The Reluctant Suitor (11 page)

Samantha noticed that her friend was looking unusually apprehensive, no doubt with good cause. She, too, remembered how vehemently her brother had protested their father’s attempts to arrange his life and could only wonder if he’d react any differently to the news awaiting him now that their sire was dead. If he hadn’t yet realized their father had wanted the best for him, then she surely had. Adriana was the sister she had never had, and she was reluctant to lose her to some other man’s family.

Three

T
here you are,” Samantha said with a gently welcoming smile after catching sight of her mother descending the stairs. A month earlier, Philana Wyndham had passed fifty and three years, and though her tawny hair had become frosted with white over the passage of time, she could have easily passed for a woman ten years her junior. Still slender and very striking, she bore herself with an elegance that seemed ageless. In spite of the fact that at the moment her vivid blue eyes bore a telltale wetness, they were her greatest asset.

A wealth of inexplicable emotions swept over Colton as he watched his mother approach, forcing him to swallow against a gathering thickness in his throat. In his eagerness to find his parent soon after his arrival, he had limped through the front door without pausing to herald his entrance by way of the heavy wrought-iron door-clapper. His abrupt, disquieting invasion into the vestibule had caused Harrison’s jaw to plummet forthwith, but after the steward had settled his widened eyes upon the intruder, his qualms had instantly vanished. The resemblance between sire and son had been too close for a loyal servant to mistake. The aging man had fought a difficult battle with encroaching tears as he spoke of his late master’

s death and then had wept unabashedly when Colton laid a comforting arm about his shoulders and mourned his father’s loss with him.

Upon leaving the butler, Colton had hastened up the stairs as quickly as his hindered gait had allowed.

When his mother had responded to the knock upon the door of her chambers with a muted bidding to enter, her knees had nearly buckled beneath her when he had limped into her sitting room. Sobbing with overwhelming joy, she had rushed into his opening arms and then been nearly squeezed breathless by his long, encompassing embrace. Later, her tears had turned to grieving sorrow as she reminisced on the relatively short illness that had taken the husband she had so thoroughly adored. Sedgwick had always been so hale and hearty, she had murmured as twin rivulets streamed down her cheeks. Earlier in the day, he had even been out riding with Perceval and Samantha and seemed quite jovial, in spite of the gall of that young upstart, Roger Elston, to come to the manor in search of Adriana, who, along with her parents, had been invited to dinner. Although it had been evident to nearly everyone that the girl had been mortified by the apprentice’s unexpected arrival, Sedgwick had hidden his annoyance with the younger man and bade another place be set at the table rather than allow Adriana to fret for fear she had caused the difficulty. Before retiring later that night, Sedgwick had had his customary brandy in the drawing room, but hardly an hour later, Philana had awakened to find him writhing beside her in a cold sweat as wrenching pains tore at his stomach. His condition had gradually worsened during the next two months until finally he succumbed to the unknown malady.

Colton wished he could erase the lingering sadness still shadowing his mother’s eyes, but he knew she would continue mourning the loss of her husband until the day she died. His parents had been deeply devoted to each other, loving and cherishing one another as if each gave the other the very breath of life.

With similar dedication to their offspring, they had carefully brought them up, teaching them honor and dignity and giving them a zest for the wonders to be found in every facet of their lives. During the years Colton had been away, he had often been too busy to think of home and family. In the quiet times, however, he had found himself yearning to see his parents, but he had learned from past experiences that looking back had a way of binding his heart in chains of remorse. The past was behind him, he had oft

reminded himself. It couldn’t be rewritten. He had chosen the path he had trod. He had made a life for himself far beyond his sire’s control. He was his own man, had been for more than a decade, and except for having hurt the ones he had left behind, he felt no regrets for his accomplishments.

Philana paused as the steward came toward her. After years of loyal service, there was no need for him to ask her bidding. Philana supplied it readily in a hushed tone. “We’ll have our tea in the drawing room, Harrison.”

“Yes, my lady. As to dinner tonight, Cook would like to know if everyone now present will be staying.”

“Yes, I believe they will, Harrison.”

Adriana moved near to correct that premise. “Your pardon, my lady, but I don’t think that will actually be the case.” Dipping into a respectful curtsey as the older woman faced her, she explained, “Mr.

Fairchild kindly bade us to have Miss Felicity back at Wakefield in time for him to fetch her home before the approach of evening. Stuart will be escorting us there, and then the two of us will be returning here before tonight’s celebration. As for Roger, he will not be attending.” She heard the apprentice’s sharp intake of breath and turned slightly to look at him pointedly as he entered from the drawing room where he had obviously taken himself for some moments. Considering his earlier attempt to accost their host, she deemed her announcement justified. Besides, her patience with him had been tested far too much for one day. Facing her hostess again, she offered the conjecture, “Our brief absence will allow your family some privacy to revel in the fact that Lord Colton is home again and ready to assume the marquessate.”

Adriana tried to blank her mind to the presence of the one who had once again awakened a tumult within her, but when Colton stepped near, she knew it was futile to ignore him. Lifting her gaze to meet those darkly translucent gray eyes, she was amazed by the strange fluttering of her heart as his smile brought into play those deep channels in his cheeks. Somehow she managed a semblance of calm in spite of the chaotic drumming in the area where that organ was housed.

“I’m pleased and thankful to know that you’re back, my lord.” She couldn’t believe how breathless she had become, as if he had snatched the very air from her lungs. “Now your mother and sister won’t have to worry or wonder if you’re safe.”

Colton gathered the slender hands within his, giving Adriana no chance to retreat. He had noticed shortly after his sister had recognized him that the lighthearted ambience the brunette beauty had displayed upon her initial entrance into the manor had vanished. He couldn’t much blame her for sobering in his presence, considering the last time they were together he had been in the midst of an angry revolt. In spite of her reserve, he felt challenged to bridge the chasm between them. After all, he couldn’t allow a close neighbor to continue to think ill of him, could he?

Then, too, there was the fact that he was a man who appreciated the friendship of a very beautiful and equally intelligent woman. The first asset she had achieved with stunning perfection during his absence; the latter was the primary reason his father had once been so adamant that she’d eventually become his wife. Intellect had always been a very important issue throughout the Wyndhams’ ancestry, and thus Sedgwick had settled his mind on one who’d do much to fulfill those requirements.

“Please extend my regards to your parents and tell them that I shall enjoy seeing them, fairly soon, in fact, if it would serve their pleasure. I will send a missive over to Wakefield Manor to inquire into the suitability of such a visit and shall hope an appropriate time may be found.” His eyes delved into hers, seeking he knew not what. “And if you’d permit me a few moments of your time while I’m there, Adriana, I’d be grateful. We have much to reminisce over.”

His voice was a husky murmur, incredibly warm, melting her, Adriana feared, from the inside out. She

couldn’t believe what he was able to do to her emotions,
and
with very little effort. By rights, she should’

ve been turning her nose up at his request. As for that, she wished in good manner she could deny it, for she realized he had a way of affecting her that made her leery of future encounters. Yet she could find no viable way of escape without lending the impression that she hadn’t yet forgiven him. That was far from the truth. In spite of his angry departure from home, in her heart she had always held an image of him as her betrothed; after all, it was what their parents had always wanted and had taken measures to bring into fruition.

His eyes never wavered from hers as he lifted the back of her hand to his lips.
Stop him!
her mind screamed.
He’s using you for a plaything!

“Your visits will always be welcomed,” she murmured as she diligently tried to slip her fingers from his grasp, but, as persistent as always, he would not relent. “As much as our parents were wont to call upon each other while we were growing up, one could almost say that Wakefield is merely an extension of your home.”

Colton searched the delicate features, yearning to see some evidence of a soft smile. “I liked it far better, Adriana, when you used to call me Colton. Have you forgotten how you’d get so angry at me and kick my shins for teasing you and my sister, and then chant after me when I’d finally relent and start walking back toward the house, ‘Colton’s aboltin’ down the hill; scared o’ his shadow, an’ me, too, I hear’?”

Adriana rolled her eyes, wishing he’d do her a favor and just forget all those excruciating memories, but she seriously doubted he would, since he seemed to enjoy teasing her about the past. His tenacious grin seemed to bear that out. “Your memory serves you better than mine, my lord. I had clearly forgotten all about that. But you must consider I was but a child then, and of course that was well before you acquired a marquessate. You’ve been gone so long that calling you by your given name would be akin to casually addressing a stranger. If I were to be so bold, my mother would surely take me to task.”

“Then I shall have to speak with your mother and convince her that the familiarity has my complete blessing. Until then, Adriana, would you kindly consider my request?”

Adriana felt as if he had just backed her into a corner from whence she could find no escape. His perseverance was beyond belief. Barely had she begun to think she had won the battle of wills when she was again faced with the prospect of having to relent merely to erase the notion that she was harboring a grudge against him. “I will consider doing so . . .”—she waited until his grin widened to convey his triumph, and then added puckishly—“in good time, my lord.”

Colton rolled his eyes skyward, realizing there was still a bit of the minx in the lady, but he couldn’t help but chortle in amusement. When he lowered his gaze again, those gray orbs warmly glinted into hers, and as his lips slanted into a grin, he did his best to pay her back full measure with a madrigal.

My love in her attire doth show her wit, It doth so well become her; For every season she hath
dressings fit, For Winter, Spring, and Summer. No beauty she doth miss When all her robes are
on: But Beauty’s self she is When all her robes are gone.

Adriana’s mouth descended forthwith, and much as in the days of her youth when she had become annoyed with him, she hauled back an arm, intending to give him a good wallop, but amid his uproarious laughter, her sanity made a timely return, forestalling the exacting of her revenge.

“You’re a devil, Colton Wyndham!” she cried, and then clapped a hand over her mouth as she realized he had gotten exactly what he had been after. Shaking her head at his antics, she lowered her arm and relented enough to give him a grin as memories of the fun that Samantha and she had once had with him came flooding back upon her.

Colton didn’t leave off his teasing, but made much of savoring her name. “Adriana Elynn Sutton.

Beautiful, to be sure.”

She eyed him suspiciously, much like a chick scurrying to find cover from a circling hawk, curious to know what he was up to now. “ ‘Tis a simple one, nothing more.”

“It has the flavor of sweetmeat upon my tongue. I wonder if you would taste as sweet.”

Adriana wished she could fan her burning cheeks without evidencing the fact that he had been successful in unsettling her. “No, my lord, I fear I’m rather tart and sour. At least, that’s what my sisters aver when they’re angry with me.”

“I assume that’s when they’ve tried to manipulate you into doing what they want, and, in return, you’ve snubbed them with your fine, dainty nose in the air.”

That was close enough to the truth to give Adriana goose bumps. “Perhaps.”

Colton leaned near to tease. “So, Adriana, who will be there to challenge you once Melora leaves the nest?”

Her delicately boned chin raised a notch as a smile flitted across her lips, and she met his gaze with a brow pointedly raised in a challenging mode. “I assumed that was the reason you came home, my lord.

As I remember, you were quite fond of doing that very thing ere you went away. You seem quite adept at it still.”

Throwing back his head, Colton laughed again in hearty amusement. “Aye,” he admitted. “I definitely have recollections of having teased you unmercifully a time or two.”

“More like a few hundred or more,” she countered, yielding him a brief glimpse of a grin.

Becoming aware of his mother’s close attention, Colton shifted his gaze to her and found a troubled look in the blue eyes as well as a perplexed smile gently curving her lips. He had no way of discerning what thoughts were being formed behind that gentle mask of concern, but he rather suspected that it was not for him she fretted, but for Adriana. And why not? Considering the strict upbringing of young, wellborn ladies, he could only assume the girl was an innocent, ignorant of the wiles of men. Such an idea didn’t displease him. During his years as an officer, he had experienced enough of the wayward life to know that he didn’t care to marry a woman who was easy game for rutting bachelors. If duty demanded he beget a lineage worthy of the marquessate, he didn’t want to suffer any doubts as to their sire.