The Earl's Secret Bargain (17 page)

Once they were on their horses, he led her out of the stable and down the path that would take them to the stream. The ten
sion between them had subsided, and in its place was a flicker of the warm companionship he had experienced with her before she discovered the wager. Maybe there was hope. Maybe there would be more kisses. More laughter. And maybe there would even be children. Even if they only had girls, he’d be happy. All he wanted was for her to look at him the same way she had that night at Toplyn’s ball. If he could get that again, he’d die a happy gentleman.

He slowed so she could come up beside him.

“You have a good view out here,” she said.

Forcing his gaze off of her, he noted the land surrounding them. Trees lined parts of the property, but mostly the flat landscape was covered in tall grass. “There’s a stream down that way.” He gestured to the left. “I thought we might go there.”

“All right.”

They rode on in a comfortable silence, and when they reached the stream, he helped her down from the horse.

“I used to come down here a lot when I was younger,” he told her as he secured the horses’ reins to the trees.

“Did you?”

“Yes, especially when I was a boy. Orlando and I would come here and swim.”

Her eyebrow raised, she asked
, “In a shallow stream?”

“I didn’t say we were successful at it.”

As he hoped, she chuckled. “I suppose being children, you two were pretending to swim.”

“Yes. But as I got older, I still like
d to come down and take off my boots so I could enjoy the cold water. It was especially refreshing on a hot day like this. What do you say? Want to go in without your boots on?”

“And get my stockings wet?”

“Just take them off.”

She gasped, her green eyes growing wide. “I can’t do that. Not outside the bedchamber.”

“Why not?” He glanced around. “No one can see you. The manor is a good mile away, and we’re surrounded by trees.”

Her face turned pink. “I just can’t. I wish to remain fully clothed during this outing.”

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll go in first.”

As he slipped out of his boots, she asked, “You’re not going to go in there without taking off your stockings, are you?”

“I don’t wear stockings,” he replied. “But I will keep my drawers on.” He motioned to his footed-drawers. “I’d have to remove my breeches in order to take them off.”

“Oh.”

Amused, he teased, “I wouldn’t be opposed to doing that if wet drawers bother you.”

“No. I mean, you need to keep them on. What if,” she glanced around, “someone sees you?”

“No one but you will see me.” To save her from having to reply, he stepped down into the stream, careful as he stepped over some rocks. Turning back to her, he called out, “It feels great. Are you sure you don’t want to join me? We can sit on that large rock over there.”

Though she followed his gaze, she shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “I just can’t.”

“All right.” He wouldn’t push her. If she wasn’t comfortable, she shouldn’t have to do it. But it wasn’t much fun standing in the middle of the stream all by himself. So he only stayed there long enough to pick up a couple purple and white flowers growing along the grassy edge and returned to her. “These are for you.”

“They’re beautiful.” She accepted them and smelled them. “They have a pleasant fragrance.”

“I’m glad you like them.” With a smile, he slipped his boots back on.

“Is it uncomfortable to wear those when your…drawers…are wet?”

“Only a little, but I do feel much cooler.”

They went to their horses
and rode back to the stables. Deep down, he believed everything was going to be all right.

The next day, Regina stood by the stream. She made sure the manor was far away enough so that no one would see her. It was silly to worry, she supposed. No one had been the wiser when Toby stepped into the stream. She had been curious about what it would be like to feel the cool water on her feet. Toby seemed to enjoy it, and while he’d been out there, she had to hold back the urge to free herself of her inhibitions and join him.

With another glance around to make sure no one was nearby
, she slipped out of her riding boots then removed her stockings. She lifted the hem of her riding skirt and petticoats. Her heartbeat picked up in excitement as she stepped on the grass. She’d never exposed so much of herself in public in her entire life. Granted, no one was there to see her, but the possibility someone might was enough. Taking a deep breath, she edged closer to the stream. The area was muddy, given last night’s storm, so she tried to be careful as she proceeded forward.

But as she stepped down toward the stream, she tripped on a tree r
oot and lost her balance. Letting out a shriek, she let go of her skirt, her arms flailing in front of her in the most ridiculous fashion as she tried to find something—anything—to grab onto. But her efforts were in vain, and she only grasped a handful of mud on her way down into the water.

She landed face f
irst in the cold stream. The whole thing happened so fast, she couldn’t even describe it to anyone who asked. But she ended up drenched from head to toe, mud clinging to her and blood seeping from her sleeve. Wincing, she sat up and peeled back her sleeve to see how badly she’d injured her arm. Relieved, she sighed. Good. It was just a gash. Her sleeve had suffered the brunt of it. She’d never be able to wear this riding outfit again.

She stood up and pushed the hair out of her eyes then picked up the hat
, which was lying a few feet from her. Well, so much for dipping her feet in. She trudged back onto the grass and put her stockings and boots on. Though she was sore, she’d survive. Her biggest angst was being embarrassed when the others saw her.

Reminding herself s
he was much better off getting dirty than breaking a bone, she rode to the stables.

“My lady,” the startled stable boy said as he helped her dismount. “What happened?”

“N-nothing,” she mumbled through chattering teeth.

She hadn’t thought it possible on a nice summer day, but in her wet clothes
, she experienced a chill. After she handed him the reins, she headed for the house, her skirt clinging to her legs, making it difficult to go as fast as she desired. When she finally made it to the steps of the front door, she breathed a sigh of relief. She’d made it. The trek back from the stream seemed like the longest one she’d ever had to take.

The footman opened the door, his jaw dropping at the sight of her.

“I had an accident in the stream,” she said.

B
efore he could say anything, she headed for the staircase.

“My lady,” the butl
er called out as he hurried toward her. “Shall I have a bath drawn for you?” His gaze went to the blood soaking the sleeve of her dress. “And send someone to tend to your injury?”

“It’s only a scratch,” she assured him as she slowly climbed the stairs. Her legs were bruised by the feel of it. “And yes, a bath would be nice.”

“I’ll have a bath sent up immediately.”

She thanked him and continued up the staircase. What a sight she must have made, what with the mud clinging to her and
all. If she’d gone with Toby, she supposed none of this would have happened.

By the time she reached her bedchamber,
she was shivering. She shut the door and started removing her clothes. Once she got out of them, she’d feel a lot better. There was a knock at her door. Figuring it was her lady’s maid, she called out, “Enter,” and slipped out of the last of her things as the door opened and closed.

“I heard you were hurt,” came a familiar voice that definitely didn’t belong to her lady’s maid.

Gasping, she looked up and saw Toby. She made a futile attempt to cover herself. Why didn’t she think to go behind the dressing screen?

He headed over to her. “You’re bleeding.”

“It’s nothing,” she said and hurried behind the screen.

But he followed her. “It’s not nothing. You’re dripping blood on the floor.”

She groaned when she realized he wasn’t going to leave her alone. “It’s a gash, nothing more.” She held her wounded arm out to him while doing her best to cover herself with her other arm, and that really didn’t do much good.

He gently took her arm and studied the long gash that ran from her
elbow down to the middle of her arm. Dabbing the blood away with the sleeve of his shirt, he released his breath. “You’re right. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“No, it’s not. Now can I have my arm back?”

“Oh, of course.”

She took the opportunity to
try to conceal more of herself. When there was a knock at the door, she said, “That’s probably my bath.”

“I’ll have them bring it in.”

Before she could argue that she wanted him to get out of there so she could bathe in private, he was already at the door and telling the servants where to put the tub. She even overheard him telling her lady’s maid that he was going to take care of her. Her eyes grew wide. What was he doing? It wasn’t his place to wash her or help her with her clothes. But she couldn’t speak up and protest, not when the servants were on the other side of the screen.

After the servants
shuffled out of the room, he peered around the screen and waved her forward. “It’s all right. There’s no one here.”

“You’re here,” she managed to squeak. Sh
e cleared her throat, mentally cursing herself for giving away her apprehension.

“I’m going to help you wash the mud out of yo
ur hair and tend to that arm.” His gaze lowered. “Did you hurt your legs?”

“Bru
ises,” she muttered and hurried past him so she could get into the tub.

She’d been standing naked in front of him long
enough, and even though she did her best to hide her breasts and the other notable part of her body from him, she didn’t think she was doing that great of a job. She slipped into the tub and winced. The hot water was enough to sting her skin, but she would rather risk getting red than remain naked in front of him.

“The maids brought in soap and towels,” he said, though she thought it unnecessary since they did that every time she took a bath. “They also brought bandages
to put on your wound if necessary.”

She nodded and
got as comfortable as she could in the tub. She took a deep breath and brought her legs up to her chest. There. That was better. Now he couldn’t see so much of her. When she dared a glance over at him, he was rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

He picked up the bar of soap and dipped it in the water. He grimaced and shook his hand. “How can you stand water that hot?”

With a shrug, she muttered, “I was cold.”

“I suppose
. You’d have to be to sit in water this hot. I’ll look for a comb so I can take care of your hair.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. Didn’t he reali
ze she was naked? He didn’t seem to be trying to peek at her body. Maybe he was so concerned about her that he wasn’t paying attention to what was really going on.

“Is this comb good?” He lifted one of her combs from the vanity and showed it to her.

After a moment, she nodded. All right. So he wasn’t fully aware of what was going on. Either that, or he had no interest in seeing her naked, something she didn’t think possible after that kiss they’d shared at Lord Topylin’s ball. Even now the memory made her skin flush.

He brought the comb over to the small table by the tub and set it next to the towel
s. “Can I wash your arm?”

She held her arm out, and he knelt by the tub. He picked up the cloth and dipped it into the water. Then he lightly brushed it over her wound. She sharply inhaled. It might not
have been a deep wound, but it still stung.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be as gentle as I can,” he said then dabbed the water along the length of her injury.

She bit down on her tongue. When he washed it with soap, it was worse. But then he rinsed it off by pouring water from a small bowl on it, and she relaxed.

“Good. It looks like the bleeding is slowing down,” he commented.

He let go of her arm then knelt behind her. He took the pins out of her hair and set them on the table.

“I didn’t realize you were so adept at removing pins from
a lady’s hair,” she joked.

He chuckled. “They’re easy enough to remove, though,” he added as he set the last pin aside, “I can’t say I’ve ever done this before. You’re the first.”

Surprised, she glanced back at him as her damp hair tumbled over her shoulders. “Am I the first lady you’ve bathed?”

He had been reaching for the soap in the tub when she made the inquiry, and judging by the way he
grew still, she figured it finally dawned on him that she was naked.

Despite herself, she
chuckled. “Next, you’re going to tell me you’ve never been with a lady who had no clothes on.”

His face grew red while he pulled the soap out of the tub. “I haven’t, actually.”

She studied him to determine if he was telling her the truth or not and finally decided he was. The realization pleased her. She hadn’t thought any of the gentlemen chose to go without a dalliance of some sort before marriage, and it was nice to know he had.

She remained quiet as he rinsed her hair before washing it with soap. Then he rinsed it off again. He took his time in combing
her hair, careful as he worked through her tangles. It was a very soothing action, and she found herself relaxing more and more with each passing minute.

“Thank you,” she finally said.

“All I’m doing is combing your hair.”

“I know, but it’s the way you’re doing it. You’re being tend
er.” She cleared her throat. “You were tender when you cleaned the wound on my arm, too.”

“Oh,” he replied, sounding a bit shy.

This was the same gentleman she saw standing in the drawing room of her parents’ townhouse, practicing different ways to ask her if she was going to attend Lord Toplyn’s ball. He’d been unsure of himself, questioning what he was saying and how he was saying it. She’d found it so endearing. Since finding out about the wager, she thought he’d only been practicing what to say because he wanted to make sure she didn’t spend much time with Lord Pennella. But maybe it’d been as she first thought, that he had sincerely cared about her.

H
e had no reason to pretend to be someone he wasn’t now that he was married to her. He didn’t have to tend to her wound and wash her up, but he was choosing to do that. And in none of his movements did he indicate that he planned to take her to bed.

When he was done with her hair, he cleared his throat and stood up. “I’ll tell your lady’s maid to come in to help you get dressed for dinner.”

“You’re leaving?”

He stopped halfway to the door and turned toward her. “I wanted to make sure you were all right and help you get that mud out of your hair. I figure you can do the rest yourself, and your lady’s maid knows how to
help you with your clothes.”

Noting th
e way he shifted from one foot to the other, she offered him a reassuring smile. “Well, I can’t wash my back, and I’d rather not have my lady’s maid do it for me.”

He hesitated, as if he didn’t understand her meaning.

Realizing he needed a little more encouragement, she picked up the soap and held it out to him, sitting up straighter so her legs were no longer hiding her breasts. As she expected, his gaze went to them. Blushing, he quickly brought his eyes back up.

“You want me to wash your back?” he asked, the same uncertain expression on his face that he’d had before she found out about the wager.

“If you don’t mind?”

“No, I don’t mind,”
he softly replied.

He walked back over to her, took the soap, and knelt behind her. She pulled her hair over her shoulder. She chanced
a glance at him and saw the same gentleman she’d fallen in love with. This was the gentleman who’d made her feel as if what she thought mattered. The others had been so preoccupied with themselves, more concerned about what they could get from her instead of learning about who she was. But Toby had been different. He’d taken an interest in her. Maybe it hadn’t been an act. Maybe he had been sincere the whole time.

He washed her back, and it took her a moment to realize his hands were trembling. It was subtle but still noticeable.

“You have no need to be afraid,” she said. “I won’t bite.”

He let out an uneasy chuckle. “I didn’t say I thought you would.”

“No, but I can see that you’re not comfortable around me.” She cleared her throat. “I want you here.”