Moonstruck Madness (35 page)

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"A party?"
Mary repeated in.amazement. "Surely you jest?"

"No," Lucien answered seriously. "It would seem that Newley decided to give one in my honor, or I should say in Sabrina's and mine."

"And you intend that we shall go? I wouldn't think that you would care to? We should be here in case Sabrina should decide to return."

Lucien smiled thoughtfully. "That is exactly why I shall be at that party. Can you imagine Sabrina passing up the chance to appear at her own engagement party? I certainly cannot, and I intend to be there as well," Lucien said grimly, "just to make sure some trigger-happy guest doesn't cheat me out of a bride."

"You're right, she will be there. I know her too well to believe that she would not show up," Mary agreed unhappily, her face pale.

Lucien glanced at her, about to comment, when she suddenly pressed her fingers to her temples, her eyes turning cloudy as she swayed as though about to faint. Lucien rushed forward and scooped her into his arms, an expression of concern on his hard features as he began to lower her into a chair.

He was bending over her, his arms still about her when Colonel Fletcher walked into the salon, his expression of anticipation changing to one of startled jealousy as he thought he saw Mary wrapped in some man's arms.

"What the devil!" he said roughly as he quickly came forward and pulled Lucien away from Mary.

Lucien turned angrily to confront whoever had manhandled him, his look of anger changing to recognition as he saw a soldier facing him and realized that this must be the colonel.

Colonel Fletcher saw Lucien's eyes narrow and a sneer curve his lips, and drew himself up stiffly, wondering who the devil this scar-faced gentleman was. They stood glaring at each other until a moan from Mary drew their attention, then each made a move towards her. They stopped
asher
eyes opened and stared unseeingly past them, the gray turning silvery before their startled eyes.

A pulse was beating rapidly in her throat and her hands gripped the arms of her chair, her knuckles showing white. "I see
a mist and people . . . and
cries
. . . I see Sabrina there . . . and Bonnie Charlie. Oh, God, she's on the ground . . . and I see guns . . . and the Duke's scarred face. But it's so clouded. I can feel the cold . . . Rina needs help . . . the Duke is fighting Bonnie Charlie . . . double . . . double faces . . . I'm so confused," she cried, "Sabrina!" Mary held out her hands to some invisible image before her.

Lucien felt a shiver crawl over him as he stared in disbelief at the haunted face before him. Colonel Fletcher bent down and taking hold of Mary's shoulders gave her
a
sharp shake. Her head rolled sideways and her eyelids fluttered before her head dropped to her chest. She was breathing heavily, cold perspiration beading her forehead.

Lucien poured a sherry and handed it to the colonel, who tipped back Mary's head and held it to her bluish-tinged lips. A small drop trickled into her mouth and down her throat as her blood once again circulated warmly and color began to return to her face.

Colonel Fletcher lifted Mary in his arms and without
a
glance at the Duke carried her from the room. Lucien picked up the forgotten sherry and drained it easily as he sat down and prepared to wait impatiently for some answers.

Colonel Fletcher removed Mary's jacket-bodice and turning her over on the bed, loosened the laces of her corset. He settled her comfortably against the pillows and taking one of her cold hands began to massage it gently.

Taking a deep breath Mary opened her eyes and looked into the colonel's concerned face. He ran his warm hands up her bare arms, and Mary blushed in startled embarrassment as she became aware that only her thin chemise covered her breasts.

"Why you women insist upon tying yourselves up until you cannot breathe adequately is beyond me. No wonder you are so pale half the time," the colonel chastised her gently. "Besides, you do not need such devices. Your waist is already so tiny." He let his hands move from her shoulders over her breasts, lingering for a second before they slid around her waist and he lowered his head and took her trembling lips, demanding a kiss that left her breathless once again.

"Terence," Mary whispered. "This is not right." His lips continued to caress hers as she tried to resist him, but she let herself be kissed, feeling a thrill as his mouth pressed against the soft swell of her breasts above the lacy corset front. Pulling his head back to hers she found his mouth with her eager lips, surprising him with her first real response to him. Mary drew back suddenly and turned her head away. "Please, Terence."

Colonel Fletcher sat back reluctantly and allowed her to try and compose herself. "Will you tell me about it, Mary?" he asked, watching her carefully.

Mary nodded her red head tiredly. "I want to confide in you, Terence, I want to trust you," she said softly, looking up at him with pleading gray eyes.

Terence reached out for her and held her comfortingly in his arms. "I would never hurt you, Mary. Trust me, let me help."

"You aren't just pretending to like me so you can trick me into revealing something?"

Colonel Fletcher put a hard hand beneath her chin and raising her face to his, looked earnestly down into her beseeching eyes. "I will not lie to you, Mary. Have you never met someone for the first time and known instinctively that this was to be a friend? Well, when I first set eyes on you I knew that I meant to make you my wife. Does that surprise you, Mary? No, I can see that it doesn't, because I think deep inside you felt the same, also. But I am a man of quick decisions. I've had to be to survive the battles I've been in. And I've decided I want you, Mary. I'm not going to wait for the Marquis to pick
some rich suitor for you as he has for your sister.
I
'm not some young, fresh-faced lad courting his first love. I'm an old bachelor, certainly not the ideal man you'd dreamed of marrying and raising children with.
I
'm forty, Mary. What are you, eighteen or nineteen? Maybe there are too many years between us, but damned if I won't make you a good husband. I'll care for you, protect you and love you as best I can. I want a family, a settled home. I'm tired of camping out, feeling the cold in my bones at night.
I
want a woman to warm my bed and give me fine sons and daughters."

He touched his finger to Mary's lips, feeling their contour as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Are you woman enough for me, Mary? I think so, and I intend to ask for your hand in marriage. I shouldn't imagine your father would have any objections. I'm the son of an earl, and I've a comfortable estate I intend to retire to soon. You'll like it there, Mary, I promise you." His gray eyes glowed in memory of his home as he described the scene to her vividly.

"
It's
north of here in a valley of beautiful lakes that shimmer under the moonlight. It's a place for lovers, Mary. And I'm not so old that I have forgotten how to love my lady to her heart's desire. The house is small but comfortable, and I've added a wing that will be completed soon. In autumn the—"

"Oh, stop, please," Mary whispered. "Do not torture me so."

Colonel Fletcher stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowed. Mary looked away from his steady gaze, unable to bear the hurt expression in his eyes. Her hands found his and curled into them as she searched his face for answers to her doubts.

"You honor me, Terence, by your proposal, but I cannot wed you,
nor
anyone," she explained softly. "I am needed here. After what I have just seen, I know I shall be. I could not marry you and leave my family when they needed me." Mary looked down at their locked hands and
added, "I cannot ask you to wait, either,
it
wouldn't be fair."

Terence wiped a tear from her face and pressed his mouth against her lips softly. "I shall wait, Mary, for you are the only woman I want for my wife. And I understand your decision, even though I am not happy about it. But your sister is in a great deal of trouble," he told her seriously. T would like to talk with her. Would you tell her that?"

Mary's lips trembled. "She is gone. She has run away from the Duke and will not marry him. That is why she has masqueraded as Bonnie Charlie again. She had quit doing it, until now." Mary's hands tightened on the colonel's as she tried to make him understand. "You do see why she has done it? We had to live, we had no money. Sabrina only did it to save us. You do see?"

"Yes, I do. But why does she pursue this dangerous path? She could marry the Duke and be done with it all."

Mary shook her head regretfully. "Sabrina is a very passionate person, and she hates the Marquis and the Duke passionately. They both made serious mistakes when they threatened her and humiliated her the way they have, and she'll never forgive either of them. But what is so tragic is that it's all so useless! The Duke has already paid off the Marquis, who has left for Europe. Sabrina will have no one to hand over all of her ill-gotten gains
to,
she'll have endangered herself for nothing. I'm so worried about her. She is so close to falling apart. Having the Duke here does not help matters at all, for I believe he is not one to concede defeat."

"No, he is not," Colonel Fletcher remarked, "for I've heard of him, and he has quite a reputation."

"One I live up to, Colonel," Lucien commented from the doorway.

Mary gave a small scream and huddled against Colonel Fletcher's broad chest as she stared at the scarred face of the Duke. His eyes were cold as he surveyed the scene. "I gather congratulations are in order?"

"Yes, they are," Colonel Fletcher answered coolly, measuring up the Duke, who was standing carelessly in the doorway.

"If I might intrude into the festivities for just a moment?"
Lucien asked, his eyes flickering over Mary's revealing neckline meaningfully. "I would like to know just what the hell that scene was about
downstairs?
You have the sight?"

Mary found her jacket and was fastening it over her corset as she answered. "Yes, but I never see enough to tell anyone much. That's the curse of
it,
I see just enough to cause me to worry. I'm not even sure now what I told you."

"It had to do with Sabrina and myself—and Bonnie Charlie. Is something going to happen to Sabrina?" Lucien demanded bluntly.

"Yes," Mary answered faintly, "but I can't tell you when."

"Well, I shall see that it doesn't happen this evening, and then when Sunday comes I shall have her," Lucien promised.

Colonel Fletcher got to his feet. "I didn't think anyone knew about Bonnie Charlie's true identity. I rather doubt that she told you?" the colonel asked, looking between the two silent people curiously.

"It is not important how I found out, Colonel," Lucien informed him coldly, "but it is important that the future Duchess of Camareigh, and your future sister-in-law, is not arrested or shot this evening." He looked at the colonel speculatively. "I trust we need not fear that happening?"

"I am not one to follow orders blindly, Your Grace," Colonel Fletcher reassured Lucien. "I shall be there this evening, also, just to assure that nothing unforeseen occurs, and I shall see that my men are elsewhere and clear of the vicinity."

"Thank you, Colonel. You will not regret it, for you'll
not have Bonnie Charlie troubling you after Sunday," Lucien told him with arrogant assurance.

"I once told Lady Sabrina that she needed someone to guide her, and she informed me she'd not met the man who could, but I believe she has," the colonel said, giving the Duke a curious look.

Lucien smiled slightly. "I think we see eye to eye on this matter, Colonel. The sooner Bonnie Charlie is put out of action, the better. However, I am worried about this vision Lady Mary has seen. Maybe it was to warn us about tonight? I do not want to try and take her, even though we could, when she is armed and her two big friends are likely to do something foolish and get us all killed. Any word from you before Sunday would be suspect, I'm afraid, so it will have to be then. I just hope nothing happens to her before then."

"I fear that you are right. As Bonnie Charlie, she has led me into bogs and brambles, and has so many hiding places that we could never find her. Nor would she be likely to believe a summons from Mary. We will just have to make sure nothing happens tonight. That's all that we can do," the colonel advised grimly.