Authors: Lady Hellfire
“Stop.” Kate sprang up and faced Alexis’s mother. “It’s impossible. Alexis couldn’t have done all those things.”
“He is evil, my dear. And clever. Nobody believes me. I could never convince Fulke either, but I must make you understand. It is dangerous for you to fall into his hands.”
“You say Lord Fulke believes the marquess innocent,”
Kate said. “Lord Fulke is one of the most Christian men I’ve ever met. If he’s sure Alexis is guiltless, I am too.”
Juliana rose. She picked up her marmoset. Two cats and three poodles scurried to the door. “You’re shocked. I’ll give you time to adjust, my child. The good Lord knows I’ve had long enough to get used to the idea.”
The dowager left her alone, and Kate kicked at the rug that lay beneath the sofa.
Absurd. Impossible. If he liked killing, he would have loved the war. Nobody harbors that much evil in his soul without giving some clue to it in his behavior.
Not satisfied with kicking the rug, she aimed at the sofa. The tip of her boot hit a cushion. Juliana must have conceived this terrible idea long ago, and it had corrupted her mind. After all, the woman was a bit strange. All those pets. No telling how many there were. And sometimes forgetting who was dead and who wasn’t. Then there was her sleeplessness. Mama had learned that the woman lay on a couch most nights while a maid read to her. Sometimes she would wander from room to room while the maid followed, still reading, until it was time to dress in the morning.
No, Juliana’s opinions weren’t to be relied upon. The woman needed someone to blame for her misery, and it seemed that the person she wanted to blame was her own son. No wonder Alexis went on death rides.
Tea was a disaster. Alexis wasn’t present, and Kate was thankful for that. Juliana kept giving her sorrowful looks. Fulke was as testy as a wet cat; he didn’t approve of her engagement to his blue-blooded cousin either. The Dinkles clustered together, feeding their shared hate, and Mrs. Beechwith kept sniffling into her handkerchief.
Val scowled at the Earl of Cardigan from various observation points in the room. Cardigan eyed Kate as if he
were an osprey and she were a fish he’d like to catch in his talons. He was furious with her and wanted revenge. This knowledge made her even more uncomfortable than she was already.
She took advantage of a maneuver by Mademoiselle St.-Germain that distracted the earl and slipped out of the drawing room. Unfortunately, he still followed her. She sped on ahead of him and took refuge in the great hall. To her chagrin, Cardigan opened the doors not a minute after she shut them. He came at her at a slow, menacing walk.
“Uncivilized witch,” he said.
“Now, earl.” She started walking backward and tried not to smile at Cardigan’s swollen nose.
“I had to tell everyone I fell down the stairs.”
Kate put a long table between herself and the earl. “Better to be known as clumsy than tell everyone I punched you?”
“You want mastering, and I’m going to do it.”
He vaulted over the table to land beside her and grabbed her arm.
“Let go of me, you varmint.”
“An uncivilized vocabulary as well.” He pulled her close. “You ran away from me and accepted de Granville’s suit. Has he tamed you? I think not from the way you’re squirming. I’ll do him a favor and best you before you’re married.”
As she struggled to keep her temper under control, Kate stopped trying to get away from the earl. He was much too strong for her to oppose him directly. Letting her body go limp, she allowed him to pull her closer. She read surprise on his features that soon gave way to lust. Cardigan lowered his mouth to her neck and fastened one hand on her buttock. While he nibbled at her flesh, Kate lifted her skirts and fumbled for the knife she’d decided to wear since their first disagreement.
Cardigan was groping at her breast when she pulled
the knife free from the sheath strapped to her calf. She jumped away from him, and before he could recover, she shoved the knife in front of his eyes. He gawked at the blade and then at her.
“Leave me alone, earl, or you’re going to find out just how uncivilized I can be.”
“By God, you mean it,” he said. “Damn me.”
It wasn’t fair, she thought, staring at him. He wasn’t furious; he was intrigued. She lowered the knife in astonishment as the earl began to smile. He took her hand and bowed over it.
“I cry quits for now,” he said. He straightened and put his fingers under her chin. “I do so love the chase. Everyone will tell you I’m the best hunter in England. You’ve made me take quite a few jumps already, and one fall. But I’ll run you to ground and enjoy doing it.”
Before she knew what he was about, Cardigan kissed her lightly on the lips and disappeared. Kate stared after him, debating as to whether the man had brain fever or not. Eventually she consigned him to the ranks of the incomprehensible, along with woman-starved miners, drunk gamblers, and Alexis de Granville.
As she was still standing there, she heard the voices of Cardigan, Juliana, and her mother. She replaced her knife in its sheath. Unwilling to meet the earl again, she tiptoed across the hall, trying not to let her steps echo as they had when Lady Juliana had found her there. It was quite a walk down the length of the hall, and it seemed as if the room were inhabited because of the numerous suits of armor that stood against the walls. At the end of the hall stood the parade armor of a sixteenth-century Alexis Phillipe de Granville. It was damascened with gold and silver, all embossed and sculptured, and as she stared at it, Kate forgot about the earl.
She touched a raised figure of a beast done in silver and gold that projected out below the left flange. She was
measuring her hand against one of the gauntlets when she heard a door slam. Glancing around, she saw Fulke approaching her, and he still looked as though he’d caught someone playing cards in church. Positioning himself between her and the nearest exit, Fulke spoke his mind without introductory remarks.
“Miss Grey, I didn’t think you were like the rest of those greedy title hunters. I insist that you break this engagement. It is nothing less than picking and stealing.”
“But I—”
“I was fooled by your American manners, I suppose. I should have remembered how loose American women can be. That’s what has Alexis rearing like a stallion, your harlot’s ways. Going about in split skirts and improper dress.”
He raised an arm and pointed an accusing finger at Kate. He was so tall and quivered with such righteous fury, she felt guilty without thinking.
“ ‘All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman,’ ” he continued. “You seduced Alexis with your obscene flaunting and fornicating tongue.”
Kate blinked at Fulke. “Fornicating tongue?”
“I repeat, release that boy from your talons.”
Rapid footsteps echoed through the hall. Fulke was hauled away from Kate, and she got a view of the marquess’s lithe body before Valentine Beaufort hurled himself between Alexis and his cousin. Alexis permitted Val to stop him from going for Fulke, but Kate suspected it was only out of consideration for his friend’s weak state. The two cousins dueled with their eyes instead.
“You forget yourself, sir,” Alexis said. “And you dare much when you say such things to my fiancée.”
“It’s my duty to protect you from sin,” Fulke said.
“If you speak of Kate and sin in the same breath again, I’ll stuff you into that suit of armor.”
Fulke ran a hand through his black and silver hair. “I
don’t understand, Alexis. You’ve never let your appetite run away with your judgment before.”
“By God, sir, I will teach you to respect the delicacy of my lady if I have to take a whip to you.”
Fulke wasn’t at all perturbed. He shook his head. “You’re upset. We’ll speak of this when you’re calmer.”
“Come back here, Fulke.” Alexis started after his cousin, but Val detained him by thrusting an arm in his way.
“Let him go. He’s never made sense where women are concerned.
Damnant quod non intelligunt
, my friend.”
Kate laughed and translated. “They condemn what they do not understand.”
Alexis’s bearlike expression melted into a smile. He took Kate’s hand. “I find this small barbarian a trifle difficult to fathom myself. And speaking of barbarians, I saw Cardigan. He appeared to be looking for someone. Was it you?”
“Yes, but don’t worry. I have taken precautions.”
“One hesitates to ask the nature of these precautions,” Val said.
“Nothing much,” Kate said. “Only a little knife.”
Both men looked at her dress.
“You can’t see it.”
Val cleared his throat and bowed. “I shall excuse myself before I say something that will get me stuffed into the damascened armor.”
As Val left the hall, Kate turned back to the damascened armor. She grasped one of the metal fingers of the gauntlet and bent it back and forth.
“Where is the knife, Kate?”
She started and whirled around to face Alexis. “Strapped to my leg.” Her attention wandered back to the armor. Her hand crept up to the visor, the front of which projected like a snout.
“Katie Ann!”
She looked at Alexis. He was still in his riding clothes, but showed none of the signs of exhaustion that signaled a death ride.
“Leave the armor alone,” he said. “I am overcome with foreboding at the thought of what you intend to do with a knife.”
“Nothing much.” She deemed it wise not to mention her latest conversation with the earl.
Alexis took two menacing steps toward her.
“I’m only going to scare him if I need to,” she said quickly.
“No.”
“But I thought you’d like the knife better than my revolver.”
“Dear Lord.” Alexis rubbed his temple as if he were getting a headache.
“I can get my revolver,” she said.
“No, no.” He chewed his lip as if in thought. “I don’t suppose you’d consider allowing me to protect you.”
“Certainly,” she said.
“But you’re not giving up your knife.”
She shook her head and grinned at him. “Want to see me throw it?”
“Did you know that my cavalry troops were easier to manage than you are?”
“Thank you.”
Alexis didn’t respond. He grasped her arm and conducted her to a scarred settle. He sat beside her on it and took her hand. Kate watched her fingers disappear inside his palm. The warmth of his flesh sent a river of heat up her arm. She felt the first quivers of excitement begin in her stomach.
“I must apologize for my cousin,” he said.
“You don’t have to. You aren’t responsible for his bad manners. And anyway, I almost laughed at him. To think he considers me a Jezebel.”
“Why would you laugh?”
She lowered her eyes. “I’m hardly the kind of woman men find irresistible.”
She saw a movement, and without warning a pair of lips were fastened over her own. She kept her eyes open for a moment and caught a glimpse of thick black lashes and the shadow of shaved whiskers. Her eyes snapped closed at the feel of his mouth sucking on hers. Then he
released her. He ran the tip of his tongue over her lips before moving back to look at her. Cupping her face in one hand, he pressed his thumb against her lips.
“Let me explain what obviously you’ve never been told,” he whispered. “Your face is a perfect oval. Your eyes can be like those of a bewildered foal, then change instantly to volcanic glass. It is all I can do not to sink my hands in your hair when the sun turns it to silken fire. And I can no longer remember the number of times I have had to stop myself from hauling you into the nearest bedchamber and trying to—Well, perhaps I’d best not complete the thought.” He touched the tip of his finger to her nose. “You really don’t understand, do you?”
She put her hands on his chest and leaned away from him. “You didn’t think I was so wonderful when we were first introduced.”
“There was a fire, my innocent. Even I cannot court a lady while a building burns down in front of me.”
“No, last year. Ophelia gave a ball, and you said you’d hurt your leg and couldn’t dance with me.” She was afraid to look at Alexis, but he was silent for so long that she had to. He was staring down at her, his brow wrinkled.
“I was very white and my hair was pulled back,” she said.
“Oh.” He thought for a few more moments, then gasped. “Was that you under all that powder? Don’t tell me. Ophelia told you to put it all over your face, I know it.” He sighed. “I did say I couldn’t dance. I was rude.”
Kate nodded. She wasn’t about to tell him she’d seen him dancing with another woman after refusing her. She was afraid to trust him with her hurt.
“I was furious, and I let my anger strike out,” he said. “Unfortunately, you were in the way. I wanted to throw Ophelia in the nearest pig sty.”
He released Kate, and she craned her neck to see him
as he stood up. He dropped to one knee in front of her and took both her hands.
“You won’t let me apologize for Fulke, but you have to let me do so for myself.”
Kate studied the floor. “You were mean,” she said, then shot a look at him.
He gave a quick, delighted smile. “You’re an honest little thing. Can you forgive me for being an ass?”
Her face hot, and unable to hold her head up, Kate nodded quickly. Alexis laughed again and kissed her on the cheek. He ducked his head so that he could see her eyes.
“It is I who should be embarrassed,” he said. “The fault was mine.”
Once she had to look at him, it wasn’t so bad. He was far less threatening when he laughed. Kate’s mouth curled up at the corners. Alexis stopped smiling. She watched his expression change. He stared at her, unblinking, then he swallowed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, she was assaulted with green heat that made her think of the desert, of the air turned liquid with the sun’s rays, of clusters of palm trees and the bright, dangerous tension of a lion in the sand. The images brought recognition to Kate. He was aroused.
Why didn’t he say anything? He just kept still and poured the burning oil of his gaze over her body. She wanted to touch his lips as he had touched hers. If he didn’t say something, she was afraid she was going to put her hand on his leg and dig her fingers into the muscles of his thigh. It was something she had to do. Her fingers twitched, and she shot to her feet in alarm.