"Well, I can see that I will only be in the way here. I shall leave you two ladies to your business and wait outside." After politely inclining his head to Mrs. Stevenson, Richard stalked from the house.
Brianna uneasily watched his retreating back. The fond feelings the colors brought her disappeared. She had expected his anger, but being faced with it proved much harder than she thought.
"Are you all right, my lady?" Mrs. Stevenson inquired, concern creasing her brow.
"I'm sorry. I suppose I'm lost in thoughts." Brianna forced a smile. "I have made my selections. These two are perfect."
"I agree." Mrs. Stevenson took the two squares and nodded her approval. "Would you care to choose the trim for the patterns we discussed?"
"I'll leave that to your discretion."
Part of her wanted to stay and select anything she could in order to delay facing Richard, but she didn't want to take the chance. Although he may need the time to cool down, she decided forcing him to wait outside would not obtain the desired effect.
"I assure you, it will be exceptional," Mrs. Stevenson guaranteed, while collecting the remainder of the fabric samples. "Would you and Lord Stonemede like to stay for tea?"
"Perhaps another time. I believe Lord Stonemede is anxious to return home."
"I understand. I'll get to work on your garments promptly. They will be prepared long before your guests are scheduled to arrive."
"Thank you," Brianna replied, forcing herself to her feet.
She followed the seamstress to the door while preparing her argument in case Richard confronted her immediately. Once outside, she noticed his stallion, Riley, tied to the back of the wagon, but Richard was nowhere in sight. Taking a deep breath to calm her tight nerves, she stepped closer to the wagon. He could not be far, and she imagined he would not be long either.
"Thank you again for making the trip here," Mrs. Stevenson said.
"It was a pleasure, as was your hospitality."
With a cheery smile, the seamstress disappeared inside her house. Brianna searched for Richard. He could not be found on the other side of the carriage, or down the road. She debated untying Riley and taking the wagon back to the manor, but decided it would only increase Richard's wrath. Giving up, she climbed into the wagon and took hold of the reins, prepared to wait.
"Going somewhere without me?" Richard asked as he exited the house next to Mrs. Stevenson's.
Her mouth dropped open at his assumption. She hoped he didn't truly believe she would leave him with no way of returning home.
"Of course not. I'm waiting for you as you did for me."
"That isn't the way it appears from here," he informed her, striding forward.
"Be reasonable. What could leaving you here possibly gain me?"
"Time."
The one word gave her chills, but she refused to respond. Although her trip to the seamstress was not successful in proving she could take care of herself, her point was still valid.
His eyes never left hers as he climbed in beside her and took the reins out of her slack hands. Without a word, he flicked the reins and turned the wagon back to Stonemede.
She wanted to start the conversation so they would be finished before they reached the manor, but after judging his mood, she changed her mind. His lips were drawn in a tight line, and his gaze never wavered from the road.
Seeing Richard navigate down a side path, she let out a sigh of relief, and allowed herself a small smile. Even knowing he planned to yell at her without being overheard, she still could not bring herself to be upset at the prospect of seeing more of the land.
After he pulled the wagon to a halt, Brianna sighed in amazement at the beauty surrounding them. The field was green, alive, and covered with different varieties of wild flowers. A cool stream trickled by, filling the air with its crisp freshness.
Not waiting for his help, she jumped down and walked across the soft grass. She wanted to lose herself and become part of the beauty before her. Working hard to take in every aspect of the scenery, she committed it to memory in order to draw upon it later when she was alone with her canvas. Unable to keep the pleasure off her face, she turned back to see Richard watching her closely, a small half-smile on his lips.
"This place is incredible," she breathed, unable to gain control over her exuberance. She knew his purpose for bringing her here didn't include her enjoyment.
"I must have pictured you here a thousand times, and I must say, your reaction does not disappoint."
"I'm happy to please you, my lord." She shifted uncomfortably, unsure of how he wanted her to act. He stood completely still with his gaze firmly fixed upon her. She could not discern what he was feeling or what he expected of her now.
"Come here," he demanded.
Not wishing to upset him further, she took the few steps until she was within his arms reach.
"What do you want of me?" she asked.
"Tell me why you disobeyed me."
"As I told you, I don't wish to undertake anything dangerous. I was perfectly safe visiting with the seamstress. Since you didn't want to listen to my reasoning, I decided showing you was the only solution."
"You were safe this time, but what would you have done if the mare threw a shoe? Do you have any idea what walking the entire way back would do to you or our child?"
"I can't imagine walking would cause any damage, and, besides, the odds of that occurrence are very slight," Brianna retorted. If he intended to keep her captive due to ridiculous excuses for the next six months, he would not like the results.
"There are countless other incidents that could occur as well. Regardless, you are never to disobey me again, under any circumstances. The next time I will not be so generous. Do you understand?"
"What if you are being unreasonable?"
"Enough," he bellowed, then took a deep breath. "You will not disobey me again."
"Yes, my lord," she acceded, feeling the bitterness well up inside her.
"See, that was not so hard." He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. "I'm only looking out for your well-being."
Brianna tried to shrug from his grasp, but his arm wrapped around her and held her in place. She knew he could see defiance shining in her eyes, and she took pleasure in the tightening of his jaw. His eyes narrowed, and he held her tight against him before claiming her mouth. Theirs was a struggle for supremacy, and she was certainly not going to lose.
Once his hands slid down her back and cupped her bottom, she realized he intended to play dirty, and she would not win this battle. Desire sprung from her anger, filling her body until she no longer cared about obtaining control. Everything faded into the background as they fell onto the cool grass. Her last coherent thought was how pleased she was that her disobedience could bring about such a reaction.
Chapter 17
Richard wiped the perspiration from his brow and gratefully accepted the offered glass of water. The old footbridge had become so rotted with age it had collapsed, nearly causing a farmer to lose a horse and a cart full of vegetables.
Immediately, he and several of his tenants had begun working to repair it. Once they had finished their task, someone mentioned several other bridges in similar states of disrepair, so they continued along to fix those as well. The physical labor, although tiring, did good to help ease Richard's anger at Brianna.
Yesterday, he had not planned to take it easy on Brianna, but after seeing her enjoyment of one of his favorite places, all thoughts of retribution fled from his mind. It was the very location he envisioned her being for so long. She was so sweet and loving. He let her go with no further punishment.
Irritation still plagued him at how easily she had escaped from Stonemede in the first place. Since he had already notified the servants that they needed confirmation from him before allowing Brianna to leave the manor, this should not have happened. Now he faced another unsettling choice. Deciding if he honestly wanted to lower her position even further in the servants' eyes by having a footman shadow her every step.
The idea of bending her to his will had never been something he took lightly, and he had known it would be a difficult chore. However, at the time, he anticipated her having at least a small amount of fear for her safety.
"We have done good work today, my lord," Reginald Thornton proclaimed, surveying the bridge with a satisfied smile on his lips.
"We were able to accomplish a fair amount of work in such a short period of time." Richard clapped the man on the back. Although not a young man, Reginald was one of the hardest workers Richard had ever known. Having such a man as a tenant was an honor. After joining him for a respite, Richard realized his tenant held the answer to his problem.