A Return of the Wicked Earl

by Sadie Bosque

  Annalise took a deep breath and continued on her way.

  Her foot gave off a dull ache as she continued limping farther away from her captors. She heard a crunch behind her and stilled. Another crunch. Someone was following her. Annalise took a few deep breaths and dashed forward. She ran, panting, her skirts in her hands, her hair in her eyes, but she didn’t dare look behind her.

  She was vulnerable out in the open. She needed shelter. Just as she thought it, a tall, dark, half-finished building appeared before her. This would have to do.

  She picked up her skirts again to race up the steps, but at that moment, someone yanked her hard by her hair. A scream ripped out of her throat.

  “Where do you think you are going, pet?” a dry, unpleasant voice said in her ear.

  Chapter 21

  Blake ran out of the house and looked around, Annalise’s slipper in one hand, the thug’s dagger in another. How in the devil would he be able to choose the right direction? Annalise could have gone anywhere, and the thug was on her heels.

  An ear-splitting scream sounded at that moment, and Blake dashed toward it on instinct. His chest burned, and his breathing was shallow, but he couldn’t think about it now. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but Annalise.

  When he finally reached the scene of a struggle, what he saw made his blood run cold. A burly bandit was dragging a thrashing Annalise by her hair.

  With a growl, Blake rushed and knocked the thug off his feet. The bandit let go of Annalise and fell to the ground.

  Annalise scrambled to a sitting position and propped her back against the building, her eyes wild.

  Blake unsheathed the dagger and attacked the thug. The latter rolled off just in time, evading the blow, and Blake fell to his knees. Blake collected himself and scrambled to a standing position, wheezing with every breath. The thug stood and faced Blake. He was tall and broad-shouldered, like the others, but he was better dressed and groomed. His face, however, had a fresh scratch on it, and his eye was half-open on the injured side.

  “Blake.” His name was a prayer on Annalise’s lips.

  “Payne,” the thug said. “So you are the toff who gave us all the trouble. Well, the trouble ends now.”

  The bandit flew toward Blake, swinging punches. Blake lost the dagger but managed to block some hits. Blake threw a punch and landed a solid blow to the thug’s freshly scratched eye. It broke the skin, and blood started dripping slowly down his face. Instead of grimacing in pain, the bandit smiled widely and renewed his attack. One of his blows managed to hit Blake hard in the nose. Blake staggered back, his eyes shut on impact, and stars appeared in his vision, while a sharp pain originated at the bridge of his nose. Blake wiped the blood and opened his eyes.

  The thug was already kneeling over Annalise, but before he could grab her, Annalise took a handful of dirt and threw it into his eyes.

  The thug cursed, trying to clear his eyes in vain. The dirt mixed with his blood stuck to his face. Blake picked up his dagger, walked over, and hit him as hard as he could in the eye with his fist.

  The thug dropped to the ground with a grunt. Blake stood over him, his breathing shallow, his nose bleeding, and his chest burning. He clutched the dagger tightly in his hand, preparing to swing. This lowly thug didn’t deserve to live.

  “Blake.” Annalise’s soft voice distracted him from his dark thoughts.

  He turned to her, and nothing else mattered at that moment. Annalise was alive and well. She was beside him, if not for long. He slowly walked toward her and helped her up. She limped as she stood and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him close.

  His ribs burned, but he didn’t care. He inhaled Annalise’s dear scent and ran his hands through her hair.

  “Are you all right, my darling?” he whispered.

  “I am now,” she whispered back.

  Sobs shook her body as Annalise cried in Blake’s arms. He crooned soothing nonsense in her ear, the rest of the world disappearing. She finally disengaged from him and wiped at her teary cheeks.

  “Your nose is bleeding,” she said in choked laughter.

  Blake took out a handkerchief from his pocket and placed it against his nose. “And this is funny, because?”

  Annalise let out another chuckle. “Apologies. It isn’t. I don’t know why I am laughing.”

  Blake tsked. “I suppose I deserve to suffer, don’t you think?”

  Annalise gave him a soft smile and shook her head.

  “My friends, Ford the thief-taker and St. John, are here. We’ve apprehended the other bandits and should probably find something to tie this one with.”

  He turned, only to see that there was no one there. The bandit had escaped. Annalise peeked over Blake’s shoulder and frowned at the empty place.

  “He’s gone,” she breathed.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Blake turned back to Annalise and brushed the locks of her hair away from her face. He tried to convince himself of the same thing. They’d figure it out later. At the moment, he needed to take his bedraggled wife home. “Come. There’s a carriage waiting for us not too far away from here.”

  Annalise took a step and yelped in pain.

  “What is wrong?”

  “My foot. I lost my slipper, and I stepped on something. My foot aches.”

  “Show me.”

  Annalise shook her head. “I wrapped it with a piece of my petticoat. I lost my slipper along the way—”

  “I know. I found it but ended up losing it again during the fight.” He looked around.

  “It doesn’t matter, I shan’t be able to wear it, but how did you find it? How did you find me?”

  Blake cupped her cold cheek in his hand. “I shall always find you, darling.”

  Annalise leaned into the touch, her eyes wet with tears. “I thought I’d never see you again,” she said hoarsely.

  “I know, my sweet. Me too.” He hugged her tighter.

  “Who are those people? What did they want?”

  Blake swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. “They came for me,” he said with a gravelly voice. “They came for me, my darling. They wanted me to stop the manhunt. I’ve been looking for my captors ever since I docked back in England. These thugs were the ones who kept me imprisoned. Only they were hired goons. Someone else sent them after me. The same someone who now wanted to silence them. They captured you to demand ransom so they could leave England. I am sorry.”

  “It isn’t your fault,” she said softly.

  Of course, it is. Blake didn’t want to argue the point. “Let us go. You’re getting cold.” He took Annalise’s hands and warmed them between his.

  “It hurts to step on my foot,” Annalise said with an apologetic smile. “Perhaps if we walk slowly—”

  “Not to worry, darling, I shall carry you.”

  “You don’t have to. I can limp—”

  But Blake had already bent his knees, squatting before her. He took her right arm and slung her across his shoulders. Annalise yelped as she landed with her torso on top of his shoulders, her legs dangling. Blake straightened with a grunt and moved toward the bandit hideout, his chest burning with every step.

  They walked in silence because Blake could barely breathe, much less speak. He supposed Annalise wasn’t all too comfortable speaking upside down, either.

  When they finally reached the hideout, there were horses tied outside.

  He entered the building and gently sat Annalise on the floor. Ford’s associates were there, carrying an unconscious Ford out of the house.

  Jarvis came closer to Blake as he noticed them. “My lady,” he addressed Annalise. “I am happy to see you are well.”

  “Thank you.”

  He turned to Blake then. “The thief-takers will take care of Ford, but he is in poor condition.” Jarvis didn’t look well himself. He was holding a cloth to his shoulder, and his forehead glistened with sweat. “They need the carriage. I shall help them convey the other thugs. Can you two ride?”


  Blake shook his head. He didn’t think he’d be able to stand for long, much less walk or ride.

  “Well, there’s room for one of you in the carriage. You don’t look too good. Perhaps you should go with Ford, and Lady Payne will ride—”

  “No,” Blake interrupted swiftly. “I just got her back. I am not leaving her.”

  “Blake, it’s the only reasonable—”

  “No,” Blake interrupted once more. Firmer this time. There was no way he was letting Annalise out of his sight again.

  “Well, can you wait? I can send for my carriage, but it’ll take some time.”

  “Yes, waiting is splendid,” Blake muttered and slowly sat beside Annalise against the wall.

  Jarvis looked at him, worry creasing his brow. “I shall leave one of the men to guard you, but”—he took out a musket and handed it to Annalise—“if anything happens, shoot.”

  “I’ll whistle,” Blake said with a smirk.

  “Whom should I shoot?” Annalise looked at the musket in panic.

  “Whoever walks through that door. Except for my driver. He will be wearing blue livery.”

  As the room cleared, Blake felt the strength leave him. He leaned against the wall heavier, soaking in the reassuring heat from Annalise’s side.

  “Blake, are you all right?” Annalise’s voice was filled with worry.

  “I am all right, darling,” he whispered and took her hand in his. “Tell me something.”

  “What?”

  “Anything, I just want to hear your voice.”

  Annalise squeezed his hand in hers. She paused in thought. “Do you remember that time you asked me about my most fervent wishes?” she asked finally.

  “Yes.” Blake’s voice was hoarse. It was getting more difficult to speak.

  “Well, when I was a little child, I made a wish upon a full moon. I wished for a prince. My own prince who would carry me around in his arms so that I wouldn’t have to dirty my slippers.” She let out a chuckle, and Blake smiled.

  “Will an earl do?”

  “The one who carries me, so I don’t have to step on my injured foot? Very much.”

  There was a beat of silence. “When I came back from my capture, I thought for the longest time that the darkness was my deepest fear. I’ve been too long in the dark, and I don’t want to go back. I had trouble sleeping because of my fear. But today has proved that my true greatest fear is losing you.”

  Annalise gave his hand another squeeze.

  “However, if I let you go from the start, if I let you go when I had just come back… You’d be in Sussex now, or perhaps even in Italy. You’d be safe.”

  “I would rather be here,” Annalise said softly. “With you.”

  “Don’t just say that.” His voice was a whisper. Blake coughed, and his chest felt like it would burst.

  “Blake, perhaps you shouldn’t try to speak… I think something is wrong. We should wait for a doctor—”

  “I’ve had worse. A lot worse, my darling. And that’s why I didn’t want to tell you what I went through during my absent months.” He paused, his breath wheezing out with every exhale. “I was beaten, starved, whipped… and worse,” he said hoarsely. “To the point that I didn’t want to live anymore. But I knew I had to. Because I couldn’t die without seeing your face one more time. You saved me.”

  “Did they keep you here all that time?”

  “No, darling. It was much worse. They sold me to a slave ship.”

  Annalise gasped. “Blake—”

  “I spent months there working from dawn to nightfall. The things I witnessed, the things they did to me are too gruesome.” He coughed, his breathing becoming labored.

  Annalise raised her eyes to his. “Why didn’t you tell me all this before?”

  “Because I didn’t want you to stay with me out of pity. Because I didn’t want you to know the disgrace I came to. Because I didn’t want you to know how terrible life can be. I wanted to shield you from it all….”

  “I’d rather you had shared this with me from the start. It would have helped me understand you so much better. All this time, I thought you didn’t trust me—”

  “Well, I did put your name on the list… But I was an idiot. And it is a diagnosis unlikely to go away any time soon,” he said with a sad smile. “I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you. I love you too much. All I wanted was to protect you from hurt. Well, I’ve failed you miserably and ruined our marriage in the process. The truth is there is nothing more important to me than you. Not even my life. Because you’re the reason I am still breathing.” He coughed again. “Even if it hurts.”

  “Blake.” Annalise’s voice sounded far away. He raised his eyes to her. “Blake,” she repeated, her eyes wide and frightened, and that was the last thing Blake saw before everything went dark.

  * * *

  Cool fingers swept against his forehead.

  Finally, that dream again. It seemed he hadn’t dreamed of her in forever. He’d missed those dreams. Her tender touch. So gentle and soft. He yearned to feel more of her. Not just her fingers against his forehead, but perhaps her hand against his cheek. Her lips on his…

  Her touch left him, and he wanted to scream for it to return. No! Not in my dreams. Don’t take her away from me! This dream is all I have left because she left me.

  She had left him. Again. He was left alone and confused in his empty townhouse, his heart bleeding. All because he was a selfish arse.

  No. Reality had no place in his dreams.

  In his dreams, Annalise was by his side, tenderly taking care of him. Her fingers traced a path against his cheek, then caressed his lips, leaving a tingly sensation in their wake.

  The scent of lavender made its way to his senses. Her dear scent.

  “Wake up, darling.” Her lovely voice.

  Wait… That had never happened before. He’d never heard her voice in his dreams. Was it still a dream?

  Blake reached for her hand hovering above his face and took it in his.

  Her soft skin beneath his fingers felt like the most precious of silks. He ran his fingers over hers, then brought them to his lips and kissed them. His lips were dry and scratchy, but her cool fingers felt like a balm.

  “Blake?” Her voice penetrated his foggy dream-like state.

  He opened his eyes and beheld her lovely face. “I love you,” he croaked out.

  Annalise pursed her lips against the smile that threatened to break out. “You are awake.”

  “Yes,” he croaked. “I am awake, and I shall not stop telling you and showing you just how much I love you as long as I am awake.”

  Annalise smiled and ran her fingers against his lips again. “Your lips are dry. Here, have some water.”

  Blake took a glass in his hand and had a few sips. He handed her the glass back and struggled to sit up, his entire torso screaming in pain. Annalise helped readjust his pillows.

  Her face was too close to his. He wanted to lean forward and capture her mouth with his. Annalise leaned back and straightened in her seat.

  Blake took her hands in his. “I love you.”

  She grinned. “You keep saying that.”

  “Twice is not enough.”

  “No.” She shook her head, still smiling. “I don’t mean now. When we brought you home, the doctor looked you over. You were in horrible pain, so he doused you with laudanum. You’ve been sleeping for three days. But every time you woke up, the first words out of your mouth were always I love you.”

  Blake frowned. “Three days?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ve been watching over me for three days?”

  “Well, me and Miss Gale alternated shifts.”

  “Where is that spawn of the devil?”

  Annalise let out a chuckle. “Don’t call her that. She saved us.”

  “She did?”

  “Yes.” Annalise nodded. “That scratch over the bandit’s eye—the one that helped us defeat him. She did that.”
/>   Blake raised a brow. “She was protecting you. I suppose I owe her an apology and gratitude. Well, where is she?”

  “We had to keep her away from your room because she kept jumping onto your bed with the full intention of lying on your broken ribs. I think she wants to heal you. But the doctor said to keep your ribs bound and to not touch them, so she had to go.”

  “I have broken ribs?” Blake grimaced. So that’s what that burning pain in his chest was.

  “Yes.”

  Blake expelled a painful breath. “Thank you for watching over me.”

  “You don’t have to thank me.”

  “Yes, I do. I’ve never done anything for you to be so good to me.”

  “Well, you did save my life.”

  “After putting you in peril.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” she said gently.

  “If I wasn’t a selfish arse, you wouldn’t have left. And none of that would have happened.”

  “You can’t know that.”

  Blake shook his head. “All I wanted to do was spare you the pain. Instead, you’ve had a peek at my gruesome past. But trust me when I say the rest is worse.”

  “Blake.” Annalise squeezed his hands. “I never expected there not to be any hardship. I know what you went through was awful. I’ve seen your scars. I just wanted you to share your problems with me. All I ever wanted was a true family. I have never had one. My parents barely talk to each other; they never cared about me. I was always alone, with nobody to rely on. I wanted our marriage to be different. The fact that you wouldn’t speak of your past hurt me, but it didn’t hurt as much as your lack of interest in my affairs.”

  “My darling, wife. Perhaps I have been selfish. But only because I was so embarrassed with the way I left things: you and me at discord, the estate struggling, you uncared for. I felt helpless and powerless thinking about it. I just wanted to move on. I wanted to forget the past, and I never took into consideration what you wanted. I never imagined you had far darker memories of your own.” He brought her hands to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I want you to always be able to share your thoughts, your joy, and sorrow with me….” He cleared his throat. “If that is something you still want.”