He didn’t need to finish. “Jamie.” She left her hands in his.
“Undoubtedly.”
The swiftness of his reply irritated her. “How can you know that? Jamie might be pompous and eager to, as he put it, reunite the estate, but is he really capable of murder?”
Francis’s mouth flattened. “Not in person, perhaps, but he could employ someone else to do it. Who has the most to gain from your death? And who has the most to lose if you remarry someone else?”
“Who said anything about remarrying?”
He smiled gently. “I have. I made sure society knew I was pursuing you, don’t forget. I followed you around, appeared by your side. Perhaps Jamie thought I was getting too close.”
She stared at him, her mind occupied by a notion that had not occurred to her before. “Did you only do that after the first time you were threatened? That time you did not tell me about?”
He dropped his gaze and did not immediately answer.
The anxiety and fear she’d experienced this last week boiled to a head of steam. “I’m right, aren’t I? You appointed yourself my knight errant.” Indignation made her snatch her hands away from his. She folded her arms, tucking her hands out of the way where he could not touch them. “What gave you the right to do that? And then someone nearly killed you outside my house.”
He shrugged. “What did you expect me to do? Meekly back away, leaving you wide open to whoever wanted you? If I had not been at the ball that night, Dulverton would have compromised you into accepting his suit. If I had not been in the way, he could well have abducted you. Then you would have had to marry him.”
“He would not have liked what he found.” Not just her virginity but the heavy conditions attached to her inheritance.
She suppressed her shudder. Francis did not deserve to see any weakness she might feel. “I expect you to tell me when something affects me. I am not an object, or a thing to be protected.”
In the years after her husband’s death she’d learned she was stronger than she’d thought. With nobody to “guide” her thoughts, she’d thought for herself and discovered that she liked it.
Still agitated, she paused to force her indignation back under her control. Lord, what a mess!
“I should have told you about the earlier attack. I’m sorry I did not,” he said.
His admission took her completely by surprise. Since when had the high and mighty Lord Wolverley admitted any fault? Not like that, in a voice so humble she could hardly credit what she was hearing. And what should she say to that? “Yes, you should be.”
“We could have surrounded you with protectors.”
She snorted. “That would deny me any freedom of movement.”
“Only until we could identify who was doing this and put a stop to it.”
Better, but still not perfect. “And if I refused?”
“Would you be so foolish?”
The idea of having her movements limited was intolerable, but she might have had no choice if the person was desperate enough to make attempts on the life of a peer of the realm. “Probably not,” she was forced to admit. “But I cannot like being treated like a parcel.”
He stared at his hands, then lifted his gaze to meet her eyes. “Truthfully I thought the first attack was all there would be. It was ill-thought-out and impulsive. If Jamie organized it, it would have been very fast, since it happened after the ball. He could have sent a couple of his footmen after me. Once I’d repelled them, I assumed whoever had ordered them would back away. Which was a mistake.”
“Jamie wants to marry me, to reunite the estate,” she asserted. “He has always wanted it, but only this season has he pushed for the match.”
He raised his brows. “I remember the occasion vividly,” he said dryly. “You refused him.”
She nodded. “I did. But—” She broke off her words hastily. “I don’t love him. I swore I would not marry again unless I was in love with my husband to be, or at the least, very fond of him.”
“Then I’ll have to try very hard,” he murmured. “Won’t I?”
In a jerky movement completely devoid of her usual studied grace, she turned her head to stare out of the window, watching the hedgerows and the rolling hills.
They traveled in silence for some time until they stopped to change the horses. Another second-rate inn, but as she was finding, the quality and size of these places varied considerably. Some were as good as her usual stopping places.
To Virginia’s relief, Francis elected to alight to stretch his legs. Their conversation had reduced the already small space considerably. He did not stay away for long but returned to the carriage after a quick trip to the inn to follow the call of nature. She was almost asleep when he returned.
“Here.” He slung a large basket into the confined space before leaping up. “I walked up to the Hart and bought us some decent food.”
What else had he done? “Did you see Jamie?”
He shook his head. “If I had seen the carriage, I wouldn’t have gone in. They’re a couple of hours in front of us, I discovered when I asked. And don’t worry, I acted like a rustic and asked if they’d seen any grand vehicles recently. If we stop after another ten miles for an equally extended period, that will give them a longer head start. Then we’ll be unlikely to catch up with them.”
He gave her a reassuring smile, which did not at all reassure her. “Don’t worry.” He threw his hat on the opposite seat, closely followed by his wig. “When we face Jamie Dulverton again, it will be on our own terms.”
Seeing him like that, with his real hair on display, gave him an intimate appeal that Virginia refused to acknowledge. Utterly refused.
He unfastened the basket and produced a fragrant, cooked chicken, a loaf of fresh bread, and several other items, including plain white plates and mugs. Virginia cut the bread and found a pot of fresh butter. When a pound of cheese made its appearance, Virginia could imagine herself in heaven.
“Did you get anything for the men?”
He nodded. “They already have it. I told them to eat before we set off. That will give your cousin-in-law more time to get ahead of us.”
She took a slice of bread and tore off a leg of chicken, surprised to discover how hungry she was. She’d eaten well last night, and now she was digging in with gusto.
Francis demolished half the chicken before he reached for the wine and uncorked it. He poured it into a glass and handed it to her, taking another for himself.
“Jamie will kick up such a fuss if he catches us like this,” she said gloomily.
“I doubt it. Think about it. He wants to marry you to reunite the title and lands, does he not?”
She nodded and took a healthy gulp of the wine.
“Then he won’t want you to marry me. And I will be duty bound to offer for you if he catches us.”
“That sounds enticing.”
He chuckled as the coachman whipped up their new steeds and they set off again. “I can make it more so. Be warned, my lady, for I’ll not walk away now.”
Her heart sank. She tried for levity. “Now you know how I appear without frills and furbelows, and in the mornings, I would have thought you would be disillusioned.”
“On the contrary.” His voice became low and intimate. “It has only made me more eager.”
A flush rising to her face, Virginia turned away again. But the scenery was tedious, the same hedgerows and what appeared to be the same cows and sheep in the fields as she’d seen yesterday.
They ate in silence, until Virginia had finished. After wiping her hands on her napkin, she bundled up the waste from her meal, the chicken bones, apple peel and cores, and tossed them out of the window for the birds to pick over. Feeling much better for her impromptu meal, she turned back to the topic at hand. “You promised not to seduce me on this trip.”
“I have not promised to hide my true feelings for you. What I have promised is not to take advantage of our current circumstances.” He shrugged. “But I have not promised not to allow you to seduce me. I should warn you that the task won’t be very arduous. Ask me, and I will oblige you. Touch me, and I’ll respond.” He sat very still, as if afraid of moving. “Virginia, we both know what runs between us. But if we take this step, be sure. I won’t back away once we’ve reached our destination.”
His words put a series of images into Virginia’s mind that she could not dispel. Being naked with him, having the freedom to touch him, spread her hands over his bare chest, run her fingers along the powerful muscles in his arms and legs enthralled her. She wanted to claim him.
Sensations rioted through her when she came into his vicinity. They always had, but before now their meetings had not been as frequent as this. Truthfully, and she must be truthful with herself, she wanted it. Longed for it.
To test herself she imagined Jamie in bed with her. She went cold in a minute. Jamie was young and strong, and he undoubtedly wanted her, not just her fortune, but she did not care to imagine intimacy between them.
Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to consider other men in society who had reputations for their skills in bed. People were not as circumspect around widows as they were with unmarried maidens, so Virginia had heard plenty of stories. Some were divinely handsome, some powerful, or elegant, said to be exquisite, whatever that meant in this context. But none of them had the same effect on her as Francis.
That worried Virginia. Francis had a power over her that she must take care not to show him, but that was becoming increasingly difficult. The better she knew him, the more she liked him, and that was apart from the physical appeal he had for her. And now this desperate journey.
What was she to do? How could she ever forget this man? Or watch him marry someone else? Because she must not deviate from her course.
Her mind was still whirling when she fell asleep.
Chapter 14
“Virginia,” he said softly.
She opened her eyes.
“We’re at the inn where we’ll rack up for the night. We’re in Salisbury, well away from the finest inns.”
“Won’t someone recognize us?”
“Not here. Not dressed like this.” He glanced out of the window. “We can disappear easily in a larger town. This place isn’t on the usual route for any of the great roads.”
Realization hit her hard. “If nobody knows us here, then we can travel as brother and sister now.”
“If you wish.” His voice was quiet and steady. “Do you?”
She stared at him as the sound of a busy inn yard went on around them. Horses whinnied, and men shouted instructions, but she ignored them all, for this was a turning point. If she confirmed that she wanted to travel as brother and sister, he would accede to her wishes. He wouldn’t flirt with her or approach her in any way society would consider shocking.
But she could no longer deny that she wanted him badly.
They could be lovers.
And then there was the other problem.
Perhaps he would not notice her virginal state. He was mad for her as she was for him, so in the throes of passion, that small event could pass unnoticed. And she was tired of waiting, tired of being neither one thing nor the other. Not a proper wife and widow.
In six years she would be well past the age when a woman could consider marrying and bearing a child.
She would be alone, and although she had thought she’d reconciled herself to her fate, even looked forward to it, all she saw now was years of loneliness. Comfortable loneliness to be sure, but a solitary existence doing good works and becoming a matron, an established face in society as a widow.
Never to know married love, never to experience intimacy.
She wanted to do it at least once in her life, but she balked at doing it with a stranger, or an acquaintance. And she would not become the kind of widow who took frequent lovers. She did not have that in her.
If she was to do this, it would be with Francis, and it would be tonight.
She shook her head.
“Say it, Virginia. Shall we travel as siblings from now on?”
“No.” She choked the word out and could not say any more.
He didn’t speak again until he was standing on the cobbles of the inn yard, reaching up to help her down. Instead of allowing her to use the steps, he clasped his hands around her waist and swung her down. “You are sure?”
He released her and took a step back.
“No.” She swallowed. “But I don’t want to close the door on the possibility. I…” She couldn’t find the words.
“You don’t want your life to be bereft of intimacy.”
“No,” she said, thankful that he knew what she meant.
“Here it is then, Virginia. If you accept me as a lover, you must know that I will not give you up. I want you in every way possible.”
His eyes told her everything she needed to know. Unmistakable desire shone from them.
“But I won’t have you dangling me by a string, and I will not accept the status of eternal lover. Not from you. My ambition has not changed since our first kiss. Since I first set eyes on you. I want to spend all the time I can with you, and we cannot do that without marriage. Not in our world.”
She bit her tongue on the response that came immediately to mind, but then decided to say it anyway. “Yes. But not marriage. You’re moving too fast.”
If he continued to insist on that, then she would have to tell him the consequences. And if she did that and people discovered he knew, then she could lose everything.
He gave a brief nod. “I can’t force you, Virginia.”
As they turned to enter the inn, she said, “Your father felt the same way, did he not? And yet he condemned your mother to a life that was neither one thing nor the other.”
He didn’t take offense, although his muscles tightened under her hand. “They both considered the sacrifice worth the time they had together.”
“What took your father off?” Francis’s father had died six months before she’d arrived in Devonshire and first set eyes on the new Earl of Wolverley. He had never worn his heart on his sleeve. Only since she’d grown to know him had she realized how much he’d loved his father.
“A fever. Two days it took, that’s all.” He swallowed.
“I’m so sorry.”
He squeezed her hand. “So am I. Thank you.”
They went inside the inn. Night would not fall for another hour or two, but they had chosen to stay here and give Jamie more time to get ahead in the superior carriage.
The landlord, a tall man wearing a crisp, spotlessly white apron, bustled up to them. “Good evening my lord, my lady.”
For a few breathless seconds Virginia thought the man had recognized them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson,” Francis said.
“Ah. Very well, sir, madam. I have a good room available at the back of the house, should you wish to stay.”
They took the room.
Feeling as nervous as a new bride, Virginia went upstairs while Francis announced his intention of exploring the taproom and investigating the lay of the house. She found a snug chamber containing a comfortable, clean bed and the rest of the furniture she expected. A maid came up with hot water, and a servant with their traveling trunk.
Virginia set about washing and making herself comfortable. A church clock struck the hour, the bells ringing out. They could hardly go to bed at five o’clock. In London she rarely got to bed until after midnight, and even in the country she lingered until later.
Strangely at a loss, excitement and apprehension bubbling inside her, Virginia went to a chair by the window and sat watching the activity outside. She had no embroidery to do, no letters to writ
e, no books to read. No activities to hide behind.
People seemed to have a purpose. The sounds of activity came from below. All had something to do. But Virginia had at least three more days of this before she could start her normal life again.
If she ever did. The thought came to her unbidden, but she dismissed it. This journey was out of time, a different existence where she barely knew herself. Even her clothes were wrong. The fabrics were soft and worn, but not because of her. Because they’d been worn by somebody else first.
When the door opened, she jolted and grabbed the curtain. A cloud of dust went up, making her choke, and before she could recover, a pair of arms went around her, steadying her. She didn’t have to look to know who it was.
“I think we’d better leave those alone and just pull the shutters closed tonight,” he murmured, his voice rumbling softly in her ear.
So much for romance. Virginia took advantage of his closeness to rest her forehead on his shoulder while she recovered. “Thank you.”
“I have something else for you to be thankful for.”
She said nothing, but having recovered from her coughing fit, she lifted her head and regarded him balefully. “Are you another of those men?”
“What men?”
“The kind that think they are God’s gift to humanity because they have a…”
Fortunately she didn’t have to continue. A knowing smile spread over his face. “Ah. No, although I haven’t had any complaints.” He let go of her and dipped his hand into his pocket. He came out with a pack of cards.
Sheer delight surged through her. “Oh, I see! How thoughtful!”
“Not entirely. We have at least three days yet, and I’m aware that neither of us have our usual entertainment to hand.” He smiled. “Yes, we have each other, and I can’t tell you how—wonderful that is, but cooped up in a small, rickety carriage together with nothing to do might not be entirely advisable.” He left her in no doubt of the other way they could entertain each other.
Virginia had not credited Francis with any measure of tact before, but he’d proved her wrong. And she was so stupidly pleased about the cards that she would have forgiven him any amount of lascivious talk. Well, maybe not forgiven him, but she had to admit that between the bouts of anxiety, stretches of pure boredom had set in.
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