Seduced Bride-To-Be (4 page)

‘And
you must be Mrs Thomas’s children’ he was speaking jovially to Dick and Nan.
‘Run to the kitchen and ask the cook to feed you. I’m not letting you go back
with empty stomachs.’

Mr
Norman Benson was a big loud man, with greying hair and red complexion
suggesting overindulgence. Now he pulled Dinah into a bear like embrace and
kissed her cheeks.

‘I
am glad you are safe and sound. And I hear that Hincks is going to be as right
as rain in no time. This Legrant fellow has taken good care of you, I hear.’

Only
too good, thought Dinah and managed not to blush under her father’s penetrating
gaze. She quickly drew the conversation into the horrors of the storm and
saying how she dreamed about a hot bath and that she absolutely had to change.

Her
father follow her into the house, a splendid, if somewhat overwhelming mansion
that he had built for himself and his daughter few years before. Dinah had
never felt really at home in it but would never admit it, dreading to hurt her
father’s feelings.

‘I
got a word from Lord Timsbury’ Mr Benson said. ‘Unfortunately, he will not be
able to join us tomorrow evening. His business keeps him at his estate in Kent
and he shall come straight to the ball.’

‘So
I will not even have a chance to meet him before?’ Dinah stopped in her track.

‘What
difference does one day make, my child?’ asked Mr Benson, not unkindly,
although there was a steely note in his voice.

 ‘None,
of course’ sighed Dinah in resignation as she went to her room, suddenly
feeling very tired.

But
the tiredness soon gave way to excitement. After she had her bath and was
taking tea with her father, Dinah could not help looking forward to the secret
meeting with Captain Legrant. The old mill was only a short ride away, hidden
in the woods, but she would better move on foot. Someone could hear the horse.
She would be much safer walking, although it would take her a good half an hour
of solitary stroll through the forest. But every real adventure involved an
element of danger. And at the end there will be Alex, waiting for her…

‘What
do you think, my dear?’

‘I
beg your pardon, Papa. I got distracted. I was thinking about Mrs Jenkins.’

‘Oh,
Mrs Jenkins, she knows very well rich sauces give her indigestion. She should
have been more careful about what she was eating for Saturday dinner. But it is
tomorrow’s menu I want to discuss with you.’

‘Oh,
of course. How many shall there be?’

‘Well,
the two of us and your aunt Grahams shall come from London with Louisa and
Henry. Then I invited Mr Ford. That is six of us plus Jane and David with Mark
and Clara. And, of course, Lord Timsbury’s sister, Amelia. She will come with
an older cousin, Lady Hornby.’

‘That
makes twelve. And too many ladies. Shall we invite the vicar and Doctor Grant
so we can have even numbers?’

‘Splendid
idea, my dear. I shall write to them immediately. As to the menu…’

It
was early afternoon when Alex finally came back to the hunting lodge. He had
had a busy day. The house was clean and tidy due to Mrs Thomas’s ministrations
and there was plenty of food for his dinner. Although he was hungry, he went
straight to the room he shared with Dinah last night. He left it locked, not
wanting Mrs Thomas to see with her own eyes the proofs to the suspicions she had
already held.

When
he visited her in the morning and explained what kind of help he needed from
her, she did not ask any questions. She simply set to work preparing breakfast
for Dinah, sending Dick to hire a carriage and horses and then to help Alex
retrieve Dinah’s belonging from the broken carriage. But he could see in her
eyes that she guessed how he spent the previous night. She was a sharp woman
but he knew that she would not breathe a word and, damn it, he paid her well
for it.

The
room still smelled of Dinah. Of the fire. And above all, of their lovemaking.
Alex closed his eyes as he lifted one of the blankets and breathed in the
delicate fragrant of roses mixed with the smell of their bodies. Only now did
he notice a bloodstain at the fur rag. He touched it and swallowed hard trying
to ignore his growing arousal. How is he going to wait till the nightfall?

Determined
to keep himself busy, he began methodically removing traces of last night’s
events. For the hundredth time he reassured himself that things would turn well
and that his plan would not backfire on him.

CHAPTER
5

The
sky was clear after last night’s storm and bright from the full moon when Dinah
stole through the quiet garden. She was wearing a dark cloak, not so much for
warmth as to make herself invisible among the shadows. Her heart was beating
fast from the excitement and from joy that she had finally managed to slip from
the house unnoticed.

She
had to undress and pretend that she went to bed and wait till past eleven
o’clock until, finally, all was silent. Then she pulled on a grey day dress
over her chemise and tiptoed down the stairs. It was late but she did not
worry. Alex wrote that he would wait till dawn. Still, she nearly ran through
the woods. The moon cast strange shadows on the path and the spring air was
full of mysterious noises, but Dinah was not afraid. She was going to meet with
her lover and it was all part of the adventure.

After
about half an hour she could see the silhouette of an old, ruined building and
the flicker of a bonfire lit among the crumbling walls. There was a horse tied
to one of the low branches.

Alex
was waiting for her!

She
called to him and could see the man standing up and moving fast towards her.
Within seconds she was in Alex’s arms.

He
lifted her and carried towards the fire, where he laid her on the soft, woollen
blanket. His hungry lips covered hers in demanding kisses, his hands pulled at
her clothes, freeing her from her cloak, dress and shift. Then he quickly
undressed himself.

‘I
was afraid that you’d not come’ he whispered kissing her white neck. ‘Were you
not scared alone in the woods?’

‘No’
she laughed burying her fingers in his hair. ‘I knew you’ll be waiting for me.’

As
Alex took her under the moonlit sky, he could not stop marvelling at the
extraordinary beauty of her body and the bravery of her spirit. This girl
belonged to him, confirming it with every kiss, every gasp of pleasure. He felt
her nails scratching his back as he drove her to ecstasy and his own excitement
exploded. She was his and he would not give her to anybody else!

‘Oh,
my darling!’ he whispered. ‘How do you like your new adventure?’

‘Oh,
it is all the adventure should be! The night, the moon, the bonfire in the
ruins and the hero’s strong arms’ she said dreamily. ‘But for you it must be
nothing new.’

‘What
do you mean?’ he asked sharply.

‘Oh,
I did not mean to say that you seduce dozens of girls into the woods’ she
rushed, blushing. ‘It is just that you are a soldier and camping by a fire
outdoors must be a commonplace experience for you.’

Alex
laughed, relaxing again, but there was a note of sadness in his laughter. If
only she had known how little adventure and romance was there in the war.

‘You
are right, it is nothing new to me’ he said slowly. ‘But never the
circumstances have been more pleasant.’

‘What
is it like, to live the life of a soldier?’ she asked seriously.

Alex
was touched by her tone. He hated talking about it, the memories of blood,
death and destruction too painful to want to bring them back. But keeping Dinah
firmly in his arms, so warm and trusting, he felt for the first time in his
life that he did not always need to escape from them. Perhaps they would be
easier to bear if he could get some of the horrors off his chest.

‘My
soldiering life is over’ he said slowly. ‘After I recovered from my wounds, I
sold out. I had had enough.’

He
could feel her lovely hand stroking his scarred cheek. He had not dared to hope
that any woman would ever bring herself to voluntarily touch his deformed face.

‘I
had a friend in the Army. His name was Charlie. He was like a little brother to
me. He got wounded in his stomach at Saragossa. I carried him from the
battlefield. He died in my arms crying for his mother.’

His
jaws clenched in pain. Dinah sat, wrapping her cloak around herself and placed
his head in her lap. Slowly, gently, she stroked his hair and let him talk.

‘After
that I became reckless. I risked my life unnecessarily and got myself a
reputation of a fearless hero. Then a blast tore my face and shoulder and it
sobered me up. When I woke up in a hospital, I felt grateful that I was alive.
I did not wish to die.’

‘I
am glad you didn’t’ she said.

They
remained silent for a long time. An owl hooted nearby. Alex looked at the light
white clouds drifting across the moon and for the first time in years felt
calm.

‘Has
there… has there been a woman in your life?’ Dinah asked cautiously.

Alex
closed his eyes. He could lie or laugh and tell that there were always his
mother and sister. For a moment he was tempted to tell her the whole truth but
he was afraid of how she would take it. He was not sure why she allowed their
intimacy. He would not admit even to himself that he was scared of her
rejection.

Eventually
he decided on telling only part of the truth:

‘There
was one, years ago. I admired her but I don’t think she even noticed that I
existed.’

A
dark cloud seemed to swallow the moon and Dinah shivered. Why did she ask him?
It was her fault for being too curious. In two days she would become engaged to
Lord Timsbury, so why spoil her short hours of happiness?

‘I
need to go’ she said reluctantly.

‘Already?’
he took her hand. ‘Surely, you don’t mind about one green girl that turned my
head so long ago? A man of thirty could hardly go through life without such an
episode in his past?’

He
was right! She laughed and shook her gloom away. Here and now nothing else
mattered except the two of them.

‘Don’t
go yet. I’ll walk you to the end of the woods in an hour.’

‘An
hour?’

‘Well,
that is more less how long we need to do what we are going to do.’ He grinned
at her throwing more wood into the fire. No battle scarred soldier anymore, but
her mysterious Highwayman again.

‘And
if you are cold’ he added ‘I know just the way to make you warm again.’

Her
laughter turned quickly into gasps of pleasure.

‘Will
I see you tomorrow?’ he asked when they kissed goodbye at the edge of the
woods.

It
was the dark hour just before the down. Dinah could hardly see him.

‘We
have got guests to dinner tomorrow. Lord Timsbury’s sister, my mother’s family,
my father’s sister, the vicar…’

‘Well,
if the vicar is coming…’

‘Oh,
stop it!’ she laughed. ‘But it will not be possible for me to meet up with
you.’

‘Even
for a quarter of an hour?’

‘A
quarter of an hour? I would need much longer to sneak out of the house.
Besides, I would not risk it, with all the guests at home and servants getting
things ready for the ball.’

‘You
do need to sneak out of the house, yes. But not out of the garden.’

‘What
are you trying to say?’

‘I
took a good look at your house and grounds today. Well, I was rather good in spying
on the enemy’s camps. Don’t forget you are dealing with the reckless Captain
Legrant. Anyway, there is an old garden shed hidden behind the trees at the
back of the house. I don’t know why your father does not get rid of it.’

‘Oh,
it is where old Mr Pool keeps his garden tools. Papa wanted to have a new one
built for him but Mr Pool would not hear about it. He’s been ailing recently so
no one has been using it.’

‘So
I gathered from my little espionage tour. Get an excuse after dinner to go out
to the garden. Alone. Fresh air and solitude to steady your nerves before
meeting Lord Timsbury. Everyone would understand.’

‘Alex!
I cannot. During the dinner party?’

‘What
is it? The spirit of adventure is leaving you?’

‘Do
not tease me. I cannot bear to think that I shall never see you again. But… in
old Mr Pool’s shed?’

‘Well,
I cannot think of a better place. And I want to see you again. We’ll just have
to be careful to keep away from his garden shears.’

Dinah
laughed again and made up her mind. Oh, damn it! she thought, in a very
un-ladylike fashion. If the rest of her life was going to be proper and boring,
she could well afford some madness on her last evening of freedom.

‘I
shall be there. What time should I come?’

‘Any
time when the coast is clear. I will be waiting for you. Trust me!’