Page 56 of Needs Must
‘Oh!’ she gasped, but she didn’t fight him.
Slowly, giving her plenty of time to resist, he lowered his head and covered her lips with his in a brief, incendiary kiss that sent his mind on a wildly sensuous detour. He broke that kiss again almost immediately, while he still had the strength to do so.
But not because he wanted to.
He offered her no explanation because there were no words to express the alien emotions that fired his bloodstream whenever he was anywhere near her.
Wordlessly, he led her to the waiting horses, lifted her onto Thad’s back and then mounted Emperor. They rode back to Denmead Cottage rapidly and in silence, managing to arrive moments before the heavens opened.
Chapter Sixteen
Donna watched Cal as he raised a hand, despite leading a still energetic horse, and rode away at a lively pace.
‘He’s in for a soaking,’ Miriam said, coming to stand beside Donna. ‘Did you enjoy your ride, lass? Well, it’s obvious to me that you did,’ Miriam added in response to her own question. ‘What did he have to say for himself?’
‘A very great deal.’
‘You can tell me on the way back to the tavern.’ Miriam glanced up at the sky. A light rain had already started to fall. ‘If we leave right now, we might avoid a soaking too.’
Donna agreed and set about getting Bertram back into his harness. The cob was willing enough and stood placidly as Donna worked. She drove him at as brisk a trot as he could produce, and they reached the Shipmere seconds before the heavens opened.
Miriam made of point of walking between Donna and the open door to the taproom. The space was crammed full of workers using the rain as an excuse to take shelter. Protected by Miriam’s bulk, Donna would not have been able to see if Aykroyd was among their number, even if she had deigned to look.
Which she did not.
Once they gained the privacy of their own chamber and Miriam had helped Donna to change out of her habit, Miriam demanded a full account of Donna’s interlude with the earl. Seated with her large hands folded in her lap, Miriam nodded her approval at regular intervals.
‘Addressing the issues in the order you voiced them,’ Miriam said when Donna came to the end of her account, ‘don’t you dare blame yourself for the dispute between the earl and his female relatives. It sounds to me as if it’s beyond due, and I’m sure the ladies brought it on themselves.’
‘That is what the earl implied, but I cannot help feeling culpable.’
‘I get the impression that your handsome earl would never do anything he would prefer not to do. You have probably shocked him out of his lethargy and made him face a situation that he has allowed to fester away for far too long.’
‘Yes, that’s true I suppose.’ Donna tossed her head, wondering why he had kissed her if that was the case. And more to the point, why she had permitted him to do so. Had something in her behaviour led him to suppose that she was expecting his advances and would welcome his attentions? If so, her manners must have been at fault.
Donna refused to dwell upon such a relatively inconsequential matter when much larger issues were at stake, even if her mind seemed determined to return to the exquisite feel of his embrace the moment she relaxed her guard.
‘I don’t know the name of the people who have just returned from Jamaica, bringing such horrible accusations with them,’ Donna said. ‘Nor does their identity much signify, since I dare say the rumours are all over the island by now. More to the point, Aykroyd went to Graves with them.’ Miriam tutted and shook her head, but did not interrupt Donna as she expressed her thoughts. ‘All I can hope for is that the earl succeeds in curbing his sister’s tongue, at least for now, so that we can consult with Aykroyd and decide what’s best to be done.’
‘Your earl is right about that an’ all. Aykroyd is the key to this dilemma. We know how he feels about you, lamb. Repulsive as his attentions might have been, we can use them to our advantage with the earl’s protection. No one ever accused Aykroyd of being a fool, and he’ll soon see that the earl has a great deal more to offer than Ian ever could. And that he would be a dangerous enemy to make. Besides, by siding with him Aykroyd might finally get his revenge on Ian.’
‘That,’ Donna said, ‘is precisely the earl’s view.’
‘Well, there you are then.’ Miriam stood up and rubbed her hands together. ‘We can’t possibly both be wrong.’
Donna smiled up at Miriam, overcome with a fresh surge of love and gratitude towards the woman who had remained stoically at her side throughout all her travails. ‘I don’t deserve you,’ she said.
‘Aye, likely not, but you’re stuck with me. Anyway, I’ve finished polishing the furniture at the cottage and I must say it came up a treat. The curtains will be ready to hang tomorrow, and I’ll get that lazy boy to drive our bags up in the wagon. We might as well move in right away.’
‘Very well.’ Donna felt a little overwhelmed by Miriam’s efficiency.
‘Right, I shall pop down and ask Mrs Cooper to send our supper up. It wouldn’t do for you to show yourself even in a private parlour downstairs until we’re ready for Aykroyd to see you.’
Donna nodded her agreement and Miriam bustled from the room.
Left alone, Donna’s thoughts returned, inevitably, to that kiss. Was the earl giving her advance warning of his expectations before he helped her? She had been wondering ever since meeting him why he was making himself so amenable. And she had learned to her cost that no one did anything in this world without expecting something in return.
The possibility was sufficient to rouse her from her state of sensual awareness, the likes of which her husband had consistently failed to inspire in her, despite his reputation as a ladies’ man. She straightened her shoulders defiantly. No matter how much she admired Cal, no matter how much gratitude she owed him, no matter how reduced her circumstances were, she would not become his or any other man’s mistress.
