His Obsession (5 page)

“Capital day, don’t you think, Herbert?’
Edgar exclaimed with a grin. “Simple capital.”

Herbert nodded and smiled at his new guest.
“The weather is with us. I believe you know Lord Winslow and
Viscount Marbury? And, of course, here is the Earl of
Devonshire.”

Edgar bowed politely to the other men, then
turned to assist his wife and daughters. Once on the ground,
Penelope quickly singled out Lady Faversham and stood with her on
the gravel drive. Kate’s sisters clustered around the gentlemen,
flirting and blushing furiously at every word they said.

Kate came last, gingerly stepping from the
old coach their family still used. A tug on her dress stopped her
descent, however, and Kate peered down at the hem of her dress. The
edge of the gown was caught on a nail just inside the coach door.
Kate tugged a little at her skirt, attempting to extricate herself
from her predicament, but the fabric remained firmly anchored in
place.

“Katherine?” Lady Faversham asked, noting her
distress. “What is it, dear?”

“My skirt is caught and I can’t seem to free
it,” Kate replied.

Lady Faversham quickly stepped forward to
lend her assistance, but no matter how she tried to free her guest,
Kate remained ensnared in the old vehicle.

“Richard?” Lady Faversham called. “Could you
please help us a moment?”

Kate’s eyes widened in alarm. “Really,
there’s no need.”

Unfortunately, Richard Warwick was a man of
action and quickly crossed the distance to stand at the side of the
coach steps. Briefly, Richard’s dark eyes swept over Kate before he
politely bowed to Lady Faversham.

“My lady?” Richard asked.

“It seems that Lady Overton has become
entangled somehow,” Lady Faversham explained. “Can you free her?
I’m afraid I simply cannot manage it.”

Richard changed places with the older woman,
curling his arm around Kate’s waist to steady her as he peered into
the conveyance. From Kate’s vantage point, Richard’s shoulders
seemed impossibly huge. Kate braced one hand on his broad shoulder,
but she was in little danger of falling. Richard’s arm simply
tightened about Kate as he gave a final tug and the material split
into two. Richard then assisted Kate to the ground.

“Oh! Well done, Richard!” Lady Faversham
cried in delight. “Here you are, Kate, safe and sound at last.”

“I’m sorry about your gown, my lady,” Richard
softly apologized, as he bent toward her ear. “But there was no
other way to free it.”

“Thank you,” Kate murmured.

“Gracious, Kate!” Penelope gasped. “What have
you done to your gown?”

“Do not distress yourself, Lady Overton,”
Lady Faversham assured her. “Thanks to this strapping young lad,
your little chick is well and truly safe.”

Lady Overton nodded, then bent to inspect the
damage. “Thank goodness it was only your dress and not Helen’s.
When I think of how much that gown cost, I grow positively
faint!”

Kate flushed with embarrassment, wishing for
all of the world that she could somehow climb back up into the
coach and out of prying eyes.

Thankfully, Lord Faversham began to organize
the hunt in earnest. Grooms brought their horses round and the dogs
barked and bounded around them, eager to begin the chase. Assisting
the ladies to mount was a bit of an endeavor, but they soon managed
it and set out at a rousing pace.

Kate rode toward the rear of the hunting
party. Kate had no wish to witness the brutal death of some forest
creature all in the name of sport. It was also a very good position
from which to observe the rest of the riders.

Helen rode beside the Earl of Devonshire,
leaning so far toward him from her saddle that Kate found it
amazing that her sister managed to keep her seat. Penelope moved up
to ride at the earl’s left, no doubt providing the nobleman with a
running discourse on Dorothea’s and Helen’s finer points.

Viscount Marbury had attached himself to
Dorothea, who reveled in the man’s attentions. With her face
flushed with excitement and her lips curved into a smile, she
looked completely enraptured.

The same could be said for Edgar Overton, as
well. He absolutely glowed as he rode beside Lords Winslow and
Faversham. Lord Winslow repeatedly glanced back at Helen and he
frowned in annoyance as the earl did his best to entertain her.

Soon, the beaters flushed out a hutch of
rabbits and the men suddenly spurred their horses to pursue the
small quarry. Unfortunately, all four shots missed their mark and
the noblemen galloped off in hot pursuit, with the ladies trailing
behind. Even Lady Faversham smiled in delight, urging Kate to
quicken her pace and join the fun.

Suddenly finding herself quite alone, Kate
drew her mount to a stop and gratefully slid to the ground. She
stood at the edge of a lush field of grass nearly waist high. Each
blade swayed and dipped in the wind and the sun shone down upon the
whole, making the field seem like a vast inland sea.

Closing her eyes, Kate breathed in the sweet
scent of autumn flowers and the smells of the earth around her. The
air was fresh. The sky was a clear azure blue with little white
puffy clouds flowing lazily across its surface. Such perfection was
a rarity in this season, a brief glimpse of the passing summer
before winter set in. Kate reveled in the moment.

Dropping the horse’s reins so that it could
graze, Kate flung out her arms and whirled around and around in
utter rapture. She lifted her face toward the sun and her heart
soared. She felt years younger, like a child again. For a few brief
moments, the strain of Kate’s daily life melted away and she smiled
with joy.

Until she saw him. Halfway around in a turn,
Kate thought she heard someone chuckle and her eyes sprang open.
She caught sight of a horse and rider standing at the edge of the
wood. Immediately, she recognized Richard Warwick’s dark green coat
and her heart sank. No doubt he had observed her small moment of
abandon. Kate was mortified.

Richard grinned as the little redhead flushed
with embarrassment and darted behind her horse for cover. What a
strange little thing Kate Overton was. Richard had the feeling that
beneath that prim and proper exterior beat the heart of a very
passionate woman. Someday, Kate might see past her meek and mild
manner and become a veritable tigress. Intrigued by that prospect,
Richard urged his horse forward until he drew up beside her.

“You don’t care for the hunt, Lady Overton?”
Richard asked.

“Why no, I – No. I do not,” Kate admitted
with conviction.

Snatching the horse’s reins from the ground,
Kate drew the animal forward. The massive neck of the horse all but
hid Kate from his view, but the earl would not be thwarted. A smile
tugged at the corner of his lips as Richard dismounted to walk
beside her.

“Tell me then, if you had your choice, where
would you prefer to be at this moment?” the earl prodded.

“Really, my lord? I hardly think that what I
want could possibly -”

“Indulge me,” Richard pleaded.

Immediately, Kate stopped walking and peered
at him around the horse’s head. She thought the earl might be
mocking her, but the gentleman seemed to be in earnest.

“In a library,” Kate softly replied.

Richard was surprised. “Why there?”

“Because it’s quiet and peaceful. A lifetime
of knowledge surrounds you on all sides. There are books printed
from all around the world and treasures to be found on every page,”
Kate declared, her eyes shining with wonder. “For me, it’s heaven
on earth.”

Richard stared at her enraptured face,
utterly captivated by her passionate response.

“Where else?” he asked.

“Perhaps in a woods, near a small waterfall.
There, the ferns would grow so thick and green, you couldn’t see
the ground, and the sound of the water trickling over the stones
would lull you to sleep,” Kate envisioned.

“Is there such a place?” Richard
inquired.

Richard swore if Kate knew of such a bower
nearby, he would happily take her there just to see her face light
up with pleasure.

“Certainly, my lord,” Kate readily
replied.

Richard’s eyebrows rose a notch.

“In my dreams,” Kate added, once more moving
across the field.

Richard grinned, as he followed her lead. He
found he rather liked Kate Overton, liked her as a friend. That was
a strange revelation, indeed. The Earl of Devonshire had a few male
friends, to be sure, but the company of women had always been
reserved for more amorous pursuits.

Indeed, he had always been attracted to the
fairer sex on some level. Like most of his kind, Richard wasn’t
above chasing a comely skirt or two to appease his baser instincts.
Friendship and honest affection for a woman, however, were an
unexpected surprise.

“Tell me, my lady, is there a special someone
you care for?” the Earl of Devonshire inquired.

“There are my sisters, of course, and my
parents,” Kate readily replied. “I have a few friends in the
village, too.”

Richard frowned as he strode beside Kate
through the tall grasses. He saw no engagement ring on her left
hand, winking merrily in the sunlight. Still, he knew precious
little about Kate Overton. He’d heard no mention of an entendre of
any kind, but he supposed it might be a possibility, even for so
retiring a lass as she.

“You misunderstand me,” Richard clarified. “I
meant a gentleman to whom you are promised or bear some
affection.”

Surprisingly, Kate laughed. “Goodness, no! My
parents reserve such foolishness for my sisters.”

Richard nodded thoughtfully. “Your sisters
are very pretty.”

Kate nodded. Indeed, Kate thought, they were
quite comely. However, at times there didn’t seem to be the brain
of an ant between them.

“Are they promised?” Richard inquired.

Abruptly, Kate’s heart sank. So, that was the
way the wind blew. Dimly, she heard herself extolling her sisters’
virtues as though from a great distance. The earl bent his head,
obviously listening intently. However, by the time the other
members of the hunting party returned to join them, Kate was quite
miserable.

“Bagged three, by jove!” Herbert exclaimed in
triumph, his face red with excitement.

One of the servants held a bag aloft to prove
his claim.

“Richard, you should have joined us,” Lionel
Marbury chided.

Suddenly, the returning horses flushed a
pheasant from her hiding place in the tall grass. With his normally
rapid reflexes, Richard reached for his rifle and downed the bird
with one clean shot. The bird plummeted to the ground, falling
heavily into the tall grass where it breathed no more.

Kate’s ears rang from the gun’s loud rapport.
Vaguely, she heard the other men cheer and congratulate the earl on
his superb marksmanship and her sisters cooed with delight at his
hunting prowess. Devastated by the unnecessary waste of life, Kate
turned away.

One of the grooms located the pheasant in the
tall grass and held it aloft for all to see. That gesture heralded
another round of cheers. As Warwick grinned and moved forward to
accept the men’s congratulations, Kate quietly asked one of the
grooms to help her mount. As soon as she gained her seat, Kate
whirled her horse and quickly rode away.

Upon her return to Faversham manor, Kate was
shown to a room by one of the maids. There, she rested for a while
until her stomach resettled itself. When she rose, Kate admitted
that she did feel more herself again.

Walking out into the hallway, Kate was told
that Lady Faversham and her mother were in the parlor. Apparently,
they had returned for refreshments, but Kate didn’t feel like
socializing at the moment. No doubt, Penelope would chastise her
for leaving the hunt so abruptly and Kate didn’t feel like enduring
Lady Faversham’s inquiring gaze either. Instead, she sought the
solace of the Favershams’ well-tended garden where she might be
alone with her thoughts.

The Favershams had an immense garden and Kate
beheld the layout of the shrubs and flowers in awe. Here and there,
a beautifully carved marble statue marked a point of interest and
white marble benches were strategically positioned where observers
might pause and reflect upon the beauty around them.

Slowly, Kate strolled among the flowers, at
last finding a measure of peace. Her agitation eased and her heart
slowed, mingling with the less stressful pace of nature. Little by
little, her hearing was returning, too. The buzz of a bee near the
head of a chrysanthemum seemed very loud in the silence. Still, it
was difficult to wipe the image of the pheasant’s abrupt and
horrifying death from her mind.

It seemed that even in the garden, life and
death were present, too. Although the gardeners were apparently
diligent, in several places the stalks of dying vegetation lingered
above the massive bounty of blooming flowers. Kate paused and
stooped to pull a few of the dead stems from the ground. Tossing
them aside, Kate smiled, pleased by her efforts.

Once started, however, Kate quickly warmed to
the task at hand. A few minutes later, a passing servant brought
Kate a small rug to kneel upon and she was soon happily engrossed
in weeding the flower beds.

By the time the hunters returned to Faversham
manor, Kate was a little worse for the wear. However, she felt much
better. Her hands were caked with rich, black dirt. Kate’s dark
skirt was stained in several places and a streak of dried mud
crossed one of her breasts. Lionel Marbury found Kate still on her
knees, busily attempting to unearth a rather stubborn weed.

“Lady Overton?” he called.

Kate stilled at her task, silently wishing
the man gone.

“My lord?” Kate politely answered, raising
her head to peer at him.

“You left us quite suddenly. I feared you
might be ill,” the viscount told her. “But I can see that I was
mistaken.”