Abandoned to the Night (The Brotherhood Series, Book 3) (25 page)

“All?” He swallowed deeply. “How many children are there?”

“Five,” Grace blurted. “But both girls are going to live with Evelyn and Alexander.”

Good heavens. He had only been asleep for a few days. Now between them, they were responsible for five children. “Do they all want to come with us?”

“They are sad to leave the Bruhns,” Grace explained, “but excited at the same time. Leo has given Alexander his carriage so we may all go home together. Oh, I have prayed you would wake up. I could not have left here without you.”

Elliot’s head still felt heavy, his thoughts a little jumbled and chaotic. What if the human sensations he was experiencing were simply a concoction of an eager imagination? How could he be a father to children if still suffering from the affliction?

“Would you mind helping me up?” he said to Leo, who still hovered at his side. “What time is it?”

Leo assisted Grace in bringing Elliot to his feet. “It is almost nine. Nine in the evening,” he replied. “You’ll have to wait until the morning before you will truly know if the cure has worked.”

“Damn.” Elliot exhaled. He was desperate to step out into the sun after four long years hiding in the darkness.

“What’s wrong?” There was a glint of fear in Grace’s eyes. “The cure has worked. I know it has.”

“I am sure it has.” The rumbling in his stomach was surely a sign of success. He turned to Grace. “Come. Let us go up to the Great Hall. I need to eat and would like to spend a little time alone with you. I assume Ivana has allocated a bedchamber.”

The glint of desire in his wife’s eyes caused his body to flame. Even in his weakened state, he would have no problem attending to their needs.

Ivana cleared her throat. “The children are here, in the castle. It is important they become acquainted with you all before making the final decision to leave. If you feel able, you should meet them. Evelyn is putting them all to bed, but there is still time if you want to see your son.”

Grace touched his arm. “Go with Ivana. Let her tell you about Christoph. I shall speak to Julia about supper and wait for you in our chamber.”

Elliot closed his eyes briefly and inhaled. How did one atone for abandoning a child? What would he say to the boy? How would he feel?

Grace touched his cheek. “Don’t be afraid. The nightmare has passed. You are free to indulge your dreams. You are free to be the man you were always destined to be.”

Chapter 21

Ivana led Elliot upstairs to the children’s chamber. They stopped outside the door, and she could hear Evelyn’s excited voice regaling the folk tales they loved so much.

As her fingers curled around the handle, Elliot put his hand on her arm.

“Before we enter, I would like to know the story of the boy’s mother.” The nervous edge to his tone was unmistakable. “Who was she? I am ashamed to say I can’t remember. What happened to her?”

Ivana nodded, gestured to a place a little further along the dim corridor, and he followed her. “Christoph’s mother is the lady you took to the mausoleum.”

Elliot’s eyes widened and he covered his mouth with his hand.

“It was not the first time she had been unfaithful to her husband, but he knew the child could not be his and so abandoned her. She came here with a babe in her arms, looking for you. But I knew you would never return, not after what I had done to you.”

“Did she tell you the child was mine?”

Ivana nodded. “She did. As soon as he grew, it was apparent she spoke the truth.”

“Where is she now?”

“She is dead.” Ivana swallowed down the lump in her throat. “Herr Gebert gave her employment at the tavern, in return for food and lodgings. I think she thought to wait for you in the hope you would come back, in the hope you would make a financial contribution to ease her burden.”

Elliot turned away, paced back and forth before stopping abruptly. “Was it a fever, an illness that claimed her?”

“No.” This was perhaps the part of the tale Ivana struggled to comprehend. “She met another gentleman, not a nobleman like yourself, but a merchant travelling through here. She pleaded with Frau Bruhn to take your child.” The Bruhns were the kindest people Ivana knew and would never have refused the chance to give a child a secure home. “She went off with the merchant. They had a carriage accident a few miles from here. Some say the coachman was drunk on ale, that his slow reactions caused the conveyance to come off the road and slip down the muddy bank.”

Elliot drew his palm down his face and exhaled loudly. “If Leo had not come back here I would never have known about the boy.”

Ivana wondered if he struggled to use the word
son
. Perhaps he would feel different, when he saw how sweet and good natured his child was.

“There is something else you should know. Christoph barely speaks. For his age his oral skills are poor. There seems to be no reason for it. I have tried to encourage him over the last few months, yet have achieved only minimal results.”

Elliot cleared his throat. “Is he ill? Has he suffered some sort of trauma?”

“What, other than never knowing his father and losing his mother at such a young age?” Ivana could not hide the contempt in her tone, but she no longer had need to apportion blame. “Forgive me. The children mean the world to me.”

“After what you have experienced, after all you have done, I cannot condemn you for your opinion. But I seek to make amends for my mistakes. Know that I will not fail him again.”

Ivana’s heart soared at his words. She felt the truth in them, and that was all that mattered. “I do believe you will be an exceptional father, as exceptional as you are a husband.”

Elliot inclined his head. “That is great praise indeed from a woman who despised me to the core of my being.”

“We cannot go back and change the past. Both of us have done things we are not proud of, and so I say we draw a line in the sand, agree to move forward in the knowledge we are both better people.”

“They are wise words, indeed.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Thank you, for taking care of my son. Thank you for loving my brother in the way he deserves.”

A sudden well of emotion rushed to the fore. She dabbed at the corner of her eye for fear the tears would fall. “Come,” she said walking back towards the door. “It is time to meet your son.”

They entered the room to find Alexander lying in the middle of the bed. The children sat around him staring at Evelyn seated in the chair eagerly reciting her story. They all looked so happy, so carefree, and Ivana’s heart swelled.

Alexander shot up as soon as his gaze met Elliot’s. “You’re awake.” He clambered from the bed, rushed over and drew him into an embrace. “Good Lord, you had us all worried.”

Elliot grabbed him by the shoulders. “Thankfully, I was oblivious to the event,” he said with a smile.

Evelyn came over and threw her arms around him. She looked up into his eyes. “I am so pleased to see you.” Her voice sounded croaky. The emotion of the last few days had been too much for all of them.

Elliot placed a brotherly hand to her cheek. “I hear we are to increase our numbers. Grace said we need two carriages to take our brood home.”

Alexander’s mouth curled up into an amused grin. “It seems I had no need to worry about spending my life alone.”

Ivana touched him on the shoulder. “Come and meet the children.”

She led him over to the bed, to the five pairs of wide eyes all staring at him with a look of wonder. Ivana introduced them, starting with the girls. Frederick and Edwin jumped down from the bed and offered the lord their most regal bow, just as she had taught them to do.

“Thank you, my lord,” Frederick began, “for considering that we might come to England to live with Christoph. We do not want to be parted from our brother.”

Ivana noted Elliot’s gaze shift to the little boy on the bed, and he inhaled deeply before turning to the older boys. “I understand completely. You are both more than welcome to come and live with us if that is what you want.”

“We do,” Edwin said, blinking rapidly.

“Then I wish to welcome you both.” Elliot opened his arms. Both boys hesitated, looked at each other and smiled before stepping forward to embrace him.

Ivana’s throat hurt from suppressing a wealth of emotion. She moved to the bed and hauled Christoph up into her arms.

“Come, children,” Evelyn said, “let us all go to my chamber and continue with our story.”

There were cheers and chuckles and soon only Ivana, Elliot and Christoph were left in the room.

Elliot stared at the boy she held close. “I see a definite similarity in the eyes.”

“And the hair, and the lips and ears by all accounts.” She stroked Christoph’s mop of ebony locks. “Do you wish to tell him the nature of your relationship or would you prefer to wait until the sun rises?”

He remained silent for a moment. “I shall explain the connection once we are home.”

Ivana nodded. “Of course.” She cuddled the boy, knowing it would be a long time before she got the chance to do so again. “You will be going to England, Christoph,” she said as she kissed the child on the cheek. “You will live in a grand house with Lord and Lady Markham. Would you like that?”

Christoph’s emerald eyes lit up, but he did not answer. Instead, he held his arms out to Elliot, who scooped the boy to his chest and held him there for the longest time. Guilt threatened to flare again, for the pain she had caused him, but she stamped it down knowing her intervention had served to lead him to his destined path.

“Would you like to come and live with me in England?” Elliot’s voice sounded fractured, the pitch unusually high. When Christoph nodded, Elliot kissed him on his head, closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

Grace appeared at the door. “I hope I am not disturbing you.”

Elliot shook his head. “Not at all. This moment would not be the same without you.”

She rushed over to him, and he draped his arm around her shoulder.

“I shall leave you all in peace.” Ivana inclined her head. She had achieved all she had set out to do for the children. The Bruhns were part of her family, and she would continue to give them her support. But now it was time to be selfish. “I shall go and find Leo. There is something important I must ask him.”

Elliot stared at her, his gratitude reflected in his eyes. “Thank you,” he said quietly, “for everything.”

“Take care of my beautiful boys.” She had confidence in their ability to provide a good and loving home. “Raise them to be honest men, to appreciate all that they have, to give to those who are not as fortunate.”

Grace smiled. “We will continue the work you have begun. We promise you that.”

Ivana knew if she spoke the tears would fall, and she had shed a lifetime’s worth of tears in the space of a few days. Offering them a smile, she left the room and went in search of Leo.

She found him sitting against the wall on the floor in the crypt. His eyes were closed. Had he been human she would have assumed he was asleep.

“What are you doing down here?” she asked as she came to sit at his side. She put her head on his shoulder, threw her arm around his waist.

“It has been a wild few days,” he said rubbing her arm in soothing strokes. “I wanted to take a moment to gather my thoughts.”

Ivana could feel the strange mixture of emotions swirling around in his chest. She looked up at him. “While you are happy that your brothers no longer suffer from the affliction, I sense that you do not want them to leave.” She would not want him to stay with her out of obligation. “If you want to go home with them, you know I would understand.” She would be devastated; the pain would be unbearable.

Leo jerked his head in surprise. His frantic gaze searched her face. “Do you want me to go?”

How could he even think such a thing?

“Leo, I am in love with you. I never want to be without you. But I want you to be happy, and I can see what your family mean to you.”

He tugged her arm, pulled her to sit astride him. “Yes, I will miss them. But you are the most important person in my life.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, gave a sinful smile as they drifted down to caress her breasts. “I love you and never want to be without you.”

Unable to suppress the surge of desire, she rubbed against him. “Perhaps you should show me how much you want to stay. As creatures of the night, we will have to find something to occupy us during the day.”

He raised a sinful brow as his hand skirted beneath the hem of her dress to massage her bare thigh. “Only during the day?”

She sucked in a breath as his fingers crept higher. “At night, we will behave like other humans. We will play cards in the tavern. I will watch you while you drink Herr Bruhn’s ale. We will walk back through the forest. You can love me beneath the canopy of stars.”

“And during the day, we will lock ourselves in a dark chamber, indulge our deepest desires.”

“Yes,” she breathed softly, as he stroked the place throbbing for his touch.

“But it is night now, Ivana. There are no stars in here and yet I so desperately want to be deep inside you.” His nimble fingers mimicked the action he spoke of. “Does that mean we must wait until morning?”