The horse’s hooves thundered over the turf and down the hill to the river. The rain began to fall steadily at first, but it was soon sweeping across the landscape in sheets, parting and lifting now and then to reveal the boulders and sheep that littered the ground. He could hear the thunderous sound of water in full flow and exploding against the rocks as he neared the river. Sparks flew from the rocks over which he galloped. Hoping to meet Victoria at any moment, he pulled on the reins and slowed his horse to a walk, his shoulders hunched and his head bent to avoid the sheeting rain.
Following the course of the river he looked about him. He came to a place where the water cascaded over rocks and into a pool below. The noise was overwhelming, but Laurence was deaf and blind to all, his whole sum and substance concentrated upon the young woman standing knee deep in the swirling, frothy flow, icy yet fresh against her tender flesh. At that moment the rain stopped and the sun slid out from behind a cloud.
Holding the hem of her dress and dark-red cloak high, she gingerly stepped from the water and sat on a low rock, staring down at the river. He was disconcerted by the expression he saw in her face, and bewildered by it. He could not name it, though he felt he should, for it was one that was familiar to him. She had a look of absorbed concentration as she gazed into some other world which she would enter if only she could—a look of yearning for a prize just beyond her reach. Her clear amber eyes had warmed to a soft, subdued shade, and her lips were parted as though she were about to speak.
From beneath the hood Victoria looked up. She detected a strange surge of electricity fairly crackling in the air, like the change in atmosphere that came before a storm. It made the hairs on her nape rise, but the pounding of her heart was entirely due to the man’s presence. He sat atop his horse in the shade of the trees, his wide shoulders visible beneath his drenched cape. He nudged the horse out of the shadow and came towards her, into the sunlight. He was smiling, with white teeth and an incredibly handsome face—it was the old irresistible smile. They faced each other across the short distance, each held by the same uncanny fascination.
‘Laurence,’ she whispered.
From the day he had left her in York she had tossed and turned in her bed until the early hours because of this man, and then her dreams had been filled with such longings and yearnings as she had never thought possible. These past months she had missed him more than she would have believed—his lazy smile, the laughter they shared, the arguing and his quiet strength.
She appeared to be as little surprised as he. The rain had soaked through, the moisture dripping about her face. Her boots and stockings were beside her.
The horse stopped and Laurence slid down from its back.
‘Stand,’ he said quietly, and though his voice could not be heard above the roar of the water, the animal heard and obeyed. Laurence walked towards her. They looked at one another steadily for a long moment and a spark flared, then Victoria glanced away and got to her feet, retrieving her shoes and stockings.
Taking her arm, Laurence led her to where she had left her horse, where they could speak and be heard above the noise of the river. She spoke first.
‘I did not expect to see you.’
‘Obviously,’ he said, glancing at her boots and stockings dangling from her hands.
His voice surprised her, as always, by its depth and resonant strength, the richness of its quality reminiscent of sultry nights under open skies. ‘I thought you were still in London,’ she said, liking the feel of his hand gripping her arm.
‘I concluded my business and thought it was time I came home.’
Victoria was silent. She was fascinated. Standing there in the rain next to a man she had known for such a short time and whom, she knew with absolute certainty, she would follow anywhere he asked her to go, everything else—the Academy, her friends, her career, those aspects of herself that she had not even been aware of—suddenly fell into place.
‘What made you come this way?’ he asked. ‘Had you not come by the river you would have been home before the rain and safely ensconced at the fireside. You are absolutely soaked, Victoria.’
‘The rain doesn’t bother me and I’m not one for sitting by the fireside. My friends and I used to come here a lot. Children are always drawn to water.’
She fell silent, feeling awkward suddenly. Her eyes, which had been avoiding his, began to cling now. They never left his face. She was enchanted, it seemed, by the line of his strong jaw and the curve of his throat.
It was as though the day and this place had cast a spell on them and they had not the strength, nor perhaps the desire, to escape it. He smiled, and then the smile slipped away and his eyes darkened to the deepest blue. They narrowed and became hazed, and his face softened. His lips parted and he wet them with the tip of his tongue. They were each aware that they were completely alone. Signals passed from one to the other and the invisible cord, denied by Laurence himself, stretched between them, as it had done from the moment he had first laid eyes on her. The closer they drew to one another, the tighter the tension became. They were conscious of it, but it did not matter. Like a jewel which glows on the edge of one’s vision, Laurence had been aware of Victoria.
It began to rain once more and Laurence watched as it fell on to her face. He looked down at her, smiling slightly as he stared into her eyes before allowing his gaze to travel, slowly, over every inch of her face. He was fascinated by the wisps of hair that clung to her flesh. Droplets hung from her eyelashes and slipped down her cheeks, and her pink tongue licked the moisture from her lips in an innocently sensual gesture. He felt heat pulsate through his veins and he could not look away.
‘I’ve missed you,’ he murmured.
The husky whisper was as potent as a caress. ‘I’ve missed you, too.’ For weeks she had been telling herself that she was drawn to this man because of his compelling good looks and his powerful animal magnetism. She had almost convinced herself that it was so, that this strange hold he had over her was merely his ability to awaken an intense sexual hunger within her. But that was just the tip of the iceberg, for what she felt for Laurence Rockford went way beyond anything physical. It was something deeper, something dangerously enduring, which had been weaving its spell to bind them inexorably together.
He removed his riding gloves and, without being aware of what he did, he gently touched her face, trailing his finger down the curve of her cheek and brushing raindrops from her nose.
Once again she felt that melting sensation between her legs as his finger made sensuous movements on her flesh. She did not speak or move, but her eyes darkened as her pupils dilated.
More than anything in the world Laurence wanted at that moment to take Victoria Lewis to bed. Had she then made the smallest seductive gesture—had she indicated that she was willing—he might have taken her quickly on the slick, wet grass there in the rain. But Victoria was inexperienced. She was not merely a body, a thing of the flesh. He lusted for her—oh, yes—but as his gaze caressed every inch of her lovely face, her eyes whispered to him of the gentling influence—the elevating companionship—he had so long been starved for.
They were standing close, she with her head tilted back to meet his gaze. At that moment, all that existed in Victoria’s world was this man’s eyes upon her, and his low voice. His eyes were so tender and she could not bear it if he did not kiss her.
Laurence could feel the warm, beguiling sweetness of her soft breath on his skin. His heart slammed. Moving with care so as not to alarm her, he lifted his hands and slowly ran his palms down her arms beneath her cloak. He felt her quiver under his light touch, heard her breath catch in her throat. He caressed her again, gliding his hands up her arms, past her low neckline, until he came to the creamy expanse of her neck. He could feel the hectic beating of her pulse as he touched her, gently stroking her neck with his fingertips. Her long lashes drifted closed and h
er rosy lips parted with desire.
His smouldering stare took in the sight of her rapt face, so innocent, so ripe for seduction—her mouth beautiful and waiting. And yet, though she was innocent, he knew an invitation in a woman’s eyes when he saw it. Slowly he lowered his lips towards hers, then he claimed her mouth in a kiss.
Nothing in all her nineteen years could have prepared Victoria for what she was experiencing beneath Laurence Rockford’s touch, the heat of his mouth on hers. Pleasure unfolded inside her like a butterfly opening its wings to fly. Never in her imagination had she experienced anything so piercing and sweet as this. The movement of his mouth on hers, the warm taste of it, the strong touch of his fingers at the nape of her neck and along her spine—all these things were strangely confusing. She responded slowly at first, then faster with bewildered movements of her own body and little graspings at his arms and shoulders. She did not understand and she did not care. The confusion spread through her whole body and she could not stop it, she did not want to. Her heart raced with guilty pleasure. Her body came keenly alive, all her senses heightened and focused on him and herself and the touch of his mouth until nothing else mattered. His kiss was deep, his lips teasing hers apart. In his arms, with his hand gently cupping her breast, she felt wanton and joyously alive. Caught up in sensation, she was floating on a cloud of euphoria.
This, heaven help her, was exactly what she had wanted, needed him to do. She slipped her hands inside his cloak and slid them over his chest, marvelling over the breadth of his shoulders. Then they were about his neck like tendrils of ivy, clinging to him as an ache spread through every part of her, a sensation never felt before, yet oddly familiar. She slid her hands up into his hair and pressed against him, wanting to bring him even closer. It was as if her entire body knew what to do, even if her mind did not.
With an abruptness that startled her, he tore his lips from hers and turned his face away, breaking the kiss, his breathing uneven. His arm around her relaxed and fell away. Taking her cue from him, she relaxed against him. Still touching her face, he bent his head to rest his forehead close to hers. ‘You see,’ he said, his breathing ragged as he looked into her eyes, ‘how much power you have when you choose to wield it.’
She did see that she, who had convinced herself she had no influence over anything in her life, felt as captivating and alluring as the most beautiful woman on earth, and a joy she had never felt before blossomed inside her. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered, ‘for making the kiss one of the most enjoyable moments of my life.’
He gazed down at her seriously. ‘High praise indeed, but I think I should let you go while I still can.’
Weak from the turbulence of her emotions, Victoria rested her head on his chest and felt his heart beating as fast as her own, which meant that he, too, must have been affected by their kiss. There was something different about him, something indefinably more tender, and more authoritative. With confusion making her feel dizzy, she said, ‘What we just did—what does it mean?’
She sounded so defeated by the amazing passion they shared that Laurence smiled against her hair. ‘It means we’re here because we’re attracted to each other.’
‘But—I hardly know who you are. I know you are a businessman...’
‘I also gamble great sums of money on ships and cargo. Does that improve my character in your eyes?’
‘Of course it does—but...’
‘And as to needing to know who I am, that’s very simple to answer.’ His hand lifted, grazing her flushed cheek, then smoothing backward, cupping her head. Gently he explained, ‘I am the man you’re going to marry.’
She stared at him, completely bewildered. ‘But—we can’t—it’s impossible. What I mean is, you may be my guardian, but we are worlds apart.’
‘Not for much longer, Victoria. I want you to be my wife.’
‘Oh, dear Lord,’ she whispered, fear and a sense of euphoria gripping her heart.
‘I think it’s too late to start praying,’ he teased huskily.
‘But—but it’s madness,’ she said, her voice quavering.
‘My thoughts exactly,’ he whispered. ‘You were not in my plans.’
‘Please don’t do this to me,’ Victoria implored helplessly. ‘I don’t understand any of this. I don’t know what you want.’
‘I want you,’ he said in a tone of tender finality. He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and lifted it, forcing her to meet his steady gaze as he quietly added, ‘And you want me. Ever since that day on the moor when I kissed you I have been in purgatory. You have no idea how much I wanted you. And then I thought it was not all that impossible. You’re going to marry me. I’m determined.’ He stepped back. His serious expression remained as he studied her upturned face. Her eyes were still languorous, her lips soft from his kiss. ‘You must know it cannot end here.’
‘But I am not of your world. We aren’t at all suited.’
‘Aren’t we?’ he whispered, curving his hand around her narrow waist and moving her closer against him, his tender gesture demonstrating quite clearly that he disagreed with her. ‘Marry me, Victoria. Do me the honour of becoming my wife.’
Victoria looked at him. She saw the purposeful gleam in those heavy-lidded eyes and drew a swift breath. This had come unexpectedly—before she was ready—taking her by surprise. Surely there should be more to a courtship, a period of mutual discovery and delicious anticipation. If she said yes, would she be giving in too quickly? And yet, that kiss had been too urgent to be contained for long. She wanted to move on to the next stage as much as she regretted the lost dance of courtship. And by marrying Laurence, she would at once dispatch her mother’s concerns for her future.
Her mind shied away from delving too deeply into the exact nature of her feelings for Laurence. She had little faith in trying to judge her own emotions. But she did care for him, there was no use denying it. She had always responded warmly to his nearness and she certainly wasn’t indifferent to him. He desired her, this she knew, but he didn’t love her. He cared enough about her to want to marry her and it seemed silly to pretend she hated the idea of marrying him, considering how she felt about him.
She looked at his lips and then into his eyes and her panic smoothed away. They were smiling. With those eyes watching over her she would never feel afraid and insecure again, not until the very end and that was a long time away. Marrying Laurence would be like going into a castle, a thick walled place, a safe place where no one else could enter. The feeling was so strong that she could only stand quietly and let the warmth envelop her. Not that her thoughts were quite so cogent in the minute that she made Laurence wait—but those were the strands that swirled around in her head before resolving into the force that made her slowly but definitely reach out her hand and take his.
‘Yes,’ she whispered. There were tears in her eyes. Tears for the speed of her surrender, tears for all the other futures there might have been. But then he drew her into his arms and kissed her again, touching her mouth with an exquisite gentleness that stunned her into stillness. His mouth brushed back and forth over her lips, lazily coaxing, shaping and fitting them to his own while his hand curved around her nape, stroking it sensually. He kissed her endlessly, as if he had all the time in the world to explore and savour every contour of her mouth. The man who was kissing her had suddenly become the concerned man who had taken her mother in, who’d extended his hospitality to her daughter, the man who’d teased her to laughter and taught her to ride—only now there was a subtle difference in him that made him even more lethally effective—his seeking mouth was possessive as he held and kissed her. Whatever the difference was, she found him utterly irresistible.
When he relinquished her lips her face was flushed and she pushed the wet hair from her forehead with both hands. It was still raining. For the first time Laurence noticed her discomfort and, reaching out
, he covered her head with the hood of her cloak.
‘So it is settled then,’ she said quietly.
‘It looks like it. The two of us are headed for the altar.’
‘When? I am still in mourning.’
Laurence frowned. ‘For another six months. Do you really want to wait another six months? I doubt your mother would have wanted that.’
‘No, I don’t think she would. But it would have to be a quiet affair.’
‘Well then, we won’t wait any longer. Now we should be getting back before you catch your death.’
‘How do you think your brother will react to this? He will not approve.’
Laurence’s expression became grim. He was prepared to be open and honest with every aspect of his life, but Nathan’s insistence that the issues that concerned both Nathan and Victoria be kept from her continued to trouble him. ‘As to that, we are going to find out.’
Nathan must be told, and soon. Laurence knew he appeared to Victoria as though he wasn’t concerned what Nathan thought, but of course he was. He would never say it to her, but he was more than a little apprehensive of his reaction.
Victoria knelt beside the shallow river and, cupping her hands, scooped up some water and drank. The water tasted sweet for she was thirsty. Looking into the water she saw a reflection of her face, noting that her eyes on the rippling surface were dark with unease, for she could not believe she was to be Laurence’s wife. She reminded herself that had he not wanted to marry her, he would not have asked her and that she trusted him. But a wrenching pain twisted in her gut, perhaps a premonition of some kind which she had not experienced before now. She closed her eyes, telling herself that the excitement of his return had gone to her head.
Suddenly she was afraid and she shuddered at the thought that the decision she had made was the wrong one. She was in a place she did not choose, with people who were not her own kind, and all she knew was that the nagging feeling of doubt within her had replaced reason in her mind. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She told herself that she was just surprised by Laurence’s proposal and not thinking straight, but these uncertainties created chasms she could not fill.
The Master of Stonegrave Hall Page 15
