Twelve

Gracefully mimicking the flamboyance of an actress on a stage, Adriana swept a slender hand before her as she sank into a deep curtsey. To the continuing delight of their audience, Colton followed her lead with an ostentatious bow, dissolving onlookers into hearty laughter and vigorous clapping. The din proved too much for Adriana to bear. In spite of her grin, she cringed and covered her ears in an attempt to spare herself the pain of the thunderous applause.

Not every guest was that appreciative of the ovation the couple was receiving. When Roger returned to the ballroom and realized that Adriana had been claimed by Lord Randwulf, he had forged through the guests, shouldering people rudely aside as he sought to gain an unobstructed view of the couple. Once the music had ended, he had felt his vitals twist with acrimony as he became privy to whispered comments that eagerly espoused the belief that Lord Randwulf and Lady Adriana had been made for each other simply because the couple looked positively sublime together. Over his shoulder, he had cast angry glowers toward the elderly biddies responsible for offering those galling observations, evoking highly offended gasps and derogatory comments on the crudity of themiller's son before the lot of them had stalked off in haughty irritation with him.

Similar praises were being heaped upon the couple by acquaintances and family members, who had gathered at the opposite end of the spacious ballroom, very near the place where Felicity and Stuart were also observing the gracious responses of the lady and the marquess. It was a comment Jaclyn made to her father that stripped away Felicity's hopes of winning the handsome man.

"You know, Papa, as much as Colton balked when Lord Sedgwick first proposed his betrothal to Adriana, he certainly doesn't appear to be opposed to it now. In fact, he can't seem to take his eyes off my sister. But then, to find another equally as beautiful as she, he'd have to travel the world twice around."

Gyles chortled. "She is a pretty thing, isn't she? But then, I have two other daughters who are just as winsome."

Jaclyn patted her sire's arm affectionately. "As much as Melora may object to the idea, Papa, I've become convinced after my lengthy absence from home that in the area of looks, Adriana has far surpassed the two of us. With her dark hair, large eyes, and height, she's far more elegant. If I may be permitted to boast about my own sister, I'd even be wont to say that she has become a rare beauty."

Felicity mentally sneered at the Suttons' eagerness to laud one of their own, casually disregarding the fact that her own father had frequently been guilty of that offense. Their compliments, however, didn't bother her nearly as much as the news that there was already a betrothal in existence between Lord Colton and Lady Adriana. A dark, impenetrable gloom descended forthwith upon her expectations. As much as she had yearned to win Colton Wyndham for herself, that just didn't seem feasible now with the couple committed to each other. Usually a death of one or the other or a serious indiscretion on the part of the female were the only things that terminated agreements of that sort. She couldn't expect Lady Adriana to be so foolish as to disgrace herself in the latter fashion, and as much as Felicity was led to contemplate what advantages therewould be if Ulysses threw his mistress and broke her lovely neck the next time she urged him over one of those steep hurdles she enjoyed taking, it seemed doubtful that such an event would occur so fortuitously in her own favor.

So, how in the world would she ever be able to find another aristocrat to marry? She didn't have the lineage to circulate in the same lofty spheres where they could be found. Although the idea of being a marchioness had temporarily spoiled her to less distinguished titles, she'd now be willing to take what she could get. At the moment, even the title of viscount seemed appealing. Still, she couldn't imagine there'd be that many aristocrats vying for her hand, if any. She was merely an accountant's daughter, and of late, her father had been too involved in trying to straighten out his own difficulties with her mother and grandfather to be of any help directing her. All the predictions he had made in his zeal to see her married to a member of the aristocracy were being unequivocally undermined by a simple betrothal that had obviously been in place well before she had ever come into the area.

"You'd think Lady Adriana had a hook through Lord Colton's nose the way he seems to be doting on her." Indicating the couple with a toss of her blond head, Felicity hoped to draw a comparable comment from her companion, but in the lengthy silence that followed her remark, she looked aside and found Stuart's eyes almost hungrily devouring the dark-haired woman. Unable to suppress her deepening disappointment, she questioned with wounded pride, "You, too?"

Stuart's brows lifted in surprise as he realized she had been addressing him. "Your pardon, Felicity. Did you say something?"

"I did,"she replied dejectedly, "but ‘tis obvious you have another woman on your mind. You were staring so hard at Lady Adriana just now that I have to wonder why you're standing here with me when you could just as well have bestowed all your attention on her."

Stuart lifted a querying brow, rather amazed at the petulanceof the young woman. "I didn't realize I was staring at her so intently."

"Well, you were, and making me feel like an ugly toad in the process," she muttered. "If you're so interested in Lady Adriana, why don't you go over and ask her to dance? You needn't feel constrained to stay here with me just because your brother and sister-in-law brought us here together. I'm sure Lady Adriana would be delighted to know she had captured your attention along with the rest of the other gentlemen here."

"Your pardon, Miss Felicity, but I believe Lord Colton and Lady Adriana are very close to being betrothed, if not that very thing," Stuart murmured.

Felicity shot him a mutinous glance. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have even bothered dancing with me."

Stuart refrained from denying the young woman's brusque assertion. Anything he'd offer in an effort to make amends would likely be refuted, and with good cause. He had been looking at Adriana with all the yearning he had recently been feeling.

Had Colton lent even a passing consideration to what the couple were discussing, he wouldn't have been at all surprised, but he had no wish to devote any portion of his consideration to others at the moment, not when he was in the company of the woman who had relentlessly been haunting his dreams since his return home. Considering the fact that his father had selected the lady for him ten and six years ago was the most amazing thing about it all. How could his parent have been so insightful to have envisioned Adriana in her prime and to know that she would bestir his son's heart as perhaps no other would? Had it all been coincidence, or had his father really been so insightful?

Settling a hand on the far side of Adriana's slender waist, Colton pulled her close against his side with the hope that his boldness would be enough to keep other suitors at bay until the ball was over. The difficulty would come later when he'd have to forget the way she had felt in his arms and the curiously provocative scent of roses that had filled his head.

Adriana could hardly ignore the familiarity Colton exhibited toward her. Curiously she peered up at him, drawing his smiling regard.

"Yes, my sweet?"

Adriana wasn't sure she liked coming to the rather unnerving realization that her knees were inclined to wobble whenever such smoothly spoken endearments came from the lips of this man. It certainly didn't help her composure to feel his lean, hard fingers tightening upon her waist as he bent his head near her own to hear her response.

"Did we not agree that we should be discreet at all times lest our parents be encouraged?"

"Did we?" he asked, as if the idea had never entered into his consideration.

Taking into account that Colton Wyndham was no addle-brained nitwit, Adriana had no recourse but to believe he had deliberately dismissed her earlier suggestion. In spite of that probability, she pressed him to do what they had tentatively agreed on. "Do you not think we should? ‘Twould likely prove beneficial."

His wide shoulders lifted indolently. "I'll have to consider such a notion at greater length, my sweet. It may hinder my ability to accurately access the integral worth of our courtship. If Father was so adamant that you'd be good for me, then surely I should delve without reserve into the matter of our relationship even when we're with our parents."

Adriana almost gulped. The powerful volley of sensual persuasiveness that Colton Wyndham was capable of launching against her womanly being could reap devastating results. She hadn't realized until her sister's wedding how susceptible she really was to falling in love with the man. When his eyes had delved to the depths of hers, he had all but turned her heart inside out and nibbled at its tender core. Were he to continue such delectable assaults on her senses, it might well mean the collapse of her resistance and her ultimate doom. She had not yet forgotten his confident declaration about pleasuring her.

Feeling very vulnerable to his charm, she tried to convince him otherwise. "Surely, Colton, you can see the wisdom of sparing our parents the anguish of having their expectations cruelly dashed after three months of contrived enthusiasm on your part."

"Contrived?" Canting his head at a museful angle, Colton debated her use of that particular word and the charge she laid to him. "I don't think I've ever deliberately contrived enthusiasm for a lady in all my life, certainly not one who appeals to me. If they happen not to, I simply dismiss myself from their presence. At the moment, Adriana, I'm looking forward to becoming better acquainted with you in the weeks to come. If you feel a need to warn our parents, perhaps you should advise them not to take too much stock in what they see until the day I actually propose. Considering the circumstances that bind us together for the present time, that seems the simplest solution, one that will not hinder me overmuch."

Adriana's heart sank. Already she could foresee the disaster looming ahead of her in the months to come. What defense had an innocent virgin against a man adeptly skilled in the art of seducing women?

The guests smilingly opened a path for the couple, allowing them to move through their midst. As they did so, old acquaintances greeted Colton with enthusiastic pats on the back, hearty handshakes, or humorous quips spoken from afar by those unable to breech the crowd. The resulting laughter caused Adriana to cringe, requiring her to lean closer to her own friends to hear their whispered comments lauding the handsomeness of the swain at her side.

The enthusiasm evoked from acquaintances and friends did much to reinforce the jeer that snidely twisted the apprentice's lips as the couple approached the door where he had stationed himself. Seeing his hopes dissipating before his very eyes, Roger had decided he'd have to try to halt his lordship's possession of the lady by his own physical endeavors. It didn't matter that the marquess was an experienced soldier, or that he was taller, stronger, and skillfully adept with his fists. Rogerwas desperate. It was either dispense with Colton Wyndham or see his aspirations fade into oblivion.

Here at the central door of the ballroom was where he would begin his efforts to dislodge the retired colonel from the heart of the maid. A strategic placement of a chair and his splayed-leg stance beside it came nigh to forming a barricade for the two. Whether it would prove impenetrable remained to be seen.

Contemplating the hindrance threatening their departure from the room, Colton had to wonder if he'd soon be involved in another altercation with the apprentice. If such a confrontation came about, he promised himself he'd give the lad an even harsher lesson than he had before. Perhaps it would serve the whelp his just due if he beat some truth into that dense brain of his, for Roger did indeed seem slow at grasping the facts. The truth of the matter was that the lady was not his and would never be.

Adriana's steps faltered as she neared the door. She turned slightly to peer up at Colton, but the pressure of the manly hand resting on the small of her back urged her gently forward.

"No need to fear, Adriana," Colton murmured. "If Roger insists on settling this matter with violence, I shall invite him outside. There'll be less chance of our disrupting the festivities out there."

Sneering in contempt as Adriana sought to move around the barrier he had placed to prevent their departure, Roger stepped forward to block her path. "Well, it certainly has become obvious tonight that you don't have the fortitude to declare your independence and have now capitulated to the late Lord Randwulf's plans to marry you off to his son. I thought you were made of sterner stuff, but I realize I was mistaken. I should never have let myself believe there was any hope for me, not when there was a title of marchioness dangling before your fine nose. You make me sorry I ever hoped you'd be different." Turning his lips as if repulsed by what he saw, he swept his gaze down the length of her, yet his heart ached most dreadfully as he feigned disgust, for she was absolutely themost ravishing creature he had ever seen in his life. With her fine, porcelain skin, silkily lashed dark eyes, and softly curving mouth, she put to shame all the painted doxies he had ever sampled in London. "You're just like every female who has ever been born, ambitious for a title and prestige—"

"Excuse me, Mr. Elston," Colton interrupted curtly. "You're making much ado about a matter the lady had no hand in devising. I sought her out for reasons of my own. If you have some claim upon her that restricts her from dancing with anyone but you, I wasn't aware of it. Nor do I know of any constraints that require your permission ere I approach her." Elevating a dark brow, he probed caustically, "Do you have such a claim upon the lady?"

Roger glowered back in sullen resentment, knowing the nobleman was the only one who had any entitlement to the beauty. The contract Lord Sedgwick had laid out for his son had guaranteed him a right no other man could dissolve, yet Roger refused to concede that point, allowing his sulking silence to convey his unyielding objection to what he considered a grave injustice, if to no one but himself.

"I thought not." Bestowing a succinct smile on the younger man, Colton drew Adriana's arm through his with a deliberateness the apprentice could not easily overlook. "I believe the lady has something to say to you, Mr. Elston. If you'll kindly remove yourself to the library, we shall follow."

Adriana lifted her gaze to Colton, prompting him to lower his head near hers. "Perhaps it would be better if I spoke to Roger in private."

Colton shook his head. As desperate as the apprentice was to have her, he wouldn't put it past the man to force her against her will in hopes of bringing about a marriage, though he seriously doubted her father would tolerate such abuse without killing the man. In any case, he had no intention of allowing the apprentice such an opportunity. "That wouldn't be wise, my dear. There's no guarantee that Mr. Elston wouldn't try to harm you."

"Harm her?" Roger repeated incredulously, as if he had neveronce thought of taking the lady by force. "My lord, let me assure you that you're the only one I'd really like to harm!"

The gray eyes chilled as they lifted to meet the blazing green eyes. "You made that apparent the first day we met, sir, but you obviously haven't taken to heart the lesson I gave you then. Would you like to try again? I'd even allow you to throw the first punch. Who knows? Perhaps you'd be luckier this time."

Roger twisted his thin lips in a derisive sneer. "As much as I'd enjoy beating you to a pulp, I must decline your invitation."

"Too bad." Colton smiled blandly. "Perhaps we could have settled the matter once and for all, because you do seem foolishly bent on making a nuisance of yourself. However, if you should reconsider, you'll find me with the lady."

The green orbs flared at the nobleman's taunt. Having already received a harsh demonstration of the nobleman's capabilities, Roger didn't care to get into another physical confrontation with the man, since he had not fared well during the first one, but he just couldn't hold his resentment in check and lashed out in derision in another area. "Not everybody likes to bow and scrape before aristocrats. As for myself, I find such a task loathsome."

"Not every aristocrat is as forbearing as Lady Adriana. As for myself," Colton countered acidly, "I have no intention of letting some blustering, wet-behind-the-ears popinjay mar this occasion. I rather suspect Lord Standish wouldn't be as tolerant of your despicable manners as his daughter has been. If you wish to join us, the lady and I will be in the library. Otherwise, Mr. Elston, you may take your leave forthwith."

This time the pale green eyes flashed with fire as the marquess's insults nettled an area that had become most sensitive in recent years, his boyish looks. Yet Roger dared not make much ado over the man's statements, for fear the lady would also come to think of him more as a youth than a man. "What? Have you now assumed authority here that you can bid guests to come or go?"

A crisp twitch of Colton's lip sufficed as a sneer. "Being aclose, intimate friend of the family, I believe I'm well within my right to oust a troublemaker from the premises. And you, sir, have definitely made yourself out to be one."

"You're not lord here," Roger snarled in guttural tones. "You're merely a guest … just as I am, and you have no right to order anyone to leave."

Colton laughed chidingly. "If you'd care for me to summon Lord Standish, I shall do so. Considering your penchant for causing trouble, I have no doubt the result will be the same."

Roger opened his mouth to retort, but the nobleman swept past him, realizing they had aroused the curiosity of a considerable number of guests who were now craning their necks in an effort to see what was taking place at the entrance to the ballroom. Roger gaped after the couple for one long, astounded moment and then, glancing quickly about, noticed that several women were eyeing him furtively as they whispered to each other behind their fans. Beyond them stood men of wealth and lofty circumstance, who were not above scowling in haughty disapproval as they peered down their long noses at him.

The buzz of conjectures making their way around the ballroom soon drew Gyles's attention to the apprentice, the only culprit in sight. Although Roger felt the weight of the elder's questioning perusal, he refused to yield him so much as a glance. Ignored or not, Gyles took matters into his own hands and signaled to the musicians. Once again a lilting melody drifted through the room, and as his guests began to dance, Gyles begged leave from those with whom he had been conversing.

Colton drew Adriana to one of a pair of settees that resided near a diamond-paned oriel in the library. He had no doubt that during the day the location and comfort of the furnishings would prove advantageous for reading. At the moment, however, it was a place where one could easily view the myriad stars twinkling in the night sky.

"Roger won't let my challenge go unanswered, Adriana. I have every confidence that he'll be here forthwith," he statedwith conviction. "And if I know your father, he should be making an appearance fairly soon himself."

"There won't be any serious trouble, will there?" she asked, blaming herself for the way Roger was acting. If she had allowed her father to turn the apprentice away from their door on his first visit, or anytime thereafter, none of this would have been happening.

"Nothing your father and I can't handle," the marquess reassured her. "No need for you to fret."

Colton hadn't been in the Suttons' library since he had left home, and as he began to stroll about the room, old memories, vividly refreshed by the familiar surroundings, came winging back. Countless shelves with books tucked in every available space lined nearly every wall from floor to ceiling and were interspersed with various portraits, landscapes, and framed sketches from bygone eras. The exception and only change he could discern in the library was a large, fairly recent portrait of the four Sutton ladies hanging in a place of honor on the wall behind Lord Gyles's massive desk. The artist had captured Adriana in all her regal beauty standing beside her mother's chair. On the opposite side of their parent were her older sisters, Melora sitting on a bench in front and Jaclyn standing slightly behind her. Although the two pale-haired, blue-eyed women were beautiful in their own right, in his opinion Adriana, with her tall, sublime form, dark tresses, and beautiful eyes, was far more exotic than her sisters.

Colton smiled as he recalled the days of their youth. While growing up, Adriana had been pitied by a goodly number of acquaintances and relatives who hadn't possessed the same keenly perceptive foresight as his father. Distant kin had considered the girl something of a blemish on an otherwise handsome family. Colton had to admit that he hadn't seen much hope for her himself, but he was now deeply obliged that his parent had refused Jaclyn and Melora as a replacement for one whose looks could have easily put to shame so-called goddesses of ancient lore.

Other reasons made him just as grateful for his sire's intuitiveness He now towered over the diminutive pair, but that wasn't the only disadvantage to their size. As a newborn, he had been fairly large, and so might his own offspring be. Of the three, he gave Adriana the best chance of bringing a child of his into the world without suffering undue trauma. It was just another practical reason to consider very carefully and from every aspect the choice his father had made for him so long ago.

Roger stalked into the library, prompting Colton to calmly return to the end of the settee where Adriana had taken a seat. Folding one wrist atop the other behind his back, he faced his adversary in the manner of one carefully biding his time before a battle.

Roger curled his lips in derision beneath the unflinching gray eyes and sardonically cocked a brow as he considered the man's protective stance, but it was Adriana's casual acceptance of her intended's sheltering presence that cruelly wrenched his heart. It was as if she already belonged to the man.

Of a sudden, Roger wondered why he had even come to the library. It had been obvious in the ballroom that the lady was committed to the pact her father and Sedgwick Wyndham had signed years ago. Although Lord Gyles had bound her to the contract before she had been old enough to determine her own mind, the culprit had really been Sedgwick. Had he not been the one who had first conceived of the nuptial agreement and then had persuaded the others of its merits? Lord Standish and Adriana had merely been pawns in his little game.

Still, whatever the intensity of loathing Roger had once felt toward Lord Sedgwick, he was now convinced that his hatred for the son had quadrupled in comparison. He could wish the nobleman no less than the same fatal fate as his sire.

Turning back to the door, he laid a hand upon the knob and pushed the barrier toward the jamb. He had no idea what the next moments would bring; he only knew it would not be the end of it, by any means.

"Lord Standish will likely be joining us," Colton announced, halting the man.

Smirking in derision as he faced the retired colonel, Roger allowed his insult to carry forth without the issuance of a single word. If his adversary needed the elder's support, then obviously the one who could confront the two of them without assistance was the better man, was he not?

Undismayed by the venomous disdain visible in the glowering green eyes, Colton offered the man a bland smile. He had faced the dangers of battle too many times to be overly concerned about the abhorrence of one who, by his own words, had never known what it was to confront an enemy on a well-bloodied battlefield. "Let's just say that Lord Gyles will be an impartial witness should I again be forced to correct your manners, sir."

Roger turned his lips in a caustic sneer at the marquess's unwavering inclination to treat him like an errant youth. That fact nettled his hackles as no other insult came close to doing.

Stalking stiff-legged across the room to the settee where Adriana had ensconced herself, he felt his vitals roil in deepening resentment as Lord Randwulf settled a hand upon the lady's shoulder, as if to reassure her that he wouldn't let any harm come to her. To see his adversary's fingers casually resting upon the creamy bare skin fanned the flames of Roger's resentment and jealousy to an agonizing degree. What other man had been allowed to touch her hand, much less some meager part of her body?

In spite of the time and distance that had once separated the lady and her intended, the two now seemed of one accord, as if Colton Wyndham were already her husband. It was just another reason for the rowelling vexation Roger was now experiencing. Feeling totally stymied by Adriana's willingness to accept the marquess as her future betrothed, he heaped a full measure of scorn upon her. "Let me spare you the trouble of making an announcement that has become all too obvious tonight, my lady. You're going to yield yourself to the late Lord Randwulf's dictates and enter into courtship with his son."

Her dainty chin lifted at his scathing tone. "Perhaps you didindeed hope I would ignore the contract my parents signed, Roger, but that has never been my intent."

A loud clearing of the throat announced the entrance of Lord Standish, who peered at his daughter to affirm her safety. "Everything all right here?"

"Not altogether, Papa," Adriana replied in a voice that was noticeably strained. Not since Colton's return had she felt so much tension. "I was just about to explain to Roger that I must ask him not to visit Wakefield Manor again after tonight or to follow me about to other places."

Roger twisted his lips in sardonic revulsion. "You must pardon me for ever thinking you had a mind of your own, my lady. Why, you're just as spineless as all the other women I've ever known."

A prickling along her nape and a stirring of her temper reaffirmed within Adriana's mind that she was not as cowardly or weak-willed as Roger suggested. He had definitely been successful in raising her hackles. "Roger, I'm afraid as far back as a year ago you erred in thinking that we could be anything more than casual acquaintances. ‘Twas apparent from the very beginning that you wanted something more from me, something I never had any intention of offering you. At the very best, you were nothing more than a distant friend, someone who took it upon himself to follow me about and even intruded when he had not been invited. I should've told you months ago that your efforts to see me would avail you nothing. You've known for some time now that I've been pledged to another from my youth, and yet you continued to visit me as if that would never come to fruition. I tell you now that nothing you could've said or done would've ever changed that."

Roger glared back at her through gathering tears. "You couldn't even tell me! You let me go on hoping like some poor, blind fool!"

Adriana was repulsed by his whining complaint. "I never once led you to believe that it could be otherwise, Roger. I had obligations to my family … and to others. I tried to tell youearlier tonight that I couldn't see you again because your jealousy and aspirations had made it impossible for us to continue on as friends, but you refused to listen, so it's down to this…."

"Tonight!" he barked. "You'd have been kinder had you told me a year ago, before I ever reasoned in my heart that I would do anything to have you! Why did you let me go on believing there was some hope?"

"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." Theglower 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 hecould 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 Gyles'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 severeconfinement. 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 shockingher, 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 marriagebound 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 that 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 uphere, 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.

Doubling a small fist, Adriana thrust it upward with all her might, hitting Roger's bony chin, rattling his teeth and knocking his head back hard against the wall. In the next instant, her knee came up and hit him hard in the groin, something interesting she had learned about men from her first encounter with Colton after his return home. It caused even more of a reaction from Roger who nearly gagged as he doubled over in pain. In spite of his agony, he reached out a hand and, seizing her arm, hauled her forward against the wall with such brutal force that she was sent reeling from it in a dazed stupor.

A short distance down the hall, Maud paused to listen, somewhat bemused by the dull thuds she was hearing. Just a few minutes ago, cautious footsteps had seemed to draw near her mistress's bedchamber. Now it seemed as if a scuffling noise came from its spacious confines.

Shaking her head, Maud rejected the notion. In such an old house, she couldn't be sure what she was hearing came from human sources. Her mother had often warned her as a child to be wary of strange bumps, groans, and ghostly shapes flitting through old houses.

Still, the sounds had done much to evoke her curiosity. Many guests were in the house, and there was always a possibility that some of them had gotten lost. It was the servants' duty to direct them toward the right area. Cautiously she advanced down the hall, fervently hoping it was a human making the noises instead of something eerie.

"M'liedy? Is ‘at yu?" she called, and grew troubled when she received no answer. Settling her mind forthwith on one livingand breathing culprit, she heaved an annoyed sigh and bustled down the hall with more vigor, laying the fault for the furtive scampering on a new maid in the household. Thus far, the chit had seemed far more inquisitive than industrious, having already been caught preening before her reflection while holding one of Lady Adriana's best gowns in front of herself. Henrietta Reeves had warned the chit not to go rifling through her ladyship's possessions ever again. Another infraction would likely see the girl packing her bags.

"Where be yu, Clarice? I know yu're up ta no good ‘gain. Yu'd best come out now, or I'll be tellin' Miss Reeves on yu."

"Yu callin' me?" a voice from the opposite end of the hall inquired.

Maud whirled in surprise, wondering if her hearing was going bad. "What be yu doin' now, girl? Didn't Miss Reeves warn yu—?"

"Lady Melora said for me ta help Becky pack up the last o' ‘er belongin's she left ‘ere aftah the weddin' an' ta tidy ‘er room afore she an' Sir ‘Arold come upstairs tonight."

"An' yu've been ‘ere all along? Wit' Becky?" Maud demanded.

"Aye," the girl answered and threw a thumb over her shoulder to indicate the other servant who had stepped to the open doorway behind her. "Becky be ‘ere ta says so's ‘erself."

Maud frowned in bemusement and, half turning, peered down the corridor toward the area from whence she had first heard the furtive footsteps.

"Is anyone ‘ere?" she called, and when no answer came, glanced back at the two servants who were watching her rather oddly. The older woman decided forthwith that she needed fortification from her young mistress, or at the very least Miss Reeves or even Mr. Charles. One thing for sure, she was not going to search the long corridor alone.

Approaching the stairs, she announced to the other two servants, "I'll be goin' downstairs ta find Lady Adriana, an' then I'll be ‘avin' a good look-see down the ‘all. If'n yu ‘appens ta sees ‘er ladyship up ‘ere, kindly tell ‘er I'm lookin' for ‘er."

Colton turned from the ballroom entrance, somewhat bemused by the weighty footfalls on the stairs. Instead of the beauty he had been waiting for, a middle-aged servant came into view. It seemed like ages since Adriana had gone upstairs, and he had begun to worry about her. "Do you know if the Lady Adriana will be down soon?"

Maud was clearly taken aback. "Why, I thought m'liedy was down ‘ere enjoyin' the ball."

"She went upstairs to her bedchamber some moments ago after telling me that she was only going to refresh herself."

"I wonder why she didn't bid me ta come ‘elp ‘er…," Maud muttered, half to herself as she canted her head in sudden perplexity.

"Do you think she's all right…?" Colton asked anxiously, realizing he hadn't actually seen Roger leave the house. Considering the apprentice's propensity for physical intimidation, Colton wouldn't put it past the man to take Adriana by force, for it was obvious now that he had absolutely no chance of having her any other way.

"I'll be seein' for meself where m'liedy is," Maud declared, turning her bulky self promptly about.

"I'm coming with you," Colton announced, bolting up the stairs. "She may be in danger if Roger is still in the house."

"Roger? Why would—?"

"No time for explanations now," Colton shot back, as he leapt past the servant. His right leg twitched beneath the strain of his rapid movements, but he refused to yield to the discomfort. After reaching the head of the stairs, he glanced up and down the hall as he questioned the woman. "Which way from here?"

Winded from her climb, the portly Maud pointed in the appropriate direction to speed the man on his way. His running footsteps, muted to some degree by the carpet in the hall, drifted back to her before she managed to drag enough air into her lungs to speak. "Turn left an' then two doors down ta the right o' the corridor," she called after him. Realizing he'd likely shock her mistress if he entered her bedchamber unannounced, she added, "Me mistress may not be decent."

"I'll apologize after I know she's safe," Colton flung back. All he could think of was Roger and his desire to have the girl for himself.

Colton grabbed the curved handle of Adriana's door, but upon finding it locked, he laid an ear to the wooden plank in an effort to hear what was going on inside the room. The sounds emitting from the chambers were muffled, as if one straining under a great load. Jiggling the handle more insistently, he called through the wood, "Adriana, are you all right?"

Almost on the heels of his question, a stifled scream came from within, prickling his hackles and giving him impetus. Taking a step back, he raised his left leg and applied a well-heeled foot with driving force against the door, very near the handle, and with enough strength to send the portal flying open as the strip of wood around the lock gave way beneath his determined assault.

Emitting an angry snarl, Roger rolled away from Adriana and leapt to his feet. Having failed to subdue her ladyship sufficiently to accomplish what he had set out to do, he could now foresee a frantic bid to escape. His face stung from the deep gouges the beauty had wreaked with her fingernails, having raked them with savage intent from his brow to his chin. His lips were sore and distended from the blow he had received when she had thrust a fairly sharp elbow into his mouth. It certainly hadn't helped when she had turned into a raging virago and, with viciously sharp teeth, had started gnashing vulnerable areas that came within reach, launching him into a bit of a panic as he tried to save his ears, throat, even his nose from those deadly fangs. As fine, bright, and gleaming white as her teeth were, he suffered no doubt now that they had been made primarily for bloodletting.

Unable to foresee the pleasure of mounting an unconscious woman, he had refrained from driving a fist into her lovely jaw as he tried to protect himself. He had wanted her fully awake when he took her, so she'd know forevermore that he had her before any of her lordly aristocrats. He especially yearned for the marquess to be aware of that knowledge, and just maybethe man would decide against marrying her. In spite of her valiant struggles, he had managed to loosen his trousers and actually been in the process of unbuttoning his underwear when the door had burst open and his adversary had come charging in, sending him scrambling off the bed in heightening panic.

Stumbling awkwardly to his feet, Roger raised a leg to flee, but his falling trousers took revenge upon him, binding his ankles firmly together, and sending him flying headlong into the corner of a sturdy armoire. A sudden flash of pain exploded inside his brain, and in the next instant blood began dribbling from his brow. Darkness descended, narrowing his world considerably until nothing but a black void remained as he crumpled into an unconscious heap upon the floor.

"Are you all right?" Colton demanded, rushing to Adriana as she hurriedly scrambled to her knees. So little remained of her undergarments, she might as well have been naked. The lace camisole had been ripped to shreds; only a few remnants hung from her waist. Of her pantaloons, a meager strip fell over her hip. What little was left of her stockings were strewn over the rumpled velvet counterpane where the struggle had ensued.

The lady was shaking so badly, so much in a fog, and so intent on hiding her nakedness with the thin scraps of her clothing that Colton had to grab her arms and shake her to bring her to her senses, at the very least to claim her attention. "Adriana! Are you all right?"

A choked sob escaped her as her face crumpled, and she nodded jerkily as tears began to well forth. Repulsed as she had been by Roger's rough caresses and lusting kisses, she could not subdue her convulsive shivering. The apprentice had managed to frighten her to the depths of her being, yet, for all of that, she was grateful for having come through his assault unscathed except for her trauma, a few bruises, and scrapes. Her hands still ached from the fight she had launched against him. Indeed, it felt as if the skin had been scraped from her thin fingers. If not for his inability to keep her physically restrainedand avoid the blows she had laid on him as he sought to unfasten his underwear, she would've likely become his victim well before Colton had knocked on her door. It had been a veritable tug-of-war over possession of her undergarments, with Roger trying to haul down her pantaloons while she had struggled desperately to hold them firmly in place. Her undergarments were now nothing more than a few token scraps, insufficient to hide her nakedness from a lord of the realm.

Colton's ire rose with mounting fury as he viewed the paths Roger's greedy fingers had taken, for reddened streaks marred the creaminess of Adriana's round breasts, stomach, and thighs. Her throat bore a rash, no doubt from a bearding even a boyish face could produce.

Adriana's hands shook uncontrollably as she sought with one purpose in mind to secure her modesty, but as much as she tried, her failure could not be avoided. Tears streamed unchecked down her face, attesting to her shame and distress. In some embarrassment, she laid an arm over her breasts as she settled her free hand over her womanhood, the best she could manage under the circumstances.

"You look like you can use this," Colton murmured sympathetically as he doffed his coat and laid it around her shoulders. It reached almost to her knees and was so large she looked like a little girl in her father's coat.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue," she croaked, lifting her gaze to his. She saw his face through an indistinct blur as unchecked tears impeded her vision. "If not for you, I would've been …"After what had just possibly been her most terrifying experience with fear, she could not force the words through her lips. She swallowed against the rawness in her throat as she brushed at the wetness flowing down her cheeks. "But how did you know Roger would be up here?"

" 'Twas merely a simple deduction that left the man no other recourse in his attempt to have you," Colton murmured. "He could either take you by force or not at all. Obviously he decided to take advantage of this evening's ball and the fact that your family is downstairs entertaining friends."

Colton wasn't able to count the number of times since the night he had found the lady asleep in his bath that his memory had conjured up such sights to which he was now privy. His coat was a stranger to her winsomely curved form and refused to conform, yielding him an unhindered view of the lady's unfettered breasts.

Considering the tears that streamed in cascading rivulets down her cheeks, he pointed inside his coat. "My handkerchief … will you fetch it?"

Still very much in an emotional fog, Adriana patted her hands over the garment in search of hidden pockets, but to no avail. Her brows gathered in confusion until he took hold of the lapel and, pulling it outward to allow him enough space to move his hand beneath the coat without the threat of touching her, reached down inside to the inner pocket. Traumatized by her near ravishment, she offered him no resistance. It really hadn't been Colton's intent to shock her more than she had been already, but upon drawing the linen from its niche, the back of his hand brushed across a soft, pliant peak, causing Adriana's breath to catch sharply in her throat.

"I'm sorry, Adriana, I didn't mean to …" Words failed him as a convulsive shiver shook her, and he had to wonder after her recent trauma if she would faint. Then her dark eyes lifted and delved almost pleadingly into his. If ever he had wondered what it would feel like to be drawn out of himself and absorbed into softly appealing orbs, he found himself experiencing that very thing. Never had he known the consuming warmth that could fill his very being with a feeling of … Was it love? Compassion, perhaps? Or simply desire? Whatever name could be laid to it, it seemed to draw him forward like a disembodied spirit.

"Glory sakes alive!" Maud gasped as she stumbled into the room, snatching Colton abruptly to his senses and causing him to quickly reverse his steps. Having been forced to delay her ascent of the stairs because of an attack of wooziness, the maidservant now scurried toward her mistress with a look of distress, taking in the wildly tossed coiffure, the bruises andred marks evident around her soft mouth, and the bare knees barely visible beneath the oversized coat. "What's been goin' on in ‘ere?"

She halted abruptly with mouth agape when she espied the apprentice lying sprawled in total oblivion near the armoire. As the realization dawned, she turned eyes widened in horror upon Adriana again. "Merciful ‘eavens, m'liedy, what did ‘at filthy rat do ta yu?"

Adriana wiped at the cascading rivulets flowing down her cheeks before managing to shake her head. "No real harm has been done to me, Maud," she choked out. Pausing, she cleared her throat in an attempt to dislodge the thickness that still impeded her tone. "But that is only because Lord Randwulf arrived in time to save me from the apprentice. Thanks to him, the worst I suffered from Roger's attack has been a few bruises and scrapes."

Reaching for the handkerchief Colton still clasped, she searched his face through a blur of tears as she drew it from his grasp. He was still staring at her, trying desperately to disentangle his mind from the encroaching vines that had entangled his thoughts a brief moment earlier. What craziness was he experiencing? he wondered. Indeed, even now he felt as if he were being absorbed into those dark, liquid pools.

" 'Is lor'ship thought yu might be in danger, m'liedy, what wit' Roger still in the house," Maud rushed on to explain, remembering that not too long ago her mistress had seemed dismayed by their approaching courtship. " ‘E wouldn't wait till I ‘ad a looksee. ‘E come sprintin' hisself up ‘ere ta make sure no ‘arm were done ta yu."

"I'm grateful he didn't delay, Maud," Adriana replied shakily, her eyes delving into the gray orbs as she tried to find some reason for Colton's apparent befuddlement. Bestowing a tremulous smile upon her maid, she assured the elder, "If not for Lord Randwulf, Roger would've likely accomplished what he had set out to do."

"Then ‘tis thankful I am as well ‘at ‘is lor'ship come rushin'ta yur aid, m'liedy, for none other could've reached yu in time." The maid crossed to the bed with a tentative inquiry. "Can I fetch a dressin' gown for yu, m'liedy?"

Adriana snuggled the lapels of Colton's coat up close around her neck as she folded her arms beneath her bosom. She didn't dare let the woman see what little remained of her underclothing. "Papa needs be told immediately what has happened here, and you'll have to be the one to carry the news to him."

Knowing the rage that would likely consume her father, Adriana glanced toward the unconscious apprentice, hardly expecting a shiver of revulsion to shake her so thoroughly that she was forced to sit back upon her heels.

"Please,get that man out of my sight," she bade in a strained whisper, turning her face aside as if he were something too hideous to look at.

Colton mentally shook himself from his thoughts and, in compliance with the lady's wishes, stepped toward Roger. "Maud, if you can show me a place where this unwelcome baggage can be sufficiently confined until his lordship is ready to deal with him, then I shall take care of that matter posthaste."

"I'm thinkin' ‘twould serve ‘at wily beggar ‘is just due if ‘e spent some time in the linen closet," Maud announced, motioning toward the adjoining room. "‘Tain't ‘ardly big enuff for a body tu breathe, much less twitch a muscle."

"Sounds like just the place for our Mr. Elston," Colton quipped.

Lifting a lip in a disdaining sneer as she considered the apprentice, the maid offered some insight of her own. "For a paltry li'l apprentice, ‘e sure ‘as some uppity ideas, what wit' ‘is forcin' ‘isself ‘pon me mistress like ‘e were expectin' ‘er pa ta take it all in stride. The bloke don't know it, but ‘twere ‘is good fortune yu gots ta ‘im befo' ‘is lor'ship, else yu'd be carryin' out a corpse."

Squatting down beside the unconscious man, Colton rolledhim over and considered the large, swollen gash that now marred the once-smooth brow. An open split from hairline to eyebrow still oozed dark blood. A sticky, red pool of it had collected on the oriental rug, causing Maud to fuss as she fetched a wet cloth to clean the stain and a dry linen to wrap around Roger's head. As the servant busied herself scrubbing the spot on the rug, Colton laid Roger over his shoulder and carried him into the bathing chamber. The linen closet provided even less room than a casket, causing a smile to play on Colton's lips as he squeezed the apprentice into the narrow space. At the moment, he could think of no one more deserving than the apprentice of being initiated into the horrible dread of close confinement.

Maud finished her task and approached the door, announcing that she was going down to inform Lord Gyles of the attack on his daughter. " ‘E won't take kindly what's been done up ‘ere, m'liedy. I can almost ‘ear ‘im bellowin' now."

"Perhaps it would be wise if you told him beforehand that I haven't actually been harmed," Adriana cautioned. "He'll be less likely to fly into a rage and make a scene in front of the guests if he has been assured that I'm all right. But whatever you do, don't say anything to Mama, or she'll be flying up here in a near faint. For the time being, just say that I'm not feeling at all well and won't be down to bid farewell to the guests. Do you understand?"

"Aye, m'liedy. If'n it's all the same ta yu, I'll be lettin' yur pa do the tellin'. Yur ma ‘as a way o' gettin' more outa me ‘an I means ta tell."

By the time Colton returned to the bedchamber, Maud had already left on her unenviable mission. Adriana was now perched on the edge of her bed with his handkerchief pressed over her mouth as she tried desperately to muffle her harsh sobs. In gentle compassion Colton rested a hand upon her coat-shrouded shoulder. "Are you going to be all right?"

Embarrassed at being caught weeping, Adriana hurriedly wiped at her tears. "I will be once the shock of Roger's attack ebbs." Her breath fluttered outward in a lengthy sigh as a vio-lent shudder shook her. "I've never been more frightened in my life than when I had to fight off his attack."

"I told Maud that she should have Charles escort your father into the library before she breaks the news. At least, if he lets out a bellow of rage in the library, none of the guests will be able to hear him."

Self-consciously, Adriana rose to her feet. "That was wise, of course. My father does have a temper, in spite of his efforts to deny it."

"I'd better leave so you can get some clothes on before he comes up," Colton murmured thickly, unable to resist flicking a glance beneath his coat again. As much as he had been appalled by Roger's aggression, he knew well enough the goading lusts that could drive a man, especially when such a sublime feast of womanly perfection was nigh at hand. What he saw was exceedingly more than he could bear without suffering the throbbing pains of pent-up desires. "Your father won't take it kindly if he finds me ogling you, especially after you've nearly been ravished."

As she stared up at him, wide-eyed and vulnerable, Colton lifted both hands to the lapels of his coat. For a long moment, it seemed as if he stood on the threshold of the rest of his life as he struggled with an overwhelming desire to kiss her. As much as he yearned to caress a silken breast and press his hand upward between her thighs and make her groan with longing, he knew it would be a foul, dastardly thing to do in light of what Roger had tried to take from her, virtually an impossible one with her father coming posthaste. Yet she seemed so trusting, so willing …

It may have been the hardest thing he had ever done, but with a halting sigh, Colton pulled the lapels of his coat together, denying himself the solace he craved. Looking embarrassed, Adriana murmured an apology, making a belated attempt to secure her modesty, as if she considered herself at fault for not having done so sooner. Her chagrin gave him cause to wonder if she actually thought he didn't desire her. If she only knew the unrelenting passion he had been strugglingto subdue since his return home, she'd banish that idea posthaste. Indeed, he could hardly think of anything but his yearning to take her in his arms and to penetrate her sweet, womanly moistness.

"Dearest Adriana, do you have any idea what a temptation you have been to me tonight?" he breathed as he laid an arm about her shoulders and lowered his face into her sweetly smelling hair. "I want to touch you, love you, and have you respond to my ardor with all the passion you're capable of exhibiting, but you've suffered a horrible shock tonight, and ‘twill take time for you to forget what Roger tried to do to you. Whatever comes from our courtship, please be confident that I care for you."

She turned her face upward to look into his. Once again, their eyes melded as they had earlier, and he felt as if his heart were being drawn out of the cage he had erected around it. The yearning to hold her close seemed far beyond his ken, and yet, of a sudden, his arms were crushing her against him as his mouth plummeted downward to ensnare her lips with a fierce, consuming ardor, demanding, ravishing as his tongue delved in the sweet moistness of her mouth. His hand found its way beneath his coat and slid over a bare buttock. It was a sweet, rapturous delight, but as enjoyable as it was and as much as he could lose himself in the ecstasy of it, Colton knew it couldn't continue, not when her parent could walk in and find her all but naked in his arms.

"I must go before your father finds us and mistakes me for the culprit," he muttered huskily as he lifted his head, yet he seemed unable to leave her even then. He kissed her again with all the passion he had been holding in check, slanting his face across hers and greedily plying his tongue through the honeyed depths. He felt a convulsive shiver go through her, whether from fear or desire he could not tell, but some sanity returned at the thought that she might be afraid.

"I shouldn't be doing this after what you've just been through," he whispered raggedly, lifting his head. His eyes caressed her face almost hungrily. "I must leave…."

Setting her from him abruptly, he strode toward the door, already feeling the agony of unrequited passion. Somehow he'd have to cool the lust gnawing at his very being and try to forget how soft, sweet, and enticing she had felt in his arms.

Adriana gasped. "Colton, your coat…."

He turned in time to catch the garment in midair, and the last glimpse of Venus arrayed in nothing more than a few shreds of cloth left an impression that would haunt him mercilessly for weeks on end, oftentimes bringing him up from the depths of slumber in the agony of inflamed lust.