Sinfully Bound To The Enigmatic Viscount (Steamy Historical Regency Romance)

by Scarlett Osborne

  * * *

  Eleonora had just finished dressing for the day. Mrs. Donovan had come to help her. The housekeeper was very quiet, compared to Sarah, who was always very talkative and full of stories. Eleonora liked her calm demeanor but she missed Sarah’s stories.

  “Anything else, My Lady?” she asked.

  “No, Mrs. Donovan. Thank you.”

  The housekeeper left the room, closing the door with a soft click after her. Eleonora began to consider packing. She would need something to wear. There was a loud, angry knock at the door.

  “Come in,” Eleonora said. She turned, shocked and dismayed to find that her father was there, with Diana.

  “You have five minutes,” he snapped, then closed the door with force. The sound of the key turning in the lock was loud, final.

  “What happened?” Eleonora whispered.

  Tears were streaming down Diana’s cheeks. “I was packing a bag,” she replied. “But I should have hidden it. Father says that he’s taking me to London.”

  Eleonora placed her hands on Diana’s cheeks, wiping away her tears with her hands. “Do not leave with him, Diana. He’s not who he pretends to be.”

  “I know, darling. I know.”

  Diana wrapped her arms around her, then whispered in her ear. “Get word to Elijah. Have him come for me.”

  Eleonora nodded. She took Diana’s hand in her own.

  “I won’t let you down, I promise.” Eleonora touched her sister’s soft cheek.

  I won’t let him hurt you. Not like he hurt Nicholas.

  The door opened. Their father stood there, his face a mask that he hid behind. Eleonora had seen the evil being that lurked there. She could only hope that Diana wouldn’t have to meet the true face of Barnabas Dunkeld. Eleonora’s blood ran cold. She held her sister tightly.

  “Diana, come,” he ordered.

  The two sisters both looked at each other. As he dragged her out by the arm, Diana mouthed, I love you.

  Eleonora replied, I won’t let you down. She wouldn’t. If her father was gone, that left her free to go and get help.

  Their father dragged Diana down the hall, leaving Eleonora’s door open and unlocked. Eleonora steeled herself.

  I have to save my sister.

  Chapter 35

  Elijah waited nervously for Diana and Eleonora’s arrival. He had a trunk packed for himself. His carriage was waiting in the driveway. Mary and his housekeeper had packed a hamper, filled with food and drink.

  Mary had been tired, so he had sent her to sleep in one of the rooms in the servants’ quarters while they waited. He paced the foyer of Cambolton House, worrying that something had gone very wrong. He pulled out his pocket watch. It was just then half past one.

  Any moment now, they’ll come down the drive.

  He decided to wait in the parlor, which overlooked the drive. From there, he could see all of the way out to the road.

  Once there, he paced the parlor, back and forth. He was exhausted from not sleeping. Worry for Diana and her sister was wrecking his nerves.

  What if Lord Lutterhall hasn’t left? What if they were caught?

  If he rode out, then he ran the risk of missing her if she took another road. He felt sick to his stomach.

  Waiting is the worst part.

  * * *

  Diana sat in her father’s carriage. It was rolling over the road, which jostled them as they went. She knew from the unevenness, that they were taking the road through the forest. Her father sat across from her, staring at her. She felt unnerved by his unblinking glare.

  He had drawn the curtains, so she had no idea where they were. They hadn’t gone very far, when the carriage stopped.

  I wonder where he’s taken me.

  Her first thought was of escape. She prepared herself to run, the moment that she got out.

  The footman opened the door. Her father climbed out, then waited for her. She stared at the cottage, which sat silently behind him. She was filled with absolute dread at the sight of the place where Elijah’s father was found dead.

  “Get out Diana.” It was an order, she moved, though her legs were stiff, and she trembled a little. He didn’t offer her assistance down. She stood, staring at the cottage.

  “Why have you brought me here?” she asked. Her mouth had gone dry. This was where it had happened—where her father had committed murder. Eleonora had told her that morning.

  “It is the most remote place that I know of,” he replied, grabbing her by the shoulder. He pushed her on ahead of him. She stumbled, falling on her knee. The skirt of her riding habit tore. Her hair was still loose around her shoulders. She got up, watching as her father pulled a key out of his pocket.

  He unlocked the door, then held it open for her. She could feel the coachman and the two footmen watching what was going on. She knew that they were loyal to her father. She was not going to get any help from them.

  “Inside,” her father ordered. She entered the small, darkened room.

  Once inside, her own father tied her to one of the little chairs. Her stomach twisted nauseously. Bile rose in the back of her throat. The rope cut into her wrists.

  Her father knelt by the fireplace, lighting the logs. He kept his back to her, focusing on what he was doing.

  No one is going to save me.

  She tried to get him to talk to her. If she knew more, then maybe she could bid for more time. Eventually, Eleonora would get to Cambolton House, and then Elijah would come looking for her.

  He won’t know to come here.

  “Why did you bring me here?” she asked.

  He turned toward her. “I knew that your little display of defiance was more than just fancy. All those suitors, each of them worth more than ten Viscounts apiece. It was willfulness. I should have nipped it in the bud months ago.”

  “I didn’t love any of them.”

  “That’s beside the point,” he said. “I am your father. You do as I tell you to. No questions asked.” He tilted his head to the side. “Eleonora was willful, also. She learned from her mistakes. I have no doubt that she remembers everything. She knows that I’m the one who killed that awful man, and made her what she now is.”

  He took the poker out of the fire, where he had heated it. He held it up, showing her the bright orange end of it. “I cannot ruin your face,” he commented. “But there are other ways to teach you to bend to my will.”

  Diana’s heart was racing. She had never been so terrified in all her life. She struggled against the rope that bound her hands.

  “There are things that I can do to make sure that you will always do as I say,” he said. “And then, to do as your husband wishes.” He was approaching her. “The Duke of Morrow has agreed that I can make any injury that I wish, so long that it is not visible.”

  He traced the line of her face with the tip of the poker held near, so that she could feel the heat of it. Her skin crisped at it. She trembled.

  “No one will hear your screams,” he went on. “No one at all.”

  She didn’t believe that he was actually going to do it. He was just trying to scare her, and was doing so successfully. She gritted her teeth as he tugged at the sleeve of her riding habit, so it tore, baring her arm.

  “You will always have to wear long sleeves,” he mused.

  He won’t do it. He would never.

  Slowly, he pressed the hot metal to her arm. She screamed, the pain of it white hot, tears running down her cheeks.

  “I will never marry the Duke of Morrow,” she growled, her teeth gritted.

  “If you do not, then I will kill Lord Cambolton,” he said, as calmly as he would when declaring that he wanted a cup of tea. “And I can keep going with this, until you bend to my will. For we are not expected in London for another three days, Diana.”

  The thought of three days alone with this individual caused her stomach to turn. This was not her father. He was a changeling king, who had snuck in during the night and taken his place.

 
“We have plenty of time to break you. I only wish that I had done this years ago.”

  He ran the tip of his finger over her cheek. She turned her face away from him. He grabbed her by the chin.

  “Look at me.” It was an order. She refused to give him what he wanted, her eyes on the dust-covered bed in the corner. “Look at me, Diana.”

  Diana refused. She closed her eyes, imagining that she was back in the millhouse. Elijah was holding her. She imagined his green eyes, the way that they softened when he looked at her.

  “Look at me,” her father said.

  This time, when the poker slammed into her, she was ready for it.

  Chapter 36

  Elijah glanced at his pocket watch. The ladies should have been there, over an hour before. Something was wrong. He could feel it, in his gut.

  I’m going to go to Lutterhall Manor, and demand her hand in marriage, no matter what her father says.

  With his mind made up, he ordered his horse to be saddled, and then he rode hard for Lutterhall, taking the main road that ran between both houses. When he arrived, the butler stared at him in confusion.

  “I’m here to see Lord Lutterhall,” he said.

  “His lordship has gone to London, and taken Lady Diana with him, My Lord. Only Lady Eleonora is home, but she isn’t well.”

  “May I speak to her?” he asked. “It’s a matter of extreme urgency.”

  “It simply isn’t possible,” the butler said, shaking his head.

  “He wants to speak to me,” a female voice said, from behind the butler. They both turned, finding Lady Eleonora standing there. “Let him.” For once, Lady Eleonora’s voice didn’t shake. She stepped out of the shadows. Her hair had started to grow in, and she held her head high. Her eyes seemed clear, focused.

  She studied Elijah as the butler stepped back a polite distance.

  Her face fell as she beheld him.

  “The resemblance is uncanny,” she murmured. “What is your name?”

  “Elijah, Viscount of Cambolton.”

  * * *

  Eleonora’s heart was racing. She knew that the time had come for her to tell him all that she knew. Her sister’s life depended upon it. She had been on her way out, to go and find him at Cambolton House when she had heard him speaking.

  “Yes,” she murmured. “I remember.” She swallowed, as that fateful night came rushing back. “We need to talk. My father’s taken my sister. You have to save her.”

  “Mr. Wilson,” she said. “Bring some brandy up to the parlor.”

  She led the way up to the parlor, from whence she could watch the road while she talked. Nicholas’s son sat down, while she paced, the memory of that night finally clear in her mind.

  “I was meeting Nicholas, as we always did,” she began. “We both knew that my father would never agree to our courtship. He and my father had a falling out over a business deal gone badly. My father is engaged in many illegal matters. When Nicholas found out, he planned to report him. My father threatened to have you killed.”

  “That was why he never wanted me here,” he whispered.

  “Yes. It was for your own good.” She tried to smile, but she was worried for Diana. She went on. “I first met Nicholas when I was ten-and-seven. At first, Nicholas dismissed it as childish fancy, but the more that I grew into myself, the more he started to feel the same.”

  “I was becoming a beautiful young lady, and as I grew, my love for him only increased. I knew you, when you were a child. I often thought that it wouldn’t be long before I became your stepmother.”

  She sighed, in an effort to calm herself. It was entirely in vain. He needed to know all of this. Then, they would need to follow the carriage. She had seen it, turning down the path into the woods.

  “I didn’t see Nicholas again until a little while after I turned one-and-twenty. I was at Lord Forstall’s ball.” She smiled, her eyes filling with tears. “Our conversation seemed innocent,” she said. “We talked and danced, then stole out onto the terrace, where I confessed my feelings. Your father was taken aback by my forwardness. He told me that he reciprocated my feelings, but nobody should know.”

  Lord Cambolton was listening to her. His eyes were sad—those eyes, which were so much like Nicholas’. In that moment, she ached for her lover. For that was what the present Lord Cambolton’s father had been to her.

  “Not only was our age difference so large, but his feud with my father was still unresolved. My father believed that Nicholas had killed your mother. With all of this against us, we met in secret for nearly a year. We met at a small cottage in the woods, where no one would ever come across us. No one knew of this except for Sarah, my lady’s maid. Everything was going well. Our love only grew. Until I made the mistake of confessing everything to my father. I thought that he would see that we were in love, and that there was nothing to be done but to make amends. I was so sure that he would allow us to marry.”

  She swallowed. Even though she had told this to Diana, it was painful to admit to. It had ultimately been her own fault that Nicholas had been harmed. “But that wasn’t the case. He was angry. You see, my father wanted two things from his daughters’ marriages. Wealth, and a better reputation for himself.” She looked over at him. His eyes were gentle, kind. “Your father had neither of those things. So he denied the union vehemently. We planned to escape together, and get married in secret.”

  She watched as he went pale, covering his eyes with his hands. “History is repeating itself,” he said.

  “Yes. Diana told me everything,” she said. “My father learned where Nicholas and I were meeting, when he followed me that night, planning to murder him. He burst in on us, shooting Nicholas immediately.” She saw it all, as clear as if it were happening just that moment. “I was beside myself. What I remember then is kneeling beside his body. In only the space of a moment, I saw my entire future, ended. My father came back in, a rock in his hand. I told him to shoot me, too. He’d killed me the second he killed Nicholas. He hit me in the head with the rock. That’s the last I remember.”

  Eleonora turned toward him. Lord Cambolton sat in the chair, his face pale.

  “We have to go and save Diana,” she said. “There’s no one else to do it.”

  “We can catch them on the way to London,” he replied, standing up. Eleonora was glad that he didn’t hesitate. That was good. He loved Diana, as much as Eleonora did. Which meant that there was hope.

  “No, he’s not on his way to London. He’s taken her somewhere else. He wants to break her,” she explained, watching Lord Cambolton frown. “I am no longer marriageable. I am next to useless to my father. Diana, though…He wants to make her pliant, so that she’ll go willingly when he weds her to the Duke of Morrow.”

  “Where would he take her, My Lady?”

  “The only place that he knows of where no one will come upon them by accident,” she told him.

  “The cottage,” he said.

  “Let’s go.”

  Together, they walked out of Lutterhall Manor, meeting the groom, who was holding the reins of Lord Cambolton’s horse. He got up, then held out a hand to Eleonora, helping her up, so that she was riding pillion behind him.

  “I hope we’re not too late.” When he grunted, she realized that she’d spoken out loud. Lord Cambolton urged his horse into a canter. Eleonora held on for dear life.

  Chapter 37

  Diana was sick to her stomach with fear. The sound of her pulse was loud in her ears. She wondered when her father had changed, or if he had ever truly existed. She swallowed, watching as he removed his glasses, setting them aside on the little wooden table. He brushed his hair back with his fingers. There was a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

  She frowned, realizing that he had always made himself seem so…unthreatening. It had all been an act, a disguise to get them all to relax in his presence. To trust him implicitly.

  “When we arrive in London, we’ll be going straight to the ball. I’ve had Mrs. Donovan pa
ck some of your long-sleeved gowns, despite the summer heat. If I run out of space on your arms, then there are other places that I can use, you know.”

  Her stomach did an awful flip as she imagined her skin, burned to a crisp. The pain on her arm in the one place was already smarting. It had a tiny, painful heartbeat of its own. Her heart felt like it was in her throat. For her entire life, Diana had been sheltered. She had been kept like a porcelain doll, dressed in silk and kept in Lutterhall Manor. She had never been physically harmed or threatened before.