Regency 02 - Betrayal

by Jaimey Grant

  Adam’s face was battered and bruised. His lip was split and puffy with a trickle of blood coming from the cut. She was sure both eyes would be swollen shut and black. There was a deep cut that started in the middle of his forehead and disappeared diagonally into his hair.

  He was still fully clothed and lying on top of the bedclothes. She looked at his hand where it was lying over his stomach, two fingers quite obviously broken and swollen. She was sure he had broken and bruised ribs and possibly a broken leg as well.

  Bri sat down on the edge of the bed and tried in vain to stop the sobs. They were too persistent, however, and she found herself crying as if her heart was broken.

  And perhaps it was. Her only love was dying.

  She reached out and very gently clasped his other hand, which was miraculously not injured, and held it against her chest. Leaning down, she brushed a soft kiss to his cheek. She started talking to him, hoping and praying that he could hear her, that he would understand and fight to live.

  “Adam, I love you. Please don’t die. I can’t live without you. You have to survive. You have to live so I can show you how much I love you. Please don’t die.”

  All this was said against his skin as she lay her head down next to him. Her tears bathed his neck and shoulder.

  She was unaware of the passage of time. She lay there until someone entered the room and took her gently by the shoulder. She allowed this person to help her stand and lead her from the room. By this time, she was so numb inside with pain and fear that she was unaware of nearly everything around her.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  With a pain-filled groan, Adam Prestwich returned to the land of the living. He wondered if he was dying. His whole body felt as though he had been dragged behind a horse across the rocky moors of Cornwall. Naked.

  He attempted to open his eyes. One refused outright and the other would cooperate only enough to allow him a very narrow view of the room he was in. He recognized his chamber at Northwicke.

  What the devil was he doing at Northwicke? The last thing he remembered was stepping out of his townhouse with the intention of going to a party or some such nonsense and then…nothing.

  What happened?

  He tried struggling into a sitting position but was hindered by what felt like boulders pinning down his legs. A sharp pain shot up one arm causing him to cease attempted movement for the time being.

  “Shh, Adam, love. Calm yourself.”

  He recognized Raven’s husky voice. He tried to locate her with his one good eye. She appeared above him with a sweet smile. He nearly sighed in relief.

  “What happened?” he asked with a grunt as he tried to move his limbs, which again protested vehemently. He groaned again.

  “Stop, you’ll make your injuries worse,” Miss Emerson replied firmly. “You were set upon by footpads, my dear. Now rest.”

  Adam struggled to process what she was saying. It was difficult with the dull, sharp, and throbbing aches that seemed to completely consume his entire body.

  “Footpads? Impossible. You must be jesting.”

  “Adam Prestwich, you need to rest. We will talk about this later.” She paused and studied him worriedly, a very evident war going on behind her dark eyes. She seemed to come to some decision and continued. “You were beat pretty badly, Adam. Lord Connor was unsure you’d live. He had no idea what internal injuries you may have sustained. The other physician he called had no better luck and less hope. Here, take this.”

  She shoved a spoon of some evil-smelling and foul-tasting concoction into his mouth before he had a chance to close it.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” he asked hoarsely with a look of disgust on his handsome face.

  Raven laughed lowly. “Of course, my dear. I am always out to kill, you know. Why not you, hmm? Perhaps you have left me something in your will, no?”

  Adam groaned again to keep his lips from twitching into a smile and tried to fight the effects of the medicine that was rapidly putting him to sleep. He remembered an odd dream he had had while he was out and turned determinedly towards Raven.

  “Where’s Bri?” he asked on a mere breath of sound.

  He saw her expression grow very worried, sad even. “She is with Lady Connor, Adam. She’s fine. Now sleep.”

  The room grew very dark and Adam could no longer fight it. His last coherent thought before oblivion claimed him was that his ex-mistress was a terrible liar.

  Bri was not fine. She was far from it, in fact. She was clinging to her sanity by a mere thread. Everyone was worried; no one knew what to do. Verena and Brewster were with her nearly every second of the day. She seemed to have slipped into a sort of void where no one existed but herself and her loss.

  For some reason, everyone’s assurances that Adam was fine, that he would live, wouldn’t penetrate her depression. Connor wouldn’t let her near the sickroom until he was sure Adam was definitely on the mend. Then he was unsure if it would be wise even then.

  The countess sat for long hours watching the activity in the square. She had been moved to Northwicke along with Connor, Verena, and Greville. Her cousin tried to break through her defenses but he met with unwonted disappointment. Verena’s twins had also been moved along with their nanny but even the delightful antics of the children failed to reach her.

  It was Raven who succeeded in waking Bri from her trance a full week after the attack. She found the young countess at her usual spot in the drawing room, staring out into the square. Bri didn’t even look up when Raven sat down next to her and very gently took her hand.

  “Bri,” the actress said softly. “Bri, you must listen to me, my dear.”

  Raven waited patiently until Lady Rothsmere turned vacant emerald eyes on her. “Adam wants to see you. He is asking for you. Has been for two days now, in fact.” A light leapt into the countess’s eyes. Raven frowned then, employing all of her acting skills to break through Bri’s protective shell. “But I cannot allow it if you are going to be like this. He needs someone to cheer him. You, my lady, are not very cheery right now.”

  Something akin to anger flashed in Bri’s emerald eyes. Then she opened her mouth and spoke for the first time since she had been pulled away from Adam’s side.

  “That was impertinent, Miss Emerson.”

  “Yes, it was,” the actress replied with a pleased smile. “Will you see Adam now, my dear?”

  “Of course.”

  Bri felt alive for the first time in over a week, no, in three years, when she entered Adam’s room and saw him sitting up in bed watching her. His smile was all for her, she knew. She returned his smile and examined him with her eyes to reassure herself that he was, indeed, on the mend.

  His one eye was still swelled partly shut but the other was wide open and alert. His broken hand lay motionless on the coverlet and his other hand was flexing restlessly beside him. He moved his body briefly and she caught the wince of pain that he wasn’t quite successful in hiding.

  She rushed to his side. “Oh, Adam, my love, are you all right?”

  Adam grinned, ignoring the pain. “Your love, Bri?” he asked softly.

  She stepped back, embarrassed. She remembered Raven suddenly and looked around self-consciously.

  “She is gone. I asked to see you alone.”

  “Why?” she asked a trifle breathlessly.

  Adam patted the bed beside him. “Sit and I will tell you.”

  Bri sat down next to him primly. She kept her back straight and tried to control her breathing. He was staring at her as if he was trying to divine her innermost secrets and it made her uncomfortable.

  She appeared thinner, he thought. And somehow the shine that always seemed to surround her was missing. Her hair was a duller shade of the normally vibrant red and her green eyes were shadowed. Her dress hung like a sack on her. Where on earth had she found such an unattractive gown?

  Adam pushed that thought aside and wondered what the devil he was thinking to ask to see her alone. He had no rig
ht to speak to her. It was dishonorable for him to do so. But he loved her. And he remembered her telling him that she loved him.

  It couldn’t have been a dream. He refused to believe it had been the mindless wanderings of his own fevered brain. It had to be real.

  “Do you love me?” he asked her before he realized what he was even going to say.

  She started. And avoided looking at him. “Why?”

  “I seem to remember a green-eyed goddess telling me that she loved me and couldn’t face life without me. I thought it was you.” His eyes teased her. “Perhaps I was mistaken.”

  Bri took a deep breath and forced her eyes to meet his. Then she was trapped. She opened her mouth to speak but he words wouldn’t come and she gazed into his helplessly until he finally broke away and fiddled with the coverlet, staring at his hand.

  “Forgive me, Lady Rothsmere,” he said stiffly. “I had no right to tease you so. Your feelings are irrelevant. As are mine.”

  “What?” Irrelevant? What on earth was he talking about?

  Adam looked at her. Her emerald eyes were confused and her face held a hurt look. He sighed. “I can’t speak, Bri. It’s not honorable. I have…things to take care of before I can speak. I…” He trailed off and looked away from her.

  What is there to lose? she wondered with a mental shrug. “Adam, I do love you,” she whispered. “Tell me what prevents you from speaking the same words.”

  Adam took a deep breath, tried to think of some way out of his current predicament, and sighed when he admitted that she had to know. “I’m married,” he finally said dully.

  She couldn’t breathe. It felt just like someone had punched her in the stomach. She saw the blackness threaten to engulf her and fought it back. She would not swoon! Of every possible excuse, marriage was not one she could have imagined.

  He was married. “Do you love her?” she asked in a tiny voice.

  “I have not for some time,” he answered honestly. “But that does not change the fact that I am married. She is in Cornwall with my cousin Miles right now. I was planning to go there and see her because…well, because she’s dying.”

  Bri felt very guilty for the sudden leap of hope she felt at his words. “I don’t know what to say,” she finally offered lamely. “You say you do not love her so to say I’m sorry you are about to lose her seems pointless. To be pleased about your imminent release is just evil.”

  “Yes,” he agreed. “Miles insists she is not the same woman she once was. I have decided to listen to him for once in my life and return home to see for myself.”

  “I think you should,” Bri offered softly.

  “You do?”

  Bri looked into his stormy eyes, read the surprised curiosity there and half-smiled. “Yes, Adam. I think there is some hurt in you that has everything to do with her. Perhaps if she has changed, you will be able to forgive yourself for abandoning her.”

  He started. “How did you know…?”

  “It wasn’t hard to determine,” she said with a smile. “You showed your pain and distrust too many times for me not to notice. She did something to destroy your faith in women. You left her and have felt guilty over that ever since. It is time to absolve that guilt, Adam.”

  He said nothing and just continued to look at her. She forced herself not to fidget under his steady gaze.

  “Who is Levi?” he asked abruptly.

  “Levi?” He nodded. “You have met him. He is my cousin Greville. Did no one ever tell you his Christian name?”

  He flushed. “No, no one ever did.”

  “What made you think of it?” she asked in amusement.

  Adam stared hard at her and turned away before answering. “I have been jealous of him ever since the first time I heard his name.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “Mrs. Campion told me you mumbled his name when you were feverish. I haven’t been able to get rid of the urge I felt then to find out who he was and remove him from your life,” he admitted with a rueful grin.

  “Levi likes you, you know.”

  Adam raised one dark brow at her.

  “He does. Told me you were a great gun. I called him a traitor,” she admitted teasingly.

  Adam’s good humor fled. His face turned grim and tortured. “I am sorry for that, Bri.”

  Bri lost her own smile. “For what?” she asked very quietly.

  “For not believing you. For returning you to hell. For allowing them to do what they did. God, Bri, I am sorry,” he ended on a shuddering breath, tears standing out in his eyes as he thought of everything she had been through because of him.

  Bri reached out and took his hand. “You are not to blame, dearest. Truly. I may have been angry with you at first but I never understood. I understand now and I forgive you for not believing me. I am sorry for this.” She gestured helplessly at his broken limbs. “I am to blame because you defended me. Forgive me.”

  “Listen to us,” Adam said with a chuckle. “Begging each other’s forgiveness for events beyond our control. Pathetic.”

  “Yes, quite,” she agreed. She tried to release his hand but he wouldn’t let go so she just held it tighter.

  Raven popped her head around the door. She smiled at them. “Everything better?” she asked brightly.

  “Come in, Raven,” Adam invited with a smile. He released Bri’s hand. “Did you need something?”

  “I was asked to bring this to you,” the actress replied.

  She handed him a sealed letter. It was from Miles. Adam felt short of breath and afraid. What if she was already dead? Would he ever be able to forgive himself?

  He cracked the seal and read the words. She wasn’t dead, Miles said, but the end was very close. Adam leaned his head back and sighed. Then he held the letter out.

  Bri took it from him with a curious glance sent Raven’s way. That woman shrugged her delicate shoulders but said nothing.

  Bri unfolded the parchment and read the brief note. She looked at Adam and studied his face. He appeared upset although his face was blank and his eyes were closed. His hand, however, was balled into a tight fist.

  “Raven, will you send for Con please?”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The men who had attacked Adam had been apprehended. Connor was satisfied with their punishment of transportation. He had yet to tell Adam of this latest development. He had already planned on visiting him with the news when a servant informed him that Lady Rothsmere and Mr. Prestwich were asking for his presence.

  Connor entered the room with a smile on his face that quickly disappeared when he beheld the grim countenances of his friends. He sent a curious glance at Raven who curtsied and then excused herself and closed the door behind her as she left the room.

  “What’s to do?”

  Bri rose from the bed and handed Lord Connor the letter she held in her hand.

  “Read it,” Adam commanded.

  Connor did. His confusion increased. “What do you want me to say, Adam? That I’m sorry? This woman has put you through hell. And she is probably in considerable pain anyway.”

  “I have to go to her, Con. I have to talk to her again before she dies.”

  Connor threw a sharp look at Bri. She smiled. “I agree with him,” she said simply.

  “Are you asking me if you should go or if you are well enough to go?”

  “Neither, actually,” Adam replied, finally opening his eyes to look at his friend. “I am going. I was hoping you would go, as well. And Verena and Bri, of course.”

  “Is that wise?”

  “Probably not,” Adam admitted. “But I find I can’t face her alone.”

  Bri stood impassively by the bed. Connor looked from her to Adam and back again. “Did you agree to this as well?” he asked shortly.

  “This is the first I’ve heard of it, my lord,” she replied gravely.

  “I see.”

  “Do you?” Adam asked. “It would surprise me, Con, truly it would. Will you go?”

&n
bsp; His friend stared at him for a tense moment. “Very well. Is there anyone else you would like to be there?”

  “Raven and Greville,” Adam answered instantly. “If Denbigh and the rest of your family have no problem with Raven’s presence, invite them as well. A house party makes the thought of facing her that much more possible.”

  “My family had no problem inviting Raven to stay here,” Connor replied dryly. “Gwen and Jenny like her,” he added in reference to his twin sisters.

  “Good. I wish to leave today.”

  Morris entered the room and grumbled at Adam. Adam laughed and told him to pack anyway and he could gloat later. Connor shrugged and bowed to Bri and took his leave.

  As he walked through the door, he heard Morris grumble again and then Adam called Connor back.

  “What?”

  “Have you found them yet, Morris wants to know?”

  “Oh, the devil, I forgot to tell you. The men who actually beat the tar out of you were transported yesterday. Father and I saw them off personally. And the duke has begun a plan to make Corning pay as well. It seems Corning has a few radical leanings that father thought the House would be very interested in learning about.” Connor grinned. “He’ll have to hole up on the continent to avoid the ramifications of certain actions that could very well be considered treasonous.”

  “There, Morris, you see? Nothing to worry about.”

  Bri cast an amused look at Connor who returned it. Then he left.

  The party that descended on Adam’s residence in Cornwall consisted of Connor’s entire family, Bri, Raven and Greville. Miles was shocked but bore up under the strain very well. He wished Adam had written to warn him of all the extra people.

  His cousin’s appearance was also a shock. He held his tongue until they were alone and then listened in open-mouthed astonishment to his employer’s tale of revenge.

  “How very Gothic,” Miles commented dryly. “Are you sure you weren’t just set upon by footpads?”