Never Wager Against Love (Kellington Book Three) (5 page)

She approached him carrying her saddlebag.  “Where is your
blanket?” she asked.

“In the comfort of a well-tended house.”

“You cannot tell me you came on the journey this
ill-prepared.”

 “Guilty as charged,” said Arthur.  “When I discovered you
had gone – after promising to wait for me, I might add – I was more concerned
about your welfare than I was about the contents of my saddlebag.  In hindsight,
I now believe an extra ten minutes of preparation might have been in order,
particularly since you have proven yourself so capable, although not
particularly good at keeping your word.  But even if I had taken the extra time
to pack carefully, I confess I probably would not have thought to bring a
blanket because I had not anticipated sleeping under the stars.”

“Then perhaps you’ll be turning back?” she asked sweetly.

If only he could.  But not only would he have to stay to
protect her, he was determined to make the best of the situation, if only
because she was so set on proving he was naught but a pampered aristocrat.   “On
the contrary, now that I’ve grown used to the idea, I’m quite looking forward
to a night out of doors, breathing the fresh country air.  Perhaps I shall make
sleeping outside a habit when I return to London and bring it into fashion.”

She looked at him with skepticism, proving she was just as
good a judge of character as she claimed.  “And what will you do without a
blanket?”

Arthur was not looking forward to being without one.  But he
also didn’t want to think about what it would be like to share hers. 
“Kellingtons are tough.  I shall be fine without one.”

“You’ll freeze without one.  The night air can be quite cold
this time of year.”

“I’m touched that you would be so concerned for me.”

“The concern is for my schedule, my lord.  If you come down
with the ague, I will lose valuable time as I deposit you with a surgeon,
provided we can even find one.”

He had to smile at her steadfast determination to keep to her
blasted schedule.  “I am slightly, but not overly, comforted that you would not
simply leave me by the side of the road to fend for myself.  Do not worry, I’ll
be fine.”  Arthur looked around, hoping to find a pile of leaves that would
offer at least some insulation.  The night air was already quite cool and he
wasn’t looking forward to bedding down in such conditions.  Perhaps Merlin
could be persuaded to let him sleep close.

“You will share my blanket, Lord Arthur,” said Vanessa as
she lay her bedding on the ground in a spot sheltered from any wind.  “It is
the only way to ensure you are rested enough to ride in the morning.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll attempt to seduce you?”

“While you no doubt deserve your reputation as a rake, I
know you to be a gentleman at heart,” she said.  “I also carry two pistols and
a knife, which will all be within reach.”

She set about dividing the food between them, as he tried to
get his mind off the coming night.  “Tell me about this man we’re going to see,”
he said.

She responded to his question eagerly, her tone one of awe. 
“Dr. Dumbarton is a professor of mathematics at Cambridge, but he’s a veritable
wizard when it comes to code breaking.  I’ve consulted with him quite often.  If
anyone can break the code of these papers without the chest, it is he.”

There was something about her enthusiasm that grated on
Arthur’s nerves.  “A professor, eh?  No doubt he’s a fusty old man.  A
doddering bore who rattles on about maths.”

“Not at all.  He is slightly older, but still quite hale. 
Nothing about him could be described as boring.  And he’s positively brilliant. 
You’ll be most impressed.”

It was obvious she was most impressed, which made Arthur
resolved to be anything but.  “Won’t this detour put us further behind
schedule?”

“I believe it is our only hope of discovering what is spelled
out in the documents.  The chest would certainly help, but if Professor
Dumbarton can crack the code, we might not need the chest at all.  He is a
genius, you know.”

“So I am to understand.  But once Mortimer and Cassidy
realize the papers you gave them are fake, won’t they turn back to find you? 
Do they know you’re likely to go to Cambridge?”

“I don’t know how they could.  Very few people know of
Professor Dumbarton’s work with us.  Even if there is a traitor in the Home
Office, the chance of Mortimer and Cassidy tracing us to Cambridge is slim. 
But I must risk it regardless.” 

“We will risk it, you mean.”

“Yes, if you insist.  We will risk it.”  She finished her
last bite of bread.  “I have not thanked you for coming to my aid.  I still
have misgivings about the situation, but I do want you to know I appreciate
it.  Not many people have looked out for me during my life.  It is a lovely
change in circumstances.  Even if you are most exasperating at times.”

Arthur looked at the woman so close to him, but whom he
could not touch.  The moonlight made her blue eyes look like the darkest sea. 
Her face seemed to be made of the finest pearl and the curls which had finally
escaped their pins lay invitingly about her neck and shoulders.  He longed to
reach out and run his fingers through her hair, draw her close, then spend the
night between her two thin blankets warming each other in the best possible
way.

But if he had any hope of keeping her alive, it must not
happen. 

Vanessa stifled a yawn as she put away the rest of the
food.  As she efficiently tucked herself into the makeshift bed, she indicated
the place where Arthur would lie.  The blankets were not overly large, so they
would have to lie on their sides to ensure they both stayed covered.  She
turned away from him, then a moment later he joined her, only inches away.

*                    *                    *

Vanessa had no idea how she was ever going to fall asleep.  Heat
seemed to flow from him into her.  If she moved only a few inches, the back of
her would be pressed into the front of him.  He was truly a gentleman, so she
knew he would not make the first move since she’d previously made her wishes
known.  But she wondered what he would do if she tried to seduce him.  How
would he react if she turned, then pressed him onto his back?  She longed to
straddle him, to feel his hard cock beneath her.  She was so on edge, her every
nerve attuned to him, that she would only need to move back and forth on him a
few times before she exploded in passion.

But as much as she longed to experience what she knew lay
between them, it would complicate her mission.  More importantly, it would put
his life in danger even more than it already was.  She could tell he felt
protective toward her.  Becoming lovers would only make him do something noble
and stupid.  She couldn’t allow that.  So she did what she had to do.  She
controlled her breathing and pretended to sleep.   And after a long while, she
finally dozed.

*                    *                    *

The scream made Arthur sit upright in bed.  He grabbed
Vanessa’s pistol, then waited until his eyes adjusted to the moonlight. 
Vanessa was thrashing in her sleep, but there was no one else around.  He put
down his gun then turned to her.

“Shh, shh, sweeting,” he said, as he gently shook her arm. 
“You’re having a bad dream.”

She didn’t awaken and her sobs came even harder.   He
grasped both her shoulders and shook. “Vanessa, love.  Please wake up.”  She
remained trapped in her nightmare, so he pulled her into his arms.  “Sweetheart,
please wake up.  It’s Arthur.  I’m here.  I’ve got you, sweeting.  I’ve got you
and I’ll never let go.”

She stilled in his arms.  And for a moment he didn’t know whether
she was asleep or awake.  He could feel the warmth of her body next to his,
almost like she was a part of him.  Suddenly, he wanted to make love to her with
a fierceness he’d never known before.  He wanted to comfort her, show her she
was safe.  He wanted to keep her in his arms, where no one could ever harm
her.  He was about to bring his lips to hers when he looked down to see her
staring at him wide-eyed.

“What happened?” she whispered.

“A bad dream,” he said softly, trying to lighten the mood.  “Almost
certainly caused by no bed and a lack of dinner.”  Her face was wet from
tears.  He reached for his handkerchief and dried her eyes.  Somewhat
surprisingly she let him.  “Do you remember what you were dreaming about?”

She shook her head.  “I never do.”

He tenderly stroked her arm as he rocked her soothingly. 
“After the death of our parents, Hal used to have terrible nightmares.  He
never remembered them the next day.  Or if he did, he never told us what they
were.  I’ve heard that nightmares are a way of the mind dealing with issues we
cannot face during the day.  Perhaps, it is the same for you.”

“I don’t know,” she said.  “The lady who runs the boarding
house where I stay said the neighbors complain when I have the dreams.”

“Can’t you have the neighbors thrown in gaol?” asked Arthur,
as he kissed the top of her head tenderly.  “There must be some advantage to
working for the Crown.”

She laughed, just as he knew she would.  “I shall consider
it the next time.”

“Good.  In the meantime, I will hold you close.  And before
you reach for your cache of weapons, I have no romantic intentions.”  And he
rather surprised himself to realize that was true.  At least for the moment.  “I
just want to help both of us get a good night’s rest.”

“Thank you,” she said, as she pillowed her head onto his
chest.  “Perhaps now I can sleep.”

She was out within minutes.  And as Arthur dozed off moments
later, he thought how curious it was to lie with a woman without bedding her. 
Curious and nice.  Perhaps he had finally embarked on an adventure worthy of
his name. 

*                    *                    *

The sun
, thought Arthur as he reluctantly pried his
eyelids apart a few hours later,
needs to be shot.
  If he’d been at home
and awakened at such an ungodly hour, he simply would’ve pulled his bed
hangings closer together.  But, of course, here there were no bed hangings. 
Only a scratchy blanket on the hard earth, with the early morning sun upon him.

Upon
him
.  Arthur looked to what should have been the
space occupied by Vanessa, only to find it empty.  For a moment he panicked,
thinking she’d run out on him yet again.  But a quick look showed both horses
still tethered together.  Both eating apples.  Once again Merlin was being treated
better than he was.

After taking care of his needs, he went off in search of
Vanessa.  He followed the sounds of a stream, walked around the hillside and
came up short.  There was Vanessa, naked, washing herself in the water.

Her back was toward him, and it was an extraordinary sight. 
Her hair was piled on her head and the water sluiced down over her shoulders,
to the toned muscles of her upper back.  Her hands were above her head, so he
caught just a glimpse of the sides of her breasts.  Her back descended into a
V-shape at her narrow waist, then filled back out over the luscious curve of
her hips.  It made his mouth water to see her at just that angle.  Then some
benevolent spirit rewarded him for an unknown good deed by making her bend
forward, fully exposing the globes of her firm arse.

He was in heaven.  Or hell.

He took an involuntary step forward and that’s when she
heard him.  She sat bolt upright, still facing away from him.  She
instinctively covered her front, while still leaving her delicious backside
fully revealed.  Perhaps realizing that, she tried to make herself as small as
possible.

“What are you doing?” she hissed over her shoulder. 

“The normal things a person does first thing in the morning,
although today has started much better than the average.”

“A gentleman would turn away.”

“Only a dim-witted one.  It would be like turning away from
the sun.  Or, rather, the lovely moon.”  He was enjoying himself, despite the
growing ache of his loins which would most certainly go untended.

“Lord Arthur, I must insist that you turn away and go. 
Preferably all the way back to London.”

“I can’t do that, sweeting.  But, if you insist, I shall
make my way back to our camp and simply allow my mind to freely ponder the
magnificent view I was treated to.”

“I rather wish you wouldn’t.”

“I rather knew you’d feel that way.  If it’s any
consolation, I’m sure my imaginings will make things much more uncomfortable
for me than you, especially with another long day in the saddle ahead.”  He was
already quite uncomfortable enough.

“The time would be better spent atoning for your sins – of
which there are many, I’m sure – rather than thinking about….” She waved her
hand about.  “This.”

“Ah, but nothing, dear lady, would be time better spent than
what I shall be thinking about.  That, I guarantee.  Take your time with your
ablutions,” he said as he turned away and headed back to camp.  “I shall make
the horses ready.”

He thought he heard her say “blasted man,” but couldn’t be
sure. 

It was, indeed, another long day of travel.  He was
impressed by how well she rode and how little she complained.  Not wanting to
appear the dilettante, he kept most of his complaints to himself, but what he
wouldn’t have given for a Kellington travelling coach.  They took their midday
meal at an inn.  She’d wanted to simply eat from her seemingly unending supply
of cheese and rock-hard bread, but he’d insisted on stopping at a decent inn
and taking a private parlor. 

Her breeches, combined with that morning’s memories of her,
were having the predicted effect on him.  While he could not afford to become
entangled with her until the danger had passed, he looked forward to the day he
could make her his mistress.

He was staying by her side to keep her safe.  But he was
also there because he was increasingly fascinated by her.  He’d never met a
woman who worked for the Home Office.  Moreover, she loved what she did,
despite the danger.  She hadn’t spoken much about her previous assignments, but
there was a vitality about her that grew even more pronounced as she anticipated
catching up to Mortimer and Cassidy and recovering the chest.