Legends of Havenwood Falls 2

by Belinda Boring

  “I wanted to wish him good night. I remember you told me that such simple things might work in softening his attitude toward me.”

  Knox had told her that? How often did she come to him? Questions flurried around inside my head, each one left unanswered. Part of me knew I could barge in and demand the information I wanted, but it was a wiser part that urged for me to remain hidden. Sometimes the things you seek can only be revealed through being still and silent.

  “And?” There was a hint of concern in that one word. I didn’t blame him. I knew who I was and how others saw me. No amount of counsel had managed to tame my rough edges. I’d assumed he’d given up trying.

  There was silence before she quietly answered. “I was a coward. I left before he could yell at me.” There were a few more betraying sniffles. “I don’t understand why he hates me so much, Knox. He doesn’t even know me! Am I to be condemned to a life of misery because of my father’s foolishness with money?”

  The guilt had returned, and it frustrated me. I was tempted to flee back to my office where I could put more distance between this blasted woman and me. Maybe I would show her how truly cruel I could be and send her away to live in a nunnery. There she could curse my existence to her heart’s content. She would at least find some semblance of peace.

  “Give him time, Catriona. I told you. Marcus is not the man you assume him to be. I warned you it wouldn’t be easy, but you were adamant that you could break down his walls. Remember, I told you it was a foolish waste of time.”

  It was interesting to hear him speak so freely about me.

  “How can you sit there and defend him? Why won’t you talk to him on my behalf? Tell him how lonely I’ve been and how much I wish to at least be friends? Food I take him, hoping that it will tempt him, is left untouched. The other day I found the freshly clipped roses I’d gathered tossed in the pile to be thrown away. It’s as if he’s doing this on purpose to drive me crazy!” As she uttered each word, I could hear her anger growing stronger and stronger. I didn’t blame her. I would never accept such treatment myself. I wanted to not care, but that lack of sentiment felt like it was slipping through my fingers.

  “Catriona, my loyalty belongs with him. He is my master, and no matter how many tears you shed, or how often your lip quivers, there’s nothing I can do to change your circumstances here. You asked for my advice, and I gave it.”

  I bent forward and tried peeking through the large keyhole. There they both were—Catriona standing still with her arms wrapped around herself, and Knox, perched on his workbench stool, turned about so he could face her. Just as I had assumed, there was a hint of frustration at being kept from his work, but he was also staring at her with sympathy.

  “So, you truly won’t help me?” Tears began welling in her eyes. Catriona looked longingly at him . . . beseechingly. “I am all alone.”

  He slowly stood and walked over to where she stood. I expected Knox to guide her toward the door, but instead, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder for comfort. “Don’t give up. If this is something you really want, then you will have to use that stubbornness I’ve seen in you. Fight for what you want. If at first you don’t succeed, step back, re-evaluate, then try again.”

  Wiping her face with her fingers, Catriona slumped with resignation. “I didn’t imagine it would hurt this much, Knox. I told myself that hope would be futile when it came to this marriage. I knew I was merely property exchanging hands. I didn’t wish for a love-filled marriage . . . I’m not that naïve. But what harm could come from being friends? Am I really that unlikable?”

  I couldn’t see Knox’s face. He squeezed her shoulder once more before dropping his arm. “You’re asking questions I don’t have the answers to, and what I do know, I can’t share without betraying his confidence.” Fingers raked through his ash-blond hair, a gesture I’d seen him make countless times. He was ready for the conversation to be over. He was ready to return to his work that beckoned him to finish.

  Catriona let out a loud sigh. “Then I will keep trying.” She gave one last glance about the room, and headed toward the door I was hiding behind. “Just tell me one last thing. Was he always like this?”

  “Like what?” Knox asked over his shoulder, having already turned his back.

  “Unapproachable. Cold. Indifferent.”

  He caught her gaze and held it. “He has good reason to be untrusting. Earn his respect, and you’ll see he’s not the monster you believe him to be.” Having said all he intended to say, Knox returned his attention to his work, dismissing her.

  I quickly stepped back to hide in the shadows, not wanting to let them know that I had been eavesdropping like a common thief. There was a strange mixture of emotions flittering about in my head.

  There was pride and gratitude that Knox had kept my secrets, proving that my faith and trust in him were well placed.

  There was a growing sense of apprehension that Catriona was determined to establish some kind of relationship with me—despite my many protests. But I was also impressed that she wasn’t relying on her beauty or feminine wiles in seducing me. She had known immediately that such attempts would fail, and instead, tried to find ways to please me.

  Watching her finally retreat in the direction of her own rooms, I stayed where I was for a moment, trying to absorb everything I’d heard.

  “It’s safe to come in now, Marcus.”

  He’d known I’d been there. Clearly I’d underestimated how observant he could be.

  “I’m glad she has someone to talk to,” I countered, entering his work space.

  “She wants to be free to speak with you . . . her husband.” He didn’t bother disguising his bold smirk.

  “I am her husband in name only,” I retorted, completely unamused with this side of him. He was getting more and more brazen when we talked. It usually didn’t bother me, unless, like now, he was not agreeing with me.

  He cocked his brow, his boyish features turning hawkish. “I believe it was you that decided that, Marcus. I am but your obedient servant.”

  I ignored his last comment, choosing to focus on the more important issue. “You’re to stop giving her advice. If she comes to you again, send her away. We don’t have time for comforting a lonely female. Your focus is best placed elsewhere.” I gestured to the experiments that covered his workspace. “That is why I hired you.”

  “Yes, master,” he replied, with only a hint of contrition in his voice.

  “No more,” I reiterated, reinforcing that whatever alliance Catriona believed she had with Knox would be ended from this moment forth. “There is too much at stake.”

  I didn’t wait to hear his response. He knew that what I said was law, and that whatever flights of fancy he might be entertaining by encouraging Catriona’s visits would no longer be tolerated.

  It didn’t stop me from dwelling on it the rest of the night, though.

  I didn’t want her.

  I didn’t love her.

  So why did I hate the idea of his arm around her shoulder, her turning to him for comfort so much?

  Chapter 6

  Two Months Later

  There was something peaceful about a quiet room where the only noise was the gentle crackling from the fireplace. Winter had descended with a vengeance on the estate, and with the colder weather came unavoidable duties to perform.

  For the most part, we were ready for the long months where glistening snow covered every inch of the Suffolk countryside. I didn’t allow it to hinder my true work, however. With my extended life, I braved the chilly conditions, pushing on when most men would retreat, because truth waited for no one.

  One of these days I was certain I’d find the gypsies who cursed me, and if not them specifically, at least their clan. I wouldn’t rest until I held their lives in my own two hands, satisfied only when they had removed their magic.

  My heart screamed for vengeance, and even having the curse removed wouldn’t curb my thirst for retribution. They had judged me wit
hout knowing all the facts. I would return that favor tenfold.

  The leads Knox had brought to me months earlier had dwindled away into nothing, just as the fire in the hearth would do. It was part of the frustration that slowly ate away at my psyche. Every tidbit of information had to be explored, but not every morsel bore fruit.

  We’d hit a dead end, and for the last few months, had heard little else.

  I was itching to get out on the road and far away from the estate accounts that now demanded my attention.

  And from her, I silently choked back, trying to ignore how easily her face surfaced in my mind. She was like a plague that decimated my hard-earned resolve. I didn’t want to think about Catriona, or the way her defiance tugged at my focus.

  I should be furious.

  I should seek for ways to teach her a lesson, but the maddening woman didn’t care. She spoke her mind whenever she managed to corner me, and I’d finally taken to avoiding areas of the house I knew she frequented.

  My threats often fell on deaf ears, something Knox liked to rub in my face.

  The knock at the door disrupted the peace, and I mentally prepared myself for who was on the other side.

  “Go away,” I called out.

  The handle turned, and Knox entered, his face filled with tension. “Marcus—” he began.

  I didn’t bother looking up from the page I’d been reading. “She is your problem, Phineas. Whatever she’s done, deal with it.”

  Dipping the quill in the black inkpot, I scribbled out the numbers I was tallying. The estate was in better shape than I’d assumed.

  “Trust me, I’ve tried.” His voice was filled with exasperation and annoyance. I didn’t envy him. She was infuriating enough that even the pope himself would jump into the deepest ocean to escape her.

  “Well, obviously not hard enough, if you’re standing there expecting me to intervene.” I placed the quill on the desk and folded my arms across my chest as I sat back in the chair. “Let me guess. She wishes to go to London for some pretty trinket?”

  The affairs of women were lost on me. What they wanted was beneath my attention.

  Knox cocked his eyebrow at me, unimpressed. “Do you really think that little of me? That I would need to come have you hold my hand over something so trivial?”

  He was right. While I hadn’t told him such, his patience with dealing with all the unpleasantness that infiltrated my life was commendable.

  “I’m sorry, my friend.” I bowed my head respectfully. I’d interrupted him before even giving him the chance to explain. “What’s the matter?”

  “She’s found him.”

  My gaze narrowed on him. I’d heard no horses approaching the house, no cloaked riders delivering messages. There was only one she he could’ve been referring to.

  And by found him . . .

  The chair I’d been sitting on teetered close to tipping from the force of my standing. Estate business came to an abrupt end as I stormed toward the door.

  “How did she find him? What the hell have you been doing?” I didn’t wait for him to catch up as I continued to rant over my shoulder. “How difficult is it to keep track of one pesky female?”

  He was wise to not answer, choosing instead to hurry behind me as I headed toward the one place in the entire house Catriona had no business venturing.

  Angry footsteps resounded in the air as we raced down stone steps to the rooms I’d affectionately dubbed my dungeons. The only people, besides Knox and myself, who saw the inside of said rooms were those unlucky enough to cross me.

  Right now, that title was reserved for one man, and one man alone—my only souvenir from my search months ago.

  I heard her before I saw her—Catriona’s voice growing louder and louder on my approach.

  “Marcus,” Knox warned, calling out right as I put my hand against the door and pushed. “Remember who she is.”

  “She’s a nuisance and a thorn in my damn side,” I countered angrily, my response the only alert to those in the room.

  Catriona jumped as guilt skated across her features. She knew she’d been caught and that there would be hell to pay, but that didn’t stop her from then positioning herself in front of the chained man in the center of the cell. Her arms spread out as if to protect him somehow from more harm.

  Little did she know how close she came to feeling the full weight of my wrath.

  “You are a monster!” she screamed, fire blazing in her eyes. “How long has this man been here? Why do you have him chained like some animal?” When she couldn’t get the response she wanted from me, she turned to Knox. “Free this man now!” Catriona punctuated her demand by pointing at the motionless form on the chair.

  Knox simply stood there with his hands behind his back. He wasn’t there to jump to her every command. He knew better than to listen to anyone but me. While we enjoyed a close relationship, Phineas never forgot who his master was.

  “So, you are a coward, too!” she spat out, running forward to beat her small fists against his broad chest. “You made me believe that you could be trusted . . . that you were just as much a prisoner in this place as I am.”

  “Are you finished?” I asked, disappointed that she hadn’t turned all that passion and fury my way. When she stood there—chest heaving from a shortness of breath and her body rigid from indignation—I moved closer to my prisoner. “Knox, take her back to her room and see that she stays there.”

  “I refuse to leave until I know he’s safe.” She crossed her arms across her chest, the motion pushing up her breasts. The muscles in her jawline twitched from being tight, her nostrils flaring with insolence. “So help me God, I will rip those chains from him myself if you deny me!”

  I didn’t know who laughed first—Knox or me. Glancing his way, I saw him shrug, and I chose to instead lean against the wall closest to her. “Then by all means, Mrs. St. James, dazzle us with these feats of strength.”

  Her face reddened until it rivaled the color of the apples that grew in the estate’s orchard.

  “What is wrong with you?” she asked, studying me like I was some carnival display she couldn’t quite understand. “What could he possibly have done to warrant such treatment?”

  She crouched down beside him, her clean hand resting tentatively on his dirty pant leg.

  “His business doesn’t involve you.” It was the only answer she would receive.

  Judging by the incredulous look on her face, she wouldn’t be accepting it.

  “Knox,” she pled. It was quaint how she believed he would somehow rally to her side—pitting them both against me. “This man needs sustenance. He may even need a doctor.”

  “What he needs is none of your concern,” he replied, woodenly, without emotion. He glanced my way. “I’ll return her to her room and lock the door behind me.”

  This stirred up wildness in Catriona that was both intoxicating and amusing. It was the kind of expression I imagined she would make in the throes of passion—an expression I wouldn’t allow myself to witness. What fascinated me, though, was the belief she still held tightly to. That, somehow, she still had control over her life.

  “When you’re done, return here so we can deal with this mess.” I gestured to the still form with disgust. Our reluctant guest hadn’t stirred since I visited his cell late last night, attempting once more to get the information I needed.

  “Noooo!” Catriona screeched, kicking out as Knox wrapped his arms around her to carry her out. “You can’t treat me this way!”

  Her furious tirade continued to echo outside as Knox removed her from the lower levels of the house.

  The room descended back into blissful silence.

  “Kill me,” came the barely audible whisper. “Kill me and be done with it.”

  I still hadn’t managed to uncover exactly who my prisoner was within the gypsy clan I was hunting, but I knew enough to determine he wasn’t being truthful.

  Sooner or later, with enough incentive, they always conf
essed. With enough applied pressure, even the most resilient and determined babbled like babies.

  “You wish for death?” I asked, equally quiet. Pacing about the young man, I wondered what it would take to finally break him. Torture had yielded very little result, and frankly, he was beginning to reek from the lack of bathing. “Perhaps I should release you so the wolves can fill their bellies with your flesh.”

  “It would be an honorable death compared to this.” His tone was the same as the long line of others who had sat in that same seat, filled with misplaced pride.

  His bitter response filled me with mirth. “You believe yourself honorable?” I barked out an abrupt laugh. “You and your people create monsters, justifying your misuse of magic in the name of family. There is no honor in you or your ancestors.” I kicked out at the legs of his chair, gaining his attention.

  Black eyes glared up at me—their inky depths revealing how blackened his soul was. There would never be a time when I believed gypsies were a force of greatness in the world. In my mind, the only good gypsy was a dead one.

  He tried spitting at me and failed, his mouth too dry to form any kind of spittle. Slumping back in the chair, his head lolled forward, his chin hitting his chest.

  “Nikolai,” I crooned, walking around him again like he was my prey and I was playing with my dinner. “Your suffering can come to an end . . . you can go home to your family.” I trailed my hand across his shoulders, relishing the way he managed to flinch despite being exhausted. “You know what I want. Give me the information, and all this will end. You have my word.”

  His words came out mumbled, but I still understood them. “The word of the Devil means nothing.”

  I struck him hard against the side of his head. My patience had limits, and I was growing tired of this song and dance. “Tell me!”

  Laughter bubbled out of Nikolai, and with great effort, he lifted his head to stare at me with contempt. “You will never find the cure. You are blood and damnation. Accept it.”