And yet, something in his eyes had made her suspect that he was making it his business, but she had no idea why.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘Where have you been hiding yourself, you naughty man? I haven’t seen you in an age.’
Emma, Lady Ketteridge, leaned over and put her hand on Synley’s arm in a playful manner, but this made his horse nervous and it stepped to the side, pulling him out of her reach. Synley couldn’t say that he minded. Emma was the acknowledged beauty in these parts and she’d been throwing him increasingly broad hints as to how friendly she wished them to be. So far, he had managed to ignore her, but she was nothing if not tenacious.
‘Oh, I have a lot to do on the estate,’ he told her. ‘Never a dull moment, you know, and there’s always something new that crops up.’
‘So much so that you can’t make time even for me?’ Her long eyelashes swept down flirtatiously, while she pouted in what she no doubt thought was an irresistible manner. Although Synley had been tempted to avail himself of her unspoken offer once or twice during the past year through sheer loneliness, he now found that the sight of her left him cold. He was glad he hadn’t given in. Instead, another face rose up in his mind’s eye, one which was far lovelier and without guile.
‘If I had time for socialising, believe me I would,’ he said curtly.
‘Well, what about joining us for my little card party tomorrow night? You did receive the invitation, I trust, and surely you can’t be working every evening?’
Synley wanted to refuse, but he was tired of having to make up excuses. Besides, he would have to face his neighbours at some point eventually, and now was as good a time as any. ‘Very well, then, I shall look forward to it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I really must be going. Good day to you, my lady.’
He caught a flash of triumph in her dark eyes, but ignored it and set off in the direction of Hawthorne Manor. For the last week, he had joined Rupert and Miss Holloway – or Lexie, as he thought of her privately – for their morning ride every second day. He hadn’t dared come every day, or someone might start to comment, but neither could he keep away entirely.
The more he spoke to Lexie, the more he realised how unusual she was. Far from being an empty-headed ninny, like a lot of young women were, he had found her to possess a sharp brain and sensible views on a range of subjects. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and neither was she missish in any way. He had been genuinely surprised that she was the one teaching Rupert to shoot, rather than a male of the household. It seemed a strange skill for a female to possess, and yet, it didn’t make her any less feminine.
Nothing could do that. She had the most tantalising curves and a mouth that invited kisses. As he well remembered, although he tried his best not to think about that moment of madness all those years ago. Every time he did, he was tempted to kiss her again.
He couldn’t help wishing it was the following day so that he could see her now, this minute. Today, he ought to stay away, but he urged his horse in the direction of Hawthorne nevertheless. He drew rein and ground his teeth. He really should turn back and go and check on a ditch which his steward had reported was blocked, but it seemed a boring prospect compared to time spent with Lexie.
‘Damnation,’ he muttered, when a little devil inside him prodded him to continue. ‘Oh, just this once then.’ What harm could it do, after all? He’d stay at home tomorrow instead.
‘I’m sorry, Aunt Lexie, but I can’t go on a ride today. Mama says I’m to be fitted for a new coat and breeches,’ a sulky-looking Rupert informed Lexie after breakfast. ‘It will take forever. It did last time.’
‘Oh, that’s a shame. Shall we go later then?’
‘No, you go ahead. I wouldn’t want to spoil your day too.’
Lexie hid a smile, but was impressed that the boy could think in such unselfish terms. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I don’t mind. I can wait.’
‘No, really, you’d better go. Otherwise, if Synley is waiting for us, he won’t know where we are.’
Lexie bit her lip. ‘I doubt he’ll be there today. We saw him only yesterday, but if you insist, I’ll have a short ride, just to make sure. I’ll see you later.’
She wished that they hadn’t seen his lordship the day before, because she would have loved to ride with him alone, but of course such a thing was not permitted. I shouldn’t even be thinking such things. She would have had to bring a groom, in any case, but since she wasn’t likely to see him, she elected to go out by herself.
‘I’ll stay on Hawthorne land,’ she informed the groom, ‘so I’ll be perfectly safe.’ It wasn’t long before she strayed into the forest, however, and to her surprise, there was Synley, waiting at their usual meeting point.
‘My lord, I hadn’t thought to find you here today.’ She reined in, some yards away from him, aware of the impropriety.
‘I can see that.’ He raised his eyebrows at her. ‘No groom? And no Rupert? Is that safe?’
‘Rupert couldn’t come today and as for a groom, well, to tell you the truth, I can’t bear to have someone trail along like that. It quite spoils my enjoyment of the ride.’
‘Perhaps I should leave you to it then?’ he asked, a quizzical look in his eyes.
Lexie shook her head. ‘No, please, I didn’t mean you. I ... would welcome your company.’ She felt herself blush for being so forward, but he made no comment, just set his horse in motion.
They set off along the path and Lexie battled with her conscience for a while before deciding that really she was too old to worry about being chaperoned. She was practically on the shelf and what harm could it do to ride with a neighbour so close to her brother-in-law’s house? None, surely.
‘You are very quiet, Lexie,’ he said after a lengthy silence.
Her eyes flew to his, startled by his use of her Christian name. ‘Really, you shouldn’t call me that,’ she protested. ‘It’s not seemly.’
He smiled. ‘Ah, but it’s what you told me your name was, the first time we met. Or have you forgotten?’
Lexie pulled on the reins and came to a halt. She stared at him and felt the blood drain from her face before returning with a vengeance. ‘I ... I ... you remember?’
His gaze rested on her mouth for a moment, making her cheeks heat up even further. ‘Did you really think I wouldn’t? I wasn’t as foxed as all that, you know.’ His voice was soft, almost a caress, and Lexie felt a yearning well up inside her, so strong it frightened her. She closed her eyes.
‘Dear God,’ she muttered.
In the next instant, she felt his fingers brush her cheek. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘I won’t tell a soul. It shall be our secret. But don’t ask me to forget what happened, because you were wrong, I wasn’t sorry either.’
Lexie dared to look up into his eyes, which held an expression she couldn’t quite understand. She shivered. He was so close, so altogether perfect, so ... not for her. He was a rich lord and she was a nobody without a dowry. What interest could he possibly have in someone like her? None. She was just trying to gather her wits to reply in a sensible fashion, when a shot rang out. Something whistled past her cheek and she heard Synley gasp while his fingers were jerked away from her.
‘What the devil? Ride, Lexie, quickly, get out of here!’ He slapped Shireen’s rump and the startled mare took off so fast Lexie almost lost her seat. Through the trees she thought she glimpsed a flash of yellow, then she and the horse were flying along the path, closely followed by Synley. They rode hell for leather until they reached the open field near Hawthorne Manor. Only then did they come to a halt, with Synley’s horse dancing around in circles before coming to a full stop.
‘What happened? Oh my God, you’re hurt,’ Lexie exclaimed, catching sight of a dark stain that was rapidly spreading across Synley’s shoulder. He reached up to touch it and winced.
‘A mere scratch,’ he said, gazing all around them with narrowed eyes, checking that they were safe. ‘I’ll have it seen to when I get home.�
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‘No, please, come to Hawthorne and let me have a look at it. It’s closer. Honestly, you could bleed to death otherwise.’ She sent him a pleading glance, terrified for him, although she didn’t yet understand how he had come to be shot.
‘Very well, as you wish.’ They set off towards the Manor.
‘Was someone out hunting, do you think? And missed?’ Lexie was still trying to puzzle it out.
Synley’s mouth became a grim line. ‘I doubt it. That was too close a call and I think it was aimed at one or other of us deliberately.’
‘But ... why?’
He shrugged. ‘I’ve no idea, but I would hazard a guess I was the target. I doubt you have any enemies, whereas there are plenty of people who don’t think very highly of me.’
‘That’s absurd. Why would anyone try to kill you merely because you contracted an unorthodox marriage? And one which is moreover at an end? That doesn’t make sense.’ She didn’t dare ask if he had done anything else that might cause someone to hate him so much they wanted him dead.
‘Maybe not.’ A shuttered expression came over his eyes. ‘Perhaps you’re right and it was merely someone who’s a very bad shot. I shall have the matter investigated, never fear. Now here we are. Are you sure you want to do this? It will no doubt be messy.’
‘I’m not squeamish and I’ve seen to wounds before. Follow me, my lord.’
They left the horses with a groom, who came running at their bidding, and Lexie led the way into the house. Fortunately, there was no one about, and she directed Synley to the morning room at the back of the house, while she went in search of clean bandages and hot water.
She returned to find him naked to the waist, a sight which stopped her in her tracks for a moment before she forced her legs to move again. He had the magnificent physique of one of the many statues she had seen in Italy, but unlike them, he wasn’t made of marble. Perfectly formed muscles stretched the skin of his shoulders, chest and arms, and she longed to touch him, to trace the contours of those muscles with her fingertips. She swallowed hard. A lady shouldn’t even think such things, but then again, most ladies hadn’t seen Lord Synley half naked.
It was going to be extremely hard to concentrate on the task in hand.
A maid followed her into the room carrying a bowl and a pitcher of boiling hot water.
‘Please stay, Mary,’ Lexie told the girl. ‘You needn’t look, just have a seat over there.’
‘Yes, Miss.’
Synley glanced up and gave her a brief smile, as if acknowledging the wisdom of having a chaperone present. Then he shrugged and said, ‘It’s a mere scratch, as I said, but it seems to be bleeding a lot.’
‘I’d say.’
Lexie dipped a cloth in the hot water and began to clean the wound. There was what seemed like a great quantity of blood, but the bullet had only grazed his shoulder. Although it had left a deep groove, he was right and it wasn’t as bad as she had feared. ‘You were lucky, my lord,’ she murmured. ‘A little bit lower and it would have stuck.’
‘Yes, thank the Lord whoever it was must be a very bad shot. I don’t much fancy having a surgeon poke around inside me for a bullet.’ He smiled again and she gazed into his eyes, wondering how he could joke about this. Someone might be wanting him dead and that thought made her insides turn to ice.
‘You must be careful from now on,’ she murmured. ‘Don’t ride out alone, I beg you.’
‘You care about my safety?’ he whispered, so quietly the maid couldn’t hear him. His blue eyes fixed on hers with the same quizzical look he had given her earlier during the ride.
‘Yes. Yes, of course I do.’ Lexie felt her cheeks turn hot and busied herself with bandaging his shoulder. ‘I mean, as I would that of any fellow human being,’ she added.
‘Ah, naturally.’ There was a teasing note in his voice which told her that he didn’t quite believe her, but she pretended not to hear that.
When she had finished her ministrations, he put his shirt back on and Lexie drew a sigh of relief. Having him in a state of undress so close to her had been very unsettling, to say the least. It was one thing to see the male form rendered in marble, but quite another in real flesh and blood.
‘I thank you for your assistance, Miss Holloway,’ he said. ‘You have saved me from the clumsy efforts of my housekeeper who means well, but has no idea how to tie a bandage.’
‘It was nothing, my lord. Do please come back if it needs changing. I have applied some wound powder and trust that will help, but you should probably have it seen to in a day or two.’
He shrugged into his coat with a small grimace of pain and Lexie walked him to the door. There he stopped briefly and whispered, ‘Please don’t ride out alone again yourself until I’ve had time to investigate this matter. Will you promise me that?’
She nodded. ‘If you think that’s best.’
‘I do. I’ll let you know when it’s safe again.’
After a brief nod and a loud, ‘Thank you again, Miss Holloway,’ – no doubt for the benefit of their audience – he took his leave.
‘Lexie, my dear, we’ve been invited to the Ketteridge’s for supper and cards tomorrow. Will you accompany us? You and Jasper are both included on the invitation.’ Margaret caught Lexie on the stairs, just as she was on her way up to change out of her now stained riding habit.
‘If you wish. Who are the Ketteridge’s?’
‘Sir Harry and his wife Emma. We’ve known them an age. He’s a bit old and doddery, but Emma is a great hostess. Never a dull moment when we’re there. It should be vastly entertaining.’
‘Very well, I shall look forward to it.’
Lexie thought to herself that it would be preferable to staying at Hawthorne where Jasper seemed to have taken permanent root. He was supposed to have stayed for a few days only, according to Margaret, but so far he showed no signs of leaving and he and George were as thick as thieves. They had been out late every night, gaming in some nearby tavern apparently, but before they left, Lexie had to endure their boorish conversation at dinner. Not to mention Jasper’s leering glances.
When she came down the stairs later, Jasper was unfortunately the first thing she set eyes on. He was lounging in the hall, leaning a shoulder against the door leading into the library, and he smiled when he caught sight of her.
‘Ah, Miss Holloway, I hear you’ve had a busy morning.’
‘What do you mean?’ Lexie sighed inwardly. No doubt the servants had gossiped and it was too much to expect that they would keep Synley’s visit a secret.
‘I was told you had to use your healing skills on none other than Lord Synley. What happened?’
‘Oh, it was just a scratch. I came across him at the edge of the park and he’d had a run-in with a poacher or some such. I thought it best if he came to Hawthorne to have his wound seen to, in case it was worse than it looked. I have some skill in such matters.’
‘And was it?’
‘No, as I said, it was nothing really.’
‘Well, I’m glad to hear that. We wouldn’t want to lose our illustrious neighbour, now would we?’
Lexie gritted her teeth. She wanted to tell him that Synley wasn’t his neighbour at all and it was none of his business, but because Jasper was George’s nephew, she couldn’t be rude to him. ‘No, indeed,’ was all she said in the end.
CHAPTER FIVE
The Ketteridge’s lived in a neat little Queen Anne house on the edge of the next village and Lexie could see it had been done up in the latest style. It was immediately apparent that Lady Ketteridge had her husband wrapped around her little finger, and Lexie was sure the decor was all her doing.
‘This is beautiful, my lady,’ she told their hostess, although in truth she thought it all a bit overwhelming. There were cushions and knick-knacks on every surface and a profusion of bright colours that didn’t quite match. It was as if an over-exuberant child had been let loose with a set of paints.
‘Why thank you, Miss Hollowa
y. I had a decorator come up from London to advise me. Mr Ashdown is all the rage, you know.’
Lexie didn’t doubt it, but wondered how many other people had been persuaded to adopt this lavish style against their better judgement. Fashion was a strange thing.
‘Ah, there you are, Synley. I didn’t think you would make it.’ Their hostess left Lexie without so much as a glance and headed for the latest arrival. Lexie stiffened and turned slowly to see if it really was him. She hadn’t expected him to attend since Jasper and George had been so adamant that their neighbour never socialised.
He seemed to be on remarkably good terms with Lady Ketteridge, however. She was hanging onto his arm and smiling up at him in what Lexie could only term a flirtatious manner, and he smiled back and put a hand over hers. A stab of jealousy shot through Lexie, but she pulled herself together. He is still not yours and never will be, so don’t be so silly.
She would have liked to ask him how his shoulder was faring, but couldn’t find an opportune moment. His appearance at the party caused quite a stir and although not everyone seemed pleased to see him, there were plenty of others who welcomed him. Lexie glanced at him from time to time to see whether his wound was bothering him, but he gave no sign of it, so she had to be content with that.
Dinner was a jolly affair, with much banter and laughter, and afterwards there were card tables waiting in the salon.
‘Do please be my partner at whist, Miss Holloway,’ Jasper begged, and Lexie couldn’t think of a polite way to decline. She was forced to spend the rest of the evening with him looking at her across the table, even though she would much rather have watched Synley. He in turn was monopolised throughout by Lady Ketteridge who was akin to a leech, in Lexie’s opinion. George was happy, however, since he finally had his chance to win some money off Synley.
Lexie felt her spirits sink lower and lower as the evening progressed, and a headache began to build behind her eyes. She tried to ignore it, but finally she could stand it no more.
Regency Romance Collection From Christina Courtenay Page 24