by Wendy Vella
“You look beautiful tonight, my love.”
Eden smiled.
“However, that bodice is a trifle low. Crawley just tripped over his feet as you bent over.”
Eden heard James's words and then gave her partner a slow smile.
“Eden,” James growled.
Eden batted her eyelashes, which had Mr. Crawley stumbling once more.
“You will desist, woman!”
Oh this was fun, Eden thought, ruffling the usually unflappable Duke of Raven.
“When I get you alone, I will make you pay for the torment I am currently enduring.”
Eden decided she had teased James enough just as she heard the Duchess of Abernathy speak.
“I will be blunt, Duke. I am without a bed companion at the moment and I have heard of your prowess in that area, therefore I have my heart set on you taking the place of my last lover.”
Eden intercepted the warning look James sent her, however, it did nothing to calm the rage currently bubbling inside her.
“I think not, Duchess. I have no wish to be your latest bed companion.”
“Come now, Duke. We high-ranking peers must stick together, surely. Lying with those beneath us cannot be healthy.”
“Eden.”
Ignoring the warning in James's voice as the dance carried her closer to him, Eden deliberately stomped on the back of the Duchess's dress. Unaware, the lady moved and the fabric ripped.
“Oh dear, please forgive me, Duchess. How clumsy,” Eden cooed as she looked at the rent she had torn in the hem. She ignored the coughing fit James appeared to be having.
“Imbecile! Do you know how much this dress cost? Why, the fabric was imported from France!”
Eden just smiled, albeit through her teeth, and continued on with her partner.
“Country chit!” she heard the Duchess snap. “That girl is a heathen, as are her family.”
“Be warned that the Sinclair family are very important to me, Duchess, and I will not tolerate another word against any of them.”
James's words made Eden feel warm all over; the Duchess, however, did not look pleased.
As soon as the dance ended James returned the furious Duchess of Abernathy to her friends and made a hasty departure before she attempted once again to get him into her bed. He shuddered thinking of bedding that viper.
He swallowed the swell of laughter over Eden's behavior. There would be nothing easy about having her as his wife. She would love passionately and demand a great deal of him, and where before the thought had terrified him, now he could not wait.
Every part of him was aware of her. No more apathy or cold indifference. He was alive now, and wanted to stay that way. Waiting a few minutes, he sipped champagne, and then when he saw Eden return to Essie he made his move. He wanted to hold her and to do that, he would need to dance with her—at least until he could get her alone.
He smiled and bowed as he moved through the crowd, exchanging a few greetings on the way here and there. He was only a few feet from her when a hand gripped his shoulder. Spinning, he found Devonshire Sinclair looking at him intently. His eyes were wide, pupils large black dots, and James felt the tension in him.
“What's wrong?”
“Who were you with?”
“Pardon?”
“A few minutes ago, who were you talking to?”
“I danced with the Duchess of Abernathy, and then I drank a glass of champagne while Eden danced once again with another man that is not me, and now I am making my way to her side so that does not happen anymore this evening.”
“Someone evil was close to you, black with traces of deep red, menacing and evil.” Devon's eyes had changed color, nearly black now, and his face was clenched and pale.
“How did you see that from across the room? There must have been hundreds of people between us?”
Around them people talked and laughed, yet James was focused solely on Dev. The man was not his usual calm self, something had disturbed him greatly.
“Are you in pain, Dev?”
“There were too many colors, and it was hard for me to take them all in.”
“Then why did you?” James moved to the man’s side, unsure what to do next.
“I had a feeling—a premonition that something was not right. I changed vision and found you, and then saw the color nearby. When I changed back and located you once more, you were alone.
“But surely there are others with my color.”
“Not exactly the same, no one is.”
“How do you know the person meant to harm me?”
“The color. Black is bad, and the red when mixed with it. Very bad coloring. I've only ever seen it twice. Once when I saw them taking a murderer to be hanged.”
“The other?”
Dev dropped his eyes briefly before once again looking at James.
“Your father. Our paths crossed briefly one day in Crunston Cliff.”
“Can you see him now, this man?” James said softly. He was not surprised his father had been colored in such a way, but he was surprised that the mention of him did not disturb as once it would have done.
Dev looked around them and shook his head. “I can’t go back into my other vision again. I would probably end up unconscious at your feet.”
“I am to dance with Eden but after that I think we should all leave,” James said, suddenly needing to get everyone he cared about out of the ballroom.
Dev gave a curt nod. “I will find the others. Dance and then out, Raven, no risks.”
This time it was James's turn to nod as they parted. He cleaved a way through the people until he reached Eden. Touching her arm, he did not speak but led her to the floor. He felt a small measure of peace as she fitted into his arms; his heart stopped thumping and his body slowly unclenched.
“What has happened, James?”
He didn't bother denying it. “Dev thought he saw someone close to me who was bent on harming me.”
Biting her lip, she moved closer to James. Curling her fingers into his jacket, she held him close.
“I'm here, love, no one is going to hurt you or me,” James whispered, his hand stroking her back. He saw the fear in her eyes, felt the sudden tension in her body, and hated that it was he who had put it there.
“I am scared for you, James. Promise me you will take no risks to find this person who wants you dead. Promise me, please.”
“All right, I promise,” he said, kissing her brow. “Now let me hold you close, Eden, and then when the dance finishes we must leave. Dev is gathering the others as we speak.”
Nodding, Eden pressed close and let him guide her up and down the room with the other couples. As the music drew to a close, he whispered to her, “I want you to say loudly that you have a headache, and of course I will escort you out.”
“Duke, I am afraid I feel most unwell,” she said as the music finished. “I fear I am about to faint,” she added, laying the back of her hand on her forehead like the heroine from a torrid novel.
“My dear Miss Eden, allow me to see you to your carriage at once,” James said, taking her arm.
“Oh my head!” she wailed.
“Don't overdo it, love.”
She sniffed a few times but said nothing further.
They walked slowly up the stairs amidst murmurs and words of sympathy until they reached the top. Eden stumbled and James placed his arm around her waist.
“I am going to need my wits about me to wed you,” he said under his breath. “Your acting is most convincing.”
Eden did not speak as they made their way to the entrance, and then stepped out into the cool evening air. The carriages had already been called, and Dev, Cam, and Essie were waiting for them outside.
“Come, Cam, Essie, and I will take the second carriage, you and Eden take the first. Thankfully our aunt and uncle have already left.”
Soon they had begun the journey home. Eden sat pressed against James.
“Eden, it will be all right, I promise you.�
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“How can you promise me that? We do not know who he is, this man determined on taking you from me.”
Lifting her onto his lap, he found a blanket and covered them both. Holding her close, he pressed her head to his chest.
“What did you do to stop thinking about your father? When he made you do things you didn't want to do, how did you escape?” James tugged a curl free and wrapped it around his finger.
“I thought about riding along the cliffs of our home. Flying, free from him and his demands. It was just me and my horse and he could not take that from me.” She slipped her hand beneath his jacket to rest on his heart. “What did you do to escape your life?”
James lifted her chin and placed a soft kiss on her lips.
“I climbed to the highest turret of the castle. I would stand there looking out over water and the village. I would see the tops of trees, and the winding road that to my mind led to freedom, and imagine how one day I would walk or ride it to escape him.”
“I hate your father for forcing a small helpless boy from his home to live in a world filled with adults who offered him no love and affection, but I am also relieved that when he did, you were not subjected to his vile, perfidious actions for a second longer.”
He kissed her again, their lips clinging almost in desperation.
“James, we are going to live a long happy life filled with love and laughter, and more affection than you can cope with,” she said, cupping his cheek. “We will give our children everything our parents did not, and then we will teach them to ride along the beach and climb trees—but we will be right there with them, my love, watching their every step.”
Blinking, James was surprised to feel the sting of tears. Eden's eyes were so full of love and emotion, her words wrapping around him like a warm blanket and forming pictures of a future he had only imagined, and it was then he knew.
“God I love you, Eden.” He shuddered, burying his head in her neck. The words felt so right. “I have never said those words to anyone but Samantha before, but I need to say them now. Need you to understand what you have come to mean to me. I'm a fool for not realizing sooner.”
“I do understand, my love, and I will treasure them and you always.”
They clung to each other until the carriage pulled up outside his house. Kissing her once more, he then stepped down and helped her down behind him, as she would need to join her siblings in their carriage for the short journey to the Wynburg residence. The three Sinclair siblings were waiting for them before his front door.
“Cam will stay close and alert Mr. Brown of tonight's events before you go to bed,” Dev said. “We will have a meeting after the picnic tomorrow and plan a strategy to flush this bastard out and get rid of him once and for all.”
“Picnic?” James said, latching on to that one word and not the fact that Devon was organizing a meeting without first asking him. He must be mellowing.
“Unfortunately it is unavoidable, James. It is the twins’ birthday tomorrow. They requested a picnic, and of course invited both you and Samantha,” Essie said.
“And I am just hearing about this now?”
“I had thought Samantha would have told you,” Eden said.
“She probably did,” he admitted. “I have been preoccupied.”
“Which is entirely understandable.” Her hand brushed his, and it felt natural for James to open it and let her fingers slip between his. Even here, with her siblings looking on.
“We have managed to convince them to go to the park at the end of the street. It is small and we should be safe there. Aunt and Uncle have organized staff to go early and set everything up. We shall all arrive at eleven o’clock.”
James nodded at Devon's words. “Then of course we shall be there.” Reluctantly he released Eden's hand after a final squeeze.
“I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done for me and Samantha.” He looked at Essie, Cam, and Dev. “I understand the Sinclair-Raven history, and that it spans many years, yet I know that this goes beyond that,” James said, shaking the Sinclair brothers' hands before he bent to kiss Essie's cheek.
“We care for our own,” Dev said before he and his sisters climbed back into their carriage and drove away, leaving Cam at his side.
James said the words, “I love you,” and hoped Eden heard as the carriage took her away from him. He felt raw and exposed now that he had allowed himself to truly see what he felt for Eden and her family.
“Come, James, a nightcap and a chat with Mr. Brown before we retire, I think,” Cam said, urging him into the house. James followed, his thoughts on the love he and Eden would lavish upon their children. Hope began to spread through his body. Hope for the future that had once been so bleak. A future he would share with her and their families.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
“And do you think Dorrie and Somer will be happy with those necklaces, Samantha?” She wore buttercup yellow today with matching ribbons in her hair, and looked like every young child should—happy.
“Oh yes, James.”
His sister's eyes sparkled with excitement as she walked beside him swinging his hand. It was natural and felt right and he wondered how the hell he had existed without her and the Sinclairs in his life. Especially Eden, his love.
“I wonder if they will have cherry cakes. They are Cam's favorite you know, James.”
“Yes, they are, Samantha, and I expressly requested that my aunt's cook make them, because I know they are a favorite of yours also.” Cam loped beside them with his long-legged stride.
The day had seemed unusually bright and sunny to James from the first moment he had opened his eyes. Letting people inside his heart had not resulted in the pain he had once thought it would; in fact, the opposite had happened. He felt lighter and unburdened.
They entered the park and walked along the path.
“Oh look, James!”
At his sister's squeal of excitement James followed her gaze and found the Sinclairs. They had set up the picnic beside a pond and under a large tree, which would offer shade from the sun when it reached its peak in the middle of the day. A long table was laid with a bright blue cloth and loaded with food and drink.
The twins were dressed in blue, pink, and white. Seeing them approach, their little legs started running. Releasing his hand, Samantha did the same.
“Ahhh,” Cam sniffed the air. “The smell of food.”
James smiled as he found Eden. She was sitting on a blanket with a book in her hand and Warwick pressed to her side.
“Hello, my love.”
Her chin rose at his words, and the smile she gave him made his heart thud.
“Have mercy, Raven, I am due to eat, and that look you and my sister are sharing is making me nauseous.”
“Go away, Cam,” James said, making his way to where she sat and dropping down before her.
“Hello, Warwick,” he said with his eyes on Eden. Beneath the shade of the tree with dappled sunlight all around her, she looked almost magical.
“We have just finished reading the adventures of Captain Vesely, James, and now I am going to eat.”
The boy got to his feet and without a backward glance ran to the food-laden table.
“I dreamt of you.” James said cupping her cheek. “And woke up wanting you.”
“Soon,” she whispered, and he closed the distance and brushed his lips over hers in a brief kiss. “I love you, James.”
“And I you, Eden.”
He wanted to hold her, lay her down on the blanket and cradle her close, but of course he could not.
“Come.” James got to his feet and held out his hand. It was not done to be overly demonstrative with one's fiancée, especially in public, and yet these were the Sinclairs. Very little was proper and correct with them, so he retained her hand as they walked.
“Happy birthday, Dorrie, Somer.”
“Oh, James,” they said in unison, holding up the necklaces Samantha had selected for them.
“These are beautiful.”
They threw themselves at him and he caught them because they were his family now too, and besides, he rather thought he enjoyed being hugged.
They ate as the family teased and annoyed each other. He joined in when he could think of something to say, but for the most was content to watch. Samantha sat between he and Eden, and were it not for the man intent on killing him, James could say he was the happiest he had ever been in his life.
A game of hide-and-seek was decided upon once their food had settled.
“But you will not go far, and use the trees closest,” James cautioned the children and adults. “No one is to move out of shouting range, and I want the children in pairs.”
There were a few grumbles but surprisingly no one challenged him. It was decided that Lord and Lady Wynburg would stay by the tree and watch proceedings to check for any cheating.
“Of which there will be a great deal,” Eden told him. “We can't do anything without cheating,” she added.
“I have much to learn it seems.”
“I shall teach you.” She gave him a secret smile.
“Watch and learn, James. I am something of a legend at this,” Cam said, as he jogged by with Warwick.
“What you have is an overinflated ego,” Eden said.
Lord Wynburg counted, Dev was to find them, and the rest of the party hurried to find places to hide. The three little girls were allowed to hide together, but only because Eden said she would be able to hear them wherever they wandered, simply because the twins had never worked out how to keep their voices down. James, Essie, and Eden were to hide alone.
“How does one chose a hiding place I wonder?”
Eden smiled as James spoke to himself, or perhaps her. He knew she had taken out her earplugs as the game began, believing it important to keep track of where everyone was. She hadn't added that she liked to cheat if given the opportunity to do so.
Slipping behind some bushes, Eden forced herself inside one, ignoring the leaves and branches catching in her hair. Appearances were given no consideration when competing with family members. She settled in the middle and then listened. Warwick was grumbling that Cam was being too fussy, and any old tree would do. Dev was counting, their aunt and uncle chuckling over the goings-on. Essie was close, because she was humming softly. The little girls were giggling, but were some distance away.
