The Devil Rogue (10 page)

5

Villarreal / The Devil Rogue
                                     

Chapter 6

THEY WERE RUINED.
Every single one of
her
gowns had been slashed
until they were in tatters, not even worthy of the rag bin
.
Angela
sa
nk to the floor
in front of
her
trunk
,
holding one of the
shredded
dresses in her clenched fists
.
The night she’d left with
Blackridge
, she’d believed these gowns meant nothing to her.

Oh, but they did!

Each one of them held memories of the long hours she and Rosemary had spent ripping seams, adding pieces of lace, rearranging necklines, sleeves
,
and waistlines
.
But that wasn’t really the most significant value of the gowns – they reminded her of her mother
. They were
symbols of a happier time in
Angela’s
life.

Tears of anger and bitterness gathered in her eyes, as she cursed her father
.
She knew
it was him
–
knew her father was
the one responsible
.
She remembered his low chuckle before he’d left, and realized it was because of what he’d done
.
Why did he bear such a malicious hatred toward her
?
All she’d ever wanted was for him to love her
.
Instead
,
he seemed to take great pleasure in his cruel treatment of her, often humiliating her and
,
on occasion, beating her.

Had he ever loved her
?
Angela
suddenly
recalled a long-ago conversation she’d overheard between her parents when she was a child
.
She’d been playing in her mother’s
bed
room
.
Hearing
the angry voices of her mother and father coming from outside the door
, she’d become f
rightened
, hiding in the
armoire.

“Couldn’t you at least be civil to her?”
came her mother’s voice as they entered the room.

“Why should I?”

“She’s just a litt
le girl, she doesn’t understand.
”

“I want nothing to do with her.”

“Please, darling, do
it for me
.
”

“
My love for you only goes so far
.
You can’t expect to force feelings from me that I’m not capable of.”

“You know I had no
choice, no
control over what happened before we married
.
Must you take it out on an innocent child?”

From her hiding place,
Angela could hear her
mother
crying.

“I know, my dear.
”
H
er father’s voice had gentled
.
“And I don’t fault you for it
.
It’s just that . . .
I cannot bring myself to
. . .
c
ouldn’t we just send her away?”

“Oh, I couldn’t bear it
!
Please don’t ask
such a thing of
me
.
I-I’ll keep her out of your way.”

“All right
.
I’ll allow her to stay – for you
.
But don’t expect me to ever be a father to her.”

Angela
had
heard her father’s heavy footsteps as he’d left the room
.
All was quiet except for the sound of
her mother’s
sniffling
.
Too afraid to reveal herself,
five-year old
Angela had remained hidden
,
until the sound of her mother’s voice broke the silence
.
“You can come out now, sweeting.”

Angela
had burst from the armoire and into her mother’s welcoming arms
.
“No matter what happens, my sweet angel,”
she’d
said
,
“
r
emember that you are loved.”
Angela had
sat in her mother’s lap in a protected cocoon for a long time
while
her mother
sang softly,
rocking her to sleep.

My God
!
Could it be possible that
the baron
was not her real father
?
Angela
had
been too young at the time to understand her father’s words
.
All she knew was that he was angry, and it seemed to be directed at her
.
Angela had been trying so hard all her life to win
his
love and approval
. T
he idea
he may not even be her father
had never occurred to her
.

You know I had no control over what happened before we married
, her mother had said
.
It could definitely explain a lot
.
Had her mother been with another man before her marriage?

Angela may be innocent, but she knew it took a man and a woman to create a child
.
Had her mother been
forced
?
Her statement alluded to that very possibility
.
If so, then who was her real father?

“There you are, mi
ss
,” Rosemary said from the doorway, tearing Angela from her thoughts
.
“What in bloody blazes happened to all your pretty gowns
?
Why, they’re all cut to ribbons, they are!”

“Compliments of my
father
, I suspect.”
Angela couldn’t help the bitter emphasis on the word ‘father
,
’ although
,
she actually felt a sense of relief that she may not be tied to him by blood
.
The heavy burden of guilt for hating him also lifted, giving her a renewed purpose, a hardened resolve to obtain her freedom.

“That slimy bastard
!
Here you are, out of the house, and he still
find
s
a way to torment you.”

“It’s his way of having the last word.
”

“But what are you to wear
?
That dress you have on isn’t going to last for long if you wear it every day.”

“I’ll figure something out
.”

“We could alter one or two of my dresses, love
.
They’re not as fancy as these were, but they’d cover your bare
arse
, at least.”

“Rosemary!”

Her friend grinned unrepentantly. “You know I’m right.”

“I don’t want to take from you what little you already have
.
I couldn’t ask
it of
you.”

“
Pish
!
You’ll take them if I say you will and that’s the end of it.”

Angela couldn’t help her burst of laughter
.
“All right
!
I’ll take one dress.”

“Two.”

“Okay, two, but when I get my money, I’m paying you back.”

“You’ve paid me back a hundred fold with your friendship,
M
i
ss
Angela
,” Rosemary said gently
.
“There’s no need.”

“We’ll see about it when the time comes
.
Now let’s go pick out those dresses
.
I need to get them altered before dinner
.
I’m to dine with
‘
his majesty
’
this evening, and each night, thereafter.”

A spark of interest lit Rosemary’s dark eyes.
“To be sure, and what else will you be doing with your evenings,
love
?”

“Just you never mind!
”

Then
Angela recalled the
things
Rosemary
had told the
other servants
.
“What have you been telling the people here
?
I’m afraid they’re going to next petition me a medal for single-handedly
capturing
a gang of
pirates
.”

“I just thought I’d smooth the way for you, love, seeing as how you’ve had such a rough time of it lately.”

Angela g
a
ve Rosemary an affectionate hug
.
“I
do
appreciate your thoughtfulness
.
Is there anything else I should know
? Are there
any other defenseless creatures I’ve saved?”

Rosemary giggled
.
“It was all I could come up with on short notice
.
It did work out w
ork rather nicely.
”

“Yes,
and
I’m impressed by your quick-thinking.”

“There’s nothing else, just the kitten-saving story
.
Now let’s get those dresses, or you’ll be dining with his lordship in your undergarments
.” Rosemary grinned wickedly. “T
hen again,
it
might not be such a bad idea
.
T
here’s nothing like a beautiful,
naked woman to soften a man’s temper.”

Angela gasped, though she smiled at the image
ry
Rosemary’s words
invoked
.

ANGELA ENTERED
THE
dining room
with apprehension
. She
wonder
ed
what story she could conjure up as
a reason
why her dress was so plain
.
In deference to the summer heat, she
’
d picked out two
of Rosemary’s
lightweight gowns
.
The one she w
ore now
was a dark silver shade
that complimented her deep, blue eyes
.
It had
a modest neckline, fitting snugly
under
the
bust,
flow
ing
gently
down to the tops of her feet
for a flattering look.

H
er father
had
destroyed everything in the trunk, including her shoes and under
garments. At the moment, s
he
owned only one c
hemise
and one pair of
shoes
, the same ones
she’d arrived in
.
They didn’t quite match the color of the dress, but nothing could be done about it
.
She highly doubted Blackridge
would even notice.

“Good evening,
Miss Hopkins
.” Blackridge’s deep voice came from
the shadows near the room’s only window
.
The curtains
had been
drawn,
shutting out the
world
, while glowing c
andles
creating a
n intimate,
cozy atmosphere
.
The table was set for two, at one end of the table.

“
So
,
it’s
Miss Hopkins
now. Aren’t you going to ask me to fetch your slippers? Isn’t that what servants do?”

“That’s what dogs are trained to do, Miss Hopkins. You are certainly no dog.

He moved away from the window, sauntering in her direction with the controlled grace of a stalking tiger
.
“I shall address you as it pleases me
,
and I
always
do what pleases me.”