Authors: Cheryl Howe
His father’s gaze drifted shut, a slice of pain tightened his features
.
He had not been the only one hoping for answers all these years
.
But what did his father possibly hope would be revealed in Philip’s dying words
?
Redemption, perhaps
?
For Darien, it was the realization there was no one else to blame.
“I can’t give up Ivy and Melody.
”
Darien dropped in the chair beside his father and hung his head.
A warm hand covered the one he rested on his thigh.
“Don’t give up anything
.
Don’t you see that’s the power you shall have
?
Your daughter will be an earl’s child
.
Let her have all her family can give her.”
Darien thought of poor Melody, born in squalor, left alone with her dying mother
.
If Ivy had not found her
…
“Darien, I am begging you for once in
your
life to do your duty, not only for your mother’s peace, but for your brother’s eternal soul
.
If he’s dug from the family
—
” His father started coughing and could not catch his breath until Darien helped him sip some water.
“I know what I must do and I will,” Darien said through gritted teeth
.
“I shall marry Arianna on the condition she is willing to accept my daughter as her own and Ivy in my life.”
“Thank you, Darien,” his father whispered.
Darien stood
.
“I think I should fetch Dr. Shipley.
”
He needed to remove himself from his father’s side so he could justify breaking his word and escaping England while he still could
.
His insides churned
even
at the notion of staying and betraying Ivy so cruelly
.
Bile burned his throat because he knew that’s exactly what he must do.
Darien walked to the door, the enormity of all his father’s secrets weighing on him with each step
.
They were his secrets now.
“Darien,” his father called from the bed
.
He seemed to shrink with the lifting of his burden
.
He was an old man who had lost too much
.
Maybe Darien would have seen that before if he hadn’t been too preoccupied with his own imagined misfortune
.
Now he truly knew the price of love.
“Yes, Father.
”
The word felt strange on Darien’s tongue
.
He kept his hand on the door handle
,
wanting to run
.
The
Westhaven
who had been
cold and all powerful had been so much easier to do battle with
.
“I wish I could live to see your daughter call you that.”
Darien’s throat squeezed and he merely nodded.
“May I meet her
?
Your child.
”
“Of course
.
Rest and I’ll bring her shortly.
”
Darien tried to smile though he was sure he failed miserably
.
He shut the door behind him and paused to catch his breath
.
“I want to talk to Westhaven
.
Enough of this stalling.
”
Maddox strode to the door.
“Talk.
”
Darien commanded Maddox with an authority he found more of a burden than an asset.
“He’s dead,” Maddox said a little too breathlessly, giving away that the Blackmores were not the only ones who had much to lose.
“Not yet
.
He needs the doctor.”
“Then let me see him
.
We have an important matter to settle.”
Darien blocked the door
.
“It’s been settled
.
I shall marry Arianna.”
Maddox stumbled back as if Darien had struck him.
“You?
”
“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
“What about your little love nest?”
“Arianna will accept my daughter as her own and Ivy as my mistress.
”
Darien was not sure how Ivy would take the news but he had no doubt she would want the best for Melody
.
He couldn’t think beyond that or he would not be able to function at all.
“My daughter will not raise some illegitimate whelp fathered by God knows whom.”
“But I am more than willing to claim Arianna’s child
,
if that be the case
.
Even if it’s a boy.
”
Darien strolled to the door that led from his father’s suites
.
Dr. Shipley had left the study and Darien needed to find him at once
.
Only then could he search out Ivy and explain the situation to
her
before someone else did
.
“You see, I know exactly where Arianna was last night because I drove her there myself
.
I’m sure Dr. Shipley will be glad to verify Arianna’s lack of virginity before the wedding with or without an examination
.
Isn’t that’s how it’s done, Maddox?”
“Don’t threaten me, Blackmore
.
I know what really happened to Philip.”
Darien turned at the door
.
“And I know you and Philip were more than friends
.
You didn’t lead my father to Philip and Collin Jacobson because of your outrage as his bride’s father but as a spurned lover.”
Maddox paled and his loss of words would be so much more satisfying if it did not speak volumes as to Maddox’s guilt.
“So, we both have much to lose if the truth about Philip’s death comes to light.
”
Darien said in the face of Maddox’s continued silence.
“I want it done right away, then,” Maddox said, quickly recovering.
“So do I. Make the arrangements
.
We’ll need a special license and a clergyman
.
I’ll not have my nephew involved even if he makes a sudden recovery
.
Understood?”
“Fine.”
“And one last thing
.
If you ever do anything to harm my daughter or Ivy, if I hear one whisper, one rumor, I will make sure your daughter is branded a whore and an adulteress
.
I’ll even have the marriage annulled
.
Do we understand each other?”
Maddox bowed
.
“Yes, my lord.”
Darien closed the door
but
gain
ed
no satisfaction in finally having the upper hand with Henry Maddox
.
Ivy had been right
.
Nothing good came out of discovering the truth about Philip’s death
.
I will post this
letter
when we have crossed the border into Scotland
.
There is no use in coming after me, Darien
.
Darien slipped into the shadows of Robert’s room hoping to find Ivy and Melody among the gloom
.
His insides churned with the knowledge of what he must do, and he feared he would lose Ivy
.
His brother-in-law sat by the bed, his head bent
.
Lily stroked his collar-length hair, still more auburn than steel grey
.
Curtains had been closed to keep the room dim, but the open windows allowed the velvet drapes to twist and dance like ghosts waiting to invade the living
.
Robert remained unmoving in the bed and Darien would not be surprised if someone told him his nephew was dead
.
Darien almost closed the door, slipped from the room without interrupting the private moment between his sister and her husband
.
His own grief seemed paltry in comparison to their current gaping wound.
The door squeaked and his sister turned
.
“Darien.
”
Lily strode toward
him.
“Father is ill
?
What happened
?
This morning I have to hear from Dr. Shipley that my father was not expected to live through the night?”
“How is Robert?” he said
,
quietly studying the still bed, not wanting to face the added strain in Lily’s glazed expression
.
Darien had decided she should not be bothered with the burden of their father’s condition, her own current troubles being so great
.
But that was before he and Dr. Shipley were convinced that their father was dying.
“Robert’s fever is breaking
.
He’ll be up and around by the end of the day.
”
His brother-in-law stood from his son’s bedside
.
Rand Fitzgerald rested his hands on his wife’s shoulders and squeezed
.
He met Darien’s gaze and the sorrow there told him his false optimism was for Lily’s benefit
.
“Any word on the culprit
?
Another group went out at first light to search the grounds and the village.”
Darien shook his head no, and let his gaze land on Robert’s flushed face
.
Since he did not know where Jacobson was at the moment, he wasn’t lying
.
Darien hoped the bastard had truly escaped and had the good sense to stay hidden this time
.
If only Jacobson had never shown his face in the first place, Robert would not have been wounded
.
Darien might have been on
a
ship bound to anywhere with his wife and child, instead of watching two family members fight for their
lives
.
His sister shook off her husband’s touch
.
“I need to speak with you, Darien
.
Walk with me to see father.”
“Where is Ivy?
”
Darien dared not put off the confrontation any longer
.
“It’s urgent that I speak with her.”
“That’s exactly what we must discuss
.
I am having a nursery prepared for Melody
.
I hope Ivy is at home gathering her things
.
A carriage took them both to your cottage last night.”
“You have no right to interfere, Lily,” Darien shouted
.
How could his sister let Ivy out of her sight
?
He lowered his voice at the glare from Lily’s war-veteran husband who loomed threateningly at her back
.
But what stopped Darien from venting his frustration on his sister was the realization that he was in her son’s
sickroom
. He must hear her out
.
Their once thriving family would soon dwindle to just two
.
He wanted his sister on his side.
“Forgive me
.
I love her
.
I know you were not around when Ivy and I were together, but I am at my best with her
.
Without her, I fall apart.”
“I understand, Darien
.
I do, but these things are more complicated than one expects.
”
She glanced back at her husband
.
The man she had chosen over her family and been banished because of, lowered his head and returned to his son’s side.
Lily squeezed Darien’s arm
.
“We want the same things, Darien, and I would not see you unhappy for anything in this world
.
Please wait for me a moment so we can speak outside.”
Darien nodded.
Lily returned to her husband, brushed back his hair and kissed him on the mouth
.
She then touched her lips against Robert’s forehead, pressed her palm against his cheek, no doubt checking his fever
.
“Let me know if there is any change
.
I feel I must see my father.”
He grabbed her hand
.
“Of, course, Lil
.
I’ll take good care of him.
”