by Sandy Loyd
During the day, when he wasn’t working with his farm manager, he would seek out Catherine and her out to go riding. He caught on early on that riding was her passion and Penny couldn’t resist taking him up on the offer. Nor could she help but enjoy the daily rides, in fact begin to live for them. Racing both Catherine and Parker through the Maryland countryside in an effort to come out on top was something she relished. One thing marred her happiness. He was still too darned attractive, and keeping a level head around him became harder by the day.
“I wish Catherine was as adept at household duties as she is with hunting and drawing,” Elizabeth said with a sigh, attracting Penny’s attention. The elder woman shook out the shirt she’d mended and gently folded it, placing it in a basket and picking up another to work on. “You can’t know how nice it is to have someone to share them with, now that Sarah and Rebecca are gone. Until you came, Penny, I was starting to feel as if I was the only female in the house.”
“Mother! How can you say that? I’m female,” Catherine declared in a shocked voice. “I simply have other interests.”
Penny’s smile stretched. Despite her unwanted attraction to Parker, Penny felt as if she really was part of their family, and her time spent with them was something she treasured. Besides her early morning gardening and going hunting with Catherine a couple more times, Elizabeth had taken her under her wing, showing her things within the household that needed tending and taking Penny along with her more and more when she went to visit Parker’s tenants.
“Yes, I know,” Elizabeth said. “But you can’t tell me you’d rather not be outdoors riding or hunting with Lucas or Parker than sitting with Sarah and Rebecca talking about fashions or decorating. How are you ever going to find a husband, when you outshoot and outride every man within a fifty-mile radius?”
“Why do I need to marry?” Catherine asked huffily, returning her attention to her charcoal.
Elizabeth’s eyes flew to Penny’s and her expression seemed to say, “See what I have to deal with?” Instead, she murmured, “Why indeed?”
“You never married again after father died.”
“We’re talking about two completely different subjects, and you know it. I guess I should be content with your offer to help me with our ball next month.”
“You’re having a ball?” It seemed ages ago that Penny had attended one.
Catherine nodded. “It’s our Harvest Ball,” she explained to Penny. “An annual celebration held at the end of the growing season, usually the last Saturday in October. Everyone within riding distance attends—tenants and landholders alike.” Catherine chuckled. “See, Mother. I’m not totally without merit. I do love creating the perfect ambience.” She then went back to her drawing, while Penny picked up her book again and Elizabeth mended.
They all glanced up when Parker sauntered into the room a short time later. He bent to give Elizabeth a quick peck on the cheek. “You’re looking content today, Mother.” He straightened and looked at his sister. “Are you two ready for our ride?”
Catherine shook her head and replied in a disappointed voice, “You and Penny will have to go without me today. I promised Tommy I’d finish his picture by this afternoon.”
Parker looked to Penny with raised eyebrows. “Well, angel. How about it? Are you up for a ride?”
Penny frowned, wishing he’d quit with the nickname he’d started using soon after that first night they’d played chess and had made love. “I think I’ll stay and read.”
“But you love to ride,” Catherine said. “There’s no reason you have to lose out just because I made a promise.”
“Go on and have a nice ride, dear,” Elizabeth chimed in. “The fresh air will do you good.”
Feeling stuck, Penny nodded, even though Catherine wouldn’t be around to provide a buffer. “Just give me a chance to change.” She set her book aside and stood, hiding her dismay behind a stiff smile.
“Good.” Parker met her gaze. “I’ll meet you in the stables in ten minutes. Since Catherine can’t join us, we’ll ride someplace special.”
As Penny rushed out of the room and up the stairs, she wondered where somewhere special was.
She soon found out when she and Parker rode to a scenic spot overlooking the bay, a part of his property she’d never been to before.
The sun, high in the sky, warmed the air and created a perfect late-summer day, neither too hot nor too cold.
Parker dismounted and tied his horse to a nearby tree before heading for a big boulder. She watched as he sat, pensively looking out over the water.
“You love it here, don’t you?” Penny had tied her horse to the same tree and now stood behind him. Her eyes swept over the panoramic view of the bay and shoreline. From this spot, she could see for miles. The view of the water filled her with peace.
He shrugged. “I do love it here. Catherine has her cave, Lucas has the sea, and I have this spot. This is why I bought the property all those years ago,” he said, meeting her inquisitive gaze. Then his attention returned to the bay. Two ships sailed on the horizon and he silently studied their progress. “The scenery is spectacular, don’t you think?”
She nodded. His mood seemed more brooding today—different. His gaze held nothing of his usual amusement. Instead she caught a glimpse of yearning, or hunger would be a better term, before he quickly shuttered the expression. Licking her lips nervously, she hesitated, not quite sure how to proceed. “It is beautiful. Makes me wonder if heaven is like this,” she said, finally moving to sit beside him.
“I would imagine if anyone knew what heaven was like, it would be an angel such as you,” he teased lightly.
“I’m hardly an angel.” Penny couldn’t stop the grin from touching the corners of her mouth. “In fact, my father used to say I had a bit of the devil in me because of some of my exploits when I was younger.”
“Maybe that’s why I find you so intriguing. You’re a devil disguised as an angel, come to earth to torment me. It’s my living hell, part of my penance for being the way I am.”
“Why do you say that?” she asked, wishing she could understand his strange mood.
“No reason,” he replied abruptly, his manner indicating he’d shared too much. “You’re right about this spot being heavenly, though. It’s so peaceful here. Maybe that’s why I love it.”
Penny accepted his answer and remained silent, lost in her thoughts. The serene spot elicited images of her past. “I’ve often wondered if my parents watch over me from heaven,” she said sheepishly, voicing her thoughts and keeping her eyes on the horizon. “Sitting here now, I believe it, and the idea of them up there somewhere looking down warms my heart.” After a moment of reflection, her focus returned to his face. “As if such a thing were possible. That’s so silly, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s a very pleasant thought. I wonder if my father is watching over me.” Smiling, he held eye contact. Then his smile turned wistful and he sighed, shaking his head and releasing her gaze. “If so, I don’t think he’d like what I’ve become.”
“That’s not true. You’ve much to be proud of.”
“Not in my father’s eyes.”
He’d mentioned something about his father on the trip from Baltimore. At the time, she’d let it go, unwilling to pry. Now she was curious because she sensed he was revealing something about himself he didn’t usually share with others. Her curiosity got the better of her. “Would you like to talk about it?”
“About what?” His reluctant gaze met hers again.
“About the accident that killed your father and brothers,” she said softly. “I know it still pains you.”
Parker refocused on the water as another passing ship sailed below. Penny wasn’t sure he would say more until his deep voice penetrated the quiet.
“It happened a long time ago. A mine caved in. We were coal miners—my brothers and I—following in our father’s footsteps. It was how we survived back then.”
Well aware of such accidents
that killed people and too stunned to do much more than stare, Penny remained speechless. Her father had owned several coal mines, now hers, in Northumberland. Having had a strong social conscience before his death, he’d worked tirelessly with the miners to improve working conditions, especially for children. She remembered several long discussions between her mother and him over his concerns for safety. So much so, he’d proclaimed if he couldn’t be profitable without killing people, he would shut them down. Penny knew he worried over that scenario. Shutting them down would then deny hundreds the means of support, which was why Lytton Mines were still in operation today with her guardian overseeing them. Only Lord Knightsbridge didn’t possess her father’s social conscience.
“It must’ve been hard,” she said, shaking her disturbing thoughts of her guardian’s control of her property. Somehow she’d regain control of them.
“It was my father’s way of life for generations, even though he’d also made sure we’d taken the time to learn what my mother had to teach us. My grandfather on my mother’s side taught at the university, and my father used to say education was a way out. At the time, I didn’t know what he meant, but now I do.” He heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. “’Tis funny. That accident shaped my life. Once they died, I was no longer content to break my back for the profit of others. It took my father’s death for me to figure out what he was trying to tell me all those years ago.”
“I’m sure he’d be proud of you, if he could see how you’ve taken care of your family.”
“I doubt it,” he said ruefully, then added after meeting her questioning eyes, “Oh, I took care of them, but he’d abhor the way I let the hate for the one responsible guide my life. My father would never be proud of that.” Parker shook his head. “It simply wasn’t his way. But as God is my witness I still hate Henry Sterling for his part in my family’s loss. I’d love to shut down his mines.” He stopped talking and stared out at the water, as if lost in thought.
Penny was just about to say something when he continued in a more heated voice. “His greed knows no bounds. I guess you could say in a way I owe the man for the life I now have because it’s what drove me out of a living hell.” Parker’s sad smile appeared. “Without hate, I’d probably still be content to live and mine in western Pennsylvania for a few dollars a day, living in a shack owned by the company, shopping at the company store, just as my father and grandfather had done before me. Instead, I vowed to escape—to give my family a different sort of life.”
After ending his tirade, he shrugged. “I can’t fathom why I told you so much. Nor do I know why I’m so maudlin today.” His pensive gaze refocused on hers. “You’re a good listener. Has anyone ever told you that?”
Offering a slight smile, Penny shook her head. “No. No one’s ever spoken to me as you are now except my father.”
“Well, you are. Would you ever expect I came from such humble beginnings, seeing all this?” His hand swept out to indicate what surrounded him. He sighed again and his stare returned to the water. “Sometimes I feel I’m twisted because, despite rising so far, I’m not one of them, but I’m not what I used to be either. What’s worse, I can’t help the prejudice I feel toward the higher classes for their mistreatment of those socially inferior, those masses whose servitude the upper class feels is owed to them simply because of their lower status.”
“Not all are that way,” Penny said. He seemed so lost and more than anything, she wanted to ease the pain in his voice. “I think you are perfect the way you are.” In a way, she grasped his meaning. His words described how she was beginning to feel about her life. She was no longer that privileged girl of a year ago. Nor had she come from poverty, so she had no idea what his earlier life must have been like. Still, she did feel a connection with him because she also felt torn, like she didn’t belong anywhere either.
Their gazes locked and before her eyes, his expression heated, taking on a new dimension. He wanted to kiss her and more than anything, she wanted his kiss. But he didn’t follow through.
Instead he shook it off and stared out at the water. “Are you still planning on marrying him?”
Penney cringed. “Parker, please don’t ask me that,” she pleaded, not sure of what her answer was anymore. She’d been relieved to find she wasn’t carrying his babe, but didn’t understand her regret when that moment of truth came. It was simply something she didn’t want to think about, even now a week later. She focused on her hands.
“Why?” When she didn’t answer, he added, “You know there’s something between us.”
Trepidation ran through her at how true his words rang. “I can’t explain it. I can’t tell you why. I can only tell you it’s something I must do to survive.”
She sensed his searching gaze before he gently placed his hand on her neck, cradling her head in his palm and forcing her to look at him as he guided her lips closer.
Penny closed her eyes, wishing she didn’t love the feel of that hand on her, his thumb skimming her cheek in a soft caress. If only she could ignore the burst of pleasure exploding inside her when his lips grazed hers, barely connecting.
“You’re a stubborn one, Miss Penny Layton, but alas not as stubborn as me,” he whispered, just before their mouths touched for the softest of kisses. One that was over much too quickly.
Penny had an even harder time pushing away disappointment when all of a sudden, with his lips gone, she was abruptly pulled from her seat as Parker stood and grabbed her hand. “We’d best get back.”
Dazed, she could only follow him, wondering why he seemed so unaffected, especially given her most pressing thought was to pull him back and continue kissing him, with the idea of encouraging him to use those wonderful hands again.
Chapter 18
“I understand you had a couple of interesting passengers on your last voyage to America.”
Lucas Davis almost choked on his drink, not expecting Markham Collingswood’s words. He’d made port that afternoon and had sent word to the duke, asking for a meeting. Surprised that his request had been granted so quickly, he had accepted the duke’s invitation to dinner with pleasure.
Working to keep surprise off his face, Lucas glanced at the duke, who added, “I owe you my gratitude for bending your rule. I’m sure Geoff is dying to know how one particular lady is faring.”
As a guest of honor, Lucas had spent a good part of dinner thinking of a way to let Geoff in on Penny’s change of plans without alerting the others at the table, including Markham’s mother, Hermione, and his younger sister, Vivian. And now it seemed he needn’t have bothered. They were all obviously aware of this. Lucas turned to Geoff with eyebrows lifted, searching for confirmation.
Geoff grinned and shrugged. “Markham has a nasty habit of finding out all my secrets. He knows all about Lady Penelope’s escape to America.”
“Lady Penelope?”
“Oh, that’s right.” Geoff had the grace to blush. “You still don’t know. She didn’t want anyone to learn of her true identity, so she went by Penny Layton.”
“Penny Layton is a lady? As in nobility?” he asked, unable to stop the stunned expression from taking over his face.
“Yes.” Markham nodded. “Lady Penelope Lytton, as in heiress.” Markham cleared his throat. “It seems she and Geoff concocted a plan to run away to America. Geoff plans to meet her there.”
“An heiress? Good God, I don’t believe this.” Lucas chuckled. “Parker was right about the lady hiding some big secrets. I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“I’m sorry for the inexcusable duplicity. Geoff placed you in an untenable position, but from what he told me, the lady was desperate. Her parents were the Earl and Countess of Lytherton. Robert Lytton was one of my best friends until he and his wife died in a tragic carriage accident nearly a year ago,” the duke explained.
“I’m sorry to hear of your loss,” Lucas said sincerely. “So Penny lost her parents, just as she’d told my brother she had?”
/> “Yes.”
Lucas nodded and was just about to take a forkful of food, but he halted the fork at his mouth, unable to hide his curiosity. Flashing a grin, he shook his head. “Why travel to America and why change her name?”
“The answer’s a little complicated,” Markham said, his expression turning solemn. Swirling his wine, he glanced at it. After taking a sip, he set his glass on the table, still fingering the stem in an obvious attempt to gain his words. “Lady Penelope disguised her birthright and ran away to keep out of her guardian’s control. She planned on meeting Geoff in California.” He cleared his throat. “She’s too damn headstrong for her own good.”
“An apt description,” Lucas said just as solemnly. “We wouldn’t let her go off by herself. You should know Parker found out what she was really about and talked her into waiting for Geoff at his home.” When the duke and his brother’s eyes met in silent communication, Lucas quickly added, “My mother and sister live with him, so there’s no impropriety. I know how you English are with your rules.”
“That wasn’t my worry,” Markham replied.
Lucas sat up straight. “There’s more to this than you’re letting on, isn’t there?”
Markham nodded, and then explained in detail everything pertaining to the lady, her guardian, her betrothal, and ending with the news that he and Geoff planned to sail to America on his ship when it left port.
“You’re both more than welcome. But your return journey may be delayed as my ship’s going into dry dock for maintenance the minute we land,” Lucas replied, once he had time to digest the information.
The news didn’t faze Markham. “I’ve cleared up pressing business in anticipation of a trip.”
“It would have to be for an extended stay. I don’t plan on sailing again for several months,” Lucas warned. “Of course, you can always travel to New York or Norfolk where my other ships dock to return earlier, but I don’t have their schedules off the top of my head.”