The Masked Baron

by Anneka Walker

  Andalin’s heart sank again. It was too much. “Please, another day. I cannot bear it.”

  Ellis put his hands on his hips and sighed. “Very well.”

  Fatigue settled on Andalin’s shoulders, and she was eager to return home. She turned to mount, but Ellis stopped her again.

  “Please, Annie, do not be angry with me. I only want your happiness.”

  Andalin shook her head. “That’s a lie. You don’t care about my happiness. Not as much as you care about feeding the serpent of hate coiled around your unfeeling heart. Why can’t you love me like I love you? That is what would make me happy!”

  Ellis looked like he had been slapped in the face. He took a step back. His voice was louder than a whisper but soft and sincere. “Are you in earnest?”

  Andalin just stared back at him. Weren’t the tears proof enough?

  Ellis closed the gap between them and cupped Andalin’s face in his hands. “May I kiss you?”

  This was not the time to ask questions. She gave an almost imperceptible nod, and Ellis did not hesitate to act. He captured her lips with his own. Warmth exploded inside of her, and she melted against him. She kissed him back with all the longing in her heart.

  When he pulled away, his eyes locked with hers. He lifted his thumb and caressed her cheek. “I do so love you, my sweet Annie. Is it possible to have you while the rest of my life is such a nightmare?”

  Andalin reached up and took Ellis’s hands in her own. “It has to be possible. Please don’t make me marry Lord Kerrigan. I want to stay with you.”

  Ellis let his breath out slowly. “Your presence is like a balm to me. I could never wish it away.”

  Ellis kissed her again. This time when he pulled away, he let his forehead rest against hers.

  Andalin suddenly felt conscious of her red-rimmed eyes and her hair sticking out of her braid and falling into her face. She started to fuss with her hair and dust at the dirt on the shoulder of her cloak, when Ellis grabbed her hand to stop her. “Please, leave it. You have never looked more beautiful.”

  “Have I secured your affections, then?” Andalin asked.

  Ellis smiled down at her. “You managed that some time ago.”

  “Good, because I have some conditions.”

  Ellis threw back his head and laughed. “You would! Very well, let’s hear them.”

  “Well, I am not sure quite yet. I will have to think on the particulars. I would like to discuss that mask of yours, for starters, and then . . .” Andalin’s voice caught when she saw something out of the corner of her eye just behind Ellis. She leaned forward, peering into the trees, where so clearly stood a woman.

  Chapter 22

  “I would gladly take my mask off right now if it pleases you,” Ellis teased. His unencumbered smile would have normally made her heart race, if it had not already been racing for another reason. The unfamiliar woman, half-concealed behind a tree and its leafy foliage, was watching them. Andalin ignored Ellis’s comment and wrapped her arms around him so she might whisper into his ear.

  “Ellis,” she whispered, “don’t move. There is a woman behind you in the trees.” Ellis froze, and she continued. “She watches us and is not yet aware I have discovered her.”

  Ellis whispered back, “Describe her to me.”

  “She has lighter coloring and is very slender.”

  “Eliana!” he whispered fiercely. He did not move but said again, “Describe her!”

  “She is too far away for me to ascertain any other details, and it is growing dark.”

  “I must go to her!”

  Andalin didn’t have sufficient strength to hold Ellis back, but with all her might she clung to him. “No, you will scare her and lose her in the cover of the coming darkness. Let us announce loudly that we will return tomorrow. I will watch to see which way she leaves. Then, tomorrow, she might come again, and we can follow her in the light of day.”

  “This is against my better judgment,” Ellis whispered, his breath coming in short spurts. Andalin kissed the leather that covered the top of his cheek. She felt him swallow hard, and then he pulled her back to him. All the while she kept her eyes glued on the woman.

  “Tomorrow,” Ellis announced loudly, “we will come back one last time before the weather and chance of snow make it impossible to do so.”

  Andalin smiled widely and as sincerely as possible under the duress of the moment. “How utterly marvelous!”

  Ellis reached past her and walked Ginger around so the horse was facing the opposite direction and Andalin could mount without breaking her view of their guest. Ellis helped her up and then mounted his stallion.

  Andalin hadn’t been on the horse for more than a moment when the woman slipped from her sight and disappeared around the other side of the rock wall.

  Andalin turned Ginger and pulled her up against the great black horse. “She went behind the rock,” Andalin whispered.

  Ellis was unsettled and edgy. “Can you make it back without me?”

  “I think so. I take the stream to the edge of the forest and then follow the tree line back to the house.”

  Ellis reached his hand out and wrapped it tightly around hers. “Do I dare leave you and search? I can’t risk losing you too.”

  Andalin gave him a half smile. “What would anyone want with me? Go. I will be well.”

  Ellis ran his hand through his hair. “No, I have waited this long. You are thinking more clearly than I am about this. I will wait so I have less of a chance at losing her. If I scare her now, I might lose all hope.” Andalin’s eyes mirrored the sadness she saw in Ellis. “And I do not want you to be alone. I have wreaked enough havoc inside of you today to give me cause to repent for the next ten years.”

  Andalin smiled shyly. “At first, yes. But then you managed to make up for it.”

  The profound sadness in Ellis’s eyes softened, though he did not smile any longer. “Come, let’s get home. When we get to the tree line, can you run Ginger?”

  “Yes, I think so,” Andalin said, though she wasn’t sure how long she could hold on for.

  They started back, weaving their way through the forest along the stream’s edge. Once they reached the tree line, Ginger easily followed the stallion’s fast gait. After a wild and hard ride, they were finally home.

  Ellis disappeared to go over his map and make plans for the following day. Andalin wanted to race down to the kitchen and speak with the others, but she did not know if Ellis would appreciate it. Instead she retired to her room and wrote Papa another letter.

  ***

  Ellis could not fall asleep. Despite all his frailties of character, Annie loved him. He had wanted it to be so and thought he had imagined the signs several times. She was too wonderful, too good. But it was not just an elusive hope now; it was true. And equally wonderful, he was close to being reunited with his sister.

  If it hadn’t been for Annie, he would not have been at the waterfall at all. Between basking in his newfound relationship with her and the near discovery of his beloved Eliana, sleep eluded him.

  He got up and composed a letter. He marked it urgent. Then he spent a good hour reading verses of scripture to calm his troubled mind. When that didn’t knock him out, he tossed and turned while plotting ideas and dreaming about kissing Annie again.

  When dawn inevitably arrived, Ellis woke with a start. It was a wonder he had succumbed to slumber at all, and a needed blessing. Today he required his wits about him.

  Ellis dressed quickly, donning his mask for what he hoped was the last time. He thought about the locked doors in his secluded wing of the house. Should he have Mrs. Lewis and Hannah air them out? Would Eliana be sleeping there tonight? They had once been like two halves of the same person. They could read each other’s thoughts and sense each other’s presence. They had been as close as any brother and sister coul
d have been.

  Ellis reached for the jacket he had laid on the back of his desk chair the night before. His eye caught on Eliana’s journal. It had been more revealing than he had expected. Instead of rejoicing in the lost part of his sister, it had brought him guilt and self-revelation. They had been close siblings, but the last year or so before Eliana disappeared, their relationship had changed. He had been in denial about it until he read her words.

  He should have known she was upset. Mother had sent him to school that year, and when he had returned on summer holiday, she had done nothing but praise his efforts and stature. He had been worse, constantly bragging about his adventures with Kerrigan and his other schoolmates. And then there was Katrina; she had captured his attentions, and poor Eliana must have felt like she had been cast aside from everyone’s notice.

  Even if she would have told him her thoughts, as it was clear he had not sensed them, there had been no chance to remedy his mistakes. No one could have predicted a madwoman would be capable of destroying their family’s happiness so completely. He was unable to say goodbye—to any of them. It haunted him.

  Ellis pulled his arms into his jacket and straightened his collar. Today, with Annie by his side, he would finally have peace again in his heart. He was determined.

  Ellis went to the kitchen first. Matilda was measuring porridge into serving bowls to be sent up for breakfast.

  “Will ye be eating in here this morning?” Matilda asked cheerfully.

  Ellis slipped onto a stool. “I will be joining Miss Durante in the dining room. I just wanted to ask if you would pack another picnic today for the two of us.”

  “Certainly.” Matilda looked very, very pleased.

  Ellis didn’t want to gratify her with explanations, but the smile that escaped at the thought of spending more time alone with his ward gave him away.

  Matilda wagged a finger at him. “It’s not wise for ye to keep taking Miss Durante out without a chaperone. I heard Birks simply took off yesterday. Even a capable and intelligent young man like yerself must be on his guard. Forgive me for speaking so candidly, but yer reputation has already been sullied; hers has not.”

  Ellis gently pushed down Matilda’s bony hand pointed so accusingly in his face and said, “You needn’t worry—”

  Matilda interrupted him. “I know I’m just the help, but I haven’t been down in this kitchen so long I’ve forgotten what happens between a man and a woman.”

  Ellis chuckled. “I was just going to add that after today, we will follow strict social protocols. Today, however, it cannot be helped.”

  Matilda seemed satisfied, because she went back to spooning porridge.

  Ellis stood to leave but turned around to say one last thing. “I hope you know you have always been more than ‘just the help.’ It would grieve me if you did not know how much I have appreciated your loyalty these last ten years.”

  Matilda winked at him. “Ye were a good boy and have been a good master. I wouldn’t speak up to ye like I did just now if I loved ye any less.”

  Ellis felt a prick in his heart, and gratitude filled him. Once in the passageway he wondered why he suddenly felt so happy. He didn’t even have Eliana home yet. Was it the idea of it being so soon in his future? Or because he was finally capable of caring about more than just the lost memory of his family?

  He needed to find his sweet Annie. He strode the distance of the house to the dining room as quickly as he could. He had only begun to tell her all the things in his heart the afternoon before. While it would take time to be able to express many of his feelings, he was anxious to have Annie in his arms again to at least show her what he felt. Now that he was sure she returned his affections, he was finally free to do so. He was ever hopeful she’d forgive him for his last secret.

  Ellis entered the dining room with a grin the size of a schoolboy’s only to have it immediately flee and be replaced with a scowl. Kerrigan had arrived without him knowing. He was sitting next to Annie, holding her hands. Annie pulled back the moment she saw Ellis in the doorway. Kerrigan followed her line of vision and promptly stood.

  “Morning, Cadogen. It looks as if you have overslept.” Kerrigan gave him a nod and then sat down at the table.

  “I did not oversleep, and neither, by the looks of it, did you,” Ellis said grumpily. He filled his plate at the sideboard and then sat at the head of the table.

  “I was earlier than even I expected,” Kerrigan began as he unfolded his napkin. “I arrived late last night and slept in the inn in town so as not to interrupt the household. I was anxious to be here early so I could tell you firsthand that my mother, as well as my sister and her husband, are to join us tomorrow.”

  “Oh?” Ellis asked, surprised. “Well, they are always welcome in this home.”

  Kerrigan took a long drink. “They were confident you would feel that way, so they hurried me ahead to prepare you for their arrival. It seems my sister cannot be without her new friend, Miss Durante, for long.” Kerrigan turned and grinned at Annie before continuing. Annie’s gaze flicked to meet Ellis’s. She was clearly pleading for his understanding. He lost himself for a moment in her eyes. She loved him, not Kerrigan. She blushed deeper, which only assured him the more.

  Kerrigan, oblivious to their shared look, added, “Mrs. Trenton has some great news, and she won’t breathe a word of it until we are all together.”

  “I will let Mrs. Lewis know they are coming,” Annie suggested, “if you will excuse me.”

  Ellis grabbed her hand to stop her. It was as good a reason to touch her as he could think of. “It can wait until you finish your breakfast.”

  She gave the smallest hint of a smile and slipped back into her seat.

  Ellis ate silently for a moment and then dabbed his napkin over his mouth. “Kerrigan, there have been some new developments since we last saw you.”

  Annie’s eyes grew wide, and he wanted to laugh. She must have thought he was going to share their confessions of love. It would be nice to have Kerrigan know he needed to keep his distance, but he wouldn’t dare announce anything without discussing it first with Annie. He gave her his own look, hoping she would take his meaning.

  “Yesterday Miss Durante and I were riding by the waterfall when Miss Durante saw a woman watching us.”

  Kerrigan sat back in his seat. “Sephira?”

  Ellis shook his head. “All the descriptions of the witch have noted her illustrious dark hair. This woman was fair.”

  “Did you see her for yourself?”

  “I did not have to, for after a moment, I could sense her.”

  Kerrigan shook his head. “Ellis, you are being foolhardy. It could have been someone else. A village woman hiding from her husband or, at the rarest possibility, the witch, finally gone gray. You are so desperate your mind is leaping to possibilities before you have sufficient proof.”

  Ellis gritted his teeth. Kerrigan was right. He had been rash. But his gut told him to proceed as if it was truly Eliana and have hope. “You have never believed Eliana could still be alive. But there have been times in the woods I have felt her. Felt her, Kerrigan. You know we always had a connection.”

  Kerrigan was clearly struggling with his impatience. “I have not had the faith you have had, but I always hoped you were right. But see reason. It was Miss Durante who saw her, and you did not. How can you be sure this woman is Eliana?”

  Ellis sighed. He looked to Annie for strength. She had been silently watching them, but he knew she supported him. “Miss Durante and I are riding out there again today. We are hoping Eliana will return to watch us again, and we hope to call her to us. If she runs, I will follow her. At least then we will know. My conscience will not allow me to do less than this.”

  Kerrigan folded his arms pensively. “I agree you will not be easy until you have investigated this development thoroughly. I only ask that once my sist
er arrives, you give her the attention she requires. She deserves as much from you.”

  “I will do my best,” he uttered. It was hard to commit to pleasing Katrina when he was being pulled in another direction.

  “Good,” Kerrigan said. Then, in a much lighter tone, he asked, “How can I be of assistance?”

  Ellis wanted to tell him to go back to the inn, but Annie chirped in. “I don’t think Eliana will come close if there are more than just the two of us. Her chances of being found out are too great. She is probably frightened after what she’s no doubt endured. But if you and Birks or Mr. Lewis could ride some distance behind and await some sort of signal, then you can help if we need it.”

  Ellis drummed his fingers on the table. “It will be important to give Eliana every reason to believe she can approach us without fear. But if it comes down to tracking her into the night, Miss Durante will be far safer with you at Braitwood Hall.”

  “I agree. When do we leave?” Kerrigan asked.

  “If Miss Durante will let Mrs. Lewis know about your family, then you and I can find Mr. Lewis and see to the horses. I want you to carry extra supplies—lanterns and such.”

  After Annie excused herself, he and Kerrigan crossed to the front door of the house.

  “It will be like old times,” Kerrigan noted.

  Ellis agreed, though he hoped it was the last time. He opened the door to step outside, but Kerrigan put his hand up to stop him. “I might not always agree with you, friend, but you know I will always fight your battles with you.”

  Ellis had wanted Kerrigan out of his house the minute he had seen him bent toward Annie in the dining room. Only two days ago Ellis had been prepared to hand her over in marriage to the man. Kerrigan was not his enemy. He was a true friend.

  “Just see that you take care of Miss Durante if it comes to it.” It pained Ellis to ask, but he knew he couldn’t trust anyone to do so better than Kerrigan.

  “I will.”

  Chapter 23

  Andalin curbed her hope with a decent amount of caution. Ellis was quite preoccupied, and his disappointment would be acute if all did not go according to plan. After so many years, his sister could be within his grasp. It meant so much to him and, in turn, would mean a great deal to the both of them and their future together.