Chapter Four

CHAPTER FOUR

D amn , she was even prettier up close. Her brown eyes weren’t brown at all, more like the color of brandy—a deep, rich amber. Her skin was like velvety cream. But it was that mouth that made him catch his breath. Full lips that curved up into a gorgeous smile.

“ You can put me down, now, Lord Scarborough .”

“ No , I can’t. Not until you answer a few questions.”

“ Put me down and I’ll answer them.”

“ No . Because you’ve twisted your ankle.”

“ How do you know?” Her eyes rounded with surprise.

“ Because I have eyes.” Didn’t she feel her ankle twisting? “ Are you too stubborn to admit it?” She may be stubborn, but she fits my hands so perfectly .

“ Oh ! My ankle? I … I hadn’t realized I’d injured it.”

“ How could you not realize you injured your ankle?”

“ Because of you. You’ve flustered me with those piercing blue eyes and…and you’re so tall and…and you have that brown wavy hair and those big hands…and…and why are you still holding me?” She sounded indignant.

“ I’m not going to put you down. I’m going to put you on your horse. We’re going to my manor house, which is closer than Latham’s .

“ Why ?”

“ Good Lord , woman. There’s a storm on the way.”

She nodded.

“ I suppose you not only didn’t notice you hurt your ankle, but you also didn’t notice the snow that’s falling around us?”

She blinked those big, brandy-colored eyes and looked up at the sky. “ Hmm …it’s just a little snow.” She beamed at him again.

He gaped at her. Not only is she stubborn, but she’s also adorable. Double damn! “ What are you doing with that fox?” Rowan demanded, trying to steer the conversation back to neutral territory. Her lashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. She was nervous. He’d learned to read faces and knew when people were trying to hide something. Strangely , on her, it only made her more appealing. He felt a protective instinct kick in. A need to see that she came to no harm.

Rowan had been surprised to see the lovely brunette ride toward the groundskeeper’s cottage that morning and decided to follow her, keeping a sufficient distance from her. He was curious about what she was about. Besides , it had begun to snow when he’d set out and he was concerned about her welfare. She hadn’t appeared at dinner last night. In fact, he hadn’t seen her since that brief glimpse he’d had of her from his bedroom window yesterday morning.

Even though he was no longer an active agent for the Crown , his spying skills, honed over many years, had kicked in. Fox hunting wasn’t an activity he enjoyed. It sickened him to think about the pack of dogs attacking the small fox. But that was beside the point. This was a fox hunt on Latham’s property.

He’d decided to take part when he spotted her in the stable in her fetching crimson riding habit, climbing onto a horse, assuming she’d intended to ride in the hunt.

But when he saw her ride off along the path that circled the pond, he’d followed her, speculating on what her true motivation was. Was she meeting someone? A romantic assignation, perhaps? She was a widow after all. Widows enjoyed more freedom of movement in Society . Was that what she was doing? Pushing the boundaries of Society’s norms? Given the unfortunate ton gossip about her, perhaps she was rebelling against the reputation that Society had saddled her with. He had to admit that he’d found her intriguing from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her. She looked young, sweet, and innocent, and yet here she was sneaking out at dawn.

And then he’d realized the truth as he’d watched her open the fox’s cage and cuddle the shivering animal before tucking it into her tapestry bag, whispering endearments to the small animal all the while.

“ I’m waiting,” he added, knowing full well what she was about. The wind had picked up and was whipping the loose curls around her face. He had an urge to tuck a curl or two behind her ear.

“ Are you accusing me of something, my lord?” she asked, straightening her shoulders while he still held her.

Ah , the technique of deflection. His lips twitched as he watched her transform from a fluttering butterfly to an indignant kitten. “ Not yet. But let me tell you exactly what I saw. And what I saw was you stealing that fox from its holding pen and placing it in the satchel that you have hidden beneath your riding cape.”

“ How dare you, sir!”

He threw his head back and laughed. “ How dare I ? You’re the one who’s trying to steal that fox, Lady Tenet .”

“ And by the way, how do you know my name, my lord?” she huffed, pulling her cape closer.

“ I make it a point to know the identity of everyone I encounter.”

“ Well , that sounds extremely nosy,” she said, lifting her fine dark brows.

Damn . Even her brows were appealingly expressive.

“ Tell me, why are you stealing that fox?”

“ What fox?” As if on cue, the fox in question began to wiggle in the bag.”

“ That fox,” he said pointing his chin at the movement beneath her cloak. The snow was falling more heavily now, and the gusting wind whipped her cape close to her frame, outlining every curve of her body. He was tempted to grasp her by that cloak and pull her against his chest. To prove her lie, of course. But that would be too forward. Perhaps he could make her think that he intended to do just that.

“ I can see it squirming under your cloak, Lady Tenet .”

“ Very well,” she sputtered, holding her hand up. “ I couldn’t bear to think of this little fox being hunted down and tortured to death for some silly sport. I felt compelled to stop it. And I’m worried about the poor creature. I think it’s injured. It was whimpering when I arrived.”

“ Finally , the truth.” Rowan stared at her for a moment. “ What do you think would happen when they began the fox hunt? Latham isn’t going to be happy about this.” Rowan thought Latham would find it hilarious. But the rest of the guests might feel otherwise. In any case, her reputation would suffer. For reasons he couldn’t quite understand, he didn’t want her to be criticized for her actions. Rowan stared at her for a moment.

“ I didn’t think,” she said. “ All I wanted to do was save the fox.”

Was she really that na?ve? Society wasn’t finished with her. They chewed people up until there was nothing left before they spit them out and left them alone. If word got out that she had stolen a fox from the hunt, that could fire up more problems. He blew out a breath. “ You mentioned that the fox seemed ill. Did you happen to see if the fox might have been pregnant?”

“ I didn’t have time to thoroughly examine it. I - I didn’t even check to see its sex.” A shy smile appeared on her face as her cheeks flushed a rosy pink.

He’d never been attracted to innocents, but Lady Lucy was having a strange effect on him.

Another horn sounded far off in the distance, along with the barking hounds, making her fidget.

“ I think they’ll be missing their fox,” she said. She raised her chin and fixed her eyes on him. “ You need to decide what you’re going to do.”

He glanced at her fingers drumming on her cloak. Was she tapping on the valise in frustration with him ?

“ Decide ?” he asked incredulously.

“ About the fox. What do you plan to tell Lord Latham ? Really ! I cannot stay here all day. This horse gets nervous around fox hunts.”

She had a point. And besides, what would he say? How would he tell his friends that he followed the girl and watched her steal the fox? His friends would never let him forget it. They’d rib him about having some secret romantic reason for doing so.

“ Are you going to report me?” she asked softly, looking up at him through the thick fringe of her dark lashes. In another woman, the action would have been coy, but Lady Tenet was quite the opposite. She was earnest and determined and she was trying to blink back tears as she stood up to him. He quite admired that.

“ What would you do in my place?” he asked, his voice equally as soft.

She swallowed. “ I would think of the greater good. I would allow this incident to go unreported, but I would encourage the person to tell Lord and Lady Latham the truth.”

His admiration for her went up another notch. He took another step forward. “ That is a good answer, Lady Tenet .”

“ Thank you,” she breathed.

“ You’re welcome.” He nodded. “ But I must say your transgression is moot, judging from the escalation of this storm.”

She looked around her, as though just realizing how extreme the weather had turned.

“ Perhaps the snow will make them call off the hunt,” Lucy said, mostly to herself.

“ I doubt it. Hunts can take anywhere from twenty minutes to hours, depending on how quickly they corner the fox.” He noticed her stricken face. “ I’m sorry. There’s no other way to put it.”

She nodded, holding the fox tighter beneath her cape. “ I suppose you’re right. I just don’t understand how people consider it a sport. It’s just… I find the whole thing barbaric and cruel,” she said.

As if in answer, a slight whimper emerged from the satchel.

“ I agree, but at present, we have a more pressing problem,” he said. “ Given the ferocity of this storm, may I suggest that we travel to my manor? As I said earlier, it’s closer than Latham’s .”

“ What about the groundskeeper’s shed?” She jolted as the window shutters smashed against the wood.

“ This is not a proper cottage. It’s used mainly to store equipment. We have just enough time to ride to my estate before the snow makes it impossible for us to travel.”

“ But …but couldn’t we just go back…?”

“ Did you not hear what I just said?” he growled. She may have gumption, but she was stubborn as could be .

“ Of course, I heard you. But I don’t know you.” She cast a wary eye in his direction, her teeth chattering. “ You think because I’m a widow…”

“ No ,” he said, almost shouting it. He did know she was a widow, but he wasn’t trying to seduce her. He realized he wanted to help her. “ You have nothing to fear from me,” he said. “ I give you my word.” He wanted to shake her as she continued to hesitate. “ Madam , if we do not leave now, that fox will most likely freeze to death, and that might very well be our fate as well. Do you understand me?”

She nodded, watching him with wide eyes.

“ Good .”

He turned and, ignoring her indignant gasp, lifted her onto her horse. Then he strode to the cage and opened the door, leaving it ajar, that way, the hunting party would assume the fox had managed to escape.

Climbing back on his horse, he said, “ Follow me.”

They traveled in silence for an extended period, moving at a gentle canter along a path that was becoming blanketed by snow. The storm displayed no signs of slowing down. If anything, the pace of the falling snow had increased. And the relentless wind continued to pound at them as they rode. The snow was wet and heavy, signs that it could be with them for a while. It was swirling and falling so hard and fast they could barely see beyond a few feet ahead.

“ My estate is just up ahead on the other side of that hill,” he shouted over the wind.

She nodded; her teeth were chattering, and she was shivering. He moved closer to her to try to protect her from the worst of the gale. He should have placed her in front of him on his horse, but it would have slowed down their progress.

As he rode down the other side of the hill, he spotted the gate and brick wall of his property up ahead. The road that led to the manor was flanked by a row of trees on each side. There was so much snow that he could no longer even see the road.

He gestured to her to follow him to the stables. Leaping off his horse, he reached for Lucy and lifted her to the ground.

“ Th -th-thank y-y-you,” Lucy said through chattering teeth. She clutched the satchel tighter. “ W -w-would you mind if we bring the fox into the house?”

He gave her a distracted nod as he guided the horses into separate stalls in the stable. While he hadn’t planned to bring the fox into the manor, he couldn’t relegate the poor animal to the stable. He noticed there were fresh oats in the barn and a fresh bale of hay, which was a boon for the horses. He’d instructed his man of business to hire a groundskeeper for the estate, but that was only to keep an eye on things until he could get there. The older man was supposed to have started a few weeks ago. He would have hired a few more servants had he known he would be going there today. But he hadn’t anticipated Lucy …or the fox.

“ This will only be my second visit here. I had planned to visit before leaving Sussex —but only after the party.”

“ I can see the house beneath the overgrowth of ivy.” She sounded excited. “ It’s lovely. It looks like pink brick and a white stone. And the rose bushes beneath it were probably beautiful at one time—and could be again. Why would it be abandoned?”

“ I haven’t determined the exact reason. It may have to do with the death of my great-uncle’s wife. Shortly after she died in childbirth, he became disinterested in his properties and moved to the London townhouse—the only property that’s been maintained. Nothing else was given much attention.”

“ That’s so sad,” she said. “ It’s too bad you don’t know more about your great-uncle and great-aunt. It sounds like such a lovely love story.”

Stubborn and soft-hearted, this one . “ I don’t know about it being a love story,” he said gruffly. “ Come , I’ll take you into the house so you can warm up. I’ll help you find something to use for bedding for the fox. Then , I’ll return to the stable and take care of the horses. I need to make sure they have fresh water, oats, and plenty of hay.”

“ But it’s still morning…” she started.

“ True . But you have a sick fox. And ,” Rowan motioned towards the door of the stable. “ It’s still snowing, and we need to get you out of this storm so I can take care of your ankle. Judging from the darkness of those clouds, I expect our visit will be longer than we anticipated.”

“ Well ! If we are going to stay here, the horses aren’t the only ones who will need water. I see a bucket I can use to gather snow,” Lucy said.

He shook his head. “ No . I’ll bring the snow in after we get the fire started,” Rowan said with a shake of his head. He offered her his arm. Their eyes met, and he could see the hesitancy in her eyes as she worried her lower lip. It was distracting, to say the least. She took a step forward, and she slipped, crying out in alarm. She would have fallen had he not swept her up into his arms.

“ I’ve got you,” he whispered as she grasped his coat.

“ Thank you. That’s twice you’ve saved me from a terrible fall. Who knew I’d meet a knight in shining armor today?” she whispered.

Her eyes gazed at him with wide-eyed wonder, her full lips parted, with a breathy sigh… All he had to do was lean down a few inches and claim those lips in a searing kiss. He knew she’d welcome it. He always knew when a woman wanted to be kissed. And he certainly wanted to kiss her… A sudden gust of wind caused one of the stall doors to slam. “ I’ll carry you inside before you catch a chill,” he said, clearing his throat. His primary concern should be getting her warm, setting her ankle, and making sure the animals were tended to. Everything else would have to wait.