by Ruth Owen
Ecstasy shuddered through her. She’d accepted her lot in life as a plain woman, destined to live without passion. But in this blinding instant she knew what it was to be wanted by a man—truly wanted—and the glory of it burned her alive. Moaning again she parted her lips, and offered herself to him with surprise, innocence, and joy.
He released her mouth. For an eternal moment he stared down at her, studying her with the same bewildered wonder that she felt. Then the wonder died, leaving the jaded wariness she’d seen in his eyes far too many times before.
“Well done, Cousin. You almost made a believer of me. But no blushing virgin ever kissed like that. Still, it seems a shame to waste such talent.” He glanced toward a door on the other side of the room. “We could continue the rest of the show in my bedchamber. I might even be persuaded to stop digging into your past, if you—”
Her slap cut off the rest of his suggestion. She pushed herself out of his arms and bolted through the hallway door, desperate to get away before he saw the tears in her eyes. She hated him. She despised him. He’d seduced her, just as Quinn warned her he would. Just as he’d seduced so many other women…
She ran down the corridor, scrubbing away the feel of his kiss from her lips. But her skin still burned where he’d touched her, and the hot, tight wanting still ached inside her.
Sabrina stopped running. She leaned her head against the wall and took in deep gulps of air, trying to slow her pounding, shattered heart. The same feelings had coursed through her on the day the earl had rescued her from the runaway, only this was worse, far worse. Because this time she’d kissed him with all the need and longing in her soul. She hated and despised him, but she still wanted him to hold her, caress her, make love to her.
She’d thought that the humiliation she felt when Albert tried to rape her was the worst shame that a woman could feel. She’d been wrong.
* * *
The day of the ball arrived. Ravenshold was bustling with activity, from the frantic preparations in Mrs. Poldhu’s kitchen to the tornado of dusting and cleaning that took place throughout the downstairs. The rugs were rolled up and stored away to allow for the evening’s dancing. The ancestral banners were washed then unfurled in all their vibrant fighting colors, and the suits of armor were polished until they gleamed. Flowers filled every vase. Silver candlebras decorated every table. The whole house hummed with the brisk, happy momentum of a well-oiled machine.
By mid-morning the cheerful industry was driving Rina insane.
Unnoticed, she headed for the cliffs, desperate for the solitude and the silence. It was a bright, blustery day and a fierce wind blew a chill from the northern sea. She stood near the edge of the cliff, so close that the toes of her shoes nearly touched the red markers that showed the safe boundary, but she barely noticed the precarious drop beneath her. Her thoughts were occupied elsewhere, just as they had been occupied all last night, and all of the day and night that had come before. Edward.
Try as she might, she could not blot out the memory of their last encounter. His kiss still burned her lips. Her fingertips still tingled from the feel of his warm, hard flesh. She wrapped her arms around her middle and drew the bracing air into her lungs, trying to calm the muddle of emotions inside her.
‘Tis simply nerves, she assured herself. She’d been waiting for this night for so long. After the party she would steal the Dutchman’s Necklace. Then, at the stroke of midnight, she’d meet Quinn at the gates of Ravenshold. They’d ride away before anyone was the wiser, off to a grand future that did not include the arrogant Lord Trevelyan. She told herself she was glad of it, that she hated the earl with all the passion in her fiery Irish soul.
Unfortunately, that hatred didn’t stop her from wanting to feel his arms around her just one more time.
A faint, high-pitched cry interrupted her thoughts.
“I am not a baby!“
“Are too,” a slightly older voice replied. “Baby, baby, baby.”
David and Sarah? Sabrina frowned. The children were supposed to be with their tutor, not capering along the tops of the cliffs. Rina hurried down the twisting path, past a large rock outcropping that stood in the middle of the rugged lane. David and Sarah were walking along the edge of the cliff, followed dutifully by their puppy Pendragon.
The dog was the first to notice her. He lifted his muzzle straight up, apparently sniffing the shifting wind. Then he turned completely around and launched his furry body straight into Sabrina’s arms.
“Penny, stop…no, you can’t lick my nose. You know I don’t like…oh, stop wriggling, dear, or I might drop you!”
“Cousin Prudence?” Sarah stepped forward, looking at once contrite and contrary. She toyed nervously with the satin ribbon of her blue bonnet. “We weren’t doing anything.”
“Save walking along these cliffs by yourselves,” Rina replied, looking as stern as she could with a frantic puppy in her arms. “You two are supposed to be in the schoolroom with your tutor, are you not?”
Tight-lipped, Sarah tilted her chin defiantly, but David pushed in front of her. “The downstairs maid asked him to help with the party. He kissed her when he thought I wasn’t looking, so I guess he has to do what she says. So we ‘scaped. Then Sarah went and called me a baby. You don’ think I’m a baby, do you, Cous’ Pru?”
Allowing Pendragon one last lick, Rina set the puppy at her feet. “Of course I do not think you’re a baby, but neither you nor your sister should be walking these cliffs alone. They are dangerous.”
“Only to outsiders,” Sarah answered sharply.
Instinctively Rina stiffened at the girl’s tone. During the weeks she’d been at Ravenshold, Sarah had never warmed to her the way David had. At first Rina thought it was a mirror of the distrust her father showed. But lately Rina had seen her show the same coolness toward Amy and even toward Lady Penelope. It was as if the child had built a wall between herself and the rest of the world that kept anything from touching her.
Still, wall or not, the children could not be allowed to roam the cliffs alone. “Come, children. I want you to come home with me.”
Immediately Sabrina realized her mistake. What had been a split defense suddenly became a united front against a common enemy—an adult. Lord David glanced up at his sister, arching his brow in a devilish expression that was the mirror of his father’s. “We don’t have to go back, do we, Saree?”
“Certainly not.” Smiling, Sarah slipper her hand around her young brother’s. Together they turned and started down the narrow path, their previous quarrel forgotten—along with any adult who sought to send them back to their lessons.
If Rina returned to Ravenshold for help, she’d have to leave them alone on these cliffs for another half-hour or longer. She glanced at the cliff path, at the red markers that told clearer than words how treacherous the way could be for the careless. One false step, and…
Sabrina’s jaw pulled taut. They wouldn’t come with her. And she wouldn’t go back without them. “Wait! May I…join you?”
Sarah looked over her shoulder, and gave an indifferent shrug. “Please yourself,” she said as she continued down the rocky path with her brother and Pendragon in tow. “But you’ll have to keep pace with us. We’ll not wait up for you.”
Sarah and David scampered over the rocks and crevices of the narrow path with the skill of mountain goats. They rarely glanced Sabrina’s way, apparently expecting her to fall behind quickly. But Rina had spent her early years chasing foals through summer pastures, and her later years nimbly avoiding carriages and carter wagons on crowded London streets.
She navigated the cliff-top path with as much skill as the children, and with a longer stride. She kept pace behind them with an ease that earned her a sour look from Sarah. David, however, dropped back to walk beside Rina, and smiled with surprise and open admiration. “You’re good at climbing.”
“Thank you, sir,” Rina answered, a warmth spreading through her at the boy’s heartfelt praise. She’d on
ly known him only a few weeks, but during that time the young master of Ravenshold had carved himself a permanent place in her soul. She was going to miss him dreadfully after she was gone. Him…and others.
Lady Sarah’s command interrupted Rina’s disquieting thoughts. “Hurry up, you two!” She crossed her arms and tapped her toe like a disgruntled schoolmarm. “Hurry, or we’ll never make Wrecker’s Point.”
Sabrina frowned. ”What Point?”
“Wrecker’s,” David answered, his cheerful smile at odds with the frightening name. “People used to build fires at the top of the cliff. The ships thought it was the lighthouse down the coast. They’d turn into the rocks and get smashed into smithereens. Then the wreckers would murder the crew and steal their treasure and hide it in sea caves until they could sell it.”
Sabrina fought to suppress a grin at David’s enthusiastic re-telling of the gruesome tale. “Well, that makes the wreckers very bad men, doesn’t it?”
“I ‘spose so,” he sighed, though his tone was less than credible. He reached down and gave Pendragon a boost over one of the steeper rocks. Watching his unconscious kindness, Rina felt her heart constricting again. “They say that there’s still treasure hidden in the caves—gold and diamonds and rubies as big as goose eggs. When I grow up, I’m going to search every cave until I find it.”
“ ‘Twill be a long search,” Sarah chided. “There are hundreds of caves all along this coast. And if the treasures really existed they would have been found long ago. Only a boodle-brain would think there really was a treasure.”
“I’m not a boodle-brain. And there is treasure. Mama told me so.”
Sarah went suddenly still. “That’s not true. You don’t even remember her. You were too little.”
“I do remember her. She was warm and soft and she smelled like lavender. And when she tucked us in at night she’d tell us stories, just like Cousin Prudence does. Then she tells us she loved us—”
Sarah lashed out. “You’re a liar! She never said any of those things.”
“Sarah!” Rina stepped between the children, putting David behind her. “Your brother is not a liar. If he says he remembers, I’m sure it’s true.”
“It’s not!” Sarah cried, her shout echoing through the cliffs. “She never told us stories, or tucked us in, or told us she loved us. She never loved us at all. And I don’t care, because I hate her.” Sarah’s lower lips quivered and her eyes gleamed with tears.
Memories of Rina’s own past came back to her—of running and running through the open fields, as if she could outdistance the pain that tore at her heart. Her mother had left for a different reason, but it still felt like desertion, was still a betrayal. And Rina knew that nothing could completely heal the wound.
“You do not hate her,” Sabrina said quietly. “You’re angry at her because she left you, but you don’t hate her.” She stepped forward, and reached out her hand. “Remember, I lost my mother, too. You mustn’t hate her for what she did.”
For a moment Sabrina saw a flash of doubt in the girl’s gaze, and thought she might finally cross that cold, high wall that kept Sarah’s heart hidden. But the moment passed and the chill aloofness returned to Sarah’s expression. She turned her back on Sabrina, leaving the woman with a feeling that she’d watched something far more precious than the Dutchman’s Necklace slip away. After tonight I will never see this child again. Why does it matter so much to me that she’s hurting inside?
She watched Sarah skip away down the winding cliff path, scrambling over the boulders at a dangerous pace. She threw a taunting glance back at Rina. “Wrecker’s Point is jus ahead. See if you can catch me.”
“Sarah, stop! You mustn’t—no, David, you stay here. ‘Tis not safe—”
“See if you can catch me,” Sarah sang. She stood on the top of the boulder, waving down at them. “See if you can catch—”
Her song ended abruptly as the ground crumbled under her, and she slid over the edge of the cliff.
Chapter Fourteen
Rina raced to the cliff, nearly toppling over herself in her rush. She craned her neck, balancing precariously as she looked over the edge and caught sight of Sarah’s blue dress on a rocky ledge a dozen feet below. Her heart started beating again. “Sarah, I see you. Are you all right?”
A thin wail assured Sabrina that Sarah was conscious, but possibly hurt and definitely scared out of her wits. That makes the two of us.
“Is she going to die?”
David’s hushed voice reminded Rina that she wasn’t the only one who was frightened. She stepped away from the edge and gave the young viscount an encouraging hug. “Your sister is fine.”
David glanced past her shoulder at the cliff edge, looking less than convinced. “I don’t want her to die. I get mad at her sometimes, but I don’t want her to die.”
“She won’t die. But we need your help. I want you to be brave, David. I need to climb down and see if your sister is all right. You’ll have to stay up here—”
“But I want to help Saree!”
“I know you do, darling. But you can help her more by staying up here and keeping safe.” She looked down, unwilling to let him see the fear in her eyes. “You have to stay here. Someone must look after Pendragon.”
“That’s right.” David wrapped the puppy in his arms. “He’s real little. He might fall off the cliff.”
“Then you must see that he doesn’t. If you keep away from the edge, he’ll do the same.” Rina gave the pup a pat, and rose to her feet. David could still make his way back to Ravenshold, even if something happened to her…
Steeling her mind against discouraging thoughts, Sabrina went to the cliff’s edge. Sarah had fallen down the rock and rubble slope to a narrow ledge some twenty feet beneath the summit. Beyond that ledge was—nothing. Just a sheer drop to the churning sea far below. Rina stared out into the emptiness, feeling her own stomach begin to churn as she saw how close Sarah had come to that nothingness.
Well, Rina-lass, it’s time to see if you’ve got your da’s talent for risk, she told herself as she stripped off her kid gloves and knelt down. She gripped a rock and cautiously started to work her way down the steep, gravel-strewn incline. “Hang on, Sarah. I will be with you soon.”
The slope was far more dangerous than she’d anticipated, with loose talus and treacherous rocks that appeared secure but broke away when she put her weight on them. Every handhold was an uncertainty, every footstep a gamble. She shifted her foot to a solid-looking rock, thinking that someone should have marked this slope with red markers. The thought ended in panic as the rock disintegrated under her.
She fell, sliding a full yard down the granite cliff face. Her hands flailed wildly for a handhold, heedless of the rough stone scraping her arms and tearing her dress.
She landed with a thud on the ledge as rocks and gravel fell into the abyss beneath her. out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw something red further down on the slope, but she had no time to investigate.
“Cousin Prudence?”
Sabrina rushed over to the girl’s side. Sarah was covered in dirt from head to toe. Her blue bonnet had been ripped away and her dress was in a shambles, but her eyes were clear of pain. She appeared shaken and bruised, but unharmed. Still, Rina felt her ribs and limbs for breaks. “Are you hurt?”
“I d-don’t think so,” she stuttered, clearly shaken by the fall. She started to push herself to a sitting position. “I feel—ooh, my ankle!”
The ankle didn’t appear to be broken, but from Sarah’s wince of pain when she touched it, Rina guessed it was badly sprained. She tried to sound cheerful. “I fear you will not be running any races on this leg for a while.”
Sarah attempted a brave smile.
Rina gave the girl a smile of her own. Then she stood up and wiped her hands on her skirt, though whether that made them dirtier or cleaner was a questionable point. Sighing, Rina shielded her eyes and surveyed the cliff above them, trying to determine if she would
be able to carry Sarah up. But the sheer rock and the loose gravel offered no safe way to the top. Indeed, she doubted if she could have made the climb even without the girl. She and Sarah were safe on the ledge, but they weren’t going anywhere.
Sabrina cupped her hands around her mouth. “David? Can you hear me?”
David’s head appeared over the summit. “I can hear you. Is Saree all right?”
“She is going to be fine, but she twisted her ankle. You must go back to Ravenshold and get help.”
David looked uneasily at the barren, windswept rocks. “I’m not ‘lowed to walk on the cliffs by myself. Papa won’t like it.”