Damien's Destiny (2 page)

Damien sat by her bedside as she wakened. An older Damien in his quasi-Merlin guise.

She sat straight up in bed and Damien moved quickly to adjust her pillows so she’d be more comfortable. He’d been right. Her hair fell around her face, the shade of newly mown wheat gleaming in the sunlight. Or of honey fresh from the hive. Debora had bathed her last night and now she smelled sweetly of Debby’s floral soap plus her own distinctive scent. Like the beautiful flower she was.

He no longer appeared as the true Damien who’d rescued her. He seemed a much older man who he hoped would not frighten her. With a neatly clipped white beard, but otherwise looking as much as he could manage to match the pictures he’d seen of Merlin.

“Who are you, sir? And where am I?”

Her questioning eyes were candid, although her voice wavered.

Her peace of mind justified his small twisting of the truth.

“My grandson, who has now gone back to his own home, brought you here to Tregaron. You are perfectly safe here, my child. My name is Damien Townsend. I’m the Earl of Sinclair. I’m eminently respectable and want only to be of assistance. I think you’re in a bit of trouble and I’d like to help if you’d let me.”

She bristled. “I’m not a child. I’m fifteen.”

Then her face crumpled as she evidently remembered what had sent her flying to the ocean.

She rallied her defenses, conquering her shaking and raising her chin. Damien mentally saluted her pride and fortitude.

“And the kind lady who took care of me? Was she the one who undressed me and has been sitting by my bedside?”

Damien again blessed her for framing the question so he could answer honestly.

“Certainly the Lady Debora has been with you a great deal. She is much concerned about your welfare.”

Toria colored and lowered her lids before she looked up again with her blue, blue eyes. The color of the deepest summer sky. Although they shaded to a darker blue-purple when she fought distress, as she did now.

“I think I’ve been unconscious for some time. Tell me,” she said, seeming to choke on the words. “Tell me, did I babble a lot of nonsense?”

Damien folded his hands in his lap as he considered how to answer her. Her anxiety bothered him but certainly he couldn’t tell her she’d plainly revealed she’d been raped.

“Not really nonsense, I think. Just enough to know you fear someone. I’d guess it’s your guardian and you do not want to be returned to him.”

She reached one hand to him, then gasped and drew back.

“Oh no, please don’t let him know where I am. I do fear him greatly.”

Her voice shook even as her eyes pleaded with him.

Damien regarded her gravely. “I have little knowledge of the neighborhood but know there is only one single man anywhere nearby. I don’t think you’d be so fearful of a man with a family. I believe your guardian is Baron Heath. Can you tell me how he came to be appointed your guardian? From all reports he’s a most unsavory character.”

Toria shuddered. “He is indeed. But when he and my father were young they were friends at Eton. My father appointed him as my guardian long ago, I think before Father knew how the baron turned out. If he’d realized I’m sure he would have changed his will.”

“And your parents?”

Toria’s extraordinary eyes clouded. “They were both killed three years ago in a carriage accident. I’ve lived at the baron’s manor house ever since. At first he was very kind to me.”

She blushed furiously and looked down, no longer meeting his gaze.

Damien shuttered his eyes. So the bastard kept her secluded at his estate, watching her grow into a delectable woman and biding his time. She’d doubtless been beautiful, even as a child. And then he pounced on her before she was fully an adult. Fifteen, she’d said? Her air of innocence made her seem younger, making Damien even more furious her purity was so violated.

He’d like to wrap his hands around the villain’s neck. Before he choked him he’d make him pay a little for such a sin. Although no villain could ever pay for what this one had done.

“Get some more sleep, my dear. Do not worry. You’ll not see him again. Trust me in this.”

She looked at him, her eyes seeming to pierce through to his heart. Then she smiled and closed her eyes.

Damien sat watching her for a while, until he saw she’d fallen asleep again. Although Damien hadn’t yet figured out what to do with the girl, he’d definitely protect her from the perverted baron.

Now he’d better consult again with Debby. And he wanted to find out much more about Baron Heath. Information should be found fairly easily, since he was already known as an unsavory character in the neighborhood.

Somebody would always talk about a man so disliked. He’d ask Jason to find out as much as he could. For reasons he didn’t bother to analyze, he already suspected this beautiful girl was destined to be important to him.

* * * * *

Jason, Damien’s trusted secretary as well as estate manager and close friend, stood with his hands slightly twisting. Damien raised his brows at this uncharacteristic departure from his usually impassive exterior. Jason rarely showed undue emotion.

Jason helped Damien here at Tregaron, as well as managing Damien’s other four estates almost single-handedly. Damien loved Tregaron too much to be apart from it for long. Since he’d found Jason to depend on he could keep his visits to the others at a minimum, although he did not neglect them.

“He’s a monster, Damien. He’s Oscar Wesley, Baron Heath. The worst kind of brute. The whisper in the village is he’s taken girls to be servants at his home and they’ve never been seen again. Others of his servants report a collection of whips and canes in his rooms. They also describe hearing muffled screams from his latest chosen victim. How Miss Victoria has escaped his attentions until now is amazing. He’s hated in the village. Most villagers are afraid to talk about him. Actually, I spent some of your gold today to get them talking. He is, however, her legal guardian until she’s eighteen.”

“And her full name?”

“Victoria Julia Carlisle. The Honorable Miss Carlisle. Her father was a viscount.”

“Blazing hell,” Damien muttered. “Then we must hide her for three years. I need to think about this. Thank you, Jason. You never disappoint me, my valued friend.”

Jason turned back before he left the room.

“I should add his property is not adjacent to Tregaron but is one over to the west. There’s a small village further west of his place. The piece of land you tried to buy once lies between your properties. The baron’s holding is not extensive but it does run to a small cliff with an almost easy path to the ocean. The girl is an expert swimmer as well as rider. Her horse is named Minerva.”

Damien again nodded his thanks. So Miss Victoria must have clambered down the cliff and walked a good five miles along the beach before she committed herself to die in the ocean. It must have been hard for her not to try to save herself if she was a good swimmer. Poor child. Yet how could she remain unaware of what went on in that manor house?

Perhaps she even suspected some of it but felt powerless. And then she might have been so naïve she’d not known anything beyond a vague disquiet of lurking evil. And perhaps Heath was smart enough to pursue his wicked activities when she went out riding or swimming, or late at night when she slept the sleep of an innocent. Jason reported her gone from the house as much as possible in the daytime. Toria must be important to the baron for her to spare her for as long as he had. Nor did Damien make the mistake of thinking the baron intended just a short conquest.

And the other girls were never seen again. This would definitely bear investigation.

For the first time Damien regretted his habit of isolation. He should have known all this sooner. He’d send word to the War Ministry immediately and find out what they knew about Heath.

But first, he must see Miss Victoria Carlisle safely hidden for three years.

Definitely his sister was the person to consult again.

* * * * *

While Toria grew stronger Debby did her research and finally suggested a private girls’ school well to the north of Damien’s estate. Damien visited there the next day, still in his older-man disguise.

Damien found himself well-pleased with the headmistress, a Miss Carpenter, who received him graciously.

She inclined her head in an almost regal manner.

“We’d be pleased to accept your ward, my lord, as soon as we can. Unfortunately we have no openings at the present time.”

Damien gave her his most alluring smile. Since Miss Carpenter was nearing the age he pretended to be, she’d responded more amiably than she might have to a younger man. Funny how being older made one seem less dangerous. Not really true but he didn’t intend to pursue that thought.

Damien took his time answering. He wanted very much to persuade this woman to take Toria immediately. Debby insisted this school was the right place for her.

“Miss Victoria is only fifteen. I would want her to be here for three years, until she reaches her majority. I would visit her monthly and would look forward to seeing you both, Miss Carpenter. I would also want her to spend vacation time between terms here and am willing to pay generously for any added benefit. Victoria is a naïve young girl and one I’ve quite recently assumed as my responsibility. She will need extra protection and your special brand of shall we say, friendship? I’m prepared to make worth your while.”

Damien’s smile always charmed women no matter what age he assumed. Certainly Miss Carpenter stood no chance as she looked into compelling gray eyes. Eyes that were mesmerizing even when he wasn’t trying to be impressive.

Damien smoothly continued, his voice flowing over her like the touch of finest silk.

“I would want her to have additional educational opportunities during your term breaks, when she must stay with you. I would like a companion, an irreproachable companion, to take her to educational places she’s never before had the chance to visit. She is young and has been kept secluded for too long. London, certainly, with the museums and magnificent buildings. Perhaps London will be worth more than one visit. Perhaps Bath. Certainly the magnificent Lake District. While I’ll leave the exact schedule to you, I expect to be kept informed at all times. I will, of course, finance whatever extra costs are incurred. Including an allowance for her personal spending.”

Miss Carpenter caught her breath. “This is most irregular, my lord.”

“But not impossible?”

Miss Carpenter positively stammered. “No, no, my lord. We can certainly fulfill your wishes. Under these unusual circumstances I’m certain we can find a place for Miss Victoria and educate her as you desire.”

Damien smiled his most winning smile.

“Thank you, Miss Carpenter. She is important to me. As I say I shall visit monthly. The reports and the bills will come to me, of course. I will from time to time add suggestions to her curricula.”

The look Miss Carpenter gave him was almost adoring.

“Certainly, my lord. Bring the girl to us as soon as you wish. We will make room for her and will look forward to your visits.”

Damien bowed low and kissed her hand.

“I am in your debt, Miss Carpenter.”

He had the grace to keep his smile well hidden, as he wheeled and walked to his carriage.