The Book Of Scandal (29 page)

Nathan’s release raged in his veins, feeling impossible to control. Evelyn suddenly arched her back and opened her eyes, crying out as she reached her peak.

The rage inside Nathan exploded then. He roared with his orgasm, throwing his head back and crashing into the pool of longing they had created as he spilled hot and long inside her.

He collapsed to her side as the waves of desire began to slow and recede.

He tenderly kissed the space between her shoulder and collarbone. Evelyn’s fingers curled around his wrist; her eyes were closed, her breath still coming in short little bursts. Her skin was moist and warm as he traced a line from the hollow of her throat to her navel.

She sighed like a satisfied woman and rolled into him, burying her face in the curve of his shoulder.

Nathan propped a pillow behind his head and caressed her arm as he looked into the fire. He’d never felt so sure of anything in his life. This was right between them. This was where Evelyn belonged—there was no question in his mind.

He did not ruin that extraordinary moment by asking if there was a question in hers.

W hen Evelyn awoke the following morning, she was in the middle of the bed and tangled in the bed-clothes. Nathan was nowhere to be seen, but on his pillow he’d left a flower he’d taken from a vase at her wash basin. She smiled and picked it up, touching it to her nose.

The door opened; she looked up with a smile, hoping it was Nathan.

It was only Kathleen with a cup of hot chocolate, and the condition of the room stopped her abruptly. “My goodness!” she exclaimed, her eyes falling on Evelyn’s clothing on the floor. “Oh my!” She blushed. “Well,” she said pertly, and marched on to Evelyn’s vanity.

“I want the green silk today, Kathleen,” Evelyn said as she stretched her arms high above her head.

“Oh, that’s lovely, mu’um, and a good day for it, too. The sky is sunny and the air warmer than one might expect this time of year. The marchioness and the baroness had a walkabout in the east rose garden.”

They could have walked all the way to India for all Evelyn cared. “Have you seen his lordship this morning?”

“Aye, indeed I have. He and his father have gone into the village, but said they’d return by luncheon.” She turned her back to Evelyn to pick up discarded clothing. “He was quite jovial, actually. Quite.”

Evelyn grinned. She could scarcely wait to see him—she felt as giddily happy as a girl. She’d been married to the man for ten years, but it felt as if she’d only just become his wife.

When Evelyn descended the stairs at the lunch hour dressed in her best day gown, Benton was waiting to meet her. “The marchioness and baroness should like an audience in the morning room,” he said.

Even the prospect of another interview with her mother and mother-in-law could not dampen her spirits.

The two women had the doors open onto the terrace. The air was still, the sunlight bright. Her mother stood and the marchioness put down the embroidery she’d been working when Evelyn entered.

“Good morning, Mamma,” Evelyn said brightly, kissing her mother’s cheek. “Lady Sudley, how do you fare today?”

The marchioness peered closely at her. “Very well, Evelyn. And you?”

“Oh, I am well. Very well,” Evelyn said with a beaming smile.

“Darling, Annette and I have been talking,” her mother began. “We think that perhaps you are missing a proper activity to occupy your time. A proper activity will help you keep your thoughts from wandering too far afield.”

“We can’t have that, can we, thoughts wandering so far afield that they could not be called home again, eh?” Evelyn asked laughingly, and picked up a vase of flowers to admire them. “The hothouse flowers are extraordinary this time of year, are they not?”

Her mother looked at the flowers, then at her daughter. “Yes. Evelyn—”

“It’s a lovely day for a walk, isn’t it?” Evelyn interjected. “We so rarely have weather as fine as this in late autumn.”

“Are you even listening, Evelyn?”

Evelyn never had a chance to respond, for at that moment, the door swung open and Nathan strode in, a smile on his face.

Her husband looked more robust than Evelyn had ever seen him—he was tall and strong and his blue eyes were clear and shining with delight. “Good morning, ladies,” he said with a very gallant bow, then unabashedly swept Evelyn up with one arm and kissed her mouth.

“Nathan!” his mother chided him.

He let go of Evelyn with a wink and turned to his mother. “Mother, I hope you enjoy your luncheon,” he said, stooping to kiss her cheek. “After luncheon, I’ve something planned for us all: a game,” he said with a grin.

“A game,” the marchioness repeated, her distaste evident. “What sort of game?”

“Archery,” Nathan said, and glanced at Evelyn. “My wife believes she can best me with a bow and arrow.”

“Evelyn, you shouldn’t boast,” her mother chided her.

“I didn’t boast, Mamma,” Evelyn said sweetly. “I merely stated a fact, and Nathan took umbrage at it.”

“And we’re to play this game out of doors?” the marchioness demanded of her son.

“You forbade me from using bows and arrows indoors many years ago, Mother. Therefore, we will be on the west lawn.”

“I didn’t even know that Evelyn engaged in archery,” the baroness sniffed.

“Oh, Mamma! You are unaware of many activities in which I engage,” Evelyn said with a wink. Nathan laughed. The baroness, however, glowered at her.

But nothing could dampen Evelyn’s spirit. Something had changed in her over the last two days, something not unlike the turning of a ship in the ocean. The turning had been hardly noticeable at all, but once the ship was facing a new direction, it was full bore ahead.

Evelyn was that ship. She’d righted herself, changed her course, and now it was open seas before her, a whole new horizon.

She could scarcely wait to see what she might discover on this new course.

That afternoon, while their mothers complained that it was too cold, and their fathers called out advice, Evelyn and Nathan engaged in a game of archery. Evelyn won by two points, although there was quite a row between the marquis and the baron as to whether one of her shots, which landed on the line between the gold and the red circles, should be counted at the higher points value.

In the end, it didn’t matter—she won with the lower value, although she suspected that when Nathan’s last shot went horribly astray and landed beyond the target, he’d done it to give her the advantage.

Later, after supper, Nathan insisted they all engage in a game of charades. Their parents looked horrified, to a person. Evelyn’s father tried to beg off, citing fatigue, but Nathan insisted. They played well into the early morning hours until Nathan’s mother begged to be let out of the game.

Their parents retired, their fatigue evident. Nathan saw his parents up to their rooms, and Evelyn escorted hers.

“It’s good to see you come round to reason,” her father said, hugging her tightly to him. “We’ve worried about you so.”

She smiled at her father. “On the morrow, Nathan and I thought it would be diverting if we all took a long walk through the forest.”

Upon hearing that news, her father looked anxiously at her mother. Her mother said, “Let us not be too hasty, dear. The weather may turn.”

“Oh, I think it will be lovely on the morrow, Mamma. Shall we say half past seven? We want to get an early start.”

“Ah. Well. Perhaps. Good night, dear,” her mother said, and closed the door.

Evelyn smiled devilishly at the closed door before moving on to her suite.

Thinking of Nathan, she dreamily dressed for bed, then crawled beneath the coverlet. She lay on her side, looking at the starry night through the window. She’d just begun to drift to sleep when she heard the door open.

It was Nathan. He was wearing a dressing gown and his feet were bare. He climbed into bed with her and kissed her shoulder. “I don’t mean to disturb you, but I have the most fortuitous news,” he murmured.

“Oh?” she asked, shifting around to face him.

“When I suggested that we all go boating on the morrow, Father informed me they will be taking their leave.”

Evelyn gasped with delight. “Oh no! I told my parents we would trek through the forest!”

Nathan laughed with her. “I suspect the Brantleys will join the Greys in an early departure.”

“Are you certain? All of them?”

“All of them. It would seem we have put their fears to rest.” He lightly bit her shoulder. “Father advises we are to continue working to patch things up.”

“Ah.” She touched his face, her fingers trailing over his mouth. “Did he also advise how we are to do that?”

“Oh, indeed he did,” Nathan said. “But I’ve a better idea,” he added with a wolfish grin, and slipped his hand inside her gown, cupping her breast.

They made love, slow and easy, taking time to enjoy one another, finding fulfillment together. When Evelyn was at last lulled to sleep by the soothing sound of Nathan’s steady breathing, she felt as secure as she could remember ever feeling in his arms.

Shortly after luncheon the next day, Evelyn and Nathan stood on the drive, holding hands and waving at the departing coach as their parents drove away from Eastchurch Abbey, leaving their children to fend for themselves.

When the coach had turned a bend, Evelyn looked at Nathan sidelong; he smiled down at her. “It’s only you and me now, Evie,” he said.

“Thank you, Lord!”

He grinned. “Are you certain you can go it alone with me?”

She smiled. “Are you?”

“Oh,” he said, as he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles, “I am quite certain. Come. I want to show you something. Would you like to ride?”

“You would ask me that after last night?” she asked with a saucy smile.

“And might I add that the lesson was one of indescribable joy. Come, then,” he said, taking her hand. “Benton!” he called over his shoulder. “Where the devil are you, Benton? Lady Lindsey needs her cloak!”

The place to which Nathan took Evelyn was the old abbey ruins. They tethered the horses, picked their way through the rubble, and climbed ancient stone steps up to the top of the lone remaining tower. Part of the retaining wall had given away up top, and one could see all of Eastchurch—the abbey grounds, the village, and the earl’s estate.

It was a beautiful view, one that Evelyn had forgotten. She thought of the years she’d spent in London. The town’s luster was dull in comparison to the raw nature of the countryside. Here, the colors of the sky were brighter, the greens and browns of the earth more vibrant. Evelyn realized that Robbie’s death had dulled the world around her. For so long, everything had seemed the same shade of gray.

“Look there,” Nathan said, pointing. “You can see where they run the horses in the summer.”

“Oh, do they still?” she asked excitedly. “I always enjoyed the racing!”

“Then you shall have your racing,” he said, kissing her neck. “We shall have My Lady’s cup this summer, and to the winner will go whatever prize you choose.”

They wandered around the abbey a while longer, recalling her birthday spent playing at medieval court, and the ancient Christian relics the local chap who dabbled in antiquities had discovered one cool autumn morning. Those relics were now displayed at a museum in London.

But when the sky began to cloud, Nathan suggested they return to the main house. “It looks like rain,” he said, squinting up at the sky.

He helped Evelyn onto her horse, then mounted his. He turned back to speak to her, Evelyn presumed, but the only thing she remembered before hearing the shot fired was the warm smile on his face.

Everything after that was a blur.

N athan felt the sting of the bullet in his arm at the same moment he heard the report of a musket, so loud that it startled Evelyn’s young mount. The horse reared and bolted.

Evelyn shrieked, but she managed to hold on. Nathan quickly started after her; he could see her frantically trying to rein her mount, but the horse was too excited to heed her, and raced for the forest.

She would lose her seat when a limb snared her, or God forbid, an entire tree, if the skittish mare went crashing into the trees. Nathan spurred Cedric hard, forcing the steed to run faster. Fortunately, he’d invested in some of the finest horseflesh money could buy and Cedric easily caught up to the younger horse.

Nathan reined him close to the mare at the same time he grabbed for the mare’s bridle. His fingers wrapped around it and he flung himself off Cedric’s back, pulling back with all his might on the mare’s bridle, bracing with his feet, and by some miracle, forcing the horse to turn her head. She neighed, bared her teeth, and bucked once, then twice, but Nathan held on, and more important, so did Evelyn.

In a few moments the mare had calmed, yanking only halfheartedly at Nathan’s hold on her bridle.

He let go and caught the reins Evelyn held in a death grip and eased them, letting the mare relax. “Are you all right?” he asked quickly, putting his hand to her leg. “Are you hurt?”

“Nathan, you’re bleeding!” she cried.

He looked down, saw the blood oozing from his arm. He hardly felt it and believed the bullet had only grazed his arm. “I’m all right, I’m fine,” he said. “Now listen to me,” he said, taking her hands in his, “you must ride to the house. Tell Benton to send some men up to the ruins at once.”

“What?” she cried, panicking. “No! No, no, no, Nathan, you must come with me—”

“Whoever has done this is running now,” he said, reaching for Cedric’s reins. “I can still catch him. Go home, Evelyn! Ride as quick as you can!” He threw himself up onto Cedric’s back. “Go!” he ordered her again, and dug his spurs into the horse’s side.

The bastard who shot at him had had a few minutes’ head start, but Nathan knew a deer path through the forest that might gain him ground. He gave Cedric his head, sent him crashing into the tree line. He rode low over the mount’s neck, one arm raised slightly to protect his head from low-hanging limbs.

Cedric leapt over brush and small streams without fear, dodging and running recklessly through the woods. When at last they did emerge on the path along the river, Nathan caught sight of the gunman as his horse rode over a crest, just ahead of him. He slowed and turned, pointed the musket at Nathan, and fired wildly.