Beatrice (21 page)

“You are
aware of the attraction between us,” he argued, even though she had
yet to speak. “Neither of us can deny it is there. I have wanted to
get to know you from the second I first saw you in Tipton Hollow.
To be honest with you, I followed you after service last Sunday,
just to be able to find a way to speak to you. While I am sorry
that you were injured, at least something good came out of it. Not
only did I manage to get you to talk to me, but I came to your
rescue as well.”

“I am
glad that you were the one who came to my rescue,” Beatrice
admitted softly. “Although I could have done without the injury, I
cannot think of anyone I would have liked to rescue me more. I just
hope that you don’t make a habit of it.”

“Talking
to you?” Ben scowled dramatically.

She
smiled and rolled her eyes. “Rescuing me,” she sighed. “I have to
admit that I felt a fool for being so helpless.”

“You are
no fool, Beatrice,” he assured her.

To his
consternation, he watched her pack the left-overs back into the
basket, and wondered if she wasn’t ready to acknowledge the
prospect of a future together yet. It irked him a little that she
was clearly uncomfortable discussing matters so close to her heart,
especially with him. He wanted her to feel as though she could talk
to him about anything, whenever she wanted; even her deepest and
darkest feelings.

Beatrice
closed the lid of the basket and sat back to finish her wine. She
was aware that Ben had moved to sit right beside her, but kept her
gaze firmly locked on the river.

“I want
you to know that I am happy to slow the progress of our
relationship a little, if that is what will make you more
comfortable. The last thing I want is to push you into anything you
are not ready for. I want to assure you that, now I have you in my
life, I am never going to let you go, Beatrice. As far as I am
concerned, our future lies together; as man and wife.”

“I am
just not used to this kind of thing, Ben, that’s all. I am glad
that you want to see me again; of course I am. It is just that we
hardly know each other,” she sighed. “So much has changed in the
past week that I don’t know what to make of it all. I just need
things to settle down a little before I make any decisions about
anything. My life has gone from being boring and predictable, to
downright chaotic. While I would feel considerably better if I
never saw that plant again, or any of the men involved with
creating it, all of this has made me realise just how much I am
missing out on in life.”

“Now
wait a minute,” Ben gasped. He dropped his glass onto the grass
beside him and turned to face her. “I hope you are not getting used
to all of this espionage and subterfuge? I don’t mind it for a
little while, but if you even think for one second that you are
going to find another mystery to keep yourself occupied with when
this is all over, then you really will have to think
again.”

Beatrice
stared at him with eyes that were tinged with just a little bit of
disquiet. “I make my own decisions on what I do in life, Ben,” she
replied quietly, but firmly. “I am an independent woman who makes
her own choices in life. All I am trying to say is that I don’t
think I am suited to marriage,” she added with a frown.

She
wasn’t sure what was wrong with her. Her was a man; a dark,
passionate, caring man, who was offering her everything she had
ever wanted. Yet all of a sudden, she had doubts. She had no idea
where they came from; or how to get rid of them; they were just
there, and refused to be ignored.

Ben
snorted disparagingly. “There has never been any woman more suited
to marriage than you, Beatrice. You are kind, generous, caring,
considerate, passionate, loving. You would make an excellent
mother, and perfect companion. I have the strongest suspicion that
life with you could never ever be considered boring in any way,
shape or form.”

She
looked frankly at him. “My life has been boring, Ben.”

“That is
because of your circumstances. Those are changing around you as we
speak. Marriage won’t stop you continuing to change things until
you establish the life you are happy with,” he assured her. “You
will never find out what you want if you don’t take chances. I know
that you have the Circle, your friends, and the house to run. That
alone is more than enough for any woman to contend with. However,
you are an intelligent young woman who needs stimulation, and
something to think about. While I cannot provide you with another
mystery to solve, we are both in a financial position that will
enable us to explore the country a little, if not the world around
us. There is nothing to say that marriage will confine us to the
house. I, for one, do not want a biddable wife who will put dinner
on the table each night, but will be bored stupid doing it. I want
someone to share my life with; someone who will walk by my side.”
He picked her hand up in his and interlaced their fingers. “Hand in
hand.”

She
shivered as the warmth of his hand encased hers, and she stared at
him as she listened to his impassioned speech and felt her heart
expand beneath her breast.

“I want
someone who will walk with me, Beatrice. I don’t expect to drag you
through life telling you want to do with your days. Walk with me,”
he urged in a husky whisper.

She knew
he was laying a golden carpet beneath her feet, and she would be a
fool if she refused to walk with him along it. He was everything
she had ever wanted, and more besides. In spite of their short
acquaintance, she knew that this was right.

“Ben,”
she whispered in a voice that was laden with tears. She didn’t move
when his head dipped toward hers, and sighed when her lips were
captured in a tender kiss that robbed her of all
thought.

Her sigh
of acceptance was all he needed to hear, and he slowly eased her
backward until she lay on the blanket. He leaned over her without
releasing her lips and tilted his head this way and that as he
sipped from the honeyed nectar of her mouth. She didn’t protest;
she couldn’t, and merely clung to his jacket to hold him in place
while she accepted the prospect of their future
together.

“A’ternoon.”

Neither
of them had heard the rumble of farmer’s cart until it was directly
beside them. Ben lifted his head and watched the carriage wheels
roll past before he lifted his gaze to the farmer, who nodded at
him and turned to face forward as though riding past a couple
locked in a passionate embrace was something he encountered every
day.

Ben
looked down at Beatrice and grinned at the fiery blush that stained
her cheeks. While he cursed his folly at having kissed her in such
a public place, he was glad that he had taken the opportunity to at
least get her to think about a future with him.

“Do you
think that one day we may be able to do that without being
interrupted?” Beatrice asked as she sat up and primly began to push
her hair back into place.

Ben
grinned at her and downed the rest of his wine. “We are going to
have to start to lock ourselves into the house, I
think.”

They
quickly packed the rest of the picnic things and folded the
blanket.

“Thank
you for this, I really enjoyed it,” Beatrice said quietly as they
walked hand in hand back to the carriage.

“I am
glad, darling. It has been really rather wonderful, if I do say so
myself.” He nodded to the sky overhead, which had started to darken
ominously. “However, I think that the best of the day is over if
that heavy raincloud follows through with its threat.”

Beatrice
looked at the rain clouds and shivered as she climbed aboard the
carriage. “Do you think we will get home before it starts to
rain?”

Ben
climbed aboard and guided the horse back onto the road. “We should
do, but we have been in caught out in a storm before so at least
know what to expect. At least we are not on horseback this
time.”

Beatrice
rolled her eyes. “You are not going to let me forget that are
you?”

He
grinned at her. “Well, it is a rather defining moment in our
relationship, my darling. If I hadn’t happened along that
particular stretch of road, at that particular moment, we may never
have met.”

She had
to agree with him, and settled back in the seat in contented
silence.

Once the
horse was on a straight part of the lane, he leaned into the back
of the carriage and draped the picnic blanket across their legs.
Now that the sun had disappeared, the temperature had started to
drop rapidly and, although she wasn’t chilled, she was not as warm
as she had been on the picnic blanket earlier.

Beatrice
snuggled beneath its heavy warmth with a sigh, and leaned up to
place a gentle kiss on his jaw, deeply touched at his consideration
of her.

“What
should we do now?” She sighed as she rested her head against his
shoulder. Her smile grew dreamy when he kissed her
forehead.

In spite
of the pleasurable day, her mind refused to settle. “I have to say
that I don’t think you will be contacted by Richard
Browning.”

“I know,
I completely agree,” Ben acknowledged with a sigh.

“I don’t
ever want to go back to his house.”

“I think
it is a waste of time to go back there. We have to go and see the
last man on the list, Bernard Murray, and see what he has to say.
He lives in Tipton Hollow. Why don’t we look at doing that
tomorrow? We can call in at Harriett’s for tea while we are
there?”

“If the
weather is nice, we can walk into the village,” she suggested.
“That would be nice.”

Ben kept
quiet. The last thing he wanted was for Beatrice to walk anywhere.
After all, the last time she had been on foot, she had nearly ended
up beneath carriage wheels. However he kept his thoughts to
himself, although hoped that it would rain tomorrow.

“How
about if we walk, cut through the woods and call in at my house on
the way? You can then see to the plant, and we can go on to the
village from here.”

Beatrice
smiled at him and nodded. She had never been to Ben’s house before,
and had to confess that she was really rather intrigued to know
what it was like.

For the
next half an hour they exchanged desultory conversation about their
respective homes, their past, and their families. It was difficult
for Beatrice because it stirred up so many memories that she would
have preferred remained hidden. However, as soon as she had told
him about her rather nondescript childhood, turned on its head by
the abrupt death of both of her parents from influenza; she started
to feel a little better about the past. She had no idea if it was
down to the fact that she had talked about it, but her childhood
suddenly didn’t seem to hurt so much. As she spoke, she felt as
though she was talking about someone else’s life. It was a little
odd really, although not entirely unwelcome.

In
contrast, Ben’s childhood had been filled with a large family of
extended relatives who were still scattered all over the country.
If he needed any of them, they were close enough to contact
relatively easily. However, they lived far enough away to enable
him to live his own life without their interference, and that was
just the way he liked it.

She, on
the other hand, really had nobody other than Maud. Although she had
asked her uncle several times about her own extended family,
Matthew had informed her rather vaguely that there were some
somewhere, only he couldn’t remember where. When she had pushed him
for more information, he had mumbled something about finding the
details before he had disappeared into the study. Unfortunately, he
then appeared to have promptly forgotten all about their
conversation.

As a
result, she still didn’t know if he had just been trying to pacify
her, or had honestly forgotten, or just didn’t want to tell her
that there was nobody other than the two of them.

“Watch
out!” She screamed suddenly when a huge black carriage suddenly
appeared in the lane beside them.

Ben
swore loudly and tried to pull back on the horse’s reins.
Unfortunately, the horse was spooked by the huge black beast
thundering past so closely, and began to fight the restriction of
the reins in a desperate attempt to break free.

Ben
threw Beatrice a dark look. “Hang on to something.” His warning was
cut short when the horse suddenly yanked his head down and began to
charge after the large black carriage, which was now barrelling
swiftly down the road in front of them.

“Jesus,”
he snarled and began to saw on the reins in an attempt to force
their horse to stop.

“Ben,
what do I do?” Beatrice cried. She threw a wild glance at the
hedgerow as it rushed past in a horrifying whirl, and tightened her
hold on the seat beneath them.

At the
speed they were travelling, the carriage could tip over and they
would almost certainly die. She began to pray.

“Brace
yourself,” he bit out when the carriage in front of them tipped
onto two wheels as it sped around the corner and disappeared from
sight.

“Ben!”

As they
reached the end of the road, the horse tried to head in the same
direction as the black carriage, but Ben was determined, and braced
himself as he drew back on the opposite rein. Confused, yet equally
determined to get its own way, the horse danced around as it fought
for supremacy. It trotted, then tried to break into a canter, but
couldn’t get its head free so it could surge forward as it wanted
to. Thankfully, it was enough to slow them down. Although they were
going faster than Ben wanted, they were at least able to make it
around the corner in one piece.