Chapter Four
Though it had been a full day since Caleb had kissed the duchess, he still couldn’t believe it had even happened. And he was still living amidst the clouds because of it.
And once again, on his afternoon walk, he encountered Angelica just outside of the wooded area, farther away from the dower house than they’d been yesterday.
However, unlike yesterday, it wasn’t sunny.
Instead, the weather was quite overcast with fat, swollen, gray rain clouds that threatened to burst at any moment.
Yet he couldn’t pass on the opportunity for the walk and perhaps seeing her again.
“Meeting you out on the acreage might become a habit if we’re not careful,” he said with a joking tone in his voice as he came upon her.
God, was she aware of how gorgeous she truly was?
Today, clad in a walking dress of jonquil yellow, she looked like spring personified.
The low bodice was trimmed with white lace, as were the short, puffed sleeves while small, white-embroidered daises randomly dotted the skirting.
The color made her mossy eyes even greener.
Though her smile was tremulous, it was there nonetheless, and it made her radiant. “I wanted to make certain I was able to get outside before the rain started.” Amusement danced in her eyes. “Finding you out here makes the outing even better.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” With a wink, he fell into step with her. “I’m even happier to see you out and about with some healthy color in your cheeks. I’ve worried over you recently.”
“There is no need, and you certainly don’t have that right.”
A huff escaped him. “That matters not. I have known you for twenty years, and I care for you.”
“Yet you have stood silently by regardless of knowing what the duke has done to me.” A soft gasp left her throat. “Forgive me for the outburst. That isn’t your responsibility either.”
“There was never a time that I didn’t want to intervene, but if Tittleford tossed me out or sacked me, I’d never see you again. At least in the silence, I may keep an eye on you.” Love you from afar as it were.
For long moments, she remained silent as they strolled. Finally, she nodded. “I can understand your reasoning, but it would have meant so much to know that I wasn’t alone, especially on the days when I was huddled on the floor in pain.”
The truth in those words slammed through his chest. He hated himself for his cowardice. “I’m sorry. I should have grown a spine, I should have stood up to him, called him out.”
She laid a hand on his arm, and he nearly jumped out of his skin from the contact.
“In truth, what good would it have done except anger him further so that he’d take out that ire on me?
” Shadows reflected in her eyes when she met his gaze.
“I don’t think I could have borne any of it if you wouldn’t have come by each month. ”
“You looked forward to that?” His heart squeezed to learn she’d considered him a bright spot in her days.
“I did; still do.” When her chin quivered, he nearly threw himself onto his knees before her to pledge anything so that she wouldn’t cry.
“I used to have friends, Caleb. When I was a young girl, before my marriage and during the first couple of years, I had a few close girlfriends, but Tittleford hated that my attention was distracted from him. He groused and ordered me to stop spending time with them, and eventually, they fell out of my life.” A sniffling sound came from her. “It’s made for extremely lonely days.”
“I’m so sorry.” How horrid could one man be? And how ego driven? “I didn’t know about any of that.”
“I’m only telling you to explain why it was so lovely to see you each month over the years.” Her voice broke. “I liked to think we were friends, if not that close, and you were always so pleasant and polite to me.”
Inside, he was aghast, for being polite was something everyone should be to each other, but he supposed that when living with a prick like the duke, such things would highlight what Tittleford wasn’t.
Outwardly, he struggled with everything she must have endured over the years.
“If you want me to do something to remove the duke from your life, I will.” It wasn’t just lip service; he meant every damned word.
In a lowered voice, he added, “I don’t own a pistol, but I’m willing to procure one if it will set you free. ”
As her eyes rounded with shock, the first drops of rain splattered upon his top hat and her upturned face. “Please don’t do that. You are a better man than to kill someone in cold blood. And I never want to be a woman to encourage that.”
Before he could respond, the skies opened and dumped heavy rain down upon them. “Quickly, into the trees!” He grabbed her hand, and together they ran over the ground, pelting into the woods to escape the worst of it.
As they ran into the densely clustered trees, he couldn’t help but chuckle from their predicament. When Angelica joined in with laughter of her own, it was the most joyous sound to his ears.
“It doesn’t seem to be quite as wet here,” he said the moment they stepped beneath a few oak trees whose canopies blocked some of the rain. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s still damp but at least we’re not being pelted.”
She scrubbed at the moisture on her cheeks. “Good heavens. I must look a fright.” As she spoke, the duchess plucked at her skirt that lay plastered to her legs. “I’m soaked through.”
“As am I.” Caleb couldn’t help but rove his gaze up and down her person. “You look delectable, though.” Keeping hold of her hand, he tugged her deeper into the woods. “Let’s see if we can find some temporary shelter, though.”
“There used to be a smallish shack of some sort somewhere through here. I saw it years ago. Perhaps a hunter or an indigent soldier used it for a bit. Is it still here? I couldn’t say, but it will be lovely to get out of the rain.
” She shook her head. “Next time, I’ll procure the key to the dower house. ”
“How interesting. I look forward to hearing more about that.”
They walked perhaps a quarter of a mile farther into the woods before he spotted the shack. It was weathered and had moss on the simple roof, but it was a shelter of sorts, and it had a door that hung at a slightly awkward angle.
After opening the wooden panel that had moss and lichen embedded onto it, Caleb peered inside.
“Surprisingly, it’s dry and not too dirty or filled with debris.
” A tick mattress lay on the ground, but when he drew back the old blankets that had leaves and a bit of dirt clinging to it, the mattress itself was decently clean.
He tested it with a hand. “Straw seems dry and supportive enough. We can wait out the rain here if you’d like, or I can escort you back to the manor. ”
Besides the tick mattress, there was a three-legged stool that doubled as a table, a stack of books, a tin cup on the stool, a scarred and battered wooden straight-backed chair, and a raggedy wooden bucket.
“It’s not fancy but it will get us out of the rain.” Then the duchess went around him to enter the shack. She perched properly on the chair, and the juxtaposition of her wet and clinging dress to the simpleness of the shelter was quite odd.
How many women would have gone along with this insane plan without histrionics or tears?
Certainly not her, and for that, his admiration for her went up.
He followed her in and then closed the ill-fitting door.
It was secured with a stick that twisted on leather to “lock” on the “frame” and he hoped it would hold.
“Well, this is cozy.”
“I agree, but I’m not complaining.” She stood up from the chair and drifted closer to him.
Caleb snaked an arm about her waist, pulling her into himself. “Me neither.” When his foot snagged on one of the rough-hewn boards of the floor, he tumbled to the tick mattress with a soft cry and took her with him. When his top hat left his head to bounce upon the floor, he ignored it.
Angelica giggled as she landed beside him, her wet skirting rucked up about her thighs, locks of her blonde hair falling out of their pins, her stocking-clad legs and beribboned garters fully on display.
As she stared at him in the gloom, her eyes were wide and darkly shadowed with emotions he couldn’t read.
But he wanted her beyond what was reasonable or even logical.
“God, you are delectable looking so scandalous,” he whispered seconds before he took her into his arms and kissed her.
“Stop.” She put a hand to his chest, holding him off even as yearning lined her face. “We shouldn’t go further, and you know it. The duke has spies everywhere.”
“Perhaps, but there are none here in nature’s cathedral except us, and it’s raining, and my God do I want to worship you.
” Did that make him sound like a nodcock?
“No one else will venture forth, especially to follow us here.” After brushing her lips with his, he peered into her eyes.
“Besides, Tittleford is away on business. There is only you and me.”
The delicate tendons in her throat worked with a hard swallow. “He has never been faithful to me. Not even from the first day of our union.”
“Then don’t you think it’s time for you to chase what gives you joy, what will set you free?”
For the space of a few heartbeats, she watched him as he tried to remain as still as possible. “I suppose we have at least thought of this over the years; I’ve seen the invitation and longing in your eyes.”
He nodded. The warmth of her called out to him as the sound of the rain pattered on the makeshift roof. “And you have had the same in yours.” Letting a hand drift down her arm, he cocked an eyebrow. “Let me show you how you should have been loved over the years.”
“That is a rather bold statement.” Her words were lost to breathlessness.
“In this moment, I’m feeling like a rather bold man.” Was he truly contemplating acting on forbidden desire? Yes, he was, and under no circumstances would he turn back now. “Bid me nay and I’ll leave you untouched.”