Heart of Darkness (34 page)

Shaking off her melancholia was far more
difficult than it should have been, but a part of her, felt
desolate yet the other was determined not to concede defeat by
allowing the man downstairs to believe that he had broken her. She
had survived much worse than this and now, she would only be
stronger.

Quickly, she rinsed herself off and used a
sheet with which to dry herself. Swiftly, not liking to be naked
for too long, she hurriedly dressed in a robe that the maid had
left earlier and once again, it had to be Jaegar's mother's dress.
Isabeau smiled as she arranged it on her torso. A few years ago,
although she hadn't been a snob, neither had she been used to
hand-me-downs!

How the mighty are fallen! she thought with a
wry, self-deprecating grin.

When a knock tolled from the door, she
grimaced and called out, “Who is it?”

“Excuse me, ma'am, but the Master would like
to speak with you.”

Isabeau pursed her lips and considered the
maid's words. Why did he want to see her? What did he want to speak
to her about now?

Deciding to take the bull by the horns, she
grunted inelegantly as she moved the dressing table away from the
door. With a soughing breath, she inhaled deeply and then composed
herself, before opening the aperture.

“Would you lead the way, please?” she asked
the maid politely and was answered with a nod and another bobbed
curtsy.

Isabeau was led down the corridor, along the
central, arterial staircase and then returned to Jaegar's study
once more. She had to admit that her change of clothing had grandly
improved her self-esteem and as she walked into what was most
definitely Jaegar's domain, Isabeau took a seat on one of the two
wooden chairs that were directly in front of his desk and raised a
questioning brow at him.

“You wanted to speak to me?”

“I wanted to explain the ritual to you.”

Tapping her fingers against the armrest, she
murmured, “What kind of ritual are you speaking about?”

“Why, our marriage ritual, of course.”

“It takes months to arrange a wedding,
Jaegar. There seems little point in discussing something that can't
occur...”

He interrupted with a held up hand and a
swift word. “We're not talking about a society wedding, Isabeau.
This is a Sidhe wedding.”

Frowning, she stared blankly, “A Sidhe
wedding?”

“Yes. No vicar, or church service required. A
chapel and a man and a woman is all that is needed.”

Isabeau actually felt her face drop. She'd
banked on a wedding taking months to arrange and within that space
of time, Wolfe would be able to snatch her back from Jaegar's
hold.

“When?” she squeaked, far too shocked to have
control over her voice.

“I was thinking tomorrow night. A Sidhe
ritual is more binding at the setting of the sun.”

“Binding?” Her eyes rounded in horror at the
speed in which this was all happening. The words he used were also
very threatening to her. It wasn't that he was speaking with
menace, but the selection of his word choice had her almost quaking
in her boots. Binding, ritual...they were enough to have her heart
pumping uncomfortably fast.

“Yes. Upon a Sidhe's birth, the parents
bestow upon the child a ring. Not unlike your own, although it's
not a magick-channeler. It's to bind a Sidhe to another. ”

“It's too soon, Jaegar. I can't marry you so
quickly. I thought there would be time to...” she floundered for
words.

What could she say? Time to escape?

It seemed her thoughts were running along the
same line as his, for he shot her a wry look and said, “To inveigle
your way out of binding with me? I think not, Isabeau. In a perfect
world, there would be hundreds of Sidhes of the light and each
would be a ring bearer, then I could leave you to Wolfe and you
could be happy in your so-called love. But the reality is that in
the last thirty years, you are the last ring bearer to be born with
the ability to channel power.”

“But tomorrow? It's so soon!”

“Yes. But for me, my dear, tisn't soon
enough!”

Her lips and mouth felt as dry as a bone and
with a scratching voice, she replied, “What does the ritual consist
of, then?”

“I'm pleased to see that you have come around
to my way of thinking.” He smiled with satisfaction. “I've never
been married, Isabeau, so I cannot say that I will be a good
husband, but at least I'm willing to try and give you a semblance
of respectability. Which is more than Wolfe offered you, is it not?
If you're pregnant then I'm afraid we shall have to abort the
child. My past is shameful enough without me having to raise your
bastard as my own.”

That was all she needed for her feelings of
confusion and fear to manifest itself into a more physical sense of
urgency. “Water closet?” she gasped and held a hand to her
mouth.

He jumped to his feet and grabbed her before
rushing her out of the study, down the corridor and shoving her
into a room. She managed, only just, to not shame herself before
his eyes but subsequently emptied her stomach into the wash
bowl.

She clutched her belly and sank to her knees.
Closing her eyes, she shook her head against the fate he wanted her
to take. The thought of aborting her child, Wolfe's child was
abhorrent to her. Isabeau did not have an idea of whether or not
she was even pregnant! But the idea of it was just so...She could
not even think of it.

A knock sounded at the door and she wanted to
ignore it, but knew that he or the maid he'd more than likely sent
in his stead would simply barge in and disturb her privacy
regardless of whether or not she wanted them to enter!

“I'm fine. Could you bring something to
settle my stomach please?” she called out, her voice more husky
than normal. She slowly climbed to her feet, feeling as though the
last twenty minute interview with Jaegar had added decades to her
age!

When Isabeau had steadied herself, she walked
to the door and opened it. Facing Jaegar down, she glared at him
and spat, “No, I'm not pregnant--at least, I do not think I am! But
I find your suggestion despicable!”

His eyes scanned over her tense visage and
she pursed her lips as he simply shrugged at her words, as though
dismissing them entirely. He reached for her arm and slowly
returned to the door of his study. Jaegar seated her, before taking
his place behind the desk.

When a knock sounded at the door and a butler
walked in with a tray, Isabeau accepted the small balloon glass of
brandy and inelegantly, knocked it back. She tensed so as to
prevent herself from coughing but felt the burning of the liqueur
as it settled her stomach and realized that warm honey had been
added to the alcohol.

The butler departed with a low bow and as
soon as the door closed, Jaegar said, “Despicable it may be, but it
is what I want.”

She ducked her head but glared mutinously at
his desk. Isabeau inwardly declared war at his resolute reply and
vowed that she would rather die than abort Wolfe's child.

Chapter Fourteen

Barreling the door down, Wolfe ran into
Gerard's office and gritted out, “The bastard has her, Gerard.”

Completely out of breath by now, Wolfe bent
over and rested his hands on his knees and sucked in some precious
air. He'd had to run the five miles back to the castle and would
still have been running had he not summoned a nearby and out to
pasture horse to aid him.

The other man immediately jumped to his feet.
“How? When?”

Wolfe shook his head, latent fury on his face
as he recalled his own stupidity in leading Isabeau into the depths
of the woods. He'd been so certain that Jaegar wouldn't even
attempt to enter his land.

That arrogance had and would cost him
dearly.

It killed him that he'd led Isabeau into his
nemesis' hands. Ever since they'd escaped the Milesians' clutches
by overpowering them with their gifts, their relationship had
changed. Gerard and Wolfe, who were of similar age, had seemingly
treaded their way down one path and Jaegar had completely
segregated himself from them.

For almost a decade, they'd been trapped in
that hellish prison. Jaegar, the eldest, had been the one to craft
the plan but had had to wait for Wolfe and Gerard to grow and come
into their powers before he could implement it.

For ten years they'd been together, been on
the same side and fought against their mutual enemy, when Jaegar
had suddenly separated himself from both Gerard and Wolfe, it had
hit them both hard.

Then had followed another fifteen years of
mindless, unnecessary bickering between the two of them, which
culminated in this. Isabeau's abduction.

“This evening. I led her to the woods. Jaegar
was there and he took us both. Isabeau bargained for my release
upon promising to wed him! We have to stop it, Gerard.”

“Naturally. But what do you want to do?
Jaegar will have covered every opportunity to cause mischief and
will stop us in our tracks.”

“I know, but we can't just give up, man!
There has to be something.”

“What about getting one of the Griffins on
your side? They're cunning creatures and they're on your side!”

He shook his head. “I wish it were possible,
but it isn't. If they leave the grounds then they could be in
danger and while I'm willing to do practically anything to get
Isabeau back here, I can't put one of the few Griffins alive in
danger, when their help would be of no aid to us at all.”

“Did you see how many men were on his land,
then?”

“No, damn it. I tried but I was lucky to even
be let free. Time is on our side. If Jaegar wishes to go through
with this farce of a wedding then he'll attempt to do so at sunset
tomorrow. That's the only time a Sidhe can take power from the
setting sun and the rising moon. He'll need it and every ounce of
his power to try and bind her to him.”

“I thought you said she was your mate?”
Gerard asked with a frown.

Wolfe lifted his hand and scrubbed the back
of his neck with it. “She is.”

“Then no amount of power can reverse that,
surely?”

“No. But we're not bound. With power from the
Earth, he can force a binding.”

“Against her will!”

“It depends on a few factors and I have no
idea whether those variables are in his favor or mine. He's damned
powerful and you know what Sidhes are like. They gain power as they
age. He's not only older than me but can manipulate air. The ring
Isabeau wears, well, it should scorch his skin. But can he use air
to cushion that burn? Perhaps protect himself from its damage?” he
said to the room at large. Stalking over to the drinks table, he
poured himself a brandy and felt the burn as it scorched its path
down his throat.

“Sidhe magic can't be used in that fashion,”
Gerard denied blankly.

“He must have some clue as to how he can
force it, otherwise why try?”

“Wolfe, you're forgetting that he doesn't
know you're her mate! You were seeking Isabeau – or more
specifically the ring bearer – for the legend and the fact that she
can offset what the Milesians did to you. We don't actually know
why Jaegar wants her.”

“I always just assumed that he wanted the
ring bearer for the same reason as I did,” Wolfe inserted with a
frown.

“Since when has Jaegar done anything in the
way we expected?”

“I know, but nothing else makes sense.”

“Jaegar has a severe superiority complex and
is sensitive to his past. More than likely, he wants merely to be
bound to the ring bearer for the prestige it brings. She's one of
the most powerful Sidhes on the Earth, Wolfe. Don't forget that. In
his case, being joined with her, offsets the shame your father
placed on his name by casting aspersions on his paternity!”

“And if I have her, and join with her, then
not only do I have what he considers his as father's eldest child,
but I have the power of the ring bearer for my own and under a name
he probably detests.”

“Exactly. You two have been involved in far
too many squabbles that you've lost sight of who and what makes the
other function. Look, we need to go in with force. How many men
took you?”

“Twelve,” Wolfe replied after thinking about
Gerard's question.

“Then he'll more than likely have at least
two times that on guard.”

“All right then, we shall go with thirty six.
Call them and arrange for them to be ready within the hour. We can
camp in the outer wood just off Jaegar's property. It's dark in
there and we should be safe until tomorrow.”

“Pistols or swords?”

Wolfe shot him a look. “Both. We take
whatever we can to beat Jaegar and crush him into the dirt. If
he's...if he has raped her, then I
will
kill him Gerard. And feel no pain or shame.”
He finished by holding a hand up as though to stave off Gerard's
reply.

“If he's raped her, Wolfe, then I will help
you.”