Almost A Spinster (17 page)

Ever since the best families retreated to their winter estates a few months before, Maddie had been dreading the next Season. She had found herself dreaming of those endless parties, but always she looked down to be naked or dressed in a clown’s vestments or something equally hideous, while the leering crowd blathered on.

But then, the light at the end of the tunnel had appeared in a very unexpected way. She had received a letter from her favorite aunt, Countess Serena Heatherton. Serena was breeding and after a difficult pregnancy had been ordered to bed by her doctor. Her aunt had asked Maddie to spend a few months at her side, forgoing the Season entirely.

And
that
was how Lady Madeline Reynolds came to be sitting not in the midst of a crowded, hot parlor while young women cast mournful glances her way or gossiped behind her back, but in the middle of a field of waving green grass, a book in her hand and a smile on her face for the first time in what felt like an age.

It was an engrossing tale, one her brothers called ‘one of her silly gothic romances’, with a dark and mysterious hero and a heroine who always seemed to be on the very brink of utter disaster.

“Silly girl,” Maddie murmured out loud to the wayward heroine. “Why do you always go downstairs in the middle of the night with no candle?”

She rolled her eyes ever so slightly. As much as the tales were riveting, she would never behave so shamelessly or so recklessly. No, she was quiet, dependable Madeline Reynolds.

With a start, she wondered if that was what would be engraved on her tombstone one day.

Quiet, dependable Madeline Reynolds. Maiden Aunt.

A sigh escaped her lips as she returned her full attention to her book. There was no use becoming maudlin over something that would never,
could
never change. She was what she was and life was what it was and she had learned to live with it. After all, there was a place in the world for sensible maiden aunts. She was just never going to be the kind of girl the heroine of her book was, or the sparkling diamonds of the first water of each Season were. She was never going to have an adventure or a great romance or…

“Great God, woman, look out!”

Maddie looked up just in time to see the huge black horse looming above her, its nostrils flaring and its eyes wide as its rider pull up hard on the reins to keep the beast from tramping Madeline.

With a scream, she released her book, vaguely aware of it flying through the air in one direction as she rolled the opposite way to avoid the horse’s strong, powerful hooves. Her scream only seemed to incite the animal further, for he twisted and turned, struggling against the guiding hand of his rider. Maddie watched in horror as the man above her lost his seat and went tumbling to the ground below while his horse galloped off toward the next hill.

Maddie scrambled to her knees and crawled across the few feet that separated her from the rider. He lay on his back, his eyes shut in unnatural slumber.

“Sir?” she asked, pressing her hand to a very strong shoulder and giving him a little shake. There was no response and Maddie swallowed hard as she leaned closer to see if the gentleman was still breathing.

“Sir?” she repeated, a bit closer to his ear as she shook him harder. Again there was no response. “Dear God, he’s dead.”

“I’m not dead,” the man who was now just inches from her face groaned, his warm breath stirring her hair. “But by God, every time you shake me it jars my aching head and I wish I were.”

Madeline released him with a start and leaned back as the man opened his eyes. Despite the situation, despite the fact that she should have been more concerned for the stranger’s welfare than anything else, she couldn’t help but catch her breath. The man’s eyes were the brightest, most beautiful blue she had ever seen. And they were situated on an equally handsome face. His skin was tan, darker than most of the men in her acquaintance and he had full lips. Ones she couldn’t quite stop looking at.

“So, little miss,” he asked as he ran a hand through his thick, black hair. He frowned as little pieces of grass fell away. “Do you mind telling me if you were
trying
to kill me, or was that only a happy accident?”

#

Nathan Blackstone’s head pounded and his backside was getting wet from the damp grass, adding insult to injury. Thank God he had already been to his appointment and was on his way home. He had learned long ago that when dealing with one’s betters, one always had to look his best. Otherwise, they would perceive the faults as weakness. And Nathan had never liked being weak.

He glanced over at the young woman who had caused this entire mess. Thank God he had seen her sitting the middle of the
road
, for the love of everything holy. He could have easily trampled her. Now that his heart was beginning to return to a somewhat normal rate and his head was only throbbing to a dull rhythm, he sat up slowly. Christ, that hurt. He rubbed the back of his neck.

She wasn’t anyone he knew. Not from around here, he guessed. Judging from her plain gown and the severe way her brown hair was styled, he had to assume she was a governess or perhaps a lady’s companion.

Whoever and whatever she was, she was staring at him, mouth open just the slightest bit and eyes wide with a combination of surprise and a little, tiny flash of annoyance. Though how she deserved to be annoyed, he couldn’t guess.

“It was you who nearly trampled
me
, sir!” the young lady said, pushing to her feet. “I was sitting here when you came riding up like a demon from hell on that horrible black horse and destroyed my quiet reading.” Her face fell. “Oh, my book!”

She spun around and dropped back to her knees, searching through the high grass. With her back turned, Nathan couldn’t help but stare at the rounded curve of her backside that was offered up to him when she crawled around in her search.

Clearing his throat to push past a sudden fullness, he slowly got to his own feet. “She nearly kills me and she’s worried about her book.”

The young woman’s spine stiffened as she returned her attention to him. “Will you
stop saying that
! I didn’t nearly kill you, you nearly killed me.”

“How do you figure that? You were sitting in the middle of the road!” he snapped, quickly losing patience despite the fact that he couldn’t stop staring as his unwanted companion’s cheeks filled with hot blood, darkening them to a fetching pink.

She stopped blustering and tilted her head to the side. “The road? This is a field.”

Nathan shut his eyes and slowly counted to ten. Well, she clearly wasn’t from around here. “Miss, if you will look behind you, you will see that the grass is slightly trampled. Perhaps less than it usually is due to the recent rains. That trampling is due to the traffic that comes through this field. We locals call it the Dawson Field Road, named as such because the
field
has been tended by the
Dawson
family for five generations. And because it is…” he hesitated and quirked a brow. “A
road
.”

His companion sucked in a harsh breath as she looked down the hill over the stretch of field and the very clear demarcation where other travelers had gone before him. Her face was even pinker now and her eyes, which were a startlingly dark brown, were so wide that he feared she would strain herself by holding them in that position.

“Miss?” he said softly, moving toward her one step.

She dipped her head. “My apologies, sir,” she said as she turned toward him. “I had no idea, I feel so wretched. Are you hurt at all? Is there anything I can do to alleviate the pain?”

Nathan stared down into her uplifted face. She wasn’t the kind of girl one would describe as
pretty
. Her face consisted of strange angles and curves. But her eyes were exceptional and her mouth was quite fetching. He wouldn’t have thought it out of line to call her handsome.

And she was offering to help ‘alleviate’ his pain, which conjured up several rather naughty images he normally kept in check, especially around women whose names he didn’t even know.

Something he intended to change immediately.

“I am fine. And I am Nathan Blackstone,” he held out a hand. “I work for Viscount Marcus Fulton as his estate manager. You must be new to the area, what house do you work at?”

The young woman blinked, staring at his outstretched hand as if she wasn’t certain what to do with his offering. Her exotic dark eyes snagged his.

“What house do I work for?” she repeated.

Nathan wrinkled his brow. She looked confused by the relatively simply question. Was she, perhaps, a bit daft? What a shame that would be, for her eyes told of intelligence and wit bubbling beneath that starched surface.

“Yes, I assume you must work at one of the houses in the shire. You sound quite cultured, so I would wager you are a governess or lady’s companion. Am I correct?” he pressed. The answer to that question would certainly answer his unspoken one about her mental state.

She stared at him for a long moment and Nathan had the impression she was weighing her options of how to answer. But finally she nodded. “I-I am a companion to Countess Serena Heatherton.”

He hesitated, waiting for her to continue, but she remained silent, merely staring at him with that same wary expression that was a combination of confusion and anxiety.

“And, er, your name is?” he prodded.

“Oh,” she gasped. “I apologize. It is L-Maddie.”

“Maddie.” Nathan smiled. “Well, now we’ve been properly introduced and I insist on walking you back to the Heatherton estate gate, once we have collected Quint.”

“He’s harmless, I promise you,” Nathan said, carefully taking her arm. She stared at his hand like it was from an alien species, but didn’t hesitate as he led her forward. “Like the two of us, he simply made a poor first impression.”

“I’m a bit frightened of horses,” Maddie admitted, her face darkening once again.

Nathan nodded. “Many are. They’re such big beasts. But I cannot leave him here along the road and I cannot allow you walk home alone after I nearly ran you down-”

“Due to my own stupidity,” she interjected.

Nathan cast a side glance at his companion. She looked utterly forlorn, judging herself for a mistake that had led to no permanent harm.

“Just lack of knowledge,” he corrected. “It isn’t exactly the same thing. Ah, there he is.”

Maddie stopped as he moved forward and caught Quint’s dangling reins. The animal whinnied a hello and trotted behind Nathan as he returned to Maddie’s side. She was still pale and trembling ever so slightly, but she held her ground as Nathan and Quint came to a stop.

“Quint, let me introduce Maddie,” Nathan said with a smile. “Maddie, Quint.”

She nodded slowly, but made no move to touch or greet the horse, so Nathan maneuvered until he was between her and the animal.

The walk to the Heatherton estate gate didn’t take more than a quarter of an hour, but the time passed quickly. Maddie was a quiet girl and Nathan found himself enjoying the comfortable silence that hung between them. It was a pleasant experience compared to the young ladies who swarmed around his employer. Women of the
ton
, who seemed to be able to talk endlessly about a hat or a glove.

Nathan stared at the young woman. He was always so consumed with his running of Fulton’s affairs and the maintenance of his own reputation that he rarely made time for any kind of diversion. But when he looked at this young lady, with her beautiful, yet serious eyes, he could only imagine picnics by the pond and walks in the twilight.

And he had a realization of just how much he’d been missing, dedicating himself only to a career. He was over thirty now, well into the years when a man should start a family. Fulton had even mentioned it once or twice.

“What say we strike a bargain?” Nathan asked, stepping a bit closer. “I will be certain a doctor checks me for any hidden anomalies
if
you promise to meet me tomorrow and walk with me.”

Maddie took a deep breath, then said, “Lady Heatherton generally takes a nap after her tea at two. Shall we meet here at the gate?”

Now it was Nathan who was taken aback. He had assumed she would prefer if he came to the house to collect her. “Very well. I shall see you here tomorrow at two. Shall we shake hands on the bargain?”