Damien's Destiny Read online

  “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.

  Chapter Two

  Damien made certain he visited Miss Carpenter’s School for Young Ladies during the first week of every month. Each time he requested to walk with his ward and when he held out his arm Victoria put her hand hesitantly on it. At first he knew she could hardly bear to touch him and so he strove to appear his most courtly, older self. By the tenth month she seemed to welcome his visits and their walks and put her hand on his arm without hesitation.

  She blossomed into more and more of a beauty, a long-legged girl who’d grown at least three inches in the last year. She was now rather tall for a female but definitely not too tall. Not in Damien’s opinion. She greeted him without fear when he visited and told him little tales of her daily life. The feeling of security she felt by being sequestered with women allowed her to flower. As her feeling of safety with him increased she conversed more and more readily.

  On her sixteenth birthday he brought her a small string of perfectly matched pearls. An expensive necklace but still one deemed acceptable by society. She probably had no idea of the cost and he was pleased to see her wear it at every visit and finger it lovingly.

  He also resolved it neared time for his grandfather persona to disappear. Accordingly on the next visit he presented himself as Damien, the imposing and virile man. He wanted to give her plenty of time to become used to his actual presence before he brought her home to Tregaron.

  He knew she’d be stunned when she heard the new Earl of Sinclair waited in the private parlor. She hurried to meet him.

  She recoiled at the handsome young man before, a really rather magnificent man. He towered at least six inches taller than the old earl and so she must look up at him. Light eyes met hers squarely, eyes of an astonishing clarity. Eyes showing a penetrating intelligence. Dark brown hair, so deep a color as to be almost black. He wore his hair long, in an old-fashioned style with the abundant mass flowing over his immaculate collar for almost an inch. He mesmerized her with his vibrant magnificence and he frightened her. He was young, certainly not as old as she’d prefer.

  Blatantly male and powerful. And therefore dangerous.

  She began to shake and found she could not stop. Still she managed a curtsey and then rose as he gave her a hand to lift her. She flinched at his touch and he raised her and immediately stepped back.

  Damien detested bullies who used their powers to control others. He would not use his magical abilities in any way with Toria. He’d known for some time he wanted her but he wanted a willing Toria, not a bewitched Toria.

  “You are wondering about my grandfather, Miss Victoria. He still lives. But he is tired of his earl’s duties and has gone to one of his more remote estates. He passed the title and the responsibilities to me.”

  Damien had decided before appearing in his own form he didn’t want to kill off the old gent whose persona he might again find handy and so the planned explanation came easily to his tongue.

  Toria accepted the lie easily enough, although Damien knew if she were more worldly she’d know what he just stated was almost impossible. An earl couldn’t pass on his title that simply. Not without dying himself.

  He concentrated on making Toria accept him as harmless. A little fib or so didn’t matter. This girl was proving ever more important to him.

  “My grandfather told me you usually walked together a short while and you told him of your activities during the last month. Would you consider a short walk with me? You do not know me yet, so we should be proper and stay within sight of a chaperone at all times. I see Miss Carpenter is on the patio. We could walk on the lawn just below if it pleases you.”

  Her hesitation this time seemed less marked.

  “Yes, my lord.” She took an obvious deep breath, stretching her gown over her chest so that Damien forced himself to avert his eyes. She was growing up so fast and so delectably. Damien heard her voice as if she were speaking under water and he jerked himself back to attention and out of his sexual near-haze.

  “If you are like your grandfather, my lord, you want to hear how the last month has been for me.”

  Her voice showed a little more confidence in him and Damien rejoiced.

  “You are correct,” Damien said quietly. “And I will of course report to my grandfather. He has taken your education much to heart. I trust you are still enjoying yourself here?”

  “Oh yes, my lord. Everyone is quite kind to me.”

  Expert at reading a person’s hidden thoughts, Damien said nothing. He didn’t usually intrude unless invited but Toria had something on her mind and he thought he’d better wait. She’d soon utter her concern.

  “You must be the one Lord Sinclair mentioned. The grandson who rescued me from the ocean.”

  Damien hadn’t expected this.

  But I should have. Certainly her teachers think she’s brilliant. I don’t want to frighten her but I can’t lie to her on anything this important.

  “Yes. I was on the beach giving my horse a rest when I happened to spot you in the water. The undertow was particularly vicious that day. I put you on my horse and Araby carried us both to the house and I gave you over to the care of my sister.”

  All true. Just not the whole truth.

  “Oh.” Toria looked down at the grass.“And did I mention why I was foolish enough to swim in such conditions?”

  Again, an easy question. “I assumed you didn’t realize how powerful the undertow could be at that location.”

  Again the truth. The undertow at his portion of the beach sometimes ran unusually strong. Not that she would have cared at the time if she’d known. She’d probably have welcomed being swept away into the vastness of the ocean.

  “Oh,” she said again.

  She paused awhile and then seemed to get herself under control.

  “You can tell the older earl I’m still very happy here. I’m giving the younger girls swimming lessons.”

  She took his arm as they turned and walked back on the patio, while Miss Carpenter stayed within sight as he’d requested. They strolled slowly, Toria’s hand the merest touch on his sleeve. Still she grew more at ease and soon answered his questions and laughed with him over some of the pranks of the younger students.

  He could scarcely resist covering her small hand with his large one. Toria grew more adorable every time he saw her. He groaned inwardly.

  She’d be firmly entrenched in his heart by the time she was eighteen. After all, she’d entered it from the moment he’d rescued her. His enchantment grew stronger with each visit. There were almost two more years before he could claim her. If she’d allow him to do so even then.

  What in Merlin’s magic had he done to himself?

  He knew it would take all the patience he could summon to overcome her deeply rooted dread of any male. The intimacies he so craved from her might haunt her throughout any marriage she made. If indeed he could persuade her to marry him. It would take all his strength
to make her forget her horrible experience with her thrice-damned guardian.

  But not his mage’s powers. He’d never use them with Toria.

  A daunting task indeed.

  When he was a child and experimenting he cast spells just for the pleasure of his power but his father took him aside for a little demonstration. Turning him into a small girl for a few minutes scared Damien almost out of his shoes. He quickly absorbed his father’s message that one didn’t casually use a rare gift without thought and consideration.

  He wouldn’t charm Toria, not the love destined just for him. But when she turned eighteen, he’d finally be free to seek revenge from the scum who had taken her innocence. Before then he couldn’t take a chance of revealing her whereabouts, although he longed to wrap his hands around the bastard’s neck. As he definitely planned to do as soon as possible.

  * * * * *

  On her seventeenth birthday Damien presented Toria with a riding habit fashioned of blue velvet in a shade slightly darker than her glorious eyes. Black frogs decorated the buttons down the front and he’d made allowances for her developing figure.

  Her face lit up before it darkened.

  “But my lord, I no longer have a horse.”

  “Damien,” he corrected gently. “I know, Toria but when you are eighteen I plan to take you to my sister. There you will have plenty of chances to ride.”

  She raised her candid glance to his. Her eyes resembled a blue-purple pansy, the same color except her color shone beautifully clear and shining. At least in his besotted imagination.

  “Haven’t I told you Debora is quite looking forward to having your company? And please examine the skirt. It’s not immediately apparent but I think you’ll like the fact the material is cleverly split. You can ride on a regular saddle at our estate, which I think you might enjoy.”

  Again her expressive features lit. “I’ll be happy to visit you and your sister for a short while although I must find an occupation. I mean to pay your grandfather back for the huge amount he must be spending on me. I have some money in a trust fund, I think but I don’t know how to claim it.”