by Rebecca King
The women would indeed do his job for him by spreading the news of his wealth to the locals. The more people who found out about his wealth and status, the faster the thief would hear of it and ultimately get caught trying to break into Joshua’s new home – hopefully before he callously murdered any more innocent victims.
“Fine. Fine, I am coming,” Joshua growled with a huff of disgust.
He raced down the stairs and threw a filthy glare in Hamish’s direction. Once at the door, he waited long enough for his colleague to disappear before yanking it open. Joshua pasted a forced smile on his face, which vanished the second he laid eyes on his visitors.
“Good afternoon, ladies,” he called only to stare in disbelief when he took a truly good look at Miss Annalisa Carrington. Joshua realised instantly that Hamish hadn’t done her any justice when he had described her.
Beautiful isn’t the right word. She is captivating, gorgeous, stunning, a delight to behold. Woah, Joshua, what in the world has happened to you?
Whatever it was, Joshua didn’t like it. He didn’t like the way his world swirled on its axis and threw everything into confusion. He didn’t like the way he suddenly found it difficult to think of something intellectual to say. He didn’t like the way his heart began to pound as the blood rushed in his ears. Moreover, he didn’t like the way he seemed to be staring at an equally stunned Annalisa, who was looking back at him with equal dismay.
Don’t. Don’t find things in common with her. You are complete opposites. Remember that and you might be able to thwart whatever it is that has just overtaken your senses.
Of course, Joshua had no idea what had overtaken his senses because all he could focus on was Annalisa, and just how stunning she looked in her pretty pale lemon dress. Standing bathed in early morning sunlight, she had an etheric hue of porcelain perfection that was achingly beautiful.
“Come on in,” he croaked. He stepped back and stared at the floor while he tried to remember who he was and what he was supposed to be doing.
When neither woman moved, Joshua looked up but his gaze landed on Annalisa, who was now looking at him as if she had never seen anything like him before in her life.
“Is Mr Richardson not at home?” Yvette began nervously. She looked around the otherwise still and silent hallway as if expecting the man in question to step out of a room.
“No. He, er, isn’t at home at the moment,” Joshua replied.
“I am sorry. I don’t believe we have ever met,” Yvette continued a little disjointedly.
“No, we haven’t,” Joshua replied with a bow. “Mr Joshua Holton, at your service.”
“Mr Holton? I don’t believe Mr Richardson has ever mentioned you.”
“Maybe he hasn’t,” Joshua murmured obliquely.
Annalisa forced herself not to squirm when she realised she was the sole focus of Mr Holton’s unwavering attention. In that one careful look she suspected that Mr Holton had looked into her soul and had seen her deepest, darkest secrets. It left her feeling acutely vulnerable, and without any doubt that he had seen far too much for her to ever be completely at ease around him. She wanted to turn around and run for home, but her feet wouldn’t move.
It isn’t just the way he is looking at you that is so unnerving.
Annalisa knew that the wild thrill of attraction that had just slammed into her had something to do with why her mind wouldn’t work properly. She never usually struggled to know what to say in such situations, but now she didn’t seem able to string a sentence together. Nothing seemed to make any sense. Her heart was pounding. Her stomach had dipped to her toes and started to flutter. Her hands had begun to shake although she had no idea why. She wasn’t scared. She was unnerved. It was different.
I have never felt like this before. Not with a stranger, and never with someone like him.
Joshua was indeed someone she had hardly ever seen in a village like Bamtree. He was urbane, well dressed, obviously wealthy and, worryingly, incredibly handsome. At well over six feet in height, his broad shoulders seemed to make the large entrance hall shrink in size. His towering presence wasn’t overwhelming, though. It was mesmerising because there was a hidden power, a magnetism about him that was strangely appealing, if a little worrying because it didn’t seem at all at home in a house like Mr Richardson’s.
When she looked up, their eyes clashed. They didn’t meet. This was no calm, matter-of-fact greeting or mere curious attempt at friendship. Their gazes slammed together, locked, sought and challenged before edging away – or trying to. After that one glance, neither of them seemed able to move; to break the silent connection which burst to life immediately and began to build with each passing second.
It was so strong that Annalisa wondered briefly if she might be able to reach out and touch it. For her, the world around them, the house they were in, ceased to exist. It faded into insignificance in the wake of the intense emotions which left her questioning everything. She shook from head to foot as a slow avalanche of sensation swept through her. Fear, delight, worry, anxiety, self-doubt, excitement, all swirled in a kaleidoscope of confusion that left her staring at the stranger with growing unease.
He is handsome, charming, roguish even, but no more so than any other gentleman I have ever met, so why should this man affect me so?
Unfortunately, none of the other men Annalisa had met had a certain presence about them, a powerful hint of command, that was as entrancing as the one Joshua had about him. There was an element of danger about this man that was thinly veiled, of that there could be no doubt. From the way he stood, with his spine straight and shoulders squared, he looked prepared to face any challenge life would throw at him. Annalisa had no doubt that Mr Joshua Holton was not a man to cross. She suspected that only the most foolish of fools would challenge this man to any kind of skirmish, mostly because she doubted this stranger rarely lost any battle he was involved in. It should have been reassuring given everything that had been happening of late in the area. It wasn’t. It was downright disturbing, but on a more feminine level because Annalisa suspected this man had the ability to break hearts.
Well, he isn’t going to break my heart.
“Ahem.”
Annalisa jerked when she heard her aunt’s rather pointed cough. Her gaze flew to her relation and her eyes widened when she realised she had just been rudely staring at the handsome stranger in Mr Richardson’s property.
“We have just come around to check on Mr Richardson,” Yvette explained, peering around the handsome stranger to look through the partially open study door. She lifted the bowl in her hands. “We brought him some apples from our orchard. Is he not around?”
“Ah, no.” Joshua rubbed the back of his neck such was his discomfort while he tried to remember what story he should be telling them.
When he looked up, he found his gaze compellingly drawn to Annalisa again. Whoever the woman was, she was what could only be described as statuesque but also incredibly beautiful, with luscious ringlets which cupped her face each time she moved, and wonderful azure eyes which seemed to score his soul. He was enchanted and immediately wanted to gaze at her some more while at the same time everything within him was screaming at him that everything was wrong about her. She was the wrong woman in the wrong house in the wrong area.
She is most definitely the wrong woman for me.
She would have been the right woman, had she lived in London. But she didn’t. She lived in a backwater called Bamtree, which was swiftly turning into the bane of his life.
“When is he due back?” Yvette asked, trying her hardest to keep her tone conversational and light.
“He isn’t,” Joshua replied. “For a while at least. He has, ah, gone away. Indefinitely. In fact, he might not be coming back.”
“Oh? Mr Richardson has gone away? Where to?” Yvette pierced him with a steady frown that left Joshua in no doubt she didn’t believe him for a second.
Damned meddling female.
Joshua mentally
cursed. The urge to puff out his cheeks was strong but he resisted it because it made him look as if he was struggling, which he was, he just couldn’t let her know it.
Hamish, you should be doing this job not me. You know the locals better than I do.
But then he had to remind himself that the locals also knew Hamish better than himself and would rumble his disguise within a heartbeat.
“He didn’t mention to us that he was going away,” Yvette continued with an askance look at Annalisa who shook her head causing her ringlets to bob and dance about her face.
Joshua looked so lost in thought that for a moment, Annalisa didn’t think he was going to reply.
“I didn’t realise he needed to,” Joshua replied dryly.
Yvette studied him, as if trying to understand what he was, who he really was, and whether she should just leave and go to the magistrate.
In the end, she decided to try again. “When will he be back?”
“I don’t know.”
“I am sorry, I don’t wish to be impertinent and rude, but it is highly unusual of Mr Richardson to go away. Why, in all the years we have known him he has never even ventured into town to stay overnight has he, dear?” Yvette lifted her brows at her niece.
“He has gone to stay with his sister,” Joshua offered.
“Sister?” Annalisa frowned.
She smelt a rat and stared at the handsome stranger a little sternly when he challengingly met her gaze. Forcing herself to ignore the wild flurry of attraction she felt when he looked at her, Annalisa contemplated why Joshua was lying.
Joshua mentally winced because doubt was written clearly on her face.
“I didn’t realise he had a sister,” Yvette mused suspiciously.
“Well, he did,” Joshua declared flatly.
Yvette looked alarmed. “Did?”
“She has died,” Joshua corrected. “Recently. Which is why he has gone. Away. For a bit. He won’t be long, though. I am sure he will be missing home, you know, as you do when you go away for – a bit.”
It was the first time in his life that Joshua had ever resorted to babbling. With a disgusted huff, he forced himself to stop talking and glared at them. In the study behind him, he could have sworn he heard Hamish snigger, and mentally threw a vile curse in his colleague’s direction. Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Joshua tried not to squirm beneath the penetrating stares of his now suspicious guests. Although he tried to assure himself it was a part of his job, Joshua felt guilty for having lied to them, and Annalisa in particular. It felt as if he had done something heinously wrong in lying to the beautiful neighbour. A part of him wanted to grovel at her feet and beg her forgiveness for being so duplicitous, which was so uncharacteristic of him that he had to contemplate why she made him feel like it.
She makes me feel things I shouldn’t be feeling, damn it. The first nubile young woman who crosses my path in an age is so out of reach she may as well be in a nunnery. She is so damned appealing I cannot concentrate on anything, not even my job.
Joshua sighed because he knew that Miss Annalisa Carrington might be safer if she was in a nunnery. He knew that if he reached out he could touch those bobbing ringlets and see for himself if they really were as soft as they looked.
What in the hell is wrong with me?
Mentally wincing, Joshua squared his shoulders and lifted a condescending brow at his unwanted visitors.
“I would invite you to stay and take tea with me but I have only just arrived and haven’t come prepared to socialise. My uncle, Mr Richardson, has given me permission to stay while he is visiting his sister because I needed somewhere to do my – research.”
“Research? Oh? Into what?” Yvette asked with open curiosity.
“Flora and fauna,” Joshua bit out.
Annalisa huffed a laugh and tried, poorly, to disguise it with a cough. She really wanted to laugh aloud not least because she knew the man had absolutely no idea how visible his mental squirming was. It was quite reassuring to witness it really because after her first impression of him, this somewhat vulnerable side of her handsome neighbour warned her that he was just like everyone else – fallible. Mr no-nonsense, get the job done, was squirming.
He is also a liar who is making it up as he goes along.
She squinted suspiciously at him, almost relishing him having to come up with more lies. To her amusement, he glared at her, as if already sensing what she was going to do.
Good, I hope he is just as shaken by our first meeting as I am.
It was nice to see that he was just as shaken, albeit for entirely different reasons.
Beggars can’t be choosers. He is squirming. That will do for me.
Annalisa lifted her brows at him. “I am sorry, where did you say Mr Richardson’s brother lives – lived?”
“I didn’t,” Joshua snapped. “I said he had gone to visit his sister.”
“Who has recently died.” Annalisa nodded in a thoughtful way that implied disbelief. “That should be a conversation worth hearing.”
Their gazes met. This time, Annalisa could see humour twinkling in his eyes. He knew she had rumbled him, but still refused to relinquish his story and tell the truth. She, in turn, fought a smile of supreme delight at having caught this man off-guard.
Joshua almost snorted with laughter and pursed his lips.
“I am only here for a few days,” he assured her, as if to reassure her that she wouldn’t have to worry about his credibility for long.
Annalisa and Yvette slid a knowing look between them, leaving Joshua in no doubt that a wealth of conversation had just passed between the women he was not privy to. He almost wanted to ask what they were saying, because he didn’t like the cautious looks they were giving each other. It warned him that they were concocting something and it was connected to him and the story he had just given them.
They are probably deciding if they should interrogate me some more. With their skills they should work with the Star Elite.
He was starting to sweat and was already mentally running through what he had just told them, checking for flaws or holes in his story which would trip him up later. He made a point of withdrawing his very expensive pocket watch only to look up and mentally swear when he saw that neither of the women were looking. They were, however, trying to peer into the study to their left, and the sitting room to their right. He mentally winced because he knew the polite and gentlemanly thing to do would be to at least invite them into the sitting room, but that would mean making them welcome and they weren’t.
“Would you give us Mr Richardson’s direction? I should like to write to him and send my condolences, and offer assistance should he need any,” Yvette asked.
“Oh, he will be back before it reaches him, I am sure,” Joshua assured her.
“But an address shouldn’t inconvenience you much, surely? Unless you don’t have it?”
“Of course I do,” Joshua growled.
“I am sorry, but I thought you said that Mr Richardson had gone to visit his newly deceased sister,” Annalisa asked.
“Yes, that’s right,” Joshua bit out.
He forced himself to ignore the wild surge of attraction that slammed into him every time he looked at her. All he had to do was take one look at that clear complexion, those sparkling eyes of hers, and he struggled to remember what day it was. Had they been alone, he would have taken the very bold step of slamming a kiss onto those luscious lips of hers and watching her run all the way home. But he couldn’t. Not only was her aunt present but he had a job to do and his work had to come first.
I will have to content myself with gazing at her like a love-struck adolescent.
“And Mr Richardson is your uncle,” Annalisa continued.
“Yes.”
“Isn’t his sister your mother or aunt? Or does Mr Richardson have more siblings he didn’t tell us about?” Annalisa murmured.
Joshua mentally sighed. He stared blankly at her while he mentally cursed and tried to re
member how he could have missed such a huge gaping hole and fallen straight into it himself, without any help from her.
God, she has the most mesmerising eyes.
With a sigh, he threw her a rueful look, as if to silently assure her he was impressed with her logic. Even so, he couldn’t take her into his confidence and the women the truth.
“He is my uncle. My father is his brother,” Joshua corrected.
“So Mr Richardson had a sister and a brother?” Yvette lifted her brows askance at him. “Should you not be at your aunt’s funeral as well?”
“I have just been.”
“But Mr Richardson was only here the day before yesterday,” Yvette countered flatly.
Joshua sighed and knew he was just digging himself deeper and deeper with each passing minute. He suspected he might have done better if he had just started to hit his head against the wall beside him and kept banging it. He would end up with far less of a headache than the one he faced now.
Now they are completely suspicious of me, and I am going to have every local watching me, but not because they are interested in my wealth and deciding if I am worth robbing. No. They are going to be looking at me, watching me, firmly believing that I am the bloody thief. Great. Wonderful. Roger is going to kill me.
“I am sorry. Did you say you had some apples for him? I will see that he gets them just as soon as he returns,” Joshua murmured smoothly while relieving the woman of her bowl.
Yvette reluctantly handed it over and then stepped back to look at the handsome stranger. It was quite striking just how much he kept staring at Annalisa. While she should be quietly thrilled that Annalisa had an admirer, she was inwardly horrified because there was something odd about this handsome stranger, and it wasn’t in a good way. He wasn’t reclusive, shy, and just seeking a quiet life like Mr Richardson had been. This man was completely the opposite. Unless she was very mistaken, Mr Joshua Holton was incredibly dangerous. There was a sharpness to his look that gave her no doubt there wasn’t much in life he hadn’t witnessed or dealt with. He also had a hardness about him that warned her he could be ruthless when crossed.
