His Sinful Touch

by Candace Camp

  “Excuse me, miss.” Sabrina walked up to her.

  The woman glanced at her in surprise, her eyes swiftly taking in Sabrina’s attire. “Are you speaking to me?”

  “Yes. I was wondering if this was where one caught an omnibus.”

  “Yes,” the woman said coolly and turned back to look up the street.

  Sabrina felt a spurt of resentment. One would think the woman could have shown a bit of graciousness toward a fellow workingwoman despite the fact that Sabrina was dressed like someone lower down the social ladder than she. As much to annoy the woman as because she wanted to know, Sabrina said, speaking to her shoulder, “I was wondering which one to take to get to Paddington Station.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know” was all the other woman said, giving her a dismissive glance.

  “I’ll show you, sweetheart,” a man said beside her. She looked at him. He was sharply dressed, with a diamond pin twinkling in the folds of his ascot, and he smiled at her in a way that was entirely too familiar. “Just come with me, and...”

  “Get on with ya, mister.” An older woman wedged her way in between them, scowling at the man. “I know what you’re wantin’, and it ain’t to help a girl.”

  “Thank you,” Sabrina murmured.

  “Just up from the country, ain’t ya?” The woman shook her head and sighed. “Too pretty by half to be wanderin’ about so innocent.” She turned to shoot a glare at the man who had spoken to Sabrina, but he had moved away and was studiously ignoring them.

  “Yes, I’m new to London.” Sabrina knew her manner of speech didn’t match her disguise, but there was nothing she could do to change that. If she tried to imitate one of the maids, she felt sure she would make a mistake, and that would be even more suspicious. She lowered her voice and said confidentially, “Since my father passed on, the family’s fallen on hard times, so I came to London to make my way.”

  “Terrible.” The woman clucked in sympathy and reached out to pat her arm. “Well, just take this one that’s comin’.” She nodded toward the omnibus rattling toward them, a block away. “It’s not the one I take, or I’d show ya meself. But it’s easy enough, just get off when ya see the station.”

  “Thank you.” Sabrina beamed at her.

  “Ah, lass.” The woman heaved a sigh, shaking her head. “With a smile like that, trouble’s sure to find ya.”

  Sabrina refused to be disheartened by the woman’s gloomy appraisal. She turned back, considering her next problem. She had no idea how much it cost to ride the omnibus. She reached into her pocket, surreptitiously poking into the bag of money. It would not do for a maid to pull out a big pouch of coins. Nor did she want to present a gold coin—that was bound to be far too much—and since sovereigns and crowns made up the bulk of her coins, it presented a bit of a challenge. She was rather sure she had seen a shilling in her purse, but she doubted there was anything smaller. Surely a shilling wouldn’t be more than a maid would have. The problem was that the gold sovereign and the silver shilling were actually not very far apart in size, and it was hard to tell the difference by touch alone.

  It was with some relief that she found a smaller coin, probably a sixpence or threepence, and she lifted it out, sneaking a glance at it in her palm. It was a sixpence, which, as it turned out, was large enough that it earned her a frown from the conductor as he sorted through his pennies and threepence pieces to give her change.

  Riding in the omnibus was a rather slow and dull affair, as it stopped often for passengers to get on or off, but Sabrina entertained herself watching all the people and vehicles traveling the streets. She kept a sharp lookout for Paddington and finally saw it a block down on a cross street. Quickly yanking the cord as she had seen others do, she got off when the vehicle came to a stop and walked to the station.

  Forewarned by her earlier experience, she went to the privacy of the lavatory to pull out her money pouch and take out the coins she might possibly use. She thought about changing into the clothes in her sack as well, but it was a tight and awkward place to do so, and anyway, she decided, it would probably look less odd for a maid to be buying a ticket for her employer than for a young lady to do it herself.

  She just wished she had some idea what it would cost and how much she should have ready. How was it possible that she could know so little of what anything cost? Was that another problem of her failed memory or evidence of how little she had ever handled anything in her life? She had heard the duchess go on at length about the way young ladies were kept removed from the practicalities of life, everything purchased for them by parents or husbands.

  She remembered the ticket office from the day she and Alex had come here, so she found it easily. After a wink from a man toting baggage and a leer from a man dressed much like Con had been this morning, she made it a point to keep her gaze forward and down. But as she stood in line, she couldn’t keep from looking all around her, searching for a sight of the Dearborns...or Alex. She saw neither, and while the lack of Dearborns reassured her, her heart grew heavier at the thought of Alex.

  It was silly. There was no reason to think he would have followed her. She had done her best to conceal her departure. He probably didn’t yet know she wasn’t napping in her room. Even when he discovered she was gone, he wouldn’t know where she went. And really, why should he follow her? It wasn’t as if he could make her return to Broughton House. Her absence would resolve his problem with the Dearborns. He would understand that it was better this way.

  There was no reason that thought should make her heart feel so leaden. It was what she wanted. She had wanted to get away from Broughton House. To spare him the difficulty of hiding her from her guardian. To protect him from scandal. She was doing the right thing.

  She just wished doing the right thing didn’t hurt so much.

  After buying the ticket, she made her way to the platform. The train sat there, passengers trickling on board, baggage carriers trundling their carts to the baggage car. She looked around a last time or two and climbed on board.

  Her compartment was at the far end of the first-class passengers’ car. She closed the door, turned the latch and pulled down the shades on the window. She pulled out the dress she had carried with her in the sack; it would be suspicious for a maid to be traveling in a first-class compartment alone. The frock was crumpled, as was the small, plain bonnet, but they would have to do. Dressing quickly, she tossed her disguise aside and dropped down onto the padded bench seat.

  She tried not to think about Alex, but her mind went to him despite her best efforts. She thought of when she had first seen him standing outside the agency door, slim and straight, those bright green eyes focused on her. She felt again that instant tug of attraction, of rightness, the sense that she knew him. An image flickered in her mind and was gone; she tried to call it back but it remained elusively out of reach.

  The train jerked beneath her. They were starting. The train began to roll forward, gradually gaining speed. Sabrina thought of raising the window shade to watch London move past them, but she didn’t want to watch it slip away from her. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she blinked them away.

  She heard the clang of the car’s connected door close, and then the faint sound of knocking and the murmur of voices. It moved down the corridor toward her, growing louder and louder. The conductor was taking up tickets. When the tap sounded at her own door, she rose, unlocked it and pulled it open.

  A man stood in the corridor, face flushed, hair in disarray.

  “Alex!”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  TO ALEX’S SURPRISE, Sabrina launched herself into his arms. He squeezed her to him, his cheek against the softness of her hair, letting the anxiety drain out of him. Finally recalling that they were standing in a public hallway, he stepped into her compartment, carrying her with him, and closed the door. Only then did he set her down.

  “Thank he
avens you’re here.” He smiled down into her face, smoothing one hand over her hair. “I’ve alarmed every passenger in this car, looking for your compartment.” He wasn’t going to tell her how scared he’d been, thinking that he had chosen the wrong direction and she was lost to him.

  She laughed, and her eyes shone in a way that warmed him. “Perhaps you wouldn’t have alarmed them so much if you didn’t look like a wild man.” She cast a meaningful glance at his hair.

  “Yes, well, I wouldn’t have looked so much like a wild man if I hadn’t had to run to jump on board.” He combed his fingers through his hair, bringing it back into some kind of order.

  “Did you really?”

  He nodded. “The conductor thought I was a madman.” He paused, then added candidly, “That occurred to me, as well.”

  “But why? How did you know where I was? How did you even know I was gone?”

  “I can’t explain it. I didn’t know what it was at first—I just felt uneasy. We were busy watching the Dearborn carriage and their cohort, and I suppose I laid it down to that. But suddenly I realized that the house felt...empty.” Alex shrugged. “So we looked for you, and then I questioned the maid you bribed.”

  “I didn’t bribe her.”

  “That’s good because she gave you up as soon as I asked. Next time I’d choose another if I were you.” He tilted his head, his voice turning serious. “Did you really think I wouldn’t follow you?”

  “I—” Sabrina paused. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “Why not?” He placed his hands on her upper arms, his eyes intent on hers. “Tell me, Sabrina. Do you really wish I had not? Would you rather I stopped hanging about? Left you alone?”

  “Of course I don’t,” she snapped, turning away from him.

  “Why did you leave, Sabrina?” He hadn’t intended to ask her, at least not so abruptly, so harshly, but he couldn’t stop the words. She turned back sharply, her eyes searching his face, as he rushed on. “Why didn’t you tell me before you left? Why did you sneak out of the house as if you were escaping prison? Were you so unhappy there?”

  “Of course not. I was happy. Horribly happy.” Tears shone in Sabrina’s eyes. “I had to leave secretly because that man was watching the house. I knew I must use a disguise. What else was I to do?”

  He steeled himself to her tears. “You could have stayed. Did you not trust me to take care of you? Did you think I was too weak to hold off Niles Dearborn? Or was it that you feared I wouldn’t protect you when it came down to it? That I would turn you over to him despite everything I said.”

  “No!” Sabrina cried. “I trust you with my life. But even you can’t defy the laws of England. I couldn’t let you sacrifice yourself and your family. Don’t you see?”

  “No,” he said flatly. “I don’t. All we have to do is stave them off for a couple of weeks until your birthday. Then Dearborn will no longer be your guardian. He won’t have any right to control what you do.”

  “That won’t matter if I’m married to his son!”

  “You’re not. There’s no reason to think—”

  “But there is.” Sabrina’s voice caught. “I—I remembered something. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I couldn’t—” Her voice broke and she had to start again. “I couldn’t bear to tell you... I think it may be true. I’m afraid I’m married to Peter.”

  “Why? Miss Holcutt said you had a dream about him, surely that’s not enough to—” He stopped, a sharp pain in his chest. “Did you remember something? Are you... Did you realize that you loved him?”

  “No!” She looked up at him, her expression so horrified that Alex relaxed. “I don’t feel anything when I look at him except fear and dislike.” She paused, frowning. “But if I am married to him, I’m legally bound. You can’t protect me—no one can.”

  “I don’t give a damn what the law says.” Alex’s eyes flashed. “I’m not turning you over to either Dearborn unless you want to go back. If it comes down to it, I’ll take you out of the country, where he cannot get you. We’ll go to America.”

  Her gaze softened, and she reached out to him. “Oh, Alex...you are very kind. But I can’t ask that of you.”

  “You don’t have to ask. That is what’s going to happen. I can protect you, and I will, no matter what.”

  Sabrina burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.

  “Sabrina...no, don’t cry.” Alex folded her into his arms, holding her as she sobbed. He stroked her back soothingly, laying soft kisses against her hair, and made comforting noises. When her tears began to quiet, he said, “It’ll be all right. If you don’t want to leave the country, we shan’t. I’ll find another way.”

  She made a little noise, half laugh, half sob, and said, “It’s not that. I don’t care where I go.” She wiped her tears away and looked up at him. Her eyes were soft and glowing, her lashes clinging together wetly, like the points of a star. She was, he thought, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She went on, “When I’m with you, I feel as though anything is possible.”

  “Anything is possible.”

  Sabrina smiled, and he couldn’t fathom how a look could stab right through his chest and at the same time fill him with happiness. She rested her palm against his cheek, murmuring his name.

  Alex had sworn he was not going to enter these dangerous waters again, was not going to kiss her or caress her or woo her. But at the sight of her, his good intentions melted away, and he bent to kiss her. She made a soft noise of pleasure, and he wrapped his arms around her even more tightly as he kissed her again and again.

  The things going through his head were too inchoate to be termed thoughts, but he was intensely aware of how alone they were in the this small, private place, locked away from all eyes, how easy it would be to pull her down with him, to unfasten her garments. His mind was filled with memories of that night in her house in London, of the satin softness of her skin beneath his hand, the plump curve of her breast, the taut hardening of the nipple.

  He sat down on the long seat, pulling her into his lap without loosening his embrace around her. She settled into him with a soft sigh that heated his blood. He kissed her cheek, her ear, her throat, his hand roaming slowly over her, exploring the soft hills and plains, until he could not bear to have the impediment of her dress between his touch and her skin.

  Deftly unbuttoning the large, decorative buttons of her bodice, Alex slipped his hand inside, caressing her through the thin cloth of her chemise. But soon that was not enough, either, and he tugged loose the bow that fastened her chemise. Then his fingers were on her bare skin, gliding over the supremely soft flesh and curving down to arouse her nipple to further hardness.

  He kissed his way down her chest, his lips replacing his teasing fingers, and when he took her nipple into his mouth, she arched up against it with a little moan, sending his own desire skyrocketing. He slid his hand down her leg and up under her skirts. Alex ached to feel that bare skin as well, but just the heat of her against the thin cotton, the hint of what lay beneath the cloth, tantalizingly veiled from his touch, was enough to make him tremble. When his fingers edged between her legs, gliding up to find her, hot and damp, it was all he could do not to strip away the material.

  Instead, he stroked her through the cloth, delighting in the way she moved against him, her own fingers sinking into his hair. He wanted more, much more, and he pulled his hand away to fumble at the buttons of her skirt, inconveniently behind her back.

  A knock at the door cut through their haze of passion. Alex raised his head, letting out an oath. “The bloody conductor.”

  Sabrina sat up hastily, pulling her clothes back together, and as another knock sounded sharply, Alex jumped to his feet. Pulling at his clothes and swiping at his mussed hair, he went to the door. God only knew what he must look like. What the ticket taker would think.

  He opened the door narrowly, hi
ding the rest of the room from the man’s gaze. “Yes?”

  “Ticket, sir?” The man’s gaze went curiously over Alex’s shoulder to the room beyond.

  “Yes, of course. Um...” Alex began to search through his pockets, trying to remember where he’d stuck the blasted ticket, and at the same time did his best to keep the door nearly shut. His blood was still rushing through him like fire. How had the situation devolved into a farce so quickly?

  “Here.” Sabrina thrust a ticket into his hand.

  He held it out to the conductor, who said, “This is just for one, sir.” The man’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  With relief, Alex found his ticket and handed it to the man. “Here.”

  “This is for a different compartment, sir.”

  “Yes, well, I’m not there.” Alex glared at the conductor.

  “I see, sir.” A sly grin touched the other man’s mouth.

  “Good day,” Alex said and closed the door, turning the latch with a firm click.

  Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Sabrina. She was holding her hands against her burning cheeks, her eyes bright. He tried to think of what to say. “I, um...beg your pardon.”

  She began to giggle. Alex’s own mouth twitched, and he let out a long sigh, leaning back against the door. “I am sorry, Sabrina. At least he didn’t see you.”

  “I suspect he will be looking for me when we leave.” She laughed again and plopped down on the seat. “I’m sorry, too. You were the one who had to face him.”

  “For you, my dear, I’d dare anything.” He grinned, crossing his arms and regarding her. What was he going to do if Sabrina was married? How could he bear to lose her?

  “But we can’t continue to do this.” Sabrina sobered. “It’s wrong, not knowing whether... Alex, we simply must find out what happened.”

  “I know.” It was too dangerous to sit down beside her, Alex decided, so he remained by the door. “You could have told me that you feared you were married, you know. You can tell me anything.”