by Bobbi Smith
"Get dressed!" she told her companion frantically.
Jonesey had just settled into the comfort of her bed in her cap and long-sleeved, floor-length, high-necked nightgown when Tori came bursting through the door. She stared at her in surprise, wondering at her look of shock and terror. "What's happened?"
"It's Serad . . ."
"Serad?" She had no idea what she was talking about. "What about him? Is he here?" Jonesey was thinking it would be perfectly romantic if the handsome devil had come all the way to London to claim Tori for his own. Tori's next words wiped all romantic thoughts from her mind.
"No . . . I mean, yes. Jonesey, they've captured him and taken him to prison. I have to go to him. I can't just let him die."
"Dear God, you do love him!"
"Oh, yes. I love him with all my heart, and I have to help him."
The elderly woman was up and out of bed before Tori could say another word. "Where is he?"
"Newgate." She spat the name of the terrible prison.
"We'll tell your grandfather, and he'll . . ."
"No! We can't do that. He'd be glad Serad has been caught and taken there. Didn't you hear him talking to the duke about it? He was saying all the pirates should be drawn and quartered and all kinds of awful things. I'm sure he'd want Serad dead, and I'm positive he'd never allow me to go to him. I've got to save him myself."
Jonesey felt herself being caught up by Tori's desperation. While she wanted to argue the point, she realized Tori was right. The marquess would never approve of going to the pirate's aid and would probably think that Serad was getting exactly what he deserved. Against her better judgment, Jonesey began to dress. She was determined to stay by Tori's side and try to keep her out of harm's way, even if it killed her.
"I will get ready. But you're going to need money, you realize. In order to get in to visit Serad you'll have to bribe the guards and I'm sure they're going to want a goodly amount. Wear a dark cloak with a hood. I wouldn't want any of those nasty men being able to see you too clearly."
"I'll be right back." Tori hurried off to get the money she'd need and her largest, most concealing cloak.
When she returned, Jonesey had dressed and also donned a disguising cloak. They crept from the house as quietly as possible, not wanting to alert the servants to their departure. They hired a conveyance near the house and ignored the surprised look of the driver when they asked to be taken to the prison as quickly as possible. When the carriage drew to a stop, Tori saw the ugly building looming before them and knew stark terror. Only her love for Serad and her determination to help him gave her the strength to go on. With Jonesey staying staunchly by her side, they approached the prison's main door.
Tori was amazed at the influence money could have. For nominal amounts, she was certain a person could do anything they wanted to inside this horrible place. The gruff, ugly guard who met them at the door leered at her while she paid him what he asked.
"You look to be a pretty thing. My name's George. If you . . ." he began suggestively, lifting a hand to try to push her hood back away from her face.
Jonesey was on guard. She had defended Tori from worse than him and she stepped boldly forward to confront the gross man. "You keep your filthy mitts off her and just do what you're just paid to do. We're here to see the pirate captain. Now take us to him!"
George eyed the little woman with irritation, but knew better than to try anything stupid. He liked the money more than he wanted the woman. "Come on," he growled resentfully.
It was a nightmare for Tori and Jonesey to be led through the hellish place. They continued on undaunted, though, for their goal of saving Serad wouldn't allow them to quit.
When at last the guard stopped before a locked door in a barely lighted corridor, deep in the bowels of the prison, both women girded themselves.
"He's in there," George said sharply.
"Open the door," Tori demanded, sickened by all that she'd seen.
The guard unlocked the door and opened it wide for her to enter. "Be careful. He's a dangerous one." He gave a demonic laugh at his own jest.
Jonesey stepped in front of the man to block his access to the room. She knew Tori needed privacy and she meant to see that she got it. Her tone was sharp and furious as she addressed him. "You get back and mind your own business. We paid you well for this time."
George gave a shrug and moved off. He waited just a short distance away.
Tori moved inside the dark, dank room the moment the guard left. It was difficult to see, but the light from the corridor allowed just enough illumination so she could make Serad out sitting on the floor across the cell. He looked terrible, and when she said his name it was a hoarse emotional whisper.
Serad had been half asleep, but at the sound of her voice, his head jerked up and he peered into the darkness. When he saw her standing there silhouetted against the doorway, he honestly believed he was losing his mind. She looked the angel, and he wondered how cruel his mind could be to conjure up such a lifelike image of her to taunt him with there in his purgatory. "Be gone. Why do you torture me so?" he said in misery.
"Oh, God . . . Serad," Tori cried. She had seen the look of pained disbelief on his battered features and could stay apart from him no longer. She rushed to him and dropped to her knees at his side. Tears were already trailing down her cheeks at the sight of him so beaten and chained.
Tori brushed back her hood and framed his face with her hands to gaze at him. He was her proud pirate, her arrogant corsair. What was he doing shackled here in this dungeon?
Only when Tori actually touched him did Serad actually believe that she was real, that she was actually there. He could see her lovely features and smell the sweet scent of her perfume. "Tori? What are you doing here?"
His pain was her pain, and she ached for him. Without waiting another moment, she kissed him. It was a kiss of desperation, a kiss of love nearly lost and now found.
When the kiss ended, Serad lifted one hand to touch her cheek and trace the path of the crystalline tears she'd shed for him. He drew a ragged breath as he was filled with tenderness and love for her. "Why did you come?"
"I had to. I couldn't let anything happen to you," Tori confessed. Her eyes were sparkling with tears and her heart was pounding in her breast.
"You must go. There's no telling what might happen to you here," he insisted. She looked so beautiful that he wanted only to hold her close and never let her go, but he couldn't. It had been foolhardy for her to come there. She was placing herself in danger, and, love her as he did, he wouldn't be able to stand it if anything happened to her.
"Don't worry about me. We bribed the guards. We're safe," she told him.
" We?" He had no idea who she could have brought with her.
"Jonesey and I . . ."
Despite everything, Serad managed a chuckle. He should have known.
"What have they done to you?" she asked in a choked voice as she lifted a hand to touch his injured cheek.
"It doesn't matter, Tori. You shouldn't have come," Serad dodged away from her hand, embarrassed at her seeing him this way. There had been nothing he'd wanted more than to see her again and tell her he loved her, but now that she had come, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had nothing to offer her. He was going to be executed soon . . . and then there was still her fiancé, the man she'd wanted from the beginning . . . the man she really loved.
"How could I not come . . . when I love you?" She whispered the truth and waited breathlessly for his response to her declaration.
"Tori . . ." He stared at her, feeling as if his heart had just been ripped from his chest. She loved him! But what did it matter now? Though he wanted to tell her that he loved her, too, he didn't. He loved Tori more than life itself, and it was for that very reason that he wouldn't tell her of his own feelings for her. He remembered what his aunt had told him about have her life stolen from her, and he wouldn't do that to Tori. He loved her so much that he would make certain she
stayed with the rich Englishman who could give her what he believed she needed and wanted.
"I can help you, I know I can. My fiancé is Alexander Wakefield, and his grandfather is the Duke of Huntington. I'm sure he has enough influence and wields enough power at court to get you out of here . . ."
"No . . ." The word escaped Serad when he heard Tori say the name of her fiancé. He stared at her in shock, trying to make sense out of what she'd just said. She was engaged to Alexander Wakefield? The absurdity of it was almost too much for him, but then the reality set in as he recalled everything his aunt had told him about their past. There was some kind of dangerous intrigue in progress, and Serad knew now that his grandfather was a victim of it.
Tori thought he was protesting her idea, and she went on. "Serad . . . I must," she insisted. "Don't you understand? I love you, and I won't let this happen . . ." Her gaze met and locked with his.
Serad saw for the first time the depth of her love for him, and it hurt him as it enthralled him. Though he was troubled by what he'd just learned, he couldn't resist taking Tori in his arms and kissing her again. Neither of them noticed his bonds as he held her close and told her with his kiss just how much she meant to him. Tori clung to Serad, wishing she could free him this very moment, but knowing that it was going to take some planning on her part.
George appeared in the doorway, ignoring Jonesey's protests that he should let them have a few more minutes alone.
"Your time is up," he interrupted brazenly.
Tori and Serad broke apart.
"I'll be back," she promised before he could speak, and she pressed one last desperate kiss on his lips. Drawing her hood up to camouflage her identity, she fled the prison cell. In her heart, she was crying, but to the guard and Jonesey she showed only a proud demeanor. Serad needed her and she would not fail him. As difficult as it would be for her, she would seek out Alexander and ask for his help.
Chapter Thirty-Two
While their guests had departed early in the day, David and Edward had stayed on at Huntington House until much later in the afternoon. They did not arrive back in London until dark.
David had made the entire journey in virtual silence. Staring out the carriage windows, he'd been lost deep in thought, and his somber mood had worsened with each passing mile that took him farther and farther away from the woman he loved. He'd thought his life had been difficult before, but now he truly knew the meaning of pain.
Tess had come to his bed that last night. She'd heard that the wedding date had been set, and her heart had been broken. Her unhappiness had left him anguished, and parting from her in the predawn hours had been almost unbearable. David felt torn between confessing all, marrying Tess and possibly going to the gallows for a crime he didn't commit or going through with the marriage and living in lonely luxury for the rest of his life.
With each mile that had passed, the right thing to do had become more and more clear to David. He'd known he could no longer go on deceiving Tori and living a life that wasn't his. He cared about her, and she deserved better. She thought she was marrying Alexander Wakefield, not an impostor, and he wondered how she would feel about their match if she knew the truth.
By the time they finally reached their London townhouse, David had made up his mind to seek out Tori the following day and tell her the complete truth. She deserved that much from him. Then after they'd talked, he would decide what to do next.
David was feeling a little better that night, but not much. He was glad when morning came. Confessing his deception and lies to Tori was not going to be easy, but he wanted, no, had to be forthright with her.
David was just preparing to leave for the Lawrence home a little after nine when a messenger arrived with a note for him from Tori. He'd thought he was being a bit forward by seeking her out so early, and her unexpected missive surprised him. He opened it a bit cautiously, wondering at its contents, and he was intrigued and puzzled by what he read.
Dear Alexander,
It's essential that I speak with you right away. Please come at once. I am in dire need of your help.
As always,
Tori
David couldn't imagine why she would need his help, but he was more than willing to do whatever he could for her. Calling for his carriage to be brought around, he set off right away.
Tori hadn't slept all night, for her worries about Serad had consumed her. Time seemed to be passing far too slowly, and she was immensely relieved when a decent morning hour finally arrived so she could send the message to Alexander.
As she waited for him to arrive, Tori wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation. She liked Alexander and trusted him implicitly, but she couldn't imagine how he was going to react when she told him that she loved another man and needed his help to get that man out of prison.
A shudder wracked Tori as she thought of Serad locked in that dungeon in chains. Just the memory of his torture kept her determined to do whatever was necessary to rescue him.
A knock sounded at her bedroom door and drew her thoughts back to the present. When the maid announced to her that Lord Alexander had arrived and was waiting below to see her, she rushed from the room.
Tori's face was a mask of control, and her trembling hands grasped her skirts so Alexander wouldn't know just how nervous she really was. She descended the staircase with apparent ease, looking every inch the lovely young lady. Only Jonesey knew of her inner turmoil, and she was safely upstairs in her room where she'd agreed to stay until after Tori had spoken with Alexander. Tori had made sure that her grandfather would be out that morning before she'd sent the note, for she needed time alone with Alexander.
"Alexander, I'm so glad you came . . ." she said softly as she came into the parlor to greet him.
"Tori, you look lovely this morning," David said as he rose from the sofa to take her hands in his and kiss her cheek. "I got your note and came right away."
His offer of help was so open and so warm that for just a moment Tori's carefully erected defenses faltered.
David caught a glimpse of the misery that she was trying to control, and it startled him. "Tori . . . what is it? How can I help?"
"Oh, Alexander, you're such a good man, but there's so much I have to tell you . . . so much you don't know . . ."
"I'll do whatever I can. You know how much I care about you."
Tori swallowed tightly. She didn't want to hurt Alexander, but she had to save Serad. Her life would have no meaning if anything happened to him.
"Alexander, I do need your help . . . desperately. But after I tell you what I need, you may not want to be a part of it."
David couldn't imagine what was bothering her, but he knew he would do no less than his best for her.
Tori mentally squared her shoulders as she faced him. "I need your help in getting a man out of prison."
"You what?" David was stunned.
"Serad has been captured. They brought him back here and have put him in prison. I have to rescue him. I won't let him die. I can't . . ." Her eyes were feverish with her intent as she looked at him.
"Serad is the pirate who captured your ship?"
Tori nodded tightly. "Yes . . . and Alexander, I love him."
Time stood still as they stared at each other. In none of David's wildest dreams would he have imagined anything like this happening to him. He'd thought he would be breaking Tori's heart when he told her of his love for Tess. He'd thought he would be ruining her life. He'd been afraid to tell her the truth, but now he knew he could.
"Tori, I will do whatever you want me to do to help you rescue him." He opened his arms and she came into them, a deep sob tearing from her.
"Oh, thank you, Alexander. I knew I could count on you," she said as she hugged him back.
"There's something else we have to discuss," he told her very seriously.
Tori stepped back, not quite sure what he was leading up to.
"When I received your note this morning, I was already on my w
ay here to speak to you."
"You were? Why?"
"I, too, have something very important that I have to tell you about. You're the only one I can confide in about this because you're the only one I trust."
"I don't understand? What could possibly be wrong outside of the fact that your betrothed just declared her love for another man?" She smiled slightly.
They sat down on the sofa and David reached out to take her hand.
"What I am about to tell you is not a pretty story, Tori, but it's one I think you should know."
Tori listened attentively as David began to tell her the truth of his life. He told her everything from the sordid details of his arrest, to Vivienne's blackmailing of him to take Alexander's place, to how he'd fallen in love with Tess. He explained how he'd agonized over the decision to tell her everything, and how he couldn't live with his part of the deception any longer.
"My real name is David . . . David Markham," he concluded, pausing in his confession to give her an opportunity to speak.
Tori was bewildered by all that she'd learned, but there was no condemnation in her eyes as she gazed at him. "But the duke . . .?"
"That's why I needed to talk to you. I don't know what to do. I've come to love the duke. He means as much to me as my own grandparents did. I don't want to hurt him, but I can't go on living this terrible lie any longer. I've deceived everyone I care about, and yet Vivienne controls my very life."
"Alex—I mean, David . . ." Tori was still reeling from learning he wasn't Alexander Wakefield. "I think I know you well enough to know that you would never harm anyone. I'm certain you didn't kill that girl."
"Thank you," he said with heartfelt emotion. "But the authorities didn't believe me. Since Vivienne got me out of prison, she's threatened to see me hang if I dare upset her plans to get her the Wakefield money."
"And Tess?"
"As you love Serad, I love Tess," he answered simply. "She means the world to me."
"I understand."
"What are we going to do?"