Tananguard 02 - To Love a Lord (8 page)

The Game—it had started almost six years earlier at Lord and Lady Davenhue’s yearly Christmas party back in the Peaks District where Lucas and Connor were from. They had made a bet that night. Each young man had picked a lucky girl for the other, and the goal was to get a kiss from that girl by the end of the night. The man who got his kiss first won the bet. The bet turned into a game for them, and as a simple kiss grew boring, the stakes rose. When the two men moved to London a year and a half after their first bet, they began betting on who could lure his girl to his bed first.

Now, almost six years after it all began, Connor was being challenged yet again
, and the woman was Josephine Meredith…Sophia Murrieta.

“No,” Connor replied abruptly.

“No? You’d prefer Rebecca Cunningham then? I heard you insulted her nicely as well.”

Connor opened his mouth then shut it again.

“It’s your choice, my friend. The servant girl or Cunningham’s wife.” Lucas smiled, and Connor frowned. Lucas had just hooked Connor.

“Ver
y well. The servant girl it is, but on one condition.”

Lucas grinned. “Name it.”

“You get Cunningham’s wife,” Connor said.

Lucas’s grin turned devilish. “Then The Game begins.”

Josephine woke with a start. Her mother’s name had been yelled, a name she, herself, had been known by for almost three years in London. She had used it in memory of her mother and out of spite for her uncle, denouncing her last name of Meredith to take up her mother’s maiden name of Murrieta. Sophia Murrieta. That is what she insisted Connor call her, and it was a name that now pained her. She was a different woman back then—fun, full of life. She had a life to live and love to give. Now she was simply Josephine, and she would always just be plain old Josephine, tired and broken.

As though playing on her memory, the name Sophia echoed once more through the night. She hadn’t dreamt it. Somebody really was shouting her mother’s name. A third time the name was heard, but this time it was quieter. The sound seemed pleading, and then Josephine realized where it was coming from. It was Connor. He was shouting for her, pleading for her.

A tear slipped down her face.
Why?
she wondered. After all the turmoil and hurt they had caused each other, why would he call for her?

As though he was wondering the same thing, she heard him call her thought aloud. “Why?”

It had a pained edge to it, bringing more tears to Josephine’s eyes. She slipped out of her uncle’s hut and snuck over to her own where Connor lay. She stood outside the small hut and listened.

“Why,” she heard him murmur. “Why did you do it?”

Her heart throbbed with those words. She wanted to call to him and tell him she hadn’t done it. It was Lucas. Lucas was the one who had betrayed him, but hadn’t she as well? Had she not fallen unconscious from the wine, would she have succumbed to Lucas’s will? She shivered at the thought. No, she would not have given in. Distraught or not, she never liked Lucas and knew she never would have lain with him.

“Lucas!” Connor suddenly roared. Josephine stepped back from the hut, startled by the violent aggression in
his voice. “Bastard! Why?”

“Because I was never good enough for you, Connor,” Josephine whispered, and suddenly Connor howled fiercely. Commotion brought Josephine’s attention to the others in the
hut. Hushed, urgent whispers filled the air along with what seemed like two people struggling or wrestling with each other.

Josephine slipped inside. She found Kara and Allana working furiously over Connor with Declan doing his best to hold him down and her uncle standing in another corner waiting and watching, ready to help if Lord Cunningham needed him to.

“What’s going on?” Josephine asked, pained from Connor’s words. A lump filled her throat and tears threatened to fall. She had not realized how close she was to crying until she saw Connor’s pale body fighting against Lord Cunningham’s, but she could not cry. No one in this hut knew of her past with Connor, and she didn’t want any of them to either. Tears for a man she supposedly did not know would bring questions.

“It’s the fever. He’s dreaming. Go back to bed,” Kara answered quickly.

Connor thrashed about in the bed. Declan was doing his best to hold him in place, but Josephine could tell he was wearing down.

“William, help Declan. We’ve got to keep Connor as still as possible, or he will tear his stitches again. I’ve finally stopped the bleeding, but if those stitches tear again, we will have to start all over. He’s already lost so much blood
. He might not make it,” Kara said wearily.

Josephine’s heart stopped with those words. “What can I do to help?”

“Nothing,” came the answer.

“Kara, enough of
this. It’s obvious you need help in here!” Josephine exclaimed.

“There is nothing
you
can do to help.”

“I cannot stand by and
—”

“You found him this morning. Is that not enough for you, or do you feel some shred of guilt for his current condition?” Kara shot back, sending Josephine a dark, accusing look.

Just then Connor jerked in bed and cried out, “Sophia, wait!”

Josephine stepped toward him, but Kara stopped her.

“Go to bed, Josephine,” she said, frustrated and tired. “I am glad you finally feel compassion and the need to be of some use, but there really is nothing here for you to do. The hut is already crowded—”

“You son of a—Why her!” Connor yelled viciously. He bucked brutally, knocking William off of him and causing Declan to release him for a moment before trying to pin him back down.

“Stop him!” Kara shouted. “He’s going to injure himself further!”

Lord Marc
us Tananguard burst into the hut just then, worried concern lining his features. “What’s going on? What can I do?”

“Help
them pin him down!” Kara cried.

Allana spoke soothingly to her brother
, tears pouring down her cheeks, while the men tried to force him back down. Connor continued to fight them.

“Sophia!” he shouted. “Come back! Please come back. Sophia!”

Josephine could take it no longer. She rushed to Connor’s side, pushing her aunt out of the way to clasp his hand in hers. “Connor, I’m here. I’m here, my love,” she said with tenderness.
Please hear my voice,
she thought desperately.

Connor’s thrashing stopped instantly and his eyes flew open. They were bloodshot and cloudy, but th
ey focused on her face. “Sophia,” he whispered. “My Sophia.”

She brushed his curly, matted hair gently away from his face, fresh tears seeping from her eyes. “Yes, Connor, I’m here.”

All eyes in the hut turned toward Josephine, eyes full of surprise and wonder.

“Don’t leave,” he said weakly.

“Of course not. I’ll stay,” was her reply. He smiled, and her heart ached. How she wished she could bask in his smile forever, but she knew that was not possible. They were not meant to be. Lucas was right. Connor had dreams to fulfill, and a life full of promise. She would only rip those things away from him like her own father had her mother. She returned his smile, but her eyes were sad.

“Why so sad, my darling?” he asked her tenderly. He tried to reach up and touch her face with his hand, but she shook her head and held his arm down.

“You need your rest. You are sick and injured,” she replied.

He nodded in understanding. “You will stay?”

“For a while, yes.”

His eyes grew desperate as he tried to sit up. “No, you cannot leave me again.” He tried to reach for her, but fell back down, pained from the move. “Please, I never meant—”

“Shhh. All is well, Connor. I will not leave. I promise,” Josephine cooed.

Connor studied her a moment as though trying to see if she meant it and nodded. Then his eyes shut as though they had never opened, and he fell peacefully asleep.

Josephine could feel all the eyes in the hut burrowing into her, but she did not, would not, look up and meet any of them. Instead, she tried to pretend they were not there, keeping her head bowed while her tear-filled eyes focused on Connor’s pale, beautiful face.

“Sophia?” Kara’s voice asked coldly. “What are you playing at Josephine?”

“I preferred my mother’s name to my own after she died, and it is the name he knew me as in London. We were,” she swallowed hard. She looked at Lord Tananguard pleadingly then at Allana. “We were in love, and…,” her eyes shifted to Kara unwillingly. Cold, hate-filled eyes stared back at her. Josephine’s back went rigid and the confession about to spill from her lips was contained as her defenses rose. “That is all I will say. You will get your answers when I am ready. Until then, do not talk to me again, Kara,” Josephine answered quietly. So many painful secrets she had kept, and now they were all going to come crashing down on her, bringing the pain she so longed to forget.

Silence spread through the little hut, questions running through everyone’s minds. Still no one spoke. Finally, Kara moved from the floor Josephine had shoved her to and came to Connor’s side.

“He is still feverish, but it seems his sleepless fits have calmed.” They all looked at Josephine unwillingly. “I feel it is safe for everyone to go to bed. One to two people on watch should suffice, and it seems Josephine has the first watch.”

“I will stay with her,” Allana volunteered.

“No. You and your husband have been through enough these past few days. You need your rest,” Kara answered kindly.

“Then I will stay,” Lord Tananguard volunteered.

Kara smiled at him. “You need to get back to your wife and that precious baby of yours. I will stay.”

William stepped forward. “Perhaps it would be best if I did, my dear.”

“No, it needs to be me until I am certain his condition is stable,” she said. There was hesitation as everyone felt the need to stay. They could feel the tension between Josephine and Kara. “Please, everyone. You all need your rest.”

Lord Tananguard nodded, stealing one last glance at Josephine then his son before leaving the hut.

“Come, Allana. Kara is right. Things seem…calm for now. I am sure someone will come and arouse us if his condition changes,” Declan said, looking at Kara for reassurance.

Kara nodded, and Allana sighed. She let Declan guide her out of the hut, but not before copying her father and stealing a quick, questioning glance at Josephine.

William stood hovering in the small hut. “Are you certain you do not want me to stay instead?” he asked.

“No, it needs to be me,” Kara answered.

“Perhaps I should stay as well,” he suggested.

“We
will be fine, Uncle. Please, little Garret is alone in your hut and needs someone there with him,” Josephine said.

A new voice spoke. “I can always stay with her.”

“Garret!” Kara hissed, yet there was kindness in her voice as she addressed Josephine’s younger brother. “You should be in bed! Do you wish to put yourself in the same situation as this man?” she finished, motioning toward Connor.

Garret smiled at their aunt. “How can I sleep with all of the noise he’s making? Besides, I’ve been in bed for a full night and day.”

William grabbed his arm. “Come. Your aunt is right. You still need rest nonetheless, and they have the situation under control.”

Garret frowned, but nodded in acceptance. “Good luck, Sister. I tried.”

Josephine smiled at her brother. “Thank you.”

He nodded to her and let their uncle guide him out of the hut.

Awkward silence spread through the tent. Josephine could feel Kara’s eyes on her, so she looked up to meet the accusing glare she knew she would find. “What do you want, Aunt?”

“An explanation,
Sophia,
” Kara replied coldly.

“And why should I give
you
an explanation?” Josephine asked with just as much ice in her voice as her aunt’s held.

“Because after all we’ve put up with, we deserve
one.”

“We? I see no
we
here. I only see you. If anyone needs an explanation, it is the Tananguard’s, not you,” Josephine answered.

“Yes, they do. Will you give them one?”

“I will,” Josephine answered quietly.

“And why not me?” Kara asked. Her face had softened slightly.
She looked hurt.

Josephine sighed and looked away from Kara and back to Connor’s sleeping face. Beads of sweat—a good sign the fever was breaking—lined his forehead. She picked up a rag from a bowl of water off to her left, wrung it out and gently dabbed Connor’s forehead with it. “To spite you for never giving me a chance,” she finally answered truthfully.

“Never giving you a chance?” Kara hissed back. “I gave you every chance possible—”

“No, you did not! You expected me to forget my pain and move on as though it had never happened!” Josephine shot back angrily.

“That’s not true. You were just too self-absorbed to realize—”

“I needed to mourn, but you would not let me! I needed to be left alone and simply be accepted for a time. But you hounded me with questions when I arrived here and grew angry when I would not answer them. I was in agony
! Everything I had ever loved was lost to me, and you expected me to be cordial?” Josephine laughed incredulously. “And now you expect an explanation as to my relationship with this man when it is obvious you have drawn your own conclusions. Well, think the worst of me, Aunt, for I am certain that is what you are doing, and leave me alone!” Josephine hissed vehemently.

Kara stood abruptly, opened her mouth to say something then shut it. She shook her head in disgust. “You had better not hurt his family,” she growled, pointing at Connor. Then she turned and stalked angrily out of the hut.

*

Allana found Josephine asleep on the floor of the hut next to Connor’s makeshift bed. The bed was nothing more than a pile of straw covered with blankets, and it barely stood a foot above the floor. Josephine lay close to the bed, her hand still holding Connor’s. Allana cleared her throat slightly, causing the other woman to sit up with a start.