“No Darcy, wait! It’s me, Cole. I have to talk to you, and I can’t get to you any other way. Please let me in, Darling. Please.”
“Are you insane,” she hissed at him. “What are you doing here? You have no right to be on my property let alone in my bedroom.”
He saw the fire in her eyes but couldn’t help rejoicing that he was within inches of the woman who possessed his heart and soul.
“Go away before I wake everyone in the house and call for the police,” her words as threatening as a rattler’s tail.
“Darcy, please tell me what is wrong. I wrote and told you I was coming home. Didn’t you get my letters? I wrote every month, and even though I never got an answer, I kept writing in hopes to touch your heart some way.”
“Sure, you wrote every month until January when you stopped writing at all!” she snapped back.
“Darcy, that is so untrue. Please let me in. This is so very awkward talking to you through the window. I promise I will be a perfect gentleman.”
“As if I could believe anything you promised me, Cole Evans.”
“Please, Darcy. Would you want me to slip and fall to my death?”
He had finally broken through. She smiled.
“Oh, all right.” She opened the window fully and took his hand to help him crawl over the windowsill.
“Thank you,” he panted, once he was standing inside the room. “That is much better.”
His arms wanted to reach out and pull her into an embrace now that she was within arms’ reach after so many months apart, but he knew he didn’t dare.
“Darcy, I never stopped writing to you. Apparently, you just stopped receiving them. I wrote in late March that I would be arriving in early April and would be coming to see you as soon as I arrived. You should have received a total of seven letters. Didn’t you?”
“No, only five. I was concerned that perhaps something had happened to you. Your letters were so…touching, that I thought for them to stop so abruptly meant that you were either dead, or seriously ill, or injured. But in time I just dismissed it as probably meaning you had channeled your attentions elsewhere. After all, you met me on a ship, so why not someone else.”
“Darcy.” His voice was softly reproachful. He took a step toward her. He looked desperate and very, very sad. She wanted to go to him, to comfort him, but instead she took a step back rather than toward the man between her and the door. “I meant every word I said in those letters, Darcy. I will never give up trying to win your heart. I love you. You are the only one for me. I have never said those words to another person before, Darcy, never! Please believe me.” There was no denying the frustration and helplessness in his voice.
“I want to Cole, but what else can I think when you disappear without a word?”
“I didn’t, my love. I am right here. Isn’t it time for you to stop hiding from life, from feelings, and from me? Darling, if a person can’t or won’t feel anything, then what good is living? Whatever it is that happened to you…”
He thought he saw her visibly shrink at the mention of her past.
“We can overcome it together. I will help you. I will do whatever it takes to make you happy. Will you let me try?”
“How do you explain how the letters stopped?” Darcy persisted, avoiding his question.
“Well, I think Eva may have had something to do with that. You know she hates me and would do anything to keep us apart. She guards over you like a mama grizzly bear.”
“She is very protective of me, I realize, but we have a unique history that has made us very close over the years.”
“Darcy, think about whether she had the opportunity to keep my letters from you.”
“Well, yes…she could have.”
Cole sensed he had started the wheels turning in her head.
“Darcy, every moment I was gone I longed to see you, to hold you, to kiss you.”
Without answering, she at last took a step toward him. As she reached out her arms for him, she caught sight of a terrifying image over his shoulder. Darcy screamed.
“Cole! Look out!” As she shouted her warning, she tried to shove his hulk of a body out of harm’s way. Reacting quickly, Cole spun on his heels.
“Nooooooo!” Eva’s gut-wrenching bellow pierced the still of the night as she flung herself through the semi-darkness toward her intended victim. Cole took a quick side-step and dodged the blade Eva had directed toward his back. Putting up his arm to deflect the second blow, he received a nasty gash on his forearm, which began bleeding profusely.
“No, Eva, no!” Darcy pleaded as the large, blade glinted in the lamplight, passing only inches from her. Cole had just saved her life!
In shock, her vision of the room was a blur of a blade, blood, and bodies as Eva and Cole struggled for control of the potentially lethal weapon. Cole quickly subdued the irate woman face down on the floor and held her there with his knee pressed into her back until she released her grasp on the large Bowie knife.
“Cole, you’re injured.” Darcy reached for his arm, then hesitated wondering if she should see to Eva as well. Reaching down to tear off the hem of her nightgown she asked, “Eva, are you hurt? Oh, Eva, why? Why are you in here?”
“Well, I heard voices, and recognized his, so I sneaked in whilst you two were busy talkin’. I have been waiting for a perfect opportunity like this.”
“Oh, Eva, I can’t believe you would attempt to kill someone.”
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do. What is he doing here anyway?” Eva was snarling like a rabid animal as she lay writhing beneath Cole’s knee, his weight holding her down.
“Oh, Eva. This is just awful. How could you do such a thing?” Darcy wailed.
“It’s easy really.” By now, the remainder of the household servants had descended from their third floor chambers to investigate the source of the ruckus. It took several minutes and more lighted lamps before they could decipher what had taken place.
“Alfred, go get the police. We have a situation here that needs their intervention, I’m afraid.” Darcy was tightly wrapping her strip of nightgown around the slice in Cole’s arm.
“No, Alfred!” Cole commanded.
“What are you doing, Cole?” Darcy asked, shocked.
“We don’t need the police, do we Eva?” He directed his question down to the woman pinned beneath him. “In fact, all of you can go back to bed now. This is really just between Eva, Darcy, and me. Good night and thanks for your help, but it is not necessary. Go on. Off with you!” The sleepy-eyed, befuddled servants filed out of the room one by one, mumbling to each other about the curious sight in their mistress’ bedroom.
Once the three of them were alone again but before Cole released Eva, he offered a deal to this violent and apparently very dangerous woman.
“Darcy, if Eva agrees not to interfere anymore in my courting you, with your permission of course, and promises not to try to kill me again, then I don’t think we need to involve the police or anyone else in what occurred here tonight. Is that agreeable with you, Eva?”
The maid moaned and swore in French Creole, but at last answered, “Oui, you bastard!”
“Fine. We have a deal then.” Cole released Eva and even helped her get up. His arm continued to bleed profusely despite Darcy holding direct pressure. Being unable to staunch the flow of blood, she became seriously concerned about his injury.
“Eva, run and get the tincture of iodine to clean Cole’s wound, and some more bandages. Hurry!”
Eva left the room appearing utterly dejected, but did not hurry. When she returned with the items, Cole was seated in the wooden rocker by the unlit fireplace, and Darcy was kneeling beside him still holding pressure over the saturated bandage. His only other injuries appeared to be a few superficial cuts and scrapes, nothing that needed medical attention. Darcy’s biggest concern was the large wound that would not stop bleeding.
“Oh, Cole I am so sorry this happened. I still can’t believ
e it. Does it hurt terribly?”
“Well, it doesn’t feel good but having you tending to it helps.” He smiled at her. Her look of concern for him was heartwarming.
“Eva, don’t you have something you want to say to Cole?”
“We have a deal for him to court you, but nothing ’bout an apology, if that’s what you’re gettin’ at. I will not, not now, not ever!” Eva turned and left the room in a huff, her hair and torn gown smeared with Cole’s blood.
“Oh, Cole. I feel like such a fool, thinking all those horrible things about you when you were being honest and sincere. I am so sorry I doubted you. I wanted to believe all the beautiful things you said, but Edgar had constantly showered me with sugary words while his actions were vile and cruel. I realize now it was unfair to judge you based on the way Edgar treated me. Eva has good reason for her truly venomous hatred toward men and used every opportunity to convince me to feel the same. I should not have let her influence me the way I did. She often said she wanted it to be just the two of us, no man coming in between. That should have alerted me.”
As she talked, she carefully cleaned and tightly re-bandaged his arm.
“You need stitches. Let’s get you to a doctor. I’ll just be a minute.” She paused looking down at him while considering what to do about Cole being in her room. “I would ask you to wait outside my door, but I really don’t feel safe letting you out of my sight in this house right now. Besides you have lost so much blood, I am not sure how well you can stand anyway, so just sit right here,” she instructed him sweetly.
Rising up from her knees, she took a step then stopped quickly, bent down and kissed his lips before heading toward the screen in the corner to dress. Cole’s smile broadened, and he reached up with his good arm, grabbed her, and pulled her onto his lap for another, longer kiss.
The sensation his hot lips sent through her was familiar and wonderful. She remembered well the last time he had kissed her, and she yearned for many, many more to come. Dressing quickly, she called for Alfred to hitch up the dray so she could get Cole to Doctor Flanagan’s house. Cole’s wound needed to be seen by a professional, and she did not really want the doctor making a house call in this case. Darcy helped Cole up into the buggy and took the reins herself.
“Alfred, you and Carrie take turns standing guard outside Eva’s room the rest of the night. I do not want her leaving her room and definitely not leaving the house.”
“Yes’m. I’ll do just that.”
“ Goodnight.”
Darcy and Cole rode in companionable silence toward the doctor’s house on Jackson Avenue. When they passed under a gaslight, she could see Cole grimace. Oh, how awful for him. I can’t believe this has happened. Has Eva gone insane?
The atmosphere was eerie tonight. In the lamplight the nightly, low-country mist, looking like ghostly shapes, seemed to dart and slither to and fro. She wondered if the movement was just shadows and mist, or if there were robbers and other miscreants sneaking around the doorways and alleys as they passed. Fear gripped her heart as they trotted through the silent, deserted streets, the only sound the clopping of the horse’s hooves on the cobblestones. What if someone did attempt to rob them or worse? She was defenseless with Cole incapacitated to fight off any attackers.
Breathe. Just breathe. Everything is fine. Cole and I are together and nothing else matters. She continued to coax herself to stay calm as they completed the last few blocks of their journey.
Darcy helped Cole down from the buggy and held onto him as they struggled up the sidewalk to the doctor’s front door. His shingle creaked overhead as they reached the front porch. That’s odd. There is no breeze tonight. She tried to push the thought aside as she pounded on the doctor’s front door. It took several tries before she finally saw a lamp being lit and someone stirring about inside. At last, Dr. Flanagan answered the door in his nightshirt and cap, and Cole stumbled inside.
“What is this about?” snarled the doctor, disgruntled at having to answer a knock on his door at this hour.
“There was an altercation, and he received a knife wound, Doctor,” Darcy explained. “I cleaned and bandaged it as best I could, but we can’t get it to stop bleeding. It’s gaping open and needs professional care, I’m sure.”
“And your name, sir?”
“Cole Evans.”
“You aren’t wanted by the law by any chance?”
“No!” They answered in unison.
“This knife wound looks like whoever was using it meant business.”
“Yes, she was quite determined.”
“She?” the doctor echoed, his brow cocked up on one side and looked at Darcy, then back to Cole, with increased interest.
“It wasn’t me!” Darcy assured him in a shrill voice. “It’s a long story, doctor. Can we just stick to fixing up his arm?”
“You did a good job of cleaning up your husband’s arm young lady.”
“Oh, we aren’t married. Mr. Evans is a friend of mine.” The venerable doctor just smiled, obviously drawing his own conclusions regarding Cole and Darcy’s relationship to each other.
An hour later, Cole was sporting several black silk stitches and a neat, white bandage. The good doctor even provided him with some pain pills despite Cole’s protests that it wasn’t necessary.
“It is a good thing you got here when you did. I had to tie off a small artery that was cut. The bleeding was not going to stop on its own. You will be more tired than usual for a day or two, but a young, healthy man such as yourself will soon replenish your blood supply. Just take it a little easier. Oh, and you may be a little light-headed from blood loss when you first stand up, so be careful.”
Darcy was at his side securely holding his other arm as he got down from the exam table. The doctor was right. Cole staggered slightly as he stood, leaning heavily on Darcy as she helped him to the buggy. When she started to turn toward his hotel, Cole stopped her.
“I will not let you drive home alone at this time of night. It is too dangerous. Any kind of scoundrel could be about, and I will not take the chance of anything happening to you. Please don’t misread my intention, but I would much rather ride back to your house with you. I would appreciate spending the night on a couch, or a spare bed if you have one. I feel like I could sleep for a week. Besides”—he indicated his bandaged arm resting in a sling—“I am pretty helpless right now, so you really don’t have anything to fear from me.” He chuckled softly. “Just don’t tell Eva where I am, or I will have to sleep with one eye open.” He hoped Darcy appreciated his attempt at humor.
“Oh, Cole, it isn’t funny. Do you think she will honor your ‘deal’ to allow you to come and go without fearing for your life every time you are near me?”
“Time will tell, and I will definitely be watching her more closely from now on, but nothing and no one, save you my darling, will stop me from seeing you. I promise you that.”
“Oh Cole.” She held onto his good arm and gave it a firm squeeze, lifting her chin she planted a peck on his cheek.
“I stopped Alfred from going for the law because I wanted to spare you the trauma of your best friend being arrested. Besides”—he grinned at her despite his pain—“it would be quite difficult to explain why I was in your bedroom in the middle of the night, especially with you still officially in mourning.”
“Cole, you truly are a dear. Always thinking of me and my welfare.” His foresight was just one of the qualities she genuinely admired about him. “I didn’t give a thought to all of that when I told Alfred to fetch the law! You are absolutely right. I would be tarred and feathered and run out of town. Thank God, you kept your wits about you. You are proving to be quite handy to have around, Mr. Evans.” She grinned back at him.
“Well, thank you, Mrs. Higgins. The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. Ouch!” he yelped bumping his arm against the back of the seat. Grimacing slightly, he whispered in a husky voice, “Always glad to be of service.” Then he leaned over sideways and stole anothe
r kiss from those sweet, velvet lips.
Darcy giggled like a school girl and did not attempt to pull away.
Chapter Nine
Cole began calling on Darcy regularly. Eva was never anywhere in sight when he came to the house. She stayed in her room for hours on end with the door locked against any intrusions, rarely associating with anyone in the household, especially Darcy. When she did appear, Darcy noticed she was losing weight and looking haggard, her eyes rimmed with dark circles, and her hair all tousled. Darcy was baffled as to the reason for this change in her dear friend’s physical appearance and behavior. She had gradually become a stranger.
As Cole’s wounded arm was healing, Darcy’s affection for him grew without reservation, realizing she had absolutely no reason to doubt the sincerity of his love and devotion. Darcy had never known such happiness, dampened only by the darkness that still enveloped Eva, who continued to refuse acknowledgement of Darcy’s relationship with Cole. No further attempts were made on his life by the disgruntled maid, and Cole called on Darcy freely, and often.
Spring passed into summer. Darcy had given up trying to talk to Eva or draw her out of her reclusive, morose state. She seriously considered Eva was mentally deranged but was at a loss how to help her dearest friend.
As the one-year anniversary of Edgar’s death approached, Darcy could barely wait to cast aside the gloomy black and gray mourning garb and begin wearing bright colors again. For the first time in her life, she wanted to look beautiful for a man.
“Eva! Eva come here please,” Darcy called. Her personal maid had not been much of a maid lately, remaining hidden away in the solitude of her room.
“Oui madam,” Eva said stiffly when she appeared in Darcy’s doorway a few minutes later.
Darcy was taken aback again at the obvious deterioration of her dear companion.
“Eva, is there anything I can do for you? Is there any way to make you feel better?”
“What was it you called me in here for, ma’am?”
“Eva, please take all of these mourning veils, dresses, gloves, and hats out of here.” Darcy told her tersely. She was beyond exasperated with this childish moping of Eva’s. If she wants to act remote and subservient, so be it.
A Gentleman's Game Page 13