A Treasured Lily (A Marsden Romance Book 2)

by Dawn Brower

  “I will keep you company,” Jamieson said.

  So she was wrong. Not everyone left the room. Jamieson stayed behind to be with Rand.

  “I’m fine. I don’t need you.”

  “Yes son. I believe you do. You don’t have to do everything alone.”

  “I’ve done it alone all my life. I don’t see why I should change that now,” Rand said in a bitter voice.

  “Right now I’ll remind you that you are not alone. You have me and Eliza if you want us, but more importantly you have a wife,” Jamieson said. “I’m so sorry son; I wouldn’t have abandoned you if I’d known you lived.”

  “It couldn’t be helped. You didn’t know. And you’re right. Lily needs me. I can’t let this eat up inside of me.”

  “I would never hurt you intentionally.”

  “In my head I understand that, but my hearts been bruised beyond recognition. I didn’t allow myself to feel anything for anyone until I met Lily,” Rand said.

  “If you give me a chance, I’d like to get to know you.”

  “I don’t know. Give me some time to let it all sink in.”

  “I can respect that. I hope you give me a chance. Eliza and I were never blessed with children. Since I missed out on raising you, I’d like to have a chance at being a grandfather.”

  “I can’t make any promises. Right now I’d like to be alone with my wife.”

  “All right. I will leave you be for now. She will get better Rand.”

  Lilliana heard the door open and close again. Jamieson had left. The only ones in the room were her and Rand. She needed to open her eyes and let him know she would be okay.

  “Lily, love, please wake up,” he pleaded.

  I’m trying! I would if I could.

  “I love you, I should have told you sooner I know. I just couldn’t get the words out. Last night I heard everything you said. I wish I could have spoken then. Please hear me now. I need you to know how I feel. I have never had these strong feelings before.”

  I knew you loved me! I hear you Rand, I hear everything you are saying to me. I just can’t seem to open my eyes. It hurts too much. Give me some time. I can do it I know I can.

  “You are also right about my father. I do need to give him a chance. It’s just so hard for me to accept anyone in my life. I’ve been alone for so long. I can’t be alone anymore. Wake up Lily. Please don’t leave me.”

  “I love you,” Lilliana said with a hoarse whisper.

  “Did you say something?” he asked with desperation.

  “You heard me,” she barely got out the words before he pulled her into his arms with a fierce hug.

  “Can you open your eyes, love?”

  “Hurts...too...much.”

  “That’s okay, you should rest.”

  “My parents...”

  “I can get them for you, if you want,” he said.

  “Yes, please. Need to speak to them.” Lilliana croaked out, her voice hoarse from being so tight and dry. She struggled to get them out and let her Rand know what she wanted.

  “I’ll get them now. Just relax as I retrieve them.”

  Lilliana heard him leave the room in a rush. It seemed like hours before they finally came up the stairs. She must have drifted off again because when she opened her eyes only her mother sat at her side.

  “Where’s Daddy?” she asked with a hitch in her voice.

  “I’m over here, princess.”

  Lilliana turned her head slightly to see her father standing by the window in her room. The afternoon sun streamed through the glass. Her father had a troubled look on his face.

  “So happy to see you both,” she said.

  “You gave us quite a scare, young lady,” her mother said. Her blue eyes held an enormous amount of concern and warmth. Her forehead crinkled up as she spoke. Her pale blonde hair was in disarray, as she must have run her hands through it with worry. “What were you thinking?”

  “I wanted to make Rand smile. He looked so sad when he found out Jamieson was his father. Instead I ended up with a cracked head. That’ll teach me for galloping at such fast speeds.”

  “I’m glad you are okay. I’ve never been so scared in my life.” Her mother leaned down to hug her. “That doesn’t make what you did right. Don’t ever do something so foolish again.”

  “I know and I’m sorry, forgive me.”

  “Always, princess, we can never stay mad at you, but did you really have to go and marry Jamieson’s only son? Right now I’d really like to murder him for putting you in danger,” her father said.

  “Be kind Daddy. I love him.”

  “I’ll try. I’m not happy about it.”

  “I know, I promise you’ll get used to the idea in time.”

  “I will make sure he plays nice,” Pia said and kissed Lily on the cheek. “In the meantime you need your rest.”

  “Rand...”

  “Is not so patiently waiting for us to leave.” Pia smiled. “There isn’t supposed to be more than two of us in the room at a time. Rand said you wanted to see us both which left him standing in the hallway.”

  “I did. I heard you talking. I had to make it right.” She could barely keep her eyes open, and they were tiny slits as she looked at him. She fought the struggle her body demanded of her. She refused to succumb to the sleep her body required to heal. She needed to talk to them and make them understand. If she let herself doze back off she wouldn’t be able to take care of her immediate concerns.

  “You did, princess.” Her father leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry about us. Just concentrate on getting better.”

  She watched her parents walk to the door to leave.

  “I love you both. Thank you for being such wonderful parents.”

  “The pleasure, princess, belongs to us, you were one of our blessings. We couldn’t have asked for a better daughter.”

  Rand entered the room immediately after they left and sat down by her side. He lifted her hand to his mouth and placed a quick kiss in her palm. Her husband had been put through a lot in a very short time, and she didn’t have a clue how to help him through it all.

  His hazel eyes had held so much pain as he looked at her. She would have done anything in her power to ease it, but he hadn’t given her a chance. Rand had done a good job of acting like he would be okay, but she knew him better than that. He may have laughed a little and acted untroubled, but she knew inside it shredded him. If he needed a little bit of time to himself to ease the hurt within, then she would ensure he had it.

  “Did you say everything you needed to them?”

  “Yes, I believe I did.”

  “I’m glad.”

  “What about you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” he said.

  “Have you talked with your father?”

  “I had a small talk with him while you talked with your parents. We have a long way to go, but he knows I’m willing to try and build a relationship with him. I talked with Eliza as well. She cried a little bit and hugged me. It turns out she isn’t capable of having children of her own. She wants to consider me her son. It’s not a huge step, but it’s a start. It’s all I can offer them right now.”

  “Well that’s good for you. You now have two wonderful people to call your parents,” Lilliana said.

  “I know it is, but it’s still not going to be easy for me. I don’t know what I’m doing here. It’s all new territory for me.”

  Lilliana looked into Rand’s eyes and just enjoyed gazing into their depths for a few minutes. He had such a sensitive nature, but didn’t know how to express it.

  “You will be fine. Besides you will have me every step of the way.”

  “I know. If I didn’t have you by my side I wouldn’t be able to do all of this. I wouldn’t even be here to know who my father was. I owe everything to you. Thank you for agreeing to be my wife, Lily.”

  Lilliana needed to lighten the mood a bit. It had taken a turn she didn’t want to go down just yet.
She didn’t need his gratitude, but she’d gladly take any love he’d willingly bestow upon her.

  “I had my own selfish reasons for marrying you, you know.”

  “Oh yeah? What were they?” he asked with a smile.

  “I knew you wouldn’t be able to keep you hands off of me if I happened to be your wife.” A hushed chuckle filled the room.

  “I knew you were a wanton from the moment I met you.”

  “Really, do tell, what gave me away?” she asked with coyness.

  “You had a devilish smile and you knew how to lure in your prey.”

  “So you are now my prey? I didn’t know I had such power.”

  “You hold all the power, Lily. You are my life. I’d be lost without you. Do not ever do anything like you did earlier today. I thought I died a million times seeing you lying on the ground.”

  She could imagine how that scared him. If it had been in reverse and he lay on the ground hurt, she’d have been frantic. If she had a way of doing it all over again she’d never get on the horse.

  “I didn’t mean for that to happen, I’d never hurt you.”

  “You can be a bit reckless at times. Its part of why I love you so much, but it scares me at the same time.”

  “Is that all you love about me?” she asked.

  “No, I love everything about you. I adore how your eyes fill with that devilishness I spoke of earlier, I admire your tenacity to get what you want, cherish the way you fight for those you care about, I worship the ground you walk on, but mostly I just love you with every beat of my heart.”

  “Oh Rand, I love you too. You have a great capacity for love. I knew it from the moment I looked into your eyes. It’s why I knew you were the right man, not only to take me to Charleston, but to welcome into my life forever.” Lilliana reached up and caressed his cheek with the palm of her hand. “You are the reason I changed my views on marriage. Because of you I started to believe love existed again.” Lilliana paused, and looked down at her lap. A lump of emotion welled up inside of her. Once she regained control she looked up into Rand’s eyes. “When I first started to socialize in society the men hadn’t inspired me to believe in it. None of the ton marriages had been based on love. They only married for some kind of gain, either financial or power. I never wanted a marriage based on such low expectations. I always knew I wanted more. I thought my parents’ marriage was a rarity and love only found the lucky few. I’m glad I’m among those blessed with it.”

  Rand leaned down and brushed her lips with his. At that moment she wished she hadn’t cracked her head so hard on the tree branch and on the ground. She wanted to show him exactly how much she loved him, but her body hurt too much.

  “I wish we could make love, but it would be too painful,” she said with a bit of whimsy.

  “We have the rest of our lives to express our love to each other, it can wait for you to heal. I want to be able to love you over and over. As soon as you are ready we are going to spend a whole day in bed doing just that. In the mean time you will have to settle for a few brief kisses and caresses.”

  “You’re going to torture me, aren’t you? That will be your revenge for me scaring you so badly. Admit it.”

  “You know me so well, love. I have to get my kicks in somewhere.” He laughed.

  Lilliana stuck her tongue out at him.

  “I will get even if you do.”

  “Promise?”

  “Always.”

  With that, Rand got up and lay down next to her in the bed. Lilliana curled up next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. A small sigh escaped from her at how good it felt to be in his arms. They had come a long way in a few short weeks. They loved each other and had a long happy life ahead of them. Rand treasured her as much as she did him. Lilliana belonged with Rand, their love made them stronger. They could face anything as long as they did it by each other’s side. Lilliana couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to their story. More importantly, Lily couldn’t wait to have children of her own. It would be her turn to craft a fairytale. She would tell her children a tale of true love, much as her father had with her and Liam. It would start with: Once upon a time a lady asked a gentleman to help her run away...

  Read farther for an excerpt from A Sanguine Gem: A Marsden Romance book 3

  Chapter One

  Liam Marsden had a lot of things on his mind. However, he couldn't dwell on what was beyond his control. He had more pressing issues to deal with, starting with a meeting his father demanded. He had never let him down before, and he had no intention of starting at this juncture of his life.

  He walked into his family home and strolled down the hallway towards the study. As he opened the door, he got a brief look at his father engrossed in his own work. The viscount had his dark hair pulled back at the nape of his neck; loose strands fell over his forehead as he tilted his head to read the paper in front of him. Liam had always admired his tenacity and willingness to do anything to accomplish any task. He didn't give up easily and believed the world belonged to him to take what he wanted from it.

  "Ah good you're here," He glanced up at Liam and set his work aside. "I have a few things I need to discuss with you."

  "I came as soon as I received your missive. What's so urgent?"

  "A good number of things that I didn't foresee."

  On closer scrutiny, Liam could see stress lines forming on his father's face. His eyes filled with worry as he rubbed his temples. What could have happened to make him appear so concerned? Liam didn't think this meeting would be a jovial one. His father didn't often worry about things. No, Viscount Torrington took action and left the fretting to others.

  "This is serious?" Liam asked as he raised an eyebrow.

  "I received a letter from your sister. Some of it is good news. Most of it is actually."

  "It's the part that isn't good news that concerns you." Liam sat down and leaned forward, giving his father his full attention. "What has happened?"

  "First, I should tell you that you are the proud uncle of a strapping baby boy. You sister had her child a month ago. They named him William Jamieson after his two grandfathers. Poor boy has a lot to live up to with that name." He laughed.

  "If I'm an uncle that means you are a grandfather. How does that make you feel old man" Liam grinned. He couldn't resist an opportunity to tease his father.

  "Bite your tongue, boy. It'll be a long time before I'm an old man," With a devilish grin on his face, his father sat back in his chair and studied Liam. "This is good for you because I don't think you are quite ready to fill my shoes."

  Liam hoped his father lived a very long life. He couldn't imagine a life without the man’s robust personality filling a room wherever he went. Like most children, he believed his parents infallible. He knew they were mere human beings, but he liked to believe they would live forever.

  "No, I can't say I'm in a hurry to take the reins from you. I pray you’re here for many years to come. For more reasons than one," Liam said. "But regardless of how I feel about your possible demise that isn't why you summoned me here. Nor is it the news about my new nephew. Grateful as I am to hear about it, something else weighs on your mind. I think it's time to dispense with the pleasantries."

  "That isn't all your sister wrote about," he said with a heavy sigh. "She has some concerns that she asked me to look into."

  "Is it about the merger of Marsden Shipping with RandCo? There isn't an issue with its completion, is there?" He needed to dispense with that bit of concern first because it was at the forefront of his mind. "If so, I'd like to take care of it immediately."

  "No, that at least is going well. We should have considered a merger as soon as Lily and Rand married." Viscount Torrington sighed and stood up. He strolled over to a nearby shelf and pulled out a decanter of brandy along with two glasses. "This is something entirely different and I'm not sure how to proceed."

  "What’s Lily worried about?" Liam's concern rose. What could be so dreadful?

/>   Viscount Torrington handed Liam a brandy filled snifter. He took a sip of his own and set it down. He stared past Liam, his eyes unfocused. "The Earl of Devon was a pretty good friend of mine."

  "I remember." Liam nodded.

  "At one time I'd hope to have a merger with him," his father paused and stared down at his drink. "It was the reason we attempted to betroth you and Gemma."

  Liam would rather forget about that time in his life. He grimaced and stared up at his father. "Right, that was several years ago." What was his father getting at?

  "The business merger and familial one fell through at the same time. We never found a reason to revisit either." He downed the rest of his drink in his glass. "I have to admit a part of me is glad it didn't. As much as I liked the man I abhor the gentleman who inherited his estate."

  Liam rubbed his temple; a pain throbbed through his head listening to his father rattle on. "What does Alfie have to do with this?"

  "Lady Gemma is my concern."

  She wasn't his, so Liam had no clue why he brought her into the conversation. In fact, everything he'd said so far hadn't made any sense to him.

  "Father, what exactly is the problem?" Frustration built to the boiling point deep inside him. "I don't understand what Lady Gemma has to do with all of this."

  "Lady Gemma keeps in touch with Lily. She wrote your sister about some disturbing news."The viscount sat back and studied Liam. He steepled his hands together as he spoke. "She thinks I might have a solution to the problem. I can think of a couple of ways we could assist her, but you would have to be willing."

  "What it is you would like me to do?" Liam replied, a horrible feeling sinking to the bottom of his gut.

  Viscount Torrington leaned forward and set his hands on his desk. His eyes bore into Liam's as he appeared to weigh over the issue that troubled him.