The Lady and the Earl (29 page)

“Ha, she knows this land too well.  She’s been exploring it for years.  At least now she does it in style.  When she was younger, she was a mess,”
Lord
Tananguard began.  “Always traipsing around like the boys, coming back covered in dirt or mud.”

“Father, I don’t think
Declan
wants to hear about Allana’s past,” Connor
said
. 

“No, this is quite interesting. 
She told me a little once, but nothing since. 
Please go on,”
Declan
said
,
smiling and finally finding some relief from the frustration
s he’
d been feeling.  Finally, he would hear
more about
Allana’s
wayward
past.

*
             
*
             
*

Allana hurried up the stairs to her room with Lilly following close behind.

“Slow down.  I’m not as young as you, and I’m six months pregnant,” Lilly panted. 

“I cannot, Lilly.  I told him I would hurry.”

“T
hen I will meet you in your room,” came the reply as Allana rushed up the remaining stairs and down the hall to her room. 

She stripped off her clothes once inside, not bothering to close the door behind her, and put on dry undergarments.  She searched through her dresses, looking for something different, and found a light blue gown she couldn’t remember ever wearing.  It must have been one Lilly had given her years ago
on the day Allana had decided to become a lady. 
She’d
burnt all of her trousers, leaving her with nothing to wear.  Lilly had provided several lovely dresses for Allana
to wear
until
new ones could be made for her.  Surely this was one of them.

It was a lovely dress
fit for spring.  It had a squared neckline that would show off her sleek neck and short
er
sleeves that would be perfect for the warm spring day outside.  It was actually quite beautiful.  Why had she never worn it? 

“This will do
,” she said aloud, throwing the dress over her head and sliding it down into place.  She was fumbling with the ties in the back when Lilly finally arrived.

“You could have closed the door,” Lilly said in disgust as she closed it herself.

“Oh, Lilly.
  Please help me with this.  I cannot get the thing
fastened
,” Allana pleaded, ignoring Lilly’s comment. 

Lilly waddled over to Allana, purposefully taking her time. 

“Hurry, Lilly.
  I don’t want him to wait too long.” 

“Quit fidgeting, then,” Lilly scolded as she assumed command of the dress.  “You really
should
n’t seem so eager
.  M
ake the man wait.”  She nimbly fastened the dress and helped Allana slip a pair of matching slippers on her feet. 
“Oh my.
  You look absolutely marvelous.  I knew this dress would fit you perfectly one day,” she said, examining Allana when she was done. 

“You don’t think it’s too indecent, do you?”  The dress
flowed down her curves quite beautifully but
was snug around her bosom, cutting much lower than any other dress she owned.  It enhanced and exposed her
endowed chest
far
more than
she was used to.
 
Allana
frowned.  “I feel like I’m about to spill out of it,”
she
added while examining her reflection in her large, full-length mirror.  She tried to adjust the top a little, but without success. 
Hmm
, she thought.  It really was an exquisite dress, if only it wasn’t so revealing.

“I didn’t even notice, but if it makes you uncomfortable, we could find something else,” Lilly suggested.

“No, this will do.  I do
n’t
have time to find something else.  He’s waiting.”

Lilly rolled her eyes.  “Then go sit over there, so we can get that hair of yours to look somewhat decent,” she commanded, gently shoving Allana over to her vanity.  Lilly sat Allana down in the chair facing the mirror and began undoing the wet braid. “You know we have bathtubs.
I will never understand
why you insist on swimming in the river.”   

“I find the cool water to be quite refreshing,” Allana replied as Lilly pinned her hair up into a loose bun, leaving wisps of curls along her neck.  “Thank you, Lilly,” Allana said as she rose to leave. 

“Wait, I’m not finished,” Lilly tried to say as she gathered up an elegant pearl necklace, a pretty lac
e
shawl, and a petite day bonnet, but Allana kissed her on the cheek and rushed out of the room before Lilly could force her back into the chair.

Allana had
been true to her word and
been gone
only
a short while. 
When she entered
the room, t
he men stood and stared at her.  Each one wore a different expression on his face.  Connor’s was one of disapproval, her father’s was one that said he wanted to usher her back upstairs to change into something more decent, and
Declan
’s
was one of wide-eyed surprise.  It was his that caused her cheeks to turn crimson.

*
             
*
             
*

Declan
gaped at Allana in that gown which brought out her eyes and auburn hair.  The square neckline cut low, showing off her lovely, honey-colored skin and perfect…
.
He forced himself to look away from her endowed bosom
.  That would not do. 
He felt desire burn through his body. 
Damn girl,
he thought.  Did she torment him like this on purpose?  Tempt him with what he and she both knew he could not have?   

He cleared his throat when he realized he was staring and smiled pleasantly.  “Are you ready then
?” he
asked, thankful his voice sounded normal and didn’t reveal
the heat that had suddenly surged through him.

“Yes.  Thank you for waiting.” 

He held out his arm for her to take.  Everyone stared at them expectantly.  He heard Connor say under his breath, “Strictly business, aye?”   And for the first time since meeting Allana,
Declan
felt uneasy to be alone with her.  He was tempted to ask Connor to chaperone but knew it would sound suspicious.  He
didn’t
want Allana to know of his indecent thoughts
, s
o instead he smiled nervously to everyone, bowing politely.

“We will be back later,” Allana said to her family, not noticing
Declan
’s
odd behavior.

He sighed with relief.  For once it was nice having her take control of the situation. 
Aside from
their first day together, she
did
it quite frequently around her family, and throughout the week it had actually aggravated
Declan
.  He was the man; he was the one who was supposed
to be leading her around.  But today, like other days, he found her guiding him out of the sitting room and out of the house.   

They walked in silence. 
Declan
was struggling to control the raging fire he felt blazing through his body while Allana seemed oblivious to the matter, simply enjoying the beautiful weather.  Finally,
Declan
spoke.

“How are you today
?” he
asked conversationally.

“Well, thank you,” Allana said pleasantly.  “And you?  How have you been?” 

“As good as can be expected,” he replied. 
Considering the circumstances,
he thought irritably as desire continued to roll through his body.  He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman the way he did Allana right then.  Actually, it had been building all week.
  After Fredric had interrupted his last attempt at kissing Allana, Declan had forced himself to behave as a gentleman would.  He resisted the temptation to touch her in any way that might lead him to that desired kiss.  There was far too much time
before their wedding day
and far too many things that could happen between
the two of them if he gave in and
kissed her sweet lips.
  If he wanted to stay sane, he needed to keep his distance.
 

Today
that was proving difficult.  The
burning need to be close to her flared violently, begging him to end the agony within.  He wanted greatly to pull her to him for so much more than just a simple kiss, yet he still had five more weeks before he could even contemplate the idea.  He
needed
to push his desires aside and focus on something else. 

“How was your ride this morning
?” he
asked.  If he got her talking, maybe he could
be
rid of this raging madness within. 

“Lovely.  This time of year is always beautiful with the flowers blooming and the trees freshly budding,”
came
her sweet voice in reply.

“Yes, I would have liked to have been there with you,” he said a bit resentfully.  He still could
n’
t believe she
’d gone
swimming without him.  He would have liked to see her glide through the water.  Suddenly, he pictured her swimming naked and groaned within.  Why did he have to think of that?  The desires he was trying to suppress came rushing back
tenfold
. 

“I waited for at least half an hour, and you
didn’t
show,” Allana defended, bringing him out of his inappropriate thoughts.

“I
was delayed
.  My secretary
decided today was the day to discuss the details of the wedding.  Apparently, he could not wait until this evening or tomorrow to hear what things he was responsible for arranging.”  Of all the days, why did Johnston pick today? 

“You seem disappointed,” Allana said questioningly.

“Well, of course I am.  I have to leave for London the day after next, and I’m trying my damnedest to get to know you as much as possible before then.  And he picks this morning to stop by and demand information.  Why not tomorrow?  Not only that, but he droned on and on.  How hard is it to arrange
the church and plan a party?”
Declan
asked in exasperation.  He received her beautiful laugh in return that brought a smile to his lips. 

“Apparently it’s harder than either of us realize.  Lilly’s been crazed all week
already making plans for it.
  She keeps trying to get my opinion, but what do I know about
weddings or
parties?”
Allana replied with a huff. 

“You’re going to have to learn, for I’m
certain
we’ll have a few
parties
ourselves, love,”
Declan
said.  He hadn’t meant to call her
love
. 
It had simply
slipped out.  Not that it meant anything.  It was just an endearment
.
  Part of him believed that, but the other part was beginning to wonder how he truly felt about this
woman
by his side.  He
knew falling in love with her was possible,
but could it happen so soon? 

As the week passed b
y
, he began spending more and more time with her
.  At first it had just been the ride and a brief walk afterward.  But each day he seemed to find some excuse to stay and simply be with her.  She was enjoyable, and their conversations were actually enlightening.  She talked politics, horses, hunting, and
other pleasant
subjects as well. 
T
o be able to have such
diverse
conversations with such a stunning woman was heaven.  As his trip to London
neared,
his irritation and disappointment at having to go deepened. 
Before he’
d met her,
he had been looking forward to the trip.  Now he wanted nothing to do with it. 
Could
he be falling in love with this
woman
already?   

“Can I not enlist somebody else to do it for me, like your secretary
?” she
asked with a play pout.

Her words brought him out of his thoughts. 
“My secretary?
  He would love that.”

“So I suppose that i
s out of question,” came her disappointed reply.

“No, I was serious.  He would love that.  Your only problem would be his insistence that you help.”