Page 61 of The Burning Passion of a Fiery Lady
Within minutes, he was deeply asleep, his head lolling on the pillow.
She gazed at him for a moment, still stroking his hand. She would just have to find another way, to deal with Leonard Green if he didn’t ever remember what had happened that night. She was simply determined that the man would never threaten what she had, ever again.
The grounds were being patrolled constantly, now. The stables were being watched, too. She had been lax after the incident with the horses, but she had learnt her lesson. She had learnt it the hard way. Jasper had almost died because she hadn’t taken the threat seriously enough.
It would never happen again. But she knew that it wasn’t enough. It was merely a short term solution to a problem that she knew would be long term. She knew what Leonard Green was capable of now. And she knew that he would not give up.
He hadn’t left Shropshire. She knew he was still in the district, and that he was probably watching The Willows. Her skin crawled even thinking of it. She pictured his beady eyes, looking up at this very room, and she shuddered with disgust.
Shemustdeal with him once and for all. But how?
Chapter 24
Leonard Green gazed up at the house. He was burning with fury.
He wasn’t as close as he wanted to be; he was definitely not as close as he usually was. There were now men patrolling the grounds. They were thorough. They skirted the boundary, every hour, on the hour. There was simply no way that he could get any closer without being seen anymore.
He could no longer gaze at her as she stared out her chamber window. He couldn’t even see her as she walked around the stables, or in the gardens.
His eyes filled with sudden tears. He missed her. She had become such a part of his life. He could not believe that he had ever lived in Lincolnshire, so far away from her, with only the memory of her to sustain him. Now, he could see her whenever he liked. He could feast his eyes on her to his heart’s content, and it had got him through the long, lonely days without her.
His lip curled. He knew it was because of the horse master that this increase in security had occurred. She had never had men patrolling the grounds like this before. It had been a relatively simple matter to approach the house. The staff had not been vigilant; he supposed they had never needed to be. The Willows was so remote. What was the chance of a break-in, or any other crime, on the edge of the Welsh wilderness?
His face darkened in fury again. If she thought that she could keep him away, then she really didn’t know him very well at all.
The horse master still lived. He knew that the man had not died, despite his best efforts. His will was somehow stronger than the husband’s had been. But there were other ways, and other days, to see to him. To make sure that he never interfered in Susannah’s life again.
Somewhere, she was in there. And the time was approaching to make her his own. He had wanted her to come willingly to him. But if she refused, then there were other ways.
He smiled slowly. This was a setback. But it wasn’t the end of him. Not by a long shot.
He would bide his time, again, just like he always did. He had nothing but time, after all. She was his purpose and his prize. Nothing else mattered anymore.
***
Jasper slowly opened his eyes. He was disoriented for a long moment. And then he remembered again why he was here, in this bed, and in this room.
He was injured. The deep gash on his head still throbbed. Gingerly, he reached up, touching it. It had been expertly bandaged; the cloth was warm beneath his fingers. One day, it might just be a scar. A reminder of what had happened to him.
If only he could remember what that had been.
He gazed around the room. It was warm – the fire was constantly tended, piled high with wood. It crackled softly in the silent space.
Disappointment flooded through him. She wasn’t here.
Usually, when he opened his eyes, she was there, sitting beside him. Often, when he did, the first thing he was conscious of was her hand in his. Sometimes, he would find her gazing towards the window. Other times, she would be staring at him, a soft look in her beautiful eyes.
She tended him so tenderly. He couldn’t have asked for a better nurse, so diligent and sweet.
He knew that she was impatient for him to remember what had happened. He saw it every time she frowned in an abstracted way. Something was bothering her, but she would not speak of it with him. He knew that she didn’t want to worry him, to burden him with whatever she was going through.
He remembered well the moments that he had made love to her. Once had been in the woodlands, surrounding the property, and another time had been in a small barn at the back of the stables. It was so vivid to him that he replayed those times, over and over, in his mind. The feel of her skin beneath his fingers. The sound of her moans of ecstasy. He wanted to get well again, quickly, so that he could touch her once again, so that he could worship her like the goddess that she was.
But the rest of his time at The Willows was hazy. Sometimes, he recalled working with horses, in flashes. There was another flash memory of being high in the hills, at night, searching for one. He couldn’t remember why he had been outside, on the night that this had happened to him, nor why he had ended up with a head wound, collapsed in the fields.
He frowned, thinking about it now. What had he been doing?
He closed his eyes, tightly, willing himself to remember.
