When she made no further comment, Jedidiah ran an assessing gaze over her. He scowled. “You should have told me you wish to go riding this morning. I’ll come with you.”
Victoria ran her tongue over her upper lip as her gaze wandered to where his strong hands rode low over those slender hips. “No, thank you, Mr….” She felt the footman’s gaze upon her. “Cousin. I see that you are busy, and I really do not require your assistance. I have been riding alone since I was quite small.” She attempted a polite smile, even as her mind whirled. The last thing she wanted was for this maddening, all-too-attractive man to accompany her this morning. In spite of his prickly nature, her dreams were filled with images of him that she had no wish to even contemplate.
He moved to stand closer to her, his expression commanding. “I am not busy.” He motioned toward the letter in the footman’s hand. “I was simply sending instructions to my first mate as to the disposal of the cargo we brought with us to England. I am more than available.”
Victoria looked at her hands as she fought back a blush. Heavens above! He was available. This was not what her fruitful imagination should be hearing. For she knew from his own lips that Jedidiah McBride was certainly not available to her, or anyone like her. He had nothing but contempt for her and her kind, and that she would do well to remember. “Really, I have no need of your services this morning.” She waved an airy hand and made for the front door. “And I’m sure you would much rather attend to your business.”
His words halted her, as he replied with growing impatience, “I have said that all is under control. The letters are written and are now being sent. Wait here while I get my coat.”
Abashed, she glanced around, to see him stride across the floor and up the stairs. Why, the nerve of the man, she thought. She had no intention of leaving her own parklands, and felt completely safe there.
Swinging around toward the front door, she caught the amazed gaze of one of the footmen. She knew he had never heard anyone speak to her in that manner, and meant that he should never do so again. His expression was quickly schooled to one of proper blandness as she arched a regal brow. He raced to open the portal for her.
Once outside, Victoria made her way to the stables with as much haste as decorum would allow. Although she did not wish to show her hurry, she hoped to be gone from the stables before Jedidiah could reach them. Even though she assured herself that she was quite capable of matching her will to that of the obstinate man, she had a great reluctance to put it to the test.
Once Victoria was securely mounted atop her favorite mare, Queenie, and racing out across the greensward, she made no effort to silence her sigh of relief. Firmly she told herself that it was only because she wished to avoid a scene, and nothing more.
Jed made his way down the stairs with impatience evident in his every step. He’d been delayed by some minutes on finding out that Winters had taken the initiative to remove his riding coat to the kitchens to have it cleaned and pressed. The manservant had rushed to retrieve the coat, apologizing most profusely.
Jed had felt obliged to respond with civility, especially considering his own philosophy about being waited on. The only thing was, Jed had told himself silently as he paced his room, he would have worn the coat as it was. When it arrived, he had had to admit that the garment looked better than it had after he wore it the previous day. Jed had given no thought to his appearance when he took his mount jumping over streams the evening before. Only his irritation with himself and Victoria had mattered at the time. He had been angry with himself for reacting to her words about the child being a servant, and with her for making him feel guilty when she acted hurt.
As he shrugged into the garment, he’d known Victoria would not thank him for keeping her waiting.
There was no sign of her when he reached the foyer. This came as no great surprise, yet Jed could not stop the rush of annoyance this brought. He told himself it was due to his concern for her.
It seemed to him that the woman was somewhat mad. She had entered into an agreement with him because she was afraid for her safety, but she did not want him to keep her safe.
Jed could see no sense in this whatsoever.
For some reason, it had become very important in his mind that he carry out his duty as the lady’s protector with complete dedication. It helped to keep him centered on the fact that their’s was a business relationship. He need not feel any personal insult when she showed, by word or deed, just how much of an aristocrat she was, in spite of any appearances to the contrary.
He went out to the stables, hoping but not really expecting to find her there, either. She was not.
Soon Jed had saddled a horse. He headed off in the direction the stable boy pointed out to him. He was not sure why he was making this attempt to follow her. Having thoroughly explored the rolling hills and verdant forests himself over the past days, he knew it was unlikely that he would locate the lady of Briarwood in this vast area of parklands.
Yet as he cantered along, he told himself that he had great need of the exercise himself. Perhaps, if he spent enough time in the saddle, he would sleep better.
But he was not sure that any amount of exertion could erase the sort of images that had kept him tossing and turning until well after dawn. He could not stop thinking about the way Victoria had looked at him the previous day, her eyes full of trust and confidence in him. Of how tenderly she had held little Sarah, soothing her as he bathed her burned arm. In spite of the worry that creased her brow, she’d been radiantly beautiful, as only a woman who is not afraid to show kindness toward others can be.
Even earlier this very morning, when he turned and saw her coming toward him, Jed had been hard-pressed not to tell her how beautiful she looked in that pert blue riding hat. And the habit, Lord, the royal blue velvet had hugged the curves of her breasts and shapely hips like a lover’s sigh.
What was he doing, he asked himself, following her now? Was he completely crazy?
No, he insisted silently, kicking his horse to a quicker pace. He was only doing what he had promised to do. When Jedidiah McBride made a bargain, he stuck with it. There was no way he was going to let his attraction to an English aristocrat keep him from keeping his word—no matter how distracting she might be.
Jed began to take note of the beauty of the countryside, through which he passed. The grass was a bright emerald green that nearly hurt the eyes with its intensity, and the oak and birch trees that lay scattered on the gently rolling hillsides were eagerly offering their new leaves to the soft breeze. As he took all this in, he couldn’t help thinking that Victoria was a very fortunate woman to be able to live in such surroundings.
If not for the very idea that he would soon be mixing with members of the society he had such little regard for, Jed would have had to admit that he was not unhappy here. The house and lands were beautiful. He liked and admired the people he had met. Victoria’s servants, though well trained and dressed in fine livery, treated her with no more than the respect due any employer, and did in fact seem to show a marked affection for their lady.
Since his care of little Sarah yesterday, their affection seemed to have transferred itself, at least in part, to him. His coffee tray this morning had been bright with fresh lilies from the garden. The maid who brought it had smiled with open admiration and told him the cook was making steak-and-kidney pie for breakfast in his honor.
Yes, he did indeed appreciate being at Briarwood. His dilemma was that he could not allow himself to relax and enjoy the life of a country gentleman without feeling he had betrayed his own values in some way.
He could not help knowing, though, that this place, these people, were becoming more real to him than the ones back in America. He knew he was welcome at Peter’s home in Bridgeport, but he spent little time there, preferring to be at sea. As for Bar Harbor, he’d not been back there since his mother’s death. The town had few happy memories for him other than those of his mother, and even they were tainted by the re
collections of how badly his father had treated her, of how out of place he had felt growing up.
He suddenly realized that when he found his child he would not be so free to roam the seas. That did not worry him. Jed wanted to be with his son, had not known until he learned of the child how very much he missed having someone of his own, as he had not since his mother died.
Perhaps he and his son would build a home in Bridgeport, perhaps not. The world was a big and amazing place, a lot of which Jed had been fortunate enough to see. He was free to live wherever he wished. Where he chose did not even matter. What did was that he would have someone to help him find a place to call home. Someone who belonged to him.
For some reason, Jed had a momentary image of Victoria’s face. With a grunt of frustration, he prodded his mount on, determined to banish the aggravating lady of Briarwood manor from his thoughts.
It was because of his own irritation with himself for thinking of her that Jed was slow to understand what he was seeing a moment later, as he topped a gentle rise. There was, some distance from him, a woman in a royal blue riding habit mounted atop a striking white mare. But that was not what captured his attention. It was the two mounted men who had come to a halt on either side of her.
Victoria. And, if he did not mistake them, Reginald Cox and his cohort, Lloyd.
Even as he watched, one of the men reached out to pull the woman up before him onto his gray. The act galvanized Jed into action. He drove his heels into the horse’s flanks, and the animal reared up, then hit the ground at a gallop.
Down an incline and up the hillside, Jed was on them before either man noticed his approach. As he came near, Jed could see why.
Victoria was not accepting this new assault with ladylike forbearance. She had just jammed her heel into Reginald’s shin. That sorry excuse for a man was calling out for a flustered Lloyd to help him subdue her. When Lloyd reached over from his own horse to do that, he received an obviously stunning blow to the eye from her right fist.
Then, just when Jed was upon them, Victoria planted an elbow in Reginald’s ribs. He let go of her and rocked back in the saddle, crying out in pain. Victoria teetered precariously in front of her captor, nearly losing her perilous position. Then it was she who gasped in hurt surprise as Reginald Cox inadvertently kicked her in his attempts to keep his seat.
Damn the bastard, damn them both, Jed thought. If she sustained even one more slight injury or fell, he would kill Reginald Cox and Lloyd Jenkins.
Having righted himself quickly, Reginald reached for Victoria, then fell back when Jed’s fist connected with his jaw. When she slid sideways as Cox jerked away, Jed managed to reach out and pull her onto his own horse.
She didn’t even hesitate, and threw her arms around his neck. Jed held her tightly to him, not stopping to analyze the amount of relief he felt at having her safely before him. It was nearly overshadowed by the rage he felt at this new threat to her.
He turned his attention to her attackers. Jed saw that he was not going to get any relief from the rolling anger inside him in that direction.
As soon as Reginald realized what was happening, his eyes became as round as barnacles and he struck the reins against the gray’s backside. It gave a start of surprise and thundered off across the grounds. Jed swung around to look where Lloyd had been, to find that he was long gone from the scene, his back just disappearing into the woodland up ahead.
He must have seen Jed coming and abandoned Reginald before the sea captain arrived on the scene.
For a moment, Jed considered putting Victoria down so that he could go after them and throttle the two inept kidnappers. But as he focused his attention on Victoria again, he realized she was trembling.
His heart turned over in his breast at this evidence of her fright. He’d watched how bravely she fought the two men, and he sensed how much it would pain her to be reduced to this reaction. His lips thinned to a straight line of fury.’ Damn them both to hell.
Yet as he held her, his reaction changed, his rage seeping away, being totally eclipsed by his concern for the woman in his arms. It became more important to comfort Victoria than to beat the tar out of the two men. With a last glance in the direction they had gone, Jed promised himself that their time would come.
Then he slipped to the ground with the lady in his arms.
Victoria looked up at him, her eyes damp with tears she clearly refused to shed, and he was struck again by her pride and courage. Then, as if even her will could not contain it, one lone tear slipped from the corner of her eye to glide over the smooth perfection of her cheek.
God, but she was so beautiful, he thought, with her dark hair tumbling wildly down her back and curling about her face, which was flushed a delicate peach. Without pausing to think, Jed reached up to gently wipe the tear away with the back of his forefinger. “It’s all right to cry,” he told her softly.
Victoria shook her head stubbornly. “No, it isn’t. I haven’t cried since the day my parents were buried. Tears are not to be shed for little things.”
He could only stare down at her, his heart slamming against his chest in reaction to the pain revealed by her statement. He whispered, “You are so brave. So beautiful.”
She caught her breath, those gray eyes growing dark with an emotion he did not want to acknowledge, even as he felt an answering reaction stir in himself. It was the same emotion he had seen that day in the sitting room, the one he had tried with all his might to drive from his mind. Tried and failed.
He could no longer pretend to deny the desire she felt for him. That he felt for her.
“Jedidiah,” she whispered, his name a husky caress coming from her lips. His gaze focused on her mouth, so sweetly rounded and full. So inviting.
Jed could not stop himself, could not think past this moment and the feel of her so yielding and womanly in his arms.
He dipped his head to claim her lips with his.
Victoria could hardly believe what was happening. When Jedidiah’s mouth touched hers she was lost, swimming in a sea of heady sensation. His lips were firm, yet supple, and they played over hers, making them part of their own accord.
Her breasts felt heavy and full, the tight bodice of her habit serving only to increase the feelings of neediness inside her. She squirmed closer in his arms, gladdened when he tightened his hold on her, molding her to the hard contours of his body.
Jed grasped the firm curves of her bottom and felt his heart race. He’d known she would feel like this from that first time he saw her, her skirts thrown over her head.
His eyes flew open. The first time he saw her.
God help him, what was he doing? He had no right to touch her like this, to kiss her. For heaven’s sake, he was supposed to be protecting her.
He pulled away, taking her hands to hold them against her sides when she reached for him. She looked up at him clearly dazed. “What…what are you… ?”
Her gaze cleared when she saw the grim determination on his own face. “Jedidiah, what is wrong?” she asked, her tone rife with exasperation.
“This is wrong,” he told her. “You and I. We can’t do this.”
“Why?”
Because we come from different worlds, and even if you think that doesn’t matter right now, it will later. He shook his head. “Believe me, I know. I’ve been through something like this many years ago.”
She looked at him, her eyes dark with pain. “Nina?”
He nodded.
Without another word, she got on her horse and left him standing there. Jed made no move to follow her. There was nothing more he could say.
Chapter Six
Victoria relinquished the care of her horse to the groom who had accompanied her to the vicarage in Carlisle. She had no idea if Jedidiah McBride knew of her visit to see her friend, and she did not care. What she did know and was grateful for was that she had managed to go without seeing him; thus, there had been no embarrassing offers to attend her. Although she now understood
that she could not take a solitary ride at this time, she was not ready to be alone with the sea captain after the way he had rebuffed her.
Her face flamed every time she recalled the way she had reacted to his touch, his kiss. She had been so overcome by the burgeoning emotions and feelings springing to joyous life inside her that nothing else mattered. Even now, as her face flushed with shame at the memory, her traitorous body was flooded with tingling awareness.
She closed her eyes, trying to suppress the sensations, the images. It was simply too much to bear, and yet she could not escape the fact that the incident had happened.
Even the fact that she had managed to avoid Jedidiah completely yesterday by working through meals, had done little to help. This morning she had awakened knowing that she could not continue in this vein indefinitely.
Victoria had felt an overwhelming urge to see Mary, to speak with her. As to what she would say, well… she was not sure what she had planned to say.
When she was with her friend, saw her worry for her father, Victoria could tell the other woman nothing of her own troubles. It was clear that Mary had sensed something was wrong. But Victoria had refused to be drawn, and the golden-eyed beauty had accepted this.
Victoria was just crossing the courtyard when the man she least wished to meet came out the door. She smoothed her hand over the white velvet of her riding skirt, fingered the black frogging that complemented her little black hat, then stopped herself. It was obvious from the expression on his face that he was not pleased with her.
The first words from his lips confirmed her suspicions. “I thought we had come to an agreement about my accompanying you when you went riding. I would think that the reason for this precaution would be doubly apparent after yesterday.”
She flushed from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes, avoiding contact with his gaze as she allowed selfrighteous anger to become her armor. “Mr. McBride, you have no right to speak to me that way. I’ll have you know that I did not go riding alone. I was attended by one of the grooms.” She looked at him then, her brows arched. “And, as you can see, I am perfectly well.”
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