The Reluctant Suitor (26 page)

“Ya ne’er were in danger afore then?”

“Yes, on the battlefield, but I had no time while I was fighting to think about dying. I was too busy trying to stay alive.”

“Folks said me pa were a hero,” Joshua stated matter-of-factly. “I heerd ‘is friends tell me mum ‘at aftah

’ey brought ’er news ’e’d been killed. O’ course, ‘at didn’t make no ne’er mind ta me mum. She was jes

’ skeered o’ what she’d be havin’ ta do aftah losin’ what li’l ’e’d been able ta send ‘ome.”

Colton laid a comforting hand upon the boy’s shoulder. “From what I’ve heard about your father, I’m inclined to think he was a very admirable man, of whom a son can be extremely proud. I’m sure his memory will be beneficial to you in the future. Perhaps you can be a hero in your own way.”

“Ya mean ta go off ta the war an’ be killed jes’ like ‘im?”

Colton exchanged a smile with Adriana before returning his gaze to the boy and shaking his head. “No, Joshua, you don’t need to die to be a hero. You can be just as great a hero if you live. Heroes are people who are honorable and do good for their fellow man and their country without taking their own comfort into consideration. You can begin by watching over your brother and sister, teaching them right from wrong, protecting them from people who’d try to hurt them, and helping them with their everyday existence, perhaps lending assistance in bathing or dressing them, putting on their shoes, combing their

hair. Being the eldest, you need to cherish and teach them, as your father cherished and taught you.”

Adriana quietly listened as she combed her fingers idly through the girl’s pale strands. She could find no fault in Colton’s words. For the most part, they gave her hope and encouragement that the man’s heart was warmly sensitive toward the needs of the children. She could even imagine that he’d make a good father someday, but of course, whether that would also be for her own offspring remained to be seen.

“Lord Randwulf was a hero in the war, too,” she volunteered as she bestowed a smile upon Joshua. “He fought to help save this country from the French forces who’d have likely made an attempt to conquer us had they not been defeated.”

“I wanna be a hero,” Jeremiah chimed in with a grin as he nestled close to Adriana. He jabbed a forefinger toward Colton. “Jes’ like ‘im. Then I could have a wagon jes’ like this one.”

“Wagon, eh?” Colton chuckled.

“I wanna be a hero, too,” Sarah declared timidly, and then chortled as Adriana tickled her chin. Hiding her face against the side of the woman’s breast, the girl peered at the man with one eye and then pointed upward. “Like pretty liedy.”

“She is indeed a heroine,” Colton agreed as his eyes delved into the dark, silken-lashed depths. “Not only to numerous animals in the wild, but to three orphans in need of nurturing.” Speaking to her directly, he added, “You have a very motherly way about you, my dear.”

His endearment brought a flush of color to Adriana’s cheeks and, in an effort to hide it, she lent her attention to the girl as she lifted her upon her lap. She busied herself rearranging the child’s golden ringlets and then, when she had finished, leaned back to smile into the youngster’s blue eyes. “You are so very pretty, Sarah. I have no doubt your father would have been proud of you, just as he was of Joshua and Jeremiah.”

“ ‘At’s what me pa al’ays tol’ us, ‘at ’e were proud o’ us,” Joshua stated, and immediately had to brush a tear from his eye. “I wish maybe he wouldna’ve been a hero so he could be ’ere wit’ us today.”

Resting a hand upon the boy’s arm, Colton squeezed it in silent empathy for what the youngster was feeling. Of a sudden, the child burst into sobs and threw himself upon the elder’s scarlet-clad chest.

Adriana watched the pair, enthralled by the tender compassion Colton evidenced, for he slipped a comforting arm around the youngster and made no effort to protect his coat as he let the child weep upon it in overwhelming sorrow.

Not many people attended the service. It seemed the dead woman had not been well liked or respected by her neighbors and acquaintances. As much as those who came conveyed their admiration for the father, they quietly defamed the woman for being a selfish, lazy sot who had done nothing for her children except to starve and keep them prisoners in a cold, dark shanty. Many who came expressed their astonishment at the changes that had occurred in the youngsters in so short a time. To all who were curious, Colton and Adriana praised the Abernathys for their dedication in not only caring for the Jennings children, but for all the other orphans they had taken in throughout the years. It was evident to all that the older children who’d been with the Abernathys longer were highly affectionate and respectful toward their adoptive parents, calling them Mama and Papa and answering Yes, sir, or No, ma’am.

When the Jennings children were finally returned to the Abernathys, the couple invited Colton and Adriana to stay for supper. Colton would’ve refused, seeing as how the couple seemed in dire straits, but Adriana quietly confided that food was something her father always made sure the family never lacked.

For Colton’s further consideration, she added that Mrs. Abernathy was an exceptional cook and it was

an enormous treat to eat anything prepared by the woman.

The evening was passed in jovial pleasure, as Adriana and Colton sat together on a bench, flanked on either side by the Jennings children. The older children of the family were full of stories and eager to share them with their guests, stirring forth hearty laughter from the men and children and more subdued mirth from the ladies. Little Sarah giggled right along with the rest, although not entirely understanding the humorous tales, but she did everything the beautiful lady did and watched her with adoring eyes, warmly savoring her fond caresses and the gentle chucking of her tiny chin.

When finally the Wyndham carriage turned homeward along the moonlit road, Adriana felt inclined to express her gratitude to Colton for what he had done and seemed willing to do in the future for the children. “They’ll benefit from your help, my lord, and be better people for it.”

“I’ve done little,” he claimed, rubbing a thumb reflectively over the silver handle of his cane. “You and the Abernathys are the ones deserving all the praise, not I.”

“I give that to the couple wholeheartedly, yet you’ve been generous when other nobles would likely have refused.”

“If I’ve been charitable, Adriana, you are the one who has instructed me. Between your efforts and Samantha’s, I may yet prove magnanimous one day.”

Her soft, winsome mouth curved upward at the corners. “Perhaps you were merely awaiting an opportunity to demonstrate your benevolence, my lord.”

“I’ve normally overlooked those chances most of my life, Adriana. You’ve taught me more about charity in these last couple of days than I suppose I’ve ever given heed to before.” Leaning forward over the handle of his cane, he ensnared her gaze through the warm glow cast from the exterior coach lanterns and carefully probed those dark, lustrous orbs as a slow smile curved his lips. “You’ve awakened emotions within me that I was sure I was incapable of feeling until we became reacquainted: some of which I’m greatly appreciative; others I’m still struggling to restrain.”

Growing suspicious, Adriana peered at him charily. “And those you’re trying to curb?”

Colton leaned back in his seat and grinned. “Oh, I shan’t tuck that bit of knowledge into your pretty cap just yet, fair maid. I must plumb the depth of that matter more fully ere I give that power over into your hands.”

“You tease me,” she accused with sudden certainty. “I’ve done nothing, and yet you would have me believe I’ve either influenced you in some mysterious way or else committed some crime against you.

You’re teasing me just as you used to do, and to that I say humbug.”

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. “I see you’re not easily taken in, my dear, but can you not understand what a man like myself experiences in the presence of such a beautiful woman?”

Adriana decided it was probably an appropriate time to worry about the remaining distance to Wakefield. Peering out into the darkness beyond the coach, she had some difficulty finding her voice until she cleared her throat and made another attempt. “Would you happen to know where we are precisely?”

“No need to fear, Adriana. As much as I’d enjoy making love to you right now, I shan’t force you to appease my manly bent. However, I hope in time that you’ll prove more receptive to my attentions. I can be enormously persuasive when there is a rare and beautiful prize that I’m desperate to have for my own.

”

Adriana could feel her cheeks warming as she met those smiling gray eyes. Presently, they were softly illumined by the carriage lanterns, and the warmth shining in those translucent depths was unmistakable; so, too, his confidence. “You seem terribly sure of yourself, my lord.”

“Oh, I can imagine a woman of your uniqueness must grow bored with the various propositions presented her, and you may indeed wonder what makes my invitation different from those who may’ve invited you to share yourself with them. On the surface, nothing; but in bed, well, there’s the telling of it. I’

ve come to realize over the years that there’s an art to everything.” His broad shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. “For instance, on the battlefields I traversed throughout my career as an officer, I became more familiar with the skills of war. There is also an art to the intimacy a man and woman can share together. It doesn’t have to involve going to bed together; yet, if that were to happen, be confident, Adriana, I would be gentle with you and seek your pleasure before having mine. I’d cherish you as something rare and precious, for truly you are that. I’ve come to realize after perusing you in my bath that I won’t be content until I make you mine. You’re like a potent wine that has gone to my head. I’ve never desired another woman as much as I’ve come to desire you just since I’ve been home. You must know that by now.”

Not entirely sure what he was telling her, Adriana felt led to probe the matter more thoroughly, just in case she had misunderstood what he wanted from her. Surely he wouldn’t dare proposition her when they were facing an agreement signed by both their parents. “Should I believe you’re amenable to our betrothal?”

His eyes lowered to the elegant handle of his cane again as he traced the elaborate scroll etched in the silver with a neatly manicured thumbnail. “I didn’t say that, Adriana.”

Her brow arched at a skeptical angle. “But you
are
soliciting me for my favors, are you not?”

“I don’t think I said it quite like that,” Colton hedged, sensing her rising ire.

Adriana placed shaking fingers against her brow as she closed her eyes. For a moment, she mulled over what she had heard and tried to make some sense of it all. “Just what did you say then? Perhaps I’ve misconstrued what you’re proposing.”

“I do not intend to take you against your will, my dear, but I would very much enjoy being intimate with you.”

The audacity of the man!
He was far bolder than she would’ve ever imagined. “Do you actually think I’

d consent to lie with you without benefit of marriage vows?” she demanded.
The nerve of him!
“Am I daft? I remember too clearly how soon Jaclyn got with child after her marriage. If I were to be so foolish to concede to such an arrangement,
which I’m not,
I’d be inviting certain disaster.”

Colton chuckled at her protestations. She seemed far more worried about getting with child than being

seduced outside of marriage. “I’d do everything I could to prevent that from happening, Adriana,” he cajoled. “I could pleasure you as you’ve never been pleasured before.”

The dark eyes narrowed as she fixed a malevolent glare upon the man through the lantern-lit gloom. “

Melora warned me that it wasn’t safe to be alone with you in a coach, and foolishly I waved away her efforts to caution me. Next time, you can be certain I’ll be more attentive to her admonitions, for they have proven to be most perceptive.”

Colton felt a pang of disappointment when he realized Bentley was slowing the landau to round the curve into the Suttons’ drive. “ ‘Twould seem the chance to discuss this matter more thoroughly has escaped us, at least for this evening,” he murmured with a grin. His eyes came near to consuming her as the soft radiance of the lanterns touched upon her fine, delicate features and luminous dark eyes. He heaved a sigh that conveyed his disappointment. “I suppose I must endure the futility of wanting you for yet another night. Little did I imagine when I found you in my bath that I’d be so completely vexed by my desire to have you.”

When Bentley drew the conveyance to a halt before her family’s Tudor estate, Adriana didn’t wait for gentlemanly assistance. She threw the door open, kicked out the step, and alighted with as much haste as one whose tail had just been torched. Thus deserted, Colton descended the same steps with considerably more dignity and followed as swiftly as his hindered gait would allow.

In her eagerness to confront the pair after espying the coach lanterns emerging from the tree-shrouded lane, Melora had caught up her skirts and raced ahead of Charles. Fairly breathless from her flight, she snatched open the portal and ran out in time to meet her sister just as that one came stalking toward the portal.

“I thought you would never return,” Melora declared, sizing up her younger sister. She’d have certainly taken the initiative to suggest to her mother that something was
not quite right
if Adriana’s apparel had looked the least bit out of place. “I hope nothing serious happened that detained the two of you this long.