Theo pulled on the back of Valeria’s skirt to keep her from lunging forward.
“I will not be parted from my son.”
“You will do whatever your husband bids you to do.” Lord Wolton’s visage was hard and his eyes cold and lifeless. He scanned her figure. “I only hope you are not pregnant with his by-blow. Not that it matters, the child could be put to good use and Lord Harrow will not live to care anyway.” He took a few steps across the room and sipped his brandy. “I just recalled, you have no direct heir do you, Lord Harrow?” He laughed. “I delight in rubbing out more of this foolish British aristocracy.”
Theo’s silent strength remained behind her. He released her dress. She wondered if there was pain in his eyes at the disparaging remarks this man made.
Dartanian had curled up with the kitten and had fallen asleep or was pretending to be. Good boy.
Valeria struggled to think of how to buy time to do what she needed to do—kill the Duke and get Dartanian to safety.
The killing part was not something the men agreed to. They first wanted to get Dartanian safe, and then seek, through political and peer pressure, to get the Duke to leave the country.
She hoped they could get Dartanian to safety. But she would take care of the Duke. She believed murder was wrong…but she also understood how evil this man was. Sometimes she even doubted he was a man. He had taken more and more of the form of a demon sent to torture her.
A sound came from the window and the wind moved the drapery.
Lord Wolton’s eyes narrowed as he wandered over. “I wonder how that window got open. The cool air is not good for a sick child.” Wolton leaned to shut it.
He let out a startled yelp when Phillip grabbed him and put a knife to the man’s throat. “So, we meet again, Lord Wolton,” Phillip spoke in a low, menacing tone of voice. “My wife sends her regards.”
Lord Wolton’s face lost all color as the metal blade pressed against his throat. “Let me go. I let you have her. And your spawn.”
“Do you miss your cohort, Lord Follett? Did you realize he put in writing all he knew about your treasonous deeds? Those papers are at Whitehall, by the way. They have reserved a lovely cell in the Tower for you.”
Valeria walked over to Wolton and Phillip. “May I do the honors, Phillip? It would be a shame to put a man such as Lord Wolton through the embarrassment of a trial and suffering the same fate as his friend Sir Bastion.”
Lord Wolton made the mistake of nodding and a trickle of blood emerged along the edge of Phillip’s knife.
“What did you have in mind, my lady?” Phillip asked as he grinned at her.
“Murder.”
Phillip’s eyes grew wide and he shook his head. “Maim him, certainly, but no, we never agreed to murder.”
“I never asked your permission, Phillip.” Before she could raise the knife that Theodore handed her, she found her hand grasped from behind.
“I think we need to find a better solution.” Theo sheathed the knife and hauled Valeria away.
Valeria seethed with anger and pulled away from Theo. Pain and humiliation crashed through her. They had no idea how that man had abused her, had treated her like less than an animal. How her husband and father-in-law forced her to be with him. The man was pure evil and while she should be concerned for his eternal salvation and forgive him, she struggled to do so.
Theo tried again to wrap his arm around her shaking form.
She shrugged him off and went to sit next to Dartanian, determined to shed the tingling senses that screamed danger.
Phillip and Theo tied up Lord Wolton, gagged him, took him to the window, and rolled him over the edge of the balcony to the yard below.
Valeria winced as she heard the large body hit the ground.
Marcus, Michael, or Jared would attend to him.
“Maman?” her son called weakly.
He was sweating and shivering under the blankets and looked so pale it frightened her. Were they too late?
“Dartanian?” Valeria pulled back the eyelid when he did not respond to her anymore.
His eyes rolled back in his head. He stopped shivering and stilled.
“Dartanian?” She couldn’t feel a pulse and it terrified her. “Mon enfant. Dartanian.”
Theo reached down to find a pulse. “He still lives, my lady, but we need to get him to a doctor quickly.” Theo assisted Valeria to her feet and bent to scoop the little boy in his arms. The kitten jumped off to the floor and mewed at Valeria’s feet.
Phillip motioned for Theo to come to the window. He gave a low whistle and Marcus appeared below them. “We have Dartanian, he is ill. We need to get him to a doctor quickly.”
Marcus nodded. “Can you lower him down to me?”
Theo leaned over the railing. “If I drop him low can you catch him?”
Marcus nodded.
Theo lowered the boy as far as he could lean before dropping him into Marcus’s arms.
Marcus looked at Valeria. “I will care for him as if he were my own.” He took off into the woods.
Theo and Phillip escorted Valeria back into the room and closed the windows behind them. They were not latched so that an escape route would still be available should they have need of it.
Valeria slumped into a chair petting the kitten.
The door opened.
Two large men entered the room, dragging the limp body of Sir Tidley between them. They dropped him onto the carpet before her and stepped away. Michael lay with his face to the side against the carpet, but a pool of blood could be seen spreading from beneath him.
Firm footsteps echoed in the hall before the Duke entered.
“Ah, my dear, Lady St. John. What a pleasure to have you back home again. You brought some unexpected guests. You should have known that I dislike visitors I have not previously been introduced to.” The Duke’s hair was a salt and pepper gray and he stood as tall. He held many similarities to the man at her feet, and her deceased husband.
Valeria could not hide her contempt. It took all within her to not retch into the pot that Dartanian used. “I have not come to stay, my lord.” She rose from her chair, leaving the kitten. She dropped to the floor by Michael and pressed a finger to his neck. Thank God he still breathed. She would hate to face any of the wives of these brave men should anything happen to them. She lifted part of her dress to reveal her linen underskirt and ripped a strip of material off.
“How quaint, my dear. You tending to your half-brother-in-law. It is pointless. I have wanted him dead for quite some time. As long as he stayed out of my business I was more than happy to let him continue to live, but he is now obviously very much in my business if he is in my home.” The Duke threw his head back and laughed. “Lord Westcombe and Lord Harrow. I wish I could say I am pleased to finally meet men who have sought to undermine my plans in recent years, but,” he glanced at his fingernails on his right hand, “I am sorry to say your visit here has not come at a good time.”
“There was never any pleasure intended in our visit,” Phillip spoke in an even tone of voice.
The Duke grinned broadly. “How do you like your lovely wife, Lord Phillip? Did she tell you that she had an acquaintance with me a few years back?”
Phillip kept his face blank.
“No? Well, she was a tasty little morsel, but I’m sure you are aware of that. She wasted no time wrapping you around her little finger…or other body parts.” His laugh was dark.
“And Lord Harrow. I am confused as to where you figure into this. Just a well-intentioned oaf who trails after his friends for adventure? Has my lovely Valeria let you taste of her charms yet?”
Lord Diamonte stepped toward Valeria and leaned down to clasp her face in his left hand. “I do not like to share, Madame. For that you will, of course, be punished.” He glanced to the settee that was now within his view. “Where is my grandson?”
Valeria shook his hand from her face and bent to continue wrapping the strip of linen around Michael’
s head. He moaned, and she rolled him over.
“I asked where is Dartanian?”
She refused to answer. She only prayed that Lord Remington made good his getaway and that her son was in the capable care of a physician.
“It does not matter, he will soon be dead. But I have plans for replacing him.”
What had he done? She wondered why her son was so sick. Had he been poisoned? Lord, please keep mon enfant safe!
The Duke kicked the unconscious man in the ribs and another moan was heard.
“Too bad Michel was on the wrong side of this war. He would have been a wonderful substitute for my son to help you bear me more heirs for when we triumph in France.” The Duke’s face was hard and his eyes like flint as he hovered over her.
Why were Phillip and Theo not doing anything? Fear welled up in her at facing down her darkest fears in the form of her father-in-law. She rose to her feet and reached for the kitten sitting on a nearby chair. Not that an allergy to the cat would stop the Black Diamond from accomplishing his plans, but as small as that kitten was, it gave her comfort in the midst of this situation.
“Well, now, what shall we do about our little welcoming party? Sam and Neil here will escort you gentlemen to other accommodations. Lady St. John and I have unfinished business to attend to.”
One of the thugs spoke up. “What about da bloke on da flur?” The men were punching fists in to their opposite hands.
“Leave him. He can do no harm there.” He turned back toward Valeria. “I have waited a long time for this night. You will not disappoint me or you will regret it.”
~*~
A jealous rage boiled up inside Theo like he never experienced before. He had heard bits and pieces of the terrors that some of his friends’ wives had endured at the hands of this evil man and his minions. To witness him so blatantly abusing Valeria and trying to strip her of her dignity exposed something new and primal within him. His hands clenched.
Phillip’s gaze cautioned him, although Theo’s friend was prepared to fight if his clenched jaw was any indication.
Theo banked his anger. He slowly reached back to unsheathe the knife he had taken from Katrina. Where was Jared? He was the only one unaccounted for and able to help them out of this bind.
He admired Valeria’s composure and wished he could wipe the leer off the older aristocrat’s face. Why were they unable to kill him? Had he not done enough to ensure the deaths of so many British soldiers through his treasonous acts?
Valeria refused to turn toward Theo. She was probably trying to keep the Duke’s attention on her. Foolish woman. She held that silly kitten as if it was the most important thing in the world.
They could never leave her with the Duke. It was obvious what his plans for her were. Theo struggled with the urges this peer of the realm was fully bent on unleashing on Valeria. They were not far from the desire for her that he struggled with when he was alone with her. The difference was that he would never hurt her and this man was notorious for hurting women. It galled him to think of the Duke putting one finger on her in a dishonorable way.
He glanced at Michael, filled with concern. Michael was one of their scrappiest fighters and it surprised him that his friend had been captured and beaten to the point where he lay so still on the floor. Katrina would kill him for embroiling him in this fiasco if any harm befell her husband. The fact that he almost pummeled his friend himself a few nights past was not lost on him. Was he really any better than the brutes who stood by the wall eying them?
The two thugs advanced on Phillip and Theo.
Phillip stood, appearing calm, as if waiting to be politely excused from the room.
Theo fingered the blade hidden in his hand. He would reach for his gun, but he didn’t want to draw attention to any weapon and his was hidden in the small of his back. He was suddenly unsure if they would prevail against these much larger street fighters.
The Duke was lifting a finger to touch Valeria’s hair.
The rage that flamed up within him gave Theo the confidence that he needed. There was too much to lose if he didn’t. He didn’t reflect on the fact that he had already lost Valeria with her plans to set sail once this was over. He could not let anything bad happen to her now. Not after they had already survived so much.
“Now come along nice like ‘n we’ll make yooz right comf’terble,” one of the men said as he neared them. He had a gaping hole in his smile where teeth had been at one time. He was unshaven and something foul emanated from him.
The man reached out to grab Theo as if he really expected them to go quietly.
Theo ripped the man’s arm around and stuck the knife into his back as he now faced away from him. He could not see how Phillip was engaging with his counterpart, but a scuffling arose from that quarter as well.
The man Theo held rammed his head back making contact with Theo’s nose. Theo jammed the knife in harder through the roughhewn clothes and shoved the man away from him. The man fell forward, but quickly turned to rush at Theo. Theo side-stepped him and tripped him into a desk, kicking him as he fell to the ground. The brute stood again and wobbled a bit before pulling a gun on Theo.
Theo managed to shoot first, not even aware of when he’d grabbed the pistol now in his hand.
The man fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head. Theo lunged to assist Phillip who was underneath a brute on the ground. Theo pulled the man up and punched him, kicked him to the side, and hauled Phillip up to his feet.
The two of them rushed the man as he wobbled to his feet and with the force of their running and his falling, pushed him out the window and over the balcony. He fell to the ground with a thump.
Clothes torn, noses bloodied, and black eyes forming, the two men turned.
Valeria was being held in front of the Duke with his gun pointed at her head.
The kitten was on her other shoulder climbing from Valeria to the Duke.
“You surprise me, gentlemen. You are not as soft as you appear. I’m terribly sorry that you will find your battle for naught.” The Duke sneezed. “Lady St. John is my kin and I need to take her with me. However, should you choose to follow, I am more than willing to dispatch her. I can always find other breeding stock.” The Duke blinked and looked at the kitten sitting on his shoulder. He could not dislodge the cat without letting go of Valeria. He held firm to his victim while growling at the kitten. “I already broke this one in and she is ‘family’. It is more convenient to keep what is already mine than to find someone new.” He sneezed again, and his eyes were rapidly swelling and watering.
“It must be hard to find someone new when you spend your life in hiding,” Theo said with a bored voice that did not reveal the terror that welled up within him at the danger Valeria now faced.
~*~
Valeria tried to remain calm. Theo had put up a valiant fight, but it hurt her to see him being pummeled. His hair was wildly out of place, his nose bled, and he appeared more handsome to her than ever.
The Duke spun her around to watch as he held a gun to her temple while his other arm held her iron tight against his chest.
The kitten was moving to his shoulder and the Duke’s allergies were affecting him. Perhaps she could use that to her advantage.
The fight was over in a matter of seconds, although it seemed longer.
Theo stopped in his tracks when he recognized the danger she was in.
She wanted to convey the depth of her love for him, but she was not sure he was getting the message. Unless a miracle occurred she would not be alive for much longer. If the Duke did leave her alive, she would most likely wish she had died.
Michael stirred.
The Duke kicked him in the head.
The body on the floor stilled.
It broke her heart. Michael appeared identical to Damon, but he was a different person, someone whom she’d come to like. It saddened her to see him bested by his father. But Damon had never been very good at standing up to his father’s bul
lying either.
She thought of Damon and for the first time experienced pity for him instead of resentment. He was weak. He would never stand up against his father but only did his bidding and often suffered for it. Not as much as she did, but he had suffered none-the-less. The fact was, she was not sure if Dartanian was really Damon’s—or her father-in-law’s. She shivered at the memories of liberties stolen and grew suddenly stronger. What did it matter if there was a gun to her head?
The Duke was sniffling and sneezing and the gun wavered each time. He could accidentally shoot her.
She gave Theodore a smile.
The men stood still, lest any move on their part cause the Duke to pull the trigger.
Valeria glanced to Michael, and then over to Theo and Phillip. Dartanian was safe with Marcus, but even his survival could not be guaranteed. She recalled all the times in the past when she had been a victim of this evil man and how the wives of the men who had given everything to come and assist her, had been traumatized. Men were dying because of the evil this traitor had perpetrated. Enough was enough.
~*~
Theo held his breath.
All were focused on the gun aimed at Valeria’s temple.
Her eyes were trying to tell him something, but he wasn’t sure he was getting the message. When she smiled, his heart dropped. She had a plan. She was going to risk it all. Theo glanced at Phillip.
He was aware. His friend was wound tight, ready to spring into action at a second’s notice.
Where was Jared? What had happened to him? He hoped that Marcus would return, but anticipated that would not happen or if it did, it would not be soon enough.
So, he prayed. God, I do not deserve You. I failed at living my life on my own. Please help us here. Save Valeria. Even if I need to let her go, please let her survive this to raise her son. I want to believe in You as my friends do. Please show me Yourself. Did one need to say Amen?
~*~
Valeria prayed she would prevail. The God of the universe was more powerful than the lord of this world. She understood first-hand that Lord Diamonte came by his power, not through persuasion, but through his worship and dedication to Satan. Had she realized this truth about this charming and powerful man when she was a young woman, recently orphaned—she would have run away. Anything would have been preferable to what she ended up with.
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