The Captain's Conquest

by Baganz, Susan M. ;

  Valeria brought Lucy to sit next to her and soon most were seated. Michael stood in front of the fireplace and Jared took his place behind Lucy.

  “The ladies wanted to know—do you possess a tattoo or brand of a diamond on your shoulder?” Katrina asked.

  “I cannot see my shoulder, so I wouldn’t know.” She glanced up at Jared.

  His lips set in a firm line and he nodded his head. He moved a hand to her right shoulder and through her clothes traced where the brand was.

  “Don’t be embarrassed,” Beth implored, “everyone here but Josie has been branded in some way or another with a diamond.”

  “If the men in this room had not acted to protect me, I’m sure I would have had one too, but it is not something I envy any of you for.” Josie sat prim and proper in her chair, but her face was open and friendly.

  “We have all in some way, interfered with the plans of your father. Initially, we only knew him as the Black Diamond. It wasn’t until last year when we helped Valeria rescue her son from him, that we learned his true identity.” Theo volunteered this information. He sat close to his wife. Her hand was in his, joining them together in an unusual display of affection.

  “Is he really that bad? He said he wants to be my father. If I don’t let him, he will ruin Jared’s reputation.”

  “My reputation is probably in the process of being ruined at this very moment. He wants to brand me a traitor and Whitehall is amenable to agreeing with him. They are not certain I am as loyal as I claim.”

  Marcus moved forward. “They would doubt your integrity? After all you gave our nation? After the French tortured and almost killed you?” His voice was a growl.

  “Ah, but Marcus, I married the daughter of a renowned traitor, whom I claimed to put on a ship to France.”

  “They don’t even believe that?” Phillip asked.

  “So, what do we do? He’s threatened us all, hasn’t he?” Katrina asked.

  “First things first. Lucy and I will have our wedding in two days.”

  The women all started chattering at once and spirited Lucy out of the room. She looked back at Jared with narrowed eyes. The wedding was a ruse. She was sure he was plotting to work through this with the men alone and they had all just fallen for it. She wasn’t allowed time to mull over the implications as the women began to discuss flowers, the dress, and the meal.

  ~*~

  Jared went to shut the door behind the ladies and turned the key in the lock. “Well, now, gentlemen. Shall we get down to business?”

  Michael shook his head. “Masterful, but you do realize we will all suffer for that later?”

  “Worth the price, don’t you think? As long as we can keep the women safe,” Jared shot back.

  “Provided they don’t get a bee in their bonnet to do something of their own,” Phillip mused.

  “They wouldn’t,” Theo stated baldly.

  The men all glanced at Theo shaking their heads.

  “Katrina would be the ringleader. That girl has a penchant for trouble,” Michael asserted. “I found that out firsthand.”

  “Lucy is an intrepid warrior in spite of her size and we’ve already argued about this. The glare she gave me as they left clued me into the fact that she was not fooled one whit.” Jared rubbed the back of his neck. A headache threatened, and he wondered if he’d be sleeping on the floor in front of the fireplace tonight.

  “So, what do we do? Is there any way we can be anything other than reactive? I hate waiting for the Black Diamond to attack, especially since that’s what he expects of us.” Michael paced in front of the fireplace.

  “Lucy wanted to be bait,” Jared offered. “I’m not agreeable to that option.”

  “We used Valeria as bait without her knowing it. She was less than pleased about the entire ordeal,” Theo volunteered.

  “Ah, but we got our man. Wolton is dead.”

  “How did you get away with that and not hang?” Jared asked.

  “Self-defense, but we said he shot himself,” Phillip offered.

  “Putting himself in our crosshairs was suicide.” Michael grinned.

  “He did attack a lord of the realm, entirely justifiable,” Theo added.

  “So, can we do something similar with the Duke?” Jared asked.

  “I thought you didn’t want to put Lucy out there as bait?” Michael asked.

  “Not alone. Perhaps if I were with her?” Jared offered.

  “I think it would behoove us to seek God in this first. He may provide the answer we lack,” Marcus added.

  The men nodded. Michael sat. Heads bowed and Marcus prayed.

  “God, we know that You are supreme over all kings and peers. You rule the nations and it is only by Your grace that ours has survived. You know the challenge we face with the Duke of Diamonte goes far beyond this war with France. It is a battle between You and Satan and we know we cannot win this battle unless we have come to You for strength, power, and wisdom in how we fight. As Joshua said, ‘The battle is the Lord’s’ and we ask for You to lead and guide us. Protect our families in the midst of the battle. We worship and adore You, Jesus, and thank You for Your provision for our needs.”

  “Amen” was said in unison.

  The men visited and caught up while waiting for inspiration to strike.

  ~*~

  The ladies were holed up in a sitting room that Josie had designated as her space. They sat around the tea tray. The camaraderie they shared was amazing.

  Josie finally shushed everyone. “Lucy, when did you fall in love with Jared?”

  Lucy bit back a smile. “I loved him before I even met him.”

  “How could that be?” Katrina asked.

  “God gave me repeated images, a vision if you will, of this man. I sketched them. When I saw him—I knew.”

  “You draw?” Valeria asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you get visions of the future often?” Beth asked.

  “No. I don’t always understand which images will portend something. I would never call myself a prophet.”

  “Could we see your sketchbook?” Josie asked.

  “If you’d like.” Lucy rose to go to her room and collected her sketchbook. She held it close to her. Recent drawings puzzled her. She hadn’t even shown them to Jared yet. Would the sketches provide clues to the danger they all faced? She came back to the room and handed the book to Josie as the others gathered around.

  Josie gasped. “This is Jared in every detail. You say you did this without ever having met him?”

  Lucy nodded. The heat rose in her face and she put her hands up to cover her cheeks.

  “What else have you drawn?” Beth asked.

  Josie flipped the pages until she came to a drawing that made all of them gasp as they looked from the page to her.

  “How did you come to draw this?” Josie asked.

  “The images come to me. Sometimes as I awaken in the morning. Sometimes as I sit quietly, praying or thinking about things.”

  Katrina stood up. “I’ll go get the men. They need to see this. While they might be trying to come up with a plan without us, it is obvious that Lucy holds the key to a solution.” With that the diminutive woman was gone.

  Lucy raised her eyebrows. “How does that drawing help anyone?”

  “Just wait, Lucy, and we’ll make it clear.” Valeria came to sit beside her, appropriated one of Lucy’s hands and held it in her own. “God has given you a special gift. It is no accident that He brought you to Jared and here to Rose Hill.”

  Lucy couldn’t find a word to say. She was exhausted by the amounts of conversation that swirled around the women as they chattered.

  The men strode in.

  “What has happened? Lucy, are you well?” Jared asked as he came to stand beside her.

  She shrugged and shook her head. Was she well? Overwhelmed and confused maybe? A shiver shook her body and Jared noticed. He dropped to his knees in front of her and Valeria rose to go to Lord Harrow. Jared
picked up her hand and held her gaze. “What happened?”

  She gulped. “They asked to see my sketchbook and got excited about one of my more recent drawings. I have no idea why.”

  “Jared, you need to see this,” Michael called him over. He handed the book to Jared. The other men stood around him to look on.

  “Ladies, this woman drew a picture while we were traveling and showed it to us. We were able to stop, make adjustments, defeat our enemy and root out a traitor. She saved us all.”

  Lucy bit her lip. This wasn’t about her. This was about God. He gave her the ability to draw and she couldn’t help the images that she was compelled to put to paper. Like the several of Jared, she often had no premonition of their importance, only that she needed to draw them.

  “This is what we had prayed for, gentlemen,” Marcus announced. He turned to Lucy. “Well done, sister.”

  Lucy gazed up at Jared. His mouth was agape. “You never cease to amaze me, sprite.”

  “I don’t understand.” With all eyes on her and the energy thrumming through the room, her heart shook and her vision became strange, dark around the edges. She shivered as if someone dropped the temperature in the room. Her breathing grew rapid.

  A soft voice in her ear and a gentle hand on her back pushed her down. “Head between your legs, it will pass.” Lucy did as Josie bid her.

  Jared was in front of her again, his hand caressed her cheek.

  “I’m taking you to our room to rest.”

  “No. No,” she tried to speak even though she was hyperventilating.

  “Yes. We can discuss this later.” Jared lifted her in his arms and carried her up the stairs. She leaned into the strength of his arms and savored the smell of sage. Peace. She was at peace in his arms. The tension inside her drained from her body.

  Jared placed her on the bed, removed her shoes, and covered her up. She grabbed for his hand as he moved to leave. “Can you stay?”

  He nodded. He slid onto the counterpane, pulled her close, and held her as she drifted to sleep.

  ~*~

  Jared waited until her breathing slowed and eased himself off the bed. He sat in a chair nearby to think about the revelations of the morning. Why had she not shared the drawing with him? Would he have even realized the significance of it? He was baffled by her almost-faint downstairs. She had managed a ball, so why would these people, predisposed to love her for his sake, overset her?

  He left her and went downstairs to seek out the men. They were still with the women. All conversation stopped when he entered the room. He stood in the entryway and took in the tableau. For once he was not an outsider, even though Lucy was not currently by his side. It had been years since he had fit in anywhere. Rose Hill was home and while he had been gone on his missions, this was the place he had always dreamed of returning to.

  “Can I look at the sketchbook again?”

  Valeria handed it over to him. “She is gifted, Jared.”

  He nodded, took the book, and wandered to the far side of the room by the doors that overlooked the gardens. He flipped through the drawings of him, to the ones of Aulderic Castle, the Loch Ness Monster, the dead wildcat. Wait. Had she known of that before it happened? Had she been on alert for it? Did it even matter? She’d saved his life. The image of the log across the road and the men hiding, waiting to ambush them. She’d saved them all. She had not drawn the image of their capture and imprisonment. What would she have been able to draw? A totally black page?

  He found another drawing, of him holding a baby. He blinked. Was she already with child? He was to be a father? He turned to stare.

  Their gazes were all on him.

  Marcus strode over to his side. “I suppose congratulations are in order?”

  “I didn’t know. I doubt she even knows. We’ve not been together long.”

  “It only takes once,” Michael chided.

  Jared growled at his friend. “She may not be with child yet. She’s had images weeks before an event.”

  “That’s different than nine months.”

  “What do you think of that other drawing?”

  “I think our wedding is the bait my erstwhile father-in-law intends to use.”

  “Is there anything we can do to stop it?” Marcus asked.

  “Lucy and I could remove to my estate and have the wedding later, or at some other location.”

  “We would only delay the inevitable,” Michael offered.

  “His threat is to all of us,” Katrina volunteered.

  Jared frowned as he gazed at the drawing of the Rose Hill Chapel. The drawing was detailed. The flames licking up the sides of the building and the doors barred shut indicated a terrifying death for them all.

  27

  Lucy stretched and with reluctance, opened her eyes. The curtains had been drawn and the fire glowed in the hearth. She was fully clothed but covered. What happened? She set her stocking feet on the cool floor. She patted her mouth as she yawned again. She walked to the window, pulling the drapery back to look outside.

  Scallywag was frolicking in the yard with two small dogs. The sight made her giggle. She sobered. She had not been out to see her lamb since she’d arrived.

  She checked the clock. How long had she rested? Looking in the mirror, she fixed her frizzy mop and pinched her cheeks. She slid on her shoes and prepared to leave the room only to find a letter in front of the door that had not been locked. She picked it up, went to sit by the fireplace, and cracked the red wax seal. The foolscap opened, and a familiar script covered the page.

  Dearest Penelope,

  You will always be my pretty Penny even though you go by a different name. I will make you a deal. I will spare your friends and even your husband, if you come to me alone. I long for an extended reunion with my beloved daughter.

  D

  He gave her no clues as to how she would even do this. Her life for the lives of nine people, one of whom was her much-loved husband who had already suffered so much. She blinked back the tears. Was there really any other choice? If she could only negotiate for Jared’s reputation to be restored. She was not certain the threats to besmirch it had been followed through. She shoved the letter in her pocket next to her gun and left the room to find her husband or hosts.

  The men were playing billiards while the women looked on. Only two men were competing, but the other three milled around throwing out encouragements or jeers. Jared was up against his brother and from what she could tell, they were evenly matched.

  “Lucy, come join us over here,” Katrina called out.

  Jared’s stick slipped as he glanced her way.

  She mouthed ‘sorry’. She went to join the women where a tea tray was set up.

  “Are you better?” Valeria asked, her eyes radiating concern.

  “I think so. I’m not sure what happened.”

  The women looked at each other and each had grins on their face.

  “What?” Lucy asked.

  “We saw one of your drawings and it made us wonder…” Beth volunteered.

  “Wonder about what?” Lucy was confused.

  Katrina brought the sketchbook to her and showed her the drawing of Jared holding an infant.

  “So, Jared’s holding a baby. I thought perhaps it was a niece or nephew.”

  “No man will gaze at a niece or nephew quite like that,” Josie offered. “Especially Jared. He has little experience with infants and the last time he held one, terror would be a better way to have described the look on his face.”

  Lucy surveyed the picture again. Jared was a handsome man and she never tired of his face, on the page, or in person, awake, or asleep. They were correct. He looked besotted with this particular child. The child had frizzy hair… She gasped. She looked up at the women who stared at her with smiles on their faces.

  She needed to think. When was the last time…? She closed her eyes. It was just before she’d met Jared and in the several weeks since. No. She was late. But you’ve never been late befo
re, Luce. Stress and travel could have thrown her off, right? Don’t avoid it. Tired all the time, dizzy… She swallowed hard. “Did Jared see this?”

  The women all nodded.

  “I don’t think…”

  “Doctor Miller will be here shortly, and he can examine you and make sure you are well. We have all been there. We couldn’t be happier for you and Jared.” Josie came across the small space, bent over, and gave Lucy a hug. “You are good for him. Don’t ever doubt it. Even Marcus says he has never seen his brother so content.”

  Lucy closed up the sketchbook and hugged it to herself. Why did she let them look at it? “I’ll put this back in my room.” She escaped, hid the book, sneaked down the back stairs, and out through the rose garden to the stable yard where Scallywag was earlier.

  She walked into the fenced-in area where the lamb was grazing with some of the horses. The little fellow scampered over and she bent down to hug him. “Hey, little guy. Are they treating you well here? I missed you.”

  The lamb bumped his head against her hand in an effort to get a scratch behind his ears. She complied, and the lamb closed his eyes in contentment. Fiona came over and blew on her shoulder to get her attention.

  “Oh, I have neglected the both of you, haven’t I?” She wrapped her arms around her horse and ran her hand along the mare’s smooth neck, while clenching her mane on the other side.

  “Lady Allendale?” A male voice called to her from the fence. She turned to face an attractive man who held a bag in one hand.

  “Yes? And you are?”

  “Doctor Bruce Miller. I was asked to come and check to see if you were well.”

  “Ah, yes. Of course.” She kissed Fiona’s nose and gave Scallywag a final hug before she exited the gate.

  The doctor held it open for her and they walked side by side to the back of the house.

  “Shall we go upstairs to get this taken care of? Then you can visit with the men before leaving?”

  “I’m amenable to that plan, my lady. Do you know why they called?”

  “I had a moment of panic and passed out. Because I drew a picture of Jared holding an infant, they believe I am with child.”

  “Is it possible?” Dr. Miller asked. They entered the suite and he examined her and asked her more questions. “It is too early to tell, my lady. If you have not, ahem, well, you know, within the next two weeks I would suggest it would be a likely circumstance.”