‘You, you did? Uncle Alex said it was dangerous for you to come here. That you were very brave when the bad man shot you.’
‘It was Miss Duncombe who was the brave one. Did you know she nursed me through the night? And I was so ungrateful that I said some very cruel things to her. Things I did not mean and for which I am deeply ashamed. But you see, I thought she was going to marry someone else and I could not bear it.’
‘But why should she do that?’ asked Florence, puzzled. ‘She said she lo—’
‘That is quite enough about me,’ Grace interrupted her hastily. ‘Perhaps your wound is paining you, sir, and you should leave this interview for another time.’
He ignored the hint.
‘It does hurt a little,’ he admitted, climbing to his feet. ‘It would be easier if we could all sit on the sofa.’ He held out his hand to Florence. ‘You could sit between us, what do you say?’
‘Very well,’ she said, but she clung even closer to Grace.
He sat down at one end of the sofa with Grace perched nervously at the other. Florence was between them, leaning against Grace and holding her hand. Wolf smiled at Florence, but when he raised his eyes to Grace she put her chin in the air and looked stonily ahead.
‘Do you know, Florence,’ he remarked, ‘since your mama died I have been wandering the world, quite lost.’
‘Like a prince in a fairy tale?’ said Florence. She was gazing at him much more openly now. ‘Did you have lots of adventures?’
‘Hundreds,’ he replied promptly.
‘Tell me!’ Florence was no longer leaning against Grace.
‘Well, there was the time I helped your cousin Lady Cassandra escape from the French...’
Most of his adventures were not suitable for a little girl, but this one kept Florence transfixed. Her eyes positively shone when he described how he had jumped on his horse and ridden away, chased by the French officers while Cassie and Raoul made their escape.
‘They were taken on board a smuggling vessel and carried safely to England,’ he ended.
‘And did you escape from the soldiers unhurt?’ breathed Florence, wide-eyed. He noticed that she had moved a little closer to him.
‘Not quite. I was wounded and unfortunately my faithful horse was shot from under me.’
‘Was that your black stallion?’ asked Grace.
‘Yes.’
Wolf was surprised she had remembered that. He was heartened, too, but she was already turning away and looking very stern, as if angry that she had been drawn into speaking to him. He turned back to his daughter. She had released Grace’s hand and was now turned towards him.
He said, ‘I have been thinking, Florence, that I should settle down and make a home for myself here at Arrandale. Do you think that would be a good idea?’
Florence considered this. ‘Would I have to come and live with you?’
‘You do not have to do anything,’ he said quickly. ‘I have discussed it with Alex and Diana, and they are happy for you to live with them for as long as you wish.’
The little girl nodded solemnly. ‘I like living with them. And with Meggie. She is my bestest friend.’
‘Then I would not take you away from her.’
Wolf smiled, but it was an effort. They were strangers still, he could not expect his daughter to throw her arms about him and beg to come and live with him.
‘Perhaps you and Meggie could stay at Arrandale sometimes,’ Grace suggested. ‘It would be a holiday for you.’
Wolf threw her a grateful look, but she was still resolutely ignoring him.
‘It would be a holiday for me, too,’ he said. ‘But I would need to learn how to go on. I have never had such young guests here before.’ Wolf paused, then decided to risk all. ‘It would help if I had a wife. What do you think, Miss Duncombe, do you know anyone suitable?’ Grace was sitting very still. He added softly, ‘Someone who loves me with all her heart and soul.’
* * *
Grace fought down a gasp of dismay. So he had heard that. It was embarrassing, but it made no difference. She would not give in.
She said icily, ‘No, sir, I do not.’
He was not noticeably dashed and addressed his next remarks to Florence.
‘It is important she loves me, because I must restore Arrandale. There are years of neglect to put right and I have to repay Richard too, so I cannot offer her a life of idle luxury. But then, the lady I have in mind would not want that.’
Grace maintained a dogged silence and after a moment he continued.
‘And of course I must love her, too, with all my heart and soul, if we are to live happily ever after.’
‘I do not believe in fairy tales, Mr Arrandale,’ said Grace, goaded into a reply.
‘Not even Beauty and the Beast?’ he asked her. ‘Where the hero is transformed by the love of a good woman?’
Florence giggled.
‘That is what happened to Alex,’ she confided to Wolf. ‘He says he was very bad before he fell in love with Diana.’
Grace was surprised into a laugh which she quickly turned to a cough. It was too ridiculous for words! She tried very hard not to look at Wolf, but it was impossible. One shy, tentative glance showed her that he was smiling and her pulse leapt erratically when she saw the glow in his eyes. She tried to calm it, to keep her heart and her feelings wrapped in an icy numbness.
‘There you are then,’ he said softly. ‘Miracles can happen.’
‘No, they do not,’ she retorted.
‘That is not what you said when we found the necklace,’ he reminded her.
She ignored that.
‘I stopped believing in miracles five years ago when all my prayers and tears could not save Henry.’
‘Who is Henry?’ asked Florence.
‘He was the best man who ever lived,’ said Grace, chin up and eyes fixed firmly on Wolf. ‘He was no restless vagabond to capture a maiden’s heart with false promises. His love was steady, constant.’
‘And yet he left you,’ said Wolf softly.
Grace winced.
‘I must go,’ she said. ‘Pray be good enough to summon your carriage to take me home, Mr Arrandale.’
‘Grace—’
He broke off as the door opened and Lady Davenport appeared.
‘Oh. I beg your pardon; I was looking for Florence.’
Grace knew that Diana’s keen eyes would assess the situation instantly: her own rigid posture, Wolf half-turned in his seat, gazing at her, and little Florence between them, blissfully unaware of the tensions swirling around.
Diana continued with barely a pause. ‘I have been looking for you, my love.’
The little girl slipped off the sofa and went over to her.
‘I have been talking to my papa.’
Florence said the words proudly, but Grace hardened her heart against feeling anything for Wolf’s daughter.
‘I am very glad to see it.’ Diana smiled and held out her hand. ‘But it is time to change your dress. No, no, do not get up, Miss Duncombe. I shall take Florence away and we will meet again at dinner.’
She whipped Florence out of the room and closed the door before Grace could force out one word. Even her limbs refused to move. She remained on the sofa, staring ahead, and all the time Wolf’s gaze was on her face.
‘I cannot stay,’ she managed at last, although she still could not tear herself from her seat.
‘Why did you not leave with Sir Loftus? Are you still betrothed to him?’
‘He...he was going directly to Hindlesham.’
‘Are you still betrothed?’
She bit her lip. ‘I am not,’ she admitted. ‘But that makes no difference. I will not stay. Please order a carriage to take me back to the vicarage.’
‘Of course, but hear me out first.’ When she put up her hand to stop him he said urgently, ‘Let me have my say, then, if you still wish to leave, I will send you home and never trouble you again. You have my word on that.’
No, I must leave. I must go now, before his siren words break my heart.
But she remained on the sofa as he began to speak.
‘Heaven knows mine has not been a good life, Grace. I was always in scrapes as a boy and I lived wildly in London, gambling, drinking, wenching. My marriage to Florence was arranged by our fathers, but even when I knew I could never love her I was determined to be faithful. A novel concept for an Arrandale, but I was determined to try.
‘Then everything went wrong and I was exiled to France. I believed my family had abandoned me and I wanted nothing more to do with them. I struggled to survive, Grace, I admit that my life there was not blameless, but I did survive, I even prospered. I returned to England with a small fortune.’ He slipped to his knees and took her hands. ‘I want to stay in England, Grace, I want to restore Arrandale and make a home here for little Florence, but I cannot do it without you. I want you beside me. As my wife.’
She tried to free her hands. ‘I will not marry you for the sake of your daughter!’
‘No, for my sake,’ he said, holding her even tighter. ‘I love you, Grace, I cannot live here without you, knowing you are at the vicarage and as unhappy as I am.’
‘Then I will go away!’ She wrenched her hands from his grasp and ran to the door.
‘So you would run away, even though you love me. I thought you had more courage than that.’
She stopped, her hands pressed against the wooden panels as his words cut deep.
‘We love each other, Grace,’ he said. ‘Why does that frighten you? Is it because you think I might leave you?’
‘No! Because you will stop loving me!’ She gave a sob. ‘I have dealt with loss before. My mother, my aunt, when she married. Henry...but I n-never doubted their love. I am afraid you would stop loving me.’
She felt his hands on her shoulders.
‘I might indeed,’ he said quietly. ‘But not in this lifetime.’
Gently he pulled her around, but still she would not look up.
‘I have never met anyone like you, Grace Duncombe. I have never felt a love like this before. It consumes me, but your happiness is paramount.’ He put his fingers beneath her chin. ‘If you cannot be happy with me then so be it, but do not expect me to remain at Arrandale, where there are so many memories of you. That would destroy me.’
She was obliged to look up, but his face swam as tears filled her eyes.
‘I do not wish to destroy you, Wolf.’
‘Then marry me, Grace. I will do my best to be worthy of you. I hope in time I can prove myself, even if I cannot change the past—’
Grace gave a little sob. ‘Oh, Wolf.’
She put her hands up, cupping his face and pulling him closer until their lips met. He did not respond immediately, as if afraid to believe what her kiss was telling him. Then, suddenly, his arms swept around her and he returned her embrace with a passion that left her reeling. She clung to him.
‘I do not care about your past, my darling,’ she whispered. ‘Only the present and the future.’
His arms tightened. ‘I shall try not to disappoint you.’
She turned her head to kiss his cheek and when she tasted a salty tear, the final shreds of resistance melted. Her mouth sought his again and this time there was no hesitation. He plundered her and she retaliated, matching him kiss for kiss, allowing her instincts to guide her. She drove her fingers through his hair, pressing herself against him and feeling his body respond. She revelled in her power, threw back her head as his lips moved from her mouth and began to burn a trail down the column of her neck.
‘I want to make you mine, here and now,’ he muttered against her skin.
She shivered, her insides curling in delight. Wolf raised his head. She was pressed against the door, trapped by his body, and his eyes bored into her, so intensely that she thought they danced with blue-violet flames. ‘Stop me now, Grace, or it will be too late for you.’
Impatiently she pulled his head down again.
‘It was too late for me a long time ago, Wolf. I know that now.’
He swooped down for another kiss. She heard the click as he turned the key in the lock and the next moment she was being carried back to the sofa.
‘Wolf, you are wounded!’ she protested, half-laughing as she helped him out of his coat and waistcoat. ‘You should not exert yourself.’
‘I feel nothing,’ he muttered, lowering her down on to the cool silk. ‘Nothing but an overwhelming desire to worship you!’
With a rapturous sigh she took him in her arms. At first she tried to avoid his bandaged ribs, but soon they were forgotten. Each kiss heated her blood and set her skin tingling. Every caress carried her away until she was almost fainting with the delight of it. She melted beneath his touch, revelling in the feel of his hands on her shoulders, her breasts, her thighs. She was softening, blossoming like a flower with his caresses, instinctively offering herself up to him. Gentle fingers readied her for the union to come. Gentle words eased her fears. She moved restlessly against him, feeling the pull of unfamiliar muscles deep within, the yearning ache to be one with this man. He enveloped her, her heightened senses breathed in the male scent of his skin, the smell of spices and leather and man.
She tore off his neckcloth and unbuttoned his shirt, desperate to explore him. The bandage around his ribs prevented her from running her hands over his chest, but she gripped his shoulders as her body began to slip out of control. She was kissing the line of his throat when she felt the cords of his neck tense. She cried out as he pushed into her and he grew still.
‘Am I hurting you?’
‘No.’ It was an effort to speak. Something was building inside her, like the pleasurable swell of a giant wave. ‘No. Go on, go on.’
Her body welcomed him. She was surprised to feel completed, not invaded, and bucked against him, forcing him deeper. They were moving together, skin on skin, slick and hot, his rhythm matching the pulsing waves in her core. He was carrying her higher, until she was flying, falling, and she cried out with the sheer joy of it as he gave one final thrust. She heard him calling her name as she tumbled from the heights into near oblivion and then they were lying together, panting and gasping in each other’s arms.
* * *
A delightful lassitude had stolen over Grace. Wolf’s body was pinning her down but she did not mind, she wanted to stay like this for ever. She cradled him until his breathing became more regular and all too soon he stirred, raising himself on one arm so he could look at her, seeing her contentment. His slow, teasing smile appeared.
‘It is quite wanton, you know, to make love fully clothed.’
She smiled back. ‘Then I must be very wanton, sir, for I found it quite delightful.’
He dropped a kiss on her brow, but when he raised his head again the smile had disappeared.
‘Are you sorry we did not wait until we were married?’
‘A little,’ she admitted. When she saw his troubled look she added quickly, ‘A very little. I have wanted you and imagined this moment for weeks now. This is the consummation of all my hopes and dreams.’
‘It is merely the beginning, my love.’ He kissed her again. ‘Your father shall marry us, but it must be by special licence. I will not wait a day longer than I must to call you my wife.’ His smile was tender, but a little rueful, too. ‘I am afraid, my angel, you are no longer a virgin.’
She smiled up at him, tenderly brushing a dark curl from his brow.
‘And you, I hope, are no longer a vagabond.’
‘No.’ He kissed her again. ‘I have come home.
’
* * * * *
If you enjoyed this story,
make sure you don’t miss
the other three books in Sarah Mallory’s
THE INFAMOUS ARRANDALES
miniseries
THE CHAPERON’S SEDUCTION
TEMPTATION OF A GOVERNESS
RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY
Keep reading for an excerpt from CLAIMING THE CHAPERON’S HEART by Anne Herries.
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The Outcast's Redemption (The Infamous Arrandales) Page 24