Devil at the Gates

by Lauren Smith

  George finished his meal and reached forward to clasp her hand where it lay on the table. She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened hard enough to leave red marks.

  “I want us to be friends, Harriet.”

  “And I want you to let go of me.” She tried to keep her tone polite.

  He rose from his chair and came to stand behind her. He stroked her loosely coiled hair, then dug his hand into it sharply, forcing her head back to look up at him. His other hand clamped around her throat.

  “My dear sweet Harriet, do not anger me. I only wish to still that wild spirit in you. It will do you no good to fight.” He loosened his hand on her throat just as her vision started to go black. She coughed violently as she gasped for air. But he wasn’t done with her. He jerked her to her feet and moved her toward the bed.

  “Come over here and rest. You may sleep soundly knowing that I will be here to watch over you.”

  His words sent an unholy wave of revulsion through her. She tried to wrench free of his hold. George struck, his fist catching her in the jaw. Blood blossomed in her mouth.

  “You monster!” She tried to run for the door, but he crushed her body against it before she could lift the latch.

  She elbowed him hard, and he collapsed against her. She slid out from under him and rushed to the table, snatching his dinner knife. Her father’s lessons hadn’t included training on short blades, but she felt she could handle it if it came to it.

  George spun to face her with a growl. Harriet raised the blade, feeling her father’s spirit inside her like a burning flame. She would fight him with everything she had. But her throat tightened with fear as she saw the pistol. He pulled the trigger and nothing happened. She exhaled in relief, but she had only a second before he charged at her.

  Redmond stared at the distant gates to Frostmore and the black shape sitting there in between them. Devil had chased the coach all the way to the gates and then stopped, barking once or twice before he’d gone silent, still is a statue. He was waiting for Harriet to come home, and it broke Redmond’s heart.

  “Devil!” Redmond shouted from the front door, but the dog didn’t move.

  Redmond walked the distance out to the gates and stood beside his furry companion. Both of them stared down the road where Harriet had gone. Suddenly Devil spun to face the house, his hackles raised as he growled. Redmond turned as well and gasped in shock. A woman’s face stared out of his bedchamber window. Even at a distance, he knew who it was.

  Millicent.

  “Red…” The whisper he heard was neither male nor female, and the way it caressed the air around him made him shiver.

  The woman raised a hand, pressing her palm to the glass. “Red… He has her…”

  Devil stopped growling and stood frozen, watching as the face in the window faded. The birdsong and wind blowing in from the cliffs soon came back. Only then did Redmond realize that everything had stilled while Millicent spoke to him. Her warning flashed through his mind again. His fears that the ghosts that haunted his home meant to bring him harm seemed to fade in that instant. They were warning him, helping him.

  “Harriet!” He sprinted for the house, yelling for his horse.

  “Your Grace?” Grindle rushed out into the hall as Redmond entered it.

  “I have to go after her. She’s not safe. I never should have let her go.”

  He ordered his horse to be made ready and went into his study to retrieve a pistol from his desk drawer and loaded it. Then he tucked it into his coat before getting on his horse. He rode for Dover, but as he reached the main road that split between Dover and Faversham as the gloom upon the land began to settle in, he saw something standing there, blocking the road to Dover.

  Redmond stared at the phantom, which seemed to glow in the darkness. Redmond’s lips parted, but he spoke no words. His usually gentle mare bucked wildly, as though sensing, perhaps even seeing, this supernatural vision.

  Thomas.

  His brother pointed toward the road leading to Faversham. His pale form glowed from a light source deep within, leaving him a ghostly pearlescent version of his former self.

  “The inn…” The words had barely left Thomas’s lips before he vanished.

  Redmond stared down the road to Dover, where he knew Harriet had gone, but then he looked down the opposite path his brother had pointed toward. Was he losing his mind to not only see but trust these visions?

  He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He had to trust them. He steered his mount toward Faversham.

  “Show me the way, brother. Show me,” he pleaded upon the winds as he raced on.

  He saw the distant lights of an inn ahead. A vision filled his head, clear as day. Harriet reaching for a knife, Halifax lunging for her. Redmond didn’t waste a second as he stopped at the inn and threw the reins of his horse to a stable boy. The inside of the inn was eerily quiet. A few men sat in a corner, drinking ale over hushed whispers. They eyed him warily as he strode in. Redmond ignored them and sought the innkeeper.

  “I’m looking for a man named Halifax. He may have come in with a young woman. I will pay handsomely for full information.” He slapped a small purse on the counter.

  The barman’s eyes widened. “They were here, stayed for dinner in one of the rooms upstairs. But they started shouting, and the woman ran out toward the cliffs. The bloke went after her.” The man reached for the bag of coins.

  The bitter taste of panic filled Redmond’s mouth. Harriet was headed for the cliffs? What was she thinking? She could fall…like Millicent.

  “Where is your back door?”

  The man pointed over his shoulder, through the kitchen.

  “Thank you.” He ran to the door, his heart pounding as he prayed that he wasn’t too late.

  Harriet clawed George’s face as he wrestled her to the ground. The grass was wet with melted patches of snow. She had slipped as her boots caught on a slick spot of snow, giving George the chance to catch up with her. Now she was fighting for her life. Her body ached with the weight of him atop her.

  The meager moonlight darkened the shadows on his face. He snarled and hurled himself at her. He clubbed her savagely on the temple, and she lost her hold on his hands, which now curled around her throat. She struggled for breath, trying to reach for the small knife that lay inches away from her hand. His eyes were lit with the demonic lust for death as he held her down. It would be so easy to give in, to surrender and let go. Harriet was tired of running, tired of fighting. She wanted Redmond, to be back in his arms. Her vision began to dim, and she could hear her mother’s voice.

  “Harriet…fight…”

  He laughed heartily, the awful sound of his joy jerking her back to her senses. Her fingers touched the tip of the blade, and she strained until she curled her fingers around it. Then she swung, jabbing it deep into his side. He threw back his head and cried out in pain. His hands released her, and she punched him hard in the throat, sending him stumbling back. The instant she was free, she tried to crawl away from the cliffs, but her head swam and she nearly fainted from the pain in her skull. When she turned to see George, he was a few feet away at the cliff’s edge, staring at her in fury.

  “You little bitch!” He pulled the knife out and stared at her. Then his face hardened, and he stepped toward her.

  Crack!

  George stumbled to a stop, looking down at his chest where a dark-red spot appeared on his white shirt, growing bigger every second.

  Harriet stared in stunned silence as he then stumbled back toward the edge of the cliff. A second later the dirt gave way, and he fell into the darkness below.

  “Harriet?” a voice called out. She clutched her aching head and turned to see Redmond there, a pistol raised.

  Redmond had shot George, had stopped him from reaching her, or else she would’ve fallen over the edge too. She slowly crawled backward, afraid the ground beneath her would also give way. Redmond reached her a moment later and wrapped his arms around her, carrying her away
from the edge, just as he’d done two weeks ago when he’d saved her life after she’d followed a ghost to the cliffs.

  “Red…” She collapsed into his arms. They both fell into the grass, holding each other.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, cupping her face.

  She threw her arms around his neck, and he held her long after she stopped shaking. “Yes. I am now.”

  The clouds parted, and a full moon shone down, casting eerie beams of light where it reflected off the snow around them.

  George was gone. The monster who had kept her in fear for the last six years was no longer there to haunt her. She started to close her eyes, but then she saw it. A flickering moonbeam that for but a moment seemed to be…Thomas. Staring at her and Red, a sad smile hovering about his lips before the moonlight vanished behind a cloud again. The specter of George’s evil in her life was ended, and for the first time in a long while, she could breathe. She felt happy, safe…and now she was with Redmond again. She marveled at how it was even possible that luck would have brought her such a fate.

  “It’s over,” Redmond said softly. “You’re safe now. He can’t hurt you anymore. I’ll see that the magistrate in Faversham retracts anything he might have signed about you.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Now that Halifax is dead and I can attest to his attempt to murder you, any paperwork put before a magistrate will be suspect given the man’s motives to harm you.”

  Harriet leaned into him, relaxing for the first time in six years. It was over. George was gone. She was safe.

  He kissed her forehead and pulled back to look down at her. “Are you ready to go home, my darling duchess?”

  Harriet stared up at his handsome face, wondering how anyone could have ever thought him unattractive. He was perfect in every way.

  But what had he just said? Duchess? He couldn’t…

  “Red, you don’t have to…” He didn’t need to marry her. She knew he might never again wish to marry after what had happened with Millicent. As long as she could be with him, that was all that mattered.

  “You are my duchess. I thought I wasn’t ready to marry again, but after almost losing you, I knew I couldn’t let you out of my life again. So you’ll have to marry me, Harriet. I won’t have it any other way.” He kissed her on the lips, a deep, sensual kiss that sent flutters through her lower belly. It banished all thoughts of the horrors she’d faced tonight, leaving only relief and joy.

  “Is that so?” She felt so giddy that she couldn’t resist teasing him. “Don’t I have a say in this?”

  Redmond smirked. “None at all. And if you resist me,” he murmured seductively, “I may have to fight you for it. I’m not bad with a fencing foil.”

  She laughed and buried her face in his neck. “You’re not terrible. But I’m better,” she reminded him. “But perhaps I’ll let you win.”

  “Would you indeed, minx?” He laughed, the cheery, open sound erasing all fear and heartache she’d suffered.

  She was no longer losing him; she was going home with him.

  “Come on, let’s get back and hire a coach. Poor Devil may still be waiting at the gates for you.”

  “What?” They both stood and headed toward the distant flickering lights of the inn.

  “He chased your carriage all the way to the gates and has been there ever since. He knows, like I do, that you belong at Frostmore.”

  “You know, he’s really not a devil. Perhaps you can rename him? Angel, perhaps?”

  Redmond laughed again. “He’s a black guard dog. If you start calling him Angel, no one will fear him.”

  “Perhaps that would be a good thing?” She laughed. “For when the children come? We wouldn’t want to scare the little ones.”

  Redmond jerked to a stop. “Children?”

  She nodded, suddenly nervous. “Yes… I wanted to tell you, but then George came, and I knew I had to leave. My courses are two weeks late. I’m not certain, but”

  She was unable to finish her sentence as he crushed her to his chest in a fierce hug.

  “Children.” He said the word with a boyish smile as he picked her up and whirled her around. When he finally set her down on her feet, he looked at her as though she was the answer to every question he’d ever had.

  “Harriet. My Harriet.” He pulled her close again. “I love you to the point of madness.”

  She nuzzled his throat and basked in the warmth of his body holding hers. “And I love you beyond all measure.” It was a love that did not fill her with madness but rather a glorious, wondrous giddiness for life. It reminded her of when she’d been young, long before her father fell ill.

  “Let’s go home. We have the rest of our lives ahead of us.” Redmond’s voice was full of joy and hope. No more shadows, ghosts or otherwise, stood between them any longer.

  “How did you know where to find me?” she asked as they reached the inn.

  Redmond’s eyes were serious again. “I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  “Thomas showed me the way—after Millicent warned me you were in danger.”

  Harriet was quiet a long moment, thinking back to what the ghosts of Frostmore had shown her.

  “I hope they can find peace together. They deserve it.” She laid her head on his shoulder, and then he nodded.

  “For once, I think I do as well. Frostmore shall be a place of joy from now on. A place of love and light.”

  “So long as we are together,” she added.

  “And forever beyond that.” He raised her chin up to steal another kiss. Her heart was for none other than the Duke of Frostmore. He was no longer the Devil of Dover, because he had a pair of angels watching over him. And he was her angel.

  Epilogue

  Two Weeks later…

  Redmond woke to a white Christmas covering the grounds of his ancestral home. Harriet lay in his arms, still sound asleep. He almost couldn’t believe how easy it had been to deal with Halifax’s death. The magistrate had set aside the papers Halifax had sent him, and Harriet had been awarded Halifax’s estate in its entirety since he’d had no heirs. Harriet had made mention of converting the home into a fencing school, and Redmond had agreed it was an excellent idea.

  He slipped from the bed and crossed to the window while he pulled his dressing gown on. The snow stretched out as far as the eye could see, all the way to the cliffs and the deep, icy blue waters beyond. For the last seven years, the winters here had been cold and depressing. But now everything was different. The halls were full of Christmas garlands. The upstairs maids hummed carols as they cleaned. The footmen had taken the placement of kissing boughs quite seriously. More than one maid had been caught unawares for a quick giggling kiss by the young men. Frostmore was a home once again, for everyone.

  Harriet stirred in bed, reaching for him. “Red?”

  “Here, my darling.” He rejoined her and leaned down to kiss her. She laughed in delight.

  He tapped the tip of her nose. “Why don’t you get dressed? It’s Christmas.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Someone is anxious for his presents.”

  “I certainly am. We haven’t had a proper Christmas here in seven years.”

  Her eyes darkened with emotions. “Oh, Red…”

  He shook his head. “None of that. Now come down and meet me in the long gallery once you’re dressed. I must see Grindle and Mrs. Breland and see how the preparations for tonight are coming along.”

  He gathered his clothes and went to change, but he took the time to steal one more kiss before he headed downstairs.

  The staff were bursting with their preparations for the evening celebrations. Tonight they would be hosting a Christmas ball, where he would officially ask Harriet to be his wife.

  “Grindle?” He found his butler ushering in the orchestra that would play during the event. Old friends and local families had been invited, as well as his tenant farmer families. He wanted to restart his life,
to embrace being a part of the world again, thanks to Harriet. When they’d mailed out the invitations, he’d been worried that no one would come, yet the positive responses had poured in within days.

  Grindle smiled broadly. “We’re almost ready, Your Grace.”

  “Good, good.” He patted his pocket nervously. It held the present he’d chosen for Harriet. “Oh, and Grindle.” He caught his butler before the man left.

  “Yes, Your Grace?”

  “You have my permission.” The confusion on Grindle’s face was almost comical. “To court Mrs. Breland. Should you choose to marry, you may retain your positions here with no qualms from me.”

  Grindle only managed a respectful nod before rushing off to show a few straggling musicians where to set up. He was far too professional to let more than that slip past his reserve, but his thanks was clear.

  A few hours later, Frostmore was full of people and music filled the house. He’d spent the hours before with Harriet as they’d talked of everything and nothing while having a late luncheon in his study. Then she’d gone back to her room to dress for the ball. Redmond greeted all his guests, including Millicent’s parents.

  “Your Grace,” Millicent’s father, Henry, greeted solemnly.

  “I’m glad you came, Mr. Hubert.”

  Henry and his wife, Maria, both smiled a little sadly. “We’re glad to be here. It’s been too long.” Henry proceeded into the room, but Maria remained behind.

  “I hope… I hope you find happiness again, Your Grace. It’s what my Millicent would’ve wanted.” She paused, her eyes misting. “We know the rumors weren’t true. We know you loved her, and we have no quarrel with you. The past is the past, and we’ve put it all behind us.” She squeezed his hand and offered a genuine smile.