Borderland Beauty (7 page)

~* * *~

Dominic escorted Lucy out carefully, almost grateful to be free from the tormenting brush of her thigh against his but regretting that he would be lucky if he could get as close to her again. He only had himself to blame anyway. In his bid to tease her, he had merely succeeded in torturing himself. He could see from the tension in her body that she fought the urge to tear herself away from him and embarrass both of them.

Stepping out into the crisp air, he turned as the priest joined them on the porch and handed Dominic a wooden box with a dip of his head.

Dominic thanked him and bowed to Lucy. “You'll have to forgive me, I cannot escort you back to the keep. I would see that the alms are distributed.”

“Oh.” Lucy blinked. “Oh, well, I could help, if you wish.”

“Nay, 'tis not necessary. The watchmen will help.”

“Nay, I mean…I would like to help.”

They locked gazes for a moment and Dominic couldn't resist tracing the line of her lips as his own curved upwards. He doubted she wanted to spend more time with him, so he could only assume she genuinely wanted to help.

He knew it. There was something more to Lucy than her fine looks.
This is the woman I've been searching for.

“As you will. It should take little time. The peasants are awaiting their coin outside the gates.”

She glanced around at the small crowd of people gathered at the gates.

“Do not fear, the watchmen shall keep control of them and they would not harm a noble lady. Thornewall is blessed with well-tempered people, I believe,” he added with a smile.

“Oh, I do not fear them. I should like to help.” She fished into her drawstring purse and shoved some coins into the box. “And there is my contribution. None should go hungry at Christmas.”

“You are a kind-hearted lass, it appears. And here you have led me to believe that your heart is untouchable.”

“Only to you,” she told him firmly. Rolling her eyes at his amused expression, she turned to her father, who observed the exchange from the church door. “May I stay and help distribute the alms?”

"I will see her safe," Dominic interjected.

Her father pursed his lips and gave a curt nod as Lucy fixed him with a pleading look. “Aye, but remain with the rest of the household, understand? You are not to be alone with
him
,” he added sharply, nodding towards Dominic.

Dominic forced his expression to remain neutral. Montgomery still didn't trust him. Not that he could blame him, he had caught him kissing his daughter, after all. And he wanted to do it again...and again.

Lucy glanced up at her father and smiled sweetly up at him. “Of course, Father.”

He smothered his chuckle as Montgomery’s face softened and he almost pitied the man.
Completely controlled by both women in his life.
But then Lucy’s eyes flicked to his and his breathing stilted. Ack, Lucy had just as much hold over him.

Lord and Lady Montgomery made their way back to the keep as he and Lucy handed out the coins to the grasping hands. He took in the weary faces with regret. Times were hard, the impact of the plague could still be felt and the reivers did not help the situation. If he could only do more. Even the castle stores were low, something that put them at great risk should Thornewall come under attack, and he had already taken steps to ensure their celebrations were low-key, but appearances needed to be maintained.

Observing Lucy with the peasants, he had to admit that he did not regret the presence of some of his guests. She smiled easily as she distributed the coins, apparently more at ease with the villeins than people of her own standing. What a mystery the lass was.

Brushing a strand of hair away from her face, her hazel eyes clashed with his and for a moment, her beam remained. His heart clenched and he fumbled and dropped some coins. Bending down to retrieve them, he was disappointed to see she had turned her back by the time he straightened.

Handing out the last of the coins, he hastily made his way to Lucy’s side as she talked with an old woman. He admired the curve of her neck as she tilted her head to one side, wisps of pale hair tumbling over her shoulder. She patted the woman on the hand and turned, starting when she came face to face with his chest.

~* * *~

Lucy considered the bargain she had struck with Dominic as she backed away from the intimidating chest and climbed onto her horse. She hated to admit it, but he had an uncanny ability to work through her defences. This morning she’d had little intention of even talking with the man and yet here she had agreed to give him a chance.

One chance, that was all he had asked. She would give him that but she would not allow him access to her heart. Why she had even offered a mere chance, she was unsure. While Dominic was aware of the behaviour that dictated her opinion of him, what he did not realise was how deeply it affected her. His offhand comment those eight years ago had sealed the knowledge in her thirteen-year-old mind that she was as he had said -- nothing more than an unattractive, clumsy lass who could never hope to catch the attention of a man like Dominic, or any other man, for that matter.

And while she nurtured that knowledge, she nurtured her hatred of the brash lord and everything he stood for. Avoiding social activities, Lucy threw herself into books and horsemanship, and learning all she could from her mother and father about running a demesne. She laughed inwardly. Not that she would ever put that knowledge to good use. Once her brother, Edward, returned from France, she would have little to occupy her.

Ack, had she really just allowed herself to fall for the Lord of Thornewall’s infamous charms? It was true that she did not relish the thought of bickering with Dominic during the Christmas celebrations, but should she have accepted his apologies so easily? She peeked at him from underneath her lashes, observing the confident tilt of his chin. If she could but hold such self-assurance, then mayhap she would not fall so easily under his spell.

She thought of her mother’s insistence that she stay. For whatever reason, her mother clearly wanted this match to happen. Not that it could ever be a happy one. Even if Dominic did go through with this ridiculous contract, he would soon tire of her. To believe that a woman with a ridiculous figure and little to recommend her other than her wit could hold the charismatic Lord Dominic’s heart was pure foolishness.

Nay, she would not allow herself to be led down that path. She had looked up to him once before and he proved himself to be nothing more than a bully. A chance, she had said, to prove her wrong. Aye, she’d give him a chance but she’d not let him near her heart.
As if he could prove me wrong anyway.
The next pretty lass that came along would soon steal away his attentions. Why did her heart drop at the thought? Ack, she really was a fool.

She pulled her horse, Misty, back to allow the crowd of peasants to disperse as Dominic brushed off their profuse thanks and mounted his own horse. He glanced over and flashed a grin in her direction. His quick smile knotted her stomach and weakened her limbs. She jolted as her reins slipped from her fingers, and she snatched at them. Her sudden movement startled Misty who backed up under the eaves of a cottage, knocking into the wooden support. A rumble sounded but Lucy couldn’t comprehend what was causing it until a deluge of snow tumbled from the roof and onto the horse’s rear. Frightened by the cold snow, Misty bolted forward and careered through the crowd of people and out into the open countryside.

~* * *~

Dominic cursed as he flicked the reins and shoved his heels into the horse’s flank. His powerful mount cut through the street and out onto the surrounding hills rapidly, and he spotted Lucy’s pale steed making towards a ragged patch of trees. His throat closed over as the horse thundered down a steep slope, kicking up snow as it went. He waited for her to go tumbling over as he urged his destrier on but she somehow remained in the saddle.

The back of his neck prickled as he watched her mantle streaming behind her, the distance between them not closing rapidly enough for his liking. Damn it, she’d be cut to shreds in the woods. He’d never reach her in time.

As the horse careered towards the bare trees, Dominic fought the urge to close his eyes and he watched helplessly as Lucy plunged forward and her mare reared. His breaths came raggedly as he closed in on her, ready to leap from his saddle and scoop her off the floor. But as the horse reared, instead of crashing to the ground like he expected, she snatched at the reins and held the horse in mid-air for a moment before its powerful hooves crashed to the ground.

Dominic blinked as she urged her horse around, bounding back up the hill and past him, flashing him a bright smile as she went. He came to a stop and gave chase, cursing again but this time directing his curse at Lucy. She flicked a look over her shoulder and slowed down her pace as he gained on her.

“Hell’s teeth, lass, are you mad?” he grated out, struggling to regain his breath as he approached. He clenched his reins, fighting the urge to clamp his hands around Lucy and shake her for scaring him so.

Lucy laughed and his breath stuck in his throat as he drew his mount to her side. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled with delight. Eyeing the tilt of her pale lips, his body tensed as heat ignited under his skin. It almost dampened his anger.

Almost.

“You could have been killed,” he persisted when she showed no sign of remorse.

“Misty would never throw me,” she said with a grin and an affectionate pat to the horse’s mane.

He swiped a hand over his damp brow and glowered at her. “You could have been scratched to death in those trees. Of all the foolish—”

“I had little intention of being dragged through the trees. It just took me a while to calm her down, ‘tis all. I had everything under control.” She secured him with a serious look.

“Under control? Under—” he spluttered.

“It was hardly my fault that Misty was startled, Lord Dominic. There is little reason for you to be so riled with me.” Her lips tilted again as she cast her gaze over his exasperated expression. “But you need not have given chase. I was in no need of rescuing.”

“Ack!” He sucked in a deep breath and held it, forcing the swell of anger down. It was a rare thing for him to lose his temper but, by God, Lucy was testing it. “You are damned lucky you were not hurt. You may not care for your neck, but I…” he hesitated before adding firmly, “I do.”

Her smile dropped swiftly and her eyes flew wide. She opened her mouth but he held up a hand.

“You’ve had your fun for the day. Can we return to the keep? I have need of a strong drink.”

Dropping her gaze, Lucy shifted in her saddle and Dominic suffered a pang of remorse for his temper. Ack, she was right, it was not her fault the horse had been startled.

“I meant not to rile you,” she offered quietly, “‘twas not my intention. I did not think you’d be so concerned and I knew Misty would not lead me to harm.”

His posture softened and he shook his head with a small smile. “‘Tis alright, lass.” His gaze skimmed over her. “You have some skill with a horse.”

The red in her cheeks deepened at his words. It amused him how compliments towards her figure or her beauty merely garnered him a wry look of disbelief but one word on her riding skills and she flustered like a young maid.

“I enjoy riding,” she told him carefully.

“Aye, that much is evident. ‘Tis the first time you’ve directed one of those smiles at me.” He leaned over and brushed a wisp of hair away from her face, noting the slight parting of her lips. “Would that I could garner another one.”

Dominic watched as she tried and failed to tame her smile and fix him with a stern look. He chuckled and she shook her head with a flash of a grin that made his stomach clench.

She manoeuvred her horse away from him, taking it a few steps forward before looking at him over her shoulder. “Do not hold onto hope, Lord Dominic,” she told him as she thrust her heels into her horse, “I do not bestow my smiles easily,” she called out with a laugh as her horse raced away.

Pausing to watch her fair hair streaming out behind her and the ease in which she rode, Dominic sighed before urging his mount to catch up with her.
I’ll have to get her on a horse more often
, he decided. He’d caught glimpses of the real Lucy since yesterday, but this was the first time she’d revealed herself openly to him. He gritted his teeth as she flicked a glance at him, her teasing expression still in place. Lucy Montgomery was certainly a handful. What he wouldn’t give to make her
his
handful.

Chapter Five

Lucy was out of breath and cold by the time they ducked through the gatehouse and directed the horses to the stables. The streets had been relatively quiet now that everyone had returned to their homes for dinner, and she had ridden Misty hard. She stroked the horse with a smile, knowing she probably enjoyed it as much.

Peeking over at Dominic as he slid from his saddle, she fought the smile that seemed to linger ever since he’d chased after her.  She realised she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but feel pleased at having riled the gregarious lord. While she was constantly aware of everything, terrified of making the wrong move, nothing ever seemed to bother him.  She watched with twisting envy as he strolled around with absolute assurance.

She expected him to come and aid her down but he didn’t, instead moving to unsaddle his mount. Frowning at his sudden lack of concern for her, she dismounted, muttering to herself.
Foolish lass, you should be glad.

Watching the easy movement of his lithe body, Lucy gulped as her knees trembled slightly. Her lips prickled as her gaze settled on his own firm ones. He was right, of course. She would struggle to forget their kiss. Of all the men, she had to kiss him. She doubted he really gave much consideration to it, whatever he said. Lord Dominic had likely kissed more women than he could care to remember and, soon enough, she would simply be another in that long list. No doubt she wouldn’t fare too well compared to the great beauties he’d been with.