Rumors Among the Heather

by Amanda Balfour

  “Julie, would you walk back with me to my surgery? I left my bag, and I have a patient to look in on this afternoon.”

  They walked along without speaking until they reached their destination. “You may wait in my office. I’ll only be a minute, and then I’ll walk you back to your boat.”

  Julie sat down to wait. As she looked around, she saw a small portrait of Angela and her father, as well as an opened letter lying on the desk in Geoffrey’s office. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she began to read it when she saw it was from Angela. The letter was full of endearments. She wrote lovingly with none of the coolness Geoffrey said she possessed. In the last paragraph, she told Geoffrey in glowing terms about her health, and added it would only be another month before the baby would be born. Julie’s mind spun. A full range of emotions raged through her, from anger to guilt.

  Geoffrey came out of the back with his bag. With a smile calculated to dazzle her, he said, “See, that didn’t take long. Before we leave, I have something to say to you. This is of a private nature, and I feel I must speak before my heart bursts.”

  Julie put up her hand to silence him. “Save your breath, Geoffrey. I know I shouldn’t have, but I read Angela’s letter. There is no coolness in this letter, only endearments for you, soon to be a father. Something you neglected to tell me. Why is that, do you suppose? What are you trying to do? I feel as if I’ve been used. You’ve gone too far for the last time! Good-bye, Geoffrey. Don’t bother to walk back with me. I never learn, do I?” she spat out in disgust—at herself and Geoffrey.

  Before Julie reached the door, Geoffrey grabbed her and pulled her against his chest. He held her there, imprisoned in his arms.

  “Geoffrey, let go of me this instant, or I’ll scream so loudly the whole town will come running,” Julie threatened.

  “Not before you listen to me. Yes, she’s pregnant. I had to keep up the appearances of a marriage. I didn’t want her to go crying to her father. My only hope is she’ll die in childbirth. She’s not strong, you know. Not strong like you, Julie.”

  Repulsion turned Julie’s stomach, and panic coated her limbs in the form of an icy shiver. “You’re hurting me. Let me go, please!” she insisted loudly.

  “Don’t you see, Julie? I’m doing so well with my practice, and her father has given me an allowance besides. I could set you up with a house of your own. We could be together just like we planned. No one would know.”

  “You sell me cheap, Geoffrey. What makes you think I would accept carte blanche from you or any man—especially one who is married?”

  He held her tighter and tried to kiss her, but Julie fought back with every ounce of strength she possessed. She stomped hard on his instep with the heel of her shoe. With one arm free, she delivered a stinging slap across his face. Geoffrey let her go. Free at last, she ran for the door. She did not stop running until she reached the dock and her boat. Quickly, she pushed off and let her sail unfurl. Geoffrey now stood at the dock, and she rushed her efforts to get away. Only when the wind filled her sail and carried her out to sea did she feel safe. His shouts for her to come back were soon swallowed by the sounds of the waves crashing to shore.

  Back on the island, Julie ran the boat up on the beach. She stepped out and ran all the way to the castle door. Once inside the castle, she ran up to her room, threw on her riding habit, and ran down to the stables before Mrs. Highet could waylay her. She mounted a fine Arabian stallion called Crusader, and raced him down an old familiar path like the ghostly hound Old Black Shuck was on their trail. Julie needed to feel the wind in her hair and have it blow away the repugnance consuming her. The stallion enjoyed the workout and the chance to chase the wind. There were more than eight thousand acres to run through, and Julie had no intention of stopping until she chased away Geoffrey’s tainted proposition and touch.

  * * *

  Matthew, who had returned home before dawn, and his groom, Jarvis, were looking over a tenant farm when they spied Julie and Crusader flying down the lane. Julie hovered low over the horse’s neck. From a distance, it looked as if she were hanging onto the horse’s mane. Possibly a runaway.

  He mounted his horse and charged across his tenant’s fields hoping to reach Julie before she fell from her horse. With his heart in his throat, he urged his horse to go faster. Dodging limbs and jumping ditches, he made it to Julie’s side.

  Matthew snatched her from Crusader, but instead of being grateful and relieved, she fought his hold. Her flying fists and writhing sent them both tumbling to the hard earth.

  Matthew pinned her to the ground and tried to still Julie’s struggling, but she wiggled like a snake and broke his grip. When the dust cleared, they were tangled together like lovers. Her blouse gaped open, exposing the tantalizing sight of her voluptuous breasts. Shocked by the contact of their two bodies, Julie momentarily stopped her struggling.

  Her open-eyed gaze seemed surprised, as if she had not known who held her. Something or someone had startled her. Julie began to struggle again. Matthew tried to gain the upper hand. Blinded by the dust and her flying hair, he reached out and gripped her bare flesh. His hand closed over her breast, and instinctively he cupped it. Stung by the shock of his discovery and aroused by her naked flesh, his blood stirred in his loins. He struggled to control the fire threatening to rage out of control.

  Matthew looked down at her glowing skin and what he hoped was the beginning of desire darkening her eyes. A moan rumbled from deep inside him. His mouth went dry, making it difficult for him to speak or think.

  “Miss Hastings, please, for God’s sake, keep still. You don’t know what you’re doing. I’m just a man, made of flesh and blood like any other. I beg of you, lie still while I untangle myself and catch my breath.”

  “Lie still while you hold me? I most certainly will not! How dare you hold me down? Let me go!” she said huskily, her words coming out in whispered breaths.

  He moved off her and reached down to help her up. She refused his hand and stood up on her own. Brushing the leaves and dirt from her skirt and hair, she tried to repair the damage to her blouse.

  “How dare you attack me and pull me off my horse. If I were a man, I’d call you out!”

  “I’m quite sure you would, my dear. You gave me quite a struggle, but never have I enjoyed being locked in mortal combat more,” he said, trying to catch his breath and calm the shock he’d received.

  He had never lost control before this, and the realization that she could bring him to the brink unnerved him. He took pride in the fact that for most of his life, he’d practiced control in every way.

  “If you didn’t want me to ride your stallion, you could have just said so. You very nearly killed me,” she said, daggers shooting from her gaze.

  “What are you babbling about? I just saved your pretty neck. You shouldn’t ride mounts you can’t control. When I said you could ride, I thought you would pick a calm lady’s mount. I didn’t know you would pick a horse as spirited as Crusader,” he said with irritation.

  Julie’s face turn red and then paled. She clenched her fists as she turned on him. “If you weren’t so interested in accosting ladies, it would have been perfectly clear to you or any other dimwit that I was in complete control, and both horse and rider were enjoying themselves,” she ground out.

  “I most certainly did not accost you. I thought I was saving your wretched neck. And for your information, a lady would never race her horse.”

  “You, my lord, are hardly a judge of what a lady should or should not do,” she snapped hotly.

  “And just what is that supposed to mean?” he snapped back.

  Their argument ended when Jarvis returned with Crusader. “By your leave, your lordship, I’ll continue on my way, unless you want me to walk back,” Julie said sarcastically.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of interfering with a lady. Jarvis, give her a boot up,” he said through clenched teeth.

  Jarvis hesitated and looked from one to the oth
er. He did as Matthew ordered and gave her a boot up on Crusader, and both stepped back and watched the two take off. It was neither a polite nor a genteel departure, but one more expected from a jockey who means to win a race. She left both men coughing from her dust and was out of sight before either could comment.

  “Did you ever see anybody ride like that? It was almost as if she were a part of the horse,” Matthew mused with a grin.

  “I never did, your lordship, and that’s a fact. I never saw that horse of yours give its all, neither. It’s a pity she’s a woman, for she would have made a first-rate jockey at Epsom,” Jarvis said appreciatively.

  * * *

  Farther down the trail Julie had time to cool off somewhat. She turned her horse around and returned to the stables, where she found Matthew waiting for her. Julie pulled her horse up close to where he stood.

  Still angry, she said, “You couldn’t wait to dismiss me, I suppose. Well, go ahead and get it over with.”

  “Are you always so hot-headed, Miss Hastings?”

  “I’ve been mauled, dragged off my horse, and deceived all in a short space of time. You tell me, how should I feel?” She glared back at him.

  “I should relieve you of your position here and now. Lord knows it’s tempting. It’s not often I am accused of being an abductor of ladies. However, no, I won’t, not for the moment. I have just returned, and I have not had a chance to check over my nephew’s progress. What I am going to do is apologize to you. I find myself in the awkward position of being wrong. I wish to offer my apologies, if you will be so kind as to accept them,” he said, bowing his head slightly.

  Matthew’s mind suddenly went blank. All he could think of was the feel of her silky hair going through his fingers and the touch of her skin. He helped her dismount from Crusader and continued to hold her waist, no bigger than his hands’ span, several moments longer than he should have, before he released her. Her hands were cool and soft where she placed them on his shoulders as he helped her down. He imagined for just a moment what they might feel like stroking his brow or touching him with love.

  He smiled at Julie, and that smile turned his cold blue eyes into warm summer skies. Julie could only look at him. This was the last thing she expected. An uneasy truce formed between them. Julie tried hard to remember her manners.

  “I’m afraid it’s I who owe you an apology, my lord. You scared me, and I took my anger from earlier in the day out on you. Please accept my apology.”

  Julie felt an uncomfortable flutter of her heart, and wasn’t quite sure she trusted or liked this new side of Matthew. Surely his humbled attitude was a practiced art, and she felt out of her league. Conversing with country lads was one thing, but a sophisticated gentleman of the world was something else entirely. Trying to ignore his presence, she fell into step by his side and walked quietly back to the castle.

  Chapter Three

  “Wake up, Miss Hastings. Hurry!” Ian called to a sleepy Julie. “We don’t have much time!” He shook her until she opened her eyes.

  Julie tried to rub the sleep from her eyes as she sat up in bed. “Are you all right, Ian? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. You promised to go, don’t you remember?” Ian asked patiently, as if to a child.

  “Go where?” Julie yawned and tried to focus on the eager face before her.

  “To Leddie’s Crag…for the sunrise! Don’t you remember?” he said with so much disappointment in his voice that Julie hastened to reassure him.

  “Of course I remember.” Julie stifled another yawn. “I stayed up too late reading last night. I’ll put the kettle on to boil, and get dressed. We’ll get there in time. Now scoot!”

  By the time Julie dressed and hurriedly ran a comb through her hair and tied it loosely with a ribbon, the water had boiled, the tea steeped, and she put it in a flask. Ian quickly took Julie by the hand and all but pulled her down the back stairs and out into the cold, damp dawning. They followed the path to Leddie’s Crag and arrived before the sun rose. “It’s almost time. I’ll pour us some tea. What else have you brought, Ian?”

  “I know where Mrs. Walker keeps her leftover tarts, and I took some,” he said guiltily but with just a hint of defiance. “Besides, everyone knows you can’t have a proper tea without tarts,” he added, looking sideways at Julie.

  She could see his stubborn streak written so plainly across his face. She laughed and poured the tea. It was something she might have done herself. Ian produced three butter tarts and three strawberry tarts.

  “Ian, have you ever heard a sunrise?”

  “Heard a sunrise? Miss Hastings, everyone knows sunrises aren’t noisy.”

  “Would you like to hear one?” Ian nodded his head eagerly. Julie continued, “What do you hear now?”

  “Nothing. It’s very quiet. Not even the tweet of a bird,” Ian said in a whisper.

  “That’s right. Everything is asleep. Now, close your eyes and listen. I’ll tell you when to open them.”

  * * *

  Matthew, who had been privy to the early morning departure of his nephew and governess, followed them to Leddie’s Crag. Now he listened to the sound of Julie’s voice, and he closed his eyes also. He heard the sunrise, and without too much imagination, he saw Julie silhouetted against the crimson sky with her hair loose and cascading around her shoulders as she was today. He smiled and continued to listen. Soon birds began to chirp, and the world woke up full of activity.

  “Open your eyes now. Did you hear it?” Julie asked Ian.

  “Yes, yes, I did!” Ian said with growing excitement in his voice. “I could not hear a sound and then everything came to life. The noise started as the sun came up. Is that what you meant?”

  Matthew continued to watch as Julie nodded her head and stared out to sea at the beautiful sunrise. She breathed in and let it out with a sigh. Layers of clouds rolled over the sky, and the scarlet rays of the sun quickly turned them and everything around from pink to vermilion.

  “Do you often watch the sunrise, Ian?”

  “Lots of times! Sometimes I can’t sleep so I get up and watch the sun come up. I get a good view from my bedroom window. I like the early morning time best of all. What a magnificent sunrise! Don’t you think so, Miss Hastings?” Ian asked with a smile. The smile brightened his little face. He smiled so seldom; it cheered Matthew to see him happy.

  “Yes, Ian, it might just be the best one I’ve seen. I’m glad you brought me, but who told you about this place to watch for a sunrise?”

  “I can hear the servants talking if I go over to the stairwell that leads to the kitchen. I heard Maggie tell Mary if she wanted to take her beau someplace special, they should go to Leddie’s Crag. She said her beau brought her here, and she never enjoyed a sunrise more, and then they giggled, so I guessed it must be an excellent place to go,” he replied innocently.

  Julie’s lips twitched. “Er, I see. It seems they were right.”

  Matthew smiled too. He must admit Julie had worked wonders with Ian. At the best of times, he and his nephew were at loggerheads. He could not look at him without a reminder that Ian could have been his son. He shook his head at the thought, and erased the smile from his face.

  Blast this cursed island, he thought.

  It had not always been this way. He remembered long, lazy summer days spent with his brother during their school holidays. They were extremely close and then suddenly everything changed. They grew up with a vengeance, and each went in a different direction.

  His brother became the laird when their father died and continued in his footsteps, while Matthew roamed restlessly and sought his fortune in England as well as foreign lands. He received rewards of wealth, and a title bestowed on him by an English king he served but did not support.

  In those wild rebellious days, Matthew felt no allegiance to anyone or anything, let alone himself. Those were his reckless, wandering years, and perhaps they were not over yet. He laughed to himself that he should be thinking about
still-painful memories after all these years. He reasoned it must be the sea air or the melancholy winds which blew relentlessly across the little island that made him feel this way every time he came home.

  Coming out of his reverie, he heard the approach of the two early morning adventurers. Quickly, he stepped back out of sight. Julie and Ian passed by, unaware they were observed. The morning’s outing seemed to have bolstered Ian’s mood, and for that Matthew was grateful.

  * * *

  By the time they reached the castle, Julie and Ian were giggling as if they were of the same age. They entered the back stair door by the kitchen and listened. When the coast was clear, they attempted to slip up to their rooms unseen.

  They made it halfway up the stairs when they heard an all too familiar voice. “Noah! Noah Ribble! You come here this instant. Where are me tarts? I told you not to take another one without my say-so. I had plans for all those tarts,” Mrs. Walker said, her foot tapping out an angry cadence.

  “I dinnae ken what yer talkin’ about,” growled an indignant Ribble.

  “My tarts, you old reprobate! What do ye think? When I went to bed last night, I put twelve butter tarts and twelve strawberry tarts under cover, and now three are missing from each. How do ye explain it?” Mrs. Walker waited for an answer.

  “I dinnae take your blasted tarts, woman,” he said and slammed the door as he walked out.

  Julie and Ian ran the rest of the way to the schoolroom, taking the steps two at a time. They immediately collapsed into another fit of giggles. Julie tried to collect herself and correct the damage done to her position as governess, but she could not stop laughing long enough. Later, she would tell Mrs. Walker about the tarts and get Ribble out of trouble, but for now she would enjoy their little joke because it made Ian seem more like a child of nine years instead of a tired old man.

  After a more substantial breakfast, they started on their lessons. The outing had refreshed Ian, and he was eager to begin. His reading had improved over the last six months. He liked to have Julie read stories to him, and he liked to read to her.