Stranger in My Arms(96)

Lara retrieved her candle and crept from the nursery, going to her own room. It seemed very empty, even with the maids busily unpacking her belongings and turning back the covers on the bed. When they had finally departed, she changed into her nightgown and left her clothes in a heap on the floor. After extinguishing the lamps, she crawled into bed and lay on her back, staring blindly through the darkness.

Her hand smoothed the empty space beside her.

She had lain with two different men in this bed, one out of duty, one out of passion.

Lara knew in her heart that Hunter did not intend to come back to her.

He meant to atone for the wrongs he had done her. He had believed her when she told him that she could not lie for him the rest of her life. He thought it would be easier, better for her, if he disappeared once again.

The reality was, she loved him too much to let him go. She wanted him as her husband, regardless of what the world might think. She loved him far more than propriety and duty and even honor.

She fell into a turbulent sleep, her head filled with disquieting images. In her dreams the people she loved were walking away from her, not seeming to see or hear her. She ran after the shadowy figures, pleading, pulling at them, but they were impervious to her cries. One by one they began to vanish, until only Hunter was left… and then he, too, faded.

“No,” she cried, searching frantically for him, noooo…

A scream tore through the silent house.

Lara sat upright, her heart thudding. At first she thought the cry might have been her own, but as she listened intently, she heard it again.

“Rachel,” she breathed, and sprang from bed, galvanized into action by the sound of her sister’s muffled cries. She ran from the room in her bare feet, not bothering with slippers or a robe. As she reached the top of the grand staircase, she saw a man halfway down the stairs, tugging and dragging Rachel along with him: One of his fists was tangled in her long braid, while the other was clamped around her arm.

“No, Terrell, please,” Rachel said, fighting him every step of the way.

He hurled her forward, sending her tumbling down three or four steps until she collapsed in a heap on the first landing.

Lara let out a shriek of alarm. Lonsdale… She hadn’t expected he would dare to come in the middle of the night and snatch Rachel from her bed. He was flushed from drink and self-righteous rage. A sneer twisted his mouth as he looked upward and saw Lara.

“I’m taking back what’s mine,” he said in a slurred voice. “I’ll teach you to cross me! You’ll never see my wife again. If I ever find the two of you together, I’ll kill the both of you.” He grabbed Rachel by the hair and hauled her to her feet, seeming to relish her sob of pain.

“You thought you could get away from me,” he snarled. “But I own you, and I’ll break and bend you to my will, you faithless bitch. The first lesson starts tonight” Weeping violently, Rachel looked up at Lara.

“Don’t let him take me, Larissa!”

Lara charged after the pair as Lonsdale continued to haul her sister away. “Don’t you touch her,” she cried, her bare feet flying down the stairs until she reached them. She took hold of Lonsdale’s arm and tugged wildly. “Let go of her, or I’ll kill you!”

“You’ll do what?” he asked with an ugly laugh, and flung her away with frightening ease. The force of his arm threw her back to the landing.

The back of her head struck the wall with a sharp crack. For a moment the world tipped sideways, and her mind was covered in a thick gray cloud. Blinking hard, she raised her hands to her head, becoming aware of an annoying, piercing ringing that wouldn’t abate. Beneath the deafening sound, she heard Rachel’s distant pleas.

Struggling to a sitting position, Lara realized that Lonsdale was dragging her sister across the great hall, while Rachel stumbled and sobbed beside him.

Despite her physical weakness, Rachel fought valiantly, pulling hard at her captured arm. Annoyed by her resistance, Lonsdale hit her on the head with some object in his hand. Rachel staggered and nearly collapsed. She moaned in pain and followed him docilely, her entire body shuddering.

The servants had been awakened by the furor. A few of them appeared in the hall, staring at the spectacle in disbelief.

“Stop him!” Lara cried, gripping the balustrade and lurching to her feet. “Don’t let them leave!”

But none of the servants moved, and she suddenly realized why. The object in Lonsdale’s hand was a pistol. In his enraged condition, he wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

“Open the doors,” Lonsdale snapped, gesturing to a footman with the weapon. “Now!”

The footman hastened to comply. He darted to the entrance way, fumbled with the door handles, and sent the heavy portals swinging gently outward.

To everyone’s startlement, a high-pitched voice echoed through the great hall. “Stop!”

Lara’s gaze switched to the top of the stairs, where Johnny stood in his little white nightshirt, his dark hair ruffled all about his head.

He held a toy pistol in his hand, the one that could be loaded with a harmless gunpowder cap.

“I’ll shoot you!” the boy shouted, pointing the pistol at Lonsdale.

Reflexively Lonsdale lifted his own weapon and took aim at the small figure.

“Don’t!” Lara screeched to Lonsdale. “It’s only a toy!”