Dare to be Mine (27 page)

A hearty slap on the back from Blake
brought Daniel back to reality. Laughing aloud at the irritated look on
Daniel's face, Blake said, "My God, you're pathetic. I wouldn't trade
places with you for the world."

"Thank you for the friendly words
of encouragement," Daniel replied dryly.

"Hell, you just returned to England
and already I've lost my newest gambling partner. Now who will go to White's
with me?"

"I'll still go, you ass. Elyssa
won't have me chained to a post, you know."

"Not yet, but give it a little
time." Blake pulled out a thin cheroot and lit it. He offered one to
Daniel, but he declined. Blake then pulled out a flask from his jacket and
before he could extend it in offering, Daniel grabbed it and took a long swig
of the aged whiskey.

"Have some?" Blake asked sarcastically.

Shoving the flask back into Blake's hand
a moment later, Daniel murmured, "Where the hell is she, Blake?"

"Elyssa will show. Hell, she's
probably here already. Stop worrying!"

Pacing the floor of the small room,
Daniel shoved his hands in his pockets. "It's all just so strange. She
left the ball early and I haven't heard a word since."

"You know women, Daniel. She
probably just wanted you to look forward to seeing her today. Damn, I can't
believe this day has come. Lord Daniel Fredrickson, jaded rogue, tossing his
happiness away to be shackled to one woman." He continued through Daniel's
nervous laughter at his less than complimentary description.
"The
same woman.
Day after day.
Night
after bloody night.
No variety. No freedom."

"You can stop anytime, you
know," Daniel cut in. "You're starting to bloody well depress
me."

"Sorry, old chap. I just thought
that as the best man I should be giving you some kind of philosophical
advice."

"Aristotle you're not," Daniel
said, taking another peek out the door.
Still no sign of
Elyssa.

"Well, how's this? Get her
pregnant, get a mistress, and if all else fails, get a divorce."

"Get the fuck out." drank in the sighted to ">CHAPTER

"What did I say?" Blake
laughed as Daniel opened the door and ordered his closest friend out. "I
was just trying to lighten the mood."

"Get out," Daniel repeated.
Blake finally left, assuring Daniel he'd be waiting at the front of the church
once the noon hour struck. Daniel was near to laughter himself once the door
closed, but he felt Blake would drive him mad with his wretched words of advice
on marriage did he not leave the room.

At precisely twelve o'clock, Daniel
checked his reflection in the mirror before heading toward the altar to meet
his bride. He was adorned in all black but for the pristine white shirt beneath
his jacket. The bud of a small white rose adorned his jacket, Elyssa's favorite
flower. His hair was pulled back neatly, his face clean shaven. He hoped Elyssa
would approve of his appearance, and the unfamiliar stirring of nervousness
attacked once more as Daniel's fingers reached for the door knob.

Daniel flashed a quick smile toward the
guests as he joined the minister and Blake at the altar. He barely noticed the
gloriously decorated sanctuary. He saw Elyssa's family seated in the front pew,
noted her mother's worried look and wondered if his own expression mirrored
hers. Elyssa should be here by this time, waiting to walk the aisle with her
father, who stood nervously alone at the rear of the church. It was now ten
past twelve and Daniel was beginning to get a sick feeling in the pit of his
stomach.

Something was wrong. He prayed Elyssa
had not met with danger on the way to the church. If she'd been hurt in any
way, he would have the driver's head.

A clearly upset Annie rushed out of a
side door a moment later, frantically motioning for Daniel. He walked quickly
over to Elyssa's maid, rushing her out of sight from any guests that might have
noticed her entrance. "What is it?" Daniel asked urgently, grabbing
Annie by the arms.

"Lord Fredrickson, I am afraid Lady
Elyssa isn’t coming!"

"What the hell are you talking
about?" he responded, a dread seizing about his heart.

"She was in an awful way yesterday,
crying and throwing things. She forced poor Will to take her to the docks, I just
found out. Left this brief note for you, she did." drank in the sighted to ">CHAPTER

Daniel snatched the wrinkled missive
from Annie's hand, his eyes devouring the hastily scrawled words.

Daniel, I cannot
marry you.

Elyssa

Daniel reread the cold, unfeeling note.
The stark feelings of abject misery slowly gave way to a seething rage within.
Elyssa had given no reason. No logic for her decision to leave him at the
altar. A short bitter laugh escaped his lips and Daniel's hands balled into
fists. How ironic that the object of countless mamas hoping to get Lord Daniel
Fredrickson to the altar had finally succumbed to the bloody sanctity of
marriage, and was being jilted in the process.

Annie quickly stepped back, afraid he
might decide to take the bad news out on her. She felt sorry for the young
lord, she did,
looking
so fine it would melt a girl's
heart. However could Lady Elyssa desert such a handsome, kind man who'd gone to
so much trouble for a grand wedding? He was obviously in love. And she was
surely the only person ever to see the hint of tears welling up in Lord
Fredrickson's eyes. No one would ever believe her, nor would she betray his
vulnerable moment to anyone.

Daniel angrily brushed the tear that
threatened to fall, angry at himself for his weakness. He'd been duped, for
whatever reason.
And in front of hundreds of guests, no less.
Elyssa had gotten her revenge.
But for what reason?
What had he done?

Blake's concerned look went unnoticed by
Daniel and the minister stepped toward him to ask when the ceremony would
begin.

"There is not going to be a
wedding," he told the minister. Turning toward the guests, Daniel
announced in a loud voice, "Thank you for coming today, but there will be
no wedding."

The ripped up shreds of Elyssa's note
fell from Daniel's hands and he brusquely turned away from the s to keep herm smilehocked crowds
of people, quickly leaving by the back entrance before anyone could ask him
what had happened.

By the time the wedding coach arrived at
Greystone, Daniel had drank the bottle of chilled champagne and half of the
aged bottle of bourbon. He needed something stronger. Something so potent it
would wipe the absolute pain away. He needed a willing female body to erase the
remembrance of a slender ebony haired enchantress that had stolen his heart and
cold-heartedly trampled on it.

His cravat was long since torn off and
discarded on the carriage floor, his shirt halfway unbuttoned. The first place
Daniel headed after reaching Greystone was the stables. After searching around
for a moment, Daniel finally found
Will
rubbing down
one of the horses he'd been training.

Jerking the young man around, Daniel
slammed him against the wall, his hands going around Will's throat. The stable
hand's eyes widened in frightened shock and he could only assume that Lord
Fredrickson had discovered he'd taken Elyssa to the docks. What good would his
bonus do if he were dead? Already
Will
regretted his
decision to help Elyssa escape, though he had only been doing as ordered.

"Where is she?" came the
short, clipped question.

Will struggled to answer, but Daniel's
grip only tightened about his neck. Will's face turned red and he struggled to
loosen Daniel's hold. He repeated, "Where is Elyssa?"

"I don't know," Will managed
between coughing fits as he struggled to catch his breath. His voice escalated
as he saw Daniel draw a fist back to strike him. "I swear to you, milord,
I don't know! She wouldn't tell me."

Daniel's eyes were wild and he was nose
to nose with Will as he issued the threat, "If you are lying to me, I'll
kill you."

"It's the truth, sir! I am sorry. I
pleaded with her not to leave, but she would give me no information."

Succumbing to the bitterness of it all,
Daniel released Will and slowly slid down to his knees in disbelief. This was
to have been the happiest day of his life. Instead, it was the worst day
imaginable. Worse even than when his mother had deserted him in death, for at
least she'd not purposely left him. Elyssa he had fallen for, had planned to
spend the rest of his life with, and she'd dor an early morning ride. Hthiuped him for all to see.

Had she perhaps been someone from his
long ago past that he'd callously snubbed, and had planned this act of revenge
through the years? No, that was just the alcohol making him feel paranoid,
Daniel mused miserably. He stood up and left a bewildered Will in the stables,
grabbing a nearly full bottle of brandy he spotted on the way out. He slowly
made his way to the mansion. By the time he stepped inside, Daniel was starting
to feel a bit better.
Numb and indifferent.

He went through the mansion, calling out
Elyssa's name. Only silence met him.
A gloomy, dreary hush.
His unsteady steps ascended the staircase, the servants careful to stay out of
sight, for they'd heard all too well about the infamous lord's quick temper
when he set himself to drinking.

"Elyssa!" he roared, shoving
each bedroom door open as he passed by, glancing in but seeing no one. Finally
he reached her bedroom door, kicking it in with all his might though it was
already unlocked. Stepping inside, Daniel looked about at the mess. He noticed some
of Elyssa's new gowns were gone, but for the most part, she had left everything
he'd bought her.

His eyes squinted as Daniel saw the wad
of shimmering papers lying on the floor and thought surely he must be drunker
than he believed. Walking across the room, Daniel knelt and picked up the
wrinkled parchment. His heart turned at the sight of the diamond necklace he'd
given Elyssa, wrapped about the crinkled pages.
Smoothing the
edges of the official papers, Daniel's eyes widened in shock.
It was
Percy's updated will indicating Elyssa was in fact the heiress of Greystone and
all of Percy's worldly belongings.

She'd found it. Elyssa had discovered
his secret. That was why she left him at the church altar, why she had deserted
their marriage. She found out he'd
lied
by not telling
her the news.

And now the important question. Had
Elyssa called off the wedding because she didn't want to share in the
inheritance, or was it because he'd been dishonest with her? But of course he
knew the answer already. Elyssa must have felt crushed when she found the will.
Women were annoyingly sensitive about matters of complete honesty and trust.

He had to find Elyssa. Find her and
explain things. He hadn't meant to steal anything from her. Hell, he didn't know
what he had been thinking. For all he knew, the will might have just been a
convenient excuse to marry Elyssa with all haste, no matter the impropriety of
the circumstances. If he could just tell her that, make her see that he had
indeed planned to reveal the the notorious g">CHAPTER
truth,
perhaps everything
could be set right.

Daniel struggled to get up. He was going
to the docks and
investigate
. He would track Elyssa
down if it was the last thing he ever did. As he stood to his feet, Daniel's
head swam from the liquor imbibed and he slowly made his way to Elyssa's bed to
lie down.

He hugged the pillow close to him,
smelled her on it. He would just lie there for a few moments until the
dizziness passed. Then he would go to the docks and demand some answers. He'd
find her. He would.

CHAPTER ">
CHAPTER 16

1 year later

Icy mist swirled about the slowing
carriage. It promised to be a long winter. The lone form in the carriage
huddled deeper into the seat as a chill struck out of nowhere. The long trip was
finally over.

Greystone was still the most beautiful
mansion she’d ever seen. Only now it professed a stark loneliness. It was dark
and dreary, no life reflected in it. Such a magnificent home should have a
dozen children running its long halls, their precious smiles eager for the
coming Christmas when they would get goodies and gifts galore. Greystone had
never seen such a holiday, had never been host to galas that would warm
anyone's memories over the years.

That time had come though, and it was
now. With renewed confidence, the feminine boot stepped down onto the hard
ground, crunching against the thin layer of icy sleet. The full lips slowly
curved up
into a satisfied smiled and long tendrils
of
jet black hair fell about her shoulders as she disembarked from the carriage.