A Summons From Yorkshire (Regency Christmas Summons Collection 1)

by Johnstone, Julie

  Wide-eyed, she watched him. Her innocence was painfully apparent. Did she fear he’d kiss her?

  Would she kiss him back?

  As he thought the words, he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Her gasp was muffled and of short duration. She lifted herself to meet him. He caught her face in his hands, sweeping the loose locks back while tasting her one more time.

  Sweet. He was correct. And more temptation than a man should have to bear. But bear it he must.

  He must.

  Looking into her eyes as he drew back, he wished for light to interpret her thoughts. “I am sorry, Lady Harriet. I should not have done that.”

  “You shouldn’t?”

  “Most certainly not. In the garden at a ball it might be permissible, even if not advisable. But alone in a carriage…most certainly not.”

  She pressed a hand to her lips. “I see.”

  “Forgive me?”

  “Yes, yes of course.”

  He dreaded having to return his arm to her shoulders, but there was no other place for it. Still, he wore his coat and she her pelisse, so there was that hindrance between them. He must put his mind to other things until he fell asleep.

  Lady Harriet yawned softly, her head coming to rest against his shoulder. Her breaths slowed. Morley couldn’t help himself; he buried his nose in her curls and filled his senses with her scent. His own lack of sleep was becoming apparent, but the warmth of the young woman had him wishing for a bed to share with her.

  Before he could fight off that thought, he rested his head on hers, closed his eyes, and drifted off.

  ~ 5 ~

  The sound of an approaching carriage made Harriet stir, but only enough to snuggle closer to the warmth beside her. Her bed was so cold, so uncomfortable.

  Someone pounded hard on the door. “Hallo, inside.” The man’s voice was not one she recognized. She tried to pry open her eyelids and clear her head. Who would be beating on her bedroom door?

  “Who’s out there?”

  The masculine voice beside her, and the rumble of his chest beneath her cheek, brought her fully awake. What had she done? Pushing back the locks of hair that covered her eyes, she recognized Lord Morley. The previous night came back to her in a rush. The memory of their brief kiss brought instant heat to her face.

  Daylight peered in around the carriage curtains, allowing her to see a very disheveled Lord Morley open the door. He barked at the man outside. “Yes, what is it?”

  “Lord Alderford’s daughter was taken from the inn at Bloomingham during the night. He was told this carriage was the only one to leave the inn.”

  Harriet gasped, hearing the words from the man she now recognized as her father’s tiger. They thought she was kidnapped! Of course they would assume that. She had never done anything so foolish as this. She must do whatever was necessary to protect Archie from her father’s wrath.

  Lord Morley’s hand motioned behind his back, and she assumed he wanted her to remain quiet. He cleared his throat before speaking. “We did stop there briefly. Perhaps I should speak to Lord Alderford. Is he back at the inn?”

  “No, sir. He and Lady Alderford are in their carriage.” He motioned towards the road.

  “Yes, well, tell him I shall speak to him momentarily.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Wet footsteps sounded from outside as the boy ran away. Harriet bit her knuckle in trepidation. Should she go to her parents now? Was there any way Archie could forestall the inevitable meeting?

  He yanked the door closed and turned to face her, his countenance dark and threatening. Harriet pulled the blankets up even higher on her person and tried to sink back into the padded bench seat. “What will you say to him?”

  “What else can I say but the truth? It’s what you will say that concerns me.”

  “Me? Must I speak to him now? Can’t you take me to Bath with you? I will write to him from there and not even mention your name. I’ll just say I obtained a ride with a friend, whose family I’m staying with until Grandpapa’s ridiculous notion passes.”

  The corner of Archie’s mouth twitched, and for a moment she thought he would smile. Then his eyebrows pulled together. “The duke’s ridiculous notion? And what notion is that? The expectation that his granddaughter will come when he bids her?”

  She shrugged and answered in a small voice. “No, the one where he’ll have me marry against my wishes.”

  “Lady Harriet, perhaps my sister has filled you with her own romantic imaginings, but very rarely are a young lady’s wishes considered in matters of marriage. Your father is an earl, your grandfather, a duke. There are expectations about your future.”

  “Precisely. That is why I can’t go to Yorkshire. Please. As Ellie’s brother, you must help me.”

  “As Eleanor’s brother, I must return you to your father. Just as I would expect your brother to do for her, should she prove herself as ridiculous as you are behaving.”

  Ridiculous? How could she have believed they had an understanding? She was certain he was planning to help her escape her fate. She had even dreamed they met again in a ballroom and he asked for two dances. She dreamed they shared a mad passion, and he had kissed her in the gardens at Vauxhall.

  And such a kiss it had been!

  With a heavy sigh, she admitted to herself she had been ridiculous, at least in her dreams. She felt for the pins remaining in her hair and attempted to straighten the wild mess. Her father was going to shout, she was certain, and her mother would probably faint. Would they believe Lord Morley the innocent victim of her scheme?

  She stole a glance at Archie. In the light of dawn, his hair was a darker chestnut than his sister’s, and his eyes were a rich hazel. He was much more handsome than she had imagined him from Ellie’s stories. He continued to frown, probably anticipating her father’s ire. She must make certain Archie wasn’t forced to marry her. He did not deserve such a fate, no matter how much it appealed in her dreams.

  Pushing the blankets aside, she rose and tugged at her pelisse. “I am ready.”

  Archie descended the step and lifted a hand to her, helping her gain her footing in the slippery mud. He led the way towards her father’s carriage. She hurried to remain close in his shadow, hiding as long as she could from what she faced.

  At his knock, the carriage door opened. Papa shouted, “What is it, man? We are in a hurry to be on our way.”

  “I’m Lord Morley, my lord. My sister has an acquaintance with Lady Harriet. It’s rather cold out here, might we come inside?” Archie stepped aside, allowing her father to see her. “There is much to explain.”

  “Harriet!” Papa’s anger rattled the windows.

  “Hello, Papa. Mama. I’m quite safe, as you see.” Her entire person shook, but she maneuvered the step. When she went to sit by her mother, she was roughly guided from behind to sit beside her father.

  After bowing awkwardly, Lord Morley squeezed between her mother and their maid. “Forgive the lack of introduction, Lady Alderton. I am Archibald Napier, Viscount Morley. I believe you have met my sister, Lady Eleanor.”

  Harriet watched relief erase the lines on her mother’s brow. Mama practically glowed at Archie. “Oh, I am so relieved! We were certain Harriet had been kidnapped, yet she was with your sister all this time.”

  She frowned at Harriet. “My dear girl, you should have told me you were leaving. No, what am I saying? You know your grandpapa insists on seeing you. Whatever were you thinking?”

  “But Mama, I can’t marry yet. I don’t care who Grandpapa has chosen, I must have another Season before I make my decision.”

  “Decision?” Papa sputtered. “It is not yours to make.”

  Harriet ignored the annoyingly knowing nod from Archie. “Papa, please—”

  “Enough. I will hear no more of this.”

  Archie moved to rise. “Now that she is safe with you, I shall return to my carriage. My driver should be returning with a new wheel shortly.”

  “Not so q
uickly, young man.”

  Archie sank back onto the bench.

  ~ 6 ~

  Morley swallowed the burning in his gut. He’d not corrected Lady Alderford when she assumed his sister was traveling with him, and was grateful Lady Harriet had kept her tongue. He’d thought for a moment he would escape without consequences, but apparently that was not to be.

  He met Alderford’s stern gaze. “Sir?”

  “Your sisters can be trusted to keep this incident quiet?”

  Coughing into his hand, Morley looked down at his feet. “Of course, my lord. It will be as if they never learned of the event.”

  Lady Harriet made a peep, but he refused to look her way.

  “Very good. I’ll send a note along with a few coins to the inn, and I’m certain no one of consequence will hear of our daughter’s foolishness. I appreciate your discretion in the matter.”

  “Of course, sir.” Morley again rose. “Having four unmarried sisters, I fully understand foolish young ladies.”

  Lady Alderford grabbed his sleeve. “You cannot leave your sister in that broken carriage. Go and fetch Lady Eleanor, and you both may wait here for your driver to make the repairs. Burney, you may wait with Lady Eleanor’s maid.”

  Morley closed his eyes and prayed he would find himself in a dream. “My sister is not in the carriage, my lady.”

  “I don’t understand. Did you leave her behind at the inn?”

  Alderford barked, sounding as if he’d swallowed a bug. “Just where were you taking my daughter?”

  Unwilling to cower before the man even as he stooped inside the carriage, Morley met Alderford’s gaze. Lady Alderford spoke before he could. “But your other sisters travel with you?”

  He shook his head. “I travel alone, my lady.” He turned back to Harriet’s father and waited for the blow he felt sure to come.

  “What’s this about?” Alderford looked from his daughter to Morley as if uncertain whom to question. “Had you and my daughter arranged this elopement? But you are traveling in the wrong direction for Gretna Green.”

  Morley wouldn’t throw blame at Harriet, no matter how deserving she was. But he couldn’t conceive a believable explanation for traveling alone with a young woman. “There was no arrangement between us, my lord.”

  A small squeak from Harriet’s corner made him he stiffen, and however irrational, a wave of guilt pass through him. He would keeps his sisters’ foibles under wraps, wouldn’t he? And Eleanor would expect him to do the same for her bosom bow? Think, man.

  He began before the idea solidified. “It was my sister’s request, although clearly not a well-thought one. She is ill, you see, and we were uncertain of her recovery. In a moment of fever, she begged me to bring her friend to her. How could I refuse her dying wish?”

  Alderford’s right eyebrow rose ever so slightly, as did the tension in his voice. “And you chased my daughter for two days, then stole her in the night before she could awaken her parents?”

  Morley spun towards Lady Harriet. “Did you not leave a note with your maid, as you said you would?”

  Her eyes became saucers. “Why, no I—that is, I, I was so fearful of my dearest friend passing before I could see her. I wasn’t myself. I don’t recall whether I wrote the note or not.”

  His eyes squinted with the smile he fought to hide. Why did it feel so sinfully delightful to have her play along so well? It had nothing to do with not being parson-tied. She was a worthy partner, it would seem.

  “You should have wakened us,” Lady Alderford scolded her daughter. “And taken Burney with you. Traveling alone with a man—” her hands fluttered to cover her bosom. “I hate to think what people will say.”

  “I am sorry, Mama. I was quite distraught.” Lady Harriet’s expression appeared more like a cat who’d just finished a saucer full of cream.

  Lord Alderford sat quietly, but Morley felt the earl’s anger like daggers piercing any small amount of relief he felt. “A delightful tale, young man. Which leads me to assume the truth. You will not have your way in this.”

  Lady Harriet’s father nodded towards the women and continued. “You will not be marrying my daughter. You will not speak of the matter outside this carriage. No one will know of this.”

  “As you say, sir. No one will know of this.”

  “My dear husband, all we must do is let on to dear Papa how these two forgot themselves so close to the announcement of their betrothal.”

  A belt of terror tightened around Morley’s chest. Alderford nearly rose from his seat. “There is not, nor will there ever be, a betrothal between these two. I will not allow my daughter to marry a man who treats her reputation so callously. No. As I said, no one will know of the events of this night.”

  “You have my word, Lord Alderford. And now that your daughter is safely beside you, I shall return to my carriage.”

  “But what of your sister?”

  Closing his eyes, Morley swore to himself, then prayed for release from this discussion. “I shall tell her simply that I missed Lady Harriet’s departure for Yorkshire, and beg dear Eleanor to hold on until after the holidays.”

  The older woman smiled and raised a handkerchief to her eyes. Before anyone could stop him, he bowed and took his leave of the Alderford carriage. The cold air hit the dampness on his brow, and he realized he’d been fearing how the conversation would end. Yet he’d escaped with no threats of a special license being obtained.

  To think he’d believed his trip to Bath would be dull, uneventful—a break from the noise and excitement of his sisters’ company. Shaking his head, he pitied the man the Duke of Danby had chosen for his granddaughter. But not as much as he thanked the saints it was not him.

  Smithers wrestled with the carriage as Morley approached, attempting to raise it enough to remove the broken wheel. “Here, man, let me assist.”

  The physical labor of repairing the coach gave outlet to the anxiety he’d built up in Lady Harriet’s presence. It also gave him time to think more about her, and how she looked in the light of day.

  Her pale hair glowed in the early morning mist, despite the heavy clouds above. She was sunlight itself. Her eyes were bluer than he could recall seeing before, even among the diamonds of the recent years’ debutants. When she stepped out of his carriage, her tremulous smile had tugged at him. He’d felt an unexpected longing to kiss her fears away.

  Morley wiped the back of his gloved hand across his brow. He must stop thinking about the silly chit and celebrate for his narrow escape. Smithers tightened the wheel hub then nodded at his boss. “She be right sound, now, my lord.”

  Returning the nod, Morley strode through the muck to the door. Glancing at his boots as he stepped inside, he was grateful he was traveling alone. His mother would scold him soundly for tracking in all that mud. Yes, he was lucky on many fronts this morning.

  He woke later, uncertain how far they had traveled. His head pounded. He looked for the bread and cheese he’d acquired at the same stop he’d collected his stowaway. Once his hunger abated, he could think clearly again.

  Somehow, his thoughts returned to Lady Harriet. As hard as he might, he couldn’t imagine what she would look like at a ball, dressed in her finest gown with jewels woven amongst her curls. The image didn’t suit her. She seemed the type who ran willy-nilly through a meadow chasing after butterflies, mud on her hem, as his sisters often did. A true woodland nymph or fairy.

  He considered what her cousin Nick, his mate from Oxford, would say about the adventure, and instantly sobered. Nick would have his hide if he knew Morley had spent the night alone with Harriet, albeit a cold one in a broken carriage. Even worse. One must find some way of generating warmth, and what better way than exploring one another’s bodies beneath the blankets?

  No, Nick knew Morley too well to accept he’d kept his hands to himself.

  ~ 7 ~

  Lord Morley rocked and swayed with the rhythm of his carriage on the muddy road and stewed over the events of the pr
evious night. He’d given up on sleep. Long spells alone in the carriage normally didn’t trouble him, but this journey had been anything but normal.

  What a silly chit Lady Harriet was. He imagined his sisters to be just so. The idea gave him a headache. Would Eleanor stowaway on a carriage without knowing who was traveling within? Did their father realize the foolish notions these girls might take into their heads? And worse, act upon?

  He gnawed on the corner of his mouth. It was enough to make a man question his duty to bear children. Of course he and his chums, Nick and Drew, were much worse in their school antics.

  But rather, what could be worse than a young woman traveling alone? No chaperone, no maid. No sense, to be certain. A woman like that needed a firm hand, and her father obviously failed to apply one. Lady Harriet was clearly a spoiled, willful child. Not the type one might consider as a wife.

  If one were in search of a wife.

  And he was not. He had a few more years before his father would begin pressing him for an heir. As he, himself, was not a difficult man to please, the process of finding one should be of short duration. He had no foolish notions of love. That was the stuff of the novels his sisters carried with them everywhere.

  No, a simple affection and ease of conversation was all he required in a bride. Love and companionship would come in time.

  Of course, a pleasing countenance and attractive figure would go far in making the pursuit of an heir a more pleasurable adventure. Lady Harriet had both. While not the ripe curves of a mature woman, hers had been soft against him as she slept. He’d needed more control than he’d been aware he possessed to keep his hands from discovering exactly how heavy her breasts were.

  He shifted on the bench as his clothing grew uncomfortable. Perhaps while he was in Bath he’d find a lovely widow whose bed he could warm. That would banish any remaining desires his body held for Harriet. Lady Newbridge came to mind, or Mrs. Lester, if she had returned from the Continent.