The Irresistible Lady Behind the Mask

by Emily Honeyfield

  Throwing him a disdainful look, she retorted, “Oh, by all means, let’s share history while I freeze to death. Did I tell you of the time I meant the Prince Regent? We planned a rendezvous. So that night, he climbed up to my bedroom window, and we had a satisfying game of cards, and he promised to have me knighted.”

  Laughter shook Hudson’s shoulders. This was yet another reason why he was determined to marry her. She would spark up his life with her quips.

  He should have known that his avowal of love would scare her into running away. He had seen the indescribable emotion in her eyes when she departed from his presence earlier. When she wouldn’t come down for lunch and dinner, claiming an invisible illness, he surmised that she was avoiding him. But to actually try such a daring act just to escape him totally astounded him.

  Inclining lower, he lifted her off the muddy stream, prepared to dump her right back if she dared hit his hand away again. Noting how light she was and how she fitted right in his arms, he carried her back to the manor. He expected her to rant and rave all the way, but she remained silent.

  Then he deduced the reason for her silence as she repeatedly shook in his arms. The damn chit was indeed freezing! Hastily climbing up the stairs to the room assigned to her, he pushed open the door and tossed her on her bed. A small scream left her lips before she bestowed an angry gaze on him.

  Chuckling, he reminded her of her words. “I’m still not a gentleman, but I’m going to be kind enough to ring you a maid to attend to you. Heaven forbid it to be said my bride caught her death of cold even before our wedding.”

  The sharpness of her glare only increased his humour.

  “Tell me, you really did mean you’re prepared to die instead of marrying me, didn’t you?”

  Tempest didn’t say anything as she continued glaring at him with eyes that promised to retaliate when she was herself again.

  “What a way to try to go! I believe a visit to the apothecary would have been better. I hear that they have potions there that could be very effective within minutes. But before you call on one, could you please wait until after we exchange our wedding vows? I wouldn’t want to be the next subject of gossip for society. And it would be mighty difficult finding a third bride.”

  Tempest looked as if she wanted to say something, and his eyes widened with expectation. But she thought against it at the last minute and pursed her lips.

  Enjoying the way he was riling her, he continued, “I must say you look very delectable lying right there with mud and dirt. Perhaps mud should be considered as an aphrodisiac. I dare say it would do better than the Spanish fly because all I can think of right now is getting into that bed with you, stripping your wet clothes off your body and making you warm the way the Good Lord intended between a man and a woman.”

  When she didn’t say anything, he took a step forward, and she jerked on the bed, her fury finally loosening her tongue.

  “Don’t you dare come near me, you lecherous lout. I’m half frozen to death, and all you can think of is satisfying your disgusting lust, you randy goat!”

  Satisfied with her passionate outburst and not in any way incensed by her insults, he smiled broadly. “That’s better. I was beginning to fear that the cold had frozen your tongue. That would be a mighty shame because I know of more satisfying things that the tongue could do other than assisting speech and eating.”

  Giving the impression of one who was about to have apoplexy, Tempest abruptly sat up on the bed and pointed at the door. “Out, you lascivious oaf! And stay out!”

  “That would be mighty inconvenient, seeing that in a matter of days, you and I will be sharing a bed,” Hudson countered with a winsome smile on his lips but beat a hasty retreat when Tempest reached for the bedside lamp to throw at him.

  His body shook with laughter when he heard the crash just as he closed the door. Whistling a low tune, he crossed the corridor and headed down the stairs to the servants’ sleeping quarters.

  Chapter 20

  “Oh, I feel so terrible,” Tempest cried as she blew into yet another handkerchief.

  “You will feel better if you take one more spoon of this soup,” Hudson urged. “Aunt Agnes swears it’s a quick remedy for colds.”

  “I’m tired of the soups. Yesterday, you said that nasty tasting soup was the perfect cure for a cold. Two days ago you also brought that awful-tasting broth and swore by it that my cold would be gone within hours. But here I am on this blasted bed, sneezing as if my nose is being tickled by a feather every few seconds and blowing my nose every five minutes. I think … don’t you dare laugh at me!”

  Tempest wished she wasn’t so weak so that she could grace Hudson’s laughing face with a slap. But that would border on ingratitude. Hudson had cared for her ever since she caught the chill three days ago after her foolhardy adventure climbing down the hill into the muddy stream.

  A maid had been roused to help her clean up and prepare for bed. The young girl had also brought a hot pot of tea which Tempest had gratefully drunk. But by morning, she had been sneezing all over the place and wishing she had died at the stream because of the terrible way she felt. Her head ached from sneezing and blowing her nose so much, and she had sensed her temperature rising to increase her discomfort.

  The maid, seeing how sick she was, had gone to make a report to Hudson who she had thought would come in gloating after all he said the previous night. Strangely, he had come into her room with a worried frown on his face. Reaching out, he had placed a hand on her forehead and felt it.

  “You’ve caught a cold, but we must fight it before it develops into a fever. I’ll send word to Cook to prepare soup which Aunt Agnes used to make for me when I caught the chills,” he had calmly said, shocking her further.

  “I thought you would come in here smirking and telling me how it served me right for trying to run away,” she had thrown at him after another bout of sneezing.

  Smiling, he had said, “I figure the cold will scold you enough about your risky behaviour and the demerits of lying about being ill.”

  “Why you …” she had tried to say before sneezing repeatedly. Hudson had laughed and left.

  If she had thought that he would avoid her like the plague, she had been gravely mistaken. As she had to remain in bed until her ailment expired, Hudson had taken it upon himself to be her doctor and caregiver. She hadn’t expected him to show this much concern, given that she had tried to run away from him which would have placed him in an embarrassing situation not only before his aunt but his invites as well.

  Hudson was always by her bedside. Whenever he wasn’t available due to one thing or the other like visiting his aunt, he made sure a maid was beside her to attend to her.

  He brought her meals and spoon-fed her even when she was ornery about it. Whenever she couldn’t sleep, he would read to her in a slumberous voice and before long, her eyes would droop. He would flounce her pillows and make sure she was comfortable before placing a cool cloth on her head to bring down her temperature.

  He never failed to make enquires about her health when he had to leave the manor on urgent business as soon as he returned. Sometimes, he reminded her of all their exploits when they were children, which usually made her forget her illness for a while and either laugh or smile.

  “I dare say that you’re happy that I’m saddled to this bed,” she threw at him when he was able to control his hilarity. “Now I can’t make good my escape even as the ill-fated wedding day draws nearer.”

  With a wry smile playing on his lips, he shrugged. “I don’t think you’ll be leaving even if you can stand up from that bed right now.”

  “Pray tell why you think so.”

  “You must know by now that it is foolish and reckless of you to try getting out of here. This manor is isolated. Our closest neighbour is miles away. You’d faint with exhaustion before you get there.”

  “You’re only trying to deter me from going.” She clicked her tongue and looked away. When he didn’t come bac
k with a rebuttal, she turned her questioning gaze on him. His blue eyes that reminded her of the sky at springtime were profoundly penetrating.

  “What really are you afraid of, Temp?”

  She blushed at the resumption of his childhood name for her. He had begun calling her that during her ailment as if things were back to the way they used to be. He was dead wrong!

  Despite her gratitude to him for taking good care of her, she would run away from the manor if she got another chance. The feelings he already evoked in her with his presence were very frightening. If she stayed, only God knew what would become of her.

  After all her swearing and declarations that she would never get married, she couldn’t wane now. Continually, she had cast aspersions on those who claimed to be in love. Surely she couldn’t fall into that category and become a ninny to Hudson for the rest of her life.

  A part of her, a tiny part, wanted her to stay and marry Hudson. But that would mean she would have to give up the gaming parlour and come live in this remote place. What would serve as a source of entertainment here?

  Hudson!

  Tempest blushed and looked away at that errant thought. Hudson couldn’t serve as a means of amusement all the time. And the lustful goat was only interested in bedding her, probably to produce heirs. That seemed to be the only thing the menfolk wanted from women, and she was determined not to be a part of the charade.

  But her heart thought otherwise.

  “Why are you afraid to answer my question?”

  With twin spots of red staining her cheeks for her thoughts had drifted and prevented her from answering his question, she replied, “I’m not afraid to answer. And for your earlier question, I’m not afraid of anything. I don’t want to marry you or anybody.”

  “Hmm. The same words you used five years ago.” He leaned back on the chair that had been permanently placed beside her bed. “Tell me, do you tell that to yourself every day? I mean, do you stand before your mirror in the mornings and repeat it consecutively until you believe them?”

  Her temper was beginning to rise at his silly questions. She decided to ask questions of her own. “Hudson, why can’t you accept that I can’t marry you? Is it a male egotistical thing of yours to always have the woman you set out to get?”

  Her anger tightened when he placed one leg over the other and gave her a winsome smile.

  “You could call it that. Maybe I can’t afford to have my heart broken a second time. Have you considered that we might be made for each other just like Romeo and Juliet?”

  She scoffed. “Please don’t start with that Shakespeare gibberish again. I swear, Hudson, you have changed.”

  His mood suddenly became solemn. “Have I, or you never really knew me?”

  Possibly she never did. After all, she hadn’t known he was in love with her. So maybe she also wasn’t aware that he enjoyed poetry and nonsensical things about love.

  It somewhat saddened her. Aside from Aunt Beth, Hudson was the only person who she had ever become close to after the death of her mother. For it to seem now that her friendship with him years ago had only been on the surface caused her great distress. She wished …

  What did she wish for? She had no idea. That she and Hudson would return to being best friends? But she had that power in her hands. All she had to do was agree to his marriage proposal, and her desire would be granted.

  But it wasn’t that easy. She and Hudson were no longer the boy and girl they used to be. They were adults now with chemistry between them that she couldn’t deny any longer. It wasn’t just about lust, it was something deeper; something she couldn’t explain.

  Her heart urged her to explore it while her head told her it would be disastrous. She was at a crossroad.

  “I think you’re afraid of what will happen to you if you allow our wedding to take place,” Hudson cut into her thoughts with smugness in his voice.

  Tempest’s eyes narrowed. “And that is?”

  He leaned close to her on the bed, so their faces were mere inches from each other. “I think you’re afraid that you might like being married to me so much that you will never want to leave my side.”

  Angered by his correct assumption of the situation, she opened her mouth to deliver a sharp rebuttal but was forestalled by a knock on the door. A maid came into the room and informed Hudson that his aunt would like to have a word with him.

  Happy that she would be devoid of his disturbing presence, she sighed out her relief. Chuckling at obviously guessing the reason for her exhaling loudly, Hudson pushed himself to his feet.

  He bestowed on her a warm smile which she felt all the way to her toes. Then he shocked her by leaning in and placing a kiss on her forehead. The smiling man left before she could say a word.

  The maid replaced Hudson on the chair and held out a book. She glanced at Tempest expectantly.

  “Shall I read to you, Miss Tempest?”

  Tempest shook her head. “Please I’d like a glass of water first.” Hudson’s words and kiss had left her mouth dry.

  “Yes, Miss Tempest,” the maid answered and poured her a glass from the pitcher on the bedside table.

  Tempest smiled her thanks to the young girl as she handed her the glass of water. She sighed inwardly as she sipped the liquid. For the first time in her life, she was not only dependent on Hudson but a host of others as well. Her illness rendered her unable to do anything, so she had to depend on others for help. At first, it left her chagrined, but she eventually got used to it.

  Hudson was the one who offered her the most significant help. Even though he annoyed her sometimes with his words, she would forever remain grateful to him for taking care of her. Not once had he brought up her trying to escape which made her wonder if she wasn’t missing the chance of a lifetime being with such a noble man.

  As the maid read from the book, Tempest couldn’t help wishing it was Hudson. He had a way of bringing the characters alive. A smile would pucker at his lips when he read some scenes he ascribed to her stubborn nature, and they would laugh together at comical scenes in the books. She loved the way his eyes wrinkled at the edges when he smiled and how his dimples would show on his cheeks making him even more devastatingly handsome.

  Oh, dear, I think I’m already falling in love with Hudson!

  Chapter 21

  Birds tweeted at the window pane causing the woman on the bed to stretch languidly before her eyes fluttered open. At first Tempest stared at the ceiling unseeingly, wondering where she was. Then everything came rushing back to her, and she sighed loudly.

  She waited, expecting a sneeze to pass through her nostrils or for her to cough as if death was upon her. When none of those things took place, and she sighed. Perhaps one of Hudson’s awful-smelling and foul-tasting soups and concoctions had worked.

  Registering that she did feel better than the day before, she moved her limbs on the bed in another lazy stretch. Having spent days abed, she was eager to be up and about, but her body still craved for rest.

  Shaking her head, Tempest knew she couldn’t give in to the urge. Now that she was better health-wise, she had to start thinking of another plot to get out of the place. Remaining here and marrying Hudson was not an option. Even though she sensed she was falling in love with the man, it still didn’t mean she would wed him. As a matter of fact, she now had a concrete reason why she wouldn’t be joined to him in holy matrimony.

  Allowing herself to love Hudson and be married to him would be like selling her soul to him. Hudson would do with her as he pleased, and she would only nod in acquiescence, batting her eyes at him lovingly.

  The image caused her to shudder. A docile Tempest and a domineering Hudson would be the order of the day. She couldn’t take the risk of being a foot mat when they were wed.