To Have and to Hold (47 page)

Dominic heard
the soft click of the door behind him and watched as DeLisle stiffened in his
seat, clearly recognising Sir Hubert Williams.

“I don’t believe
you have met my guests.
 
This is Sir
Hubert Williams, the Magistrate of Northampton.”
 
Dominic watched in satisfaction as Rupert
swallowed heavily and began to look uncomfortable.

“What do you
mean by this?”
 
Rupert snapped glaring at
Dominic.
 

“I mean that
your reign of terror against my wife is well and truly over.”
 
Dominic flicked the smaller man a
contemptuous look of mocking pity.
 
Over
Rupert’s shoulder he was aware of the two soldiers moving quietly from their
hiding place to stand quietly on either side of Isobel and Sebastian.
 
Heavily armed, they were certain to carry out
their orders to protect Isobel at all costs.

“Reign
of terror?”
 
Rupert’s voice was incredulous as he turned
with raised brows to glare at Isobel.
 
Upon spying the soldiers behind her he glanced nervously back at Dominic.
 
True to form, he tried to bluster his way
through.
 
“What has the stupid woman been
telling you?”

Dominic clenched
his fists, reminding himself that it would do no good to grab the little man by
the throat.
 
“My wife is far from
stupid.”
 
Dominic’s tone was
languid.
 
“Indeed, I think she is
anything but stupid.
 
She has after all
managed to evade you for nigh on four months!”
 
He shot her a warm smile of reassurance before continuing.
 
“She clearly has far more intelligence than
either of you.
 
A young woman on the
streets, all alone, with little money and only the clothing on her back,”
Dominic snorted cynically.
 
“And still
she managed to evade the two of you.
 
In
fact she walked right under your nose two months ago and you still couldn’t see
her.
 
It strikes me that it isn’t she who
is the stupid one.”

He watched
dispassionately as sweat beaded upon Rupert’s brow and his face began to mottle
with rage.
 
Despite the clenching of his
fists there was no sudden outburst from him.
 
No blistering put down, or signs of the vicious temper he had revealed
so readily to Isobel.
 
Still tension rose
in Dominic as he eyed the rage boiling within the rotund toad before him.
 
He reminded himself that this man was
ruthless and he couldn’t be lulled into a false sense of security.
 
There was still the element of surprise that
could catch them all out, if either man chose to take it.
 

“Again, I put
into question your wisdom should you seriously consider anybody would blithely
accept your pro-offered documents of marriage, betrothal or anything else
without calling their validity into question.”
 
Dominic knew he had struck a chord when Rupert shot him a narrow eyed
glare at the mention of betrothal documents.

“It was
you!”
 
He snarled, the truth having
dawned upon him that his deceit over the marriage had been revealed.
 
“You broke into my house!”

Dominic raised a
condescending brow; he eyed the little man with cold disdain.
 
“I have no idea what you mean.”

“You stole the
documents from me.”
 
Rupert turned
towards Hubert. “That man is a thief!”
 
His voice shook as much as the finger he pointed towards Dominic, as his
temper began to reveal itself.
 
Bolstered
by the knowledge Isobel was securely protected by two of the King’s soldiers
and Sebastian, Dominic couldn’t resist poking the elder man further.
 

“I am no such
thing, Sir.”
 
Dominic murmured
companionably.
 
“What documents could you
possibly mean?”
 
He allowed a smug smile
to twist his lips mockingly, and watched the elder man’s cheeks turn dark
red.
  

Hubert Williams
straightened his jacket.
 
“Bertram
DeLisle, I am arresting you for the murder of your third wife, bribery of a
church official and fraudulently obtaining money by deception.”
 

Panic filled
Rupert gaze as he watched the Sergeant at Arms move towards DeLisle, who sat in
a stunned trance.
 
Without further ado he
was hauled from his chair and dragged out of the room in shocked silence.

As soon as
DeLisle
had left, Rupert glanced nervously around the room
as if seeking support from someone.
 
His
features became panicked at the stern and unsympathetic gazes of the people
present. Silence descended as all occupants watched his next move.
 
“You cannot do this.”
 
His voice trembled with a mixture of panic
and temper.
 
“On what evidence do you
make these ridiculous steps?
 
I-I should
like to see the evidence.”
 
Rupert
stammered, his voice shaking with outrage.
 

“We have
considerable evidence.”
 
Hubert replied
briskly, taking over proceedings with officious precision. “Notwithstanding the
numerous debts you have run up with various money lenders in London, there are
eye witness accounts of your brutality in various forms.
 
Should you not spend the remainder of your
days in Debtors’ prison you shall most certainly be transported to the Colonies
for your lies and deceit.
 
Kidnap and
attempted embezzlement is of course amongst some of the most serious crimes and
will be punished as such.”

“Do you
seriously think I would be so stupid as to blithely accept your summons without
being prepared?”
 
Rupert snarled all
pretence of civility gone from his demeanour as he glared at the assembled
group.
 
“Move any further and I shoot the
bitch.”
  

Isobel felt her
stomach dip to her boots.
 
The muzzle of
the small gun looked positively huge as she looked down the wrong end of
it.
 
Strangely, she felt no fear.
 
An unfamiliar calmness settled over her as
she turned her gaze towards her husband.
 
Everything and everyone else disappeared as her gaze caught and held her
husband’s.
 
His features were hard and
set with cold intent.

Her warrior had
returned.

Isobel sat as
rigidly proud in her chair as a Queen holding court, her chin raised defiantly
as she turned her gaze towards her tormentor.

“Shoot me.”
 
She ordered her voice soft and
commanding.
 
She felt rather than saw
Sebastian’s start beside her, but refused to break her defiant gaze away from
Rupert’s.
 
She knew her bravado had
thrown Rupert’s arrogance as he glared at her, a slight frown marring his brow.
 
Clearly, he expected her to turn into a
quivering, simpering wreck.
 
Her calm
demeanour was not what he expected.
  

“Move away from
her.”
  
Rupert ordered, waving the gun
between the two soldiers standing behind her and Sebastian.
 
“Do it now or I shoot her.”

Nobody moved for
several moments, the soldiers clearly not wanting to breech their orders.
 
Sebastian settled back in his chair
defiantly, sliding his arm across the chair behind Isobel slowly as if to
emphasise his refusal to move.
  

Suddenly it was
as though a huge curtain was lifted from her eyes, and she could see clearly
for the first time in a very long time.
 
The silly little man was nothing more than a childish bully.
 
A thug.
  
She wasn’t responsible for the bad blood within him.
 
She was a victim of circumstance far beyond
her control.
 
She had spent many months
living in fear of this despot.
 
He had
torn her life apart casually, and without a qualm.
 
Dashed her girlish dreams and beaten her
youth out of her, and to what purpose?

“No
more.”
 
Isobel snapped as she launched to
her feet, outrage squaring her shoulders as she stared in disgust at the man
before her.
 
“Shoot me then, you stupid
man or else shut up!”
 
Isobel felt her
own temper rise and her patience evaporate.
 
“Do you seriously think I will allow you to use me as a pawn in your
stupid games any longer?”
 
She laughed
mockingly as she eyed him with cold disdain, ignoring his look of shock at her
outrageous behaviour.
 

“You have no
power over me.
 
You are a pathetic
wastrel.
 
You beat me once sir, but I
promise you that you shall never do so again!”
 
Her voice dropped to a cold whisper as her eyes met and held his
levelly, her nose practically on the end of the gun.
 
    
“Do
you seriously contemplate that you will get away with shooting me?
 
I do hope you have another ball, or whatever
it is they use in those wretched things, because you will need one for
yourself!”
 
Isobel snorted and shook her
head.
 
“As for myself, I can assure you
that I shall haunt your every waking hour until you come and join me.”
 
Her voice dripped scorn as she glared
defiantly at him.
 
“I am not scared of
you any more, Rupert Davenport.
 
My
father was right about you; you are a disgrace to the family and are not worth
mentioning.”
 

“I will shoot
you if I have to, don’t think that I won’t.”
 
Rupert challenged defiantly.
 
“By
provoking me, you are gaining nothing but my anger.”
 

“Do you think
that frightens me?”
 
Isobel laughed
cynically and shook her head before glaring at him.
 
“Nothing you do any more frightens me.
 
After what I experienced on the streets,
nothing you say or do will have any impact upon me.
 
I love my husband.
 
The man I married.
 
To me there is no man who can match him.
 
I know that should you be ridiculous enough
to shoot me, then you shall get no further than this room.
 
You will not be alive to do so.
 
However I can assure you that your passing
will not be as swift as mine.”

“She’s
right.”
 
Dominic’s cold voice echoed
around the room.
 
“I shall make sure you
suffer a long and lingering death should you harm any hair upon her head.”

Mockingly Isobel
held out her arms.
 
“So go on then!”
 
She challenged moving her arms inwards to
motion towards her chest.
 
“Shoot me!”

“Isobel, shut
up!”
 
Dominic snapped as he glared at
her.
 
God damn it, what the hell was she
trying to do?
 
Surely she didn’t want him
to shoot her did she?
 
Marriage to him
surely wasn’t that bad?
 
He had agreed to
allow her to face her demons head-on, so to speak but certainly had not agreed to
her actually asking her tormentor to kill her!

Rupert’s hand
began to tremble with uncertainty.
 
Isobel watched as sweat trickled down his temple and knew he was
unpredictable.
 
His temper had always
been volatile and quick to rise.
 
She
wondered why he wasn’t blustering as he usually did when situations were out of
his control.
 
Maybe the presence of the
men within the room was enough to keep his anger contained.
 
After all he could pose no threat to
them.
 
They weren’t after all women.

“Open the
doors.”
 
Rupert snapped, wafting the
muzzle of the gun towards the French doors behind her.
 

“No.”
 
Isobel snapped refusing to budge.
 
“Do it yourself!”
 
She was aware of Dominic’s deep sigh and
virulent curses on the opposite side of the room but refused to look at him.

“Do it now, or
die.”
 
Rupert’s icy glare was filled with
malice.

“No!”
 
Isobel’s voice was equally condescending as
she glared defiantly at him, refusing to budget.
 
“My days of you having any control over my
life are well and truly over.
 
I will not
do as you say.
 
I am not yours to
command.
 
You will not bully me any more
Rupert.
 
You have no control over me or
anything I do.”