Redemption (18 page)

“Living
here?” Lizzie’s eyes grew round as her outrage flourished. “You
mean that Julian has brought his floozy home, to live here? In
Pendlebury House?”

“I am
afraid so, but that is of little consequence. As long as you don’t
intend to stay here, I don’t see why you should be affected by it.”
Ben rested his forehead against hers, savouring the precious feel
of her in his arms. “How long have you been back? Why did you not
come to me before?”

Lizzie
leaned back to look at him and relayed events to date. “I had a
letter from him a few weeks ago to say that he was in trouble and
needed me to come to London. Given how shoddily he treated me all
those weeks ago, I was determined to ignore him. My aunt suggested
I should just let him sort himself out and I agreed. Unfortunately,
the week before last, I received another letter that provided me
with a bit more information. Julian intimated that his problems
involved me. Whatever Julian is up to has nothing to do with me,”
she warned him darkly. “I am not here to help him out. I just want
to know what trouble he has gotten into, so decided to return to
London and find out for myself what was going on.”

“Do
they?” Ben demanded with a frown.

“Do they
what?”

“Do
Julian’s problems involve you?”

“Yes,
they do,” Lizzie replied thoughtfully. “Although not in the way you
think. My solicitor is dealing with the matter as we speak.
Hopefully, it will all be resolved shortly. Unfortunately, it means
that he is likely to be released from prison soon. I wanted to come
here to search the place to find out the truth for myself before
Julian landed me with any more unpleasant surprises.”

“But he
didn’t tell you about moving his mistress in,” Ben
murmured.

“No,
strangely he didn’t, but then it is his house. He made that clear
on the last night I was here. He can do what he likes with
it.”

“Don’t
let it bother you,” he whispered.

“I
don’t.”

Her
disgust at her step-brother was heavy in her voice. Ben mentally
applauded her fortitude and smiled gently at her. In that moment he
felt himself connected to her in a way that he had never felt with
anyone before in his entire life. There was something about that
spark of fire in her luscious blue eyes that made him want to
plunder her inner secrets and find out just how deep that passion
went. The memory of what they had shared in that folly on their
last evening together had haunted his every waking moment, and
driven the worst of his nightmares that she had been taken from him
permanently. Now that he knew for definite she was alive and well,
nothing was going to tear them apart again. Not while he had breath
in his body, no matter what scheme Julian was up to.

“So, you
came here to search the place before Julian got back?”

Lizzie
nodded.

“Then
let’s go,” he murmured holding his elbow out to her.

“You
will help?” she asked, aghast that he would willingly involve
himself.

“Of
course. From now on, where you go I go,” he declared firmly and
meant it.

CHAPTER EIGHT

She took
his arm with a smile, thrilled at not only being able to see him
again, but at witnessing his concern for her. His tenderness was
more than she had ever dreamt possible, and she was determined to
savour every second of it. She was startlingly aware this was the
first time she had been alone with him since the night of the ball
and was as delighted as she was awed by the prospect. She rather
felt that he too was remembering what they had shared on that
fateful evening before life had changed so much because when he
smiled at her there was a hint of intimacy in the gesture that went
far beyond them being mere acquaintances. She felt her cheeks blush
and quickly turned her gaze away before she did, or said something
rash and embarrassing.

“I hope
you have decided to return to London on a more permanent basis
now,” Ben said hopefully. “Given Julian’s confinement, surely there
is nothing to fear from him now?”

Lizzie
shook her head slowly. Deep inside she was more bothered than she
cared to admit at the thought of leaving London again, mostly
because it meant that she had to leave Ben behind – again. However,
the house in Derbyshire needed repairing and someone needed to
arrange the workmen needed to make the house liveable again. To do
that, she had to be with Patty in Derbyshire.

“No,
there is nothing to fear from Julian now. I just returned to London
to uncover his lies. I have so many issues to deal with at the
moment that I don’t quite know where to begin,” she said quietly
and told him about her part-ownership of Pendlebury House, and the
prospective ownership of Bristledown. “It is in desperate need of
repair.”

Ben
nodded thoughtfully. “That’s the Pinner family seat, isn’t
it?”

Lizzie
nodded.

“Is he
threatening you, Lizzie? Is that why you feel the need to go back
there?” he murmured gently. The urge to take her into his arms was
so strong that he found himself leaning forward. “I know he threw
you out, but surely he doesn’t expect to stay away now that he has
asked you to return to help him. If this is partly yours, you have
every right to stay here too.”

She
shook her head. “I know but it just doesn’t feel like home. I
wouldn’t settle even if I stayed here.”

“I can
understand that,” Ben sympathised.

“Can I
ask you something?” she asked as they left the morning room and
sauntered into the dining room next door. “Why did you call by here
if you know Julian is in jail?”

Ben
studied her thoughtfully for a moment before he drew them to a halt
in the centre of the room.

“I
thought I saw you earlier today. I came by here on the off chance
that you were back. I don’t know why but I just felt compelled to
see for myself whether you had returned but nobody knew it just
yet.”

He
didn’t tell her that since she had been gone he had chased many
wild geese and stopped a lot of innocent ladies in the street who
happened to look a little like Lizzie. He didn’t want to tell her
that he had gotten into the habit whenever he went anywhere of
scouring every inch of the streets for her. His heart had lurched
wildly when he thought he had caught sight of her from within the
depths of a carriage that had passed by him. By the time he had
turned around and retraced his steps the carriage had gone, and he
had been left to worry all afternoon about whether it was her or
not until he couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to come here and
see if anyone was home so he could to sleep at night.

Thankfully, at last, his instincts had been right. Lizzie was
indeed back and looking more beautiful than ever. There was
something deep inside his soul that felt everything fall into
place, and he knew now that this delightfully intriguing woman had
to become a part of his future.

He
couldn’t live without her; it was as simple as that.

Lizzie
tried hard not to stare at him. She had mostly only ever seen Ben
at parties, and in ballrooms and salons lit primarily by candles.
To see him in broad daylight only emphasised just how ruggedly
handsome his dark good looks actually were. The darkness of his
hair, in contrast to his wonderful deep blue eyes and chiselled
jaw, were simply captivating. She sighed in silent longing only to
wince when she noticed him looking at her as though expecting her
to speak.

“Lizzie,” he whispered. The word turned into a
groan.

He
couldn’t stand the distance between them any longer, and claimed
her lips in a very thorough kiss.

She
sighed and leaned into his arms in a way that was pure instinct.
Her fingers clung to his broad, heavily muscled shoulders, silently
pleading with him not to stop just yet. With everything ounce of
longing that had plagued her over the past few weeks, she copied
the gentle action of his lips. Her mind went blank as she gave
herself over to sensation but she didn’t care. This was Ben. The
man she had spent many weeks thinking about. Right now, she
couldn’t think past the wondrous sensations that coursed through
her that were so achingly similar to those she experienced in the
folly. This time though they were considerably stronger, driven by
the distance that had been forced between them over what now felt
like a lifetime.

“Ben,”
she murmured when he released her lips and began to place random,
teasing kisses down her neck.

“We need
to stop, Lizzie,” he replied, digging deep for his self-control. He
was overjoyed she was safe and well but, now that he had her back
he was determined to do things properly this time. While he wanted
to take matters further, and assuage the raw hunger that was
driving him to distraction, he wasn’t going to rush her. She was
too precious to scare with the ferocity of his desire. He knew that
if he didn’t proceed with caution he could scare her away forever
and the next time he might not get her back.

Lizzie
nodded. On the one hand she regretted him bringing the embrace to a
halt so soon. On the other, she was painfully aware that she barely
knew him even though she had already allowed him to take liberties.
If she continued to throw herself at him like this he was likely to
consider her nothing more than a wanton hussy.

“Let’s
go into the study,” she replied carefully stepping away.

He
couldn’t help it; he had to keep touching her and placed a gentle
hand on her waist as she walked beside him into the study. Once
inside the room he accepted the brandy she held out to him and
waited, as a true gentleman would, for the lady to seat herself on
the chaise, then he took a seat next to her as close as he could
possibly get.

Lizzie
was painfully aware of Ben’s proximity but made no attempt to move.
It was strangely reassuring to have his quite strength beside her,
and wonderfully soothing to her battered heart.

“Where
did you go when you left here?” Ben asked, struggling to keep his
emotions at bay. The last few months had felt like a lifetime; and
had profoundly changed him and the way he viewed life and his part
in it.

“I went
to my aunt’s house in Derbyshire.”

“Where
in Derbyshire?” He asked with a frown.

“Puddleton, in the Dales.” Ben had never heard of it but
committed the name to memory – just in case.

Ben put
his drink down and picked her hand up in his so he could hold at
least some small part of her. “What happened that night Lizzie? How
did you come to get thrown out of here?”

She
explained what had happened from the moment they had walked into
Pendlebury House on that awful evening. To her surprise, by the
time she finished she realised that she felt nothing but anger
about what had happened.

“You
should have come to me, Lizzie,” he chided, his voice filled with
hurt.

“I
didn’t think you would want to see me again.”

He
stared at her, unsure whether he had actually heard her correctly.
“How could you think that? Did you think what we shared that
evening meant nothing to me?”

“I-It
would be wrong of me to expect anything from you. I-I was aware
that you thought I was someone else,” she whispered.

Ben
frowned. “You thought I considered you to be someone else?” he
asked in shock. “Who?”

She
looked at him. “Melissa Bradwort.” She hastened to explain herself
when she saw the look of astonishment on his face. “Everyone
expected you to offer for her.”

“Really?” His brows lifted. This was the first he had ever
heard of it. “I have no idea where those rumours originated from. I
can only assume they came from Melissa herself because I have never
considered her as anything other than someone I hope to avoid as
much as possible. She is by far the very last person I should want
to spend any time with anywhere, let alone in a friend’s
folly.”

“But who
did you think I was then?” She mentally winced when she realised
she was being too inquisitive. “Sorry, I shouldn’t ask
that.”

“I
thought it was you, Lizzie. Nobody else.”

Her eyes
flew to his as her heart leapt with joy. “You did?”

“Of
course I did. Do you think I linger around follies in the hope of
capturing any stray female who happens to be wandering past?” Ben
snorted. “I know it was dark that night but I wouldn’t be that
reckless with my own future. Can you imagine what would have
happened if I had gotten caught with Mrs Crampton?”

Lizzie
grinned as the image of the rotund, middle-aged lady who was
avariciously searching for a new husband flew into her mind, and
grinned at the thought of her dragging Ben into the woods to seduce
him.

His
breath caught at the light that twinkled in her eyes as she tried
to smother her mirth. He shuddered theatrically and leaned toward
her, eager to encourage it and see more.

“I knew
it was you. I saw you leave the ballroom and step outside for a
breath of fresh air, and followed you across the
gardens.”