by Jarecki, Amy
“I beg your pardon?” Water trickled. “I have no cousin. And what was so all important that you could not wait even a single minute for me to don a robe? I must say, your presence in my bedchamber is highly scandalous and disconcerting.”
A tick twitched in Reid’s jaw. “His name is Wagner Tupps.” Audrey gasped with such vehemence, Reid couldn’t help but face her. “Do you know him?” he demanded.
Her eyes grew as round as silver crowns. “N-n-no. I did not know he was my cousin.”
“Well, it appears he is. Your uncle Josiah had an illegitimate son who has lodged a claim on your estate and asked for your hand in marriage.”
Curling into the fists under her chin she looked terrified. “Oh, help.”
Bloody hell, the lass kens more than she’s letting on.
“What is it, Audrey? What do you know of this Mr. Tupps?”
“N-n-nothing. I just…I just…I just cannot.”
Reid slammed his fist into his palm. There he stood, towering over his ward while she tried to hide, curled into a wooden tub, and he was madder than a mob of swarming bees. “By God, I shall send out my own spies to ferret the bastard out of his hellhole, and then I shall show him exactly what happens to fortune hunters who bury their shovels in my paddock.”
“No, no, no. You mustn’t confront him yourself. You could be hurt.”
He sauntered toward her, his mind running wild. Christ, it didn’t help matters that she was dripping wet, completely naked, and looking more ravishing than she’d been in her damned red gown. If only he could tug her arms away from her breasts and pull her up to his aching body. Jesus Christ, the bed was only paces away…and she was so goddamned wet.
“Please…I am bathing, my lord…” She sank deeper into the tub while her eyes grew round as a doe’s.
His tongue slipped to the corner of his mouth while he tried to focus his mind. He was missing something, but could not yet see it. All he could see was a woman he wanted, but could never have because she was his blasted ward…and he was…
Damnation.
Before he left, he needed one more peek. Just one more glance at perfection.
Gulping, he slowly strode toward the wooden tub and allowed his gaze to sweep downward. Though she kept her arms taut across her breasts, their softness swelled above. And lower, a tiny waist flared into sumptuous hips—hips made mesmerizing by the water.
Reid grew weak at the knees while he glanced to the bed.
Dear God, I’m too damned close.
She curled forward, giving him a glimpse of the silken skin on her back. “I-I beg you not to put yourself in harm’s way, my lord.”
He shook his head as her softly spoken words smashed through his improper thoughts. “Do not concern yourself with me. I am very certain I have dealt with far more devious scoundrels than Wagner Tupps.” Before he did something he’d regret, he turned on his heel and pushed out the door.
Chapter Twelve
Dry and dressed in a yellow day gown, Audrey frantically paced the floor. Her fingers trembled like saplings in a storm, and she clasped them across her stomach while she tried to think. Good heavens, she could have died when the Earl of Seaforth marched straight into her chamber with that tempestuous look on his face. And without knocking!
For a moment, Audrey feared he might ravish her. And after listening to the news he’d imparted, she almost wished he had. Then she’d be a ruined woman and all this talk about marrying that evil-eyed villain would be moot. She might be tossed out of her home, but she could support herself with her fan painting.
Couldn’t I?
Audrey shuddered and looked up to the ornate ceiling relief above. Aside from Talcotts, she’d never lived anywhere else. But a dingy one-room hovel had to be preferable to a life with Wagner Tupps.
Why hadn’t Papa ever spoken of him?
During their brief encounter, he’d admitted to informing on her father. He’d admitted to being the catalyst that had led to Papa’s death…and then he’d threatened the earl. If she dared speak out against Mr. Tupps, who knew what he would do next?
Audrey shuddered.
What a complete, unequivocal mess!
If she had told Reid—er—Seaforth about the man’s threats at the ball, she would have put the earl’s life in peril. His Lordship even said he’d challenge the man to a duel for upsetting her. She could never, ever ask him to risk his life to bring honor to hers. And Mr. Tupps had been very clear: The earl would meet a gruesome end. Moreover, Tupps admitted to having a hand in Papa’s death. The foreboding pulsing through Audrey’s blood warned that Mr. Tupps was evil. She must not pique the man. To that end, the earl had already done enough for her. How could she send him into Satan’s den? And he’d acted ever so angry. She must prevent him from confronting the vulgar brute. A blackguard as evil as Mr. Tupps would be devious for certain. And if anything happened to Reid because of her actions, she would never forgive herself.
She squeezed her arms around her midriff, trying to still the sickly bile churning in her stomach.
How can I stop this?
Audrey dashed to the window embrasure and removed her father’s journal from beneath the cushion. Scanning the pages as fast as her eyes would allow, she desperately tried to find an entry mentioning Wagner Tupps or Uncle Josiah. Her pointer finger shook as she traced it down each page, and when she reached Papa’s last entry about traveling with the Earl of Seaforth, she leafed to the front and read the date of inception—17 March 1709.
With an enormous sigh, she looked to the door.
I must go back to Papa’s strongbox.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked.
“A missive for you, Miss Audrey,” Gerald called through the timbers.
“Come in.” She met the butler halfway as he delivered the letter on a silver platter. “Who is it from?”
“Doesn’t say.”
That was unusual. “Is the Earl of Seaforth in the library?”
“No, miss. He’s gone to scout the grounds with his men.”
Audrey plucked the letter from the tray and examined the seal. It was blank as well. “Thank you.”
A letter from one of her friends would definitely bear a seal. Those accursed fingers started shaking again as she ran them under the glob of hardened red wax.
Dear Miss Kennet,
By now Mr. Watford should have paid a visit to your bumbling guardian, and I imagine my desires have been presented to you. To be perfectly clear, I am the only heir to the Kennet estate. I intend to make you my wife and you will carry out my bidding. If you defy my generous offer, I will not only expose the Earl of Seaforth for being a Jacobite involved in a traitorous plot, but I will smear the good name of your father with the same testament. You will be ruined in the eyes of society just as my mother was. You will be cast out into the mire of the poverty-stricken, and I will show you no mercy, exactly as Nicholas Kennet showed my father.
That said, I trust you realize that we were born to be wed. Together we will build a strong and thriving family and make the Kennet coal mine more successful than ever before.
Your ardent suitor,
Wagner Tupps
Audrey closed the missive while a tear slid down her face. As she stowed the letter in the bureau drawer, her throat thickened until she could scarcely breathe. What had she done to deserve such wickedness? And he truly thought they had a chance to build a happy and content family?
Over my dead body.
* * *
Reid removed his riding gloves and tossed them on the entry table as he ascended the stairs to Coxhoe House’s first floor as if he’d lived there for years. He groaned. He’d already been there a month, and it didn’t appear as though he’d be heading home to Scotland anytime soon. This development with the interloping nephew had just added layers of complexity to his problems.
And after finding Audrey in the bath, and being too bull-brained to politely excuse himself while she dressed, he’d insis
ted on confronting her and questioning her about her cousin. What he hadn’t counted on was the lass being completely and utterly confounding and impossible to forget. And far bonnier than he’d ever imagined.
With his every step, his loins had stirred to life. By the time he’d left her chamber, Reid’s cods were tighter than a boxer’s fist. He needed to head home to Brahan Castle and resume his life. Bloody hell, even the passageways at Coxhoe House smelled of lavender and Audrey. He’d needed a brisk ride with his men to cool the fire thrumming through his blood. The only problem was, as soon as he entered the house, that damned lavender scent turned him into a lusty fool. He needed a woman, and there was no place nearby to find a suitable one.
He opened the door to the library and stopped short. God’s bones, no wonder the passageway smelled of freshly milled lavender soap. Audrey snapped her head up from her reading, looking like she’d been caught pinching a plum tart cooling in the kitchen window. She stood and wiped her hands on her skirts.
Reid knit his brows and strode forward, taking in the piles of parchment and journal she had strewn across the table. Aside from that, the picture of Josiah Kennet was open…hinged, like a cupboard. Behind it, a strongbox door also hung ajar. “What is this?”
“Da’s journal and parcel of old letters.”
“You kent he had a hidden strongbox and you did not tell me about it?”
Her shoulders dropped forward as she shook her head. “Please forgive me. I-I didn’t trust you at first. And then with the ball and the gown and everything else, it slipped my mind until a few hours ago.”
He scrubbed his knuckles through his hair. He’d been sifting through bookshelves and crannies for a damned month. He moved behind her and looked over her shoulder. “Have you found anything mentioning Mr. Tupps?”
She threw up her hands. “Nothing. Just some grumblings about being forced to pay Uncle Josiah’s debts. There’s an entry on the day of Uncle’s funeral, but never a word about a nephew, illegitimate or not.” She shoved the journal away. “Papa’s entries only go back as far as 1690, two years before I was born.”
“He was quite prolific.” Reid leafed through the journal nearest and found his name. “Holy hellfire, he’s even written things about the cause. If these fell into the wrong hands, someone might misunderstand what we’re trying to do.”
“Would they think Papa a traitor?”
“Jacobites have been thusly accused, though we are only trying to protect the succession.” He clamped his mouth shut, but then decided things had progressed too far for silence. Audrey already knew more than she ought. “Presently we’re trying to prevent the Occasional Conformity Act and push for the abolition of religion dictating the suitability of a king’s right to rule.”
She nodded. “I know. Papa wrote in detail about the queen’s insane fear of popery.” She pulled back the volume she’d pushed away and opened it to a page she’d marked with a slip of paper. “This is an entry where Papa speaks of Uncle Josiah’s abhorrent behavior.” A tear slipped from her eye. “He was vile—a libertine and a fop.”
Reid placed his hand on her shoulder. “You have nothing to concern yourself with, lass. I will not let that slug claim you for his bride. I shall go to the ends of the earth to prove him a liar if I must.”
“No!” She twisted from under his palm and pounded her fist on the desk, her hands shaking. “You must not. Do you not see you must leave immediately? He will do you harm.”
Reid chuckled. “I’ve only met one man who could match me, and that was afore I reached my prime.”
She backed away, her eyes filled with fear. “But there are methods other than force to hurt a man like you. Please, do not take on Mr. Tupps. I fear it will come to a grave end if you do.”
Dear Lord, her lips quivered. This whole affair had the poor lass at her wits’ end, and she seemed more worried about him than about herself. How could that be? Tupps was trying to force her into an unwanted marriage. Reid needed to protect Audrey, needed to ensure gold diggers didn’t try to take advantage of her. His heart swelling, Reid pulled the lass into his arms and ran his hands along her back. Christ, she seemed so delicate. “Leave this ugly business to me. I’ll find a way to discredit him.”
She tensed. “You must not. I have a very bad feeling about him.”
“’Tis my duty to see to your protection.” He cupped her face between his palms. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she replied airily, whispered through kissable, pert lips that could only have been hewn by an angel’s hand.
They both stood breathless, gazing into each other’s eyes. Reid’s heart hammered as if he’d run a footrace. Heaven help him, he wanted this lass. Wanted her so badly, he couldn’t think straight when she was near, couldn’t rationalize between his duty to protect her and his unequivocal desire to do so.
As if pulled by forces outside his body, he inclined his head downward.
Audrey’s gaze slipped to his mouth. He needed to kiss her, at least once, and this time neither heaven nor hell would stop him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Audrey pursed her delicate lips. He slid his hands to her shoulders, dipped his head, and plied those delicious lips with the gentlest kiss he’d ever given in his life. She softened to him and, a growl rumbling in his throat, he slid his arms around her again to feel her body mold to his. Heaven help him, her pert breasts against his chest practically begged to be released from the cage of her stays.
He teased her lips with his tongue until she blessed him by parting ever so slightly and allowing a taste.
With every new sensation, Reid’s desire grew. Fighting to maintain a tempo befitting Audrey’s inexperience, he coaxed her mouth wider until he entwined his tongue with hers. Her eyelids fluttered closed with her sultry sigh, a sigh that shot straight to the tip of his cock with a spark of pure pleasure. For all that was holy, her mere utterance could bring him to his knees.
Sliding his hands to her buttocks, he sank his fingers into pure heaven while he held his desire against her. Lithe fingers tickled their way around his waist while the lass grew bolder and matched his kisses stroke for stroke, fanning the flames that had begun as mere cinders.
It was all he could do to keep from rocking and grinding his cock into her. Instead, he traced the curve of Audrey’s neck with his mouth. A wee whimper came with a course of shudders. “W-w-what are you doing?”
“I’m kissing you, lass.” His voice grew husky as his lips met her collarbone. He inhaled and watched her breasts rise and fall above her bodice. Ever so lightly, he brushed his fingers along the velvety flesh of her shoulder.
Bending his head further, he nearly fell forward when Audrey sucked in a sharp gasp and jumped back.
Stunned, he stared. She did, too.
“You must never, ever do that again.”
Before he could utter a word, she whipped past him and fled out the door.
Dear God, I must be the greatest cad who ever walked Christendom.
Chapter Thirteen
Unable to sleep, Audrey rose early and headed for the stables. Though she’d promised not to venture out alone, she could keep to the riding arena and put Allegro through his paces. She needed to think, and her mind no longer worked shut up in her chamber. She’d painted all night. As testament to her efforts, her fingers sported every color of the rainbow, but she didn’t care. And playing the harpsichord was out of the question. The earl slept in the east wing, right above the drawing room. He’d hear her for certain.
If he came in while she was playing, she might die. In fact, she rued having to set eyes on him again. Holy Moses, what had come over her in the library? One moment she was doing her best not to tell him about Mr. Tupps’s threats, and the next she was swooning in Reid’s arms.
Reid. She loved the name, loved uttering it in the early hours when she’d come awake and no one was near to hear. Oh, holy help, she indeed had swooned—and in his vigorous embrace. And moreover, she’d allowed him to kiss he
r.
Who knew kissing could be so entirely mind consuming?
His body had felt so hard and wonderful pressed against hers. So many emotions bubbled through her insides, she might go raving mad if the intensity of her feelings did not ebb. How did he make her feel that way? What sort of power did the Highlander wield over her?
When he placed his hands on her with his lips plying her mouth, together with trailing succulent kisses down her neck, had made her so light-headed, she would have collapsed had his brawny arms not been wrapped around her.
Then she’d had no choice but to stop him. If he fell in love with her, Mr. Tupps would ruin him. He’d made threats. He’d indicated he’d had a hand in her father’s death. Oh, heavens, she couldn’t let that man ruin, and possibly kill, another person she cared for.
Walking across the lawn to the stable, Audrey rubbed the outsides of her arms, reliving Reid’s bone-melting embrace. If only she could ask him to put his hands on her again. If only she could kiss him forever.
But no.
She marched the distance to the stable doors.
She was right to push him away. Aside from the danger, the earl had made it clear he wanted to marry her off. She could not entertain spending another moment in Reid’s arms. He’d told her he was dangerous, and now she knew exactly what he’d meant.
He is a lady charmer.
“You’re up early, Miss Audrey,” said Jeffrey, peeking his head out a stall. “Shall I saddle Allegro for you?”
Now that his frog had healed, the trotter was as good as new. “Yes, please.”
“And shall I ride with you? The earl said you’re not to venture out alone.”
“No thank you.” She glanced over her shoulder as a sudden chill slithered down her spine. “I shall put him through his paces in the arena today. That will have to suffice.”
Jeffrey agreed and had her mount saddled in no time, thank heavens. Riding Allegro with a cool breeze on her face was always invigorating, even if she was restricted to the arena. There were two jumps and poles spaced to perform a serpentine pattern they hadn’t attempted yet this summer.
