Devil of Montlaine (Regency Rendezvous Book 1)

by Claudy Conn

  The dark eyed girl put a hand to her mouth and giggled. “Of course I am not, silly man.”

  He surveyed the young woman standing before him in utter stupefaction. Here was a slip of a woman—no more than sixteen or so, a child really, yet he could not help noticing that she was well on her way to womanhood. She had the promise of great beauty with her dark waves bouncing as she moved and her adorably pixie-like countenance. Who was she?

  “I…I…” he said.

  She laughed again. “You, you. Well, indeed, you should beg my pardon, sir,” the lady said, with her hands on her hips.

  “Yes, of course,” Rick found his voice. “I do indeed beg your pardon.” He then thought better of this and said, “Hold on a moment. What are you doing here at Penrod? You aren’t a servant.”

  “No, I am not a servant. I am a guest, but please, sir, it is a great secret and Lady Penrod will not like that you have discovered me.” Her hand had gone out to his chest.

  Instinctively, he covered her hand with his own as he said, “I have no intention of giving away your secret. What sort of fellow do you take me for? However…” He looked for a place to sit, found a suitable log, and taking her hand, drew her to it. “Perhaps, then, you should tell me who you are and why it is a secret that you are at Penrod.”

  She smiled warmly at him. “I know who you are. You are Lady Vanessa’s brother, Richard.”

  “Ah, you have one up on me. Your turn.”

  “I am Mary…Mary of Montlaine,” she whispered.

  “Oh, my poor girl,” he said, and was horrified to see her eyes tear up.

  Mary threw herself at him and sobbed out her story, gulping between words and crying heartily when she told him of her brother.

  He patted her back and said, “There, there,” at all the right intervals, hoarsely spat, “dastardly” at the tale of the mob’s behavior and watched his handkerchief, which he had given her, be totally destroyed.

  When she was done, Mary said, “You must not fall in love with Sheila Echworth.”

  “Impossible,” he returned, grinning wide.

  She peeped, “Richard, may I call you, Richard?”

  He nodded. “I would like that.”

  She smiled softly and said, “Richard, you must not allow your cousin to do so either. I watched the two of you from my peephole in the hidden cupboard which leads right up to my tiny bedroom. I could see she was dallying outrageously with you both. She and her mother are awful people.”

  “You little minx.” He chuckled. “Your peephole, is it? Where is this cupboard?”

  “I shan’t tell you. It isn’t my secret, but Lady Penrod’s, you know.” She eyed him. “You know Sheila is playing you off one another?”

  “Yes, I do know that, but dash it, I can’t let it go at that. Can’t have a little spy running around without knowing how you manage it?”

  “I wasn’t spying…well, not exactly. Your party has made things most uncomfortable for me. It was lonely enough before, but now I am being kept to my quarters all the time. So I pass the time by listening and watching, just for some entertainment, you see.”

  “Entertainment? I am not…”

  “Please, Richard…can’t you see what it has been like for me?”

  He did see and his heart opened wide and let her in. “Well, we won’t have any more of that.” He looked around and saw the sun would be setting in the next hour or so. “We had better get back, and tonight, my dear, no more sneaking about. This has to stop and soon.”

  Mary’s eyes took on a frightened expression. “But, Richard…”

  “No one will hurt you, I promise you that!” he said on a hard note.

  “Your sister and cousin?” she said doubtfully.

  “My sister knows too well how to keep a secret and my cousin is a good-hearted chap that will protect you as I shall.”

  “But…” she started worriedly.

  He put one finger to her chin and lifted it up, as she was staring at the ground. When he caught her gaze, he held it and said, “Mary, no one will dare bother you with us here to protect you, mark me on this.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Ness brushed her long blonde hair and put a simple ribbon to hold it at the nape of her neck. She smoothed her hands over her simple gown of dark blue cotton and made a face at herself in the mirror. Her family and friends called her beautiful. Men seemed to turn their heads when she walked by, so she supposed she was, but she wished that she could be seen for more than an accident of birth that had made her fair of face.

  Her day had been frustrating. She had been so close to questioning the Widdons girl and then maddeningly had not been able to get the job done! It had been uncomfortable as well.

  She had found her way quite easily enough to Widdons’ Mill and had made up a lame excuse for wanting to see Bess Widdons.

  A servant had asked her to wait, but after a long while had passed, the Widdons girl never appeared. No one would say where Miss Widdons had gone. No one seemed to care. She had finally decided to give up and returned to Penrod.

  Ness clasped her dainty pearl earring on and moved around her room, restless and listless. Randy had surprised them by arriving with Sheila Echworth at Penrod, whom he had invited, once again, to join them for dinner.

  She and Lady Penrod exchanged glances.

  Dining had been a tense affair with Rick scowling and Randy appearing oblivious to anything and anyone other than Sheila. Her cousin kept up a lively conversation to which Rick paid no heed and even Guss only mildly took part in.

  At last, Ness thought, Randy announced he would see Sheila home and looked to Rick to accompany him, but her brother begged off.

  Lady Penrod turned to Ness after Randy departed with their guest and said, “Well, my dear, come with me and tell me what you have been doing all day.”

  As Ness walked out with Guss, she turned to her brother, who was still seated at the dining table. “Don’t you come?”

  “No, I think I’ll just have another helping of dessert,” he said idly.

  “So,” Lady Penrod drew attention to herself again, “you were gone all day.”

  “Yes, yes, I was,” Ness answered saucily.

  “Ah, you don’t trust me to tell me where you were?” Lady Penrod’s voice was tinged with hurt.

  “Stop it!” Ness laughed. “Oh, but you play the part badly. You are simply steaming with curiosity, not concern.”

  Augusta Penrod rapped her charge’s knuckles with her embroidered fan. “How very rude to see through me. Now, out with it, what have you been doing all day?”

  “I went to see the vicar.”

  “Oh, my word! Ness, my Ness, what am I going to do with you? Very well then, what came of it?”

  “This,” Ness answered excitedly. “It seems the vicar had a tendre for Melony Fry, yes, you may open your eyes wide like that, he did! Tilly, his housekeeper, told me a great deal, and she also told me that this poor Melony was a heathen tart. Guss, I must tell you that I don’t like Vicar Poole. I hope that doesn’t offend you…”

  “Offend me? Nonsense. He is a self-righteous pompous chap. Go on, do.”

  “Oh, yes, I quite agree about that, but it is more than that. I can’t quite put my finger on it.” Ness waved it off and added, “The vicar did, however, discover Melony was taking part in those strange gatherings. That part is true.”

  “Yes, we know that, but, Ness, you didn’t spend the entire day with a man you found you disliked? What have you been doing?”

  “I went from there to…no, I shan’t tell you, not yet,” Ness decided on the spot.

  “Why not?” Guss demanded.

  “I have good reasons, Guss, my dear-heart and my godmother and friend, I just don’t want your loyalty to my mother…to put you at odds with me.”

  “Oh no, and something you are pursuing would?”

  “Well, I am not certain. But now, tell me about Mary.” She eyed her ladyship. “I could not help but note that something odd passe
d between you and my brother and you tensed up when Sheila mentioned Mary at dinner. You both did.”

  “Indeed, Mary is a problem I need solving,” Lady Penrod said. “She can’t stay in hiding forever, can she, and you must have put it together? Mary is here in hiding.”

  “Yes, I know, but I was waiting for you to tell me. I do think, for the time being, we should keep it secret,” Ness said meaningfully. She had already concluded Mary was the girl she had seen in the woods the day they had arrived.

  They had left it at that, much to Ness’s relief, as Randy had interrupted them with Sheila at his elbow.

  Later, Ness tossed about in bed, walked out to look at the moon, so full and bright, from her terrace. Not a cloud in the night sky so full with twinkling stars.

  Read a book, she told herself.

  Get the notion out of your head, she further chastised, but the notion had already taken hold.

  Off went her nightdress as she rummaged for the breeches she always had on hand. A moment later, she had pulled them on, tied the strings of a linen white shirt, and slipped on a dark cloak around her shoulders. Boots—riding boots, ah, found and pulled on.

  She gingerly opened her door. No one about.

  She hurried quietly towards the stairs, went stock still as they creaked beneath her, and waited. No one. Good. She rushed the remaining steps, down the corridor to the central hall and out the front doors.

  “Whew!” She breathed the delicious night and salty air as she made her way to the stables.

  She could hear the head groom and a couple of the livery boys in the loft outside their chambers and knew they were drinking heavily. She slinked down the wide corridor of the barn to Shadow’s stall and took hold of the mare’s halter, whispering to her as she led the horse to the tack room.

  She got hold of her mare’s bridle and saddle and hurriedly got her tacked up. Another few moments and she hauled herself up into the saddle and urged her onto the drive.

  Ah, but the night air was sweet and salty and made her feel free. She was, of course, behaving outrageously. She was a woman, not a child. She could no longer call herself a hoyden and leave it at that. What she was about to undertake would be the worse scandal she had ever become embroiled in…if she was caught.

  Right then, she smiled to herself, must not get caught!

  * * *

  The viscount finished brushing his stallion down, threw some hay into the makeshift stable, carried the two buckets of water Epps had left him on the cliffside, and turned away. He felt wildly impotent and frustrated stuck here, unable to do anything more about his present circumstances.

  His mood all day had fluctuated. He prided himself on the fact that he was always honest with himself, but, if he were honest with himself, he knew he would have to say, that so far, he was getting nowhere fast.

  He rolled up his shirtsleeves and moved outdoors. There, he climbed upon a favorite incline made up of small boulders of various sizes and crouched to gaze out on the dark modulating brine.

  Again, and against his will, her face came to mind.

  Blue eyes twinkling, pert nose in the air, cherry lips pursed in thought, soft luxurious golden hair around her exquisite face—the Naughty Lady Ness. He wondered if all they said was true. He shouldn’t believe gossip. After all, gossip had laid him low, gossip which was false.

  Still, he had to wonder if she was the spoiled girl they said she was, and had she been busy breaking hearts without a care?

  * * *

  Lady Vanessa rode across the moors, wanting to laugh out loud. This was glorious. Why would anyone find fault with a woman taking this sort of pleasure?

  She arrived cliffside and dismounted.

  Carefully, and leading her mare, she made her way down the sandy path to the narrow beach below. Here, she stopped for a moment and stared out at the dark ocean with its crashing waves. However had he survived his fall? He would have had to have made a dive into the deep between the boulders. He must have known?

  The tide was coming in and its splash sprayed her face and she found it glorious.

  All at once, a flash of white caught her eye and she stopped short.

  He was getting up from a crouched position and she found her voice lost in a flurry of emotion. She couldn’t utter a sound as she watched him. His silky black hair blew around his lean, ruggedly handsome face. His shirt billowed away from his hard bronzed body, showing to advantage his powerful lines.

  She realized all at once that she was taken with him, attracted by his force, by his measure, and that would never do. That was the way to heartache. She knew better—didn’t she?

  Her fine brow went up as she chided herself. She must not allow herself to think too much of this rogue. She had to use self-control because, for the first time, she was completely intrigued by a man and this man could be the one who would break her heart.

  The viscount saw her all at once. His mind immediately urged caution in her regard. What sort of young maid rode out at night to visit a man accused of murdering a woman?

  He jumped nimbly down from his heights and waited for her to approach. As she drew near, the torchlight from his open cave flickered over her lush form. Her cloak blew away from her shoulders and the shape of her body was provocative in her boy’s breeches.

  Her gold hair was picked up by the wind and blew away from her stunning face. He couldn’t remember ever thinking any other woman quite this beautiful.

  She was more than desirable and he hadn’t had a woman in his arms for quite a long time. Was Naughty Lady Ness after a little excitement? Was that why she was here? For some inexplicable reason, the notion irritated him.

  As she approached, he gave her a slight bow, and his voice dripped with sarcasm. “Ah, my lady Vanessa, laden no doubt with supper for a hungry man?”

  He was surprised to see her mouth drop and an expression of dismay cross her exquisite features.

  “Oh, but you can see I have brought nothing. Goodness, my lord, I didn’t realize…didn’t think when I was sneaking out that I should. Of course, I should have prepared something…I was in such a hurry not to be seen. Oh, I am so sorry. Shall I hurry back and find something in the kitchen to bring you?”

  He saw that she was sincere and was taken aback by it. Frowning, he said, “No, thank you, I have already dined.”

  The viscount reached for her reins, cast her a sideways glance, and led her to his cave, saying, “So then, the Lady Vanessa would fetch for me?”

  She stood near the torch, which afforded him a look at her pink cheeks as she pursed her lips and said, “I…I would do that for anyone who was in your situation…and…”

  “Ah, would you?” he interrupted her as his hand imperceptibly pulled at the ribbon holding her cloak on her shoulders. He watched it drop to the ground and felt his blood stir. She didn’t move but stood warily, uneasily gazing at him.

  “It appears that the Lady Vanessa doesn’t give a brace of snaps for the proprieties when her desires are at stake. She will don a boy’s breeches, take to her horse, and in the dead of night, visit a demon in his cave dwelling. Why? Because it is exciting, is it not?”

  Temper flared in her blue eyes and caught his complete attention as she wagged a finger at him. “That is most unkind. You do not know me. I am not here because it is exciting, although the freedom of riding unhampered by skirts in the dead of night, as you say, was exhilarating. I came to tell you I have been investigating on your behalf because my godmother, Lady Penrod, does not believe you are guilty, although she and your poor sister think you are dead!”

  He frowned, then lost all control as a small primal sound escaped his lips and his large strong hands found her small waist. In an instant he had her drawn into a passionate embrace.

  His response to her lips beneath his took him by surprise. He had never felt this level of need and it was so much more than passion. He had never felt this level of ardor, an ardor that had him dizzy with hunger. He had thought himself immune to such
deep-rooted emotions.

  Lady Vanessa had not borne three London Seasons without having experienced the kisses of a sophisticated man. She had, in fact, enjoyed flirtations with some notorious rogues, but her heart had never been in it.

  She had never before found that a kiss could do what the viscount’s kiss had done, which had made her yearn for more. Why had she lost all feeling in her knees—knees she was sure were about to collapse.

  Why did everything, the cave, the ceiling, the walls, converge into a sheet of darkness within which fireworks exploded? What was happening? Why did the blood in her veins feel hot enough to burn her flesh?

  Hold! Her mind tried for control. She managed to put a hand to his iron chest, and this proved to be so thrilling that she immediately withdrew from the touch! Her heart beat out a thump she heartily hoped he could not hear or see as it threatened to punch out of her chest.

  She cleared her throat and said somewhat squeakily, but said all the same, “Tell me, my lord, do you mean to ravish me?”

  The viscount stared hard and then released a gusty laugh. “Ah, acquit me of that. However, your presence here at this hour, dressed as you are, suggests that you want to be ravished, do you wish me to seduce you?”

  Ness smiled, for the twinkle in his dark eyes was most infectious. However, she did not at all appreciate being treated like some noble tart. She had come to lend her aid. If she heard the tease in his voice when he spoke, it didn’t help to ally her rising temper. With a wave of her hand she answered, her anger rising with each word, “Oh dear, now you’ve made a muddle of it, haven’t you? I mean, really, my lord, the very least you could do is to make a push at getting me into that straw bed of yours. After all, it is a well-known fact that we daughters of earls do enjoy an exciting toss in the hay now and then!”

  “What sort of woman are you? You did, after all, allow me to kiss you. You are here alone, and at an unseemly hour. Allow me to answer you in the manner you deserve. Yes, I think so, Naughty Lady Ness.”

  She gasped.

  He grinned.

  He bowed and said, “Yes, your reputation has followed you to the wilds of Cornwall, and then what do I find but the Naughty Lady in my cave, without evident reason. I know your kind. You would rather the demon ravished you than seduced you.”