The Reluctant Suitor (6 page)

Adriana was convinced that he had plied many light-of-loves with similar persuasive reasoning. As handsome as he was, she could imagine that he had grown quite adept at swaying besotted young maids from the path their parents had urged them to follow. He did seem to have a way about him, and she could not fault any woman for falling under his spell, for she found to her amazement that her heart was not so distantly detached as she might’ve imagined it to be. Even his deep, mellow voice seemed like a warm caress stroking over her senses.

Shaking off the effects of his winning smile, Adriana took herself mentally in hand and reminded herself of what she’d likely suffer once the truth came out, at the very least the pain of his rejection. Better to remain aloof and save some minute portion of her pride against that coming day, she reasoned. “I’m afraid, my lord, that your lengthy absence has made us that very thing. Strangers we have become, and I fear there’s no remedy to be found in the space of a few moments or even a matter of hours.”

The tantalizing channels in his cheeks deepened as he offered her a smile that seemed every bit as persuasive as it once had been. “Will you not relent, Adriana?”

Staring into those darkly translucent eyes that had ensnared her own, Adriana felt as if she were being swept back in time to her childhood. As a young girl, she had absolutely adored Colton Wyndham. He had been the brother she had never had, a hero second only to her father, a knight more worthy than any of whom she had either read or heard. Then had come the fateful day she had learned he wanted no part of her. The question that remained was whether he’d react any differently today once he realized that nothing had changed during his absence.

Colton argued his case unrelentingly. “If you insist upon rejecting my plea, Adriana, then I’m left wondering if I must restrict myself to the stiltedness of addressing you in like manner. Considering the close ties of our families, does it not seem ridiculous that we should be held to such rigid reserve?”

“Far be it for me to presume upon your forbearance, my lord. Whether or not you adhere to a strict code of gentlemanly conduct is entirely limited to your discretion.”

“Ouch!” Colton feigned a grimace and clasped a lean, brown hand to his scarlet blouse as if denoting the place where she had wounded him. “I must confess that my conduct has not always been displayed in proper form, Adriana. Still, as much as I once deserved to be socially cut from your presence, I thought I had managed to learn a few manners over the years.”

“I wouldn’t know anything about that, my lord. You’ve been gone half your lifetime and most of mine.”

“Aye, that I have,” he admitted, “and though I had expected changes in my absence, I never once thought I’d have to be so confoundedly reserved with the youngest daughter of my family’s closest friends.”

“Your marquessate gives you leave to do as you please, my lord.”

Colton sighed in vexation and, leaning on his cane, folded his free arm behind his back as he gazed down into the face of the delectable beauty. “My dear Adriana, you look like something a lonely man far from home would dream about in the wee hours of the morning. Had I been able to store such a memory in my heart years ago, it would have surely given me hope in times of need. Your words flow so silkily from your lovely lips and, at the onset, seem as pleasing as the delicate scent of roses that clings to you, but alas, their sharp thorns prick my unwary hide, leaving me to wonder at this deep chasm I now find betwixt us. Can you not forgive the callousness of my youth? I would hope that I am a different man today than the boy I once was.”

Her hesitant smile was brief enough to seem terse. “If I appear rude, my lord, I suppose one could say I’

ve learned from my betters.”

Colton winced again, feeling as if she had just sunk her fangs into him. “Aye, I was rather rude to you back then,” he admitted in a hushed tone, “and for that, I must make amends. I never intended to hurt you, Adriana. You were an innocent, and I brought shame upon myself by wounding you as I did.” He studied her at length, saying nothing more until he became aware of a blush invading her cheeks. With a charmingly wayward grin, he stepped forward, once again invading the forbidden boundaries she had mentally erected around herself. Leaning his head near until his cheek almost brushed the brim of her top hat, he murmured above her ear, “But let me assure you, my dear, you have no betters. You have become a rare jewel, the very finest I’ve ever seen. The sight of you definitely makes me wish I hadn’t acted so foolishly and left home in such a fretful temper.”

Adriana’s head snapped up, and for a moment she searched those dancing gray eyes for what they would reveal. Thoroughly confused, she accused breathlessly, “You jest with me, my lord.”

Colton laughed softly, pleased that he had put to flight her aloofness. “Perchance I do, Adriana.” A long interval passed before he leaned forward again, barely breathing above her ear, “Then again, perchance not.”

Though Adriana stumbled back a step in sudden confusion and made a desperate attempt to respond in an intelligent vein as she opened and closed her mouth several times, she realized the futility of her effort, for he had disconcerted her to the point that she could manage no adequate rejoinder.

Colton reached out and, gently laying a hand alongside her cheek, placed a lean thumb across her softly enticing lips, stilling her attempts. “Have pity upon me, Adriana, I can bear no more holes in my hide right now. My wound has yet to heal.”

Turning from her without further adieu, he moved away, leaving the lady clasping a trembling hand to her burning cheek, that same cheek that his palm had caressed in a strangely provocative way before he had drawn back. In spite of the wayward racing of her blood, Adriana became certain of one thing. Colton

Wyndham had not changed one whit since his departure, for even now, with nothing more than a word or a warm touch of his hand, he seemed able to scatter her wits in a thousand different directions. He had done it countless times by teasing her when she was a child, and then, more devastatingly before his departure, by his angry refusal to entertain their future marriage. As much as Adriana would have denied her susceptibility moments earlier, she realized that he had disconcerted her once again, only this time by creating peculiar little bubbles of delight she couldn’t seem to hold in check.

Two

S
amantha, my dear sister, do you intend to do the honors, or must I introduce myself to your husband?”

Colton demanded with a chuckle. “Delay no longer. Acquaint me with this new member of the family.”

“Gladly!” Samantha replied with buoyant eagerness. Accepting her commission, she fell in beside her brother and considered his proficiency with the cane as they progressed across the great hall. “ ‘Twould seem you’ve become quite handy with that stick.”

Colton lifted his wide shoulders, casually dismissing his skill as anything worthy of praise. “ ‘Twas either that or trip over the blasted thing, and I wasn’t willing to endure
that
disgrace again . . .
or
the pain associated with a fall. I was enormously put out by the experience the first time it happened and became firmly dedicated to the idea that it shouldn’t happen again. So far, it hasn’t.”

Tucking her arm within the crook of his, Samantha stroked a hand over the scarlet fabric of his sleeve and was wont to admire the muscular firmness she felt beneath it. Heretofore she had thought her predilection in the area of men’s physiques slanted only one way, unequivocally toward the tall leanness of her own husband, which in truth bordered on thinness. But her brother’s physique definitely caused her to rethink her stance on the matter, for her former preference now seemed unfairly biased. Although Colton’s tall, broad-shouldered form was sleek enough to complement
any
garment, it was also hard and muscular, attesting to his immense physical prowess.

“Was this the first injury you ever suffered?”

A soft chortle wafted from Colton’s lips and seemed as pleasing to Samantha’s ears as a burbling brook.

The childhood memories of her brother, which she had stored in her heart as something immensely precious, had abounded with recollections of his warm, melodious laughter. Until this very moment, she hadn’t realized just how great a void that its absence had actually left in her everyday existence.

“Indeed, no, my dear, but it
was
the only one that ever became tainted. ‘Twas a very chilling experience indeed to come to the realization that I’d either lose my leg or die from gangrene poisoning, the initial evidence of which set me back upon my heels. It was my first
real
experience with fear. On the battlefields where I fought, there was always the chance I’d never leave them alive. The square formation, which Wellington often used, held solid in most cases, even against cavalry, but the outcome could never be predicted. Thus, I fought with every measure of skill and wit at my command to preserve my life as well as my company of men. I was too busy to think much about that cold, menacing dread called death, but it came upon me with devastating precision when I realized there was very little that could be done to stop the spread of tainted flesh other than chopping off a limb. In many cases, the amputation of a limb often speeded that event. My goading fear spurred me to try the good sergeant’s remedy in spite of how loathsome and foul it seemed. You see, maggots eat only putrid, not healthy flesh

—”

“Oh, please! I’m feeling sick! Say no more!” Samantha pleaded tremblingly as she clasped a handkerchief over her mouth. A distressing coldness swept through her as she was brought once again to

the realization of her brother’s narrow escape. “

However the cure came about, I’m immensely relieved it was effectual.”

The dark, manly brows flicked upward in agreement. “So am I, of that I can heartily attest.”

Samantha preferred not to dwell on what might’ve been had he not found the means to control the spread of the infection. Purposefully she changed the subject, for her own sake, as well as his. “Tell me, Colton, do you recall the Earl of Raeford?”

“Of course. Father and he were good friends, were they not?” At her nod, he continued, “Mother sent a letter describing your wedding soon after it took place. I assumed at the time that your groom was the younger of Lord Raeford’s two sons. As I recall, I was several years older than the elder brother, but I’

m afraid I missed the opportunity to become better acquainted with either of them while I was still at home since my own friends were usually here, demanding my attention when I wasn’t at my studies.”

Sweeping a hand toward the far end of the hall, his sister indicated the tall, sandy-haired man who, with the young woman upon his arm, had been the last to enter the manor. Presently, the couple were engaged in a muted exchange liberally punctuated with confident grins and coy, flirtatious smiles. “Stuart . . . or Major Lord Stuart Burke, as he is known in more formal circles, or even Viscount, if you prefer, is an honored guest of our riding party today. For that distinction, Stuart was given a choice of the area in which we rode. ‘Twould seem the rolling countryside is his preference. Adriana knows it as well as her own reflection, but I fear I’ve never been as adventuresome on a horse as she . . . or you, for that matter.

Going up a hill while sitting in a sidesaddle is bad enough, but coming down leaves me wondering if I’ll arrive at the bottom with or without the horse.” She smiled as her brother responded to her wit with amused chuckles, and then veered astray of the main topic long enough to interject, “It always puzzled me why, with your vast equestrian skill, you refrained from joining the cavalry, Colton, but, of course, that is now neither here nor there. You certainly proved your worth many times over in the infantry.” She patted his arm affectionately before returning to the original subject. “Actually, today’s ride was Stuart’s first since surgeons pronounced him fit to carry on with normal activities. It also happens to be his birthday, which we’ll be observing here at dinner this evening. Now that you’re home, ‘twill surely be a threefold celebration.”

“ ‘Twould seem I couldn’t have chosen a better time to return. Your planned events will allow me to get reacquainted with everyone, but, as yet, the only person I’ve been able to recognize since my arrival is Mother. She’s still as elegant as she once was. On the converse side of that, Adriana was definitely the most befuddling. Even after she told me who she was, I had difficulty believing it was true.”

Samantha giggled. “ ‘Tis a wonder she didn’t send you reeling for daring to take hold of her. Adriana can be quite standoffish when it comes to men trying to handle her. In the past she has come close to blackening the eye of many an overeager swain before Father banished them from her sight. I’ve seen them leaving here with their tails tucked between their legs. Once they regained their footing, however,

their hackles rose, and they ceased to be gentlemen, blaming her when it was really their fault for being so free with their hands.”

Colton rubbed the back of his forefinger across his mouth as he sought to subdue the grin that seemed wont to manifest itself. Had he known the identity of the beauty to begin with, he’d have likely been more cautious. Considering what she had managed to do to him, he’d have definitely had cause to reflect upon the possibility that she had been trying to exact revenge for past offenses. “Well, if you’re at all curious, she left me wondering if I’d ever be the same man again.”