by Nina Mason
To pass the time as she waited, Louisa went up to her room. If her younger sisters saw how anxious she was, they would tease her ruthlessly, thereby arousing her father’s suspicions. If he then confronted her, she would be unable to keep her countenance.
For sneaking around was one thing, while telling a bald-faced lie was quite another.
She put on the riding habit the Captain had not yet seen—to expedite her departure should he agree to see her. She then tried reading and needle-work, but was too distracted to concentrate on either for long. Eventually, she planted herself on the window seat to keep watch. Just when her patience reached the breaking point, Georgie came into view.
At once excited and terrified, Louisa hurried downstairs and out to the portico. Within minutes, Georgie was before her, looking as spent as her mount. Pulse racing, Louisa rushed up to her sister so they could speak without being overheard.
“Did you see him? Did you give him my note?”
“Yes to both.”
Louisa was so on edge she could barely keep her equanimity. “What did he say? What did he say?”
“He agreed to your request—and quite readily, too.”
Louisa was thrilled, but also extremely curious about what the Captain intended to propose. Georgie dismounted and together, they walked the horse to the stables, chatting away all the way. The stable boy took the gelding while the groom saddled Midnight. As Louisa mounted, she thanked her sister for the great favor she’d done her.
“If ever I can return the favor, you need only ask.”
Georgie smiled up at her. “I only hope I have the need one day.”
Moments later, Louisa set off toward her destiny. Her heart trembled when the house came into view and fluttered wildly when she saw Capt. Raynalds waiting out front. She had almost forgotten how dashing he was. Struggling to maintain her self-control, she rode up to him and brought her horse to a halt.
“Good day, Captain. Thank you for agreeing to see me.”
A heart-stopping smile bowed his sensual mouth. “How could I refuse?”
Midnight danced under her, eager to run. Tightening her hold on the reins, she tried to calm the horse. Anxious as she was for a hard ride, she wasn’t going anywhere until she heard what the Captain had to say. She just hoped he would not keep her in suspense over long.
“You look well.”
“As do you,” he said. “I’m very glad to know your ankle is better.”
“It is much improved. I can almost walk without limping…” As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her faux pas. “Forgive me, Captain. I did not mean to imply…”
“Do not trouble yourself, Miss Bennet,” he said sincerely enough. “Your remark gave me no offense. But your remaining on horseback throughout your visit certainly shall. Will you not come down and accompany me indoors?”
He came forward and helped her dismount—not as gallantly perhaps as in her fantasy, but his hands still felt wonderful around her waist. Just as her boots hit the gravel, he let her go and stepped back.
So much for taking me in his arms and kissing me violently.
Their physical connection resumed when she took his offered arm, but it was hardly the same. Hundreds of gentlemen, including her father, had escorted her in similar fashion over the years.
The Captain guided her into the parlor and left her there on the pretense that he would ask his butler to bring refreshments. As he took his leave, he closed the door behind him.
Frustration bubbled up inside Louisa. Curse his hospitality. She did not want tea and cake; she wanted to know how he planned to help her—and the sooner the better. For she’d already passed a week agitating over what he intended to propose.
As she sat there, stewing in the broth of fear and insecurity, she all but convinced herself he was delaying because he’d changed his mind about whatever he meant to suggest—and was nervous about telling her as much.
* * * *
Theo paused to gather his courage outside the parlor door. He had waited more than a week to speak to Miss Bennet, and now that she was here, he suddenly had reservations. Drawing a deep breath, he cast them aside and opened the door. She was seated on the sofa looking far more hostile than when she’d arrived. Too ill-at-ease to maintain eye-contact, he limped to the window, pushed open one of the panes, and filled his lungs with fresh air.
When he felt steadier, he began. “As much as I want to help you, Miss Bennet, I must tell you again how strongly I object to elopements. I also believe it exceedingly dishonorable to court a lady behind her father’s back. I came to Much Wenlock in the hopes of elevating myself to the first circle of polite society, not to sink lower than I was in the eyes of the gentleman officers in the Navy. And that is indeed what will happen if we conduct ourselves in secret and are caught.”
“You can save your breath if you plan to continue in this vein,” she said crossly. “For you made your feelings abundantly clear to me last week.”
God help him. He had not expected her to be argumentative. Perhaps he should look at her. On the other hand, if he looked at her, he might lose his nerve.
“I beg of you to hear me out before becoming defensive,” he said, eyes still fixed on the freshly manicured shrubbery. “It is not my intent to chastise you, as you seem to have taken into your head. I simply wanted you to know my feelings on secret courtships in general—as a preamble, you might say, to my offer of help.” He shot a backward glance in her direction. “Now, may I continue without further interruption?”
“By all means. You have me on the edge of my seat.”
He cringed at the snippiness of her tone. This was not how he imagined this would go. Far from the romantic speech he set out to make, he sounded as if delivering a lecture. It did not help that she seemed annoyed with him. Should he ask her what he’d done to upset her?
Probably not, as it will only distract me further.
“Miss Bennet,” he said, plowing ahead, “I might not be ready quite yet to enter into a betrothal, but I have no objection to courting you until we are sufficiently acquainted to consider taking that step. As I see it, the risks are small. Since our courtship will be a secret one, no one will be the wiser if we decide to part ways.” He cleared his throat. “For now, however, let us assume all will end well.”
He turned to her then, feeling much like a man facing a firing squad. He wanted to go to her, to sit beside her, and to take her hand in his, but it felt as if a wall of ice had arisen between them.
She eyed him incredulously. “Are you in jest?—or are you seriously asking to court me in secret?—despite having made it clear you disapprove of such arrangements in general?”
“I promise you, my request is sincere.” Her reluctance to take him at his word further unraveled his confidence. “For I disapprove far more of fathers forcing their daughters to marry undeserving men than I do clandestine courtships.”
“While I applaud your chivalry, I cannot help but wonder about the constancy of a man who professes no interest in marriage one day, and then reverses his convictions the next.”
His patience was wearing thin. Had she not begged him to marry her—not to mention sleep with her—only a week ago? And now that he had acquiesced, she was interrogating him as if he were a knave instead of her saving grace.
Upon my soul, do all women truly know their own minds so little?
He took a breath, struggling to maintain his composure as he attempted to explain his change of heart. “Surely, at one time or another, you saw something you had to have in a shop window, even though shopping was not the primary purpose of your outing.”
“Yes, of course.”
“And did you change your mind and take the item back shortly thereafter?”
“I do not believe so.”
He risked moving closer to the sofa. “Perhaps you doubt my sincerity because you doubt your own allurements. If that is so, I can assure you they are considerable. Not only are you beautiful, you also posse
ss many admirable inner qualities. Compassion, kindness, intelligence, and spirit, to name but a few. In my eyes, you are a rare jewel among women, and only a fool would refuse such a prize when it is offered to him.”
“I thank you for the compliments, Captain,” she said with a blush, “but if I am so appealing, why have I never had suitors?”
The answer seemed perfectly obvious to him. Men were skittish creatures when confronted with beauty, brains, and inner strength in the opposite sex. Most wanted wives who saw to their needs and never questioned their authority. Miss Bennet, clearly, did not fit that mold, which suited him fine. For he did not desire a wife who would serve and obey him; he wanted a partner who would challenge and cherish him. And Miss Bennet, he suspected, would fill that role superbly.
He moved still closer to her, stopping at the arm of the sofa. Lord, how he longed to take her in his arms and kiss that sweet mouth of hers. “Perhaps lesser men find you unapproachable because they feel unworthy of you.”
She looked up at him from under dark lashes. “But not you?”
At last, he felt relaxed enough to tease her. “You chose me, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“I suppose I did at that,” she said with a blush.
A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “And made me an indecent proposal, as I recall.”
“Which you declined.”
He laughed and eased himself onto the cushion beside her. “Out of gallantry, Miss Bennet, not lack of desire.”
“Since we are now courting,”—she scooted closer to him—“I grant you leave to call me Louisa.”
He turned to her with hope and fear dueling in his heart. “Does that mean you accept my offer?”
She laughed. “Did you honestly think I would refuse?”
“I have learned from hard experience never to take anything for granted,” he said, gazing at her longingly.
“I am very glad to hear it,” she said, “for I would not want a suitor who would take me for granted.”
Now, this was more what he’d hoped for. Easy closeness with undernotes of sexual tension instead of veiled hostility and awkward distance. Even if he lacked the finesse to woo her with pretty words and romantic gestures, he should at least feel comfortable enough to speak to her from the heart.
As he took his fill of her beauty, passion reared within him. Desperate for greater intimacy, he ran his bent forefinger down the side of her face.
“I consider you officially under my protection now.”
She smiled modestly. “I would have it no other way.”
Too overcome to say more, he cupped her chin and ran his thumb across her lips. “Have you ever been properly kissed, Miss Bennet?”
“No, but I’m counting on you to remedy that deficiency at once.”
He smiled at her seductively. “Then I must not disappoint you...”
Just as he moved in, he heard dainty footsteps in the hall. His blood went cold and he drew back. He would have no peace again if his sister walked in on them in such a compromising posture.
Seconds later, Winnie entered the room, careless of what she might be interrupting. “I thought that was your horse I saw hitched outside,” she cried upon spying Miss Bennet beside her brother on the sofa.
She stopped dead and went pale when she observed how closely they were seated. “I beg your pardon. I did not mean to intrude upon…well, whatever it was the two of you were up to when I came in.”
Theo cleared his throat and sat up straighter, as if good posture would somehow support his innocence. “We were only…that is to say…Miss Bennet has honored us with a visit, as you can see…and I was only inquiring after her health before going in search of you. But now that you are here, there’s no need to track you down, obviously.”
Winnie, wearing a knowing smirk, darted her gaze between him and Louisa. “Why do I get the feeling you were discussing more than her health? Might it be because you’re acting like a blithering idiot and Miss Bennet’s face is as red as a radish?”
Irked by his sister’s impertinence, he said, “If that is so, it is because she has just come five miles on horseback.”
Seconds later, to Theo’s great relief, Murphy came in with the requested tray of refreshments. As he poured out the tea, Winnie claimed the chair nearest Miss Bennet.
“I was going to send you my copy of Mansfield Park, which I received and read since you returned to Craven Castle. But now that you are here, I can give it to you in person.”
“That is a splendid idea,” said Theo. “Why do you not go and get the book now while your tea is cooling.”
“That is an excellent notion.” Winnie sprang from her chair. “I shall be back in a dash.”
When Winnie and Murphy left them alone, Theo said to Louisa, “I would kiss you, but there is not time to do it properly. Therefore, I beg leave to delay until the next time we meet.”
She smiled at him. “And when will that be?”
“Tomorrow, if you’re available. I thought we might take a ride up to Major’s Leap and see what there is to see.”
Eleven
Louisa’s pulse quickened when she saw the Captain waiting for her at the designated meeting spot: a large horse-chestnut tree not far from where she’d taken her spill. How handsome he looked in his blue-velvet coat, tan breeches, and tall riding boots. Nobody who saw him astride his horse would have any notion he was missing a leg. Not that it mattered to her a whit. In her eyes, he was perfection personified.
She boldly rode up to him and brought Midnight to a halt. “Good day, Captain. Thank you for keeping our appointment. I thought perhaps the threat of rain would keep you indoors.”
“A brief shower is nothing to the unceasing spray of the sea,” he said with a smile. “In case you’ve forgotten, I was in the Navy for quite a few years.”
“Of course,” she said, feeling rather foolish. “I had not thought of that.”
For the first time, she really thought about the life he’d lived and how vastly it differed from her own. “What an adventurous life you’ve lived. Battles, foreign lands, and God alone knows what other adventures. I, in contrast, have never been as far as London, if you can believe it.”
“I can,” he said, grinning. “And will do my best to broaden your horizons if things between us work out as I hope they will.”
“I hope they will, too. Very much. And would welcome the chance to see more of the world.”
Just as they set off, it started to rain. By the time they reached the ridge, their outer garments were soaked through. Capt. Raynalds led the way to a sheltering tree and dismounted, whereupon he tied both horses’s reins to a large branch. When he helped Louisa down from her saddle, he must have felt her shivering because he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then, stepping closer, he took her in his arms and hugged her to him. The rain continued bombarding them, but Louisa was too happy to care. In fact, she felt lighter and happier than she could ever remember being hitherto.
She yearned for him to kiss her and when he made no move to do so, she pulled out of his embrace. He was only in his shirtsleeves, and the way the wet cambric clung to his muscular arms aroused in her sensations unfit for a lady of refinement. The nearly transparent cloth also revealed the glyph on his left forearm. As far as she could tell, it was a bird of some sort.
“You have a tattoo.”
With rain dripping from his hat, nose, and chin, he looked down at his arm as if unaware it was there. “It’s a swallow. I had it done when I first went to sea. The swallow, you see, always finds its way home.”
“Was it painful?”
He looked into her eyes, a faint smile on his lips. “Have you ever pricked yourself with a sewing needle?”
“I have indeed. Many times.”
“Well, imagine being pricked a hundred times over in quick succession…and you will have a reasonable idea of the pain involved.”
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Why would anyone volunte
er to be stuck with a needle over and over again?”
He laughed uneasily. “Or have it done more than once?”
“You have other tattoos?”
“I do.” He wiped the excess moisture from his face. “And when we are on more intimate terms, I will show them to you. For now, though, I think we’d best find shelter before we catch our deaths. Do you perchance know a place nearby?”
“Come on,” she said, taking his arm. “There’s a cave not far from here.” As she pulled him along, she said, “Swallows mate for life, you know, so they also symbolize everlasting love and loyalty.”
After making their way to the cave, he said, “I will build a fire to keep us warm and help dry our clothes.”
She blinked up at him. “How do you propose to do that?”
“With the tinder box in the pocket of the coat you’re wearing,” he said with a grin.
Putting her hand in the right pocket, she withdrew a silver box engraved with a ship. “Are you always so well prepared?”
His grin broadened. “I try to be.”
She handed him the box and set about gathering all the sticks and dry debris she could find within. The cold of the cave and dampness of her clothes made her shiver as she worked. When the pile was sufficient to support a fire, he struck a match, filling the cave with the biting scent of sulphur. As she watched the kindling catch, he came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her back against his chest.
Instantly, the chill evaporated.
His lips brushed the nape of her neck before he whispered, “Is your offer still open?”
Her stomach tightened. “Which offer do you mean?”
“To help me dance.” He set his cheek against her ear. “Because, if you have no objection, I thought we might begin forthwith.”
* * * *
After some discussion, Theo agreed to start with Lady Nelson’s Waltz Cotillion, a great favorite at the officers’s balls he’d attended in the Navy. Though the steps were comparatively simple, he still doubted his ability to master the footwork.