Dark Gothic: His Dark Kiss Part 10

"She died of anthrax, Miss Parrish. I found her body on the side of the road to Bosherton, haphazardly clothed, a small portmanteau by her side. From all appearances, she was fleeing Manorbrier with utmost haste."

Emma stared at him in dismay. Anthrax. She had died of anthrax.

"How terrible," she whispered, her mind conjuring the image of the horrific lesion on the corpse that Griggs had carried to the tower.

"Miss Parrish, you look rather pale. I shall stay until you recover." Dr. Smythe gestured toward a large boulder near the edge of the field. "Come. Sit a moment."

"No, thank you. I must return." She backed away, suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to return to Manorbrier, to its familiar, crumbling enclosure. Pressing her palms together, she brought her steepled fingers to her lips, acknowledging the ridiculous dichotomy in the fact that she wanted to scuttle back and seek comfort in the very place that housed the pestilence to which Dr.Smythe referred.

"As you wish." Dr. Smythe gave a curt bow.

Emma took several steps before the sound of his voice stopped her. "You may rely on my a.s.sistance should the need arise. Until we meet again, Miss Parrish."

Bewildered, Emma paused for a moment, sending a glance over her shoulder. Dr. Smythe watched her in narrow-eyed contemplation. Anxiety and wariness crawled through her as she turned and began the long trek back to Manorbrier castle.

Emma awoke before dawn the next morning. After so many days of inactivity, she was near mindless with boredom. With minimal effort she had convinced Mrs. Bolifer to give her the key to the locked third-floor rooms, and to allow her to clean them. She was glad for the task to busy her hands.

Meg, the quiet maid who performed her upstairs ch.o.r.es without ever being seen, was in the scullery when Emma arrived, bending over a bucket, her back toward the door.

"Good morning, Meg," Emma said, surprised to have actually encountered the girl. She was like a wraith, seen only in glimpses, and this was the first time Emma had spoken to her since her arrival at Manorbrier.

The maid straightened so quickly that she nearly overbalanced herself. Pressing her hand against the wall for support, Meg hesitated, and then turned slowly.

Emma noticed the girl's eyes first. Huge and blue, they were clear as a winter morning. She was very young, perhaps fifteen or sixteen. Resting one hand against the wall, Meg clasped the other protectively over her abdomen. The gesture called Emma's attention to the girl's belly, which strained against her ap.r.o.n, molding the cloth to the shape of a large, round ball. Clearly, Meg was far advanced in her pregnancy.

"Good morning, miss."

"Please call me Emma." Frowning, Emma studied Meg's face. "You are not the maid I met the day after my arrival. She was older than you, and none too happy to be here."

"My sister," Meg replied. "Alice. She helps out on days I feel peaked, but she has no liking for work."

Silence followed that statement, and the two women stood in the fledgling light of dawn, looking at each other uncertainly.

Finally, Emma spoke again. "Meg, I know it is none of my concern, but should you be carrying out the heavy ch.o.r.es in your condition?"

Meg stared at her for a moment, then answered with surprising candor.

"Miss...I mean, Emma," she said, her voice as high and clear as a child's. "I'll tell you true 'cause I think you're asking out of genuine concern. I've been watching you with Master Nicky, and you seem like a fine governess, not yelling at him or switching him like the others."

Turning, Meg began to gather her cleaning supplies as she spoke. "I ain't got a bun warming in the oven by choice. Weren't one of the village lads that done it. The babe's father ain't going to claim it, or me. Quality never do."

Sadness welled in Emma's breast. So that was the way of it.

Meg heaved a sigh, then continued. "My da's dead. My ma has consumption. She coughs up blood and can't drag herself from her bed. And I got six brothers and sisters at home, all with hungry bellies. Lord Anthony kept me on, even when he knew I was in the family way. Aren't too many places that wouldn't have tossed me out right quick." Her supplies gathered, Meg tugged at her ap.r.o.n and looked Emma straight in the eye. "And he pays me thirty pounds a year."

Emma could not suppress a startled gasp. The amount was outrageous. Even the finest London lady's maid would likely earn only fifteen pounds per year. Suspicion nagged at the edge of her mind. Was Lord Anthony the father of Meg's babe? The thought was like a blade in her belly. She did not wish it to be true, could not deny the pain that such a possibility brought to her soul.

Yet, it would explain his generosity. Thirty pounds a year.

She stared at Meg's freckled face. The girl was so very young to bear such a harsh burden, the task of finding a way to raise an illegitimate child.

"Lord Anthony doesn't want us to starve," Meg continued, her tone indicating that she thought his actions n.o.ble. "And Dr. Smythe'll only come to physic Ma if I give him the coins ahead of time. When I first came looking for work I told that to Lord Anthony. He tossed me two s.h.i.+llings. Told me to think of it as an advance on my wages. Only when it came time to pay me, he never deducted the two s.h.i.+llings off." Meg winked at Emma, knowledge far greater than her age ought allow evident in her expression.

"And if Lord Anthony's a mite odd, always wanting to look at a dead body before it's buried, carrying soap and a jar of water in his carriage so he can wash his hands all the time, well, ain't no never mind to me. His coins feed my family, and that's all I care about."

Emma wondered at the odd behavior Meg described. "Why does he want to look at the bodies, Meg?"

She shrugged, unconcerned. "I dunno. Maybe all doctors do."

Her words startled Emma. "What do you mean all doctors do? What has that to do with Lord Anthony?"

"Dunno... just that doctors and bodies are oft found together."

"Do you mean to say that Lord Anthony is a doctor?" Emma asked, utterly perplexed. He was wealthy. The son of a Marquess. Physician was an unlikely t.i.tle for one of his cla.s.s.

Meg looked at her strangely, and nodded. "Everyone knows it."

"Apparently not everyone," Emma murmured. "Does Lord Anthony ever"-she hesitated, then used Meg's word-"physic the people of the village?"

"No. He don't do that anymore. Not since the mistress died."

Emma almost asked why, and then thought better of it. The maid would not be privy to the inner workings of Lord Anthony's mind.

Her thoughts were awhirl with all she had learned. Lord Anthony Craven was a doctor, though he no longer practiced his profession. What a strange and unlikely disclosure. Still, it explained his fascination with death, with disease. Such a riddle was he, but each piece she fitted to the puzzle seemed to deepen the mystery even more.

Well, she would have ample time to ponder the conundrum while she scrubbed floors and windows. She gave a small sigh of resignation. Here she had planned the day's ch.o.r.es in an effort to clear him from her thoughts, yet it appeared she was destined to dwell on him in the end.

"Meg, I'll need some rags and a broom. Oh, and a mop and bucket," Emma said. "I am going to clean the rooms on the third floor."

"Rooms on the third floor are locked. I'm not required to clean 'em."

Emma fished through her pocket and pulled out the key that Mrs. Bolifer had given her the day before, holding it up like a trophy. "They will not stay locked for long."

"Oh, well then, miss...I mean, Emma. There's an extra bucket in the corner. And rags on the shelf. Take what you need."

Meg turned to leave, hefting her bucket of soapy water.

"Meg." Emma stopped her.

Meg looked up, holding the bucket handle with both hands, her face pink with exertion.

"Why did you avoid me? Before today, I mean. I should have liked to have met you sooner."

"Didn't know if my"-Meg looked down at her enormous belly-"my bun would offend. I watched you sometimes, just to see what sort you were."

"Watched me?" Could that explain the odd sensation she had felt in the corridor the morning after her arrival?

The maid pressed her lips together and nodded. "I thought it best to stay out of your way till I knew if you were like the others."

"The other governesses, you mean? The ones before me?"

Sliding her gaze away from Emma's, Meg studied the contents of her pail as if something of great interest was contained therein.

"Meg, who is the father of your child? Perhaps he could somehow contribute, at least financially..."

The girl shrugged, and stared down into the depths of her bucket, her face flushed red now, though Emma was not sure if the color was caused by the exertion of holding the heavy pail, or by the emotions that Emma's questions elicited. "He pays me some. He can be right generous at times. When he wants something." She paused awkwardly. "I have to get busy with my ch.o.r.es now, miss. Excuse me."

Left alone in the scullery, Emma began to gather her supplies, and her thoughts.

He pays me some. Lord Anthony was paying her thirty pounds a year. Was he the father of Meg's babe? The thought was heartbreaking to her. As the product of such a union, Emma knew only too well that it was common for a man of the upper cla.s.s to enjoy himself well, and leave the woman to face the consequences. What had Meg said? The babe's father ain't going to claim it, or me. Quality never do.

Emma sighed as she lifted her own bucket, and slowly made her way to the servant's stairs. Meg's circ.u.mstance was only one more reminder that she must not succ.u.mb to the dark lure of her attraction to Lord Anthony Craven.

Not unless she wished to find herself round with an unclaimed bun.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Wipe the walls. Wash the windows. Scrub the floor. Emma found that just as Mrs. Bolifer had warned, cleaning the upstairs rooms was proving a monotonous task. The locked chambers held no secrets, only dust. But at least her hands were occupied and she was carrying out a useful task. The rooms had been neglected. The thick layer of dust on the floor and the stale smell of the air suggested they had not been opened in some time.

In one room Emma discovered a delicately fas.h.i.+oned rosewood writing desk with painted panels on the two lowest drawers. The paint was most unusual, with a metallic sheen glinting in the vivid hues.

She knelt on the floor, running her finger over the front of the desk. It was clearly a piece of furniture designed for feminine use, small and intricately detailed, with painted flowers, and a parrot off to one side.

With a fresh rag, she carefully wiped the dust from the desk. Then her imagination took hold. She thought of the novels she loved so well, in which a desk might hide a secret compartment, or a painting obscure the entry to a dark tunnel. A laugh escaped her. Though she had given in to the childish urge and examined each room she had cleaned thus far, she had discovered no secret pa.s.sages, no dark tunnels wreathed in cobwebs. Only walls and windows and dust. Still, imagining that she might discover some secret or treasure had made her tedious ch.o.r.e quite a bit more bearable than it otherwise might have been.

Turning her attention to the desk, she drew forth the center drawer, her breath catching in her throat as she waited for the contents to be revealed to her. It was empty.

Undaunted, Emma slowly opened each drawer in turn, only to swallow her disappointment as she found nothing. Rolling her eyes at her own ridiculous notions, she continued with her cleaning, working methodically to set the room to rights. Once done, she closed the window and fastened the latch, then turned to exit the chamber. The desk caught her attention once more, and she recollected a novel she had read. A false bottom in a drawer had secreted an important doc.u.ment, s.h.i.+elding it from prying eyes. Of course, she knew that life was not a work of fiction, but there was no harm in looking one last time.

Again Emma examined each drawer, this time searching for a hidden catch or unusual hollow sound when she tapped her fingers against the wood. Nothing was forthcoming. Disappointed at the absence of any significant discovery, she attempted to return the last drawer to its closed position, but it would not push in all the way. Frowning, she withdrew the drawer completely and set it on the floor beside her. Then she tipped her head to the side and peered into the dark opening.

There, at the very back was a small rectangular object. Emma stared at it, excitement stirring in her breast. She wiped her hand on her ap.r.o.n then reached in. Her fingers closed around the thing and she drew forth a finely tooled leather-bound book. She riffled the pages and a jumble of words sped past, the decidedly feminine script indicating that her discovery was a woman's diary. Tucking the small volume away in her pocket, she rose and moved on to the next room, intending to examine her prize when she had a free moment.

After opening the window of the final chamber, Emma set her thoughts and her hands to finis.h.i.+ng the task she had begun. She dipped her rag in the bucket, and then wrung the excess moisture from the cloth. Pus.h.i.+ng a stray hair from her forehead with the back of her wrist, she then swiped the cloth along the window ledge, wiping it clean. Fresh air swirled through the open window, the cool breeze welcome on her flushed cheeks.

She had worked for some time, with only the floor left to wash, when she paused, every sense alert. Perhaps a sound caught her attention, or a movement from the corner of her eye. Or perhaps it was only the secret wish of her heart that made her think she was no longer alone. She froze, her heart accelerating with a mixture of trepidation and hope.

Slowly, she turned away from the window, every nerve alight with a s.h.i.+mmer of awareness. Her breath left her in a rush.

In the doorway stood Lord Anthony. He leaned against the threshold with arms folded, one booted foot crossed over the other. His dark hair was windblown, a single strand caressing the hard angle of his jaw.

For a moment, she thought she imagined him, conjured him from the cauldron of her secret desire.

"You are returned earlier than expected, my lord." Those words she spoke aloud, though the remainder of her thoughts were hers alone. I missed you, dreamed of you. Your touch. Your kiss. I am undone with wanting you.

His intent gaze roamed over her face, her body, leaving her feeling hot and flushed each place it touched. And she could not help but wonder if he knew the secret thoughts and fantasies that left her hot and restless in the night.

Moving with languid grace, he entered, his polished Hessians tapping on the bare floor, the sound echoing hollowly in the empty room. The corded muscles of his thighs rippled beneath the cloth of his buff breeches. He had not bothered to divest himself of his square cut coat, but came to her smelling of suns.h.i.+ne and fresh air.

And Emma did not doubt that he came to her. She felt it in every fiber of her being. Her blood pounded in her veins, leaving her breathless, aching.

You will be here when we return? He had asked her that before, and she had registered somewhere in her consciousness that her answer was important to him.

He stood so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body, see the hunger in his eyes.

"My lord," she said, backing up a step, her foot brus.h.i.+ng against the bucket. Abruptly, she recalled her disheveled state, her stained garments and work roughened hands. Her foot nudged the broom.

"Anthony," he said huskily. "Say my name, Emma."

"Anthony," she whispered, struggling to draw breath.

"I could not stay away," he said, his tone bewildered, as though he could not fathom the reason. Reaching out, he brushed a stray tendril from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. Though his touch was gentle, Emma read a savagery in his eyes that kindled wicked sparks and sent a bolt of longing racing through her body, bringing her to aching, throbbing life.

She tried to slow her breathing, to stop the flood of heat and damp that pooled between her thighs. Dear heaven, he came upon her like a storm, wreaking havoc with her composure. And all he did was stand there, looking at her with those green-gold eyes, the promise of untold pleasure in his gaze.

She retreated, sliding her feet backwards step by step, thinking that distance might sever the bond that surged between them. Each movement of her limbs stroked her, accentuating the exquisite anguish that she barely comprehended.

As he watched her, Anthony's mouth curved in a hard sensual line, empathy clear in his expression. He knew. Dear heaven. He knew what his mere presence was doing to her.

"Come here," he said softly, his voice thick.

"I-" She tried to speak. The sound she uttered was a hoa.r.s.e croak, so unfamiliar that she was stunned into silence.

Anthony held his hand toward her, a simple gesture that drew her more strongly than any pretty phrase. She wanted to go to him. To step into his arms and feel their hard strength surround her. To live for a single second the dream of being loved by him. He wanted her. Of that she was certain. Just as she was certain that he offered her nothing.

"What do you want of me?" She forced the words out. They might have sounded plaintive, had she used a different tone. Instead, the question sounded like a challenge. Better to have him say it than to let her mind conjure his thoughts. After all, she might be wrong.

"What do I want of you?" His brow furrowed as he contemplated her question; then he gave a self-deprecating bark of laughter. "I want what I have no right to. I want to see you naked in my bed, your hair unpinned and spread on my pillow. Or to see you clad only in your black stockings. Nothing more. So I can peel them off slowly. Run my tongue along the back of your calf, your thigh, to your pretty round bottom."

His words were scandalous, terrible. Wonderful. He should not speak to her so. Oh, but he should, a tiny voice whispered. He should say those things and do those things, because if the mere sound of his voice could send such unbearable pleasure ripping through her, what then would she feel if he matched action to thought?

She sank her teeth into her lower lip and shook her head in confusion.

When she did not speak, he continued, "That night in the portrait gallery, I could have taken you."

He paused, perhaps waiting for her to contradict him. Emma longed to cover her ears, to block out the truth of his words. But she offered no denial. He could have taken her that night, there against the stone wall, with the portrait of his dead wife looking on. Even then she had been enthralled despite her fear, half in love with the Lord of Manorbrier.

Anthony took a single step closer. "But I have no desire to take. What do I want of you, Emma? Only that which you wish to give."