Dare to be Mine (26 page)

CHAPTER 14

Daniel pounded his fist against the
pillow for the hundredth time, cursing himself a fool for allowing Elyssa's
wishes that he not see her until the wedding. What difference could one bloody
day possibly make? He didn't like it at all that Elyssa left the ball early.
He'd gone back to the balcony with two glasses of brandy only to find her gone,
just that quickly. Thinking perhaps he had chosen the wrong spot, Daniel
checked the other nearby terraces but there was still no sign of her.

After a while, one of the servants had
given the strange message that Elyssa had left with a headache. Surely there
was more to it than that. She had been in a very good mood when he'd left her,
had kissed him with the pent up passion of a woman in love.

Daniel had given up trying to figure out
her motives. Perhaps it was some female ploy to tease him before the wedding,
though he found that notion ludicrous. Or perhaps she'd seen him talking with
some other woman and gotten jealous. But that couldn't be it, because Daniel
hadn't spoken to any females, other than to nod in greeting as he passed by. He
was sorely tempted to leave the ball himself and go after her, but Daniel
decided so callous and deceitfules accomplish against it. Elyssa had left word that she would see him the day after
tomorrow at the church, and he would just have to wait until then to see her,
it was as simple as that.

Sleep continued to elude Daniel and he
had just about given up on any sleep at all when he heard the door jiggle.
There was the slight sound of a key being turned. Daniel watched as the door
slowly opened and the unmistakable form of a woman entered.

His heart skipped a beat in the hopes it
might be Elyssa. That she'd not really left the mansion after all, but had only
meant to come to him that night. Daniel's hopes were swiftly quashed, however,
when he saw it was none other than Catherine.

"What the hell are you doing in
here?" he growled.

"Daniel, darling, I'm so glad to
see you're already awake," came the sultry reply as she boldly lifted the
blankets and got into bed with Daniel. Her hands went to his bare chest and she
moaned in the anticipation of sharing his bed once more.

He grabbed her wrists as she began
placing kisses on his chest and neck, his grimace unmistakable. "Get out
now, before you get yourself in trouble."

"Don't make me leave," she
pleaded silkily, daring a kiss upon his lips. "Have you forgotten what you
did to me?"

Daniel had the grace to look the tiniest
bit repentant, for he knew of what she spoke. Pouting prettily, Catherine
continued as Daniel loosed her wrists, "You left me in Paris with promises
of returning soon after. You said you loved me. And the next thing I hear,
you're wooing your father's widow. That was a cruel thing to do to me,
love."

"I apologize for the circumstances,
but I never told you I loved you, and you know that," Daniel replied.
"Now get back to your own room before your brother finds you in
here."

"Maybe then you'd be marrying me
instead of that woman," she dared.

"Don't even think about trying to
trap me into marrying you, Catherine. Better women than you have tried and
failed." Suddenly wondering if Catherine didn't have something to do with
Elyssa's early departure, he asked, "You didn't say anything to Elyssa
tonightoth in and out of bed.thi, did you?"

"Of course not.
Why would I want to socialize with my competition?" Before Daniel could
utter a response, Catherine covered his mouth
with her own
and branded his lips with a scorching kiss. He briefly responded to the heated
kiss, grabbing Catherine roughly against him, her moan of pleasure echoing in
the room. But just as abruptly, Daniel shoved her away and ordered her to leave
at once.

With tears in her eyes, Catherine
reluctantly obeyed his command. "I'll be there for you, darling, when she
breaks your heart. And she will."

"Never,"
came
the vehement reply.

"Good night, lover," she said,
blowing him a kiss before shutting the door behind her.

Daniel spent the next day busying
himself
, talking business with Blake, drinking
intermittently, hoping the hours would pass quickly. He ignored Catherine's
pouting, and she dared not tell Blake she had come to Daniel's bed last night,
else he'd have her sent to a convent. The girl was beyond control and Daniel
pitied the man she eventually trapped into marriage.

Later in the afternoon, Daniel visited
the church to make certain everything was being taken care of as ordered.
Dozens of bouquets adorned the church with every flower imaginable. White
ribbons hung prettily from the huge bouquets and Daniel hoped Elyssa would be
pleased. He knew how much she loved flowers. Over two hundred white candles
were placed about the sanctuary. The church looked every bit as beautiful and
inviting as Daniel had hoped it would.

The huge church would be filled to
capacity to witness the grand spectacle, the celebrated libertine being brought
to heel by a lovely young widow. Society reveled in such stuff. Of course, the
majority would no doubt see it as scandalous, salacious. And that was fine with
Daniel.

Elyssa.
He'd told her several times before––they were fated to be together. And perhaps
at the time he'd spoken those romantic words, he had not meant them in any
meaningful way. But now...now the words rang truer.
Louder.
And Daniel's heart skipped a beat as he faced the truth. He was in love with
Elyssa. Somehow she'd managed to thaw the icy exterior about his heart. to keep herethi

Daniel had wanted her physically from
the moment he'd first seen her of course, but now there was more to it.
Much more.
Daniel found himself missing Elyssa's lovely
presence when she wasn't about. Found
himself
wanting
to hear her honeyed voice speak his name, to tell him about her day. He had
come to cherish her genuine warmth and the love she'd so generously bestowed
upon him. It must have been quite humbling to voice aloud an emotion Elyssa
knew he didn't yet return.

But that had all changed. Daniel would
tell her tomorrow. During the wedding when they were speaking their vows. He
would make certain Elyssa knew she was loved and treasured.

___________________

She felt so unloved, so used. Elyssa
stared numbly at the amended will, wondering how she could possibly be so
naive. What made her ever think a worldly rogue like Daniel Fredrickson could
ever be attracted to her in the first place? A man so breathtakingly handsome,
so dangerously alluring, was not the kind who would choose to spend his life
with someone like Elyssa. No, Catherine Edmonton was clearly more his type.
Wild and beautiful and willful.

Elyssa almost hated Catherine for it.
But then, how could she? The woman, although clearly only out for her own gain,
had been the only honest one. The only person alive that had dared make Elyssa
face the truth––that Daniel wanted to get married only for her worldly
possessions. To regain them by marriage and dispose of her with all haste.

Didn't Daniel realize she would have
gladly given Greystone and everything back to him had she known about the
change in Percy's will? Indeed, she would have sacrificed her very life for
him. But he’d deceived her. He had betrayed them both.

Elyssa started several times during the
course of the morning to return to the Edmontons' estate to confront Daniel
about the entire situation. But pride stopped her. What good would it do
anyway, for he would undoubtedly win her trust with some fabricated
tale.
He would turn the entire thing around, and What was it abouthi dow Elyssa
didn't trust herself not to fall for his lies yet again.

The wedding gown was delivered from
Delilah's shop, Elyssa's maid displaying the gorgeous creation on the bed
before leaving Elyssa alone to her thoughts. It was breathtaking, to be sure,
and Elyssa's eyes misted at the thought that she would never wear the beautiful
gown. She would never know the thrill of feeling Daniel's hands remove the
gossamer dress from her shoulders on their wedding night, nor feel his lips
upon her own.

Crying aloud, Elyssa crushed the hated
will in her hands, tossing the crumpled papers across the room. She shoved the
wedding gown aside and threw herself across the bed, weeping bitterly. She
would not stay and confront Daniel, nor could she live with herself if she
willingly wed him. Couldn't look him in the eyes day after day knowing that he
didn't love her. Wondering each morning if that might be the day he would
forever cast her aside.

She had to leave. Had to get away before
night fell, for she wouldn't be able to deny Daniel did
she
not escape immediately. Elyssa carelessly tossed her things into a few bags.
She took only the dresses and garments she would need, leaving the multitude of
gowns Daniel had recently bought for her.

Despondency eventually gave way to
anger. Elyssa went downstairs to retrieve a goodly sum of money in a safe Percy
had kept in the study. It was hers now, after all. She could take or sell
anything within Greystone that she wanted to. An expensive Ming vase crashed
against the far wall as the thought of Daniel's lying mouth and seductive eyes
came to mind. A likeness painted of Daniel's mother was picked up from the desk
and thrown across the room. Elyssa cursed her for dying and leaving behind a
son that had turned out so callous and deceitful without the mother's love he'd
so needed. Then Elyssa grabbed another handful of money from the safe before
shutting it securely and replacing the books onto the shelf that hid it from
prying eyes.

She went back upstairs, ignoring the
stunned looks of the maid and butler that had come rushing into the study at
the sound of broken glass. The glistening sight of the diamonds Daniel had
gifted her with caught Elyssa's eye as she stepped into her bedroom and she
snatched them up from the dresser. Picking up the crumpled will from the floor,
Elyssa wrapped the diamond necklace around the papers. She didn't want his
diamonds.

Elyssa's initial thought of going to her
parents' home was quickly dismissed, for her family would be attending the
wedding. Taking up residence anywhere in London was entirely out of the
question. At least until she'd had a chance to get over Daniel. And the way her
heart presently ached, it would take fifty lifetimes to get over the heartbreak
he had cursed her with. escaped her lips aou second

She dared not get the usual driver to
take her to the docks, for he would undoubtedly tell Daniel where she'd fled
to. And Elyssa had no doubt Daniel would come after her. He needed her after
all, for without Elyssa to marry
him,
he had no hope
of obtaining Greystone. No money. No inheritance but for Percy's business
legacy.

And Elyssa didn't give a damn about what
happened to Greystone during her absence, nor Percy's investments. It would be
taken care of whether she was there or not. She knew Percy's solicitors would
see to everything. And if they cut her out of Percy's will over her departure,
then so be it. She didn't care.

Elyssa got the stable hand, Will, to
drive her to the docks. She knew he'd always been a bit sweet on her, and
although it was risky he might still betray her whereabouts, Elyssa had to take
the chance. In fact, she gave him a large bonus to keep her privacy just that.
Private.

Thus it was that
Will
bid Elyssa goodbye at the docks, hoping she'd be alright. He'd offered to book
her passage wherever she wanted to go, had insisted on seeing her safely aboard
whatever vessel she chose, but Elyssa declined, not wanting Will to have to lie
anymore than he would already be forced to.

Stepping up to the ticket counter,
Elyssa told the clerk, "I'd like to book passage to Paris. My name?"
she replied to his request. "My name is Mary Jones."

  escaped her lips aou second

CHAPTER 15

The church was rapidly filling to
capacity, carriages lining the streets as guests waited to disembark. The day was
clear and crisp, cold but no wind, and the sun was making an appearance for the
special occasion.

Daniel ran his long, lean fingers over
his jaw again, wracking his brain to make certain he hadn't forgotten anything.
He was more nervous than he would have anticipated. Barely cracking the door
open, he pulled at his cravat tensely at the sight of the throngs of people
already seated and anxiously awaiting the ceremony, for all that it wasn't
scheduled to begin for another half hour.