The Rakehell Regency Romance Collection Volume 2(159)
"You make me feel very ashamed of my privileged and easy life, while you all sacrificed so much."
"We sacrificed for our wives, sisters, children, parents," Will said firmly. "It was a privilege to serve."
She smiled at him warmly, and she found her ungloved hand grasping his own bare one for a brief moment.
Her eyes widened, her head swam, and the next thing she knew, she was on a sofa in the drawing room with Charlotte and Vanessa patting her face, a bottle of sal volatile under her nose.
She choked and sputtered, while Thomas and Clifford hovered nearby solicitously.
She could hear a murmur of voices outside the door and someone speaking in sharp strident tones on the terrace.
"I don't know. I don't understand any of this. It's like, I don't know, some sort of witchcraft—" she heard a male voice exclaim.
She heard a female voice speaking in a soothing tone.
Elizabeth sat up and looked around.
"What happened?"
"You fainted," Charlotte said gently.
"Fainted? But I never—"
"Too much wine and sunshine, eh, Sister? You're done in. Let's get you to bed."
Thomas and Clifford put an arm each around her waist to help her up.
Word spread quickly that she was feeling better, and everyone gathered in the hall.
"We'll just say a quick goodnight to your guests, if you're up to it?"
She nodded, dazed. "Yes of course, Thomas."
She went out into the hall and said, "I'm so sorry to have ruined the evening giving you such a shock."
"You're sure you're all right now?" Vevina asked with evident concern.
"I think so. Too much sun and wine, I fear. I shall be fine tomorrow in time for the ball."
"Are you sure?" Parks asked, bowing over her hand with his usual sharp military style.
"Yes, I am."
"I'm so glad to see you're feeling better." Will bent over her hand, and pressed her dusty gloves into it.
Seeing his shining blond head, she was tempted to touch his locks to feel if they were as silky soft as they appeared.
She fisted her hand to her side, and told herself to get a grip on her emotions. She was overwrought, that had to be it. The tumble that day and fall in Will's arms must have take its toll more than she realised.
"Good night. I shall see you tomorrow evening at nine."
Thomas swung her up into his arms, and brought her to her room. "You are to stay in bed tomorrow and rest, or I shall cancel the ball for sure."
"Yes, Brother," she said meekly.
Charlotte and Vanessa came in to check on her and help her undress. She could hardly wait for them to leave her.
At last she was in bed alone in the dark with her terrified thoughts. What on earth had happened to her? Had she fainted because she was ill? With child? Under some sort of spell?
She tried to calm her fears. No, there was no such thing as witchcraft. There couldn't be. She was a sensible, devout Christian woman.
Ill? She was rarely if ever sick. Never had the vapors.
With child? Was it possible? She had lost her senses in her mystery lover's arms. Was it possible he had…
He had said he would not hurt her, damage her. She knew the mechanics of lovemaking—she would have thought she could tell if she had…
She had checked for any sign of injury or blood. Not all women bled their first time, of course, but she would have thought an invasion of her body such as that would have left some sign or lingering sensation.
No. She had to be ill. She had to trust the word of her mystery beau that he had not harmed her. And she had to try to be more vigilant, look for warning signs that she was going to pass out as she had done twice before. Both times she had been with a man…
Not Will Joyce, surely. He acted as though he were completely oblivious to her charms. Was she a lewd woman, so lost to decency that the merest touch of a man's bare hand could set her off into some sort of licentious frenzy?
Lord, had she done anything dreadful when she had touched Mr. Joyce? Clung to him importunately? Tried to kiss him?
No, she had just smiled at him. She recalled holding out her hand, but that was it. She shivered with heat and cold, her skin throbbing, the full moon lighting her room as brightly as if it were day.
She got up out of bed to open the window, noting a strange flickering light outside and to the right. An odd time of night to be out. Lost livestock? But there were no sheep so close to… On the beach. Or rather the cliffs. The cave….
She shivered again. She would go down to the beach again tomorrow, slip out unseen and try to find it. Of course the man might not be there, anywhere near there. But she needed to find him, needed to feel again the incredible wonder of being in his arms, or else she would surely lose her mind….