She stole a glance at him behind her. His walk had a confident casual air that made her breathless. Looking at his broad shoulders and narrow hips filled her body with heat. A sudden blush stained her cheeks. She quickly turned back around. Charlotte gritted her teeth. She would not allow herself to be interested in a likely rogue.
Charlotte turned toward the baron, while her servants were carrying a few essentials in. “If I could just have a few moments to freshen up.”
“Of course. Our butler will show you to your rooms. Wadsworth.” He turned to an ancient looking man who nodded tiredly in return.
* * * *
Graham watched the gentle sway of her hips as she ascended the staircase. As she disappeared down the hall to her room, he let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping. He glanced over at his brothers who were also staring at the spot where she had disappeared.
“Eeh gads, she’s a looker.” Nick quirked a lopsided grin.
“Did you see her hair? Spun gold doesn’t do it justice.” Tom wiggled his eyebrows.
“The eyes, the lips, the hips. That woman is an angel from Heaven.” Graham rested his elbow on the banister and leaned his face on his fist.
“Not too fussy either. Never said a word about the manor being so worn down. Friendly to us even though we’re not as titled or rich,” Will said glancing up the stairs towards her room again.
“Don’t get any ideas, boys. She is rich and titled and will not be marrying a poor baron’s son. And she is certainly not for anything other than marrying.” Baron Fairfield looked directly at his son Graham.
“Don’t worry about him,” Tom grinned. “She loved him than hated him in the span of a second. His personality is always getting in the way of his good looks.”
Graham good-naturedly punched his brother’s arm, meeting Tom’s grin. Graham had also noticed Charlotte’s annoyance with him. He hadn’t meant anything by the chuckle when she had stuttered, but he supposed that men never laughed at her. They were too busy trying to impress her. Well, there was nothing he could do about that. He wouldn’t work to impress her. It was a fool’s errand.
The men headed to the smaller lounge to have a drink, expecting to wait awhile. But Charlotte soon reappeared. Will cocked an eyebrow at Graham, who gave a single nod. Will’s theory about her not being fussy was further proven. The group headed to the great hall to share a meal.
* * * *
Charlotte assessed the men around her as she ate. The brothers were silently eating, their plates loaded with food. They must be helping with the house repair. There was no way they could be that thin and eat that much if they weren’t doing hard labor.
Charlotte blushed as her gaze glanced over Graham’s body. It was lean, hard and masculine. She was instantly furious with herself.
“How have your travels been, Lady Beaumont?” Baron Fairfield asked.
“Please call me Charlotte.” She already felt more comfortable here than she had anywhere else on this trip. In truth, she felt more comfortable here than she had for the past year in London. Every male in her life had been acting strangely since she met the Marquess, including her father. Every man until the Fairfields.
“Thank you, Charlotte. Please, call me Will.” He placed his hand over his heart and nodded his head.
“My travels have been fine, thank you Will. If I were honest, I expected a little more adventure. My father has arranged so many stops and I seem to be visiting far more than I am traveling.”
“Be careful what you wish for, Lady Charlotte.” Graham’s eyes met hers in a level stare, but hers narrowed. How dare he tell her how to act?
“I am certain I don’t need your advice.” Charlotte tossed her golden curls. His comments seemed to rile her. It was irritating
“The world can be a dangerous place. Women of your station must be careful. Adventure can ruin--.”
“I don’t need a lecture from you! What do you know about life for a woman of my station?” Her voice was rising with each word.
Tom stepped in, changing the subject. “Tell us about your friend in Scotland.”
Charlotte’s anger melted into a moment’s sadness before she put a smile on her face. She had to admit, at least to herself, that she wanted to find the love her friend had. “Elizabeth married a year ago and is gloriously happy. Now she is expecting their first child. I want to be there for my friend when the baby comes.”
“That is very kind of you,” Nick casually remarked.
“There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.” Charlotte looked down at her lap. She did love her friend with all her heart, but she was a little ashamed of being jealous.
“She is lucky to have a friend like you,” Graham added quietly.
Charlotte’s head snapped up and she stared at him for a moment, searching for fault in his statement. Her desire to lash out at him must have been written all over her face because he drew himself up in his seat, meeting her eyes. His liquid brown eyes stared unwavering at her. They made her breath catch in her chest. “Thank you,” she finally mumbled.
Charlotte closed her eyes for half a second. Why was she so emotional? Graham had gotten under her skin somehow and it was wreaking havoc on her senses.
Conversation died down again and she was glad for the reprieve. She glanced at Graham again under her lashes. He took a small bite of food. Watching his lips made her insides flutter. She looked back down at her plate. She tried to recall a man she had found more handsome. She couldn’t think of one. Then she tried to remember when she had been so annoyed by someone. No one came to mind either. It completely puzzled her.
The meal concluded and the men around her looked at her with a question in their eyes. Usually, the men went to smoke while the women retired. With no other women about, it was slightly awkward. “Gentlemen, if you will excuse me, I think I will retire. It was a long day in the saddle.”
“Of course,” the baron exclaimed as all the men stood.
She nodded and then began walking towards the door. “Good night everyone.”
* * * *
The men watched her retreat. When she had disappeared, Graham shook his head. “What do you think I did?” he asked perplexed. Charlotte seemed constantly irritated with him. He had never met someone who took such an instant dislike to him.
“Like I said, your personality is seriously lacking.” Tom guffawed at his own joke.
Graham cracked a smile at his brother’s bad attempt at humor. “You must be right.”
His father slapped him on the back. “We should try to keep our guest happy. Perhaps…”
“I will try to keep my distance from Lady Beaumont.” Graham crossed his arms over his chest and rocked back on his heels. He found Charlotte anything but annoying. It was probably best that she didn’t like him much.
* * * *
Charlotte reached her room and quickly closed the door leaning against it. Blimey!What had gotten into her? First she was ogling him and then she was snapping at him. Graham had hardly said a word. But what he did say seemed to rankle her. He set her on edge just looking at her. She wrapped her arms around herself. A few comments from Graham had her all out of sorts.
Men didn’t usually talk to her like that. That wasn’t entirely true. Some men did but she rarely reacted like that. She usually just ignored them. It must be that she sensed he was a rogue and would take advantage of her.
A thought suddenly crossed her mind. His lips on her lips. His hands touching her skin. Her body pressed against his. A blush climbed up her cheeks again and she pressed her cool hands against them to calm her heating skin. She willed herself to stop thinking these thoughts.
A servant entered the room and she helped Charlotte change into her night clothes and climb into bed. She had told the truth, it had been a long day in the saddle. But as she lay in bed, sleep did not come. Thoughts of Graham kept enticing her mind and it felt like hours before she finally fell asleep.
STEALING A LADY’S HEART
CHAPT
ER THREE
The next morning Charlotte rose early but the house seemed to already be in full swing. She dressed and headed down to breakfast.
“Good morning,” she said to Baron Fairfield. “Where is everyone else?”
“Already at work. The boys are trying to get as much done as they can before the real heat of the day.” The baron’s pride in his sons was clear in his voice.
“What are they working on?” Charlotte was curious. Most aristocrats were still in bed at this hour. And physical labor was never part of their day.
“Will is a huntsman when he is not in training for the baronship. He has gone to provide dinner for the people of the manor. The other three boys are working on the house.” Baron Fairfield waved toward the front façade of the manor.
“May I be so bold as to ask what has happened to the manor?” Charlotte bit her lip. It was a rude question under any circumstances, but she had just met this man.
He did not look offended though and instead answered easily. “The winters have been especially bitter. We’ve been losing cattle in record numbers. Many of the peasants, fearing starvation, have left to work in factories. Without people, we cannot grow again.” He grimaced. “It has been as if a dark cloud has been resting over us. It is not this manor alone but the whole of our area that has suffered.” The darkness in his face brightened. “With Will back home, we can catch other food. And since Nick studied under a merchant, we will begin shipping more of our beef to sell and Tom can build our families respectable homes. We should be able to attract more people to the land.”
“And Graham?” Her voice sounded frosty even to her own ears. She wanted to hear that Graham was good for nothing. His handsome looks had to mask a deplorable man.
“Graham volunteered to fight for our country against Napoleon. One brother had to go and he stepped up for our family. When it came time to pick a trade, I let him follow his heart. He chose to be a locksmith. Besides, if we are to begin trading, every ship can use a safe.”
Charlotte blushed slightly. She had been ready to cast Graham as the ne’er do well brother. Despite annoying her, he clearly was loyal and hardworking.
Charlotte carried her breakfast out to see the repairs. There, dangling from a window and repairing the damaged siding, was Graham. He was shirtless, wearing only his breeches. Blast, he was handsome.
His muscles rippled as he stretched first one way and then another to take off broken pieces of siding from the upper floor and replace it with new boards. He worked quickly and easily as the morning sun glinted off his chocolate brown waves of hair. It had flecks of gold in it, she noted. She wondered what it would feel like to touch it.
His incredibly broad shoulders tapered down to a small waist. Charlotte briefly wondered what he might look like under the pants he was wearing. She blushed at her own thoughts and pressed her hands to her cheeks.
Graham seemed to become aware of her presence and looked down at her. He gave her a dazzling grin. He pushed off the wall, swinging the rope out from the house. He gave her a small wave as he spun in a circle towards her. She thought for a second, he would crash back into the siding, and she seemed to hold her breath. But he spun back just in time and his feet landed lithely on the side of the house.
“You frightened me!” she yelled up at him. It seemed he was always putting her out of sorts.
“Sorry, my lady.” Graham quickly lowered himself down the side of the house. His feet lightly touched the ground. She tried to tear her eyes away as he removed the ropes from between his legs, but she couldn’t seem to look away. His muscles rippled as he worked and she couldn’t help but note the generous bulge between his legs and the rope. A blush crept up her cheeks again.
“I was in no danger and I can’t imagine a more boring activity then watching us work. I thought I would make it more interesting for you.” He winked.
Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself. She could feel the butterflies rising in her stomach. She would not stutter again. She would also not continue to be rude to a man she had just met. “No, no… my apologies. I am not used to such acrobatics. I thought you would crash…” Charlotte didn’t finish because he gave her the most beautiful smile she had ever seen in her life.
“We will be working on this house for the next ten years. If there is anything you would like to do today, just ask and one of us will arrange it.” Graham stood with one hand one his hip, still shirtless. His muscles rippled casually as the sun glinted off of him. The butterflies in her stomach beat faster.
“Thank you. If it would not be too much trouble, I would appreciate a tour of the grounds. It is beautiful country and it would be wonderful to be outside. I know I was outside all day yesterday, but you have to use these days whenever you can and…” Charlotte stopped suddenly, realizing she was rambling. Why couldn’t she just act normal?
Graham grinned again and Charlotte gnashed her teeth together, annoyed with him further. Why must he notice her gaffs?
“Of course, I will just wash up and--” Graham began with an easy tone.
“But, surely one of your brother’s…” The words died on her lips. If her father had just heard her, he would have been appalled. It was the height of rudeness to turn down his offer at her request.
The smile left Graham’s face and Charlotte was even sorrier she had said those words. His tone, however, was still pleasant. “I am sorry my lady, but Will is hunting, Tom must stay with the house and Nick has an appointment with a shipping company. Only I can be spared this morning.”
She blushed again. “Of course. Thank you so much for your generosity. I…ah…only meant that you look so busy.”
He nodded once but she knew he didn’t believe it. Again, he had unsettled her but it was she who was acting like a thoughtless cad.
“Shall we meet in an hour?” she asked.
“Perfect.” He winked and then made his way into the house.
The pair met back at the front entrance an hour later. One of Charlotte’s footmen was also in attendance. Armsby was the larger, and less accomplished, horse rider. She would blush if anyone asked her why she had made such a choice. In truth, she didn’t even want to admit it herself. The thought of being alone with Graham was terribly exciting.
They began a slow canter towards the edge of the forest on the property. Graham gestured to a trail in the grass. “We will skirt around the woods since Will is hunting. Just to be safe.”
Charlotte nodded. Several questions rested on the tip of her tongue, but all of them were improper to ask. Finally, she spoke. “Your father said you were in the war.”
“Four years ago. I had just arrived home when my father sent all of us off to learn a trade.” His face pinched as if he were in pain.
Charlotte felt her breath catch. “That must have been difficult to leave again.”
Graham shrugged. His face relaxed. “It was good to keep busy. Learning something new kept my mind and my hands occupied. Had I come home to the same old life, I would have had too much time to think.”
Charlotte bit her lower lip unsure of how to express her sympathy. Her horse slowed as she searched for words.
Graham came to a stop next to her. “Last night, when I cautioned you about adventure, I am sorry if I offended you. I thought war was going to be a great adventure, but it was really just suffering and heartache. I am sure it would not be the same for you…”
Charlotte reached out and touched his arm at his elbow. Tingling sensations shot through her hand and down to her nether regions. She almost gasped at the shock of it. She forced herself to concentrate on the conversation they were having. “There is no need to apologize. I was being sensitive and you were right. For a lady like myself, adventure usually means ruin and heartache.” Charlotte made a mental note to herself. She was beginning to realize that Graham was not annoying but exciting. She must steer clear of adventure with him though. Even if her father considered one of the Fairfields a potential suitor, it would lik
ely be Will and not Graham.
“Most kind of you, my lady.” Graham smiled one of his beautiful smiles and chills raced up and down her body despite the heat of the day.
“Please, call me Charlotte.” She smiled back.
“Well Charlotte, would you like to go a little faster?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she giggled.
It crossed her mind that after the talk she had just had with herself, she should say no. She should turn back to the manor and steer clear of this adventure. But she didn’t. Instead she said, “Absolutely.”
She kicked her horse ahead of his and followed the trail at the edge of the forest. She was an excellent horsewoman and she urged her horse faster.
Graham laughed and called from behind her, “Wait for me!”
Dimly she heard Armsby call, “Your ladyship, you mustn't.” But that only seemed to spur her on. It was the first time she had any freedom whatsoever on this trip. It was amazing to gallop freely, and she told herself that just a little bit of adventure wouldn’t hurt.
She urged the horse faster. Locks of hair began to fall loosely around her face and whip in the wind. She longed to unpin all of it and let it trail behind her. She glanced back at Graham, who was keeping pace behind her.
She felt a little wild on this horse and her gaze drank him in. Their eyes locked and she knew hers were filled with hunger. Hunger for adventure and a dawning hunger for him. The smile died on Graham's lips. His eyes bore into hers and the look in his eyes mirrored the intensity she felt. He urged his horse forward till they were riding side by side.
Charlotte had no idea how to vent her attraction and so she pushed the animal even faster.
“Charlotte!” She heard Graham call as he too sped up. She looked over at him smiling but when her eyes returned to the trail, a large log covered the path. She tried to pull the horse to a stop but the horse panicked and too late she realized she should have just allowed the horse to jump it.
Stealing a Lady's Heart: A Regency Fairytale (Fairfield Fairytales Book 1) Page 2
