An Accidental Affair (29 page)

Lord Parker came close enough that he could inspect her bound hands. His fingers caressed the rough ropes and the reddened skin beneath, but he did not untie her. “You’ve done well, Farnsworth. How long ago was she drugged?”

Arabella gaped when Farnsworth smiled. “Not long. A double dose since you’ve a ways to travel.”

It must have been the wine. She forced herself to relax as Parker untied the rope between her hands and feet. Her feet tingled a little as she shuffled her feet. Given how they felt, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk away, let alone run, if an opportunity presented itself.

Parker turned his back on her. “The gag will solve any difficulties when the potion wears off on the journey. I’d rather not be disturbed by busybodies. The dose you gave will serve. Too little and she might cry out an alarm and draw attention. Too much…”

He left the rest unsaid and she shivered.

A gag?
What sort of a fiend was he that he needed to resort to such measures? She swallowed hard as tears sprung to her eyes. Parker was strong, and if he didn’t release her of his own accord, she didn’t think she could get away without help. He would have no trouble subduing her if she tried to flee. She didn’t like to think about what might happen after that.

“You’re sure no one will look for her?”

“Not after the tales I’ve spread. She has no family to speak of besides me.” Farnsworth nodded. “Are we square now?”

Parker circled back to leer at her. “She’s more leggy than I usually like, but all women are the same in the end I suppose. You just have to teach them to behave.”

Arabella stared. She should be scared by that promise. She should be terrified. But it was becoming so hard to think of very much at all. She was on the verge of sleep when a voice cut through her stupor.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have the chance to teach her anything.”

Arabella’s heart thudded in response to Merrick’s voice. She fought to turn her head to see if she’d imagined his arrival and saw him a short distance away on the edge of the ruins in the company of his servants, half-brothers, and Grayling. She smiled happily. Her Merrick, though shrouded in fog, would make everything all right again. He would take her home to Winslette where they both belonged together.

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Merrick could not look upon Arabella without his rage rising. Seeing her barely aware of her surroundings and bound like a dog by this pair was beyond all understanding. “Untie her.”

Farnsworth turned, his eyes widening with shock. At his side, Parker grinned as if they were meeting at their club. “What the devil are you doing here, Rothwell? This is a private matter and does not concern you.”

Farnsworth had the sense to shrink a little. “Yes, a private matter.”

Merrick shook his head and flexed his fingers. “This is my land now, and there is no matter so private where Arabella is concerned that I do not want to know where she is and that she is well. I said untie her.”

Parker placed himself next to Arabella and petted her head like she was his favorite hound. Her head lolled to the side. “She’s mine, Rothwell. Promised, in fact. Can you not see how perfect she will be?”

When Arabella swayed away from his touch so far that she might fall, Parker grabbed her by the hair and then hauled her to her feet. She couldn’t seem to stand on her own, and he took a step forward.

“Pretty, isn’t she?” Parker boasted. “I’ll beat any disobedience out of her and make her perfect.”

Farnsworth shrank back, placing himself behind Parker and Arabella.

Merrick continued forward but stopped as Arabella smiled. “She’s already perfect.”
 

Parker yanked on her hair harder and she whimpered. He drew her against him. “Go back where you came from, Rothwell.”

Around him, Merrick’s half brothers backed away, disappearing into the fog like ghosts. He quickly determined their intent when a man grunted somewhere in the fog, and then another. He kept his attention on Parker and Farnsworth, although the latter appeared distracted by what his brothers might be doing out of sight.

Grayling stepped forward and held out his hands. “Now, steady on. There’s no need for this. Let Arabella choose for herself.”

Parker spun Arabella around to face him, caught her jaw in the palm of his hand, and pressed his fingers into her cheeks. After a moment, her mouth gaped, lips pursing in an obscene imitation of a kiss. “Experience has taught me that women are too weak to make decisions. She’s not protesting, is she?”

“She’s drugged,” Merrick reminded him. He counted to ten as Parker’s hand caressed her throat.

“Not got sense enough to protect herself, even from a harmless devil like Farnsworth.” Parker’s free hand stroked down her back and rested on her bottom. He squeezed. “Besides, you took what I planned to have for my very own, Grayling, and now I will take what I want. Farnsworth made it so convenient to come to an arrangement.”

Merrick spared a glance for Grayling, but he appeared just as confused. “What the devil are you talking about?”

“Married women are no challenge, but a woman unattached is much easier to persuade when their family wants nothing to do with her and cannot pay their debts.” Parker smiled mockingly over Arabella’s shoulder. “I’ve seen your wife, Grayling. I know what she once was. The whore was to be mine, but you stole her away from her world and married her instead. What will society have to say about that scandalous tidbit?
 

“Arabella will take her place or I’ll ruin Farnsworth and his precious daughter, and you’ll wish you’d never laid eyes on your talented wife too, because the tales I could tell about her proficiency in the bedroom would turn society against you and all you hold dear.”

“This is between you and me. Leave Arabella out of this,” Grayling argued, face turning a deathly shade that hinted Parker’s accusations might just be based in truth. Merrick didn’t know anything about Rosemary’s past, but if Parker did not stop touching Arabella’s ass soon, he would kill him.

“But I do have someone who cares where I am,” Arabella said suddenly, her voice slurring under the effects of the drug. Her head fell back as she stared at Parker, brow creased in thought. “We will be married soon.”

Merrick’s heart leapt at her words, a ruse that might just to win her freedom from Parker’s clutches without resorting to violence. Unfortunately, he didn’t think Parker believing her was likely. She was not in her right mind.

Parker’s attention flickered to her and back to them quickly. He began to move toward the waiting horses. Yet right at that moment, men whooped and hollered, causing the horses to rear and, once free, to scatter. The carriage lurched forward as the hitched horses took off across the field.

Farnsworth bellowed. “Go after them, you fools.”

Parker’s men were eager to do Farnsworth’s bidding and quickly disappeared, leaving just Farnsworth and Parker to deal with. From the corner of his eye, he saw his brothers reappear, spread in a loose circle about Parker and Arabella.

He stepped forward. “Release Arabella to me now before blood is spilled.”

Parker began to laugh. “Why do you care? She’s not yours. It’s all arranged with Farnsworth to cover his debts.”

 
“I am Rothwell’s, actually,” Arabella said loudly. “It’s all arranged. He loves me,” she whispered, although it was likely everyone heard her. Her head turned in his direction, her expression blissfully happy.

“No.” Parker looked to Farnsworth for confirmation, but the other man backed up a few steps instead.

Merrick strolled forward. “Where do you think she’s been the past few days? My arms, my bed. She’s made me the happiest man that ever lived. So you see, she does have someone who is not taking your treatment of her very well at all. Give her back to me.”

Parker looked down at Arabella’s dreamy expression and then glared at Farnsworth. “Farnsworth said she was visiting relatives and couldn’t wait for her new life with me.”

“The only relations Arabella has is Farnsworth and his daughter. The daughter eloped.”

Beside him, Grayling stirred. “That’s surprising.”

“Our first collaboration. I’ll share the details later.” He smiled tightly, then turned his attention to Parker. “Let her go before I break your hands. I haven’t any patience for seeing women mauled by animals.”

Parker flung Arabella at him and stepped back. “I didn’t know how things stood between you.”

Merrick caught Arabella against him, embraced her, and then handed her into Grayling’s care. “Try to keep her awake if you can.”

His brothers formed a protective barrier before Arabella. Merrick stripped off his coat and tossed it to one of them. “Now you do. Oh, and to be clear, since Arabella cannot speak for herself at this moment, she does not like being tied up, gags, or anything to do with riding crops, except perhaps with horses. Not like a mutual acquaintance of ours does.”

“Wait. I was misled.” Parker looked for support and came up empty. “He said she had an open mind and wanted it this way: a little danger at the beginning to heat her blood. I would never have arranged it if I hadn’t been assured of her inclinations.”

“You know, Parker, I find myself uncaring of that fact. You both deserve to be punished for the way you treat women as property and, you know, even just for breathing. Beating one of you to a pulp seems the only choice I have.”

He caught Parker by the cravat and hauled him close. Parker, being taller, was at an advantage, but Merrick was beyond caring about the level of the playing field in a fight. He protected his own.

Out of the corner of his eye, Farnsworth turned tail and ran off into the fog.

Parker’s gaze darted to the men around him. “I’ll pay you handsomely to get this oaf off me.”

Jimmy stepped forward. “How much?”

Merrick rolled his eyes. Damn family. Always willing to get in the middle of a good disagreement.

Parker licked his lips. “Enough to set you up as a wealthy man.”

Jimmy tipped his head to the side as he considered. “Can I live with you?”

“No.” Parker appeared shocked by that idea.

“I’m in charge of Rothwell’s stable in London.” Jimmy folded his arms over his chest. “Can I pick your horses for you?”

“Don’t be absurd.”

Jimmy shook his head, smirked at Merrick, and return to the line behind him. “Another stiff-necked toff who thinks money is all that matters to a man.”

His brothers muttered amongst themselves, some laughed, and no others came forward. Trust Jimmy to find a way to break the tension.

Merrick shook his head and released Parker. He wasn’t worth the effort. A hard shove sent him crashing to the ground. “Don’t come anywhere near Arabella again. Don’t speak to her. Don’t even tip your hat in her direction. Collect your debts from the man who owes you, not defenseless women and dependents. So help me God, I’m tempted to have every member of my family chase you down just to teach you a lesson.”

Parker might be older, but he took the threat to heart. He scrambled to his feet with all the appearance of a fugitive. No one survived with their dignity intact when the Fords united against them. “That won’t be necessary.”

“I hope not, for your sake.” Merrick smiled. “Remember, there is no port distant enough that my Ford cousins couldn’t find you and ruin your life, too. They like my wife-to-be almost as much as my servants do.”

He signaled to his brothers. “Drive him and his men from the estate. Use whips if need be. Parker should like that.”

Jimmy grinned and slapped his short club across the palm of his hand menacingly. “Don’t have one handy at the moment, my lord, but this and whatever else comes to hand will do in a pinch. It’s our absolute pleasure to serve you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Arabella blinked as Merrick suddenly appeared before her. She sobbed in relief as he held her tightly against him. His hands cradled her firmly against his body, and he kissed her cheek. He held her as if he’d never let her go, and Arabella was content to stay like this for a very long time. She was so weary.

“I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotion.

“I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come,” she confessed, swallowing the taste of the dosed wine she’d been forced to consume. “I feared you would look for me on the roads and not the ruins.”

His arms loosened and a battered cup filled with water appeared. She drained it quickly.

“I have a half brother to thank for that. One of them followed you all the way to the ruins and reported back to me that you’d gone off with Farnsworth and his dubious friends. I didn’t believe it likely you’d had a choice in the matter.”

She tipped her head to look up at the sky, noting the fog had lifted and the heavens were filled with a thousand twinkling stars. “What time is it?”

“Late. I’ve delayed returning till now.” His fingers caressed her throat softly until she sighed. “The unfortunate effects appear to have worn off now, so we should be able to return.”