Heart of Courage (15 page)

And yet she was a woman of great passion, he had discovered, something he had guessed the first time he had kissed her.

He looked over at the clock on the wall. It was past time she returned home. He leaned over and gently shook her, rousing her from a restful slumber, wishing he could make love to her again.

She opened her eyes and yawned. “Is it morning?”

“Aye, close enough.”

She glanced toward the window. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to leave. You do not wish for your aunt to discover you gone.”

“No.” But instead of getting up, she burrowed against him, pressed a soft kiss against his chest.

His body stirred to life. She had only to touch him and he wanted her. “Do not tease me, little fox. You will get more than you bargain for.”

She laughed. “A fox? That is what I am?”

“Aye, lady, as coy as any fox, as sleek and beautiful.”

She sat up in bed. “If I am a fox, then you are a big dark wolf.” She made a growling sound and laughed, and he smiled.

“On Draugr, I was called Thorolf the wolf. Ulfr is our word for it.”

“Truly?”

“Aye.” As if to prove it, he came up over her, caught both of her wrists in one hand and dragged them above her head. “It is time you learned how dangerous it is to tease a wolf.” And so he kissed her deeply and began to devour her as if he truly were one.

After another passionate round of lovemaking, Lindsey reluctantly climbed from her warm place beside Thor and began to put on her clothes. Thor followed her from between the sheets, magnificently naked, making her cheeks turn pink as she watched him approach.

“I will see you home,” he said, beginning to pull on his clothes.

She had gotten there without his help; she didn't need it now, but when she opened her mouth to argue, he gave her one of his warning glances and Lindsey simply nodded.

“Will you be working at the office?” she asked as he turned her around and began to fasten the buttons at the back of her gown.

“I am working on the docks.”

“I'll be in the office for a while today and again on Monday. Then I will be leaving for the country.”

His head came up. “What do you do there?”

“My aunt wishes to get my brother out of the city for a while. I thought it was a good idea.”

He started to frown. “Your home, Renhurst Hall, lies next to Merrick Park. That is what you said, is it not?”

“Yes, but if you are worried about Lord Merrick, there is no need. It is nonsense to think Stephen had any involvement in the murders.”

“Still, you will ask questions and not be satisfied until you know for sure. I do not like this, Lindsey.”

He was beginning to know her too well. She leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on his mouth. “I will be fine.”

“If you were my woman, I would forbid you to go.”

She glanced away, an odd tightness in her chest. “But I am not your woman and even if I were, I would not obey such a ridiculous command.”

“Then I would have to beat you.”

Lindsey grinned. “I do not think so.”

Thor grumbled a curse. She was beginning to know him also. And she didn't believe he would ever harm a woman.

“I would never hurt you,” he admitted, “but should you put yourself in danger as you did before, I will take the flat of this hand to your pretty little bottom.”

Lindsey blushed. All too clearly, she remembered him kissing her there, remembered the feel of his big hands running over the naked globes as if they were some sort of treasure.

She ignored a tendril of heat that slipped into her stomach and finished putting on her clothes. A few minutes later, they were hurrying along the street toward the cab stand, boarding a hansom carriage and riding through the darkness toward the alley behind Lindsey's house.

Thor said little when they arrived at the wooden gate at the back of the garden and for the first time, Lindsey felt uncertain.

“Do you…do you wish me to come to you tonight?”

He scoffed. “Do I want to make love to you again? That is what you are asking?”

She nodded.

“Does the moon rise every second fortnight?”

She smiled. “Then I will come to you as I did.”

The carriage rolled to a halt in the alley and Lindsey threw open the door. Before she could rise from her seat, Thor caught her wrist.

“I would walk you to your door, but I cannot. I do not like the way this makes me feel, Lindsey. I cannot wed with you and so we must hide what we do as if it is wrong.”

“I'm your mistress, Thor, not your wife. We have no other choice.”

Pulling her back into the seat, he stepped down from the carriage, then turned and lifted her down. “I will wait for you on the corner at midnight.”

She smiled, pleased he had so easily agreed. “All right.”

“Send word if you come to your senses.”

She laughed. Leaning toward him, she brushed a light kiss on his lips. Thor caught her against him and kissed her long and deep.

Lindsey reached up and touched his cheek. “My senses fled the first time you kissed me that way.” Turning, she ran for the house.

T
hor knocked on the door to his brother's town house, then stepped back as the butler welcomed him into the entry.

“Mr. Draugr. It is good to see you.”

“You as well, Mr. Simmons.”

“If you will please follow me into the drawing room, I will tell your brother you are here.”

“Thank you.” Thor followed the butler into the formal sitting room his sister-in-law had hired someone else to decorate. Though it was far too cluttered to suit his tastes, he made himself as comfortable as possible on a horsehair settee. Thankfully, it was only moments before Simmons returned.

“Your brother is in his study. He wishes you to join him there.”

Thor nodded, followed the butler down the hall. Leif stood up from behind the desk as Thor walked in.

“Good to see you, brother.” He motioned toward a seat in front of the fire burning in the hearth. “My wife is not yet home from work and my son is asleep, which makes your company doubly welcome.”

Thor walked over to join him and the men sat down in front of the low flames in the hearth.

“What brings you out on a rainy Saturday afternoon?”

“We finished early at the dock. I was hoping I would find you at home.”

“And glad to be here. It's a good day to spend at home. I know you don't care much for brandy but it's damned cold outside. A brandy might—”

“I will join you in a glass.”

One of Leif's blond eyebrows arched up. He poured them both a drink, handed one of the crystal snifters to Thor, then sat down in a deep leather chair across from him. “Since you are here and drinking brandy, Lindsey must still be a problem.”

Thor nodded. “Aye.”

“Woman trouble is always the worst.”

Thor sighed. “You were right. She is the one.”

Leif grinned, lifted his snifter. “Congratulations, little brother.”

Thor took a drink of his brandy, made a face as the amber liquid burned down his throat. “She came to me last night. I could not turn her away.” For an instant, he closed his eyes, feeling a flush of heat at the memories of what had happened between them. “It was unlike anything before. She is the one meant for me and yet I cannot claim her.”

“She wouldn't have given herself to you if she didn't care for you greatly.”

“Lindsey is the daughter of a baron. That cannot change. She is used to fine clothes and fancy houses. I cannot give her those things.”

“You are not poor. You own a portion of Valhalla Shipping and there is the railway stock you purchased.”

“She is used to living in a mansion. My money would not be enough.”

“Perhaps those things aren't important to her.”

“She loves parties and balls. She loves to dance. I do not enjoy those things. I do not fit into her world and I never will.”

“I learned to fit in. You could too if you put your mind to it.”

He only shook his head. “You are different. You like life in the city. I do not. I could not make her happy.”

Leif released a slow breath, leaned back and rested his arms on the leather arms of his chair. “The point you make is a good one. I tried to force Krista into a life that didn't suit her. If you do that to Lindsey, I don't believe either of you will be happy.”

“What should I do?”

“I can't tell you what to do. But I believe if the gods have chosen her for you, you must not give up too soon. Perhaps a path will open, as it did for me. If time passes and that does not happen, then you can decide what you need to do.”

It was good advice. And it helped ease his troubled mind. Lindsey wished to come to him. Thor wanted nothing so much as to have her in his bed. For now, he would close his mind to the guilt he felt in taking her, along with thoughts of the future, and enjoy the time they had together.

Thor took a drink of his brandy, the taste less offensive with the second sip. Soon Lindsey would be leaving for Renhurst. Thor intended to follow. Digging for information about a murder could be dangerous. He would find a way to be near her, a way to protect her if her questions got her into trouble.

One day he would have to give her up, but for now—whether the words had been spoken or not—Lindsey belonged to him.

Thor intended to keep her safe.

 

Lindsey left for Renhurst early Tuesday morning, though only part of her wanted to go. The other part wanted more than anything to stay in London with Thor.

She sighed as the carriage jolted along the muddy road, the wheels dropping into one pothole after another, and Renhurst Hall was yet a half day's travel away. At least today it wasn't raining.

Leaning back against the seat in a futile effort to get comfortable, her little maid, Kitty, asleep on the seat across from her, Lindsey thought of the nights she had spent with Thor and wished again that she didn't have to leave the city. That she could spend more time in Thor's bed, experience more of the incredible pleasure he had shown her.

Lindsey smiled at the memory of his lovemaking last night, the passionate hours she had spent in his bed, the intimate things they had done. It was truly amazing and yet, by the time Thor dropped her off at the gate at the back of the garden, his mood had turn sullen and dark. It bothered him, she knew, that he was not welcome as a suitor. He was a man of honor and he saw it as his duty to wed her, though both of them knew it would never work.

The situation wasn't good for either one of them and yet she refused to give him up until circumstances forced them to part.

Which might not be so far away.

According to Aunt Dee, her father and mother had finally been located in Rome. Word had been sent of Rudy's arrest and that, though he had been released, he remained a suspect in two brutal murders. A reply would soon be forthcoming.

Lindsey sighed. It was one thing to carry on a scandalous affair while her aunt was in residence, quite another to attempt to fool her father. He would be furious if he found out. God only knew what steps he might take—none of which involved a marriage to Thor.

Cutting off her monthly stipend, perhaps. Strongly suggesting she spend time in a convent contemplating her sinful ways. She shuddered to think of the lengths he would go to in order to separate her from Thor. Though she had always considered herself an independent woman, the salary she earned at
Heart to Heart
wouldn't pay the bill for the fancy undergarments she wore, let alone the gowns and jewelry she had always taken for granted.

She could give them up, of course. But could she ever really be happy as the wife of a man who cared nothing for the sort of life she enjoyed? A man who would never be accepted by her family or her peers, a husband with whom she shared nothing more than a physical attraction?

And what of their children? Would she want them to miss out on all the things a more suitable marriage could provide?

Lindsey sighed. Fortunately, she wasn't in love with Thor nor he with her, and she intended to keep it that way. They enjoyed making love. It was all they would ever have, but it would have to be enough.

As the carriage rolled toward Renhurst, Lindsey ignored a pang of regret that throbbed deep in her heart.

 

Thor knocked on the door of the offices of Capital Ventures, the group that handled, among other investments, the A&H Railway stock he had bought. With the money he had saved from his two jobs and his dividends from Valhalla Shipping, he had purchased the stock nearly a year ago, when the railway was only half finished and a new stock offering had just come out.

Before he had invested, he had carefully researched the company that was building the line, what sort of management the railroad would have, and the demand for services along the route. All the information he had collected led him to believe the A&H Railway was a solid investment that would make him a good deal of income.

Now, months later, according to the newspapers, his instincts had been correct. The line was finished and operating, and taking in record amounts of money.

Which made him wonder why he hadn't heard from Capital Ventures—the reason he was standing at the front door of their office.

Thor pulled open the door and walked into an elegant wood-paneled reception room that looked far nicer than when he had come to them with his money nearly a year ago. He walked up to the front desk where a young blond man worked writing letters and filing papers.

The lad looked up at him and smiled. “May I help you, sir?”

“I am here to see Mr. Wilkins.”

“May I please have your name?”

“Thorolf Draugr.”

“What may I say this is in regard to, Mr. Draugr?”

“My A&H Railway stock.”

“Very well. If you will excuse me, I'll find out if Mr. Wilkins can see you.” The young man disappeared through an ornate mahogany door that replaced the plain wooden door there last year. He returned a few minutes later.

“I'm terribly sorry. I thought Mr. Wilkins was in, but apparently he had a meeting.” His smile looked slightly pained. “He must have gone out the back way.”

Thor frowned. The lad's expression said something was amiss. “You are certain, he is not here?”

“I'm sorry—no, he isn't. He'll be back tomorrow, however. Perhaps you should make an appointment.”

If Wilkins was gone, he must have just left. Thor needed to be on his way to Renhurst no later than the morrow. “I will be here at eight o'clock in the morning. I will expect to see Mr. Wilkins then.”

The lad hurried over to the desk. “Just let me check his schedule—”

“Tell him to be here.”

The young man opened his mouth but Thor was already heading for the door. He had a feeling Wilkins was avoiding him and he didn't like it.

Tomorrow morning he would speak to the man, ask the questions for which he had come.

And Wilkins had better have the right answers.

 

Lindsey arrived at Renhurst late in the afternoon. As she passed through the nearby village of Foxgrove, she could see the massive three-story mansion built of Cotswold stone perched on a gently sloping hill. It was fashioned in the Georgian style, with a slate hip roof and two symmetrical wings that extended toward the rear of the house.

Lindsey smiled, always pleased by the beauty of the structure. Her father had told her his great-grandfather had built the mansion in the early seventeen-hundreds as a gift for his wife on their fifteenth anniversary. The couple had enjoyed the house for thirty more years before the old man had passed away. Six months later, his wife had followed him to the grave. Rumor was she had died of a broken heart.

It was a romantic tale, the sort that made Lindsey yearn for the kind of love her great-grandparents had shared. It wasn't going to happen, not for her, and Lindsey was resigned to the fact.

Exhausted from the long, bumpy coach ride over a road still muddy from last night's rain, she leaned back in the deep velvet seat, her gaze on the rolling green landscape. A flight of ducks passed overhead, and in a distant field, two young boys flew a pair of long-tailed kites. Lindsey smiled, thinking how much she had missed the country.

The carriage rolled to a jolting halt in front of the big stone house and a footman rushed forward to open the door. Though a brisk wind whipped her cloak, the sun shone through the clouds, illuminating a patch of green here and there. The leaves formed a pallet of rich golds, vibrant reds, and bold oranges that collided with the deep green shrubs and foliage.

As she climbed the wide front steps, she glanced off toward the stables. Horses were the other thing she missed. Her father owned a string of blooded stock that nearly rivaled those in Lord Merrick's impressive racing stable next door.

A shiver of anticipation went through her. Riding in the park simply could not compare with galloping wildly across open fields, jumping hedges and fences, and splashing through frothy streams.

The front door opened before she reached it. The butler, a thin man with bushy gray eyebrows, smiled as she walked into the house. “Welcome home, miss.”

“Thank you, Creevey. It's good to be back.”

“Your brother has gone riding but your aunt is in the Red Drawing Room. She asked that you join her there as soon as you arrived.”

“Very well.”

“I'll see to your luggage.”

She nodded, and headed down the hall. In the Red Room, Aunt Dee sat at an ornate gilded French writing desk, her head bent over the inlaid leather top.

She stood up at Lindsey's approach, a wide smile on her face. “You are here and safe. How was your journey?”

“Damp and bumpy.”

Aunt Dee laughed. “The roads can be miserable this time of year.” She looked down at the stack of invitations she had been addressing. “I hope the rain won't pose a problem for our guests.”

Lindsey followed her gaze to the rather formidable pile of engraved, gold-embossed cards. “I thought you said only a very few people would be coming.”