Page 16 of A Flaming Lady's Secret Valentine
“Is that how you live your life, Mr Travers? Is there nothing you do not deny yourself?”
His eyes flashed with mischief, but he did not deign an answer.
The rain abated before long, and Raphael had never been more thankful. Since their charged conversation, he had not spoken a word to Lady Cecilia, nor she to him. He had crossed a line he could not even see, but the way she looked at him made it clear that he had unintentionally wrapped her around his finger.
Guilt surged within him as she stood to observe the stable courtyard, which was quickly filling with stable hands. Her cheeks were poppy-red, and she approached Raphael like any touch from him would turn her to ash.
He wanted to say,You are so beautiful and engaging that I forgot that you are also a Lady who has never been touched by a man, therefore that you are susceptible to their evil and vulnerable to their wanton looks upon you,but he could only look at her from afar and hope that she knew how sorry he was.
Peter was nowhere to be seen, so it was Solomon who brought one of the Trotters around for them and saddled it. Cecilia did not look well enough to ride, so it was decided they would share a horse back to Berilton.
He helped her climb atop the mare, reluctantly touching her. There could be nothing reluctant about the way their bodies curled into one another atop the horse, with Cecilia sitting between his legs.
Raphael could smell the rainwater in her hair, the scents of oud and rose beyond that. He cleared his throat to speak but was powerless, consumed by the feeling of her back moulding against his chest.
“Do not fall,” he cautioned with the very last of his strength.
“I will not,” she whispered back, taking the reins between her fingers.
Chapter 6
“Egad, Cecilia! We were just about to send out a search party!”
Edward came running out of the house, flailing his arms around. Their mother followed shortly after him. Both of them were dry as a bone, so they could not have beenoverlyconcerned for her.
Raphael slowed the horse to a halt, and his hands immediately dropped from around her. She wobbled atop the Trotter before Edward came around to lend her a hand. She shot a wary look back at Raphael before sliding off the saddle.
“Please tell me you were caught in the rain, and not accosted by highwaymen as Mother has been suggesting.”
The duchess dashed forward to take Cecilia in her arms, but she drew back upon taking a closer look at her soiled garments. “You frightened me half to death! And it is a surprise you did not catch yours. You must tell us what happened!”
“Might we do so inside?” Cecilia gave a shiver. “When I am no longer freezing?”
The family trailed into the house, bickering back and forth, and calling for some tea. Cecilia looked back at Raphael, but he was already riding off down the drive.
She had said something to upset him. She just did not know what.
Handing her bonnet to the footman, she began peeling off her damp coat. “If you would take that down to the scullery. Mrs Lintwood will know what to do with it, but preferably I would like it saved.”
The footman hurried off, and Edward appeared in his stead. He brushed a hand through his dark brown hair. “Mother is gone to wake Daphne and tell her you have returned.”
“I assume she slept through the storm?” She groaned as she removed her slippers.
“Like a babe.” Edward took them from her, and Cecilia tiptoed toward the stairs. “How did you manage to get caught in the storm?”
Cecilia paused, one hand curled around the banister. “It is hardly a novel concept. We were walking the path that winds through the pasture, it rained, and we had to run for shelter.”
“Mr Travers did not take advantage of you?”
“Well, do notmince your words, Edward.”
“This is serious, Cecilia. I allowed him to chaperone you because I trust him. But the moment the two of you are allowed to spend any measure of time together…” He raised Cecilia’s slippers, and they dangled in the air. “This happens.”
The stairs creaked beneath her as she turned to face her brother. “Mr Travers acted the perfect gentleman. If you are thinking that we rolled around in the hay, you are mistaken. I fell in a ditch, and he pulled me out. We dashed for cover and waited for the skies to clear.”
“And you spent your time… What? Talking?”
“Is that so unbelievable? That a man should want to talk to a woman without gleaning something from her—chief of all, her purity? You said you trusted Mr Travers. Good. There is no reason for you to distrust him now.” She spun on her heel but then thought better of it. “And even less reason for you to distrust me.”
