Rebel Dreams (42 page)

When Franklin called again, Evelyn made certain Deirdre was
there to talk with him. One of his quips actually brought a ghost of a smile to
the older woman’s face. Afterward Deirdre was the one asking questions.

A comment from Rory at dinner one evening brought the
realization that Alex actually meant to take his seat in the House of Lords,
and Evelyn’s hopes soared. Alex should have been the one to tell her, but she
would respect his need for privacy as long as he came home to her every night.
And he did.

When he began bringing home some of the men who thought as
he did to drink and talk and map out strategy in the comforts of his study,
Evelyn felt triumphant. If Alex was making this step, he couldn’t object if she
did the same. If only they could work together, she would be in heaven.

Her mother decided to travel with the rest of the family to
visit relations in Surrey rather than impose on newlyweds and a grief-stricken
widow any longer. Evelyn protested, but her mother was immovable. By the time
Parliament came into session, she was gone.

Soon after that, one of the partnership’s smaller ships
arrived in port. Rory decided Alyson should sail home on it before her
pregnancy advanced further. At this desertion, Evelyn wanted to cry, but she
bit her lip and reached for Alex’s hand instead. He was home early for a
change, and he too seemed stunned by this departure. He merely squeezed Evelyn’s
hand and wished them a safe journey.

Later that night, when Evelyn prepared to retire to their
chamber, Alex left his study to join her. He remained silent as they ascended
the stairs and traversed the upper hall. Instead of going directly to their
bedroom, he threw open the door to the sitting room and led her in. That made
her uneasy, but Evelyn held her peace as he poured them both some wine.

She didn’t know whether to sit or stand, and she took her
clues from Alex. When he began to pace, she remained standing. If he wouldn’t
relax, neither would she. Tensely she watched his elegantly garbed form stride
back and forth. His thick black hair was pulled back in a plain queue, his lace
had been discarded for immaculate linen, and while his dark coat and white vest
sported golden buttons, they had none of the elaborate embroidery and trim that
he had once worn. It seemed now that he was lord in truth, he need not dress
the part any longer.

But his clothes weren’t what she had seen in Alex. What she
loved in his appearance was the determination of his square jaw, the occasional
flashes of vulnerability in his dark eyes, the strength of his muscled
shoulders, and the grace with which he carried himself. He could be naked and
she would still be attracted to him. Even more attracted than with clothes, she
admitted wryly as he stopped before the fire and turned to face her, legs
spread as if on the deck of a rolling ship.

He took a deep breath and his dark eyes glittered. “Have I
made you very unhappy, Evelyn?”

The unexpectedness of the question left her temporarily
speechless. She gasped, set the wine aside, and fiddled with the draping of her
black velvet gown while she tried to compose a sensible reply. None came. Then
she looked up to the pained look in his eyes and knew there was only one reply
she could make.

Crossing the room, she lifted her arms around his neck and
pulled his head down so that she could brush feather-light kisses across the
taut muscle of his cheek. “Events might make me unhappy, but you have given me
more happiness than I ever dared expect. My only regret is that we have so
little time to share together.”

Alex set aside his glass. His mouth found hers, and she fell
into the elation of his kiss. A shudder swept through her as Alex gathered her
into his arms, and she pressed eagerly into him, clinging to his shoulders as
he lifted her from the floor, and their lips melted together with the sweetness
of joy as much as need.

“Oh, God, Evelyn, I’m so afraid of losing you. I don’t know
what you see in me or why you stay, but help me understand what I need to do to
keep you.”

His arms held her so close that his buttons pressed into her
breast. His lips trailed fire along her cheek, and Evelyn turned her head to
seek them once again before replying.

“Love me, Alex,” she whispered. “I need you to love me. You
don’t have to say the words, just show me. Hold me like this, make love to me,
and talk to me. I need you to talk to. I’m so alone, and I need you. Don’t shut
me out, Alex, please.” She was pleading with him. She knew she was pleading
with him. She had never meant to beg, but he had opened a door and she wanted
in. His kisses were the fire in her hearth, and she would freeze to death
without them. Eagerly she sought his mouth once more.

To her surprise, he didn’t take the opportunity she offered
to undress her or carry her off to bed. Instead, Alex took a chair beside the
fire and pulled her into his lap. His kisses were gentle, and his hand merely
cupped her breast as he spoke.

“I promised you wouldn’t have to be a countess for many
years. I didn’t mean to lie. I miss him. There’s this huge hole that he’s left
behind, and I don’t know how to fill it. I wanted the title once. I thought I
deserved it. I thought people would have to start listening to me then. I was a
damned arrogant pup. Everett showed me what it took to be a Cranville. He did
it with such ease. He was always so genial to everyone, but he commanded
respect. I don’t know how he did it. I haven’t got the knack. He was always
there when we needed him, but he had enormous responsibilities. How did he do
it? How did he manage to seem idle and accomplish so much?”

“Fifty years’ experience might have helped,” Evelyn offered
dryly. Then she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You’re not your cousin, Alex, and
weren’t meant to be. Yes, he was charming and genial and probably idle because
he delegated his duties to everyone else. That’s the way he was, and he was
loved in spite of it as much as because of it. You’re too intense, too
determined, to live as he did, and I love you in spite of it as well as because
of it. I wouldn’t want you any other way. But it would help ease the long,
lonely hours if I knew you would come to me like this at the end of the day.”

Alex traced her cheek with his finger and brushed a wisp of
hair behind her ear. “I’m not used to having anyone to talk to,” he admitted. “It’s
not an easy habit to break. Couldn’t I just seduce you? I have a lot more
experience at that.”

The rakish quirk of his lips warmed her to the bones, but
Evelyn placed an admonishing finger across them. “I scarcely need seducing. I’m
no challenge. All you need do is look at me and I’ll fall into your arms. You
need more contest than that. You’ll have to seduce me while talking to me. I
promise to put up a good fight then.”

Alex chuckled and caressed the hard tip of her breast that
proved the truth of her words. “Don’t you think we would talk better in bed?”
he whispered as he stroked.

“Perhaps we’ve talked enough for one night. I have a
thousand questions I wish to ask, but I cannot seem to recall even one of them
right now.”

Alex smiled. “I’ll wager you remember them soon enough.
Come, my little termagant, tonight it is just thee and me against the world.
Let us see what we can make of it.”

Carrying her easily, he rose from the chair, and instead of
going through their dressing rooms, where their servants waited, he took her
across the hall and directly into his chamber. A fire burned in the grate and a
single lamp lit the bed.

As Alex returned her feet to the floor, Evelyn began
unfastening his jabot. A pleased grin crossed his face, and he bent to whisper
against her ear, “I’m yours to command, little rebel. How would you like the
forces employed tonight ?”

“On me,” she announced, reaching for the fastenings of his
breeches. “You’ll need full artillery and a cavalry charge or two, I suspect.
Are you prepared?”

His laughter echoed through the chamber.

The workmen and the plumbers began tearing apart the
dressing rooms the next morning. The commotion of collapsing walls, pounding
hammers, and a constant stream of noisy boots stomping up and down the back
stairs disrupted much of the household. The noise even carried to the front
salons, where the guests looked questioningly for explanation.

Evelyn’s attempt to explain Alex’s decision to install a
bathing room brought such blushes to her cheeks that Deirdre laughed for the
first time in weeks and took over the discussion. Evelyn gratefully left her in
charge when a servant appeared in the doorway to announce that Mr. Farnley would
like to see her. She excused herself and hurried to the study.

The elderly solicitor greeted her with more excitement than
she had ever seen him display. Evelyn clasped her hands in her lap and watched
him expectantly.

He didn’t disappoint. “I have found the individual you
requested we look for, Lady Cranville.”

Reining in any display of emotion, she watched him to judge
his feelings about this news. “What have you found out?”

“The girl is approximately fourteen years of age, in good
health, apparently well thought of in the community. She has attended the
village school taught by the local clergyman and his wife and has shown a
remarkable intelligence in all her studies. The vicar speaks well of her but
says he has taught her all he knows. She is currently helping teach the younger
students.”

Evelyn nodded in relief. “Please go on.”

“The roads are poor this time of year, so I have not gone to
see her myself. My correspondent tells me she is attractive in a wild sort of
way. Hampton blood will tell, you know. She has the dark hair, the dark eyes,
and unfortunately, the temper. I don’t think there’s any mistaking her
parentage. Her mother and her adopted father were both fair. There is little
doubt among the villagers as to whose child she actually is.”

Evelyn put her hand to her face in a futile attempt to hold
back the tears. When Mr. Farnley halted in his recitation, she shook her head. “I
am fine. Please continue.”

“Her mother is a bit simpleminded, but her adopted father
apparently doted on her. He died last spring and left his entire holdings to
the child. The girl has wisely rented out much of the land, since she cannot
possibly work it herself, but she does oversee a few small plots near the
house. She’s quite comfortably off, actually.”

“But she’s only fourteen,” Evelyn whispered between her
fingers. “What a terrible age for a girl not to have a father to protect her.
She will be a victim to every fortune hunter in the county.”

“That’s quite possibly so. There were hints of such in my
correspondence with the vicar. He displayed some fear for her well-being and
asked if I could use my influence with Lord Cranville. I have not answered him,”
Farnley said.

“I must tell him, mustn’t I?” Clenching her hands, Evelyn
met the solicitor’s gaze.

“Immediately, if I may be so bold,” Mr. Farnley suggested.

“But he is likely to be angry, and then he will do nothing.
I have to find the right time, but I cannot bear to think what might happen to
that child. She is too young yet for such responsibility. Is there nothing we
can do until Alex can be brought around?”

Having been the Hampton family solicitor for over two score
years, Farnley knew their tempers well. Evelyn could see that he understood, but
a subject as explosive as this one was like live ammunition. He shook his head
in defeat.

“I would suggest she be sent to a proper girls’ school, but
I cannot justify such an expense without Cranville’s approval. I see no hope
for it but to tell him.”

Evelyn met his gaze with defiance. “Then I shall tell him,
but first you must write to your correspondent and arrange for appropriate
transportation. I want the child informed and on her way here before I tell
Alex. If you are quite confident that this is Alex’s daughter, I will not have
her left in ignorance and danger any longer. He may throw as many tantrums as
he likes after the fact, but the child will be safe. Can you do that?”

“You would bring the child here?” The obvious incredulity in
his voice revealed he had not even considered that solution.

Evelyn rose and applied the full weight of her newly
acquired authority. “Would you send her off to school without even the
opportunity of meeting her father? I daresay they will not get along. Hamptons
seldom do, from what I have seen of them. Do not think I’m being foolish and
romantic about this. The child is old enough to be offered choices rather than
moved about as a pawn in some adult game. Before she is brought here, she
should be informed of her parentage, and then she should be asked if she would
like to make the journey to London to meet her father. If she is any kind of
Hampton at all, she will have the intelligence to recognize what is best for
her and the fury to wish to confront her neglectful parent. I would rather have
your task than mine.”

Unable to remain calm any longer, Evelyn left the solicitor
standing there with his mouth open. Her heart beat so fiercely she did not
think she could stand still. Alex would never forgive her for this interference.
What had she done? Just as they were coming to some closer understanding, she
had to throw fireworks between them.

But she could not leave Alex’s daughter to the whims of a
cruel world. Evelyn knew the pressures men could apply. What chance did a young
girl have against deliberate seduction by charming liars, or brutal rape by
less subtle suitors, without a father’s protection? Those were the ones who
would apply to her first. The more honest ones would not even consider courting
a child that age. The girl had to be made safe. Alex could sulk all he liked.

She was afraid to tell Deirdre, and she was terrified of
keeping secrets from Alex. She wished Alyson and Rory had stayed awhile longer
or that her mother was here. She needed good sound advice, but she had no one
to turn to.