Teach Me Under the Mistletoe (12 page)

With a shake of his head, he dislodged the thoughts. “Ye poor wee lass. Ye truly know nothing of men, do ye? Don’t ye realize a man always wants what he canna’ have?”

Her mouth gaped, and he could see his words tumbling over themselves in her head as she tried to work them through. “B-being escorted by Lord Randall might make Lord Strathern desire me more? B-but how? He’s an honorable—”

Hugh nearly choked on his next breath.
Honorable
was not a word he’d associate with any man who would take up with the likes of Lady Braithwaite. But he suppressed his distaste and grinned at the confused miss before him.

“Ye’re apparently unaware of a man’s predatory instincts.” Hugh crossed the stone patio until just a few feet remained between them. “When a man notices a woman who is by all rights not available, he can develop a hunger that only she can satisfy.”

A tremor shook her. “Hunger?” she whispered.

A sudden breeze teased the scarlet hat ribbon tied just below Lady Caroline’s chin. Hugh curled his fingers inward lest he find himself reaching out to tug on the length of satin and remove the hat altogether. “Aye, a powerful hunger,” he said softly, watching the little pulse at the base of her throat. Pushing back waves of his own craving, he gulped in a breath and then cleared his throat. “If ye have an escort, ye won’t appear wretchedly alone.”

She rolled her lower lip between her teeth and sent waves of searing pain shooting through Hugh’s veins. “I won’t look desperate… That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

Hugh nodded. “Yes. That’s what I’m saying. The presence of an escort will make yer lord suffer. There ye’ll be, right in front of him… but he cannot have ye.” Hugh shifted so he could look at her face. “And not being able to have ye… he’ll
want
ye more than were ye standing before him like an offering.”

“Is it truly so simple?” She smiled for the first time since they’d met that afternoon on the path to the folly. The scorching in his blood lessened, becoming shock waves of desire that he tempered with thoughts of jumping into the pond he could see glistening over Lady Caroline’s left shoulder.

No, my lady… it’s not that simple at all.
But to tell her more would mean revealing pieces of himself best left private.

Lost in his musings, Hugh was unprepared for her lunge in his direction. When she twined her arms around his neck and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, his knees buckled. Only by the saints’ graces did he manage to remain standing.

“Thank you.” She kissed his cheek again. “Thank you so much.”

Before Hugh could respond, a horse whinnied from the trail behind him. Lady Caroline’s face paled and her gaze darted frantically about the terrace. Hugh gestured toward the Roman folly. “Go ’round the side. It’s a bit overgrown with brambles so take care ye don’t get scratched.”

She stared at him but made no move to leave. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a push in the right direction. “Go!”

Then he strode toward the trailhead, ready to face whoever had happened upon them.

* * * *

Kitty strained her ears but try as she might, all she could pick up was the rise and fall of voices. She recognized Hugh’s deep timbre, but she couldn’t make out the other person, though she’d swear it was also a man.

She inched along the cold stone wall and peered around the corner of the replica building. The reeds in the distant reflecting pool swished in the wind. The geese were nowhere in evidence. They must have tired of swimming and foraging. Kitty craned her neck but still couldn’t see who was talking.
Drat!
She stepped around the corner and took a few cautious steps along the front.

“It’s not yer business where I disappear to when I’m on my own time!” shouted Hugh.

The bushes at the far side of the structure rustled, and Kitty scurried back to her hiding place on the side. The sound of thudding hooves receded, and she held her breath. Did that mean the intruder had left?

Hugh stepped around the side of the building, muttering to himself. His accent was so thick she hadn’t a clue what he was saying, but it sounded foul even to her untrained ear. He scowled when he nearly bumped into her as if surprised to see her where he’d told her to go wait.

“Wh-who was that?” she asked, backing up a step.

Hugh opened his mouth, closed it again. Then he drew a deep breath and blew it out. “My brother felt a pressing need to ferret out where I’ve been going.”

Dismay welled. He had told her that his absences were bound to be missed. “Are you— Have I got you in trouble then?”

His eyes settled on her. Fire swirled in their depths, stealing her last breath.

After what must surely have been an eternity, he gave a quick shake of his head. “No. Ye did
not
.” Quite suddenly, he shed his rage and grinned. “But as ye can now see, I’m not a lot better off than you.”

“I feared it was my sister.” Kitty chuckled softly. “I can tell she’s up to something, but I can’t say I know what that is.” She sighed, knowing it was past time she made her way to the manor. “You should get back before your brother comes looking for you again.”

Hugh looked very much like he wanted to say something but he held to his silence. He also didn’t make a move to leave.

Kitty inclined her head. “Is something amiss?”

“No…” He stared into the distance for a few breaths and then shook his head forcefully, almost as if emerging from an enchantment. “No.”

“Will you… erm… that is, will you be able to come here tomorrow?” She held her breath, waiting while he took his time answering.

“There’s naught else I can teach ye,” he said after a time, his voice tinged with regret.

Her heart sank. She might never see him again. “Please… It matters not if you can teach me anything. I’ve come—” She blinked back the hot tears filling her eyes. “I’ve quite enjoyed our time together. In fact, I’ve come to value your… friendship.”

A muscle clenched in his jaw. “I…” He gave a helpless shrug. “I’ll be here. Midday.”

With that burden lifted, Kitty threw her arms around his neck again and squeezed.

After a moment’s hesitation, he jerkily enfolded her in an embrace, but he quickly dropped his arms and moved back several steps. “Right. Tomorrow then.”

“Tomorrow!” she called over her shoulder. Kitty’s heart was so buoyant, she might have floated instead of merely walking along the garden path.

* * * *

Hugh watched Lady Caroline until she disappeared around a bend in the path, then he sagged against the cold, white pillar. The steady burn that ignited at just the thought of Lady Caroline must have dulled his common sense. He’d most definitely gone daft. Not only did he continue to trifle with fire, but it was a fire that had the power to consume him and all he loved.

And he could find it nowhere in himself to care.

Closing his eyes, Hugh pulled in a long breath and then released it with slow precision. Feeling a bit more in control, he pushed off the column and began the march to the stables.

The next day seemed an eternity away. But he’d spend a dozen eternities waiting for just one glimpse of Lady Caroline’s face. The spell she’d woven around him was complete.

Chapter Eleven

“It occurs to me that every time we’ve met up here, you inevitably turn the conversation round to me. I hope you’re ready to speak about yourself for once.” Lady Caroline offered a lilting laugh, but her words carried a bit of censure as well.

Hugh turned and slid his gaze over the woman standing at the edge of the stone terrace. Primly dressed as usual, with a dark green sarcenet walking gown, crimson cloak fastened tightly at the neck, the matching hat that hid the bulk of her glorious hair. She was dressed more for an afternoon tea in Town than prowling about a garden in wintertime.

He’d sensed her presence even before she’d spoken. They’d met every afternoon for more than a week. Each day as he’d tramped through the woods, taking the surreptitious route to their clandestine rendezvous, he’d called himself all sorts of fool. Their relationship could go nowhere — he’d known that all along. But he’d been helpless to stop his feet from carrying him to each assignation.

“Well?” She laughed again. “Have you nothing to say for yourself?”

“I… suppose I don’t.” What had he in his sorry life that a lady as fine as Caroline would find of interest?

She glided toward him, every inch the lady of breeding, her gown just touching the tops of her half boots, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of ankle with each step.

She stopped just in front of him, tilted her head back, and found his gaze. “Shall we stroll a bit while you talk?”

He gave in, of course; as he always would. Smiling, he offered his arm and when she laid her hand in the crook of his elbow, he covered it with his. They meandered about the terrace in silence, first to the stone pillars for a look out at the reflecting pool.

“Apparently, they’ve settled their differences.” He nodded at the geese paddling in a line across the pond.

“For the moment, at any rate.” Lady Caroline squeezed his arm. “What part of Scotland are you from?”

So she wasn’t to be put off. “The nearest town would have been Kilmarnock, a wee place south of Glasgow. Or it was small until a few years ago. It’s grown some since I was a lad.” And the growth had stolen much of the charm.

“Does it make you sad that you’re no longer there?”

He smiled. The question was so typical of Lady Caroline, whom, he had discovered, cared deeply about the feelings of others. “In some ways. I’ve been back since Dougal and I left, though, and it’s not the same.”

They began walking again.

“Is that why you left? Because of the change?”

“Not… precisely, no. Dougal has a bit of the wanderer in him, and…” He sighed. “I suppose I do as well. I’d like to go the Americas one day, though it will be hard to leave my sisters.”

Lady Caroline pounced. “You have sisters? Tell me about them.”

And so, though he hadn’t intended to, he found himself speaking of the sisters he often missed.

“They’re well cared for, though, married to good men.”

She stopped walking and turned to face him. “Even so, you must miss them terribly.”

“I do,” he acknowledged. “But mostly I miss having a home and family around. Maybe one—” He stopped himself before he admitted exactly how often he’d dreamed of home and family just in the past handful of days. “What of you? I expect ye were born at Rose Hill?”

“I was.” Lady Caroline sighed. “I’ve never known anything but being my father’s youngest daughter. It gets… restrictive.”

Smiling at his personal
coup d’état
, Hugh continued to steer the conversation away from himself. Probably for the best if she didn’t learn about the unsavory undertakings in which he and Dougal had participated just to survive on their journey south.

During a lull in the conversation, Hugh noticed the dampness clinging to the air. The mist had rolled in unnoticed while they’d been talking. “Ye should get out of the chill, Lady Caroline.”

“I suppose so,” she agreed with a wry chuckle. “Mother will be prone to apoplectic fits if she’s noticed the turn in the weather.”

He held out his arm, but she paused.

“You’ve been wonderful to me, you know.” She averted her gaze to the right, a rosy blush coloring her cheeks. “I’ve never had such a good friend.”

The words brought on an involuntary wince, and he was glad she hadn’t been looking at him. “I’m happy to be your friend.”

Her eyes clouded briefly, and her face took on a faraway expression. “What does make you happy?”

Being near you…
“Oh, I’m fairly easy to please. Family and friends.”

“Seriously, is there anything I can do for you for being so kind? Anything you want?”

Afraid if he spoke, his voice would betray him, Hugh shook his head.

“There must be!” she insisted. “Really, what do you want?”

He sighed and met her inquisitive gaze full on. “I want
you
…” He smiled and forced out the rest. “I want ye to be happy.” He offered his arm again, nodding toward the path back to the manor.

This time she accepted his offer. With a twinge of sadness that their day was being cut short, Hugh led Lady Caroline along the path, halting just before the bend that would bring Rose Hill Manor into sight.

“It was a lovely day,” she murmured, turning her face up expectantly.

“Indeed it was, my lady.” Hugh relentlessly squashed his desire to take the kiss she was so artlessly offering and stepped back.

Lady Caroline looked away but not before he caught the disappointment in her eyes. Oh, how he longed to take her into his embrace and kiss away that sadness.

“Shall I see you tomorrow then?”

“Of course… unless ye keep yer eyes closed, that is.”

He hid in the bushes and followed her progress until she rounded the side of the house. Then he turned and hiked to the follies so he could pick up the game trail that would take him to the stables. For the first time in his life, Hugh cursed his lowly birth.

* * * *

She had to hurry. With so many guests wandering about the estate, Kitty had suffered through one too many conversations with her parents’ friends. Getting out of the house without finding herself waylaid by a guest she scarcely knew had become tricky in the past two days.

“Kitty, is that you, dear?”

At her mother’s voice from the drawing room, Kitty’s steps faltered, and she suppressed a groan.
Not today of all days.

The footman paused as well, his hand hovering over the door latch. Kitty glanced over her shoulder and debated whether she could pretend she hadn’t heard.

Garlands of green framed each doorway. Shiny, dark holly leaves with clusters of crimson berries stood out in start contrast against the paler cedar boughs. Sprigs of laurel had been arranged in discreet crystal vases on square side tables at the foot of the grande staircase, the gray-green leaves a perfect complement to the red and gold carpet gracing the white marble steps. The brass handrail had been polished to gleaming and reflected the flickering candlelight from the candelabra overhead. More garland looped around the twin pedestals of the Grecian maiden statuettes guarding the entrance to the salon.