The thought of that, of his being injured or worse, rattled me right down to my very core. I let my head drop. Gambler though he was, inconsiderate though he might be, I had to face the truth that I wanted him; I was drawn to him. I had to have him. And thinking back to last night made my heart actually throb.
Heavy footsteps made my heart shoot into my throat, wondering if the men from earlier had returned and were possibly on their way to find me and turf me out into the cold as a squatter. But what could I do except exactly the same as I’d done before? I dove for the wardrobe and slipped inside.
And I didn’t have to wait long.
“Daniel?” Vasile’s powerful voice carried to me before I saw the door flung wide, his muscle-bound form filling the doorway. “Valeria?” He lowered his voice as he added, almost to himself, “Where the hell are they?”
My heart soared at seeing him, and I flung the wardrobe door wide, seeing his surprise as I spilled out into the room and flung my arms around him. Despite everything, I was ecstatic at seeing him alive and well.
“Aren’t you a little old for hiding in wardrobes?” he asked, holding me by the shoulders.
“I’m so glad you’re not dead in a ravine,” I told him, and a lop-sided grin spread over his face.
“Why would I be…? Where’s Daniel?”
“I have no idea who that is,” I told him. “All I know is, I woke up here, all alone and with nothing to eat, and then there were two strange men and—”
“Two strange men? Who were they?” His eyes narrowed in concern. “I left Daniel here to take care of you, he should have given you anything you asked for. And I left a note, there on the mantel. Did you not see it?”
“Oh…” I suddenly remembered what had happened. “When the men came in I wasn’t dressed, so I hid in the wardrobe. As I went by the fireplace, there was a paper that drifted down and was sucked in by the heat…”
He huffed. “Who were these men? Did they hurt you?”
I shook my head. “They came in, they were arguing about the house and the property and…I don’t know. He called him something like Lord Burlington.”
“Barrington?” His features darkened. “He was here?” Vasile started checking around the room, as if something might be missing, but finding nothing, he took me by the arm and led us from the room. “Daniel?” He shouted. “Where are you, man?”
“So Daniel was supposed to bring me anything I needed?”
“Yes,” Vasile said distractedly as he led us through the interior of the house, calling out to Daniel as we walked. “I left you instructions in the note how to find him and that I’d return in a few hours.”
“I went looking for food, but…Barrington, he said he was leaving you a message before he left. He destroyed the kitchen and any food that was there.”
“What? Barrington, that fucker. He’s harmless, really, but a terribly sore loser. Daniel, are you here?” His voice echoed through the hall.
There was a knocking sound from a closet as we passed, and Vasile stopped short.
“In here, my—Vasile,” came a muffled voice from the closet.
Vasile glanced around, and grabbed the nearest thing—a sword held by an empty suit of armor—and started bashing at the lock with it. It wasn’t quite as elegant as my own method of getting past locks, but it was effective. A few moments later, he had the door open and a disheveled man, who I recognized as the kinder looking one from earlier, almost spilled out into the hall.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Daniel, what the fuck? I left you with specific instructions to—”
“I’m sorry. I was trying to make him leave. When I grabbed his arm to turn him back toward the front entry, he spun around and slammed me in the head with...I’m not sure what.” The man rubbed the side of his head. “I was dazed and he shoved me in here, and locked the door.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, just my pride is damaged.”
“Well, he trashed the kitchen. There’s no food. Valeria hasn’t eaten all day.”
“I’m sorry. I thought it better to keep her presence a secret than to call out for help, even if it was only Barrington.”
Vasile nodded. “True enough. Do you have any food in your cottage? Otherwise one of us is going to have to make a journey to town.”
* * *
As Vasile entered the sitting room carrying a big tray of fruits, cheeses, dried meats, and wine my stomach groaned on cue.
On an ornate carved mahogany table, he set the tray in front of me and knelt beside where I sat.
“I really am sorry,” he said, his eyes so tender and kind. “I would never have left you without any food.”
“You must take wonderful care of your staff. For a member of the house staff to have such decadent food and wine.”
“I show my gratitude for loyalty. In many ways. But Daniel is more than just a member of the household staff. Well, nonexistent household staff at the moment. When I discovered him, it was years ago on one of my trips home to visit, he’d been living on the streets most of his life, cheating at cards or breaking into the houses of the rich and taking just enough to get by. I’d liked him from the start, and we’ve established a somewhat unconventional friendship of sorts since we met. When I returned this last time, I went looking for him, but found out he’d been caught in the house of a
