The Honorable Governess (False Rumors #4)

Chapter Eighteen

S ara awoke to a crackling fire and a blanket thrown over her. In her muddled state of wakefulness, she neglected to notice she wasn’t alone. She sat up and glanced around the cottage, and to her horror, she noticed Lord and Lady Roselli had made themselves at home. They sat across from her with a pot of tea in between them on a stand.

“Ahh, look, my dear, our daughter has risen from her nap,” Lord Roselli drawled.

“I see, my darling. However, she still looks a bit peaked.” Lady Roselli sipped at her tea.

“Then perhaps you should offer her some relief. She must be parched after her long carriage ride. After all, you are playing hostess of this lovely cottage.”

Sara bristled at Lord Roselli’s sarcasm. She refused to refer to him as her father. Silence was her weapon of choice. She wouldn’t give them any ammunition to strike against her. She refused to ask them why they terrorized her because they would only spew lies to defend their actions.

It didn’t even matter. She’d had her grandmother’s love growing up and got to experience the greatest love with Ian. Not to mention, Mairi gifted her with the love of a child. Even her friends offered her the love of a sister with their friendship. Lord and Lady Roselli’s vendetta would fail once they realized she didn’t care about them. Her feelings didn’t differ from the treatment she received from them since her birth.

“Well, I must be. Our daughter has disappointed us with her ungracious manners. And to believe she is a duchess, no less,” Lady Roselli murmured while pouring Sara a cup of tea.

Sara sat up straight with her hands in her lap. She wouldn’t allow them to belittle her with their petty comments. Somerville had shown her that her confidence was her greatest weapon, and she would use it to defend herself against them. Being a parent now, she couldn’t believe the travesty against her to have these degenerate souls as her parents.

“Drink the tea your mother prepared for you,” Lord Roselli ordered.

The cup remained untouched, and her defiance rang clear. However, her disobedience struck a nerve with Lord Roselli. He pounded his fist on the table. His fury rattled her to pick up the cup. However, she refused to drink the tea.

“Now,” his thunderous tone demanded.

Sara lifted the cup to her mouth and swallowed the bitter liquid. When she lowered the cup to the table, the victorious smile Lord Roselli gave her sent a shiver racing along her spine. It was then that Sara realized she was at their mercy, no matter how brave she pretended to be.

Lord Roselli inclined his head. “Thank you.”

Sara stayed quiet, her thoughts racing at how she could escape from their clutches. Even though they hadn’t tied her up, she was at a disadvantage to protect herself. Her only option was to cause conflict between them. She thought to plea to Lady Roselli’s motherly instincts. Until she remembered the lady had ordered Sara’s grandmother to dispose of Sara after she gave birth. They’d spent Sara’s lifetime covering their tracks. She would find no success in dissuading either of them.

Lord Roselli folded his hands and pressed his fingers against his lips as he observed her. “My darling Sara. We have a dilemma that needs resolved with undo haste.” He turned to glare at his wife. “One my wife should have resolved years ago.” He focused his attention back on Sara. “However, now it is a necessity. You must understand how it is nothing personal. However, we cannot have you converting around in society. You draw too much attention to a past we have kept hidden from our peers. Your appearance last year placed us in a dilemma we cannot be in. Our only option is your death.”

“I am leaving England and Scotland. You have nothing to worry about,” Sara interrupted.

Lady Roselli placed her hand over her heart. “Oh, dear, ‘tis never that simple. The duke will not allow you to disappear without a fight. His search will become relentless to return you to his side.”

Sara shook her head. “I will write him a letter to convince him otherwise.”

“If only it were as straightforward as you propose. However, his actions have already proven otherwise. Now we must decide. Should we end your life now or wait for Somerville’s arrival so he can perish along with you?” Lord Roselli mused.

“No!”

Lord Roselli shook his head at Sara’s display of anguish. “You have no choice in this decision. However, my wife explained why we must keep the duke alive. We are doing him a service by killing you. Especially since his duchess stated her deceit for all the ton to hear. No one would question your death. But if we killed the duke, it would place us under the ton’s scrutiny. Somerville’s influential friends would make it their mission to pin his death on us. Your fiery death in a cottage would draw sympathy to the duke. Until he became the primary suspect in your death to hide his shame of making you his duchess.”

Lady Roselli clapped her hands. “You are brilliant as always, my love.” She smiled at Sara as if they were discussing fabric for a new dress. “A fire was how we rid ourselves of his first wife.”

“Ah, yes, the tragic death of my first wife gave me the brilliant idea.”

Sara had sworn she wouldn’t ask them the reason for their cruelty, but she needed to understand the depth of their depravity if she had any chance of escaping. “Why?”

“Simple, my dear. We never wanted you. When your grandmother defied your mother’s request, it left an unwanted obstacle in our path. We thought we were in the clear when my first wife’s death didn’t draw any speculation about our affair. However, our circle of friends learned about your mother’s unwanted pregnancy. So your mother left to quiet the rumors. In the meantime, my wife died in a tragic fire at our estate. Your mother was to end her pregnancy. However, I learned of her deception when I had her followed. When your grandmother escaped with you, we made the mistake of letting her leave. We thought she would stay hidden and keep our secret of who your parents were. So your mother returned to London, sympathetic to the death of my wife, and soon society accepted her into their fold.”

Lord Roselli paused as he rose from his seat. “We never planned for your grandmother’s death. Your arrival in London caught us by surprise. We thought your banishment to Scotland would solve our problems. But your association with those other social climbers made us realize your demise was our only saving grace. Threatening your friends was useless. Our only option was to destroy you instead. If you cannot understand our predicament, ‘tis simple. Anyone who crosses our path will find their demise at our hands.”

Sara stared at them. “Have you no kindness in your souls?”

Lady Roselli cackled. “Kindness is for fools. If you have not realized, life is not kind, my dear. It will not offer you the salvation you so desire. Life is about taking care of oneself.”

It was difficult to understand how these two individuals were her parents. They didn’t even deserve the title. They were the devil and his mistress in disguise. Sara hoped Ian would strike his vengeance and see them destroyed. They would meet their maker one day and get what they deserved.

A chill overtook Sara, and she wrapped herself in the blanket. She lifted her head when Lord and Lady Roselli pulled on their coats. But her eyes grew heavy, and she fought to keep them open. Even then, she had trouble seeing them through her blurry vision. She raised her hand to wipe her eyes but to no avail. The couple doubled before her.

“It would appear the sleeping potion has taken effect. Do not fight it. We are not cruel. We have no wish for you to suffer through the fire that will claim your life. You will not feel a thing as the flames lick away at your body,” Lord Roselli explained.

Lady Roselli tugged on her gloves. “Contrary to our actions, it has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear Sara.”

Sara closed her eyes and mumbled an incoherent response. She couldn’t return the sentiment. Nor could she fight her fate. They had taken that option away from her. She didn’t want to focus her last thought on them. She wanted to remember Ian’s loving smile as he wrapped her in his embrace, kissing her with the passion they shared. And Mairi’s sweet voice calling her Momma as they held hands and read a story. She fell back against the cushions, unable to save herself.

Her life was but a memory.

IAN CLUTCHED SARA’S hand, praying for her to awaken. It had been two days since he rescued her from the fire at her grandmother’s cottage. The doctor explained the trauma she’d suffered kept her in a deep sleep. However, he worried it was something more tragic than that. He feared she would never recover from the effects of the smoke. He refused to leave her side in case she met her demise.

Ian raged at the injustice his wife suffered at the hands of her selfish parents. But they had met their demise in their attempt to escape their cruelty. Their deaths in a carriage accident was a blessing. However, the nightmare continued with Sara’s injuries. If only she would wake and smile at him. Only then would everything be all right.

He kissed her knuckles. “You are safe, my love.”

The horror he’d met when he arrived in Fordwich still plagued him every second she never returned to him. He’d thought he’d lost her as flames licked at the cottage. Without his friends’ help, he would’ve lost Sara forever. Lockhart and Courtland had kicked the door down, while Hepburn had doused their clothing with water from the pump and helped him search for Sara. They’d found her on the settee, wrapped in a blanket. Ian had lifted her and carried her to safety. Her labored breathing had been a welcomed sign of her survival.

The local physician had checked her over and informed him the smoke she’d inhaled might cause her death. He had no remedy to offer, other than to make Sara comfortable. Only time would be their answer. He’d raced her back to London for another opinion, only for his physicians to tell him the same. His frustration mounted every second she never awakened. The only justice was when his friends delivered the news of Lord and Lady Rosellis’ deaths. Sara was now free from their terror.

He slid beneath the sheets and gathered Sara into his arms. Like the past two nights, he hoped his warmth would revive her. He fought against falling asleep, but exhaustion took hold. Ian tightened his embrace to hold Sara closer while he succumbed to sleep.

He prayed their nightmare would end when he awoke.

SARA STRUGGLED TO LIFT her eyelids. Nor did she wish for her dream to end with Ian holding her close to his heart. However, the terror of what awaited her had her wrenching from the hold that kept her asleep. She jolted to a sitting position, struggling to catch her breath as her gaze darted around. The familiar sight of the bedchamber she shared with Ian greeted her, along with the faint light of the sun shining through the windows.

The last thing she remembered was her parents laughing in delight at her imminent death. Terror shook her frame as flashes of their cruelty demanded her attention. They meant for her to die in a fire, the same fate her father’s first wife had met. A lady who was an innocent victim married to a degenerate who cared less about her welfare. The same treatment Sara had endured at her parents’ selfish expense.

As Sara calmed down, she realized she hadn’t been dreaming. Ian had held her in a loving embrace. Her dear husband appeared distressed, if his appearance reflected his agony. Guilt racked her for how she had left him. She’d never meant to cause him any suffering. His love for her was greater than anything she had ever imagined.

He lay on the pillow facing her with a few days’ worth of whiskers. He was never one to leave their bedchamber without a shave. His hair lay in a tousled mess, and he slept in his clothes.

Sara placed her hand on his cheek and whispered, “Ian?”

Ian jerked awake at Sara’s scratchy voice. “Sara!”

Sara rubbed her throat. “What happened?”

He pulled her close, unable to answer her. The shock of seeing her awake overwhelmed him. Tears streamed down his face. He kissed the top of her head and then showered her face with kisses. “Do not speak, my love. Your throat needs to heal from the smoke you inhaled.”

“The fire,” Sara squeaked.

“Yes.”

Ian’s tears prompted her own to fall as Sara realized how precious the love they’d almost lost was. “My hero.”

Ian shook his head in refusal. He played no hero, only a husband who was desperate to save the woman he loved. However, he had failed on all accounts to keep her safe. If he had been vigilant in Sara’s protection, then he never would’ve had to rescue her from a fiery cottage.

Sara noticed how Ian blamed himself for the predicament he’d rescued her from. “Not your fault.”

“Shh, rest, my love. We will talk once you have recovered.”

Ian pressed Sara’s head against his chest. He couldn’t bear to stare into her eyes and know she considered him a hero, not while he fought the guilt of placing her in danger. As her husband he only wanted to show Sara how much he treasured her. However, he’d failed. Because of her insecurities and how she doubted the depth of his love, she’d run away to protect him, when he should’ve been the one protecting her.

His hand coasted along her hair in a soothing gesture of affection. Soon, her grip on his shirt loosened as she fell back asleep. He must come to terms with his guilt if their marriage had any chance to survive. Sara deserved a husband worthy of her love.

A gentleman he hoped to be one day.