Earl of Destiny

by K. J. Jackson

  Brianna went limp, both her mind and body still jumbled between Sebastian’s hard chest above her and the weightless state of her dreams.

  He collapsed next to her, pulling her onto his bare chest and tugging the coverlet over her backside.

  Nuzzling her cool cheek onto the warmth of his skin, she inhaled, breathing him in as his muscles twitched under her. “You are home early,” she murmured, starting to drift back to sleep.

  “I did not want to waste another night without you.”

  “Hmmm, I am lucky.” The words slid out slowly, her head nodding, her eyes already sliding shut.

  Sebastian’s fingers played in the thick of her hair as his voice rumbled low from his chest. “Do not fall asleep on me yet, Bree. I have to talk to you.”

  It took a long time for the reply in her mind to make its way to her lips. “No? Why?”

  “You need to know what I did.”

  A deep breath and she snuggled closer to him, her arm tightening around his waist.

  “Bree. Brianna.”

  Eyes closed, she had to force her heavy head to nod on his chest. “Yes?”

  “I moved Harry to a new location. I am not going to tell you where.”

  His voice barely made it through the fog filling her head. “What?”

  “I moved Harry and Frannie.”

  The words sank into her mind. But it still took a full ten seconds to realize what Sebastian said.

  She jolted upright.

  “You what?”

  “I moved Harry and Frannie to a new location. And I am not telling you where they went. They are safe. That is all you need to know.”

  Her hand on his chest, she shoved away from him, eyes wide in the low light of the candle he had lit next to the bed. “What are you talking about, Seb? We just moved them to Plarington.” She gripped his arm as he sat up in the bed. “Are they in danger? I have to get to them. We have to leave right now, Seb.”

  She shoved down the covers, starting to move out of the bed. Sebastian grabbed her upper arm, stopping her. “Bree, stop, listen. I moved them. I was not convinced of their safety in Plarington. That was where I was—what I was doing this past week.”

  “You were not with Lord Bayton?”

  “No.”

  Full understanding dawned on Brianna. “You moved them without telling me? Without asking me?”

  “Yes.”

  She ripped her arm from his grip, scampering off the bed. “Why in the hell would you do that, Seb?” She leaned back over the bed, fishing under the covers to find her night rail and then yanking it over her head. “Tell me this instant what you did, where they are, Seb.”

  “No.”

  “No?” Her eyes went impossibly wide. “You moved them and you are not going to tell me to where?”

  “Correct.”

  Brianna looked down, her chin hitting her chest as she tried to control the panic seizing her lungs. A dream. This was still a dream. It had to be. The perfect dream that had veered back into a nightmare.

  She shut her eyes tight, shaking her head. No. He couldn’t have done this to her.

  Opening her eyelids, she looked up.

  Sebastian still sat in bed, watching her like a hawk. “Whether you admit to it or not, Bree, you are terrified of knowing where they are, of having to protect them. I have removed that responsibility from your shoulders until Gregory is found and I can decide what to do about Harry’s uncle.”

  “Take…take my responsibility? No.” She didn’t bother to curb her voice. “You would not do this to me. You have no right to do this. Frannie would not have let you—not without my permission.”

  “She did. She trusts me. And you need to do the same, Bree.”

  “No. No. No.” Brianna’s hand went to her forehead as she tried to fight the wave of panicked fury overtaking her. “Tell me where the hell they are, Seb—this instant. Tell me.”

  “I will do no such thing. You said yourself not knowing where Harry was, was the only thing that saved him—saved you. This is me saving you, Brianna.”

  “But you cannot—you cannot just barge into my life and take over everything, Seb. You are not saving me. This does nothing of the kind—I have to know where they are.” Her fist slammed down on the side of the bed. “You need to tell me, Seb. You cannot just sneak behind my back and move them. Tell me where the hell you took them.”

  Sebastian moved to the edge of the bed to stand up, his look crushing down upon her. “You gave me no margin not to go behind your back, Bree. And I am not telling you—I am damn well protecting you, whether you like it or not.”

  She stared up at him, her breath seething. “No. You cannot do this to me. You are not a brute like this.”

  “In this I am.” His arms folded over his chest, setting a wall between them.

  It took a long second for the finality of his words, of his voice to hit her, and it stole her breath—sent her gasping, curling over as she stumbled backward.

  “Brianna.” He lunged, trying to grasp her shoulders, but she twisted viciously from him, bolting for the door.

  “Leave me the hell alone, Seb.”

  Clutching her stomach, bile threatening to rise, she staggered down the dark hallway, hand running along the cold stone, searching for the path away from Sebastian.

  Blackness surrounded her, smothering her.

  How had it happened again?

  Everything she had guarded against. Everything.

  Her heart, her mind, given to a man.

  A man who betrayed her.

  { Chapter 18 }

  Three brandies chasing down his throat and two hours spent stewing, and his wife still hadn’t made it back to his chambers.

  Though Sebastian wasn’t about to tell her where he moved Harry, he also wasn’t about to allow her to escape him—allow her to blow this out of proportion.

  He had been away from her for more than a week, and he damn well wanted her back in his bed. He was protecting her, and he was going to force her to see that.

  Sebastian set his candlestick down on the bureau in Brianna’s room, looking at the huddled mound on the bed. Though her room was mostly empty—she had moved most of her belongings to his chambers in the castle weeks ago—the bed had remained ready for her, should she need it.

  It twisted his stomach that she had retreated to the room. He loathed that she had felt the need to run from him. He was protecting her, and she was being far too stubborn in her reaction.

  The coverlet only covering her legs, Sebastian walked to the side of the bed, watching the mound quiver. Sleeping on her side, her body was curled into a ball away from him, her face buried deep in a pillow, hidden from view.

  Just as he stretched a hand out to touch the edge of her bare shoulder, a shuddered breath shook her body.

  Sebastian froze.

  She had clearly been crying for some time, and sleep had not tamed her breathing.

  His hand drew back to his side. She wasn’t ready yet. Not ready to listen to him. To listen to logic. He had been trying to take all worry from her mind, she had to understand that—and she would understand that. But not in that moment.

  In the light of day, with a clear mind and hours of sleep tempering her reactions, she would understand. See the wisdom of his actions.

  Sebastian turned from the bed, his toe crunching on a piece of paper. He cringed, hoping the sudden sound wouldn’t wake Brianna. Another shuddered breath, but she made no other movement.

  He bent to pick up the crumpled paper, curiosity striking when he saw the broken seal crumbling from it. Grabbing his candlestick, he eased into the hallway as quietly as he could, then opened the paper, flattening it the best he could with one hand.

  He scanned the note.

  His heart suddenly racing, he looked up, blinking, then read the note once more with slow care.

  Gregory was in Yorkshire?

  Shit. How had his own man not discovered this piece of information?

  And why in the
damned hell hadn’t Brianna said anything about it? Flemming would be waiting for her in the morning.

  With a quick glance into the room at her still form, Sebastian shook his head, muttering incoherent blasphemies as he spun on his heel and disappeared down the hall.

  ~~~

  Brianna pulled Moonlight into a slower gait, even though the mare wanted to fly. She had never held back the horse before, but Brianna was in no mood for speed. No mood to get to Mr. Flemming as quickly as she could.

  At least she didn’t need to rush to Harry and Frannie in Plarington. It would serve no purpose since Sebastian had moved them. A small favor that there hadn’t been enough daylight to start off to them the previous evening.

  Brianna looked up at the leaves rustling in the wind under the grey sky. She had not come through these woods, along this stream alone for some time—not without Sebastian—and where once she had reveled in the solitude, she was now struck by how very lonely the ride was.

  Alone. She was absolutely alone.

  And now, not just alone—hollow as well. She had so very little left. No emotion. No thoughts. No energy. Just the dull ache of hollowness.

  She had slept the night in her old room and Sebastian had let her, did not come for her—and that had cut through her heart even more than his betrayal. And even though it had galled her to do so, she went to Sebastian’s room at daybreak, willing to trade her pride for his help, to ask him to accompany her on the ride to meet Flemming. To not have to go alone.

  But Sebastian was gone. She had searched the castle. The stables. He was gone. No note. Nothing.

  He had left her again.

  “You thought I loved you? Imbecile little twit.”

  Gregory’s voice filled her head.

  She swallowed hard, holding back a well of panic at his words. His voice had not haunted her for so long. But he was back. Back full force, filling her mind. His mocking laughter. His sneer. His wicked enjoyment of her agony.

  A sob tore from her throat, her pain echoing through the woods. Her head dropped, defeated, the leather of the reins digging into her skin as her fists tightened.

  Gregory. Sebastian.

  She had to stop.

  She had to put all of it—both of them—out of her mind.

  She could not wallow in her crushed heart. She still had to meet Mr. Flemming. Still had to come up with a plan. A plan to keep Lily far from danger and Harry safe—and a way to have Gregory found and hung for his crimes. As for Harry’s uncle, she knew he was untouchable, she could think of no way to prove he had hired Gregory to kill the viscount, but she also hoped he still fully believed Harry to be dead.

  Maybe the duke could help. If he returned from London soon…she shook her head. Now that Wynne was with child, entangling him in the danger did not sit well with Brianna. She could not be the cause of Wynne becoming a widowed new mother.

  Brianna’s mind wandered to the blade buried along her skirts. She had grabbed a dagger from the display of weaponry in the library—a small modicum of safety should she need to use it for protection.

  Though she tested the blade for sharpness against her thumb, she ignored the fact that it was a bold lie she told herself—she had no experience with a dagger and would truly not know what to do with it. She hadn’t even had a proper way to attach the sheath to her body, so she had secured it to a pouch tied around her waist.

  With a sigh, she scolded herself. Do not move ahead in time. She was getting far, far ahead of herself. It was not as if Gregory was going to just jump from behind a bush and attack her. It was not going to happen. He was far too cunning for that.

  She was just going to meet Mr. Flemming. A simple meeting. Something she had done before without incident. And depending on what he told her, if she was desperate, she could always still go to the duke for help if it was warranted. Sebastian had deserted her, so the duke was her last option for help. Maybe he could find out where Sebastian had moved Harry.

  Moonlight tugged at the reins.

  With a sigh, Brianna relented, letting her quicken the pace. Best to get this meeting with Mr. Flemming done quickly.

  ~~~

  Brianna tied Moonlight to the tree behind the abandoned mill, looking around. Mr. Flemming’s horse was not where he usually tied it. She was late, she knew that, but he had always waited for her in the past.

  Maybe he had gotten his day wrong, although she had never known him to miss a detail. The man was as thorough as could be—that was why she had hired him to begin with.

  She walked around the mill and lifted the tilted old door to wedge it free of the stone frame. Hinges creaking, she pulled it open, poking her head inside the main room. It was quiet, only dust moving through the air as she stepped in.

  Wood scraping against stone caught her ear, and Brianna followed the sound, moving around the giant millstones in the middle of the room.

  Sebastian.

  Her breath stopped. Fear, like nothing she had ever experienced, shook through her body, freezing her in place.

  Sebastian tied to a chair. His arms yanked behind him. Feet tied to the legs of the chair. His head hanging limp. Blood covering his body. His white linen shirt, shredded and red.

  Brianna tried to rush forward, but it took seconds for her feet to respond to her brain. And when they did, they were out of control, skidding, falling to the bumpy stone floor in front of Sebastian. She crashed into him, landing on her knees as her forehead banged into his chest.

  His body jerked with a slight cough.

  He was alive.

  Brianna gulped air. Alive. He was alive.

  “Seb.” Her hands went to his face, gripping him, shaking his head back and forth—harshly, too harshly, but she couldn’t control herself. “Seb.”

  His right eye cracked open, his left one too swollen and bloody to see through.

  Another cough. “Bree?”

  “Seb—”

  “Get out of here, Bree.” Even with the ragged whisper, he managed to cut her off. “Out. Run.”

  She dropped his face, her hands scrambling down to the pouch hanging from her waist, digging out the dagger she had brought.

  Stumbling, crawling on her hands and knees to get behind him, she set to sawing at the rope around his wrists, not caring that she sliced his skin as she went. She just needed him freed. Needed him out of there.

  Blade through only half of the rope threads, the door creaked and, hell, footsteps. It only gave her seconds, but it was enough time to slip the dagger behind Sebastian’s arm, hiding it as she clasped the rounded end of the hilt into his palm.

  Don’t drop it, Seb, she willed him. Please, just don’t drop it.

  A thick hand yanked her away from Sebastian, her body viciously snapping. Cold steel landed long on her throat. Brianna scratched at the arm, a vise across her chest, trying to look back at Sebastian, trying to make sure he was still there. Still alive.

  The arm spun her out, turning her, but the blade only left her neck for an instant. Her lower back cracked into the millstone, jolting her to a stop just as the knife landed on her neck again.

  She looked up.

  Gregory.

  No. God, no.

  Brianna swayed. The blade pressed into her neck, and she nearly dropped, unable to control her spinning head.

  Gregory. Still handsome. Still brutally strong. Still the same dark blond hair.

  And still the same sneer on his face. The sneer she’d never recognized as evil—not until he had almost killed her.

  The only thing that marred his appearance now was the scar that arched across his temple to his right eye. A right eye that was now glass. An eerie blue eye that stared at her, not moving, cautioning her to look away. To flee.

  If only she could.

  “My love.”

  The two words, low in his gravelly voice, slammed into her, doing more damage than the blade pinning her neck. Words that cut off all breath, cut off all hope.

  Two words that told her he was a
bout to wreak devastation.

  Gregory glanced over at Sebastian. “Good. I can kill him now that I have you.”

  Brianna forced her eyes to Sebastian. His head had fallen down, his body drooping.

  “No,” Brianna screamed, grabbing Gregory’s wrist with both hands, trying to wedge the knife from her neck. It only made the blade pinch tighter to her skin.

  “He is of no use, my love. The bastard was not forthcoming with information, and I have a job to finish.” Gregory’s one good eye stayed on Sebastian as his glass eye stared into nothingness.

  “No. He does not need to die, Gregory. He is not a part of this. He does not know where Harry is.” She swallowed hard. “But I do. That is what you want—Harry? Only I know, so you can let him go.”

  Gregory’s good eye swung back to her. “Interesting. Since that is the same sentiment he has expressed—he claims he knows where little Harry is, and that you have no knowledge. So I should leave you be.” Gregory chuckled. “Have I stumbled upon a love affair, my dearest Brianna?”

  She met his good eye, her fingers dropping from his wrist as her voice turned to calm threat. “I know where Harry is, Gregory. But if you kill him, you will never find Harry. I will not tell you on principle alone.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “Do not think I cannot withstand you again, Gregory. I can.”

  His one good blue eye flickered.

  He remembered.

  She could see it instantly in his eye. The pleasure. The gleam of vileness.

  Her gut churned at the sight.

  But there it was. She needed time, precious moments, and in her sea of desperation, a singular beacon. One thing—the only thing she could think of.

  She stole a glance at Sebastian. Still limp. Still not moving.

  Time. He needed time.

  Brianna closed her eyes, taking the slightest second to steel herself. She had to do this. It didn’t matter that Sebastian had left her. It didn’t matter if he had betrayed her. If he didn’t love her. She loved him, and she wasn’t about to see him die. That was the last thing she would let happen.