The Dangerous Lord Darrington(32)

Beth squeezed her hands together.

'If there is a connection, then do you think … might it have some bearing on Simon's case, too?'

'It's possible,' agreed the earl. 'But we should not get too far ahead  of ourselves. First we have to find the lady. If our theory is correct,  she may have alighted anywhere along the stage route between here and  Southampton. It will mean slow going, we will need to make enquiries  regularly.'

'I know that.' Beth nodded. 'She could well alight at any crossroads and we may miss her altogether.'

'We shall see.'



It was easy enough to follow the route of the stage and whenever they  reached an inn the earl stopped and ordered refreshment. His easy manner  and generous payments encouraged his hosts to answer his seemingly  casual questions about whether anyone had alighted from the stage that  morning, or if there was a gentleman living in the vicinity with a  French wife.

Beth admired his methods, but she would have liked to take a more  active part in their search. She had been her own mistress too long to  enjoy sitting quietly and allowing the earl to take command. Indeed, she  found Lord Darrington far too masterful. Sitting beside him in the  curricle, she was all too aware of him: conscious of his solid, muscular  frame when their bodies occasionally collided with the jolting of the  carriage, watching his hands as he deftly controlled the reins and  remembering how they felt against her body. She dared not allow herself  to dwell on that, for it made her go hot and cold; instead of keeping a  proper distance, she wanted to shrink closer to the earl, to lean  against him and draw comfort from his presence.

That would not do, of course. He would misinterpret her wish for  comfort and think she wanted more from him. Which she did not, she told  herself firmly, rigidly maintaining a gap between them on the seat. She  would have to be extremely careful: she had no maid with her; there was  not even a groom to act as chaperon. It had been foolish to set off on  this wild chase with only Lord Darrington for company, but she argued  with herself that if she had not done so they might have lost their  chance to find Madame de Beaune. She squared her shoulders. She was a  respectable widow and over the years she had learned how to dampen the  ardour of any man who became too familiar. If necessary she would use  the same tactics on the earl. The rebellious voice in her head mocked  her, reminding her of how little success she had had so far in keeping  the man at bay.                       
       
           



       

That was different, she told herself crossly. Then I was unprepared. Now I know my weakness I will be able to guard against it.

'You are very quiet, Mrs Forrester. Are you tired?'

She started. Just the sound of his deep, mellow voice sent her nerves skittering uncontrollably. Beth pulled herself together.

'A little,' she replied, pleased to find her voice was quite calm. 'It  seems all I have done since we left the White Bear is to drink cups of  ale or sweet wine. I vow I do not think I could take anything else!'

Her companion laughed. 'But it was in a good cause-you saw how readily  our questions were answered, even if the answers were in the negative.  The town ahead of us should be Wickham-we may have more luck there. We  will also order dinner.'

She would not allow herself to enjoy the novelty of having a man look  after her every need. Instead, she chose to resent his calm assumption  of authority.

'Will we indeed, my lord?' replied Beth sharply. 'I am not at all sure that is what I wish to do!'

'Now is not the time to be missish,' he retorted as they drove into the  square and pulled up outside the largest inn. 'I doubt there is another  town of any size between here and Southampton and even if you are not  hungry, I am.'

Beth opened her mouth to reply and shut it again, realising the truth  of his words. Lord Darrington grinned at her and flicked her cheek with a  careless finger.

'It galls you that I am right, does it not, Mrs Forrester?' He did not  give her time to answer, but jumped out of the curricle, handing the  reins to a waiting ostler before coming around to hand her down. 'And  now you are angry with me,' he remarked as she preceded him into the  inn.

Beth pointedly ignored him. The landlord appeared and with much bowing  and smiling he escorted them into a private parlour, where she listened  in growing irritation as the earl bespoke rooms and gave orders for  dinner to be served as soon as possible. Insufferable man, would it have  hurt him to consult her on where they would stop, or the meal they  would eat? She jerked apart the strings of her cloak and cast it over a  chair, tossing her bonnet after it. She heard the landlord leave and the  door close after him. A quick peep showed her that the earl had  unbuttoned his greatcoat, but not removed it. He was standing by the  door, watching her. She kept her back to him and after a moment she  heard him sigh.

'Believe me, I only have your welfare in mind, madam.'

'I have no objection to taking dinner here,' she replied frostily, 'but  I do object to your deciding what we shall do with no reference to me.  And,' she continued, her pent-up nerves finding some relief in anger, 'I  also object to being called missish! You would not treat me thus if I  were a man! It is not that I am ungrateful for your services, my lord,  but I find you arrogant, overbearing and determined to take charge-'

She broke off as the earl caught her arm and jerked her around to face  him. They were standing chest to chest and when Beth looked up she was  taken aback by the fire sparking in his eyes.

'I am tired, hungry and in no mood for tantrums,' he ground out.

'Tantrums-!'

'I said I would look after you as I would my own sister,' he carried on  relentlessly. 'If she was to treat me to such a tirade, I would put her  across my knee and spank her!' His eyes narrowed. 'In your case I am  more temped to ravish you to within an inch of your life!'

The deepening glow in his hard eyes robbed her of breath. Nervously she licked her lips.

'Y-you would not dare.'

His face was only inches from her own. He was slowly pulling her  closer, his head so near now that when he spoke his ragged breath fanned  her cheeks.

'When you do that with your tongue it's not what I would dare, madam, it's what I can withstand.'

Her eyes widened, but she could not look away. Their bodies were almost  touching and her heart was thumping so hard she thought he must feel  it. The images his rough words had conjured sent tremors of excitement  running through her, right down to her toes. Her senses were  overwhelmed; she felt the heat of his body reaching out to her. It was  all she could do not to tremble beneath his unyielding grip. She  swallowed, watching his eyes slide to her throat, like a predator  deciding where to take the first bite.

'You cannot r-ravish me,' she struggled to keep her voice steady. 'I will not let you.'

He leaned even closer. 'Your permission is not required.'

Beth swallowed. He was in earnest. She closed her eyes. He was going to take her. Here. Now.

And what shocked Beth most was that she wanted him to do it. She  summoned up all her remaining will-power and forced herself to look at  him.                       
       
           



       

'That, my lord, would be the actions of a libertine.' Her tone was strong, matter of fact.

'You know my reputation, madam.'

His mouth as he murmured the words was so close that she could feel his  breath on her cheek. The temptation to give in was very great. She  fought it down.

'Yes, but I know you too well now to believe it.' He raised his head.  His grip on her slackened a little. 'You would not force yourself upon  me against my will.'

'But would it be against your will?' he countered.

She gave the tiniest shake of her head and slipped out of his grasp.  'No, but it should be. It would be very wrong.' Her head went up as she  heard the rattle of dishes outside the door. 'If I am not mistaken, here  is the waiter with our dinner, my lord.'

She made her way to the table and waited for him to pull out a chair  for her. When he did so she sat down, trying to convince herself she was  relieved that danger had been averted.

They watched in silence as a waiter and serving maid laid covers on the  table and spread out the dishes for their meal. The fading daylight  made the room mercifully gloomy and when a boy arrived with a taper the  earl twitched it from his hand.

'I will see to the candles.' Guy was amazed at how normal his voice  was. 'Leave everything on the table and we will serve ourselves. You  need not return until we call you.'

The servants hurried away. Dazed, Guy looked at the taper, trying to  think what he should do now. A glance at Beth showed that she was  staring straight ahead of her, her breast rising and falling rapidly.  She was more shaken by their encounter than she would have him believe.  He walked around the room, lighting the candles.