Page 15 of The Taming of a Wicked Rogue

She nodded. “He cared only for money it seems.”

“I thought he cared about you.”

One shoulder lifted and she fixed her gaze on the horizon ahead. “Maybe he did, I do not know. But at some point, he clearly tired of pretending to be a perfect father.”

He ground his teeth together. He’d been too angry she had left him with no word of her fate that he did not think how it must have felt to have her world ripped from underneath her. The Fortescues had enjoyed a privileged life and Roger Fortescue appeared an excellent father, encouraging his daughter to read and think for herself. Maybe it had been real for a while, but that loss must have been grave.

He paused by the row of trees that hid the house from view and put a hand to her arm. “Do you wish me to go to the house? If it is, uh, too painful that is.”

“Certainly not.” Her shoulders lifted and he tried not to grin. To think she called him stubborn. She really had not changed.

∞∞∞

REBECCA LET HERSELF sag once the house came into view, finally releasing the breath she’d held for too long. She was not certain what she had expected but the house appeared entirely normal from the outside. The grass surrounding it had become wild and the garden her mother loved was overgrown with bramble bushes, but it was not the neglected ruin she feared.

Aware of Leo watching her reaction, she strode forward and stilled, drawing in a gasp. “The bridge has gone!”

He nodded grimly. “Dismantled for the stone, I believe.”

She stepped up to the edge of the moat and peered at the remnants of the stone bridge that connected the house to the land. Built in the Tudor period, the generous-sized house had long ago given up its drawbridge and the stone one had been in place years before her family lived there.

She eyed the stone exterior. The windows were empty of curtains or any sign of residence, and the stillness struck her. When she had left the house, she had foolishly believed they would return as soon as her father had solved whatever problems they were running from. She blinked away the tears threatening to cloud her vision.

“You really think the diamond is in there?”

“It has to be. I have searched everywhere else.” She studied the few stones left of the bridge, surrounded by a tangle of weeds and murky water. If she just—

“Rebecca...”

She looked to Leo. “I have to get in.”

He shook his head. “If you fall in, you will be lucky not to drown.”

“I can step across.” She gestured to the stones. “I think.”

“You loathe weeds, remember?” He leaned over and peered at the water. “I think there’s fish in there too.”

A shiver travelled through her. She detested swimming with fish and would far rather swim in one of the clear lakes in Cumbria, where one could see what was about one. The thought of a weed or fish tangling around her leg made her stomach bunch.

Glancing again at the house, she lifted her shoulders and took the first step, landing solidly on the lump of stone. Quickly, she moved across the next two, ignoring Leo’s utterance of her name. She took another step, wavered on the uneven rubble and flailed her arms until she found her balance.

“Only a few to go,” she murmured to herself.

“Oh hell,” Leo muttered from behind her.

She only understood why he’d cursed when she took the next step and lost her balance. She toppled sideways into the water, fully submerging with a gasp. The water felt thick and the weeds surrounded her, not offering a cushion but more of a prison, winding about her as though they intended to suck her down into the darkness. She fought to lift her head above the water, her garments so heavy they might as well have been made of lead. Bitter water caught in her throat when she tried to gulp down a breath and she choked on it, swallowing more in the process.

A strong arm banded about her waist and lifted her higher. She sucked in air. Leo dragged her forward, and she tried to help but exhaustion already leached through her entire body. He aided her toward the crumbled end of the bridge, pushing her up until she was able to drag herself out of the water. Rebecca rolled on her back and took several deep breaths while Leo hauled himself up and lay next to her. They remained there for a few moments, in silence.

“You are still as bloody mad as you always were,” he finally said.

Rebecca couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her. He chuckled too.

She rolled onto her side and pushed up to sitting. “Forgive me.”

He shook his head and pushed a hand through his hair. She spied his hat and jacket on the other side of the moat. She supposed her impromptu swim had been far too predictable.

Then her attention fell to his chest, where the damp fabric of his shirt clung to his body. He’d already been turning into a man when she had known him, but she doubted she could ever have imagined the astonishingly handsome specimen before her. She bunched her hands together to fight the need to lean forward and run her fingers along him to truly see what he had turned into.

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