Regency Romance Collection: Regency Fire: The Historical Regency Romance Complete Series (Books 1-5)

by Bridget Barton

  However, on that particular morning, Cordelia could not be anything other than pleased with the tardy way in which her family responded to beautiful summer mornings. The stable boy was almost always ready for her, with her horse’s saddle to hand and his willingness to help assist her up onto her horse.

  On that particular morning, as Cordelia often did, she had ridden out quite close to the Farrington estate. While she had not crossed any of their lands, she knew the point at which she would find herself the very closest to Calgarth Hall and the family’s private grounds. Whilst it was true to say that she did not have any particular animosity towards the Farringtons herself, she did rather fear what would happen to her if she were ever to be caught on their land.

  After all, she was a Cunningham of the Duchy of Horndean, a sworn and bitter enemy of the Farringtons and their own Duchy of Calgarth. Despite the fact that she found the entire situation ridiculous, still, Cordelia was not entirely naive. Well, certainly not naive enough to have trespassed that way, at any rate.

  All that Cordelia truly wanted was to happen upon her dear friend, Davina Marfont. Or, Lady Davina Farrington as she now was. In truth, in the many long months since her friend had been gone, Cordelia found that she had missed her terribly. She could not help thinking that Divina had been the only person in the entire household with whom she truly felt any connection.

  For Cordelia, the remainder of the household, most particularly her own family, seemed almost as strangers to her. At only twenty years of age, Cordelia was the youngest of the three Cunningham issue. However, she thought that that was not, in and of itself, the reason for her feeling of separateness in her home.

  Cordelia had often thought that her entire family’s determination to continue in the feud which had existed between the Cunninghams and the Farringtons for so very long was ridiculous. And not only was it ridiculous to her but curiously painful.

  Cordelia longed for a family who spoke of other matters beyond the downfall of their enemies. Unfortunately, each and every member of her family was so intent that it seemed almost to overwhelm every conversation that burst forth from their lips completely.

  There seemed to Cordelia to be no room for anything else in life. There was never any talk of art or literature or even the simple pleasures of an early morning ride in beautiful sunshine. There was nothing of beauty in the Cunningham household; nothing to love, nor even to like.

  In the last months there, alone without her friend, Cordelia had quickly realised how very much Davina had meant to her. Not only as a friend and confident, but rather as a source of humour, both clever and rather silly. It rather struck Cordelia that nobody laughed at Horndean anymore, and she quickly realised the laughter she had once perceived had been all her own and her friend’s. Her own family had never been a part of it.

  She also missed someone with whom to discuss the shared interests in life; the poetry and the stories and the paintings. The Cunningham family simply were not interested in such things. No doubt, such things detracted from the very real business of hatred.

  Cordelia drew her horse to a halt and looked all around. From where she sat high up on her horse, she had rather a good view of the Calgarth estate, including a little of the hall and grounds. Once again, Cordelia felt great sorrow when she realised that her little plan of looking for Davina would, quite as she had expected, come to nothing yet again. After all, the chances of her happening upon Davina out riding were slim, and well she knew it.

  Quite out of the blue, Cordelia felt tears spring hot and almost painful into her eyes. She suddenly felt so very alone in the world and wished that she had somebody, just one person, with whom she found some sympathy of personality.

  Cordelia led her horse slowly away, the tears streaming down her face. Knowing that there was a small stream just feet away, Cordelia walked her horse in the direction of its light and gushing flow.

  More than anything, she wanted to wash her face. She certainly did not want to ride about the countryside tearstained, for it would simply lower her mood further still.

  Upon reaching the water’s edge, Cordelia made to jump down from her horse. It was something that she was never particularly keen on and, ordinarily, she found herself some sort of natural platform somewhere so that she might simply step down rather than jump.

  However, her face felt stained with tears and her eyes a little itchy. She wanted nothing more than to throw the cool water into her face. In the end, Cordelia simply held her breath and jumped.

  However, Cordelia had unfortunately landed firmly on a rather well-disguised bump in the grass. Immediately she made contact, Cordelia’s ankle twisted, and she found herself in a heap on the ground in an instant.

  “Ouch!” she yelled angrily. “Why now?” she spoke as if to some invisible presence.

  Experimentally, Cordelia held her leg out in front of her and tried to turn her foot a little from side to side. She wanted to test her injuries before she tried to stand up again.

  “Ouch!” she yelled again, feeling the pain most keenly and knowing with certainty that her ankle was swelling to fill her little boot.

  “I say, are you alright?” A man’s voice coming so suddenly from behind her made Cordelia gasp.

  “I have rather hurt my ankle,” she said as she turned to see who was standing behind her.

  “Is there anything I can do to …?” he began, trailing off as he stared into her face, “… help,” he finished.

  There, right in front of her, was none other than Lord Philip Farrington, and he looked as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

  “It is quite alright, Lord Farrington. I do not bite and, even if I did, I am rather too much stuck to the ground to attempt it,” Cordelia said, wondering how he might take her little attempt at humour.

  Hurriedly, she tried to think if she had, perhaps, strayed from common land and found herself an inadvertent trespasser. If she were indeed trespassing, had Philip Farrington come to remonstrate with her on the point? In truth, she did not know whether or not to feel afraid.

  She knew very little of Lord Philip Farrington, barring his name. He was, as was she, the youngest of his family. At perhaps two and twenty years of age, he was a little older than she. However, she rather thought that that was where their common ground might end.

  “I did not suspect you, or your teeth, of any such crime.” He began to laugh. “But I had rather wondered if you would be too keen to accept my help once you realised who I was. That is all, Lady Cunningham, I assure you.”

  “Oh, I quite think that help, when it is offered genuinely, must always be taken. And yes, I should very much like some assistance if you are still keen to give it.”

  “I am still keen to give it if you are still determined that you do not bite.” He smiled at her, and she found herself reminded of Lord Lucas Farrington. Of all the five brothers, Philip Farrington perhaps looked the most like Lucas. Perhaps it was simply because Lucas was the only other member of the Farrington family with whom Cordelia had had any kind of friendly conversation whatsoever. In truth, she had never had any conversation with a member of the Farrington family barring Lucas up until that point. To her, they all seemed rather intimidating with their pale, ashen hair and even paler eyes.

  And yet, there was something about this young man who had instantly fallen into her own way of humour with seeming alacrity, and he smiled at her as warmly as if they were, indeed, friends rather than enemies.

  “I promise,” Cordelia said and smiled back at him with equal warmth.

  In no time at all, Philip Farrington had lifted Cordelia to her feet.

  “See if you can put any weight on it,” he said helpfully, with his arm held out for her to hold.

  “Here goes,” she said with a grimace as she planted her foot firmly on the grass and made to put all her weight on it.

  In no more than a second, Cordelia once again howled with pain.

  “Lean on me,” Philip Farrington said in a deep voic
e which seemed to be strangely a good deal older than he was. “And hop on one foot, if you can. I shall help you over to those rocks where you can at least sit for a moment whilst we look at your ankle.”

  “I am not very good at hopping, Lord Farrington,” Cordelia said truthfully. “As a matter of fact, there is all manner of physical activities which I am not particularly good at, hence twisting my ankle by simply jumping down from my horse. I must own to being rather clumsy in such things.”

  “Well, give it a try. Here, if you’ll allow me, I shall put my arm around your waist to support you a little better.”

  “Certainly,” Cordelia said and felt her heartbeat quicken just a little as his arm slid around her waist. “And thank you kindly,” she added with a smile.

  With several false starts and a good deal of laughter, the ungainly pair finally made it over to the large and rather smooth rocks. Philip, his arm still around her waist, gently lowered her so that she might sit on the larger of the rocks.

  The very moment that she was seated, he knelt before her, looking down at her booted foot before glancing back up at her with his eyebrows raised in a silent question.

  “Oh yes, of course. Do please take my boot off for me. I should like to know the damage,” Cordelia said. “I suppose it is broken, of course,” she went on.

  “No,” Philip said, laughing somewhat as he held her bootless and stockinged ankle in his large hand and gently manipulated her foot from side to side. “I think it is rather strained than broken.”

  “Which is also not funny,” Cordelia complained.

  “But nowhere near as dramatic,” he added, still laughing.

  “Alright, I admit it; I am a little dramatic at times. In truth, I did not really think it was broken.”

  “I do not mind a little drama at all. In fact, I think you are really rather amusing, Lady Cunningham.”

  “Well, you might not find me quite so amusing when the time comes for you to lift me entirely onto my horse. I am afraid I shall be no help to you whatsoever.”

  “I am sure I shall have no trouble in it, My Lady. After all, you are really quite tiny.”

  “I am tiny, Sir, but rather heavier than I look, I am afraid.” She smiled at him, rather enjoying looking into his face.

  Of the five brothers, Cordelia thought that Philip’s youth gave him a rather fresh sort of handsomeness. Certainly, it was something that none of his brothers possessed, of that she was certain.

  If she was entirely honest, Cordelia had never found any of the Farrington brothers unpleasing to look at. It was true to say that they were certainly more handsome than any of the men in her own family; her brothers and father were, in truth, rather ugly.

  The Farrington brothers were all rather classically handsome, with the added uniqueness of their colouring. Cordelia thought that their colouring was something which quite set them apart from other men, and Philip Farrington was certainly no different. His hair was the same shade of ash as his brothers, and his eyes were that very pale blue, the colour of a weak and wintery sky. But his smile and his laugh had rather affected her in the way that the handsomeness of his brothers had never done. In truth, she was quite affected in a way that she had never been by anybody.

  “Come along, let us see if I can lift you up onto your horse.”

  “Thank you. I feel quite sure that I shall be able to ride once I am seated. It is simply a case of getting me up there, I believe.”

  “Well, whether you can ride or not, I shall walk over with you.”

  “Where is your horse?”

  “I am not out on horseback, My Lady. After all, I am not far from home, and I much prefer to be on foot on a summer’s morning.”

  “But where shall you walk me to?” Cordelia said, feeling a little uncertain.

  “I shall walk you home, Lady Cunningham,” he said with a smile.

  “Home?” she said, suddenly imagining all sorts of terrible happenings should her family see her in company with the youngest of the Farringtons.

  “Fear not, I shall not stride up to the main entrance, knock loudly on the door, and announce myself. Rather, I shall simply take you to the edge of your lands and watch you make the rest of your way until I am content that you are at your stables and in good hands.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a bright smile.

  Chapter Two

  As Philip Farrington wandered the grounds of the Calgarth estate, he rather wondered at the last two weeks. They had truly been the most restless, listless, and wonderful of his life.

  In truth, he had longed to be able to talk to somebody about the burgeoning friendship between himself and Lady Cordelia Cunningham. And yet, he knew there was no such person. He did not even discuss it with his beloved mother, Daphne, for fear that it would trouble her so terribly that she might speak of it.

  As much as Daphne Farrington detested the feud, she would undoubtedly be inordinately worried by any association of Philip with the Cunningham family.

  And so it was that Philip found himself continually absent from the company and camaraderie of his own brothers and mother. He rather craved the privacy in which to think without being continually asked if something was the matter. Philip had a secret, and he rather thought that it might show on his face.

  Whilst he had seen Lady Cordelia Cunningham at many an event to which both families had been invited over the years, the very nature of the hostilities which existed between the two families meant that he had never paid her any amount of close study. Of course, as a young man, he knew her to be really rather pretty. Certainly, she had more to recommend her in terms of physical attractions than did her rather pointy and plain older sister, Lady Eleonora Cunningham.

  In truth, something rather ungentlemanly came over him when Philip thought it was unlikely he would have been quite as keen to lift Lady Eleonora back up onto her horse as he had been her young sister.

  And yet, despite rather idly thinking that Cordelia was quite the better looking of the two sisters, he had never realised just how beautiful she truly was until the two of them had come face-to-face on the common land just outside the Calgarth estate.

  He had recognised her, of course, but never before had he looked at her at length. She truly was very beautiful.

  The Cunningham family, as far as he could see, either possessed their father’s dreadfully dull brown hair or their mother’s rather evil shade of faded red. Either way, none of them were particularly attractive. However, it was clear that Cordelia had inherited a little of both, and the result was a glossy and warm shade of chestnut brown hair which was thick and naturally wavy.

  When he had seen her that first day by the stream, it was wound neatly on the top of the head, with great swathes of it hanging loose, clearly disrupted on her morning ride. However, despite the vaguely ruffled appearance, her hair shone in the morning sunlight, and he thought its colour truly beautiful.

  Cordelia had been wearing a very pretty sort of a gown. It was simple in its cut and off-white in colour. However, it had small blue flowers all over it in such profusion that it gave the material the appearance of being blue rather than white.

  The gown had long sleeves with small lace frills at the cuffs and was nicely fitted, displaying all manner of pleasing curves.

  Cordelia had pale skin and rather pale greenish-blue eyes. Her lips were full, and somewhat heart-shaped in appearance. All in all, Cordelia truly was divine.

  As promised, he had walked with her all the way back to the very edge of her family’s estate and, from his vantage point, he had watched to see that she made her way safely home.

  Just as they had come to part company, Cordelia had made it rather clear that she would likely be out in the same place by the end of that week as soon as her ankle had entirely healed.

  “Will you really?” Philip said, smiling up at her as she sat rather prettily on her horse.

  “I certainly will. Despite my injury, it is one of my favourite spots, and I should not like
to miss too many summer mornings there.” She smiled at him so warmly that he wanted to climb up onto her horse and kiss her.

  “I find that I walk there often myself. Well, at this time of year I do, at any rate.”

  “Then I shall hope to see you there again, Sir,” she said, rather unabashed.

  “I am quite sure that you shall, My Lady,” he said and had bowed deeply as she turned her horse and slowly made her way back home.

  From that very first meeting, Philip had found himself quite unable to get a full night’s sleep. Every evening he had found himself thinking of her; the vision of her beautiful face and rather comely figure seemed to assault him every time his eyes had closed and his mind had settled down for the night.

  And, quite naturally, Philip had risen early each and every morning and made his way out to that quiet little spot at the side of the stream in hopes of finding her there. By the fourth day, he rather despaired of ever meeting with her again and was inordinately pleased to find that she was already waiting for him, although still sitting atop her horse.

  “I did not jump down without you, Lord Farrington. I should not have liked you to have found me on the ground once again for fear that you would think I had done it on purpose.” She had smiled at him, her pale eyes twinkling in the early morning sunlight.

  As he reached for her, placing his hands firmly on her waist, Philip was grateful to God himself for allowing him a second opportunity to touch so rare a beauty. In fact, once he had placed her safety upon the ground, he could not help letting his hands remain just a moment longer than was necessary.

  “Are you quite mended, Lady Cunningham?” he said, finally releasing her and looking down towards her feet.

  “Oh yes, I am really rather repaired.” She smiled at him, reaching to lace her arm through his as she turned to walk towards the stream. “I do hope you are happy to walk, Sir?” she said. Her beautiful heart-shaped lips parted, revealing such white and even teeth. Her smile was enough to have him mesmerised.