Excitedly she finished her breakfast and called to Nan that she was ready to leave. The girl did not bother to tidy up knowing that her mother would come and do so later. Soon, they were on their way.
Guessing that they were not very far from her father’s grand country mansion, Dinah knew that she needed to act swiftly. Pointing to different sights on the way, she kept Nan distracted enough for her to slip her hand under the cushions of her seat unnoticed.
There it was. A piece of paper rolled into a ball. Dinah kept it safely in her clenched fist and waited for a moment when she could read it. Fortunately for her, Nan, lulled by the movement of the carriage, soon fell asleep.
With trembling hands, Dinah straightened the torn piece of paper. The same confident hand that wrote her earlier letter put hurried words on it:
Dearest Dinah,
I cannot bear not to see you again. Meet me tonight at the old mill. I shall wait until dawn.
Yours,
Alex.
It was past midday when they finally arrived. Dinah expected her father to be anxious, but he greeted her in an excellent mood. It seemed that he had already been informed about what had happened to her. The messenger arrived in the morning and brought him a letter from Captain Legrant giving him an acceptable version of the last night’s events.
‘And you must be Mrs Thomas’s children’ he was speaking jovially to Dick and Nan. ‘Run to the kitchen and ask the cook to feed you. I’m not letting you go back with empty stomachs.’
Mr Norman Benson was a big loud man, with greying hair and red complexion suggesting overindulgence. Now he pulled Dinah into a bear like embrace and kissed her cheeks.
‘I am glad you are safe and sound. And I hear that Hincks is going to be as right as rain in no time. This Legrant fellow has taken good care of you, I hear.’
Only too good, thought Dinah and managed not to blush under her father’s penetrating gaze. She quickly drew the conversation into the horrors of the storm and saying how she dreamed about a hot bath and that she absolutely had to change.
Her father follow her into the house, a splendid, if somewhat overwhelming mansion that he had built for himself and his daughter few years before. Dinah had never felt really at home in it but would never admit it, dreading to hurt her father’s feelings.
‘I got a word from Lord Timsbury’ Mr Benson said. ‘Unfortunately, he will not be able to join us tomorrow evening. His business keeps him at his estate in Kent and he shall come straight to the ball.’
‘So I will not even have a chance to meet him before?’ Dinah stopped in her track.
‘What difference does one day make, my child?’ asked Mr Benson, not unkindly, although there was a steely note in his voice.
‘None, of course’ sighed Dinah in resignation as she went to her room, suddenly feeling very tired.
But the tiredness soon gave way to excitement. After she had her bath and was taking tea with her father, Dinah could not help looking forward to the secret meeting with Captain Legrant. The old mill was only a short ride away, hidden in the woods, but she would better move on foot. Someone could hear the horse. She would be much safer walking, although it would take her a good half an hour of solitary stroll through the forest. But every real adventure involved an element of danger. And at the end there will be Alex, waiting for her…
‘What do you think, my dear?’
‘I beg your pardon, Papa. I got distracted. I was thinking about Mrs Jenkins.’
‘Oh, Mrs Jenkins, she knows very well rich sauces give her indigestion. She should have been more careful about what she was eating for Saturday dinner. But it is tomorrow’s menu I want to discuss with you.’
‘Oh, of course. How many shall there be?’
‘Well, the two of us and your aunt Grahams shall come from London with Louisa and Henry. Then I invited Mr Ford. That is six of us plus Jane and David with Mark and Clara. And, of course, Lord Timsbury’s sister, Amelia. She will come with an older cousin, Lady Hornby.’
‘That makes twelve. And too many ladies. Shall we invite the vicar and Doctor Grant so we can have even numbers?’
‘Splendid idea, my dear. I shall write to them immediately. As to the menu…’
It was early afternoon when Alex finally came back to the hunting lodge. He had had a busy day. The house was clean and tidy due to Mrs Thomas’s ministrations and there was plenty of food for his dinner. Although he was hungry, he went straight to the room he shared with Dinah last night. He left it locked, not wanting Mrs Thomas to see with her own eyes the proofs to the suspicions she had already held.
When he visited her in the morning and explained what kind of help he needed from her, she did not ask any questions. She simply set to work preparing breakfast for Dinah, sending Dick to hire a carriage and horses and then to help Alex retrieve Dinah’s belonging from the broken carriage. But he could see in her eyes that she guessed how he spent the previous night. She was a sharp woman but he knew that she would not breathe a word and, damn it, he paid her well for it.
The room still smelled of Dinah. Of the fire. And above all, of their lovemaking. Alex closed his eyes as he lifted one of the blankets and breathed in the delicate fragrant of roses mixed with the smell of their bodies. Only now did he notice a bloodstain at the fur rag. He touched it and swallowed hard trying to ignore his growing arousal. How is he going to wait till the nightfall?
Determined to keep himself busy, he began methodically removing traces of last night’s events. For the hundredth time he reassured himself that things would turn well and that his plan would not backfire on him.
CHAPTER 5
The sky was clear after last night’s storm and bright from the full moon when Dinah stole through the quiet garden. She was wearing a dark cloak, not so much for warmth as to make herself invisible among the shadows. Her heart was beating fast from the excitement and from joy that she had finally managed to slip from the house unnoticed.
She had to undress and pretend that she went to bed and wait till past eleven o’clock until, finally, all was silent. Then she pulled on a grey day dress over her chemise and tiptoed down the stairs. It was late but she did not worry. Alex wrote that he would wait till dawn. Still, she nearly ran through the woods. The moon cast strange shadows on the path and the spring air was full of mysterious noises, but Dinah was not afraid. She was going to meet with her lover and it was all part of the adventure.
After about half an hour she could see the silhouette of an old, ruined building and the flicker of a bonfire lit among the crumbling walls. There was a horse tied to one of the low branches.
Alex was waiting for her!
She called to him and could see the man standing up and moving fast towards her. Within seconds she was in Alex’s arms.
He lifted her and carried towards the fire, where he laid her on the soft, woollen blanket. His hungry lips covered hers in demanding kisses, his hands pulled at her clothes, freeing her from her cloak, dress and shift. Then he quickly undressed himself.
‘I was afraid that you’d not come’ he whispered kissing her white neck. ‘Were you not scared alone in the woods?’
‘No’ she laughed burying her fingers in his hair. ‘I knew you’ll be waiting for me.’
As Alex took her under the moonlit sky, he could not stop marvelling at the extraordinary beauty of her body and the bravery of her spirit. This girl belonged to him, confirming it with every kiss, every gasp of pleasure. He felt her nails scratching his back as he drove her to ecstasy and his own excitement exploded. She was his and he would not give her to anybody else!
‘Oh, my darling!’ he whispered. ‘How do you like your new adventure?’
‘Oh, it is all the adventure should be! The night, the moon, the bonfire in the ruins and the hero’s strong arms’ she said dreamily. ‘But for you it must be nothing new.’
‘What do you mean?’ he asked sharply.
‘Oh, I did not mean to say that you seduce dozens of girls int
o the woods’ she rushed, blushing. ‘It is just that you are a soldier and camping by a fire outdoors must be a commonplace experience for you.’
Alex laughed, relaxing again, but there was a note of sadness in his laughter. If only she had known how little adventure and romance was there in the war.
‘You are right, it is nothing new to me’ he said slowly. ‘But never the circumstances have been more pleasant.’
‘What is it like, to live the life of a soldier?’ she asked seriously.
Alex was touched by her tone. He hated talking about it, the memories of blood, death and destruction too painful to want to bring them back. But keeping Dinah firmly in his arms, so warm and trusting, he felt for the first time in his life that he did not always need to escape from them. Perhaps they would be easier to bear if he could get some of the horrors off his chest.
‘My soldiering life is over’ he said slowly. ‘After I recovered from my wounds, I sold out. I had had enough.’
He could feel her lovely hand stroking his scarred cheek. He had not dared to hope that any woman would ever bring herself to voluntarily touch his deformed face.
‘I had a friend in the Army. His name was Charlie. He was like a little brother to me. He got wounded in his stomach at Saragossa. I carried him from the battlefield. He died in my arms crying for his mother.’
His jaws clenched in pain. Dinah sat, wrapping her cloak around herself and placed his head in her lap. Slowly, gently, she stroked his hair and let him talk.
‘After that I became reckless. I risked my life unnecessarily and got myself a reputation of a fearless hero. Then a blast tore my face and shoulder and it sobered me up. When I woke up in a hospital, I felt grateful that I was alive. I did not wish to die.’
‘I am glad you didn’t’ she said.
They remained silent for a long time. An owl hooted nearby. Alex looked at the light white clouds drifting across the moon and for the first time in years felt calm.
‘Has there… has there been a woman in your life?’ Dinah asked cautiously.
Alex closed his eyes. He could lie or laugh and tell that there were always his mother and sister. For a moment he was tempted to tell her the whole truth but he was afraid of how she would take it. He was not sure why she allowed their intimacy. He would not admit even to himself that he was scared of her rejection.
Eventually he decided on telling only part of the truth:
‘There was one, years ago. I admired her but I don’t think she even noticed that I existed.’
A dark cloud seemed to swallow the moon and Dinah shivered. Why did she ask him? It was her fault for being too curious. In two days she would become engaged to Lord Timsbury, so why spoil her short hours of happiness?
‘I need to go’ she said reluctantly.
‘Already?’ he took her hand. ‘Surely, you don’t mind about one green girl that turned my head so long ago? A man of thirty could hardly go through life without such an episode in his past?’
He was right! She laughed and shook her gloom away. Here and now nothing else mattered except the two of them.
‘Don’t go yet. I’ll walk you to the end of the woods in an hour.’
‘An hour?’
‘Well, that is more less how long we need to do what we are going to do.’ He grinned at her throwing more wood into the fire. No battle scarred soldier anymore, but her mysterious Highwayman again.
‘And if you are cold’ he added ‘I know just the way to make you warm again.’
Her laughter turned quickly into gasps of pleasure.
‘Will I see you tomorrow?’ he asked when they kissed goodbye at the edge of the woods.
It was the dark hour just before the down. Dinah could hardly see him.
‘We have got guests to dinner tomorrow. Lord Timsbury’s sister, my mother’s family, my father’s sister, the vicar…’
‘Well, if the vicar is coming…’
‘Oh, stop it!’ she laughed. ‘But it will not be possible for me to meet up with you.’
‘Even for a quarter of an hour?’
‘A quarter of an hour? I would need much longer to sneak out of the house. Besides, I would not risk it, with all the guests at home and servants getting things ready for the ball.’
‘You do need to sneak out of the house, yes. But not out of the garden.’
‘What are you trying to say?’
‘I took a good look at your house and grounds today. Well, I was rather good in spying on the enemy’s camps. Don’t forget you are dealing with the reckless Captain Legrant. Anyway, there is an old garden shed hidden behind the trees at the back of the house. I don’t know why your father does not get rid of it.’
‘Oh, it is where old Mr Pool keeps his garden tools. Papa wanted to have a new one built for him but Mr Pool would not hear about it. He’s been ailing recently so no one has been using it.’
‘So I gathered from my little espionage tour. Get an excuse after dinner to go out to the garden. Alone. Fresh air and solitude to steady your nerves before meeting Lord Timsbury. Everyone would understand.’
‘Alex! I cannot. During the dinner party?’
‘What is it? The spirit of adventure is leaving you?’
‘Do not tease me. I cannot bear to think that I shall never see you again. But… in old Mr Pool’s shed?’
‘Well, I cannot think of a better place. And I want to see you again. We’ll just have to be careful to keep away from his garden shears.’
Dinah laughed again and made up her mind. Oh, damn it! she thought, in a very un-ladylike fashion. If the rest of her life was going to be proper and boring, she could well afford some madness on her last evening of freedom.
‘I shall be there. What time should I come?’
‘Any time when the coast is clear. I will be waiting for you. Trust me!’
With that he kissed her one last time and Dinah run swiftly home. She undressed quickly and, with her heart still beating wildly, fell into bed.
During the dinner party, Dinah was so nervous that she could hardly eat anything. Fortunately, the guests seemed too preoccupied to notice. Only her aunt Grahams kept looking at Dinah with concern in her eyes. But, seated opposite the formidable Lady Hornby, she hid her worries behind serene countenance.
Dinah sat between the vicar, who was very pompous, and her young cousin Mark, who was very boring. Listening to their insignificant conversation and only murmuring ‘Mmm…’ every few minutes, she was free to study Lord Timsbury’s sister, Amelia, sitting almost directly opposite her.
Amelia was a charmingly pretty girl, with becomingly arranged dark curls framing her flawless face. The silver blue gown which she was wearing set off her dark blue eyes. She looked as pained and bored as Dinah felt, with Mr Ford, the Bensons’ hunting obsessed neighbour and old doctor Grant to her right and left.
Suddenly, as if sensing Dinah’s gaze, Amelia lifted her eyes and smiled at Dinah. A current of understanding passed between the two girls and Dinah felt slightly more cheerful. It seemed that by marrying Lord Timsbury she would at least gain an amiable sister.
The conversation inevitably turned to Lord Timsbury. It was Dinah’s Uncle David, married to her father’s sister, Jane, who first brought the subject.
‘It is a pity that your cousin has not been able to join us tonight, Lady Hornby. What is that business that is keeping him in Kent so long?’
‘Lord Timsbury has been very busy ever since he left the army’ Lady Hornby answered. ‘It has emerged that he inherited not only from his father but also from his great uncle, who died recently leaving him a considerable fortune. My cousin has got a lot of property to manage at the moment.’
The older lady’s tone was very poignant. It suggested clearly that Lord Timsbury was much better off than Dinah expected. It meant, in fact, that he did not need to marry money after all, since the wealth he acquired from his uncle would be enough to restore his father’s neglected estate.
No wonder he has been do
ing so much business with Papa, Dinah thought. He must have been looking for good investments. But why, why did he want to marry me?
‘I have heard that Lord Timsbury was injured in the battle’ said Aunt Jane conversationally to Amelia.
The young girl turned rather pale and sought her older cousin’s eyes, as if asking for guidance. Lady Hornby answered for her.
‘Indeed, he was rather badly injured. But he has mended well, thank goodness.’
‘True words, Lady Hornby’ boomed Mr Benson. ‘The man looks as good as new. It is amazing what you, doctors, can do this days, is it not, doctor Grant?’
Looking at Amelia, Dinah had a feeling that the girl wanted to say something, but the impression passed quickly. Soon, it was time for the ladies to move to the drawing room.
Aunt Graham’s daughter, Louisa, was playing the pianoforte and Dinah, pretending to listen, had time to think. If Lord Timsbury did not want to marry her for her money, what were his motives, then? Could Alex have been right, when he suggested that the Lord truly admired Dinah?
For some reason, the thought made her uncomfortable. Till this moment, she had thought about her planned marriage as a bargain. A title and position for her, a generous dowry for him. A duty that her father expected her to do. But if her prospect husband had some secret feelings for her, he probably hoped that she would be able to reciprocate them. And that she would never be able to do.
Because she loved Alex.
Dinah Benson, she told herself, you are a fool. You’ve fallen for a man you have only just met, of whom you know hardly anything.
But she knew more about Alex than about Lord Timsbury. He shared his secret thoughts with her last night. And much more than just the thoughts. They belonged to each other!
And a thought struck her, as clear and strong and a ray of sunshine. She would not marry Lord Timsbury! She had not given her word yet. Well, she had not even seen the man properly!
She needed to go and find Alex. He would be waiting for her in the old gardener’s shed. She would make her excuses and sneak out into the garden, pretending that she needed to take some air. She was just rising up when she heard Lady Hornby’s loud whisper.
Seduced Bride-To-Be Page 3