Page 26 of The Tempting of a Devilish Lord

“I could say the same about you.”

“There is no gossip surrounding me!”

“No, but you have affected this prim young lady persona to perfection. I, however, do not judge merely on appearances.” He let his smile grow smug.

“Well, if I was to judge you on appearances, I would likely not even be on this hill with you right now. After all, you are mightily handsome and—” She clamped her mouth shut and her throat bobbed.

“Will you repeat that last part?” He took her hand and aided her over a tumbled down piece of wall allowing them access to what once would have been the inner bailey of the castle. “I’m afraid I did not catch it.”

She snatched her hand back. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Liar,” he murmured.

“Pardon?”

He smiled genially. Lucinda Evans thought him handsome. Not that he thought otherwise. He was not blind after all. But he liked that fact very much. Too much perhaps.

∞∞∞

LUCINDA COULD NOT help herself. Her imagination had taken flight the moment they’d come upon the castle ruin. Especially with the way Alex strode around it as though he was some Scottish laird or knight in armor. Hard-pressed not to imagine him in one of the suits of armor from Eastwick Hall, she admitted he certainly had the build and confidence of a knight.

Shaking her head, she forced her attention to the task at hand. She should not even be thinking of such things when her sister was missing. She blew out a breath. It did not appear she was at the ruin so where on earth could she be? Where else had her sister shown an interest?

Alex came to her side. “Any sign of her?”

Lucinda shook her head. “There are no secret passageways are there?”

“In this ruin? No.”

She pushed a curl from her face and pressed her lips together. “I cannot think where else she would be. She’s already seen your armory and apart from the castle, she did not tell me of anywhere else she wished to visit.”

“She does not have her eye on a boy, does she?”

“Mary-Anne is not really interested in the opposite sex yet, and there are few boys her age here.”

He lifted a shoulder. “It might be worth going back to town.”

She grimaced. “What if we never find her, Alex? Mama will be distraught and I...” A lump began to gather in her throat. “Lord knows, she’s a handful but she’smyhandful.”

“Knowing Mary-Anne, she’s more than well and will be back before long.” He put a hand to her shoulder. “But we will find her before then.”

Swallowing hard, she glanced into his dark eyes, the sincerity behind his expression almost convincing her that, with him at her side, they might well find her before long.

“Very well, let us head back.” She took another look around the castle and smiled softly. “Perhaps if we find her, I shall bring her back here.” Lucinda twisted on her heel and she paused and frowned. “Alex, did it feel like—”

The ground beneath them rumbled, like when a fast-moving carriage went past. But there were no carriages here.

She scarcely had time to comprehend what was happening when the ground shifted beneath her. She instinctively reached for Alex’s arm and dragged him toward her as the ground tilted then dropped abruptly beneath her.

In a tumble of dirt and grass, she dropped before splashing into water deep enough for her to plunge entirely under. She pushed up to the surface, the cold water biting so hard she could barely draw breath. She floundered briefly and shoved her hair from her face, her bonnet long gone, before a firm arm wrapped itself around her waist.

“What...what happened?” She looked to Alex, his features shadowed by gloom. He trod water beside her, his grip on her waist tight, and peered up.

“I should have remembered.”

She followed his gaze and spied the small circle of light above them.

Far too far away.

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