Watching the cozy scene from afar, Adrienne knew just how Lord Harms had felt when he'd had those blood-boiling spells.
Minutes passed, and a maid wearing a soiled apron appeared with a tray of tea and miniature cakes. Lady Thomasina called for another serving for Mr. Essex, but seemed to forget that Adrienne was present. Instead, the pair shared cake bits with Angus.
An hour passed. Nathan read another chapter of Ivanhoe. Adrienne developed a raging headache from the mold spores that contaminated nearly every volume in the Harms library. She discovered a copy of Christopher Marlowe's Passionate Pilgrim and was reading happily, perched on her ladder, when, suddenly, she was noticed.
"Gadzooks, there you are, Miss Beau!" the old woman cried out as she craned her neck. "Hard at work? Good, good. Aren't we grateful to have this handsome creature here to make our labors more enjoyable?"
She couldn't manage more than a stiff smile for her employer but gave Nathan a stare that was meant to cut deep. Adrienne had been used to speaking her mind, often to excess, all her life, and no aspect of her new position was more frustrating than holding her tongue.
"On the subject of Miss Beau's labors," Nathan remarked conversationally, "I hope that you will allow me to make an observation. You do trust my judgment, don't you, my lady?"
"Of course!" She raised her quizzing glass. "What is it? Something about the Systems?"
"I would never presume to interfere with your Systems," he said gravely. "However, I do wonder if Miss Beau's true talents are being properly used these days."
"True... talents?"
"Perhaps she is too modest to tell you herself, but I have been informed that your companion possesses a keen intellect. It is she, not I, who is the scholar. Miss Beau is not only blessed with a vivacious temperament, she is an expert on literature, a lively reader, and an accomplished pianist as well. When her father agreed to her wish to travel here rather than return to the family's vast estate in France, it was with the understanding that his daughter would be given an opportunity to enrich her life with new experiences—and to help your ladyship to better enjoy your own life."
Lady Thomasina squinted, scratched her head, and ignored the clump of powder that dropped into her lap. "That was quite a speech, sir. Did you make it because Beauvisage is paying you?"
"I made it because I believe that Adrienne has a great deal to offer you—as a true companion, not as a filer of books. That job could be relegated to a few of your strong young footmen."
Her heart pounding with elation, Adrienne came toward them, wiping her hands on her apron. "Oh, my lady, if you would agree to Mr. Essex's... suggestion, I would be more than happy to oversee the work on the library. It would probably be a much more efficient plan, after all."
Lady Thomasina pursed her lips. "The pair of you haven't been conspiring against me, have you?"
Nathan's response was masterful. He leaned toward her, his deep-blue eyes holding hers, and murmured, "You don't believe that, do you? No, of course not. I am a fair man. I have only told you what I know to be true." A smile tugged at his mouth. "As for Miss Beau being in league with me on any matter, I fear that we have yet to exchange pleasantries about the weather without plunging into an argument."
"Well then, perhaps there is some merit in the case you've made. I'll consider altering Miss Beau's duties."
"We all may benefit from her increased good spirits." His tone was wry. "I suspect that this young lady hasn't been used to much physical labor, and it's taken a toll on her mood."
"Hmm." The old woman regarded Adrienne, who had inched forward to stand near them and was beaming. "If that smile is any indication, you're right!"
Adrienne blushed then, unable to look at Nathan. "My lady, while you ponder this matter, I shall return to the books."
"I'll bring more down from the upper shelves," Nathan announced.
Watching as the couple began to work together, Lady Thomasina realized that there was no one left to entertain her. "This won't do at all," she whispered to Angus. The terrier was looking bereft himself without Nathan's boot to doze upon. "We shall have to devise a better system. A system for the Systems."
* * *
All afternoon Adrienne could see that Lady Thomasina was preoccupied—and frustrated. How could she fault Nathan for working beside Adrienne after she had complimented his gallantry so often? So, as the day unfurled, Lady Thomasina was forced to amuse herself, pretending to read volumes of Boswell and Pepys when in fact she was watching the young pair over the tops of pages.
Suddenly Adrienne found her labors more enjoyable. Perhaps her good cheer was due to the sense that a victory over her irascible employer was at hand. Yet there was another kind of charge in the air. It seemed to have to do with the sight of Nathan Essex, coatless. The white expanse of his shirt heightened his rakishly sun-darkened visage, and the sight of his wide back and shoulders when he walked away from Adrienne carrying an armload of books made her feel oddly breathless....
"I cannot recall a duller afternoon!" Lady Thomasina cried suddenly.
Nathan stopped midway up the ladder and looked back at her. "My point exactly, my lady. If this work were more efficiently delegated, your companion and I would be free to devote ourselves to your needs."
"My head aches." She scowled. "I will take supper in my chambers."
"Let me help you." After jumping lightly to the floor, Nathan scooped up his coat, shrugged into it, and was at her side in an instant.
"I'm not a cripple," Lady Thomasina complained.
Angus peered up at Nathan and emitted a low growl.
"What sort of mood is this? Are you angry with me for telling the truth?" He gave the terrier a quelling glance, then slipped one arm around the stout old woman as he drew her out of the tub chair. For a moment, it seemed that she was stuck. "Lean forward a bit, my lady. There we are."
She visibly melted. "I like my own way. Always have."
"So I see. And you shall have it, if you don't mind sacrificing companionship for the organization of your library."
"You're stubborn."
He gave her a dazzling grin, their faces inches apart. "We understand each other."
Adrienne watched as they went out of the room together, arm in arm, Angus leading the way. Just before they disappeared through the doorway, she called, "Good day, my lady! I hope you feel better after a little rest. If there is anything I can do, please call upon me."
"Yes, yes."
Sighing, she returned to her awful labors. The sun began to slip toward the curve of the hill beyond the garden, and still Nathan did not come back to help again. So much for chivalry, Adrienne thought, despising him anew. Everything the man did was a performance, a means to an end. There wasn't a sincere bone in his body.
Her hair was coming loose, curls falling down her back as she clambered up the ladder one more time. The library was growing dark, yet no one had appeared to light candles. It was the worst place in the world. A volume of Fielding's Tom Jones caught Adrienne's eye and, biting her lip, she peeked inside. Her hip settled between ladder rungs as she strained in the dusky light to read a scene between Tom and a lusty tavern wench. How could such graphic behavior be in print for all the world to read?
Warm blood crept into her cheeks, and she forgot about the smell of mildew that clung to her skin and the aching of her shoulders. A strange, rather naughty feeling stole over her.
"I have good news."
The sound of Nathan's voice, shockingly close, gave her a terrible start. Instinctively trying to hide the book, Adrienne lost her balance and tumbled off the ladder. Nathan deftly caught her and managed to grab the forbidden volume of Tom Jones as it sailed past.
"Don't worry," he assured her. "I have you."
In agony, and all too aware of her disheveled state, she cried, "I'm fine! Let go!"
"Are you spending more time reading than sorting?" Nathan examined the book with lazy amusement. "Tsk, tsk. This is hardly fit for the eyes of a maiden
. Were you enjoying it?"
"You are beastly!" Did he notice her sweaty old-book smell? He must think that she had degenerated into a scullery maid, in need of a bath and decorum! "Only a horrid man would enjoy a book like this! It's shocking!"
Nathan was shocked too by the force of his response to Adrienne in his arms. Her curves were even more alluring than he had imagined, and she had a salty-sweet scent that was enhanced by the sight of her curls tumbling from their pins. Her mouth reminded him of crushed cherries, inviting beyond belief. "You needn't be alarmed. I'm not going to hurt you, Adrienne."
"Just put me down!" Everything about him excited her: his hard male body, his appealing scent, the gleam of his hair and his eyes, and even those incongruous spectacles.
"Hold still a moment. Perhaps you've twisted your ankle?"
"No such thing!" Panic began to set in. Her breasts were crushed against his chest in a way that made her want to reach up for his shoulders, his mouth.... "I mean it, you—you rogue! Put me down before I scream for help!"
His eyes were thoughtful, and then he set her lightly on her feet and stepped back. "No need for hysterics."
"I was not hysterical!" Her voice broke, and that made her angrier. Why did she have to sound like a harridan at such a moment? "Stop smiling at me like that! I hardly think that Papa would approve of your behavior!"
"Your papa wouldn't ask the wolf to guard the chicken coop, would he? He trusts me implicitly." Shadows played over his face. "Perhaps you ought to as well."
She thrust out her chin and made no reply, while a chill spread over her body. As if reading her mind, Nathan hunkered down before the marble-faced fireplace and set about laying and lighting a fire. "God only knows when this chimney was last cleaned. Look at the soot! I've never been in a worse-managed house," he declared. "It's a bad piece of luck for both of us."
The flames licked upward, and Adrienne felt better as she held out her hands toward the comforting rays of warmth and light. Nathan had dusted himself off and was circling the library with a taper, lighting candles. When he returned to her side, they were both quiet as they soaked up the fireglow.
Finally Adrienne spoke tentatively. "Earlier, when your voice frightened me out of my wits, did you say something about good news?"
"I did. Lady Thomasina is going to assign a pair of footmen to the physical labor of carrying books. You will help her oversee the project, but in the main, your duties will revert to those you were originally engaged to perform: providing companionship, reading, playing the piano, and so on."
Euphoric gratitude made her feel buoyant. "Oh, Nathan, thank you!" Beaming, she nearly hugged him. How attractive he looked in the firelight!
"Not at all. As you are so fond of pointing out, your father hired me to take care of you. Perhaps now you will believe in me a bit more."
Instantly Adrienne was suspicious. "Was that the only reason you took my part with Lady Thomasina? To lull me into allowing you to take control of my life?"
Nathan nearly laughed. She had a rare, effervescent beauty, her tousled hair agleam with chestnut lights, her thick-lashed green eyes snapping.
"Why can't you like me?"
"Because. Because I simply cannot. And I can't explain." The prospect of surrendering to him, to his aura of competence and desirability, was alarming to her. Too many strong men had tried to control her. "I am ravenous. I'm going down to see what the cook has made for supper."
"Tomorrow evening you shall dine with Lady Thomasina."
"Perhaps that fare will be edible." Adrienne turned away and started toward the doorway, only to realize that Nathan was following her. "Can you not give me a moment's peace?"
"I thought you had been lonely without me."
"You flatter yourself."
"Perhaps." He gave her a smile that prickled the back of her neck, for it said that he knew her secrets. When she strode away again, Nathan caught her arm. "You are too headstrong for your own good, my dear. I understand more and more why your father felt need of me."
"Again I must ask you to loose me!"
"I'm afraid you cannot be rid of me." His chiseled face loomed above her, shadowed by the play of a nearby candle. "I have told you as reasonably as I can that you must endure me, and I continue to suggest that you trust me." He tightened his grip on her arm. "In fact, you will have to trust me and obey me, Adrienne. You see, Walter Frakes-Hogg has been seen near Winchester, and I do not intend to allow you to put your life in jeopardy."
She gasped. "You—you're lying!"
"You abuse my character." Nathan caught her other arm and held her fast.
"Because you are nothing more than a—hired thug! You have no right to give me orders!"
His eyes went hot and dark, but he spoke softly. "I may be a working man, but I will not be lorded over by anyone, especially a spoiled, harum-scarum baggage like you." Not for the first time, Raveneau wished Nicholai had never invented this new identity for him. It didn't fit him any better than the frayed costume he was forced to wear. "I will not fight you at every turn." He pulled her closer until their bodies touched full length. "Furthermore, I suggest that you not underestimate me."
Adrienne nearly spat in his face. "I hate you!"
He gambled. "Do you want me to leave you here? Would you prefer to protect yourself from Walter Frakes-Hogg?"
Her catlike eyes shot daggers at him, but Adrienne's intellect prevailed in the end. "All right. You can stay. If there is one person I despise more in all the world than you, Nathan Essex, it is the odious Walter Frakes-Hogg!"
Chapter 4
"Something by Haydn, perhaps?" Lady Thomasina inquired sweetly.
After untold hours of playing the piano, Adrienne's fingers were stiff and sore. Across the drawing room, the old woman was tucked into her favorite chair, munching contentedly on sweetmeats while Angus dozed in a pool of sunlight.
"Perhaps I should step into the library for a moment and see how Tavis and Sam are coming with the Systems. They do grow confused from time to time."
"Well..." Lady Thomasina's painted mouth turned down in a pout. "If you must, run along then. But be quick about it! If I'm left alone very long, I shall grow bored and ill-tempered!"
Fleeing, Adrienne nearly collided with Hortie, who was carrying a tarnished silver tray with a letter on it. "This just arrived by post, my lady," she intoned, pretending that her rival was not in the room at all. "I believe it is a letter from his young lordship."
"From my Hunty?" Lady Thomasina leaned forward anxiously. "Oh, dear, will someone read it to me? I've forgotten my spectacles."
Adrienne knew that she ought to volunteer, but the opportunity to slip away was too promising. From the doorway she called, "No doubt Hortie will be glad to oblige, your ladyship. And you must be missing her companionship since I've joined the household." She gave the skeletal abigail a hospital smile.
"I am forever at your disposal, ma'am."
"I'm used to Miss Beau's reading voice, or that of Mr. Essex, but I suppose you'll do, Hortie...."
It did Adrienne's heart good to see the other girl drawing a stool up beside Lady Thomasina. She was more than glad to share her own position, the burdens of which had shifted from physical labor to emotional suffocation. Like a child, Lady Thomasina demanded relentless entertainment and attention, and Adrienne was growing increasingly resentful.
Out in the cavernous corridor, it came to her that there really wasn't any escape. There could be no change of scenery except other parts of dreary Harms Castle. She wasn't allowed to go to town, for even if Lady Thomasina would loosen her grip, Nathan Essex had forbidden her to wander away alone.
Through an arched leaded-glass window on the landing, Adrienne gazed out over the garden. It was in need of grooming, but daffodils were blooming in clusters, and a boxwood maze caught her eye. How wonderful it would be to breathe fresh air after the assortment of stale smells inside Harms Castle!
Lifting her gray skirts, Adrienne looked right and le
ft, then hurried down the stairs to the heavy doors leading out the rear of the house to a mossy terrace rimmed by shallow stone steps. Nearby, a man who apparently was the estate gardener was poking at a plot of earth with a hoe. He tipped his hat to her as she passed, then shuffled away as if he'd forgotten why he'd been hoeing in the first place.
For a quarter of an hour, Adrienne wandered in the maze. She listened to the songs of birds that were gathering material for nests, ventured to the edge of the meadow to pick cowslips and budding red clover, and watched the activity of some beetles. It felt rather exciting to do something forbidden like going outside without permission, but what fun was it if no one knew?
Just then a stormy-faced Nathan Essex came around the hedge toward her and took hold of her by both arms. "Are you mad? I have given you clear orders not to go anywhere without telling me!"
As her heart began to pump, Adrienne realized that she wasn't bored any more. "Take your hands off me, sir! Must you manhandle me at every turn?"
"Only when you insist on behaving like an incorrigible child who deserves a shaking!" His eyes blazed into hers. "Would you rather be in the hands of Walter Frakes-Hogg?"
"Aren't you a bit of an alarmist? Really, it's broad daylight, and I am within sight of the house. Have you no sympathy for my plight? You come and go as you please, but I am trapped with that woman for hours on end, forced to perform as if I were some sort of trained pet!"
Nathan stubbornly shook his head. "I think it's more than that. I think that you enjoy breaking the rules and misbehaving."
"To what end?"
"That is a question only you can answer, chit."
She found herself being tugged back up the stone steps by his unyielding hand. "Don't call me that," she complained. No sooner were the words out than Adrienne regretted them, for a wicked gleam shone momentarily in his eyes that told her he would probably make "chit" a pet name for her in the future.
Inside the garden doors, Nathan pressed her into a corner and said in low tones, "If you must have a walk, ask me and I will take you. Understood?"
Silver Sea Page 5
