Once Upon a Winter's Eve: A Spindle Cove Novella (4 page)

She clucked her tongue. “More teasing.”

“No teasing. I am here for you.”

“If that’s not teasing, it’s a flat-out lie.”

He inched the chair forward, desperate to close the distance between them. He spoke to her quietly, honestly. From the depths of his cold, longsuffering heart.

“I’m here for you,
mon ange
. Violet. I would cross a world for you.”

Violet went perfectly still.

When she could manage it, she whispered four words. In English. “You know my name.”

His expression betrayed no understanding. He sat back in his chair and blinked.

She tried again. “You know
me
.”

No response.

In her lap, Violet’s hands balled into fists. She didn’t understand. If he knew her and needed her help, why didn’t he just
say
so? But if he were truly a stranger, how had he learned her name?

Across the room, Mr. Fosbury looked up. “Any progress, Miss Winterbottom?”

Well. There was one question answered. Hadn’t her friends been calling her by name all evening? Beginning with Kate and Susanna in the ballroom, and ending with Mr. Fosbury right now. The name Violet Winterbottom was hardly a secret.

Violet rose from her chair. “I’m having difficulty making him out,” she told the tavern-keeper, giving him a self-conscious smile. “Perhaps some tea will help me concentrate.”

She rose and went to a table where the maids had laid out tea service. As she poured a fragrant, steaming cupful, her mind churned.

It was easy enough to explain how he’d learned her name. But that didn’t explain the intensity in his eyes. It didn’t explain the way he affected her, deep inside.

It didn’t explain the eerily familiar freckle beneath his left ear.

Violet. I would cross a world for you.

The memory sent a frisson chasing over her skin.

It was impossible, unthinkable. But the more she observed and spoke with the man, the more she felt certain he was The Disappointment.

She closed her eyes. Time to stop hiding from that name.

She felt certain he was Christian. There were differences, yes. But the similarities were so numerous, and her reaction to him so strong, she was starting to believe it
must
be him.

And yet—if he
were
Christian, what was he doing here, and not in the West Indies? Why would he bother to row into the cove, trudge across fields, and claim to be a Breton farmhand? He could have simply pulled up in the drive, knocked at the door, and said, “I’m Lord Christian Pierce, third son of the Duke of Winford.” It’s not as though he would have difficulty speaking to Violet, if he wished to. And he hadn’t wished to—not in almost a year.

Christian would not have crossed a world for her. He couldn’t even be bothered to cross the square and bid her a proper farewell.

As she stirred sugar into her tea, she stole another look at the dark, intriguing man lashed to a chair. Perhaps even
he
didn’t know who he was. Perhaps he was stark raving mad, or suffering from amnesia.

She let the spoon fall to the tray, exasperated with her mind’s wild contortions. “Truly, Violet,” she muttered to herself. “
Amnesia
?”

She returned to her chair, not knowing what to think, nor even what to hope.

“Will you take tea?” she asked in French.

He made a face. “Wine is more to my taste.”

“Very well.” She offered the wine to him, holding the cup to his lips. He took a languid draught, staring at her all the while. She watched his bared, unshaven throat working as he swallowed. The view felt sensual and intimate.

When she lowered the wine, his heated gaze roamed her body. “I have come to a realization,
mon ange
. Englishmen are not merely fools. They are perfect idiots.”

A blush burned its way up her chest.

Violet, concentrate.

“We seem to be at an impasse,” she said. “You refuse to divulge your secrets. So I’ve been thinking…perhaps I should first share mine.”

His eyebrow arched. “You? Have secrets?”

“Oh yes.” She looked around them. “This place, Spindle Cove? It’s a holiday locale for young ladies who are ill or awkward. Or unconventional.”

“And which kind of young lady are you?”

“The fourth kind. Scandalous.”

She sipped her tea, stalling. After a year of keeping quiet, was she truly going to tell
this
story,
this
way? But she could think of no better way to test him.

“A year ago,” she said, “I surrendered my virtue. Easily. To a man who’d made me no promise—not so much as a hint—of marriage. And when he left me, I fled here. Because I feared I might find myself with child, and I didn’t want anyone to know what I’d done.”

She watched his reaction carefully. But just like with the earlobe pinching, she was unsure what reaction to expect. The set of his jaw conveyed concern. His eyes widened with a hint of surprise.

“You didn’t tell your family?” he asked.

“I never spoke a word of it to anyone. Not until just now.”

And the secret had never grown any easier to carry. Quite the reverse. Every time she’d felt tempted to share the story with someone, it was as though she’d lacquered it over with a new coat of resin. Adding layer after layer, sometimes daily, until the truth was a hard, heavy lump in her chest.

“Your fears of a child…?”

She shook her head. “Came to nothing. But clearly, I’m not such an angel.”

“You”—he leaned forward, such as his bindings allowed—”are an angel still. The one who did this to you? He is a devil.”

“Oh, yes.” She smiled a little. “The devil next door. I’d known him all my life and adored him quietly for most of it. When we were younger, he teased me mercilessly. Then came several years where he was oblivious to my existence. He always seemed so far beyond my reach. But somehow, we became friends. We ran our dogs in the square nearly every day, and while they ran, we talked. He knew how I loved languages, you see. He had a gift for them too. He made a habit of collecting little phrases and testing me with them. ‘Good day’ in Latvian or ‘thank you’ in Javanese.”

I have a new one for you, Violet. So obscure. You’ll never guess this one.

And yet, she always did. Sometimes it took her several days of scouring her library, but she always found the translation.

Her companion snorted. “This? This was enough to make you love him?”

“I thought we’d discovered a common thread.” She shrugged. “Well, and I can’t claim it to be solely intellectual admiration. He was exceedingly handsome.”

“How handsome?”

She smiled a little. “Far more handsome than you, if that’s what you’re asking.
His
nose was straight. His jaw was always smoothly shaven. Never a hair out of place. Never a care showing on his brow.”

“You make him sound like a peacock.”

“At one time, I suppose he was. But he changed. His brother died in the war, and it affected the whole family. Over just a few months, I watched him go from a carefree young rake, to a man struggling under the burden of great sorrow.” She fought the temptation to look away. “It hurt me to watch him hurting.”

“And so this devil took advantage of your kindness.”

“I…I’m not certain.”

To this day, Violet remained unsure of his motives that night. Had he set out to seduce her, or had matters simply…progressed?

That night, there’d been a party at his family’s house. Just a small gathering of family and friends—their first foray back into society after months of mourning. Violet had haunted the corner, as always. Watching him surreptitiously, as always.

And then he’d looked up and seen her. Truly
seen
her. Just as she’d always prayed he would. His brown gaze seemed to explore the depths of her soul, uncovering all her hopes, all her dreams, all her fears and cares and desires…and most of all, her love for him.

At least, she’d wanted to believe he was looking straight into her soul. But in retrospect, perhaps he was just seeing
through
her,
past
her. As though she were some sort of gated entrance he must traverse, and the rest of his life lay on the other side.

As he’d crossed the room to her, his demeanor had been so intent.

I have a book for you, Violet. Come, it’s just upstairs.

So she’d followed him. On the way up the stairs, she’d made a little joke about the impropriety. But they were old friends, and no one would suspect more. She knew this house as well as she knew her own, and it seemed almost silly that she’d never been inside his rooms. He didn’t even reside in them anymore. For the past several years, he’d kept a bachelor’s apartment across the square.

He led her into a bedchamber and shut the door. A sudden wash of heat made her brain muddled, swampy.

Where’s the book?
she’d asked.

There’s no book,
he’d said.

And then he’d taken her in his arms.

That kiss—that first magical press of his lips to hers—how she wished she could go back and relive it. She’d been caught completely unawares, after a solid decade of yearning for just that moment. All those years of wishing and hoping and practicing on her hand…cast out the window, instantly. Because it was
happening
.

She felt her own life racing ahead of her, leaving her breathless in pursuit. Each step in the sensual progression took her by surprise. His hands on her breasts. Then his
mouth
on her breasts. The dizzy rush of inversion when he tipped her back onto the bed. His heavy weight, pressing her into the mattress.

Wait,
she’d wanted to plead.
Give me a moment to catch up.

But she hadn’t said a word. Because she knew him too well. If she’d expressed the slightest uncertainty, he would have ceased his attentions. And that would have been a tragedy.

She’d wanted it too. Each kiss, each caress. She’d wanted all of it.

All of him.

“What do you say?” she asked. “Was it a ruthless seduction or a simple mistake?”

Her companion scowled. And unleashed a robust chain of what sounded like pure Breton blasphemy.

Violet glanced in Finn and Fosbury’s direction, reassuring them with a mild smile.

When she spoke again, she kept her voice hushed and her manner calm. “I wasn’t unwilling, if that’s what you’re thinking. Quite the opposite.”

“Even so. He was a devil to take advantage. And a fool to ever let you go.”

“He was a disappointment, I’ll say that much. That’s how I came to call him in my mind, you see. The Disappointment. It pained me too much to think of him by name.”

“The Disappointment.” He snorted. “It was that bad?”

Her face flushed. “It wasn’t bad.”

“Then it wasn’t good.”

“From what I’ve been led to understand, it was about as pleasant as any girl can expect, her first time. Some parts of it were wonderful. It might have improved on the second go, but—”

But then he’d gone. He’d left England the very next day.

Though almost a year had passed, her viscera helpfully reenacted all the shock and pain of that betrayal. Her stomach clenched, and her heartbeat took on the hollow thump of a kettledrum.

“His father had purchased some land in Antigua, and he went to survey the property. He didn’t even come to tell me himself, just sent a note. I never saw him again.
That
was the disappointment.”

“Gutless bastard.”

“I was cowardly too.” She studied her tea. “I hadn’t asked him for any promises. I never told him of my feelings. Maybe he didn’t realize I would have liked more.”

“He knew. He most certainly knew.” He ducked his chin, seeking her gaze. “Your heart is written on your face,
mon ange
. That’s what makes your face so beautiful.”

Her pulse fluttered. What did he mean? What did any of this mean?

She wished she could collect all the warmth and compassion in his eyes and weigh it on some sort of scale. Did it add up to mere polite concern, or to something more? Guilt or apology, maybe. Perhaps even love?

She said, “You are remarkably well-spoken for a humble Breton farmhand.”

He ignored her baiting remark. “You have been treated poorly and have suffered much. I’m sorry for it. But I am here.”

“Yes. You are here. But I don’t know that you can be trusted. Until I’m convinced otherwise, I must assume you are an enemy. A threat to my safety and my friends’.”

“Come.” He cocked his head, urging her close.

With a cautious glance toward Finn and Fosbury, she leaned forward. Until the heat of his breath could be felt against the exposed, vulnerable curve of her neck. Her heart thundered in her chest.

“If you get us alone,” he whispered, “I will tell you everything.”

Chapter Four

Alone?

Her pulse thumping, Violet sat back in her chair and regarded the bound man. His eyes glittered with challenge. He asked her to risk her own safety and that of her friends, even though he’d given her no reason to trust him.

Well, then. If she could not trust him, Violet had no choice but to trust herself. She must follow her own instincts.

The decision made, she stood and turned. “Mr. Fosbury? Finn? I’ve made an important discovery. Our man speaks French. Quite well, in fact.”

She shot a glance at their captive. His eyes didn’t glitter now. Did he feel betrayed, perhaps? Very well. It might do him good to learn that feeling.

“Cor,” Finn made an ungainly slide from the windowsill. “I knew it. Good for you, Miss Winterbottom.”

“As a matter of fact,” Violet said, “the man has expressed a wish to confess everything. But he’ll only speak directly to the commander.”

Finn straightened. “We must inform Lord Rycliff straightaway.”

“We’ll send a pair of footmen to the castle,” Fosbury said.

“Footmen?” Finn echoed. “Bollocks to that.” Leaning on his crutch, the youth buttoned the front of his coat. “I’m going myself.”