The Lady and the Earl (46 page)

She let out a
nother
sigh
, a sigh of resignation
.
 
She’d
chosen to come.  If she wanted to leave
this house
again, she would have to tell him
what she’d come to tell him
. 
“
Very well
.
 
Lady
Allana
went somewhere a few days ago and
Lord
Cunningham
followed her.” 
Maggie swallowed hard, not wanting to tell Lucas the rest. 

“Go on,” Lucas said hollowly.

“They returned together after dark, and
…and
she’s been spending her nights with him in his chambers since,” Maggie finished quickly.  She braced herself for
Lucas’s
anger.

“What!”
Lucas exclaimed
.  “Are you certain
?” he
asked
.

“Yes,” she replied meekly.

“How could this have happened?  Have you been doing your job or frolicking around
?”  H
e
slapped her
hard
.

Maggie cried out from his slap, tears threatening to fall as she shrank away from his
anger.  “I’ve been telling everyone the things you’ve told me to say.  I
’ve told the other maids
how
Lady
Allana has been coming to you every
day on her morning rides.  I told them ab
out the accident, and how she’
d been running off to
elope with
you.  I even thought she was coming here to you the day he followed her,” she panted, praying he wouldn’t hit her again.  He eyed her dangerously.  “I’m sorry, Lucas.”

“You have to fix this, Maggie,” Lucas said to her.  “You have to find a way to fix this.”

“But how
?” she
asked desperately.
She could see
his mind turning as he thought
.

“
You will sleep with Cunningham.  He’ll never be able to resist you,” Lucas said.

Maggie gasped in sho
ck.  “I could never do that!” s
he exclaimed. 

Lucas backhanded her, sending her tumbling off the bed.  “You will do as you’re told,” he hissed.

“But I can’t,” she sobbed from the floor. 

He leaped down on top of her, pinning her beneath him.  “Are you trying to tell me you refuse to
—
”

“I’m pregnant,” Maggie blurted out, silencing Lucas.

“What
?” he
asked quietly.

“I’m with child, with your child,” she repeated quietly, not quite sure how Lucas would react to this news.

A wicked smile spread across his face, causing fear to spread through Maggie’s body. 
She’d
never seen Lucas look so malicious. 

“It’s perfect,” Lucas began.  “You will sleep with Cunningham and blame him for the child.”  He laughed wickedly.

Maggie
was
horrified.  She thought once Lucas knew she was going to have his child, he
would give up this sadistic plan of his.

“No, I will not,” she said boldly.

“What did you say?” Lucas asked.  He was still pinning her to the floor.

Maggie now knew her silly fantasies about
Lord
Lucas Hoffman had been nothing but that, fantasies.  Tears trickled down her cheeks as she tried to repeat what she said before, “No, I will not sleep with him.”  He stared at her.  “Please, just let them
be
together.  We could be together, and we could have this child,” she said hopefully.

“
No,
”
he said
quietly.  His face turned to rage as he grabbed her tightly around the neck.  “
I
won’t
lose this
Game.
”
 

Maggie tugged at his hands as he squeezed the air from her.  She tried to
fight, but she was lo
sing consciousness quickly.  She grabbed at his face in one last attempt to free herself from his grasp
, but failed as darkness took her
.

*
             
*
             
*

Lucas watched her fight.  He delighted in her struggle and released his grip when she went limp.  He did
n’t
want to kill her, not if she really was carrying his child. 

He carried her to the bed and tied her to the post.  He had some work to do if he was going to break up Allana’s marriage.  He pulled his trousers on and grabbed his bottle of wine.  He needed to think.  Maggie was no use to him anymore.  He was going to have to do this himself. 

A plan devised in his head as he lounged next to the fireplace.  He was going to have to make a visit to
Westbrook
, and soon.  He glanced over at Maggie and decided he
would
need her again.  He went to her and lay next to her until she woke up.
 
It took
some time
for her
to come to
.  Wh
en she did, she started struggling against the cord that bound her to the bed.

Lucas feigned sleep, pretending to wake with her struggling movement.  He moaned, grabbing at his head as he sat up and looked at
her
.

“Maggie
?” he
asked questioningly. 

She looked at him in fear as she watched him study her. 

He put on his best look of remorse for her, shaking his head in what he hoped looked like dismay and said, “Oh, Maggie.  What have I done to you?”  He hoped it was convincing.  He wanted her to believe
he’d
passed out from too much alcohol, not remembering or real
izing what he’
d done previous
to passing out.
 
Quickly and carefully, he leaned over her and untied the cord. 
He could feel her trembling as he did so.
 

“My sweet Maggie.
  Are you all right
?” he
asked gently.  She eyed him nervously.  “I am so sorry.  I didn’t mean to…
I
….”
He broke off as though unsure what to say next.  “Can you ever forgive me?” 

“Yes,” she said submissively.   

He shook his head, keeping a sad disposition. 
“You a
re so patient with me.  I don’t deserve you, Maggie.”
 
His sincerity
seemed to
soften
her heart. 

“Don’t say such things,” she said, reaching up and touching his cheek. 

“But it’s true.  You are an angel, and look what I’ve done to you,” he stated, trying to sound devastated by his earlier actions.

“You…you didn’t realize what you were doing.  You were drunk,” she said to ease his pain.  “There was no harm done.” 

Oh, she was so gullible
.  He wove his little web tightly around her once more before sending her back to
Westbrook
to do one last job for him.

From the huge window in
Declan
’s
chambers, Allana watched her husband ride into the distance with her brother.  Connor had been in London until a few days ago.  He had come by
Westbrook
for a quick visit to check on
her
.  Allana smiled as she remembered the look of relief on Connor’s
face
when finding
her
and
Declan
had resolved their differences.  He told her later
he’d
expected to find her still miserable and was very pleased to see things had worked themselves out between the two.  Afterward, he had eagerly accepted
Declan
’s
request as a hunting partner for this morning. 

Declan
had risen early, waking Allana with his arousing kisses.  He made love to her before dressing and leaving her for hunting. 
She’d
climbed out of bed into the cold morning air to watch the two men ride off into the woods together, but she was
not
about to get up yet.  She wanted more sleep; she hadn’t been getting enough of it lately, and it was beginning to wear on her.  She climbed back into the warm bed, curling up into a ball before dozing off for a while longer.  She woke still feeling tired, but that quickly wore off after she cleaned up and went downstairs for breakfast. 

“Good Morning,
Katy
,” she said as
a red-haired maid
brought her some breakfast.

“Good Morning, my L
ady.  I tru
st you slept well last night?” t
he maid
replied politely.

“Yes
.  Ve
ry well, thank you,”
Allana
returned with a smile. 
The girl curtsied
and left
Allana
to enjoy her meal. 

Allana
and
Declan
actually hadn’t slept much in the past week, but she
wasn’t
about to tell
anyone else
that.  She smiled at the thought of her husband and the time they had been spending together.  They couldn’t seem to get enough of each other.  Their passion boiled
through the night and even into the day. 

“
Lady
Allana, there is a gentleman here to see you,” a voice said, interrupting Allana’s thoughts. 

“Oh?  Show him to the
sitting
room, and I will be there in a moment.  Thank you,
Arden,” Allana said to the butler
. 

Allana took another bite of her breakfast before washing it down with tea.  Who could be here to visit her?  Perhaps it was Edmund come to discuss his recent marriage to Carmon.  Wouldn’t he bring Carmon with him, though? 
Perhaps he needed her advice on something.
 
 
Curiosity overcame her.  She patted her mouth down with her napkin before standing and walking to the
sitting
room. 

The smaller room was brightly lit with large, spacious windows whose curtains were drawn back to let in as much sunlight as possible.  There were paintings and other decorations in the room to make it presentable as well as a table to work at in one corner and a piano
forte
in another.  In the center was a sofa, which faced a cozy fireplace, and in this sofa sat a man waiting patiently.

Allana’s heart stopped
when she spotted him
, and she unwillingly began to tremble
.
 
She wanted to turn and walk straight out of the room before he realized she was there, but
her feet would not move.  F
ear gripped her and held her in place.  Her face paled as he
stood and turned to her.  He’
d heard her
enter
, and now he was walking toward her, looking just as handsome and cold as she remembered him. 

Lord
Lucas Hoffman strode toward Allana casually as though nothing was wrong.  “Allana, my love, you look stunning,” he said as he reached for her, embracing her gently. 

His touch removed fear’s grasp on her, and she broke away from him.
 
“Do
not
touch
me,” she hissed at him. 

He
looked hurt, but she knew it was an act.

“Allana, please,” he said stepping toward her
. 
“You have no need to fear me.  I came to apologize.  What I did to you,” he paused as though the memory brought him pain, “was wrong.  It was so very wrong, Allana.  I was drunk and jealous, and I am very sorry for what happened,” Lucas said as sincerely as possible. 

Allana stepped backward away from him, never taking her eyes from him.  “I
don’t
want your apology, so please leave.”   

“That hurts me, Allana.  You know I still love you,” Lucas said still coming toward her.

“You
don’t
love me
.
You just want what you cannot have
,” Allana said in disgust, taking another step backward.  “
Don’t
come any closer, or I will scream.” 

He smiled cunningly at her. 

She
needed
to get out of here.  She looke
d at the door helplessly.  He’
d maneuvered himself between her and it. 
He had been guiding her away from the entrance this entire time! 
Why had she allowed that?  Why hadn’t she taken her first course of action and simply left the room?  Because she hadn’t, he now had the advantage.  She wasn’t fooled by his
heartfelt
apology.  Lucas was devious, and he was here for a reason. 
There was a
trap planned for her.  If she
didn’t
get away from him, she would fall right into it
…
or
perhaps she already had.