The Bridal Contract (Darrington family Book 3) Read online

  The older woman’s eyes widened.

  “Oliver! Release her this instant!”

  The shocked demand recalled him to the moment and he took his hands off the woman as Eloisa joined them in the entryway. “I apologize. I lost my head for a moment.” He faced his pretend fiancée, who’d appeared in her nightgown and a hastily donned wrapper of pale blue silk. He slid his gaze down the length of her body, over her womanly curves rather too much on display in the scant clothing before finally coming to rest on her face.

  “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded while waving off the woman he’d by now assumed was a housekeeper.

  He took a deep breath and let it ease out. No doubt he looked deranged. Well, he felt it. “Daniela is missing. I’ve searched the house and she’s not anywhere. I thought perhaps she’d come over here, that maybe since our association more or less ended she might have you missed you.”

  “If our association is over, that blame falls on your shoulders, for you’re the one who went away in a huff.” She tightened the belt on her wrapper. Unmistakable reproach rang in her voice. “However, none of that matters right now. Daniela hasn’t visited, but I’ll search the house while you wait in the parlor. I cannot very well have you traipsing about when the rest of my family is still abed.”

  With no recourse, Oliver retreated to their shabby parlor, but instead of sitting to wait in endless agony, he opted for pacing. The girl had to be somewhere nearby. He doubted she’d run off on her own; she’d not shown signs of bolting before. Had she found a quiet spot then fallen asleep, still hidden?

  Minutes, perhaps hours, for as slow as they passed, later, Eloisa returned to the parlor. Cobwebs clung to her thick braid of hair as well as the hem of her night clothes. A smudge of dust marred one cheek. He had to employ every bit of his willpower not to go to her and rub it away.

  “Any sign of her?” Strain wove through his voice and he hated that worry made him weak.

  “No. I’m sorry. She hasn’t been here.” She frowned. “And you’re certain she’s not merely hiding from you?”

  “Very certain.” She has to be somewhere. Oliver collapsed onto a low sofa, planted his elbows on his knees then buried his fingers in his hair. “I’ve been a fool and deceived myself this whole time. I didn’t understand how much Daniela meant to me until now.”

  “We’ll find her. Don’t despair,” she whispered as she sank to the cushion beside him. “Soon she’ll be restored to you and you can cuddle her with kisses and spoil her with all sorts of treats.”

  Her body warmth seeped into him and though he wanted to wrap his arms around her and feed from her comfort, he tamped that urge too. After all, what good would it do? Touching her too long in any capacity would render him helpless and he’d want more from her than she’d be willing to give.

  “How can I presume to be any sort of good parent or guardian if I manage to lose her the second week I’ve had her?” The hollow ache in his chest grew. This horrible hole of self-loathing he’d fallen into was worse than any storm he’d encountered while on the sea. “Perhaps she’d be better off if I did leave her at an orphanage. At least then she wouldn’t be missing.”

  “But she’d be miserable and so would you.” Eloisa slipped an arm about his shoulders. She squeezed. “We’ll do whatever it takes, all right?”

  Oliver glanced at her then promptly fell into the mossy green depths of her eyes. “Why would you do this for me?” Dare he hope she cared something for him after all?

  “What sort of a friend would I be to ignore you when you’re in need?” Her gaze faltered. She lowered it to her lap. “You’re not the only one who loves Daniela.”

  Of course. It was for the child. He sprang off the sofa in an effort not to have any part of his body touching hers. “Right.” Why did no one warn him that making his heart vulnerable would hurt so much? “Well then, I’ll return home, quite possibly notify the constable.”

  She nodded. “As soon as I dress and put myself to rights, I’ll join you.” She rose smoothly to her feet. Tears made her big eyes luminous. “Oliver, I want you to know…” She trailed off but didn’t finish her thought. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore, does it?”

  “No, I suppose it doesn’t.” He searched about him for a hat then realized he’d rushed out without one. “I’ll send word if she comes home.” He left her house without a backward glance.

  By the time she joined him, Oliver was nearly out of his mind. Another search of the house hadn’t found Daniela. Both Carruthers and Susan were visibly worried. They hovered in the hall outside the parlor but neither worked up the courage to join him. Both blamed themselves, when they had no right to do so. No amount of reassurances on his part would relieve their anxiety.

  Eloisa didn’t say much. She paced when he paced and sat when he sat. Throughout the waiting, she’d touch his hand, shoulder, or knee. The first few times, he shook off those feather-weighted caresses. Then when she continued, for his comfort or hers he didn’t know, he resigned himself to it. Perhaps a connection of sorts was needed during such a time.

  “Well then, I should really send someone after the constable. It’s obvious Daniela won’t return on her own, and she isn’t anywhere in the vicinity,” he announced in a dull voice.

  “Yes. That might be the best thing right now.” She nodded in encouragement.

  As soon as Oliver gained his feet, Carruthers dashed into the room with a flower posy in one hand and an ivory envelope in the other.

  “My lord, this was just delivered for you.” He handed both offerings to Oliver.

  “Who is it from?” Eloisa asked.

  He thrust the posy at her then ripped open the heavy vellum envelope. Once he extracted the note inside and scanned it, he put on his spectacles then read it again and said, “Lord Everly has my child.” White, hot anger consumed him.

  Chapter Eleven

  Eloisa collapsed onto the sofa as the strength left her knees. “Lord Everly? How?” She glanced at him. Beneath the tan, Oliver’s skin had paled. “What does the note say?” It was unfathomable Everly had taken Daniela. How could this be? Her stomach clenched and the feeling of needing to retch overtook her. She swallowed a few times to fight the urge.

  “Right.” His chest rose and fell with shallow breath. “He writes, ‘You took something I badly wanted. Now I’ve done the same to you. How does it feel, Tralsburg? I’ll be in touch.’” Oliver raised his pain-flooded gaze to hers. “He was in my house, Eloisa.” He tore the note into tiny pieces then hurled them to the floor. “Everly took my child right out from under my nose!” He wrenched the spectacles from the bridge of his nose then shoved them into a jacket pocket.

  Her heart ached for him, for Daniela—for them. If it weren’t for her, Everly wouldn’t have gone after Oliver. Why, oh why, couldn’t she just let the people she cared about muddle through their own problems? “Then let’s go get her back. Surely Everly can’t have gotten far if that note was just delivered.”

  His expression changed in a twinkling. Oh, to be sure, the anger still lurked in the deeper depths of his eyes, but now he didn’t seem quite so forlorn. “You’re an anchor, my girl.” He pulled her from the sofa so abruptly that she dropped the posy. “Of course he’s still nearby.”

  She gasped when he released her then ran from the parlor. Seconds later the sound of the front door opening echoed in the hall. By the time she arrived, Oliver had already sailed down the few steps and shot along the street, chasing after the only other person in sight—an adolescent-aged delivery boy. Oliver’s tail coat flapped about him like an unusual bird.

  “Oh, I do hope he exercises caution when talking with the chap,” Eloisa murmured to herself while following at a more sedate pace. Oliver had apprehended the boy by the time she arrived.

  “What did the man look like who gave you that delivery for me?” He had a hand wrapped around the boy’s upper arm.

  The lad screwed up his face. He clapped a hand on his cap to keep it o
n his head. “Real big fellow. Leaned right out his coach window, he did. I thought he’d tumble out, that’s how fat he was. Paid well for me to give it to you at eight o’clock and no sooner.” He wrenched from Oliver’s grip. “What’s it to you?”

  “He stole something of mine. I want it back.” Oliver’s eyes were hard as blue glass as he stared at the boy. “Where did he go?”

  “Last I saw, his coach went left on the High Road. Bound for London, no doubt. That’s where all them nobs go when they’re bored with Brighton.”

  “Very good.” Oliver tossed him a coin. He dismissed the lad then turned to Eloisa, as if he’d known all along she’d be there. “We’re going after him.”

  “On foot? That’ll be a sad day, us walking to London. Everly will have gotten away by then,” she joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  “In my carriage. It’s faster than the coach.” His lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. “Also, the quicker the better.”

  “Then let’s not delay any further.” She would have wagered that she could beat him in a foot race back to the town house, but the situation didn’t warrant such antics. Her thoughts moved to Daniela. Another swath of panic welled in her chest. “Dear heavens, Oliver, the poor girl is probably terrified. I can’t even imagine how she’s faring.” Her voice wavered on the last word.

  “Chin up.” He swung her into his arms then hugged her tight, resting his chin on the top of her head. “If I have anything to say about it, that dear girl will be back home in no time. I’ll do my level best to make certain this nonsense hasn’t damaged her.”

  The conviction in his voice brought a measure of calm. If it wasn’t for that ill-timed promise… Well, now was not the time to think about that either. Before she could linger in his embrace, she pulled away, blinking so he couldn’t see her tears. “We’re wasting time.”

  “Time spent with you isn’t wasted,” he said so softly as he turned away that she might have imagined the words. He led the way to his home. The second they entered the foyer, he called, “Carruthers!”

  Eloisa flinched. “Must you yell?” She’d never seen him so animated before, and it completely changed his demeanor. Whereas before, she’d thought he was an easy-going man of the sea, uncomfortable about being on land and around people, now he was every bit the man in charge of everything he surveyed. A shiver danced down her spine. This persona of Oliver could do anything and make everything happen with one crook of his finger. It was heady and powerful and made her feel protected all at once.

  “This morning, yes.” Once the butler ambled into the entryway, Oliver continued, “Lord Everly has kidnapped Daniela. He’s not been gone long. I need you to alert the groom and coachman. They’re to meet me and Miss Hawthorne with the carriage on the drive in no less than twenty minutes. Drag them both from their beds if you have to.” His hard, blue gaze bore into the older retainer. “Go, man! Time is of the essence!”

  The urgency in his tone sent chills along Eloisa’s skin. She wanted to run after Carruthers to ensure he followed the command to the utmost of his ability, merely to please the viscount, and that gave her pause. Why did she feel compelled to do such a thing? She slid a glance to him. He’d trained that intense gaze squarely on her, except it wasn’t brimming with anger or authority now. Oh no. The wickedness from days ago had returned along with a short measure of relief. In fact, he resembled a man on a mission and one that had nothing to do with pursuing the fat lord who’d taken his child. Her pulse kicked up. She forced a swallow into a suddenly dry throat. What did this mean?

  She waited as her breath shallowed, but Oliver didn’t say anything. Her traitorous body responded, though. Her insides heated. Her nipples pebbled beneath her day gown of pink muslin. Throbbing need made its presence known between her thighs. Good heavens, the man was potent in a way Peter had never been and she liked it exceedingly too much. As she stood there, slowly burning to death beneath his unwavering regard, a tiny smile played about his lips and still he remained silent. Eventually, she couldn’t bear the roiling something in his eyes and she turned away. She wrapped her arms around her middle then resorted to tracing the row of embroidered daises at the waist of the dress.

  What did he want? After she’d more or less broken his heart on the shore two days ago, did he still have feelings for her? For that matter, what did she want from herself? Did she have the strength to release herself from that old promise she’d made to Peter? Would Oliver think her incapable of being faithful if she did? And how could she, in good conscience, give herself to Oliver when she’d let someone else take the only gift she’d had of value?

  Oh, for heaven’s sake, where was Carruthers?

  After what seemed like an eternity fraught with the most uncomfortable minutes of her life, the butler returned with a wild expression. His fringe of gray hair was mussed about his head and ruddiness infused his face as if he’d spent the better part of his absence running.

  “The carriage is readied, my lord,” he announced in a breathless voice.

  “Very good, Carruthers. I’m off, then. If luck is on my side, I’ll return within the hour.” He glanced at Eloisa. “Coming or going, love? Which will it be?”

  She had no idea if he referred to accompanying him to the carriage or to the unspoken question regarding the rest of her life. In a daze, she nodded. “Coming.” For now, but she’d need to think about the remainder. One just didn’t make decisions on the spur of the moment. Hadn’t she cured herself of that after she’d promised her life to Peter during one night of passion?

  No sooner had Oliver ushered her into the carriage than it took off with a lurch that threw her haphazardly onto the only bench and crushed against Oliver’s side. “Pardon me,” she said then attempted to right herself and put as much distance between them as she could. As it was, every nerve, every inch of skin was aware of the man beside her. Drat the luck that the carriage sported the one seat.

  “I apologize for the cramped quarters, but speed was more necessary than personal space. This carriage is better than the coach.” His tone didn’t convey any sort of regret at all. “We’re on the hunt. I will have my child back or there will be hell to pay.”

  Of that, she had no doubt. Knowing he meant every word and imagining what exactly he’d do to Everly once they caught him up had her stomach churning and thrills playing her spine simultaneously. This was the strong, adventuring viscount she’d imagined he could be. Then her jumbled thoughts got the better of her. Based on Oliver’s current frame of mind, there was every possibility there’d be a fight of some sort, and if it escalated, there might be pistols drawn, either there or promises of them at dawn tomorrow. If he didn’t make it out alive…

  “Oliver, there are things I’d like to say to you before this day moves out of hand. I—”

  He swiftly stopped her words with a brief kiss. The whiskers on his upper lip tickled her and sent erotic pulses into every point of her body. “Now is not the time for life-changing decisions, but mark my words.” His eyes darkened as he stared into hers. “We will have a conversation, and it won’t end until we’ve come to an amiable decision jointly.”

  Eloisa blinked. She nodded as if she’d suddenly been struck dumb, but the sensations he’d set off in her body while they’d stood in the entryway intensified. The one thing she knew with firm certainty was that she wanted to know this man in the Biblical sense. How she’d accomplish that, she had no idea, especially if this chase went awry, but in her bed he would be, Peter’s memory and her own insecurity be damned.

  Interminable minutes followed, shrouded in silence and broken only by the thundering of horses’ hooves on the hard-packed dirt road. Every jostle and bump of the carriage threw her closer to Oliver, and one particularly hard jolt sent her hurtling across his thighs.

  “Well, if you’re intent on being on me, who am I to argue?” He hauled her more firmly onto his lap. Her feet rested on the empty space beside him and her skirts slid up her legs, putting her stockin
gs on indecent display. “Good thing I had them bring the closed carriage instead of Felix’s old phaeton, eh?”

  “I’m not sure why it makes a difference.” Driving in a high phaeton at this sort of breakneck speed would have been even more reckless, but then, she didn’t really care. All of her concentration went into not drowning in the warmth of Oliver’s arms around her or the brush of his sleeve against her already taut nipples or the slightly spicy, piney scent of him that invaded her nose.

  “The difference is, in the phaeton, I wouldn’t have been afforded the privacy to do this.” He lowered his head and claimed her lips in a kiss that stole her breath and sent her pulse racing.

  Well, she couldn’t argue with him on that point. Instead, since she’d already been thoroughly compromised and she did need to hang on in the rapidly moving conveyance, she looped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him back. Why shouldn’t she? She adored kissing him and he certainly knew all the right spots to explore that turned her blood to fire, and every time he touched her he calmed her fear regarding Daniela.

  Just when she thought she’d break beneath the waves of pleasure brought on by his mouth, he traced her bodice with his fingers. He danced them along the edge of the fabric. Goose flesh trailed in his wake. Eloisa broke the kiss in order to breathe. A tremble tumbled down her spine and she glanced up into his face. Deviltry twinkled in his gaze and with a wink, he slipped his hand beneath the low, square neckline.

  Her breath caught. Her heartbeat intensified as the heat of his hand encompassed her breast. Her world exploded when he brushed his fingers along the puckered nipple. “Oh, dear Lord,” she whispered. Flutters filled her belly. “Do that again.” Did it make her a wanton to enjoy such an exquisite feeling, to let him do such a thing at such a time?