Redemption for the Rakish Earl

by Jilian Rouge

  As he led Rue onward, he spotted Rafe among the crowd, but shot Rafe an astonished look when he recognized the person with him. Dendridge, while uninvited, was the focal point in the midst of a small group of men with Rafe among their number. The dastardly man appeared at ease within the trappings of a ball, despite the slander he was trying to pin on both his and Rafe’s reputations. How the man dared to cross his threshold on the same night he planned to announce his engagement he could not fathom, but he was not going to let anyone hinder his plans for a quiet life in the country any longer.

  Rue’s voluminous skirts made it hard to keep up with Alex as they meandered through the crowded ballroom. She had no idea where he was taking her, but his steely grip on her hand told her he was resolutely determined to get to his planned destination with her in tow.

  A dais had been installed at one end of the ballroom, upon which the hired musicians were currently performing. As Alex climbed the dais, pulling Rue to stand at his side, he signaled for the musicians to halt mid-song. The dancing stopped abruptly as dancers looked to the musicians for the reason for the interruption. Slowly, the room drew its attention away from their conversations and amusements towards Alex and Rue.

  Speaking in a loud, clear voice, Alex began, “Everyone, I have happy news to share with you all.” Nearby, Lady Edith looked up with interest and expectantly awaited with bated breath for his announcement. As did the rest of the occupants of the ballroom. Somehow to Rue, the expression on Lady Edith’s face seemed a little smug, but she thought better of it since she didn’t think Lady Edith would stoop to so petty an emotion.

  Rue sympathetically watched as the Ladies of the List wilted a little, already anticipating that Alex’s news had nothing to do with any of them. She couldn’t blame them; Alex was a very eligible peer of the realm who would make anyone a good match as a husband.

  Tucking Rue close to his side, Alex smiled down at her happily before addressing the crowd once more. “Lady Rumina has finally accepted my suit and has agreed to marry me.” To Rue, he whispered, “And the sooner, the better.” He kissed her lightly on her hand while staring directly into her eyes.

  Female sighs could be heard collectively across the ballroom, the picture of the affianced couple striking a romantic chord with each of them. Lady Edith exclaimed as she approached her son onto the dais, “Oh, my dears! This is truly a surprise, but not unexpected. I had always known that the two of you matched each other well when you weren’t busy scrapping with one another. From the looks of you two, I’m happy to see that yours is a love match, after all!”

  Rue and Alex glanced at each other, their hands clasped, both disbelieving that Lady Edith was not shocked at all by their announcement. In an effort to briefly explain and for Lady Edith’s benefit, Rue commented, “Truth be told, I wasn’t expecting for him to propose either, but Alex finally wore me down. He convinced me that he does truly love me, and I can openly say that I have always loved him.”

  Laughing with her eyes twinkling, Lady Edith cried, “It was clearly obvious how the two of you felt for the other ever since you were both very young! I am just exceedingly glad that the two of you have finally realized it, and this nonsense of Alex marrying for convenience can be dispensed with.”

  A little put out by his mother’s comment, Alex refrained from grumbling in reply, but instead said, “Let’s just say it had taken some hard lessons to finally learn what was important to me.”

  “And not a moment too soon, my dear boy.” Turning to Rue, Lady Edith directed, “Dearest, I am happier than words can express that you will finally be my daughter in truth. You have always been the daughter of my heart, if not of my own flesh, and now my son is making it a reality.”

  “Thank you,” Rue said simply, her heart bursting with love for this lady who had always been generous in her love.

  Soon, the guests closest to them flocked around them, offering their congratulations. Not least of them being Rue’s father, Ernest, Georgie, and numerous relatives of Alex’s. Even Dendridge had come up to say a cursory word of congratulations before hanging back. But among the crowd of well-wishers, Rue noted that Christian had not made an appearance, nor could she remember if he had even entered the ballroom since the festivities began.

  Scanning the crowd for his familiar face, Rue glimpsed his sister Amelia instead, standing just at the ballroom’s entrance. And while Rue did not expect everyone to express their happiness over her engagement, she was greatly surprised to see an expression of such outright hatred and fury on Amelia’s face. Taken aback, Rue blinked rapidly, as if to clear away a supposed perception drawn up by her own wild imagination, but Amelia was no longer there. Scanning this way and that, she couldn’t find Amelia anywhere, and as much as she wanted to discount what she thought she had seen, she could not dismiss the feeling of unease that niggled at the base of her spine.

  Imagined or not, the heat of such an ugly sentiment left her cold, and she shivered at the remembrance. Rue had never had occasion to be the sole focus of such plain feelings and it was an unsettling feeling to be sure.

  In the middle of accepting congratulatory wishes, Alex managed to feel Rue shiver, and he bent his head to look down at her. “Is everything alright?” he asked.

  Contemplating her answer for a moment, she stayed silent for a heartbeat. Finally, she replied, “I believe so, but I think I need to find Amelia.”

  “Cousin Amelia?” he asked with a puzzled frown. Craning his neck to peer above the sea of heads, he frowned deeper. “I don’t see her anywhere. Is there something amiss that concerns her?”

  “I can’t be sure until I ask her. She didn’t seem herself,” Rue answered, searching the crowd for a glimpse of her. Finally, there, she spotted Amelia dashing past the ballroom entrance, the skirts of her ballgown swishing as she hurried away.

  “There she is,” Rue said, pointing in the direction Amelia had disappeared. “I think I’ll go after her and make sure she’s alright.” She disengaged her hand from Alex’s and advanced a few steps in Amelia’s direction.

  Alex caught her hand once again to stop her and say, “Hurry back. Otherwise, I’ll come looking. As a newly-minted fiancé, I would prefer you here with me.”

  Smiling, with a teasing note in her voice, she said, “You mean, you would prefer not to bear the brunt of congratulatory wishes alone. Not to worry, I won’t allow you to suffer the masses alone.”

  Quirking up one corner of his mouth, he admitted, “You know me too well. Go on, then, and find Cousin Amelia.”

  Nodding, she made her excuses to another set of relatives who had come up to offer their congratulations, and off she went. Once outside the ballroom, Rue looked down both ways of the corridor, which was well-illuminated for guests to easily find their way to the convenience rooms. Amelia had hurried down the left corridor, which led towards the library. Perhaps she went there.

  24

  Slipping past the library’s double-doors, Rue noticed that the room was dimly lit by a few lamps still burning at Alex’s escritoire and a few side tables. Guests weren’t permitted in here while the ball was in full swing, but it appeared that someone came in here only recently to light the lamps.

  Shutting the door behind her, Rue called out, “Amelia, are you in here? I thought we could talk, just you and I.” With the few lamps emitting soft light, the shadows seemed deeper, lending an eerie atmosphere to an otherwise familiar room where she and Alex had lately shared an intense moment of passion.

  Stepping further into the room while peering deeper into the shadowed corners, Rue could hear someone breathing heavily somewhere nearby. A female figure, backlit by the lamp behind her, rose to a stand from the settee and rapidly closed the distance between them.

  “Amelia?” Rue asked cautiously before being descended upon and heartily slapped on her right cheek. Stunned for only a second, Rue whipped her head back to face her attacker, only to be treated to the sight of an enraged Amelia.

  Amelia’s hand
poised once again to strike at Rue, but Rue fended off the blow by catching her arm in both hands before Amelia’s hand could connect with Rue’s cheek. The two women wrestled for control until Amelia broke away and stepped back.

  Seething with anger, Amelia accused, “You had to ruin everything! Why didn’t you listen to my instructions, hm? You couldn’t leave Alex well enough alone, could you?”

  There was a crazed look in Amelia’s eye, one that warned Rue to refrain from any unnecessary provocation. But Rue had to know what had caused such an unhindered look of animosity from Amelia earlier.

  From Amelia’s last question, Rue gathered that Amelia possibly wanted Alex for herself. Given that they were first cousins, it wasn’t uncommon for such unions to occur amongst the nobility. But it was Amelia’s first question that gave her pause.

  “Your instructions, Amelia? What instructions?” Rue asked cautiously, staying rooted to the spot, eager, yet not eager to hear her answer. “We haven’t had much interaction since your arrival here.”

  Amelia began pacing back and forth in an agitated manner, with her hands pulling at her hair, ruining her carefully coiffed hairstyle. “Do I have to explain everything? Of course, I do, since none of you have a lick of sense when it comes to these matters. My notes, of course! You received my notes, didn’t you, with your breakfast tray that day?” Amelia continued her pacing, with her eyes wild and fists clenching.

  Gasping, Rue exclaimed, “That was you! Why on earth would you send me something so cryptic just to warn me away from Alex? You want him for yourself, don’t you?”

  Fury mottled Amelia’s cheeks and she looked ready to hit Rue once more with a raised hand.

  The door to the library opened and both women swiveled their heads towards the newcomer. “Rue! Amelia!” Alex shouted in shock at the scene he saw before him. Rue had been gone too long for his liking and came in search of her as he promised earlier. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded of the both of them. He rushed towards Amelia whose upraised hand was still poised to strike his fiancée

  With a self-assured smile and deadly calm, Amelia responded by brandishing a pistol from the top of a shadowed table next to her and aiming it directly at Alex’s chest. “Ah, Cousin Alex! Your timing is impeccable, and it makes me glad that your predictable self has made it here in time.”

  Alex pushed Rue behind him, but the daft woman did not heed that he was trying to shield her from the direct sight of the pistol. He struggled to keep her behind him, but he kept a steady eye on where Amelia had that pistol trained.

  Rue turned frantic once Amelia had produced that pistol, and it made no sense that Amelia would point it at the very object of her crazed affection.

  “Amelia, if you care for Alex as you claim, I beg you, don’t hurt him!” Rue cried, trying to confront the woman while struggling with Alex to stand aside, but the stubborn man wouldn’t let her past him.

  Scoffing, Amelia pulled back the hammer of the pistol and cried, “I don’t want Alex for myself, you stupid woman! This was never about Alex! At least, it wasn’t in the beginning until he swayed your inconstant heart towards himself! You were never meant to be his!”

  Confused, Rue asked, “What do you mean? Your notes told me to stay away from Alex or else! Why else would you warn me away from him if you didn’t want him for yourself?”

  Alex also guessed, “Then, were you also behind the tampering of my saddle and Rue’s fall down the stairs? You were trying to eliminate me from the picture with the first incident, but why hurt Rue?”

  Waving the pistol impatiently in the air then re-training its barrel onto Alex, Amelia said edgily, “Yes, yes, that was all my doing. Besides, you deserved to be shot for the way you’ve been carrying on. But you see Rumina Abelard was never meant to be yours when was supposed to be Christian’s!” Addressing Rue, she spat, “Even when you were younger, you never saw or heard how much Christian admired you. And when he expressed his desire to make you his wife, it was all I could do to make sure that it became a reality for him. I was there, you know, watching the two of you rut in the woods, before Alex left for what I thought was for good. Then I saw the two of you in the library, then again in the woods, and I was so angry with you that I had to punish you. The opportunity presented itself when I saw you alone at the top of the stairs.”

  Alex digested that information for but a moment before saying quietly, “I can almost understand why you would want to get rid of me, but if Rue is meant for Christian, then why hurt her? Amelia, why does this matter so much to you?”

  In a shrill voice, Amelia exclaimed, “Because he means everything to me!” Tears of frustration glittered maddeningly in her eyes. “You don’t understand how it is for me. I worked so hard to ensure that Christian gets the future he desires, and you saunter in with your fancy title and looks only to swoop in and ruin everything! Hurting her was never my intention, but something had to be done to make her understand. She hurt Christian unbearably.”

  Still not understanding, Rue confessed, “Amelia, Christian wished me well on my engagement just this morning! He completely understands that Alex and I are in love, and I told him I wished him the same with a woman who is just as mad for him. He had nothing more than affection for me and in fact bears me or Alex no ill-will.”

  Amelia screeched, as tears ran down her face, “That’s just it! This isn’t just about Christian! You don’t understand the depth of my own shame! I love him! The way a sister has no business loving her own brother! As my penance, I vowed to see that Christian gets exactly what he wants with who he wants, and the two of you ruined those plans!”

  Rue stilled, as did Alex in front of her. As neither of them had siblings of their own, they could not fully fathom the depth of Amelia’s pain. But neither did they expect Amelia to harbor such intense feelings for Christian, forbidden as it was. Pity filled Rue as she finally understood the reasons Amelia did what she did, but to the extent of harming someone? That, she couldn’t forgive.

  Amelia continued in a woebegone voice, “Christian knows how I feel and has done his best to discourage me from it. But because I love him so, I’m willing to see to his happiness the only way I know how.”

  Once again, Rue spied the fanatical look in Amelia’s eyes and her body stiffened in high alert at the event of Amelia’s next course of action. She was afraid to ask how Amelia was going to accomplish said task. In front of her, Alex stiffened as well, but kept his body rigidly planted, shielding Rue effectively with his large frame. Amelia had raised the pistol once more, prepared to shoot one of them with a determined look in her eye.

  For the second time that night, the library door opened with a crash to reveal Christian and Rafe. With eyes widened in shock, Christian burst out, “Amelia! What do you think you’re doing? Holding our cousin at gunpoint? You’ll be lucky if you won’t be clapped in irons for threatening a member of the peerage, or worse!”

  In a shaky voice and tears falling freely, Amelia explained, “But I am doing this for you! Can’t you see that I want you to be happy?” At Christian’s look of disbelief and horror, Amelia visibly wilted and lowered the pistol, the answer to her question apparent on his face. Rue and Alex exhaled loudly in relief, releasing the tense breath they had been holding.

  Smiling weakly, Amelia addressed Christian, “It was my hope that I would be content to seeing to your happiness, brother. That what made you happy would be enough for me. But now, I must do what I must. Tell Mother that I love her.”

  Guessing her intent and with a loud cry, Christian sprang into action at the last second, just as Amelia was about to turn the pistol onto herself. Horrified, Rue could do no more than watch as Christian sped towards his sister. A step behind, both Alex and Rafe jumped into the fray, ready to help wrestle the deadly weapon away from a very distraught Amelia.

  With all three men descending upon Amelia, Rue watched in terror as they tackled the poor woman into jostling the pistol’s position safely away from her temple. The pi
stol discharged its lone bullet harmlessly into the plaster wall behind Rue, causing her to scream and jump at the sound of the explosion. The force of being knocked off balance caused Amelia to lose her grip on the pistol, and it fell to the floor with a clatter, sliding across the wooden floor.

  Christian, Alex, and Rafe tumbled in a heap atop the slight Amelia, but neither of them accounted for the low table behind her and didn’t think to shield her head as they fell. Alex recalled hearing a cracking sound as they crashed to the floor, thinking the table had sustained damage from their collision with the floor and surrounding furniture.

  Groaning, Alex got up achily from the floor and helped up his friend Rafe, only to find Christian utter an anguished wail. Alex heard Rue gasp loudly before he glanced down at the prone figure that was Amelia. Her eyes, though wide open, no longer contained that spark of life, and her face now forever frozen with an expression of surprise. It was obvious that the back of her skull had connected with the blunt edge of the table leg which now sported smears of blood. Below Amelia herself, a large pool of blood haloed her head in a grisly sight, and Christian cradled her body close, softly weeping over her.