Once Upon A Diamond (A sweet Regency Historical Romance)

by Teresa McCarthy

  Sighing, she closed her eyes and tilted her face toward the sun as a light breeze caressed her face. The warm rays lifted her spirits, seeping into her bones and her mind.

  She opened her case and pulled out her flute, placing her mouth over the small air hole and running her fingers through three octaves of notes. She was pleased that her precious flute had made it through the terrible trip across the ocean without a scratch, which was more than she could say for herself.

  Back at Lancewood Hall, Tristan straddled his new stallion, determined to tame the wild beast. His head jerked violently as the horse plunged forward.

  Edward watched, his blue eyes twinkling. “Having a bit of trouble there?”

  Tristan whipped his head around. “And you can do better?”

  “All in good time, big brother. By the way, Mother’s been asking for you.”

  Tristan tightened his hold on the feisty stallion. “I take it she wants more pin money for her shopping excursions in Town. She’s been back and forth from London so many times the past few months, I hesitate to count.”

  But he had no time to continue his conversation with Edward because the stallion seemed to take control of the situation and took off beyond the stables.

  “Whoa, Diamond. Whoa.” Grimacing, Tristan jerked back on the leather reins, the fast gallop soon changing into a slow trot.

  After a while, man and beast seemed to reach an understanding. Tristan patted the stallion’s mane and let out a relieved smile. The horse lifted its nose and snorted, giving a signal of something ahead. Tristan tilted his gaze toward the cluster of oaks surrounding the lake. A melody of notes floated in the breeze.

  “Strange,” he whispered to himself.

  His eyes narrowed in surprise when he caught sight of Devin’s black stallion drinking from the lake. So, the marquess was out for a ride too, was he?

  Tristan dismounted and strolled closer. It had to be Devin’s stallion, with that large white patch on the animal’s left hind leg. But where in the blazes was his friend? Could that really be the same stubborn beast that had bucked Devin weeks before?

  And what was that heavenly sound?

  Tristan circled the trees. Ten yards in front of him sat a vision of beauty. Long blond hair shimmered in the heat of the blinding sun.

  His lips quirked upward. A mermaid playing a flute? But the illusion swiftly turned to reality when he noticed a pair of dainty white ankles peeking out from beneath a pink skirt.

  His eyes quickly scanned the shore, and he noted a pair of lady’s riding boots standing neatly near the water. Well, well, well. This was better than Devin, was it not? Pretty ankles and all. Not a mermaid, but a beautiful woman out here all alone. His blood began to stir.

  She was enchanting. He found himself gawking like a schoolboy who had just had his first kiss. Bending his right knee, he pressed his booted foot on the trunk to stare at the bewitching angel as her magical song filled the air.

  There was an air about the woman that drew him like Ulysses to the sirens.

  He took a deep, unsteady breath and turned his wary gaze upon Devin’s calm stallion. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought that the music had tamed the wild beast.

  When the music stopped, Tristan shifted his gaze back to the blond-haired angel. Her fingers seemed to tremble as she put the flute back into its case. With a small groan, she pulled her knees up to her chin and buried her face in her gown. Tristan’s chest tightened at the sound of the woman’s weeping.

  The wall around Kate’s heart had finally shattered. She could no longer keep her emotions at bay. It was the first time she had played her flute since she’d left Boston. Her heart stirred with memories of her father, her home, her pain the past few months, and the incident at the inn.

  She could not bear the thought of seeing a man with a knife through his heart, even if he was a thief. She could not bear the thought of her father’s death or of Matthew leaving her. She could not bear the thought of facing Tristan again. She could not bear the thought of anything much more.

  For minutes, she sobbed uncontrollably. She wanted to go home. When had she become such a watering pot? She was usually so strong.

  Her crying turned to small whimpers of grief. When she finally felt purged of her swirling emotions, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffed. It always helped to cry, her father had said, and he was right. She felt much better.

  Her horse nickered, and she lifted her head when the sound of crunching footsteps reached her ears. Alarm raced through her veins.

  Someone was watching her. Approaching her. And she was alone.

  Blotting the remaining tears with her hands, she stood and turned with her chin held high, facing the intruder. Gasping, she stumbled back. It was Tristan!

  The man stood tall and lean, just as she’d remembered him from the inn. His emerald eyes softened with concern. He’d heard her weep. She was mortified.

  She wiped her eyes once again and blinked back her tears, her heart pounding with dread. Would he remember her from years ago, or even from the inn? Her looks had changed dramatically in three weeks.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he replied, his green eyes filled with worry.

  His sense of caring endeared her to him, and she felt her stomach stir. She was vulnerable to this powerful man, which didn’t set well with her at all.

  “You didn’t startle me,” she said defiantly.

  He bowed. “Tristan Fullerton, Lord Lancewood at your service.”

  His words in the carriage drifted back to her. Upon our meeting anytime in the near future, you may call me, Lord Lancewood. Is that clear?

  Lord Windbag, she thought with a half-smile.

  He stepped closer. “While I was out riding, I heard your tunes carried in the wind. I came to see for myself the source of the mysterious music.” He paused, his eyes dancing with desire. “I see that the sweet sounds do not compare to the beauty of the performer.”

  His voice was as silky as a horse’s tail. Kate immediately remembered Maggie and almost slapped the man.

  “I think you’d best leave,” she said coolly. “I should not be here alone with you.”

  He flashed her a devilish grin that had obviously melted many hearts, then he lifted her hand for a kiss. Kate jerked back from his hold just as his lips brushed her skin. Too late. Her heart turned at his touch. She was not immune to this man, and she knew it. “Please, leave.”

  He smiled. “I noticed the horse. Is Lord Roxdon about?”

  “No.” But a sense of uneasiness tightened Kate’s throat when the earl drew in a deep breath. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought it was a sigh of relief. Yet the wondrous thought occurred to her that he didn’t recognize her.

  “I’m a guest of the duke and duchess,” she said calmly, as if that would make him keep his distance. Wrong again.

  The man took another daring step forward and eyed her bare feet. Stopping himself, he tilted his questioning face toward the regal stallion. “The horse?”

  She smiled, pleased with herself. He didn’t approve. How grand. “I rode him. A healthy specimen, if I do say so myself.”

  He laughed as he edged closer. “You rode that beast?”

  She hesitated and took another step back. She didn’t miss the way his green eyes studied her. Did he think her a servant, being out here alone?

  He gathered a strand of her hair in his hand and looped it around his finger. “A little thing like you conquering that beast? A beautiful, little thing like you,” he said softly.

  Kate’s heart fluttered. But oh, she knew better. She could not forget who he was, and all the Maggies who had sat upon his lap. She took another step back and tripped. Before she could fall, he reached forward, hauling her to his chest.

  His breath kissed the top of her head. “Whoever you are, you smell of lavender and spring.”

  Kate swallowed tightly, feeling the drumming of his heart in her ear. Her body molded against
his while his hands strayed along the hollow of her back, and drat, if she didn’t like it!

  Alarmed at her own reaction, she pushed her hands against his chest. “And I think, my lord, you smell of something all together different. Though, I do not feel a lady should speak of such things.”

  He kept her locked in his arms, and she heard a deep rumble in his chest. The impudence of the man! He was laughing at her. Infuriated, she gave him a swift kick in the shins.

  “Owww!” He dropped his arms and tottered back, his eyes twinkling. “Wh-what was that for?”

  A cool breeze rustled through the trees and Kate raised her hand to tuck her windblown hair from her face. “You, a presumed gentleman, have to ask?”

  He laughed again. “Your haughtiness leaves much to be desired, little lady.”

  Kate glared at him. But when she met his smoldering gaze, the blood rushed to her head. Lord Lancewood was a dangerous man.

  He took a firm step toward her and laughed again, but his intense gaze held a certain challenge that made Kate’s nerves shatter like broken china. She was in deep trouble.

  “Now, what would a gentleman do in a situation like this?” he asked beneath hooded eyes.

  “Now, now,” she said holding her hands up in defense and retreating. “It was only a little kick.”

  “Little kick? I’ll have a bruise the size of a saucer by tomorrow.”

  “Oh, is the poor little lordship going to cry about little old me kicking him?” Though he deserved the whack in the leg, she should have truly kept her mouth shut, but her words were something she always had trouble taming, among other things.

  He stopped in his tracks and tilted his head toward the sky as a flock of birds flapped overhead. A frown suddenly formed across his brow, and she felt a strange foreboding.

  “Come to think of it–” he said as he glanced at his shin then back up at her. A handsome smile broke across his face. Kate felt it hard to breathe. “It seems to me that I’ve been kicked there once before.”

  Kate’s mouth dropped open. He knew her now.

  His expression instantly turned into a cocky grin at the sight of her reaction. His boots kicked the dirt with each determined step. “Indeed, it seems to me that I paid dearly because I listened to a little hoyden’s tears about ten years ago.”

  His cool green eyes slowly fanned her body as he continued speaking. “She was dressed in pink fluff, rather like you are now. She had your eyes as well. Two huge, big, beautiful pools of brown that could drown a man. So beguiling in fact...” He took another step and gently took hold of her arms. “They took my mind off the fact the little girl had taken a horse without permission.”

  He gazed back at Killer, then back to her. “A simple coincidence?”

  Feeling her blood pumping, Kate took in the sight of her stallion, gauging the distance, as if it were ten years ago all over again. Oh, he knew her all right. He recognized her as the little witch who had almost killed him. Or at least his pride.

  He tightened his grip on her elbow, gently but firmly. “Don’t even try it my dear, sweet Katherine. It is Katherine, is it not?”

  Kate awkwardly cleared her throat, but he didn’t wait for her reply. “You won’t fool me this time with your tears, my dear. You see, my heart has been trained not to listen.” He glanced at the lake and flashed her a set of gleaming white teeth set into a sadistic smile.

  Kate winced and grew more uncomfortable by the minute. “For heaven’s sake! I was only a child!” She looked at the shimmering water, then back at him when his intent finally registered in her brain. “Y-you wouldn’t dare!”

  “Wouldn’t I now?” His eyes danced mercilessly. “And to think, I’ve been waiting ten years for this.”

  Kate’s heart slammed into her ribs. He had haunted her dreams, but she’d never imagined his powerful frame as he was now, holding her, binding her to him as if she were a part of him. “You’re daft!”

  “Daft?” He laughed, abruptly dropping his hold on her and taking off his coat. “My dear Katherine, I’m a patient man, but ten years?” He shook his head. “Well, that is a long time for any man, or any boy for that matter.”

  “W-what are you going to do?”

  He met her wary gaze and sent her another wicked smile. “You have to learn a lesson some time.”

  She backed away and skirted the boulder, reaching the edge of the lake. She needed time to think of a plan. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

  He gestured to Devin’s horse, ignoring her command. “It’s my belief that you took that black stallion without permission.”

  “You have no right to tell me what to do. It’s not your horse!”

  His emerald eyes glinted with rage. “You could have been killed!”

  Now was not a time to back down, she thought. “What do you care anyway?”

  He jerked his hand, pointing to the ground. “This is my land. You’re a relative of the Duke of Ridgewater. I better have a care.”

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “But I thought–”

  “You thought wrong, sweetheart,” he ground out. “I won’t have anyone dying on my land and that includes a foolish American like you. Therefore, you will take the punishment.”

  The fury inside her almost smothered her. “Foolish?” She threw her hands to her hips. “Who do you think you’re calling foolish? I’ll have you know my uncle will hear of your unseemly outburst and your–” She glanced at the lake behind her, then back at him, “Y-your unseemly thoughts!” That should at least make him think about it. She hoped.

  “Uncle?” he laughed. “That same uncle who would agree with me when he discovered his niece had risked her life for a ride on some killer horse.”

  “Killer horse?” she snapped in disgust. “You’re insane.”

  She turned to leave, but he didn’t waste any time. In two quick strides he was beside her, wrapping a strong hand around her waist. Uttering an oath, he threw her kicking body over his shoulder. The air rushed out of her in a gigantic whoosh.

  When she caught her breath, she froze at the sound of boots splashing. “You wouldn’t?”

  He slid her body down his, cradling her in his arms, not letting her feet touch the water – yet. “Oh, wouldn’t I?”

  Emerald eyes locked with hers, and she couldn’t deny the spark that ignited between them. She felt her cheeks surge with color. His breath was warm upon her face. The next moment he crushed her to him, pressing his lips to hers.

  She was shocked and delighted all at once. She kissed him back, his firm mouth commanding a response. When he finally pulled his face away, he paused and eyed her with a strange expression. A second later, her body hit the icy lake with a plop.

  “That shall teach you to ride a horse that could break your pretty neck,” he said, laughing.

  Kate coughed and spit out a handful of water, aghast at the way she had been treated. “You pompous windbag! Is that what I get for almost saving your life?”

  His eyes widened in shock. “What?” He leaned over to get a better look at her.

  Kate glared back at him.

  “K-Kate?”

  “Kate? Kate?” she mimicked and stomped out of the lake, her outfit, clinging to her womanly form like a second skin. “You heard me correctly, P.W.!”

  “Kate?” he asked. “Blast it all.” His eyes darkened as he glanced over her wet clothes and what lay beneath them. “You look...totally different. If I had known it was you–”

  He came toward her, his hands raised to ward off her attack.

  She whacked them aside. Water went flying in all directions. “You, sir, are no gentleman.” The sound of hooves hitting the ground pulled their attention to the trees.

  “Devin,” Tristan said. “Blast and double blast.”

  Devin rode like a maniac, his cheeks red, his face grim. His breathing was labored as he dismounted from his tired horse.

  “Dash it all, Katherine. You gave me a fright.” His facial expression flashed concern over he
r wet clothes and noticeable form. His angry gaze shifted accusingly toward the towering earl. “What the hell happened?”

  Tristan took a step toward his friend, but before he could explain, Kate interrupted. “I fell in the lake,” she said swiftly.

  She didn’t want to start trouble, and she certainly wouldn’t tell the Earl of Lancewood that she enjoyed him holding her. No, never would she admit that she’d felt a warm tingling in her belly when he had whispered in her ear and crushed his lips against hers.

  Devin scowled, turning his angry gaze back to Kate. “You should never have ridden that horse!”

  Kate folded her arms across her chest, tapping her toes. “What are you talking about?"

  Tristan stared back at Devin with an amused expression. Devin glared at his friend and clenched his fists. “Killer over there.” Hovering above Kate, he tipped his head toward the stallion. “You rode him? Do you have any notion why I call him Killer?”

  Well, this was too much! Kate was not about to be flogged like a naughty puppy. Her brows narrowed as she held her breath. Then she exhaled and inhaled deeply, trying to control her anger. Her nose lifted about an inch.

  “Ah, cousin, I did not know his name. Had I known his name, I do not think the animal would have let me call him that, and thus, I would not be here, would I?"

  There was a pause, and Devin looked utterly confused. “What the devil are you talking about?”

  “She has a point there,” Tristan said, his eyes twinkling.

  Devin glowered at the earl. “Ah, I see that you have already met my cousin, Miss Wilcox?"

  Tristan’s gaze crinkled with delight as he glanced at Kate, gently raising her wet hand to his lips. She yanked it back, but not before he kissed it, sending a warmth of pleasure down her arm. “Indeed, we’ve met before.”

  “That’s enough,” Devin snapped.

  “We met in this same place about ten years ago, did we not?” Tristan asked, his green eyes dancing with amusement.

  Kate glared at him. She shivered as water dripped down her face. Was Tristan going to divulge to Devin her secret about staying at the inn? Good grief, she might be married to the pompous earl if that happened. She may have liked his kisses, but, well, she would only marry someone who loved her and that was that.