To Have and to Hold (9 page)

Casting a quick
glance around Isobel couldn’t see anything other than the darkening shadows of
the trees.
 
Still he moved with a lithe
confidence through the broken branches littering the floor.
 
On edge and overwrought by the past few
hours, Isobel was herself searching the area behind them for signs of movement
only to jump nervously in his arms as the warmth of his lips suddenly settled
close to her ear.
 

“Keep
quiet.
 
We need to go back to
Tavistock
and quickly.”
 
Isobel felt chilled herself and was unable to hide the shiver that
wracked her at his clipped tone.
 
Silently, she nodded in acquiescence although felt sure that her
acceptance wasn’t expected, she would be taken there anyway, whether she wanted
to go or not.
 
Suddenly, she was very
glad for the warmth of his presence, even if he wasn’t hers and wearily lay her
head down meekly against his shoulder unsure if she did have the energy to
argue, whether she would.

Several moments
later as they cleared the wooded protection of the copse Isobel saw the origin
of the strange whistle.
 
A stocky man sat
atop a very large bay; his hat pulled low, he and his horse emerged silently in
the encroaching gloom as they approached.
 
Isobel shuddered at the menacing shadow of horse and rider, so vaguely
dark and haunting she could only be very grateful she hadn’t seen such a sight
while she had been alone for she would never have expired with fright on the
spot.
   

She was only
vaguely aware of hushed murmuring before she was lifted upwards.
 
Within moments, she was held tightly against
Dominic’s chest as both horses cantered through open fields presumably towards
Tavistock
.
  
Exhaustion claimed her and wrapped in the secure warmth of Dominic’s
embrace, succumbed to the swirling blackness sucking her under.

Dominic took a
few precious moments to slow down and carefully enfold her in his long wool
cloak.
 
The bone-chilling cold of her
skin disturbed him greatly, and he knew she was in serious danger from the cold
winds that howled menacingly around them.
 
She needed sustained warmth, and fast.
 
Enfolding her slender form against him tightly he tugged the edges of
his cloak around her as much as he could and nudged his horse towards
home.
    

“Not long until
we get there now darling.
 
We will soon
have you safe and warm.
 
Everything will
be alright.
 
You’ll see.”
 
Dominic wasn’t sure she had heard him, but it
gave him some measure of reassurance to assume she had.
 
The alternative was too much to
contemplate.
 
Surely, he couldn’t lose
her now?
 

Isobel was
vaguely aware of Dominic’s reassuring murmur swirled around her but couldn’t
summon the energy to respond.
 
It was as
though his voice was coming from some long way off, and she couldn’t quite
reach him.
 
No matter how hard she tried
she just couldn’t get her eyes to open.
 
The battle to open her eyes was just too great for her dwindling
strength and within seconds the meagre strength she did have left evaporated
and Isobel succumbed to the pervading darkness once more.

“Isobel?”
 
Dominic murmured.
 
His voice held a more commanding edge when
she didn’t respond.
 
“Isobel?”
 
He twitched his shoulder lightly in an
attempt to wake her and cursed fluidly as her head lolled back.
 
Whether through starvation, cold, exhaustion
or fear had caused her to faint, Dominic couldn’t tell.
 
Without further ado, he pulled her tight against
him, dug his heels into the horse beneath them and cursed the distance to the
house.
 
Having dispatched his groom to
fetch the Doctor several miles back, Dominic cursed the elements as rain began
to pelt down around them adding to her already perilous predicament.

“Cursed
weather,” Dominic muttered starkly as he drew to a halt in front of
Tavistock
Hall’s heavy oak doors several long moments
later.
 
It was no effort to juggle Isobel
enough to kick the front door open and within mere seconds Dominic had them
both inside the warmth of the Main Hall.

“
Manvers
!”
Dominic
bellowed as he began to mount the stairs two steps at a time ignoring the
dripping of the sodden bundle in his arms. “
Manvers
,
where are you?
 
Quickly
man!”
 
Within seconds,
Manvers
was running down the hallway from the kitchens, Mrs
Holcombe his Housekeeper and what appeared to be the entire house staff behind
them.
   
          
“Get
someone to see to my horse.
 
Shut the
door quickly and lock it
Manvers
,” Dominic ordered as
he mounted the steps.
 
“Do not open that
door to anybody, unless I am informed first, do you understand?”
 
He didn’t wait for
Manvers
’
assent.
 

“Mrs Holcombe,
please I need your assistance.
 
Bring
some hot water and warm food quickly!”
 
He was vaguely aware of the stunned silence behind him for several
moments before the house burst into a flurry of activity.
 
           

As he strode
through the upper hallway he never paused to consider placing her in one of the
opulent guest rooms, instead heading directly towards his own suite of rooms in
the rear of the house overlooking the formal gardens.
 
She was his, and he was going to keep her as
close to him as possible.
 
Etiquette
be
damned.
  
He didn’t
care if she was ruined, she was his, and now he had her.
 
Only death could snatch her away from him,
and he wasn’t about to let that happen without a fight!

Carefully, he
placed her in the middle of his bed, cursing at how small and fragile she
looked against the brocade cover.
 
Where
the hell had she been?
 
Having endured
the living hell of the battlefields he had become far too familiar with human
misery and the terrible destruction man could inflict upon man.
 
However nothing could have prepared him for
the severity of her plight.
 
By the
appearance of her, it was evident she had quite clearly nearly starved to death
and was wearing inadequate clothing to keep her alive through summer let alone
the long, harsh winter months to come.

Fighting down
the burning tide of anger, Dominic shook off his jacket and boots, thankful
that
Manvers
had already lit the fire to ward off the
evening chill. Within minutes Dominic had it roaring heartily suffusing the
room in welcome warmth.
    

He was in the
process of removing her sodden clothing when Mrs Holcombe and two maids
appeared in the doorway.
 

“My stars,” Mrs
Holcombe muttered as she gazed at the half starved, slightly wild creature the
master had just brought home.
 
Barking
quick instructions at the maids beside her, Mrs Holcombe moved towards the bed
and began to help remove sodden clothing.
  

“Cook is bringing
some broth in a few minutes my Lord,” Mrs Holcombe murmured somewhat aghast.
“If you want to leave her with us now, we’ll see to her.
 
We can move her to the room-”.
 

“No!” Dominic
winced inwardly at the almost shout but offered no apology as the women
immediately froze.
 
“She is to stay here
with me.
 
Just get her out of these wet
clothes and warm her up.
 
The Doctor is
on his way, but we cannot wait for him to arrive. She must be warmed up and
quickly.”
 

He watched in
satisfaction as the import of his words sank in and the women immediately moved
to assist him.
 
“Please sir, leave her
with us.
 
I can promise you she will be
safe.
 
You must get yourself warm and dry
as well.”
 
Mrs Holcombe murmured
fervently wishing he would leave them to deal with their unusual charge, such
was the unconventionality of their situation.
   
It became apparent after several moments that he was more of a hindrance
than a help as he fumbled with the binding across her chest.
 

“Sir!”
 
The shock of finding her again was beginning
to wane and Dominic eventually became aware of the disapproving censure of the
women in the room.
 
Realising he needed
to preserve Isobel’s dignity; Dominic nodded in weary defeat and with one last
searching look at her turned towards the door.
  

Two hours later,
his plate of food barely touched on the desk behind him, Dominic stood before
the hearth, one booted foot on the hearth as he stared thoughtfully down at the
glowing flames jostling heartily in the grate.
 
The Doctor had been and gone, and the news was not good.
 
One of the staff was summarily dispatched to
summon Peter’s presence at
Tavistock
forthwith.
 
Not only did he need to know of his sister’s
survival, but he also needed to be informed of her ill health and the imminent
danger to her life.

God forbid if
the Doctor was indeed accurate, her life was most definitely hanging in the
balance.
 
Dominic stared thoughtfully
into the fire for several moments and tried to marshal his whirling thoughts.
 
Surely, he couldn’t lose her now.
 
A sense of unfamiliar helplessness washed
over him as he remembered the rasping hollowness of her cough as she had ridden
in his arms.
 
Putrid lungs could kill
even a person of relatively good health.
 
For someone as malnourished as Isobel....
 
Quickly closing off those thoughts Dominic
pushed away from the hearth and strode towards the door.
 
Suddenly, he had the pressing need to be with
her and not waste even a single precious moment.

Isobel felt the
weight pulling her down.
 
Wrapped in
something soft and heavy, she felt unbearably hot.
 
Trying desperately to pull herself free, she
became aware of a strange noise, over and over.
 
Her head throbbed in rhythm with the stabbing pains behind her eyes.
Everything within her ached fiercely.
 

Her thoughts
spun around and around as she fought desperately to pull herself free from the
kaleidoscope of confusing colour.
 
Shades
and shapes merged, and Dominic’s beloved features appeared before her.
 
Out of the haze, his beautiful green eyes
glinted brightly in the gloom as they shone down lovingly upon her.
 
She could hear the soft murmur of his voice
but simply couldn’t find the strength within to answer him.
 
Her mouth wouldn’t work.

She didn’t know
if she was dreaming again.
 
But this
dream however, was different.
 
There were
no swirling mists through which he appeared.
 
The kaleidoscope of colours around him made her dizzy and confused.
 
She felt muddled as though something was
holding her down, and she just couldn’t shake it off.