Darkest Death, page 19
part #2 of Darkest Series
Reluctantly, she walked, still praying and hoping Archie would save her. He had to.
Every step she took, she believed he would. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to happen? The princess saved by her knight. Every step had her throat closing more until she felt as if her own body suffocated itself.
The clergyman waited near the alter of the small church. He walked her up the aisle, said a few words in an undertone which she couldn’t make out, then the ceremony started. When it came time for her to say her vows, she shook her head no. When he asked her to say I do, she said no. But still, the marriage marched on. Nothing stopped it. Not her denials, not Archie.
And she cried.
Once it was over, Lord Downing gave the clergyman a sack full of coin.
“Thirty pieces of silver,” she said to the clergyman, who finally had the grace to look ashamed. But it was too late.
Her new husband had to drag her back to the carriage. She refused to make it any easier for him, and besides, her heart was broken. He shoved her into the carriage and took her to a small inn. She tried to catch the innkeeper’s wife, but she studiously looked away when Lord Downing made a joke about his maiden wife being afraid of the marital bed.
He forced her into a room, said he’d get them drinks. And if she knew what was good for her, she would prepare herself for him. He said it in that passive, emotionless voice again. She nodded as he seemed to await a response from her. As soon as he shut the door, she began to look for a way out. She ran to the window. The sash went up easily, surprising her. There was an overhang in the story below, then it would be a drop. She looked at her heeled kid boots, and ruefully thought how she’d been caught yet again with the wrong footwear for what she needed.
She started to climb out when she saw Lord Downing’s driver look up and spot her and use his fingers as if a gun. She crawled back in, the tears again threatening. She then looked around the room. There was a heavy candle holder, iron? She didn’t know or care. Then she remembered he’d said something about a knife. She needed something better to protect herself and to be strong enough to knock him out.
A silver tray sat on a French style vanity. Perfect.
She waited behind the door, each second like a lifetime as her heart beat in her throat, and her muscles turned to jelly with fear.
The door knob turned. She held the tray above her head and held her breath. He partly opened the door, but then stopped, talking to someone in the hallway. “Guard us. We are not to be disturbed. I will fire anyone who does not keep people away. We are the only ones left in the inn. I made sure of it.”
He’d what? Her hands started to lower then he entered. She still swung. He must have sensed her movement for he found time to partially block it. The tray slid down his arm, and off to the side. He grabbed it and shoved her to the bed.
“Oh dearest, Sarah. You like it rough? You should have said something. There are much better ways.” That passive voice of his sent chills down her, and she stilled, eyes wide. “First rule, never, ever hit your master,” he growled.
“No,” she screamed, knowing no one could hear her. She fought him, getting a hand free and scratching his face.
He just laughed. “Wife. You will learn your place, or you will die. It is as simple as that.”
“I. Am. Not. Your. Wife. I said no! I never said I do,” she cried.
“As if it matters. The clergyman will swear he married us. That is all the law will need.”
His words struck a chord, and the tears streaked down her face. She turned her face, not wanting to look at him and saw the candlestick holder. She rapidly changed her plans.
One way or another, she would be free of Lord Downing.
Chapter Twenty Three
Lord Archer
It had taken even more hours, but they had found a servant who said she’d left with Lord Downing. Calling upon his townhouse, they’d discovered he’d gone to Gretna Green. The housekeeper thought it so romantic. He’d nearly screamed at her in both appreciation and frustration.
The duke managed to garner them all tickets to Scotland, close to Gretna Green. And now he haggled for horses. A carriage would be too slow. The women would find a carriage and follow them to the chapel.
Finally, they agreed to give them horses. He and Clarence rushed toward the infamous chapel. Lord Archer’s heart hurt. What if he didn’t make it on time? An eternity later, the rode into the yard, he threw his reins to the duke and rushed into the chapel. A clergyman sat on the pew crying.
“You there,” Lord Archer called, striding up the nave. “Have you seen a young woman with blonde hair and a man in his forties here?”
The clergyman stood up, holding a sack close. Then it hit him what the clergyman mumbled in his tears. “Thirty pieces of silver.”
Then, as if a well-oiled clock, the gears all shifted, and things became clear. He took the last two steps and held the man by the neck. “Tell me everything you know, and I might let you live. If one hair was harmed on her head, you will not have to worry about a magistrate. What, exactly, happened here?”
“I married them,” he said, crying. “She kept saying no, and refused to say I do at the appropriate places.” He sniffed, suddenly uppity. “She really messed things up. Not behaving at all like a lady.”
Lord Archer squeezed slightly then let go. “How dare you speak of her that way. She said no, and you didn’t stop to ask, to clarify, make sure she was all right?” he demanded, wishing in that moment that his honor would allow him to kill the man of the cloth.
“It’s not the first time he’s done something underhanded, is it,” Duke Clarence came and stood near the two of them. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Father Browning.”
“Well, Father, the Church of England will be quite unhappy to learn what you have been doing up here.”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
The man’s beady eyes now darted this way and that, but Lord Archer didn’t let go. Sweat beaded in the receding hairline, and he licked his lips nervously. “I think you do,” Lord Archer said. “She’s not the first one to say no, was she?” His honor be damned, women all over Scotland would be safer without this depraved religious man.
Father Browning swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing over and over, then he said, “No.”
“Some have said yes, but those ones were not real, were they?” the duke said.
“Well, technically, I ah…”
“Technically what?” Lord Archer pushed.
“Some of them were real. If I performed them, and they signed the books, it is real. I tried to explain to the gents that they must insist they don’t sign if he wants to keep the charade, but they just laugh at me. All of you rich nobles are the same, thinking you’re better than everyone else.”
“As opposed to a man who sold his soul for thirty pieces of silver? Yes, yes we are. All of us. Even the worst of us. You made it possible for them to push their treachery on innocent women, women who suffer at society’s hands.”
“Harlots who couldn’t wait to spread their legs,” Father Browning sneered. “They didn’t deserve the sanctity of marriage.”
Lord Archer’s anger became so great, he could only see black. He deliberately let go of the man’s neck and stood back, panting with the effort not to kill this man. “One of those women was my sister,” he said low, a growl following his words.
For the first time, the man blanched and trembled, dropping the coins. “I didn’t know. They… I…”
“Lord Archer, we need to go find Sarah, find out the damage done. We will deal with him later. Father Browning, where did Lord Downing take the Countess of York?”
“He and all the men went to the inn. They will be guarded. You will be too late.”
Lord Archer leaned in and spoke quietly. “You had better hope not. I will come back and kill you myself.”
“Get me your registry they sign. And do not perform another wedding. Or you will pray that an angry fiancé and brother are your only problems.” The Dark Duke had reared his head again.
And that’s when Lord Archer realized what it was. Justice. The Dark Duke used his influence and scary reputation to make justice happen for those who couldn’t do it for themselves. And he was as an angel with his righteous anger. Or a demon, if you were on the receiving end. They could use a man like him in the agency. If Lord Archer himself even still had a job.
The idea of the register was a good one, but he didn’t wait to see what else they did. He needed to find Sarah. He hopped on his horse, the duke not far behind, and they galloped off to the inn, which thankfully, turned out not to be far.
He slowed as they neared. Many men surrounded it.
“This way,” Clarence said and led him down a path.
“We need to get behind a couple of them and take them out, take their weapons as backup,” he told the duke.
“Agreed. Let’s tie the horses up here for now and go around, coming from behind the inn.”
Lord Archer agreed with that. The first two were easy pickings. However, as they laid the men down and snagged their pistols, someone on the roof must have been a lookout, for he yelled and the shooting started.
He pulled out his pistol and fired. The one on the roof fired back at them, and he hid behind a tree. He stepped out again to shoot, the duke doing the same from the other side of the tree. The lookout toppled over.
But their surprise was lost. He shot many more, then ran out of flint. The same happened to the duke. They ran in closer, using the trees and a couple of old wagons for cover. They came upon a couple of people, one of them dead, the other groaned. Lord Archer punched him, knocking him out and then stole his gun.
Again armed, they shot their way through, making their way toward the door. Lord Archer made it through first. “Where are they,” he demanded. “Where are they?” he demanded again as the man stood there defiantly.
“They’re upstairs to the left,” the wife answered, giving her husband some dirty looks. “I heard screaming earlier. He won’t let me look on her and make sure she’s okay. I don’t like any of this,” she added fiercely.
“You will be rewarded, dear,” he said and ran up the stairs, the duke hot on his heels.
“Sarah!”
“Archie!” Her screams hit him in the solar plexus. God, he needed to protect her.
He kicked the door in, and Lord Downing held a gun on him. “I’m so glad you made it,” he said in an oddly calm voice.
“Don’t let that voice fool you,” Sarah cried out.
“She really is an intelligent woman,” Lord Downing said as if they happened to be speaking at an event at Hampsteads. “I can see why you chose her, but she is my wife now. If you leave now, I’ll forgive you the damage done to the men I hired. I can commend you even for how you found me. Quite impressive, Lord Archer. I really shouldn’t have had you assigned to this, but as I couldn’t go up against your father, this was the closest thing.”
Lord Archer walked slowly closer as he talked. “She never said I do. It’s not legal.”
“I assure you, her permission was not needed. And you are killing her, Lord Archer. Do not come any closer. If I must, I will kill her and the both of you and make sure people think you have run away.”
Lord Archer froze. Now what? He caught Duke Clarence’s gaze. The women would likely follow them. They needed this figured out soon.
Then he saw Sarah’s hand reaching for the candlestick. “And I am supposed to believe you will just let all of this go? I think not. You will use it against me. Or try to. But I am better than that.”
“I do not care how good you think you are. You lost to me. I have her now as wife.”
Sarah finally had the candlestick in her hands. She scrambled to her knees and swung the candlestick up and then down onto the arm holding the gun. It clattered across the room. He pounced. He tried to stop him from getting to the gun.
Clarence and him soon had Lord Downing under control. But then Sarah shouted, “Watch out!”
Guards who must have been somewhere else in the inn came in and tore them off Lord Downing. Lord Archer’s borrowed weapon skittered across to Lady Sarah at the same time Lord Downing lifted and prepared to shoot him.
“Consider this our divorce then, husband,” she said as she pulled the trigger.
Lord Downing’s head jerked back, his gun arm following suit as the weapon discharged. One of the other men turned and ran. The other one struck out and knocked him in the jaw, but he blocked the second hit, and came in, and knocked him in the jaw hard enough that the man flew back and hit his head on the wall.
Panting, he looked around, searching for any other hired men. Then he ran to Lady Sarah, who met him halfway.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “I tried not to get married. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. We’ll talk about it later. Come on. My sister and Lady Lillian will be here soon.”
“Don’t forget. We have a clergyman to take care of.”
“I haven’t. Trust me.”
“I want to get away from here,” Sarah sobbed.
“You really are wonderful,” he told her, and kissed her softly. “So brave in the face of fear.”
“I was so scared,” she said. “He was the scariest person I know. And, maybe delusional. He kept saying we killed his first wife, Lady Amber.”
“What?”
“What was that?” the duke repeated.
“I am speaking quite clearly, am I not? Her death was the only thing which brought out any emotion from him.”
“Wife?” Lord Archer said.
“Dead?” Duke Clarence said.
Her annoyed sigh hit him as cute as a Valentine rose, and he ran his finger down her nose. “I adore you,” he said without forethought.
Her eyes rounded, and her mouth followed suit then snapped shut. “Do not change the subject. I am exhausted, and I want a bed as soon as I can get it, but first, you needed to know that. Something isn’t right.”
“You’re sure she’s dead?”
“Quite. As she was his wife and he saw her body, I can say with some certainty, she likely is dead. I assured him that she had been alive upon being captured as The Dark Duke. In an odd way, I think it made him softer toward me until I refused to marry him when the time came.”
She shook and then squared up her shoulders. “It is easily one of the worst experiences of my life,” she admitted. “The fear threatened to paralyze me. However, I held him off for a long time. I hit him with a silver tray. I think I may have surprised him. It makes me feel…powerful. I guess I should feel scared now, but instead, I feel as if I could take on Napoleon. Is that odd?” she asked and canted her head.
“Yes. But I like it,” he admitted as need swelled up. He simply held her close. The carriage rolled up and Lady Lillian bounced out as soon as she could. She ran to Lady Sarah and stole her from him in a round of hugs. Hermione followed suit. And everyone hugged each other, tears flowing freely. He even caught Clarence wiping an eye. As he’d just done the same, he would not judge.
They all climbed into the carriage. The driver waited patiently while they tied the horses to the back, then he ran back into the inn to the owner. “I am sending the magistrate. I suggest you don’t go upstairs until they get here. And don’t try to stop any of the men who leave, just remember what they look like. And you,” he said and leaned in close to the man. “If I hear of you allowing anyone, and I do mean anyone, use your inn to take young ladies against their will, your wife will suddenly become a very rich widow. Ye ken my meaning?” he said, slipping into the Scots vernacular for emphasis.
The man paled and stepped back. “Yes, my lord.”
Then Lord Archer went and joined Lady Sarah, exhausted. They would have to parse through the clergyman’s registrar and try to see who might have been married or not, or fooled. What a nightmare. But for tonight, he would be happy he’d found Sarah safe.
Sarah cuddled into him, sleepily. “I was so scared, Archie,” she said suddenly. “Scared that I couldn’t stop him the way I wanted to. Afterward, I felt strong again, but I was lucky that he had been distracted. Courage can only go so far. I want to be trained to defend myself better. We all need it,” she said groggily as sleep claimed her.
And she would get it, he promised himself as she fell asleep in his arms.
He would protect her and the others with The Dark Duke’s help. He glanced at his sister who still watched Sarah worriedly, uncharacteristically quiet.
And soon, he would explain to Hermione what they’d found out at the church, and have to ask her if she’d signed the book. And if the marriage was legal?
He shook his head. His sister would have to deal with that later.
Chapter Twenty Four
Lady Sarah
Despite all the sleuthing and training and back and forth to Scotland, the day of her wedding arrived. She’d chosen to get married in the church her parents’ service had been held in. It made it so her parents were at her wedding.
She and Hermione and Lillian all stood in a circle, staring at each other. Lillian had brightened almost to her old self. Hermione had a new bloom she planned on interrogating her about after her honeymoon, and she had a new sense of purpose and her childhood sweetheart waiting for her.
Part of her wanted to go back to their carefree childhood state, but even if they could, some of it had not been as joyous. But they’d made it. “Do not be strangers,” she said suddenly. “Things have changed so much, are changing. Promise me, we will see each other frequently, even after the season. That we will make our husbands take us.”
Hermione’s eyes filled with tears, but she nodded. “Hey, sister to be, I will send Archie after you myself if need be. He would not dare refuse me your company.” She nodded for emphasis. Now, you both look stunning. Let’s go show society that pregnant does not mean dead. One last rebellion for me before becoming an old married woman.”
