by Louise Clark
The concern died out of Philip’s eyes as he listened to her cheerful voice. “Are you mad, woman?” he demanded angrily. “Jumping that hedge without so much as a glance for what is on the other side. Why, you must have come on it at a full gallop for you to have gained that much momentum.”
Alysa nodded, the irrepressible dimple quivering to life in her cheek. “It’s too high to take at a slower pace.” She laughed at the outrage on his face. “I’ve jumped it many times before, Sir Philip. I promise you I have yet to come to grief.”
“You came damned close today,” he growled, not a whit mollified.
“There are not usually any riders on the road at this hour of the morning,” Alysa pointed out sensibly. She looked at him thoughtfully, noting the practical buff coat he wore instead of a more fashionable doublet and cloak, and her expression became curious. “Indeed, your presence here is most unexpected, Sir Philip.”
The careful blankness came down over his features. Alysa watched him, puzzled. She searched back over what she had said, but could find nothing untoward. She wished, rather anxiously, that she knew why he sometimes closed himself off from her this way.
She was surprised when he said levelly, “Don’t do that again, Alysa,” and even more surprised when she replied, “If it disturbs you, Philip, I promise you I will not.”
He nodded, his eyes dark with an emotion she thought was concern and something more. Her heart began to beat rather wildly as she waited for the kiss she was sure was to come.
But he did not move. Instead he sat watching her with an expression in his brooding eyes that sent shivers of desire surging through her. Gently, she touched her heels to her horse, urging it nearer to his mount. Something flared in Philip’s eyes as the skirt of her blue riding habit brushed against his leg. The look assured Alysa he had recognized her action as deliberate. She smiled, half enticing, half rueful.
Her horse’s nose touched his mount’s flank. They were inches apart now, facing each other, alone again in the warm sunshine. The magic that had surrounded them in the kitchen garden came to life once more, burning away doubts.
“I’ve never kissed a man on a horse before. Will you show me how it is done?” Alysa murmured, lowering her lashes demurely, then slowly and provocatively raising them so that she could look Philip directly in the eyes.
His breath caught. A wry smile curled his lips. “I fear, Mistress Alysa, that this is a new experience for me as well.”
“Then let us experiment together.” She shifted in the saddle, leaning toward him.
Philip could resist no more. Dropping the reins, he mastered the horse with his knees only so that he could use both hands to catch Alysa firmly by the shoulders and draw her close enough to kiss.
She made a soft murmuring sound deep in her throat as his mouth covered hers. The pleasure she had felt in the garden flooded back to her, but even more intensely.
This time there was no delicate brush preceding the hard, demanding kiss that forced her lips apart. This time Philip took her quickly and inside the sweet, moist cavern of her mouth his tongue teased hers, coaxing her to participate in the swift, sensual dance.
As before, Alysa surrendered to the demands of her senses and willingly allowed Philip to assume control of her responses. The near disaster had sent the blood flowing faster through her body, but now the kiss, awkward as it was, inflamed her ever more. Only the sudden movement of her horse brought Alysa back to reality. Less well trained than Philip’s mount, it took advantage of her slackened grip on the reins to sidle away. Alysa was wrenched from Philip’s grasp, even though passion still held them in its sway.
“Damn!” Philip said, grabbing her mount’s bridle near the bit while Alysa shakily gathered up her loose reins.
She wasn’t sure if he was expressing disappointment that their embrace had been cut short, or if he disapproved of what they had done. Her mind was still whirling from the pleasure of the kiss and she was not in a fit state to analyze anything.
In control of her horse once more, she smiled at him shakily.
Immediately the fierce expression faded from Philip’s eyes. He brought his mount beside her again and lightly stroked her cheek. “My lovely Mistress Alysa, we must stop doing this. You have a devastating effect on my composure and I do not know how long I will be able to continue being a gentleman.”
“Or I a lady,” Alysa murmured. Her smile fell away. “Philip, I did not expect this… this fierce emotion that arises every time you touch me. I do not know how to cope with it.”
He sighed, his eyes warm on her face. “Nor I. I think, Alysa, that from now on we should take care to remain in the presence of others if we are together. The time is not yet right for me to approach your father and I would not like to go to him with an uneasy conscience.”
Alysa swallowed and silently agreed. Mention of her father made her very much aware that she was breaking every rule of good behavior that had been drummed into her. The knowledge that Philip did not think any the less of her for it buoyed up her spirits and made her smile mischievously again. “I do believe, sir, that you would have no difficulty winning my father over to your cause should you decide to speak to him this very morning, but I do appreciate your thoughtfulness in waiting until things are more settled here. When Thomas is safely away we will all be ready to discuss more private issues.”
The shutter closed over Philip’s expression again, agonizing Alysa as she vainly tried to understand what it was that had caused him to hide away from her. Try as she might, she could find nothing she said that was out of the ordinary. Then Philip smiled and the moment might never have been.
“I must go.” He added gently, “And so must you, or questions will be asked.”
Alysa pouted prettily. “I know, but I do not want to leave you, Philip.”
“Or I you,” he said ruefully. “But needs must. Now go, lovely lady, before I forget my good intentions and take you off that horse to give you a proper kiss.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?” Alysa teased.
“Both,” he retorted huskily. Then he added seriously, “Go, Alysa. We both know you must.”
Though she made a little moue of distaste, she turned her horse and began to trot away. Unable to resist, she looked back at Philip to blow him a kiss. He was watching her leave, his expression grave, his gaze hooded.
The kiss withered on her hand. Dressed in the buff jerkin, sitting at ease on the sleek black stallion, he looked like nothing so much as one of the soldiers who had come to West Easton after the Battle of Worchester. They had devastated the land and the town in their attempts to discover the whereabouts of King Charles II. Those men had been tough, war-hardened soldiers who kept their feelings secret behind blank expressions and emotionless eyes, and to Alysa they represented the ultimate danger.
Rather desperately she dug her heels into her horse’s sides. Obediently it launched into a ground-eating canter. Every time she thought she understood Philip Hampton, something would happen that would make her wonder again if he was all that he seemed. But he must be what he claimed to be, for if he was not, she was falling in love with the enemy.
*
“Alysa? May I come in?” Prudence stuck her head into her sister’s bedroom and observed her hopefully.
Alysa smiled. “Of course.” She turned to her maid. “That will be all for the moment. I will call you if I need you again.”
The maid curtsied and went out, gathering up Alysa’s riding habit to be aired as she passed.
“Now then,” Alysa said when she and her sister were alone. “I know that look, Prudence. You have something you want to talk to me about.”
Prudence settled down on the daybed that was in front of the fire. She watched her sister brush out her long golden locks for a moment before she spoke. “Alysa, Mama tells me that you are smitten with Sir Philip Hampton.”
Alysa colored vividly. Hastily she bent her head, staring down at the sky-blue petticoat exposed by the
open skirt of her gown. The sweep of her long hair shielded her expression from her sister. “Smitten is hardly the word I would have used, but… I can hardly believe that Mama would use it either.”
“She didn’t really,” Prudence admitted airily. “She said that you preferred him over Cedric Ingram. Is that true?”
“Well, yes, it is. But what has this to do with whatever it is that is troubling you?”
Prudence folded her hands in the lap of her magenta gown and ignored Alysa’s question.
“Does this mean that you are no longer interested in allowing Master Ingram to court you?”
Alysa caught her breath. Slowly she looked up, brushing her hair back from her face so she could see Prudence clearly. “I think it is up to Master Ingram to decide whether or not he wishes to court a lady.”
Prudence waved this away as trivial. “It is not Master Ingram’s sentiments I am trying to discover, it’s yours! Alysa, do you love him?”
The surprise on Alysa’s face was entirely natural. “Love Cedric Ingram? Heavens, no!”
A smile broke out on Prudence’s face. “That is what I thought. Good, then I need not worry that I am stealing him from you.”
Amusement chased away the shock in Alysa’s eyes. “I take it you have decided Master Ingram would make a suitable husband for you.”
Prudence smiled mischievously. “I have. He does not know it yet, but soon he will be dancing to my tune.”
The words sounded ominously smug to Alysa. She hesitated, then decided that in the interest of her sister’s future happiness she should be blunt. “Prudence, Cedric has never yet shown any interest in you. What makes you think he will in the future?”
“He has shown no interest, dear sister, because of you.” Prudence raised her shoulders in elegant denial. “If you were committed to another he would soon turn his eyes elsewhere. In the meantime, I can continue with my plan.”
Alysa was beginning to feel seriously concerned about what Prudence had in mind. “What plan?”
“Why to get him to notice me, of course.”
“Of course,” Alysa murmured, twisting her hair into a knot. “And how are you going to do that?”
Prudence leaned forward conspiratorially. “Mama is always saying that the way to attract a man is to get him to talk about himself. In that manner a woman can convince a man that he is the most fascinating creature on earth, for there is nothing a man can talk about so well or so long as himself.”
“Yes,” Alysa said cautiously. She too had heard Abigail say that many times, and she had found the trick to be an excellent way to break the ice with a gentleman. But it wasn’t an ideal method of building a solid relationship.
“Well,” Prudence continued, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm, “I realized that I know next to nothing about Cedric, beyond that he is the second son of the Earl of Easton and that he manages the Ingram estates for his brother, who is in exile. I do not know how he likes to spend his time, if he prefers a lamb chop to a beefsteak, or where he goes when he rides from his house. So I have begun to find out.”
Alysa gazed at Prudence wide-eyed. There were times when she was truly amazed by her sister’s thought processes. “How?”
Prudence settled herself more comfortably on the daybed. “First of all, I convinced my maid that she should strike up a friendship with Cedric’s body servant. That way I can learn all his little habits. And I have been talking to people in the village about him, hearing what they think and have noticed.”
Alysa thought that Cedric Ingram didn’t have much of a chance against her sister’s determined pursuit of him. She said so and Prudence laughed. “But wait! There is more! Haven’t you noticed that I have been absent quite often over the last few days?”
Alysa thought back. “I must admit that I have not seen you about the house that much, but I assumed it was because I have been busy and we simply haven’t been in the same place at the same time.”
Prudence shook her head. “No, that’s not it at all.” She leaned forward, her eyes twinkling brightly. “I have been following Cedric to see what he does!”
Alysa’s breath caught again. This time she let it out in a long, concerned sigh. “Prudence! How could you?”
“Very easily. I stay a good distance behind. He rarely looks back, you know, but if he did I would find some reason for my presence. Besides, if he does discover me he will be flattered. What man would not if a lady went to such great lengths to get to know him?”
Alysa opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. Prudence did have a point. Although strictly speaking it was very forward of her to do what she was doing, Cedric might well be so flattered that he would overlook the impropriety. “Tell me, then, what exactly does Master Ingram do when you follow him throughout the countryside?”
Prudence made a face. “Nothing exciting. Nothing very interesting, in fact. He does a great deal of visiting, with the other landowners in the area, not his tenants. Indeed, I have not yet seen him stop at a farmhouse. Isn’t that odd, Alysa? Papa makes sure he visits our people regularly.”
“Perhaps Master Ingram has not yet had the reason to call on a tenant. And his visits to other landowners are perfectly reasonable. After all, he is assisting Papa to organize the local resistance. He is probably making sure the other committed Royalists are kept up-to-date.”
“That is what I thought,” Prudence agreed, nodding. “He was stopped by the odious troops one day and was forced to talk to the lieutenant for quite a long time. I was worried about his security then. I wondered what I could do to intervene.”
Horrified, Alysa said forcefully, “Prudence, should that ever happen again you must come home immediately and tell Papa! He can get help. Putting yourself in danger would do Master Ingram no good!”
Prudence nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. She hastily changed the subject. “Alysa, I haven’t been able to follow Cedric in the evening, and I think it is important that I do.”
“Why?”
“So I am able to get a balanced picture of him,” Prudence retorted sweetly.
“Prudence, no sane woman goes out at night. It’s dangerous! Besides, what would our parents say?”
“Alysa, I need to do this,” Prudence said forcefully. “If I do not appear at dinner one evening, will you say I am not feeling well, or some such thing? I know Mama would understand what I am doing, but Papa would probably be upset.”
“He would be furious,” Alysa retorted dryly. “And I doubt that Mama would be very sympathetic.”
Prudence grinned. “It is all her idea, so she ought to understand. Please, Alysa! I do not want Mama and Papa disturbed for no reason.”
Alysa said dryly, “I would hardly call learning that your daughter is gadding about the countryside after dark no reason to become upset.”
Prudence shrugged. “I will do this, whether you approve or not, Alysa.” She abandoned her studied nonchalance. “Dear sister you must help me! I have been in love with Cedric Ingram for months and this may be my only chance to capture his fancy.”
Prudence didn’t say that she was desperate, or that she was sick with unrequited love, but Alysa knew both were true. Slowly, she felt herself nodding her head. “All right. On one condition, Prudence.”
“Name it.” A smile had broken over Prudence’s face.
Alysa remained grave. “You must tell me what you intend before you go out so that someone will know where you are, even if it is only in a general way. Agreed?”
“Agreed!” Prudence bounced over to her sister to give her a big hug. “Thank you, Alysa. You won’t regret this.”
Alysa hoped not.
Chapter 11
The run of good weather continued unabated. Farmers in the West Easton area prophesied a good crop and planted their seeds early. At Strathern Hall the members of the household made excuses to get out into the spring sunshine, but on this fine day Alysa and her stepmother were stuck in the library. They were going over the estate recor
ds, discussing which of the tenants would probably need some sort of assistance over the next few months and what could be done to help them.
The longtime butler at Strathern interrupted their serious discussion. Though his voice was grave, there was an undisguisable twinkle in his eyes. “Sir Philip Hampton has come to call on Mistress Alysa. Shall I put him in the King’s Salon or should I have him come here?”
Abigail cocked her head and thought for a moment. A smile twitched her lips as she watched Alysa sit up a little straighter. With her hands clasped together atop the desk, Alysa was the model of feminine propriety, but there was a subdued anticipation glittering in her eyes that Abigail could not miss.
Suppressing her smile, Abigail said mildly, “No, not in this room. Take Sir Philip out to the terrace. Alysa will join him in a few minutes. I will continue to work on these documents.” She looked at Alysa and allowed her smile to break free. “You and Sir Philip will be alone on the terrace, but remember—I can see you from the window!”
Alysa laughed. “I will be good, Mama, I promise!”
Abigail laughed too. “Of course you will, my dear.” She watched with considerable amusement as Alysa paused to shake out the skirts of her wine-red gown and straighten the rose colored petticoat beneath, then carefully inspect her hair in a mirror. She patted a few stray hairs back into place and pinched her cheeks to add a little more color before heading outside.
Philip was standing by the stone balustrade when Alysa stepped through the doorway. Though he was resting one hand on the stone surface he was not leaning on it as he had when his leg was troubling him. As he came toward her, Alysa saw that he had abandoned his cane completely and now walked with only the trace of a limp. When he reached her he smiled his devastating smile and took her hand in his to be kissed.
Though his lips lingered overlong on her skin, Alysa didn’t mind. She did murmur, however, “Mama has decided to allow us to meet alone, but she is just in the library and could look out the window at any time.”