by Lucy Adams
He swallowed hard, not able to give her an immediate answer because of the pain. “I must hope so,” he whispered eventually. “I thank you, Lady Olivia, for your kindness and your willingness to help me, even though I am aware it comes at a cost.”
Her eyes caught his for just a moment, and then she turned away again. “I have made my choice,” she said simply, sending his heart soaring. “And I will face the consequences, whatever they might be.”
Chapter Twelve
Sending a footman to call Lord and Lady Watt to the townhouse without any sort of explanation had been simple enough, although Olivia had been forced to threaten the young man with his job and livelihood if he breathed a word to anyone as to what he had been sent to do. Of course, she did not have the authority to do such a thing, but the footman had not seemed to be aware of this and had gone rather pale when she had spoken with such unequivocal determination. He had scurried off over an hour ago and, as yet, had not returned.
Lord Monteforte was, at present, reclining on the bed in the guest bedchamber, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. She had insisted that he eat and drink something before he lay down and, whilst he had evidently been desperate to lie down, he had done as she asked and, to her eyes at least, looked a little better for it. He had been asleep for an hour now and Olivia prayed that his sleep would do him good, especially after what he had endured. Quite how her uncle could have done such a terrible thing, she did not know, but she was determined not to let him carry on with his intentions.
The shock of what Lord Monteforte had revealed had not quite left her as yet, for it had come as such an astonishment that it had stolen her breath and left her feeling so weak that she had almost stumbled back in fright. Not that Lord Monteforte had been able to see her, given that he had been behind the door, but she had a feeling that he somehow knew precisely how the shock had overwhelmed her.
To know that her uncle had beaten Lord Monteforte and dragged him into his home was horrifying enough, but to discover that he was now involved in a treasonous plot was quite another. Her uncle had never shown such a dislike of the monarchy before, had never once suggested that the Prince should be removed from his role as regent or the like, and yet Lord Monteforte was now the one telling her that he had heard it from Lord Dayton’s lips himself. Not that she was inclined to disbelieve him, of course, but it was more that she simply could not yet take it in.
Moving towards Lord Monteforte, Olivia sat down carefully on the edge of the bed and tentatively brushed his hair away from his forehead. He had turned out to be a gentleman of honor, a gentleman who was not the arrogant, cruel man she had believed him to be at the first. And now he was to be the gentleman who would take her away from all of this, who would offer her not only his home but his heart, should she accept it. There was no question in Olivia’s mind any longer, for she knew full well that all that Lord Monteforte held out to her, she wanted to grasp and take a hold of. She wanted to accept it; she wanted to be to him what he wanted to be to her. Her heart lifted from its sorrows as she looked down into his sleeping face. Here was a gentleman with a gentler heart and a kinder spirit than any other she had known before. How blessed she was to have him stand by her side when the darkness began to swell around her, threatened to capture her and carry her away. Whatever was to come – and she knew it would be a good deal of difficulty, strife, and sorrow – he would be there to hold her aloft, to keep her away from it all as best he could, and Olivia loved him for it.
“Olivia.”
She jerked, having not realized that Lord Monteforte’s eyes had opened such was the intensity of her thoughts. Lifting her hand away from his face, she caught her breath as he lifted his hand to capture hers, a gentle smile forming in the corners of his mouth.
“I am sorry,” she said, stammering with embarrassment. “I did not mean–”
“I awoke from a dream to see an angel standing over me with a brightness about her that brought such a joy to my heart that I did not want her to go,” he interrupted, his voice low and soft and filled with such emotion that Olivia felt her heart surge within her. “Say that you will stay with me forever, my angel. I long to waken again as I have done now, to see you sitting there beside me, your fingers gentle and your eyes capturing mine.”
She swallowed hard, his eloquent words flooding her heart. “You are very well spoken, Lord Monteforte,” she whispered, as heat climbed up her face and into her cheeks.
“I speak the truths of my heart,” he answered, with an honesty that could not be denied. “Look into my eyes, Lady Olivia, and see my heart there. Can you not see just how much I feel for you? This is more than a simple desire to protect you from all that is to come, my dear lady. This is my heart’s cry.”
Olivia closed her eyes, her fingers threading through his. Tears were warming her eyes, but she did not let them fall.
“I am asking too much of you at this present moment,” he said, his tone dropping as he perhaps realized just what he had done. “I apologize, Lady Olivia.” His hand left hers, and he tried to push himself up, groaning aloud as he did so. Olivia did not try to help him, remaining where she was and watching his tight expression as he forced himself to rise, seeing the strength of the man before her. Her heart was filled with so many emotions, her mind struggling with questions and doubts and fears, and yet she knew full well that Lord Monteforte could be trusted and that, were she honest with him, she would tell him the truths of her own heart.
“You are right to think that I am still a little overcome with it all,” she said, as he planted his hands down on either side of himself and pushed himself back against the head of the bed so that he now sat upright. “But as I sat here with you, I confess that my heart filled with such a yearning that I could barely catch my breath.” Her eyes dropped to his hands, now placed in his lap and, a trifle tentatively, Olivia reached out and placed one hand over his. She did not look up at him but kept her gaze on their joined hands. “What you feel for me has overwhelmed my heart, Lord Monteforte, but it also brings me so much happiness that I feel as though my very soul is being thrown to the heavens.” Taking a breath, she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to keep her composure. “I am shocked to the very core by what my uncle has done, Lord Monteforte, but I have found a comfort and a strength in you. What you offer me is almost more than I can believe, but I would be a fool not to accept it.” Her eyes slowly lifted to his, seeing how the swirls of green and brown in his eyes warmed all the more as she did so. “Especially when my own heart longs for you with such an intensity, just as yours does for me.” Her throat worked furiously as she recalled the fears that had held sway over her only earlier that day, how she had barely been able to eat, such had been her worry over his whereabouts. “When I did not know where you had gone, nor why you had not called on me as you had promised, I felt such an anxiety that it captured me entirely. When I met Lord Watt, I knew in my heart that there was something grievously wrong, something that I did not fully understand.” Her eyes fixed on his, seeing the slight flicker in his gaze. “And now I know why. You work for the King. You seek to protect him and, ergo, the Prince. You have come against my uncle because of what he seeks to do. And yet, somehow, through it all, you have found yourself trying to protect me from all that must come out.”
“I will protect you,” he said, surprising her with his fervor as he leaned forward, his face only a few inches away from hers. “When your uncle spoke to me of his daughters, I knew very well that he wished me to draw close to one of them. I had no intention of marrying however, but thought it best to be both engaging and friendly towards them. But then…” He trailed off, looking deeply into her eyes as his free hand lifted to cup her cheek, the tenderness in his gaze sending a streak of heat straight through her. “But then I found myself entirely caught up with a wonderous beauty, a determined spirit, and a beautiful character to the point that I could barely think of anything else. My eagerness to visit the house simply to see you grew with almos
t every passing day. I could barely think of anything but you. I speak the truth when I say that my heart is yours, Lady Olivia, for I believe it has been since the very first day we met.”
A tear dripped down onto her cheek, sending an expression of alarm directly onto Lord Monteforte’s face, only for Olivia to smile and press her hand against his as it lingered on her cheek. “I do not fear what is to come,” she told him, her voice shaking and yet her heart content. “I trust you, Lord Monteforte. I trust you with my heart.”
“Then I shall always protect it,” he told her, leaning all the closer. “From this day onwards, until my very last breath.” His eyes searched hers. “That is, if you will accept me.”
There was not even a moment of hesitation on her part. “I will,” she promised, seeing how his eyes lit up, how his face changed to one of sheer delight in an instant. “I will give you my promise, just as I have given you my heart.”
Lord Monteforte closed his eyes tightly for a moment, as if overwhelmed by her answer. Olivia could not help but smile as he opened them, looking at her with such a love in his eyes that it wrapped about her like a thick cloak on a cold winter’s day.
“I love you, Lady Olivia,” he told her, making her heart sing for the joy of it. “I believe my heart has been caught up with love since our first meeting and it has only grown since that time.”
“And I must love you,” she answered softly, aware of how his fingers brushed lightly down her cheek. “For what else can these feelings be? What else can this desire to be near you, to draw close to you, be if it is not love?” She smiled into his eyes, her heart quickening as his hand slipped around to the back of her neck, tugging her a little closer to him. “There is naught in me but love, Lord Monteforte.”
His lips found hers within a moment, seeking them urgently and then, as they melded together, pressing against hers with an infinite gentleness that showed her the tenderness of his love. She went willingly, her hands finding his face, her fingers deftly threading through his hair, her heart beating so quickly that she felt as though it might pull itself from her chest. This was the meeting of two hearts, the joining of two souls. There was a promise between them now, a vow that they had made to each other that required no other witness. She had every hope that, very soon, he would marry her and make her his bride and that, in doing so, he would give her the joy and the contentment that she had always longed for.
“My lady?”
Olivia smiled at Lord Monteforte, who had lain back down and closed his eyes some half an hour ago, seeing the steady rise and fall of his chest as he slept. Getting up from her chair, she crept to the door and, opening it, saw none other than Betty standing there.
“Yes, Betty?”
“Lord and Lady Watt are arrived,” Betty whispered, glancing over her shoulder as though she was afraid to be overheard. “And they bring a gentleman by the name of Lord Franks with them.”
Olivia frowned. “Lord Franks?”
“You need not worry,” said a voice from behind her, and as Olivia turned, she saw Lord Monteforte rising to his feet, wincing as he did so. “Lord Franks is a good man. He too works for The King’s League.”
“The King’s League?” Olivia repeated, as Lord Monteforte nodded. “That is the name of the gentlemen who work for the Crown?”
He nodded, striding towards the door with more strength and vigor than she had seen before. “Indeed. That is it precisely,” he told her. “Now, where are they waiting, Betty?”
Betty’s eyes flicked to Olivia and then back to Lord Monteforte, clearly a little nervous. “They are in the drawing room,” she said, with a small shrug. “I did not know where else to put them, but I do not think any of the staff–”
“It does not matter what they see now,” Lord Monteforte told her, taking Olivia’s hand and pressing it gently. “Whilst we were waiting for them to return, it was important that I remained out of sight so that no one could send word to Lord Dayton, but now that they have arrived, all will soon be in hand.” He squeezed Olivia’s fingers again, trying to reassure her. “Even if they return now, nothing will prevent what is to occur from happening.”
Olivia swallowed hard, looking up into Lord Monteforte’s face and seeing the firmness of his expression and the hard line of his mouth. There was a severity there that she had not seen before, aware of how everything was now about to change. A surge of sympathy climbed through her heart as she thought of her two cousins and of her aunt. They would have very little to do but to stay away from London, although whether or not they would be permitted to remain at her uncle’s estate, she did not know. What the consequences would be for her uncle she could not predict, but regardless she knew that Margaret and Louisa would be hit hard with what was to come.
“We will do what we can for your cousins,” Lord Monteforte said gently, as though he had seen inside her thoughts and knew of them all. “Have no fear, Lady Olivia. The League is not inclined towards gossip. We will try to keep what occurs from the grasping hands of the ton.”
“I thank you,” she murmured, as Betty began to usher Olivia towards the staircase. “You are very considerate, Lord Monteforte.”
He smiled at her, although the steel had not yet left his eyes, and—arm in arm—they walked together towards the drawing room.
“Good gracious, man, whatever happened to you?!”
Olivia held back as Lord Watt strode across the floor to slap Lord Monteforte on the shoulder, aware of the look of concern in the man’s eyes. Lady Watt smiled a gentle greeting, although there was a hardness in her gaze that matched that of Lord Monteforte. Clearly, Lady Watt knew precisely what was going on.
“I am quite all right,” Lord Monteforte told him, as Olivia shook her head. “A little crack on the head, I think, but with some rest and some refreshment, I feel a good deal better.”
“You do not look it,” Lord Franks muttered, getting to his feet and shaking Lord Monteforte’s hand. “You still look quite pale.”
“I am not about to fall over, if that is what you fear,” Lord Monteforte told him, with a small chuckle. “Lady Olivia will be able to attest to the fact that I almost did so on a number of occasions when she first found me.”
Olivia flushed as all eyes turned to her. “I am glad that Lord Monteforte is so well recovered now,” she said, a little embarrassed. “But he will still need a good few days of rest if his head is to recover from its injury.”
Lord Watt grimaced, then turned back to Lord Monteforte. “I presume you need us to accompany you to wherever you now intend to go?” he asked, with a slight lift of his eyebrow that told Olivia there was more to his question that he had not quite expressed. “You will need to rest.”
Lord Monteforte surprised Olivia by coming towards her and putting one arm around her shoulders. Heat burned in her cheeks as she looked up at him, seeing how he smiled. Her stomach began to swirl as he cleared his throat, knowing that he was to make some sort of announcement.
“Lady Olivia and I are now betrothed,” he said, eliciting a gasp from Lady Watt and a shocked look from Lord Watt and Lord Franks. “She is aware of everything, Lord Watt. I have kept nothing back from her. Therefore, whatever needs to be done, whatever needs to be said, we will say in front of her.”
There came a few long moments of silence, and Olivia dropped her gaze, feeling more than a little embarrassed. Were they about to condemn Lord Monteforte for his decision to wed her?
“My hearty congratulations!”
Letting out her breath in relief, Olivia managed to smile as Lord Watt came over to them both and slammed one hand down hard onto Lord Monteforte’s shoulder for what was the second time since their meeting. “How wonderful,” he said, grinning broadly at Olivia. “I must hope that this will bring you a little relief in what will be some very difficult days.” His smile faded, his expression now a little serious. “For we must speak to your uncle, and if we discover what we think is the truth, then we shall have to take him from his estate and r
emand him elsewhere.”
A small shudder ran through Olivia’s frame but she held herself as tall as she could. “I quite understand,” she said, even though she felt as though someone had punched her hard in the stomach. “It is what must be done.” She threw a glance towards Lord Monteforte. “And after what he did to Lord Monteforte, I must believe that I do not know my uncle very well at all.”
Lord Monteforte squeezed her shoulder gently, took her hand, and then led her towards a chair, where he waited beside her until she sat down before taking the vacant seat next to her. “Lord Dayton is absent this evening, having gone to play a game of cards or some such thing,” he told the group. “I must surmise that he is finalizing his plans with Lord Cammish and whoever else he might have involved. Lord Cammish and Lord Dayton intend to remove the Prince from his role as Regent by taking his life from him.”
“You mean to say that you believe there are other gentlemen aside from both himself and Lord Cammish who are just as willing to remove the Prince from his position as regent?” Lord Franks asked, frowning hard. “I thought you believed it was only the two of them.”
Lord Monteforte nodded. “I think that Lord Cammish and Lord Dayton can use other gentlemen to fulfil their intentions without said gentlemen being fully aware of what they are being used for,” he explained. “Lord Dayton might ask a gentleman to ensure that he informs Lord Dayton if the Prince is without a drink in his hand, with Lord Dayton mayhap pretending that he believes his staff might be insufficient for such a task.”
“I see,” Lord Watt murmured, looking at Lord Monteforte thoughtfully. “And what is it that these gentlemen intend for the Prince?”
Olivia’s heart began to thump furiously, a cold sweat beginning to bead on her forehead as she heard Lord Monteforte speak of what her own uncle planned to do. It was so monstrous, so utterly terrible, that she could barely believe he was involved.
