Seven

Samantha's not in the carriage with him," Melora announced, with a full measure of astonishment evident in her tone as she peered out the front window overlooking the drive and glimpsed no one but the colonel in the halting conveyance. "What are you going to do? You can't go with Colton without a chaperone."

"Really, Melora, must you always see a scandal burgeoning from every circumstance that isn't up to your exalted standard?" Adriana needled, responding with a generous helping of sarcasm as she neared the drawing room door. "Though I seriously doubt Colton is even remotely interested in ravishing me, Bentley will be nigh at hand should it become necessary for me to scream."

"But Bentley is on top of the landau," her sister protested.

"As it should be. After all, Melora, he is their coachman."

The simple logic of her younger sibling frustrated the petite woman. "Yes, and you'll be inside all alone with Colton."

"Well, it happens to be daylight outside, and his lordship would be extremely foolish to force himself upon me when the door of his coach bears his family's crest. Why, if he were to do such a thing, who knows what other people could see fromtheir own carriages or wagons. Besides, we're taking the three Jennings children to their mother's funeral. I think he can be trusted to behave in a gentlemanly fashion long enough to deliver me to the Abernathys', pick up the children, and then convey the four of us to the church and graveyard. Besides, I just can't imagine his lordship doing anything foolishly untoward, at least what you seem to fear. If he assaults me, then Papa shall definitely instruct him on how to answer the minister as the marriage vows are being spoken." She became a little irate that her sister could consider the son of Sedgwick Wyndham capable of such a deed. "Really, Melora, you think the worst of everyone except Sir Harold, and Colton is every bit the gentleman your fiancé is, perhaps even more so. After all, Philana is Colton's mother, and we all know what a gracious lady she is."

"That doesn't mean that Colton didn't learn a way of life contrary to his upbringing while he was away. I've heard some shocking rumors about camp followers who service the soldier's … ah … needs. You can't make me believe Colton, as old as he is and as long as he has been away from home, hasn't bedded down with some of them."

"You shouldn't besmirch a man's reputation on hearsay, Melora," Adriana chided. "Were he a saint, you'd likely be wont to call him tiresome and unimaginative. I suggest that you give the man the benefit of a doubt until he proves himself a cad." She didn't dare indicate to her sister that she already had serious cause to wonder about the man's propensities after their confrontation in the bathing chamber. Were she to be so foolish, Melora would run straightaway to their parents, claiming that Colton had exposed himself in front of her. She could just imagine her father's hair standing on end as he blustered and irately deplored such shamelessness. It would definitely mean the end of the agreement between their families.

Pausing in the vestibule, Adriana allowed Charles to settle her cloak about her shoulders. She briefly thanked the servant and then fluttered her fingers in a casual gesture of farewell to her sister. "I'll see you later … if I'm not waylaid."

Smiling in puckish delight as she fairly flitted out the door, Adriana was pleased her timing allowed her to halt Colton in his progress to the front door. His uniform was just as neat and tidy as it had been earlier, making her wonder how many he actually owned to allow him to look so dapper all the time.

"No need to come inside, my lord. I'm ready to leave if you are. Melora's the only one home anyway, and I'd rather not have her curiosity appeased just yet. Sisterly love, and all that, you know."

"Something like you and Samantha?" he asked curiously as he handed her into the landau. From what he could remember of the three Sutton siblings, Adriana and his sister had seemed much more compatible.

His companion skirted around his conjecture. "Perhaps not quite the same. Samantha and I get on famously most of the time."

She said no more, leaving Colton to wonder what had been said between the two. But then, were he to draw conclusions from his boyhood visits to Wakefield, the older sisters had always seemed a bit snooty toward the youngest, as if they just couldn't be bothered by someone so young, thin, or gawky. It would've been more like the Melora of old to find some fault with her younger kin.

In a few short moments, Colton was wont to think that Adriana came nigh to being angelic for the gentle, motherly care she exhibited toward the Jennings children as she bundled them up against the chilled breezes and slowly led the younger two to his carriage. He walked behind them with the older boy, watching her as she pointed out, named, and explained about the different animals the Abernathys kept in fenced areas alongside the walk. He was rather surprised to find himself inundated with strangely evocative impressions of what it would be like to be the lady's husband and the father of her children. It certainly wasn't an unpleasant feeling. Indeed, it was rather gratifying to know the lady suited him to the extent that he could imagine her as his wife and mother of his offspring.

The Abernathys had gathered the other orphaned children into their large, many-seated, homemade conveyance, which had been built on a sturdy wagon base. After waving to the younger couple, they led the way to the small church, outside of which the funeral service was to be held, leaving Colton and Adriana to bring the deceased woman's children. According to Mrs. Abernathy, the three hadn't stopped talking about their ride in the fine carriage since their arrival. The change in the youngsters was remarkable. They were now neat and clean, garbed in new clothing, for which Colton had provided funds, and generally seemed content and definitely less fearful. The smaller two sat on either side of Adriana, and eagerly asked her questions. The eldest had chosen a place beside Colton and seemed no less inquisitive as he leaned back against the armrest and sized up the elder.

"Did yu fight in the war like me pa?"

"I was in the military probably longer than your father. Until recently I had made a career of it."

Joshua peered at him with new interest. "Where yu ever wounded?"

"Yes, in the leg."

"Did yu come close ta dyin'?"

Colton inclined his head briefly as he offered the boy a slanted grin. "Close enough to make me apprehensive."

"Apprehensive?" the boy repeated, perplexed. "What cha mean?"

"Fearful."

Joshua seemed clearly taken aback. "Ya mean yu was sceered?"

"Oh, yes. It's quite natural for one to feel frightened of losing one's life … or limb."

"Ya ne'er were in danger afore then?"

"Yes, on the battlefield, but I had no time while I was fighting to think about dying. I was too busy trying to stay alive."

"Folks said me pa were a hero," Joshua stated matter-off-actly. "I heerd ‘is friends tell me mum ‘at aftah ‘ey brought ‘ernews ‘e'd been killed. O' course, ‘at didn't make no ne'er mind ta me mum. She was jes' skeered o' what she'd be havin' ta do aftah losin' what li'l ‘e'd been able ta send ‘ome."

Colton laid a comforting hand upon the boy's shoulder. "From what I've heard about your father, I'm inclined to think he was a very admirable man, of whom a son can be extremely proud. I'm sure his memory will be beneficial to you in the future. Perhaps you can be a hero in your own way."

"Ya mean ta go off ta the war an' be killed jes' like ‘im?"

Colton exchanged a smile with Adriana before returning his gaze to the boy and shaking his head. "No, Joshua, you don't need to die to be a hero. You can be just as great a hero if you live. Heroes are people who are honorable and do good for their fellow man and their country without taking their own comfort into consideration. You can begin by watching over your brother and sister, teaching them right from wrong, protecting them from people who'd try to hurt them, and helping them with their everyday existence, perhaps lending assistance in bathing or dressing them, putting on their shoes, combing their hair. Being the eldest, you need to cherish and teach them, as your father cherished and taught you."

Adriana quietly listened as she combed her fingers idly through the girl's pale strands. She could find no fault in Colton's words. For the most part, they gave her hope and encouragement that the man's heart was warmly sensitive toward the needs of the children. She could even imagine that he'd make a good father someday, but of course, whether that would also be for her own offspring remained to be seen.

"Lord Randwulf was a hero in the war, too," she volunteered as she bestowed a smile upon Joshua. "He fought to help save this country from the French forces who'd have likely made an attempt to conquer us had they not been defeated."

"I wanna be a hero," Jeremiah chimed in with a grin as he nestled close to Adriana. He jabbed a forefinger toward Colton. "Jes' like ‘im. Then I could have a wagon jes' like this one."

"Wagon, eh?" Colton chuckled.

"I wanna be a hero, too," Sarah declared timidly, and thenchortled as Adriana tickled her chin. Hiding her face against the side of the woman's breast, the girl peered at the man with one eye and then pointed upward. "Like pretty liedy."

"She is indeed a heroine," Colton agreed as his eyes delved into the dark, silken-lashed depths. "Not only to numerous animals in the wild, but to three orphans in need of nurturing." Speaking to her directly, he added, "You have a very motherly way about you, my dear."

His endearment brought a flush of color to Adriana's cheeks and, in an effort to hide it, she lent her attention to the girl as she lifted her upon her lap. She busied herself rearranging the child's golden ringlets and then, when she had finished, leaned back to smile into the youngster's blue eyes. "You are so very pretty, Sarah. I have no doubt your father would have been proud of you, just as he was of Joshua and Jeremiah."

" 'At's what me pa al'ays tol' us, ‘at ‘e were proud o' us," Joshua stated, and immediately had to brush a tear from his eye. "I wish maybe he wouldna've been a hero so he could be ‘ere wit' us today."

Resting a hand upon the boy's arm, Colton squeezed it in silent empathy for what the youngster was feeling. Of a sudden, the child burst into sobs and threw himself upon the elder's scarlet-clad chest. Adriana watched the pair, enthralled by the tender compassion Colton evidenced, for he slipped a comforting arm around the youngster and made no effort to protect his coat as he let the child weep upon it in overwhelming sorrow.

Not many people attended the service. It seemed the dead woman had not been well liked or respected by her neighbors and acquaintances. As much as those who came conveyed their admiration for the father, they quietly defamed the woman for being a selfish, lazy sot who had done nothing for her children except to starve and keep them prisoners in a cold, dark shanty. Many who came expressed their astonishment at the changes that had occurred in the youngsters in so short a time. To all who were curious, Colton and Adriana praised the Abernathys for their dedication in not only caring for the Jennings children, but for all the other orphans they had taken in throughout the years. It was evident to all that the older children who'd been with the Abernathys longer were highly affectionate and respectful toward their adoptive parents, calling them Mama and Papa and answering Yes, sir, or No, ma'am.

When the Jennings children were finally returned to the Abernathys, the couple invited Colton and Adriana to stay for supper. Colton would've refused, seeing as how the couple seemed in dire straits, but Adriana quietly confided that food was something her father always made sure the family never lacked. For Colton's further consideration, she added that Mrs. Abernathy was an exceptional cook and it was an enormous treat to eat anything prepared by the woman.

The evening was passed in jovial pleasure, as Adriana and Colton sat together on a bench, flanked on either side by the Jennings children. The older children of the family were full of stories and eager to share them with their guests, stirring forth hearty laughter from the men and children and more subdued mirth from the ladies. Little Sarah giggled right along with the rest, although not entirely understanding the humorous tales, but she did everything the beautiful lady did and watched her with adoring eyes, warmly savoring her fond caresses and the gentle chucking of her tiny chin.

When finally the Wyndham carriage turned homeward along the moonlit road, Adriana felt inclined to express her gratitude to Colton for what he had done and seemed willing to do in the future for the children. "They'll benefit from your help, my lord, and be better people for it."

"I've done little," he claimed, rubbing a thumb reflectively over the silver handle of his cane. "You and the Abernathys are the ones deserving all the praise, not I."

"I give that to the couple wholeheartedly, yet you've been generous when other nobles would likely have refused."

"If I've been charitable, Adriana, you are the one who has instructed me. Between your efforts and Samantha's, I may yet prove magnanimous one day."

Her soft, winsome mouth curved upward at the corners. "Perhaps you were merely awaiting an opportunity to demonstrate your benevolence, my lord."

"I've normally overlooked those chances most of my life, Adriana. You've taught me more about charity in these last couple of days than I suppose I've ever given heed to before." Leaning forward over the handle of his cane, he ensnared her gaze through the warm glow cast from the exterior coach lanterns and carefully probed those dark, lustrous orbs as a slow smile curved his lips. "You've awakened emotions within me that I was sure I was incapable of feeling until we became reacquainted: some of which I'm greatly appreciative; others I'm still struggling to restrain."

Growing suspicious, Adriana peered at him charily. "And those you're trying to curb?"

Colton leaned back in his seat and grinned. "Oh, I shan't tuck that bit of knowledge into your pretty cap just yet, fair maid. I must plumb the depth of that matter more fully ere I give that power over into your hands."

"You tease me," she accused with sudden certainty. "I've done nothing, and yet you would have me believe I've either influenced you in some mysterious way or else committed some crime against you. You're teasing me just as you used to do, and to that I say humbug."

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "I see you're not easily taken in, my dear, but can you not understand what a man like myself experiences in the presence of such a beautiful woman?"

Adriana decided it was probably an appropriate time to worry about the remaining distance to Wakefield. Peering out into the darkness beyond the coach, she had some difficulty finding her voice until she cleared her throat and made another attempt. "Would you happen to know where we are precisely?"

"No need to fear, Adriana. As much as I'd enjoy making love to you right now, I shan't force you to appease my manly bent. However, I hope in time that you'll prove more receptive to my attentions. I can be enormously persuasive when there is a rare and beautiful prize that I'm desperate to have for my own."

Adriana could feel her cheeks warming as she met those smiling gray eyes. Presently, they were softly illumined by the carriage lanterns, and the warmth shining in those translucent depths was unmistakable; so, too, his confidence. "You seem terribly sure of yourself, my lord."

"Oh, I can imagine a woman of your uniqueness must grow bored with the various propositions presented her, and you may indeed wonder what makes my invitation different from those who may've invited you to share yourself with them. On the surface, nothing; but in bed, well, there's the telling of it. I've come to realize over the years that there's an art to everything." His broad shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. "For instance, on the battlefields I traversed throughout my career as an officer, I became more familiar with the skills of war. There is also an art to the intimacy a man and woman can share together. It doesn't have to involve going to bed together; yet, if that were to happen, be confident, Adriana, I would be gentle with you and seek your pleasure before having mine. I'd cherish you as something rare and precious, for truly you are that. I've come to realize after perusing you in my bath that I won't be content until I make you mine. You're like a potent wine that has gone to my head. I've never desired another woman as much as I've come to desire you just since I've been home. You must know that by now."

Not entirely sure what he was telling her, Adriana felt led to probe the matter more thoroughly, just in case she had misunderstood what he wanted from her. Surely he wouldn't dare proposition her when they were facing an agreement signed by both their parents. "Should I believe you're amenable to our betrothal?"

His eyes lowered to the elegant handle of his cane again as he traced the elaborate scroll etched in the silver with a neatly manicured thumbnail. "I didn't say that, Adriana."

Her brow arched at a skeptical angle. "But you are soliciting me for my favors, are you not?"

"I don't think I said it quite like that," Colton hedged, sensing her rising ire.

Adriana placed shaking fingers against her brow as she closed her eyes. For a moment, she mulled over what she had heard and tried to make some sense of it all. "Just what did you say then? Perhaps I've misconstrued what you're proposing."

"I do not intend to take you against your will, my dear, but I would very much enjoy being intimate with you."

The audacity of the man!He was far bolder than she would've ever imagined. "Do you actually think I'd consent to lie with you without benefit of marriage vows?" she demanded. The nerve of him! "Am I daft? I remember too clearly how soon Jaclyn got with child after her marriage. If I were to be so foolish to concede to such an arrangement, which I'm not, I'd be inviting certain disaster."

Colton chuckled at her protestations. She seemed far more worried about getting with child than being seduced outside of marriage. "I'd do everything I could to prevent that from happening, Adriana," he cajoled. "I could pleasure you as you've never been pleasured before."

The dark eyes narrowed as she fixed a malevolent glare upon the man through the lantern-lit gloom. "Melora warned me that it wasn't safe to be alone with you in a coach, and foolishly I waved away her efforts to caution me. Next time, you can be certain I'll be more attentive to her admonitions, for they have proven to be most perceptive."

Colton felt a pang of disappointment when he realized Bentley was slowing the landau to round the curve into the Suttons' drive. " ‘Twould seem the chance to discuss this matter more thoroughly has escaped us, at least for this evening," he murmured with a grin. His eyes came near to consuming her as the soft radiance of the lanterns touched upon her fine, delicate features and luminous dark eyes. He heaved a sigh that conveyed his disappointment. "I suppose I must endure the futility of wanting you for yet another night. Little did I imagine when I found you in my bath that I'd be so completely vexed by my desire to have you."

When Bentley drew the conveyance to a halt before her family's Tudor estate, Adriana didn't wait for gentlemanly assistance. She threw the door open, kicked out the step, and alighted with as much haste as one whose tail had just been torched. Thus deserted, Colton descended the same steps with considerably more dignity and followed as swiftly as his hindered gait would allow.

In her eagerness to confront the pair after espying the coach lanterns emerging from the tree-shrouded lane, Melora had caught up her skirts and raced ahead of Charles. Fairly breathless from her flight, she snatched open the portal and ran out in time to meet her sister just as that one came stalking toward the portal.

"I thought you would never return," Melora declared, sizing up her younger sister. She'd have certainly taken the initiative to suggest to her mother that something was not quite right if Adriana's apparel had looked the least bit out of place. "I hope nothing serious happened that detained the two of you this long."

"We had dinner with the Abernathys, Melora," her younger sister announced flatly. "We came here straightaway after it was concluded, and if you're wondering if I've been ravished, the answer is no, and will continue to be no as long as I have breath left in my body."

Melora's jaw plummeted forthwith at her sister's announcement, and Colton coughed behind a hand as he made an earnest effort not to laugh at the petite woman's gaping astonishment. It came to him in that moment that he had never in all his life met such a woman as Adriana Sutton. ‘Twould seem that he would have to be far more subtle about his intentions in the future if he meant to be intimate with the lady outside the boundaries of marriage.

Colton swept off his shako as the petite woman faced him. "Good evening, Melo—"

"Come inside, Melora," Adriana interrupted tersely. Pausing at the door, she gave the man a frosty look. "Lord Colton can't stay. He's returning home immediately."

Thus dismissed, Colton had no choice but to acquiesce. "Alas, ‘tis true. I cannot stay."

"Good night, my lord!" Adriana stated rather forcefully as Melora pattered after her. In the next instant, he had cause to flinch as the door slammed behind the two women.

As he neared the landau, he noticed the sheepish glance Bentley cast his way before the man quickly lent his attention to the four-in-hand. Even so, the elder's eyes were inclined to wander surreptitiously over his shoulder on a fairly frequent basis.

"Do you have something you wish to speak with me about, Bentley?" Colton asked, fixing a suspicious squint upon the driver.

"Well, ah … no, milord … I mean to say … Well, Liedy Adriana … ah … well, she does seem a mite independent… at times, that she does."

"Yes, and what is that supposed to mean?"

Wary of offending the nobleman, the coachman shot another quick, nervous glance back at him. "I've seen her ladyship … ah … get miffed afore when a bloke tried gettin' … too … ah … personal."

"Familiar with the lady, you mean?" Colton prodded, peering up at the badly flustered man.

"Ah … well… ah … maybe so, milord." Bentley cleared his throat with some difficulty, as if he had just gotten a huge frog lodged in it. "I overheard what the liedy said on ‘er way ta the door, milord. She … ah … said … ah … nearly the same thing the night she blackened the fella's eye wit' her purse. She's wont ta swing it ‘bout wit' a wee bit o' force when she gets a mite riled, milord, an' I can promise yu she knows how ta use it. Yur sister can affirm what I say. She were ‘ere ta witness it. She an' Mr. Percy."

Hefting his cane, Colton closely considered the handle in the moonlight. "And your suggestion would be …?"

Once again, the driver cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I wouldn't think o' suggestin' anythin' ta yu, milord."

"Come now, Bentley, you were here before I left home. If you have a bit of wisdom to share in regards to the lady, you have my permission to voice it. Whether I take it or not remains to be seen."

"In ‘at case, milord, I'll be sharin' what little I'd be knowin'. Mayhap ‘twould save yu from settin' yurself at odds wit' the lovely liedy. ‘Tis fairly easy for a man what's been in the wars to lose sight o' the difference betwixt the ones in the camps an' those at home, but if'n yu were ta remember ‘at the Liedy Adriana is more'n a cut or two above ‘em women who follow the soldiers, milord, then yu maybe wouldn't be upsettin' ‘er so much."

Colton mulled over the man's advice for a long, thoughtful moment. Then he glanced back at the front portal through which the lady had stalked in a fair bit of a tizzy. Perhaps he had become too inured to women propositioning him and had lost sight of the fact that there were still some who preserved their purity for their husbands to savor. As much as he would've enjoyed making love to the lady, he had to admire her for her stance. At least, if he did marry her, he wouldn't have to wonder who had enjoyed her before him.

With a sudden laugh, Colton tossed up his cane and caught the shaft in midair. Touching its handle to the brim of his shako, he saluted the man for his wisdom. "Thank you, Bentley. I shall do everything within my power to remember your prudent counsel. The lady is indeed just that, and ‘twould behoove me to tread lightly while I'm with her, or she'll likely blacken my eye with her little purse."

Bentley's whole frame seemed to shake as he chortled in amusement. "Aye, milord, an' the Liedy Adriana is just the one what'll do it ta ya, too."

Colton nodded mutely as his tailor, George Gaines, asked him a question, but the small, wiry man could tell that his lordship was distracted by his own thoughts and not in a mood to discuss the details of frock coats, waistcoats, and trousers. Though a number of hours had passed since they had departed the nobleman's London residence, a fine Palladian mansion located near Hyde Park on Park Lane, the retired colonel had hardly muttered a word. For the most part, he had stared out the window at the changing countryside, deep in thought, hisbrows gathered in a frown, his lips compressed, the corners downturned. Only those lucid gray eyes had moved to take in the passing terrain as they traveled westward. Dusk would soon be approaching, and yet the younger man gave no indication that he even noticed the dwindling light.

Colton took note all right, but he was troubled by other matters. It hadn't helped his surly mood one whit to realize that for the past several days, even while taking care of affairs dealing with his marquessate, he had been constantly inundated with thoughts of the brunette beauty he would soon be courting. As much as he had tried to banish her from his mind, he just hadn't been able to, and it had been of no benefit to imagine he could find release with another woman. The very idea of that had set him awry with himself, and he hadn't even wasted his time on what had promised to be a fruitless pursuit. The simple fact was that after viewing the unadorned perfection of the Lady Adriana, no other woman appealed to him. Trying to placate himself with another would've been similar to trying to down a pauper's meal when a rich feast had been laid out before him. In spite of his strenuous objections to his father's proposals in the past, it was as if he were some untried youth again, following merrily along the path his sire had chosen for him years ago.

The narrow lane they were presently traversing serviced both the neighboring mansions of Wakefield and Randwulf. When the landau passed the thick stand of trees that buttressed the road and broke into the clearing that allowed a sweeping view of the area around Wakefield Manor, he lifted his gaze with a strangely persuasive hope that he might see Adriana. The gray-stoned many-gabled, steeply-pitched-roofed Tudor mansion sat upon the brow of a hill amid tall evergreens, the height of which almost rivaled the lofty chimneys that seemed to pierce the gathering clouds looming overhead. He had visited the warm, spacious, comfortable mansion many times in his youth, and he had every confidence that the family living there was just as gracious and hospitable as they had been years ago. A man could do no better than to make such people kin by marriage.

The slowing of the landau evoked Colton's curiosity, and he peered out the windows in an effort to discover the reason for Bentley drawing rein upon the four-in-hand. That's when he saw in the field on the far side of the conveyance the two mounted riders racing their horses toward a low stone wall. The lady, riding sidesaddle atop her mottled gray Andalusian stallion, was in the lead and apparently reveling in that fact. Glancing ahead, Colton saw the height of the barrier looming before the pair, and with a muttered curse that drew the tailor's shocked attention, leaned forward in his seat for a better view. In something akin to paralyzed horror, he watched as the two neared the obstacle, but the closer they came, the more his eyes became riveted on the mottled stallion, which bore the elegantly garbed lady. As he held his breath, the steed soared upward, tucking his forelegs beneath him, and seemingly with buoyant ease, sailed over in a high, graceful arc that easily cleared the hurdle. Feeling an overwhelming relief, Colton hardly noticed the man's shiny black steed gliding with equal grace over the same obstacle.

"Reckless wench!" Colton muttered in a sour temper. "Doesn't she care a whit that she could get her fine neck broken one of these days with antics like that!"

By now, Mr. Gaines was eyeing him rather warily. "A friend of yours, my lord?"

"A neighbor with an uncommon passion for horses," Colton muttered irascibly and, hefting his cane, rapped the elegantly curved handle against the roof of the carriage. As the landau began to slow, he faced his companion. "Your pardon, Mr. Gaines. I'll be alighting here for a few moments, but I'll have Bentley take you on to Randwulf Manor with your men." Turning slightly, he cast a glance out the rear window and found the tailor's conveyance just leaving the wooded copse. "Harrison will see to your needs and will show you to an area of the manor where you and your assistants can work undisturbed for the next week."

When the landau came to a halt, Colton made his descent and gave Bentley his instructions, concluding with the directive, "You may return here for me after you've helped Mr. Gaines and his assistants with their baggage."

Colton made no attempt to understand the sudden surge of irritation that swept through him as he watched the mounted equestrians approaching along the road at a walk, no doubt to cool their steeds. Smiling cheerily as the conveyance passed, Adriana waved a gloved hand at Bentley, as did the handsome gentleman who reined his sleek black steed beside the gray stallion.

This was no Roger Elston, Colton determined, wondering at the nettling sense of displeasure he was presently feeling. The man sat a horse as if he had been born to it, and from his white-toothed grin, which seemed to stretch well across his handsomely bronzed face, one could believe the gentleman was enjoying himself immensely. And why not, Colton mentally derided. Even if the two were now in front of the lady's family estate, the man had her all to himself.

Colton faced Adriana and the man at her side as they approached him. "Good evening," he bade, tipping his hat to the lady. She was looking very elegant indeed in black riding attire with a white silk jabot at her throat and a black silk hat perched jauntily upon her dark head. Solitary pearls adorned the lobes of her dainty ears beneath light curling strands that had no doubt escaped during one of her airborne flights. Colton just couldn't imagine their recent hurdle had been the only one the pair had taken in their ride about the countryside. "I thought I'd stop and see your stallion for myself since everyone in my family has been lauding his praises." His eyes flicked over the steed as Adriana stroked the finely arched neck, and he had to agree. Ulysses was an uncommonly fine animal. "He really is a beauty."

Adriana fought a battle with herself as she strove to forget the colonel's bold solicitation of her favors not too many nights ago. Had he told her outright that he wanted no part of the contract their parents had signed, she wouldn't have been any less offended. Since he only wanted her on his terms, the fact that he desired her had done little to assuage her annoyance.

Smiling stiltedly, Adriana swept a gloved hand about to indicate her tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed, handsome companion, introducing him as he swung down from his steed. "This is my good friend, Riordan Kendrick, the Marquess of Harcourt. Riordan, may I introduce you to Colton Wyndham, the Marquess of Randwulf."

"I've been hoping to have this pleasure for some time now," the man avouched as he approached Colton with a smile and a hand outstretched in greeting. "What soldier hasn't heard of your bravery under fire? May I welcome you home from Waterloo, my lord, and all the other places you've traversed during your illustrious career."

The nettling irritation that had vexed Colton so quickly at first sight of the man rapidly dissipated as they shook hands. "Thank you, Lord Harcourt, and may I return the salute. I've heard many tales of your bravery on the fields of battle."

Riordan chortled and held up a hand in protest. "I'm afraid you've put me to shame in that area, so, please, say no more, my lord."

Each man, upon realizing that Adriana had lifted her knee from around the leg support of her saddle, stepped forward in his eagerness to be the one to help her down. Much to Colton's chagrin, he was quickly outdone by Harcourt's swift agility, and why not, Colton thought rather gloomily, the man wasn't hindered in the least by past wounds.

The way the nobleman looked at the lady when he set her to her feet was enough to tweak the ire of the observer who, until this moment, had considered himself undecided in his intentions toward the beauty. It was only because the man was unscathed from the wars, Colton mused, mentally offering the excuse as he tried to explain away the annoyance he found himself presently battling; it certainly wasn't jealousy. It couldn't be! Never in his life could he remember being envious of another!

That was before he had come home and found himself committed to a contract he had had no part in making, a voice seemed to whisper inside his head. That was before he had dis-covered that a lady could thwart his sleep. That was before he had realized just how much a man, who was every bit an equal of his, and who, upon the demise of his father, would have an even loftier title, yearned to have her for himself. That was before he had seen in another's face and in that one's dark eyes a love that burned warm and true.

Leading Ulysses behind her, Adriana approached Colton. "Lord Harcourt and I were just waiting for our friends to catch up. Once Sir Guy Dalton and Lady Berenice Carvell arrive, we'll be joining my family for dinner. Would you care to come in and share the evening meal with us?"

"Thank you kindly for your offer, but Bentley should be returning for me shortly," Colton explained, definitely feeling out of kilter with the young beauty. Though she smiled at him graciously, her eyes maintained their coolness. "I brought my tailor and his assistants from London, and knowing Mr. Gaines as I do, I'm sure he's anxious to get started." He was relieved to see his landau returning, for he was feeling at odds with the situation, and Bentley's timeliness would allow him to make good his escape. Though he dismissed the idea that his manly envy had been goaded by the sight of Adriana with another suitor, he realized he was definitely feeling something resembling jealousy.

"Then I shall bid you a good night," Adriana said and, turning about, accepted the proffered arm of her tall, broad-shouldered escort. Had he previously been puffed up by his own experience with women and their desire to please him, Colton suffered something akin to a brutal awakening as he watched the pair strolling off with their steeds in tow, for the lady never once glanced back as she smiled up at her handsome escort.

Bentley's questioning look was the last thing Colton wanted to confront when the carriage halted beside him. "Don't say anything," he urged sourly. "I'm not in the mood to tolerate any of your wisdom tonight."

Bentley glanced worriedly toward the couple. "Do you think Lady Adriana is taken with his lordship?"

"How the hell should I know! All I can say is that she's not taken with me!"

"Maybe she'll think better on it tomorrow," the driver tentatively suggested.

Colton snorted likely an angry bull. "Or more likely when hell freezes over."