The Reluctant Lark

by Iris Johansen

  Across the small table from her, Lettice Kitteridge lowered her binoculars and smiled with satisfaction. “James is in top form. Very top form.”

  Lord, Anne thought with amusement. He even had her grandmother drooling. No mean feat, if one knew Lettice. But James probably had every woman there panting. He usually did.

  She glanced over at the furious play farther down the field, then shrugged as nonchalantly as possible. At least she could show a natural interest in the other players.

  “He’s got a wonderful horse,” she said, pleased with her casual tone. Her insides were still pulsing with heat. “His string of ponies is magnificent.”

  Lettice fixed her granddaughter with what was known in the family as the “regal” eye.

  “Bull,” Lettice said, rapping the table with her hand. The discarded luncheon china and crystal rattled in response. “And who sighed when he rode past? A totally feminine sigh that had nothing to do with horses, I might add.”

  Anne cursed under her breath at her grandmother’s acute hearing. She glared back in defiance and lied. “How would I know?”

  “Well, it wasn’t me,” Lettice said. “And it certainly wasn’t Philip.”

  Anne turned around and looked at her nine-year-old son, perched on the back end of her Jeep, parked behind them. His small body was tense and still as he watched the game. Clearly, he was enraptured.

  “Are you sure it was a female sigh?” Anne asked, grinning.

  Lettice glanced at the boy, then smiled reluctantly. “Yes, I’m sure, but I won’t argue the point.”

  “For once,” Anne muttered.

  “I doubt you’ll admit to it anyway,” Lettice added. “I do wish, though, you hadn’t been so stubborn about marrying James.”

  Anne jerked at the sound of her deepest thoughts coming blithely from her grandmother’s lips. So much for a change of subject. She was determined to hold her patience with Lettice, however. The game was almost over, and she could go home to the safety of Makefield Meadows, her stud farm outside Washington’s Crossing, released finally from this torture. Still, she couldn’t allow Lettice to harbor such a dangerous notion.

  “Grandmother, there was nothing to be stubborn about—”

  “You two were a perfect match,” Lettice went on, oblivious. “I’ve always thought so. I have never understood why you just couldn’t give things a chance.”

  “Help me, Lord,” Anne murmured. A “perfect match” was the last thing she and James would ever be. She’d had one disastrous match with a Hollywood producer who had also owned horses. After that experience she wasn’t about to go for two. Besides, James had made his feelings for her all too clear many years ago.

  She shrugged again, trying to seem uninterested. “Since our families are friendly, I’m sure you all thought it would have been nice. But I’m not very … conventional, Grandmother. Or acceptable. You know that.”

  “Ridiculous,” Lettice said. “You’re a Kitteridge.”

  Anne smiled at her grandmother’s pronouncement. As a child she’d overheard too many catty comments about her father marrying his secretary not to know differently. Being a Kitteridge hadn’t made her mother “acceptable.” Fortunately, her parents hadn’t cared. They just went happily along continuing to publish The World, her father’s travel magazine. Unfortunately, their daughter had always felt a little like an outcast.

  “Still,” Lettice continued, obviously finding an opening, “why you ever insisted on becoming a professional jockey, or marrying that bas—”

  “Grandmother,” Anne warned, glancing at Philip. Although she thoroughly agreed with her grandmother’s opinion of her ex-husband, Ellis Crawford, she didn’t want it said in front of her son. Philip’s hearing aid picked up more than people thought. But she needn’t have worried. Philip was in pololand.

  “Well, now you breed horses,” Lettice said, changing gears slightly. “Unfortunately, you won’t do it from a desk as others do.”

  “It’s no fun that way,” Anne said, grinning. She sobered and added, “It took me a long time to accept that I’ll never fit in with this.” She waved a hand at the picnickers enjoying the Sport of Princes. “I’ll never be Ellen. She was born with the silver spoon. I wasn’t. I like who I am, and I like what I do. I’m sorry if that disappoints you, Grandmother.”

  Lettice harrumphed. “You have never disappointed me, child. It’s just that you seem to be deliberately eccentric. But you are more like Ellen than you know.…”

  Anne laughed. Her cousin was beautiful, always poised and elegant. She had no illusions about herself, however.

  “But you’re steering me away from the meat of the matter.” Lettice raised her eyebrows. “So, my girl, you’ve never considered marrying James because you think you’re unsuitable.”

  “Grandmother!” Anne exclaimed at the outrageous notion. “That’s not at all why—”

  “Then if you do think you’re suitable, why haven’t you gone after him?” Lettice demanded.

  “Why should I—” Anne clamped her lips shut. This conversation was losing all semblance of reality. “Grandmother, James and I have never ‘clicked,’ okay? I threw up on him at my christening. That set the tone of our ‘relationship’ ever since. Haven’t you noticed we rarely see each other as adults? I have too many reasons not to get involved with anyone. And James … Well, anything else is just wishful thinking on your part.”

  The game ended just then, and the cheers of the crowd drew their attention. The score showed that James’s team had won. It figured, Anne thought. James, like her cousin, Ellen, fit in effortlessly.

  “Mr. Farraday’s really good,” Philip exclaimed, finally coming out of his trance.

  So even her son was enamored … and right. She smiled at Philip. “You liked the game.”

  “It was great. Mom, can I go look at the horses?”

  She hesitated for an instant, then nodded. The makeshift stables were about one hundred yards behind the game field. “Be back here in twenty minutes. The stable’s a temporary setup, so be careful.”

  Philip snorted. “I know how to be around a stable, Mom.”

  She made a face. “So you do. I’m just being a mom.”

  Philip scrambled out of the Jeep and disappeared into the crowd. Anne suppressed a ripple of anxiety for her son. Near deafness in one ear was hardly cause for maternal overprotectiveness, and she knew it. But she had never quite rid herself of that twinge of worry.

  “It’s good that you don’t fuss over him,” Lettice said. “But he’s a quiet boy. Sometimes too quiet, I think.”

  “I know. He needs more confidence.” She was trying hard to encourage that in Philip. It was one of the reasons she had let him go just now. California had done its damage. She only hoped it wasn’t irreparable.

  On the field, the players shook hands with one another, then turned their tired horses toward the stables. Anne had settled back in her lawn chair as they rode past, but Lettice stood up and waved. To Anne’s horror, she called out, “James! Stop a moment and have some victory champagne!”

  “What the hell are you doing, Grandmother?” Anne whispered fiercely as James turned around. He waved back and swerved his horse in their direction.

  Lettice’s look was the soul of innocence. “Being social, dear.”

  “And I’m Whitney Houston,” Anne muttered. She curled her fingers around the polished wood armrests, knowing she couldn’t walk away without looking snobbish or silly. Heat flamed her face as she remembered the desire flooding through her body when she had watched him play. Lettice deserved to be roasted over a fire, she decided. James had certainly sparked one in her.

  He dismounted and caught her staring before she could turn away. His gaze seemed to bore into her. Dirt streaked his face, but the smile he gave her was almost dazzling in its intimacy. He held the reins of his horse loosely in one hand, the bay following him like an obedient puppy.

  The deep throbbing she had finally suppressed surged back hotter and
fiercer than before. She desperately wanted to run. Obviously, she was more of a sucker for a man on a horse than she’d thought.

  Somehow, she managed to stand as he reached them. She was immediately aware of the mingled scents of man and animal, primitive and enticing. He greeted her grandmother with a kiss on the cheek. Anne immediately stuck out her hand. She doubted he would give her the same greeting, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

  It was still a mistake.

  His fingers reached out and curved around hers … and held. She was frozen to the spot, the buzzing in her ears deafening all other sounds. She could feel only his palm pressed hotly to hers, sending signals of ageless sensuality throughout her body. It was as if time were standing still.

  James Farraday stared at the woman before him. She was small-boned and slender and more beautiful than ever. A cloud of dark, shoulder-length hair spun around her face like an ethereal halo. Her large blue-green eyes, the Kitteridge trademark, were wide and fathomless. Her slim nose had a slight bump that intrigued rather than marred. Her lips were full and bow-shaped, urging a man to trace them with his finger, his lips, his tongue. Her dress was belted at a waist most women would kill to have, and the yellow linen skimmed over her breasts, hips, and thighs, outlining a body beautifully formed from a lifetime of riding. A simple gold chain necklace and button earrings were her only jewelry.

  Annie Kitteridge had bedeviled him from the moment he had seen her as a baby, and she bedeviled him now more than ever. She had always been independent and stubborn, and possessed a vitality that shone out of her. He was glad it hadn’t been dimmed by a bad marriage. The thought of that marriage made his hackles rise. He wasn’t sure who or what to hate for it. He just knew a cruel twist of fate had shown him once what could be with Anne … and then denied her to him.

  He ached now to touch more than her hand; he wanted to explore her hidden secrets. It didn’t matter that they were in a field full of people. He would give anything to know if her mouth still held that sweet fire that had haunted his dreams for so long. But he could sense new barriers erected around her, barriers he was tempted to challenge. He knew he would never allow himself the pleasure. He had good reason not to.

  Still, he had been hoping she’d be here today. After the telephone call he had received this morning, he had a proposition for her. Quite a proposition.

  “Your champagne, James.”

  Lettice’s voice broke the spell with a painful snap. As James let go of her hand, Anne could hear a mental clock re-starting somewhere inside her. She pulled herself up and straightened her shoulders.

  “It’s nice to see you again, James,” she said in a polite tone. “Congratulations on the game.”

  James grinned as he took the filled champagne glass from Lettice. “I feel as if I’ve been through a war. You look beautiful, Anne. I’m glad you came.”

  She smiled her reply, not trusting her voice.

  “I hope it will not take me months of pleading to get you to come to another game, Anne,” Lettice said to her. “Especially as you can see how much Philip enjoys it.” She added for James’s benefit, “He’s at the stables now. Probably looking at your horses.”

  “I hope he likes them.”

  “He probably will,” Anne muttered.

  “I wonder if it’s a faux pas to play all out against royalty to win,” Lettice speculated aloud.

  “I’m sure Prince Charles wouldn’t have it any other way, Grandmother,” Anne said, grateful for the idle conversation. That fire was still licking through her, and she needed to regain her composure.

  “Our friend from England is a real fighter.” James chuckled. “He enjoyed himself out there.”

  “It was very gracious of him to play while he’s here on an official visit.”

  Anne choked back her laughter, knowing Lettice had arranged the match to entice the royal visitor and thereby gain prestige and needed money for one of her charities. “I don’t think he stood a chance.”

  “I know he didn’t,” James said, grinning at Lettice. He turned back to Anne. “Annie, I need to talk to you—”

  He was interrupted by several women suddenly flocking around him. He gave all of them a charming smile, and an odd pain knifed through Anne. She judged the other women were in their early thirties. She didn’t recognize any of them, but she’d bet her trust fund there was a Muffy, Buffy, or Babs in the group. There always was. Worse, the women were beautiful, very feminine in their flowered silk dresses and floppy hats. Her own dress now seemed too tailored and out of place. And the way they fluttered around James made her think of hot-house flowers desperate for a little pollenation. They probably were.

  The interruption was for the best, she decided. She didn’t know which was worse. James needing to talk to her … or him calling her by her childhood nickname.

  James’s horse, startled by the sudden influx of strange humans, whinnied his dismay and pulled free of his master’s loose grip. A scared horse was a potentially dangerous one, Anne knew. Sure enough, before anyone could grab his reins, the horse wreaked his own brand of havoc.

  He walked over to Anne, butted his nose against her chest, and blew gustily down the front of her dress in a horsey sign of affection.

  Anne pushed the horse’s head away in one deft movement, then gazed at her now ruined dress. She sighed in resignation.

  James got the women. She got the horse. Dudley Do-right would have been proud of her.

  “The last animal who did this to me, bub,” she said to the horse, “got curried with a brush that had five-inch steel bristles.”

  The horse butted her chest again.

  “Masochist,” she muttered, giving in and scratching the animal on its long black muzzle.

  Under her hand, the animal’s hide was soaked in sweat. She set her jaw in anger as she felt the rest of the horse’s head and neck. While James was drinking champagne and flirting with his “flowers,” his horse had been left to sweat in exhaustion. A good horseman took care of his animal before himself. At least the horse wasn’t lathered, but it still needed to be cooled down and taken to the stables. She was ashamed that she had been so preoccupied with James, she hadn’t noticed the animal’s plight before this.

  “I’m sorry, Anne,” James said, breaking away from his groupies. He patted the horse on the neck. “Monroe does that when he likes someone.”

  “So I discovered.”

  James grinned. “He has excellent taste. But your dress.… Get a new one and send me the bill.”

  “That’s very nice of you,” she said while privately deciding she’d be damned before she did. She handed over the reins. “He needs attention, James.”

  “I know.” He looked around the field. “The groom should have come for him by now. But I figured this might happen. That’s why I can spare only a minute. You’ll be at the dance tonight, right?”

  “I don’t think so,” she said, ruthlessly forcing away a flush of embarrassment. She knew she shouldn’t feel embarrassed that she’d pointed out his horse needed attention.

  “Yes, she is going,” Lettice corrected her.

  Anne glared at her grandmother. She had forgotten about the damn dance tonight. She couldn’t go now. “I know I agreed to come to the match, Grandmother, but I shouldn’t be away from the farm at this time of year—”

  “Nonsense.” Lettice glared right back. “You have very competent people working for you. They know you are only a phone call away. Besides, you wouldn’t want to disappoint me, would you? Or James.”

  Anne gritted her teeth, knowing she was caught in a social trap. “Of course not.”

  “Good,” James said. “I’ll see you there. It’s important.” He stared at her for a moment longer, then gulped back the last of his champagne and shoved the glass into her hands. He turned to Lettice. “I’ll take Monroe to the stables, then come back for the trophy presentation. They’ll want you at that too, Lettice. After all, you arranged this match.”

  “I’ll go
with you to the stables,” one of the other women volunteered.

  “Thanks, Buffy,” James said, “but it’s hectic back there. And very dirty. I wouldn’t want you to ruin that beautiful dress.”

  Buffy looked both shocked and grateful, and Anne hid a smile. She had made a sure bet with her trust fund. Buffy did look … enchanting. Anne forced away the urge to shred the Gibson Girl hat the woman was wearing. It was a silly thought. Anyway, Lettice would kill her if she did.

  It was then she realized all of the women were scowling at her as if she had deliberately forced the horse to ruin her dress and draw James’s attention from them. She arched her eyebrows and gazed at them in cool defiance.

  James took the horse to the stables, Buffy and crew electing to forgo that pleasure.

  “So much for your ideas about James, Grand mother,” Anne said in a low voice as the other women departed.

  “Nonsense. A little competition is good for the soul,” Lettice said. “James is an attractive boy. You certainly wouldn’t want someone who scratches himself every ten seconds, now, would you?”

  Anne eyed the other women sourly as they teetered away, their ridiculously high heels sinking into the ground. She also admitted her grandmother might have a point.

  “No comment,” she finally said.

  “Naturally, you wouldn’t,” Lettice said. “I better get over to the presentation. Then we’ll go home and change for the dance.”

  As her grandmother headed for the knot of officials on the playing field, Anne shook her head and began to pack up the remains of their picnic.

  “There is no way I will be at that damn dance tonight,” she muttered to herself. After her gaping schoolgirl reaction to James, she’d be stupid to expose herself again to his charm.

  Incredibly stupid.