Wishing For Rainbows (Historical Romance)

by Rebecca King

  She smiled up at him with a soft sigh, and settled closer to his side when he wrapped an arm around her waist. They shared a smile as she snuggled deeper into the voluminous folds of the cloak he had wrapped her in before they had left the warmth of his house.

  “I should have arranged for the carriage,” he mused wryly. When they had left the house, a short romantic walk in the smog had seemed like a good idea. Now that he was out in it though, he suspected they should have waited for the carriage. “Do you want to go back and fetch it?”

  “No, it’s not too far to walk. If you are sure you can find your way home on your own, then I would prefer to carry on,” she replied.

  Whatever else she was about to stay was halted by the sound of footsteps echoing around them. Unfortunately, the gas lamps did little to penetrate the gloom, and merely added an eerie haze to the darkness that encompassed them. It bathed everything in a yellowish glow that was a little disorientating. In addition to that, the smog seemed to mute most of the noise so that whenever sound reached them, it was difficult to distinguish where it came from and how close it was.

  Trenton studied the shadows warily, but could see very little of anything. He sighed and wished they were still tucked up in bed. The last thing he wanted for either of them was to be out and about on a night like this, especially after what they had just shared. If it wasn’t for the fact that Adelaide was undoubtedly at home, and waiting for Ursula, then he would have insisted Ursula remain in bed with him until dawn.

  He was a little unnerved at how much of a physical wrench it was to have to walk her home, knowing that he was going to have to return to his house without her. She belonged at his mansion across the square. The place felt lived in with her presence inside it.

  “The contrast is stark,” he murmured aloud without thinking.

  “Pardon?”

  “Nearly there,” he corrected when he spied the next street sigh.

  Ursula gasped and jumped when a tall, dark shadow suddenly appeared out of the haze. A dapper gentleman in a top hat nodded to them as he passed, but was swallowed up by the smog just as quickly as he had arrived, barely giving Trenton the time to respond.

  “Are you alright?” He asked when he felt her shiver.

  “It is a little unnerving,” she replied with a frown. “Are you sure you are going to be all right getting home again?”

  “I will be fine,” Trenton assured her. He hated being parted from her for long and began to think of a reason to call by to see her tomorrow. “Will you allow me to escort you to a picnic tomorrow?”

  “That would be wonderful,” she replied, delighted that he wanted to see her so soon.

  “I will collect you in the curricle around eleven o’clock. I thought that a nice quite drive in the country might be in order, just so you don’t get too used to city life,” he teased wryly and shared a smile with her.

  “I would love to,” she whispered, touched at his thoughtfulness.

  “That’s settled then. I shall arrange for the letter to your father to be sent off first thing in the morning. That should deal with him for now. Meantime, don’t enter into any conversations with Brampton, and please don’t believe a word he says about me, or anyone else for that matter. The man has a reputation for being a scoundrel for a very good reason.” He gave her a pointed look. “That also stands for Barbarella. They are both trouble.”

  She wrinkled her nose up. “I don’t like either of them to be honest with you. There is something going on between those two that I just don’t want to get involved in.”

  She knew exactly what Barbarella and Brampton were up to. It was undoubtedly exactly what she had Trenton had been doing for the most part of the day. But, as far as Ursula was concerned, as long as they kept it between the two of them then they could do whatever they wanted.

  “Wait,” Trenton murmured.

  She looked at him questioningly for a moment when he stopped and turned toward her. Before she could speak, he tugged her into the shadows and drew her into his arms for a very thorough kiss. She felt branded, possessed by the masterful kisses he gave her, and returned his embrace with a ferocity that matched his. His low groan was soft yet shivered through her and wrapped around her heart in a vice-like grip. In that moment she knew that this was meant to be. She was his and undoubtedly had been from the first moment she had seen him across the village fayre one autumn when she had been ten years old. He had laid claim to her tender young heart all those years ago and, in spite of the years that had passed, still held it. She could not deny him anything, not when he was so much a part of her that parting from him, even for a few hours, left her feeling bereft, and turned her world as dark and gloomy as the fog they stood in.

  It took a few moments before the sound of another set of footsteps registered on her senses. She was wrapped in a haze of desire, snuggled comfortably in Trenton’s loving arms. At first, she didn’t pay the sound much attention, even less so when Trenton nudged them deeper into the shadows so he could kiss her some more.

  He lifted his head and watched a figure dressed entirely in black stalk past. The rhythmic tap-tap-tap of the man’s cane as he walked echoed hollowly around the empty streets. As soon as he had vanished and, assured that they weren’t noticed, Trenton stole several more shockingly intimate kisses before he slowly released her.

  “Let’s get you home before I forget I am a gentleman,” Trenton growled. He wished they were indeed back at home, in front of a nice warm fire so they could remove the various layers of clothing, and indulge in this delicious new side of their relationship.

  Ursula sighed and leaned against him as they resumed their walk. To begin with she didn’t notice anything was amiss. It was only when they left the yellowish glow of one of the gas lamps behind and stepped into thicker darkness that she was aware that they were no longer alone. The atmosphere suddenly shifted around them and rapidly turned into something sinister. She glanced up when Trenton suddenly stiffened.

  Before either of them could move, a dark figure suddenly launched out of the fog and threw himself at Trenton. Her cry of alarm was loud as he knocked her to the floor as he flew past her. She landed with a heavy thump and only just managed to sit upright in time to watch the figure sitting astride Trenton, raining blows down onto his face, head and shoulders. Outraged, she struggled to get to her feet and cried in dismay when a pair of arms appeared out of the gloom and grabbed at her cloak.

  “Get off me,” she screamed as she twisted and writhed in an attempt to get away.

  “Come here,” a low voice growled into her ear.

  “Get away from me,” she snapped, determined they wouldn’t succeed in dragging her into the darkness as they clearly wanted to do.

  She lifted her foot and kicked out hard in the direction of her assailants shins. The resounding groan was reassuring enough for give her courage to repeat the action, which she did with even greater force. To her relief, her assailant was unbalanced enough so that she could push hard at his body. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see much in the way of facial features, but felt an instinctive recognition sweep over her as she caught a glimpse of the shadowy outline. She knew, in that moment, she had met this person before, but where?

  Swirling around, she turned to look at Trenton, who was now on his feet and trading blows with his attacker. Unsure how to help him, she hesitated for a moment, then yanked off her cloak and threw it over the assailant’s head. Rendered temporarily blind, the attacker’s vicious curses became muffled, but his temporary disorientation was enough to help Trenton fight him off.

  “Come on,” Trenton snapped, grabbing her wrist in a fierce grip. He yanked her after him so hard that it was difficult to maintain her balance, and she stumbled along beside him on shaking legs for a moment before she slammed to a halt.

  “Wait!” She cried, yanking back on her wrist. “Don’t you want to see who it is?” she gasped.

  When Trenton didn’t appear to have heard her, she retraced her st
eps. To her horror, all she found sitting in the middle of the path was her cloak.

  “They have gone,” she whispered, listening to the sound of rapid clip of footsteps fading into the distance.

  Trenton opened his mouth to speak only for Ursula to put her finger to her lips. She picked up her cloak and draped it over her arm. Once she had tugged him into the relative safety of the shadows, she stood on tip-toe so she could whisper in his ear.

  “There are two of them,” she said quietly and nodded toward the shadows.

  Trenton took the cloak off her and swept an arm around her waist. “Stay close to me. We are going to turn right at the top of this road. Adelaide’s house is half-way down that street.”

  Ursula nodded, still amazed by how well he knew the area. She stuck close to his side as they made their way toward the safety of home, and neither of them spoke. The wonderful intimate atmosphere that had shimmered between had now turned into something watchful and wary.

  By the time they reached the house, the tension between them was palpable. There was so much she wanted to say to him; so much she wanted to ask him, that she just didn’t know where to start. Not now; not after yet another attack.

  “How are you? Let me see your face,” she whispered as soon as they stepped through the front door of Adelaide’s house. She tugged him over to the candle that had been left alight on the small table at the bottom of the stairs. “You have been cut. You need to get that cleaned.”

  “I am all right,” he soothed. “Did they hurt you?”

  “No. Did you get a good look at the man?”

  To her surprise, Trenton nodded. “He tried to hide his face but I managed to get a good enough look at him to know for definite who your assailant has been.”

  “It has been the same man all along?”

  Trenton sighed. “I am almost convinced it is the same man, yes. I do think he has help though.”

  “Go on,” she demanded in a voice that was raw with fear. “Brampton?” she asked hopefully.

  Trenton shook his head, still stunned by the revelation himself. “Sinnerton.”

  “Alfred Sinnerton?” she gasped in shock. “Are you sure?”

  She scowled at him and thought over the bedroom incident. Had her assailant been Alfred Sinnerton? She shook her head slowly. “He isn’t the one who broke into my bedroom. I am sure of it.”

  “Why?” Trenton demanded. He knew it had been Alfred Sinnerton who had attacked him. He had seen the man’s face with his own eyes.

  “Because the person in my bedroom was slightly taller and thinner,” she said thoughtfully.

  “That was definitely Alfred Sinnerton out on the street just now,” Trenton retorted while rubbing his jaw. “He is damned useless with his fists, but good at surprising people.”

  “I wonder if it was his sister who attacked me. Whoever that was in my bedroom wasn’t big enough to be Mrs Sinnerton.”

  “It may have been his sister,” Trenton murmured, trying to remember what Hyacinth looked like. The Sinnertons were an odd bunch of people at the best of times. Now it appeared that they were criminals.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up,” she whispered and nodded to the morning room.

  “Where is Adelaide?” he murmured quietly. He didn’t say as much but he desperately needed to see with his own eyes that Ursula really was alright.

  “She will have gone to bed by now,” she replied, only to gasp when he swept her high into his arms and headed toward the stairs. “Where are we going?”

  “To your room. You can hardly look at my wounds down here in the hallway.”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of the morning room,” she replied dryly, making no attempt to encourage him to put her down.

  “Oh, well, I thought you might need to lie down for a bit,” he mused thoughtfully.

  “Well, I might need to recover for a while I suppose,” she countered, and pressed a daring kiss to his cheek.

  “Then your bedroom it is. Show me which way,” he whispered at the top of the stairs.

  “I suppose you may need to lie down too. After all, you have taken several blows to the head.”

  He grinned at her. “To recuperate, you understand. I am in no condition for any of that,” he assured her pointedly.

  Her cheeks blushed mightily and she ducked her head and buried her face in the base of his neck to smother her laughter. It just right being able to tease him so freely and aided the air of intimacy that they now shared. There was something intriguingly daring about being alone with him that was addictive, even without taking into account the delicious things he did to her.

  Were they really a couple now? She mused and thought about that for a moment and sighed with contentment when she realised that they were. Secure in the knowledge that she had her man, she happily directed him to her bedroom. Once there, she locked the door and began to check him from head to toe for any injuries before she kissed him better.

  The following morning, just before dawn, she stood on the back doorstep wrapped in Trenton’s warm embrace. Cool morning air swept around them, teasing their fingers and toes with winter’s icy grip, but neither of them paid any attention to the chill.

  “I will see you later,” Trenton murmured when he found the strength to release her. “I will come back about eleven for our picnic. Until then, don’t go out alone, not even with a maid as a chaperone. Until we can get an idea of what Sinnerton is up to, keep the Sinnertons out of the house. I think Adelaide needs to be informed about what’s happened anyway, but leave that until I get here. I am going to ask around to see if anyone knows much about the family. They are up to something, of that there can be no doubt, but what I want to know is whether it is me they are after, or you.”

  “Why would they be after you?” she asked with a frown.

  “Why should they be after you either?” he mused in reply.

  She wrinkled her nose up. “Fair point.”

  “It was me they attacked, Ursula,” he reminded her.

  Ursula thought about what had happened and was forced to concede that he had a point.

  “Until we know more, make sure Isaac doesn’t let them into the house. Stay inside where it is safe. I will come by for you later.”

  “Are we still alright to go on our picnic?” she asked with a frown. She hated the thought of the Sinnerton’s stopping her spending time with Trenton.

  Trenton nodded. “I have somewhere in mind where they wouldn’t dare start any of their shenanigans.” He pecked her on the cheek. “Too many witnesses,” he whispered knowingly. Before she could ask him where he was taking her he rendered her helpless with a very thorough kiss, then nudged her back into the warmth of the house. “Go back to bed and try to get some sleep while you can. I will see you later.”

  The sultry promise in his voice made her shiver, and she smiled as she did as instructed. She remained where she was and watched him stop at the back gate. He motioned for her to go back inside and lock the door, clearly not prepared to leave until she did as instructed. By the time she had locked and bolted the door, and raced to the study window for one final wave, he had gone.

  With a soft smile, she wandered back upstairs to bed, blushing a little as she remembered the liberties she had allowed him to take last night and, well, most of the morning in fact. Positive that she wouldn’t be able to get any sleep, she snuggled down beneath the covers anyway. Within seconds she was fast asleep.

  Trenton let himself out of the back gate and glanced up and down the narrow alleyway. Thankfully, the smog had largely cleared but had left everything bathed in a gentle early-morning haze that hid him from the curious gazes of other pedestrians. Outside, in the cold, was the last place he wanted to be right now, but he had to go home to change so he could start his day.

  Last night had gone far better than he had ever hoped. He was delighted with the way his relationship with Ursula was progressing. There were still matters they needed to clear up but he could take the opportunity
to discuss the rest of Jeremiah’s scheming with her at the picnic. Until then, he had to be content with the knowledge that he had just secured his future; and it was looking a very happy one indeed.

  Relieved, he began to whistle a jaunty tune as he walked home.

  He reached his front door without incident, but it was only when he closed the door behind him and slid the bolt home that he realised he couldn’t remember anything about the journey home. His thoughts had been focused on the delectable young woman who was now very much a part of his life.

  He yawned widely and thought about going to bed, but the pressing need to do one more task before he slept was too strong to ignore. It would be impossible to settle until he had written the promised letter to Jeremiah to explain about Ursula’s need to remain in London. It was important to him that he inform Jeremiah that his association with Ursula progressing nicely, and he would escort Ursula back to Yorkshire in time for Christmas. Hopefully by then they would have some delightful news to share. He added a note at the end to ask if he had ever heard of someone called Sinnerton from Somerset, signed the missive, sealed it and then settled back in his chair with a contented sigh.

  Minutes later, weary, and aching from his bruises, he settled into bed. The scent of flowery perfume Ursula wore immediately settled around him and seemed to soothe his aching bruises. It was the next best thing to having the woman herself beside him, and with another huge yawn, he promptly fell asleep.

  By the time he woke up again, had consumed a quick breakfast and was ready to leave it was closer to noon than eleven. He cursed bitterly as he raced up the front steps at Adelaide’s house and knocked on the front door. While he waited for Isaac to answer it, he turned around to study his curricle. It was laden with blankets, picnic baskets, and enough food to feed a small army, and would be more than enough to ensure they enjoyed the day. His staff had excelled themselves, and he was eager now to get the second phase of his plan into operation to seduce Ursula into accepting the idea of marriage to him.