by Rebecca King
“Just let me rest for a minute or two, I will be fine.” He didn’t need to pretend to make his voice deep and husky. The feel of her against him eased any discomfort he might have felt. It was wonderful to be able to hold her again and more than he had ever expected her to allow him to do.
Florrie knew it wasn’t right that she should be taking advantage of the situation but she couldn’t draw away. The scent of him teased her nostrils and made her ache for what they had shared. She loved him, more than she had ever loved anyone before and she was so very glad that he had survived this latest battle. The outcome could have been so very different. She quickly closed that thought off and sighed when he kissed her temple and rested his head on hers for a moment. She reluctantly tipped her head back to peer up at him and studied his wonderful green eyes. She couldn’t see any pain in those emerald orbs, merely calm reassurance tempered with a smoky need.
The sound of clopping hooves broke them apart and, somewhat awkwardly, Florrie eased herself out of her arms. She mentally chastised herself for behaving so freely with him yet again, and didn’t know whether to be grateful for the arrival of some of the other guests, or not. If the carriage hadn’t arrived when it had, she was fairly certain that she would have encouraged him to kiss her. Now that he hadn’t taken the opportunity she had so readily placed before him, a small part of her stung with hurt that wounded her pride. She also felt ridiculously wanton for encouraging the advances of a man who didn’t want to keep her, and she vowed to get through the service and celebrations afterward without embarrassing herself, or him, any further.
Slowly removing her arm, she stood back until a more decorous distance was between them and took the arm he held out to her without looking at him. Her cheeks were flaming with embarrassment but she didn’t entirely regret that had just happened. She knew though that it had to be the very last time Pie held her. If only she could convince her heart that it was a good idea to keep her distance, she may get through the rest of the day with some dignity
Pie sat beside her in the congregation and listened to the vows being exchanged. He had managed to walk her two thirds of the way down the aisle, his thoughts firmly locked on their own future wedding. He glanced down at the woman beside him who had fallen silent when they had walked through the door. He wondered what she was thinking about that had made her look so sad.
It seemed like a lifetime ago that they were sitting in the church at Jamie and Cecily’s wedding. Now they had shared their lives and their bodies, and everything had changed. In such a short space of time, this woman had become an essential part of his life to the point that he knew that if he didn’t tie her to him with everything he had at his disposal, he would spend the rest of his life wondering ‘what if’.
Talking to her, spending time enjoying her company, was simply wonderful. She had proven to have a warm sense of humour and a love of the outdoors that matched his own need for fresh air and freedom. Although Pie liked to ride, hunt and fish, Florrie loved to garden and enjoy long walks in the open, but there were things they could do outside together. He looked forward to the day when he could teach her how to ride. It would be wonderful to be able to go for a ride with her and enjoy being at home.
He only half listened to the rest of the service as he ran through the changes Florrie had brought about in his attitude toward life. She had turned everything upside down and his entire perception of the world around him had changed to such a large degree that he doubted that he was still the same person. Although he knew that he was, he wondered just how soft Florrie had made him. Would he be able to go back out and fight with the Star Elite when the time came for him to need to leave her? Somehow, he doubted it. He didn’t relish the prospect of spending his days snatching whatever sleep he could, and his nights immersed in shadows while fighting to stay alive. The prospect of saying at home with Florrie, and creating a home and a family of their own was much more appealing.
Still, the men of the Star Elite weren’t just colleagues to him, they were his friends. He felt that he had a duty to remain with them and fight alongside them while ever they needed him to be there. He couldn’t just walk away, especially not while the war with the French was still raging.
He knew though that a decision whether or not to leave the Star Elite didn’t need to be made just yet. There were several weeks to go before he had to make any choice and, hopefully, anything he did decide upon would be with the full approval of his wife. If he had his way, when he did have to leave to start on the next mission, Florrie would be close to Cecily, and they could at least keep each other company until he and Jamie returned.
“Do you want to ride back in the carriage?” Florrie asked while she escorted him slowly out of the church and across the churchyard. Through the nature of his injuries, he stayed on the edges of the jubilant crowd, and joined Simon, Hugo and Jamie who were laughing at the antics of the children who were throwing flowers and rose petals over anyone who stood still long enough.
“Well, that’s two down,” Jamie sighed, grinning at Florrie, then Pie. “Only one more to go, for now.”
Pie threw him a pointed look and heaved a sigh of relief when Florrie didn’t appear to have heard her cousin’s remark. She was busy cuddling Ben, who had just launched himself at her with a big, gummy grin on his face. She nuzzled his neck and was rewarded with a gurgling chortle. Chubby fingers captured her hair but she didn’t appear to mind and instead blew kisses at him while making a popping noise with her lips.
Pie was transfixed. Everything around them faded into the distance while he watched her with the child. He wanted what was before him with a need that was soul deep. She looked so right holding the child; she was a natural mother. He knew she would be hands-on with their child but would have a nanny to help her rather than take over care of their child. It suited Pie perfectly. He couldn’t remember much about his parents and, as a result, had grown up without feeling any particular connection to them. It hadn’t been any problem when he had left the house he had lived in during his youth. He could understand Florrie’s sentiment that the home he had been raised him hadn’t felt like home, and he knew that when it came to their own children, Florrie would undoubtedly have the same devotion toward providing a proper, loving home for their child as him, and be as eager as he was to take an active part in their children’s upbringing.
He stood patiently beside her, a small smile curing his lips as he watched her play with the baby. All too soon though, Francesca came to take Ben back. Rather than be put off by Florrie’s natural maternal skills, Pie was more determined than ever that she should have the opportunity to use them as soon as possible. It was with more purposeful strides that he accompanied everyone else back to Crompton.
Never one to miss an opportunity, Pie took advantage of the festivities that evening to further his progress and moved on to step two of Operation Florrie.
Throughout the evening celebrations, he ensured that her drink was regularly topped up. Although he had no intention of taking advantage of her while she was drunk, even if he did ignore the fact that he physically wasn’t up to it, he hated the fact that he was deliberately trying to keep a watchful distance from him and it was a distance that he was determined to close as quickly as possible.
It irked him that she thought that she needed to stay away from him, let alone leave for Norfolk. For a moment there on the driveway he had thought he had seen a hint of longing in her gaze but couldn’t be sure. Now, whether that longing was there or not, he didn’t care. He was going to move matters between them along a little; or at least give her something else to think about while she was considering when to depart. He wasn’t sure how much time he had now that Portia and Archie’s wedding was over, and wasn’t prepared to waste a single moment that was available to him.
“God you look fierce. Done a bit too much, too soon perhaps?” Jamie drawled from beside his elbow.
Pie glanced at him and sighed. “Just thinking of how I can capture your w
ayward cousin without having to club her over the head and drag her back to my cave,” he drawled ruefully.
Jamie snorted and glanced at Florrie, who was laughing at something Simon had said. “I take it your intentions are honourable toward her?”
“God, if Archie hadn’t turned up today, there would have been a wedding anyway, Jamie, and I cannot believe that I am saying that,” Pie replied studying the woman who held his heart but didn’t know it yet.
“The papers have been sent off so everything should be final soon,” Jamie drawled, and heaved a sigh of relief that one big problem had been removed from his shoulders.
He was absolutely delighted with the prospect of having Pie living next door and couldn’t wish for a better neighbour. Not only would it mean that between them, they could ensure that their families had the best of protection, but it also meant that their children could grow up together.
Although he felt a little uneasy at duping his cousin, it was done with the best of intentions. Cecily would kill him if she ever discovered his part in the events that were about to unfold, but he could only hope that she would eventually understand Pie’s reasoning, even if he didn’t exactly understand it himself. He felt slightly better though at having witnessed the pure longing on Pie’s face as he had watched Florrie with baby Ben, and knew that Pie did indeed have Florrie’s best interests at heart.
Shaking his head at the Star Elite’s latest mission, Jamie grinned and lifted the bottle off the floor. “Time for a top up, I think,” he drawled and disappeared off into the crowd.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Florrie sighed and glanced down at her glass with a frown. She couldn’t remember so much of the fragrant wine being there before. Surely she had drunk more than that? With a mental shrug she took another sip and took a moment to study the sitting room they were using. Everyone was chatting and merrily enjoying the delicious food and wines on offer. Although it was a relatively low key event, it was a wonderfully intimate occasion and nice to see everyone so relaxed and at ease with each other.
Her gaze was drawn to the corner of the room and the loud laughter that came from Archie, Jamie and Jonathan. Cecily was deep in conversation with Portia but glanced across at her new husband and shared a secretive smile with him before she returned to what her sister was saying. Pie sat chatting amiably with Hugo while Simon was busy nuzzling his wife’s neck. Francesca looked as flushed as Florrie felt. Although she wasn’t chatting to anyone, she didn’t mind. The wine was wonderfully fragrant but it muddled her thinking somewhat.
“What are you doing?” She gasped when Rupert appeared at her elbow and topped her wine up without asking.
“It is nice to be able to relax a little, isn’t it?” He replied, studiously ignoring her question. He took a moment to refill his own glass before carefully depositing the bottle on the mantle. “I take it that you are planning to move to Norfolk?”
“Yes, to Lockham, have you heard of it?”
“I come from Norfolk,” Rupert drawled, shooting her a rueful look. “Damned place is cold as Hades. It gets the worst of the weather from Norway and the Arctic. Do you know, I cannot remember ever being warm as a child?” He shook his head as though lost in reminiscences of his youth. He knew that God would probably strike him down for the lies he was telling but, if it helped Pie secure the hand of Florrie, then Rupert was more than happy to help.
“I-I had never heard of that before,” Florrie replied with a frown.
She missed Rupert’s smile as her words came out slightly slurred, and didn’t even notice when Rupert topped her glass up again. Everything around her was growing quite fuzzy and she was certain that the fire had increased in temperature by at least ten degrees. She began to fan herself with the edge of her shawl but made no attempt to remove it for some reason.
She took a sip of her wine and smiled at Rupert with supreme satisfaction, although she couldn’t quite tell what she was so pleased about.
“My uncle Silas lives there, you see. He brought me a cottage there. Well, I actually bought the cottage but he bought it for me, I think.” She paused and considered that for a moment before she shrugged again and turned back to Rupert, who had a strange smile on his face. “What?”
“It is good to see you relax a little. Your stay at Crompton has been rather fraught. You have witnessed the Star Elite at work first hand. It is far more than we would have wanted you to see but given that you are one of us now, there cannot be any harm in it,” he announced softly wondering if her mind was working fast enough to understand his meaning.
Florrie frowned at him. “I am not one of the Star Elite,” she declared loudly, her eyes growing wide with shock. Did they expect her to go out in the middle of the night and wrestle with people? “I have had enough of dodging bullets in the middle of the night, thank you very much.”
“Thank God for that,” Pie growled from behind her. He handed a bottle to Rupert who quickly topped her glass up while she was busy looking at Pie. “I will never forget the sight of you going under that carriage.”
“Or heading over that churchyard wall, with Pie behind you,” Simon called from further across the room.
“Or disappearing off in that carriage,” Pie sighed.
“Or sitting in the tavern meeting your enemy,” Hugo added.
“My, it has been rather busy, hasn’t it?” She smiled, feeling inordinately proud of herself for having survived.
“Just a trifle,” Pie drawled, shaking his head in disbelief. Her eyes really did sparkle when she was amused, and when she was drunk she only ever so slightly slurred her words.
He had only intended for her to have enough wine to ensure she was relaxed and in good humour. He was in no state to take advantage of her, and knew that the only reason his friends had gone along with his suggestion to get her tipsy was because he had assured them that he not only wanted her to relax enough to enjoy the occasion, but he also wanted her to feel as though she belonged with them.
It wasn’t lost on him that when faced with a lot of people, or more than one, she tended to hold back and stand on the fringes of the group to watch rather than allow herself to be actively engaged with her surroundings. Pie knew that it was imperative that she feel as though she was one of the Star Elite family, the way that Portia, Cecily, Harriett and Francesca and the children were. They were all one big happy family of sorts, and Florrie needed to understand that she was a part of it now, whether she liked it or not.
With the rest of the Star Elite staying for a few more days to recuperate, Florrie would hopefully be persuaded to stay as well, and that gave Pie the breathing space he needed to put the next step of his plan into action.
If he managed to steal a kiss from her before the night was over, then he could consider the entire day a resounding success. He glanced at Hugo and shared a smile with him. Pie was relieved that Hugo, and Jamie, had both agreed to come up with ready excuses to give to Florrie over the next few days if she suggested heading off to Norfolk.
It had been decided that because of the events of the past two weeks, everyone would remain at Crompton for the next few days to take a well earned rest, and that included Florrie, although she didn’t know it yet. Jamie was still concerned that his cousin actually looked worse than she had when she had arrived and was determined that she wouldn’t leave without being restored to her former self.
“Do you know something?” Florrie tried to hide her yawn behind the back of one clumsy hand and accidentally smacked herself in the face. She blinked several times and stared at the space that Rupert had just been standing in. He had been there a moment ago and had simply vanished. She turned quizzical, and slightly accusing eyes on Pie, as though the man’s disappearance was all Pie’s fault. “Whes he gone?” She hiccupped. “’scuse me.”
Pie bit his lip to stop the laugher. The sight of her consternation and the way she had to grab wildly for the chair she looked under it in search of Rupert was hilarious. Before she could do herself, o
r the chair, any mischief, he cupped her elbow and eased her upright. He nodded in the direction of Rupert, who was now standing at the far end of the room with his back toward them.
“What’s wrong with ‘im?” She peered across the room at Rupert’s shaking shoulders. “Is he crying?”
“No, darling, he isn’t crying,” Pie mumbled. Florrie would kill him in the morning, but he didn’t really care. Her face was relaxed and almost carefree and her cheeks flushed with warmth and good humour. She was more beautiful than ever. “Come on, it is time you headed up the stairs,” he drawled ruefully. He eased her glass out of her unprotesting fingers and handed it to Cecily, who smiled and pointed a finger at Florrie while she herself swayed on her feet.
“If you let this man upstairs with you, tell him to keep his hands to himself.” She nodded her head authoritatively.
“I have no idea what you mean,” Jamie drawled piously.
Cecily ignored her husband and poked him in the ribs with her elbow as she pointed one long finger at him. “Take a word of advice? These men don’t know how to behave themselves. Don’t trust them for a second.”
“Here, here!” Harriett cried, glaring at the rug that had just made a grab for her ankles in an attempt to trip her over.
Florrie lifted her brows in amazement and almost told Cecily that she didn’t know how to behave herself either, but the weight of her brows shooting upward seemed to topple her backward. If it wasn’t for Pie holding her upright she would have fallen onto her bottom. She opened her mouth to thank Cecily for her kind words of advice when Jamie, looking more than a little unrepentant, merely grinned and threw a glance at Archie who came to join them.
“I think we have married a load of drunkards,” he drawled ruefully, nodding toward Simon, who was busy trying to ease a goblet out of Francesca’s grasp and got a painful jab in the ribs for his trouble.