Sterling was seated for dinner. His father had claimed his rightful chair at the head of the table. Sterling's three brothers were also in attendance, laughing and teasing one another. His mother flitted about, making certain all was to his father's satisfaction. Sterling knew that his parents' marriage had been arranged, and that the agreement had suited them well, if there was no great love between them.
But then something happened. As Sterling's mother poured his father a glass of wine, he took her hand and brought it to his lips - an affectionate gesture, and affection was something Sterling rarely witnessed between his proper parents. A soft glow entered his mother's eyes. After twenty-five years of marriage and four sons, all born with scarcely a year between them, had the marriage finally become more than an arrangement?
The candles in the huge candelabra gracing the center of the table suddenly flickered, flared, then dimmed. A chill crept into the room. His father's face became different. Hair sprouted from his arms, thick and dark - and his teeth, good God, they were sharp, like the teeth of an animal. Sterling's mother screamed.
Sterling's father clawed at his high collar, his fingers now long and bony, his nails like claws. He howled, a sound that raised the hackles on the back of Sterling's neck. Then his father disappeared, and in his place sat a beast.
The huge wolf leaped onto the table, growling and snapping. Sterling's brothers had all risen from the table, their faces ashen, their mouths hanging open.
The creature leaped through a nearby window, breaking the glass. Sterling's mother now lay in a dead faint upon the floor. He sat frozen in place, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.
The horrible image of his father's transformation played over and over in Sterling's mind, squeezing his head until he thought his brain would burst. He glanced down and saw his own hands covered in dark fur. No!
"Sterling," he heard Elise's voice from a long distance away. "Sterling, wake up. You're dreaming."
He bolted upright. Sweat coated his body, and he could scarcely catch a breath.
"Are you all right, Sterling?"
Her blurred image came into sharp focus. Worry creased Elise's brow. A long braid fell over her shoulder, and the nightgown she wore, although modest to a fault, was still arousing, maybe due to the fact that he wondered what, if anything, she wore beneath it.
"I'm fine. Only a nightmare." Due to her presence in his wagon, Sterling no longer slept naked. He threw his blanket aside and struggled to his feet. Elise rose and sat upon the cot.
"You've had them before," she said quietly. "Although usually you only moan a couple of times and drift back to sleep. Maybe if you talked to someone about the dreams - "
"I don't want to talk about it!" he snapped, then immediately regretted his harsh tone. Sterling ran a hand through his hair. "I apologize. I had no call to lash out at you over a poor night's sleep. I need some fresh air."
What he needed worse was to get away from the tempting sight of Elise sitting upon his cot in her nightgown. How intimate a picture she portrayed. How easily he could become used to such a sight to greet him each morning. Sterling pulled on his boots and bolted from the wagon. The cook fire had already been started, and stew left from last night's meal simmered over a pot. Only Mora and Sarah were still seated around the fire.
"Best hurry up!" Sarah called. "There won't be much left once they all gather round!"
Sterling grabbed a plate and dished up his breakfast. Elise would be a while, since she wasn't yet dressed. He grabbed a plate for her and filled it as well. That brought a lift of Sarah's brow.
"I told her she wasn't going nowhere," she said, a grin stretching her mouth.
Mora tensed. "You should have made her go," the snake charmer complained. "It is not safe for her here."
"She's safe enough under my protection." Sterling cast Mora a warning glance. "And she'll only be with us as far as Liverpool. Then she will go about her life, and the rest of us will go about ours."
Sarah placed a hand against her head and closed her eyes. "I do not see her leaving in the future. I see a wedding, and children. I see - "
"Stop it, Sarah," Sterling commanded. The last thing he needed was visions of a life with Elise planted inside of his head. "I don't find your predictions amusing."
The fortune-teller opened her eyes and sighed. "I'd hoped she might help you find your sense of humor, but you're as surly as ever. Just like that great beast of yours, always growling and snapping at everyone."
He liked Sarah's comparison less than her predictions. Sterling took Elise's plate and headed back toward the wagon. An older man dressed in clothes befitting a gentleman suddenly stood in his path. The man kept glancing around, as if in search of someone or something.
"Can I help you?" Sterling asked.
The man's gaze swept him coldly. "I'm looking for a girl."
Sterling appraised the man as well, using the same cold tone with him: "You're looking in the wrong place. We don't offer the kind of sport you seek."
Removing his hat, the man brushed the dust away. "I'm looking for my niece, you idiot. The ungrateful chit has run away. I thought you might have seen her along the road somewhere. Maybe lying in a ditch with her throat slit."
One of the plates Sterling carried nearly slipped from his fingers. This man had to be Elise's uncle. Her change of heart last night made perfect sense now. She must have seen her uncle at the inn.
"I've seen no young women lying in a ditch," Sterling said. He didn't like the man. Elise's uncle, if this was the man, seemed more annoyed by the thought of finding her dead than concerned. "You must be worried if she's taken to the road. No telling what might happen to her."
The man sniffed, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, pressing it to his nose. "God-awful animal stench," he muttered. "Makes my eyes itch and my nose drip. I'd leave her to her own sorry fate and gladly be rid of her nuisance, but her bridegroom has already paid a handsome price for her. I don't intend to give him his money back."
Sterling wanted to strangle the man. How could he act so unfeeling about a woman as sweet and gentle as Elise? "If she's taken to the road alone, you won't find her unspoiled," Sterling said, barely able to keep his voice civil. "Her bridegroom might not want her back."
The man waved a hand as if it were of no consequence. "Stoneham won't care. Just another reason to punish her. He likes to punish his wives."
Stoneham? It had been years since Sterling had rubbed elbows with London's social set, but he remembered hearing his mother speak of the man in hushed tones. It was rumored that Stoneham liked to torture his women. Sterling didn't recognize Elise's uncle, though, and obviously the man saw nothing in him but a vagabond.
"What is your niece's name, in case I stumble across her in the future? And where might I deliver her if I do find her? I assume you would be willing to pay for her return?"
The man wrinkled his nose and stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket. "Collins," he provided, "Elise Collins, and all you need do is ask after Lord Robert Collins in London and someone will direct you to me. A small reward can be arranged."
Lord Collins. The name rang a distant bell. Sterling tried to recall anything he might have heard concerning Elise's uncle. Nothing immediately came to mind. It was dangerous to ask the questions screaming inside his head. He'd tried to put his prior life behind him, sworn that he would not look back, but he did wonder what had happened to his brothers.
"Long ago, I groomed horses for a family by the name of Wulf from London. Do you know them?"
Lord Collins pinched his lips together and frowned. "The wild Wulfs of London? Disgraceful family. The parents are dead. The sons run wild, wreaking all manner of havoc upon polite society. They are rumored to be mad, and dangerous, which of course only has the mindless society misses all chasing after them. Would serve some stupid chit right if she managed to catch one."
Collins smiled, a chilling smile. "I am not personally acquainted with the family. But I hear things... Supposedly the Wulf brothers have all taken a vow to remain bachelors until death."
Sterling didn't respond. At least he knew his brothers were alive and obviously of the same mind as him. Guard their hearts, save their humanity. "Well, if I run across your niece, I will bring her home and collect the reward."
"Perhaps I should ask some of the others as well." The man glanced around. "Maybe someone has seen something that you haven't."
"We're preparing to leave," Sterling said. "I wouldn't bother them. We all see the same things along the road, and no one has mentioned a young woman lying dead in a ditch."
Collins sniffed again, cursed, and pulled his handkerchief from his pocket. "Too many animals roaming about here. I must return to the inn. Do keep a look out for my niece. I trust you could use the reward money." His gaze swept Sterling's coarse clothing and dusty boots in an insulting manner. "Good day."
The door to Sterling's wagon creaked. The man's head turned toward the sound. A vision draped in gauzy scarves stood outlined against the darker interior of the wagon. A moment later he heard a feminine gasp, and the door slammed shut.
"Heaven help me," Elise whispered. Her uncle had found her. She expected Sterling to lead the man directly to her, only because Sterling had never taken the threat hanging over her head seriously. He believed, like most of his class would, that she was throwing a temper tantrum over a marriage that was, in fact, well suited for her.
She scrambled to the back of the wagon and sat on the floor, trying to make herself as small as possible. Why, she had no idea. Sterling and her uncle both knew she was inside of the wagon. There was only one door and no windows. A moment later she heard the door creak open. She covered her eyes.
"It's all right, Elise," Sterling said, his voice coming from above her. "He's gone."
Slowly, she lowered her hands and glanced up. "Gone?"
Sterling set two plates upon the cot and extended his hand. "Yes. I sent him away. He didn't recognize you. He was too busy looking at... well, he never looked at your face. I told him you were my wife."
Without thought, she slid her hand trustingly into his. He pulled her to her feet. "You sent him away? I thought you would tell him I was here."
Sterling didn't respond for a moment. His eyes roamed her and he drew a ragged breath. "Good God, what are you doing in that costume?"
She knew she blushed, and over her entire indecently exposed body. "I thought that if I couldn't come out of the wagon wearing the costume in front of the troupe members, I certainly couldn't perform in it for complete strangers."
"Your reasoning makes sense," he agreed. "And if you hadn't been wearing it when you opened the door a moment ago, your uncle would have recognized you. Then I would have had to fight him over you."
"Fight him?" Her blood warmed. "Over me?"
He released her hand and turned from her. "You were right about your uncle. He doesn't care about anything but the coin he will get for you. That woman-abusing monster, Stoneham, will not have you."
As relieved as she felt over the turn of events, Elise was also confused. "Stoneham. I never told you his name."
"Your uncle mentioned his name."
Sterling still stood with his back to her. Although embarrassed by the skimpy costume, Elise also felt self-conscious for different reasons. "Do you not like the costume?"
"I've seen the costume before," he answered. "On many occasions." He turned and his eyes were full of heat. "But I've never reacted to the sight the way I do when I see you wearing it." His gaze ran over her, sending tingles dancing beneath her skin. "You are a vision."
Elise should feel shame for the rush of pleasure his words delivered, but she did not. She liked the way Sterling looked at her. "You said you'd teach me to dance," she reminded.
He groaned and turned his back on her again. "Later. Now I have to help the caravan get under way. You had better stay inside, out of sight."
"Sterling," she stopped him when he moved toward the door. "Thank you. I owe you a debt greater than I can repay."
"You owe me nothing," he said, then hurried out.