by Unknown
"You needn't worry about me, Minnow, I'll be just fine."
"Amiee says you are to be protected," he repeated as if she were too young and foolish to understand. "I will come."
Charity realized that it was going to do her absolutely no good to argue, so she nodded and smiled. Minnow helped her mount without another word.
When she was gone, Tiny rose and walked to Minnow's side.
"She is stubborn, that one," he said, smiling.
"Yes, but she is a child. Amiee says she walks with a lot of danger. She does not want anything to happen to her."
As if this were the final word, Tiny nodded. "Then we will have to see that this woman-child does not
fall down and get hurt.'' His soft laugh was soon matched by Minnow's.
Charity rode slowly. She was not by any means an expert horsewoman and she was still awed by the magnitude of the estate. Gregory had hinted that one day they might buy it and live there together.
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to envision how it would be if she and Gregory lived here. But she blinked them open abruptly when a pair of blue eyes came between her and the dream she sought.
As if to force it from her mind, she kicked her mare into a run. She raced along until she could feel her mount growing weary. She reined the mare to a halt, dismounted, and led her to a small stand of trees where she could sit in the shade while the mare rested and grazed.
She was among the trees before she realized that another horse grazed there. She looked around and froze. Seated on a fallen log, Noah smiled and watched her. There was no way Charity was going to let him intimidate her into mounting and riding away.
"Sir, you are trespassing on my property," she said, trying for arrogance.
"I've been waiting for you to pass this way."
"Impossible. You had no way of knowing I was going to ride this morning. And why would you wait for me?"
"Why, Aphrodite," he chided with a grin, "I believe we have some unfinished business."
"Aphrodite?" Her smile matched his. "Have you fallen from your horse and addled your brain? I don't think you are in the right century. If I am not mistaken, Aphrodite was a myth . . . a creature of legend."
"Not the Aphrodite I've met. She is warm flesh and blood. No myth could be so real."
He rose and walked closer, and again she was bombarded by the same sense of leashed power she had felt the night of the ball. Over a head taller than she, he was so broad-shouldered as to be intimidating. She refused to step back, no matter how overpowering he was.
His fawn-colored breeches fit his muscled legs perfectly, and his high boots and deep green jacket completed the picture of a magnificently handsome male.
"You never answered my question."
"What question was that?" he asked softly. He seemed to be concentrating on her mouth, and Charity was filled with the disturbing thought that he meant to kiss her.
"How did you know I would ride this way?"
"I was on the ridge when I saw you leave, and the direction you were going. I knew you had to pass this way."
"The ridge is still my property. Why do you trespass?" Lord, how she wanted to run! His gaze was now holding hers relentlessly. He reached out and gently took a wayward strand of her hair between his fingers.
"Ah, Aphrodite," he said, "after the other night I would trespass on Mount Olympus to see you again."
"Very romantically said, sir," she laughed. "But your continued reference to Aphrodite baffles me. Where did you meet this . . . goddess of yours?"
"You're going to deny sharing a moment with me? I am crushed. I was certain you would remember. You left too soon. I never had the opportunity to unmask you."
"Then how can you claim it was me?" She was beginning to enjoy the exchange.
"Because"his voice lowered and warmed until it washed over her like melted honey"the gold of your hair, the green of your eyes . . . and the softness of your lips all reveal the truth. Shall we test my theory . . . just to prove the truth?" He had released her hair and his fingers traced the slender column of her throat to touch lightly the pulse at the base of her neck. Through the tips of his fingers he could feel her heart racing. It surprised him. Her reaction did not seem to be consistent with that of an accomplished courtesan. Instead she suddenly seemed young . . . and very vulnerable.
The game had gone on too long for Charity's comfort. As he bent close, his lips a breath away from hers, she stepped back.
"You win, my lord. I admit to being the Aphrodite of the ball. But the game is finished and the masks are gone. I do not even know your name."
The masks are gone. He heard her words, but wondered if there was still another mask in place.
"My name is Noah Morgan, and yours is Charity Gilbert."
She was a bit shaken by his statement. As Gregory had said, it had not taken him long to find her.
"Noah Morgan." She smiled wickedly. "I have heard your name before. Perhaps we have discovered each other's identities from the same source."
"Perhaps," he agreed amiably. He had no intention of answering her unspoken question. Gossip, he imagined, had already told her too much. "I have an estate a few miles from here. Now that we are such good companions, perhaps you would be a guest at a dinner I am having at Whitebriar next week."
"I am alone here. I cannot come unchaperoned to your home. It would be scandalous."
"Yet you came to Lord Ferrier's ball . . . alone."
"But"she looked innocent"behind a mask one is safe from gossip. I left before the masks were removed."
"I know. I tried to find you." He said these revealing words so honestly that Charity knew they were the truth.
"Why?" she asked without thinking.
"Because I wanted to see you again. You must not look in your mirror often if you have to ask why. You are a lovely woman, Charity Gilbert, and I would like to know you better. Come to dinner next week. You will not be alone. I've invited a great many people, and a number of my family will be there. If you would not be displeased, I could come for you myself."
"Then I see no cause for me not to attend. Besides, we are practically neighbors."
"Yes, and I'm a firm believer in being neighborly." Noah touched her arm and motioned to the fallen log
where she had first seen him. "Sit with me for a while."
Charity agreed. This was how she and Gregory had planned it. They would get acquainted casually, talking, becoming friends.
When she and Noah reached the log, it was higher than she had thought. Without a word he placed his large, strong hands about her waist and lifted her easily.
Now it was she who looked down on him. He stood close enough that his shoulder brushed her legs. She folded her hands in her lap quickly, shocked by the urge to rest one on his shoulder.
Charity cautioned herself not to let her attraction to him be too obvious, but she felt as if she were caught in a strong current and had lost control over her own destiny.
When Noah Morgan set out to charm, he had no peer. He told her anecdotes of Victoria's court, and in a short while he had her laughing. She laughed, but he filed away the information that she had never been to court and knew nothing of the intrigues at work there.
Her laughter was soft and pleasing, and Noah found himself refreshed by her seeming innocence and her straightforward good humor. He found himself relaxing some of the walls of caution he had long ago built for protection.
He teased her with delightful stories of fashions and frivolities at court, and enjoyed the flush on her cheeks and the interest with which she listened and questioned. It had been a long, long time since Noah
had been so unguarded, and he had to caution himself to be careful.
"Oh my," Charity said nervously. She caught her lower lip between her teeth, and Noah followed her gaze to find someone riding toward them.
Someone! The man could have been a small army by himself.
"What is that?"
"That is my . .
. my coachman." Charity giggled, and Noah was again caught up in her mischievous yet sweet nature.
"That is not a coachman, its"
"I know. Please don't say anything. Minnow is very sensitive."
"Minnow!" Noah choked on a laugh. "My lady, if that is a minnow, I would hate to see a fish from the same pond."
"They are sharks," Charity said softly, and then she smiled again to keep her careless answer light. "I told him I would be back for the midday meal. I'm afraid I have dallied much too long."
She put out her arms to rest on his shoulders and Noah gripped her waist. But he lowered her so slowly that by the time her feet touched the ground, heady awareness had leapt between them.
Both turned to face Minnow as he rode up to them.
"I'm sorry, Minnow. We were talking and I forgot my promise. I shall ride back with you."
Minnow only nodded, and Noah did not speak at all. He was contemplating Minnow with a puzzled gaze. Minnow was not the kind of person one forgot, and Noah was certain that he had seen the huge man
somewhere before, and in very different circumstances.
Charity was mounted and ready to leave when Noah's attention was drawn back to her.
"Must I wait until next week to see you again, Aphrodite? That is too cruel to contemplate."
"I cannot bear cruelty of any sort," Charity laughed. "We could ride together tomorrow afternoon at two, if you like."
"I shall be delighted."
"Until then," Charity replied. She rode away with Minnow. Minnow was silent on the ride home, despite Charity's efforts to strike up a conversation.
It was late that night when he talked to Tiny about his concern.
"Minnow, is there a problem?" his friend asked.
"I don't know. I think it would be best if I remained out of Noah Morgan's sight for the rest of the time we are here."
"Why?"
"I saw a look in his eyes. He believes he has seen me before. He just doesn't remember where or when. If he sees me again it might jog his memory."
"Where has he seen you?"
When Minnow explained, Tiny agreed. They would make sure that Minnow did not come in contact with Noah Morgan again.
Until Charity and Minnow had disappeared from sight, Noah stood thoughtfully watching. His brow was furrowed with deep concentration, and he ab-
sently slapped his riding crop methodically against the palm of his hand.
He prided himself on many things. One was an excellent memory. More than once, his ability had saved his life.
Ignoring everything around him, he centered his concentration. He flipped through his memory as one riffles through the pages of a book. Then suddenly he stiffened, and a slow smile crossed his face.
"Well," he said quietly, "I'll be damned."
When he arrived home he called for a servant, hastily wrote a note, and sent the servant on his way.
He didn't expect the servant back until long after the next morning's ride. But he had misjudged the man's fervor. He was back before Noah started upstairs to bed.
The message he was given was one he had to read twice, before he destroyed it and sent again for a servant.
"Has my mother arrived?"
"Yes sir"the servant smiled"and your sister accompanies her."
"Oh, Lord." Noah chuckled. "And how long do we have to put up with her?"
"From what she says, indefinitely."
"Then secure the house; we're in for a storm."
"Miss Kathy seems quite calm, sir."
"She always does, stevens, she always does."
Noah continued up the steps to his mother's room. He knocked, and when he heard her gentle voiced response, he opened the door and went inside.
It never ceased to amaze him that a woman as del-
icate and refined could have given birth to two such as him and his sister.
His mother sat in a high-backed chair near the window, and Kathy had obviously been kneeling before her. She rose when Noah came in. He heard the brilliance of her laughter as she ran to him and threw herself into his arms.
He caught her up and spun her around. When he stood her back on her feet, they exchanged a smile of understanding.
"Who's chasing you this time, Kat?"
"Can't I come home for a while without you jumping to conclusions?" she laughingly asked in response.
"When you come home I always expect a bevy of those court fops to be right on your heels. Tell me I'm wrong."
Sofia Morgan smiled at her children. This same argument, or discussion, had been going on since Kathy had come of age.
Noah crossed the room and bent to kiss his mother's cheek. When the two were together there could be no denying the kinship between them. Sofia had the same blue eyes she had given both her children, but her nature was echoed more in Noah than in Kathy.
"Mother, I've come to ask a favor," Noah said as he moved away to sit on the edge of her bed.
"A favor? What?" Sofia asked in lightly accented tones.
"I want you to have a dinner party. In fact"he grinned"I've already invited a guest."
"You invite a guest and then inform me I must have a dinner party. Don't you have a few things backwards?"
"It was important at the time."
"Let me guess," Kathy said. "The 'guest' happens to be a very beautiful woman. Don't tell me," she said, pretending amazement; ''a new face, one that hasn't succumbed to the famed Noah Morgan charm."
"All right, a dinner party," Sofia agreed. "Do you have special guests in mind?"
"Yes, I'll have a list ready for you tomorrow. But our first guest will be our new neighbor at Stafford Hall . . . a Miss Charity Gilbert." He started for the door. "I'll be back later," he said, and then he looked at Kathy. "Kat, come walk with me to the stable."
As they walked slowly through the garden Kathy was the first to speak.
"I've brought some letters for you, and a piece of advice from Lord Spencer."
"The old bugger is always full of advice."
"He worries about you, Noah. He thinks of you as a son."
"I know . . . I know. Kat, when you were at court, did any of these four menSir Ralph Waite, Lord Jemmison, Giles St. John, or Gregory Hamiltonseem to be sponsoring any special guests, any newcomers?"
"No, not that I've seen."
"I want all four invited to dinner. It's important."
"I wish I knew what you were involved in, Noah. You haven't been the same person for the past few months."
"I've got a few problems to solve."
"Can I help?"
"I'm counting on you."
"If you're counting on me," she chuckled wickedly, "then tell me about this new woman . . . and how pretty she is."
"I don't know anything about her, but yes, she's very pretty."
"How interesting."
"Yes . . . interesting."
"Why, brother dear"Kathy stopped and looked at Noah in surprise"you really are interested. My, I'll have to meet her. What does dear Anne think about this?"
"Don't listen to gossip."
"Noah, really. I'd be careful if I were you. Anne Ferrier is not to play with. What did you say was our new neighbor's name?"
"Charity Gilbert."
"Charity Gilbert . . . I've never heard of her."
"And neither have I," Noah said quietly.
"How mysterious."
"Yes."
"Leave it to you to find a lady of mystery. I'd be willing to stake my inheritance that you'll solve the mystery before too long."
"Don't doubt it for a minute, Kat," he said grinning.
"And I'd like to meet her. She has no idea how rare it is to see you . . . excited about something or someone."
Noah smiled and changed the subject. This intrigued her even more. She would never doubt Noah's
ability to deal with just about anything, but she had an instinctive feeling that this time he was involved in something he did not want to share completely with his family.
The following day Charity was waiting in her riding habit when Noah arrived. She introduced Beth to him as her cousin and invented a background which he did not believe for a minute.
But the ride was sheer pleasure. It was obvious that Charity was at ease and prepared to enjoy the day, and they did.
She found Noah to be witty, well educated, and well traveled. All of which opened doors of imagination in Charity's mind. Noah, however, was finding Charity an enigma. She was naive and avidly interested; he could see the excitement dance in her eyes. She was so uniquely different from the ladies at court or, for that matter, any other woman he had known, that he found himself responding to her in a totally new way. What developed wasn't just desire; he had tasted all kinds of desire. What transpired was the rebirth of untainted and open response, an unguarded pleasure, and he reached for it carefully . . . unsure of himself as never before.
He recognized at once that she was cautious about talking of her past. Still, the lovely body, the beautiful young face, and innocent eyes of Charity Gilbert could not hide anything sordid. He recognized another surprising fact: He wanted her. This was not his usual cautious way at all. The women he'd always had to deal with were experienced and usually had
ulterior motives the same as he. But Charity . . . Charity was . . . different.
When he left her that afternoon, Charity was quite pleased with herself and the day. There had been no . . . aggression; instead she had felt warmed by his interest and attention.
She'd found herself inviting him for lunch the next day. As far as she was concerned, the plan was back on track. She had been invited into his home, and she was in control of herself once more. Surely she would eventually find the way to the secret that held Gregory prisoner.
Noah had come nearly every afternoon, and Beth was acutely aware of the sparkle in Charity's eyes and the aura of happiness about her.
Now, Beth lay across Charity's bed on her stomach while she watched Charity put the finishing touches on her toilette in preparation for the dinner party.
"That gown is absolutely beautiful, Charity," Beth said with enthusiasm.