Grasso, Patricia (15 page)

After washing and dressing, Keely sat on the edge of the bed and ate the bread, cheese, and milk that had been left there for her. She looked up from her meal in surprise when someone knocked on the door.

"Enter," she called.

The countess burst in. Behind her walked the earl's majordomo.

Carrying a silver tray, Jennings marched across the chamber and announced, "For you, my lady."

A folded piece of parchment lay on the tray. Beside it sat a bouquet of Michaelmas daisies and violets.

Keely lifted the bouquet and inhaled its perfume. Then she reached for the note.

"In the language of flowers, violets are a token of love," Lady Dawn told her. "And the Michaelmas daisies mean farewell."

The earl was giving up, Keely decided. Was she relieved or disappointed?

The note had no salutation or signature. Written in a bold flourishing script were the words:
Hurting you was never my intent. Please forgive me.

The earl
was
sorry, Keely concluded. How much pride had it cost him to apologize to a bastard, albeit a noble one? Harboring a grudge was unthinkable.

Keely looked at Jennings and said, "Tell the earl my answer is yes."

"Very good, my lady." Jennings hesitated and then added, "The earl bade me tell you that he wished to apologize in person, but his injury prevents movement."

"Injury?" Keely and Lady Dawn echoed in unison.

" 'Tis his ankle," Jennings told them. "Sprained, I believe."

"You must visit the earl," Lady Dawn said to Keely, "and accept his apology in person, my dear."

Concern etched itself across Keely's features. "What is the earl doing for his sprain?" she asked. When the majordomo shrugged his ignorance, Keely said, "Tell the earl I will come to him at four o'clock and bring something to speed his recovery."

"Very good, my lady." Jennings left the chamber.

"May I ask Cook to prepare an ointment for the earl's ankle?" Keely asked the countess.

"What do you need?"

"A blending of swallow and peter oils."

"I'll take care of it myself," Lady Dawn said, then left the chamber.

Keely revised her opinion of the earl. The sight and the scent of the myriad love-in-a-mist bouquets cheered her. Richard
did
care about her feelings. His kindness and remorse proved that he was not a complete English swine. Apparently, the earl was a battleground for good and evil. She only hoped he wasn't beyond redemption.

By early afternoon, the sun had broken through the clouds. At four o'clock, as Father Sun was making his descent in the west, Keely left Talbot House and headed in the direction of the earl's mansion. In her hands she carried the bottle of swallow and peter oils.

As she slipped through the opening in the hedges and stepped onto the earl's property, Keely glanced across the manicured lawns to his gardens. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. Keely closed her eyes, quite certain she was mistaken, but when she opened them again, the startling sight was still there.

Three trees stood together like old friends. Keely recognized the shining whiteness of the sacred birch, the dark evergreen spikes of the sacred yew, and most sacred of all, the majestic oak. The rare sight of these three standing together nagged her.

Reaching for the memory, Keely pressed her index finger across her lips and closed her eyes. Then Megan's prophecy returned to her:

"Walk among the powerful, but find happiness where the birch, the yew, and the oak converse...."

Keely shook her head, refusing to believe what stood before her eyes. Her mother could not have meant she'd find happiness here. That was simply too absurd to consider. Birch, yew, and oak abounded in the millions across the breadth of England and Wales. Why, there had to be hundreds of holy places where the three most sacred of all trees conversed together! She could never find happiness with an Englishman. At first opportunity, Keely decided, she'd return to this hallowed site and worship. Perhaps on Samhuinn Eve.

"Follow me, my lady," Jennings said when she'd gained the foyer. He started toward the stairs.

"Where are you taking me?" Keely asked.

"The earl is abed," Jennings answered. "His injury prevents his coming downstairs to greet you."

Keely flicked her tongue out and wet her lips, gone dry from nervous apprehension. It was logical, she supposed. He'd sprained his ankle, else he would have come to Talbot House. After a moment's hesitation, Keely nodded and followed the majordomo up the stairs.

Clad in tight black breeches and an unbuttoned black silk shirt that left his copper chest hair visible, Richard was reclining on the bed when she walked in. His copper hair blazed like a fiery sunset, and his cool emerald gaze was as refreshing as the forest in springtime.

Keely felt like swooning at the sensuous sight of a pagan god sprung to life. She longed to flee the chamber, but it was too late. She raised her gaze to his and was caught by his intense emerald gaze.

"Thank you for coming, my lady," Richard greeted her as his man set a stool next to the bed and left.

"Call me Keely."

"Then you must call me Richard." The warmth of his smile could melt mountain snow.

Keely answered his smile with one of her own, then crossed the chamber and sat on the edge of the bed to inspect his ankles. Holy stones! The man even had beautiful feet.

"There's no swelling," she said. "Which one is it?"

"Both."

Keely looked at him in confusion.

"I sprained the right one," Richard explained. "Then I twisted the left trying to hobble upstairs."

"This mixture will help." Keely poured some of the oil into her hand and passed him the bottle. Lifting his right ankle onto her lap, she began to work the oil into his skin—his beautiful skin. What she needed was a diversion from what she was doing.

"Have you changed your mind about my cousins?" she asked.

"Perhaps."

Keely snapped her head up, saw his smile, and realized he was teasing her. "You stole too," she teased him back. "You kissed me without my permission."

"What I did in the study could hardly be labeled a kiss," Richard told her. "Besides, if every man who stole a kiss from a pretty girl were condemned as a thief, there'd scarcely be an Englishman alive." His gaze narrowed on her. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Keely remained silent, but the hint of a smile flirted with the corners of her lips.

"If you kiss me with passion now," Richard baited her, "I'll consider your cousins and myself even."

"Extortion is against the law," Keely reminded him.

"Let's begin a life of crime," Richard suggested, leaning forward. "Robbery and extortion could be our specialties."

Keely gave him a withering look.

"Well then, tell me about yourself," he said.

"There's nothing to tell."

"I have three older sisters," Richard told her, thinking she'd reveal more of herself if he did. "Kathryn is the oldest at thirty, followed by Brigette at twenty-eight and Heather at twenty-six."

"I always wished for a big family, especially a sister," Keely admitted. "Tell me about yours."

"My sisters tormented me without mercy and had absolutely no respect for a fledgling earl."

Keely laughed. "Do they also attend the court?"

"Sadly, none of them live in England."

"Tell me how they tormented you."

Richard cocked a copper brow at her. "Might you be looking for ideas?"

Keely smiled and set his right foot on the bed. She lifted his left foot onto her lap and began massaging oil into his ankle.

"Your name is quite unusual," Richard remarked.

"Keely
means 'beauty.' "

"Appropriate.
Richard
means 'powerful ruler.' "

Keely smiled at that. He did possess the arrogance of a king. "How old are you?" she asked.

"I became twenty-five on the sixth day of May."

"We are direct opposites," Keely told him. "You were born a stubborn bull, while I am a deadly scorpion."

"You're too delicate and gentle to be dangerous," Richard disagreed.

"Spoken with all the arrogance of a man." Keely set his foot aside, then removed herself from dangerous temptation by wandering across the chamber to gaze out the window.

Twilight's muted shades of dusky violet, deep indigo, and black velvet washed across the horizon. Dusk was Keely's second favorite time of day.

The fog off the Thames crept closer and closer to the house. The heavy shroud of mist clung to the earth like a lover.

"What do you see?" Richard asked, reclining against the pillows on his bed.

"Beyond the horizon," Keely answered without thinking.

"What excellent eyesight you have." Laughter lurked in his voice.

"Seeing beyond the horizon requires
heart,
not eyesight."

"The Thames is probably impossible to see through the evening fog."

"I see dragon's breath, not fog," she replied.

"Where's the dragon?"

"Nearer than you think."

Keely turned away from the window and realized with a start that the earl had removed his shirt. Mesmerized by the fiery copper hair covering his chest, Keely wished she had the courage to march across the chamber and run her fingers through it. Would those strands of fire be hot to the touch?

"Do you like what you see?" Richard asked in a husky voice.

His question startled Keely. Her gaze flew to his, while her cheeks pinkened into a becoming blush. Keely tried to think of a jaunty reply, but her mind remained humiliatingly blank.

"I really should be leaving," she said.

Richard nodded but fixed a pitiful expression onto his face and asked, "Before you leave, could you rub a little more oil into my ankles?"

Keely hesitated for a fraction of a second, then gifted him with a beguiling smile and returned to sit on the bed. She poured a bit of oil into her hand and began massaging his right ankle.

"Sunset is my favorite time of day," Richard said conversationally.

Keely looked at him in surprise. "Sunrise is mine. Dawn fills my heart with hope."

"Are you awake that early?"

Keely nodded. "I love to greet the dawn."

"Do you know that every sunset is different?"

"As is every sunrise."

Sitting so close that their bodies were merely a hairbreadth apart, Richard gazed at her upturned face. "Your eyes are the most startling shade of violet," he told her. "A man could lose himself in their mysterious depths."

Keely blushed and dropped her gaze. "Thank you for the flowers."

Richard gently tilted her chin up and waited until she raised her gaze to his. "You do remind me of a princess," he whispered.

Keely stared at him unwaveringly as his face slowly inched its way to hers. The sight of his sensual lips descending to claim hers made her heart flutter with anticipation.

Her eyes closed. Their lips met. His mouth felt warm and gently insistent on hers.

"So sweet," he murmured, his breath mingling with hers.

The intoxicating feel of his mouth and the husky sound of his voice made Keely melt. Strong arms encircled and drew her against the solidness of his body as her arms entwined his neck.

Keely reveled in these new and exciting feelings and returned his kiss in kind.

Encouraged by her ardent response, Richard deepened the kiss. His tongue flicked across her lips, which parted for him like a flower blossoming in the heat of the sun. In an instant, his tongue invaded the sweetness of her mouth—probing, exploring, tasting.

Keely shivered in his embrace as she surrendered to his masterful possession. Losing herself in his drugging kiss, she stroked his tongue with her own.

Ever so gently, Richard pulled her down on the bed. His lips left hers and rained feathery light kisses on her temples, eyelids, and throat. When his mouth returned to hers, his kiss was all-consuming.

Swept away on wings of unfamiliar yearning, Keely never felt him pushing her blouse and chemise down, baring her pink-tipped breasts to his heated gaze. Richard flicked his tongue lightly across one of her nipples and suckled gently, igniting the essence of her womanhood into a blazing inferno, sending flames of molten sensation coursing through her body.

Keely burned with white-hot desire. As if from a distance, she heard a woman's moan of pleasure.
Her own.
Beyond reason, she molded her young body to his....

As Keely succumbed to the earl's seduction, the Countess of Cheshire donned her cloak and left Talbot House. She strolled leisurely down the path to the stables, but before she reached the stableyard, she began to run.

"Tally, where are you?" Lady Dawn called. "Here!" The voice sounded from inside one of the stables.

Lady Dawn rushed inside. Duke Robert, Odo, and Hew were inspecting the hooves of one of his horses. This was even better than she had planned.

"I found this in Keely's chamber," the countess said, waving a piece of parchment in the air. "You'll be interested in reading it."

"Later, Chessy," the duke snapped without looking up. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The countess curled her lip at his back. " 'Tis important."

"I'm listening. Read it."

"Very well," Lady Dawn said sweetly. She opened the parchment and began in a sultry voice, " 'My dearest beauty.' "

The three men stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

Pleased that she had an attentive audience, the countess read with feeling: " 'Losing my temper was unforgivable, but can you fault me for wanting you in my bed forever? What we shared the other day was paradise. Come to me, my darling. I long to feel your silken—' "

"Where is she?" the duke demanded.

Lady Dawn fixed a frightened expression onto her face. "V-v-visiting the earl."

Duke Robert dashed out of the stable, with Odo and Hew hard on his heels. A smile of satisfaction appeared on Lady Dawn's face, and then she hurried after them. She wouldn't miss this for all the diamonds in England.

"You can't go up there," Jennings insisted, blocking the stairway as the three gigantic men tried to rush past him.