Farnwell sniffled and sat up gingerly, then winced at his split lower lip. “Oww! I am bleeding like a stuck pig.”
“You know you deserve much worse, Edgar,” Daphne said unsympathetically. “You will be fortunate if Lord Hawkhurst doesn’t bring criminal charges against you for arson or even attempted murder.”
“I told you a dozen times that I am dreadfully sorry.”
“That is not good enough. You owe his lordship an abject apology for nearly destroying his home.”
“Very well.” Wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve, Farnwell sent a contrite glance toward Hawk. “I hope you will accept my deepest apologies, my lord. Naturally I will pay for damages incurred to your home.”
“Yes, you will,” Hawk said curtly. “But I am more interested in how you intend to redeem yourself with your sister.”
“I realize I have a temper—” he began.
“A temper?” Cornelius burst out. “You nearly killed her.”
Skye had never seen her uncle so livid, but Farnwell seemed truly remorseful as he pleaded with his sister. “I pray you will forgive me, Daphne. I vow I never, ever meant to hurt you.”
“I suppose I believe you,” she replied, relenting a little. “But actions count more than intentions.”
“You know I have never done anything so heinous before.”
“I also know you had a terrible example in our father. But there is no excuse for your brutality.”
Farnwell grimaced. “What must I do to earn your forgiveness?”
Daphne needed no time to consider. “A little groveling toward Mrs. Donnelly would be appropriate. You should tell her how sorry you are for threatening her for refusing to leave the country.”
“Yes, of course.” Farnwell earnestly repeated his apology to Rachel.
“And you must swear to leave her alone and let her live her own life here in England without fear of reprisal.”
“Yes, I swear it.”
“Lord Farnwell,” Rachel said slowly, “I have a better idea. You will give Daphne half of your fortune.”
Farnwell stared at Rachel while Daphne raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need his fortune.”
“Perhaps not,” Rachel replied, “but you deserve it. It is only fair that he be made to share his wealth with you, since none of it belongs to him.”
“I would be happy if he will give up control of the settlement my father made me.”
Rachel pressed her lips together grimly. “That won’t do, my dear. There should be severe consequences for his violence. I was prepared to let Lord Farnwell keep his title and wealth, but I suspect draining his purse will hurt him more than any punishing blows.”
Daphne looked thoughtful. “It would be good to be independent and make my own financial decisions, without fear of being at the mercy of my brother’s whims.”
“I agree, you should have complete independence also.” Rachel gazed coolly down at the baron. “I promise you, I will never contest your legitimacy, Lord Farnwell. In exchange for my silence, you will provide amply for Daphne. Allowing you to keep half is rather magnanimous. Without my restraint, you would be disgraced and penniless.”
Farnwell again snuck a glance at Hawk and apparently thought better of protesting Rachel’s harsh terms. “Yes, whatever you wish.”
Skye judged that Rachel was indeed being profoundly generous, considering that she could strip him of his entire inheritance and his very legitimacy. She doubted that Farnwell would go back on his word, knowing that Hawk would enforce their agreement. She also doubted he would be so foolish as to threaten Rachel or Daphne ever again under pain of incurring Hawk’s wrath.
With the terms decided, Hawk looked impatient, and Skye felt even more so. She badly wanted to return to the question of his marriage proposal, but for that they needed privacy.
Glancing at Hawk, she cleared her throat. “Now that this matter is settled, may I have a word with you, Hawk?”
Isabella caught the look they exchanged and sensed that something was in the air. “Yes, go, Skye, Hawk. We will supervise cleaning up the horrendous mess. We can cart away the burnt draperies and carpets tonight to diminish the stench. As soon as the rain stops, we can begin airing out the entire house. And tomorrow we will see what can be salvaged.”
Skye gave her aunt a grateful look. Picking up a lamp, she preceded Hawk from the servants’ dining room through the kitchens. The rain was still coming down in torrents as, careful of her bandaged hands, he took her elbow to guide her upstairs.
To her surprise, he chose the newly renovated master bedroom suite in the family wing. Oddly, the bedchamber looked inhabited. “I didn’t realize you had moved into this wing,” she observed.
“I began sleeping here last week before I left for London, to get away from the temptation you presented.”
The moment she set down the lamp, he pulled her into his arms. “I need to hold you,” he murmured into her hair.
Skye was wholly content to oblige. His warmth and hardness were exactly the comfort she needed.
They remained that way for some time, her breasts nestled against his chest, her thighs brushing his. When eventually he kissed her again, heat shimmered through her. She felt his fingertips brush her face, her throat, and she pressed closer, wanting the feel of his bare flesh, needing to touch him. Yearning swept over her, suffusing her body with liquid heaviness.…
Yet Hawk, evidently deciding it perhaps was not the time or place for passion, drew back.
“I suppose we cannot make love now,” she said with a wistful sigh.
Hawk brought the back of his hand softly down the side of her face. “Regrettably we will have to wait. I want complete privacy when I make love to you.”
Skye didn’t want to wait at all, yet this moment was hardly romantic, what with her burns and grime. The smell of smoke was less prominent here but still pervasive.
Hawk must have come to a similar conclusion, for he led her to the washstand, where he proceeded to gently clean her face of the soot smudges from the fire. “Aren’t you fortunate? I am serving as your lady’s maid since you cannot manage on your own, given your bandages.”
Skye laughed. “I am in great need of a bath also. But Aunt Bella will help me wash my hair and change my gown.”
“Later. I’m not letting you out of my sight just now.”
Skye felt the same way. “I must look a fright.”
He curved his palm against her cheek. “Even scorched and bedraggled, you have never looked more beautiful to me. You are radiant.”
“If I am radiant, it is because you said you love me.”
“I do, very much.”
“And you truly want to marry me?”
“Truly. Tomorrow if I can arrange it.”
“So soon?”
“I see no reason to wait, do you?”
Skye couldn’t help a small smile. The minor fact that his house had nearly burned down was perhaps a good reason to delay, but she was reassured by his eagerness. “We ought to discuss the particulars, shouldn’t we?”
“Yes, I intend to.”
When he had washed his own face and hands, he led her to the adjacent sitting room, where he drew her down to sit beside him on the chintz sofa, blatantly disregarding how their smoke-stained clothes might soil the fabric.
Skye didn’t care, either, not when Hawk’s arm went around her shoulders and tucked her against his body, her head on his shoulder. It was darker here, with only light from the lamp in the bedchamber streaming through the door, and rather chilly with no fire in the hearth, but still strangely cozy with the steady drum of the rain on the windows and the steadier beat of Hawk’s heart beneath her cheek.
When she felt a shudder run through him, she suspected he was thinking about the events just past. She raised the back of his hand to her lips and tenderly kissed his burn scars.
“I am sorry you had to relive that terrible time,” Skye said quietly.
“As am I.” His arm tightened
about her. “The terror I felt …”
“I felt the same terror.” She could hear emotion vibrating in her own voice. “I was never so glad to see anyone in my life.”
“Because you needed help battling the fire?”
“No, not only that.”
“You were managing well enough on your own. You didn’t need me.”
Skye gave a muffled laugh at that untruth. “Of course I needed you. I will always need you—rather desperately.”
He kissed the crown of her head. “I am an incredibly lucky man.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder. The dim lamplight flared against Hawk’s molded cheekbones and provided enough illumination for her to see that his beautiful face held unmistakable tenderness.
“Tell me again, Hawk.”
He seemed to realize what she wanted to hear. “I love you dearly, my darling Skye. And I want us to be married as soon as possible.”
She hesitated. “Would you mind very much if we held the ceremony at Tallis Court?”
“Your home? The Traherne family seat?”
“Yes. I would like all my family in attendance and our vicar to marry us.”
When Hawk drew her close again, Skye expounded. “It would mean delaying for a sennight or more, but it may take me that long to locate my brother. Quinn claims his attention is fixed on his latest invention to revolutionize sailing ships, but I suspect he has kept away to avoid becoming Kate’s next matchmaking victim. The wedding of his only sister should draw him out of hiding, though.”
She heard the smile in Hawk’s voice. “Your brother is in hiding to avoid your cousin’s matchmaking?”
“I suspect so. Quinn thinks her legendary lovers theory is ludicrous and wants no part of it. I believe his man of business knows where he is, but I need time to run him to ground—and to send out the other invitations. Moreover, the guest list will be rather long. Despite the refurbishments that have been completed, there likely won’t be enough habitable bedchambers to accommodate them all here.”
“How many guests do you have in mind?”
“Well, Kate, of course, and Ash and Jack and their new wives. You know both my cousins, but you haven’t met Maura and Sophie. And then there is Aunt Bella and Uncle Cornelius and Rachel and Daphne.…”
“I see your point,” Hawk said wryly. “As long as we are having a large wedding then, I would like Sir Gawain and several of my other colleagues and close friends to be present—at least the ones who are already here in England.”
“Of course. Fortunately Tallis Court is large enough to house an army of guests.” Skye’s brow furrowed as a thought occurred to her. “In fact, after we are wed, we could live temporarily at Tallis Court while repairs are being completed here at Hawkhurst Castle. I am certain Quinn won’t mind. He hasn’t resided at the Court for months.”
“I have another idea. What would you say to visiting Cyrene for a wedding trip?”
Skye did not have to think twice. “I would love that. I could see where you have lived for the last ten years.”
“A journey there would also allow me to resolve the status of my breeding stables. I want to bring some of my prize stock to England.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, puzzled.
“I plan to return to England to live permanently.”
Easing away, Skye gazed up at Hawk in consternation. “But you cannot give up the Guardians. They mean too much to you.”
“I needn’t give them up completely. I can continue my work here in England. This is my home, where I want to be. I am ready to move on with my life … with you, my love.”
It was Skye’s turn to shudder. “Thank God you didn’t go through with wooing Sir Gawain’s niece.”
“I agree.”
“You should be thanking me as well. I saved you from making a terrible mistake.”
“I am willing to concede that you changed my fate much for the better. You made me believe in love again.”
Skye widened her eyes innocently. “Did I? How very inspired of me.”
He chuckled softly. “Indeed. I don’t want to live without your love.”
“You have my love, Hawk. Always and forever.”
She clasped his hand and drew it against her breast where her heart thrummed with love for him. This was the feeling she had always dreamed of: caring, yearning, needing until it hurt.
The hurt was physical as well. She wanted badly to consummate their love, to show Hawk how very much he meant to her. Her need to feel possessed was as fierce as her longing to possess him. When heat flared in his gaze, she knew he felt the same longing.
She was willing to wait, though, Skye decided as she raised her mouth for another long, tremendously satisfying kiss. Very soon she would be his bride, and nothing would ever part them again.
Kent, England; November 1816
Hawk’s impatience with delaying the marriage ceremony grew when Lord Cornelius proposed holding a double wedding at Tallis Court. But between preparing for both weddings, procuring another special license from London, repairing damages from the latest fire, advancing current renovations to Hawkhurst Castle, and planning for the voyage to Cyrene, the next week flew by.
Hawk felt content with his decision to make his home in England with Skye. Although the Isle of Cyrene was a Mediterranean paradise, and the island and its people had provided him a place of refuge, he had exiled himself long enough.
As for the Guardians of the Sword, he was still obliged to keep their secrets. However, once he and Skye were wed, he could reveal the legend of the order’s creation and show her the magnificent sword that had once belonged to England’s most valiant king.
Exactly one week later, Hawk and Skye traveled to Tallis Court, where most of her family, the second bridal party, and other guests would soon join them. There had been no word from Traherne, although Skye professed faith that her brother would arrive in time for the wedding ceremonies.
Skye was gladly welcomed home by the large staff at the Court, where she had been mistress since the death of her parents at the tender age of ten. Clearly her servants adored her and were excited for her marriage. But Hawk would have preferred them much less underfoot and effusive in their eagerness to please.
That night he dined with Skye and then spent the evening discussing final plans for the wedding. Hawk bided his time, watching her for the sheer joy of it, aware of the warm affection in his chest and the lightness in his heart. But once the household retired to bed, he came to her bedchamber. He had almost lost her, and he would not wait one minute more to claim her as his wife, even if the actual ceremony wouldn’t occur for two more days.
Seized by the need to hold her, which occurred with great regularity of late, Hawk wrapped his arms tightly about Skye.
“Privacy at last,” she murmured with a pleasurable sigh.
They undressed each other with barely restrained haste, craving the feel of skin to skin. When they were both nude, Hawk’s hands rose to caress her bare breasts, arousing her easily, while she stroked his chest and loins. Her bandages had come off recently, with no lasting effects or scars, so she was able to reciprocate in inflaming his passion.
After a time, he led her to the bed and followed her down. Aching hunger drove his fingers deeper into her pale tresses as he devoured her lush mouth. When he parted her thighs, she was wet and eager for him. His own body hard with need, Hawk sank inside her, groaning as her tight sheath clenched around his cock.
Soon her hips were rising and falling in a timeless rhythm, matching his urgency. A heartbeat later, when Skye shuddered and cried out in ecstasy, the fierce need of his body engulfed him. Hawk poured himself into her in a violent climax, a confirmation of love and life.
In the aftermath, he felt shaken as he lay there, absorbing the healing warmth of her body against his. He’d fully believed he would never again love, but thankfully he was wrong. His first love had been youthful and ideal, but this felt deeper, more intense. His love for Skye had
been forged in fire, quite literally.
He would forever be grateful to her. Skye had helped free him from his dark past and banished the great emptiness inside him. Because of her, he now had the fortitude to face the nuptial bed at Hawkhurst Castle that he had once shared with Elizabeth. Sorrow and loss would always be a part of him, of course, but the pain and grief were nearly gone because he had Skye.
He had no thought of sorrow when he shifted his head on the pillow to gaze down at her. In the flush following lovemaking, she looked more radiant than ever. The drowsy, contented smile curving her mouth warmed him, as did the life pulsing through her.
She was as life-giving and vital as sunlight, Hawk thought. Indeed, he felt as though the sun was shining on his face for the first time in many years.
Easing closer, he kissed her softly, his lips lingering. “This is forever,” he murmured, a promise, a vow.
Her eyelids fluttering open, Skye regarded him steadily. The love shining in her eyes was so fierce, it took his breath away, as did her quiet words:
“I will cherish you all the days of my life,” Skye vowed in return.
Naturally, he had to respond. Gathering her to him, he tilted her face up for an ardent kiss—the beginning of a magical night together.
He left her bed early the following morning, before the servants rose. Skye dozed and when she woke, she lay there pinching herself. She had realized her dream of true love, and the knowledge filled her with joy. Hawk had let her into his heart, finally, and shown her with his body how much she meant to him.
More crucially, they had made a pact to treasure each moment of their time left together on earth. They both knew how precious and fleeting life could be, how priceless love was, and that they couldn’t live life in fear, afraid to lose loved ones, afraid to love.
The contingent from Hawkhurst Castle—Uncle Cornelius, Rachel, Daphne, and Aunt Isabella—arrived late that morning as expected. Quite unexpectedly, however, Daphne had guessed the secret of her parentage.
“After seeing Lord Cornelius’s tenderness for my mother,” she confessed to Skye, “their love for each other seemed too powerful to have occurred in so short a time, and they confirmed my suspicions. To be honest, I am quite glad. Strangely, I never felt wholly part of our family, nor could I explain my differences with Edgar, both physical and otherwise. As for the man I always believed to be my father … given his cruelty, my having no real blood relation to William Farnwell is actually a relief. I am elated that I now have a new, loving family whom I never would have discovered without you.”
Secrets of Seduction Page 25
