The Rogue's Revenge

by Lucy E. Zahnle

  When Peter chortled, Robin stared at him in surprise. His chuckles became guffaws and Amberley shouted, "What the devil are you laughing at? I do not find this situation amusing in the least!"

  "Ah, but I do!" Norworth shook with laughter. "The more I think about it, the funnier it becomes." He fell flat on his back on the ground, his arms across his quaking stomach, his peals of mirth ringing through the courtyard.

  "I should have throttled you when I had the chance," Robin said.

  Peter wiped his moist eyes on his grimy shirtsleeve and sat up, still grinning. "You have just encountered one of the pitfalls of eavesdropping, Your Grace. It was not your demise we were discussing, but that of a spider who had been foolish enough to cross Lucia's path. The little monster had been creeping about her room all day and she took it into her head that he... she insisted the damned creature was male!... was stalking her. She begged me to kill him...er...it and I did."

  "A...spider?" Robin stared at him. "That entire gruesome conversation was about...a spider?" Laughter rumbled deep in Robin's throat and both men began to howl, their guffaws ringing through the innyard. "Lucia does have an inordinate fear of vermin," Robin gasped, trying to regain his composure.

  "So I told her!" Peter said. "Damned near dashed my brains out on the furniture chasing the wretched creature about!" Then Norworth forced himself into a more serious frame of mind. "Lucia does love you, Your Grace, and this separation is tearing her apart inside."

  Sobered by his words, Robin stared at the ground. "I've hurt her so many times. How can she forgive..."

  "One thing she won't forgive is the sacrifice of her happiness to your guilt! Put aside the past and concentrate on the future!"

  "But I can't..."

  "Look you, 'tis all quite simple, really. She loves you and you love her. Don't try to deny it! It's been written all over both your faces for weeks. Your next course of action is obvious. You come with me to the Stag's Heart where I left the ladies. When we get there, you have a long, intimate, and extremely honest tete-a-tete with Lucia and the pair of you live happily ever after. Let's ride!" Peter rose and started toward his horse, but Robin remained where he was, a lonely, frightened figure sitting in the middle of the yard.

  Peter trudged back to him. "For such a ferocious man, you're cursed cowardly in some respects; do you know that?" Robin jumped up, glaring at him. Ignoring the challenge, he said, "You've not a damned thing to fear and everything to gain. Winning your lady's love will do wonders for you. Change your whole outlook. You'll be a new man! Believe me, I know! To horse, Your Grace, and let's be off!"

  As Peter swung into the saddle, Robin stood frozen, all the agonies of past loves amassing to form a hard lump of terror in his heart. "Clench your courage in your fists, old man, and let's go!" Peter called, "Lucia's waiting for you!"

  Shrugging, Robin strode over to Diablo and mounted. Waving to Tracy, who watched them from a doorway, Peter led Robin onto the road.

  ***

  Lucia could not be still. She drank her tea, ate the pastries the awed innkeeper's wife had provided, and wandered about the room, touching all its appointments. Finally bored with exploring her surroundings, she pressed her nose against the windowpane in the hope of glimpsing Peter or...a much dimmer hope!...Robin.

  "Do stop fidgeting, Lucia," Corinna said. "They will be here soon enough."

  "But what if he doesn't come, Aunt? What if he doesn't...? Oh, why did I ever consent to Peter's madness? Robin doesn't want me! He's made that plain enough."

  "Sometimes a man doesn't know what he wants or what's good for him. He has to be pushed in the right direction," Corinna said.

  Silence filled the parlor while the countess read a book of prayers and Lucia stared anxiously out the window. At last she leaped up in frustration. "I can't just sit here and let Peter fight my battles for me. I'm going to the Crown and Thistle to find Robin."

  She strode from the room as her aunt lowered her book in astonishment. "Lucia, wait! You don't even know if he's still there!" Corinna ran after her, muttering direfully, "That child will be the death of me!"

  Lucia sped through the taproom and out into the yard, calling for her carriage. The countess reached her side a moment later. "My dear," she said, "you can't force him to love you. If he doesn't willingly come to you, I don't think..."

  Lucia had been listening politely to Lady Easterbury while they waited for the carriage. Suddenly she clutched Corinna's arm, her face radiant, and the countess looked up to see two heads, one dark, one copper, bobbing on the horizon. "Look, Aunt! Peter has brought him!"

  "Well, that's a beginning, at least," Corinna said.

  ***

  When Robin saw Lucia standing in the innyard, the lump of fear in his chest seemed to swell and he felt a wild urge to run. But Peter had spent the entire journey extolling the joys and benefits of love with particular stress upon the rosy future he envisioned for himself with Concordia. He did seem happy, Robin thought. Damned ecstatic, en effet! Craving that happiness for Lucia and himself, Robin ignored the terror and doubt in his heart and matched his pace to Norworth's.

  When the gentlemen entered the yard, Lucia flung decorum to the winds and raced out to meet them. "Robin! Oh, Robin, I'm so glad you have come!" she cried, then recalling their last conversation, she lowered her eyes, her smile dimming. What if he had been brutally honest when he had told her of his Paris plans and was just here to bury, finally and forever, any hope of reconciliation?

  "Lucia..." Robin called, eagerly dismounting, then, at her sudden reserve, his own resolve ebbed away.

  "Might I suggest a private parlor for this reunion, Your Grace?" Peter said. "I'll find a groom to see to the horses."

  Norworth watched with a sense of accomplishment as the couple disappeared into the inn. They neither looked at nor spoke to each other, but he hoped... No, he was certain!... that they would soon find something to say to the point. As a groom led the horses away, Corinna inspected his bruised, bloody face and scruffy clothes with laughter in her eyes. "I had no idea that Cupid had a rakehelly reputation and apparently indulged in brawls!"

  "I am planning to retire the rakehelly reputation very soon, ma'am, and the brawling with it, if I can stay in Amberley's good graces."

  Corinna gazed anxiously at the inn's door. "Do you think this meeting will work?"

  "It has to," Peter said. "She'll be so miserable without him that she might take it into her head that life isn't worth living and, without her, he'll drink himself into the grave or, more likely, allow some dolt with half his skill to skewer him in a duel."

  "Let us pray that they find happiness together then," Corinna said.

  "Amen!"

  ***

  Lucia felt tongue-tied and inadequate. She glimpsed her image in a mirror over the fireplace and wished her ebony locks were the spun gold he prized. Averting her eyes from her unsatisfactory reflection, she looked at the floor.

  Robin felt awkward and a bit ashamed of yesterday's misunderstandings. Nevertheless, he let his gaze wander with delight over her sweet face and figure, lingering tenderly on the firm roundness that was their precious child. His eyes swung back to her face, to the midnight softness of her hair. How he yearned to caress those dusky, silken tresses...

  Desperate to break the uncomfortable silence, they both spoke at once.

  "I apologize if I have inconvenienced you, Robin..."

  "Norworth said you particularly wanted to see me..."

  Sudden silence. Robin waited for her to speak, terrified uncertainty stilling his tongue.

  Lucia's words of love tumbled around inside her mind like dice in a cup and when she glimpsed that bloated, black crow of a governess in the mirror again, her courage fled completely. "I just wanted to say that...that I shall not need the London house. I shall stay at the Castle. Lynkellyn House will be at your disposal whenever you wish to stop there."

  Robin swallowed hard. This announcement hardly rang with affection! Norworth must h
ave misjudged the whole situation. Robin chided himself for not trusting his own instincts above all else. This beautiful, distant ice queen, though she was not plotting his death, certainly did not love him. "I shall not be needing it any time in the future. I've decided to travel a bit. Perhaps I'll visit Russia again or maybe Greece. I've never been there." 'Come with me to Greece, Lucia. Let us explore it together!' he wanted to beg, to shout, but the words were trapped within him. Why would she cross the street with him, much less sail the world? "Perhaps after the babe is born, you may change your mind about the London house so I will leave it free for you." He cleared his throat self-consciously. "In spite of what I said yesterday, I would like to know how the infant progresses, ma chérie. I will leave my direction with Gleason and he will forward your correspondence."

  "Very well," she said miserably, dragging her eyes to his face. She tried to etch his dark, handsome countenance upon her memory, knowing how much she would miss the warmth of his arms and the sweet fire of his kisses during the long, cold, lonely years ahead.

  "Farewell, then, ma chérie. I doubt I'll see you again before I sail for France." Robin bowed, aware and ashamed that his courage had failed him at this crucial point, but, as wretchedly unhappy as he was, he dared not chance the utter devastation of his heart again. Resolutely turning his back on Lucia, he walked toward the door.

  Lucia panicked. She was losing him! She had been granted one last chance to explain herself to him, to win his heart, and she was wasting it. Her entire life had been one gamble after another and she had played the game for far too long to lose without even casting her dice. Screwing up her courage against the searing rejection she anticipated, she said, " Please don't go, Robin! I don't want to have my baby alone!"

  He turned at that, brows raised. "You won't be alone, ma chérie. You'll have the servants and Lady Easterbury and I daresay Norworth will stay with you..."

  "Peter will want to be with Concordia. Besides, I don't want him. I want you! I...I love you, Robin!" There! She'd said it! She cringed a little inside, waiting for his scorn.

  He stared at her, incredulous, yet wanting to believe. Crossing the room, he clasped her hands, searching her eyes. "I have been a monster to you, Lucia! I should think you'd be glad to see the last of me."

  "Some aspects of our life together have been...unpleasant, Robin, but I've also felt wonderfully happy and safe with you. The simple truth is that I...I love you!"

  Robin's piercing gaze stared straight through her eyes into her heart and she hid nothing. For better or worse, her soul stood naked before him that he might see the true depths of her devotion. "Ma chérie, how can this be possible after...after all that I've done to you?" he said.

  Searching his eyes, she put her arms around his neck. "My heart holds no grudges, Robin. I love you. Dare I hope...?"

  "You stole my heart long ago, Lucia Lightfingers," he smiled, tentatively embracing her and marveling at how tenderly she welcomed him. "Mon Dieu, but I love you so much. I had no idea how I was going to live without you."

  She pulled a little away to look into his eyes. "Then why were you so eager to leave?"

  "Because I...I did not want to hear you tell me just how much you despised me, ma chérie! Or even worse, how much you loved Peter."

  She opened her mouth to protest and he laid a hushing finger against her lips. "I know! I know I have been unpardonably mutton-headed! Norworth nearly dashed my brains out clarifying my error. But I did think you wanted him, Lucia, and, considering our past, I could not believe that you could possibly want me. I still cannot! My conduct toward you has been abominable. I've brought you so much pain and terror and grief, ma chérie, and I am so very sorry for all of it! How can you ever forgive me, much less feel anything akin to love for me?" He shook his head in amazement.

  Her eyes caressed his lips, craving his kisses. "'Tis true, you will never be...well..." she paused.

  "A paragon of all the virtues? A knight in shining armor?" Robin's arms tightened around her, his lips brushing against her ear. "I'm hardly that, am I?"

  "The role of the Black Knight suits you much better, my love," Lucia said against his shoulder.

  "Surely your mama warned you against the Black Knight, ma chérie. Now that you have so foolishly confessed that you love me, blackguard that I am, I shall take full advantage of it. Forget your knight in shining armor, my girl. You are in the clutches of a wicked duke and there's no escape for you."

  "I daresay I must fancy the villain, then," Lucia said, smiling up at him.

  "You are very wise, ma chérie!" He lost himself in the shifting amethyst shadows of her eyes, letting his weary spirit bathe in their cool, healing depths. His lips caressed hers with an exquisite tenderness that lasted eternities, but ended too soon. "Let us start again, ma chérie!" he whispered huskily, savoring the feel of her body against his. "Let us be wed properly in a church this time with all the attendant folderol! I want everyone on earth to know that we are one!" Kneeling, he took her hand and pressed his lips to her wrist. "I love you madly, passionately, Lucia Cothcourt! Will you have me as husband?"

  Epilogue: March 1736

  The morning sun dappled the green lawns and bright gardens around Lynkellyn Castle as the Marquis de Valiére sauntered toward a small knot of people seated beneath a shady tree. Greeting the Earl of Malkent and his countess, Georges was introduced to Lady Easterbury, Lord Bellefield, Sir William and Lady Blayne, and the Viscount and Viscountess Norworth.

  Georges settled into a chair, smiling. "I arrived late last night, mes amis. The duke and duchess had already retired for the night and the servants would tell me nothing. What mysterious entertainment have our friends concocted for us?"

  "There are the babies' christenings on Saturday," Tracy said.

  "Mais oui! The redoubtable twins! A boy and a girl, héin? And the boy to be named..." he paused as if searching his memory, then said smugly, "Georges! Oui, c'est là!"

  "And Peter," Norworth reminded them. "Good manners may force us to reciprocate and name our child 'Robert' if it's a boy, my dear." He beamed at Concordia, heavy with child.

  "The Lynkellyn heir is also to be named 'Tracy'," Malkent said.

  "And William! And William!" Amaryllis chimed in.

  "And don't forget Lord Bellefield!" Lady Val adjured them. "The babe is to bear Anthony's name as well." Blushing, Tony grinned and bowed.

  "I see that the honor is not as singular as I thought!" De Valiére sniffed.

  Valeria laughed. "Has no one given any thought to the little girl's name?"

  "We shall leave that decision to her parents. They must have some influence on their children's lives, no?" Georges said amidst general laughter.

  "I'm beginning to wonder if the Rogue and his bride can tear themselves away from each other long enough to raise their offspring," Tracy grinned. "I've never seen two more besotted people! Newlyweds!"

  "Yes, they have been smelling disgustingly of April and May ever since that dreadful business with Mountheathe," Peter said.

  "And we have been so very level-headed in comparison, have we not, my lord?" Concordia giggled as Peter dropped several light kisses on the palms of her hands, then one on her lips.

  "I have been extremely level-headed, my love, considering that I'm mad for you!"

  "That's enough of that!" Tracy snapped. "Between the Amberleys and you two, I feel a hundred years old!"

  "Well, I'm glad to see Robin so happy after all he's been through," said Amaryllis. "He deserves it!"

  "You must tell me about this...this 'business with Mountheathe', as you call it," Georges said, accepting lemonade from a footman. "Robin explained it all in a letter, but the contents were most bewildering. His tales of chasing after Mountheathe were constantly interrupted with paeans to Lucia's beauty and involved descriptions of hearts overflowing with passion. Robin claims he is English, but no prosaic Englishman could have written such a valentine, not even in the first blush of love!"

  The oth
er guests leaned forward, interrupting and contradicting each other in their eagerness to relate their adventure to the marquis. Their narrative soon drifted into jokes and laughter.

  Strolling into this giddy commotion, the Amberleys greeted the giggling group with large smiles on their faces and small bundles in their arms. Two nursery-maids trailed behind them.

  While the other guests clustered around Lucia to coo at her infant, Robin balanced his baby in the crook of his arm and reached out to clasp the marquis's hand. "Georges! Well met, mon ami! I was afraid you weren't coming."

  "You don't think I'd pass up a chance to see you in all your domestic glory, héin? I would not miss this fête of yours for the world. Allow me to give you my felicitations on having cleared your name."

  "Merci, mon ami." Robin shifted his infant to a sitting position in his arms and grinned, "May I present Lord Georges Peter..."

  "...Tracy William Anthony Amberley, sixth Marquis of Norelton. His reputation precedes him." Georges laughed as he let the wriggling baby clasp his fingers. "Un bon fils!"

  "And I've a fine daughter as well! Lady Elise Concordia Corinna Valeria Amaryllis Amberley."

  "Robin! Do you truly expect les enfants pauvres to remember such lengthy sobriquets?"

  "Well, we have been calling them Georgie and Ellie and ignoring the rest. I was hoping you would stand as godfather, mon vieux. You're the closest thing I have to male kin since Mountheathe..."

  "What did happen to your cousin?"

  "He couldn't face the scandal and the duns. As soon as he was able to travel, he fled England for the Continent. I paid his more pressing debts and he returned home to Heathe Manor a few weeks ago. No one's heard anything from him since." Robin shook his head sadly. "It all could have ended so differently if only... But I fear Giles and I shall be forever at daggers drawn."