Light to Valhalla (12 page)

Alex
dismounted, injured thigh groaning in protest, and
limped
a small circle to loosen the muscles.

“Bum leg bothering you?”

“Just a little stiff
.
”
Alex nodded toward the front door
.
“After you, Sid
.
If anyone’s getting shot it’s you.”

“Always the gentleman, eh, Alex?”

“I’ve never claimed to be anything of the sort.”

Alex motioned Sid to hand
Charley
back over and hefted her against his chest
.
Her head lolled
against his shoulder, messy wisps of hair tickling his nose
.
The oddest scent of cinnamon
, honey,
and campfire smoke wafted through the air
, coating his senses
, and Christ save him his heart jumped… again
.

Sidney strode up the steps, never bothered with the heavy, goblin faced knocker, and shoved through the door
.

“Really, Sid, wait
.
Lord Grayson is
—”

Click
.

Sid threw his arms up, and stumbled backward down the steps
.
Two hulking wolfhounds flanked him, teeth bared
.
Lord Grayson, gray-haired and wild-eyed as ever, appeared in the doorway a wicked double barrel shotgun cradled lethally against one shoulder.

“It’s the French!” the grizzly earl boomed
.
“We’re being invaded
.
Sound the alarm!”

Four

“Dear God, the old man has completely lost it.”

Old man…  Lost it…
The words penetrated the haze clouding Charley’s mind
.
Lost what? 
Snuggled in a perfectly warm nest, she struggled to grasp her bearings and make sense of the harsh words tumbling around her
.

“Alex,” she murmured, blinking the sleep from her eyes
.
“Are we home?”

“Seize the Frenchman!  They’ve kidnapped my daughter.”

Instantly alert, Charley sat straight up in her husband’s arms
.
“Oh, Papa, no!
”
A combination of horror and embarrassment flared within her
.
The pewter barrel of her father’s favorite blunderbuss—a specially manufactured monstrosity with two barrels—was trained squarely on Sidney’s chest while his prized dogs stood ready to pounce
.
“Put that down.
”
She squirmed out of Alex’s strong hold and marched forward
.
“Jackson!  Reginald, sit,” she commanded
.

“Charley, wait.
”
Alex snared her wrist, tucking her safely behind the broad wall of his back.

“I can handle my father, Alex.
”
She brushed defiantly past him, positioning herself directly between Sidney and her father’s weapon
.
“I said, sit.”

Confused the dogs looked between her and the earl, whined, and finally sat back on massive haunches.

Mentally Charley kicked herself
.
She should have warned Alex to wake her when they arrived at
Grayson Hall
except that she’d never expected to fall asleep
.
While
her father had always been eccentric
and more than a little paranoid with an unprecedented love for firearms, most
—to include
Alex and
Sidney
—did not know that her father’s mind had slipped considerably in the last couple of years
.
Most days the elderly earl scarcely recalled his own children
.
“Papa, there are no Frenchman here tonight; only Lord Major
Coverstone
and Captain Harris of the British Army
.
Surely you don’t want to shoot one of his majesties
’
soldiers.”

“British soldiers you say?  The only soldier I see here is you.
”
Confusion muddled her father’s piercing gray eyes
.
“Traitors
is
what they are! 
Out of my way, Charley
.
I’m taking these turncoats prisoner.”

“Edmond!
”
The outraged voice of Charley’s mother, Evelyn Trent, cracked the tense air
.
“Put that infernal thing down
.
I can think of no sensible reason for you to be pointing a loaded weapon at our daughter.”

“Oh, quite right!
”
A glimmer of reason lit the earl’s face as he swung the weapon from Charley to Alex
.
Recognition hit and crazed madness instantly eclipsed the brief moment of understanding
.
A low growl rumbled deep in his throat
.
“I never liked you, Richard.”

“Richard?
”
Alex sputtered in surprise, a mixture of disbelief and morbid amusement lining his face
.
“I’m Alex
.
Richard died three years ago.”

“That’s what you all want me to believe, but I know better
.
Richard isn’t dead.
”
A trembling finger grazed the trigger while a jaundiced eye raked the length of Alex
.
“You faked your death to spy for the French.”

“Papa,” Charley pleaded, casting a nervous glance toward Alex who appeared cool as the night air and equally collected
.
“This is my husband, Alex Rawlings
.
You remember Alex.”

“The army boy?
  Why I haven’t seen him in years.”

“If you’d allow us a moment to explain, my lord.
”
Sidney moved cautiously forward.

Edmond whipped the menacing firearm from Alex back to Sid
.
“Get back, Harris.”

Sid halted, holding his palms out in defense
.
“Easy does it, Sir.”

The earl stumbled down the stone steps, weapon trained on Sidney’s chest
.
“Never liked you either.
”
His pale gaze raked over Sid
.
“And why the hell are you with Richard?  Thought it was Alex, the army boy, you were always in trouble with?”

“I am Alex.”

“Sure you are.
”
Edmond raked a jaundiced eye the length of Alex
.

“Mama, please do something?
”
Charley and her mother exchanged a conspiratorial look
.
The earl responded best to his wife.

“It’s not loaded,” Evelyn mouthed to Charley.

“Are you certain?”

“Fairly.
”
She shrugged sheepishly.

Charley gave her a dubious look
.
“Fairly certain
isn’t
good enough.”

Ever graceful and angelic, Charley’s mother swept down the stairs, a mesmerizing show of fluttering white silk and robes
.
“Edmond,” she soothed, sidling between the weapon and Sidney, “put the gun down before someone shoots
you
.
I’m sure the men can explain if given half a chance.
”
The dark haired countess emanated a rapturous aura of calm
.

Distracted, Edmond turned to his wife, lowering the weapon slightly
.

Quick as lightening Alex stepped forward, grasped the barrel of the shogun, and snatched the piece from Lord Grayson’s hands
.

“Hey!”

“Papa,” Charley murmured quietly, joining her mother in efforts to calm the distraught, ranting earl
.
She took his hand and squeezed it warmly
.
“It’s good to see you
.
Shall we go inside?”

“Just what the hell is going on here?
”
Another befuddled masculine voice blustered
.
“It’s five o’clock in the morning.
”
The tall, shirtless, form of Charley’s twin brother Thomas blew through the door, rubbing sleep from his eyes
.
He rarely rose before noon
.

“Thomas, help get your father back inside,” Evelyn ordered, steering Edmond toward the stairs.

“Alex?
”
Thomas shifted a bewildered gaze across the scene
.
“Is that you?”

“Thomas.
”
Alex nodded
.
“Good to see you again.”

Thomas’s
gaze fell to Charley
.
“
Char?
”
A murderous gaze flicked back to Alex
.
“
What t
he hell did you do to my sister,
Coverstone
?
”
Fists clenched her brother took a menacing step down the stairs
.

“Enough, Thomas, now isn’t the time for you to be a hot
-
head,” Charley interrupted
.
No doubt Alex would knock him into the ground with a single flick of the wrist
.
“Alex did not endanger my life
,
he saved it.
”
She threw her husband an apprehensive glance, he and Thomas had clashed miserably over the years, Charley had never been
apprised
of the exact details, but gathered a falling out of some sort had occurred at Eton
.
Alex, being the older and bigger of the two, usually came out on top of the mischief, but Thomas was never above leveling the score
.
“We’ll explain everything once Papa is taken care of and you’ve found some clothes.”

Thomas grumbled childishly in response, turned on a heel, and stalked into the house.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, praying he and Alex would bury their ridiculous hatchet once and for all
.
“Thomas’s temper has not improved over the years, and you can see for yourself Papa has gotten much worse.”

Alex shrugged and flashed a small, crooked smile as though to say
,
nothing to be sorry for we’re in this together
.

Grateful Charley smiled in return, and a kernel of hope budded in her womb
.
Alex’s smile held a ring of his old mischief—their friendship
.
But… she stilled the trail of her thoughts… it would take much more than a few boyish smiles to show her he’d truly changed for the better
.

He slipped an arm about her waist, giving her a gentle, reassuring squeeze before escorting her into
Grayson Hall
behind the mismatched crowd
.
A broad hand slid up her back, settling on her shoulder
.
Her heart rose to her throat, and s
he quickly moved away, crossing her arms over her chest
.
She cast a quick glance in his direction but if he was perturbed by her rebuff he showed no outward sign
s
.
“So this isn’t really loaded?
”
He
lifted the shotgun still clutched in
his
left
hand.

“Oh, of course.
”
She shook her head though it did little to rattle her weighty thoughts
.
“Only gunpowder and wadding,” she supplied
.
“We took his musket balls and scatter shot away a long time ago. His guns make a lot of noise, but are mostly harmless.”

Alex chuckled
.
“Probably wise.”

“Definitely wise.”

Together they passed beneath the Grayson stone archway, and even in darkness the manor was striking in its ancient beauty
.
Rich wood trimmed high cathedral windows while gray stone and white washed walls stood in striking contrast to the darker marble floor
.
Memories of a bygone day tugged Charley’s heartstrings—running through the entrance with her brother… playing with cousins
and the few close family friends they’d had
.
Her entire childhood had been spent in this house
.
She loved it
.
Missed every single day of those happier times.

Thomas stood just inside the doorway, arms folded over his naked chest
.
“Alex, we had no idea you were coming home
.
Did you send word ahead?”

“No, it was all rather unexpected I’m afraid.”

“I see.
”
Thomas set his jaw on edge, and may have said more, but Evelyn raised a commanding hand.

“There will be time for hellos later
.
Right now, Thomas, Charley, help me get your father upstairs to bed
.
We’ll give him a bit of laudanum and then you and Alex can explain what brought you to my door at this wee hour of the morning.
”
Evelyn flicked a gaze toward the servant’s entrance at the back of the hall
.
“Coffee, George
.
I have a sneaking suspicion we’re going to need it.”

“Of course, milady.
”
The ancient Grayson butler drifted from his place in the shadows
.

Charley shivered
.
The man was ghostlike and eerie as ever
.
Some things never changed
.
Shaking off the unnatural sensation George never failed to instill within her, she stepped away from Alex and fell into step beside her mother
.
Side by side they followed Thomas and a grumbling Edmond up the stairs
.
“I’m so sorry to have set Papa off, Mama
.
I know it’s best if word is sent ahead so he can be prepared for visitors.”