The Mistress of Black Grove Manor (78 page)

              “Who are you? Don’t come any closer,” she warned, “I’m going to scream.”

The man didn’t seem remotely threatened by her warning and continued to walk towards her until they were so close she could reach out her hand and touch him if she wanted to.

“And who’s going to hear you?”

“The house is full of people and I can have half a dozen servants running here the minute I sound the alarm that a thief is sneaking around the garden.”

“You think I’m a thief? Go ahead, sound the alarm.” He sounded amused by her words. As he stepped closer, Bella could see his face more clearly and all thoughts of thieves and robbers fled from her mind because she couldn’t imagine a criminal possessing such smoldering, beautiful eyes. In the semi-darkness she couldn’t decipher exactly what color they were but they were dark and magnetic and right now were boring into her own with such intensity Bella felt like he was staring right into her soul. She tore her eyes away from his gaze with some difficulty and took a step back. She was finding the closeness between them alarming, an uncomfortable, hot feeling was spreading through her body and she had an overwhelming urge to fan herself. She didn’t understand that the heat she was feeling was an uncontrollable attraction to this complete stranger. She covered up her confusion and uncomfortable feelings by asking imperiously,

“If you’re not a thief, what are you doing snooping around my garden so late at night?”

“Your garden? This is your home?”

“My parents’ home, so yes my garden. Now who are you and what are you doing here.”

“If I tell you who I am will you tell me why you’re so distressed at the idea of marriage and buying new gowns?”

Bella’s face grew hot with embarrassment. This stranger had eavesdropped on her inner most thoughts!

              “That is none of your business!”

              “But my identity is your business?”

              “When I find you sneaking around in my garden? In my home? Yes, it very well is my business!”

Instead of responding he took a step closer and rapidly closed the gap between them until they were standing so close together she could feel his warm breath along her cheekbones. She made a move to step back but he wound an arm around her waist and pulled her towards him until she was pressed flat against him. He felt hard and solid. A powerful man.

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Bella cried out in indignation and struggled against his hold. Her eyes flashed dangerously.

              “Let me go this instant! How dare you treat me in such a cavalier fashion! Do you know who I am?”

              “No, and you don’t know I am either.”

              “Who are you?!”

              “I’m the new gardener your parents hired. But definitely not a thief.” He added with a chuckle. “Although after what I’m about to do...maybe you could call me a thief.”

A sudden fear gripped her heart at his words, what did he mean by what I’m about to do? What was he going to steal?

              “Unhand me right now!” Her voice rose in anger and she struggled harder.

Heedless of her fury, he wrapped his other arm around her until she was encircled in an ironclad embrace. Even as fear for her safety mounted, she was shocked to discover that a small part of her was enjoying the feel of his arms around her body.

              “I’ll have your head for this.” She swore, “My parents will kill you, no in fact…” she amended as inspiration hit, “my betrothed will kill you when I tell him of this manhandling.”

“This would be the fiancée you don’t want to marry right?” his voice dripped with amusement, making Bella feel both embarrassed and angry. She stamped her foot and glared at him,

“That is none of your business!” she cried, “But I’m telling you he won’t stand for your…”

That’s as far as she got because his mouth came swooping down upon hers cutting off the rest of her cries and furious protests.

It took Bella a moment to realize she was having her very first kiss, she knew the right thing to do was to step out of the embrace and slap the man for his audacity but as his lips molded against hers, all rational thought fled her mind. It was the most wondrous feeling in the world. He worked on her gently, his lips firm and demanding on moment, soft and tender the next.  All of a sudden she felt him thrust his tongue inside her mouth and she almost stepped away from his embrace then in distaste but to her shock she found herself liking the way his tongue explored her mouth. With a moan she felt herself sinking into his arms and into the kiss. Her body screamed for him to do more. He must have sensed she was at a vulnerable point because the kissing stopped abruptly and he moved his face away from hers to ask in a hoarse voice,

“Shall I stop? Or go on?”

This was her chance to escape she knew, but somehow her legs seemed incapable of movement. She stood rooted to her spot, drowning in his dark eyes and without a word she threw herself into his arms, hungry for more of his kisses.

She pulled away from him only when his hands began to move from around her waist down towards her bottom. A hand grazed soft flesh of her backside. The sensation was so pleasing and so delightful she almost didn’t care; who knew some much pleasure could be derived from such a simple graze? An involuntary moan escaped her lips and she wanted the delicious feelings to continue an image of the faceless Thomas Chambray floated in her head, with a start she recalled she was spoken for to someone else. Shocked at her own careless behavior she wrenched herself away from the stranger’s arms.

              “I’m sorry, I can’t. This is wrong. I have to go.”

The man reached out and grabbed her hand,

              “Wait, don’t go, I want to see you again.”

              “That’s impossible.” She whispered hoarsely, “This was all wrong.”

Without a backward glance she picked up her skirts and ran as fast as she could back the way she had come.

              Bella would lay awake for more than half the night replaying the moments in the garden, what had possessed her? What was it about this man...this simple gardener, who had evoked such a strong reaction within? She knew she should feel shame and regret, but she felt neither. If her mother knew she had allowed such liberties with a commoner, a gardener! She would have a heart attack and her father would probably disown her. After hours of muddling it over, she stopped trying to understand her actions and finally drifted off to sleep to dream off dark eyes, firm lips and scorching kisses.

CHAPTER EIGHT:

When she woke up the next morning, it was with a smile on her face and it took her few moments to remember the events of the night before. As the handsome face of the stranger she had kissed flashed before her eyes she felt a deep well of shame pool within her. Thank goodness he was only a gardener and not someone important she thought to herself, if word got out of about her scandalous behavior her reputation would be shattered…suddenly her brain began to work in overdrive as a possibility occurred to her.

She might not be in a position to break the engagement but the Duke certainly was! If he decided not to go through with the wedding, the whole thing would be called off, she thought bitterly, because he was a man and thus had a say whereas she was expected to obey everyone’s whims. Well not if I have anything to do about it, she swore grimly. If she could somehow hint at a scandal without actually causing one, chances are the Duke of Chambray wouldn’t risk being saddled with a damsel of questionable repute and he would call the whole thing off.

For the first time since hearing about her betrothal Bella felt like she was finally in control of her own destiny. Smiling widely to herself, she got out of bed and rang for her maid to help her bathe and get dressed. She was suddenly ravenously hungry and knew Mavis would be stopping by before long to rehash the details of last night’s dinner.

              As predicted Mavis arrived in the early afternoon brimming with questions about where Bella had disappeared to the night before. Bella told her the whole story, relieved to be sharing the truth with her friend.

              “Oh Mavis I’ve behaved wretchedly; I simply threw caution to the wind.”

“Well I’m sure it doesn’t matter,” Mavis said soothingly, “it was just one kiss after all and you haven’t even met the Duke yet…and you could always tell him about it if you feel that badly about it.”

“But Mavis that’s the thing, I don’t feel badly about it. I don’t

even regret it! I would do it all over again tonight if I had the chance to.”

Mavis seemed a little dumb founded by this alarming statement and didn’t know to approach it. Kissing random strangers in the dark and feeling no regrets? That certainly didn’t sound like her friend, even though Bella had always been a bit of a wild card she had never done anything so…so scandalous! At the least Mavis had expected her to show remorse but there was none. But her concerns were overshadowed by a more pressing question, which she asked hesitantly,

              “How did it feel?”

              “What?” Bella asked.

              “The kiss…how did it feel when he kissed you?”

              “Oh Mavis!” Bella gushed rapturously, “It was so wonderful, I never wanted it to stop. I felt hot and restless but in a way good way. And his hands…oh his hands!”

“I have to get away from here. I don’t care if it causes a scandal or if my reputation goes down the drain, I can’t go through with this marriage, not in the state I’m in. I’m being cowardly by fleeing but....”

              “A few weeks away might do you some good.” Mavis interrupted, understanding instinctively her friend was going through a desperate time. “I’ll write to Edith right away and we’ll see about setting you up down in the country for a few weeks.”

              Bella thought back to the gardener, it seemed as though since their meeting her mind never strayed very far from him.

              “I’ll masquerade as a maid.” She announced decisively.

Mavis snorted and almost choked on her tea as an image of her friend trying to do housework presented itself before her.

              “Bella be serious. You can’t possibly be a maid; you don’t know the first thing about cleaning.”

              “Mavis, it’s the perfect disguise, nobody ever pays any attention to the maids. And how hard can it be to do a few chores?”

An arched blond eyebrow lifted up in a question mark.

              “Bella, have you ever even made your own bed? Do you know how to dust? Or polish?”

              “I haven’t no,” Bella admitted with some reluctance, “but I’ve seen it done a dozen times. Trust me, I know what to do.”

Mavis had her doubts about this insane plan but she decided it would be wise to keep them to herself for the moment. So she took another sip of her tea, shrugged her slender shoulders and said briskly,

              “I’m sure you do know. Now let’s write that letter to Edith shall we?”

The letter to Edith was dispatched promptly and an answer received within the week. She sounded immensely intrigued by Bella’s desire to hide out on her estate for a few weeks disguised as a maid but always up for a good laugh she readily agreed. She finished the letter by saying,

             
“I’ll let Mrs. Pumps, the housekeeper know to expect you. We should be arriving in a day or two ourselves so I’ll be there to greet you. I can’t wait to hear the story behind this latest escapade of yours Bella!”

With everything in place, the only thing left to do was pack and leave which under normal circumstances was an enormous undertaking but as a maid she wouldn’t need to pack anything at all except her undergarments and a few other personal effects. Bella decided to strike before she could lose her nerve, change or mind, or worse have her fiancée show up on her doorstep!

Twenty-four hours later she was on her way. She left a brief letter for her mother saying she needed some time alone, that she was safe and nobody was to worry about her or come looking for her.  

Bella knew the letter would anger both her parents but she hoped this way they wouldn’t worry as much about her disappearance and she was doubly hopeful after learning about the letter and her disappearance the Duke would no longer want to marry her.

Instead of taking her personal carriage and driver, she hired one under a fake name and armed with one small, shabby valise which Mavis had procured from her own maid Bella was off to begin her sojourn as a maid at the Clarence household.

CHAPTER NINE:

She discovered soon after arriving at the country estate that Edith and her family had been delayed and would only be arriving in two weeks’ time instead of being there already. Mrs. Pumps, a plump, jolly looking woman with a stern face greeted her at the door. She had been told to expect her didn’t ask Bella too many questions, except to confirm her name was Bertha and that she was indeed the new maid. Bella confirmed both questions by nodding and was soon shown into a small, dimly lit room with four beds in each corner of the room.