Heiress in Love (48 page)

Rosamund dipped her gaze to the front of the house. She saw not only the traveling carriage with baggage piled high on its roof, but Constantine astride his big white stallion. Jane was draped romantically across the saddle bow before him, her head nestled against his shoulder.

“They’re not going to ride all the way to the border!” said Cecily.

“Heavens, no,” said Rosamund. “I expect they’ll continue in the carriage after the first stage.”

The stallion pranced and shook his head as Constantine wheeled him around. Constantine tossed a laughing remark to Jane and they both looked up to where Rosamund, Cecily, and Luke now stood.

“Good-bye!” Luke yelled, though there was no chance of them hearing.

Cecily waved madly. Rosamund, blinking back mawkish tears, raised a hand.

Her face bright as a burst of sunshine, Jane waved back. With a military-style salute and a flashing grin, Constantine turned his horse and spurred him into action. The stallion leaped forward, and they galloped off down the drive. The horse’s white tail streamed like a banner in their wake.

Moving away from the window, Cecily took Rosamund’s elbow companionably. “Well, it’s just us again, old thing. Shall we take Luke back to London with us directly, or stay here for a bit?”

“Back to London, I think,” said Rosamund. At least Philip Lauderdale would be there.

“Oh,
no
!” said Luke from the window.

Rosamund raised her brows. “What is it, my dear? Don’t you wish to go back to Town?”

“No, that’s not it.” He turned back to them, his face filled with scorn. “They’ve stopped and they’re kissing again. In the middle of the drive! They’ll never get to Scotland at this rate!”

Read on for an excerpt from Christina Brooke’s next book

Mad About the Earl

Coming soon from St. Martin’s Press

Beastly man!

Rosamund’s first sight of Griffin deVere would have caused a maiden with a less valiant heart to quail. Shirtless, dirty, sodden, and glaring, he presented a spectacle to strike terror into any gently bred lady’s soul.

His massive body gleamed wetly in the sunshine: acres of hairy muscled chest, miles of long, strong legs. Hands as big as plates shoved a shock of black hair from his eyes, plastering it back over his skull. The movement made the muscles in his biceps bulge with latent power.

Her fascinated gaze snagged on the tufts of dark hair beneath each armpit. Oddly, the sight was the opposite of repulsive. A hot shiver burned down her spine.

But it was the brooding, angry look in his eyes that made her insides melt and slide and sizzle, like butter in a sauté pan.

Rot the man! Why did he have to be even larger, more intensely alive, more masculine than her wildest imaginings had painted him? He was colossal, and not only in stature. The powerful life force within him seemed to blaze from that lightning gaze.

She ought to be disgusted by the state she found him in, particularly in the circumstances. The least he could do was make himself presentable on this, of all days!

Ah, how she wished she
were
disgusted. Her fury fired anew that he should have such a cataclysmic effect on her. He was rough and dirty and in a shocking state of undress, so far from the gallant prince of her imaginings it would have been laughable had she not been consumed by disappointment.

Well. If he wanted to behave like a groom, she’d treat him like one.

But her heart obstructed her throat as she opened her mouth to teach him a lesson. Her voice wavered on the first attempt; she was obliged to repeat herself, and that only honed her temper to a sharper point.

Still, the brute made no answer.

“A horse, if you please,” she said again. “I presume my saddle has been sent down by now.”

A snicker sounded behind Griffin. His jaw hardened.

“Back to work.” He tossed the growled command over his shoulder, not bothering to check whether it was followed. The men scattered, leaving Rosamund and her beastly betrothed alone in the stable yard.

He tilted his head, surveying her as keenly as a predator examined prey. She half-expected him to sniff the air, bare his teeth … and pounce.

Instead, he crossed his massive arms in front of him. “Your mount hasn’t arrived yet.”

The deep rumble of his voice set parts of her to trembling. His pale, penetrating gaze traveled slowly over every inch of her, making those trembles multiply. If he
were
a servant, she’d reprimand him for such insolence.

More heat washed over her, wave after wave of it. “S–saddle me something from here, then.”

Oh, she could have killed herself for that betraying stammer. Besides, she was never so autocratic as this in her dealings with servants.
He
put her all on end. She couldn’t seem to come to grips with restraint.

He shrugged. “Nothing fit for a lady in these stables.”

Her lips pressed together. “I’ll be the judge of that.” She nodded and started toward the stalls. “Show me.”

She tried to sweep past him, but he caught her elbow and tugged her to a halt. “No, you don’t.”

Rosamund gasped. He wasn’t rough, but his grip was firm enough to prevent her escape. She whipped her gaze up to meet his. “Let go of me.”

“You can’t ride the horses here. I forbid it.”

She tried to pull away, knowing it was futile. His hold was as strong and uncompromising as a steel manacle. “
You
forbid it? And why should I obey your commands?”

He showed her his teeth in a grimace of a smile. “Ah, my sweet, innocent angel. Didn’t you guess? I’m Griffin deVere.”

*   *   *

Griffin waited, bristling with anticipation.
Now
she’d shriek and run away.

“But I know who you are,” she answered, widening those impossibly blue eyes. “You sent me a miniature of yourself, don’t you recall? Though you have a point. I should hardly recognize the grandson of an earl in such a guise.” An impatient grimace crossed her face. “Oh, do let go of me. You’ll soil my riding habit and it’s new.”

He dropped her arm as if it burned him. Astonishment was an inadequate word for what he felt. This … this slip of a girl stood up to him as if he weren’t some ogre who ground children’s bones for bread. No woman other than his sister had ever reacted to him like that before. And she
knew?
She knew that he … that they … And yet, she stood her ground.

Aware that his jaw had dropped, Griffin hastily shut it.

Wait.
“Miniature?” he repeated, frowning. “What miniature?”

Her cool gaze flicked over him in a dispassionate inspection. How old was she? Seventeen? Eighteen? Yet she displayed all the poise of a matron in her prime.

Her lips quivered with impatience. “The portrait you gave me. I sent you my likeness and you sent me yours.”

He felt himself redden around the gills. Damn his sadistic grandfather! Gruffly, he cleared his throat. “The earl must have sent it. I would never…”

He broke off. He’d almost said he’d never voluntarily inflict the sight of his face on anyone.

The lady’s features relaxed. “Oh, I see. The earl appears to have kept you in the dark about all this.” She tilted her head, her gaze softening. “Do you not know why I’m here today?”

Griffin gave a clipped nod. “I know.”

His answer didn’t please her. Coldly, she said, “Then why, might I ask, do I find you thus? Any gentleman with an ounce of courtesy would have awaited my arrival.” Her gaze wandered over him. “And dressed appropriately for the occasion.”

He snorted. “I had more important things to do.”

“More
important?
What could be more important than meeting the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with?”

Griffin nearly laughed. She didn’t seriously expect they’d go through with the betrothal? What a travesty that would be. Though every cell of his body urged him to take this perfect, virginal sacrifice, drag her back to his lair, and defile her in every way known to man, he knew better. Such an act would be a desecration.

This bright angel was so far above his touch she might as well have dwelled in Heaven itself. How could the Duke of Montford even consider someone like Griffin an appropriate match for such a delicate maid? Lady Rosamund Westruther ought to take a handsome knight to husband, not a monster like Griffin deVere.

He reached for his shirt and used it to towel off his body in large, efficient swipes. “You needn’t worry. I’ll explain to the duke that we won’t suit. Come on.”

Snatching up the rest of his garments, he strode out of the stable yard, leaving her no choice but to follow.

Refusing to match his strides to hers, he obliged her to run to keep up with him. Even then, she soon fell behind. Rounding the rose garden wall, he heard her cry.

“Wait!”

With a curse beneath his breath, he halted. Turning, he watched her hurry toward him up the lawn. Despite her haste, she still looked unruffled and elegant. It made him want to muss her up good and proper.

Hell, he needed to nip those kinds of thoughts in the bud.

She finally caught up to him, and he noticed that the exertion had made a slight alteration in her appearance after all. A flush pinked her cheeks, and her eyes glowed like sapphires. If anything, her beauty deepened with exercise. It made him wonder what she’d look like after a prolonged bout of lovemaking.

He dragged in a shaky breath.

“Do you mean to say you don’t wish to marry me?” Her surprisingly low voice betrayed no emotion.

A harsh bark of a laugh burst from him. “Oh, come now, my lady. You cannot pretend
you
want to wed someone like
me
.”

He refused to spell it out for her. If she chose to maintain the polite fiction that she didn’t find the idea repulsive, more fool she. He ought not to marvel at how well disciplined she was. He knew something of her guardian, the Duke of Montford, after all. The man was famed for his ruthlessness and his insistence on the paramount importance of duty to one’s family.

Were Griffin’s prospects of wealth and position so attractive to Rosamund that she’d refuse to be swayed by his ugliness? Rich, heart-breakingly beautiful, well-connected.… Surely, this girl had her pick of titles and estates the length and breadth of England. She didn’t need his.

She swallowed hard. “I don’t follow you, sir. Before we undertook this journey, the earl gave us to understand all was settled. Is…” She faltered and bit her lip. “Is there something about me that does not please you?”

Oh, for God’s sake!

Pairing such an exquisite creature with him must be someone’s idea of a joke—his grandsire’s most probably. The question was, why the hell did she play along with it?

He stared hard at her. “Do
you
wish for the marriage, then? You are prepared to obey your guardian in this?”

She averted her gaze. “I–I never thought … I never considered doing otherwise.”

Fury burned through him, the same kind of frustrated anger that ultimately crashed in after an encounter with a willing bit of muslin. Those women never cared what he looked like as long as he paid handsomely for their favors. This marriage was no less a business transaction than a punter taking a whore, though it was dressed up in the trappings of wealth and respectability.

Did Lady Rosamund have the slightest inkling of what she’d be called upon to do as his wife? He’d wager if she did, she’d turn tail and run. He couldn’t imagine this cool goddess
accepting
, much less
enjoying
his touch.

Yes, he wanted her so much he was near crazed with it. But he hated the feeling. The hurt and resentment of it tangled inside him until he couldn’t see straight.

And that same impulse that made schoolboys pull pretty girls’ hair made him step toward her, boxing her in between his body and the stone wall behind her.

She didn’t shrink back or cry out or weep. She simply looked up into his face. Her eyes were wide, pink lips slightly parted.

What the devil was wrong with the chit? Why wasn’t she screaming?

His breath quickened. Brutally, he said, “There’d be no ordinary marriage of convenience between us, you understand? I’d want you in my bed. In mine alone.”

Her color flared. When she spoke, however, her voice was cool. “Naturally,” she said.

Naturally?
Was she touched in the head? Did she not understand what he meant? He sucked air through his teeth. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

With a frown of impatience, she said, “I’m not a simpleton, Mr. deVere. I know what marriage entails.”

The directness of her gaze threw down a decided challenge. Images of her tumbled naked on his bed flooded his brain, strangled the breath in his lungs.