The Rake and the Recluse REDUX (a time travel romance) (75 page)

She shook terribly, but calmed within the circle of his arms. He lifted her chin, gazing down into her upturned face as she slowly lifted her lids to gaze deeply into his eyes. He gasped, feeling her stare deep within. Something about her stilled his soul, paused his searching, calmed his confusions.

Before he knew what he was about, his mouth had covered hers, their eyes still locked, and he was watching, waiting. Then his mouth shifted over hers and she yielded. His eyes closed and his hand tensed behind her neck, holding her to him. Her fingers quivered their way to his lapels, then drifted up, lacing at his nape, her thumbs gently caressing his jaw as her eyes closed.

The sigh that escaped her became trapped between them, serving to harness his rampant passion. He soothed her, gentling his ministrations until her hands loosed and he could break away. He looked up to see the boots of his men as they shifted on the other side of the carriage. He could tell they were impatient by the way they dug their heels in, disrupting the soil. He made a mental note to speak with them later. They wouldn’t like him using one of their own, and any servant in his house or Gideon’s qualified on that point.

They arrived in Carlisle late that afternoon, taking several rooms as the inn was nearly deserted. The next train would leave in the morning, and the keep was happy to be busied with guests and prepared a feast with Perry’s accord.

That night as they withdrew, Perry escorted Lilly as far as her door. He watched his men enter their respective rooms, then turned to her. “My dear sweet Lilly, my room is just adjacent to yours. These walls are sturdy, but thin. The slightest sound and I will be here, if you have need of me.”

He saw the corners of her lips lift without her looking up at him. “Not that sort of need, sweet, not tonight.” Her smile faded as she lifted her chin. “Remember, there are other things you need learn. This is one of them. You need to learn to be alone.”

She shook her head, imploring him with her eyes.

“Once we reach London there will be no chance of being alone for you in my household. This will be our last opportunity for this lesson.”

She looked warily around his tall form, into the open doorway. The room was dim, lit only by the fire and one lamp next to the bed. She placed her hands on his arms, and he became pliable at her touch, his immoveable form shifting at her bidding.

He watched her enter the room, slowly looking around, and regret tensed his gut. She turned, hand on the door as she smiled up at him, then she pressed the door closed before him.

He reached out to the doorjamb and leaned forward, resting his forehead as the bolt slid home, protecting her from the outside world—from him. He breathed harshly, willing the door to open to him, to no avail. He heard heavy steps on the stairs and he turned, sweeping into his room.

He retired in his shirt and trousers, his concern for the woman in his trust making him restless. At some point he drifted off, unaware he was dreaming of her until he heard the shriek through the wall behind his head. He vaulted from the bed and went through her door in a rain of shattered wood. Scanning the room, he found her curled beneath the bed, shaking the frame above her.

“Lilly.” He walked to the bed, but she didn’t move. He started to kneel as the keep ran to the door. “Apologies, I will make reparations.” The keep turned and left, grumbling the whole way. Perry kneeled beside the large bed then laid down on the floor, reaching out to take her small hand in his.

“Sweet, sweet Lilly,” he sang softly under the bed toward her. “Lilly, my Lilly, you are all right. Everything is fine, I am here, please, sweet Lilly, come out,” he whispered. He saw her shift, and her face lifted to his, her eyes reflecting the light from the fire. He heard boots behind him and knew it was Kerrigan. He waved him off without looking and heard him retreat to just outside the open door. Her hand tensed and he tugged, gently pulling her out and rolling to his back, lifting her body across his. She clung desperately and he paused to hold and comfort her.

Slowly he rose, first sitting up and shifting her, then standing to his feet. He carried her back to his room, as the door to hers was irretrievably broken. He nodded to Kerrigan as he passed. The man went into her room and gathered her things, then followed.

“Milord, p’raps—” Kerrigan started.

Perry laid her out carefully on his bed and tucked her in before he turned around.

“Perhaps what, Kerrigan? Perhaps she needs the rumor of two men in her chamber? Perhaps she should be watched by you, easily as strange to her as I? Perhaps what, Kerrigan?”

Kerrigan shifted uncomfortably, not finding an answer as Perry approached. He took Kerrigan’s shoulders and commanded his gaze. “Perhaps, Kerrigan, you worry too much. I’ve done nothing but protect her thus far, and I’ll do nothing she doesn’t ask of me in the future. She’ll be perfectly safe under my watch, and not a soul would dare argue her respectability with me,” Perry said. “I do, however, appreciate your concern, but for tonight let us try to rest as best we are able.”

Kerrigan smiled stiffly. Looking over Perry’s shoulder at the girl now sleeping, he grunted then turned, pulling the door shut behind him and returning to his room.

Perry moved to Lilly, brushing the hair back from her face and watching her expressions. Content that she was settled at least for a while, he moved a chair next to the bed, putting his feet up and sinking in as far as he could. Sleep was most definitely a necessity at this point. Beyond that, there wasn’t much outside this room he needed.

The next morning they boarded the train—carriage, horses, and all. Perry took an entire car for his party. It consisted of several berths. He steered Lilly toward the largest forward berth, which took up nearly a third of the railcar, and let his men settle in the others. The berth had a single bed, a seating area near the windows, and a dining table. He thought it quite luxurious and considered looking into having a railcar outfitted for himself.

He led her to the seats by the window, which were beautifully appointed in a velvet brocade, soft and plush enough to sink into. He rather enjoyed the rails. He considered that he would travel to Eildon more often, as his brother would begin the begetting of heirs and he would most definitely need to be present to ensure they were not raised to be thoroughly stodgy boors as Gideon had been.

He liked the idea of being an uncle. The bad uncle who always brought sweets and toys and the like. The favorite uncle. Not that there would be another. His first gift would be a beautiful grey hunter. It would quite clash with the chattel in Rox’s stable. The thought of it made Perry grin.

The sway of the train, the graceful speed with which it moved, was erotic. It swayed the body as opposed to jerking it around like one was in a carriage. It passed over the country easily, as a knife through warm butter. The newer rails and stronger engines were an incredible improvement, the trains moving faster and smoother from station to station. He knew Gideon had planned a private car to travel back and forth to London more efficiently, and he certainly could outdo him. His car would have a large bed, right in the center, surrounded by windows. He grinned wickedly at the thought, then looked to the woman his mind had placed lounging on that beautiful bed.

She stood once they were moving steadily, her hands pressed up against the glass as the countryside swept past them. Her eyes were wide, her mouth an amazed smile. Her breath came against the chilled window in little puffs of condensation. His vision exploded in his mind, the excitement on her face bringing him an altogether different kind of joy. He followed the line of her jaw, past the shoulder of her traveling cloak, to the long fitted sleeves of her blouse. The lines of her clothing were so much simpler than the current fashions of the
ton.
It was rather refreshing.

She wore a full skirt, no fancy bustles, though it appeared from the roundness of the skirt that there was something going on under there, other than just her legs. He groaned and turned away. This woman had him tied in knots.

In general he took pleasure in one woman, then moved on. Or several women at a time. In different ways. He’d had mistresses who he’d kept for longer periods, but he always tired of them, eventually looking for someone new.

How was it that this woman had captured so much of his attention in so short a time? He couldn’t form the face of a single of his former mistresses in his mind; she had effectively chased them all away.

He turned when she shook his arm. “Look! Look there, do you see them?” Perry stood and leaned around her, looking out the window to where she pointed. A group of red deer grazed at the edge of the forest. “Do you hunt?” she asked.

“I do, in fact. I have been practicing with a bow recently.” He placed his arms on the frame of the window, near the level of her shoulders, and saw the swift puff of breath on the window that signaled her awareness. “The huntsmen at Westcreek swear it to be the most efficient and least cruel way to down a buck.” His words stirred the loose curls at her neck.

Her smile wavered. “My father would never let me attend a hunt.” She glanced back to the window. “Will the rails come to Kelso?”

“I believe the plans call for an eastern leg to run from Roxleighshire, close to Kelso, then on to Berwick-Upon-Tweed.”

She nodded, her eyes taking on a faraway cast.

“You will not have time to miss them,” he said. “You will be too busy with your new life in London.”

“Thank you.”

He let the train rock him as he considered his situation. This wasn’t bound to turn out well, no matter how it was handled. He should take her to Gideon’s town house and leave her there with instructions to contact his brother and notify him of his new town maid. He couldn’t.

He knew what it was to be a rake and, at this moment, the definition was simple. Selfish. He wouldn’t take her to Roxleigh House because he wanted her close to him. He wanted to continue the lessons. He wanted to see how much she could learn, and how well she would master his teachings.

He had a feeling she would prove to be an excellent student.

He was a rake, and it appeared he had not changed that much after all.

He wanted her. So she was to stay with him.