Dare to be Mine (22 page)

She got up and dressed, eating only a
few bites of breakfast downstairs. Unable to keep her mind focused on anything
of importance throughout the morning, Elyssa eventually decided to take a ride
across the estate. She had the young stable hand, Will, saddle a relatively
wild mount, against his wishes. The stallion, although recently broken, was as
near untamed as a horse could be. In truth, Daniel had been the only one that
had fully mastered riding him, and Will advised Elyssa to choose another more
docile mount.

"See here, Will, I am as capable a
rider as the great Lord Fredrickson," she sneered. "I wish to ride
that devil horse, so please hurry up and be done with it." Unused to Lady
Fredrickson's sharp abruptness, Will knew it would be fruitless to argue
further. He would instead follow her from a distance to make certain nothing
untoward happened.

Short moments later he watched as Elyssa
tapped the whip against Devil's flank once. That was all it took to send the
beast flying. Will rushed to mount one of the quicker horses left, glad that he
had planned to follow her from a distance, for there was no possible way to
ever catch up with Elyssa on the unnaturally fast stallion. She was hellbent on
going somewhere, Will mused, and he wished she would slow her pace.

Elyssa drove Devil as hard as she could,
and he seemed to revel in it. His long strides meant freedom, and the stallion
would carry her wherever she wished to go. Elyssa found herself headed to the
cliffs, angry tears falling unhindered, as she cursed Daniel for making her
fall in love with him. For capturing her heart so callously, so bloody easily.
For making her believe in things she had no business believing in. It flashed
through Elyssa's mind that she was being drawn to the cliffs like the others
before her. A wild desire to keep going threatened to consume her, to dive off
the cliff on the demon horse, and she knew he would take her no matter that he
could already sense the danger.

Nearly too late, she managed to pull the
reins tightly, coming all too close to the edge of the jagged cliffs. Barely
two feet from the border,
Elyssa's
breath refused to
come. Only when she managed to safely back away a few feet did she exhale a
shuddering breath.

Dismounting, Elyssa slid to the ground,
covering her face with her hands. Devil skittered a short ways down the path,
though never straying too far from Elyssa.
A moment later
Will approached quietly, still out of sight.
He saw Elyssa's huddled
form seated on the cold ground, heard her quiet sobs.

He'd been beside himself with frantic
worry when he watched Elyssa head to the haunted cliffs to prevent him
from m smile. His heart had nearly
burst in the fear she would fall to her death like the other hexed Fredrickson
women.

Cursing the young Lord Fredrickson, Will
detested Daniel for conquering yet another victim, overcoming her naivete and
then leaving her. Daniel had not told Will that morning where he was going, or
when he would return. And Will knew that Daniel's departure was the cause of
Elyssa's present state of mind. She was simply a disposable pawn to him, much like
all the others who hadn’t the good fortune to be born into blood
so
blue as the Fredricksons. Will had always admired Elyssa
for her regal bearing, in spite of the sadness she had harbored ever since
coming to Greystone.

Satisfied that she was no longer in
danger, for Elyssa's tears eventually subsided and she called to Devil, Will
hid until she'd mounted the huge stallion and headed back toward the mansion.

Elyssa spent the remainder of the day
indoors, choosing a book from the library after a meager dinner. As she passed
by Daniel's bedroom, she impulsively opened the door, half expecting to see the
woman from the previous day lying in Daniel's bed.

The bed was immaculately made, however,
and there was no evidence that Daniel had been there. Indeed, that he would
ever return. On an impulse, Elyssa entered his bedroom, wanting and needing to
feel his presence. She slowly crossed the room and picked up his shirt, lying
discarded in a chair, and held it against her cheek. She inhaled his lingering
scent, reveling in the smell and the feel of his shirt, knowing it had touched
his hard body.

She waited in his room, alternately
reading and pacing the floors, until night fell. Depressed and on edge, Elyssa
returned to her own room, ignoring her maid's request to help her change into
her nightclothes. She could only fall into bed in restlessness, wondering where
Daniel was and who he was with.

Turning onto her side, Elyssa pulled the
other pillow to her chest. She forced the tears back, refusing to allow herself
to begin again, for did she start crying this time, she might never stop. Sleep
was long in coming that night, and then only in short, restless intervals. Her
dreams were filled with Daniel, and true to reality, he was unattainable even
in sleep.

After two more days in the mansion,
Elyssa wearied of the wait. She'd had no word from Daniel, indeed was growing
incensed at his callous thoughtlessness, and decided it was time to pack her
things and leave. It was obvious Daniel had no intentions of returning to
Greystone until she was gone, her initial suspicions apparent. She'd made the
fatal
error, that
of exposing her bare heart to
Daniel, and was now beingto face the realitythi made to pay for her foolish lapse in judgment.

Just as she started packing her bags,
the maid, Annie, knocked on her bedroom door, advising that a delivery had just
been left for her. Confused, Elyssa thought there must be a misunderstanding,
and although she tried to get Annie to go away, the young maid was insistent
that Elyssa would not be disappointed.

Moments later the numerous boxes were
brought upstairs and placed on her bed, in the chair, and on the floor. Finally
Elyssa was left alone, her door closed, and she looked about in confusion. The
fancy gold letters adorning the boxes indicated one of the most well known
seamstresses in London, and a few others from a jeweler. Elyssa's heart skipped
a beat at the realization Daniel had bought her gifts. Countless gifts, and she
was torn as whether to open them or not, part of her still wanting to flee and
not allow herself to be hurt any further.

The other side of her, however, wanted
to open each and every box. Her admiring
oohs
and
ahs
continued
until she had every new garment displayed on her bed.
Gowns
in every color and print imaginable, soft slippers, hats, and undergarments.
And oh, the lacy undergarments.
She wasn't even quite
sure how a few of those were meant to be worn, and blushed furiously at the
notion.

And the thought struck anew. Daniel
wasn't here. He'd no doubt ordered all the fine clothing before ever leaving
her two days past. Nothing had changed at all. Her fingers gently touched the
satins and velvets, admired the costly strand of diamonds Daniel had meant for
her neck. She could not accept any of it.

Quickly tossing her own remaining
garments into her bags, Elyssa determinedly started toward the stairs. She
stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of him.

Daniel reached the top of the staircase,
his dark eyes searching hers for a sign. Of what, he wasn't certain.
Of forgiveness?
Or hatred?
He’d
passed Delilah's departing carriage on his way in just moments before, and knew
that Elyssa had by now seen the things he bought for her.

And as he could see for himself, it meant
nothing to her. He didn't know whether to be pleased or incensed that she
wasn't taking the clothes and jewels before trying to walk out of his life. He
saw the brief flash of softening in her eyes, the glimpse of immense hurt,
before her emerald orbs flashed once more in defiance. Her steps renewed and
her jaw clenched in silent anger. Elyssa managed to take one step past Daniel
before he pulled her back by the arm. She struggled to loosen his hold, but
Daniel refused to escaped her lips a
"Where the hell do you think you're
going?" he bit out, his remorse for putting her through agony the past
three days suddenly vanished in place of anger that she would actually try to
leave him without a word.
As if he'd not done the exact same
thing.

Angry tears sprang to her eyes and
Elyssa finally replied.
"To get away from you!
To save you from my unwanted presence."

Hating how he'd hurt her, Daniel's grip
softened a bit, though he refused to completely release his grip. The look of
repentance in his eyes threatened to shatter Elyssa's resolve and she looked
away. Grasping her chin, Daniel forced her to look at him. His soft urgent
words tore at her resolution and Elyssa despised him for her weakness.

"Don't go, darling. Your presence
is anything but unwanted." He managed to wrest the bags from her hands,
tossing them aside out of reach. She cried out and Daniel forced her hand over
his heart. "Don't leave,"
came
the urgent
heartfelt request. "I need to have you here with me."

Elyssa laughed mockingly in rebuke of
the flimsy words he'd most likely plied countless other women with. She had
learned her lesson quite thoroughly and was in no need of further ridicule.
Grasping her fully against him, Daniel heard Elyssa's soft cry of protest
against his chest.

"I am so sorry," he said
earnestly. "So sorry I left without a word, darling. I was completely
asinine to leave."

Her quiet agreement made Daniel chuckle
and he continued as he stroked her hair, "I've never told a woman that I
love her, Elyssa. Perhaps it is because I don't know what love is really. But
you are the first woman to make me feel whole.
That my life
is complete with you.
For the first time in my
miserable existence."
Daniel felt the hot dampness of her tears
through his shirt, felt the quaking in her chest from muffled crying, and
cradled her even more tightly. "I need you, Elyssa. Please say you will
marry me." She stilled immediately, not certain she'd heard him correctly.
Daniel laughed and repeated himself, looking in her eyes so he could see her
true reaction, no matter what words she spoke. "Be my wife, Elyssa.
Please.
Save me from myself, darling."

Smiling tremulously, Elyssa undeserving of g">CHAPTER asked,
"What about protocol, Daniel? I am still officially in mourning."

"Damn the mourning period, darling,
and all the hideous black clothing. I much prefer you in bright colors and
brilliant diamonds." He could see the reluctance in her eyes. She was
frightened of going against society. Perhaps scared of going into a marriage
with a heretofore rake. God knows she hadn't experienced anything good in her
brief marriage to Percy.

But whatever the cause for her
reluctance, Daniel knew she still loved him, and that alone was reason enough
to fight against any forces, seen or unseen. She was on the verge of saying
yes, and Daniel meant to give Elyssa no chance to refuse his shocking request
of marriage. He gathered Elyssa into his arms for a sweetly urgent kiss,
bending her back further in his arms as the kiss deepened.

Once he leisurely finished his amorous
assault on her mouth, Daniel held her hands while gallantly dropping to one
knee, his voice deep and sure.
"Elyssa.
Darling.
Have my children and grow old with me." Elyssa
reached out her fingers to touch his pitch black tresses, her hands trailing
down to lovingly caress the strong jaw and warm lips that she so loved.
Daniel's dark eyes continued staring at her, anxiously awaiting her reply.

Elyssa's choked cry preceded an adamant
"yes, oh yes!", and Daniel laughed in sheer elation as he grabbed her
down into his arms, the thought that everything he wanted and needed was
finally within grasp.

  to prevent him
from m smile

CHAPTER 12

Blake Edmonton was pleasantly surprised
to see his good friend enter the dining room early the next morning.
"Daniel, old man, what a nice surprise.
Haven't seen you since you took up residence at Greystone
again."
Flashing a brief smile, Daniel declined Blake's offer to
have some breakfast, though he did pull out a chair and sit across from his
childhood friend. "In fact," Blake continued, "it's a bloody
wonder you're up this early. I would have imagined you lying in some delectable
strumpet's bed at this hour. Has coming back to London changed you so much
then?"

Expelling a breath, Daniel replied, “You
have no idea.”

Raising a curious eyebrow, Blake urged,
"Do tell. I sense it has something to do with a lady, am I right?"

Daniel shook his head, laughing in
reply. Ever since Daniel could remember, it had always had something to do with
a female, whatever their problems or rewards.

"Well, to be honest, it does have
to do with a certain lady," Daniel acceded.

"Does she have a sister?"
came
the rakish reply.