Midnight Masquerade (8 page)

Taking her hands, he pulled them
away from her face
and
knelt
before her, “Lia, look at me
please
, I want to help.”

Shaking her head,
she looked up at him with eyes that melted his soul,
“You should concentrate on your own life Ala
stair.
I do not need your help. You should learn to not eavesdrop!
This is not your concern, why are you even here?
”

“
I’m here because
your
brothers sent for me, you just had someone try to
murder
you last night, they knew I’d want to know, to come check on you Lia!”

“I’m fine Alastair, the bullet missed me. I was able to run into the house after the bullet grazed my face. The small wound will heal.”

“Will this man, the father of your child take care of you Lia? Will he marry you?” Even saying the word
s felt like poison in his mouth, the thought of anyone else touching her infuriated him.

“I do not need a
man
to take care of me Alastair, I am rich,
and I
can raise a child without his father.”

“Lia, the father deserves to know.”

“Alastair, I do not want to talk to
you
about this, at all.”

“Why were you in the garden alone last night?”

“Maybe I wasn’t alone.”

Losing the rest of his patience, he damn near screamed,
“You’re right, there was a madman hiding in the bushes trying to murder you! Why on earth are you so blasted reckless with your own life!
One day
you’re
riding in the park alone before sunup and now you have a murder coming after you!
Now there are two of you, have you thought of that? Don’t give me that shit
e
about you being with someone in your garden, Gideon watches you like a hawk.”

Standing up, she pushed him away point
ed to her belly,
matching his intensity, angered and riled,
“Obviously not, and I just realized
I was pregnant this morning
Alastair, moments before you walked through that door. Don’t you scold me, don’t you act like you are a virgin! I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do, but it doesn’t include
you
trying to help. Don’t worry, I’ll scratch you off my suitor list.
”

Running his hand through his hair, “I cannot fucking believe you got pregnant Amelia, I did not think you were that type of woman.”

Her hand was like lightin
g, slapping him across the face
, it stung like
bloody
hell
. N
arrowing her eyes,
she
spun
away from him
and
walked towards the door
, “I
love
the father of this bab
y with all my heart even if I’ll never marry him! What do
you
know about love Alastair? You lay with whores and light skirts, you have no room to cast me in that light you bastard!
You
pay
women to sleep with
you;
you
have
high priced mistresses pocketed all over this damn town!
I gave my virginity to a man I love, not for money, not to trap him into marriage, but for
love
.
Y
ou need
to get the hell out of my house right now
,
I have nothing more to say to you.”

“Lia please…”

“Leave now!
”
Screaming
at the top of her lungs.

He had never seen her so upset, or so angry.
Walking out, he headed straight to the front door and left. He
didn’t even bother saying
goodbye
to either of the Somerset men
as he left the stately mansion, he wanted to kill the man who did this to her.
He knew if he saw Luke and Gideon he’d feel obligated to inform them of Amelia’s condition. Instead, he left.

The woman he had been falling in love with was pregnant with another man’s child. He couldn’t marry her now; he couldn’t pass his dukedom onto a bastard, no matter how much he cared for her.
The one woman he wanted for his duchess was now an impossibility, his heart hurt for the first time in years.

That same night,
when she thought she couldn’t feel anymore pain,
her heart was irrevocably broken
with the final news that was delivered late that night
. Refusing to
attend the
night’s
events,
it wasn’t until
Helena had
come
home and
tearfully
told Amelia about Alastair’s rushed engagement.
The ve
ry same day he had found out Amelia
was pregnan
t, he ran and asked that bitch Porsche to marry him. Helena explained how neither Gideon nor Luke could talk any sense into him that night, he had made up his mind and secured the hand of the young, and snobby Porsche VanEtter within hours of him finding out about Amelia’s pregnancy.

The days that followed were
ugly for
Amelia
, inside and out.
Locking herself in
her room for days, the only contact she allowed was with Helena and Hero, she had
even shut
her brothers out of her life.
They assumed it was because of the engagement, that her heart was breaking for Alastair. They weren’t wrong, but only Helena knew the other side of the story.

Day after
miserable
day went by as she heard the gossi
p via Hero
and Helena
.
The two sisters surrounded her with love, and kept her abreast of the situation as the days passed.
A
ll of London was talking about the news that the Golden Duke of England had finally chosen a wife, the incomparable Porsche VanEtter.
Each news article she read made her sick,
so upset with herself that she botched every attempt to come clean with him, she blamed herself the most. She had always been an honest person, it was part of her moral code.

Three mornings after news of his engagement, Amelia unable to sleep,
slipped from her bedroom donned in a dark green riding habit
and sleepily
snuck out
from her family’s house and rode to the park. She needed to ride
,
it had been years since she spent that much time inside. This morning she admitted to herself she needed to get out of her house, she couldn’t live in her bedroom forever. Saddling her mare herself she kept looking over her shoulder expecting Gideon
to
catch her red handed.
She knew the dangers, but she simply didn’t care.

Excited at the idea of a fast ride through the park, the fresh air was exactly what she needed. True, London air would never be as good as the brisk clean air of Scotland,
but at this point
she knew simply being out of her bed was a large step.
She had spiraled far too deep.

Gideon and Lu
ke were hovering and her sister-
in
-
laws could only keep the men away for so long before they started to figure things out.
She had yet to confess to Hero that she was with child, to date, only she, Helena and Alastair
knew. Somewhat surprised that Alastair
hadn’t
run
directly to her brothers with the news, she prayed he wouldn’t do so. She wanted to tell her brothers herself, o
n her own time, in her own way
,
just as she needed to find a way to tell Alastair.

She had cried more in the past few days than she had since her parents had passed. This pain was so different, so raw
because she had caused the entire mess
. She had let opportunity slip through her hands, now the man who owned her heart; the father of h
er
child was engaged to another because
she
hadn’t spoken up.
She had been given so many chances to tell him, and now he was engaged to another woman.

Galloping into the empty park, she put her horse through its paces as she gracefully rode hard through the
fog-ridden
park. In her head, she tried working through what she was going to do.
Tears fell from her face as she thought of Alastair marrying another woman, her heart was breaking all because she hadn’t stepped forth and claimed he was the baby’s father, that she was his Andromeda.
She couldn’t blame anyone else but herself, as upset as she was with Alastair, it was ultimately her fault. She could have
come
forward weeks ago and told him she was Andromeda. She could have told him days ago as he knelt before her that he was the father of the child, but she hadn’t.

Hearing the pounding of hooves,
her heart jumped remembering a murder
er
was after her. Looking over her shoulder
it was as she conjured him up.
Alastair Cedric Bancroft, the Duke of Blackstone, leader of the War Office and more lovingly known as the
Golden Duke
to the women of England caught up her to easily.

“Riding alone are we? Even after someone tried to mur
der you?” He questioned as rode close, quickly adding once he saw her face, “Crying again love? This man must be some piece of work.”

Wiping her tears away, she
agreed with a short tone
, “Aye, that he is
, a right ass
.”

Riding at a slow pace beside her, he questioned, “Why won’t you marry him Lia?”

“He is
to marry another woman
, and doesn’t return my affection.”
She answered immediately, and honestly.

“He is a fool.”

Jumping at the loud thunder crack, she looked up to the
skies
to see large clouds forming above them.
Slumping her shoulders in defeat, o
f course it would rain on a morning
she needed peace and fresh air.
Sighing
she knew she had to return before the storm broke open and poured on her.

“We should get you home.” Alastair offered, turning his horse back towards the
entrance
. Feeling the droplets of rain
hitting her
, she nodded. Riding out of the park next to him she could feel his eyes upon her as they rode towards her house. Riding into the stables just as the rain began to pour, she went to jump off her horse when she felt his hands around her waist, lowering her slowly.

“Should you be riding in your condition?” He asked as he
sat her
down.

Her anger immediately piqued, t
urning to look at him, “
You should
forget
about my condition, and
since this is the first time I’ve seen you since new
s
broke,
I would be remiss to forget to congratulate you on your engagement to the fair Porsche. It is my wholehearted wish that you have a happy life together.”

Seeing him
flinch
at her
crisp
words, he lowered his head.
“Thank you Amelia, I wish happiness for you as well.”

Turning on her heel, she couldn’t take it.
Walking inside,
she felt him follow
her in. Assuming he had a meeting with Gideon
she ignored his presence.
Hearing
the familiar voices of her entire family packing the library
, she smiled
.

Making her way to Gideon’s grand library, Alastair opened the door for her as she walked
in and smiled
brightly at her loving family all gathered enjoying a pot of tea
.
Immediately seeing
Luke and his wife Genevieve
,
along
their darli
ng infant twins, a boy and girl, h
er nephew Everett and her adora
ble petite little niece
Claire
,
she squealed in delight.

Forgetting about the man following her in, she pulled her cloak off and clapped her hands as she ran up to Luke and snatched her wide-eyed beauty of a niece away from
her brother
, “Hello Lady Claire, oh your Auntie Lili has missed you my love!
I haven’t seen you in days my darling little niece!
”
It was amazing how much joy the sight of
her nephews and niece brought
her.

She
heard
her family all
welcome
Alastair
warmly
as he followed her
behind her into
the
large library
.
Her entire family was present, they knew how hurt she was over his engagement, yet
they
pretended not to notice the two just walked in together.
Her brothers
thankfully
didn’t make a scene that this was the first time they’d physically seen her in days.
The last thing she wanted Alastair to know is that she’d been holed up in her room for days crying over him.

Kissing the sweet baby
in her arms
, she couldn’t stop smiling when she had any of he
r nephews or niece in her arms, this was exactly what she needed.
Trying to forget the pain she had been through these last days, realizing she was pregnant, and then Alastair’s engagement to Porsche she focused on her family.

“Where are you two coming from?” Luke asked
as if seeing them arrive together was a common occurrence.

Looking up at her brothers,
about to confess her early morning ride,
Alastair cut in
before she got a chance to speak
.

“She was
riding in the park again, alone, again.
”

“Alastair!”
S
he balked as he tattled on her looking over at
him giving him a look of death. How dare he!

“We know Lia, we’ve all taken turns watching the park in the mornings in the event you slipped out, today was
Alastair’s shift.” Gideon added calmly,
taking a sip of his tea watching her with much interest.

“You are having me watched?” She countered, upset her brothers were being overly protective. Sitting down, she cradled Claire against her and tried to calm down by getting her little niece to smile.
She knew there was a killer after her, but having her followed, especially by Alastair of all people flamed her anger.

Trying to ignore that Alastair was in the room with the people she loved most in the world, she decided s
he was just going to ignore him altogether and pretend he wasn’t present.

Rolling his eyes, Luke sat down
next
to Genevieve and put his arm around his wife, “Lia, someone is trying to kill you. Of course we have a security detail on you. You have nasty habits of liking to sneak out, whic
h means we work round the clock to ensure you are safe.
”

Looking at Alastair who was watching her intently, she asked, “Why are you helping, you are engaged now, surely you have more important matters to attend to than following me around.”
Her tone filled with resentment.
Feeling the tension rise in the room, she knew she wasn’t being very grateful.

“Just because I’m engaged to Porsche doesn’t mean I don
’t want to see you safe Amelia.”

His heart was twisting watching her cuddle the baby girl in her arms. All he wanted to do was envision
his
baby in her arms, her as his wife. Yet, that was not the case. He had fallen for her, and now he couldn’t h
ave her. In a kneejerk reaction
the night he found out about her pregnancy, he rushed into an engagement with the beautiful blonde to dull his pain.
He knew without a doubt that Porsche wasn’t the mysterious widow he had been seeking, but that night, he didn’t care.

Taking the teacup from Helena, he took a sip and watched Amelia. She was everything he wan
ted; yet nothing he could have. The past few days he hadn’t slept well, getting engaged was an permanent solution to his temporary problem, he wasn’t sure he’d ever stop caring for Amelia.

Seeing her in the park this morning was the first glimpse he had gotten of her since their conv
ersation the other morning when
she kicked him out of her house. Each night he had looked for her at the balls, and each night she was absent. When he questioned her family, they simply told him she was not feeling well. He had been to the Somerset house a handful of times in the past few days due to meetings with Gideon and had never seen the brunette beauty while here, she had been holed up in her room.

Sitting with the extended family, he felt at home, it hurt as we
ll. He would not be joining
this family, instead, he’d be married to Porsche and attached to her family. The VanEtter family was many things, but they were not the Somerset family by any means.