Twice the Temptation (16 page)

Jillian instantly poked her head back in the room. “But what about Mr. Beaumont?” 

Catherine’s heart thumped. “If I miss Mr. Beaumont’s call, please convey my heartfelt apologies. I’m certain, if not today, I shall see him another time.” She sincerely hoped that wouldn’t be the case. The only way she would be able to move past him is if she never had to set eyes on him again. 

Move past.
That was all it could ever be for she’d never be able to forget him. 

C
atherine had eaten until she couldn’t eat any more. She now waited at the front entrance for the driver to bring the carriage around. Alan, the second footman, would be accompanying her to the school. She hadn’t been there in almost a fortnight when they’d begun to work on the interior of the main building and construction on the student lodgings.

With the emergence of spring came milder temperatures and the work was moving at a brisker pace, according to her brother. 

It was two o’clock, an hour before Lucas arrived. A pang of longing twisted her insides into knots. He’d arrive to find her gone and he would know it was deliberate. Then he’d climb back into his carriage and drive away. And that would be the end of their love story whose ending more befitted that of a Greek tragedy. 

The footman opened the door as the carriage stopped directly in front of the portico of the main entrance. Catherine pulled her cloak tighter over her shoulders and stepped out into the cool March air, which was actually quite warm for that time of year when temperatures tended toward a handful of degrees above freezing. 

“Catherine.” 

She heard his voice a moment before her head twisted, very nearly causing herself a grievous neck injury. 

There he stood, his broad shoulder leaned casual-like on one of the columns of the portico as if he’d been patiently awaiting her appearance for some time. With the slightest shift of weight, he gracefully came to his full height and started toward her with purposeful strides and an expression that was everything of pleasure mixed with steely resolve. 

So unexpected was his appearance that she didn’t have time to don her armor of indifference, currently her only line of defense against him. She all but drank in the sight of him in a single greedy gulp and like a street beggar, pushed out her tin cup to beg for more. 

“Lucas,” she exclaimed softly, “whatever are you doing here? It’s only—” She caught herself when she realized what she had been about to say—or confess to, as it were. 

Lucas halted before her and today for some inexplicable reason, she felt more dwarfed by him than ever. His half-foot advantage felt like twice that. He gave a curt nod toward Alan, who was currently holding the carriage door open for her. 

“I thought I should arrive early if by chance you’d already made plans to go out during the time of my visit,” he replied smoothly. “It appears I was correct in my assumption.” 

Catherine swallowed hard before she spoke. “I-I am on my way out.” 

He gave a nod toward the waiting landau. “Yes, so I see.” 

It was then she realized why his appearance had caught her so completely off guard. Turning, her gaze skirted the drive and when she didn’t spy another vehicle, she turned back to him. “But how did you get here? Where is your carriage?” 

“I had my driver drop me off on the main road.” 

“But that’s almost two miles.” 

He smiled a deceptively mild-mannered smile. “It’s a fine day and I rather enjoyed the walk. When I’m in New York, I tend to walk a fair bit.” 

If Catherine had been wary before, she grew even more so now. This was a Lucas she’d never seen before. He reminded her of a predator, all cunning watchfulness until he was ready to pounce. She shivered and it wasn’t from the cold. 

“I was hoping I could accompany you to wherever your off to and relieve—” he lifted his gaze to Alan “—your footman of the duty. No doubt he has other tasks he could be performing and you know you’d be safe with me.” 

Said the fox to the chicken,
she suppressed the urge to retort. 

Catherine looked behind her at Alan, whose eyes silently asked her what she wanted him to do. Resignation came to her swiftly. She’d thought to outmaneuver him and she’d lost. Best she get this over with. By the end of this visit, Lucas would know she could not be swayed. 

“That is fine, Alan, Mr. Beaumont shall escort me to the school today. You may go back to your other duties.” 

“Very well, miss.” He gave a shallow bow and proceeded back inside. 

Lucas moved to the other side and grasped the handle of the door. “After you.” 

Catherine ignored his proffered hand and climbed unassisted into the cab. Lucas followed and sat across from her before signaling the driver. The carriage lurched into motion. 

They rode in silence, Lucas quietly observing her while she tried to look anywhere but at him, which proved to be an impossible feat requiring more willpower and fortitude than she could muster. 

“How will you get back to your residence?” she asked, finally breaking the silence, as it appeared he would not. 

“I instructed the driver to return two hours from now.” 

She sighed. “I haven’t changed my mind, if that’s what you’ve come to ask.” 

He didn’t say anything for a good while, merely continuing to watch her. Then in what appeared to be an uncustomary burst of curiosity, he began to examine the plush, dark-gray, leather interior. From the silk headrest to the brass doorknobs polished to a high shine, he took it all in. 

As they continued on a road that grew rockier the farther away from the grand country estates they drove, an undeniable tension built amid the lengthening silence. 

They sat feet across from one another, allowing for no physical contact. And at present, they weren’t even making eye contact. Yet a tension so rife with want and suppressed desires existed between them. Lucas Beaumont could no longer be considered a gentleman because it was clear he wasn’t about to make this easy for her. 

“May I inquire as to our destination?” he asked, completely ignoring her statement. 

“You caught me on my way to visit the site of the school my brother is building.” 

A devilish smile played across his lips. “Oh, I haven’t caught you yet but I’m confident I will,” he murmured. 

The heated promise in his eyes as he watched her from beneath his hooded gaze caused liquid warmth to pool between her thighs. Her face caught fire and she imagined it was the same cerise of her walking dress. 

“That is not what I meant as you very well know,” she stated primly while fighting the urge to touch him, kiss those beautiful lips. Instead, she shifted her gaze to peer out the window closest to her. 

“So your
brother
is building a school? I thought he’d be content to send his son off to Eton, Harrow or one of the others. And his boy has yet to celebrate his tenth birthday, is that not right?” 

Catherine nodded. “The twins are nine years and Lily is only four. But my brother isn’t specifically building the school for his children. The school is intended to educate the less fortunate, particularly girls, for as you know, they do not receive an education as good as their male counterparts. This will be teaching children of all races and whose origins span all countries.” 

“I must say, I find that commendable. I didn’t realize your brother—an earl at that—was so progressive in his thinking. And what is your part in all of this? You appear to have taken quite an interest.” 

“I think the proper education of girls, especially girls whose prospects in life are most dire due to circumstances beyond their control is a most worthy cause. I am simply doing whatever I can to help.” How different might her mother’s life have been, had she had access to a school like the one they were building?  

“I take it you have experience in the construction of public buildings?” he teased, a certain softness entering his eyes. It was as if her admission had elevated her in his esteem. 

Catherine flushed and fought back a smile of pleasure. “I enjoy seeing the progress for myself. My brother claims it makes me feel part of the process.” 

“So that is all? You’re merely an inexperienced observer?” he asked, stretching his long legs and reclining further back. “Your sister informed me you’re the true architect of this very noble endeavor. That it was through your insistence that the school will become a reality.” 

How very like her sister to boast about her to Lucas. 

“Well it was Charlotte who first planted the seed of the idea in my head.” 

“Beauty as well as humility. What you are doing makes me love you—want you more. You know you’re everything a man could ever want,” he murmured, his gaze dropping to her mouth. 

From a man who ran a profitable company, had served in a war, and cared for his siblings, Catherine took immeasurable pride at his praise. And the look in his eyes caused her nipples to tighten and had her pressing her thighs together in a desperate effort to ease the pressure building between them. 

That particular ache could never be appeased by him and she must never forget that. 

“Lucas, please. I don’t want—” 

His hand came up, suspending her speech. “When I informed my sisters that you’d refused me, do you know what the youngest one reminded me? She reminded me of what I’d told her when she asked why I joined the war to fight against the confederacy. Would you like to know the reasons I gave her?” 

Catherine sat mesmerized under his unwavering gaze and gave an involuntary nod. 

“I told her that in life there were certain things worth fighting for. You, my love, are worth fighting for.” 

An obstruction in her throat made it impossible for Catherine to swallow as the threat of tears had her blinking rapidly to keep them at bay. 

Just then, the carriage rolled to a stop, jerking their attention to the building to the right of them. Behind it stood the skeleton of another in the process of being erected. 

She gave a shaky sigh of relief at their eventful arrival but still reeled from his ardent declaration. Again, Catherine didn’t wait for Lucas’s assistance but nearly hurled herself from the carriage, nearly colliding with the startled coachman, who’d been about to open the door. 

 Under a barrage of artillery fire that was the determination etched in Lucas’s handsome visage, the only possible hope for her was to put some distance between them, which meant she needed to get as far away from him as possible. Clearly she’d overestimated her ability to remain even slightly immune to him. 

Catherine turned to see Mr. Kramer, the man overseeing the construction, striding toward them. Clad in a light-weight, checkered coat and trousers the same brown as mud, he appeared to be a man in his forties, if one went by the graying at his temples, and he managed his workers firmly but fairly. 

“Miss Rutherford, it’s been some weeks since you’ve come,” he exclaimed in a booming voice. It was only when Mr. Kramer stopped in front of her and looked expectantly at Lucas that Catherine remembered her manners and performed the introductions. 

   The two men greeted each other with a cordial shaking of hands. 

“All the floors ’n walls are in place in the main building,” Mr. Kramer announced, his gaze lingering on her inconsequential bonnet for the likes of falling debris. “I can give ya a tour of the ground floor if ya want. But ya won’t be able to go inside the one ’n the back. My men are still workin’ on the roof.” 

“A tour would be lovely,” Catherine said, peeking up at Lucas’s opaque expression and hoping she didn’t sound as relieved as she felt. This was precisely what they needed, a chaperone of sorts so they wouldn’t be touring the place together alone. 

His gaze flickered to her before returning to Mr. Kramer. “Indeed, lead the way.” 

D
uring the tour, Lucas’s admiration for Catherine only grew. He discovered that she had firm ideas on how the school was to be run. The basics would be taught, for every child should know how to read and write as well as add and subtract. There would also be many practical courses geared toward decent-paying trade jobs. She claimed she wasn’t so naïve as to believe that former slaves or children set for workhouses would obtain the same sort of positions as the men who attended Eton and Rugby but she was determined to equip them with whatever advantage the school could.