My True Love

by Cheryl Holt

  252 Cheryl Holt

  the band of his trousers, and she yanked it away before he could stop her. He leapt for it, nearly retrieved it, but she jumped to her feet and held it high over her head, and he slumped down in his seat, looking aghast and defeated.

  The parchment was heavy, obviously of the finest quality, and, therefore, expensive. The single word Pendleton was carefully printed on the front. "What is this?"

  "I was supposed to give it to Captain Pendleton yesterday, but with all the ruckus, I forgot." He bent forward, his shoulders sagging, and the disturbing story came tumbling out. "That's why I came into the house. I didn't see his horse in the barn, but I was hoping he' d still be here so I could deliver the message to him, and Master Fogarty asked me to tell him that they found the ship too, but the fight with his brother popped up so fast, and it was so terrible—"

  "With his brother?"

  He continued on as though she hadn't interrupted. "—and they were almost caught, and the cap'n was hurt so we barely got away, and we were in such a hurry. I didn't remember that I had any of his messages, so I was going to talk with him this morning, because he needed to have them before he went back to the city, only he's already gone, and I don't know what to do now, and last night I couldn't go to sleep for the longest time. Out in the barn, I was, and I kept worrying about the incident in town, and hoping Lucas was all right, and I figure he must have left for London without me hearing him because I was so tired and I slept too late, so it's all my fault he didn't receive it"—he waved at the envelope—"and it's really important, and he was waiting for it to come all day yesterday, and he'll be waiting for it to come today too, only it won't because I've got it here with me, and I saw all the food on the counter, and I was so terribly hungry, and I didn't think you'd miss any, and I didn't mean to steal it because I would never do anything to upset you, and I—"

  "It's all right, Paulie," she said wearily, sliding back into her chair and patting him on the arm, and he quieted.

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  She was torn by the spill of words and disturbed to recollect that he was just a boy. A child who had been lured into one of Lucas's schemes! He had obviously been extremely upset by the course of the previous day, where incomprehensible mishaps had swirled about the grown-ups in his life. Worst of all, the poor lad thought the adults' misfortunes were his fault.

  The parchment lay in her hand, feeling like a malignant object, and they both stared at it. Finally she flipped it over and looked at the seal on the back, and she recognized it instantly. "This is from my father," she whispered.

  "Don't open it, Miss Penny," Paulie said, begging with his eyes. "Please don't."

  "Do you know what's in it?"

  "No," he said, shaking his head. "And you don't want to know either, do you?" He rested his hand on hers and said kindly yet vehemently, "Let's pretend you never saw it. I'll just take it and make my way to town, and I'll give it to Captain Pendleton as I was supposed to yesterday." She sat stone still, so he declared, "Better yet, let's just burn it. We can toss it into the stove—the fire's going—and it will be as though it never existed."

  "I can't," she said, still staring and wishing she could peer past the outer wrapping to what was inside. "I have to know."

  With that she slipped her finger under the flap and broke through the glob of wax meant to shield the contents from prying eyes. A single sheet lay inside, and she pulled it out. It had been folded in half, and she placed it on the table and smoothed it flat. Her father's handwriting was distinctive, and although she didn't want ever to know what he'd penned, she couldn't stop herself from reading the words on the page.

  Pendleton,

  I've said it before, and I say it again. I have no intention of paying any ransom to bring Penny home. Her return is not worth a farthing to me. As she has been alone with you for some time now, she has no reputation remaining,

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  therefore she no longer has any value to me whatsoever. You hold nothing I am interested in paying to retrieve. Kill her. Don't. It matters not to me.

  Westmoreland

  At reading the last, she gasped aloud, and she covered her mouth with her fingertips, wondering if she might be ill. "Oh, my ..."

  "What is it, Miss Penny?" Paulie asked. "Is it something horrid? If they've hurt you, I'll ... I'll ..."

  Penny glanced across the table at her young defender. He appeared so earnest in his offer, and she couldn't help speculating what in his youthful fantasies he might risk to do on her behalf, and she needed to quell any notions before they could form. Still, she had to swallow three times before she could speak.

  "It's nothing, Paulie," she contended, appreciating that she hardly sounded as though the note were trivial, but she was too confused and agitated to speak about it.

  "I don't believe you...." Just then they heard voices coming up the drive, and Paulie peeked out the window, asking, "Who is that?"

  "It's Harry and our serving women." Paulie jumped up, ready to run out the other door, but she didn't want him to go. Not when so much remained unresolved. She prevented his leaving with a simple shake of her head. ' 'I want you to stay. Harry will enjoy the company."

  "I don't think Captain Pendleton will like it."

  “At the moment I don't really care what he likes or doesn't."

  "If you're sure, then ..."

  "I am."

  The women were approaching the back door. In a matter of moments they'd be inside, but she couldn't face any of them. Not now. Perhaps not ever. Especially Colette. What could she possibly say to the woman that would dampen the sting of this .. . this ...

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  Betrayal, her internal voice proclaimed loudly. Betrayal. By her father. By Lucas. She needed time. Time to think. Time to understand. Time to come to terms with what she'd just learned.

  The two men had been playing some unfathomable game, and she'd been caught in the middle. Of what? Apparently her elopement was merely part of some distorted plot for blackmail. Her father didn't want her back. Wouldn't take her back. And Lucas ... Evidently his affection had all been feigned, and with a shudder she questioned if they were truly married.

  Had no one ever cared about her? Not her father? Not even her husband?

  Lucas had obviously told the duke that he would kill her if his unknown demands went unmet. Would he? Could he contemplate such a heartless act after their numerous intimacies? Was she in danger even now, sitting unsuspectingly in her own kitchen?

  Grabbing a towel off the counter, she wiped her eyes while looking at Paulie. "Please, don't say anything to them about all of this." She gestured toward the envelope and note as she scooped them together and slipped them under her apron.

  "I won't," he vowed.

  He tried to continue the discussion, but the door opened and Harry burst in, running with his usual spurt of energy. At seeing who was sitting at the table, he pulled to a halt.

  "Paulie? Paulie! It's you! You're here, you're here." He danced around Penny. "He's my friend. I told you about him. I told you!"

  "Yes, you did, Harry."

  "This is so grand! Isn't it, Penny?"

  "It certainly is." She forced a smile to her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes, and she hoped the other women were too involved in their arrival to notice the bleak look of despair lurking in their depths.

  "Can you stay?" Harry asked Paulie, then he turned to Penny. "Can he?"

  "For as long as he likes."

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  She glanced toward Colette, making certain her gaze didn't settle, and keeping her focus somewhere past the other woman's shoulder. "Colette"—her speech seemed quite steady, considering—"this is Paulie. He works for Mr. Pendleton, and he's a friend of Harry's...."

  "He is!" Harry declared. "He's my best friend."

  "He's going to be staying with us."

  "Can he sleep with me?" Harry asked excitedly.

  "Of course," she agreed. "He'll ne
ed a bath...."

  "A bath!" Paulie exclaimed with such a degree of horror that Penny pondered whether he'd ever had one.

  "Penny's big on baths," Harry explained to his stricken friend, "but don't worry. They're quite pleasant once you get used to them."

  "And perhaps," Penny continued absently, "we could give his clothes a laundering so they'll dry during the night."

  Colette appeared to sense that something was amiss, and Penny was thankful when she replied easily, "I'm sure we can find him some sort of nightshirt."

  "Thank you,'' Penny breathed. She came to her feet, swaying slightly and stumbling blindly past the table, knowing she had to depart before she utterly succumbed to desperation. As it was, everyone but Harry was staring, her distress obvious to anyone older than four years.

  "Miss Penny?" Paulie started to say hesitantly. "Is there anything—"

  "We'll talk on the morrow," she replied curtly, rubbing the area between her eyes, where a headache was beginning to pound. "Don't you dare leave before we've had the chance."

  "I'll be here," he promised.

  "Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, hurriedly making her way out of the kitchen and through the front room, "I'm not feeling well. I don't wish to be disturbed."

  "Would you like me to send up a tray for supper?" Colette asked to her back. The crowd behind her was absolutely silent and apprehensively awaiting her response.

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  “No,'' she answered, not turning around, not stopping, needing to flee the eyes cutting into her back. "I won't be able to eat. Just... just let me be."

  She climbed the stairs to her room and closed and locked the door.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Lucas stabled his horse, taking much longer than necessary to feed him, rub him down, and make him comfortable for the night. He hoped the few extra minutes would help him locate the perspective for which he'd been searching, although he doubted it. He'd had plenty of opportunity to ponder during the long hours he'd passed in London and on the ride back, and he was no closer to finding answers than he'd been when the day had started. All he'd deduced was that his problems had grown to be insurmountable, and he had no idea what to do about fixing any of them.

  How could such a simple plan have gone so wrong?

  In the beginning it had seemed straightforward. Harold Westmoreland had committed a grave injustice against Lucas's family. Lucas wanted to rectify it. Harold's daughter had dropped into Lucas's lap, providing him with an easy method for achieving an acceptable resolution: He'd lure her away, hide her in the country for a few days, and use threats and intimidation regarding her welfare in order to win the concessions he sought from the duke.

  Instead, the days had turned to weeks. The duke had refused to pay, not caring what nefarious thing might happen to his

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  daughter as a result. Lucas had fallen madly in love with Penny but didn't dare tell her. Penny thought they were married, which couldn't be further from the truth. Harry believed she was his new mother, though she'd soon be leaving forever. Paulie had mysteriously vanished without a trace. And Matthew was, at that very moment, helping Fogarty prepare the Sea Wind for its return voyage to America which, Matthew had furiously stated in no uncertain terms, he intended to undertake whether Lucas joined him or not.

  He'd always perceived himself as a strong, capable, intelligent fellow. How had it happened that he'd run up against the Westmorelands and, no matter what he did or what he tried, he ended up looking like an impotent fool?

  With no more reason to linger over the horse, he patted the animal on the rump, then stood in the door of the barn, gazing across at the house. It seemed dark and quiet, but he knew appearances could be deceptive. Colette might be lurking in the shadows, ready to accost him. Penny was probably in his bed, awaiting his return, and like the worst sort of cad, he'd couple with her again because he was too weak to prevent himself from partaking of the delights she offered. She'd be hot, naked, and willing, and when he climbed under the covers, she'd smell so damned good, and she'd reach for him so sweetly, he wouldn't be able to resist.

  While he knew he shouldn't enter the house at all, that he should stay far away, he also knew, without pausing to consider, that he'd do no such thing. He would throw caution to the wind and plunge recklessly ahead. Where Penny was concerned, he couldn't chart any other course. He wanted her. He had to have her often and thoroughly, and he couldn't contemplate passing a single minute of the night without holding her in his arms.

  In his entire miserable life he'd never felt a similar connection before. He hadn't even realized that such an affinity with a female was possible, always imagining that it was the nonsense of romantic dreamers and poets. But their bond was firmly

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  established. It was real and overwhelming, and his heart ached with how much he loved her.

  And what man wouldn't?

  In an extremely short period she'd changed into a new person, one whose only goal was to please him in every fashion. She had shucked off the stuffy yoke of her upbringing, easily and joyfully adapting to her reduced circumstance as she went about learning how to be ordinary instead of affluent and privileged. She performed every act with an eye toward making Lucas happy, and there was no question that she carried out her duties good-naturedly and willingly merely because she was devoted to him and wanted her presence to make his world more comfortable.

  Combined with her ardor and concern was the fact that she was a rare beauty, the most stunning woman he'd ever encountered. Although she'd been sheltered in her contacts with men and might have shied away from the steamier aspects of male-female liaisons, she'd heartily embraced the physical side of their relationship. She'd eagerly learned all he showed her, taking the time to discover what he liked best and applying her ministrations with a zesty delight, teaching him a few things about loving in the process.

  From the first, he'd asked her to be kind to Harry, and she'd honored his request, going far beyond what anyone could have expected. Effortlessly she'd slid into the role of friend and companion to where Harry could hardly remember when she hadn't been there. She considered them both to be her men, and she watched over them with the ferocity of a dog guarding her pups. Her gentle tending was extremely welcome in their bachelor environment, and he and Harry had become so attached to her, Lucas wasn't certain how either of them had ever gotten along without her.

  He was the luckiest of men. Or the unluckiest, depending on one's point of view.

  "What am I going to do?" he groaned aloud. The question had been circulating relentlessly. Unfortunately despite how

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  many times he raised it, no answer was forthcoming, and he felt more wretched than ever.

  And where the hell was Paulie? That morning Lucas had searched high and low around the small property, finally deciding the boy must have made his way back to town alone, so Lucas had gone on by himself. But Paulie couldn't be located in London. He hadn't been to any of his usual haunts; no one had seen him or had the slightest inkling of where he might be.

  Lucas had selfishly exploited and endangered the lad, enticing him with money and camaraderie in order to convince him to help Lucas carry out his rash scheme, and if he'd suffered an injury, the damage was Lucas's fault.

  Paulie's use and abuse was simply another sin to add to the lengthy list Lucas had accumulated since arriving in England. Very likely he could spend the rest of his life in church and on his knees, begging the Lord's forgiveness, and he'd still not find enough hours to confess all the wrongs he'd committed against those about whom he cared so deeply.

  His own brother had thrown up his hands in disgust, declining to assist in whatever course Lucas chose in order to bring the affair to a satisfactory conclusion. Matthew had insisted Lucas bring Penny to town so that Matthew could marry them properly on the ship; Lucas had refused. He'd then demanded that Lucas return her to the duke's; Lucas had refused
again, arguing that they had relayed a note to the man, saying they intended to kill his daughter, and the despicable swine hadn't bothered to respond. Lucas wasn't sending her back.

  As far as Matthew was concerned, Paulie's disappearance was the final straw. After hours of exploring and meeting hastily to exchange information, it had become obvious that the boy was missing, and Matthew had determined that he'd had enough. He was sailing to Virginia with or without Lucas, and he intended to take Harry with him too, no matter what Lucas decided to do. He'd said that Lucas could scurry around England, casting about for his petty revenge and worthless retribu-

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  tion, and trying to salvage his wounded pride, until the sky turned green and the ocean ran to red.

  In the meantime Matthew and Harry—the family members he loved so dearly and for whom he'd undertaken the entire senseless ordeal—would be gone.

  With a heavy heart and his lagging spirits as low as they'd been in a good long while, Lucas left the barn and walked to the back door, only to be intercepted by Colette.

  " 'Allo, mon ami," she said maliciously.

  "Oh, no ..." he grumbled in dismay, though he should have known she'd show her face before he could make it to the safety of his room. Didn't she always manage to turn up at the very worst moment?

  "I see that you are finally home," she groused.

  "What is it now, Colette?"

  She laughed meanly. “I suppose you are thinking that you are on your way to my lady's bed, eh?"

  "I've told you before, madam," he said sternly, "that my intimate moments with Lady Penelope are none of your business."

  "Well, I am sorry to say"—Colette continued as though he hadn't spoken—"that she will not have you. Not tonight Probably not ever again."

  "What?" he asked, hating the wicked gleam in her eye. ' 'What are you rambling about?'' He glanced toward the house, recalling how from his view in the barn all had appeared calm, but as he paid closer attention, the silence seemed unnatural, and his senses flared to readiness.