No Ordinary Love

Jason’s fingers curled painfully around the arms of the chair he was seated in. He listened to Matty’s recount of what she had witnessed between Elizabeth and Alan with thinly covered patience. His mind flashing to provide him with a visual of the way Alan would have grabbed Elizabeth, and the way that Elizabeth would have attempted to get free.

Fury churned deep in his gut as Matty reiterated how strong Alan's grip had been on Elizabeth's arm.

Elizabeth had not come to him when she returned. He thought that maybe she had gone to the garden, but when he didn't find her there he came back to the house and was told by Matty that she was tired and went to lie down for a nap. Matty then told him about the encounter she had happened upon.

Now, she was going back through the account at his request. Jason wanted to make sure that he had all of the details that Matty could give him before he took action.

His next stop would be his room, he needed to see Elizabeth. He needed to talk to her, look at her, and make sure that she was fine. After that he would hunt down his brother, and rip him limb from bloody limb.

Jason opened his eyes and found Matty staring at him with a knowing expression. She looked as though she wanted to warn him not to exact revenge, but instead she sighed and looked away.

“Thank you, Matty,” Jason said as he stood.

Matty took that as her cue to leave. She dipped a rushed curtsey, then hurried out of the study.

After she was gone and his door firmly shut, Jason went to the closet that housed his safe. He unlocked the safe and pulled a Ruger pistol from the confines. Gripping the wooden handle in his hand, Jason eyed the steel barrel as it glinted. He slipped the gun into the waist of his pants dropping the flap of his jacket over it, then he closed and locked the safe.

Jason's pace to his room was fast, he was anxious to see Elizabeth. He entered their room, his eyes seeking her out. He found Elizabeth in the bed with the covers loosely drawn over her small body.

The dress she had worn to town and her bonnet were strewn across the floor along with her boots and stockings. He crossed quickly to her and found her to be awake. She stared up at him with tears in her eyes.

He hated to see her hurting. “Elizabeth.”

She lifted herself and he sat down beside her, pulling her into his embrace. “Matty told you,” she managed through a sob. “I should have told you first.”

“You were upset, Elizabeth,” he said soothingly. Running a hand over the silky strands of her mussed hair, Jason took a heavy breath.

Elizabeth continued to cry and he held her close. He could feel her warm moist tears as they seeped through his shirt and it made him want to break something or someone- preferably Alan; the man responsible for his wife’s current state.

A few minutes passed and Elizabeth’s tears waned. She sniffled a little as she pulled herself out of his arms. Jason wanted to pull her back to him but he fought that urge. Looking at Elizabeth he could tell that there was something more, and she was on the verge of telling him. If he coddled her too much she might not.

“Jason.” Her voice was raspy from the emotion she shed.

His gaze met her deep blue one. She looked down, wrestling her fingers in the covers, she sighed heavily. “I did something today,” she began “Something that you will not like.”

At first he thought her to be speaking of Alan and what happened with that but this was different. “What is it, Elizabeth?”

She looked back up at him. “I went to a doctor...”

His heart skipped a beat in his chest. Oh god, not the baby. “Is it the baby?”

Her brows rose in response. “No, Jason. The baby is fine,” she pulled her fingers away from the twisted sheets to take his hand. “I went because of you.”

He stilled. “What do you mean?”

“I went into town today with the purpose of getting a separate opinion on your condition.”

Jason looked away. He did not know weather to be upset with her for her deceit or to be happy that she loved him enough to want more answers. He decided that he was a little of both. “Why did you keep that from me, Elizabeth.”

“You are so convinced that you are dying. You have basically given up on life, resigned yourself to the end. How could I ever make you consider getting a second opinion?”

“You could not,” he answered her, more than a little agitated.

He had been living with this madness for over a year now, seeing apparitions of dead his mother regularly. It was not as if he wanted to die. He wanted to live a long, full life with Elizabeth and their child and if he thought for a second that it was possible then he would have gone for second, third, and even fourth opinions.

But he did not think it possible. No man who saw dead people was sane, and he had been told by a respected doctor that his brain was slipping away. He believed that.

Elizabeth dropped his hand. “Do you see, then? Why I had to do it without your knowledge?”

“Which doctor?”

“Hampton.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing.”

Jason looked to her in disbelief.

“I could not tell him. I thought I could but it felt wrong...” The last word was cut off in a small sob. Tears glittered her eyes, threatening to spill.

Jason felt helpless against her tears. He knew nothing more about how to handle them then he knew how to paint. What he did know was that the sight of her watery eyes twisted his heart inside out.

He straightened the rumpled sheets and helped her into a comfortable laying position. After taking off his boots he carefully slipped the gun from his pants- shrugging out of his riding jacket as he did so- he was sure to conceal the weapon under the jacket as he placed both on a table.

He slid into bed next to Elizabeth, who was wiping the last of the tears from her streaked cheeks.

“I do not want to loose you, Jason,” she whispered as he pulled her close to him.

He would have loved to ease her fears by telling her that she would never loose him but that would be a lie. Instead, he said, “You will always have a piece of me in the child you are carrying.” He moved his hand over her gown to rest on her flat stomach.

Elizabeth nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck. “Make love to me, Jason,” she whispered against his skin.

Her words, spoken so candidly, sparked a restless fire in him. Jason did not hesitate to run his hand up her silken thigh. It slipped easily under the thin sleeping gown she was wearing and he was pleased to find her completely bare underneath.

His cock stretched painfully against his pants and he moved away to free them. Elizabeth gave a soft cry of protest but as soon as he was free of his clothes he was back in the bed pressed against her welcoming warmth.

He shifted onto his back bringing her atop him, her legs straddling his hips, her hot center resting against his erection. He lifted the gown above her head and groaned when two perfectly full breasts were revealed. Elizabeth’s normally pert round breasts were full and heavy in his hands, her nipples had darkened to a deep rose, with pregnancy. She leaned forward and he took one in his mouth. It immediately puckered under his tongue and a passionate moan escaped Elizabeth’s lips.

She was so beautiful, so perfect, and his.

Feeling himself close without having entered her, Jason moved his hands to circle her hips. Lifting her above his cock, he let Elizabeth guide herself down on him. Her slick heat enveloped him and he became lost.

Lost in her, lost in love. Lost.

It was dark when Elizabeth awoke. The room was shrouded in complete blackness. She wondered what time it was, it had to be after eight for it to be so dark.

Hungry, she pulled herself from Jason’s arms. After lighting the candle beside the bed, she pulled her gown over her head. By now the kitchen staff had retired. She could go downstairs and find some bread to munch on and some cider to drink.

Elizabeth pulled on a pair of slippers, and a long cloak from her armoire to cover her gown.

On her way to the door, she looked over her shoulder at Jason, she always loved to watch him sleep. He appeared innocent, boyish when his features were relaxed.

Her hip caught the small table as she turned to leave, causing Jason’s riding Jacket to fall to the floor. Elizabeth bent to pick it up. When she came back up to replace it on the table her eyes landed on a pistol. She gasped and the jacket slipped from her loose fingers.

What was Jason doing with a gun?

Elizabeth eyed the stylish hand gun with disdain, then turned on her heel and walked back to the bed.

“Jason,” she said loudly, pressing her fingers into his muscular arm.

He stirred and his heavy lids lifted up to her. He must have noticed the frown on her face because he shot up to sitting position. “What happened?” he asked through a sleep groggy voice.

Cutting straight to the quick, Elizabeth asked. “Why is there a pistol on that table?”

For a second Jason looked as if he had been caught, but that look was quickly gone and his face became unreadable. He moved the covers away from his naked body and got to his feet. Elizabeth watched him in tense silence as he pulled his clothes back on. After tucking his shirt into his riding pants he went to the table.

Elizabeth followed, waiting for him to answer her question. “Why, Jason?” she asked again when it seemed he was not going to.

As though he did not hear her, Jason picked the pistol up from the table and placed it in the waist of his pants. He pulled his jacket over his arms and shoulders, concealing the gun at his waist.

“Answer me, Jason!” She demanded.

He stopped straightening his clothes and looked to her. His eyes flashed the same murderous glint that she had seen in Alan’s earlier that day. “Alan needs to be taken care of.”

Elizabeth could not believe her ears. “You plan to kill your brother,” she almost choked on the words.

Jason looked away. “I do not plan to kill my brother, but he seems to need reminding to stay away from you.”

An image of Alan’s distorted face flashed in her mind. For all of the love that Jason could give, all of the compassion that he harbored, he was still a dangerous man. “Why do you need a gun for that?”

“Alan is unpredictable. If I show up without one he will be at the advantage.”

“What if something happens, what if something goes wrong?”

Jason looked up to the ceiling. Elizabeth knew he often did that when he was looking for an answer that was hard to come. He looked down, his ice blue eyes landed heavily on her. He opened his mouth to say something but a knock at the door cut in.

Elizabeth huffed past him, fully intending to shoo the person away. When she swung the door open, there stood Damian. The boy looked flustered.

“There are officers here to see you,” he said to Jason.

Jason seemed to note Damian’s disposition and hurried out of the room. Elizabeth followed them down the stairs, her curiosity too strong for her to stay behind.

When they reached the landing Elizabeth spotted three uniformed officers. They all held their caps in hand and looked at Jason with sorrowful glances.

One of the three stepped forward. Spencer; read the name on his uniform. He rang his hat between his shaky fingers before he said, “My lord, I regret to inform you that your brother has been murdered.”

Jason felt as though he were drowning in a dream.

His brother. Murdered. Alan. Dead.

His head was pounding with enough force to make a lesser man pass out, luckily he was used to the pain. Jason closed his eyes, rubbing his hand hard over them as the voice of Officer Spencer droned in the background. He was explaining how Alan had been found.

“He was robbed. His pockets were picked,” Spencer said.

Lights seemed to flicker and burst behind Jason’s eyes. He tried to open them but the action of that was too taxing. He gripped Elizabeth’s fingers tightly in his. She stroked her thumb over the back of his hand. Officer Spencer’s voice came back into focus.

“He was stabbed multiple times, but the one that killed him went into his chest. Most likely his heart.”

The pain in Jason's head rose an inflection until he began to hear ringing in his ears. His grip on his wife’s fingers increased.

“Thank you officers.” He heard Elizabeth say. “But as you can see, the earl is need of mourning right now.”

“We have a few questions for the earl, if you do not mind, my lady,” Officer Spencer replied.

“Oh, but I do mind.” Elizabeth retorted. “Now if you will please excuse yourselves.”

“My lady this is-”

“The questions can wait for morning, can they not?” Elizabeth said cutting in.

There was a long silence where Jason figured that the officer and his wife were at a stalemate. Jason had no doubt that Elizabeth would come out the victor.

“Yes, of course,” Officer Spencer finally said.

Elizabeth pried her fingers from Jason's tight grasp and then he heard her leave the sitting room with the police. When the door shut behind him he fell back onto the settee he was seated on. He brought his fingers to his temples and rubbed.

Alan. Dead. Murdered.

Some time later Elizabeth returned. He felt her hand on his arm, but her voice was distant as she told him to drink the tonic. He was not sure when, or if he finally did. The last thing he remembered were the tiny pinpricks of light that he watched exploding behind his closed lids.

Elizabeth paced back and forth across the hardwood floor of the sitting room. Her husband sat in a chair a few feet away from where her angry pace had taken her, and two officers were seated directly in front of him.

The uniformed police had arrived at the manor door promptly at dawn. After a night of an unrestful sleep, she and Jason had been up at their arrival. They met the officers in the sitting room and then the questions began.

At first the questions were simple like; how old had Alan been, and did he have friends in town? To that Jason answered that Alan was nearing his thirtieth year, and all of his friends- if they could be called that- would be found in the gambling houses. Elizabeth sat next to Jason while that series of questions went on.

Then the questions became more personal. Not just for Alan, but for Elizabeth as well. They asked about women that Alan might have been seeing and what his relationship with Elizabeth had been like. Elizabeth had wanted to curse them both for what they seemed to be insinuating. But Jason had placed a comforting hand on her back and she stayed quiet.

The officers went on to speak about Jason’s bruised eye and the broken nose Alan had suffered. They had spoken to a nameless source that told them of the fight between the brothers and also told them that it was over Elizabeth. That was not entirely untrue, their fight stemmed from her. Elizabeth knew that much, but it was not as the officers made it seem. There had been no affair!

When they began to speak about the altercation that she’d had with Alan the previous day and how strange it was that Alan showed up dead only hours afterward, Elizabeth had had enough. She could no longer sit there and take their accusations. She left Jason’s side and began to pace the floor.

Jason continued to calmly answer the officers questions as though their presumptions did not affect him. But she was not blind to Jason’s feelings. She could see the fire growing under his skin. The anger that their accusations caused him. But he would never let either officer see him unhinged, it would only serve to make the situation more precarious.

“Earl Morgan,” Officer Spencer said, “did you have a hand in your brothers death?”

Elizabeth’s eyes flew open, she looked to Jason, who was-of all things–unmoved. How could he do it? How could he remain so calm in the face of such lies, such accusations?

“No,” Jason answered them. “And if you have more questions to ask you will do so with my lawyer present.”

Spencer heaved a sigh and gathered himself. “We will be in touch,” Spencer said right before he and the second officer were shown out.

Elizabeth waited until she could see them riding off of the lawn. “How dare they?” she asked, heatedly.

Jason was quiet, eerily so. He looked to Elizabeth and she could see the storm brewing inside of him.

“They think Alan and I were having an affair. An affair, Jason. They think that you killed your brother.”

“No matter. They won’t find any evidence to put me there.”

“You speak of it so calmly,” Elizabeth told him.

“I know what they think to be true is not.”

Elizabeth turned to the window. She tried, unsuccessfully, to calm her riddled nerves.

“Come here, Elizabeth.”

She glanced over her shoulder at Jason, he looked so tired. Between finding out about Alan, dealing with his fit of pain, lack of sleep, and the police questioning, he was worn. She walked over to him and dropped into his lap. Jason’s arms tightened around her and he closed his eyes, resting his head on her shoulder.

Elizabeth felt the tension ease from her body while in his arms. She lifted her hand to his hair and ran her fingers through the soft strands.

Somehow everything would be fine. It had to be.

Jason found himself aimlessly walking the manor halls. He had been walking for an hour, maybe longer; he had lost track of time. His thoughts drifted from Alan, to Elizabeth, to the baby and back.

Alan was dead. He had accepted that, he had even mourned for his brother in his own way.

He and Alan had never been close. Other than their familial resemblance they were as different as day and night.

Where as children, Jason had found solitude in books of continents, Alan found his in sneaking glasses of his fathers scotch and replacing the missing portion with water. As they became older and Jason took an interest in riding horses, Alan found his interests outside of the estate. He would steal money from their father and run off for days, usually returning home with empty pockets and smelling of spirits.

After the death of their mother Alan disappeared for longer than a few days. He was gone for over two years, leaving all of his responsibilities as the heir behind in favor of liquor and women. Jason was left to shoulder his brothers responsibilities and help his aging father with town affairs.

Even still, it had come as a surprise to Jason that upon his fathers death the estate had been left in his name. His brother had taken that particularly hard; Alan had told anyone with an ear that Jason had poisoned his fathers mind. Why else would he make such a rash decision?

The answer, to Jason, had become clear. Their father knew that if the estate was left in the hands of Alan their legacy would be gambled away in watering holes, gaming hells, and whore houses.

Jason’s thoughts of Alan stopped when he entered the nursery. Looking around the softly painted yellow room he felt the future of his legacy stronger than he had ever before.

He walked over to one of the three dark maple cradles. Running his hand along the smooth wood he thought of what it would be like to see his child asleep in the very crib. He moved his hand away from the polished wood.

He may never know.

He could very well die before his child was born, or it could be worse. He could be charged with Alan’s murder and imprisoned, then die soon after.

A whisper of movement caught Jason’s eye, bringing his attention away from the cradle. He turned to the door just as Elizabeth was entering the nursery. 

“What are you thinking about?” she asked, her eyes landing on the safari mural he’d had painted before he began his search for a wife.

Jason looked to it as well. He had hired the best artist he knew of to paint the mural. He gave specific instructions on what animals he wanted and how the backdrop should be. The finished product was beautiful, it reminded him of his time in Africa.

He let his gaze travel away from the mural to Elizabeth, their eyes met. “About you and the baby... Alan.”

“It is horrible, what happened to your brother.”

Jason nodded in response. While he and Alan were never close, and the he had been mad enough at Alan for harming Elizabeth to skin him alive, he could not deny that the loss of his brother was horrible.

Elizabeth’s gaze went back to the mural. “It looks so real. As though I could walk right into the painting and be in that place, at that time.”

Her words made Jason smile. “It is just as I remember it.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “You mean that you have been there? Where is it, then?”

“Africa.”

He thought that her eyes could not get any bigger, they did. “Africa? When did you visit?”

“Three years ago. I traveled to the continent of Africa six month before my father died. I would have stayed, had my father not become ill.”

Elizabeth nodded. “You came back to be by his side.”

“You could say that. But it was more that I came back to take his place as earl.”

Her brows furrowed. “Why you and not Alan?”

Jason sighed as he thought back on their childhood, to he and Alan’s strained relationships with their father. “My father believed Alan to be incapable of running the estate. Before his death he signed his will leaving me full custody of the estate and town along with the title of earl.”

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes still on the painting. “So that is what Alan was speaking of.”

Jason glanced her way. “What did my brother tell you.”

“That you stole his title,” she answered, looking from the mural to him.

A short laugh passed Jason’s lips. “He wanted to believe that, but deep down I doubt he thought it true. Alan was a gambler, and a bad one. He also had a habit of spending money on prostitutes. My father would have never left his estate in Alan’s hands.”

She seemed satisfied with that answer. “What do you think the police will do?”

“Did you paint today?” he asked, avoiding her inquiry.

Elizabeth batted a hand at him then crossed her arms. “You are trying to change the subject.”

“So I am.” He could not help the smile that came to his mouth. Elizabeth was adorable when she was flustered.

“I did.”

“When will you let me see them?”

She dropped her arms and shrugged. “When they are complete.”

“I hope I live to see that.”

Elizabeth scoffed at him. “Jason.”

“It was a joke,” he said with a laugh as he pulled her into his arms.

“Then you should not joke.” She rested her cheek against his chest. “You are not very good at it.”

“I have to meet my lawyer in town,” he told her reluctantly. He hated to leave her side but he did need to speak with Bernie about Alan’s death.

Elizabeth looked up at him knowingly. “Will you not tell me anything of this police investigation.”

“You know all that I do about it, Elizabeth.”

“Fine.” She freed herself from his arms. “I will be in the gardens for a few hours.”

“I will meet you there when I return.”

Elizabeth gave him a half smile then turned away.

Jason watched her leave then looked back to the mural. The last thing he wanted to do was put stress on Elizabeth. She already had enough to deal with and he could not be sure that things would work themselves out as easily as he hoped. It was not lost on Jason that there was a chance that he could end up in jail for Alan’s murder. If he was not dead before it came to that.

Jason was hiding something from her. That much she knew.

Elizabeth found her usual spot on the garden lawn. She fanned a blanket onto the grass and plopped down.

She had not bothered to bring her art supplies, she was not in the mood to paint. She had tried earlier to no avail. She had been so worried that she was unable to hold the brush steady between her trembling fingers. And now she was even more worried than she had been before.

When she had asked Jason about his thoughts on the police and their questioning, Jason had avoided to answer. She knew that he was doing that to protect her but she did not need to be protected. She needed to know what was going on so that she could be prepared.

But what could be done? She had kept things from Jason as well in the name of protecting him. But all of her secrets were out now, he was still hiding things from her. Important things.

She signed, defeated, and fingered the hem of her teal dress.

“Hello there!”

Elizabeth lifted her head and found a small dark haired woman coming down the grassy hill in her direction. The woman was hauling a large covered basked that was hooked between the crook of her arm. Her stomach was roundly poking out in front of her. Elizabeth rose to her feet and rushed to the woman’s side to help with the load.

“Hello,” Elizabeth said as she reached the woman’s side.

“So you are the girl who married the earl?” The woman said.

Elizabeth waited for the snide follow up question that always came after someone realized who she was. She was shocked when the question never came but instead the woman put her hand out.

“Robin Drake. Wife of Patrick Drake. Nice to meet you.”

“Elizabeth,” she returned, shaking the pregnant woman’s hand. “Good to meet you too.” It was fair to say that Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised. “Let me help you with the basket.”

Robin relinquished the basket into Elizabeth’s hold and they made their way to the blanket Elizabeth had set out. After helping Robin position herself on the blanket, Elizabeth did the same.

“What is in the basket?” she asked after Robin’s heavy breathing slowed.

“Some fruits and an assortment of small sandwiches.” Robin uncovered the food and handed Elizabeth a sandwich wrapped in a thick cloth napkin.

Elizabeth waited until Robin had bitten into her own sandwich before she took a bite of hers. She could not help her eyes from traveling to Robin’s stomach. For such a little woman her stomach was astoundingly huge. “How far out are you?”

“About eight months,” Robin said with a broad smile.

“Really? And you are not in confinement?”

Robin looked amused. “I wish someone would try to confine me to the house because my belly was round. I would knock them good with my heeled boot. Right over their head.”

It was then that Elizabeth noticed the lack of bonnet and dainty gloves on the woman in front of her. Robin was not painted either, not even with rouge for the coloring of her cheeks. Elizabeth felt at once at ease with her and took another bite of her sandwich.

Robin was the first woman she had come in contact with since entering Morgan, aside from the maids, that lacked the same propriety Elizabeth did. By choice, no less.

“Besides,” Robin added, “I am the town midwife. If I’m in confinement then who would help all of the confined with-child women of this town through delivery?”

She had a point, Elizabeth thought. “But if you are the only midwife then who will help you?”

“Oh, this is my third,” Robin answered, pointing at her belly. “I no longer need assistance.”

It became clear to Elizabeth that she was going to like this Robin.

“Will they not be moved?” Jason asked looking over the police documents he held in his hand.

Bernie looked discouraged. “Nothing I did or said changed a thing.”

“But I was with my wife at the time of Alan’s death.”

“True,” Bernie said, “but they questioned your service staff and none of them saw you between the hours. And your wife is not considered reliable; they believe that she will lie for you. And then all of the witnesses that saw the altercation between Alan and-”

“Damnation!” Jason slapped the papers down on Bernie’s desk. Damn Alan to hell. “Are they not looking for any other suspects? What about Alan’s debts and the people he owed?”

Bernie looked away as he spoke. “They would not inform me of the particulars. Just that they believe you had a hand in Alan’s end.”

Jason stepped away from the desk. “You will inform me of any changes?”

“Of course. I will also do all I can to get you out of this,” Bernie answered, determinedly.

Jason left.

He mounted Thunder and turned back in the direction of the manor. As the horse began a steady gallop Jason laughed quietly to himself. He was being accused of killing his brother and could very well go to jail. Alan could not have done a better job of snaring Jason if he had planned his death himself.

Two watercress sandwiches and a few slices of apple later, Elizabeth was still enjoying the company that Robin provided. She had even been able to get her mind away from thoughts of the police and their crude questioning.

She had learned that Robin was from a small town as well. She met Patrick when she was seventeen and they married a year later, their first child was born just seven months after that. Elizabeth had thought that Robin was not one for propriety, it had come to be that Robin pretty much laughed in the face of decorum.

Robin had wanted to be a doctor but women doctors were unheard of so she went into the closest profession to a doctor that a woman could. She became a midwife.

Elizabeth and Robin were in the middle of a fit of laughter when a deep voice broke into their fun.

“Didn’t I tell you they would make a pair?”

Elizabeth looked up from her sitting position to make out her husband and Patrick standing just feet away.

“You did,” Jason answered his friend with a grin.

“Like peas in a pod,” Patrick added.

Elizabeth got to her feet and Jason was at her side in seconds. “It is nice to see you again... under better circumstances,” Elizabeth added. Her memory of accusing Jason of taking opium in front of Patrick was still an embarrassment for her.

Patrick gave her a knowing grin, flashing a set of dimples. “Always a pleasure to see you, my lady,” Patrick said, helping his wife to her feet.

“I guess we should get going,” Robin said, “The sun will be down soon.”

Jason grabbed the basket of food from the ground and handed it to Patrick.

“I will be dropping by to check on your pregnancy progression,” Robin said as she hugged Elizabeth goodbye.

Elizabeth waved them off with Jason at her side. After the Drake’s were out of seeing distance Jason wrapped an arm around Elizabeth’s waist bringing her in front of him.

“How was your afternoon with Robin?”

She looked up to meet his blue stare. “Quite nice,” Elizabeth said. “How was the meeting with your lawyer?”

Jason looked away.“Fine.”

“Will you tell me no more than that?” Elizabeth felt her patience for Jason’s vagueness slipping. She wanted answers.

Jason continued to stare off over her head and Elizabeth took that as a no. She huffed and slipped from his hold. Snatching her blanket from the ground, she stormed past him, off in the direction of the manor.

Jason listened to his wife’s retreating steps.

What was he supposed to tell Elizabeth? That he could very well go to jail for a murder he didn’t commit? The murder of his own brother? Alan was probably looking down at him laughing at the possibility, or looking up at him- that was more likely.

Jason walked over to the rose bush that Elizabeth loved so much. A cool chill rose the hair on the back of his neck. He brought a hand to his neck and rubbed the cold away as he looked up. The sun was setting, casting picturesque shades of red and gold across the sky.

He turned to leave the garden but a light rustling stopped him. The tingling of a presence crept up his spine and he slowly turned around.

There she stood. His mother. Off by the trees that led to the tiny cottage home. Her back was too him, her long black hair fell like a jet sheet down her back. Her white gown blew softly in the slight late-night breeze.

He thought of walking towards her the way he always did when she came to him but that would be of no use. She would take off and disappear in the thick woods as soon as he got close enough to touch her.

Touch her? She was not real, she was only a figment of his mind.

Anger began to build inside of him but he tamped it down. He would not let himself go into a tantrum this time. He would turn around and walk away.

That was exactly what he did.

Though it took all of his will to do so, he turned his back on the ghastly vision, and started for the house. After he had gone a short distance Jason forced himself to look back. His mother, like he knew she would be, was gone.

Elizabeth returned to the manor in annoyance. Was it too much to ask for Jason to inform her of what was going on? Apparently he thought so.

What was he not telling her? She walked slowly to her room going over the possibilities. When she reached her sitting room. She expected to see Sarah waiting for her the way she normally was, but her maid was not there. Elizabeth was glad for the peace. The last thing she wanted was Sarah chattering her ear off about Alan’s death. Just earlier the gossiping maid had asked Elizabeth about the police questioning.

Elizabeth had been hardly able to contain her ire. Sarah had gall, too much for someone who was in employ of the earl. There was no telling what she would go into town and tell the townspeople about Jason. Something would have to be done about her.

After sitting for minutes without being able to put a tamper on her miffed state, Elizabeth left the room for the kitchen. She always found solace in Matty when she was in low a mood. The elder woman had a way about her that set people at ease.

Elizabeth entered the kitchen and was greeted by a smiling Matty. The round woman was preparing dinner.

“Hello, my lady. What brings you here at this hour when you should be getting ready for dinner?” Matty asked, not looking away from the gravy she was stirring.

“I was too anxious to sit still and wait for Sarah.”

“I see,” Matty cast her a glance. “You are worried about Earl Morgan?”

“I am,” Elizabeth said. She went to the cabinet that kept the chocolate. “I fear that things are very bad, and Jason will not tell me just how bad.” Elizabeth took out a chocolate piece and bit into it.

Matty grunted. “He is only trying to protect you, the same way you tried to protect him by going into town to see Dr. Hampton.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened. She thought that she had done a good job of covering her tracks. “You knew that?”

“Not at first,” Matty said as she put a rack of rolls into the stove. “But you were not as discreet as you wanted to be.”

“I just wanted to help him, and I told him about it the same day. But he has not told me about the police or what his lawyer thinks. Nothing.” Elizabeth plopped down on a foot stool and fingered the hem of her dress.

“Give him time,” Matty said, wisely.

“I know I should, but I worry about him so. First his pains and then his madness and now this. One after the other.”

Matty shuffled across the kitchen and rummaged in the cabinets. “The earl has always suffered his pains. Since he was a boy.”

That was a surprise to Elizabeth. “I assumed that they came with his madness.” Yet something else Jason had kept from her.

“Oh no,” Matty answered, pulling a jar of peach preserves from the cabinet. “He took on the same plight of his mother early in life.”

That was right. Jason had told her of his mothers pains. She should have put it together. “Tell me about Susan.”

“Humph,” Matty put the preserves on the counter and locked her hands on her hips, she appeared deep in thought. “She was a kind woman, she loved her boys dearly, and -help her- she loved their father. But she suffered from the head pains and had a hard time dealing with her husbands ways.”

Elizabeth knew that much. “Did it drive her mad?”

“Not mad. It did break her heart. Died earlier than she should of because of it.” Matty’s face became solemn. She wiped her hands off on her apron and looked away.

Elizabeth took that as the end of the conversation. “Well I guess I should go get ready for dinner,” she said pushing up from the foot stool.

“Very well, my lady. Dinner will be served within the half.”

“Will you not speak to me at all tonight?”

No, I will not, Elizabeth thought. She had refrained from speaking to her husband through dinner. She could go the rest of the night and all of tomorrow if she had to, but she refused to say a word to him until he told her what type of trouble he might be in.

Elizabeth knew that it was not good. How could it be when Jason wouldn’t even let her know what was going on? But she had a right to know.

“Elizabeth, come here.”

The deep tone of his voice washed over her like warm water, but she would not go to him. She ignored the heat pooling between her thighs as she struggled to get out of her dress.

“Do you want help.”

She cast him a glance of feigned indifference and looked away. Of course she wanted help. She wanted his skilled fingers plucking the buttons at her back, she wanted his warm breath on her neck, but she would not ask for or accept his help.

After a few tugs Elizabeth was out of her dress. She turned her back to him as she pulled her undergarments off and draped a gown over her body.

“You are acting like a child, Elizabeth. But I guess that you still are.”

Her body jerked in response to his snide remark, but she quickly reigned in her emotions. He wanted her to react, she would not give him the pleasure. She pulled back the covers on her side of the bed and slipped between them.

“You are causing my head to ache by acting this way.”

That, she did care about. She hated when he suffered in pain. Still, she had made up her mind not to speak to him until he told her what she wanted to know. Nothing would change that. Not even Jason claiming to be in pain. He was probably making it up anyway.

“Fine,” Jason said in exasperation. She felt the bed lighten as he removed himself from his sitting position at the foot. His heavy steps crossed the floor, the door opened and closed behind him.

Elizabeth sighed. She had run her husband from their bed, when all she had wanted to do was get him to tell her how bad the trouble with the police was. It was never her intention to distance herself from him, just to show him how determined she was about knowing what he was keeping from her.

Jason had been right, she was acting childish and now he was upset with her.

Elizabeth wiped away the single tear that slipped from her eye away then curled into the bed and waited for Jason to return or to fall asleep. Which ever came first.

Elizabeth woke, instinctively reaching out for Jason and frowned when he was not there. She sat up, taking in the room around her. All was as it had been last night, including Jason’s side of the bed. It was unmoved. He had not slept in their room.

Heat coursed through Elizabeth’s veins at the realization. She had gone to sleep fully expecting Jason to return after he had cooled off, but he hadn’t.

Elizabeth angrily kicked the covers from her body and left the bed. She pulled a long robe over her gown and left the room. The first place she stopped was Jason’s study. At first glance he did not appear to be there but as she walked farther into the room she saw his long legs extending on the floor from a chair that faced the window.

She took a few more cautious steps into the room and could see the top of Jason’s head peeking just below the back of the chair. One of his arms was thrown over his eyes and the other was gripping the arm of the chair.

A surge of guilt alighted in her chest. If she hadn’t been so disagreeable Jason would have slept with her, in their bed, instead of in a chair.

Unconsciously, Elizabeth pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. She wanted to rush over to him and ask him to forgive her for her actions but she couldn’t. She was too stubborn to do so, just like Jason was too stubborn to tell her what she wanted to know. As usual, they were at an impasse.

"Are you going to stand there debating or will you come here?"

Jason’s voice startled her and Elizabeth visibly jumped. "I thought you were sleeping," she said as she slowly approached the chair he was sitting in.

"I wish I could have slept," Jason replied, dropping his arm from his eyes and scooting up in the chair. "I take it you are speaking to me again?"

Elizabeth worried her lip as she tried to come up with an answer. She was still upset with Jason. She still wanted to know what he was hiding from her, but she could no longer act like petulant child where her husband was concerned.

"Yes, I am," she answered placing her hand on his shoulder.

Jason took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and then rested his forehead against it. "I am tired, Elizabeth. Too tired to argue about last night."

"I do not want to argue either, Jason."

He dropped her hand and raised his head, looking up at her. "I can see it in your eyes though. You will not be content until I tell you everything."

Elizabeth pursed her lips at his comment. Jason knew her well. "You are right."

He sighed heavily and rubbed his brow in thought.

Elizabeth was about to turn and leave him to his contemplation when he grabbed her arm. He brought her around the chair so that her back was to him and she was facing the window. Jason wrapped his hands around her waist and leaned forward in the chair so that his head was at her hip. The closeness warmed Elizabeth and she found herself fingering the hair at the nape of his neck.

"That is where I first saw you," he said, lifting a hand from her waist to point down at the lawn.

Elizabeth cold not contain her curiosity. "You mean that your first time seeing me was not when I entered this study?"

"Not exactly. I first laid eyes on you as you marched determinedly down the walkway to this house. You were wearing a grey dress and your hair was scandalously free."

Elizabeth felt her cheeks heat. "I was a mess," she said. "I had been riding for days in the rain, heat and dust, just so that I could apply for the position of your wife." She gave a little laugh.

"You were stubborn, even then. I could tell from that distance that you would be a force. But then when you walked into this study and I looked into your deep blue eyes..."

"You told me to leave," Elizabeth said looking away from the window to meet his upturned gaze.

"Not before I realized that you were bold, feisty and as stubborn as a mule."

Elizabeth let her mouth fall in mock shock, "A mule?"

Jason pulled her down into his lap. "A very pretty one."

"A very common one," Elizabeth retorted.

"Far more beautiful than any other painted mule that was in attendance," Jason pressed a finger over her mouth before she could respond. "Hush now, you know it to be true."

Elizabeth’s face burned in a blush as she stared her husband in the eyes. His intense blue gaze was captivating and she became hot with need for him. She darted her tongue out to touch the finger he had pressed to her lips.

Jason moaned and she instantly felt him harden beneath her. She felt powerful in the moment and opened her mouth, taking the tip of his index finger inside. His moan turned into a groan and he shifted lifting his hips under her. Elizabeth caught his hand in hers and held it as she lowered her mouth completely over his finger.

"You will undo me," he said in a breathy rasp.

"No matter," Elizabeth replied after slipping his digit from her mouth. "I love you undone."

"God, Elizabeth." Jason lifted her in his arms and stood up from the chair. A few quick steps and they were at his desk. He used one arm to sweep the surface free, all of the notes, posts, inkwells went flying to the floor.

Elizabeth stared up at him, wide eyed, as he set her on the desk then eased her down. He pushed her dress above her hips and smiled down at her with a devilish glint as he pushed his pants down.

"I can’t wait another second," he said as he leveled himself at her center.

Elizabeth lifted herself. Resting on her elbows she looked at him adoringly and said, "Then do n... Oh..." Elizabeth’s head fell backward in pleasure as Jason thrust into her.

His fingers gripped her hips tight, holding her in place as his hips pounded between her thighs.

"Do not... don’t ever leave me to sleep alone again," Elizabeth managed to say between Jason’s feverish thrusts. She undulated her hips upward to take him into her fully.

"Never again," Jason answered. He stared down at the connection of their body’s in awe. "Never again," he repeated.

Elizabeth lifted herself and caught his eyes. "Promise," she moaned as he stroked into her wanton body.

Jason moved a hand from her hip, reaching for the bodice of her gown. He pulled it down forcefully and one breast poured out from it’s confines. "I promise," he said in a hoarse tone right before his head dropped down and caught her nipple between his teeth.

Elizabeth closed her eyes, enraptured, and let her head loll back to the desk. Jason’s pace picked up and he began to thrust wildly into her. She could feel the start of him losing himself; his pace became frenzied and he sucked on her nipple to the point of pleasurable pain.

She called his name from her lips over and over as her own orgasm crept up on her. She contracted and clenched him tightly, bringing him over the edge of passion with her. Jason jerked into her deeply and called out her name in a hoarse wail. His cock jumped inside of her and Elizabeth squeezed him tighter in response.

Jason fell forward, his hands resting against the desk just above her head, he kept himself from falling completely on her. His breaths were labored above her, his mouth was a breath away from hers.

"I love you, Elizabeth." Jason told her.

Elizabeth’s lips parted to return the endearment. Jason swooped down on her mouth, catching her lips in a rough kiss. Her words were swallowed in their kiss as he tasted every sweet bit of her. God, how he had missed her last night.

When he pulled away he was pleased to see her lips plump and red from his kisses.

"I love you," she replied, breathlessly. She reached a hand up and ran her fingers through his hair. "So much. That is why I am so worried about-"

"About the police," Jason finished for her. Jason watched as Elizabeth drew her bottom lip between her teeth. He hardened inside of her at the sight of her full bottom lip tangled between her white teeth.

He lifted her from the desk without leaving her body. Elizabeth wrapped her legs around his hips and he walked back over to the chair. He fell down into the seat, bringing Elizabeth down astride him.

Jason leaned his head down eyeing the full breast in front of him. The reddened nipple was puckered and erect. He took the nipple between his teeth and bit down lightly. Elizabeth moaned and tightened her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to her breast. He licked her hot nipple then sucked it fully into his mouth. Elizabeth rocked her hips forward on him so he did it again; nipping, licking and sucking. She lifted herself and came down on him, slick and tight.

His mouth left her breast and he trailed wet kisses up her chest and neck. He lifted his hand to cup her breast, squeezing the tender offering in his palm. Elizabeth’s lips parted beautifully and Jason was pleased to see her pink tongue dart out and lick her bottom lip. The wet trail it left behind made him groan. He touched his tongue to her glistening lip and brought it into his mouth.

Elizabeth continued to rock herself above him and within minutes he was thrusting his hips up to meet her. Her head fell back and he reached up to cup her delicate neck in his hand. The smooth dampness of her skin sent him reeling and he bucked his hips up wildly into her. Elizabeth covered his hand with both of hers at her neck and Jason could feel her pulse beating rapidly under his fingertips.

She was his.

For however long he was able to have her he would not let go. Not another night would be spent without Elizabeth, and he owed it to her to tell her the levity of all situations that affected not only him but Elizabeth and their child.

Jason thrust up one final time and with it came a hard burst of fulfillment. "Mine," he growled. Leaning down, he bit softly on the top of her breast.

Elizabeth collapsed over him. Her limbs heavy with satiation. She rested her head between the crook of his neck while her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck.

It had to be done. He was going to have to tell Elizabeth that he could go to jail for his brother’s murder.

After their breathing had leveled out Jason tilted Elizabeth’s head up with his finger. When her sapphire gaze met his Jason felt some of his resolve fade. Elizabeth was still so young and innocent in many ways. He had already taken away a great deal of her future by just marrying her.

Even though she had come to love him and would undoubtably love their child, he couldn’t help feeling a bite of guilt in knowing that he would leave her a young mother and widow. And if he didn’t die before that he could very well end up leaving her as a mother and wife to a murderer.

"What is it, Jason?" Elizabeth asked him, bringing his thoughts back to the present.

He cleared his throat, "It is not good." He felt Elizabeth tense at his words.

"The police," she whispered. The beginnings of tears pooled in her eyes.

Jason, nodded, unable to speak past the lump in his throat.

"But you did not kill, Alan. You were with me all night," Elizabeth said in his defense. "We told the police that, did they forget? Did you not remind them?"

Elizabeth’s eyes seemed to plead reason with him. He moved a wayward strand away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "The police believe that you are not a credible enough alibi."

"But you were here, surely the staff can back that truth."

"The staff did not see me here, Elizabeth. And then there is the fight between me and Alan."

"I remember the police saying that someone told them that it was over me." Elizabeth looked to him, her eyes alight with suspicion. "There is a traitor right here in this manor. In your employ. She shifted off of him. Standing, she let her sleeping gown fall back to her ankles.

Jason pulled his pants up and sighed as he watched Elizabeth pace the floor.

"What are you going to do about this, Jason."

"What would you have me do?"

"Find out who it was and fire them."

Jason fought a grin. If only it were that simple. "In order to do that I would have to question the whole service staff. That would only serve to cause an uproar."

"But someone betrayed you."

"Elizabeth, they only told what they thought happened, what they saw."

"I do not care about that, Jason. I care about you, about our future. And someone in this manor was willing to supply damaging information to the police against you, who knows what else they will do or say if given the chance?"

He could not dispute that Elizabeth had a point. "I will see what can be done."

She seemed satisfied enough with that answer. After a minute she stopped pacing and faced him. "Is there more?"

"They believe that my motivation was that you and Alan were having an affair."

Elizabeth rested her hands on her hips. "I figured that much. Do they have any other suspects."

Jason shifted uncomfortably in the chair. Elizabeth saw the move and narrowed her eyes at him. "As far as I know, I am the only one."

She dropped her hands from her hips, defeated. "Tell me we will get through this."

Jason stood and Elizabeth moved into his arms. "We will," he whispered into her hair, taking in the soft scent of rose with each breath.

With no more secrets between them now, somehow they would.

His wife was beautiful. Everyday he woke up to her nestled close to his body he felt whole. In these quiet moments, just as the sun was breaking the horizon, minutes before the first bird chirped its cheerful song, with Elizabeth in his arms, Jason was complete. Soon the realities of life would intrude on the ease he now reveled in. Like each day, harsh truths would set in and Jason would remember just how unfortunate he was. But for now he would live in the moment, get as close to his wife as was possible, and just be.

Jason closed his eyes and nuzzled his nose in Elizabeth’s crown. Her hair was cool from the chilled air in the room. The soft fragrant rose scent she carried, soothed him. She shifted and stretched, her body pressing tautly against his. The soft kiss of her lashes against his bare chest let Jason know that Elizabeth was well awake. Like him, she didn’t move much upon awakening. As though she didn’t want the sweet dreams of the night to leave her just yet. Jason ran his fingers through her tousled hair.

"You’ve been watching me," she said sleepily, flexing her body again.

Jason settled his hand on the flare of her hip. "I have."

"Why is that?" she asked, smiling up at him with sleep heavy eyes.

"I find myself unable to resist a peek at your for too long."

"You wish to flatter me." She tapped his chest with her blunt nails, a sweet blush stained her cheeks.

Jason lightly grabbed her wrist and lifted her hand to his lips. "Trust me, my flatteries are as real as my affections for you." he kissed the tips of her fingers, his manhood hardened. "And my affections for you are very real."

Laughing, Elizabeth looked up at him. Her deep sapphire eyes held him captive in their stare. How was it possible that she became even more beautiful with each passing day?

"I have an early morning, therefore your affections must wait for a later time."

Jason’s brows drew together. "An early morning?"

Elizabeth shifted, propping up on her forearms. "I am going into town today."

He didn’t like that idea. With Alan’s death fresh in the minds of the townspeople, and the accusations currently being tossed around, he wanted Elizabeth nowhere near the town.

"You’re worried," she sighed, taking in the downward pull of his mouth. "Jason, hiding will not make it go away."

"I don’t want you to hide, Elizabeth. I want to protect you from this." The last word was an unintentional hiss.

She looked contemplatively at him. "If it bothers you so, I won’t go. But it is not as though those very same townspeople won’t be in the manor in just two days for Alan’s memorial, we will have to face them then."

She was right. There would be a parade of people in the manor to remember Alan. They would come to eat his food and drink his wine and give their condolences for a man they did not know-- and if they had known him, did not care for--and when he turned his back they would whisper murderous things about him. They would name him a killer of his own brother.

But this was something that he and Elizabeth could not hide from, it was coming to them whether they liked it or not. "Go into town," he said finally. "But do not venture out alone, stay with Matty." He thought of her last trip into town and her run in with Alan. But his brother was gone now. Still... "Just be careful," he finished.

Elizabeth nodded with a smile. Jason pulled her closer, tucking her into him. A strange sensation settled over, nagged at his nerves. He identified the feeling as loss. Loss of what though? Not Alan, for he had grieved for his brother in his own way already. Jason pushed the feeling aside in favor of savoring the rest of dawn with is wife.

Elizabeth knew that she could not hide forever. Alan’s funeral was just two days away and Matty was going into town to get the preparations for the gathering that would surely come. If not to mourn the loss of Alan, then to gawk at the madman they thought responsible, and the madman’s common wife who had been at the root of it all.

These accusations had already been cast by the police, which in turn were leaked to the public. Lies, all of it, but there was no proof of the truth. In fact, it seemed like the story fabricated by the police was being backed up with evidence. Everything had fallen perfectly into place, tying Jason and Elizabeth directly into the murder.

The horse-drawn carriage hitched, and Elizabeth lunged forward. She had to throw her hands out to keep from banging her head on the opposite wall. But in saving her head she had injured something else. Pain lanced through her right hand and into her wrist. She cradled it in the opposite hand as she caught her breath. She felt the carriage roll to a stop. The door swung open, warm summer air breezed in.

"Are you all right, child?" Matty was her usual calm self but her normally neat bun was falling loosely to the side, strands of curly gray and brown hair sprung free, framing her round face.

"I am fine, Matty. How are you and Damian?"

"Don’t worry yourself about us, we’re fine. Hit an uneven patch of road, horses didn't take to it, that’s all." Matty gave a reassuring smile. Her kind eyes slowly looking Elizabeth over. They stopped at the hand Elizabeth was cradling. "You hurt yourself," Matty proclaimed.

"It is nothing, I assure you. Just a little bump."

"If that is true, then you wont mind if I have a look."

Matty yelled for Damian to keep going, just before she slipped into the coach beside Elizabeth. She gently examined the hurt wrist, mumbling to herself as Elizabeth winced at the pain.

"You will have to see a doctor," Matty told her once the makeshift exam was over.

Elizabeth did not argue, she had far too many worries on her mind to make a fuss over seeing a doctor. Thankfully, the rest of the trip was uneventful.

They reached the town and Matty walked with Elizabeth to the office of Dr. Hampton. When Matty insisted on staying, Elizabeth did argue. It would be better if Matty went ahead with the shopping. Elizabeth would catch up. Matty had reluctantly left.

Elizabeth opened the door and was greeted by a young man who introduced himself as Dr. Hampton’s secretary. "May I help you?" he asked after introductions were over.

Yes," Elizabeth nodded once. "I hurt my wrist in a carriage incident and wanted to have Dr. Hampton look it over."

"I see. Well, Dr. Hampton is not in right now, he’s on a house call. You may wait if you like."

Elizabeth pulled her lip between her teeth, contemplating. "Is there another doctor in town?"

"Well, yes..." The man hesitated, as though he hated to turn a paying patient over to another doctor. After a brief spell of silence he spoke again. "There is Dr. Jones. His office is a few doors down."

Dr. Jones. Elizabeth wondered if he was the same doctor that had diagnosed Jason with madness? Jason’s words of not going off alone or leaving Matty’s side replayed in her head. But she had good reason for this venture, didn’t she? Jason would not condemn her for seeing about her health. "Thank you, I think I’ll go there now."

Elizabeth left, hurrying the few feet to the office of Dr. Jones. She entered. In her haste she ran directly into a broad chest. Looking up, she meet the face of a man, youthful in appearance, rich hazel eyes the color of the scotch that her husband sometimes drank. The slight gray hair that peeked from his top hat marked him slightly older than his face had at first inspection.

"I’m sorry," she said, backing away breathless. "I was in quite a rush."

"I see that," he said, smiling. His smile was warm but she noticed that it did not reach his eyes. "Are you here to see the doctor?"

"I am. I suffered a minor accident and injured my wrist. My companion insisted that I see a doctor, though I don’t know if that is necessary. It is most likely nothing at all." She was nervous and she was rambling. The two, in her case, went hand in hand.

His smile broadened, still the humor didn’t touch is eyes. "I am Dr. Jones. Let us have a look at your wrist."

"Oh," Elizabeth answered dumbly. He didn't look the way she had envisioned Dr. Jones would and she found herself almost not too eager to believe his claim. But the air about him claimed the space with ownership. Still, there was something about him that made her wary. "But you were on your way out, I did not mean to keep you."

"You are the wife of the earl, nothing would keep me from making sure that you were in top health." He showed her to a chair and turned to his medical bag.

His comment threw her off.  "How did you know I was the earl’s wife, we have not met before?"

He flashed her a look over his shoulder, his amber eyes reminding her of a fox. "I caught a glimpse of you out in town once before. And," he added as his attention went back to his bag, "I could never forget a face so fair."

Despite the compliment, Elizabeth didn’t blush or warm or feel any particular complementary emotions. She stared down at her wrist, wishing that she had stayed at home and painted, spent quiet time with Jason in his study as he went over notes and missives, wandered the echoing halls of the manor, something other than venturing into town.

But she had to go against the grain, find trouble even when trouble wasn’t looking for her. It was how she had always been, curious, mischievous, determined. But look where that determination had gotten her today. A hurt wrist and in an office with a doctor that she was unsure of.

While he rummaged through his bag, Elizabeth muddled over whether or not she should inquire about the doctor’s observations about her husband. Thinking that now that the opportunity had presented itself she would be silly not to, Elizabeth quietly cleared her throat, bringing Dr. Jones attention back to her. Under his scrutiny she shifted nervously. "I was wondering," she began, reaching deep inside to find every ounce of determination she had, "are you the same Dr. Jones that sees to my husband’s illness?"

Jones’ scrutiny became more intense for a moment, then before she could blink, his face was relaxed, reserved. "His madness, you mean? Yes, I am the doctor that diagnosed him."

Elizabeth blanched at the breeziness of his tone. The words lilted off his tongue as though they held no consequence at all. ‘Madness’ wasn’t a word that she liked being thrown around about her husband.

Seeming to notice Elizabeth’s reaction to his answer, Dr. Jones amended. "Madness is the true diagnosis, lady Morgan. Pretending that it is an illness and not facing the truth about what your husband is will only prove to make matters worse."

His spill was no different than what she had heard from Jason time and time again. This strangely unsettled her. "I understand that," she replied, her tone measured. "I only ask out of curiosity."

"Of course you do," he said coolly his tone close to condescending. He took the chair across from her and reached for her hand. Dimly, Elizabeth held her arm out. "How is lord Morgan these days?" he inquired as he slipped the dainty white glove from her hand. He handed it to her and Elizabeth took it, placing the glove in her lap.

She worried her bottom lip thinking over an answer that told something while telling nothing at all. "He is as could be expected considering the recent loss of his brother."

That made Dr. Jones pause. "Yes. Alan was murdered. What a terrible loss that must be to him."

"I take it you do read the papers," Elizabeth commented, "so you must know that the earl is suspected in the murder of his own brother."

The doctors cheeks colored. It was the first bit of couth the doctor presented himself with. "I did not want to be forward in the matter, but yes, I do know of the town gossip and police accusations."

"Are you a believer of the gossips and accusations?" Elizabeth pressed, a little forward but to curious to care.

"I believe that there is more than one side to every story, lady Morgan. His expression turned unreadable. "It appears to be nothing more than a sprain," he said after a moment.

It took Elizabeth a moment to realize that he was no longer speaking about the matter of Alan’s death and Jason’s possible involvement, but of her wrist. She decided to move the conversation back to Jason’s illness. "How long did you give the earl to live?"

The doctor reached into his bag, brows drawn. He pulled out a length of material. "A year, at the most." He began wrapping her wrist with the light fabric.

Elizabeth suppressed a shudder. She had known that Jason wasn’t long for the world, but a year? "A year from when?" She tried unsuccessfully to keep the panic out of her voice.

"Excuse my err, I have said too much already. I think this is a matter that you should discuss with the earl." And like that, he shut her out.

They passed the rest of her visit in terse silence. Elizabeth filled that time thinking of Jason. She had gone into the marriage for her own selfish reasons and had come to love her husband, the "mad" earl. She also believed him to not be mad, but with everyone around her convinced that he was... Maybe she was being naive, and simply refused to see what was staring her in the face.

After her wrist was tended, Dr. Jones walked her to the door. "Keep this on for about a week, try not to get it wet. Your wrist should be good as new when you unwrap it."

Elizabeth nodded at his instructions and pulled her glove back over her hand. "Thank you for your time, doctor," she said curtly, then turned away and stepped out of the office. She hadn’t realized how suffocating the time spent in the doctors care had been until she took a fresh breath of summer air. It took her a few moments to compose herself and her rapid thoughts. It took even longer to shake the uneasiness that Dr. Jones had left her with.

Jason pushed the paper that cluttered his desk away. The beginnings of a headache brought about the end of the working day for him. Any longer and the dull ache behind his eyes would turn into a full on blind pain, something that he tried to avoid when Damian and Elizabeth were not around.

He left the large desk, walking to the window. Dark clouds loomed on the horizon, there would be a storm today, and judging from the speed of the wind, soon. He trusted that Damien would have Elizabeth back before hard rains came. In the distance he could see the stables and thought of Thunder. The gelding was likely fed and locked in for the night by the stable boy, but on days like this one, when the weather was foreboding, Jason always visited the horse, taking the beast an apple or extra hay. Bad weather had a way of upsetting animals and Thunder was no exception.

Turning away from the window, Jason left his study. He traveled down one long drafty hall and down a back set of stairs that needed to be replaced years ago. No one used them save for him and a few footmen, therefore they were left in ill repair. He stopped in the kitchen, a place where he spent most of his youth. Matty had been in the family’s employ for as long as he could remember, she was always a warm hand to guide him and offer attention when his mother was too ill to do so and his father to busy to bother. He had spent many of his days in this warm kitchen, planted on a foot stool by the pantry, watching Matty and the other maids comfortably work their way around the stoves, making sweets and savory meats, breads and pies. Matty would always slip him candy with a wink and a smile.

Now the kitchen was empty, all of the maids gone to town or tending to other duties. Jason plucked two ripe red apple’s from a basket filled with fruit and pushed his way out of the service entrance and onto the lawn. The wind met him with force and caught the door, slamming it shut behind him.

Days like these did not only upset the horses, they bothered him also. He looked up at the low billowing clouds. They cloaked the skies in pewter and his spirits in ice. Edginess crept over him as he made his way to the stables. It wasn’t until he was inside with the horses that the prickling of wariness subsided.

For the most part the horses were not restless. He stopped, patting each one and offering extra hay to them. He stepped into Thunder’s stall last. Jason tipped a wooden bucket on it’s rim and sat down, he pulled out the two apples offering one to Thunder and crunching into the second one himself. He remained in the stall with the gelding until the horse had finished his fare. After patting the horses mane, Jason left.

The weather had turned more sour now and he hoped that Elizabeth was back at the manor. As he ventured back to the large house the awareness that he felt on his way to the stables returned. He scanned the land around him, turning once, seeing nothing out of place, out of the ordinary. Then he turned his eyes on each window of the manor, searching, seeking. Again, he found nothing. No pale, frail bodied woman with pitch hair looking out at him, tauting his sanity. No, he was doing a good job of that on his own. Working himself up over nothing. But there was something, that same feeling of loss he had experienced earlier came to him again. He thought of Elizabeth, and with determination he pushed that thought away. He would not lose her, he refused to.

She was lost.

After walking numbly down the streets, paying no mind to her surroundings, Elizabeth had successfully gotten herself lost. She blamed her current predicament on Dr. Jones. For if it had not been for the chill he set in her she would have sought out Matty rather than walking off her odd feelings. She looked around, the street she was on was strange and empty. She realized with dismay that she was no longer on the busy cobblestone blocks of the town. This area was deserted, forgotten. The shops shoddy, no fancy window designs to entice a buyer or eager store-keepers to greet.

She turned from her current path and began walking in the opposite direction, upset with herself for becoming so out of the way. She had promised Jason that she wouldn't stray off and look at her now. The shifting of the gravel road called her attention from her thoughts. She looked over her shoulder and saw nothing. She began her walk again at a brisk pace. The crunching of road sounded once more, this time as heavy steps. Elizabeth steeled herself and looked around, there was nothing, no one.

She cursed her ill actions as she rushed along. Of all of the stupid things to do, wandering off the way she had took the pie.

The steps drifted to her ears again, this time their pace was faster, a beat after her own but matching her speed. She turned her head to an alley as she passed a break in the road hoping for escape. The steps stopped just after she had. It came to her then that whoever was following her was not behind but parallel. In the alley. With great alarm, she hurried on. She didn't have to strain her ears to hear the shuffling of steps echoing hers, closing in. She stopped once more at a break in the road. Holding her breath, she turned her stare down another long alleyway, what she saw made her heart lurch. The unmistakable shadow of a man in a top hat cast itself on a brick wall. How far away could he be? No more than ten feet. Elizabeth panicked and began running as fast as her dress would allow her.

She came to a shop that was boarded up, still she tried the door, it was locked. A hand coming down on her shoulder shook her. She gasped,  certain she had been caught by her pursuer.

"There you are, dear child!"

Elizabeth stopped dead at Matty’s voice. She slowed her breathing, reined in her panic, afraid to let it be seen. "Matty!" she exclaimed, turning to the maid, glad for her arrival but shaken to the core from her chase.

"I have been searching for you. Whatever are you doing on this misbegotten street?" Matty asked, taking Elizabeth by the arm. Without complaint, Elizabeth let herself be led. Too upset from her plight to protest. "And where have you been, because you never saw Dr. Hampton, he told me so himself?"

Attempting to shake off the remnants of fear, Elizabeth offered an apology. "I am sorry I worried you, Matty. You see, Dr. Hampton was not in. I went to Dr. Jones instead and from there... I wandered and became lost." She glanced down an alley as they crossed one, there was no looming shadow of a man. There were no tell tale steps of pursuit. But there had been, of that she was positive.

"Humph," Matty tisked. "I know you are young and curious about things but you must be careful, wandering about by yourself and such is just not right." Elizabeth half listened to Matty's scolding. "Dr. Jones you say?" she continued. "I do wish you would have waited for me or sought me out before you did that."

Elizabeth wished she had done the same. "I know, I should have," she said more to herself than to Matty.

"Well, what’s done is done. How is your wrist?"

"Fine, nothing but a sprain." Elizabeth looked down to where the wrapping was hidden under her glove. "Can we not tell Jason about my brief disappearance. He has too many worries right now and I do not want to concern him with someting so trivial."

Matty appeared to think the request over, eyeing Elizabeth warily. "I suppose we could keep it between the two of us," she said after a long silence.

Glad of that, Elizabeth fell back into her fitful thoughts. Someone had been following her, they had only stopped when Matty arrived. The truth in that left her unsettled. Why would someone want to scare her so? A town person upset over Alan, wanting revenge or was there something more at play? Her thoughts drifted some more. She recalled her time spent with Dr. Jones. Something was amiss with him, she could feel it while in his presence. But she had no clue what the feelings proved. That Dr. Jones was a bad man, a crooked doctor, or just sly and oily? Was there nothing to be suspicious about or was there reason for her alarm?

The bang of thunder over head startled Elizabeth from her thoughts. In her preoccupation she had failed to noticed that the sky had clouded over to a dark gray. A crack of lightning bolted from the sky, slashing down over the shadowy manor that could barely be seen in the distance. A shiver wormed it’s way down her spine.

"Damian, let us hurry back! It looks to be something wicked brewing," Matty called out.

Yes, Elizabeth thought, slipping into the coach, there was something wicked brewing. She just didn’t know exactly where it was coming from or when it would strike.

The wind was whipping, thunder roaring, and rain was pouring before the coach pulled into the front drive of the manor. Jason had been waiting for Elizabeth's return with a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. He could not place how he knew it, but something was off, wrong. He worried for her and their child and the longer she was gone into town, the worse the worry had become.

The clutch on his chest eased a little when the carriage rolled up. He was at the door of the coach before Damian had a chance to get down. He opened it and quickly helped Matty down. His release came when his eyes met Elizabeth's. She reached for him as he reached out for her, he took her hand and pulled her out and into his arms. He had been so sure that something had happened to her. Thankfully all of his worry had been for naught.

They didn't move, even as the rain pelted them and the carriage pulled away--off to the stables-- they remained in each other's arms, unmoved. Could it be that Elizabeth had felt the same disquiet that he had? By sheer will power he ended the embrace and moved them into the warmth of the manor.

Elizabeth was soaked through her dress. She looked up at him with worried eyes. Studying him beneath inky, wet lashes. The way she looked at him now was the same way she observed him after he had witnessed an apparition. Cautiously. As if he would, at any moment, loose touch with reality. As though he already had.

"Jason," she started, her voice calming. "Have you seen another-"

"No." His denial sliced through the quiet hall.

"Then what is wrong?"

How could he answer that question? How could he tell her that he had an odd sense that she was in danger? He couldn't, for she would think that he was losing his last bits of sanity.

"The storm," he answered. That was half true. "I worried about your trip back."

She gave him a small smile. "It was quite uneventful."

Jason could not resist touching her. He reached out and curled a wet tendril of hair around his finger. Elizabeth was here with him, she was safe. His worries were for nothing. "You need to be warmed," he told her, noticing a shiver.

"I do." She moved past him and started up the stairs. She stopped halfway up and turned back to him. "Are you coming?"

"I have something to attend to first." There was a flash of disappointment in her eyes. "No more than ten minutes," he added, hoping to extinguish her discontent.

"Ten minutes," she repeated as a pact, then turned away and continued up the stairs.

Jason waited until Elizabeth was gone from sight before he went in search of Matty. He was an observant man, and could tell when his wife was hiding something from him. He knew her well, better than he knew himself, he thought.

Elizabeth felt the weight of exhaustion descend upon her once she reached her sitting room. She hoped that the weariness of her body would at least remain kept at bay long enough for her to make it into bed. She dreaded having to keep her calm reserve through the upcoming dinner. But she would do it for Jason.

She could tell that something was wrong with him the moment he flung the coach door open. His eyes had been wild as he handed Matty down and reached for her. She wanted nothing more but to comfort him. And she had tried, but even as she left him the whispers of doubt had crept back to her.

She unlaced her boots and put them aside with her stockings, then peeled her wet dress away and set it aside to be washed. Only her shift remained as she sat down before her vanity and loosened her braid. She reached for her brush and put it to her hair, tangles caught as she pulled the brush through her wet curls. Her thoughts were troublesome, she could not help but wonder if Jason was keeping his visions from her now, so as not to worry her.

He had told her that he hadn't seen an apparition, but she wasn't convinced, why else would he act so strangely? She had made the right decision, asking Matty to not tell Jason about her wandering off. There would be no way she could keep the complete truth from him if he knew she had been walking the streets alone. She would be obligated to tell him everything. Everything. The unsettling visit with Dr. Jones, the shadowy figure that had pursued her...

A chill made the short hairs on the back of her neck rise. She rubbed her nape and caught her reflection in the looking glass and found Sarah looking back at her. She stopped brushing her hair and rose from her seating. "Sarah, I did not hear you come in. How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long at all, my lady." Sarah supplied her answer un mirthfully. She turned on her heel, offering no further explanation, and walked to the large armoire for her task of picking a suitable dress for Elizabeth to wear to dinner.

"I wish you would have announced your presence." Elizabeth said eyeing Sarah's back.

Sarah looked sharply over her shoulder, "I apologize for my unannounced intrusion. Had I known that your sensibilities were so delicate this night, I would have never made such a mishap."

Indignant, Elizabeth dropped her brush to the vanity tray with a clatter. "I assure you, Sarah, that my sensibilities are not delicate and for you to make such an accusation to my person is not only presumptions, it is rude."

The maids cheeks flamed red. "I apologize again. Sincerely, it was not my intention to offend. It is just that..." Sarah paused, pressing her fingers to her lips. "Oh, never mind."

Her interest piqued, Elizabeth forced the issue. "What is it, Sarah?"

The maid pulled a deep red dress from the armoire. She shook it out and draped it over a chair before speaking. "It is the earl," she whispered conspiratorially.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "What about the earl?"

Taking a deep breath, Sarah closed the distance between them. "He was strange today, it was very unsettling. I'm afraid that my own sensibilities have been shaken due to his actions this day."

"What actions were those?" Elizabeth waited in edgy anticipation for Sarah to respond. She watched as Sarah wrung her hands together nervously. "Please, Sarah," she urged. Could it be true? Had Jason seen an apparition today, had Sarah witnessed it and was fearful of the repercussions that may come with telling?

After what felt like forever, Sarah spoke. "I saw-" she stopped promptly, stilled by a noise from behind the door.

They both turned as the door opened. Jason's broad frame took up the breath of the entrance. He entered casually, his interest fixed on Elizabeth. The wild look of his eyes was gone now, replaced with a smoldering intensity.

"You may leave us, Sarah." Elizabeth discharged the maid without a glance in her direction. Her stare remained locked with her husbands. It wasn't until the door to her sitting room closed that Elizabeth broke gazes with him. "What is it, Jason?" Her voice was foreign to her own ears, breathless in delivery.

His lips crept into a slow smile. "I've missed you while you were out."

"Did you?" she asked coyly, lowering her lashes in girlish flirtation.

He moved so swiftly, so quietly that Elizabeth had not noticed his approach until he was a breath away from her. He went directly for her bandaged wrist, silently scrutinizing the doctors work. Elizabeth didn't know if Matty had told him or if he saw for himself the sprain she had suffered and, in truth, she hadn't the mind to ask.

Without a word he began working the wrapping from her wrist. When it was done he let the material fall to the floor between them and took her hand in his. His thumb ran lazy circles on the back of her hand while his fingers pressed the inside of her wrist, working out the pain and stiffness with skillful precision.

The feeling awoke a fire in her, squashing all thoughts of the day from her mind. Jason wrapped his free arm around her waist and yanked her close. Trapped against him, Elizabeth never felt more alive.

"What of dinner?" she inquired, making conversation where none was needed.

"Hm," his voice drawled out low and slow. He lifted her wrist to his mouth and pressed the tip of his tongue to the her pulse point. "I think I'll feast on you," he spoke against her skin.

Elizabeth gasped. It felt so good. His tongue began slow circles on her wrist, coinciding with his thumb on the back of her hand. She stared up at him as he titillated her so. It was such a small part of her but she felt it warmly throughout all her body. Her senses heightened, she could feel every detail: His warm, moist tongue on her wrist, his large hand pressed intimately at the small of her back, the hard length that nudged hotly against her stomach.

Unexpectedly, he replaced his tongue with teeth, and nipped down on the fleshy part of her palm just below her thumb. "Jason." She exhaled his name on a sigh.

He looked down at her through hooded lashes, his normally ice blue eyes gone midnight with passion. Knowing in their directness. Elizabeth wanted to ask him how he knew what she needed, when she needed. She wanted to question his ability to make everything right within her, while he was dealing with a torrent within himself. But most of all, she just wanted him.

He placed one last lingering kiss to her wrist. "Undress for me, Elizabeth."

How could she deny him? She pulled the wet shift over her hips and above her head. Hearing the sharp intake of Jason's breath, she smiled devilishly at him. She reached for his clothes, biting at the seams to get him out of them. When they both stood completely nude he spun her so that she faced the wall. He flattened his chest against her back and snaked his arm around her. His fingers, warm and steady, found her nipple and teased it, while the other hand dipped low, between her legs, into her wet heat.

She moaned as his fingers dipped into her wile the other worked her nipple until it puckered. His breath on her neck made her shiver and she reared back against his cock wantonly, void of propriety.

As if he could take it no longer, Jason kneed her legs apart and leveled himself between her. He lifted her with is hands so that he supported her at her waist, without him she was sure she'd faint from the intoxicating allure of it all.

She was ready for him when he thrust inside of her, long and slow. He pulled out and thrust again, and again, rocking her to her core, she quivered around him and he let out the most delicious moan she'd ever heard. She did it again and he thrust into he harder, giving her everything he had. She took it all and wanted more. But then he pulled out and away. She turned to him, her eyes scanning appreciatively over his taut body.

Jason wanted nothing more than to savor this moment, but when Elizabeth looked up at him with a sensual fire in her eyes, he lost his restraint. He brought them both to the floor, positioning Elizabeth on her hands and knees. He dropped to his knees behind her and ran a finger over her clit. She pushed back teasing him, her perfect ass in the air, the source of her arousal slick and wet. His cock strained with need and he could take no more. He entered her. A swift stroke. Making her take him to the hilt. They moaned together at the connection each time he thrust into her.

Needing to feel even more joined, Jason moved his hand from her lower back to her pelvic area. His child was cradled there safely within Elizabeth. She had given him so much and he wanted to give her everything. But he knew that was impossible so he settled this. Closeness. Intimacy. His love. It was all he had to give.

"I saw Dr. Jones today," Elizabeth told Jason that night. They had forgone dinner and now they lay in their bed, their limbs intertwined, breaths mingling.

"I know," Jason replied, smoothing hair from her face.

"You know everything, don't you?"

His mouth lifted at the corner. "I try. And what I miss, I have my spies fill me in on."

"Your spies?" Elizabeth asked, shocked. "Matty? Damian?"

He gave no further answer, only that rakish smile of his that reminded her of a pirate. She let it go, not sure if he was truthful or playful in his answer. She rolled her wrist, noticing that most of the pain was gone. "How did you know what to do to my wrist?"

"It is only a sprain. No bandage is required to repair it. Sprains heal with time."

"Yes," she said reflectively, thinking of her visit with the doctor. "I suppose they do." Then why would Dr. Jones take the time out to wrap it?

As if hearing the question in her mind Jason spoke. "The doctor was doing his job. Most patients do not like to be told there is nothing really wrong with them when they are hurt. They like to receive medicines, salves, remedies. The want to hear exactly what is wrong and have the doctor physically fix it, even if a cure is not needed."

"So you believe that he thought that I wanted to wear a bandage about my arm?"

"Had he known you well enough, he would not have thought that for a second. Since he did not..."

"He did what doctors do," Elizabeth finished.

"Exactly." Jason pressed a kiss to her forehead and left the bed.

"Where are you going?" she asked, watching him throw on his shirtsleeves and pants.

"To the kitchen. Matty left food out, I'm sure."

The thought of food made Elizabeth's mouth water. "Hurry back," she called out to him as he left.

Elizabeth slipped from the bed once the door closed. She padded across the room and pulled her robe on before going to the window to look out. She loved viewing the lawns under the pale moonlight. One day she would paint what she saw.

She pulled the heavy curtains back and took in the sight. It always stunned her how much land the manor rested upon. The estate was almost larger than all of Havensboro. The town she grew up in was now a misty memory. She was wondering of her family when she saw movement just east of the house. At first she assumed that the movement was a tree branch swaying in the late night summer breeze, but the way it moved told her it was a person. A stable boy most likely, on his way back to his quarters. She squinted down in the distance as the figure came more into view. It was not a man at all, a maid then? But no maids wore white.

"Dear god!"

It was not a maid, not with black hair that long and a tattered white dress. No, not a maid. Not with skin that deathly pale. Elizabeth's heart pounded in her chest while she watched the slow progression of the woman. Not just any woman. Susan Morgan. She pressed her fingers to her mouth in shock.

She should run away, she should scream bloody murder, but she could not move if she wanted. What she was witnessing? Was just as mad as Jason or was he not mad at all, and this apparition was truly that. A ghost that has not crossed over, haunting the estate, looking for peace. Her eyes glassed over. How could this be?

The door opened behind her, scaring her senseless, she let out a earth shattering scream.

Jason's insides shook with the outburst. He almost dropped the tray he was carrying at the bloodcurdling scream. In the seconds it took him to shake off the chilling delivery, he noticed Elizabeth, pale as a sheet, shaking as if she'd seen a ghost. He quickly deposited the tray on a small table and went to her. She was stiff as he took her in his arms and that dreadful feeling that he'd been tamping down all day long came back to him.

"Elizabeth," he murmured against her hairline. "Elizabeth, talk to me." She didn't speak, she did not move. What had happened to her in that small space of time? "Elizabeth" he said again, staring directly in her eyes. They were void of all emotion. Not even fear showed. Nothing. The sight chilled him to the bone. She looked like death, a horrible premonition of things to come.

Unable to see her like this any longer, Jason grabbed her by the shoulders and shook. "Elizabeth!"

She snapped back to herself and slumped in his arms, her eyes welling with liquid emotion. "Jason," she whispered. "I saw her." The eerie note of her words made him step away.

What the hell had happened to her? Was he responsible for this? Has he turned her just as mad as he was? "Saw who?" he demanded.

"Her," she reiterated, nodding slowly. She placed her fingers over her lips as if it was a curse to repeat it. "Your mother."

"No!" he shouted. At her, at the situation, as himself? He did not know. "You saw nothing."

But she nodded again, pointing to the window, and he knew. The look in her eyes told him everything. He crossed slowly, praying that Susan would not be there yet hoping that she would. Either way he dreaded the implications. What did that mean for Elizabeth, his wife?

He swallowed hard and pulled the curtains away. He swept the lawn with is gaze and saw no one.

"Damnation!" He shouted. From the corner of his eye he could see Elizabeth shrink back. He hadn't meant to frighten her further. He was rattled and was doing everything wrong. "No, love." he said, rectifying his earlier tone. "Come here, she is gone you see." Elizabeth hesitated. "Come see, Elizabeth. See that she is gone." He held out his hand. Cautiously she grabbed onto it. He pulled her to him, facing her to the window.

"Gone," Elizabeth repeated.

"Yes. Do you see?"

She nodded and turned into him. He held her fiercely in his embrace, no longer afraid for his sanity alone. Now scared for the sanity of his wife.