Bittersweet Endeavors (30 page)

Myra
went
to the door and flung it open
.  She ran
as fast as her body allowed
,
and
she
heard
Zachary’s laughter nearly all the way to her destination
.  She
finally made it
to the
lake where she and Seth spent
much
of their
time together before he left.  In the distance, she saw
his
muscular form
as he
stood and watched over
the lake. 
She ran
to
him
and hoped
he’d
wrap his
arms a
round her
, as she greatly needed to
feel the protection of his arms again.  W
hen she
stood
a few feet from him, he
turned
his head
and looked at her
.
T
he
fury
that refl
ected in his eyes
came ten-fold more severe than she worst imaged
.
 

He hated her.

“Seth, please.  Let me explain.”

With forceful s
trides
, he made his way toward her.  A muscle in his jaw tightened and
the many days of beard growth
on his chin shadowed his youthful, pleasant features.  He look
ed
like a
scoundrel
and it frightened her. 
He
wa
sn’t the man she kn
ew
. 
N
o
, t
he man before her
was
a stranger
and
not the man she
had fallen
in l
ove
with
.  She stepped back from him and cringed when she
feared
he may
strike her.

“Why are you here,
Myra
?”
he demanded.

“I need to explain.
”

”I’ve heard enough
,”
he shouted,
and cut her words off.
“
Go to Zachary. 
As I have had my fair share in the use of your wares, it can be his opportunity now.”

“Use of my wares
?
” she repeated. 

“Surely you never
believed
it
was
anything more, did you?” 
His laugh
was cold and bitter
. 
“Cassandra is the woman I
shall be
marry
ing
.  You were just…well, let’s just say,
someone who made good sport for practice
so I might aptly please her once
wedded.”

“
You lie to hurt me,” she whispered, and
she
prayed
it wasn’t
true. 
His love
had been
too genuine for him to
try to
declare it false. 
“
I do not int
end to marry Zachary, Seth,
tis
you I love!
”
  She
edged toward
him and
attempted to embrace him
, but
he grabbed her wrists and
impede
d her
movement. 
He looked down into her eyes and there wasn’t a semblance of the love that she once saw within them.  Only his loathing for her remained. 

“
Love?” he
scoffed
.  “You think me dead and on the same day agree to marry that man?”
He shook his head with disgust and laughed
. 
“
L
eave
, Myra
.  I want
naught
to do with you or that bastard you carry
.
”

Myra flinched as
if he
had
slapped her.  T
ears flowed
from her eyes
and stung her cheeks
, and
Seth
showed no
outward
signs that he
care
d
that she was hurt by his words.

“Seth, there
are
reasons why, and
tis necessary my
explanations
are heard
.  I am truly The King’s cousin and—”

“
You dare try to play me false
, again,
by your fanciful stories?   Are there no limits to your deceptions, Myra?
”
he shouted.  “I shall not hear another word from your mouth,” he yelled
.  “Tis over, and I shan’t be played a fool again.”  He
brushed harshly past her and
walked
away
.

Myra
turned and
stared after him
.  She waited, hoped,
and prayed he would turn around.  But he didn’t. 
She wondered ho
w
the kind and gentle man she knew
suddenly
transform
ed
into someone
so cruel and callous.
 
Had
n’t
Lucia explain
ed
that it
was the
same
way Anvil
reacted toward her
mother?
  Anvil had been
greatly in love with
Hester
until he
learned she carried his
child
. 
Perhaps
,
tis
the way of all men
, at
least
,
the Preston men
, she surmised
. 
She didn’t think
her heart
was
going to
survive his rejection.

She looked toward the direction Seth
had taken
,
and he was
nearly gone from her sight,
and a moment later, he disappeared within the brush of the woods. 
S
he
then
grasped the totality of her situation
—
he was lost to her
forever
.

215

Zachary answered the door after she knocked.  A devilish grin traced his lips and she inhaled a deep breath
and
attempt
ed
to uphold her dignity.  She
detected a strong whiff of
a fragrance
emitting from him
and her stomach careened at the biting aroma.

“
As I suspected you might
, you have returned, Lady
Myra
,” he said
, and
he held his arm out to her.
 
She re
luctantly held onto his elbow and
he led her into the library
. 

“I want this done tonight.  I have a man of clo
th in residence for the evening,
”
he said.

She swallowed hard but his declaration didn’t surprise her. 
Perhaps
getting it
done quickly was
for the best.
“I want to discuss the
…
the arrangement before we do so.”  She tried to sound confident and unalarmed
, but
it was
a
difficult
task
when
all
she
w
anted
to
do
was
run from his
presence and
back
to—
nay
, she mustn
’
t think of Se
th
, n
or ever
think of Seth
again.  Her
hand
s
shook and
she
instinctually
brought
them
to her
stomach
, and she
softly
caress
ed
t
he unborn child that grew within her.  No matter what,
she thought,
a part of
Seth
would be with her forever.

Zachary’s
eyebrow perked in question.
“Arrangement?”
he asked, suspiciously.
 

“
Aye
,” she replied.  “
If you want to regain T
he
K
ing’s faith, you must convince him that you are worthy of his cousin, at least, do you not?”  She
refused to give
him
an opportunity to reply.  She rose
from her seat
and walked
across the room
and turned to look at him
.  “That being the
situation
, I wish to strike a bargain with you, Mister Frederickson.  I
shall
agree to tell my cousin Charles
only
kind words of you and
shall
plea your case
before my cousin’s
court
…
i
f,” she said sternly, “T
his is a marriage in name only—we
shan’t
consummate our vows.”

He laughed.

“If not,” she said
forcefully
, “I
’ll
not go through with this and shal
t
return to England and reap whatever wrath I must by
my
return.”

“Oh, you
shall
marry me
,
one way or another,” he said slowly.

“
Nay
, Mister Frederickson, it
shall
be only
my
way.”  She pierced him with a stare and wished
the stab would
reach his beastly heart.  “Once you’ve returned to good favo
u
r with
The K
ing, I plan to reestablish myself in England once matters are settled with my uncle
. 
More plainly,
s
ir,
I intend
to return to Brunnington
alone.”

The corner of his lip twitched and his jaw tightened.  It
pleased
her
that
she
removed
th
e
smug
look
from his
face.  Zachary’s
future
rested s
olely on his relationship with The K
ing.  He
was
an immoral sort, but
he wasn’t
dim
witted
.  She was sure he’d
agree to her proposal.

“So be it, Lady
Myra
.  It shall be a marriage in name only,
”
h
e conceded
,
but the gleam in his eye suggested that
he
didn’t
entirely surrender
. 

“
Also
, I want my friend
Lucia in service.  I want you to
retrieve her bond
from Anvil Preston
.” 

“
Being
Anvil’s
daughter, he shan’t
give her up
.”

“Then you must convince him otherwise, Mister Frederickson
.
  As Mister Preston is greedy in nature, I believe throwing him some extra coins to sweeten the deal.
”
She
narrowed
her eyes at him
.  “
If not, there
’s
no bargain struck here amongst us.”

“Then it shall be done,” he said.

“And as for my sister?” she asked.

“Once we’re wedded and I conclude business that I have presently going on here in the colonies, we shall set forth to England and settle both our purposes.  We can set sail in a few months, perhaps more.  It shall give you time to realize I’m not bad of a sort
,
and
make your argument to the king more convincing
.  It shall also afford me
the
time
to devise
well laid plan
s
to recover your sister without harm.”

“
I shan’t risk her life by going to The King before she’s found and safely away from my uncle,” she added.  “
I
t’s doubtful she still remains at
Brunnington
.  In spite of the situation he’s placed me; he’s cunning enough to suspect
that
I may
attempt
to retrieve her.  You’ll need to make discreet inquiries as to her whereabouts.”

“I shall send inquiries on the morrow.”  He curtly nodded his head.

Myra curtsied before him, and
w
ithout a by
your leave, she departed the room and
sought
out her new bedchamber.

*                    *                    *

“What do you mean you
shan’t
be returning to Cambridge?”  Anvil’s voice rose so loud that the crystal glass
filled
of
wine
quaked
in his hand.

“I
’ll not
finish my education at this time,
f
ather. 
Tis
that simple.”

“But, Seth, you must consider your future.  Educated men find respect
and status
here, not the ones who lay idle.”

Seth wanted to scoff at that.  His future
was to be
with
Myra
, and now that w
asn’t
ever
going to
happen
. 
There was
nothing
for him
to look forward
to except his loneliness
.
 
Nay
,
Seth thought,
his education mattered naught without Myra
at his side
.  That
had been his reason for not staying in London. 
On
c
e the
storm
repairs
had been
made to his ship
while at
sea, they had returned to
the port in
England, but Seth stepped o
f
f the ship
and
board
ed
another that was
bound for
the colonies
, and back to Myra
.  He knew i
t
had been a
mistake to
have left her and
he
wanted to return
posthaste
.  He wished
he
had
real
ized his
poor judgment
before he
first
left
the colonies
.
  Perhaps
, then,
he’d
not have lost her
.

“Yo
u’re not listening to a word I’
m saying!”  Anvil slamme
d
his beaker down
on
to
the table and threw hi
s hands up
ward
in defeat.  “If you’
re thinking
about
that girl, forget it, Seth.  She
shall
be wedded
by
the morrow.”

If Anvil’s shouting didn’t pull him out of his rumination, the declaration of her soon wedded status
did.  “On the morrow they wed? 
So soon?”
he stammered.

“
Perhaps even tonight
,” he declared
.
  “
Push her from your mind, Seth.  It
shall not serve well to
dwell on her or what she has done to you.
  Let it go and move onward.
”

The thought
crossed his
mind
to run and beg
her not to go through with it, but he knew he couldn’t. 
When he thought about
how quickly she
s
ought
out
another man after he
left Jamestown
made him physically ill
, a
nd when she thought him dead, she didn’t
even
stop and
mourn his loss
.  Nay,
he thought angrily,
she accepted another man’s proposal. 
He exhaled his frustrations and turned to his father.  “
My thoughts shan’t be
tarrying over
her or her marriage to Frederickson,
f
ather. 
Myra
made her choice
and now
she
shalt live with
it.
”

“Very good,
son,
I find
great
relief in hearing
those words
.”  Anvil patted him on the back.  “
Tis a
good idea if you show your good faith
by
way of attending their celebration this coming week.  Zachary plans a
gathering
in her honor.  I think it’s ludicrous to have such an affair for a mere servant girl, but Frederickson insist
s
on it.”  Anvil shrugged his shoulders.  “But
,
this gives you an opportunity, Seth.   I
’m
sure Cassandra hasn’t heard of your
tom
fool
e
ry with this indenture and she sh
ould
be
honored
to accompany you there.   Mayhap you could
even
find it
with
in you to
ask her father for her hand
.  What better way to get over this
folly
?”

“
Aye
, I think you’re right, f
ather,”
Seth nodded
his agreement,
but
he
hid his pain when he offered his
father a broad smile. 
“I shall attend this
event
and offer my best to the new brideg
room and his wife.  Perhaps I shall also
take your advice and speak to
Cassandra
’s father
about a betrothal
.”
Cassandra would make a good wife, he convinced himself. 
It
’d
also afford him a chance to convince Myra
that
he
d
idn’t ever
care
about her.