by Meara Platt
He sighed. “I can’t. I received word shortly before coming over that General Larkin’s regiment will be joining us in Scarborough this evening. Apparently, he’s taken ill and can no longer travel. He’s recovering in York, but his men are to continue to Newcastle under my command.”
“Oh. What can I do to help?”
“I’ll let you know once I’ve seen them. If it is at all possible, I’ll call upon you afterward. I still wish to see you tonight. It might be late, though.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll wait for you. In truth, the dance didn’t sound very appealing to me. I won’t go without your escort. Our local assemblies are quite lively, but I think this one at the fair will get rowdy, especially with all the ale freely flowing. Besides, I have two left feet. I’m not a graceful dancer.”
“Ah, I knew you had a fault.”
“Many, I should think.” She smiled and shook her head. “My maid will be there with her string of beaus. Harriet is far more adept than I am in managing men. She had six suitors at last count. I’m sure there’ll be more after tonight. She and I plan to walk through the fair this afternoon. I’ll return home before supper and will wait up for you.”
“I’ll try not to be late. Until this evening then.” He strode off without any attempt to kiss her and without so much as a hint that he wished to do so.
She supposed he’d won his victory.
He knew she’d accepted Richard’s proposal to marry on Saturday, and yet not an hour later she’d agreed to spend time with him.
What was she doing?
How could she behave this way? She wasn’t Harriet, nor was she the sort to string along her fawning beaus.
She was worried.
Within the next two days, someone she held dear would be bitterly hurt.
Who would it be? Richard or Caleb?
“LADY FAITH, WHERE are you going?” Harriet asked, scurrying after her as she strode to the front door.
It was late afternoon and her uncle was now peacefully resting in his bed, seeming to be fully recovered from his latest attack. The doctor had declared it to be nothing more than indigestion, something easily avoided if her uncle would stop indulging in his vices.
Faith knew that would never happen, for he was set in his ways.
So was she, it seemed.
Faith grabbed her sunbonnet. “I’m off to find the fortune teller. Come with me, Harriet.”
Harriet squealed. “May I have her read my fortune, too? I need to know who I shall marry.”
Faith pursed her lips in disapproval. “You can’t rely on that nonsense. She could be a trickster who will tell you anything for a penny.”
“Then why are you going?” Harriet had an impertinent way about her that Faith usually enjoyed, but not at this moment and not this question.
She was going to confront the woman for the nasty fortune she’d told her all those years ago. She didn’t know why it still bothered her to the extent it did. She’d told herself it was to protect other children, but who knew if the fortune teller had been as harsh with any other child?
And what if she grabbed her palm and said something about Richard or Caleb?
No, how could the woman know about them?
They cut through the Boscombe Manor park grounds and arrived at the meadow only to find the fair so crowded they could hardly make their way through it. She locked arms with Harriet as they were repeatedly jostled walking from stall to stall. They stopped from time to time to greet local families of their acquaintance and a few of the soldiers she’d met from Caleb’s regiment. But the din of the fair made even the simplest conversations difficult.
“Oh, Harriet. Look at all these strangers.” She had never seen most of these people before. They were blocking the walkways and ignoring her polite requests to let her through.
“And all these tents,” Harriet remarked. “How will we ever find the fortune teller?”
“I don’t know.” There were so many tents up now and so many hawkers selling their wares, she lost her bearings and wasn’t certain whether they should be moving left or right or straight ahead.
Attending the fair suddenly felt daunting.
“There’s a red tent,” Harriet said with a squeal. “It could be the one. What’s her name? Madame… Madame…”
Faith couldn’t recall and silently berated herself for not finding out when she’d had the chance. But no, she’d run off like a coward. “Harriet, we’re going about this all wrong. I noticed her tent yesterday near the ale tent. Let’s start there and work our way outward.”
But everything seemed out of place and they got turned around several times before they came upon that large tent commanding the center of the meadow. Too many strangers. So many stalls and wagons and tents she’d never seen before. “There, Harriet! The ale tent.” She followed the sound of bawdy laughter and gruff shouts emanating from it. How could they have taken so long to find it? The structure was the largest at the fair, quite massive and hard to miss.
While Faith was growing irritated and silently chiding herself for leaving home, Harriet was excited and eager to add more beaus to her collection.
“Ooh, look at all these men, m’lady. Isn’t this fun?” Harriet’s eyes were aglow and she cast smiles at several young men in uniform, no doubt from Caleb’s regiment.
Faith did not feel nearly as comfortable amid the crowd. Her skin was tingling, but she didn’t understand why. Then she saw what she’d come here for.
The fortune teller’s red tent.
It was nestled between two stalls and almost hidden from view. One stall had cards, crystal balls and talismans of all designs. The other sold meat pasties and a line for it stretched past the tent and seemed to wind around it like a serpent’s tail. “Madame Zeta! That’s her name. Oh, Harriet. This is who I’ve been looking for.”
But as she approached it, a fight broke out in the ale tent and spilled into the walkway. People hurriedly ran out of the way while others with quite the opposite sentiment ran cheering toward the brawling drunks.
Faith was suddenly separated from Harriet, pushed and shoved along the walkway in the wrong direction. She’d gotten caught up in the group shoving its way toward the drunken revelers and she couldn’t seem to break away. “Harriet! Harriet!”
“Lady Faith!” Her maid was frantically waving to her, but they continued to be pushed apart and Faith knew there was no chance the girl would reach her. She ducked a fist that passed so frighteningly close to her ear, she felt the whoosh of air against her cheek.
Two big men began grappling in front of her. One of them lost his balance and tumbled into her. She shrieked as she fell. Suddenly, a dozen men seemed to be coming at her, but not to save her. They were too caught up in their fight to give her any notice.
Her heart shot into her throat.
She was about to be trampled.
She tried to wriggle away, but couldn’t seem to move fast enough. She tried to scream, but the scream caught in her throat.
There was nothing to be done but close her eyes and brace herself for the impact. She hoped to survive with only a few broken bones.
“Faith,” someone said, catching her up in his strong arms and shielding her with his big body.
She recognized the voice. “Caleb, thank goodness.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on with all her might as he pushed his way through what had become an out of control brawl. “This is madness,” she said, never wishing to let him go.
His body was the perfect shield as fists and stumbling bodies came at them from all sides. “My men and I saw the fight break out and were rushing to stop it. Good thing I was close by.”
She would not have made it out of walkway alive had it not been for Caleb. The realization made her shiver. “Don’t let me go.”
“I won’t.” He held her tightly in his arms and pushed his way toward the edge of the meadow, neither of them daring to speak or let down their guard until they’d reached the
private path that led to Boscombe Manor.
But once there, he set her down and scowled at her. “Damn it, Faith. You might have been killed. What were you doing there? Thank The Graces I saw you fall and was able to reach you in time.”
“I tried to get out of the way, but the crowd dragged me closer instead.” She couldn’t stop shaking. It had all happened so quickly, casually walking through the fair one moment, and in the next about to die.
“Faith,” he said with a wrenching ache. “Are you hurt?”
When he held out his arms, she flew into them and hugged him fiercely. “I wanted to find the fortune teller, but there were so many red tents. She wasn’t where I’d seen her yesterday. I needed to find her.”
“For what she said to you all those years ago?”
She nodded against his chest. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might burst. But his was calm and steady.
He groaned. “That stupid fortune doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, yes it does. She was so pretty and she looked at me so gently. I thought she was going to say something nice to me. Instead, she warned that I would be eaten by a dragon. Did I misunderstand? Or was she really that cruel?”
“Fortune tellers often speak in riddles. Put it aside. Forget it.”
She loved the rugged feel of his body, loved his comforting strength. “I realize now that I won’t be eaten by a dragon. But I still need to see her. I need to know why she told me this fortune…and what she’ll tell me next.”
“About which marriage offer to accept? Damn it, Faith. Me or Hawley? And what will you do if she tells you that Hawley is the one for you? You don’t love him. You never will.”
“I–” She’d put her hand to her bodice to draw out her charm, needing to look upon the dragon. “Oh, Caleb. It’s gone! I’ve lost it!”
“Lost what?”
“The dragon. My dragon! I promised the boy I’d never lose it.”
“It doesn’t matter, Faith. As you said, no dragon is coming to eat you. You’re safe with me.”
“But I promised Sir Caleb!”
He turned her to face him, tipping her chin up so that she was forced to look into his eyes. “What is this really about?”
She took a deep breath. “I have to find the dragon!”
“No, you don’t. All you need to do is trust your heart.”
How could she? Her heart was telling her to give up everything for a man she’d known for little more than a day. “You don’t understand. The dragon protected me.”
“And now I’ll protect you.” He cupped her face in his hands. “Forever, Faith. If you’ll let me.”
He kissed her then, his lips claiming hers with barely leashed restraint. He was obviously frustrated with her and yet he wrapped his arms around her so gently, as though promising her this is how it would always be between them.
She desperately wanted to believe him. “Caleb, thank you for rescuing me.”
“Always, Faith.”
But that was the problem, it wasn’t going to be always. He would move out with his regiment on Saturday morning.
Even if they did marry, would she ever see him again?
CHAPTER SEVEN
CALEB WAITED UNTIL close to midnight to return to the ale tent to search for Faith’s lost amulet. He’d told her that she did not need it, and was frustrated he hadn’t been able to convince her of it. Was he being foolish to persist in his opinion?
He did not want her guided by a silly tale he’d told her ten years ago. He was no dragon slayer. He was a soldier and nothing more. It was important for her to come to the realization on her own.
But what if he was wrong in demanding that she be practical? Was he any better? She was his faerie queen. He’d seen her standing on the hill and it had taken him no more than a moment, a mere glance, to fall in love. So why was he asking her to be practical and risk losing her to Hawley?
Did it matter that the dragon amulet had taken on mythical proportions in her mind?
He pushed through the crowd that had not yet begun to thin significantly despite the lateness of the hour.
He would start his search at the spot where Faith had fallen earlier.
Since she had been wearing the amulet up to that moment, it must have broken off in the melee.
But what chance was there of him finding it?
Hours had passed since the fight erupted. He’d meant to return to the spot sooner, but General Larkin’s regiment had arrived and needed his immediate attention, for many of them were now suffering from the same illness the general had contracted. Caleb’s first duty had been to separate these men from his own, ordering his sergeants to move the tents prepared for their arrival down the beach. He couldn’t risk the two regiments coming in contact with each other and spreading the sickness.
He’d alerted the local doctor and magistrate as well, and given orders that none of General Larkin’s men were to visit the fair. In effect, he’d put them in quarantine and set up a watch to make certain they did not disobey his command and slip out.
His plan to leave on Saturday morning would have to be put off. Too many of General Larkin’s men were not fit to travel. Not that he minded, for he ached to spend more time with Faith. Even now, he wished to be holding her in his arms instead of searching for the lost amulet.
But the amulet meant so much to her.
He resolved to buy her a new one if he could not find her precious dragon charm.
He grabbed one of the lit torches that lined the walkway and was still holding it up high over the ground when a woman approached him. “You won’t find it, you know.”
Caleb eyed the woman who had spoken to him, somehow not surprised to find the fortune teller standing before him. “Good evening, Madame Zeta.”
She looked him up and down, then smiled. “You’ve done well for yourself, young Caleb. Or should I call you General Brayden now?”
He shrugged. “Caleb, please. How is it possible, you haven’t aged a day?”
She shook her head and laughed. “Oh, dear me. I have, but my heart is always young with hope.”
He looked into her silver-blue eyes and saw the sadness she was hoping to hide from him. She might have succeeded in keeping her feelings from others, but he saw into her heart as easily as she saw into his. “You’re still searching for your happiness. I hope you find it, Madame Zeta.”
“Thank you, Caleb. Are congratulations in order? Have you found yours? With the little girl.”
He laughed. “Have you seen her? She isn’t little any more. She’s all grown up and quite beautiful.” He ran a hand through his hair in consternation. “She wore my amulet every day. I haven’t told her yet that I am her Sir Caleb.”
She pursed her lips and frowned. “Why not? She would have fallen into your arms.”
“I know. That’s why I dared not reveal who I was. She may suspect it, but she hasn’t asked me. I don’t want her to know. I want her to fall in love with me, not the dragon slayer she’s built up in her dreams.”
“It is dangerous not to tell her. She might make the wrong choice.” She placed her hand over Caleb’s heart. “Be careful, Caleb. You shall meet a dragoon who will devour your heart. That’s what I told her. But who is to say she will marry you even if she loses her heart to you?”
“I’m well aware. It is my greatest concern.” He cast the fortune teller a wry smile. “She’s accepted someone else. But you and I know that Faith won’t be happy unless she marries for love…and you and I know she loves me.”
Madame Zeta shook her head, but responded to his smile with a mirthless one of her own. “Bring her to me tomorrow. There’s very little time left.”
Her hand still rested over his heart, and although her touch was light, Caleb felt it burn through his chest. “What do you see in my future, Madame Zeta? Is it one without Faith?”
She didn’t respond, but removed her hand and dug into the small pouch tied to her belt. “Here’s your amulet. I found it earlier.�
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“How? I thought it was lost forever.” Caleb’s heart soared. Relief washed over him even though he had wanted Faith to move beyond this trinket and see him for himself. But she treasured it and was despondent without it. He could not bring himself to deprive her of the joy this meaningless bauble brought her. “Thank you.”
He’d planned on calling upon Faith this evening, but it was too late now. She would have closed up the house and retired to bed. In truth, he was spent as well.
He tucked the amulet in his breast pocket, keeping it safe until he could return it to her tomorrow morning. Afterward, he’d escort her to Madame Zeta’s tent.
Faith desperately wanted to meet the fortune teller. Apparently, the feeling was mutual.
“Be careful, Caleb.”
He frowned. This was the second warning she’d issued. “Why? What do you see?” He didn’t care to know the answer for himself. He could protect himself.
But Faith was a delicate thing. “Will Faith be hurt?”
“RICHARD, YOU’RE BACK.” Faith rose from her seat in the drawing room when Fleming announced Lord Hawley the following morning.
Her uncle managed a cordial greeting although Faith could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn’t at all pleased to see him. “Ah, Hawley. We didn’t expect you to return until tomorrow.”
“I couldn’t keep away from your niece a moment longer.” He nodded politely to her uncle and then strode to her side to give her a surprisingly zealous kiss on the cheek that felt moist and unpleasant. “My own uncle, the Marquis of Crichton, will arrive today. He’s most eager to meet you before the wedding.”
“Worried that you’ve fallen under the spell of a scheming seductress, I’m sure,” Faith’s uncle remarked.
Faith cast her beau a questioning smile. “Perhaps we’ve been a little hasty. I–”
“Nonsense, my dear. Although I wished to obtain a special license, there wasn’t enough time. This common license will have to do.” He patted his breast pocket and then reached in, but withdrew a small box instead of the expected parchment. “This is for you, my dear. A priceless gem for my priceless gem. Open it, Faith.”