Free Surrender by Amanda Quick Page A

carriage, said his good
    nights, and stalked up the front steps of
    the town house he had recently inherited.
    His butler, who, along with the rest of the
    small staff had been engaged for Lucas by
    Jessica Atherton, opened the door.
      Send everyone to bed, Griggs. I have
    some matters to attend to in the library,"
    Lucas ordered.
      Very good, my lord."
    Lucas walked into the library, which
    contained the few good pieces of furniture
    that were left in the house, and poured
    himself a liberal measure of port. His
    damned leg was aching again. All that
    idiotic running about at the fair followed
    by climbing that damned garden wall had
    set it off.
    He swore silently and took a long
    swallow of the port, knowing from past
    experience it would ease the dull throb in
    his upper thigh.
    It was not just his leg that ached.
    Another part of him was left throbbing
    as a result of the garden meeting with
    Victoria. He could still feel the softness
    of her as he crushed her up against the
    garden wall. The sweet, spicy scent of her
    still lingered in his head, mingling with the
    fragrance of the rich port.
    His eyes fell on the portrait that hung
    over the mantel. Slowly Lucas made his
    way across the faded carpet to stand in
    front of the unsmiling face of his uncle.
    Maitland Colebrook, the previous Earl
    of stone vale, had not had much to smile
    about in his last years. Plagued by ill health
    and depressed spirits, he suffered from an
    abiding resentment against everything and
    everyone. Maitland's unpredictable temper
    had often flared into uncontrolled violence,
    a violence that was frequently loosed
    on whoever happened to be in the
    vicinity, leaving stone vale always wanting
    of servants.
    In his younger days Maitland Colebrook
    had been given to debauchery, drink, and
    gaming on a wild scale. He had disappeared
    from Society after going through the bulk of
    his inheritance, an inheritance which had
    already been thinned out by his father.
    He had become an eccentric recluse,
    cutting off all communication not only
    with his London acquaintances, but with
    his relatives. He had retired to the country
    to drain what little was left from his
    estates. He had never married, and when
    the end had come several months ago,
    he had grudgingly summoned his heir, a
    nephew he barely knew.
    Lucas remembered the interview well.
    The gloomy master bedroom with its
    decaying draperies and shabby furnishings
    looked pleasant compared to Maitland
    Colebrook, who, withered and pasty-faced
    was propped up in the ancient oak bed, a
    bottle of port and a bottle of laudanum at
    his side.
      It's all yours, nephew, every last cursed
    inch of stone vale. If you have any sense,
    you'll walk away and let it rot into the
    ground. No good has ever come of these
    lands," he wheezed, wrapping his bony
    fingers around a dingy blanket and glaring
    coldly at Lucas.
      Probably because no one in recent
    history has bothered to put any time
    and money into them," Lucas had pointed
    out bitterly. Any fool could see that stone vale
    had potential. The land was good; it could
    be made productive again.
    Money was the key to reviving stone vale;
    money and a lord who cared about his
    people and estates.
      No point pouring money into stone vale.
    Place is cursed, I tell you. Ask anyone
    around here. Been that way for generations.
    Bad soil, lazy farmers, undependable water
    supply. Not a damn thing that's worth
    saving. Should have sold the whole bloody
    place. Don't know why I didn't," the old
    man continued, his voice dry and raspy.
    At that point the dying earl had leaned
    over to yank open a drawer in the night
    table. His shaking fingers had fumbled
    around inside for a moment, then closed
    over an object he could retrieve by the
    touch. Then he had hurled the thing at
    Lucas, who had automatically reached out
    to catch it.
    When he opened his fingers, Lucas
    found himself staring down at a circular
    amber pendant dangling from a thin chain.
    There