The Devil's Gift

by Laura Landon

  THE DEVIL’S GIFT by Laura Landon

  Chapter 25

  Today was her wedding day.

  Jenna studied her reflection in the mirror, then looked down at the note in her hand.

  Trust me.

  Jack

  Jenna held the note in one hand as she swiped the tears that ran down her cheeks with the other.

  How could he think everything would be all right? She’d had Maggie on the lookout for the messenger everyone was waiting for all morning, but no one had arrived.

  And no one would.

  It was wishful thinking to imagine there was a way to save her father without making the sacrifice she knew she had to make.

  Jenna walked over to the window and stared out onto the barren ground. The gardens hadn’t seemed so stark just a few days ago. But nothing had when she thought she’d be married to a man she loved.

  Jenna turned from the bleak sight beyond her window and walked to her bedside table. She opened the book cover and placed Jack’s note inside. She couldn’t throw it away just yet. Not as long as there was still hope. Not until she’d said the words that would seal her future to the Duke of Ridgeway.

  She closed the cover and looked up when the door opened. Maggie stood there.

  “Lord Devlin wants to make sure you spoke to his grace this morning and that he promised he’d make sure your papa was here for the wedding.”

  “Tell Lord Devlin that Ridgeway assured me Father would be here.”

  “Did you tell him you would na come down until you saw your papa?”

  “Yes, I told him. But I don’t see—”

  “You do na have to see, Miss. You just need to trust Lord Devlin. Benton said he has a plan. You do what you must.”

  “I don’t trust easily,” Jenna said, knowing she’d never spoken truer words.

  “Mayhaps ’tis because you’ve never had someone you could trust before.”

  “Do you think I can trust Lord Devlin?”

  “Benton says you can. ’Tis the only assurance I need.”

  Jenna tried to smile. “I remember when you’d hardly speak to Benton, let alone trust him.”

  “That was before I knew him. He changed. He’s not like he was before.”

  “I think neither of you are.”

  Maggie didn’t answer, but walked through the room to the small sitting room Jenna seldom used.

  “What are you doing?” she said when Maggie came out dragging a small trunk and valise from a storage closet.

  “I’m getting all the empty packing containers we have.”

  “For whom?”

  “I’m na sure. I think for Lady Kingston.”

  “Eleanor? Did she ask for them?”

  Maggie shook her head. “Lord Devlin did. He said certain family members would probably be leaving in a hurry and to have as many trunks as we have available for them.”

  “What does that mean?” Jenna asked, realizing Maggie knew a great deal more of what was going on than she did.

  “Like I said before, Miss. You do na have to understand. You only have to trust.”

  Jenna watched as Maggie carried out one more valise from the storage room. As she set it beside the others, a soft sound came from the door.

  Maggie rushed to open it, and Jenna’s breath caught when she saw Jack standing in the doorway.

  “Watch the hall, Maggie. Make sure we’re not disturbed,” he said, closing the door after Maggie rushed out to do as she was bid.

  When they were alone, Jack looked at her for several long seconds before either of them moved.

  He didn’t speak. He simply took the two long strides he needed to reach her. When he was close enough, he opened his arms and gathered her to him.

  His mouth came down on hers, his kiss needy and desperate. There was nothing soft or gentle in what he gave her, what he asked of her, what he demanded from her. His kiss was all-consuming. Even his touch contained a whisper of ruthlessness.

  But Jenna would have it no other way.

  She was as desperate as he was for an intimate exchange that might have to last a lifetime. She was as frantic as he was to take as much from him as she could, and savor it in case it was all she would ever have from him. She was as eager as he was to have this last kiss to remember in the event there was never another.

  Even though Jenna didn’t want the sensation to end, it did. Jack lifted his mouth from hers and gently pulled her to him to steady her.

  Her arms and legs were limp as willows in a wind. Her heart pounded as wildly as Jack’s.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to him, never wanting to let go, never wanting to feel the emptiness she knew would be there when he walked away from her.

  And it was.

  He released her with the same determination and desperation as he’d shown her when he kissed her. As if the kiss had a meaning she didn’t understand. As if this kiss was their final kiss.

  With a dulling blow, she realized that it was.

  He turned and walked to the door. He was leaving her. Once he left the room, she knew she’d never see him again.

  Except he’d asked her to trust him.

  All he’d wanted from her was for her to trust that he’d take care of her. That he’d take care of her father.

  “The messenger you’re waiting for isn’t here, is he?”

  He stopped in the open doorway and shook his head.

  “He will be,” Jenna said, “or you’ll think of another way to save Father and me.”

  Jack’s shoulders lifted and he turned around. “It took a great deal of trust to make a statement like that.”

  “I have an abundance of trust. I’ve been storing it up for a whole lifetime.”

  “And you’ve decided to give it away.”

  “It’s a gift. Your gift.”

  Jack smiled. Not a small endearing smile, but a wide-open smile that lit up his face and radiated from his eyes. A smile that revealed the brilliant whiteness of his teeth and deepened the two creases on either side of his mouth.

  “Remind me to thank you later,” he said, stepping into the hallway and closing the door.

  “I will,” she whispered.

  But he was gone.

  . . .

  “Are you ready, Miss?” Maggie asked as she fussed over the folds of Jenna’s gown. She felt beautiful in the peach gown. As beautiful as one could feel with a heart teetering on the edge of catastrophe.

  “Where’s Father?” Jenna asked, looking around the large room Eleanor had set up for the ceremony to take place.

  “In the front. Sitting beside the Duke of Fullmont.” Maggie peeked around the door again then gave a very undignified guffaw. “Wouldn’t you know the coward would surround himself with a league of his henchmen? There’s na one of them was invited.”

  “Has the messenger arrived?” Jenna whispered, praying that the rider everyone was waiting for was here. And that he’d have the special papers Maggie said Devlin and the colonel were waiting for.

  And that they’d be able to stop the wedding before she became Ridgeway’s bride.

  “Nay, Miss. But Benton said they’re keeping watch for him.”

  Jenna looked out at the guests who filled the room. Where was Jack? She hadn’t seen him since he’d left her room.

  “You are a beautiful bride,” a low, masculine voice said from behind her.

  A cold shiver pierced her spine.

  “Thank you, Your Grace.”

  Jenna turned to face the Duke of Ridgeway. There was a look of superiority in his eyes, a flash of victory. Jenna wanted to run as far as her feet would carry her.

  “It’s a nice gathering,” he said, scanning the room and nodding his approval. “The right people to carry the news back to London. By nightfall every soirée and ball should be abuzz with reports of our marriage.”

  The thought of being married to Ridgeway turned her stomach. What if Jack’s plan didn’t work? What if the messenger carrying the papers they
needed didn’t arrive in time? What if he didn’t arrive at all?

  An icy cold shiver abused her spine.

  “Why have you gone to such lengths to marry me?” Jenna asked, hoping to stall for time. “You can’t be attracted to me. We’ve hardly spent enough time in each other’s company to recognize one anther in passing, let alone know each other.”

  One corner of Ridgeway’s mouth lifted in what almost passed as a smile. But Jenna saw only its sinister intent.

  “I’d heard you possessed above average intelligence, Miss Kingston. I see the reports are true.”

  “Thank you for the compliment, Your Grace. That doesn’t answer my question, however. Why do you wish to marry me?”

  “I’m afraid you will have to wait for an answer to that, my dear. Just be content knowing that in time both you and I will be two of the wealthiest, most influential people in all of England.”

  “Influential?” Jenna asked, surprised by the term. “I hardly think I will carry much influence.”

  “Oh but you will. As much as the Queen, herself.”

  Jenna studied his grace and this time saw more than the self-confident man she’d seen last night. Today she saw a man who entertained visions of grandeur, of power, of dominance.

  And it frightened her.

  Jenna looked around the room, searching for Jack. She needed to see him. Needed to know she wasn’t alone, that he was close, so he could rescue her if it came down to that.

  But he wasn’t there.

  “The hour has arrived, my dear. Where is the Reverend?”

  “We’re here,” Mrs. Drisup said, rushing through the doorway with a tall, dignified-looking stranger following close behind her. He looked to be in his mid-forties and had an air about him that didn’t remind her at all of the meekness that was common among the clergymen she’d met.

  “I feared we’d never arrive,” Mrs. Drisup said, fanning her flushed face.

  “Where’s the reverend?” Ridgeway asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “He’s coming,” she answered. “He’s handing over the horses. We came ahead.” The reverend’s wife undid the loop at the neck of her cloak and handed it to the nearest servant. “Your grace. Miss Kingston. Allow me to present my brother, Josiah Kennedy. Josiah, the Duke of Ridgeway and Miss Kingston.”

  “Your Grace. Miss Kingston.”

  Ridgeway greeted Mrs. Drisup’s brother with a sharp nod that to anyone paying attention indicated how insignificant he considered someone without a title.

  Jenna greeted him only a little more enthusiastically. When she saw the reverend’s wife enter with a stranger behind her, she felt a rush of relief. Perhaps this was how Jack intended to save her. Perhaps Josiah Kennedy wasn’t a member of the clergy at all, just an actor Jack had hired to play the part. Even if she and Ridgeway spoke their vows, they wouldn’t be legal or binding, considering they hadn’t been married by a man of the cloth.

  But then why was Reverend Drisup even here?

  Jenna’s heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. Her crazed mind was offering up crazed solutions. There was no saving her.

  That thought struck her like an accusing dart. It pierced her lack of trust, and she could no longer doubt Jack. His had not been hollow words. She heard them ring in her ears again and opened herself to the possibility—no, the reality—that it was Jack who would save this day.

  “Josiah is the Bishop of Derbyshire,” she heard Mrs. Drisup announce. “We’re so fortunate he came to visit. When he returns, he can boast that he was a witness to the Duke of Ridgeway’s wedding.”

  Or Jenevieve Kingston’s demise.

  Jenna prayed Ridgeway didn’t actually know the Bishop of Derbyshire or the proverbial jig would be up.

  At that moment, Reverend Drisup hurried into the room, his robe flapping as if he’d sprouted wings and his bushy white hair flopping in wild disarray.

  “What a sight you are, Henry,” Mrs. Drisup said, licking her fingers then smoothing them over the reverend’s head.

  “I’ll have to do, Martha. We’re late enough as it is. I’m sure these two folks want to get the deed done. Isn’t that true, Your Grace?”

  “Yes,” Ridgeway answered, his impatience evident in his voice.

  “Come ahead then. You can wait for your bride with me. Josiah, would you care to join us?”

  “Lead the way, Henry.”

  Jenna stood as if nailed in place at the back of the room and watched the three men walk to the front.

  “I think I’ll find a seat where I can have a good view. Will you be all right?” Mrs. Drisup whispered.

  Jenna couldn’t have spoken if she’d been paid money to do so. She could barely breathe. She only managed a weak nod as she moved her gaze away from the man she was supposed to marry, to scan the perimeter of the room in search of the man she wanted to marry.

  Jack was nowhere in sight.

  “Don’t look so worried, dear,” the reverend’s wife said, taking both Jenna’s hands in hers. “This promises to be a day you’ll never forget.”

  Jenna tried to smile but she couldn’t.

  “Be brave, my dear,” Mrs. Drisup said. She gave Jenna’s fingers a gentle squeeze, but when she released them, the reverend’s wife had pressed a small, folded piece of paper into her palm.

  Jenna held it for a few seconds, then opened it between the folds of her wedding gown where no one would see. When she had it open, she looked down to read the words.

  The two words swam in front of her.

  Trust Me

  THE DEVIL’S GIFT by Laura Landon

  Chapter 26

  Jack stood at his place at the back of the room and listened as Reverend Drisup began the ceremony.

  Dearly beloved, we are gathered together in the sight of God to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is...

  He listened to the words without really hearing them. This Man and this Woman didn’t mean Ridgeway and Jenna. Those words were meant for Jenna and him.

  Jack scanned the perimeter of the room, taking note of Maxwell’s men. This charade would be over soon. The last bit of information they’d needed to assure them that their trap would be well sprung had only landed in his hands moments before Jenna stepped down the aisle. It had been close. Too close. But now he could stop the wedding. He wouldn’t put Jenna through any more than he already had.

  She trusted him and he wouldn’t disappoint her.

  Jack reveled in the surge of happiness that swelled in his chest. She trusted him. For the first time in her life, Jenna had trusted someone else with her future. With her father’s future.

  She was his, would always be his. The thought of her as another man’s wife was more than he could bear.

  Jack focused on Reverend Drisup’s words.

  ...come now to be joined. Therefore, if any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace.

  “I am prepared to show just cause,” Jack said, taking a step toward Jenna and Ridgeway.

  An eruption of hushed whispers filled the room, as loud as the chatter that had erupted when they’d discovered Ridgeway stood as groom instead of the Earl of Devlin.

  “What is the meaning of this, Devlin? You have no cause to stop this wedding.”

  “But I do, Your Grace. I have a very serious accusation to make that is guaranteed to stop this wedding.”

  A sinister grin crossed Ridgeway’s face. “Miss Kingston has agreed to marry me. Accept your fate and don’t cause a scene that you will regret in the future.”

  Jack took another step closer. “Miss Kingston did not agree to marry you. She was blackmailed into marrying you.”

  The whispers grew louder.

  “Remove this man, Benton,” Lady Kingston ordered, pointing a finger toward Jack.

  Benton didn’t move, but stood in his place, guarding the door.

  “Benton!”

  “I’m afraid you no lon
ger have any authority here, Lady Kingston,” Colonel Maxwell said, standing at his chair.

  “This is my home,” Eleanor shouted. “I want you removed. All of you!”

  “That won’t happen,” Colonel Maxwell said, giving a nod in Benton’s direction. In a silent command, all the men standing against the wall playing the roles of servants reached into their coats and drew out pistols.

  There were several shouts of alarm from the guests, but Maxwell held up his hands and quieted everyone.

  “Please,” he said when he’d restored order. “Everyone file out of the room, except the main players in this drama. That would be you, Your Grace,” he said, nodding to the Duke of Fullmont. And Lady Kingston. And Lord Brackston. And the Duke of Ridgeway.”

  Row by row, the guests exited the room, all except a few who wanted to hear what accusations Jack intended to make against the Duke of Ridgeway. And Aunt Chloe and Jenna’s father. Jack doubted if the Queen herself could have forced Jenna’s aunt to leave until she was certain her niece was safe.

  Jack looked into Jenna’s eyes and saw her relief. Her eyes filled with moisture as she looked from him to her father, then graced him with the most heart-stopping smile he’d ever received.

  “Jenna, come here,” Jack said, extending his hand to her.

  Jenna took one step toward him, then stopped short when Ridgeway’s fingers clamped around her arm.

  “My bride will stay with me,” Ridgeway said, pulling Jenna to him.

  The smile on Jenna’s face faded, along with the relief in her eyes.

  “Perhaps you’ll explain what this is all about,” Ridgeway said, when the room was cleared. “What trumped up insinuations have you invented to stop my marriage?”

  “I think you know what charges I intend to make,” Jack said, taking a step. He needed to get as close to Jenna as possible. “But perhaps you’d like to hear them from Sir Josiah Kennedy, who happens to be the undersecretary to Her Majesty’s Minister of Defense.”

  “This is preposterous!” Ridgeway bellowed, pulling Jenna so she stood in front of him.

  Jack could see a hint of wariness in Ridgeway’s eyes.