The Reluctant Suitor

by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

  “How quickly you forget the many times I made that evident. The first time was when you took it upon yourself to come here without invitation. Thereafter you infringed upon my hospitality and that of others every chance you found, following me to the homes of my friends and elsewhere. Had I refused to see you at the very beginning, this wouldn’t be happening now. I never wanted you to be hurt, Roger; I never expected you to hope for anything more, but friendship was all I’ve ever been able to offer.”

  “You knew I wanted more from you, and yet you never warned me that you’d be considering another as your husband.”

  Adriana’s stomach turned. His maudlin distortions of the truth were no doubt intended to make her feel sorry for him; he just didn’t realize that what he was arousing within her was a nauseating sense of repugnance. “That’s not true, Roger, and you know it. My father is here to affirm that he explained the situation to you quite carefully when you asked for my hand.” She paused, glancing down at her tightly clenched fingers, desperately trying to collect her aplomb, and felt a calmness settle over her as Colton gently squeezed her shoulder. Sensitive to the comforting pressure, she lifted her gaze to Roger. “Perhaps you foolishly imagined some miracle would happen to change my mind, but even if Lord Randwulf hadn’t returned, I would’ve married another man from among my peers. The simple fact is, Roger, you’ve never been anything more than a casual acquaintance, and a rather persistent one at that.”

  The apprentice straightened his coat with an outraged jerk. “Well, I hope the lot of you will be happy together.” The glower he bestowed upon each readily annulled his statement, for it clearly conveyed his loathing for them. “You probably will be, considering you’ve had everything in the world delivered to you on golden chargers.”

  “If we have,” Colton retorted, rankled by the slur that often came from commoners who were wont to complain about the class distinction but were reluctant to do anything to improve their own circumstance, “it’s because our forebears were willing to fight and die for king and country. Because of their allegiance, they were granted titles and land. Before that, our ancestors had little, if anything, but they were ready to sacrifice the very breath from their bodies to achieve honor and greatness, which was far more than you seemed disposed to do for your country in our latest confrontation with the French.”

  Upon facing the man, Roger lifted his upper lip in a derisive sneer. “Some men enjoy killing; others do not.”

  Turning crisply on a heel, he stalked toward the door, yielding Gyles a glare as he did so. Upon reaching the wooden barrier, he flung it open with enough force to cause it to rebound against the raised molding of the adjoining wall. Just as quickly it swung shut on his heels.

  “I know now that I should have told Roger the first time he came out that I couldn’t see him anymore,” Adriana murmured. “Had I done so, he wouldn’t have been here tonight.”

  Colton squeezed her shoulder again. “Obviously Roger was hoping for a miracle. He made it abundantly clear the day of my arrival that he was cognizant of the contract between us.”

  “You’re right, of course,” Adriana conceded, releasing a troubled sigh. “He was indeed aware that your return would doom his aspirations. His animosity toward you that day readily evidenced that fact.”

  “ ‘Twould seem the lad didn’t take our altercation seriously,” Colton replied.

  A troubled sigh slipped from Adriana’s lips. It was a long moment before she directed her gaze toward her father. “Do you suppose we should be getting back to the ballroom now, Papa? Mama will be wondering where we are.”

  “Yes, yes, of course,” Gyles agreed, releasing his own breath in much the same manner. “Your mother will be fretting. Why don’t you two join the others. I’ll follow in a moment. I’d like to indulge in something a bit stronger than wine. It has been a most trying day.”

  Colton smiled, wondering how he’d cope with suitors quarreling over a daughter. But then, that seemed far better than having to watch a plain-faced spinster pining her heart out for want of a beau. “If I may have your permission, my lord, I’d like to dance with your daughter again.”

  Chortling, Gyles waved them off. “Be my guest, as long as I can stay here and leisurely sip a brandy.” He glanced around as if fearful of someone overhearing. “Don’t tell my wife. She condemns the stuff as being less than genteel, but I’d rather have it any day over port.”

  Colton chuckled. “Aye, my lord, and so would I. ‘Twould seem we share my father’s tastes.”

  “A man of excellent taste, I might add,” Gyles replied, and then chortled. “He certainly foresaw my Adriana as a jewel in the rough. Now look at her.”

  “I have been, all evening,” Colton averred with a broad grin and was wont to marvel at how comfortable his hand felt riding on the small of Adriana’s back as he escorted her to the door. A scant three months ago, he would never have imagined such simple, yet totally gratifying pleasures.

  They were just leaving the library when a shocked gasp drew their attention to the woman standing in the hallway. The look of astonishment on Felicity’s face seemed to convey that her thoughts were not all that favorable for Adriana’s reputation.

  Colton wasn’t inclined to offer reassurances of their innocence, at least not at this point. “Were you looking for anyone in particular, Miss Felicity?”

  “Mr. Elston seemed terribly angry when he stalked past me in the hall just now,” she explained, glancing from one to the other. “I was just a bit bemused, that’s all, wondering what had upset him. I didn’t realize the two of you were in the library.”

  Colton smiled briefly. “I’m afraid Roger was hoping he could win Lady Adriana for himself, but it was explained to him that that wouldn’t be the case. He didn’t care for that idea.”

  “No, I imagine it wouldn’t be . . . to his liking, I mean,” Felicity replied with a rather frail smile. Hearing footsteps, she glanced toward the library door as the elder Sutton made an appearance.

  Having heard the exchange, Gyles had deemed it wise to present himself for his daughter’s sake. Smiling as he glanced toward the couple, he rumbled, “I thought you two were going to dance.”

  Colton gave him a crisp half-bow. “Aye, my lord, that was our plan . . . unless you’ve changed your mind about giving your permission.”

  “And why should I?” Gyles inquired quizzically and blustered a bit as he strove to control a grin. “Unless, of course, you’re a rogue at heart.”

  “I may well be, my lord,” Colton acknowledged, grinning. “Your daughter could be in danger.”

  The elder stroked his chin reflectively, wondering if he should read anything into the marquess’s statement, and cocked a brow meaningfully. “Perhaps I should warn you, sir, that if warranted, I’m not above changing your status from bachelor to bridegroom.”

  Colton had the feeling the man would prove a formidable foe to best should anyone offend his daughter. He laughed to ease the elder’s fears. “I hear that you’re a fair shot, my lord, so be confident of my good intent. I shall take special care to treat your daughter with utmost respect.”

  “Good!” Gyles chortled and waved them off. “Now you’d better go before the musicians decide to take another break.”

  Smiling, Gyles stroked his chin as he watched the couple strolling down the hall together. It was rare indeed for a man and a woman to complement each other to such a degree. His old friend had certainly chosen well for his son, but then, Gyles was of a mind to think he could have done far worse for his daughter. As for the future, that was anyone’s guess.

  With a tenderness rarely exhibited by a man who had spent half his lifetime in the military, the marquess drew the lady’s arm within the bend of his elbow as his glowing eyes delved into hers. Beneath that consuming gaze, the dark orbs seemed unusually soft and pliable above a gentle smile. It was not at all surprising that the man paused and, pulling the lady near, pressed his lips to her brow for an unusually long moment, causing Gyle
s’s heart to swell with spiraling hope.

  Mentally rubbing his hands together in relish, he could only imagine the future rewards to be had from his daughter’s union with the handsome man. And what beautiful grandchildren they will make for us!

  Clearing his throat as he got down to the business at hand, the Earl of Standish faced the young lady who was staring rather miserably after the two, or perhaps, more precisely, the Lord of Randwulf. “People have been known to get lost in this old Tudor mansion, Miss Fairchild. Its many wings seem to confuse strangers. Would you care to be escorted back to the ballroom?”

  In something of a breathless panic, Adriana fairly flew toward the stairs, thankful no one but Colton was in the hall to take note of her rapid flight or her flaming cheeks. Over the balustrade, she noticed his face had become a rigid mask as he sought to suppress the manly instincts goading him. Like some sleek, powerful panther prowling the narrow limits of his cage, he paced the shadowed confines of the corridor, grinding the clenched fist of one hand into the palm of the other.

  Upon reaching the landing, Adriana couldn’t resist a last glance back at the handsome marquess. He had paused to watch her ascent, and beneath the consuming heat of his eyes, she felt thoroughly divested of her garments as those gray orbs ranged slowly upward.

  The lady’s elevation allowed Colton a view of trim ankles clad in dark silk stockings. From there, his lusting gaze ranged upward with equal admiration. Having stored within his memory every detail of those long, shapely legs bereft of clothing, he could envision the lush, dainty place where they joined and the smooth, creamy hips bejeweled by nothing more than a tiny navel. Her slender waist dipped inward smoothly from her hips, and from there his mental eye roamed upward to well-rounded orbs adorned with nipples as soft and delicate as blushing pink rose petals. His gaze lifted to her gracefully wide shoulders and higher still, until at last his smoldering gray eyes met her worried gaze.

  “Hurry,” he silently mouthed, finding it hard to drag his mind free of the tantalizing image of her standing in nothing more than her own fine, unfettered, womanly raiment.

  Responding with a jerky nod, Adriana lifted her hem and hastened toward her bedchamber. Upon entering its spacious privacy, she swung the portal closed behind her and then leaned back against it, totally shaken and thoroughly amazed by what she was experiencing. Her knees felt too weak and shaky to carry her across her chambers. Yet infinitely more disquieting was the strangely pleasurable throbbing at the core of her womanly being.

  It had begun innocently enough shortly after a group of twenty or so matrons of various sizes, shapes, and ages had rushed giggling through the ballroom door, promptly meeting a barrier of musicians and dancing couples who, in a quest to escape outdoors for a bit of fresh air, had converged on the opposite side. At the time, Adriana had wondered what chicanery the older women had been about and could only believe some new, titillating gossip had come to their attention and they were eager to spread it. They had proven redoubtable in their zeal to forge through the nearly impregnable throng that had been halted at the doors. The two opposing bodies pressed forward, the musicians and guests on one side and the matrons on the other, each group eagerly striving to slip past while unwittingly confining in a compact knot everyone who had been caught between.

  Having found herself trapped in the crush of people, Adriana had felt her heart racing nearly out of control as she struggled desperately to cope with a fearful dread of severe confinement. Colton’s long, muscular torso had proven formidable in its steely hardness, and in rising panic, she had sought to free herself until she had heard him mutter a curse. Trembling uncontrollably and on the verge of bursting into tears, she had tried to placate his anger by apologizing and admitting her own horror of being crushed.

  “I’m sorry, Colton, truly I am, but I can’t seem to catch my breath, and I fear I’m going to panic!”

  At the time, Colton had had cause to recall an incident, which had happened a year or so before his departure from home. Adriana had come to Randwulf Manor to spend the night with his sister, and after dinner the two had set into playing hide-and-seek. As diligently as Samantha had searched, she had failed to discover the younger one’s hiding place and ran to look for her in another wing. Hearing screaming sobs moments later, Colton followed them to the guest room across the hall, where he discovered that Adriana had become trapped in a small chest after the latch had fallen shut behind her. In releasing her, Colton had found himself almost strangled by her fierce embrace as she shivered and wept. Thereinafter, she had been absolutely terrified of being enclosed in tight places or rigidly confined by some constricting force.

  Pressed in from all sides in the ballroom, she had been nearly beside herself. Understanding her anxieties, he had settled his lips into her coiffure and, in a hushed, harried whisper, attempted to soothe her fears. “Please, dearest, just calm down. I’m not angry with you but at myself for having my mind too much on other things. Just be confident that we’ll be out of this soon enough, and then you’ll be free, but for pity’s sake, Adriana, please keep still until we do. What you’re doing to me is giving me cause to panic . . . for fear I’ll embarrass us both once we’re out of this. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, just remember what you saw in the bathing chamber.”

  For added emphasis, he had nudged his loins against her, causing her eyes to widen as he made her crushingly aware of his arousal. He had made no excuses for deliberately shocking her, merely peered down into her widening eyes as the dawning took effect.

  Once the knot of people loosened enough to allow them to slip free, he had refused to let her fly lest he draw shocked stares from guests. Not having known what else to do, Adriana had stayed close in front of him, allowing her skirts to shield him from prying eyes as she led the way into the hall. She had thought they were safe then until a plump, matronly straggler scurried across their path in her eagerness to join her compatriots, forcing the brunette to an abrupt halt and, in turn, causing Colton to collide into the back of Adriana. The sharp gasp that had been snatched from her had closely emulated his. Had she sat upon a hot brand, she could not have jerked her hips forward any faster from the manly firmness she had felt against her buttocks.

  Adriana heaved a sigh over her inability to cool her thoughts or her body. After doffing her gown, she draped it over a chaise and made her way into the bathing chamber. There, she wet a cloth, wrung it out, and laid it over the back of her neck. Her whole body was in desperate need of whatever cooling benefits the dampened linen could provide. Never in her life had she felt such burning heat in her cheeks or such quickening fires in the depths of her being as she had in that moment wherein Colton had nudged his hips deliberately against her. Why she hadn’t been outraged by his audacity was a mystery beyond her immediate comprehension. But then, even in her adult years, she had never been able to escape the inexplicable feeling of belonging to him.

  Adriana heard her bedchamber door open and then close rather gently. Certain that Maud had come to lend her assistance, she felt a surge of relief. The woman could knead her shoulders and relax her as no one else could, at times leaving her feeling as limp as a rag doll, all cozy and calm and ready to face another challenge. . . . Except Adriana didn’t think she wanted her reserve tested by another delicious onslaught similar to that which she had recently experienced. Once was quite enough for one evening . . . at least, until a marriage bound her to the man. Otherwise she couldn’t predict what would happen.

  “Maud, you’re such a dear for coming to my rescue the very moment I needed you most,” she warbled. “If you’d kindly massage my neck with scented rosewater, I’ll be able to return downstairs in fine form. No one is as gifted at soothing frayed nerves as you are.”

  Footfalls were muffled by the oriental rug cushioning the floor of her bedchamber, yet Adriana had been ensconced in the same rooms for most of her life, and she knew from the odd shadow cast onto the bathroom floor by the lamp burning near her bed th
at something definitely wasn’t the way it should be. There was no evidence of a frilly cap adorning a rather large, frizzy head. Instead the shadow evidenced a fairly small head with locks closely clipped. . . .

  A startled gasp escaped Adriana as she recognized the strangely distorted silhouette. Her chemise was a delicate combination of lace and satin, hardly worthy as a suit of armor. Its clinging tenacity caused her to snatch a towel over her bosom before she grabbed a bottle of essence. As the intruder stepped through the bathing chamber door, she whirled to face him.

  “Get out of here, Roger, before I scream!”

  The apprentice shrugged casually, unconcerned by her dictates. “I can’t do that, Adriana. I need you . . . I want you . . . I must have you. No other woman will suffice.”

  “You blackguard!” Incensed, she threw the cut-crystal bottle at him, opening thin gashes along his cheek and earlobe.

  Stumbling backward in retreat, Adriana thrust her arm out to indicate the path he should take to remove himself forthwith from her room. “Get out of here, Roger. Now! Or you will have to answer to my father. So help me, if you dare touch me, you’ll never leave this room alive.”

  Wiping away the blood trickling down his cheek, he advanced with purposeful strides as his eyes perused the lustrous fullness visible above the towel. “Your threats are useless, Adriana. I’m going to have you, just as I promised myself months ago! I’ll be long gone before your father comes up here, but if you think I’m afraid of him, I’m sorry to disappoint you. He’s an old man, after all.”

  Adriana opened her mouth to scream, but immediately Roger leapt forward and clamped a hand across her lower face to stifle her outcry. His efforts enraged Adriana. She was incensed, determined, and strong. If she could control a stallion that most men feared, chief among them the apprentice, she vowed to give the fool a fight he’d long remember. Then he would see what her father would do to him.