Page 17 of Tamed By a Passionate Lady
The house was just looming high above her, when something caught her eye, far out to sea.
She smiled slowly. It was a large ship, its tall white sails fluttering in the strong wind as it sailed across the ocean. From this far away, it looked like it was barely moving, but she knew that it was probably thundering its way across the waves, dipping and falling dramatically.
A story came into her mind, that Mrs. Hargreaves had told her. A local Lancashire folktale about a ship along this coastline, which had been lured to the shore by a beautiful woman waving a lantern. The ship had been wrecked, crashing into the rocks. And forever more, the locals feared the Lady with the Lantern, who sometimes wandered the coastline, seeking to wreck more ships and drown the sailors within them.
Adaline kept gazing at the ship. She wondered if the sailors aboard had ever heard of the Lady with the Lantern and feared her, taking precautions as they sailed along this stretch of coastline. Did they throw salt over their shoulders, or kiss an effigy, or any of the other things she had heard they did to ensure good luck and ward off misfortune?
She sighed. It was a ghost story, and all places had them. She had never believed in such things. It was the real world, and the people within it, that she feared.
Like Reuben Montgomery.
She bit her lip as she thought of him. Somehow, with everything that had happened last night between James and herself, she had managed to forget about him and his disconcerting pursuit of her. But now, the threat reared up at her again.
How could she tell her husband that she feared the man?
Reuben was one of James’ oldest friends; she knew that her husband loved him dearly. It was the reason that he had offered him and his sister indefinite accommodation at Birkenhead Lodge, after all. How could she live with herself, knowing that she might potentially ruin such a friendship if she told him?
But then, a sudden wave of anger overtook her. Why must she be forced to live with such insolence in her own home? Why must she be forced to endure his constant lewd talk, his insistence that she wanted to have an affair with him? She had tried to tell him, over and over, that she was not interested in the slightest, but he simply refused to listen to her. The man was obstinately persistent, and she was at a loss as to how to deal with him.
Her eyes stung with tears again. She should be able to tell her husband that she was suffering under the attentions of his friend. Her husband should wish to protect her from it. But James was oblivious; he either did not see what was happening, or he did not care. And she did not know what was worse: his neglect, or his indifference.
And yet she knew that he was a good man, with a strong moral code. But it was as if he had built a wall around his heart that she could never hope to breach. A wall that was so high she could not hope to climb it.
What had happened to him?
She sighed deeply, watching the ship for a moment longer, before she turned away, heading back to the path towards the house. There were so many questions. And she was forced to admit to herself that she would probably never find the answers to any of them.
She was scurrying across the lawn, towards the back entrance, when she saw him in the distance. Reuben Montgomery.
He was standing with his back to her, gazing out towards the ocean. Her heart beat faster. If she was quick, she would be able to get inside before he turned and saw her. Before she was forced to acknowledge him and talk to him.
She was almost to the door, exhaling with relief, when he suddenly turned, staring at her directly, as if he had known that she was there all along.
She felt like a mouse that had just been spotted by the cat.
He lifted his hand, waving to her, a smug smile on his face. “Good morning, Adaline,” he called slowly. “You look positively windswept, my dear. But in a good way. You are glowing.” His eyes swept over her insolently. “Exercise obviously suits you.”
She froze, loathing him with every fibre of her being.
But she forced a smile onto her face. “Exercise is good for everyone, Mr. Montgomery,” she said, in a tight voice. “And now, I must breakfast, before the day gets away from me entirely.”
He inclined his head. “I am sure we will talk later…Adaline.” He looked like he wanted to devour her.
She shuddered, and without another word she wrenched open the door, entering, her heart slamming hard. For a moment she stood there, leaning heavily against it.
She felt like a prisoner in her own home. Like she was being stalked at every turn.
Her mother had taught her to be a gracious hostess. She had taught her that she must do anything for her houseguests; go above and beyond the call of duty to make them feel at home.
But Reuben Montgomery was pushing her boundaries, well and truly. And if he did not stop, she simply did not know what she would do.
Chapter 7
Adaline picked up her pencil, sketching quickly, trying not to take her eyes off her subject as much as possible as she got the first outline down. But it was hard when that subject was twitching restlessly.
She put down her pencil with a sigh. “Isabel. You must stay as still as possible, my dear, or I fear that your likeness will just be a blur.”
Isabel Montgomery sighed heavily. “I am sorry, Adaline. I am afraid that I am not a good subject.” She hesitated. “I do not know why you even wanted to sketch me in the first place. I do not think it shall be a pretty picture.”
