Chapter Eighteen #2
Colin’s jaw ticked as he crossed the floor towards her. “I shall not be escaping alone, foolish bitch. After you leave me in the stables, you shall return to the dining hall and lure your brother’s wife to the stable yard. I shall take care of her from there.”
Thia raised an eyebrow. “Abduct her? What about my brother?”
Colin thrust a finger at her. “That will rest on your shoulders, lady. You must convince your brother that you merely wish to speak to his wife on the pretense that you would end the hostilities between you. Being a loving brother, he shall trust you to a private conversation while he remains in the hall.”
Thia swallowed, knowing surely that all trust would be destroyed between her and Alec should she deceive him in such a fashion. If trust was lost, then there would be no hope of regaining the relationship they once shared before the introduction of his hated wife.
For the first time, she began to reconsider her reasons for being rid of Peyton. Were they really valid enough to warrant something as potent as murder? Mayhap, with time, they could learn to tolerate….
“Well?” Colin broke into her thoughts roughly. “Do you understand what you are to do?”
She fixed him with an uncertain gaze. “And if I refuse? I could run straight to Alec with your plans, you know. He’d surely kill you.”
The blue veins on Colin’s temples throbbed.
When he spoke, his tone was low and controlled.
“If you do, I shall tell Alec that you were responsible for Paul’s death.
I shall tell him that I personally witnessed you push Paul under the chargers hooves, and out of fear that my testimony would not be believed, I kept silent. ”
Thia’s eyes widened. “You would not dare! He would never believe you!”
“Are you willing to take the chance? With the animosity and brutality you have already displayed toward his wife, do you think Alec would believe you incapable of murder?”
Thia was beginning to quake with fear. “What do my actions towards his wife have to do with Paul’s death?”
Colin crossed his arms smugly. “You tried to kill his wife because she discovered your ‘secret’. What if Paul discovered the same mysteries, only did not have the fortune to escape your wrath? I could convince them of your barbarous act, Thia. Have no doubt.”
Her mouth opened in outrage. “It’s a bloody lie!”
Colin made a sweeping motion toward the door. “Take your chances, then. I invite you.”
Thia was shaken to the core. Unfortunately, Colin made sense and she was torn between refusing to help him abduct Peyton and following through simply to avoid the embarrassment and controversy that was sure to arise as a result of his libelous blackmail.
She turned away from him, her mind and soul being ripped in two by her indecision.
Thia was not evil; she was brash, aggressive and rude, but she was not a sinister character.
The desperation resulting from an unwanted betrothal was sucking her deeper and deeper into a bottomless hole; the further she sank, the harder it was to climb free.
Aye, she wanted to be rid of Peyton. The fact had already been established. But her conscience was gaining the upper hand against her will to be done with her brother’s wife, even as the force of self-preservation fought for control.
She did not want her secret to be known. As much as she regretted what she must do, she must preserve herself above all.
Thia was shaking when she turned to Colin once more. Her gaze was guarded. “I shall do as I agreed as long as you swear to me that there will be no marriage between us, and that you shall not leave a trace of my brother’s wife. He shall never know my part in this.”
Colin smiled faintly, thinking of simple Paul as he attempted to blackmail him with what he had overheard.
He could easily kill Thia as well; but, somehow, he rather liked the fact that they would share a dark secret between them.
It would make her far more receptive to his desires in the future, as she would hold the future baron’s ear.
“That is the bargain,” he said quietly, fixing her in the eye. “Now, my lady. You will get me out of here.”
*
Peyton was so drowsy she could barely keep her eyes open.
Pulled against Alec’s warm torso as he conversed with Edward and Brian, her head resting on his massive shoulder, it was all she could do to remain lucid.
But she was losing the struggle; Alec’s delicious heat combined with his deep, soothing voice had a hypnotic effect on her and she yawned more than once, trying desperately not to be rude.
She did not realize that Celine was well aware of her plight.
Alec’s mother rose from her chair and made her way to Alec and Peyton. A sharp nail tapped her son on the shoulder.
“You have been so busy chattering that you have failed to notice your wife’s exhaustion,” she chided softly. “Release her, Alec. I intend to put her to bed myself.”
Appalled at his lack of consideration, he faced his wife full of concern. “Are you well, sweetheart? I did not mean to ignore you.”
She smiled as Celine frowned. “You are a rude, insensitive man,” his mother admonished. “I shall deal with you after I have settled your wife.”
Peyton laughed softly. “Truly, my lady, Alec wasn’t being rude in the least. I am more comfortable in his arms than anywhere else.”
They smiled tenderly at each other as Celine practically lifted Peyton to her feet. “Come, dear. You belong in bed, resting.”
“She shall not be resting after I join her,” Alec mumbled into his cup.
Peyton giggled as Celine pinched her son on his rock-hard bicep. “Enough, Alec. I demand you leave your wife alone. You have done your duty; now allow her to complete hers unhindered.”
He laughed then; a loud, obnoxious snort. “Duty, did you say? I would hardly call it a duty. And if you think I am going to leave my wife alone for the next eight months, you are out of your….”
Celine slapped him on the shoulder this time, interrupting the conclusion of his sentence. Ali, seating on the other side of his wife, heard the statement and chuckled heartily, lifting his tankard in agreement to Alec’s assertion. The two men snickered and snorted as Celine grew more outraged.
“Louts, the both of you. I shall not have it,” she had Peyton by the arm, pulling her away from the table. “Come along, Peyton dear. You must be positively ill with fatigue.”
“Hold, Mother,” Alec rumbled, setting his goblet to the table. Wiping his mouth, he rose to his full height and stepped around his chair. Peyton saw the look in his eye, having seen it many a time before. Always before he made love to her.
His smile broadened as he approached his wife.
Peyton returned his smile, her heart thumping madly against her ribs as his massive arms encircled her slim torso.
In spite of Lady Celine’s pleas of control, Alec bent his wife over backward and kissed her so passionately that the entire room went mad with approval.
Alec heard the roar of favor, lost in the depths of Peyton’s honeyed mouth.
He could feel his mother slapping weakly at his arm, demanding he unhand his pregnant wife.
But he ignored her, indulging himself in a kiss seldom used outside of the bedchamber.
It was a farewell, an invitation, a promise until he joined her later.
He was grinning as he released her. Peyton, flushed and dazed, returned his gesture.
“God’s Blood, Alec. No wonder the woman is pregnant,” Edward quipped, joining the laughter at the table.
Celine spanked her son across his taut buttocks as she grasped Peyton once more, assisting the blushing woman from the room. Alec resumed his seat, his warm gaze lingering on the brilliant red head until the foyer beyond swallowed her.
Christ, how he loved her. Had his mother not been standing in such close proximity, he would have told her so. Well… mayhap.
… coward.
By the time Peyton and Celine reached the stairs, their arms were linked companionably and they were laughing softly at Alec’s display.
In truth, Celine wasn’t appalled by the lack of control; she thought it wonderful that Alec had married a woman he was so entirely smitten with.
Soft conversation bounced between them as they mounted the stairs.
“Mother?” came a soft voice from behind.
They both turned to see Thia standing at the base of the stairs, her heavy face amazingly calm. Peyton instinctively tensed as Lady Celine, well aware of the animosity between her daughter and Alec’s wife, faced her daughter pleasantly.
“What is it, Thia dear?”
Thia swallowed hard in the first display of uncertainty Peyton had ever seen from her. She seemed subdued, repressed somehow.
“I was… was wondering if you would allow me a moment’s privacy with Peyton,” she said quietly. “I… I would like to speak with her.”
Her question was entirely respectful and Peyton’s natural defenses faltered slightly. She sounded utterly sincere and Peyton wanted desperately to believe that, mayhap, she was attempting to extend a measure of reconciliation.
Celine glanced at Peyton. “I do not think so, dear. Peyton is very tired and was just about to retire. Mayhap tomorrow would be a better time.”
The Thia that gazed up at them looked nothing like the brash, belligerent woman Peyton had become acquainted with. Her expression was almost pleading.
“I was hoping to speak with her tonight,” she said, clearing her throat loudly.
“You see, Lady Peyton and I have not been on good terms since her arrival and I have had time to think…. I would like to speak with her for a few minutes, mother. Please? I shan’t keep her overlong. Just time enough to say what I must.”
Celine and Peyton exchanged glances. “Are you up to it, my lady?” Celine asked her gently.