by Vella, Wendy
He hammered his fist on the door again. When she didn’t answer, he ran out of patience and opened the door, hard enough that it slammed against the wall with a satisfying bang. Please let her be alone.
“Get out of my room!” She leapt to her feet, the book she’d been holding hitting the floor with a loud thunk.
“You,” he pointed at her, “are a reckless, foolish woman! And why the hell is the door not locked?”
“Get out of my house!” She bent and retrieved the book, clutching it to her chest.
“Are you hurt from that brainless leap from my carriage?”
A huge hound lying on his blanket slowly got to its feet, growling.
“Go to hell.” Her chin lifted. “Steady, Walter.” Dimity joined the dog, placing her hand on top of its head.
“Walter?”
“It’s dignified.” She sniffed.
“He should be called Brutus or Zeus.”
“Leave, my lord, or I shall let him have you.” She smiled as if the prospect pleased her. “He’s hungry, and you’d make a nice meal for him.”
“That was a bloody foolish thing to do. You could have been seriously harmed from that fall.”
“I don’t understand why you care!” The dog growled low and menacingly as her voice rose. “Why are you here? We disliked each other, and I was only ever an annoyance to you.”
He didn’t refute her claims. Gabe had never really been able to put into words how he felt about this woman.
How many men had she had in this room?
“My sister was worried when you failed to make contact with her and sent me to find you. I can hardly reassure her that you are indeed well when in fact you are living in this pit of despair, spending your evenings dressed like a trollop and being ogled by shady characters!”
“Just because I look like one does not mean I am,” she snapped back.
He was not touching that statement.
The room was smaller than his bedroom and smelled damp. He saw dark patches on the walls, and the fire was pitiful. No one, and not especially the spirited woman before him, should live this way.
“Many live this way. I am no better or worse off than them,” she added.
She had a point, which he would only concede silently.
The light was weak, but he saw the fatigue in every line of her face. What had happened to Dimity Brown?
“Why are you living here? Did your father leave nothing for you? Surely your brother did not get everything?”
Her laugh held no humor.
“That tells me nothing, so speak please, madam.”
“No.” The dog continued to stand there watching him, ready to eat Gabe if he moved closer to Dimity.
“Walter.” He held out a hand, but the dog never moved. Digging in his pocket, he found a peppermint and held it out, hoping he’d have his fingers left if the dog decided to take it.
The hound crept forward slowly, neck stretched, then much to Gabe’s surprise took the mint gently from his hand. He left his fingers there for the dog to sniff. Walter wagged his tail and let Gabe scratch his head.
“Oh, you bloody turncoat!” Dimity was not impressed.
“We are leaving.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. I will write to Abby tomorrow and assure her I am well. Now, leave. I have things to do.”
“I’ve heard about those things, and you are not doing them again,” Gabe snarled.
“What?” Her nose wrinkled.
“Pack your things, we are leaving,” Gabe said.
“Go away, Lord Raine. As you can see, I am well, so tell Abby that.” She sat back on the bed, still clutching the book.
“But that would be a lie, wouldn’t it.”
“I am well! Unemployed as we speak, thanks to your pompous self, but well. We don’t all reside in a bloody palace with servants at our beck and call!”
“I am not pompous.” He deliberately spoke the words softly rather than roaring them, which was what he actually wanted to do. This woman had always provoked him beyond reason.
“Of course you are,” she scoffed. “Aloof, used to having your own way. The leader of the Deville brothers.” She sneered. “Lofty Lord Raine.”
She was deliberately taunting him, he knew it, but it didn’t lessen his need to shake her silent. He didn’t. One thing Gabe, the eldest of five siblings, had learned early in his life was control. It had been after many hard lessons that he’d finally grasped the concept.
“Get off that bed and come with me or I’ll carry you.”
“Why?”
“I told you why. I’m not doing so again. I will find you a position and lodgings.”
“No. I want nothing from you.”
“I understand pride better than the next person, Dimity, and yet when coupled with stupidity it annoys me excessively.” Gabe advanced on her.
A pistol appeared in her hand, and she pointed it at his heart.
“I believe the penalty for murdering a peer is death.” He kept advancing on her. The pistol wavered. Gabe moved fast, and seconds later he had it in his hands.
“What the hell are you thinking, having something like this in your possession? Do you even know how to fire it?”
“My father gave me that. Give it back!” She glared at him, legs braced, hands on her slender hips. “That is mine.” She charged him, pulled back her fist, and swung. Gabe grabbed it and forced it up behind her back, urging her body into his. Their gazes locked and held.
Taste her again.
He wanted to feel those lips pressed to his, but he also enjoyed good health. Kissing her would likely jeopardize that.
“Let me go.” Her eyes flared. It was not just he who was aware of the heat between them.
“Are you scared of yourself, being this close to me, Dimity?” He leaned closer, touching his lips to hers. He took the soft lips in a slow kiss again; to hell with his health. Gabe only just managed to turn his hips as her knee searched for his groin.
“That’s not very nice.”
“Don’t kiss me again. Don’t think you can take advantage of me because I am alone, because I am never defenseless, my lord!”
He released her, mourning the loss of her curves pressed to his body. Their second kiss had lasted seconds, but the impact was no less intense.
“I would never take advantage of a woman,” Gabe said, hauling in a deep, steadying breath. “And you are the least defenseless one I know.”
“Then what was that?” she spat at him. Her eyes were shooting sparks of fury.
“My second bout of temporary insanity. I assure you it will not happen again.”
“Give me my gun back.”
“I will when I’m ready.” Gabe slid it into his pocket, enjoying the anger in her eyes. It was far better than vulnerability. Fire he could cope with. “Once I know you won’t shoot your foot off.”
“I can fire it, and if you give it to me, I will show you how accurate I am by instead shooting you in the foot!” Her eyes shot sparks at him. “I am not a family member for you to boss around. I am nothing to you. Why are you doing this?”
Why indeed?
“I’ve told you why. Now gather what you need; we are leaving.” He was finished with this discussion. “Now, Dimity.”
“I don’t understand why you care,” she choked out.
“I don’t. My sister does,” he lied. “If you won’t pack your things, I will. I’m tired, hungry, and have no wish to stand about in this place a minute longer than necessary.”
When she didn’t move, he began to prowl around the room with Walter on his heels. Four long strides to the left brought him to a wooden box on the floor. He found a large bag in there. Pulling it out, he brought it back to the bed.
“Fill that.”
Anger poured from her in furious waves.
“Now,” he demanded. Of course she didn’t move, so he simply grabbed what he could find and stuffed it into the bag.
“Damn you,” she gro
wled. “This is my life. I can live it as I choose!”
“And you choose to live in this place and work where men can ogle and use your body? You choose to be cold and go hungry because your pride will not allow you to accept help from me?”
He watched her eyes lower and knew his words had hit their mark. She dropped to her knees and retrieved something that was sticking out from under the bed. It looked to Gabe like a bundle of letters.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know. I have never seen them before.”
She undid the ribbon holding them and opened the first one. “It must have been in my father’s bible.” She began to read the words. The color leached from her face as she stumbled back into the bed.
“Dimity.” He moved closer. “What is it?”
“N-nothing. I-It’s nothing.”
Chapter Four
“Clearly it’s something if it made you turn the color of lumpy porridge and stutter.”
“It matters not.” Dear Lord, had she read those words correctly?
“What did it say? Let me help you.”
“No!” she said, trying to remain calm.
“You’re panicking.”
“I—ah, I’m tired.”
“Your brother should be supporting you.”
She didn’t answer him, as her head was whirling.
“I will have something to say to him when we meet.”
“You have no need to meet him.” She forced herself to concentrate on the earl and not think about the contents of that letter she’d just read. Later she would look at it again and try to understand. She hoped that she’d read those words wrong, but inside she knew that wasn’t the case.
Could it be true? Was her father actually not her father?
“My br-brother and I have never been close, and there is no reason for you to speak to him. I am glad to be rid of him.”
“Very well. Pack your things, and we will leave,” Lord Raine said.
Dimity battled her pride. This man could help her, if only until she got another job. She could take his money and be comfortable. The amount he’d waved at her would keep her in food and lodgings for months.
Take it.
If she did, she could send him away. His duty would be done. He could report to Abby that Dimity was now well. There were plenty of lodging houses that would be warm and dry. Just the thought of not living with the ball of fear that had been lodged in her throat made her lightheaded. The fear that someone would enter this room, some man, and violate her had kept her awake most nights.
“I will take the money you offered, my lord. Thank you.” The gratitude nearly choked her. “Then you can leave and not think of me again. But I will pay you back.” No matter how long it takes.
“That offer no longer stands.”
“What? Why?”
He stood there totally at ease in the dismal surroundings. Big, assured. The bloody Earl of Haughtiness.
“Because I want you out of this place and away from what you have been forced to do since you came here. To do that, I need to remove you. Now finish packing.”
“If you give me that wad of money, then I will be able to find lodgings somewhere better. It will also pay for food until I find employment.”
“As a piano teacher?”
“Yes.”
“If that were true, why are you not teaching now?”
“There are no jobs available at the moment. The agency could not place me.”
“With the season in full swing?” He scoffed, making her want to slap him. “I will find you work. Now, pack. You’re coming home with me.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I won’t.”
“You will.”
“Drop me at a lodging house then.”
He folded his arms, his eyes steady on hers. “Pack your things, Dimity. You can argue with me some more in the carriage, which is a great deal more comfortable.”
Dimity had endured much over the last few months. Her life had been torn apart, she’d been scared, cold, and hungry. She felt the horrifying swell of a sob build in her throat as she thought about the warmth and comfort she’d get in Lord Raine’s household. But she couldn’t let herself weaken. Ultimately, she was alone. The respite he offered could only be brief.
But surely a few days would not hurt?
Turning away, she stuffed the letters in the bottom of the bag and then gathered the few things she’d been able to sneak out of her father’s house without her brother… no, he was no longer that. Could it be true? At least that was one thing that would offer her relief. If she was indeed not her father’s daughter, then she would share no blood with her brother.
She gathered everything, including the small store of food she’d collected.
“Leave that. You no longer need it.”
“I will take it next door then.”
She wouldn’t fight him anymore. She would go along with him for now, then leave when she was ready. After a sleep and some food, she’d be strong again. Besides, his duty to his sister would be done.
She packed.
“Where are the rest of your things?”
“This is all I have.”
“Books. I know you have lots of those, because you told Abby that. Sheet music and other things. Did your brother let you take nothing?”
She wouldn’t explain anything to him. It was, after all, none of his business. So she picked up the bag.
“I’ll take that.”
She grabbed the worn collar around Walter’s neck and clutched the small parcel of food she would drop to her neighbor.
“The dog is coming?” He raised a snooty brow. She knew the look; it was meant to quell insubordinates. Dimity would never be one of those, not to him.
“He is my dog. If you take issue with that, then we will stay here.”
“I don’t remember him being mentioned before.”
“He decided I was to be his owner when I moved in here.” She glared at him, daring him to refuse. If he did, she would stay with Walter. “He has been my protector.”
“I’m sorry you needed protecting, Dimity. Sorry no one but Walter was here for you.” His eyes were solemn.
His kindness made her throat tighten, but she swallowed down the tears. She’d shed far too many of those.
“I will not leave without Walter.”
“Very well.” He sighed. “Do you have something we can lead him with?”
“He will not go anywhere.”
He sighed again, then undid his necktie.
“What are you doing?” Dimity took a step backward.
He slowly unwound the material, his eyes holding hers.
“I have no wish for Walter to chase something and you to charge off after him, thereby ensuring I must do the same. We will then both be forced to remain in the cold for longer than is necessary.”
Dimity snapped her teeth shut as he tied the cloth to Walter’s collar.
“Let’s go.” He walked to the door, Walter trotting obediently beside him. Opened it, and stepped to one side for her to go ahead of him.
Gathering up the blanket off the floor, she didn’t spare the room a glance—it had no fond memories—simply walked outside. Dimity knocked on the door next to hers, and it opened minutes later.
“You’ll forgive me for waking you, Mrs. Beadle, but I have these for you.” She handed over her meager supplies and the blanket. “I’m leaving, you see, and won’t be back.” Dimity knew this, knew he’d see her in a warm, dry place no matter how much her pride balked at the prospect of letting him do anything for her. But even if that did not happen, then she would find a place of her own. Lately she’d even thought about leaving London. Heading to the country to find work.
“I’ll be sad to see you go.” Mrs. Beadle had tired eyes, five children, and a husband who was never home, as he drank too much and spent what meager money he earned. But when he did return, he took out his anger on his wife. Dimity had heard it through the walls. Once, she
’d tried to intervene and received a black eye for her efforts.
“I have some money for you,” Dimity added, turning to face Lord Raine. He raised a brow. “Th-that money you wanted to give me, I would ask you to give some of it to Mrs. Beadle. She was good to me when first I came here. Kind, and gave me food.”
He didn’t speak, just opened his jacket, and seconds later he was handing her money.
“Thank you.” Dimity turned with the money and handed it to the woman in the doorway. “Now there will be enough here for you to go somewhere else, Mrs. Beadle. You leave and don’t tell anyone where you’ve gone.”
“I-I… but there is so much here,” the woman whispered, tears filling her eyes.
“Don’t tell him, Mrs. Beadle. In the morning, you gather your children and leave here after he’s left for the day. You know it’s the right thing to do, as you stated you wanted that just the other day. Wanted to escape if only you had the means.”
“I’ll have a carriage here as the sun rises.” Lord Raine joined her. “You and your children can use it to go wherever you wish.”
“M-my sister, she lives two hours from London.” Hope was starting to fill Mrs. Beadle’s face where before there had been tired resignation. “I want to go to her.”
“I will instruct my driver to knock on your door. He will take you to your sister. Will 7:00 a.m. be too early?”
She shook her head. “I can never thank you enough.” Mrs. Beadle grabbed Lord Raine, hugging him hard. He was then released, and Dimity was held tight against her chest. “God bless you both!”
“You go on inside now out of the rain and be happy, Mrs. Beadle,” Dimity said, nudging the woman back inside. The door closed softly.
“Thank you.”
“I am not the devil, Dimity, even if my name would suggest otherwise. Now let us leave here before we are robbed, beaten, and left for dead.”
Each Deville brother had been given the first name of an angel. According to Abby their mother had insisted on this.
“Can I have my gun back?”
“No.” He placed a hand on her back and urged her forward. They walked silently through the darkness and squalor, with rain that had slowed to a drizzle soaking into their clothes.
