Capture My Heart

by Bobbi Smith

  "What can I do to help?" he offered the minute Alfred finished telling him what had happened.

  "Right now, Alexander, there's not much any of us can do. I'll let you know the moment I hear anything new. Until then, we'll just have to pray, my boy, just pray."

  "I will, sir," David promised. He shook hands solemnly with the marquess.

  When they bid him to leave, David quit the room and wandered aimlessly through the mansion. His thoughts were with the woman who was his fiancée yet whom he'd never met. He wondered if Victoria was safe from harm or if some terrible fate, as yet unknown to them, had befallen her. Entering his own bedroom, he sought out the small portrait he had of her and studied her smiling countenance. He hoped with all his heart that she was all right. His conscience had rebelled at their betrothal because he'd believed he was betraying her, and now he worried about her as if they'd known each other for years.

  It seemed to David as if his bedroom were closing in around him, so he escaped from the house to walk in the gardens to try to gather his thoughts. Guilt attacked him, no matter how he tried to avoid it. If Victoria hadn't been sailing to England to marry him, none of this would have happened. She would have been safe in India with her parents. The tangled web of deceit that held him grew more strangling every day. As always when he sought peace, he followed the path to the reflecting pool.

  Tess had finished her duties and left the house slightly earlier than usual this day. She doubted seriously that she would ever run into Lord Alex again, but she held on to the fragile hope. The one evening they'd spent in conversation had been the highlight of her life, and though she told herself it was crazy, she prayed constantly that they would meet again.

  Night after night, Tess dreamed of Lord Alex, and day after day she saw him about the house and grounds but couldn't speak to him. She loved him with every fiber of her being, and she knew that if she had to, she could be satisfied just being near him.

  As Tess nearly ran down the walk toward the pool, she let herself imagine that Lord Alex was there, waiting eagerly for her, like a lover long denied. The fantasy was one of her favorites. In her daydream, she would run straight into his arms and they would kiss. Oh, it was a wonderful dream and . . .

  "Oh!" Tess exclaimed as she stopped dead still at the sight of Lord Alex sitting on the bank, his head resting in his hands, a strained expression on his handsome face. "I'm sorry," she gasped as she took a step backward.

  David looked up, startled by the unexpected intrusion.

  "I'll just go."

  "No, don't leave!" he blurted out, almost too quickly. He knew Vivienne would be furious if she found out he was becoming friendly with the servants, but he had to admit to himself that he was glad to see Tess. "There's no reason for you to go."

  "You're sure?" She stood wavering between her need to stay and fulfill her dreams and her very real fear of being caught with him.

  "I'm sure," David replied, managing a smile in spite of his mood. "Join me."

  The smile melted her resistance, and she dropped down on the bank near his side without another word of protest.

  "Are you all right?" Tess ventured, her hazel eyes dark with concern for him. He'd looked so forlorn that she'd wanted to throw her arms around him and reassure him that everything would be all right even though she had no idea what it was that was wrong.

  David sighed. He longed for a friend, someone he could confide in. They had talked before and she hadn't said a word to anyone . . . Gazing into her beautiful hazel eyes, David believed he could see into her very soul, and he understood in that moment that he could trust her. "Ah, Tess," he half groaned, "things have gotten so complicated . . ."

  She encouraged him without seeming nosy or anxious. "Can I help you in any way?"

  "It's kind of you to offer, but I'm afraid not. There's been news, and I don't think there's really anyone who can help . . ."

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  "I'm sure you'll hear it soon enough from the other servants, but Victoria's ship was attacked by Barbary pirates and she's been taken captive."

  "No!" Jealous though Tess had been of his fiancée, she had never wished her any harm.

  "Yes. The marquess just found out himself and let us know this afternoon."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "That's what's so terrible," David said with very real misery. "There's nothing I can do, absolutely nothing."

  On impulse, her heart bleeding for him, Tess reached out and put a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Lord Alex. I really am."

  David stared at her small hand on his arm and then lifted his eyes to hers. Gray eyes locked with hazel ones that now seemed a deep forest green with the empathy she was feeling for him. Suddenly, he saw her not as a servant or as a possible friend, but as a woman, full grown . . . a very pretty woman.

  Time hung suspended as David gazed at her sweet face. It had been so long since he'd been allowed to be himself . . . to be David Markham. The veneer of Lord Alex was slipping away, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was alone in the romantic twilight with the prettiest, most gentle woman he'd ever met. Tess would never deliberately hurt anyone. She was nothing like Vivienne. David knew she would always be kind and would give far more than she would ever demand. She represented all the good things in the simpler life that he missed. He found he wanted to become a part of Tess's world, to come to know her better . . . to maybe even love her.

  David couldn't help himself. Oh, there had been trips to houses of ill repute in London with some of the other young bucks from town, but the quick encounters had left him cold. He had never been one for simply proving himself as a man. He'd always thought there should be more to it than just a physical release. He needed the pure sweetness that Tess's kiss would bring. He needed to taste of that innocence. As the first stars of dusk appeared in the rapidly darkening sky, David bent slowly toward her, seeking her lips with his.

  Tess couldn't believe it. Lord Alex was actually going to kiss her! Her eyes fluttered shut as he shifted toward her. She was afraid it was a dream, but if it was, she didn't want to wake up ever! She was with Lord Alex and he wanted her as much as she wanted him! Her heart cried out in ecstasy as she reached for what she'd thought all along was unattainable. It might be hers for only a fleeting moment in time, for he was not of her world and she was not of his, but it didn't matter. She loved him as much as life itself.

  A soft whimper escaped Tess just as his lips touched hers for the first time. It was all that she'd ever expected it to be. Lord Alex, here with her in the garden . . . the stars . . . the low rising moon . . . the song of the birds welcoming the arrival of night . . .

  When it suddenly seemed that Lord Alex was starting to draw away from her, she opened her eyes in fear that it was going to end far too soon, but her fear was unfounded. She found him only gazing down at her, a tender expression on his face.

  "Tess, you are so incredibly lovely . . ." David murmured. He lifted one hand to touch the burnished glory of her hair. It was silken fire beneath his touch, and he kissed her again.

  This time, his kiss wasn't just a simple exploration. This time, his mouth moved hungrily over hers.

  Tess had been kissed before by several of the boys in the stables, but their bumbling attempts had annoyed her. Lord Alex, however, was altogether different. As his lips claimed hers with demanding insistence, she was more than willing to meet him in that passionate exchange.

  David had needed this badly. It was a sharing of spirits and a sharing of souls. He'd felt isolated and alone for so long. Without thought, he crushed Tess to him, enjoying the feel of her full breasts against his chest and her slender arms around his neck as she returned his kisses with equal fervor. His hand sought out the curve of her bosom.

  "Oh, Lord Alex," she moaned softly beneath his mouth as a rapture unlike anything she'd ever known rushed through her. He was here! He wanted her! Her dream was actually coming true! Oh, she loved him! How she lo
ved him!

  It was her saying the name "Lord Alex" out loud that stopped David. For just a few minutes, he'd allowed himself to be fooled, to believe that things could be different in his life, but with the mention of the name that was not his, a sensation not unlike a bucket of icy water being thrown on him froze his hopes and his heart. It could never be. Nothing could be different. He was a hostage of fate, a captive of his terrible fortune. He could never be David Markham again. He was Alexander Wakefield now, and there was no way out.

  Pulling away from Tess, David stared at her flushed, lovely features and pain filled him. He cared about Tess, and it was for that very reason that he could not, would not, use her. He had to stop this now before it went any further.

  "What . . . Lord Alex, did I do something wrong?" she asked, blinking in bewilderment as he let her go.

  "Wrong? No, Tess. You couldn't do anything wrong, ever," he reassured her.

  "Then why . . .?" Her eyes were soft, and they implored him not to let her go, but to kiss her again.

  "I'm sorry, Tess." David drew away from her completely.

  "Sorry? Sorry for what?" She was bewildered. She couldn't believe that he was ending this moment that had been so perfect between them. It was a night made for love, and yet he was withdrawing from her and apologizing for it. It didn't make sense to her.

  "For taking advantage of you."

  "But you haven't," she protested. "I wanted . . ."

  David only shook his head in denial of her words. There was so much she didn't know. "Yes, I have. You're a wonderful girl, Tess, but what might have happened here between us if I hadn't put an end to it would have been wrong. I apologize, and I promise you it won't happen again."

  "But what if I want it to?"

  "It can't happen again. I won't let it. It's not fair to you. There can be no future for us," David admitted miserably. The pleading look she was giving him was nearly driving him out of his mind. He wanted to take her in his arms once more and love her, but he wouldn't no matter how heady her kisses had been.

  "I don't care about any of that, Lord Alex. I know you could never love me, and it doesn't matter. I love you, and I want to please you."

  "Don't say that!" he bit out tersely.

  "You're asking me to deny what I feel, and that's not fair. I've loved you since you first came to Huntington House."

  "It's useless, Tess." He got to his feet, needing to put a physical distance between them before he weakened in his resolve. Had he been David Markham, he would have swept her up in his embrace, but he was no longer David Markham. He was Alexander Wakefield and he had to act like Alexander Wakefield. "Good-bye."

  David gave her a last look, and the tears that brimmed in her pain-filled eyes sent a shaft of agony through his heart. He turned on his heel and strode from the pool, up the path.

  Behind him, Tess watched him in forlorn silence until he had gone from sight. Her heart felt as if it were breaking into a thousand pieces in her breast. She tried to think things through, to understand what had happened. It was hard for her to be logical when her emotions were so deeply involved, but she fought to make sense out of everything he'd said.

  Only one thing stood out with exquisite clarity in her mind. He had apologized to her for almost taking advantage of her. As she realized that, Tess felt the warm glow of her love for him fill her. He cared about her! He had to! If he hadn't cared, he would have taken what she was offering without a thought. Tales of how the lords of the manors had their ways with the female servants were bandied about the countryside and were common knowledge among the working folks. It wasn't unusual at all for a nobleman to exert his dominance over his maids. But Lord Alex was different, and his words and actions just served to reinforce her high opinion of him. He was a gentleman of the first order. He was the finest of men. He was her true love.

  Tess knew they had no future. Tess also knew in a woman's instinctive way that Lord Alex had wanted her, and there was no doubt that she still wanted him. She made up her mind then and there what she was going to do. She was going to go to him and offer herself to him once more. She could accept that they could never be more than lovers. All she had to do was convince him that he wasn't taking advantage of her, that giving her love to him was something she wanted to do, no matter what the future might bring. Tess went back to her own rooms. Before the night was over, she hoped to have given him all of her love.

  Vivienne lay sated on silken sheets amidst rumpled covers that gave testimony to her previous activities. She fixed a heated gaze on the man beside her, mentally comparing his fleshy body to the harder, firmer one he'd had all those years ago. They had been apart for a long time but were reunited now, and she was happy about it. Though he might be older and less fit than he had been, he still had the power to excite her.

  He leaned over her and kissed her passionately. "Have I told you how glad I am that you're back in England?"

  "About a thousand times, but I do love hearing it again and again," she answered as she accepted his kiss. "It pleases me to know that I can steal you away from your wife anytime I want."

  "There's no question about that, Vivienne. Compared to you, she's a shadow of a woman."

  Vivienne gave a deep, throaty gurgle of pleasure at his words. "You do say the nicest things. It's just a shame that things didn't turn out the way we'd originally planned, but I think everything's going to be all right now, don't you?"

  "Your plan is ingenious." He had a great appreciation for intrigue and conniving. She had confided in him all that she'd done in installing David as the future heir to the dukedom, and he thought her most clever.

  "I rather thought so, too," she preened. "Soon, we will both have just what we've always wanted . . . each other and the Wakefield money."

  He growled in anticipation as he moved over her lush body.

  "I still wonder, though, how magnificent a scene it would have been all those years ago if Avery and your precious Catherine had ever found out about us."

  "It would have been quite amusing, I think. She was quite the innocent and would have been terribly shocked," he mused as he pressed hot, wet kisses down Vivienne's throat and then lower . . .

  "Avery was very jealous of me, but he might have come to enjoy it after a time . . ." she said vaguely as she felt the heat of desire start to pound through her again.

  "Catherine never would have, but what did it matter? She would have been my wife by then, and I could have done whatever I wanted without any fear of reprisal."

  "Like you do to me?"

  "Like I do to you . . ." he said huskily, raising his head up to look at her, his eyes feverishly bright.

  "Oh, Gerald," she sighed as she spread her legs to accept him back deep within her. "I did miss you . . ."

  "Well, we're together now, and I see no reason why we should ever be separated again . . . In any way . . ."

  It was very late, and David was exhausted. He sat alone in the library in a high-backed wing chair, a single lamp glowing nearby, a leather-bound volume of Shakespeare on his lap, a nearly empty snifter of brandy in hand. He'd been trying to read all evening since he'd left Tess, but found it impossible to concentrate. All he could think about was Tess and how very beautiful she was.

  With a curse, David slammed the book shut and tossed it carelessly on the table beside him. He drained the remnants of his brandy, set the glass aside, and then ran a weary hand over his eyes. He kept trying to clear his thoughts, but it was no use. As troubled as he was, it was going to be a very long night.

  David got up and refilled his snifter with another healthy portion from the crystal decanter of aged brandy one of the servants had left for him earlier. He downed it in a single, fiery swallow. Liquor of that quality was meant to be savored, but right now all David cared about was easing the torment that filled him. The potent brandy burned all the way down to his stomach, and he was glad. He poured himself another to take with him to bed and then extinguished the lamp he'd been trying to read b
y. That done, he made his way slowly from the library and started upstairs to retire for the night.

  Tess had crept up the back stairway what seemed like hours before, and she'd been waiting in Lord Alex's room ever since. Having never done anything so brazen before, she wasn't quite sure what was the proper way to seduce the man you loved, but she thought undressing and waiting in the middle of his bed sounded like a good way to start. She lay there nervously now, waiting, as she had been for the better part of two hours.

  Lord Alex usually went to bed at a reasonable hour, so Tess had made sure to sneak up there just before eleven. Since then she'd heard the mantel clock chime midnight and then one in the morning. As jittery as she was, she was also tired, for she had been up since dawn taking care of her duties. As the minutes passed into hours, Tess was beginning to fear that she might accidentally fall asleep in Lord Alex's bed while waiting for him to appear. The terrible thought struck her that he might not come to bed at all and that she might be discovered by one of the other servants sleeping there in the morning. That reason alone was enough to keep her from getting too comfortable, though there were moments when her eyes felt too heavy to keep open.

  David made his way slowly down the hall toward his room, his mood tense. He didn't relish lying awake all night, but at least if he stretched out on his bed, he thought he might eventually get a little rest. He opened the door and went inside the dark room without thought. The moment he closed the door behind him, though, he knew he was not alone.

  "Who's there?" he asked quietly, not wanting to raise any alarm as he reached out to light the lamp on his dresser.

  "No . . . Lord Alex, please don't light the lamp," Tess pleaded nervously.

  "Tess?" He said her name softly, shocked to find her there.

  "Please don't say anything more. Just come to me . . ."

  As David's eyes adjusted to the complete darkness that surrounded him, he could see her in the paleness of the moonlight, kneeling in supplication in the middle of his wide bed.

  "Tess . . . You shouldn't be here. I told you . . ."