Tananguard 02 - To Love a Lord (6 page)

The leader came at Connor from the front, swinging his knife wildly at Connor’s throat. Connor caught the wrist and thrust his other hand upward into the man’s elbow, causing it to hyperextend. The man dropped the knife, but before Connor could do more damage, the third man jabbed him hard in the right side just below the ribs.

Connor grunted then bowed sideways as the fist found him again and even a third time. He knew how to fight through the pain. He was quite practiced at it, but it was still difficult not to want to curl in and protect his body.

He twisted and right hooked the third man in the face. From the corner of his eye, he could see the leader searching for his dropped dagger. Connor coul
dn’t let him get it. He kicked blindly at the leader and received a fist in the eye from the third man and another fist in the jaw that sent him stumbling backwards. With one step, he stepped on the leader’s hand that was reaching for the knife, and with his other step backward, he accidentally kicked the knife out of reach. He flailed backward three more steps before gaining his balance. By then the leader was on his feet cursing Connor. He lunged at him recklessly. Connor sidestepped and shoved the man hard as he went shooting past him. The momentum sent the man headfirst into the side of a building where he slumped to the ground.

Connor turned just in time to see the third man coming at him with a knife now. Connor dodged several attacks before finding an opening to
throw two, quick right jabs in the face then a left jab, and finally a very solid right hook that sent the man to the ground. Connor eyed the three assailants, waiting for the next attack. The first man was still on the ground, clutching at his throat and eyeing Connor uneasily. The third man was groaning in pain, not attempting to get up, and the leader was unconscious. Satisfied they weren’t going to bother him further, Connor continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

Josephine moaned as she tried to open her eyes. Oh, her head hurt! This was the first time she’d truly been drunk. But even small amounts of alcohol made her queasy. She should have known better than to let Rebecca’s hurtful words cause her to do something so foolish! And wine of all things. It made her emotionally unstable and always left her with a headache if she drank more than a few sips of it. When social occasions called for it, she would accept a glass, but she never finished it. She simply had it for show more than anything. But she had been so upset yesterday upon returning home, that she had opened a bottle of wine and proceeded to drink straight from it, not caring about the consequences.

“Never again,” she grumbled as s
he forced herself to sit up. She was in her bed, but she was still in her gardening clothes. She didn’t remember ever coming in the house. In fact, she didn’t remember much at all. She forced herself to think. The last thing she remembered was…

She felt
the blood drain from her face. Her stomach tightened, and she decided she just might sick up. It wouldn’t be from the wine either. Connor Tananguard’s face was the last thing she remembered.

“No, no! Why?” she groaned.
Of all the men she knew, why did it have to be him? Bits and pieces of their conversation were coming back to her, and then she remembered the worst of it. She had vomited in her flowerbed, and she was certain he had been there while she did so. Who else had brought her inside? She wanted to climb back in bed and hide from the world. Perhaps he had been so repulsed by her she would never see him again. But did she really want that? Sarah had told her much of Connor, so much, Josephine felt she already knew him. He was honorable, handsome, witty, and charming, a man who could do no wrong in Sarah’s eyes, and she had repeated these qualities to Josephine more than once. Josephine couldn’t believe a man like that existed. And then she had finally met him yesterday. He had defended her against Rebecca! Defended her and stood up for her, giving her the most incredible compliments she could fathom. He thought her skills at the pianoforte were good enough for royalty! Everything said about him was true. And
she
had vomited in front of him! Her bed was sounding better by the moment.

S
he glanced at her pillow and sighed. She’d slept long enough. The sun wasn’t up yet, but it would be coming up soon. When she’d lost consciousness, there had still been daylight. She would stay up and push thoughts of the handsome Connor Tananguard aside.

She lit a candle and made her way to the wash basin. She placed her candle down next to the basin
and glanced in the mirror above it. She gasped. She looked awful! She watched her cheeks flush red beneath the dirt covering her face. She never got this much dirt on her while gardening! And she didn’t even want to know what was on her chin! Again her thoughts turned to Connor Tananguard. What must he think of her? She clenched her jaw tight in frustration. It didn’t matter. She was below his station, so even if she saw him again, it wasn’t as if he would court her. She gave a snort at the thought. What did she care what the son of a lord thought of her?

She cleaned up, changed clothes and made her way downstairs. The sun was just trying to come up. She needed to make some tea and see if she couldn’t get rid of this headache.

“Oh no!” she cried as she suddenly remembered the stew she was cooking yesterday. She braced her head as she ran to the kitchen. She threw open the door only to come up short upon entering. Her jaw dropped. Her kitchen was a cluttered mess! Someone had gone through all of her cupboards and drawers and left half of them open and other things out. She wondered who would do such a thing when she spotted a large bowl and several other smaller dishes in her dish tub. “Tananguard,” she growled. Only a man would leave a mess like this. She strode over to her stew pot and lifted the lid. Half the stew was gone. At least the stove was no longer burning. It seemed he had enough sense to put the fire out before leaving last night.

“
Well, I hope he enjoyed devouring my hard work,” she said sarcastically. Then she added, “Did he have to leave such a mess?” She glowered at her kitchen. She was going to find out where he lived and drag his hide back here to clean it! But after she made her tea, she decided as her head pounded sorely with her thoughts.

The tea
calmed her, and she cleaned her kitchen herself. It really wasn’t as disastrous as she’d first imagined, and it didn’t take long before everything was in its proper place. She knew she should do more work, but she found herself curled up on the sofa, fighting her pounding head. She just needed to close her eyes for a bit and block out some of the light.

A knock at the door startled her awake. She hadn’t meant to fall back to sleep, but it had helped some. Her head hurt less and was actually tolerable. Slowly, she sat up and stretched. The door pounded again.

“Coming!” she called and regretted it the moment she did. Her head wasn’t completely better.

She smoothed her dress as she walked to the front door. She peered out the window and panicked. A tall figure stood with his back to her. What was
he
doing here? She didn’t want to see
him!
He had seen her at her worst, and she was fairly certain there had been a moment where she’d told him he was handsome. She could feel her cheeks burning. No! She wouldn’t allow this! He had destroyed her kitchen and eaten her food! She forced anger to surface to hide the flutters enveloping her stomach. She took a deep breath and opened the door, prepared for a battle.

Connor Tananguard turned toward Josephine as the door opened.
He gave her a crooked smile, and her anger vanished. The smile wasn’t crooked because he was being charming. It was crooked because his lower jaw was swollen. Not only that, but the man had a black eye!

“Mr. Tananguard, your face! What happened to you?” she asked with concern. She reached up to touch his jaw and examine him more closely. She shook her head. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house
before he could even answer her.

She dragged him to the sofa and pointed.
“Sit,” she ordered.

He obeyed without a sound, but the amusement was clear upon his face. She ignored it and took a closer look at his swollen eye. There was a split along the eyebrow that looked nasty
, and the eyelid down to his upper cheek bone was black and blue. She shook her head again. She should force herself to visit her aunt and see what healing skills she could learn from her. However, she and Kara Meredith didn’t see eye to eye, and Josephine was too proud to admit that it just might be her fault.

There was one thing she had that Kara had given her mother
, though, a plant made for healing. “Stay here,” Josephine ordered Connor.

He smiled that amused smile and nodded.

She refused to think much of him and that smile and simply turned from him and strode into the kitchen. Her plant was by the window in there. She grabbed a knife and sliced a chunk from it. She grabbed a clean rag and a wash basin. There was a water pump here in her kitchen by the dish tub. She took her wash basin to it and filled it with water. Connor had done a poor job at cleaning that wound, so she would do it for him.

She returned with her supplies and found him
standing in front of the fireplace, studying her mother’s clock above the mantel.

“That was my mother’s,”
she said from behind him. “My grandmother gave it to her when she married my father. She claimed my grandmother was of noble birth, a countess married to my grandfather, Count Murrieta.”

Connor gave a start, eyebrows rising in disbelief. “Your grandfather is a count?”

Josephine nodded. “Yes, but he disowned my mother when she married my father, who was a lowly laborer in their villa. Now, I thought I told you to stay,” she added with a frown.

He smiled. “Yes, you did.” He resumed his place on the sofa.

Josephine placed the basin of water
and the plant leaf on the floor by his feet and soaked the rag in the water.

“Do you wonder about them? Your grandparents? Has your mother tried to contact them?” he asked her conversationally.

She smiled sadly. “She used to write to my grandmother. But two years ago, my mother died of the cholera.”

“I’m very sorry for your loss. That must have been difficult for you. Do you live with your father
and brother then?”

How did he know she had a brother? She must have said something about him yesterday.
“My brother, yes, when he is in town. But my father was killed less than two years before my mother’s death.”

He flinched
with the news. “Again I am sorry. You must be strong to endure such hardships,” he said quietly.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She cleared her throat. “Let’s
clean that cut of yours, shall we?” she said, changing the subject. She wrung out the rag she had been twirling in the water and stood.

“
Would you care to fetch Mrs. Lovegood first?” he asked.

Why would she go next door and get her neighbor to help? “No, I can manage.”

He nodded. “Then have at it.”

She
stared at him in contemplation. She would have to get closer, obviously, but what angle would be best?

She chose the sofa. She kneeled next to him on it and turned his head toward her so she could see the cut above the eye. She placed one hand on the left side of his face to brace his head
, and she began dabbing at the cut just above his right eye with the wet rag. She didn’t think much of the intimacy of the situation until she found him watching her quite solemnly. Her breath caught in her throat and she forgot to breathe as she stared right back. His hand came up slowly and he cupped her face gently. His thumb caressed her cheek, and his eyes lingered on her lips. He leaned in toward her and brushed her lips with his. Her eyes closed automatically, and she released that breath of air she’d been holding in a sigh of pleasure.

He kissed her again, more deeply this time, pulling her closer. She’d never been kissed before
and the sensation was exhilarating. His lips moved, and hers moved with them. They were even closer now, his arms wrapping around her body snuggly. Her hands trembled as they moved through his hair to wrap her arms around his neck.

The kiss deepened and grew more aggressive. The hunger it sparked within Josephine was shocking. She wanted to be closer, but they were already so close, closer wasn’t possible. Then he drew her into his lap, and she realized closer was indeed possible. But the driving need inside her didn’t subside. She wanted more. She wanted…

What am I doing?
she suddenly wondered. This was a man of society. He would hold no ties to her, but he would probably take whatever she would give if not force it upon her. She jerked away from him, sprung off the sofa, and took several steps back. She was breathing raggedly as was he, and he looked stunned. She didn’t know what to say. She had caused this, dragging him into her home so she could take care of his wound. What had she been thinking? She was smarter than this. He was a stranger to her. But something about this man pulled at her heart.

He looked like he was about to say something.

She pointed to the chunk of plant lying on the floor next to the wash basin. “That is
from a plant called the Aloe Vera plant. My aunt claims it does wonders for healing. Rub the juices on your cut. It will help.” With those words, Josephine turned and dashed into the kitchen. She braced herself against the counter and forced deep, steady breaths. She had to focus on what was possible and what was not. A life with Connor Tananguard was not, so she could not kiss him again no matter how badly she wanted to. And she would not be one to frolic with a lord no matter how tempting his looks were. She was a virtuous woman, not the mistress type, and that was the only way she would have this man: as his mistress. Her heart broke with what she knew to be true. Connor Tananguard was beyond her, and he was also in her kitchen staring at her intently.

“Josephine—”

“Forgive me, Mr. Tananguard,” she pleaded. Then something occurred to her. “You know my name, my real name.”

He smiled softly. “Part of it. I am still trying to decide what your last name is.”

“Meredith. My given name is Josephine Meredith, but I’ve been using my mother’s since her death,” she admitted.

“Josephine is a beautiful name, though,” he said, stepping toward her.

She inhaled sharply because she imagined him walking to her and taking her in his arms again. And how she yearned for the act! “Mr. Tananguard, please. I never meant mislead you. I was only interested in caring for your injury. I know my actions were forward and intimate, but—”

“Josephine, stop. I never thought that. I acted on impulse. I am the one who
must apologize.
My
actions were inappropriate. Can you forgive me?” he asked. He looked as though he wished to move closer, but he held his ground.

She blinked several times, allowing his words to
fully sink in. “You…you mean you’re not looking for a mistress? You’re not here because you think I would be that for you?” She flushed red. The words had just slipped out. She may have been thinking them, but she hadn’t intended to actually say them!