Page 78 of Never Leave Me
Neither Arthur nor Marian spoke against it, were, in fact, overly occupied with the baby. Beside him, Ellen was too quiet.
“Come. Let us begin.” Will motioned the priest forward.
Harrison lifted his chin, unwilling to back down. “It will only be time when Ellen says so.”
Ellen slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “It’s time.”
The protest building within him stalled. He shifted to study her face. What was going on? Was she finally ready to embrace the attraction that existed between them?
“I have to get married tonight to protect Will and Marian and their household from conflict and censure from the Church.” Her soft response doused the last embers of hope he’d been unable to stamp out. She still had no desire to be with him. The marriage was another charade. A noble charade, apparently. Something she was only willing to consider because she had to.
Her eyes radiated with an apology, almost as if she knew his thoughts and his hurt. For an instant, he had the urge to tell her that this time he couldn’t pretend with her, that she couldn’t expect him to.
But he swallowed the urge and forced a smile. “We can do whatever you want, love.” He had no reason to be hurt when she’d never made him any promises. Besides, he couldn’t forget the resolution he’d made after returning from Saint Lucia—the one to keep his relationship with her purely platonic.
Ellen’s brows furrowed, but before she could respond, Arthur stood from the bedside chair. “Lord Worth is coming tomorrow with the archbishop to claim Ellen as his bride.”
Lord Worth? Harrison’s mind spun with all he’d ever heardabout the Worths. The last he’d read in theDaily Express, George Worth had been arrested for black-market ties with radical terrorist groups, particularly in illegally purchasing Mesopotamian antiquities which helped to provide an enormous source of income for the terrorists. The Worth estate in Kent, Reider Castle, had been closed up with only a servant or two left behind.
How in the world had Ellen gotten mixed up with Lord Worth? Presumably one of the ancestors who had lived there in 1382?
“Lord Worth of Reider Castle is claiming you as his bride?” Harrison stared at Ellen, trying to make sense of what had happened. “Why? What makes him think he has a right to you?”
Everyone started to speak at the same time. But suddenly Harrison knew. “You ended up in Reider Castle because that’s where Lionel is holding you.”
Reider Castle, like Chesterfield Park, had been in existence in 1382. It was the perfect place for Dr. Lionel to hold Ellen.
Arthur’s voice rose above the others. “Once Ellen is in Lord Worth’s possession, we have reason to believe he’ll harm her if Will doesn’t give up the keys to the wellspring.”
The pronouncement caused Harrison’s blood to run cold.
For several minutes, Ellen explained in more detail the situation with Lord Worth. The more she divulged, the more he understood Will’s urgency. It was clear that not only did Will desire to protect his family, but he wanted to keep Ellen from being forced into a union with a brute like Simon Worth.
“Will is right.” Harrison nodded at the imposing lord. “If Ellen is married, then Lord Worth won’t be able to have her.”
The rigidness in Will’s shoulders seemed to ease just a little. “He will have no choice but to relinquish his right to her when he learns that you, her betrothed, have come and married her.”
“He wouldn’t dare try to take another man’s wife, would he?”
“Not without earning for himself great shame.”
“Then it’s time.” Harrison echoed the words Ellen had spoken a few moments ago. He tucked her hand more securely into the crook of his arm and then pivoted so that they were facing the priest. “Let the wedding begin.”
20
ELLENPRESSEDAHANDagainst her stomach to calm the war within. The tenderness in Harrison’s voice as he spoke his vow stirred one side of the battle. The other was her own selfishness, telling her how awful she was for using him once again.
“To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health”—Harrison squeezed her hand—“to love and to cherish, ’til death do us part. According to God’s holy ordinance, I plight thee my troth.”
The priest peered at Harrison expectantly. “The ring?”
“At such short notice, I regret I do not have a ring.”
“Ellen should use mine.” From the bed beside them, Marian slipped off a band and held it out to Harrison.
He regarded it skeptically.
Ellen shook her head. “No. I can’t—”
