by Téa Cooper
“He tried to attack me, but he gave up and tied me up. He said he was looking for something.”
For the first time, Tom noticed the shambles of scattered papers and boxes and finally the penny dropped. A wave of fury washed over him. He nodded slowly in acknowledgment. Dungarven had put two and two together and had realized who had taken his horses and his daughter.
He groaned aloud.
“He was looking for something some papers and when he found them he checked the seal, took them and left.”
Tom nodded again relieved at least to hear her voice getting stronger and see the color returning to her face. “We need to talk, Lily. Are you up to it?” He unwrapped his arms and closed the door pulling a small upright chair under the latch to secure it.
“Yes I’m alright. My face is a little sore.” She rubbed her cheekbone and grimaced as he uncorked the brandy and passed it to her.
“Here, drink some of this.” She accepted the bottle from him and took a deep swallow. She shuddered as the fiery raw liquid scored her throat and heat flooded her cheeks. Tom reached across the bed and pulled off her boots then sat down and removed his own. She shuffled over to make room for him and they sat thigh to thigh with the bottle of brandy between them.
Lily broke the companionable silence. “Did you speak to George?”
“Yes. I found him in the bar. He gave me a message from your father.”
“But no money?” she interrupted.
“No. No ransom money. You were right from the start.” He ran his hand across the top of her tangled curls and smiled down at her. “He gave me a message from your father.” Lily’s derogatory grunt gave him a sudden insight. Her relationship with her father was not as he imagined. “He said he wouldn’t pay a penny of the ransom until the horses are delivered to Sydney.” Tom sat very still waiting for Lily’s response; waiting for the flood of tears and disappointment, the shock of knowing her father hadn’t even bothered to mention her safety or well-being.
The last thing he had imagined was her burst of laughter. He turned to look at her face and he could see tears welling in her eyes. He waited, waited for her to break down. Hysterics at the very least.
“Oh, wonderful.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and he saw her flinch as the escaping salt stung the abrasion on her cheek. “That is marvelous.”
Tom cleared his throat and picked up the brandy bottle, taking a long swig as he tried to get his head around her reaction.
“It’s brilliant, exactly what I hoped for.”
“What you hoped for?” Tom repeated, his mind spiraled in ever decreasing circles as he tried to make sense of her remark.
“Yes. I’m thrilled.” The sound of her hands clapping echoed through the small room.
“Thrilled?” Tom shook his head. He was beginning to sound like a parrot and he was more than certain he had about the same brain capacity.
“Oh Tom, don’t you see, it’s perfect. He has played right into my hands.” She turned the full force of her radiant smile on him and he tightened in response. Her scent filled the air and her violet eyes beckoned him with a fire of excitement. And her body–he couldn’t drag his gaze away from the curve of her breasts only a hair’s breadth away from his fingertips. He pushed himself forcefully from the bed and stood anxious not to let his reaction to her proximity distract either of them from the confusing conversation.
****
Lily pulled his coat closer inhaling his warm masculine scent and she turned to the tall figure leaning against the wall by the window with his gaze firmly fixed on her. She swallowed and continued.
“I knew he wouldn’t…couldn’t–” she corrected, “–come up with the ransom money. He hasn’t got it, not even a portion of it. The horses are his last chance to redeem Wordsworth’s standing. It’s the first shipment to India and if it’s a success more will follow. I’ll be twenty-one at Christmas and he’ll have no control over my inheritance, or me. It was all in the terms of Dom’s will.” Lily swallowed and took a deep breath trying to still the erratic racing of her heart. She could tell from the frown on Tom’s face she wasn’t making much sense however her thrill at the sudden feasibility of her plan was almost more than she could cope with.
“Slow down, Lily. I’m confused. We have to take this step by step. What exactly are you suggesting?”
She closed her eyes for a moment, tossing up the repercussions of trusting this man. The tables had well and truly been turned and if she was to succeed she had to make him understand the merits of her plan.
“I’ll explain. I want you to listen until the very end and then tell me what you think.” He nodded his head in agreement and she couldn’t resist smiling. The studied look on his face reminded her of their chess game. Well, he’d asked for lessons. Here was the first one in strategy. “I need your help, and Jem, and Will, to get the horses to Sydney. Just as my father said.”
“I don’t understand why would you want to play right into his hands?”
“Listen please, Tom.”
He placed his finger over his lips and she couldn’t resist grinning at the sight. “We take the horses to Sydney and deliver them in time for the shipment, on the way we stop at Windsor and race Nero. He’ll win. I know he will. And that means he will be in demand for stud services. I can give you a down payment on the ransom from his winnings. There’s a one hundred guinea purse then we deliver the horses to Sydney for the shipment. As long as my father believes that is happening he’ll leave us alone. I will pay the remainder of the ransom money to you from my inheritance after Christmas and supply you with unbranded horses from Wordsworth. That way everyone gets what they want. What do you think? Do you agree?”
“Lily, I can’t take your money.”
“Why not? You were quite happy to take it before when you thought it was coming from my father and you said you wanted decent horses. Everyone is happy.” She pushed herself off the bed and moved across to the window.
“Tom, what do you think?”
Chapter 6
Tom wasn’t sure he should share his thoughts with Lily. A surge of longing swept over him pushing all rational thought from his mind. He wanted nothing more than to draw her to his chest and pull her down on the bed, remove those skintight breeches that had plagued him since the first moment he had set eyes on her. To run his hand over the silky smooth length of her legs from hip to toe, to peel the cotton shirt from her shoulders. He swallowed another mouthful of the rough raw spirit …to feel the soft skin of her neck and inhale her sweet perfume. He rested his forehead against the window. The cool of the glass failed to soothe him.
She moved next to him. So close he could see the excitement and trust on her face…and something he hoped was akin to desire. He frowned, tipping his head to one side staring as he wondered if he was misreading her. His hand moved slowly to her neck and she shivered slightly as his fingers reached her warm skin, a pulse thrummed beneath his hand and her sudden intake of breath filled the room.
Her pink lips tantalized him, the possibility of nibbling on her lower lip set his blood pulsing. Would her lips still hold the taste of the brandy they had shared? The small space between them seemed to shrink.
“Lily.” His lips grazed the tender skin of her neck and heat hummed through his veins and he drew her even closer. The silky thickness of her hair filled his hands and he pulled gently until his lips brushed hers. Her soft breasts tightened against his chest and he dropped his lips to hers, his tongue nudging gently until her mouth opened up to him. Her arms rose to his neck and she settled her body snugly against his, her arms tightening as she returned his kiss.
His breath hitched as he trailed kisses down her throat. Her hands settled on his waistband and he was incapable of controlling the shivers of anticipation racing through his body. A breath of cool air fanned his back as her fingers tugged at his shirt and then reached beneath it. His muscles rippled as her fingers moved up his back leaving a trail of tiny, excruciatingly sensitive goose b
umps. He groaned as she pulled him against her, kneading his shoulders like a satisfied cat.
He buried his face in the exquisite perfume of her skin, nuzzling aside the material of her shirt until he was able to run his mouth across the rounded swell of her cleavage. Her gentle moans filled his ears. He reluctantly lifted his gaze and found her staring down at him and for one heartbeat neither of them moved until she slowly drew back.
“Lily, I…I’m sorry I don’t know what happened I didn’t…” He ran his hands through his hair. “It’s not the time or the place and…”
How could he have lost control? He clutched at the window ledge staring blindly out at the darkness and his arms throbbed with the memory of her pliant body, the way it fitted so perfectly with his. It robbed him of all rational thought. He cleared his throat again. “Lily. I’ll help you take the horses to Sydney. It’s the least I can do.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
What else could he do? What else did he want to do?
The thought of losing her filled him with dread. In one short week she had become so much a part of him he couldn’t contemplate his life without her. “We’ll have to leave as soon as possible tomorrow. I’ll go and tell Jem to ride back to the Common and fetch Bonnie and Will and the horses. If they cut across country they can meet us at the Hawkesbury River before we cross to Windsor.”
He dragged back on the boots he had so carelessly pulled off less than an hour ago and wearing only his shirt and breeches hurried out the door. “Stay here. I can’t lock the door.” He pulled the key from his pocket and tossed it with a careless flick onto the table. “Put the chair against it when I leave and don’t open it to anyone except me. I’ll be back soon.”
****
Lily listened as the door shut behind him and moved the chair under the broken handle. It slipped and fell and she pushed it aside impatiently. The warmth of Tom’s embrace cloaked her with a feeling of safety and security. His promise to help her get the horses to Sydney lifted the burden she had carried for so long. A mood of invincibility buoyed her and everything suddenly seemed easy and achievable.
Running her hand over the raised swelling on her cheek, she pushed aside the thought of her father and raised her hand to her forehead in exasperation. She had forgotten. She hadn’t asked Tom about the papers George searched for and took. Oh, it could wait; wait until he returned.
Returned to her arms. A wave of anticipation surged through her and she clasped her hands around her arms and hugged herself tightly, sinking down onto the bed, the mixture of satisfaction and excitement coiling in her breast. Everything she had hoped for would come to pass.
****
She slept like a child with her hand bunched under her chin, her hair a spectacular cascade across the pillow. Minimizing his movements Tom stretched out on the bed beside her, the sleepy warmth of her body filling him with a mixture of longing and despair. The gentle patter of the rain on the roof lent an air of comfort and security and his eyelids closed. It seemed as if events were overtaking him. After a few hours sleep, he would be able to think more clearly and he was going to have to decide exactly how he’d get his title deeds back from Dungarven.
In the interval between the predawn darkness and daylight, the laugh of a kookaburra broke the persistent drumming of the rain and Tom woke to the delightful weight of Lily’s arm across his chest and the scent of her warm body cocooned against him.
“Lily,” he murmured, relishing the whispered sound of her name on his lips. She stirred against him and moved closer, and her eyes drifted opened, full of tenderness and promise. Arousal stretched and rose in his body. He ran his hand down the length of her thigh and forced his desire down. “Lily, wake up we have to make a move. It started raining last night and it’s much heavier now. We have to meet Bonnie and Will at the river.”
She stirred against him and pushed herself up onto her elbow. “Can’t we stay here a little longer?” She stretched like a cat. “I’m so comfortable, and so warm.”
“We must leave, before the coaches, before everyone is stirring.” He swung his legs off the bed and pulled on his boots and coat. “Come on, Lily.” He held her boots out to her. “You’ll need this as well.” He shook out her long black cloak and hung it across her shoulders hoping to trap some of the warmth from the bed around her body as she sat up.
“Tom?” Her hair hung down over her face as she struggled with the long leather boots. “You didn’t talk last night about the papers George took. Why did he want them? Why were they so important?” Her second boot encased her leg and her violet gaze pinned him.
His stomach sank. The title deeds. He’d known from the moment she had spoken of the red seal what George was after. The title deeds to the land grant he had been awarded after his first expedition would legalize Dungarven’s claim to his land. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get around it but right now he wanted Lily to concentrate on the task ahead and not worry about something that would take a deal of time and legalities to sort out. “I’m not certain exactly what he took Lily, and I won’t be until I sort this mess out.” He gestured at the haphazard debris of his life still strewn in chaos after George’s frantic searching.
“All your maps, the title deeds…” He stared at her as the blush rose to her face, knowing immediately how she had spent her time when he’d left her alone in the room. He was a fool. It hadn’t occurred to him she would rifle through his papers, through his belongings. He clamped his jaw together and took several deep breaths before he answered her.
“Lily, these are my private concern.” He waved his arm toward the corner of the room. “I obviously–mistakenly–believed I could trust you not to go foraging through my possessions.” For a moment her head hung and he felt a flicker of sympathy for her, knowing he would have done exactly the same in her position. Unexpectedly her face lifted and her eyes blazed at him.
“The maps are of the area around Wordsworth, similar to those my father has.” Her hands came to her hips, “George took a set of title deeds didn’t he? I’m not a fool. I know what title deeds are.”
His cursed inwardly at his stupidity. They should have dealt with this last night, not now, not when they needed to leave, not when he had given his word to help her. He’d lowered his guard, been swayed by his emotions. He closed his eyes momentarily, drawing on every ounce of his patience and addled brainpower to make a rational decision.
“Yes they were, Lily, and it is something we need to discuss later. Now is not the time if you want to get to Windsor for the races. It’s your decision.” He saw the fight seep out of her as she weighed up the alternatives.
“Windsor.” She said through gritted teeth and pulled her cape around her and made for the door.
****
The rain fell in torrents, a deluge heavier than Lily had seen in years. Sheets of painful horizontal water slashed across her face and filled her eyes. The once majestic but somnolent river had become a furious torrent tearing at the banks and smashing through everything in its path dragging shrubs and debris in its wake. The riverbank had turned to a quagmire, the tracks crumbling as the water rose and Lily shuddered at the sucking sound erupting every time Nero lifted his hooves. She pulled her sodden cloak around her yearning for the comfort of the bed at The Settler’s Arms and the warmth of Tom’s body.
“We have to cross here. We cannot afford to risk the ferry at Wiseman’s. The longer we leave it the higher the water level with rise.” His words only added to her misery.
The rain slanted across her face, each drop stinging her skin as it pelted down. She edged Nero closer to Tom. The rushing water and torrential rain almost drowned out his speech however she had heard enough to make her stomach plummeted at the thought of entering the swollen river. “How can we get across?”
“It’ll be alright if we’re careful, we can swim the horses across. We have to move quickly.”
Lily’s heart pounded as she looked down at the churning brown waters. �
�The horses won’t be able to carry us across and I’m not a strong enough swimmer.” She cringed at her plaintive voice and an unexpected wave of panic swept through her. She eyed the swirling waters with dread, imagining the horror of being sucked down below the murky, darkness. Her lungs filling with water as she gasped unable to hold her breath. She shuddered and pulled her cloak tightly around her, and she shook her head as she attempted to deny the raging reality in front of her very eyes.
“Lily, listen. You are going to have to be brave. We can do this.” He pulled up under the canopy of a tree and slid out of the saddle. She stared down at him, praying he had an alternative suggestion to offer her.
“Come on. Down you get. Come and help me. We’re looking for branches, light with a deal of length. They need to be at least a yard long. These trees are all widow makers so there will be plenty of timber below them. Straight, long and light.”
Her boots sank into the waterlogged ground as she slid from the saddle. Poor Nero’s body language mirrored her own, his head hung low and the water dripping from his ears trickled into his eyes. She ran her hand down his neck in sympathy.
“Now take off your outer clothes, cloak, boots everything heavy and just leave your shirt and breeches.”
She started at Tom’s words and stared speechless as a surge of uncontrollable shivering shook her. “I’m cold.” As she shook her head in denial her wet hair scored her face and sent droplets of icy cold water down her neck.
Tom stripped down as he talked. Her eyes roamed his body, fear and dripping rain washing away any memory of the muscles bunched beneath his shirt as she begrudgingly followed suit.
“Roll your clothes and boots up in your cloak and we’ll strap them to one of the spare horses. They’re already wet; we can dry them out on the other side. The rain will stop soon. Look.” He pointed up and she noticed with relief the clouds breaking and small patches of blue sky appearing like a reprieve.
“Why don’t we just wait until the rains stops and the river slows down?”
