Hot Historicals Bundle with An Invitation to Sin, The Naked Baron, When His Kiss Is Wicked, & Mastering the Marquess

by Jo Beverley

  Annabel jerked her head, her eyes widening in alarm as she stared at her sister. “What is he talking about, Meredith? What decision?”

  “It’s all right, dear,” Meredith murmured as she gazed steadily at Jacob. “Everything will be all right. You’ll be away from this place soon enough.”

  Her cousin’s mouth stretched into a triumphant sneer. “I’m pleased you made the right decision. Father always said you were no fool, and he was obviously right.” He grabbed her arm. “Now say good-bye to Annabel. It may be some time before you see her again.”

  “No!” Annabel wrapped her arms around Meredith’s waist, clinging to her with desperate hands. Mrs. Jukes darted forward to pull her away.

  “Don’t you touch her,” Meredith warned as she tightened her arms around her sister.

  Jacob shook his head at the asylum keeper. Mrs. Jukes frowned but stepped back.

  Meredith cradled Annabel’s face in her hands, staring into her sister’s anguished eyes. “Annabel, you must listen to me. I know what I’m doing. No one will harm you, and you’ll be returning home very soon.”

  Her sister’s lips quivered as she struggled not to cry, but tears dripped down her cheeks anyway. Meredith was very certain her own heart was shattered beyond repair.

  “I will see you soon enough,” she said, tenderly brushing the tears from Annabel’s face. “I promise.” She cast a glance over her shoulder at the group by the door. “Is that not right, Jacob?” Her voice contained a note of challenge her cousin could not fail to understand.

  Jacob glowered at her for a moment before impatiently nodding his head. “Aye, you’ll see each other soon enough.”

  Meredith inwardly sighed with relief. She needed to keep her sister from finding out the truth. If Annabel knew, she would fight it, and Meredith was terrified Mrs. Jukes would put the girl in restraints or worse.

  “Do you promise?” Annabel’s voice broke.

  “Darling, I promise!” Meredith hugged her fiercely, only letting go when Jacob’s hand came down heavily on her shoulder. She allowed him to steer her from the room, not daring to look back at Annabel’s tear-streaked face. Meredith could not bear the pain she knew she would see in the girl’s eyes.

  Jacob towed her quickly down the dingy passage. Meredith suddenly dug in her heels, forcing him to stop.

  “Don’t try your luck, Meredith,” he rasped, tugging at her arm.

  “I will do everything you wish of me,” she replied calmly, even though she felt her legs would collapse at any second. “But you must give me your word as my cousin, as the friend of my youth, that you will do as you promise—that you will release Annabel unharmed.”

  He scowled at her, but she thought a hint of uneasiness and possibly even shame darkened his coarse features.

  “I said she would be unharmed if you marry me. She will be returned to London in the morning.”

  He started to pull her down the hall, but Meredith resisted. “Even if your father doesn’t wish it?” she challenged.

  He rounded on her so quickly that she almost staggered from the shock.

  “Blast you, I told you, didn’t I?” He pressed her body back against the wall, leering at her as he did so. “If you do everything I say, and I mean everything, then Annabel will be released unharmed.”

  Meredith swallowed a rush of saliva, sickened by the feel of his huge body pushing against hers. She nodded quickly.

  “Good,” he grunted, marching her to a set of stairs at the end of the passage. He hurried her down to a landing, which branched out into two separate hallways. The old house was like a rabbit warren, ramshackle and poorly lit. As Jacob hustled her along after Mrs. Jukes, Meredith tried desperately to memorize the way back to Annabel’s room.

  The hallway branched again, and she recognized the passage leading to the front of the house. As they reached the end of the hall, a door swung open and light spilled out into the passage. Isaac stood framed in the doorway.

  “What took you so long?”

  Jacob ignored his father as he pushed Meredith into the room. It was the same parlor as before, but now it was brightly lit with two brass lanterns, and a roaring fire had been built up on the hearth.

  “Well?” growled Isaac.

  Jacob grinned at his father.

  Isaac laughed. “Well, girl, I’m glad to see you’ve come to your senses. In the morning, Annabel will sign over the ownership of Swallow Hill to you. As her guardian, I will approve the transaction. Then we’ll put her in a coach and send her back to London.”

  “Why does she have to wait till tomorrow?” demanded Meredith. “Why not do it tonight?”

  Isaac tsked and shook his finger at her in a horrible parody of an affectionate uncle. “Now, now, my dear. We wouldn’t want to deprive you and Jacob of your wedding night, would we? Must have things tied up properly before we send Annabel on her way.”

  Jacob’s eyes ran hungrily over her body, and Meredith’s last faint hope burned away in the black smoke of his gaze. She looked into the fire, trying to control the roiling pain in her stomach.

  “Mrs. Jukes.” Isaac spoke harshly. “Where is the parson? He should have been here by now.”

  “My apologies, sir.” The woman shrugged her shoulders. “He sent a boy around not twenty minutes ago to tell me he would be late. Reverend Caine is attending a deathbed. The boy said that old Mr. Tyler would not live out the hour.”

  Isaac snorted loudly, obviously frustrated.

  “How…” Meredith cleared her throat and started again. “How will Jacob and I be able to marry so quickly?”

  “Not to worry, dear Niece,” Isaac sneered. “We obtained a special license before we left London. All you need do is convince the good parson that you wish to be married. In fact,” he laughed, “you’ll tell the man you simply can’t wait a moment longer to be Jacob’s wife, won’t you?”

  Jacob joined in the laughter. Meredith swallowed again, afraid she would soon be sick all over the floor. Her uncle abruptly stopped laughing and ran a disapproving eye over her figure.

  “The parson will think something’s amiss if you come to your groom looking like a trollop. Go with Mrs. Jukes and clean yourself up.”

  There was obviously nothing she could do to fight them. Resigned, Meredith was about to follow the other woman from the room when she caught the sound of raised voices from the front of the house. There was a distant crash, and then a door farther down the hallway slammed shut.

  “What the hell was that?” Isaac’s head snapped back at the noise.

  Mrs. Jukes gaped at the two men. “I haven’t a clue, sir. We are only expecting the parson. There are no other patients arriving tonight.”

  Isaac snatched up the lantern from the table and headed for the door. “Jacob, keep an eye on your cousin. Don’t let her out of the room. You”—he jerked his head at Mrs. Jukes—“come with me.”

  He strode from the room. Jacob gazed uneasily after his father and then began rummaging for something in his coat pocket.

  Praying to herself that her cousin would remain distracted, Meredith began inching toward the door. Jacob glanced up, cursed, and crossed the room in a flash. He wrapped his fingers around the back of her neck in a punishing grip. She gasped at the pain, her eyes flooding with moisture.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” He pushed her across the room to the one of the ladder-back chairs.

  “Sit down and shut up, Meredith, or I swear you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

  He was about to shove her down on the hard wooden seat when there was a pounding of footsteps out in the hall, and the door to the parlor suddenly flew open. Silverton strode into the room, looking as grim and hard as any battle-scarred warrior. He was clad in a dusty greatcoat and mud-splattered boots. His head was uncovered, his hair tousled and damp.

  When Meredith saw the expression in Silverton’s eyes, her heart took a great leap in her chest. They were like windows into hell—but it was a hell encase
d in thick sheets of impenetrable ice rather than the blazing fires of the damned. He calmly raised his right hand and pointed a large pistol at Jacob’s head.

  With startling speed, Jacob lurched back and pulled Meredith in front of him. He gripped her tightly from behind as Silverton slowly advanced toward them. She heard more noise out in the hall, and then Robert burst into the room. He froze as he took in the scene that met his eyes.

  Jacob dragged Meredith behind the table, away from Silverton.

  “Let her go.” Silverton’s voice was soft and deadly.

  Jacob’s hand clenched her wrist so tightly that Meredith feared her bones would snap. Silverton continued his predatory stalk across the room as her cousin pulled her farther around the massive wooden table.

  Robert’s eyes darted into the corners. “Meredith,” he gasped, “where is Annabel?”

  She clawed frantically at Jacob’s fingers, trying to release the unbearable pressure on her wrist. “Down the hallway to the right and up the stairs to the landing,” she cried. “Go right again to the end of the passage. Annabel is there.”

  Robert spun around and dashed out the doorway. She heard him call to someone, ordering the person to follow him.

  Jacob held Meredith in front of him as he edged around the other side of the table and moved toward the door. She hung heavily against him, trying to slow him down.

  Silverton kept his pistol trained at Jacob’s head.

  “Shoot and you’ll hit her,” Jacob rasped.

  Silverton hesitated. He dropped the pistol into the pocket of his greatcoat.

  “Let her go, Burnley,” he said, his voice completely devoid of emotion. Meredith shivered at the sound of it. “Let her go now, or I’ll kill you.”

  Jacob’s hoarse laugh reverberated off the low ceiling. “Meredith belongs to me, you bastard. Before this night is out, she’ll be damaged goods. No man but me will ever want her again, I’ll make certain of that.”

  Jacob’s face was congested with blood, his eyeballs protruding from his sockets. But Silverton might as well have been carved from granite for all he responded to the other man’s taunts.

  Jacob jerked Meredith to the door. His hand squeezed her arm so tightly she could feel the bones shift beneath her skin. She choked, her breath seizing with the pain that exploded up to her shoulder.

  As she saw rage flash across Silverton’s face, Meredith decided that she’d had enough. Twisting around, she grabbed her cousin’s arm. She bent her head and sank her teeth into his wrist, biting him as hard as she could. Jacob roared, cuffing her on the side of the head with his other hand. Meredith’s vision blurred as she crumpled to her knees.

  Silverton launched himself across the room at Jacob. All three of them went down in a tangle of flailing limbs, and Meredith was thrown backward with stunning force into the wall. She collapsed onto the floor, gasping painfully as she tried to suck air into her lungs. Rolling out of the way of the struggling men, she groped her way up the wall and pushed herself to her feet.

  Silverton had somehow managed to regain his feet as well, dragging Jacob up with him. His left fist smashed into her cousin’s face and blood spurted from the other man’s mouth.

  It was a devastating punch. Jacob swayed but remained standing. Staggering to the side, he swung powerfully at Silverton, who ducked just before the blow connected. Jacob lashed out again. Silverton jerked his face out of the way, but this time her cousin’s massive fist landed solidly on his shoulder. He fell back into the table, and Jacob threw himself on top of him. They crashed to the floor.

  Meredith watched, terrified, as the two men rolled over the uneven floorboards. Jacob was a brute, outweighing Silverton by almost two stone. If he got the upper hand, Meredith was sure he would kill the man she loved.

  She cast her eyes about frantically for a weapon. Spying a large brass candlestick on the fireplace mantel, Meredith ran across the room. She flung the lit candle into the fire and rushed back to the rolling bodies on the floor. Jacob heaved himself on top of Silverton, trying to wrap his beefy hands tightly around his neck. Silverton gasped for air but was still able to free an arm and push the heel of his hand against the other man’s chin.

  As Jacob’s head snapped back under the force of Silverton’s hand, Meredith slammed the candlestick into the back of her cousin’s skull. He collapsed, blood pouring freely from the wound she had inflicted on his head.

  The room was silent but for the sound of heavy breathing. Silverton pushed Jacob’s body from him and slowly sat upright, coughing as he gingerly rubbed his throat. Meredith stood frozen, the candlestick dangling from her hand. From what seemed a very great distance, she noticed a few strands of bloody hair stuck to the brass.

  “Is he dead?” she asked in a strangled whisper.

  Silverton put his hand to Jacob’s throat to feel for a pulse. After a moment, he shook his head. He looked up at her, and the edges of his mouth began to lift in a ragged smile.

  “Thank you, my love,” he murmured in a raspy voice. “Your cousin is a very large man.”

  The sound of his voice released her from her paralysis. She gave a small cry, dropped the candlestick, and threw herself onto the floor and into his arms. Meredith sobbed against his chest as he rocked and soothed her, just as she had done for Annabel only a short time ago.

  At the thought of her sister, she jerked up, alarm tightening every muscle in her body.

  “Annabel!” she gasped. “We must find her.”

  Silverton grimaced as he helped her to her feet. “Robert and Peter have already gone to look. Show me where they were holding her.”

  She was momentarily distracted by the pale and drawn set of his face. “You’re hurt!” she exclaimed. “What did he do to you?”

  Silverton winced as he touched his shoulder. “Nothing but a little bruising, my love. Don’t concern yourself.”

  He put his arm around her to lead her from the room when Trask and two other men strode through the door. Meredith vaguely recognized the strangers as two of Silverton’s grooms.

  “Well?” asked Silverton.

  The earl smiled grimly as he wiped blood from an ugly looking cut on his cheek. “Isaac Burnley and his companions are trussed up in one of the rooms off the stables. Simmons is standing guard with a pistol. Not that Burnley is in any condition to notice such details.”

  Meredith expelled a shaky breath of relief at the news of her uncle’s capture.

  “What about him?” The earl jerked his head at Jacob’s motionless form on the floor.

  “Meredith brained him with a candlestick.”

  Trask laughed. “I’m glad to hear it.” He motioned to the grooms, who picked up Jacob and lugged him from the room.

  “Miss Burnley.” The earl made her a small bow. “I am greatly relieved to see you in one piece.”

  “So am I,” she replied fervently, “but we must go to Annabel.”

  There was a quick, light step out in the hall. “Meredith!”

  A moment later and Annabel was in her embrace. Robert walked in right behind her and went to stand by Silverton and Trask. Meredith wrapped her arms around her sister, vowing irrationally to herself that she would never let the girl out of her sight again.

  After a moment, Annabel sniffed loudly and very inelegantly, and lifted her head to smile mistily at Meredith. “I told you Silverton and Robert would find us, didn’t I?”

  Meredith looked over her sister’s head at the three men standing by the door, each one of them blinking rapidly, as if their eyes bothered them. Silverton surreptitiously rubbed his cheek.

  Something effervescent started to bubble up within her, almost like champagne, but so much more wonderful that Meredith couldn’t even put a name to it. A laugh began to prickle in her throat as she studied the battered, dirt-covered man who had risked his very life to save her. Silverton gazed back at her with such longing that her laughter was silenced with a joy so enormous it almost terrified her. All at once her spirit broke free,
shattering the chains of doubt and fear that had gripped her soul for so many long, lonely years.

  Meredith hugged Annabel tightly in her arms. “Yes, my love,” she replied, almost to herself. “Yes, you did tell me he would find us. And he did!”

  Epilogue

  She felt smothered. The darkness overwhelmed her, and the only sound she heard was the rapid beating of her own heart. Meredith whimpered, shrinking from the terror hovering at the edge of her consciousness.

  She sensed movement even before the small sound from her lips faded away. Something big wrapped itself around her, cocooning her in a warmth that drove away the lingering remnants of fear. She relaxed, free to float up out of the darkness, swimming toward a gentle light glimmering just out of reach.

  Meredith woke up. She blinked her eyes in the soft morning light beginning to illuminate her bedroom at Swallow Hill. A heavy weight pressed along the length of her body, enveloping her in a reassuring embrace. As she came fully awake, she realized the comforting heat came from a large male body sprawled on top of her. A golden head rested on her breast, a strong arm was thrown across her hips, and a long leg pinned her lower limbs to the mattress.

  Meredith’s heart constricted and then expanded with the startling joy of waking up in her own bed with Silverton on top of her. She lay quietly for a few moments, sifting through the glorious but unsettling emotions that rushed to greet her with the new dawn and her new life.

  Moving cautiously so as not to rouse him, Meredith raised her left wrist into an errant sunbeam, catching the morning light on her emerald and opal bracelet. She had refused to take it and her wedding gift—a matching necklace—off last night. Silverton, however, had not seemed to mind that she had wanted to wear her jewelry to bed. In fact, he had been quite taken with the idea of his new bride clothed in nothing more than precious stones and metals. Meredith still couldn’t help blushing whenever she thought of his enthusiastic response to her lack of attire.

  She idly twisted her wrist, watching the light sparkle on the jewels and on the single, perfect emerald set in the gold band on her left hand. As much as she loved her wedding ring and her necklace, no piece of jewelry would ever mean so much to her as the bracelet. It had served as a precious link to Silverton during her and Annabel’s hideous ordeal.