If You Were Mine (26 page)

She knew
that conflict loomed, and felt a flicker of concern in her belly as
she studied the battle-ready warrior before her. She had to sternly
remind herself that he was still her husband and as such, could
never be a stranger to her.

Slowly
gliding across the room, Isobel paused a few feet from him and
watched as he became aware of her. He gaze was hard and unrelenting
as he turned toward her.

“
You are not coming,” he growled. The fierce scowl on his face
deepened as he studied her appearance. Usually the sight of his
wife’s long and very shapely legs encased in a pair of loving
breeches would turn him on, but not tonight, not when so much was
at stake.

“
Stop me” Isobel challenged, tossing her head back defiantly.
On this she would not be swayed. Her eyes met and held his in
defiance as she waited.

Dominic
cursed fluidly, and wondered if he should just strap her to a chair
and be done with it.

“
I am coming with you,” Isobel’s voice was firm, daring him to
argue. Dressed as she was, in men’s clothing, it was easy to
appreciate how she had managed to stay out of Rupert’s clutches for
so long. Still, Dominic knew that this was Isobel, his wife, and
there was no way she was leaving the house tonight.

“
You are staying. Tonight is going to be risky enough without
me having to waste precious time looking after you.”

Isobel’s
temper rose. “You don’t have to look after me! I am perfectly
capable of looking after myself,” she argued, her tone waspish. She
didn’t have the time to utter a squeak before the looming presence
of her husband towered over her.

His nose
practically pushed against hers as he growled. “You are staying
here. Try and leave, and I will tie you down.”

Isobel
refused to back down and defiantly tossing back her shoulders,
stared him straight in the eye. “Try it, and you will never sleep
in my bed again.”

Dominic
scowled, and his temper rose.

“
I mean it” Isobel bit out. “I know what that document looks
like, and will be able to help you search. We will be out of there
in half the time.”

“
Can I remind you what happened the last time I encountered
Rupert’s associates?” Dominic turned away to don his black jacket,
effectively ending the conversation. He pocketed his blade, leaving
Isobel very aware that as far as he was concerned, she was
staying.

Isobel
stood her ground, determined not to be dismissed so easily. She
fought the urge to smack him on the back of his head, if only to
snap him out of his supreme arrogance. Warrior or not, she would
not remain at home like a useless female, not when so much was at
stake. She had to be with him. Whatever her own personal fears, she
could not remain behind. With Sebastian in London, and Peter in
Derby trying to find Jemima, it left Isobel to remain at Havistock
Hall with Edward. Despite the midnight hour, she couldn’t sit at
home and simply wait, not after the last time she had waited for
him.

“
You have a choice,” Isobel stated, moving towards the door
and carefully ignoring the dark glare he shot at her.

“
Just one?” Dominic growled sarcastically, wondering if there
was any rope in the house he could use.

“
You could either come with me, or I can go alone, but either
way, if you want our marriage to succeed and be a happy one, you
need to let me go to Rupert’s. Tie me to a chair or block me from
going, and we will never sleep together again. Setting up your
nursery will be a distant memory.” Her voice was conversational,
but her eyes held a coldness that chilled Dominic to the bone.
There was a fierce determination in her that he had never seen
before; a warrior-like stare that he had only ever seen in men
about to go into battle. Suddenly he understood just how strong and
determined Isobel was, and how she had come to survive life on the
streets. The soldier within him identified his mate and answered
her call.

Shaking
his head at his own stupidity, Dominic sighed deeply and cursed his
folly as he strode across the room.

The
sharp point of a dagger appeared inches from her nose. Isobel
arched her brows, refusing to allow him to unnerve her. “If
anything untoward happens, you use this and head for home. Don’t
stop and ask questions; don’t pause to check I am behind you; just
get back here as fast as your legs can carry you.
Understand?”

Isobel
nodded, taking the cool metal and wood of the handle in her fingers
before pocketing it carefully. Although she balked at the thought
of using it; the mental image of Dominic’s battered body lying on
the cool marble floor of the hallway sprang forth in her mind and
gave her the cool determination to carry out the search tonight
with Dominic, regardless of the risks involved. If it came right
down to it, Isobel had no doubt she could use it, if it meant that
not doing so put not only herself, but Dominic in
danger.

Although
Edward had earlier told Dominic that Rupert and DeLisle had
departed that morning for DeLisle’s house, Dominic didn’t pass that
snippet of information on to Isobel. There were watchmen still at
the house who could pose a risk. He needed her to be wary and
alert. “Come on,” he growled with a nod toward the door.

Every
masculine instinct within him screamed at him to leave her behind.
To take her back to bed, and make sure she was too tired to follow
him. But he had never seen the cold determination on her face
before and wasn’t certain she wouldn’t carry through with her
promise not to allow him into her bed again. Being kept out of his
wife’s loving arms was a risk he couldn’t afford to
take.

Disgruntled he moved toward the door, leaving her to follow.
If she wanted to come with him, then she could bloody well forget
about being treated like a lady, Dominic grumbled, easing the door
open and disappearing outside. He didn’t stand back and allow her
to precede him, just left the door swinging, not caring if she was
offended. What she was doing was downright stupid, and the churlish
side of him refused to let her off so easily.

“
Wait!” Isobel gasped, as she watched Dominic start to move
towards the lawn.

Dominic
fought the urge to roll his eyes. “What?” His voice bristled with
impatience.

Isobel
scowled at him. “Which way are we going?”

Dominic
silently pointed toward the dark shadow of the tree line across the
far side of the garden.

“
Come on then.”

Dominic
watched as his wife quietly merged with the low slung hedges and
simply vanished into thin air. If he hadn’t seen it with his own
eyes, he would never have considered it possible. Shaking his head
in stunned admiration, Dominic took to his heels after his
wife.

Isobel
was frozen. It hadn’t taken long for the cold to penetrate the
heavy boots she was wearing, or the expensive woollen cloak. Her
fingers had already gone stiff with cold and her toes numb. She
sniffed softly, wishing she had remembered to bring a
handkerchief.

A few
months ago she had been oblivious to the cool night air, having
become accustomed to spending most of the daytime outside. The
relatively short time she had been living at Havistock Hall had
undoubtedly softened her, and she had quickly become used to the
sheer luxury of roaring fires, and warm clothing.

How
easily she had forgotten, she mused, as she tried to wriggle some
feeling back into her numb toes.

Carefully pulling the cloak as high as it would go, she
tugged her cap down low until it covered the tips of her pink ears.
Covering herself as much as possible, she eyed the sprawling house
before her with trepidation.

Although
still large, Rupert’s house wasn’t as grandiose as Havistock Hall,
by any stretch of the imagination. Nor were the gardens as
beautifully landscaped, Isobel thought as she carefully surveyed
the outlines of the sparse vegetation through the
darkness.

Thankfully the moon was only partially showing through the
thick clouds, and afforded them some visibility of the surrounding
area, but not enough to penetrate the umbrella of trees currently
giving them protection from prying eyes.

Keeping
her back to the solid bulk of the largest tree trunk she could
find, Isobel stood silently in the shadows and carefully scanned
the house, with its many windows lining the ground floor. It
appeared there were only three main doors; the front door, the rear
kitchen door and one set of larger doors to the side facing
her.

She
stood in the shadow of the trees beside Dominic and had studied the
building long enough to learn that somebody inside was keeping
watch. At regular intervals the soft glow of a candle would move
past windows, slowly moving from the rear of the house, toward the
front before presumably climbing the inner stairs. After several
minutes the light would appear at the front of the house upstairs,
before slowly moving towards the back. Isobel counted to six
hundred slowly before the guard returned to the original place
where she considered the kitchens were located.

She
wished Dominic would say something, or even smile at her; anything
to help banish the nerves fluttering in her belly. But apart from
the brief flick of his hand movements giving her instructions, he
did little to acknowledge her presence.

Shivering as a cool draft of night air teased the ends of her
cloak, Isobel eased through the first row of trees marking the edge
of the gardens, closest to the kitchen door. Peering through the
gloom, she was busy looking for a large tree to stand against when
a solid length of well muscled arm slid around her waist. Her
scream of fright was immediately cut off by a gloved hand clamped
harshly over her lips.

“
Don’t scream,” the harsh voice snarled in her ear. Isobel
immediately froze, and closed her eyes against the wave of sickness
that swept through her. Briefly, she wondered if she might just
throw up there and then. Anger swelled as she wrenched her head
away, tempted for a brief moment to sink her teeth into the soft
leather of his gloves, in retribution for the shock he had given
her.

Squirming, she tried to pull away only to find herself held
tight against the solid wall of his chest.

“
Damn it let me go!” Isobel snapped, tugging ineffectually at
the arm across her chest.

“
Stand still woman, and for God’s sake keep quiet!” Dominic
growled dropping the arm across her waist to place it firmly across
her hips and in doing so, tightened his hold as he waited patiently
for her to stop squirming.

Temper
seething, Isobel rolled her eyes and eventually stood motionless in
his arms.

“
Oh, so you are talking to me now,” Isobel snapped waspishly,
piqued at his earlier callousness.

Dominic
snorted cynically. “I’ve recently returned from war; you would be
surprised what I can do. We aren’t on a casual stroll through the
woods where we can chat amiably as we just wander along.” Inwardly,
Dominic shook his head at his wife’s dexterity, and hoped she never
discovered the lie he had just told. She had indeed been deuced
difficult to ignore as she had copied his every move with a speed
and efficiency that unnerved him. It had taken all of his skills to
think of her as anything other than his wife.

“
I have to do this Dominic,” Isobel argued, refusing to be
cowed by his anger in spite of the bitter regret that coursed
through her. She relished the last moments of being held by him,
even if it was partly in anger, and took the opportunity to lean
upon his strength at her back.

“
So what do you think we should do? Knock on the front door
and ask for work?” Dominic loosened his grip to move beside her,
flicking a cool look of derision up and down her.

Squaring
her shoulders, Isobel’s eyes locked with his defiantly. “I’m going
to break in and get the documentation I know exists.” She knew that
if he took it into his head, he could quite easily throw her over
his shoulder and carry her back to Havistock Hall.

Dominic’s condescending sigh was all it took to light the
embers of her temper. Her nerves and emotions were already
shattered. The last thing she needed was his temper. She leaned her
face closer to his, going up on tiptoe to meet his gaze. She was
aware that he squared his shoulders to stare coldly down at
her.

“
I am not asking your permission. I am not seeking your help,”
Isobel’s voice cut through the night air like a knife. She glared
at her husband standing stoically before her without fear. This
wasn’t a time for fear and retribution. She needed to get him to
understand. “This is something
I
have to do, for me.” A red hot wave of fury
flowed like molten lava through her veins, and she poked a finger
into the solid wall of chest in an attempt to get make him
understand just how deeply this affected her. “It was me he beat
half to death. Me - who thought I wouldn’t get out alive. Me -
whose life he destroyed. I am getting those papers.” Once again she
jabbed a finger into his chest, harder, and with more determination
that she had realised she had. “I am going into that house to get
the documents I have seen and know exist. Do what you want! Go home
if you want to, but you will not stop me. I refuse to simply wait
at home for you to do it for me.” Isobel pulled her cloak around
her, still riding high on the tide of anger, and moved back along
the tree-line, very much aware of his frosty silence behind
her.