Dominic (51 page)

“Aye,
aye,
I
know,
your
precious
Dominic
,” he replied spitefully,
looking
but
briefly
in her
direction.
“It
would have
been
better
had
you
eloped
with
hi
m
. I
can
see
I
am no substitute.”

“But
then
I
could
not,
he
has
another
to
claim his affections,
a
fact
that
you
have
been at
such
pains
to
tell
m
e, John.”

“And
so
he
has,”
he
said,
turning
away
f
r
om the window.
“However,
I
see
that
I
am a
poor
alternative
for your
idol
and
you
will
never speak
of
m
e
with
such affection,
t
h
erefore,
I
realize t
h
e
futility of
continuing
with this
m
arriage...”

“Then we can retur
n
?” s
h
e as
ke
d, eagerly sitting forward in her seat.

A sudden clattering in the yard brought
W
roxha
m
’s attention once
m
ore
t
o the case
m
ent. “My G
od
!
” he expostulated.
“‘Tis
Vale!
How
in
the
devil’s
na
m
e
did
he
know...
?
”

W
ith
a
cry
of
alar
m
,
Sophie
sprang
from the
settle,
her
hands
going
immediately
to
her throat in a nervous
gesture as they heard the e
arl loudly enquiring of their whereabouts.

“How in heaven’s na
m
e did he find out our purpose
?
” she cried. “For ‘tis plain he kno
w
s us to be here, or at the very least
,
s
u
spects.”

W
roxh
a
m
visibly
paled,
his
unease
showing in every line.
“I
know
not
how
he
ca
m
e
by
the
infor
m
ation,
but
as to purpose, why else
should
we be here
?
”

“Can you not think of so
m
e explanation, so
m
e excuse we can offer?”

“Such as what
?
” he scorned.
“
W
hat other reason could we have to co
m
e to Gretna other than to get spliced
?
”

“Think!” squeaked Sophie, panicking at the sound of Vale’s boots echoing as he st
r
ode down the tiled
floor of the hallway to the parlor.

The door was violently flung open and the Earl of Vale
stood on the threshold, his coat and boots liberally
covered in dust proclai
m
ing the
haste
of
his
journey,
his dark countenance
m
ade even darker by the fierce
passions that had consu
m
ed h
i
m
e
ver since leaving
Kennington
.

“
W
hat
the
devil
are
you
at now,
brat?”
he
snapped, co
m
i
ng fo
r
w
ard and gripp
i
ng her shoulders fiercely, atte
m
pting
to
force
her
to
m
eet
his
fiery
gaze. “
W
hy
this sudden
desire
to
escape
to
t
h
e
border?
Am
I
to
believe
you in love with this sna
ke
?
”

W
r
oxh
a
m
hovered
nervously;
he
liked
not
the
look
on
his
friend’
s
face
but
d
eter
m
ined
to brazen out
the
situation.
“‘Tis
m
onstrous
good
of you
to
hasten
to
attend our nuptials,
Vale.”
he
said
w
ith only the slightest
hint of uncertainty in his voice. “If I had but known your
desire to be present, I would have ensured that you were issued an invitation.
U
nfortunately,
as it
is, sir, I find you
e
xtre
m
ely
de trop
.”

“You
intend
to
m
arry
this
cur
?
”
Vale
thundered,
not taking
his
eyes
from
Sophie’s
face.
The
pressure
of
his hold
increased
until
she
cried
out
in
protest,
but
so
far gone was he in his rage that he was not aware that she did. “If
you
had
arrived
but
an
hour
later
you
would
have been
too
late
to
witness
our
nuptials,”
said
W
roxha
m
,
with
an atte
m
pt at bravado.

A perceptible shadow crossed Vale’s countenance and casting
a
veno
m
ous
look
over
his shoulder,
he
spoke
with scarce contained fury. “Then it is fortuitous that I have arri
v
ed
in
ti
m
e
to
prevent
this debacle.
I
state
it
clearly now, so that there is no
f
ear
of
m
i
sunderstanding.
W
hilst I still
live,
y
o
u
will
nev
e
r take
h
e
r
to
wi
f
e!”
Reli
n
quishing his
hold
on
Sophie,
he
put
her
behind
him
before
turning to face his lordship.

“No,
Do
m
i
nic.
W
e
are
n
ot
to be
m
arried,”
she
cried
in panic,
taking
hold
of
his
arm in
an
atte
m
pt
to
dive
r
t
his anger. “
W
e were on the point of return.”

Not hearing her words in hi
s rage, he was deaf to her pleading
and flung her from
hi
m
.

Blanching
u
nder
the
fury
so
evide
n
t
on
Vale’s face,
W
r
oxh
a
m,
without
realizing
his
actions,
started
to
slowly
back
away
until
he
felt
the
table
at
his
back.
In
one
swift
lunge Do
m
i
nic’s hands were at his throat, their steel-like pressure
rendering
him al
m
ost
unconscious
as
they
bore him
down onto the table.

W
ith a desperate cry, Sophie ran forward to try to
break Vale’s hold but she w
a
s shrugged roughly aside. “You
will
not
save
him,”
he
seethed
through clenched teeth. “By God, I shall have his life.”

“Do
m
inic,
please
listen
to
m
e,”
she
pleaded,
attempting to
capture
his
gaze.
“Look
at
m
e,
I
a
m telling
you
the truth—
we are not to be married.
Please...”

For a
m
o
m
e
nt he resisted the te
m
ptation to look at her but
the
urgency
in
her
voice
de
m
a
nded
his
attention.
As his
eyes
m
o
ved
from Lord
W
roxha
m
’s
face
to
Sophie’s,
W
r
oxh
a
m, knowing his attention
to have
m
o
m
entarily wavered,
managed
to
prize
Vale’s
hands
free
from his thro
a
t.