The Reluctant Suitor

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

  Colton was convinced this individual was none other than the one his mother had spoken of earlier that afternoon, Roger Elston, the apprentice who, against all odds, was striving desperately to win Adriana’s hand in marriage. In his opinion, the man was definitely reaching beyond his limits.

  In presenting an ignoring back to the man, Colton found himself facing the young, fair-haired woman who had approached. “Your pardon, miss, I hope we haven’t been boring you with all this recent talk of war.”

  “Oh, no, my lord!” Felicity Fairchild protested, fairly breathless with excitement. It certainly wasn’t an everyday occurrence that a bookkeeper’s daughter was able to converse with a high-ranking lord of the realm, but here she was just the same. “On the contrary! ‘Tis thrilling to hear stories of great courage.”

  Realizing she had neglected her duties as hostess, Samantha hastened to make amends. “Please forgive my oversight, Miss Fairchild. I’m afraid I became a bit addled after recognizing my brother. Even now, I can hardly believe he’s actually home, after all these many years. With his permission, I’d like to introduce him to you.”

  A brief moment was spent performing such a task, at the end of which Felicity sank into a graceful curtsey before the new marquess. “ ‘Tis an honor to meet a man of your renown, my lord.”

  “The honor is entirely mine, Miss Fairchild,” Colton responded, managing a crisp bow in spite of the rigidity still vexing him after his lengthy carriage ride. His first experience with enforced immobility had, of course, come after his wounding. He had lain far too long on a cot awaiting the surgeons’ decision before realizing he’d have to save his limb himself or else say good-bye to it, for every one of them had seemed intent upon hacking it off and being done with it. That was about the time he discovered that idleness could be far more vexing than rigorous activity. Throughout his military career, the latter had become part of his way of life. Even now, interminable periods of imposed inactivity seemed to shorten his temper and, because of his wound, stiffen his muscles.

  “Miss Fairchild happens to be Samuel Gladstone’s granddaughter,” Samantha explained. “Do you perchance recall the elder, Colton?”

  “Of course, he’s the miller who owns Stanover House. Our family used to visit there at least every Christmas Eve. I can still remember the enormous feasts his servants laid out for his close acquaintances and the people living in the area.”

  “For some months now, the miller has been feeling poorly, so Mistress Jane . . .” Pausing, Samantha tilted her head aslant as she peered up at her sibling questioningly. “You do remember his daughter, Jane, do you not?”

  “As a matter of fact I do, but it has been quite some time since I’ve seen or spoken to her. She moved to London well before I left home.”

  “Mr. Fairchild worked at a London counting house until Mistress Jane availed upon him to leave their service and move to Bradford, a change that now allows her to watch over her father. God forbid that Mr. Gladstone should expire, but the mill would become theirs under such circumstances.”

  Responding in polite deference, Colton bestowed his attention upon the fetching blonde. “I’m sorry to hear that your grandfather has been feeling poorly, Miss Fairchild. During my absence from home, my mother and sister kept me abreast of his many deeds of benevolence. Without question, Mr. Gladstone is a most admirable man.”

  “I must confess we weren’t able to visit Grandpa but on rare occasions while we were living in London,” Felicity responded prettily, “but since our move to Bradford, I’ve come to realize he has fortified himself with many loyal friends over the years. I’m amazed at the number of aristocrats who come to visit him. ‘Twas precisely how I came to meet your sister . . . and Lady Adriana.”

  Samantha slipped an arm through her brother’s. “Mr. Gladstone seems to have taken on new life since his daughter and her family have moved in with him. No doubt, his spirits have been greatly buoyed by Mr. Fairchild’s decision to manage his mill. God willing, with the elder’s mind now at ease, we shall be seeing a vast improvement in his health in the weeks to come.”

  Felicity lifted a sweetly appealing smile to Colton. “Grandpa would be thrilled to hear stories of your experiences in the war, my lord. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t receive a friend, an employee, or some distant relative into his bedchamber for a chat, a tipple, or a game of cards. He’d enjoy it immensely if you were to visit him.”

  “I’m sure he has been much encouraged by the company of so many,” Colton surmised pleasantly. “I shall make a point of calling upon him once I’ve become settled.”

  “He’s not the only one who has reaped benefits from visitors,” Felicity declared, flicking her long, dark eyelashes to good advantage as she cast glances toward the other two ladies. “The kindness your sister and Lady Adriana extended toward me when they invited me on this outing today left me fairly amazed by the graciousness of both. In London, I was never able to meet individuals of similar noble standing. Yet the two made me feel as if I had truly been welcomed into the area. Were I as wise as the sages of old, I might’ve recognized them as two angels on missions of mercy.”

  Colton laughed in hearty amusement as a memory from his youth came winging back. “Miss Fairchild, I should warn you that you were not the first creature these angels have taken under their wings,” he observed drolly. “Lady Adriana and my sister have been companions since well before the younger could talk, and I can verify from firsthand knowledge that both women have long championed hospitality as a valiant cause to be nurtured. However, they have not always limited their benevolence to humans. Although I shall likely be chided for making comparisons between past and present, I distinctly recall that, at a fairly early age, the two were wont to bring home injured animals or their young, and as dedicated as they were in that mission of mercy, I can only believe they continued in that endeavor long after I left. While I was still at home, they made every effort to nurse whatever creature they had found back to good health, but if one happened to expire, they’d sob their hearts out till none could bear their lamentation a moment longer. In truth, Miss Felicity, you’re only one of a strange collection these angels have brought home over the years.”

  “Colton, for shame,” Samantha scolded, her smile doing much to negate her rebuke. “Miss Felicity will surely be taken aback by your comparison.”

  Facing the fair-haired woman, he clasped a lean hand to his scarlet blouse as if to offer a pledge. “Truly, Miss Fairchild, I meant no disrespect. Actually, there’s no real comparison between you and the furry or feathered creatures my sister and her most valued friend were inclined to bring home. I’m certain in your case both ladies were delighted to be able for a change to extend the benefits of their hospitality to one of their own species.”

  He glanced toward Adriana, who was standing a short distance away, listening to their conversation as she rested a slender hand on the massive staircase’s heavily carved Jacobean newel. Though he offered her a warm smile, she met his gaze with a gravity that brought back memories he had tried so often to suppress, that of a thin little girl with enormous eyes whose heart he had once broken. How could he have known so long ago that Harrison had let her in with her parents and had asked them to wait outside the drawing room from whence moments later he had launched strenuous objections to his father’s plans to sign a betrothal agreement committing them to each other?

  He held out an arm invitingly, desiring to have her near. “Come join us, Adriana. Standing there like that, you remind me of that little girl I once knew who always hung back with a yearning look in her eyes whenever Samantha would come to me, pleading for a favor. It always seemed as if that little girl, with her huge dark eyes, really wanted to join us, but wasn’t quite sure if she should. Please do. I can promise you, I’ve truly enjoyed seeing you again.”

  A tentative smile tugged at the soft lips as he beckoned her forward, and when she finally complied, albeit hesitantly, he laid an arm about her shoulders. “My siste
r hugged me and welcomed me back, Adriana. Might I dare hope that you’re delighted enough with my return to do the same?”

  “Welcome home, my lord,” she murmured, offering him a tentative smile as she drew a step closer.

  “Come, give us a hug,” he urged warmly, as if she were only a child of six again. “And a kiss.” Her apparent reluctance caused him to crinkle a brow above a warmly glowing, yet somewhat dubious stare. “You’re not afraid of me, now are you? Where is that little girl whose pluck won my father’s admiration?”

  Considering that every eye in the hall was upon her, Adriana mentally took a deep breath to barricade herself against the nervous jitters. How could they understand that in all her life this was the only man who, as a youth, had wounded her so deeply that she hadn’t yet forgotten it? She had often wondered if that singular experience had been the reason she didn’t allow suitors to get too close even now.

  Tentatively she slipped an arm about his shoulders as he bent near to accommodate her height. Even so, she felt her heart hammering in her chest and found that very strange indeed, considering that she had come to believe that no man frightened her. She was rather surprised to hear the chortling laughter of the other nobles as her lips brushed his warmly bronzed cheek.

  “There now, that’s better,” Colton murmured near her ear before he drew away. When Adriana looked up, she found her gaze ensnared by the glittering sheen of the gray eyes. A pleased smile curved his handsome lips, deepening the furrows in his cheeks. His voice was husky and muted as it invaded her senses. “Now I truly feel welcomed home.”

  “So that’s how you wrangle a kiss from the pretty ones,” Stuart observed drolly from several paces away. Grinning, he eagerly beckoned to Adriana. “Leave that wily rascal, my girl, and come here to me. Although I may not have known you as well as his lordship before his departure, I’ve certainly become better acquainted with you since. Am I not more deserving of your affection? Am I not more pleasing to look upon?”

  Chuckling at the other’s playful cajoling, Colton laid a hand lightly on the sleeve covering Adriana’s forearm, as if to forestall the possibility of her falling into the man’s trap. “Stay near, my dear,” he advised roguishly. “You need my stalwart protection, for the major is obviously a rake, of whom tender young maids such as yourself should be wary.”

  At the major’s scoffing hoot, Colton slipped his own arm about the lady’s shoulders and faced his challenger with a grin that seemed waggishly proud of his triumph over the other. Colton was amazed to feel his senses awakening to the delicate scent of roses that clung to the lady. Dipping his head near the brim of her top hat again, he breathed in the intoxicating bouquet.

  “Your fragrance reminds me of Mother’s rose garden from years back,” he murmured warmly. “Do you suppose there are any blooms in it this time of year? I’d be pleased if you’d show it to me ere the day is over.”

  If the warmth in her cheeks didn’t cause her enough chagrin, Adriana could feel the heat rising to her ears. To her regret, her tormentor noticed and seemed somewhat amazed as he brushed a fingertip along the dainty fold curving over the top of an ear, just beneath the brim of her hat. “I do believe you’re blushing, Adriana.”

  Although Colton would’ve acted no differently had he thought of the young man who had chased her into the house, it soon became apparent his presumptuousness in handling the lady with casual ease snapped that one’s restraint. With eyes blazing, the fellow crossed the hall with long, outraged strides.

  The brisk, intrusive approach of metallic-clad heels claimed Colton’s immediate attention, bringing him sharply about to face the man with an eyebrow arched at a challenging angle. Just as quickly the hounds launched into fierce barking, setting themselves before their master and the girl at his side.

  Being accosted by a stranger in one’s own home was enough to tweak anyone’s temper, but Colton considered the apprentice’s actions immensely galling, especially since he seemed desirous of separating him from a woman whom he had known even before she had been a toddler running underfoot.

  Well able to defend himself without the wolfhounds’ protection, Colton thought it was time that Roger Elston became cognizant of that fact. The man was obviously being less than rational in his passion to protect . . . or, more accurately, to place a barrier around the lady in his desire to keep other males from sniffing her scent, which in this case was very pleasant and not anything approaching what dogs would be interested in following. As for the human breed, well, that was an entirely different matter indeed. He hadn’t indulged in a woman’s sweet fragrance in many a month, and this one seemed especially evocative. Even now, the memory of her sleek, delectably curved form pressed close against his own did much to awaken his manly imagination.

  Pivoting about-face on his good leg, Colton leaned heavily upon his cane as he progressed rapidly toward the north end of the manor whereupon he snatched open a door leading from the morning room to the outside terrace. At his whistle, the hounds dashed through without pause and bounded off toward the distant woods. On closing the portal, Colton limped back to face his would-be rival from very close range.

  “Did you have a matter you wished to discuss with me, Mr. Elston?” he asked crisply.

  Roger was startled by the fact that the man knew his name and could only believe that others in the family, namely the marchioness, had spoken of him earlier, in what context he likely would never know. Though he opened his mouth to retort to the other’s challenge, he came abruptly to the realization that he now held claim to the keenly attentive ear and eye of everyone in the room. The men definitely seemed to be peering down their noses at him as they awaited his reaction, but then, they’d probably say it was only his imagination.

  Grinding his teeth in vexation, Roger swung his head about, much like a bull in close confinement, and finally mauled a surly reply. “Not really.”

  “Good!” Colton shot back. “Then, if you’d kindly give me some space, I shall finish my discussion with Lady Adriana.”

  Colton perused his adversary with a blatant disinterest that did much to rankle the younger man. Beneath an unruly mass of light brown curls that fell over a smooth brow was a face that seemed unusually youthful. Indeed, Colton almost expected to see a bit of fuzz on the pale cheeks, but that idea was quickly dispelled when he noticed a recent nick just below a bushy sideburn.

  Roger could feel the vivid heat creeping up to the roots of his hair as he found himself the recipient of the other’s inspection. Smoldering with inner rage, he maintained a stony silence, prompting his host to elevate a challenging brow.

  Nothing to do but ignore the man, Roger thought furiously and turned rather stiltedly to face the dark-haired beauty. As much as he longed to, he dared not touch her for fear his boldness would be openly reviled and he’d be humbled before his lordship. His proximity went against all protocol. To silently imply any right to a lady of the peerage, especially in front of another nobleman, was at the very height of lunacy.

  Throughout his lifetime, Roger had found numerous reasons to lament his paltry upbringing, but never so much as now when he saw the very real threat of losing Adriana to a man who had everything, including entitlement to the lady. Although the regal beauty had known only a life of privilege, she had seemed little affected by her noble status. Even so, she had given him absolutely no reason to hope that her feelings for him would eventually deepen into something more satisfying in spite of the fact that he had indicated as much to his father, who had then seen some advantage in investing a tidy sum in gentlemanly attire for him. The clothing that had once sufficed for a tutor had seemed paltry indeed among landed gentry and had proven a painful embarrassment to him on more than one occasion. Yet even now Roger feared such extravagance would come to naught and he’d rue the day he ever deceived his parent, for no matter how diligently he sought to bestir some deeper affection within the heart of the tall, slender, stirringly beautiful brunette, she seemed content to keep him at arm�
�s length, offering him nothing more than a congenial graciousness, and that strictly on her terms.

  He stretched forth a thin hand in invitation, exercising caution lest he touch her and she pull away. “Should we not be going now, my lady?”

  Colton shifted his gaze to Adriana to determine her response to the apprentice’s impertinence to urge her to leave. He hardly expected his scrutiny to be challenged, and yet, beneath his close attention, she lifted her delicately refined chin with stately aloofness, as if daring him to question her association with a commoner.

  Colton felt his hackles rise, a reaction almost as unsettling as the surgeons telling him he’d likely lose his leg. Never before had he considered himself disdainful of common men. Almost half his lifetime, he had trudged in their footsteps through rain-soaked muck, raced ahead of them amid the thunderous din of exploding cannons, fought hand to hand beside them against the fury of the enemy, and many times had fallen asleep within a handbreadth of the very ones who had called him “milord Colonel.” He didn’t know precisely what there was about Roger Elston that nettled his mood and temper. Having only this hour met the fellow, he was incapable of laying a finger to the exact cause. It could hardly have been spawned by his own jealousy. Considering his lengthy absence, the girl was merely an acquaintance from his past, definitely exquisite beyond a mortal man’s comprehension, but one who over the years had become estranged to him. Whatever the cause of his vexation, he accepted it as fact that he disliked the apprentice intensely.

  The lady’s unspoken challenge did much to rally Roger’s hopes. It was rare indeed that she had encouraged him, and he felt a surge of boldness in his desire to establish her as his own fiancée, yet when he actually tried to take her hand, he felt an icy shiver of rejection as she retreated a step and then, as if blind, looked through him rather than at him. The lady definitely had a way of conveying her annoyance, and he could only construe by her frosty detachment that she hadn’t appreciated his attempt to demonstrate some right to her. Nor apparently had she deemed herself answerable to the marquess for her conduct or her association with a miller’s apprentice.