Daniel set his glass of gin on the table and came to stand behind her. “And you, my dear wife? What would they say about you walking about the house in no more than your shift? What will the servants say?” He leaned down and kissed her ear. “My name will be ruined because of you.”
Juliet giggled and finished off the last of her wine. It was her second of the night and the effects were beginning to take hold. A gust of wind threw open the window and tossed Daniel’s cap, sending it flying in an arc before it fell to the floor.
“I will retrieve it,” she said with a laugh.
She glanced over her shoulder. Although she had matured greatly over the last two years, the streak of mischief inside her remained. Or at least a dash of it. “Well, will you look at this?” she said in mock surprise. “It seems I have found a new cleaning rag.” She turned the cap in her hand. “I believe I will use it to clean the horse first and then your boots after.”
Daniel leaped from his seat. “That’s mine,” he said as he made a grasp for the cap as she pulled it behind her back. “I demand you return it to me.”
Juliet turned and hid it behind her back. “I am sorry, sir, but I have no idea of what you speak. I have no cap to give you.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes and his lips thinned. “Then you leave me no choice.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’ll have to kiss you!”
“No!” she said with a mock gasp that turned into a laugh. “You cannot! I forbid it!”
“Forbid it, you say?” Daniel asked. He pulled her in tight and kissed her. “Now, give me my cap.”
Juliet laughed. “Never!” Then her husband did the most horrible thing he could have done. He tickled her sides. “No!” she laughed as she tried to break his hold. Giggling and doing what she could to wriggle from his grasp, she fell onto the sofa as he continued his torture.
“Do you surrender?” he asked, hunched over her. “Admit defeat!”
“I only admit that I love you,” she said between gasps, “but the cap is mine!”
The sound of shouting made them grow quiet. “What was that?” Juliet asked.
“I do not know,” her husband replied, pulling himself off her and going to the door.
Rising from the sofa, Juliet frowned as Daniel opened the door. The strong wind blew in various twigs and leaves despite the portico. Her frown deepened. Now she would have more cleaning to do tomorrow! This was the very reason she had requested an exterior door, but he had insisted they had no need for one when the portico was outside anyway.
Beyond the doorway, lightning flashed, illuminating a carriage on the street surrounded by six men on horseback. Several held lanterns as they dismounted and descended upon the cottage.
“Daniel?” Juliet whispered as she placed a hand on his arm. “Something is wrong. I do not like this one bit.”
“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I’ll speak with them.”
One man left the others. “Daniel Haskins?”
“Yes?”
“You are hereby taken to Rumsbury to stand trial for your crimes.”
“Crimes?” Juliet asked, horrified. “He has committed no crimes.”
The leader, a middle-aged man with graying hair grinned as his eyes roamed over her in a much too familiar manner. Juliet had forgotten she wore nothing but her shift and she quickly crossed her arms over her breasts.
“Don’t make this any harder than it has to be, young man,” another man said as he grasped Daniel by the shirt and pulled him outside.
“No!” Juliet cried, reaching for her husband even as another man blocked her way. “You cannot take him! He is my husband and has done no wrong!”
“You have the wrong man,” Daniel said. “I’ve never committed a crime!”
The men ignored the pleas, pushing Daniel toward the carriage.
“No, do not leave me!”
Lightning flashed again and Daniel turned toward her. “I’m sorry,” he called out to be heard over the thunder. “It’s just a misunderstanding. I’ll be home soon.”
Panicked, Juliet made to push her way past the two men, but they refused to allow her to do so. “Move out of my way,” she demanded, although tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the rain. “I wish to speak to my husband.”
The gray-haired man grinned. “You can speak with him in jail if you’d like. But for now, he’s ours.”
Looking past the men, Juliet watched as the carriage pulled away, taking Daniel with it. Chilling rain pelted her face as she glared at the two beasts before her. “What are the accusations made against him?”
The older man smirked but gave no answer as he and his friend walked away.
Overcome with heartache, confusion, and despair, Juliet sank to her knees, unable to believe that only moments ago she and Daniel had been laughing. Now she sobbed as the sounds of the men’s voices faded into the surrounding darkness.
Making every attempt to compose herself, Juliet stood as she racked her brain for a plan, any plan, to bring her husband home. The first thing she would do was to return to Rumsbury and ask for her mother’s aid. Then, she would visit Daniel to learn what had brought all this about. After that remained to be seen.
Another bright flash of lightning lit up the surrounding area long enough for Juliet to catch sight of a figure in the shadows of a nearby copse of trees. So, one of the men had remained behind. But why?
“Of what crime is my husband being accused?” she called out to the unknown figure. “Tell me!”
“A most grievous crime,” a voice said. “And one that will cost him his life.”
“My Daniel is a good man, one who has done no wrong!” Juliet cried, unable to stop the tears from falling. “What you say is a lie.”
Her heartbeat increased as the figure approached, stopping a few paces away. She strained to see who this man was, but she could not make out his features in the darkness, although there was a familiarity about him. He was tall and imposing, his hair long and hanging over his shoulders.
“You have become more beautiful with time,” the man whispered. “You have no idea how many nights I have thought of you, wishing you were in my arms.”
Rain stung Juliet’s cheek and dripped from her chin as she wrapped her arms tighter around herself. “No,” she whispered in horror as the man entered the square of light that came through the window. “It cannot be.”
The small cottage shook as thunder exploded around them. Another bolt of lightning brightened the area once more, lighting up the face of the man who filled her nightmares. Lord Hugh Parsons.
“Hello, my love,” he said with a wide grin. “After all this time, I have returned to bring home where you belong.”
Chapter Two
Juliet’s heart threatened to burst as she let out a cry and turned to run into the cottage - and away from the man who haunted her dreams. Hurrying to the sitting room, she grabbed the wine bottle to use as a weapon. Yet, as she turned to strike Lord Parsons, he grasped her wrist and twisted, sending pain shooting up her arm and causing the bottle to crash to the floor.
“Release me!” she cried. She pulled her other arm back intending to striking him, but he took hold of that one, as well. She may as well have been a child for the ease he controlled her.
It had been two years since she had last seen this man, and he had changed much. He still kept his hair long, and his coat was as fine as any other she had seen him wear despite the fact droplets of water dripped from it onto her freshly cleaned floor. His eyes, however, now possessed a madness made brighter by the reflection of the candles around them.
“For two years I have thought of this night,” Lord Parsons said. “And now I have found you, waiting for me. Well, my love, the wait is now over.”
“You are mad!” she said as she attempted to pull herself free of his grasp. “I am married to Daniel now and I love him. I have not a whit of love for you!”
“That fire inside you,” the viscount said as he pushed her back against a tabl
e, “it still rages, much like the desire I have for you.” He pulled her arms behind her back and pressed his lips to hers.
Juliet’s stomach churned and tears spilled from her eyes. What were his intentions with her? Would he take her in her own home against her will?
When the horrible kiss broke, he released her and took a step back, admiration on his features.
With her hands free, she pulled back an arm and gave him such a slap that it resounded throughout the small room. The man did not even flinch. “Get out of my house, you…you shabbaroon!” she shouted despite the fact nothing about him was shabby in the least.
Rather than be offended, Lord Parsons laughed as he pulled his gloves off his hand. “Now, that is no way to speak to me,” he said. “After all, I hold the fate of your precious Daniel in my hands.”
Most women may have thought Lord Parsons handsome with his blond hair and tall stature, but Juliet never had the slightest attraction to the man. In her opinion, he was much too full of himself to ever make room for a woman, even her.
She had been searching around for something, anything, to throw at him, but his words gave her pause. “What have you done?” she asked, crossing her arms over her breasts. She would not allow this miscreant to see how terrified she was inside. “What did you tell the magistrates?”
Lord Parsons pulled out a chair and sat without asking permission. “Pour me some wine.”
Juliet straightened her back with indignation. “I will do no such thing!”
The viscount slammed a fist on the table, making Juliet flinch despite attempting to keep herself from doing so. “You will do as I say,” he shouted, “Or you will never see that boy again!”
Juliet tugged at her lower lip. What should she do? She did not want this man in her home, but she needed to learn what he had planned for Daniel.
“Very well,” she said, reaching to collect the bottle that had tumbled to the floor only moments ago. She paused, debating whether she should strike the man, but that would never give her the answers she needed. Therefore, she forced a smile and placed the bottle on the table. “I will dress and then serve your wine.”
As she turned to leave, he grasped her arm. “Your shift is good enough for a stable boy and therefore it is fine for me. Now, my wine.”
With her stomach in knots, Juliet went to the kitchen area to procure a glass and then poured him a glass of wine. The man’s eyes watched her every move, and she wanted nothing more than to slap him again. But her worry for Daniel was far too great to anger the viscount further.
“Now, sit,” Lord Parsons said. “And pour yourself a glass, as well. This will take some time.”
With a small nod, Juliet did as he bade, although she pretended to drink by allowing the wine to only brush her lips. “Daniel…” She paused to bring her tone under control. “Why was my husband taken away? He has committed no crime.”
The man looked around the tiny cottage. “I had thought you would prefer to live in a much finer home. I would not allow my dogs to dwell here. You living in this squalor upsets me.”
Juliet raised a brow. “My husband, my lord?”
“I have been in search of that young man for some time now. He struck me in the stables at Scarlett Hall. Do you not remember? You were a witness to his crime.”
Her jaw dropped. “You struck him first!” she said, not caring that she was shouting again. “And you have done so before. He only did so in defense of himself. And me.”
“I care nothing for his reason for doing so,” the man said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “The fact is that he struck me, a titled man. The courts frown upon an assault of one of my station by one of his.”
Juliet’s heart cried out, for what the man said was true. What Daniel did, deserved or not, would not be viewed favorably by the courts. “You would hurt me because a stable boy struck you? You seek to ruin my life because of him?”
Lord Parsons stood so quickly the chair tumbled to the floor behind him. “He ruined my carefully laid plans! Do you not see what he did to me?” His eyes were so full of rage, Juliet leaned back in her chair wondering if he planned to strike her. Then he retrieved the chair and sat, a thoughtful look replacing the anger on his face. The man was much too volatile!
“I remember when I spoke to your mother after you and that boy were caught kissing. She agreed with me that it was improper and thus accepted my offer to have you and she join me for dinner at my home.” He heaved a sigh of pleasure. “And what a dinner it was.”
With patience running thin, Juliet made another attempt to bring the conversation to where she wanted it. “Daniel…”
Yet, Lord Parsons ignored her as if she had not spoken. “It was a dinner worthy of the King himself. The choicest lamb, the most tender and well-seasoned potatoes, and the best wine, which I selected myself, all in preparation for your arrival to your new home.” Then the faraway look disappeared as he narrowed his eyes at her. “Yet, you never showed.”
Juliet recalled that night as if it had occurred yesterday. She had resigned herself to becoming engaged to Lord Parsons, but her mother had shocked her by allowing her to pursue her heart with Daniel. Her mother had sent word that Juliet had fallen ill when in fact she and Daniel had fled.
“I ran away,” she said. “The idea was mine, not Daniel’s. If you are angry, take it out on me, not on him.”
Lord Parsons snorted as she stood once more. “I am no fool, Juliet. I am many things, but a fool is not one. I was that night perhaps, but that was an exception. As the food grew cold, I waited to hear from you. I received word you were ill, but then I heard rumors that you had run away.” He walked around the table to stand before her. “Well, you will run from me no longer.”
“What do you want from me?” she demanded. “Do you wish to kiss me again? If that is what will see my husband returned to me, just do it! If you desire more from me this night, however, you must know that I will not give it freely. I will fight you with every ounce of my being.”
“Do you think so poorly of me?” Lord Parsons asked. “To think I would force myself upon you?” He leaned forward, his mouth near her ear as he whispered, “I will not force you to do anything, especially what I wish.”
With a thudding heart, Juliet looked up at the man she despised with every fiber of her being. “And what is it you wish?” she asked, although she was sure she already knew the answer.
“That you marry me.”
***
Lord Hugh Parsons, Viscount of Tatum, had desired Juliet from the moment he first laid eyes on the beautiful young woman. With her dark hair, generous bosom, and a fire that shone inside her, she had consumed him. He thought of her at every waking moment and while he slept, and for that reason, he knew he had to have her as his own.
At one time he thought they would wed - he had been certain of it. He had every intention of taking her to his bed while that worthless stable boy learned that he could not compete with a man of the ton. In fact, he had told Daniel as much, and the look on the boy’s face had been so very gratifying!
Then his world had collapsed around him. Not only did the boy strike Hugh - a stable boy of all people! - but he also stole away Hugh’s Juliet.
Hugh searched for her for months, spending his days consumed by anger and his nights drowning his sorrow with drink. However, a man called at his home – seeming to come out of nowhere – and revealed Juliet’s hiding place.
At first, the man refused to give his name, but with his dark hair and eyes, Hugh thought him some sort of relation to Juliet. Whether he was or not made little difference to Hugh. What did matter was the very woman who now stood before him, fear - and that alluring defiance - in her eyes.
He soaked in her splendor as he awaited her response to the proclamation he had harbored for so long.
“Marry you?” she asked, her voice filled with incredulousness. “I would never do such a thing. Do you not understand? I am already married. Daniel is my husband.”
Anger flared from deep inside Hugh as he took hold of her arms. “You were to marry me!” he said, seething, “not a stable boy!”
When Juliet winced, he sighed and released her. “I understand how the night’s events can be distressing to you.”
“Distressing?” she asked. “You had my husband hauled away from our home like some common criminal. My life is now turned upside down.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “An act for which I will never forgive you.”
Hugh laughed and turned to retrieve his coat from the back of the chair where he had tossed it earlier. “You will realize in due time the errors of your decisions. In fact, you will come to thank me for rescuing you from all of this,” he motioned to include the entirety of the hovel she referred to as her home, “and the boy you married.”
Juliet stood glaring at him, her arms no longer crossed over that delectable bosom but hanging at her sides, her hands in fists. How lovely she was when she was angry!
“As I told you before, Daniel is more a man than you could ever hope to be. Tomorrow I will leave for Rumsbury to speak to those who will see him freed.” She took a step forward, that wonderful fire burning bright in her eyes nearly driving Hugh mad with desire. “And for what you have done, you will pay dearly. I swear this on my life.”
It took every ounce of strength he could muster not to throw her on the worn sofa and make her his right then! Instead, he took a calming breath and said, “Go to Rumsbury. Learn of the charges against him and his fate. When you realize that you are powerless, come to my estate and we will have a conversation about how to remedy the situation.”
Juliet’s eyes widened. “I will do no such thing…”
Although he had found her defiance appealing at first, he no longer enjoyed it. “You have made a mistake, Juliet,” he said, grasping her once more by the arms. “But I will forgive you. For now.” He pulled her to him and kissed her sweet lips. This time, much to his delight, she did not struggle. Granted, it was not a warm kiss, but it was as delectable as he had remembered.
Ballad of the Innocents Page 2
