The Devil's Good Intentions (2 page)

When she reached her cottage, she quickly placed the stolen food into the ground cellar, disrobed and dropped into her bed with nothing but her petticoat, her attached petticoat bodice and a thin blanket to ward off the cool breeze that steadily made its way through the gap in the window sill.

Her Mother would die if she saw Katherine as she was. Because she was so secluded and barely fit into her clothes anymore, she had limited options as to what she could and could not wear. While she remained at the cottage, she wore nothing but her petticoats and that suited her just fine.

The sun had kissed her skin and left a golden hue that was not sociably acceptable and had lightened her once dark chestnut brown hair. Her green eyes were often referred to as cat eyes, which was ironic since Katherine had taken on the habits of her feline friends, climbing trees just for the fun of it, bathing in the sun and seeing very well in the dark. She was truly surviving and she loved her freedom.

Leaning against a tree, Katherine breathed in the smell of the fire and listened to the sounds of the forest.

The birds are restless today, she thought to herself as she eyed the sky, seeing if a storm was brewing. Of course from where she was sitting she could only make out patches of the sky through the tree tops. Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to wander and dream of the time when she belonged to a family.

Katherine’s eyes flew open as a twig behind her snapped.

Looking around frantically for a log or something that could act as a weapon, two boots came into view and she froze.

“
Am I disturbing you?” A velvety voice asked her in a lazy male way.

Katherine’s heart thundered in her chest at the recognition of that voice. She tightly shut her eyes in hopes that that would somehow make him go away.

A low seductive chuckle rang through her ears as she heard him approach her.

Oh God Oh God Oh God, she thought to herself as she tried to figure out how to rid her of this man in the quickest and easiest way possible.

“
What a tempting picture you make” he commented as he knelt down in front of her.

She had no choice. She needed to open her eyes and deal with this situation head on. She could not afford to make any mistakes.

Katherine slowly opened her eyes and sucked in a breath as she took in the sight of the man in front of her. Tall and broad shouldered and maybe mid-twenties, she could tell that he spent most of his time on horses by his muscular thighs. By the look in his forest green eyes that contrasted against his midnight black hair, he was sizing her up just as much as she was sizing him up.

“
I’m sorry, you caught me off guard” Katherine managed to get out in a rather calm voice as she collected her wits and took control of herself.

His face slowly changed from intense curiosity to a lazy drawl. His lips quirked ever so slightly as he stood up and took a step back.

Tilting her head back to look up at him and squinting against the sun, she decided that she didn’t like having him hovering over her - prompting her to set her book aside and stand up.

His eyes raked over her body, slowly making her aware that she was wearing nothing but her petticoat ensemble, with her semi-dried hair hanging loose around her shoulders and down her back to her waste.

“
It’s rude to stare” she bit out, without attempting to cover herself up.

He wasn’t ruffled. Slowly finishing his assessment of her, he finally gazed right into her eyes and held her stare.

“
What is your name?” He asked with a mild curiosity.

Now what do I do? I can’t give him the name that I do at the balls because he can clearly see that I am not residing at an estate with relatives. Who is this man and how did he find me? Is it coincidence that he is the man who spoke to me last night as I was leaving? I think not.

“
It does not matter who I am since it is you who is intruding. Should I bother asking who you are? Or simply skip to the part where I politely ask you to leave?” Katherine responded with every bit of polite authority she could muster up, leaving no hint of fear.

“
So you would prefer to skip all of the niceties and get right to the point?” he drawled out in that lazy manner that was starting to irritate her.

Katherine nodded and held her ground.

“
I am Lord Salvador Cresta. This cottage belongs to me, this land belongs to me and you belong to me. I’ve come to take you home.”

Katherine gasped and shook her head in denial.

“
No, you are mistaken.” She whispered out as her mind scrambled to process what he was saying.

Her hands were shaking and she was certain that her knees would give out from under her if she didn’t place her hand on the tree behind her for support.

“
You are Lady Katherine Rochester are you not?” He responded coolly, sending shivers down her spine.

Katherine only shook her head in denial, but it wasn’t his words she was denying, knowing that it was pointless in doing so, but denial to her loss of freedom!

If I run then I will have no place to go and nothing but a petticoat to clothe me. If I go willingly with him, then I lose my freedom. What if I can convince him to let me stay?

“
You deny that you are Katherine?” he retorted with disbelief.

She couldn’t look at him if her life depended on it and was terrified of what this man represented.

“
No Lord Salvador, I do not deny that I am indeed the Katherine that you seek, however I do deny your claim of ownership.”

He handed her some documents and continued on as she looked them through.

“
When I purchased your Family Estate, I was informed that you were in severe debt and had fled. To keep the authorities from pursuing you, I paid your debt in full with the agreement that once you were found you would be returned to me. When your father passed away, his lawyer automatically became your legal guardian and because you were under age at the time, he had full power to draw up a betrothal contract between you and me.”

There’s no way out of this. I am legally his! I would prefer to be chased by the authorities than legally belong to this man!

“
Please, leave me be! This cottage should be nothing to you and I am more than happy to stay out of your way and continue on as I am. Please!” She begged.

Inching her way back from him, she held her hands out in front of her as if to ward off a predator.

“
If I intended to leave you be, I would not be here.” He responded coldly as he stalked her.

“
My reputation is ruined and I cannot live among the ton.”

“
We will not remain in Camden. I only came back to retrieve you.”

Still shaking her head in denial, she bumped against a tree, just as he braced both hands on either side of her, caging her in.

“
I don’t understand” She whispered out as a tear spilled down her cheek.

Just this morning she was free and now her world was once again being flipped upside down.

“
Your Fathers lawyer sent word that he found a copy of a deed to this hunter’s cabin and I was able to put 2 and 2 together. I will be taking you to my estate in Oxford. You will not be known by the ton so therefore will not have to live like a hermit.”

Oxford! Oh God this can’t be happening.

“
Why?” she whisper, just as her knees gave out on her.

Salvador caught her by the upper arms and held her to him.

“
You don’t even know me. Why would you do this?”

“
I have my reasons. Now pack up what you want to take with you and leave the rest.” He ordered her without emotion as he pulled her along to the cottage.

~

Katherine quickly threw a dress over her petticoat and started collecting the memories she was unwilling to give up. Salvador sat at her kitchen table and watched her through hooded eyes. He had seen Katherine at a social function not long before her father had passed on. She was accompanied by a friend of hers. He remembered thinking to himself that when she came of age she would be a beauty, now he knew he was right. When her Father’s lawyer had informed him of the fate that Katherine was facing once she was caught, he knew that he could do nothing other than pay her debt and tie her to him. There was no way that Katherine could pay him back and now she was his. He liked having power over her and was in no way going to take his eyes off of her now that she was within his grasp. He hadn't stopped thinking about her since that evening. She haunted his dreams and invaded his waking thoughts. He wanted to dismiss her as just another pretty face, but there was something about her he couldn't shake.

Raking his eyes over her once again, his cock twitched as his eyes registered the plump breasts that struggled to breathe beneath the too-tight dress she was wearing. It was obvious that her clothes no longer fit her and he looked forward to dressing her in the finest silks and decorating her with jewels that matched her light green eyes. She could stand to gain some weight, but that was to be expected. Her bone structure told promises of a voluptuous body, once properly nourished. Her hair, a waterfall of chestnut silk, cascaded down to her petite waste. Although she was malnourished, he could see that her muscles were toned and her skin healthy and vibrant. Her skin was golden satin that begged to be touched - tasted. She was his now and no matter how much she begged and pleaded from here on in; he would never let her go.

Katherine sat down on her bed and looked around the cottage with a look of utter defeat on her face. He couldn’t understand why she would want to continue living a life like this. The cottage had to be cold at night and he didn’t want to think about what the winters would be like. It was obvious that food was something that was not readily available and judging on the amount of food he saw her stuff into her small purse the evening before, he could tell that she was barely living. So why beg him to leave her alone? She should be grateful that he was returning her to civilization. Did she not trust him to take care of her? Of course she didn’t, she didn’t even know him. He had to find a way to earn her trust. What if she refused to give it to him? He would cross that bridge when he came to it.

“
Katherine, it’s time to go. We have a long voyage ahead of us.” He tried to make his voice seem non-threatening and sympathetic.

She wouldn’t even look at him.

“
Please reconsider. Or give me more time.” She tried pleading again.

He could tell by her tone that even she knew it was pointless.

He stood and flung her bag over his shoulder and then held his hand out to her.

“
Come” is all he said, not really expecting her to take his hand, but he wanted her to know that it was there if she needed it.

As expected, she stood up and walked right past his hand and out the door.

It took them close to 30 minutes to get to the carriage. He locked her bag in a travel compartment, knowing she wouldn’t run without it and then helped her into the carriage. Instead of crowding her, he decided to ride up top with his steward, giving her time to let her situation sink in and hopefully to accept it as it was.

He wanted to put as much distance between them and Camden before stopping, knowing that she would feel uncomfortable being out in public so close to home.

Around midnight, they pulled into a small inn. He had his steward watch over Katherine while he booked their lodging for the evening. Once their luggage was brought to their rooms, he scooped Katherine into his arms and brought her to their room. He could tell that she was exhausted because she didn’t even flinch from the carriage to the bed. He noted the tear stains on her cheeks and knew that she had cried herself to sleep. He should have felt guilty, but he didn’t. She would be even more distressed waking up in the same bed as him, but there was no way he was chancing putting her in a room by herself and if he was being honest with himself, he could admit that he relished the idea of holding her in his arms and curling around her small body while he slept.

He gently slipped her out of her dress and left her petticoats on. Although she was thinner than he would like her to be, he still thought of her as a sight to behold.