Rescue Me Please (22 page)

“You’re hurting me.”

Granville hadn’t realized he had such a tight grip on his valet’s arm.  He wished he could get some pleasure from hurting him, but he enjoyed it too much.  Th
at was the reason he had hired the man
in the first place.

It took years for Granville to realize that his pleasure was gained from seeing their fear, not from seeing their pleasure.
  Since it didn’t ease his own frustratio
n, he let go.

He even said, “I apologize, Keaton.”
  He didn’t want to lose him.  He knew too much. 
He kept too many secrets hidden in his clever
brain;
of course
he paid him a bloody fortune.

“I wish I could ease your frustrations, my lord.”

Granville
eyed him warily.  “As do I.”  Neither was to blame.  They just needed different things from a partner, but Keaton was getting greedy.  He used the knowledge as a form of punishment, reward, and torture.  “It’s too late for that.”

Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top

When the wind blows, the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

P
ersephone could feel the deep lines etched in her forehead
.  How could she truly love
when she still trembled from fear at
the
simple
st of
touch
es
?
 
Her desires stunned her.  Her
thought
s overwhelmed her as she took a
walk around the garden.

Alone.

She felt so alone and part of that was
her own fault.  A
self-induced isolation
brought on by embarrassment and fear
.

Piper and
Rockwell had been at
Rosebriar
for four days now and today she needed a reprieve. 
Seeing them together made her want the impossible. 
She had managed to avoid everyone including Parker’s sister
that
morning
.  She had no desire to talk with anyone
. 
Her
future
had
already
been set for her.  It was
too late.  Wrong place, wrong time,
wrong
life.  She couldn’t worry her
heart
or time
with what if
, what’s done is done.
  Yet she couldn’t help but wonder if she was resolved with her future,
w
hy did it feel like the rug had been pulled out from under her feet?
 
W
hy did it feel like the end of the world?

She inhaled deeply
, enjoying the smell of the decaying foliage as winter progressed.  The stiff breeze tugged at her pelisse, blew loose tendrils of hair in her face, and made her shiver. 
She almost chuck
led.  How could she feel like it
was the end of the world in one breath, but feel
alive and free
in the next
?
  No cages or filth
,
her throat started to clog at the thought and her stomach turned over.
  She didn’t want to be molded by the events of the past few years.  She wanted to be new.
 
She wasn’t dirty or useless or weak.  Not any longer. 
She stopped, took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  The memories retreated, pushed away by her thou
ghts of his kindness for Tillie—
for her. 
Only to reappear when she thought of the rejection he would be forced to push upon her and Tillie when he knew the full truth.
  But wasn’t she belittling him as a man by assuming he would toss her aside if he knew the truth? 
She wanted to believe that he was the kind of man she had dreamed of during her captivity.  Strong, honorable, a knight in shining arm
or sent
to rescue
her
from evil.

She dared to look up and saw a face in one of the upstairs rooms staring
down at the garden.

It was him.

S
he hauled in a breath.  She could feel him
in her bones, deep down in her soul. 
She was captivated by him and drawn by an
in
explicable force a
s if he had charmed her with
magical powers. 
When in reality he had only been kind.

Did she dare to
believe that he wanted to be more?

Was it foolishness t
o hope?

***

Parker stood at the window, leaning against the frame, arms crossed over his chest.  Just watching her.
  She was beautiful.  Not just because of her outward appearance, but because of all that she had endured.  Even though he didn’t know the full extent, he knew it was tremendous. 
He wanted to wrap hi
s arms around her and hold on.

How could he be in trouble
so soon
?  He barely knew her.  He didn’t know her true name.  Didn’t know where she was from.  Didn’t know her family. 
In truth, what did he know?
 
Nothing.

Yet his heart leap
t
when he saw her.  Now that was a problem.

He hadn’t even received a
n update
from
Fothergil
as of
yet.  No new information.  He stepped back to his desk a
nd lifted the drawing of the seal
. 
His brows came together. 
Something was familiar about that
ring, but he couldn’t
quite
put his finger on it.

He
frowned.

***

Persephone felt the stirrings of a megrim beginning to throb behind her eyes.  She had actually need
ed this moment alone to think.  She rubbed her temples.  She knew the throbbing behind her eyes was because of the secrets she kep
t locked up tightly inside.  She was too a
fraid of
her past coming to light
to even enjoy the moment of peace
.

Persephone looked up at the crunch of gravel
and groaned aloud
.

“Miss Smith,” Piper called as she made
her way down the barren path.

“My lady
.”  Persephone curtsied.

Piper
flicked a dismissive hand toward Miss Smith before threading their arms together
and smiled.  “Call me Piper.”

Persephone shook her head.  “I couldn’t.”

“And I ma
y call you…
“ Piper
paused, waiting for her to fill in the answer.

She said
, albeit hesitantly
, “Persephone.”

Piper couldn’t help but notice her
recalcitrance.  She patted Persephone’s
hand.  “Delightful.”  She smiled.  “Now we can be friends i
nstead of mere acquaintances.”

“I would like that above all else.”

“Have you seen the lake yet?”
  Piper tilted her head and squinted at Persephone.

“No, is it far?”
Persephone
asked a wistful look crossed her face
.  “Too bad it is winter.  I long for a
swim.”

Piper gave one of her famous smiles, exposing her perfect white teeth.  “Marvelous.”  She
laughed. 
“We used to throw each other in when we were children.”

“
I ha
ve
no siblings
.”

Piper watched as a faraway look tran
sformed Persephone’s features.

“The fou
r of you must have had happy
times playing as children.”  Persephone
willed the sadness away and relished the love that reflected in Piper’s eyes.

“Poppy and I did our best to overtake the boys, but t
hey were so much bigger than us.  It
wasn’t quite
fair.”  Piper shook her head.  “We were thrown in the lake more often than not.”  She
rolled her eyes and Persephone chuckled.  “There was never a dull
moment;
I would have
to secret myself away behind a thick curtain in the library to have any peace.”  She took Persephone’s hand.  “I am intimately acquainted with the window seat in the far corner of the library.”

“Oh, dear.”  Persephone threw back her head and laughed. 
“I had quite the opposite problem as a child.  I was relentless
in my
search for any
one to
share in my troublemaking endeavors.
”

Persephone watched as Piper’s smile wavered.  “I hate to presume on such a short friendship, Persephone, but I had hoped you would introduce me to your daughter.”  Her bottom lip was caught between her
teeth;
a small worry line appeared between her brows.
  “I would love to hold your baby.”

Persephone’s eyes smiled.  “Of course.”  She turned them back towards the house.  “Your brother finally convinced me to allow her some peace in the nursery.
”

“Rockwell and I had begun to set up our nursery, but alas it wasn’t to be,”
Piper revealed
.

Persephone swallowed
hard, watching Piper’s hand splay for a brief moment on her belly
and attempted to respond appropriately to Piper’
s grief. 
She understood loss in many forms. 
“Any loss is difficult, but I cannot imagine the loss of a child.”

“How kind you are, Persephone.”  Piper turned too knowing eyes towards her.  “I want you to know that we are here to assist in any way we can.”  She lowered her voice as they were walking up the last set of stairs.  “Luckily you’ve found yoursel
f flung haphazardly into a hodge-podge
of very powerful families.”
She said without apology of prying.  “I do not expect you to reveal all of your secrets to me, Persephone, but
k
no
w
that we will do anything to see you safe and free from harm.”

“There is no need to trouble yourself on my behalf,”
Persephone
said with a worried air.
  She
didn’t like the look in Piper’s eye
or the deceptively tranquil tone of her voice
.

“It’
s n
o trouble at all, Persephone.”

Mrs. Collins
stood as
Piper
quietly
opened the door to the nursery, and glanced back over her shoulder.  “Now where is that delightful baby of yours?” 
Piper rushed towards the
lace covered cot and peered over the side.  “
She’s gorgeous.
”  She lifted hopeful eyes to Persephone.
 
“
May I?”

Persephone nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm.
  “Mrs. Collins perhaps you would enjoy a
moments
reprieve?”

“Thank you, m
iss
.” 
Mrs. Collins curtsied and stepped from the room almost running into Parker
in her haste for a break
.  He prompt
ly held up a finger to shush her
acknowledgement.  She nodded, moving around him t
o make her way to the kitchen.

Parker camped out in the hall near the door, knowing he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but also knowing he needed information.  And he wasn’t getting any
on his own
.

Piper lifted the cooing baby to her shoulder.  “Isn’t she just
perfect?
”  She glanced around the nursery
her eyes landing on the
comfortable chair
s
placed
by the fire.  “I coul
d sit here and hold you all day,” s
he said to the gurgling little
girl.

Persephone let out a soft laugh.  “Let me ring for some refreshments.”

T
he sound of her laughter hit Parker
in the gut.  She sounded
happy.  He had wanted to hear her laughter
again, but he hadn’t been able to coax more than a smile from her.  She was
on guard with him still except in those brief moments when her emotions overwhelmed her.  He wanted to be a part of their easy camaraderie,
bu
t paused when Piper continued.