Chapter 6

Six

T hunder rolled, and lightning split the sky as rain burst from the clouds that had gathered overhead.

Seth glanced around the landscape, his gaze falling on thatches of trees and wide-open fields scattered among the hills and cliffs.

Bloody hell, he should have turned them back the minute he noticed the dark clouds moving in.

He looked to Lady Constantine and was shocked to see her grinning with her head tipped back as rain pelted her face. Why anything she did should surprise him was beyond him, for the lady had already proven herself most unusual. He believed her tendency to be unique was the very reason she'd captured his interest to begin with.

Another crack of thunder had him searching for shelter. They could not stay out in this weather, regardless of how much Lady Constantine seemed to enjoy it. Luckily for both of them, he was familiar with the area and knew just where to hunker down.

"There is a cave beyond that rise." He pointed toward the horizon.

Lady Constantine nodded, then spurred her horse into a gallop. Seth made haste in catching her, then rode beside her until they reached the rise. Once there, he rode ahead guiding her to the cave.

As boys, he and Charles had used the cave as a hideout. They spent many an hour here pretending to be thief-takers or pirates. Once they matured, they spent their time drinking spirits and talking about women.

It had been a sanctuary for them. The one place they could go without anyone censoring or chastising them.

For Seth, it had always been an escape, and he wondered if Charles still visited the spot as he swung from his saddle then raced to help Lady Constantine.

He reached out, took her by the waist, then swung her down from the horse. "This way," he said, taking her hand and leading her into the cave.

She laughed and smiled as she trudged along beside him and damned if he didn't see her dart her tongue out and taste the rain too. When they burst into the cave, she turned to him. "I love the rain," she said, her eyes dancing.

"It's dangerous," he replied, then shook his head.

She, too, shook her head. "It is majestic and awe-inspiring," she argued.

"Only until lightning strikes you or you catch your death from the chill," he retorted.

"Nonsense. When it's your time, there is no escaping death, lightning, or not." She moved to the cave's opening and stared out at the raging storm.

He sensed a change in her demeanor as her shoulders sagged, and her voice took on a shaky edge.

Was he to blame?

Seth moved to stand behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I am sorry if I said something that offended."

"Not at all," she said, but when he stepped up beside her, and their gazes met, he saw a sadness in the golden depths. "What are you thinking about?" He asked, his heart-tugging at the sadness in her eyes.

He had a sudden and uncomfortable realization that her answer meant a great deal to him. She meant a great deal to him.

"My mother. Whenever I think of death, I think of her." Constantine turned her attention back to the rain-drenched land beyond the cave.

Seth wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close as a shiver racked her slender body. "How long ago did your mother pass?"

"I was just a girl. She's been gone most of my life." Constantine released an audible sigh. "It's silly that it should bother me after so much time."

"Not at all, Lady Constantine," he searched her gaze. "One never gets over the loss of a parent." Seth rubbed his hand upand down her arm, warming the gooseflesh that formed there.

"How do you know?" She asked, her golden eyes searching his face as though she looked for clues.

"Both of my parents are deceased."

She bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry."

"We were not close, but their loss still stings. I like to think the rift between us would have healed if they hadn't met their end so soon."

Lightning flash followed by a loud crack of thunder, and she snuggled closer. Heat trailed through him at her nearness.

"I am sure they loved you all the same."

He gave her a gentle squeeze, then teased, "Look at you comforting me when you're the one who's sad." He chuckled, then delighted in the slight grin she shot him.

"Lord Gulliver."

"Hum?"

"How old were you…when they died?"

"Twenty, but I hadn't seen them in over a year. That is my one regret, you know. That I never had the chance to make amends."

She glanced up at him as the rain gained intensity. "Make amends for what?"

"I harbored a great deal of resentment toward my parents. Father was always too busy for me, or so it seemed, and Mother had no interest in children. I spent most of my years being shoved off on relatives or stashed away in boarding school. That is how the Duke and I came to be such close friends. One year when my family failed to send for me during the holidays, Charles brought me home with him to Huntington Park."

"They left you for Christmas?" her eyes widened as she asked.

Seth shook his head. "They were forever abandoning me."

"That is terrible. I'm sorry." She said, placing her hand on his chest. "No child should ever be ignored."

"I only wonder if time would have changed things. If I had returned home as an adult and proven myself worthy, might they have loved me? Did they have reasons for their actions? Or inactions,as it were?" He shook his head and exhaled a breath. "I shall never know, but I fear I will always wonder."

"Where did you go?" She reached her hand out, catching fat drops of water and letting them pool in her palm. "After school, I mean?"

"I took the grand tour, then set up a bachelor's residence in London. When I wasn't there, I was here with the Duke." He pivoted and strode further into the cave, then held his arms out and turned in a slow circle indicating their surroundings. "This is where we spent much of our childhoods."

She watched him, a bemused expression on her lovely face. "And what do two boys do to entertain themselves in a damp cave?"

"We pretended to be pirates or thief-takers. This is where we hid our treasure or locked away the vagabonds we captured."

He closed his eyes. The image of him and Charles running through the cave, clutching sticks they'd carved to resemble cutlasses and shouting ‘Aye' and ‘stop the scoundrel' playing through his memory.

Constantine's laughter pulled him from the memory, and he smiled at her. "How did you entertain yourself as a girl?" Seth asked.

"I explored the hills, valleys, and lakes of Cumbria. Danced in the rain and chased wildlife." She wrapped her arms around her midsection, hugging herself. "Sometimes I snuck below stairs and helped the maids and cook. Other times, I played in creeks or picked flowers."

"I bet you were a regular hoyden." He moved across the cave with long strides until he stood before her. "The sort thatwas always into mischief."

She laughed, her eyes lighting for the first time since they'd entered the cave and his heart delighted in it. He wanted to be the one who always made her smile.

Seth could not fight the impulse to kiss her. Much to his delight, her arms came around his shoulders and neck the moment their lips touched. He cupped the back of her neck, angling her head as his mouth worked over hers.

An odd sense of rightness swept through him. She was special. He couldn't say why, but he knew it to be true as he deepened the kiss.

Her eyes fluttered open as he ended the kiss, and she pulled away, pointing toward the mouth of the cave. "Look. The sun is shining."

He turned to see it, and a feeling of serenity overtook him.

She added, "And there is a rainbow. It's a good omen, you know."

He smiled as he considered her words. Perhaps she was correct.

Maybe he'd found someone to love him.

Someone he could love.

Seth shook away the thoughts. He knew better than to buy into such romantic notions. Love existed, of that he was certain, but it did not happen like this. Not so fast, and not with otherworldly blessings.

He pressed his lips together in a tight line. Seth liked her a great deal, he'd not deny the fact. He lusted for heras well. But neither equaled love.

He nodded toward the horse's. "We should return to the house."