Pia’s heart skipped.
She’d never loved anyone as much as she loved Sirius. Not even Adam. There could have been others, men who’d offered for her, but Pia’s heart had become hard over time. She could see that now. Sirius had won her over. He’d opened her heart just as Milly had opened Cassius’.
She’d been afraid of love, because those she had loved always turned out to be incapable of giving it back to her properly, even her aunt. Perhaps, she was not deserving of love. Perhaps, there was something wrong with her. Maybe her grandfather had been right. She was cursed.
“Hey,” Milly said softly. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Pia shook her head. “Sirius and I did not admit we loved one another until recently. I don’t know how he feels about me now, likely just duty-bound.”
“Sirius feels more than just duty for you,” Milly said.
“How can you tell?” Pia asked.
“Tell? Cassius told me.” Milly smiled. “He said he’s obsessed with you.”
Obsessed. If once upon a time it had been so, she doubted it was now. “I hurt him.”
“I hurt Cassius. What matters is that we don’t give up.” Milly took her hand. “In a few days, the men will be back and then you and Sirius can discuss whatever is going on between you.”
Pia nodded and hoped it would be as easy as Milly described, but she was still worried.
∫ ∫ ∫
5 6
* * *
For the next few days, Pia kept busy with painting, but when she grew restless, she turned to walking. She wasn’t allowed to go outside and didn’t wish to, since she was aware of the dangers that waited for her. She still worried about her aunt and Sirius as she roamed toward Milly’s private drawing room. The woman had been growing more tired as of late and Pia often visited her.
There was a crash from a bedchamber a few feet away and a groan. Pia had been told Cassius had another guest, but she’d yet to see him.
There were usually footmen outside his door, but at the moment, Pia saw no one.
Dr. Sparrow rushed from the room with a curse. His clothes were wet.
“What’s wrong?” Pia asked.
“Nothing.” He held himself away from her as he passed her in the hall.
He’d left the door to the guest’s room open slightly.
Pia heard movement and then saw a man immerge. He was only partially dressed. His shirt was missing. He had a bushy blond beard. His hair was long and unkempt. She was reminded of Oliver, though she knew this man was not Oliver.
His eyes were a pale blue.
They stared at one another.
A man fell with his feet past the threshold. His toes stuck upward, which made Pia believe he rested on his back.
A footman, one who was supposed to be guarding him.
Pia stiffened as he pulled a knife from his pocket.
“Don’t shout,” he told her. “Come here.”
Pia stumbled back and only managed to squeak before the man was on her. His hand went over her mouth. His blade went to her throat.
“You’re a lady, aren’t you?” the man asked.
Pia said nothing. She could hardly hear over her racing heart. Panic choked her and stole her ability to move.
“You’re dressed like a lady, so you’ll do. How do I get out of here?” He lifted his hand partially from her mouth.
“Please, don’t hurt me. I—”
Her mouth was covered again.
“Come,” the man said. “You scream and I’ll be forced to cut you. I do not want to cut you. I also wish to avoid hurting anyone else. I know there are children in this wing. I’ve heard their voices. Do you understand?”
She nodded, just a little, so he could see her do it.
“Point to a way out,” he told her.
Pia pointed toward the door that hid the servant stairway. She couldn’t risk them running into Babbette or Adalina. She prayed a footman would stop him on his way.
She waited for him to let her go and choked back another scream when he began to force her down the hall.
“You’re coming with me.” He had to let go of her mouth in order to run properly. He took her arm instead. “If all goes well, I’ll be back in a week.”
“What do you want with me?” she asked.
“Quiet,” he said. “We’ll speak later.” His grasp on her tightened as he rushed them out the servants’ entrance. Pia saw the footmen not far away. They were stomping out a fire. What was going on?
She thought to wave and get their attention, but the stranger quickly dragged her toward a line of trees.
“Stay quiet.” The knife pressed into her back.
They faced the stables. He waited for a boy to leave and then rushed her toward it.
He grabbed a blanket draped over a stack of hay and wrapped it around his exposed skin. Then he turned to the horse and mounted. Once on top, he lifted his shoulders and looked down at her. “Now, my lady, you may sound for help.” Then he kicked away and left.
Pia wasted no time screaming. It wasn’t long before the footmen and stable hands came. Then the bell’s toll followed.
* * *
Sirius heard the sound of distant bells as Cassius’ carriage approached the final turn that would lead to the house. “Is that coming from your house?”
Cass’ brows wrinkled as he looked out the window. “We’re too far from the church. It has to be the house.”
Sirius thought of Pia.
Nicholas asked. “What are all the reasons bells would be rung?”
“The Guest might be causing trouble,” Cass said gloomily.
The Guest was Lord Avery Seys, Marquess of Goldstone, and brother to Lord Luke Seys, the deceased. As his face had healed, the man’s identity had become clear, and Cassius had decided to keep him for information. He claimed he’d not shot through the window and after an inspection of his guns, that was proven true.
He’d been abandoned by his fellow men and seemed to be fine with the arrangement that he lived at the duke’s will.
Sirius held onto his patience until they arrived at the house.
“He’s gone,” Dr. Sparrow said as he rushed down the steps, cursing. “The Guest is gone.” They were not saying his name yet. They didn’t want the servants to know who he was, that he was a marquess.
A dozen servants began to speak at once.
“How did this happen?” Cassius shouted.
Dr. Sparrow grimaced. “We should speak about this alone.”
“I’m going to go see Pia,” Sirius announced.
“You should listen to what I have to say first,” Sparrow said.
Sirius nodded and followed the man to Cassius’ office.
Nick followed.
The door closed before Sparrow spoke. “He had assistance.”
“Not from one of my staff,” Cassius said.
“No, Lady Pia,” the doctor said. He gave Sirius a pitying look. “I’m sorry.”
The room went quiet.
Apprehension began to build in Sirius’ blood, but he shook it away. There were trust issues between him and Pia, but he knew she’d never betray him that way. “I need to speak to Pia.”
“I could tell you what happened,” Sparrow said.
“No, I wish to hear it from her.”
Sparrow straightened. “She’s been locked in her room.”
Sirius did not like the sound of that. He rushed from the office and up the stairs. Down the hall, he found two footmen outside her door. “Key.” They gave it to him. “Leave.” They left at once.
He opened the door and found Pia sitting on the bed, staring out the window.
She turned to him, and her eyes widened before she stood. “Sirius.”
They rushed toward another, and he grabbed her and pulled her close. She was alive. When he’d last seen her, she’d been lying in bed. Seeing such healthy color on her face and her vibrant eyes was a boon to his very soul.
“I’m glad you’re well,” h
e said.
“Sirius, something terrible has happened.”
He moved her hair from her worried brow. “Quiet, I just want to gaze at you for a moment.”
She was caught off guard by his request, but then her mouth closed, and her eyes seem to take him in just as much as his gaze tied to soak up the vision of her.
“I nearly lost you,” he told her.
She touched his cheeks. Tears built in her eyes. “Sirius, I must tell you what has happened.”
“You’re innocent,” he said.
Her eyes flashed. “How do you know?”
“I just do.” He cupped the back of her head and pulled her in for a hug. “We may have our differences at the moment, but I know your heart. You wouldn’t let anything happen to the girls or Milly or her baby.”
Pia pulled away. “That’s exactly what happened. He found me in the hall and forced me to help him. I didn’t scream, because I knew Adalina or someone would come at the shout. I couldn’t risk it.”
He kissed her forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“I… don’t know. How do you feel?” She sighed. “I hate that we were angry at one another. I hate that this has happened. I hate that things have come between us.”
“Then let’s not let them come between us anymore,” he said.
No more secrets.
∫ ∫ ∫
5 7
* * *
Pia pressed into her husband’s chest and nearly wept at her good fortune. His trust in her made her feel so foolish for doubting him earlier. He’d believed her without hearing her story. He must have heard that the others didn’t believe her, that they’d locked her in her room to make certain she caused no more trouble.
His faith in her touched her heart in ways nothing else ever had. “I missed you,” she whispered, and something in her whispered that she’d missed him longer than just the time he’d been gone, longer than the time they’d been reacquainted, longer and deeper. Her soul had missed him. He was the part that made her whole. She could feel it now.
While she’d tried to think of an emotion that was more than love, she realized that what was happening to her was more than emotion. It was physical. Inside her, Sirius lived and would until her last breath.
He kissed her. “I missed you.”
“Do you forgive me?” she asked.
He nodded. “There’s so much I must tell you.” His eyes were tender.
Pia groaned. “Is it about my aunt? What has happened to her?”
“She’ll be executed. I’m sorry.”
Pia broke away. “Give me a moment, please.” She looked out the window. The day was bright, but the sun could not be seen behind a veil of white clouds.
And a hundred miles away, her aunt likely sat in prison waiting for her sentence. “It’s not your fault,” she told him. “I blame neither you nor the duke. She made her decision.” Yet even as Pia said the words, her stomach turned. “Please, tell him that. I don’t know when I’ll be allowed to leave my room.”
“You could leave now if you wished. No one will stop you.” He came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulder. “I’m here for you. Talk to me.”
She closed her eyes and a tear fell. “I’m just… tired of losing the people who matter to me.”
He rubbed his hands down her arms and then lowered his voice to her ear. “What if I told you that someone you loved was still alive?”
She frowned. “You mean Aunt Melody?”
“No, I mean Adam.”
Her vision blurred, the sight of Cassius’ winter gardens vanishing before her eyes, and the image of Adam filled her vision. She spun around and looked into Sirius’ unreadable gaze. “Why would you say that?”
“Why would I say that Adam is alive?” he asked. “Because he is.”
Pia shook her head. “Georgiana said he was gone.”
“My mother was forced to lie. We all were.” Sirius settled his hands on her hips. “But Adam lives.”
Pia tried to make sense of the words but couldn’t. She’d lived with the fact that Adam was dead for so long. Even when she’d asked Georgiana the other day, she’d known in her heart he was gone.
Adam was gone. He couldn’t be alive. He couldn’t have grown into a man. He was still a boy in her eyes, young and sweet.
“Are you sure?” Pia asked.
“I swear, he still lives.”
“I need to sit down.”
Sirius took her to a chair in the corner and then sat next to her. He took her hand and remained silent.
Pia closed her eyes. “Babbette said something about Adam, but I can’t remember. She said Adam was her new father, but that doesn’t make sense.” She opened her eyes. “You’re her father.”
Sirius smiled but said nothing.
Pia stared into his eyes. “I know you’re not jesting.”
“I’m not.”
“Yet, I find it hard to believe.” She laughed and then frowned. “There was a grave. There was a story.”
“It was all a lie,” Sirius said.
“It’s no wonder you knew so much about my past with him,” Pia said. “He must have told you. Do you speak with him often?”
Sirius looked away. “It’s complicated.”
“Why are you telling me this now?” she asked.
Sirius took his time responding. “Because you’re about to lose someone very dear to you. I thought knowing about Adam would make you feel better.”
“It does.” Knowing that her childhood friend still lived was some of the best news Pia had received in a while.
“We can go see him if you wish,” he said.
“Is he healthy? Well?”
“Yes, Adam is well.”
Pia thought again. “How long is the journey?”
“A little ways away.”
Pia leaned back in her chair and smiled. “I would enjoy seeing Adam.”
Sirius took her hand. “If Dr. Sparrow says you’re fit for travel, we’ll leave next week. I would like to stay and see if the gentleman who dragged you into this mess today returns as he promised.”
Pia felt a strange tension in the air. She also felt apprehensive about seeing Adam. She didn’t understand why he’d lied to the world about whether he were dead or alive, or why Sirius was someone he’d confided the truth in.
She smiled, because Sirius had given her a gift she should be thankful for. “Thank you.”
He brought her knuckles to his lips. “Honestly, I was expecting more happiness at the thought of seeing Adam.”
So had Pia. “I’m sorry. I’m just… surprised. If Dr. Sparrow says I can go, then we’ll go.”
“It’s your aunt, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Perhaps. Do you think they’d permit me to see her if we went to London?” she asked.
“Not likely.” Sirius frowned. “If you wish to go to her public execution…”
“No.” Her heart raced. “I don’t want to see her like that. I think I’ll write to her. Do you think she’s allowed to get letters?”
“I will get a letter to her if you write one,” he vowed.
“Thank you.”
There was a knock at the door. Dr. Sparrow came in. The threat in the air rose again.
He looked at Sirius. “Well?”
“I believe her story,” Sirius said. “She’s allowed to come and go from her room as she pleases.”
“Very well.” Dr. Sparrow turned to Pia. “Forgive me, but these are dangerous times, and you already have ties to the other side.”
Pia nodded but asked, “You seem to wear many hats, my lord. Doctor. Guard. What is it that you do?”
“I’m just a doctor,” he told her. “But I like to take preventive measures where I can. A good doctor doesn’t start being a doctor when someone falls ill or is injured, not if he is a true healer. A good doctor takes preventive measures.” And though he was a doctor, Pia could tell he could hold his own when it came to a fight.
He left and Pia
tried to decide how she felt about him.
Sirius asked, “Are you hungry?”
Pia said, “Can we dine alone this evening? I wish to have you all to myself.” For some reason, her need to be near him had grown in the last hour.
He smiled. “I’ll go say hello to the girls and Georgiana and then we’ll dine.”
∫ ∫ ∫
5 8
* * *
“Are you all right?” Nick asked Sirius a few days later. He was leaning against a high wingback chair in Cassius’ library. “Your mind seems preoccupied more as of late.”
Sirius sat across from him. He was reading about crop rotations, which was something he’d never had to worry about before he became an earl. Now that the dust had settled, he wanted to begin seeing to the usual duties of an earl.
He found it all a tedious exercise, but he refused to own something that he knew nothing about, the title and the land included. “Ah, but to be a man with few worries. Count yourself blessed that you hold few responsibilities.”
Nick grinned. “I do count myself blessed indeed. I spoke to Ollie at the party. He told me how he thought you planned to kill him upon your arrival. I reminded him that in order for me to be earl, you would also have to kill Leo, and no one knows where Leo is until he wishes one to know where he is.”
That was true enough. All the Childs brothers had the habit of vanishing and appearing when one least expected it. Their father had been mad, always believing someone was out to get him, that someone would one day kill him and thus his sons needed to be ready.
Their life had not been easy.
“Now that this is all over, what do you plan to do?” Sirius asked. “Are you going to stay within Cassius’ organization?”
“Not at all.” Nick straightened, but his hands bit into the wingback chair. “It’s time I take my leave. Milly is safe. He has no more need of me.”
Sirius tapped his book on his chin. “Do you think Cass will let you go? Just like that?”
“It was what we agreed upon.” Nick’s eyed him sternly. “I’ve no ambition of listening to anyone’s conversation except the ones I am actively engaged in.”
“And what about Dispatch?” Sirius asked. Those who worked in Dispatch only ever had one message to deliver. Death.
The Secret Pleasures of an Earl: (The Valiant Love Regency Romance) (A Historical Romance Book) Page 27