Sweet Deception Regency 07 - The Divided Hearts (22 page)

“What are you doing here?” he hissed.

Moving his hands to her shoulders, Nate
shook her as though the action could drive some sense into her
fluttery brain. Soft moonlight spilled in through the open doorway,
falling like a silver mask on the girl’s upturned face. The floppy
brimmed hat fluttered to the ground, revealing tangled gold-tipped
curls that tumbled like silk down her back. In the shadowed night,
her eyes were great darkened pools, holding his gaze and weaving a
spell of magic around him. Staring down into that angelic face,
Nate hardened his heart. Judith’s presence at the mill was ample
evidence of her role as spy.

“What are you doing here?” he repeated,
knowing already what her answer would be.

“I came to find Palatine,” Judith answered
simply.

Despite this confirmation of his own
conclusions, Nate felt a strong ache of disappointment. He wondered
at the naiveté of her answer, putting it down to an attempt to make
him drop his guard. He was glad that his back was to the light from
the door or she would readily discern the anger that was pulsing
through him.

“What do you want from Palatine?”

The whisper came close to Judith’s ear and
she could feel the warm breath of the man against her cheek. He had
not acknowledged her identification, but she suspected that this
was the man for whom she searched. There was a power and a command
to the figure that would not be possessed by a lesser man. No
wonder Roger Finney thought Palatine was seven feet tall. Although
the man was tall, the mantle of authority he wore gave him
additional stature.

She was no longer afraid. Even the rough
treatment at his hands could not convince her that he meant her any
violence. She was still held in the circle of his arms, but she was
not a prisoner. He held her gently as one might hold a treasured
object. His very touch made her feel valued and loved. At such a
fanciful thought, Judith shook her head to bring her thoughts into
order.

“Why do you seek Palatine?”

“I don’t really know,” Judith blurted out.
She hesitated, trying to concentrate on why it had seemed so
important to find him. Earlier, it was so clear to her, yet now
that she was in his presence, she felt foolish. How could she
explain to him that she thought he could answer the questions in
her own life?

“I know who you are.” The harsh whisper was
condemning. “I have seen you entrenched in the English camp. You
are a frivolous Englishwoman and have no part in this enterprise.
You have come here to spy.”

“No!” Judith shouted. As he made a motion of
anger, she lowered her voice which trembled with the intensity of
her denial. “I was not spying. I wanted to find you. T-to see who
you were.”

Nate was almost blind with anger that she
would admit to such treachery. Although she had no idea who he was,
he felt personally betrayed. He had spent time with Judith but his
senses had been so aroused that he had misjudged her character. He
had wanted to confide in her and yet here was the proof that she
was unworthy of his slightest trust. His hands tightened on her
arms but at low cry from the girl, he was immediately
repentant.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “But you shouldn’t
have come.”

Even now he could not believe that Judith
could have involved herself in such a dangerous deception in order
to be the one to unmask Palatine. He had thought she had more
sense. A woman alone, traveling darkened roads in a city split with
tension. It was sheer lunacy!

Judith strained to hear the whispered voice.
In the darkness of the mill, Palatine was a shapeless form. Only
her closeness to the figure gave her an idea of the physique of the
man. Her body had been pressed to his and she was aware that he was
tall but lightly built. The muscles of his hands and arms suggested
a young man but in the dark she was unable to make out any of the
features of his face. The light from the doorway fell on his
shoulder and she could see a thick mat of black hair pulled away
from his face and tied behind his head. The mask that he wore
effectively hid his identity as did the hat pulled low over his
forehead.

She did not recognize the man and yet there
was a feeling of familiarity that touched her. She felt safe in his
arms, as if she had found a haven from all her worries. Perhaps it
was because she had been so frightened that, once she was freed
from the fear of attack, she felt quite protected from the dangers
of the night. She had an overwhelming desire to rest her head on
Palatine’s broad chest and remain curled in his embrace until
morning. A flush of embarrassment at her own foolish thoughts was
thankfully hidden in the darkness. She pushed herself away from the
temptation of his body.

“I’m truly sorry,” Judith said. “I know I
shouldn’t have come, but I was worried about Patrick.”

“What?”

“I followed Patrick. Patrick O’Shea. He’s
one of the boys who delivers the broadsheets,” she explained. “I
was frightened that he would come to some harm.”

Could he have misunderstood her motives. “Is
that why you came?” Nate asked in confusion.

“Yes. And of course to find you.”

Nate’s mouth tightened at her ingenuous
admission. He remained silent, waiting for her excuses.

“I do not like him out alone at night,”
Judith continued. “He’s so very young to have taken on such a
task.”

“We are practically at war, madam. And when
it comes, no one will be too young to fight.” Nate’s words were
cutting in his anger at the girl. How like the selfish woman to be
only concerned with the safety of one child. When the war came—and
he knew it would—many children would be injured. Some would die. He
fought to control his emotions, keeping his voice clipped and
whispered so that she would not recognize him. “Patrick is
reliable. What he is doing now may shorten the war before he is old
enough to carry a gun.”

“Oh no,” Judith gasped. “I didn’t
think.”

The mere thought of Patrick a soldier
terrified her. She was stunned that she had never understood the
real consequences of war. The conflict between England and France
had never touched her personally. It wasn’t that she lacked
compassion but that she had never considered the war—any war—a
danger to herself or to someone she loved.

Judith thought back to the evening she had
first discovered that Patrick was going out at night. She could
still picture the look on the boy’s face when he tried to explain
to her that he had to help Palatine. He told her that by doing this
he would be a part of his new country. She wondered at the
shallowness of her own life. She had always been content to just
exist. Perhaps not content, but she had never had any compulsion to
fight for England. She had risked nothing in her life. Not her
heart, nor her life, nor her beliefs. She had existed, never
lived.

Nathanael felt the shoulders of the girl sag
and sighed at the futility of his anger. He should not have been so
hard on her. His own worries for the boys’ safety had started his
anger churning and the duplicity of the girl had completed his loss
of control. She could not help what she was or where her loyalties
lay. She was English. And he was an American, he reminded himself
sadly.

“Come,” Nate muttered, his voice harsh in
his own ears.

Without a word, Judith followed the dark
figure out into the quiet of the night. Palatine walked quickly,
not waiting for her, just assuming she would follow. A spurt of
anger straightened her spine, but then she chastised herself when
she realized that he had a right to be angry with her. The man
walked with the ease of an outdoorsman. His feet were sure on the
invisible path he followed through the woods. They reached the
familiar lane that would lead her back home, yet he did not abandon
her. Simon’s house was in view when Judith heard the singing
voices, and a group of men rounded the corner ahead.

“Who goes there?” one of the roisterers
shouted.

“This way,” Judith’s companion hissed as he
grabbed her arm.

Palatine spun her around and pulled her
along, racing back down the lane. For a moment there was silence
behind them and then one voice shouted, “Tally ho!” The hunting cry
was all the spur needed to incite the drunken men. They shouted
encouragement to each other as they chased after their prey.

Judith fought for breath as she ran beside
Palatine. He seemed to know exactly where he was going as he wove
between the houses. The cries behind them frightened her and yet at
the same time she was exhilarated by the chase. She realized that
being with Palatine gave her a feeling of invincibility. She
laughed once as they tore through someone’s garden and jumped the
hedge bordering another lane. Palatine’s eyes flashed at her in
approval and despite the mask that hid his mouth, she knew that he
was smiling.

The shrill cries and shouted curses
increased as they ran across the open Parade. The buildings blurred
before her eyes as they swept past. The sharp stab of a stitch in
her side cut into her breathing and she pulled her hand from
Palatine, doubling over to ease the pain. He only gave her a moment
and then swept an arm around her waist, pulling her along once
more. He twisted and turned between two houses and then tightened
his arm and carried her with him as he vaulted a low fence. The
underbrush was thick and he dragged her along until he found a
small opening.

Judith had fallen on her side when Palatine
released her. She lay still, her breath rasping painfully in her
chest. When he motioned to her, she crawled into the tunnel of
foliage, collapsing on her back. Palatine squeezed into the space
beside her. His body was on its side but half of it lay across
hers. He was pressed against her from chest to thighs, their legs
tangled together.

The hullabaloo of voices was coming closer.
In the cavelike shelter of bushes, Judith felt safely cocooned. She
could see the outline of Palatine’s head, so close to her own. He
had lost his hat in their run for freedom and his black hair caught
the filtered moonlight, glowing with an ebony sheen. Soft waves
tumbled on his forehead and she had the impression of white teeth
behind a wide grin. She smothered a giggle at the excitement of
their adventure and was unaccountably pleased when she felt his
chest shaking with his own laughter. Her eyes widened in wonder
that at such a time she could feel so free. Her body tensed as the
drunken men came closer but she was not afraid. The sounds of
pursuit passed, then steadily faded and her tension melted
away.

An errant beam of moonlight pierced the
bushes and illuminated Judith’s face. Nate caught his breath at the
tumbled beauty of the girl. Her golden hair was spread around her
head in a blaze of curls. Her hazel eyes were alight with mischief
as she grinned up at him. His eyes caressed the curve of her brows,
the graceful arch of her nose and the slightly parted mouth. His
hand moved without volition, the tip of his gloved finger lightly
touching her lower lip.

Judith gasped at the feel of the soft
leather. The slow brushing strokes as Palatine traced the outline
of her mouth were hypnotic and she could feel her senses expand in
a new awareness. Her nostrils flared and the scent of the cowhide
combined with the loamy smell of the ground and she inhaled,
welcoming the earthy aromas. The finger moved from her lips,
sliding along the side of her nose, tracing the bones of her cheek
and the hollows of her eyes. Each touch left behind a burning trail
of sensual awareness. Her breath came in short, shallow puffs and
the inside of her mouth was dry. Her tongue felt swollen as she
licked her parched lips.

When the gloved finger returned to her
mouth, she groaned at the shaft of pleasure that jolted her body.
The brush strokes were featherlight, caressing the curve of her
lip. Sounds faded away as Judith waited, controlled by each
movement of Palatine’s hand. Her body strained upward, wanting
something more than the dispassionate leather against her skin.
Then he moved, his head blocking out all light.

Judith could feel his warm breath against
her mouth but he did not kiss her. Instead, the warm, damp tip of
his tongue touched her lower lip and her body jerked with the
sensation. Slowly as if he were a painter, his tongue traced the
outline of her mouth. Like the leather tip of his finger, he
brushed the swollen lips. She was panting now, her mouth open and
aching for his kiss.

He did not fail her. His mouth found hers,
brushing lightly then returning. His lips were soft and firm, at
first, only a gentle exploratory touch. Then his mouth moved,
closing over her bottom lip. The gentle sucking sent waves of
pleasure through her body and she reached up, extending her fingers
as she probed the silkiness of his hair. His tongue grazed the
inside of her lips and when the tip slipped between her teeth, she
arched her body against him.

Judith thought she might swoon at the
pleasure that filled her. She had never been so aware of her body
as she was at this moment. Palatine’s mouth moved from her swollen
lips to her eyes. Then she shuddered as his tongue traced the
outline of her ear. Her breasts ached as she strained against his
chest and she could feel the hard muscles of the man’s thighs
pressed against her legs. She closed her eyes giving in to the
passion.

She felt his body move to cover hers and she
sighed in welcome as his hands touched the buttons of her shirt.
Cool air touched her throat and she smiled, picturing in her
imagination cobalt eyes blazing down at her. Her body stiffened and
a groan of shame escaped her as she realized that she was thinking
of Nate while she permitted a total stranger to make love to
her.

Nate was so caught up in the sensations of
passion that it was several moments before he was aware of the
change in Judith. But the rigidity of her body signaled a warning,
seconds before she exploded in a wild struggle to escape. Before he
was able even to come to grips with what was happening, she was
able to squirm free of the confining tangle of bushes. Even in his
confusion, he remembered to cover his face with his mask before he
followed her.