The beast of yorkshire, p.27
The Beast of Yorkshire, page 27
“Do you doubt him?”
“Not at all,” she denied. “I’m worried. If someone was willing to attack him in broad daylight, then what lengths will they go to to harm me?”
“Do they want to harm you?” Helena questioned.
“They were trying to poison me.”
“Yes, but I’m beginning to wonder to what end. If they had wanted to kill you to get close to Duncan as we all believed, why would they attack him and nearly beat him to death. That is if this wasn’t a random act of thievery.”
“You think someone is after Duncan?” Penelope queried. She studied the other woman intently.
“What I think is that we should go upstairs and take care of that nephew of mine. Then we can dissect this situation in more detail once he’s on the mend.”
“What would I do if you hadn’t found me that night?”
“I have a suspicion you would have managed somehow. You’re a strong woman, Penelope.” The women wrapped an arm around each other’s waist and made their way upstairs to see to the patient.
* * *
Penelope was just leaving the kitchen after having a bite to eat when a knock sounded at the door. She cautiously cracked it open so she could peek out. A man stood there with a cane in hand that had a wicked looking blade protruding from it. A bloody blade, Penelope noted. She tried to slam the door on him, but he managed to wedge his foot between the door and the frame.
“Get out of here! I won’t let you finish him off! Do you hear me?!” She drew the door back and repeatedly slammed it on the man’s foot until he was forced to act. But he did the opposite of what she thought he would. He managed to slip in the house. She started to draw back a fist when he spoke, halting her hand mid-flight.
“I’m Grantham.”
“What?”
“I was sent for.”
“What’s going on out here?” Mrs. Jenkins rushed into the hallway wielding a cast iron skillet.
“It’s all right, Mrs. Jenkins,” Penelope replied. She wearily let her arm drop back to her side.
“Who’s that?” the older woman demanded, still not convinced he wasn’t the enemy.
“This is the investigator Duncan had me send for.”
“Oh, well, if that’s the case, I’ll go back into the kitchen. You call out if you need me. You’d better not try anything funny with the mistress there, young man.”
“No, ma’am,” he nodded his head and tugged on his forelock. He waited until the older woman had returned to the kitchen before facing Penelope once more. “She’s protective of you.”
“Yes,” Penelope replied, making no excuses.
“Good. I found this on one of the lower steps.” He held out the cane to her.
Penelope took the cane and inspected the top. It was in the shape of a boar’s head. She had seen this cane in Duncan’s office in Yorkshire. “I never knew there was a blade concealed inside.” A small card was placed in her hand. Dominic Grantham, Investigator, it read in block letters. “I apologize. It has been a stressful day. Please come in.” He stepped further down the hall, and she made certain the door was firmly closed and locked against intruders. She placed the weapon in the corner behind the door. “Follow me. He’s resting.”
“How is he?”
“He’s been better,” she said stiffly.
“How did it happen?”
“He managed to tell me he was attacked by several men. I don’t know what shape they’re in. He simply told me not to worry. He made his way back here to make certain I was safe. When I opened the door, he collapsed in the foyer. Mrs. Jenkins and I pulled him inside.” She took a step, swayed, and tightly gripped the bannister. She felt a pair of firm hands on her waist, steadying her. She knew she should pull free from his touch, but he was merely being kind, and she was exhausted—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said after a moment. She took a deep breath and continued up the steps until they reached the second story. “He’s in here." The room was empty except for the man asleep on the bed. Penelope had sent Helena on her way shortly after noon, but only after she accepted the fact that Helena would return to check on them tomorrow. She walked around the bed and leaned over her…what? My protector? My fiancé? My lover?
“Are you certain you feel fine?”
“Yes,” she answered bringing herself firmly back to the present. “Duncan, wake up. You have a visitor.”
“That’s quite a menagerie of wounds he has.”
“Yes. The physician that came to attend him said that it looked like he had been cut, beaten, and shot.”
“And was he?”
“He won’t admit it so long as I am in the room,” she answered. Penelope took a small vial from the bedside table, removed the stopper, and held it beneath Duncan’s nose until he fought his way to consciousness. She replaced the stopper and put the bottle back on the table. She perched on the bed next to him. Penelope gently fitted her right hand within Duncan’s right hand as she faced him. “Duncan, Investigator Grantham is here to see you.” She felt a gentle squeeze of his hand seconds before his eyelids fluttered open.
“You look a sight,” Grantham said, pulling up a chair and taking a seat.
“I feel worse.”
“At least you’re still with us.”
“Yes.”
“First things first. The attack.”
Penelope stiffened when Duncan swung his gaze at her. “I’m not leaving. If you want me to be your wife, we are in this battle together. Do you understand me? I will not have the relationship my parents had where they lived separate lives. So you decide now. If I walk out that door,” she paused nodding to the bedroom door, “we are over. I don’t care what the bloody contract says.”
“When did you get all fiery?”
“When someone tried to end my life.” She felt the squeeze of his hand once more and instead of pulling away from her, he entwined their fingers together and soothingly rubbed his thumb back and forth against her hand.
“I left here and was riding my horse back to the house. I was only a few blocks away when the horse started acting up, favoring one leg. I got down to check his hooves when I was hit from behind. I managed to grab my cane before they dragged me into an alley.”
“Lucky thing. How many were there?”
“I saw three.”
“Do you think there were more than that?”
“I’m not certain. Two of them held me while the other tried to use me as a punching bag.”
“How did you manage to break free?”
“My cane. Somehow I managed to keep a grip of it. I released the blade into the leg of one of the men holding me. It doesn’t really matter how the rest of the fight happened. I made it out alive.”
“I have a feeling the other men did not.” Grantham speculated.
“No, they were not as fortunate as I.”
Penelope watched both men turn to look at her as if waiting for her to faint at their words. “Gentlemen, you underestimate me. There are three less men in the world that will harm us. Please, carry on.”
“Did you get any information out of them before they…expired?” Grantham asked delicately
“No.”
“Dammit. So we have no idea who they were associated with.”
“That’s not true,” Duncan said. “I know exactly where they came from.”
“Oh? How’s that?” Grantham asked.
“They were all employed by me.”
“What?” Penelope asked. This time she had to swallow several times to keep the nausea at bay.
“All three of them worked here at the London house.”
“Bloody hell,” Grantham said. “That means—”
“Someone is now trying to kill the both of us,” Duncan finished.
Penelope was quiet for a moment, trying to assimilate this new information. Finally, she spoke up, interrupting the men’s conversation. “Helena thinks otherwise.”
“What are you talking about?” Duncan asked.
“Helena wondered why someone would attack you, all of a sudden, if before they had only gone after the women you were married to or about to marry.”
“It does seem strange,” Grantham seconded. “Have you never had any sort of problem before?”
“No,” Duncan answered.
“Curious,” Grantham mused.
“And you’re certain the men worked for you?”
“I hired them myself last year. We came to town for a few months. I had some business to attend to. There were some repairs that needed to be done to the town house and I hired on some extra help. They had good references.”
“References can be forged.”
“My gut tells me they were not bad when I hired them, and my gut is never wrong.”
“It was this time,” Penelope interjected, “and you almost paid the ultimate price.”
“I believe that’s all for now. We have to piece this together. If you come up with something else, let me know immediately, and I’ll do the same.”
“Of course.” Duncan and Grantham shook hands. Penelope started to rise to show him out.
“You stay where you are,” Grantham waved at her. “I’ll find your dear, sweet Mrs. Jenkins to let me out,” he said mockingly.
“Just stay clear of her pan,” Penelope teased, eliciting a chuckle from Grantham.
“You don’t tease with me anymore,” Duncan accused Penelope after Grantham left.
“He doesn’t irritate me,” she argued.
“Is that a good thing or bad?”
“I don’t know,” she pressed on before he could say anything else. “Duncan, you could have been killed. The blood on that walking stick could have been yours. Whoever is responsible for this has to be stopped.”
“I know. But for now, I need to do what the physician ordered.”
“And what is that?”
“Rest, and I find I do that best when I have a beautiful blonde spitfire beside me.”
“You are incorrigible,” she said, but found herself lying cuddled next to him, her arm draped lightly across his waist. “Am I hurting you?”
“No.”
“You wouldn’t tell me if I were,” she pointed out, tilting her head back to look in his eyes. He gave her a lopsided grin that caused her heart to gallop. She thought about her secret. How would Duncan feel knowing she carried the possible heir to the dukedom? Would that be the only reason he would want to marry her? He had left her bed every morning, and now that he was hurt, he was encouraging her to stay in bed with him. It seemed like in the boudoir was the only time they had a relationship, and she accommodated his request without hesitation. What did that make her?
“Relax, you’re too tense.”
“I think I have reason to be.”
“Shh. Mrs. Jenkins isn’t going to let anyone in, and Grantham is placing guards around the outside. Rest,” he coaxed.
Exhaustion claimed her body, and she let herself relax against him. Regardless, I want to be able to at least have the opportunity to show him I’m more than a body to keep him warm in bed. Before she drifted off, she managed to cast a silent prayer heavenward, Please, God, please, keep our little family safe. Amen.
Chapter 24
Duncan was with her two weeks. During that time, she fought a fever that ravaged his body, as well as cared for his wounds. They talked when he was awake and lucid and held each other at night. Penelope knew it wouldn’t last forever, but she was still shocked when she walked in with a tray of food one afternoon to find him sitting on a tufted bench with curved arms. He had his trousers on and was fighting with a boot. His shirt was draped beside him as was the cravat.
It was late afternoon and her stomach was firmly under control. She was only sick in the mornings and had successfully hidden that fact from Duncan. Another thing she had found was that she wanted Duncan to the point of madness. Perhaps it was lying in his arms every night, smelling his masculine scent. Whatever it was, she was tired of fighting it and keeping her passion banked. What does it matter? She thought. I’m already a fallen woman.
“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked. She shut the door then placed the tray on a chest of drawers.
“I have to report home before they become suspicious.”
Her stomach flipped at his words. He was going to walk into danger, not knowing friend from foe. Stubborn, stupid man. He stomped on his second boot, grabbed the cravat, and draped it around his neck. He was just pulling the shirt up one arm when Penelope walked up to him and halted his progress. She tugged the shirt off and tossed it out of his reach.
“I don’t think you should go anywhere,” she said and pushed him backwards until he was forced to sit back down. “I don’t believe you are well enough yet. Besides, you sent word that you were called out of town on business.”
“I’m feeling much better,” he argued lamely. “And I need to find out who threatened our lives.”
“Grantham is on the case, is he not?”
“Yes.”
“Do you not want to stay with me? Is a fortnight all you can stand to be with me?”
“No, it’s not that at all,” he argued, his hands reached out to cradle her hips.
“Then what is it?”
“Being so close to you but not able to make love to you is driving me insane.”
“Why aren’t you able to make love to me?”
“Because you act as if you don’t want me to touch you, let alone make love to you.”
Penelope took a moment to think about the last week. Had she acted that way? If she had, it had been to protect him. He had been injured and was recovering. Despite what he thought, he had not been up to strenuous activity of any type. Perhaps he still wasn’t, but seeing him as he was, naked from the waist up, had Penelope’s fingers tingling to touch him. “I was looking after you.”
“If I wanted looking after, I would seek out my aunt. Bloody hell, Penelope, I want a wife and lover, not a mother.”
“Perhaps you should lean back,” she said taking a step towards him while she slowly pulled up the skirt of her lavender dress.
“Why?” he asked skeptically.
“Because you look a bit flushed.”
“Penelope, I told you—”
“Damn you, Duncan Taggart, why can’t you just do as your told?” In frustration, Penelope pushed him backwards so that he now reclined against the arm of the bench. It creaked under his shifting form. She worried her lower lip a moment, but decided to throw caution to the wind. She crawled onto the bench on her knees and it creaked once more.
“Perhaps this bench wasn’t made for a man of my size,” Duncan said.
“I don’t care. I have you where I want you and I’m not letting you go,” she purred. Penelope grabbed the cravat hanging loose around his neck and pulled him towards her. She shifted closer and allowed her dress to shift lower, showing off the growing fullness of her breasts. Duncan must have noticed as well, for his groan reached her ears. A smile flirted with her lips before she captured his mouth with hers. He made her work for what she wanted, but she finally succeeded in breaking through the barrier of his lips. The moist cavern of his mouth was everything she remembered it had been. She held onto both ends of the cravat with one hand while she threaded her fingers through his dark hair and cupped the back of his head. It felt like they were starving, for soon they were devouring one another.
Penelope was so lost in the kiss that she didn’t realize he had been working on the buttons of her dress until she felt the cool air caress her fevered skin. She jerked in pain when he pinched her pert nipples. Her breasts were tender, and what he had meant to be alluring had hurt.
“Softer,” she whispered against his ear before nibbling and suckling his earlobe.
“Like this?” he asked, brushing a kiss against one of her alabaster globes.
“Yes,” she replied.
“And this?” he asked, laving one tip with his tongue.
“Yes,” she sighed, and quickly pulled her arms free of the dress so it slithered down her body to bunch about her waist.
“And what of this?” he asked as he latched onto her and gently suckled.
“Oh, my, yes,” she moaned, throwing her head back. She gripped his shoulders, digging the tips of her nails in. Penelope blushed as she felt herself growing wet. He moved to her other breast and gently manipulated the one he just left with his hand. She lifted up while he scooted down a bit. Penelope took the opportunity to lower herself. She felt the ridge of his manhood press against her through his breeches, enticing her, beckoning her.
She shifted backwards so that she could reach the buttons on the placket of his breeches. She broke her connection with him long enough for him to pull the dress up and over her body. Penelope watched it go flying through the air. “Lift up a bit,” she ordered. He did and she pulled his breeches down to his upper thighs, allowing his shaft to jump towards her in greeting. She wrapped a hand around it and squeezed firmly.
“You’re killing me,” Duncan moaned.
“But in a good way?”
“A very good way. Here, allow me to make you ready.”
“Trust me, I’m more than ready.” Penelope leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled away. She raised up on her knees and braced herself against one of his shoulders. She felt his hands convulsively squeeze her waist as she lowered herself downward. Penelope kept her brown eyes open and stared into the depths of his deep blue ones. He filled her so deeply this way. Once she was fully impaled, they stayed that way a few moments, merely watching each other. Then Penelope twisted her hips, eliciting a groan from her lover. He attempted to move too, but she halted him. “You let me do the work this time,” she said, still gripping his shoulders. “You’re still recovering.”
“Pen,” he said huskily.
She lifted herself and then lowered herself once more, taking all of him within her. She sighed when she felt his hands cup her breasts. His thumbs gently caressed her erect nipples. Penelope continued her slow dance of lovemaking, driving both Duncan and herself mad. “Duncan, help me,” she begged as she felt her inner muscles begin to respond.
