The Offer by Catherine Coulter Page B

unwillingly beside her. She felt the barely leashed energy in him. The violence so very close to the surface. It thrilled her and frightened her.
    She wished she could tell him what Sabrina had done, tell him that the little princess was nothing more than a trollop, that she’d disgraced herself and run away from home, but she wasn’t stupid. Richard was unpredictable. It was very possible that he’d go into a rage, perhaps even kill Trevor. If that happened, she wouldn’t have anything. No, she had to be calm, to think clearly. “Sabrina has vanished,” she said. She lowered her head and waited in silence.
    â€œSabrina’s not a damned witch. I have never seen her with a broomstick. What the deuce do you mean, she’s vanished?”
    â€œIt’s just as I said, Richard. She fled the Abbey last Sunday, before the blizzard. She left Grandfather a vague letter telling him she intended to go to Aunt Barresford in London. But, of course, we have heard nothing. We fear that she could not have survived.”
    The marquess roared to his feet and stared downhard at her, his dark eyes hard and dangerous. “Damnation, Elizabeth, what is this idiocy? Sabrina knew that I was coming to visit her. Indeed, there is no doubt in my mind that she knew the reason for my coming.”
    Elizabeth kept the smile hidden. He didn’t realize that he’d just given her immense power, and all so very innocently. She raised her pale eyes to his harshly beautiful face. “Perhaps, Richard, you have just provided us with the reason for her running away.”
    If she’d been a man he would have struck her. She knew it and gloried in it. He had to rein himself in. “That’s a damned lie, Elizabeth, and you know it.” He turned on his heel and strode toward the door.
    Elizabeth jumped to her feet, alarmed now. “Where are you going, Richard?”
    He said over his shoulder, not even turning to face her, “I’m going to see the earl. It appears I won’t get a sensible answer from you.” He turned then, to look at her fully. “You know, Elizabeth, you haven’t changed at all.” Then he was gone and she was left standing there, alone, in the middle of the huge drawing room. She rubbed her arms. She was cold. What had he meant?
    Â 
    Sabrina was running down a long, narrow room. People were staring down at her, yet they made no move to help her. She whirled about in her flight at the sound of footsteps closing behind her. Trevor was coming toward her and she saw lust burning brightly in his eyes. She backed up. Something sharp dug into her back and she cried out as she turned. The people’s eyes were watching her, uncaring and cold. He was nearly on her. He stretched out his hand. She screamed as a hand clutched her shoulder.
    â€œSabrina, wake up.”
    But her terror held her back in that room with all those faces staring at her. The hand shook her again, harder this time.
    â€œWake up, you’re having a nightmare. Come, sweetheart, you can do it.”
    Her eyes flew open and she stared up at Phillip’s face. She felt such tremendous relief that she didn’t think. She reared up and threw her arms about his back. She said against his chest, “The faces. There were so many faces and none of them said anything, they just stared at me. They didn’t care. None of them would help me.”
    Phillip held her tightly against him, smoothing tangled hair back from her forehead. “It’s all right now, Sabrina. There’s nothing to fear now. You’re here and I’m here and I won’t let that damned nightmare get close to you again. What faces did you see?”
    She drew a deep, shuddering breath and leaned back in the circle of his arms to look up into his face. “Yes, the faces. They must have been the portraits in the gallery. So many of them, all long dead, they couldn’t have helped me.”
    As calm as a