Marquess of Fortune: A Lords of Fate Novel

by K. J. Jackson

  Garek tightened his hold, his lips settling onto her damp hair. “I am here, Lils. I am not going to leave you.”

  With a choked exhale, her body went limp, folding into him, all fight dissipating.

  She was cold, still far too cold.

  He picked her up, her toes dragging on the floor as he took three steps to position them in front of the fire. Sliding to the floor, Garek propped his back against the wooden rail at the foot of the bed, not letting his hold on Lily loosen.

  Minutes passed, and Lily’s stillness, her even breathing told him she had fallen asleep.

  Garek concentrated on the serene weight of her rising and falling on his chest with every one of his breaths. It calmed the remnants of fury that reignited, again and again, ebbing into his gut with every thought of what had happened to her and Brianna.

  Her sudden soft words, sleepy, startled him. “What next, Garek?”

  His hand went to her head, stroking down her loose hair, the braid from earlier in the day long since disheveled. “Do not worry on it, Lily.”

  “I can think of nothing else.” Her fingers twitched against his shirt, but her nose did not leave the nook on his chest. “We have nothing. Nothing but the clothes we arrived with.”

  “That is not true. You have your possessions at the house, whatever your father left you. I will go to Weadly in the morning—”

  “I will accompany you.”

  A chuckle rumbled from his chest. “By myself. I am not letting you within thirty paces of Sneedly.”

  “I am not afraid of him, Garek. I know he can hurt me, but I am not afraid of him.”

  “That has already been proven, Lils. Too much so.” His lips dropped to her head and he smiled into her hair. “But no. I will go alone. Just tell me what I should gather from Weadly Hall. What you need.”

  “Our father’s papers. One dress for me, two for Brianna, since she only has the night rail and robe she has on. We are the same size, just go to her dressing room.”

  “That is all?”

  Lily shrugged. “Everything else—they are just things, things I do not care about. But I need father’s papers. I still have not had time to decipher any of his holdings. So that is what is important. That is what we have to rebuild our lives with. I do not even have a place for us to go to in the morning.”

  “You do.”

  She lifted her head to look at him, her eyebrows high. “We do?”

  “I was going to tell you tomorrow—it was why I left early in the day. I found a cottage for you and Brianna. I did not think you would need it so soon, and it is not up to your current standard of surroundings, but it should suffice until Brianna is well.”

  “How did you find a cottage?”

  “I met Widow Thompson. Her son-in-law was at the tavern yesterday and asked me to look at her gout. She just moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, so her cottage is vacant.”

  “But how did you manage this? You have no money.”

  “I appealed to her sense of compassion. She knew your father and has kind memories of him—many people do, Lily. He was a friend to a number of people here in Annadale.”

  “And that worked—appealing for compassion?”

  “Yes, until you can set your affairs in order, she is happy to lend you the home.”

  “And what else?” Lily’s eyes pinned him. “I can tell there is more you are not fessing to.”

  Garek tilted his head with a sigh, sliding his fingers into Lily’s hair and pressing her back against his chest. He kissed the top of her head. “I also promised her free care. She apparently has a certain dislike for Dr. Rugbert.”

  Lily chuckled, and Garek was pleased with the warmth of her breath on his neck. She was finally drying off, heat returning to her body.

  “If you leverage yourself on that matter alone, you will soon own this town, Garek. I do not think anyone cares for him, or ever has.”

  “Which is good, since I do not plan on leaving this place—not as long as you are here,” Garek said, his gaze going to the fire. “You should know, Lily, there are quite a few people in this town that regarded your father in the highest esteem. He has assisted many of them, donated his time to their affairs. Everywhere I turn, I meet someone who has been very worried about you and Brianna. Sneedly had cut you two off from the world, they said, once he dismissed all the servants. They have been concerned that you have been captives at Weadly Hall.”

  She nodded, her hair catching on the unshaven stubble under his chin.

  “Garek—” her voice caught, cutting her words.

  He stayed silent, waiting for her to take a deep breath and continue.

  “You have never failed me, Garek. Never. Know that.” Her hand slipped up over his shoulder and she burrowed further into him. “All I can do is worry on tomorrow and the next day, but you have already taken care of it all. All my worries.”

  Garek set his hand on the crown of her head, tucking her further under his chin. “So sleep. Sleep. Wait for tomorrow. All will right itself.”

  She nodded, silent.

  Within minutes, she was asleep. And this time, her soft snoring was clear evidence.

  Two hours later, Garek bent the soreness out of his legs as he lifted Lily and laid her on the bed next to Brianna, wedging her against the wall. He checked Brianna’s leg, assuring himself the blood flow had stopped. It had, and he could wait until Lily was awake again to clean it.

  He stoked the fire, looking out the hole he had made in the wall. Dawn approached. Snow still whipped through the air, but the darkness was lifting.

  Going to the corner of the room, he rummaged through his bag, pulling free a handkerchief and going to the wall to stuff it into the opening.

  It was time to pay Sneedly a visit.

  ~~~

  A door slammed, jarring Lily awake. She had been lost in such sweet blackness that it took a muddled moment to realize she was in bed with Brianna. That was not new, but the wall behind her back was.

  Her eyes opened, and the blinding rush of reality made her eyes squeeze shut. Sneedly. Brianna slumped on the ground. The cold. Making her way in the dark. Fingers that could barely move. The empty tavern.

  And then the instant relief the moment she found Garek.

  Garek. Her eyes flew open, scanning the room. It was well into daylight, and aside from her and Brianna in bed, the room was empty except for a wooden chair, small wooden table, and Garek’s leather satchel in the corner of the room.

  Lily swung her leg over Brianna, trying not to flatten her sister as she untangled herself from the blanket.

  Feet on the floor, Lily leaned over Brianna’s face, smoothing back the light brown hair that had matted onto her sister’s forehead.

  “Bree. Bree.”

  Brianna’s head turned, a grumbling moan coming from her chest.

  “Bree.” Lily shook her shoulder.

  Ever so slowly, her sister’s eyes cracked open. “Lils?”

  Lily hovered, her face directly above Brianna’s eyes so her sister could easily focus on her. “Bree, do not be alarmed. You are in a different room, a different bed. But I am right here and we are safe.”

  “Safe?” Brianna’s forehead scrunched slightly.

  “Do not fret.” Lily forced what she hoped was an easy smile. “All is well. I just have to leave the room for a moment, and I will return in a minute. I did not want you to worry if you awoke and I was gone. Just go back to sleep.”

  Brianna started to nod, her eyes drifting closed before the jostle of her head finished.

  Lily stepped away from the bed, smoothing the wool of her black dress the best she could. The wetness had combined with her odd sleeping position and had set creases deep into the fabric that there was no recovery from.

  Running her hands through her hair, she slapped sections into a quick braid, knowing it would fall apart soon if she didn’t find a ribbon to secure the bottom of it.

  A quick glance over her shoulder at Brianna, now return
ed to a deep sleep, and Lily opened the door, stepping out into the hall. She immediately tripped over legs angled across the doorway and stumbled into an awkward fall.

  One knee hit the floorboards as she caught herself on the opposite wall.

  “Sorry, dovey.” A plump lady in a grey dress with a brown-stained apron pushed herself up to her feet from the chair she sat in. “I be catchin’ a few winks while I be waitin’.”

  “Hello,” Lily said slowly, drawn out with tentativeness as she smoothed her skirt again. “I am—”

  “Lily. I know. Miss Silverton.”

  Lily’s head cocked, her words stilted in confusion. “And you are sitting outside the room because…”

  “Because ‘e asked. Dr. Harrison. This be ‘is room, but ‘e didn’t want no one besmirchin’ ye or yer sister’s reputations. ‘e woke me husband and asked me to guard the room. ‘e told me how ye got yerself booted from Weadly Hall and that yer sister be waverin’. Shame, that. Shame ‘bout yer papa—‘e be a fine man. Helped me mister out a number o’ times on some papers.” She winked at Lily, her forefinger wagging down the hallway. “Besides, I don’t rightly trust a few of these ‘ooligans currently in residence, neither.”

  Lily glanced down the hall. “Oh. Thank you. I had no idea.” She looked to the woman. “I do not believe I have made your acquaintance?”

  “Mrs. Fulgton. This be me and me ‘usband’s tavern. The Twisted Tin.” Mrs. Fulgton opened the door to Garek’s room, peeking in.

  Nosy, but Lily could care less. She was just happy Garek had the foresight to enlist Mrs. Fulgton’s help.

  Mrs. Fulgton closed the door quietly. “Yer sister. She well now?”

  “She is. Last night scared me, but she has been enormously better than she had been. Ever since Dr. Harrison started tending to her at Weadly Hall.”

  “Yea? ‘e’s got some admirers ‘bout town, too. Me included. No one with a right head likes that mangy ole Dr. Rugbert. But Dr. Harrison—that one is a fine man—endearin’.” She elbowed Lily with a sweet cackle. “And ‘andsome like the devil, too, eh?”

  Lily’s mouth spiked in a half smile, chuckling to herself. “Yes. He is all of those things. I am very grateful for his skill with my sister. He saved her life.” Lily pointed to the floor. “Is he here? Down in the tavern? I was hoping to get some tea, maybe some broth for Brianna, but I did not want to leave her for long. Her mind is still very muddled.”

  “Course, child. You stay right here.” Mrs. Fulgton moved past her in the hall. “Don’t worry a wallop. I’ll bring ye up some porridge and tea.” She waved her hand. “Get ye back in. Dr. Harrison said ‘e would be back soon.”

  The gratefulness that swept through Lily threatened to send her to her knees. She managed a smile for Mrs. Fulgton, her voice choking. “Thank you. Thank you for your generosity.”

  “Not a fret, dovey.” Mrs. Fulgton’s thick hand went to Lily’s shoulder, patting hard. “Ye got a bounty o’ kindness to be repaid from yer papa and Dr. Harrison. Ye’ll be sparklin’ once more, dovey.”

  Lily nodded, moving back into the room. She leaned against the door, staring at her sister.

  Sparkling once more.

  Lily couldn’t even dare dream the thought. But for the first time in forever, she felt hope that wasn’t faked. The true possibility of it.

  Maybe she could sparkle again. Both her and Brianna.

  { Chapter 8 }

  The moment she heard footsteps in the hallway, Lily was out the door.

  Garek stopped in the hallway, his eyebrows cocked. “So you were waiting for me?”

  “I was watching for you out the window. Bree is asleep again, and I did not want to wake her.”

  “She was awake?”

  “Yes. And she sat up, had some broth. The wounds that I tore open last night have stopped bleeding.”

  Garek flinched at her words. “It was unavoidable, Lily.”

  Lily shrugged. She didn’t particularly want to rehash how she had set all of the current mess into action. “I cleaned the wounds and set the linen as you showed me.” Stepping closer to him in the hallway, her eyes searched his face. “What happened at Weadly Hall?”

  “I have your father’s papers. Most of them, at least. And some clothes for you and Brianna.” His face stayed stoic with the words.

  “Thank you. But beyond that. What happened?”

  “Nothing of concern.”

  “No?” She took another step forward, leaving only a sliver between them, and looked up at him. “It is of concern, Garek. I am not sure what exactly it is, but your face—your eyes—they have darkened.”

  He closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Now is not the time, Lily.”

  Her voice went to a low whisper. “What happened?”

  His eyes opened, the green flecks in the hazel taking over the blue. His jaw flexed visibly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Lily, no. Right now I have a borrowed wagon waiting for us to take you and Brianna to Widow Thompson’s cottage.”

  The warning in his voice offered no room to argue.

  Lily ignored it.

  “Garek, if something—”

  “No. Lily. We are moving you right now.” His hands went to her arms, shifting her so he could slide past her in the skinny hallway. He opened the door. “Do you think Brianna will be able to sit upright for fifteen minutes, or should I make a place for her to lie in the back of the wagon? Mrs. Fulgton said we could take whatever blankets we needed.”

  Lily sighed to herself, following Garek into the room. “I think she will be fine to sit upright in front, as long as she can lean on the backboard.”

  “Good.” He looked back over his shoulder at her. “Not another word, Lily.”

  She stared at the back of Garek’s rumpled dark jacket, a shiver of fear running down her spine.

  What the hell had happened at Weadly Hall?

  ~~~

  “She is settled.” Arms crossed over her belly, Lily stepped out into the last of the grey day, a swathe of hair whipping into her eyes. The snow had ceased, but the wind had become angrier.

  Lily dragged the loose tendril from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Three steps forward and she stopped next to Garek, her shoulder touching his. She followed his stare down the rolling hill in front of the cottage to the snow-covered mounds where Widow Thompson had been growing potatoes and beans in neat rows.

  His eyes glassy, he didn’t say a word to her.

  She set her gaze forward, watching the dried rushes along the hill crackle in the wind. “I am settled, Garek. Brianna is settled. All of that is thanks to you.”

  “You should have a cloak on Lily. I grabbed a cloak for you from Weadly Hall, did you not see it?”

  “I need the air.”

  “I will not have you catch your death out here, Lily,” he said softly, not looking to her.

  “Now is the time, Garek.” She looked up at him, her arms tightening around her ribcage. “Tell me what happened at Weadly Hall.”

  She let the silence between them thicken, offering no more questions. Hair flew into her face, but she ignored it, staying still, frozen in place. She would wait like this all day if she had to.

  A sigh—a heavy sigh—slipped from Garek’s lips. “I went dark, Lily. Dark. My hands were around Sneedly’s neck. His eyeballs bulging.”

  She swallowed down panic at the words, forcing herself not to jump in front of him. Not to grab him and shake him. It took several breaths before she could speak. “Did you kill him? Tell me you did not kill him, Garek.”

  It was only seconds, but an agonizing lifetime passed in Lily’s mind before Garek answered her.

  “I did not.” His eyes swung to her. “But I wanted to, Lils—I truly did. I have never wanted to see another person dead. Not until Sneedly. I choked him—watched as the life almost left his eyes. ”

  Lily’s fingertips relaxed from sharply digging into her ribcage. Garek’s soul was darkened, but his hands were clean. “But you let him go.” />
  He nodded. “I let him go.”

  She moved around to the front of him, letting his body block her from the snapping wind. “Is it that you let him live or that you believe you should have killed him that has sent shadows into your eyes?”

  “Shadows in my eyes? What do you mean?”

  “That something in you has changed, Garek. I can see it. I do not know how to explain it. Last night you were the same as I have always known you, but you came back from Weadly Hall with darkness weighing you down.”

  He swallowed, turning his head as his eyes found far-off woods. Lily’s heart started to thump hard in her chest. He wasn’t going to tell her—wasn’t going speak to what was in his mind. Hide from her.

  Just when she opened her mouth, his hazel eyes slid down to her.

  “It is darkness, Lily, but not because of Sneedly.”

  “No? Then what has changed?”

  “You.” His voice went low—dangerously low. “I was willing to kill a man, give up my whole life, just to make this world a safe place for you, Lily.”

  “Garek—”

  “One reason—there is only one reason for that.” Garek’s hand came up, his knuckles brushing across her cheek. “I am desperately and unequivocally in love with you, Lily Silverton. So much so I was going to kill a man because he dared to hurt you.”

  Her eyes dropped to his chest as she blinked hard. He was saying this—this very thing that she had only dared hope for in her deepest dreams—but at the very same time, he was admitting it darkened his life.

  Her look met his. “You…you love me? But why does this weigh upon your soul, Garek? You tell me this but you cannot smile? Hold me?”

  His hand dropped from her face, holding fast to his side. “I cannot give you the life you deserve, Lily. Not now. I have no money. No home. Responsibilities from the past that weigh upon me, that must be dealt with. You have your sister to worry on. A life to recreate. I have no right to love you at this moment in time.”

  “No. You have every right, Garek.” She unfolded her arms, grabbing his shoulders, shaking him what little she could with her strength against his mass. “I do not care on any of that—anything you try to use to convince yourself you should not love me. You should.”