Borrowed Dreams (Scottish Dream Trilogy) (14 page)

The revolt had been put down
quickly and brutally, and she had seen the bloody aftermath. The years of
cruelty that followed, fueled by fear of further uprisings, had become even
more repressive. Wentworth and Jasper Hyde and his father and others like them
had a free rein then, and in their hands the whip was wielded more viciously
than ever. For over ten years the lash continued to fall without mercy.

“Jasper Hyde wants me because I
have seen the fruits of his labors. I saw his ways when he took over
Wentworth’s plantations. I saw his calm disdain for the suffering of human
beings. I saw the scars grow like the branches of trees on the backs of
innocent men and women from the lash and the cane. I saw the rape of those who
could not fight back.”

Droplets of rain began to beat hard
against the window, spreading over the cold glass and blearing the view of the
hills.

“I, too, am branded. I, too, have
felt the whip’s sting. And now I am like the old mother of days gone by,
suspected of witchcraft. Jasper Hyde would burn me alive if he could. He wants
me because he believes I cursed him for what he has done. He believes in
punishing the body to break the spirit. And he believes I am punishing his body
to achieve the same end.”

Ohenewaa turned back to the room.
Millicent’s face showed the pain that she was feeling for the suffering of all
those enslaved workers.

“Hyde says his intentions are not
dishonorable. That is true, because he feels there is nothing dishonorable in
burning a witch with dry wood while her own people look on. He believes there
is no dishonor in vengeance. But before he sees me die, he wants me to undo the
curse that plagues him and release him from his sins. But that I cannot do.”

****

Jasper Hyde knew that the doctor
could do nothing to help him. But that was not why he had asked Parker to come
and look at him anyway. He knew the only cure for his condition lay in what
they could accomplish together.

“You have an unusually loud
palpitation of the heart, Mr. Hyde, though I can see nothing physically wrong
with you.” The physician motioned to his assistant to pack up the instruments
and leave the room. “Nonetheless, it is critical that you should start taking a
few necessary precautions. There is always the possibility that a certain
disease might be in its early stages, and we shall try to be ready for it when
it surfaces. So before my next visit, I would like you to avoid all sources of
unnecessary excitement. The meals should be taken at regular intervals, and
should be very light. No violent exercise, and we should begin a series of
regular bleedings.”

Hyde watched until the physician’s
servant had left the room before interrupting Parker.  “I am grateful that you
were able to see me on such short notice. When I heard you are the chosen
physician of the Earl of Aytoun, I knew you were the man for me.”

“I see. Are you a friend of his
lordship?”

“Not exactly. Just one who was
greatly disappointed to see him thrown into the clutches of such an
opportunistic woman.”  

The man’s bushy eyebrows went up.
“Then you are acquainted with the new countess?”

“’Tis somewhat indelicate to speak
of it, but I was her creditor until the lady’s marriage to his lordship.”

Parker’s interest showed. “She was
deeply in debt to you, sir…if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Her first husband owed me a great
deal, and she owed me more. I would have been forced to take possession of
Melbury Hall in a couple of months’ time, if she hadn’t married. Like all
women, she is a victim of her own poor judgment and is quite frivolous in her
spending. I feel truly sorry for Lord Aytoun, finding himself in such an
unpleasant situation.”  

The physician removed the
spectacles from his nose and folded them. “Well, perhaps you don’t know, but
the wretched man had little choice.”

“So when, Dr. Parker, are you going
back to visit his lordship again?”

“I…well…” He cleared his throat. “I
may not be going back. I find that Melbury Hall is too far from London, and I have many clients who demand my time here.”

“She did not dismiss you, did she?”
Hyde asked, feigning great surprise and concern. At least his informants in
Hertfordshire had provided one useful piece of information. 

“Lady Aytoun sent a letter
indicating that it might be easier for everyone involved if she searched out a
more local doctor for his lordship.”

Jasper Hyde pushed himself to his
feet. “You cannot believe that, sir. This is all part of her scheme. First she
buys that black witch who killed Dr. Dombey, and takes her to Melbury Hall.
Next, she marries into that fortune and takes Lord Aytoun back to the country,
away from everyone he knows. Now I find that she has dismissed you.”

“Well, I shouldn’t call it
‘dismissed’ exactly, Mr. Hyde.”

“How convenient! What an easy way
to kill another husband.”

“Kill her husband?” Parker said,
suddenly alarmed as the words began to sink in. “What witch? Who is this
Dombey? You must clarify this business, sir.”

“Indeed, Dr. Parker. I believe you
are correct. Won’t you please sit down, and I shall tell you my fears. I
believe, sir, that you may be the only man who can stop this whole affair.”

“I…?”

“First sit down, and I shall tell
you what I know about Lady Aytoun’s lack of character. Then you must promise me
that you will refuse her request to resign the commission Lord Aytoun’s family bestowed
upon you. You must save his lordship from this black widow’s deadly venom. I’m
certain, sir, that his family will be entirely grateful.”

“Yes, yes!” The man was quick to
take a seat. “But what was it you said about a witch?”

The curtains had been left open,
and a soft blue light imbued the room with a pervading sense of serenity. A
light blanket of snow covered the countryside outside, and the moon shone
brightly through the scudding patches of clouds.

Lyon’s mind was clear for the first
time in days. There was no nausea, no headache, no confusion. He tore his gaze
from the rustic view and stared at the sleeping figure of the woman who was
responsible for this recent improvement in his state of mind. Millicent was
curled up in the uncomfortable chair near the foot of the bed. This was her
eighth night here, and the first time he had seen her actually drop off to
sleep. Exhaustion had finally set in, but not before she had succeeded in
forcing him to clear his mind of the laudanum.

But sobriety, too, was a curse.

Lyon stared at his limp right arm
on top of the blankets and felt the empty ache inside of him. He would never
walk, never ride. He’d never sit in a chair unless someone propped him up. He
would never lie with a woman. In his mind’s eye he saw Emma with her wild blond
hair spread across his pillow, her blue eyes smiling up at him, her arms
pulling his weight down onto her willing body. She had been so young when he
had first married her. But he had been a fool to think he was at the center of
her world.

Pierce had been right about
everything from the start. He had warned Lyon about Emma’s true interests. Baronsford was what she coveted, his brother had told him, not the man who owned it. Out of
arrogance, though, Lyon had not believed him.

Of course, Lyon had always known
that Emma had been closest to his youngest brother, David. From the time they
were children, the two of them had played along the cliffs at Baronsford, and the vision of them together was etched in his—and everyone’s—mind. David and
Emma had been inseparable through the years. And yet, when Lyon had taken over Baronsford, Emma had come to him.

Selfish, vain, blind—he could think
of a hundred names for his actions. But at the bottom of it all, Lyon had acted the fool, and his family had been torn apart because of it. There was no one
to blame but himself.   

Lyon threw his good arm over his
face and wished he could free himself of the vision that was permanently
imbedded in his mind. The wet rocks. Emma’s broken body at the base of the
cliff, staring up at him. She had paid the price for her mistakes, as he was
paying now.

Anger surged in his veins again,
and he wished for oblivion once more. Forcing his eyes open, Lyon stared at
Millicent’s simple dress, her pale face and tightly pulled-back hair. She was
everything that he’d always imagined plainness to be. She murmured something in
her sleep and then woke herself with a start. She stared at him, sleepy-eyed.

“You want something?”

“I want the medicine tonight.”

“No,” she whispered quietly. She
tried to return his stare, but after few moments started to nod off again.

Lyon wished he had enough use of
his foot just to be able to tip her chair backward. He considered shouting an
obscenity at her and making sure that she stayed awake. But she drew up her
legs tighter on the chair and tried to get comfortable.

And Lyon found himself content just
to stare at her. His wife.

****

Sir Richard Maitland sat down on an
armchair across the way from his client, the Dowager Countess Aytoun. “’Twas a
wise decision not to meet with Dr. Parker yourself, m’lady.”

The old woman closed the book on
her lap and stared at him over the tops of her spectacles. “That bad, was it?”

The lawyer nodded. “Dr. Parker
accuses your new daughter-in-law of being a heretic. He believes she is
deliberately endangering the earl’s health and well-being by not following a
single direction he gave to her a fortnight ago. He insists that Lord Aytoun is
in dire peril and that you should remove your son immediately from Melbury
Hall. And though ‘twill be very difficult for him to manage, Dr. Parker assures
me that he is willing to spend whatever time is necessary to restore the earl
to where his lordship was before in his treatment.”

“How generous of him! Did he
mention a fee for this service?”

“Of course.” Maitland glanced down
at his notes. “The usual exorbitant amount was quoted.”

The dowager picked up Millicent’s
letter from the table beside her. She read it once again. “And did Dr. Parker say a word about receiving a letter from my daughter-in-law, terminating his
services at Melbury Hall?”

“It must have slipped his mind,
m’lady, for he did not offer the information. Once I mentioned it, he made some
excuses about being away from London and not receiving her notice until the day
he was scheduled to go back to Hertfordshire. He felt the situation
necessitated his return to Melbury Hall.”

“He went anyway?”

“Aye. And the gentleman was quite
eloquent about what he found. He felt compelled to report that the earl’s
condition is so severely worsened that if you do nothing about it immediately,
his lordship’s life is surely in jeopardy.”

“And how is that?” she asked wryly.
“Is Lyon any thinner? Does he suffer from excruciating pain? Has he broken any
more bones?”

“Fortunately, you have in your
hand, I am quite certain, a more accurate report on Lord Aytoun’s health than
anything Dr. Parker might have related. Indeed, the messenger who carried Lady
Aytoun’s letter told me himself that his lordship is apparently improving every
day.”

“Then what the devil is this
charlatan talking about?”

“His concern now is with his
lordship’s temperament.” Maitland gave a small cough to hide his chuckle. “Upon
being taken to Lord Aytoun’s chamber at Melbury Hall, the physician was
delivered a plateful of pastries, straight to the face.”

“By Lyon?”

Sir Richard nodded politely.

“Were they intended for Dr.
Parker?”

“Difficult to say, m’lady, though
the result is a fine bruise to his well-padded cheekbone.”

“How dreadful! But why is it difficult to say?”

“Well, apparently your son and your
new daughter-in-law are given to daily battles that have all the elements of
the siege of Edinburgh. And I am happy to report that she is far…well, hardier
than we imagined her to be.”

The dowager sank back against the
sofa and actually smiled. “This is
most
encouraging news, Maitland. And did you throw Dr. Parker out of the house?”

“I certainly did, m’lady.”

“Excellent. Most decidedly
excellent.” 

***

With Gibbs trailing behind her with
an armload of rejected books, Millicent entered the library and waved at a
table.

“Pray, leave them there, Mr.
Gibbs,” she said, scanning the shelves and pulling out several volumes.

“Ye know his lordship is playing a
game with ye, m’lady,” the manservant said respectfully. “Ye might as well
bring up a hundred more volumes. He’ll be sure to find something wrong with all
of them. With his mind clear Lord Aytoun is too capable of playing the devil
with ye.”

“Indeed,
he is doing an excellent job at it, but I am not about to give up.”

“Aye,
m’lady.”

Tucking
the new selections under both arms, Millicent left the library. This was her
third trip. Each time, the villain had found fault with her choices. She was
determined to find a book this morning that would interest him, but still be
something to her liking as well. There had to be
something
that they
could agree on.

In the
hallway and on the stairs, servants cleared out of her path. She had a
suspicion, though, that no one was moving too far out of earshot. It was not
hard to see that her disagreements with Lyon were quickly becoming a source of
entertainment for the household.

The valets had moved the earl onto
his chair by the window by the time Millicent returned to her husband’s
apartments.   

“Here I am,” she announced with an
air of triumph, dropping the books on the table beside her own chair. “You
cannot possibly find anything wrong with these.”