The Earl and The Enchantress (An Enchantress Novel Book 1)

by Paullett Golden

  The woman before her could be Sebastian’s doppelgänger. Although her hair was tied back in a knot, ebony strands flew freely around her face as if she had survived a struggle. Her eyes looked black from this distance, her facial structure the same lean face with the prominent Roddam nose. The look metamorphosed the woman into an exotic beauty.

  “If you’re not here to see Sir Graham, then why are you here? Who are you?”

  Liz stammered, eyes flitting back and forth between the woman’s face and the blood-smeared apron. “I’m here to speak with Lilith Chambers.”

  The woman didn’t blink, only stared. “Yes, I am Lilith Chambers. You’ve caught me red-handed, in a manner of speaking.” She chuckled, a deep rumble that reminded Lizbeth of Sebastian’s own laugh.

  “I, uh… are you well? Are you harmed?” Liz hadn’t yet moved, frozen in place from the sounds and sights that had barraged her since arriving.

  “Quite well. Tired, but well otherwise. Lady Graham has given birth to twins, I’m pleased to announce. A long day of labor resulting in a blessed event. But why have you come here to see me? Are my services needed elsewhere?”

  Recovering herself, Liz said, “It’s a delicate matter, perhaps better discussed in private and sitting. My congratulations to Lady Graham. Why are you covered in blood, if I may ask?” The apron made Lizbeth uncomfortable, even though it appeared all was well, and no one had been harmed in the making of the bloody apron.

  “You found me here, asked for me, yet you don’t even know what I’m doing here? You’re a curiosity.” Lilith examined Lizbeth from the opposite end of the hallway. “I’m Allshire’s midwife. I assume you’re not inquiring regarding my midwifery skills, then?” Lilith smiled, despite the unusualness of the situation and the strangeness of a person unknown to her standing in the home of her patient.

  Lilith continued after Lizbeth could only nod in response to her question. “Not to be rude, as you appear an affable woman, not to mention of fine attire, but it has been an exhausting day. I need to tidy up here and settle the twins and Lady Graham for the evening, not to mention bring the glad tidings to her husband. Is your request urgent? If not, I will be more than pleased to meet you on the morrow at the church. We could meet in the vestry next to the gardens.”

  “It’s not exactly urgent, no, although time is not entirely our ally.” Liz hated to wait until morning, but this moment alone confirmed the dowager duchess’ words.

  A weight lifted from her shoulders, and with this newfound knowledge, she could accomplish much to help Sebastian find peace.

  “Then it’s settled. Would ten be too early?” Lilith queried.

  “Ten is perfect. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I hope not to keep you from your duties, as you appear a busy woman,” Liz said.

  “I consider myself productive and useful, thank you. I haven’t caught your name. You are...?”

  “Lizbeth Lancaster the Countess of Roddam.” She braced herself for an intake of breath, a start, a flinch, some glimmer of recognition at the surname and title.

  Lilith showed no flicker of recall. Instead, she politely replied, “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Roddam. I will see you at ten. I’m sure you can see yourself out.” She turned from Lizbeth and re-entered the room, leaving Liz alone in the hallway.

  A few mistaken hallways later, Lizbeth found her way to the front door and back to the carriage.

  “Well?” Charlotte held her hands open in inquisition.

  “She’s alive. She’s in there. His sister is in there. Oh, Charlotte, she looks just like him. She’s agreed to meet us tomorrow at ten.” Lizbeth grabbed one of her sister’s hands and held it.

  “What did she say when you told her? Does she remember him?”

  “I didn’t tell her. I will tomorrow. She wasn’t exactly in a position for chit-chat. How will I tell her? All my haste and I haven’t planned what to say. Do I blurt it out—I’m your sister-in-law? Do I ask if she knows she’s the daughter of an earl? Do I open by asking if she knows her brother thinks she’s dead? This is impossible!” She closed her eyes and squeezed her sister’s hand.

  What a glorious dilemma she now faced. Reuniting lost siblings was far more pleasant than battling ghosts.

  They proceeded to the inn where Lizbeth expected she would toss and turn all night. Surprisingly, she slept soundly, knowing she would soon be back in Sebastian’s arms with a bright future ahead of them.

  Chapter 36

  “Are we there yet?” Drake pestered his cousin for the twentieth time in the past hour.

  “Let’s hope so, then I won’t have to hear you complain anymore.”

  Sebastian rode along in good spirits, despite the arduousness of his task ahead. He didn’t know if he could win her back, but he held a cheeriness and high spirit new to his disposition.

  When he had arrived at Lyonn Manor, Drake hadn’t been able to help much more than to agree to join him on his escapade. Neither Charlotte nor Lizbeth had divulged to Drake the purpose of their trip, only that they were bound for Allshire. Sebastian knew the truth, though. She was getting as far away from him as possible. His only hope was to find her before he lost the trail.

  Sebastian and Drake followed on horseback, hoping they wouldn’t be too far behind, making faster time than would the two ladies in the ducal coach. While he wanted to gallop until he arrived, he couldn’t push his horse so cruelly.

  Despite their speedy progress, their trip was punctuated with stops along the way to rest and water the horses. Sebastian wanted to travel through the night in hopes of intercepting them, but Drake insisted they stop for the evening in consideration of road visibility and the sake of horses and sore bums.

  Drake found the whole trip a grand adventure, likening themselves to Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Drake playing the role of Sancho, of course, with his witticisms and ability to rope in Don Quixote’s fantastical day dreams of knighthood and chivalry.

  All Sebastian had told him about their journey was that he had botched things with Lizbeth and meant to make amends before she did something as rash as return home to Cornwall. Drake found the whole plan a lark.

  “Here we are, you and I,” said the duke as they rounded a bend in the landscape, “gallant knight and squire off to woo our ladies fair!”

  For once, Drake was refreshing company, as jolly as a dandy could be, despite tongue-in-cheek comments of his sore bottom needing to be massaged.

  “You know what I think you should do when we arrive, Don Quixote?” Drake asked.

  “No idea. What should I do, Sancho?” Sebastian was already chuckling at his cousin before he answered the question, knowing Drake would undoubtedly offer jewels of wisdom on chivalrous courtship the likes of which civilized society had never heard.

  “Ride into town at top speed, hoist her up by her pannier, throw her over your horse, and ride into the sunset!”

  “She doesn’t wear a pannier, and we’ll be arriving after sunrise.” Sebastian smiled nonetheless at the conjured image.

  “You are such a critic. Well, how about this. You stop in the middle of the town square and prostrate yourself until she comes crying with words of forgiveness. Some over dramatized, penitent self-flagellation might not be a bad idea to prove to her you’re repentant,” Drake offered with a wide and goofily lopsided grin.

  “Mmm. That sounds tempting. I’ve always wanted to flog myself in a town square. You say the sweetest things, cousin.”

  “I have it. Imagine this. She’s inside a building, say the second or third floor, her hair flowing out of the window as she sees you approaching—”

  “Don’t you dare say I should climb up by her hair to rescue her.” Sebastian was still chuckling.

  “No, no, not at all. You read too much, old man!”

  “Persinette is a well-known fairy tale, hardly considered ‘reading too much
,’” Sebastian refuted his companion.

  “Ah, then you have not read the latest version where she’s renamed Rapunzel instead of Parsley, and it is far more wicked than a fairy tale in his version.” Drake winked from his horse.

  “Oh ho! My cousin cracked a book! I’m impressed. All these years I suspected you didn’t know how to read.” Sebastian steered his horse around a rut in the road.

  “Not such an unheard of feat. Now, I was saying something of great importance before someone rudely interrupted me. You know you shouldn’t interrupt a duke when he’s talking, for I have more power behind my name than you have in both of your fists combined. I am second only to royalty! In fact, I could smite you for interrupting.”

  “I’m quaking in my boots,” Sebastian antagonized. “Continue.”

  “So, imagine her in the window on the second or third floor. You see a tree nearby the window. Climb it! Climb that tree and abduct her. Bind her and gag her, then don’t release her until she’s agreed to let you have your way with her. No, no, don’t even wait for permission. Bind her, gag her, and have your way with her until she agrees to forgive you. Brilliant, yes?” Drake smiled smugly.

  “How am I supposed to know she’s forgiven me if she’s gagged?” Sebastian questioned innocently.

  “Right. No gag.”

  “And if there is no tree?” He raised a quizzical eyebrow.

  “Scale the damn building! How should I know? I’m offering sage advice, here, so no need to be pessimistic.”

  “Your advice is invaluable, to say the least. I think rather than slipping on a tree limb and breaking my neck, I should sing outside her window,” Sebastian joked.

  If he squinted, he swore he could see a town on the horizon. With any luck, that would be Allshire. They had no way of knowing where the pair of ladies would head after the stop at Allshire, so with any luck, they would still be there or have mentioned to someone their final destination. Or at the very least, the coachman will have mentioned over a pint whereto next.

  “Just what every woman wants to hear—you singing. While you find a likely window to entice with your dulcet tones, I will head for the nearest inn. I’m parched, sore, and fatigued.” Drake reached beneath him to rub his bottom and wince. He was definitely used to a carriage and not the back of a horse for lengthy rides.

  “I’ll resist the urge to woo an empty window, and instead go to the inn with you. Hopefully, someone has seen them. I doubt they would be difficult to miss, especially gallivanting around in your obnoxious carriage.”

  “It’s regal, not obnoxious.” Drake affected a wounded tone.

  As they approached the outskirts, Drake continued his monologue, offering ways Sebastian and Lizbeth could make up for their evenings apart once he got her back to the castle.

  Adrenaline coursed through his veins knowing at any minute he could spot her. Just one sight of her and he may leap with joy or sob unattractively or freeze from fear. All eyes following them when they entered the parish. Sebastian scanned every side street and building for signs of the carriage, the coachman, or the sisters.

  “Please be here, Lizbeth,” he chanted under his breath as they approached the inn.

  A young boy took their horses. When Drake tossed him a coin and a wink requesting he feed, water, and cool the horses, the boy gaped, tugged at his forelock, then bowed so fervently, Sebastian’s horse became skittishly nervous, snorting at the boy’s erratic movements.

  They entered the Black Bull Inn, a dark and small watering hole well populated by townspeople eating and socializing. Drake wasted no time in ordering a drink and a table, nonchalantly ignoring the eyeballs trained on him and his ringed fingers. The people of the parish had likely never seen a dandy in person.

  Surveying the room, Sebastian saw a chipper maid bringing drinks and food to the tables. Feeling lost and uncertain, his cheerfulness waning now that the moment of truth was upon him, he joined his cousin at the table and reached for his chronometer, only to realize he had left it at home. Unsure what to fiddle with for comfort, he tapped his fingers on the table.

  “Relax, old man. As much attention as we’re garnering, imagine how memorable our wives if riding in my coach. Someone in here will tell us where to find them.” Drake leaned back in his chair, exuding an air of superiority.

  The peppy maid approached their table just as Sebastian saw a flash of blue muslin from the staircase. Ignoring the maid, with a hand gripping the chairback, he rose, taking a tentative step towards the staircase. The dress could belong to anyone, he told himself, anyone at all.

  The hem descended the staircase, revealing hips next, then a bosom, and then a face as the woman made her way to the first floor.

  And there she stood. Not more than ten feet from him. A vision in blue. His love. Lizbeth.

  He dropped to his knees on the stone floor, his hat in one hand, his heart in the other. Around him, a hush fell on the room, prompting Lizbeth to look for the source of the disturbance.

  Their eyes met.

  The low hum buzzed in his ears as it had in the library. Swallowing his fears, he focused on his newfound courage. He could do this.

  Her eyes brightened with surprise and, could it be, happiness? “Sebastian!” She exclaimed, walking towards him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Don’t say a word. Please, let me speak before I lose my courage.” The stone floor bit into his knees, but he didn’t care.

  “But I—” She tried to interrupt.

  He dropped his hat on the floor and held up his hands. “No, please. I must say this. Lizbeth, search your heart and find a way to forgive me for my behavior. You’re the only person in this world I want to love and be loved by in return. I should have listened to you sooner. I should have faced my past, but I was a coward. You gave me strength, Lizbeth. You gave me strength to look into my soul. I do not deny I’m still pained by my mistake, but I see now I wasn’t responsible.” He paused to catch his breath. “Give me a chance to explain myself.”

  “Sebastian, I—” She tried to interrupt again.

  “No, please, let me explain. Let me defend myself. Give me a chance to redeem myself. Give me a chance to beg you to come home. You see, after all these years, I can lay the past to rest, but I need you by my side to do it. Could you ever love me again? Would you consider being loved by me? I want us to be a family. I want to spend the rest of my life proving I love you more than all the stars in the sky. I will prostrate myself before you, climb a tree to reach you, sing beneath a window, anything for you. I love you, Lizbeth. Give me a chance to prove it to you. Will you come home to me, to your family?”

  He held his breath as he watched her, as did all eyes in the inn having turned from him to her.

  His angel floated towards him and took his bruised hands into hers, tugging him to stand. Unsure if his nerves would let him stand without quaking, he braved the odds and stood, gripping her hands for support despite the sting of his knuckles.

  “Sebastian, I never left.” She pecked his bristly cheek with a kiss. “I’ve never doubted your courage, and I see only the man I love standing before me.”

  Despite the room full of people, she wrapped a hand behind his neck and pulled his face towards hers for a kiss. However chaste the kiss, he tingled from head to toe, her lips snapping the steel trap around his heart and dissolving it in a warm pool of pure love.

  Drake shouted to the two, “Get a room!” stirring a round of applause from the onlookers.

  Sebastian laughed against Liz’s lips, breathing in her familiar scent. All his worries, all his preparations to win her back, and she had never left him. Remarkable woman. This whole time, she really had loved all of him, even the parts he thought she would fear. Then why the devil had she taken off to Cumberland?

  “Before we return home, there’s someone I want you to meet,” she said against his kiss.


  Confused and curious, he followed her outside.

  Chapter 37

  Lizbeth led her husband towards the church.

  Lilith had instructed her to meet in the vestry, so with the few minutes remaining before ten, she could talk to Sebastian in the chapel first. The last thing she wanted was him to find out the truth by seeing his sister without warning or explanation. For all she knew, he would think he had gone mad to see a grown ghost.

  Her heart overflowed as they walked to the church. Sebastian had come for her. Never in her wildest dreams had she guessed he would do that, that he would spend their time apart reflecting introspectively so that he could come to her as a whole man without self-condemnation.

  He had come for her, riding across the countryside to bring her home, believing, she suspected, that his wife had abandoned him after his confession.

  She had assumed all along she would be the one to save him, but in the end, he saved himself and came to rescue her. Never had she been prouder of her husband or felt more loved. If they had more time, she would beg to hear how he’d come to terms with the past, but ten approached, and she refused to be late for her meeting with Lilith.

  When they reached the chapel door, she poked her head into the room first to ensure the coast was clear. The pews were empty, and more pointedly, free of a certain woman with ebony hair. Lizbeth ushered him into the chapel, closing the door behind him, and found herself immediately pressed to Sebastian’s chest by powerful arms.

  She looked at him smiling down at her, his eyes untroubled and full of life.

  “You’re mine.” He growled, holding her possessively against his body.

  “I am. And you, my lion, are mine forever and always.” She lifted her arms around his shoulders, embracing him. He buried his face against her neck and lifted her off her feet.

  When her feet touched the ground again, she tried to drag him to the last row of benches. “Sit. I think you should be sitting when I tell you this.”