The Reluctant Suitor (18 page)

Samantha had occasion to pass close in front of her brother, but, in doing so, was brought up short.

Peering at him rather strangely, she leaned near, sniffed, and then wrinkled her nose in disdain. “What in the world are you wearing, Colton?”

Somewhat confused, he hefted his cane in one hand, and with his glass clasped in the other, spread his arms wide as he looked down at his uniform. “What does it look like I’m wearing? ‘Tis the best I have until I fetch my tailor from London.”

Samantha giggled. “Why, Colton, I never would’ve expected you, of all people, to indulge in a ladies’

scent. If my nose hasn’t deceived me, I’d be inclined to say the scent is closely reminiscent of the one that Adriana is fond of wearing. In fact, I think the pair of you have used the same perfume tonight.”

All eyes turned upon the brunette who, with unswerving dedication, drained her goblet before placing it on a serving tray of a passing servant and accepting in its stead a fresh glass. Uncomfortable beneath the curious attention that had descended on her, Adriana carefully avoided meeting anyone’s gaze as she awaited Colton’s answer. Although she feared the shame that would descend on her if he proved callous, she had too much backbone to turn tail and run.

“Merely a mistake, my dear Samantha,” Colton murmured with a soft chuckle, “one that I had no time to rectify if I wanted to be down here for dinner at the appointed hour. Once I realized my bath had been permeated with the scent, it was too late to bid servants to bring up enough buckets of hot water to suffice for another one. Alas, I had spent too much time outside walking the dogs and was much in need of a bath to consider foregoing it. Frankly, I hadn’t realized anyone else had been using the bathing chamber near my old room or that some lady had been there fairly recently.”

Laughter rippled effervescently from his sister’

s lips. “ ‘Tis a wonder you didn’t come across something far more shocking than a vial of bath oil. For some time now, Adriana has been using those rooms if she has been riding and needs to bathe and change here for dinner. I’m sure it’s her fragrance you’re wearing this evening, but I must admit, I prefer to smell it on her, not you.”

“I’m in full agreement,” Colton avowed, casting a slanted grin toward the younger woman. “Although divinely alluring on the lady, it seems a bit sweet for my personal taste.”

“I’m relieved to hear you say that,” his sibling responded with a teasing smile as she flicked a glance down his tall form. “You had me worried there for a moment. Truly, the scent left me wondering what the war had done to you.”

Noticing that Stuart had approached and was now standing at his sister’s elbow, Colton stretched forth his hand to the man. “I’d like to join those who’ve already extended hearty wishes for your health and good fortune on this event, Stuart. May you enjoy not only this one, but many more birthdays in the years to come.”

The viscount responded with a wide grin and a hearty shake of the other’s proffered hand. “I didn’t have a chance to converse with you very long this afternoon, so before too much time has elapsed, I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to join me and a small company of my friends on a hunt, that is, if you’

re up to venturing out. We’d be delighted to have you come with us.”

Colton exaggerated a wince before shaking his head. “I must confess I still have some difficulty riding, as you may well understand, but I shall consider your invitation with considerably more enthusiasm once my leg is completely healed.”

“I had the same problem not too many days past,” Stuart confided as his own feigned grimace turned easily into a grin. “I’ve become rather loath to lie upon my stomach. For too long now, it seemed it was either that way or no way at all.”

The men laughed together over the hindrances they had been forced to surmount, those in the past and some that still lingered. As their amusement ebbed, Colton extended an invitation of his own to the viscount. “Now that you’re more or less in the family, Stuart, you must visit Randwulf Manor more often.

I’d enjoy hearing stories of the military campaigns in which you were involved.”

The viscount eagerly accepted the invitation. “I’d be delighted to share them with you and would be grateful if you’d reciprocate in kind. May I also say at this time that I’m pleased to know that you’ll be assuming the marquessate. Latham has his good points, but I’m afraid they’re far outweighed by his shortcomings. As for your sister and mother, they tried to appear gay and hopeful these past few weeks, yet it was evident to all concerned they were worried about you and afraid you wouldn’t come home.”

“I shall make every effort not to trouble my family in the future,” Colton avowed. “God willing, I’m home

to stay.”

“That calls for a toast,” Percy interjected as he laid an arm about his wife’s waist and, with his free hand, lifted a goblet high. “To the seventh Marquess of Randwulf. May he have good fortune and long life!”

“Hear! Hear!” Stuart cried, raising his glass aloft and saluting Colton in like manner.

Silently Adriana joined the toast by elevating her own goblet and was surprised when the darkly translucent eyes touched on her above a warm smile. For a moment, their eyes merged as her own delved into the depths of those glowing gray orbs. She could only wonder what was going through the mind of the handsome man, but when his gaze descended in a slow, sensual caress of her bosom and crape-clad form, she decided it would probably not be to her liking.

Averting his attention lest he arouse to a greater intensity the hunger still gnawing at his being, Colton murmured thanks to all and then, a short time later, shook hands with Stuart as the latter excused himself.

Following their parting, Samantha, Philana, and Percy briefly joined Colton to convey their own good wishes upon him. From the women, he received affectionate kisses and, from the younger man, a pat upon the back. Still, he was wont to glance fairly often across the room at the beauty who, with pinkened cheeks, sought to ignore his lingering perusals.

Stuart approached Adriana, bearing two glasses of wine and, with a smile, offered her one as a replacement for the empty goblet she had just set aside. “You’re looking extremely beautiful tonight, my lady, but from the way you were glancing around, I’d be inclined to say you were in need of another libation.”

“Yes,” she agreed with a valiant smile. “It has been a fairly eventful day.”

“One to savor for years to come,” the marquess volunteered as he limped near. The fact that Stuart had been perusing Adriana with more than casual interest for the better part of their sojourn in the drawing room had not escaped Colton’s notice. With slow deliberation he bestowed his own attention upon the brunette, remembering only too well how her wet, beautiful body had gleamed enticingly beneath the warm glow of the lamps. “I understand from Mother that we are all but promised, Adriana.”

Stuart’s mouth flew open in surprise, and he stumbled back a step. “Your pardon, my lord. I didn’t know.”

“Actually, I wasn’t aware of it myself until earlier this afternoon,” Colton admitted, not entirely sure why he slammed the door in Stuart’s face the very moment he noticed the major warming up to the idea of wooing the girl. When he still found the idea of a betrothal irksome, how could he come close to explaining the annoyance that had surged within him when he had seen the man approaching her? When had he ever felt even remotely possessive of a woman? That emotion had always seemed foreign to him

. . . at least, until this present moment in time.

“You needn’t fret that you’ve offended Lord Colton,” Adriana informed the viscount kindly before lifting a brusque smile to the marquess. Her eyes conveyed an unmistakable coolness as they searched those luminous gray depths. “You see, the truth is that Lord Colton has a choice in the matter prior to the actual initiation of any betrothal. A three-month tenure of courtship will see the way of it, yet, from past experience, ‘twould seem unlikely his lordship will be interested in solidifying the agreement since it was the very reason for his lengthy absence from home.”

“Even so, my lady,” Stuart replied in a muted tone. “I’m honor-bound to give him time to consider his windfall before pressing my own suit. All I can say is that I envy the man for the exceptional opportunity he has been granted.”

Smiling at the major, Adriana dipped her head in acknowledgment of his compliment. “Thank you, Stuart. I shall remember your kind words.”

As the viscount retreated, Adriana peered up at Colton with cool disdain. “Can you tell me why you found it necessary to tell Stuart that we’re promised when you know yourself that you have no real interest in courting me? Does it give you delight to chase away my suitors because of some claim that is at best nebulous? Have I done anything to warrant your spite?”

“Nothing that I’m aware of, my dear,” Colton replied pleasantly and offered her a confident grin. “But I saw no reason for Stuart to get his hopes up when there’ll be a span of three months ere we decide the matter. I shall allow myself at least that much time before determining whether there is hope for us,
if
my father’s predictions have some merit after all, or
if
I should negate the whole thing as ludicrous. Until then, my dear, I intend to be as protective of my right to claim you as I want to be. After all, the agreement allows me that privilege, does it not?”

“What could you possibly find of interest in a castoff collection of odd parts?”

Having had those very same words imbedded in his memory by his own remorse, Colton pressed a lean hand to his blouse. “Forgive me for that slur, Adriana. At the time, ‘twas said in rage and directed toward my father rather than at you. I didn’t know when I issued that cutting remark that you were sitting outside the room. I would never have knowingly hurt you. In any case, it’s far from the truth. Indeed, merely looking at you affirms my belief there is indeed a Divine Creator, for you are far too exquisite to have come into existence by mere chance.”

Her cheeks warmed at his praise, and feeling suddenly at odds with herself, she sipped her wine again, looking everywhere but at him. “Perhaps we should forget the past,” she suggested. “I find it rather troubling to remember the ire you once felt toward your father because of me. Though you may find this difficult to understand, I loved him, too.”

“Adriana?” Colton searched the dark orbs that finally lifted to meet his. “Have I your forgiveness?”

Although she hoped a meager smile would suffice for an answer, in the prolonged silence that followed she was certain his eyes searched hers to the very depth of her being. Unable to bear his inspection any longer, she inclined her head in a brief, consenting nod. “Yes, of course, my lord. You’ve actually had it for some time now. ‘Twas impossible to feel any resentment toward you when I was constantly aware of the danger you were in. You were the brother I never had, and I would’ve grieved nearly as much as your family had you been killed.”

His handsome lips curved in an angled grin as he stepped nearer. “After seeing you this afternoon all decked out in a riding habit and then, later, wearing nothing at all, I’m immensely relieved you’re
not
my sister. ‘Twould be ill met if I were to lust after a sibling the way I’ve been hungering after you since our meeting in the bathing chamber. I will be hard-pressed to forget the details of the flawlessness I saw before me then. Your breasts are fairer by far than any I’ve ever seen, and as for the rest of your beautiful body, I can only believe you are without equal.”

Adriana cleared her throat in embarrassment and took another lengthy sip from her goblet. A brief moment later, another long sampling drained the contents of the glass, and when Harrison passed, bearing a tray upon which fresh glasses of wine resided, she availed upon him to exchange the empty goblet for a fresh one. As the servant moved on, several more swallows seemed to give her enough courage to ask the marquess, “Have you become a fair judge of naked women since you left home, my lord?”

Colton’s lips twitched in amusement as he braced forward on his cane. “Of those I’ve seen, my dear,

you are far and away the most exquisite.”

“Well, thank you for that,” she said dryly, briefly flinging him a glance.

“As for what your experiences have been, I would assume from your shocked expression in the bathing chamber that I was your first.”

“I would hardly boast about such encounters were you wrong, sir,” Adriana retorted, feeling fairly faint.

Once more inundated with detailed images of his male nudity, she quaffed the wine again, feeling much in need of its lulling effect.

Noticing how the crystal goblet shook in her slender hand, Colton searched the lady’s eyes for barely an instant before the dark orbs went chasing off in another direction. Smiling, he leaned forward to speak over her ear. “The sight of my nakedness didn’t frighten you, did it?”

“No, of course not,” she denied in a frantic rush, staggering back in an effort to put some distance between them. Her retreat was necessary to cool her burning cheeks and to ease to some small degree the unruly pace of her heart. “Why should you think it did?”

Colton curbed a grin. “Because you’re trembling, Adriana, and probably thinking the worst. Believe me, after the rending of your virginity, you will be amazed at the pleasure to be found in the arms of your husband. Should my father’s desires come to fruition, I can promise you such delight as you’ve never before imagined.” He watched her take another nervous sip and bent over her ear again. “If I’m allowed to be plain spoken on another topic, Adriana, I’d say you’re becoming increasingly inebriated. Truly, you needn’t be distressed by what you’ve seen. Making love can be just as enjoyable for a woman as for a man.”