Damn him! She couldn’t refute that. “Unhand me. I’ll not be dragged up the steps like a meaty carcass to be stripped for your pleasure.” When he swung her up into his sturdy arms, a small scream hiccoughed in her throat.
“You have a way with words, milady, all so very enticing.”
He ascended two steps. Panic battered Eliza, for her bloody body reacted on its own when she realized just how suggestive she misspoke.
“I did not—” Leonardo’s kiss silenced her dissent.
He lifted his head, his features wrought with need. “Spoken with intent or not, I fear I cannot stop the lust strangling my—”’
Eliza slapped her hand over his mouth. She didn’t dare glance back at Leticia and Santo. Chagrined, she closed her eyes and rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. In an instant, she lost herself in his familiar scent.
****
Lying abed, Eliza tucked in at his side, Leo knew contentment for the first time in his life. He’d been right about his wife. Losing himself within her, caressing everywhere his fingers roamed, abated his tension.
He intertwined her fingers with his, her pale skin a sunrise against his darkness. They were opposite in every way conceivable, yet Leo marveled at Eliza’s turn around regarding his character. She opened herself up, loving him, trapping him in her provocative web. Would she feel the same once she learns the castle is solely hers?
“Do you find something amiss with my hand?”
He glanced down at her perturbed mien then realized she had spoken in jest. No longer did she hide her hands or worry about their appearance. Her lashes fluttered becomingly. “No, amore mia, there is naught amiss.”
“Then why are you inspecting my hand as if it had grown a sixth finger?”
Leo released her hand and grinned at her directness. “Are you not curious about why the solicitor summoned me this morn? I dare say, he was not as soft or as beautiful as you.”
Her giggle stirred his emotions, which, of late, had pestered him relentlessly. How had he fallen in love with a woman he’d known for less than two weeks?
“I am, but I was informed I must take care how I speak to my husband and refrain from becoming a nagging wife.” Her fingertip traced the dark circle around his nipple, and his flesh quivered. He stilled her motion or he’d climb atop her again.
“You are not a nagging wife. That is good.”
“Do not get accustomed to it. My moods have been known to turn in an instant.”
“Fair warned.” Leo stole a kiss before he got on with his baffling news. “The solicitor found a second will.”
Eliza shot upright, dragging the counterpane with her. “Why did he ask for you and not the both of us?”
The swift mood change she had mentioned surfaced. She sat stiffly and tilted her head at an unpromising angle. He kept a frown at bay and shrugged. “Apparently, it was hidden beneath the document he brought here and read.”
Suspicion shadowed her gaze. “You believe him?”
“No, but then he said he was not wearing his glasses at the time.”
Eliza shook her head and questioned the finding. “What did it say?”
“He snapped it away before I could read it. He is returning to the castle on the morrow to reveal its contents.” Leo’s own superstitions left him cold and vacuous inside. He’d best beat back his wife’s ire before both lost their prickly tempers.
He closed his fingers around her upper arm and pulled her down. “We shall wait until the morrow. There is naught we can do now.” Her movements were wooden. His hand ventured around the edge of the counterpane and found the hot crater it sought. His lips caught hers at the same instant his finger thrust into her. It was all he needed to do to make Eliza agreeable. Her weakness turned into his weapon, not that he knew the secret to tempering her indignation. He had no qualms about using it, for this was the exact place he wanted to be.
****
Oblivious to the gawking people around him, Leo pulled his horse up short and leapt off its back. He stormed into the solicitor’s office and pinned the man with a murderous glare.
Signor Zamparini pressed into his chair back, as if trying to disappear into the leather. He kept a tight vigil on Leo’s eyes. His recent injuries prevented the rest of his face from moving.
“Why did you not come out to the castle this morn?” Leo’s agitation hardened his muscles. He was already winded from the relentless ride into town, and he was certain the solicitor understood the threat in his demeanor.
“I-I…” He gulped. “P-pardon my…absence, Signor Da Mitri.” Fresh blood pooled in his cut lip. He wiped it away with the back of his fingers, smearing blood over his cheek.
Leo shifted his stance, his impatience and ire burning his throat. “Speak, man.”
“Per piacere, signore. I was detained.”
“Why did you not send your assistant?”
“I have…dismissed him. He…” He glanced away. “He was lazy.”
Leo frowned at the outright lie and cursed the man’s spineless nature. He kicked the desk, regaining the solicitor’s attention. “Get the will.”
“I cannot.”
Reaching beyond the desk, Leo yanked the solicitor out of his chair and pulled him halfway across the desk. “Get…the…will.”
Signor Zamparini’s gaze flicked over Leo’s shoulder. His fear visibly escalated. Leo shook him, but he whimpered and tried to pull away. Just as Leo was about to speak, something pierced the back of his shoulder, knocking him forward. Forced to release the solicitor, he leaned his palms on the desk, holding his weight under the burning hot pain spreading through his shoulder. He glanced back at the man, the sword in his hand dripping with Leo’s blood.
“Bastardo.” Leo gritted his teeth and faced the Englishman. He hid his astonishment at seeing Camden, but he wasn’t surprised the coward stabbed him in the back instead of giving him the chance to defend himself.
Madness and gloating converged in Camden’s eyes. Leo closed his hand around the hilt of his dagger. The weapon never cleared its sheath. The damn English cur lunged and stabbed Leo in his chest. As he fought to remain on his feet, he relied on the desk to hold him upright. “Why?”
“Did you really think I would lose Eliza without a fight?”
Leo swayed. The light streaming through the windows began to dim. He cleared his throat and felt the blood draining from his wounds. “She followed the marchese’s request…else she would forfeit the castle.”
“A very minor detail to overcome. You see, once you have taken your last breath, Eliza will become a widow. I shall have to console and care for her in her time of grief. After we are married, what belonged to the marchese will be all mine. Of course, I am not a callous man. She will be allowed the proper amount of time to mourn.” His smug expression sickened Leo. “I think two weeks should be sufficient. Do you not agree?”
Leo staggered forward. “She will never…marry…” His breath sputtered out. He was losing the battle between life and death. Grayness closed in on his vision. “Never marry you.”
The bastard’s evil smirk pierced Leo as sharply as his blade.
“Good day, Signor Da Mitri.”
The next stab dropped Leo to his knees. As he tipped forward, the memory of Eliza spread through his mind and his heart.
He collapsed into darkness.
Chapter 10
As he headed to town, an alarming sense of death rode upon Santo’s shoulders. When Leo hadn’t returned to the castle two hours after riding out, he feared his friend had run into trouble and couldn’t send for help.
Santo dismounted and rushed into the solicitor’s office. He halted in his tracks. “Madre di Dio,” he whispered then crossed himself, thinking his prayers would reach God much quicker. He dropped to his knees, knowing not what to do first.
Leo lay on his stomach, his arms stretched out and blood pooled around his upper body. The slice on his back just above his right shoulder blade trickled with blood, a good p
ortion having already poured out. Slowly and carefully, he turned Leo onto his back.
“Dio mio.”
Another slice lay open his upper chest, deeper than the other, yet thanks be to God, it missed his heart. One more pierced his left shoulder. The bastard solicitor murdered Leo. Santo swept the room with a guarded eye, stopping suddenly on the solicitor’s body. The blade penetrated his heart, Santo was certain. Naught he could do for the man now.
Santo pressed two fingers to a vein in Leo’s warm neck and found a faint beating. “Amico, open your eyes.” He tapped Leo’s cheek, beseeching God to have mercy on him. Without a reassuring response, he tapped him again and waited anxiously. His chest constricted with sorrow for Leo’s suffering.
Then Santo heard a soft moan. Leo’s eyelids twitched. Thanks be to their savior, he was alive. Leo was slow to partially open his eyes. His breath hitched, forcing a thin river of blood from his wounds. Another moan drifted past his loosely parted lips.
“Santo.” Speaking drained Leo. “Eliza—”
“Do not worry about the girl. She is safe. Who did this to you?”
Leo swallowed with difficulty. His throat had gone bone dry. But there was just enough moisture left on his tongue to wet his lips. “Camden.”
“The Englishman?” Shock roughened Santo’s voice.
“Sì.” Weakened by the loss of blood, Leo spoke in a gasping whisper. “He means to…marry…Eliza.”
“He tried to kill you solely to get you out of the girl’s life?”
Leo released a pitiful moan.
“His scheme went awry, for he did not mean to leave you alive, I am certain.” Santo rose. “I shall fetch the medico.”
Leo gripped Santo’s ankle with his last remaining strength. “There is more.” His breath stuttered. His body had numbed long ago, but his heart ached for the torment Camden would soon reap upon Eliza.
“I will fetch the medico first.”
“No. If I die—”
“You will if you do not let me go.”
“The second will…” Leo closed his eyes to gather the myriad of thoughts clamoring inside his head. “Camden forced the solicitor…” He rewet his lips. “…to write a new one. The entire inheritance…will go to Eliza.”
“That rotten spawn of the devil,” Santo spat. “He plans to marry Eliza to claim all that belonged to the marchese.”
“Help Eliza.”
“I will, amico, after I go for the medico.”
Leo swallowed his fear that they may be too late to save his wife from the murderous Englishman. “Hurry.”
****
The solar was the perfect place for Eliza to rest and read. Since Leo’s hasty departure this morn, she’d busied herself with laying clean sheets on their bed and sweeping the floor. She even scented the air with lavender sprigs she’d picked from the revived herb garden. Newfound joy surrounded her heart. She discovered marriage wasn’t so bad after all. In fact, she took pleasure in observing Leo. He moved with confidence and an air of importance. It wasn’t arrogance as she had first thought. She hugged herself, bringing back the cozy warmth she’d felt lying in his arms. He was tender, considerate, and when he was inside of her—
Eliza choked on a swallow and blushed hotly. She chastised herself once again for having improper thoughts about Leo. She shouldn’t become lost in his amorous embrace or his stirring kisses. She sighed and a new understanding flourished over the reason he invaded her head every minute of the day. Her husband taught her a valuable lesson. A noble and a commoner weren’t so different. She had become a noble snob, much like the other women in her social circle. The kind of person she promised herself she’d never become. But she’d failed. If not for Leo, she might have lost sight of the good person within her, not some uppity female who demanded to be pampered.
She looked up as Leticia entered the room. Eliza was grateful Leo relented and allowed her to stay. But the distress on her maidservant’s face disturbed Eliza. Her first thought was for Eduardo. He had fallen and hit his head on the stone hearth last eve. Leticia found him on the floor early this morn. “What is it, Letty?”
“I know not how to say this but straightforward.” She inhaled. “Lord Camden has returned.”
Eliza placed her hand over her heart, its rapid beating making her acutely aware her anxiety returned with a vengeance. “But he is in England.”
“No, milady. He is awaiting you in the great hall.”
Eliza pleaded with God that it was a bad dream. To her dismay, Letty’s grim expression bespoke the truth. She nodded absently and moved through the solar. The level of her anguish filled her shoes with river sludge. She dragged her feet while trying to determine the reason for Geoffrey’s return. When she reached the hall, she supported her courage with a deep breath and entered.
A huge smile curved the corners of Geoffrey’s lips upward. His broken nose hadn’t yet healed, but the swelling went down and the deep black and purple beneath his eyes were almost faded.
“My darling Eliza. I am so happy to see you again.” He was overly pleasant, and the eloquence in his speech sickened her stomach.
The rebellious tilt of her chin lifted her confidence in dealing with her one-time fiancé. “I cannot say the same for you, Geoffrey. Why have you come back?”
He stepped closer. Eliza retreated.
“Come now, Eliza. You must be happy to see me again.”
“What are you doing here?” Her mind was as numb as her words were icy.
“I came straightaway when I heard the tragic news.” He feigned distress, and a chill skittered down her spine.
“What tragic news?”
“Oh, my darling—” He closed the gap, his arms extended to comfort her in his embrace. Eliza pushed him away.
“You could not have received this tragic news and returned to Italy so quickly.” She cocked her head and held onto her suspicions.
“I never left.”
Stunned, Eliza struggled to speak.
“You see, my love, I was terribly concerned for your safety. The people in Italy have little regard for propriety. I truly feared your forced marriage to that barbarian.”
“Leonardo is not—”
“Alas, I have no need to worry.”
A stronger suspicion cast a cruel twist in her gut. “My husband will return—” The shake of his head pierced her heart. “What is your tragic news?” she demanded.
“More is the pity that I must inform you that you are now a widow.”
Eliza’s heart ceased beating. “No, you were misinformed.” Dio, he had to be wrong, but his gloating dashed her hope that Leonardo was alive.
“I paid the solicitor a visit this morn and discovered he and your husband dead, cut dreadfully by a sword. Because the murderer fled, my first thought was for your well-being. If only I had not been the one to inform you…”
Eliza’s head cleared when she realized an inaccuracy in his story. “You walked into the solicitor’s office and saw Leonardo and Signor Zamparini? I thought you said you heard about the tragic news.”
Geoffrey covered his mistake the only way he knew how—with another lie. “I hoped to lessen your pain by telling you I had heard the news, not seen your husband with my own eyes.”
Torn between skepticism and fear, Eliza’s mind raced. Leonardo couldn’t be dead. He was her husband, her lover. New insight struck her like the sting from a slap. She had lost her heart to Leonardo, and now he’d never know she truly loved him.
“I must see Leonardo.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks, and Geoffrey became a blur.
“I would advise against that, Eliza. Your husband was brutally stabbed. Faith, his life’s blood was spread on the floor around his lifeless body.”
Eliza shook her head, denying Geoffrey’s claim. “I care not. I want to see him.”
Geoffrey tugged a rolled parchment from his doublet. “I found this second will on the solicitor’s desk. It appears you are the sole benefactor of the marchese.”
/> “Impossible.”
“See for yourself.”
Eliza snatched the will from his hand, hers trembling as she unrolled it and read. She shouldn’t have taken Leonardo’s revelation about a second will lightly. “How can this be?”
“The solicitor overlooked it when he retrieved the first will. Apparently this one was resting beneath it, but the man was not wearing—”
“Yes, I know. My husband told me the same last night. But the solicitor would have known. He drew up the first will for the marchese.”
From the opposite end of the hall, Eduardo entered, his slow gait a strain. Sorrow for his suffering seeped into Eliza’s heart. He had received a nasty bump on his head and should not be out of bed this soon.
“Do not listen to him, Lady Eliza.” Eduardo’s gruff voice drew Geoffrey’s perturbed scorn.
“You, a mere servant, dare tell the lady what to do?”
Eliza ignored Geoffrey and wiped her eyes. “Why is that, Eduardo?” She stepped back a few more paces.
“Marchese Calendri requested only one will from Signor Zamparini.”
“Do not listen to him,” Desperation heightened Geoffrey’s voice. “The marchese would never divulge his affairs to a mere servant.”
“I witnessed him signing the document.” As Eduardo approached, Eliza created more distance between her and Geoffrey. She was certain now that something wasn’t right.
“Marchese Calendri’s reasons for leaving everything he owned to you and Signor Da Mitri was not a mistake. He knew your mother as well as the signore’s.”
“Quit your babbling, old man, and be gone,” Geoffrey snapped.
“No, I want to hear what he has to say.”
Santo rushed into the hall, his sword drawn. “Move away from the lady, Camden,” he ordered, his gaze focused maliciously on Geoffrey.
Confusion reigned. Eliza couldn’t begin to imagine the levity of what the three men were about.
“He is lying, signora.” Santo stepped forward, his sword aimed at Geoffrey’s heart. “The second will is false. He forced the solicitor to write another one and threatened his life if he did not comply.”
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