Page 88 of A Whisper of Desire
Marisa made it to the second-floor landing and had turned to look back to see if Maitland was coming, when a rush of air alerted her to someone behind her.
She turned, and that is what saved her life. A masked man shoved her hard, and if she hadn’t been able to grab on to the picture rail she would have plummeted over the banister to the ground floor two stories below.
A piercing scream left her lips, because, to her horror, the man was now trying to drag her toward the banister. He was trying to push her over.
She fought back, but it was difficult to kick with her gown dangling around her legs. Instead, she tried to sit down, but then she had nothing but polished floorboards to grip. She kicked out with her legs; she could hear Maitland racing up the stairs.
“Don’t fight me. You know it’s the only way. You should be prepared to sacrifice yourself for Maitland.”
The woman—her voice indicated it was a woman—grabbed her by her hair, and she had no option but to rise to her feet or be scalped. Her attacker had her halfway over the banister when someone pulled her off. She saw Clarence fighting and the next minute, as if in slow motion, Clarence’s fist connected with the woman’s masked face, and she fell backward over the banister.
A woman’s scream rented the air and only stopped with a deadened thud.
Silence reigned until Clarence asked, “Are you all right?” He gently helped her to her feet just as Maitland arrived. She was immediately engulfed in two strong arms. She couldn’t tell who was shaking more, Maitland or her.
Seeing that she was fine, he swore. “What the hell happened?”
“Priscilla attacked me.” The two men looked at her as if she’d gone mad. Clarence looked at Maitland and dashed back down the stairs to check.
“You’re distraught. It was a man.”
She shook her head at Maitland. “No. She needed me dead.”
He helped her to a nearby chair. “Why on earth would she want you dead?”
“She didn’t think it fair that she had to sacrifice her happiness if I didn’t.”
“You’re overwrought and not making sense.”
“I’m damaged too. You needed to be free to marry again and have children. I was supposed to sacrifice everything for you. Did you know that she forced your father to marry her? She did that because she knew you’d try to be honorable and marry her even when she had been exposed to syphilis. If you married her, there could never be children.” Marisa’s eyes filled with tears. “She understood how important an heir was to you. As do I.”
Maitland was on his knees in front of her. He lifted her chin with his hand so she had to look him in the eye.
“We never know what life is going to throw at us. The day I compromised you, you thought yourself in love with Rutherford. Do you still love him?”
“No,” she said adamantly. “You know I love you.”
“So what you wanted, what you felt, who you loved, changed.” She pulled a funny face, knowing where he was going with this. “I may have started our relationship looking for a wife who could give me an heir. I might even have agreed to marry you partly because I needed a son, but our marriage has grown to encompass so much more.”
A tear began to trickle down her cheek.
“However, a wise man once told me everything changes in a man except his heartbeat.”
“Who said that?”
“Your brother, when he fell in love with Beatrice.”
He took her tiny hand and fervently pressed his lips to her palm. “I have the courage to believe in your love for me; please have the courage to believe in my love for you.”
She was chewing her bottom lip.
He pressed his point. “Does it hurt to know we cannot have children? Of course it does. It hurts like the devil, but I—we—will survive it. We are strong when we are together. What I wouldn’t survive is losingyou.”
She tried to speak, but he pressed a finger to her lips.
“I know this to be true, because I’ve almost lost you twice now. Christ, these past months you’ve aged me at least ten years.”
Her lips turned up in a small smile.
