Pascale Duguay (4 page)

Patience put up a hand to her mouth. If it were not for her still throbbing lips, she would have been tempted to think that she had imagined the whole thing. She did not know whether to be glad or sorry. To say that he taken her by surprise would be an understatement indeed. Who could have guessed that such a passionate nature resided under that marble exterior? The interruption had definitely put an end to whatever else Patience might have learned about kissing. But as a first experience, she mused, it had been most instructive.

“Please accept my apologies, Miss Fairchild,” he uttered stiffly.

Patience did not care for his tone or the fact that he acted as if the kiss they had just shared did not mean anything to him. But she was not fooled. As she had just learned, the man was not made of marble. But just to make sure, she reached out to fix a fold of his cravat, which had become undone during their kiss. As her hand lightly touched his chest, she noted an increase in his breathing. No, the man was most definitely flesh and blood.

As he made to move away from her touch, she became aware that she was acting in a most unbecoming fashion, not to say playing with fire. She therefore used the opportunity to change the direction of the conversation. “Do not think that I will destroy your waterfall, my lord. I have often helped my father with the arrangement of his cravat and have learned to be quite adept with the various designs.”

“I do not doubt your talents, Miss Fairchild. But now I must ask that you enlighten me as to where we are going if I am to take you to your proper destination.”

Under the circumstances, Patience would rather not have told him where she was heading. She did not want her companion to know any more about her than he had to, especially after that kiss. For all she knew, he might be extremely well known to the ton. If he were to set about her escapades when he got back to London, all her hopes for the Season would be ruined.

Or was he the type to hide this from his friends so as not to risk appearing any the less superior? Being duped by a female would surely not add to his consequence.

Patience sighed. There was no way of knowing for sure. The best she could hope for was that her aunt’s intervention on her behalf might induce him to keep the whole thing quiet. She really had no choice in the matter, she finally decided. How else would she reach her aunt?

“I am going to see Lady R — ” The last word died on her lips as a masked figure brandishing a gun sprang out of the trees.

“Stan’ an’ deliver!” shouted the rider, waving his gun wildly in their direction.

“Oh look! A highwayman!” Patience grabbed her companion’s sleeve. “This is so exciting! But whoever heard of a highwayman attacking during daylight?”

He threw her a strange look as if trying to decide whether she was completely daft. His attention quickly returned to the prancing horses, who had taken an instant dislike to this sudden apparition. His team finally under control, he called, “Stop brandishing that thing about, you fool, before you shoot someone by mistake!”

The highwayman had made a poor show of it. Patience watched the man struggle to keep the scarf in place and his beat up hat out of his eyes while holding on to the reins and trying to point the gun at them all at the same time. His sturdy mount looked more suited for ploughing fields than making quick getaways. The way the horse kept sidling and fidgeting seemed to show its disapproval of such an activity. Patience would have laughed out loud had she not felt sorry for the highwayman.

“I think he must be new at this,” Patience said.

“That’s what makes him so dangerous,” replied her companion in curt tones.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, an explosion ripped the air. Patience let out a deafening scream as the gentleman slumped onto her. The horses took fright and bolted. Trapped and almost crushed under the weight of the senseless man, there was nothing Patience could do to stop the horses from careening madly down the road. One moment they were seated in the phaeton and the next, they were sailing through the air.

The Earl of Rutherford opened his eyes and quickly shut them again as a flash of pain shot through his head. He took several deep, slow breaths to calm the pounding in his skull. Fleeting images of green eyes blurred together with those of a scarf-covered face and rearing horses. If only his head would stop hurting so, perhaps he would be able to make sense of it all. Too weary to fight the pain, however, he fixed his attention on his present condition. From what he could tell with his eyes closed, he was lying on a bed. Not the soft comfortable beds he was used to, but a hard, lumpy one. The sheet felt rough as he gingerly moved his left hand across its surface. But his fingers had not roamed far before they came upon an obstacle, a supple shape that demanded to be explored some more. When a soft moan reached his ears, his hand stilled. Hoping to solve at least one mystery, he managed to open his eyes slightly.

The pale light of dawn filtered through the small window at the foot of the bed. He was in a tiny room with wooden beams running across the low ceiling. A chair stood in one corner, a grey garment draped over the back. While he took in these details, his fingers resumed their stroking. Another soft moan brought his mind to the task at hand, so to speak. Almost afraid to see what he would find, he forced his aching head to turn in the direction of the enticing sound.

All he could see for a moment was a fiery red curtain. As his eyes focused some more he realized that he was looking at a mass of glorious, red curls spread all over the pillow. A distant memory stirred in the recesses of his mind. He felt certain he had known someone with such an unusual shade of red hair once, but at the moment, could not recall exactly who. Not that it bothered him all that much. He found he would rather observe the sleeping beauty lying next to him as his gaze moved on to her face: pale skin; daintily curved eyebrows above long eyelashes; high cheekbones; a full mouth with rosy lips slightly parted; a short, upturned nose surrounded by charming freckles; and a slightly pointed chin hinting at a streak of resoluteness.

His fingers rested on the bare skin exposed by the nightshirt she was wearing. Giving in to the urge, he allowed his hand to move lower and caress one full breast. The nipple hardened under his touch. He could see its contour clearly through the nearly transparent fabric. Her breathing quickened and she released another moan as if she were pleading for more. When he looked at her face again, a small dimple appeared at the corner of her mouth. Now where had he seen such a kissable mouth and mischievous dimple before?

“Belinda!” The Earl sat up abruptly but instantly fell back against the pillow as the room spun dangerously about him.

Two unbelievably bright green eyes appeared above him. They stared at him groggily then cleared. “You are awake! How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

Yes, you!
He had the sudden urge to shout, but checked himself just in time. The memory of their kiss flooded his mind. They had reached a densely wooded area, which the Earl knew from having travelled this road often. Goaded by Miss Fairchild’s seemingly poor opinion of him and taking advantage of the privacy the trees afforded, the Earl had directed the phaeton to one side of the road, bringing it to a standstill among the foliage. He secured the reins and turned to face her. Bending his head closer, he lifted her chin with one finger and gazed into her impossibly large green eye. He was satisfied to see that all trace of laughter had gone. In its place, there was a look containing a mixture of puzzlement, fear, and yes, desire. Without a word, he had closed the distance between them and captured her lush and rosy lips with his own, lips he had dreamed of tasting throughout the meal they had just shared.

He was not disappointed. They were as sweet and soft as he had imagined they would be. The part of his brain, which was aware that what he was doing was completely improper — not to mention insane — was quickly silenced by the rest of his body, which demanded to find out more.

What was he thinking? He must be in worse shape than he had imagined. Realizing his hand was still on her breast, he snatched it away. Belinda blushed a deep red when she noticed where his hand had been. He felt his loins tighten. She looked so innocent and appealing in her see-through nightshirt that it made him want her even more. Only the renewed pounding in his head kept him from rolling on top of her.

“Why are we here like this? What has happened?” he asked gruffly in an attempt to hide his desire.

She brought the rough blanket up to her chin and slid to the opposite edge of the bed. This was such a narrow bed that she was still quite close to him. But the Earl found that even this small distance allowed his mind to function better.

“We are at the Marlows’ cottage. Mr. Marlow is a farmer who is recovering from a bad case of pneumonia while his wife is close to the end of her term with their fifth child. In their care is also Mr. Marlow’s father, a retired coachman with a bad hip.”

“What has the Marlows’ medical history to do with all this, may I ask?”

Belinda took a deep breath. The Earl had an odd feeling she was about to say something outrageous. He was not disappointed.

“Mr. Marlow’s oldest son is the one who accidentally let a shot go off in our direction.”

“What?” he bellowed. “You mean we are staying under the same roof as that murderous fool?”

“Hush! You will wake up the children!” She reached out a hand and brought it over his mouth. The sheet slipped down revealing her voluptuous breasts once more. Mesmerized, the Earl almost forgot what he was about. What was it about this woman? He had seen plenty of naked females before. Once his skin blemishes had gone, he’d never lacked bed partners. But none of them had ever affected him the way this one was doing right now. In fact, if he were to be honest with himself, he’d been attracted to Belinda since he had first encountered her bewitching green eyes when he had stopped his phaeton at her request.

Seeing the direction of his gaze, she removed her hand from his mouth and hid under the covers once more.

“Jessup is just a boy. Although he is quite big for his age, he is no more than twelve years old! He only wished to help care for his family. His shooting at you really was an accident.”

“An accident? I could have been killed!” The Earl reached for his injured head, gingerly feeling the bandages that were wrapped around it.

“I doubt the lad could shoot an ox if it stood a foot in front of him! The ball barely grazed your forehead.”

“Barely grazed?” The Earl felt like he could have exploded through the roof.

“Must you repeat everything I say? The real injury came afterward when we were thrown from the carriage and expelled into the pond by the edge of the road. You struck the side of your head on a boulder.”

“How long have I been unconscious?”

“Three days.”

That long! He had meant to save time by going to see his mother ahead of the date stated in the missive, but he had ended up wasting three days instead. At least he was still two days ahead of schedule. If they hurried he could bring Belinda to wherever it was she wanted to go, take care of his mother’s problem, and be back in London in time to keep his appointment.

“We must leave at once!” He made as if to rise, but a small hand gently but firmly pressed him back onto the lumpy mattress.

“I am afraid you are not fit to travel yet. You have only just taken possession of your senses. I doubt if you will even be able to stand.”

Another unwelcome thought occurred to him. “Have we shared a room all this time?”

Belinda blushed once more before answering, “We had to. There are not many rooms in this cottage. Besides, it was the easiest way for me to care for you.”

Even though he dreaded the answer, he needed to ask the question. “What pray did you tell the Marlows to explain our situation?”

Belinda averted his eyes and the Earl barely heard her as she mumbled into the sheet, “I told them we were married.”

“Married! You actually told them we were married? How the bloody hell did we go from being cousins to being married? Do you never run out of lies?”

“Actually, that one did not come from me. Things would never have gone so far had Jessup not told his family before I even had a chance to introduce myself. He must have come to that conclusion after witnessing our, um, the kiss we exchanged by the side of the road.”

“And I assume there was a good reason why you did not see fit to correct him?”

“I did see, of course, how wrong it was to tell such a lie, but then I realized how much more difficult it would be to explain to a roomful of good people why two strangers were kissing on an open road. So I came to the conclusion that it would be an excellent way to make us seem respectable.”

“You would think that, of course.” The Earl glowered at her.

“Please do not be angry with me. No one ever needs to know about this nor will they find out. How could they? We are stuck in a tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere. And I took care of you myself since we could not have the doctor in to see you. He has been away attending his sick mother.”

The Earl sank back into the pillow. He hated to admit it, but the girl was probably right. They should still be far enough from Hawkridge that he would not be known here. Besides, there was nothing he could do about it now and his head ached too much for him to try to figure this out at the moment. If Belinda were a lady, things would be quite different, of course, but she was no more than a servant, after all. It was not as if he would be forced to marry her out of duty. With a body like hers, the chit had most likely already offered her favours to a bevy of men. She certainly knew how to entice them, at all events. He remembered only too well the way the old man had pawed her outside the blue boar and how the innkeeper himself had wanted her in his bed. No, this one was hardly an innocent. She had proven her acting talents on more than one occasion during their short time together. The woman should have attempted a career on the stage.

The sound of young voices in the next room brought them back to the present.

“I must get up now. If you will be so kind as to avert your eyes so that I may get dressed.”

The Earl held back a snort of contempt at her little show of maidenly modesty but complied by fixing his gaze on the opposite wall. He heard the bed creak as Belinda got up, followed by the sound of her bare feet on the wooden floor. He was reminded of the attraction he had felt when seeing her shoeless foot in the carriage. Would her bare foot have a similar effect on him? His head started to turn, but he stopped himself. It would be ungentlemanly of him to satisfy his curiosity. A shuffle, a board creaking… His resolution wavered with each sound. He would not look. Another shuffle and curiosity finally won over honour. But he forgot all about her foot when he caught sight of her shapely behind as she padded to the chair in the corner where her dress was laid out. The flimsy nightshirt did not leave much to the imagination. His groin suddenly tightened. That part of him at least did not seem to have suffered any ill effects from their fall into the pond.

The girl certainly knew how to display her wares to best advantage. This proved to him beyond a doubt that he was definitely not dealing with an innocent. A chit her age would not have such a provoking garment in her possession unless she was used to seducing men. The fact that she had broken a man’s nose for asking her to share his bed did not mean anything. She might simply be used to more exalted propositions if she did indeed work as a servant for the upper class. Just then, she bent forward, the thin fabric straining against her alluring bottom. He stifled a groan and turned back to the wall before he was caught gawking like a foolish schoolboy.

Patience did not take long to slip on her garments. Her nightshirt had seen so many washings that it had worn thin with time and did not provide as much protection as she would have wished. Since the state of her wardrobe had never been a priority to her father, it could not be helped. But then again, she had not expected to have to worry about being seen by a man in her undergarments. She had never dressed in front of a man before. She was finding the experience quite disturbing, especially when she remembered that same man had only moments before been prodding her breasts. She looked at the bed to reassure herself. Thankfully, his head was turned away from her. Reaching for her brush, she combed out her long tresses before twisting the lot into a serviceable knot at the nape of her neck.

“I am sure the Marlows will be relieved to learn that you have regained your senses. Which reminds me, they think you are called Edward Brown. I hope you do not mind, but I have always liked the name Edward.”

“Why should I mind? For all you know, Edward Brown could be my real name.”

“Oh! I certainly hope not. I have been to such pains to keep our real identities a secret. It would be too bad if I did hit on your true name by mistake! You really should tell me your name in case of another such occurrence.”

“I do not believe I will. The last thing I need is for you to forget your part in this affair and blurt out my name at a most inconvenient time! Let us leave it at that for now. I find I have more pressing needs at the moment. Dare I hope there is a chamber pot available? I do not know if I can manage a trek to an outhouse yet.”