Chapter Thirty-Five
Rafe’s first instinct was to leap out of bed and wrap his fingers around the young man’s throat. But he’d expose Charlotte by doing so.
Instead, regardless of his own nakedness, he shifted to place his body in front of her.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded coldly. A red-faced Paynter seized the invader from behind and twisted Jessop’s arm up behind him. “Sorry, sir, for the intrusion. I tried to stop him.”
Rafe glared at Jessop. “If you would be kind enough to give me time to dress, I will gladly speak with you. Outside.”
Jessop burst out, “You black-hearted villain! You’ve ruined Charlotte. I demand satisfaction for her honor!”
“You’re hardly in any position to do so,” Rafe replied, “since you once set out to do exactly the same thing. Pray, step outside.”
“No! I demand satisfaction!” By an impressive maneuver—which must have almost dislocated his shoulder—Jessop broke free of his captor and lunged forward.
Rafe was up in a trice, his fist itching to make contact with the young man’s chin. Instead, he caught him about the throat, shoved him against the wall, and lifted him clear off the ground. “Tempting as it would be to draw your cork,” he grated out, “I won’t shed blood in the presence of a lady. Simmer down, sirrah.” Not forgetting the naked, mortified female in the bed behind him, he strove to keep his tone firm but cool.
Jessop’s eyes were watering, and he made a pitiful choking sound.
Fearful of distressing Charlotte further, Rafe dropped his prisoner and inclined his head toward the door. “Out.”
Jessop said, “You haven’t heard the last of this, Seabourne.” Casting a disdainful eye over Rafe’s semi-aroused state, he adjusted his collar, squared his shoulders, and left the room, rapidly followed by Paynter.
Rafe locked the door and turned anxiously to Charlotte. She’d buried herself beneath the sheets, her body shaking with tears. Quite justifiably. Jessop had completely ruined their moment. How Rafe ached to tan the boy’s worthless hide!
He reached out to take her in his arms and comfort her.
An unladylike snort issued from the heap of bedclothes.
His hand froze in midair. She was…laughing? They’d just been through the most hideously embarrassing moment of his life, and she found it amusing?
He peeled back the sheets to admonish her, but a slender arm reached out and pulled him down for a kiss. He smiled as he submitted. She wasn’t just a minx, but a wanton, as well—something he might have secretly hoped for, but never dared to expect.
He would have liked to lie in bed with her all day—hell, all year—but things needed attending to. Summoning all his willpower, he disentangled himself and sat back.
She pushed herself up in bed, the thin sheet barely concealing her luscious breasts. Ruthlessly brushing aside memories of the silken skin and the delightfully aroused nipples he’d sampled last night, he took her hand.
He waited until her merriment subsided, then said, “That is not how I would have wished the magic of this morning to end.”
She chuckled, squeezing his hand. “You are so magnificent when you’re angry! Even though you were naked, you didn’t flinch. Poor Justin—his eyes nearly popped out of his head!”
Rafe stroked the back of her hand. “You know the fellow,” he said. “Who will he go to with this? Much as I’d like to marry you today, I’d prefer to do it properly. I don’t want you rushed into marriage by a blabbermouth with an ax to grind. You really ought to see Beckport House before you agree to marry me. You have a right to know what manner of place you’ll be mistress of.”
“He won’t say anything,” she replied. “Until your dispatch reaches its destination, he’s a deserter. He definitely won’t go to his father, a man of no sympathy, whatsoever.”
“Won’t he tell your mama? She’s the one with the most vested interest in your reputation.”
Charlotte shook her head. “She hates him. She’s threatened to empty the slops over him if he so much as shows his face in Fortuneswell.”
Rafe chuckled. “Your mama shows a great deal of spirit. But I hope you won’t grow to be too much like her.”
She gave him a sweet smile that calmed his fears not one whit.
He reached out and stroked the hair back from her face. It was a privilege to touch her, and he was looking forward to doing a good deal more of it, and soon. Her nut-brown hair matched her hazel eyes, and as it cascaded down her shoulders in disarray, she looked like a fey creature of the woods.
“Get dressed,” he said crisply, forcing himself to walk away and find his clothing. “This situation will be far better dealt with if we’re not both stark naked.”
“I’ll talk to Justin,” she said. “When he knows your intentions are good, he’ll calm down.”
“He’s let me down twice now, which is a fine way to repay the enormous favor I’ve done him. I’m not sure learning the position of another beacon was worth the trouble he’s caused.”
“Oh heavens, Rafe!” she said in a muffled but excited voice.
He turned to see her pulling her chemise down over her head. A pity.
“I quite forgot!” she said as her head popped out. “I know the location of another beacon!”
He drew his breeches on, sat on the bed, and gave her what he hoped was an admonishing look, but it was hard to concentrate with the thin shift clinging to her so enticingly. “I trust you’ve not been putting yourself in danger again,” he said, “after all my warnings.”
“Not at all,” she replied, pushing her arms into her corset.
He hoped she wouldn’t need help with her lacing—that would be pure torment, indeed.
“Jacky Scadden had a half-sovereign given to him by a stranger to light a bonfire. I took him for a walk, and he indicated the position of the beacon in a very subtle fashion. I’m sure no one noticed. That’s why I had to come see you yesterday, despite your dire warnings.”
His heart beat like a blacksmith’s hammer as he contemplated the danger she’d put herself in, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be angry. If not for her intervention, he could be dead by now, or under torture.
And she had brought him the location of another beacon. With this information he could nail down the rest, and the country would be saved from invasion.
He hurried on with his clothes. “I must go and see it. The sooner we map its location, the sooner we’ll foil the traitor’s plot. But I won’t be able to escort you home if I do that.”
“I don’t need an escort,” she said, pulling her corset up and adjusting her breasts in a way that made him weak with longing. When she turned to him for help with the laces, his fingers trembled as he did her up, lust warring mightily with duty.
He forced himself to turn away so he couldn’t see her dressing. Each time she put something on, he wanted to take it off again.
His voice was hoarse as he said, “Once you’ve shown us the location of the beacon on the map, have some breakfast, and Hamblett can take you home. I’d rather keep Paynter here with me. Hamblett will be armed, so there’s nothing to fear.”
When she didn’t answer, he turned round and saw her twisting her hands together. “I think,” she said, looking at him appealingly, “it might be better if Justin took me. He’s clearly upset, and I want to explain…all this.”
An icy hand seized his heart. What? Leave her alone in the company of that young hothead? How could he possibly relinquish her into the hands of her former lover? Or any young man for that matter? She was his now, and he’d lay out any fellow who so much as laid a finger on her, or cast an unkind word or lascivious glance in her direction.
Yes, he was truly smitten. He’d never felt such jealousy before, gnawing at his insides like Aqua Fortis.
She gazed up at him, her hazel eyes filled with entreaty.
He tried to imagine being in her position. And realized she must feel the need to redeem herself in Jessop’s eyes, to make peace with him. The boy had risked a great deal for her, and she was too good-hearted to take such a sacrifice lightly.
“He won’t be gentle with you,” Rafe warned her, shouldering into his jacket. “But I’ll let him go with you, if it means that much. Hamblett can keep guard here, in case the men who set upon me return. If I guess rightly, however, they’ll not come until nightfall, and there’ll be more of them. If I can, I’ll borrow some of the militia to lie in wait, so when the blackguards come back, we’ll net a good catch.”
“But that sounds so dangerous!”
“Don’t be downcast. I don’t plan to die, my sweet, not now I have you to live for.”
Her eyes softened. “Oh, Rafe.”
He pressed a hand beneath her chin and tilted her face up to his. “Believe me, I fear your mama more than I fear these villains. Men who let children do their dirty work for them are cowards. And fools. Horrible as their scheme is, it has more holes than a sieve. I’ve found their weakness, and intend to make the most of it.”
“But they’ve found yours, as well. They know where you live, and of your trouble with horses.”
“I promise I’ll send a dispatch to the fort as soon as we’ve triangulated the beacons, and ask for experienced men. Trust me, I won’t let myself be caught unawares again.”
“I believe you,” she said, shooting him a look of such admiration, his heart glowed. Moses, but it was painful to part from her, even if only for the day. He smiled inwardly, thinking of the pleasures they’d share when he completed his mission. How he’d love showing her round Beckport House and his collections. How splendid it would be to take her to London and parade her proudly at the operas and plays. His life would be filled with balls and laughter again—all the delights he’d left behind when the army ate him up and spat him out so unceremoniously.
“Regrettably,” he said, “I must attend to duty now. See if you can instill a little sense into that erstwhile beau of yours as he escorts you home. He can’t be a complete fool—he recognized before I did what a gem lay hidden in the wilds of Fortuneswell.”
He thrust out his arms and pulled her hard against his chest, kissing her hair, and discovered his eyes were moist. It had been such a long, hard journey of late, trying to prove himself, hazarding his life at every turn, bearing the heavy responsibility of risking other souls besides his own. He’d become bitter and aloof and denied himself the haven of a woman’s arms for too long.
The affection in Charlotte’s eyes warmed him, healed him. Maybe one day, if he survived the completion of his mission, he’d prove himself good enough to deserve her love.