Chapter 2 #2
As she curled her fingers around his forearm, she felt the hard muscles beneath his coat sleeve. A flush of heat crept into her neck and face. She had never been this close to a gentleman that she didn’t know.
You mustn’t think of that. He isn’t the man you will marry. He is more like a cousin…a brother. He is family.
But he wasn’t. Not really. And a very persuasive part of her mind kept pointing out that annoying fact every time she caught a hint of the light cologne he wore.
A string of coaches waited across the street and Meredith’s eyes widened as Tiverton led her toward a group of dashing gentlemen clustered around the first coach.
“Kit, my apologies for the delay.” Tiverton addressed the man who was by far the largest and the most intimidating of the group, even though he was well dressed.
So this was his friend, the Earl of Kentwell?
The man looked as though he had been raised carrying boulders up the side of the mountain, not born to a life of leisure.
“It is no trouble, Darius.” The man’s eyes then slid to Meredith, who still clutched Tiverton’s sleeve.
Her mouth ran dry. Would Darius be judged by these men for having to take her along?
There were no other ladies present. She knew all too well that she was a burden in most cases.
Uncle Ben tried to pretend it wasn’t true, but she was used to people crossing the street to avoid her, or women gossiping behind their fans at the local dances in Burton Agnes.
She was a bastard child, a woman with no determined future, and now she was hanging onto a duke’s arm like her life depended upon it.
“This is Miss Montague…my uncle’s ward,” said Tiverton. “She is now my ward, it seems. She’s just arrived from Burton Agnes in Yorkshire.”
“Your ward, you say?” Kit replied, amusement flashing in his dark brown eyes as he bowed to her. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Montague.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Kentwell.”
One of the of the others in the group spoke up. “Do we all get introductions?” he asked with a charming grin as he stepped forward.
“Yes, but not right now,” Tiverton gave a warning look at the other gentleman, who was smiling at Meredith. “We shall be late if we don’t leave it once.”
Meredith’s face was bright red as Tiverton marched her past the other men standing beside Kit, all of whom were staring at her in the most curious way.
This was her fault. If she’d only come to Tiverton’s home sooner, she might have been allowed time to explain herself and rest at his home, rather than be paraded out like this before a half dozen gentlemen, creating only more questions for her host.
“This is my coach.” Tiverton opened the door and slid her hand into his as he assisted her inside.
She took the seat facing the front and he sat opposite her.
A footman closed the door. The coach interior was lit with heavy glass lamps, casting gold light onto the dark blue velvet cushions, each of which were embroidered with a gold crest bearing a “T” for Tiverton.
Uncle Ben had had a lovely coach, but nothing as fine is this. Meredith was not used to being in the presence of such wealth, but the seat and cushioned back felt like heaven after five days in rattling stagecoaches.
“Now…we have a little time to talk. Tell me about my uncle’s death and yourself. It is best to start the beginning.”
* * *
Darius St. John watched the woman sitting across from him closely. Her gloved fingers twisted in the reticule she held on her lap. He could not fault her for the show of nerves. She’d been through a harrowing experience and he’d given her no time to settle down or rest.
The news of uncle’s death was a terrible shock to him, and it had for the moment taken control over his thoughts and he needed answers.
Why hadn’t he received any news of his uncle’s illness earlier?
He waited for her to speak and was glad to see steel in her hazel eyes.
She’d been through much, but the experience hadn’t broken her. Good.
“As I understand it, your uncle was in love with my mother many years ago before I was born, but she chose another, one who did not actually marry her, but instead kept her as his mistress. Your uncle then married another.”
“Harry’s mother,” Darius said, nodding. “She was a good woman, although I did not know her well as she died when I was but a lad.” He hadn’t known about Uncle Ben’s first love, but then, his uncle had always been reserved about his life.
“My father left my mother and I when I was four returned to his wife and within a year he died. My mother was desperate after he left us. She sought refuge with your uncle. He purchased a cottage by the sea and paid for our keep until my mother died when I was fourteen.”
“I am sorry about your mother,” Darius added quietly.
He had lost his own mother young and the loss of a mother left deep scars that never fully healed.
“I believe I remember Uncle Ben mentioning you… now that I think about it. I would have met you if I’d only bothered to visit him at Burton Agnes.
” His heart was heavy with a thousand regrets.
He cleared his throat. “And after your mother died?”
Meredith sighed, her gaze drifting briefly away from his face as she glanced out into the darkening night through the window curtains.
“I loved my mother, but it was a relief to come live with Uncle Ben. He welcomed me into his home in a way that I never felt while I was living with my mother.”
Knowing his uncle, the man had doted on Meredith. He had a truly kind heart and a great love of company, despite his own quiet manners.
Darius leaned forward slightly. “When did my Uncle fall ill?”
“It was about two months ago.”
“Why didn’t he write to me?” Darius asked her.
“He didn’t believe he was that ill. We simply thought he had a cold, but then it suddenly turned into a steep decline in his condition.
The doctors were not entirely sure what made him so unwell, but he passed peacefully five nights ago.
” Meredith seemed to debate her next words carefully.
“Mrs. Todd, Uncle Ben’s housekeeper, helped me pack and leave just after Uncle Ben passed away.
She didn’t want me to stay in the house with Harry, though it would mean missing Uncle Ben’s funeral. ”
“It would have been a very bad idea for you to stay, given what you’ve told me of that cad of a son of his,” Darius finished for her. “So you traveled here at once.”
“Yes. I slept little and stayed on the same coach for four days until last night, when I was too exhausted to keep moving. I had enough money for room and board, but left for London at first light, which brings me here and my rather abrupt appearance at your door. I must apologize for any inconvenience my arrival has caused you.”
“You are not an inconvenience,” he replied softly.
She had traveled for four days without sleep?
Darius inwardly cursed. Had he known, he would have let her sleep in his home rather than dragging her to the play tonight.
She was doing a fine job of hiding her fatigue, but he could see the weariness in her hazel eyes.
And now…thanks to Uncle Ben, she was his responsibility.
He didn’t hate the responsibility…but he didn’t like the limitations.
Meredith was the sort of woman that he wanted to pull onto his lap and curl his arms around her as he kissed her and soothed her worries away with compassion and then passion.
And he could not do that because seducing one’s ward was… even beyond the bounds of propriety.
He took stock of the woman again. Her golden brown hair was a bit unkept, but that was from travel and not inattentiveness.
She would be lovely indeed once she was properly dressed and her hair tamed with a brush.
Her current gown was not only plain but also tight-fitting.
The woman possessed a wealth of bosom that threatened to pop out of the bodice.
It was damnably distracting. He appreciated breasts the same as any hot-blooded man, but something about Meredith’s bosom proved more tempting than it should.
If he wasn’t careful, he’d end up no better than his blasted cousin Harry.
“I must apologize, Miss Montague. Had I been more knowledgeable about the circumstances behind your arrival, I would have insisted that you stay at my home and rest rather than accompany me. Have you eaten today?”
“I had a light breakfast this morning and a bit of cheese around midday.” She glanced away, embarrassed, but Darius was the one ashamed. He was not proving to be a very good guardian for this woman.
“I’m sorry. I’m not usually such a wretched host.” He sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. “It’s only that…” He hesitated. He could not unburden his soul to this poor woman.
“Only what?” Damned if those soft hazel eyes of hers didn’t send him reeling.
She was exquisitely beautiful in a quiet, regal sort of way that held him in fascination.
Timeless…that was the word. She was a timeless beauty that would have caught a man’s admiration in any era.
Yet she was here in this moment with him, and he had to remind himself that she was now his ward, and a gentleman didn’t seduce his ward.
He cleared his throat as he remembered he hadn’t answered her question.