget. But the marriage was all part of his grand scheme to ruin your father. He never meant to go through with it.”

“How do you know that?” She wished she could have bitten back the question.

“Blake told me, of course. We used to be friends, you know.”

Nicki's throat tightened painfully. To hide her dismay, she pulled the blanket up to her chin. Then she chided herself. Blake had not even told his aunt the truth behind their engagement. Teddy merely toyed with her emotions, just as he had from the moment of his return.

She trusted Blake implicitly. “I do not believe you. Blake, unlike you, possesses a strong sense of honor.”

“Bah! Honor.” Smoothing back a lock of his errant blond hair, Teddy turned his stare to the shades drawn over the windows, as though he could see through them to what lay outside. He took a long drink from the flask. “What is honor but a word used by those who have always gotten everything they desire?”

“That is why you have none, Teddy. It is in all of us—from the highest king to the lowest beggar. But you have turned away from the honor inside you so many times, always choosing the easy way, until what little you might have possessed has withered and died. To be honorable is not always easier, but when you close your eyes at night you can do so without shame.”

He chuckled bitterly, his gaze burning into hers. “Was Blake's long campaign of revenge so honorable, then? He drained your father financially. He tricked you. Was that so honorable?”

Nicki shook her head. “No, it was not. But Blake was fighting to regain his honor from those he believed had taken it from him. I think he realizes it is something no one can take away, because it is inside. The difference is that you never wanted honor at all. You have spent your life avoiding it. Blake has spent the last few years of his life trying to regain it.”

“How noble!” Teddy curled his lip in derision. “Still, none of that matters now. You will never see Dylan again now that you are to be my wife. Be honest, Nick, haven't you fought marriage to others all these years because you awaited my return?”

The truth of that statement stabbed at her heart. She had waited for Teddy. But not this Teddy. And in maintaining her liberty, she had been free to become engaged to Blake. It had taken her no time at all to see who was the better man—but now what was she to do? She could not see through the blinds. She did not know the time of day, or even their destination. Nicki fought despair. She could not give up, not until every avenue of escape had proved impossible.

“I want you to take me back at once, Teddy. This is foolishness. You have no money . . . .”

“I have borrowed some money and when we are married I shall have your inheritance. We'll live comfortably.” He replaced the cap on the flask and placed it on the seat beside him.

Nicki tried to swallow, but her mouth had turned dry. “Blake will not leave England without me. He will search the ends of the earth if he must. I pity you when he finds me.”

“You think you mean something to the heartless earl? You're a fool, Nick. I always thought you were a little more practical. Besides, I believe you're forgetting the notes
you
left behind.”

Nicki closed her eyes, as though by doing so she could protect herself from his cruel words. She clenched her fists, then felt the Diamond signet ring press into her palm. Blake's words came back to her, lending her strength.
I love you, Nicole Dylan.
 

Blake will know the note is a lie.

She opened her eyes to gaze squarely at Teddy, her chin lifted. “If you force me to marry you, Teddy Bartholomew, I shall make your life hell on earth. You see, I love Blake Dylan and I will do
anything
to be with him. Every sip you take, you will wonder if I have poisoned your drink. When you close your eyes at night, you will think question whether or not you've locked away the silver. And when you turn your back, you will never know if, when you turn around, I will be gone.”

Teddy stared at her as though to judge the honesty of her speech. Nicki held her breath, hopeful. He sighed. “That was quite eloquent, Nick. If we run low on funds, I can always put you on the stage. You'd be a smash.”

Frustration overwhelmed her. Nicki clenched her fists and lunged across the coach at Teddy, but he caught her wrists and shoved her roughly back into her seat. He glared down into her face, holding her with cruel force. Her breath hissed from between her teeth as the pain returned full force to slice through her skull, but Nicki faced him without flinching.

“Take me back! I want Blake. I do not want you! I hate you, Teddy! I shall hate you forever for this.”

He released her, reached to the floor of the coach to retrieve the blanket, and tossed it at her. Without a sound, he dropped back into his own seat.

Nicki covered her face and sobbed her heart into her hands, despising herself for breaking down in front of Teddy. But she could not remember a time in her life when she had been so frightened. 

Or so alone.

Blake reached inside his vest pocket and removed his watch. Nine o'clock. Twenty minutes since he had last checked, but seeming an eternity.
Nicole, where are you?
Worry gnawed at his insides. Was she safe? Had she regained consciousness? Would Teddy hurt her further? Would she cause some harm to come to herself by that damned recklessness of hers? Questions churned inside his mind, more frightening because he had no answers.

The search had thus far proved fruitless. He and Jonathon had stopped at every inn and hostelry on the westbound road to London, but no one had seen anyone meeting Nicole's or Teddy's description.

Sitting straighter in the saddle, he stretched his weary muscles. He looked at Jonathon riding next to him. Shoulders slumped, the man appeared in danger of slipping from his mount at any moment. They had slowed their pace to save the horses. The ride had been hard on them as well.

As much as the delay chafed, these were two of Jonathon's prize stallions, Adonis and Zeus, and the pair had already endured twice the abuse other horses could have—almost as though they sensed Nicole's danger.

Ahead, Blake caught sight of a sign rocking back and forth on weathered posts, the letters faded by time. Another inn. He pressed his boot heels into Adonis's side to urge him on. Jonathon followed suit. Minutes later, Blake drew up on the reins and turned his horse into the courtyard.

Without warning, a bright orange carriage drawn by two horses surged into the path of Blake's horse. He pulled sharply on the reins. Adonis reared, front hooves flashing. Blake was forced to tighten the grip of his knees to keep his seat.

The young dandy driving the carriage called out a harried ‘beg pardon,’ the vehicle tilted sharply, then maneuvered onto the thoroughfare. One of the ladies seated in the back of the carriage squealed. A parasol fluttered wildly. Two riders gave chase, one a gentleman, the other a lady in a red riding habit.

“Cecil, slow that thing down or you'll spill our picnic lunch!” The gentleman called out to the carriage, laughing. Then they were gone.

Blake's gaze went from the road to survey the courtyard. A mail coach stood nearby and awaited the fresh horses that were backed into the traces. A half-dozen horses stood inside open stalls while two boys of about eleven or twelve worked together to brush one of the horses, arguing good-naturedly. A smithy worked his forge, then held tongs over the billowing flames.

As he urged Adonis forward, Blake heard how closely Jonathon followed by the ringing of shod hooves as they crossed the uneven cobblestones. He continued to look around, but saw no coach that looked to be privately owned. None of the horses appeared to be well lathered or worn down, as they would have to be.

Blake reached up with one hand to rub his eyes. It was unthinkable that Teddy could have come so far without a change of team. He and Jonathon must have taken the wrong road. The only hope left was that the other search parties would have better luck.

After a dismount, Blake handed the reins over to an eager lad with bright red curls and a sprinkle of ginger freckles across a pug nose. “Take special care with this brute, he has earned his keep this day.”

Reaching inside his cloak, Blake removed a coin from his jacket pocket and tossed it to the boy.