Her Lord and Protector (formerly titled On Silent Wings) (30 page)

“Does Edward
know?” Katherine asked.

“Edward? Oh. He
is still my friend. Why do you ask?”

“He is
courting
you, isn’t he?” Then, Katherine waved a hand. “I am sorry. I am as nosy as
Agnes, whom I hope never to see again.”

“Neither do I.
Although I suppose if I marry Edward, Agnes will be my sister-in-law.”

“What do you
want to do?” It seemed Elizabeth enjoyed having the attentions of two men.

“Elizabeth held
the letter to her lips and then set it gently on the table beside her. “The
baron seems so...full of life. I have never met anyone like him. Edward is
nice, but he is just so cautious.”

“There is
nothing wrong with cautious. Give him time.”

Alex entered the
parlor. As always, his gaze sought out Katherine and took her in as if she were
a cherished gift. “If you are speaking of cautious Edward, I am on my way to
his house,” he said to Elizabeth. “Would you care to come along?”

“Oh...no, I do
not think so,” said Elizabeth. “I will wait for Lord Wiltshire. He is paying a
call to me this afternoon.”

The upward curve
of Alex’s lips faltered. “He is intent on courting you, then.”

“Is that so
wrong?”

“As we
discussed, ’tis your decision. But I would like to know of his intentions. Have
him talk to me.”

“I will let him
know.” Elizabeth looked from him to Katherine. “I am glad to see you both so happy.”

“Thank you. I
will give Edward your salutations, Elizabeth.”

Alex led
Katherine out into the Hall and kissed her. “I will be back soon, my lovely lady.”

Going with him
to confront Agnes was out of the question. This was something Alex had to do
alone.

Katherine kissed
Alex back, and gave his bottom a subtle pinch.

“Saucy minx,”
Alex murmured in her ear. His hand slid up her waist to cup her breast. “Just
you wait. I will lock you in my arms all night.”

“’Twas only four
days ago that you were shot,” Katherine whispered back. “You are still weak as
a babe.”

“Am I now?” With
his good arm, he encircled her waist. He lifted her off her feet and held her
snug against the wall, pressing himself against her and giving her a long, deep
kiss until she burned with need.

When he released
her, she clung to him until sensation returned to her legs.

“You are gaining
strength,” she managed.

“Indeed.”

A final kiss, a
touch of his fingers to her cheek, and he was gone.

****

Elizabeth could
make her own decisions, Alex thought as he trotted Neos across the green
fields. Yet Edward deserved to know what was happening. He probably didn’t even
realize Elizabeth’s thoughts had turned to another man.

And Agnes—Alex
gritted his teeth at what she had done—needed to be found a suitor and married
off. He would have to trust Robert to ensure that his daughter stopped her
meddling ways.

He reached the
house and dismounted. His boot heels crunched on the pebbled path up to
Robert’s door.

“God’s pointy
toenails!” came a shrill voice above him.

Alex peered at
an upstairs window. There, staring at him with both hands covering her mouth,
stood Agnes.

One hour later,
Alex left the house and set off over the hilly fields in the yellow-orange smolder
of the setting sun.

Robert had never
been his good friend, but as neighbors, they respected one another. The anger
in Robert’s eyes, after Alex had informed him of Agnes’ actions of late,
assured him that she would no longer trouble his household.

But it was the
information passed privately to Edward that made Alex question his own judgment.
He’d never seen the young man’s eyes so bright with anger, nor the tension that
made the cords stand out on his neck. Even Edward’s voice had a razor sharp
edge to it when he’d thanked Alex and walked him to the door after Robert, rod
in hand, had gone to find Agnes.

If Alex had ever
seen murder in a man’s eyes, it was in Edward’s.

One month later,
on the day of the Allerton ball, Millie curled Katherine’s hair into delightful
ringlets and clustered them on each side of her head with tiny green and white
satin ribbons. The maid then shaped little curls across Katherine’s forehead.

“Lovely,
m’lady!” Millie exclaimed, clapping her hands in glee. “Now, the dress.”

Carly, the
copper-haired waif Katherine had found begging for food, jumped up from Alex’s
big chair. “I will help.” Her eyes shone as she assisted Millie in holding the
dress over Katherine’s head.

Light green
satin slid coolly over Katherine’s arms and down her body. Slit-open sleeves revealed
delicate gold lace that exposed the skin of her arms. The round, low cut
bodice, worn off the shoulders, was perfect for the pearl necklace that Alex
had given her as a wedding gift.

Millie fastened
the stomacher and helped her don a pair of gold-heeled dancing slippers. Then,
Katherine turned in a slow circle while Millie surveyed her work with a broad
smile. “The dress sets off your hair. You will be the most beautiful lady at
the Allerton’s Ball.”

“Yes,” Carly
breathed. She hugged herself and twirled around the room, her spindly ankles
showing beneath her dress.

“I want to go! I
want to dance!”

Katherine laughed
as she dabbed lavender scent behind her ears. “All in good time, dear heart.”
She checked herself in the mirror one last time and said, “I’d better get
downstairs before Lord Drayton wonders what has become of me.”

“He said earlier
that we women have taken over his bedchamber,” Carly said. “But I know he
wasn’t truly angry.”

The three headed
toward the stairs. Glancing down at the gold lace exposing her exquisite underskirt,
Katherine remembered last year’s spring parties held throughout London to start
the Season. A new dress such as this would be made for her every few weeks, and
her father spared no expense to please Ellis Potts.

Ellis. How long
ago she’d thought she loved that wretch. What little she knew then about love.

The past weeks
had shown her what true love meant. Contentment, happiness, pleasure—all
wrapped up in the strong arms of a man who’d sworn off love but then opened his
heart to her. Oh, how he had shown his love. For the first time since she could
remember, Katherine freely expressed her desires and opinions, and Alex
listened closely without chiding her for unfeminine candor.

They took long
walks in the tidy garden, carriage rides in the country, and spent hours and
hours in bed where he brought her to the pinnacle of passion over and over
again.

Katherine
pressed her arms to herself in a hug as she descended the steps to meet her
husband in the parlor.

There he stood
by the mantel, dressed in black velvet breeches and long vest, lifting a glass
of brandy to his lips. He lowered the glass when she walked in. Jaw slack, he
stared for a moment, then sucked in a quick breath.

“Have you
forgotten to breathe?” Katherine asked, a tender warmth filling her as she
walked into his arms. She reached back and fingered the black satin ribbon that
secured his golden hair.

“How beautiful
you are,” Alex said. “And you smell so good. I want to have you in a field of
lavender.” He kissed her, then brushed a thumb across her lips. “You are a
prize to be cherished.”

“And you are my
champion,” she said, and met his kiss.

“Eww. Woman
spit.”

They turned to
see Stephen, a comical grimace on his face, watching them near the door.

“You might like
it someday,” Alex said to him.

“Never,” Stephen
declared. He then ducked away from Carly, who had snuck up behind him and
kissed him on his cheek. With shouts of disgust from Stephen and giggles from
Carly, the two raced from the parlor, narrowly missing Elizabeth.

She hobbled in
smiling, her slight body hidden beneath layers of blue and silver that brought
out the shining gray of her eyes and ash blond of her hair.

Alex set down
his glass and held out an arm for each. “Shall we depart?”

****

Lord and Lady
Allerton’s grand home, one hour’s carriage ride from Drayton Castle, dazzled
with neatly trimmed knot gardens that expanded the length of the drive and were
interspersed by decorative pools and spring flowers.

Alex turned to
Elizabeth when their carriage, in line with at least twenty others, halted in
front of the mansion. “Wiltshire and Edward will both be here, Bethie. And
they’ll expect a decision from you.”

Elizabeth
plucked at the silver ribbons ornamenting her gown. “I know,” she whispered. “I
know.”

Inside, it
wasn’t the echoing din of many voices or the brilliantly colored clothing of
the guests that struck Katherine, but rather the sharp contrast of the
Allerton’s brightly lit home with their dark castle. Instead of dark planked
floors and gray stone walls, their home gleamed with ivory colored paneling and
polished green marble floor tiles that echoed the heels of the strolling
merrymakers. Overhead, a silver chandelier holding dozens of blazing white
candles hung between twin white curved staircases that led up to grand parlor.
Right at the center of the balustrade between the two sets of stairs stood an
impeccably dressed man and woman greeting their guests.

Having grown
accustomed—nay, tolerant—toward her window-covered home, Katherine thought the
sun reflecting on the walls seemed almost too bright. She paused, however,
looking wistfully at all the drapes pulled back from the windows. Alex followed
her gaze. Without a word, she continued on toward the stairway, knowing that to
ask her husband to open the drapes in their home might be akin to tormenting
him. Would he never end his aversion to windows?

Alex gave
introductions to Lord and Lady Allerton, whose quick scrutiny of Katherine
seemed filled with approval.

“Lady Drayton, ’tis
nice to see you,” Lord Allerton boomed as he kissed her hand. “How sad that you
lost your family in the Plague and the fire. I knew your father well.”

Katherine
stiffened and gave a sidelong glance toward Alex. But by Lord Allerton’s warm
smile and Lady Allerton’s sympathetic eyes, it was obvious that they knew
nothing of her father’s treachery. She relaxed. “Thank you for your condolences.”

“Indeed,” said
Lady Allerton. “I am so glad you could come.” She gave Alex’s arm an affectionate
pat. “’Tis good to see you so happy, Lord Drayton. You two have found new life
in each other, it seems. And you look superbly happy. What brought you together?”

“My father,”
Katherine said simply.

After greetings
to Elizabeth, the Allertons turned to meet their next guests, and the three
moved along the balustrade toward the parlor. Katherine paused after a moment,
patted Elizabeth’s shoulder, and pointed toward the door. “Elizabeth, there is
Edward just arrived. He is splendid in his yellow vest and breeches, don’t you
think?”

Elizabeth’s gaze
wandered toward the grand white entrance doors. “Yes...splendid.”

“Why don’t we
wait for him here, and then we can all go into the parlor together?” Katherine
suggested.

“Oh. I do not
think....” Elizabeth turned away and continued her awkward limp toward the
parlor.

Alex and
Katherine watched Edward move toward one of the curved stairways with his family.

“See the scowl
on his face,” said Katherine. “He seems so very angry. You never did tell me
how he reacted to the news of Lord Wiltshire.”

“Like that,”
Alex said, gesturing toward him. “Bloodthirsty.”

“I do hope he
doesn’t try anything. He is not a fighter.”

Alex’s hand slid
lightly up Katherine’s back. “Edward has more sense than that. Still, ‘twill be
interesting to see what comes of this night. My shy cousin is unused to two men
wanting her.”

Katherine looked
past Edward, then smiled up at Alex. “And are you used to two women wanting
you?”

He smiled. “I do
not understand.”

She pointed to
where Agnes, stunning in pink and purple satin, floated regally up the steps
behind her brother. Agnes had paused and stared at Alex with wide eyes outlined
in dark pencil. Her gaze then moved to Katherine.

Katherine fought
off a strange chill. She concentrated on the fact that although Agnes’ bodice,
which exposed the tops of her nipples, was at the height of fashion, her dress
would be more acceptable within the crowds at Whitehall Palace. However, she
seemed to have taken great care with her appearance. Her yellow hair swept out
from her head in curls and ribbons, and the white powder on her face
accentuated her red painted lips and pink cheeks.

“Bah! I do not
wish to see that woman.” Alex stationed Katherine’s hand on his forearm. “Come.
We dance. If I remember how.”