by Aston, Alexa
Matron raised the knife in her hand and, instinctively, Anna brought her hands to her belly, shielding it.
“I will give you coin to help tide you over until you find another position,” she said.
“Money? You offer me money?” Matron shrieked. Then an evil smile settled about her lips. “I want much more than money, dearie. I want your life. Yours—and your child’s.”
*
Dez closed the ledger and rubbed his eyes. He had enough of numbers today.
What he needed was Anna time.
His love for his lovely wife had only grown stronger since their wedding ceremony. He had loved Anna with boyish devotion throughout their childhood and mourned her loss as an adult. When he had discovered she was alive, it was as if the still-burning ember inside him ignited, fanning the flames of love and desire until they engulfed him. Now that she carried their child, he felt his love multiplying daily and couldn’t wait for its birth, when they would become a family of three.
He rose from his desk and decided to look for Anna. He would probably find her digging in her garden or at the stables with Daisy. She loved the freedom of being outside. Dez grinned. He would suggest that she was dirty and chilled from being outdoors and that a hot bath would be the best cure. Naturally, he would join her in it and then they could spend the afternoon in their bedchamber as he made sweet love to her.
Leaving his study, he passed a maid and asked, “Have you seen Lady Torrington?”
“Not for an hour or so, my lord. She was with Mrs. Abbott.”
“Thank you.”
He made his way through the house and located the housekeeper, inquiring where his countess might be.
“She went to visit Mrs. Milken, my lord. Took her a basket of food.”
Dez remembered the woman had given birth a few days ago.
“Thank you, Mrs. Abbott.”
He headed to the kitchens and had Cook prepare a basket with bread, cheese, and wine. If Anna was out walking, she would have worked up an appetite. He would meet her and they could stop at their cottage for a few hours of love play.
Once out the door, he noticed the wind had picked up. The previous few days had seen warm afternoons, while the nights were cool. It seemed today was the day the tide changed and autumn had arrived in full force. He worried, hoping his wife had taken a shawl with her. Dez decided to detour to the cottage and leave the basket there. He would bring in some firewood and place it upon the hearth so it would be ready to light when they arrived. Stopping would be a nice surprise for Anna and offer her a respite before they continued on to Torville Manor.
As he arrived in the clearing, he noticed the door to the cottage stood wide open. He chided himself for not having secured the door after their last sojourn there and hoped no animal had gotten inside and torn up the place. Reaching the cottage, he stepped inside and was startled to find two figures before him. One, a large woman, had her back to him. Beyond her stood Anna, her face white with fear.
“I want your life. Yours—and your child’s.”
Dez recognized the voice of Matron, the woman in charge of the patients at Gollingham. He dropped the basket and sprang forward as the woman lunged at Anna.
His wife was prepared, though, and as she leaped to the side, she yanked something over her head and swung a strap over the hand that held a knife. Anna jerked hard and the force caused Matron to drop the blade.
Dez grabbed the attacker from behind, pinning her arms back as the large woman struggled against him.
“Get the knife, Anna,!” he shouted hoarsely.
She swept it from the floor, gripping the hilt, her breathing rapid.
“Get a bedsheet,” he instructed calmly.
Anna hurried from the room, returning quickly with a bedsheet. He had her tear it into strips and as he held Matron, he had Anna secure the first one around the woman’s ankles.
“Tie it firmly. Use strong knots.”
Matron cursed loudly, language Dez hadn’t even heard used in the army by the coarsest of soldiers.
“Bring another strip,” he told his wife as he slid his hands from grasping Matron’s elbows down to her wrists, holding them together as Anna bound them as she had Matron’s ankles.
“Another strip for good measure,” he suggested and Anna complied.
Their prisoner was now thoroughly restrained, though she shrieked as if he had stabbed her several times with the knife she had brought. He shuddered, thinking of what might have happened to Anna and shoved all thought of it from his mind, else he might murder Matron.
Taking another piece of the bedsheet, he used it to gag the woman, muffling her shouts and the torrent of curses.
“We must go for the magistrate,” he said. “She meant to kill you.”
“Secure her to a chair,” Anna suggested. “I fear if someone comes along, they might free her. Better yet, I will stay with her.”
The thought horrified him. “I won’t leave you with her, Anna.”
She placed a hand on his forearm. “I will make sure she goes nowhere.” Glancing to Matron, she added, “I will show her the mercy she never showed me.”
He gripped her shoulders. “Are you certain, my love?”
“I will be fine. Fasten her to a chair and then be quick.”
Dez did as she asked, dragging Matron to a chair and using additional bits of the torn bedsheet to fasten her to it. The woman growled beneath her gag, her eyes bulging and furious.
He took Anna’s hand and led her outside, where he enfolded her in his arms. She clung to him, tears now coming. He kissed them away and then searched her face.
“I could have lost you. And our babe.”
“But you didn’t,” she said. “Go, Dez. I am fine. I will even sit out on the porch so I don’t have to look at her.”
“I’ll be quick as I can.” He kissed her hard. “Oh, Anna, I do love you so.”
Her sky-blue eyes gazed upon him with so much love, he felt it fill him and spill over.
“I love you, my precious husband. I always will.” She kissed him. “Go and bring the magistrate back so that we can close this ugly chapter forever.”
Dez cradled her cheek. “I will be back before you know it.”
Epilogue
Four months later . . .
Dez tried to focus on his correspondence and gave up, pushing it away. He hadn’t seen Anna or the baby in close to two hours and needed to remedy that.
Their lives had changed radically in the week since their son’s arrival. It amazed him how full of love his heart was in an instant, the moment he saw the perfect little person they had made together. He was endlessly fascinated by his son’s tiny fingers and toes and though he knew it was impossible, he knew Charlie smiled anytime he or Anna talked to him.
A knock sounded on his study door and he replied, “Come.”
Johnson entered bearing a silver tray.
“A messenger has arrived from Gillingham,” the butler said.
Dez lifted the parchment from the tray. “See that he has something to eat and tell him to wait.”
The clocked chimed three and he added, “No, tell him he will be staying overnight and can leave first thing in the morning. It is already too late for him to start out and, this way, I can take my time and compose a reply to my sister by then.”
“Very good, my lord.”
He stood and stretched, deciding to take the letter upstairs so he and Anna could read it together. He found her in the small parlor she had been drawn to, sitting before a cheery fire.
“And how are my two favorite people faring?” he asked.
“The same as we were when you asked two hours ago,” she said, smiling sweetly and lifting her face for his kiss.
He sat beside her. “May I?”
She handed the baby over and love once again blossomed deep within him. He kissed Charlie’s head and sighed.
“Were two parents ever as besotted with their child as we are?” he asked.
&nbs
p; “I doubt it,” she replied playfully. “What’s that?”
He passed the letter to her. “It just came from Dalinda. Why don’t you read it aloud?”
Anna broke the seal and began to read:
My dearest Dez and Anna –
I received your note that your baby has come and I know your joy knows no end that he is here and healthy. I can still remember when Arthur first arrived and how I thought my heart would burst from pride and love every time I gazed down upon him. I will admit that I worried once I discovered I was with child again because I just didn’t think it possible to love another baby as much as I did Arthur.
Then Harry showed up, his own little person, so very different from his brother—and I learned a lesson all parents do—that the love in your heart isn’t limited. It merely magnifies and grows larger and larger each time a new child appears. You will be the same and I do hope you will have many, many children.
I must share a bit of sad news. My heart is heavy because Gilford is no more. It was a long time coming and I thought I had prepared myself, but I still am quite sad at his loss. We held his funeral the day I received your joyous note. I did not send word of his death to you earlier because I did not want Dez torn between coming to comfort me and missing the birth of his first child. He needed to be with you, Anna, as you become a family.
Reid has arrived at Gillingham and taken up the title. The boys are a little wary of him, coming in and taking charge the way he has. Being a military man and officer, I know it is natural for him to do so. Quite frankly, I am relieved that he is here to make decisions that are rightfully his. It looks as if he will be a good influence on my boys, though, and is thinking of placing Arthur and Harry at a local school.
I do love and miss you both. Once the boys are settled at Dunwood Academy, I would like to come and meet my new nephew and spend time together. I will let you know more of my plans once I know Harry and Arthur are established.
All my love,
Dalinda
Anna folded the letter and set it on a table. “Poor Dalinda.”
“I know,” Dez said. “She did have some good years with Gilford. At least she has Arthur and Harry. Her stepson taking over will be a huge relief.”
“She is young,” his wife pointed out. “I wonder if she would ever consider marrying again.”
“Perhaps. I do hope she will come to see us soon. I know she sounds strong in her letter but I believe she needs us even more than she herself knows.”
Charlie began to fuss and Dez told his son, “I do believe it is time for your nap.”
Anna kissed the infant’s head. “I’ll see to tea while you get him settled.”
He took his boy upstairs to the nursery and handed him over to Nanny. She began rocking him, rubbing his back, making soothing noises. Dez waited until Charlie quieted and then went to the drawing room, where the teacart sat.
“This came for you,” his wife said, handing him a letter. “Read it while I make you a plate.”
Recognizing the handwriting, he said, “It’s from Rhys.” He broke the seal, quickly reading the few lines written on the page.
“I cannot wait to meet Colonel Armistead someday,” Anna said. “You have had such good things to say about him. I hope this war will end soon.”
Dez glanced up. “You will meet him shortly. Rhys has returned to England. His cousin has always been sickly. He writes to tell me he is the new Earl of Sheffington—and he wants to pay us a visit.”
“Why, that is marvelous,” she exclaimed. “I suppose I will get my wish to meet him sooner than I expected.”
Anna handed him his plate and they spent the next hour talking of Rhys and what his return to England would mean.
“I know Rhys hadn’t heard from Lord Sheffington since he joined the army at eighteen so it must have been quite a surprise for him to learn he is now the earl.”
She touched his sleeve. “You never thought you would be the Earl of Torrington yet look what a marvelous job you are doing. You will have to help your friend, Dez. Just as Dalinda needs us, so will Rhys.”
Setting her saucer down, she said, “Shall we go and see Charlie now?”
Dez took Anna’s hand in his, drawing warmth and strength from the simple contact, and led her upstairs to the nursery. They slipped inside and Nanny rose from her rocker.
“Lord Charles is still fast asleep,” she reported. “I’ll give you a few minutes alone with him but then he’ll need to wake and feed.”
They went to the crib and gazed down at their son.
“He’s our little miracle,” Anna said. “A physical manifestation of our love for one another.”
Dez slipped his arm about his wife’s waist. “Our story started in innocence and turned to heartbreak yet we found our way back to one another. My love for you grows stronger each day, Anna. Charlie only adds to our blessings.”
He bent and kissed his son’s head and then he gazed at Anna, his heart bursting with love.
“Have I told you today how much I love you, my dearest?”
She smiled. “Once or twice, I believe. But I have always believed actions speak louder than words.”
With a hearty laugh, Dez’s lips touched hers.
THE END
About the Author
Award-winning and international bestselling author Alexa Aston’s historical romances use history as a backdrop to place her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire for one another grows into the treasured gift of love.
She is the author of Medieval and Regency romance, including The Knights of Honor, The King’s Cousins, The St Clairs, and The de Wolfes of Esterley Castle.
A native Texan, Alexa lives with her husband in a Dallas suburb, where she eats her fair share of dark chocolate and plots out stories while she walks every morning. She enjoys reading, Netflix binge-watching, and can’t get enough of Survivor, The Crown, or Game of Thrones.
Website
Newsletter Sign-Up
Facebook
Twitter
Email
BookBub
Amazon Author Page
Goodreads Author Page
