The King's Falcon (Roundheads & Cavaliers Book 3) (32 page)

This startled a tiny laugh out of her but her reply was unexpected enough to set alarm bells ringing.
 
She said, ‘You know … the first time we met, I thought you didn’t like me.’

‘Did you?’ He wondered where this was going. ‘And now?’

‘Now … I don’t know. You are very kind and – and honourable, I think.
 
But you would be those things whether you liked me or not.’
 
She paused, aware that his strength and warmth and the exquisite pleasure of being this close to him were making her weak and stupid but still couldn’t resist saying shyly, ‘That d-day in the hall, I thought perhaps you wanted to kiss me.’

He’d wanted to then and he wanted to now, God help him – which made this very dangerous ground indeed.
 
A man with any sense at all would instantly change the subject.
 
Ashley opened his mouth and said, ‘And if I had … would you have let me?’

‘Yes.’
 
In a heartbeat.
 
As I would now.
‘I thought you knew that.
 
So I wondered … why you didn’t.’

This time he forced himself to lie.
 

‘I feared what Madame Fleury might do to me. She’s a formidable lady.’

‘I know.
 
She frightens me sometimes.’
 
She hesitated again and then said almost conversationally, ‘The Marquis kissed me. It was horrible.’

‘If that’s the case, no wonder he finds it necessary to use force.’

‘Perhaps.’
 
The pause this time was a long one while she thought,
Oh God.
 
Why doesn’t he help me?
 
Do I have to say it straight out?
 
And finally, when he still didn’t speak, she said baldly, ‘I don’t think it would be horrible with you.’ And cringed inwardly before the words had left her mouth.
 

Somewhere amongst the tangle of his emotions was faint amusement.
 
He said, ‘That’s extremely flattering. But, from what you say, you haven’t experimented enough to form a proper comparison.

‘No.’ Athenais sat up and moved away a little so that she could look into his face.
 
‘I never wanted to.
 
Until now.’

His heart slammed against his ribs and he thought
, That’s torn it
.
Damned if I do and damned if I don’t, as they say.
 

 
 
He sat very still, looking at her while silence lapped the edges of the room.
 
The trouble was that he wanted to put his hands on her very, very badly; and there was a look in her eyes which suggested she wanted them there just as much.
 
Had it just been a matter of mutual lust, he was confident of being able to stop matters going further than they should.
 
But it wasn’t just lust; certainly not on his side and not, he was beginning to suspect on hers.
 
There was an unbelievably strong pull between them … and it wasn’t solely physical.
 
He had never felt anything like it before and, under the circumstances, it scared the hell out of him.

Summoning as easy a smile as he could manage, he made one last attempt to avert disaster.

‘It was simply luck that I got here at the right time. You don’t owe me anything – and you
certainly
don’t have to offer payment in kind.’

She swallowed hard and held her ground.

‘I’m not.
 
That would be insulting.
 
What I’m trying to say is that if you thought … if you’d quite like to kiss me … I wish you would.’
 
She stopped and then added, ‘After the Marquis, it might … help.
 
But only if you want to, of course.’

If I
want
to?
 
God, darling – you have no idea.

Even if he’d been capable of it, the embarrassed colour in her cheeks coupled with the wistful anxiety in her voice made refusal of any kind impossible.
 
Telling himself the heavens weren’t going to fall on account of one kiss, Ashley remained perfectly still and let his gaze drift to her mouth.

Athenais looked at the ridiculously long, gold-tipped lashes veiling his gaze and felt everything inside her start to unravel.
 
Then, lifting one apparently lazy hand, he drew his thumb across her lower lip, raised his eyes to hers … and smiled.

Her breath snared in her throat and, without realising it, she swayed towards him.
 
Ashley let the curved backs of his fingers slide along her jaw and down the smooth column of her throat, while his other arm curled around her waist to draw her closer.
 
Then, lightly and without any sign of haste, his mouth brushed hers.

She gasped and her lips parted.

‘You’ll tell me,’ he murmured, his voice low and wicked, ‘if it’s horrible?’

‘Yes.
 
Oh!
’
 
This as his tongue offered a languid caress which ended with a soft kiss at the corner of her mouth. Her hands fisted in his shirt and then, seeming to realise that there was something much more interesting beneath it, travelled wonderingly over the hard contours of his chest.
 

His mouth moved on, nibbling seductively along her jaw to her ear where it lingered for a while before teasing its way equally slowly back.
 
Athenais made a tiny, inarticulate sound in the back of her throat and her fingers crept round his neck, into his hair.
 
Ashley pulled her closer still and finally, at long last, possessed her mouth.
 
It opened beneath his and she melted against him, soft, sweet and utterly responsive.

Any possibility of logical thought deserted him.
 
There was nothing in the entire universe but the beautiful girl in his arms and her unconcealed longing for him; nothing but her and the raw, aching desire she sent spiralling through him.
 
He released her mouth to feather kisses down her throat to the sensitive spot at the base of her neck and heard her sigh his name.
 
His hands moulded her waist and rose to cup her breasts, his body hardening with every new curve he discovered.
 
He kissed her until he was dizzy with hunger and knew that she was too.

Athenais’s fingers tangled in the thick, tawny-blond hair.
 
Flames were racing along every vein and nerve and an inferno raged deep in the core of her body.
 
She had not known – had never realised – that it was possible to want anything as much as she wanted this man.
 
Words hovered at the edges of her mind only to float away under the exquisite touch of his hands and evaporate as her breathing became no more than sobbing gasps.

Ironically enough, it was the Marquis d’Auxerre that Ashley had to thank for making him stop before he went a good deal further than he had intended.
 
His fingers were already at the laces of her gown when he bent his head to kiss her breast and his jaw brushed the bite-mark, making her wince a little.

He froze, at first only aware that he had hurt her and then aghast at what he had been about to do.
 

‘Christ Almighty,’ he breathed huskily, snatching back his hands as if burned.
 
‘God.
 
Athenais – I’m sorry.’

‘What?’
 
She sounded dazed and her eyes were dark with arousal. ‘Sorry?
 
Why?’

He removed her arms from around his neck and created a little space between them.

‘I should have … stopped … a while ago.’
 
Still breathing rather rapidly, he lifted each of her hands to his lips in apology and then stood up.
 
‘Trust me.
 
A kiss is one thing.
 
Where we were headed just now is quite another.
 
Forgive me. I need to speak to Francis and, hopefully, your father.
 
And the maid.’

Then, with a slightly crooked smile, he left the room before she noticed that – for the first time in his entire life – his hands were shaking.

~
 
*
 
*
 
~
 
*
 
*
 
~

The moment he walked through the door, he met Pauline.

She said tersely, ‘Francis told me about d’Auxerre.
 
How is she?’

‘She’s fine.
 
I think.’

‘You
think?
 
Is she or isn’t she?’

Ashley shoved his hand through his hair and tried to engage his brain.
 
Then, failing, he fell back on the truth.

‘She’s not crying or hurt or frightened, if that’s what you mean.
 
On the other hand, I suspect she wanted to get rid of the taste of the Marquis – so she asked me to kiss her.’
 

The fine eyes narrowed.
 
‘And did you?’

‘Yes.
 
It may not have been – it probably wasn’t a very good idea.
 
I don’t know.’

Pauline folded her arms and looked at him.

‘You’re saying that she liked it – which is no surprise.
 
You’re pretty and have probably had a fair bit of practice.
 
But if she’s still searching for her wits, you’ve only got yourself to blame.
 
You ought to have expected it.’

‘Do you think we might have this conversation later?’ he asked, only too aware that he was at fault.
 
‘Just at the moment, I’d like to throw a few obstacles in the way of any future plans the Marquis might have involving this house. With your permission, of course.’

‘Do whatever you think necessary.
 
Just don’t let Athenais start imaging things that are never going to happen.’

‘I’m neither a rakehell nor a complete idiot,’ he snapped.
 
And, almost but not quite beneath his breath as he walked away, ‘And despite frequently being required to act like one, I’m not a bloody machine either.’

In the kitchen, he found Francis, Archie and the maid, whose name he couldn’t remember.

‘What have you told them?’ he asked Francis.

‘Only that the Marquis d’Auxerre was here, uninvited, pestering Athenais.
 
For the rest, I’ve been waiting --’

‘Is she all right?’ demanded Archie, belligerently. ‘Is my girl all right?’

‘Yes.
 
This time.
 
But if Francis and I hadn’t got back when we did, it might have been a different story.’
 
The green-gold gaze swept round the room. ‘Which is why we’re going to be more careful in future.
 
First of all, no one – and I mean
no one
– leaves this house unlocked at any time.
 
Today, d’Auxerre simply let himself in.
 
I don’t want to know whose fault that was – but it will be a different matter if it ever happens again,’ said Ashley incisively. ‘We are taking precautions because I don’t think we can rely on the Marquis taking today’s defeat gracefully.
 
Sooner or later, he’ll be back – and the likelihood is that he’ll come when he knows that Athenais is at home but Francis and I are not.
 
So we’re going to institute measures ensuring that she is never left completely alone in the house. And for that – Jem being occupied with other duties, just at present – we’ll need to rely solely on you, Sergeant Stott.’

Archie, who hadn’t been addressed that way in years, stood to attention.
 

‘’Onoured, Colonel.
 
Orders of the day, sir?’

Francis had to smother a grin.
 
Ashley, who still felt as if he’d been hit in the chest with a pike, had no such difficulty.
 
He said, ‘You know how the house works, Archie.
 
Athenais and Pauline have fairly set routines – as, for the next couple of weeks, do the Major and myself.
 
I need you to organise your own comings and goings so that you’re on duty when everyone but Athenais is out.
 
Do you follow?’

‘I do, sir.
 
You can rely on me.’

‘I’m sure of it.
 
If the fellow shows his face, don’t let him in.
 
And if, by any mischance, he tries to force an entry, I suggest you keep a sturdy cudgel to hand.’
 
He paused, frowning.
 
‘As to the rest, either the Major or I will escort Athenais to and from the theatre unless it’s broad daylight and Pauline is with her. Francis; he knows who you are and won’t swallow that insult so you’ll need to watch your back.
 
And you,’ he looked at the maid whose name he still couldn’t remember, ‘will neither forget to lock the door nor admit the Marquis to this house again – even if he threatens you with the wrath of God.
 
I trust that takes care of everything?’ No one replied.
 
‘Good.
 
Then I’m going out for an hour.’

*
 
*
 
*

In the parlour, Pauline absorbed the marks on Athenais’s wrists, the tooth-marks on her breast and the torn shoulder of her gown.
 
Then she looked into the girl’s face and saw something even more worrying.
 

Athenais was utterly radiant.
 
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright and a tiny, secret smile hovered at the corners of her lips.
 
She looked, thought Pauline irritably, like a first-day bride.
Damn
.

‘Who let d’Auxerre in?’ she asked.

‘Mm?
 
Oh.
 
No one.
 
He said that the door was unlocked.’

Pauline began to see why Colonel Peverell was concerning himself with security.
 

‘And then?’

‘He pinned me against the wall and kissed me.
 
Then he bit me.’
 
She gestured to the mark as though it was of absolutely no consequence and twisted her neck to try to peer over her shoulder.
 
‘The worst thing is that he’s torn my dress. Do you think it can be mended?’

Pauline took her time examining the damage while considering a few other matters.
 
Finally she said, ‘The seam has come adrift but the actual taffeta is intact.
 
I’ll see to it.’

Athenais turned a dazzling smile on her.

‘Thank you.
 

‘You appear,’ said Pauline dryly, ‘to have got over being assaulted remarkably quickly.’

Some of the glow faded.

‘Truthfully?
 
I was scared witless.
 
I thought … I’m fairly sure that he intended to rape me.’
 
She twisted her hands in her lap. ‘I couldn’t give in to him, Pauline.
 
I’ve heard what some of the girls say about him – that he’s not normal.
 
And now I know it’s true.’

‘No.
 
I’d have to agree that the average man doesn’t generally go round biting females.
 
We’d better put some salve on that, by the way.
 
It looks sore.’

‘Yes.
 
Are you angry with me?’

‘About turning the bastard down?
 
No.
 
But I think you need to recognise that he’s now your enemy.
 
And not just yours.
 
What happened when the Colonel and Francis turned up?’

The glow was back in an instant and even more breath-taking than before.

‘He – they were splendid.
 
I wish you could have seen it.
 
Ashley threatened to beat him to a pulp and Francis said something insulting about his personal habits.
 
Then Ashley told him he could leave in one piece or get a boot up his arse.
 
If I hadn’t been shaking like a leaf, I’d have laughed.’
 
She gave a tiny shrug.
 
‘He left then, muttering something.
 
But Ashley doesn’t think he’ll let it rest.’

‘No.
 
And I’ll be surprised if it doesn’t end in blood.’

Athenais immediately stood up.
 
‘Where is he?’

‘The Colonel?
 
Mustering his troops, I imagine.
 
Sit down.
 
Nothing more is going to happen today and I want to hear the rest of it.’
 
Pauline waited until the girl had subsided reluctantly back on the sofa. ‘So d’Auxerre went off with his tail between his legs and the Colonel dried your tears?’

‘Something like that.’
 
Athenais concentrated on pleating a fold of her skirt, her colour rising a little.
 
‘He was so kind, Pauline.
 
You can’t imagine.
 
He didn’t even laugh at me for crying over my new dress. He’s … I don’t know.
 
I’ve never met anyone like him before.’

Pauline debated the matter for a moment and decided to grasp the nettle.

‘And I imagine he kisses rather well, too.’

The storm-grey eyes flew to her face.

‘How do you kn --?’

‘He told me.’
 
A wry smile dawned.
 
‘To be fair, he looked as though he’d been knocked sideways – so I’d probably have guessed anyway.’
 
She paused.
 
‘What do you expect to come of it?’

‘I don’t know.
 
I haven’t thought about it.’

‘Liar.
 
You want him, don’t you?’

Athenais took her time about answering but, in the end and because she knew better than attempt to deceive Pauline, she said simply, ‘Yes.’

‘Well, I can’t blame you for that.
 
He’s got the manners of a gentleman and the looks of a god – so if you want to take him to bed, good luck to you.
 
I daresay he’s as skilled in that department as he seems to be in every other.
 
But if you’re hoping for more than a few pleasurable hours between the sheets, I’d advise you to think again.’

 
‘I don’t know what I was hoping for.’
 
Athenais frowned down into her lap.
 
‘But what you’re really saying is that I shouldn’t fall in love with him.’

‘That,’ agreed Pauline, ‘is exactly what I’m saying.’

Seconds ticked by in silence before Athenais looked up again and said ruefully, ‘I could be wrong … but I think it may be a little bit late for that.’

‘Oh God,’ sighed Pauline.
 
And then, ‘Why am I not surprised?
 
The two of them are as bad as each other – and you and I are equally deranged.
 
The Colonel’s saved you from a fate worse than death and got your heart in his pocket as a result.
 
And bloody Francis has written a play and badgered me into taking the plum role. Ah.’
 
She stopped.
 
‘I’d better explain about that, I suppose. And if he hasn’t left the only copy with Froissart, I’ll get it for you to read.
 
It ought to take your mind off the gallant Colonel for a little while.’

*
 
*
 
*

Ashley walked as far as the Place des Vosges and sat on a bench in the gardens.
 
He wished there was somewhere he needed to be, somewhere that would provide a distraction – but there wasn’t.
 
He drew the letter Hyde had given him from his pocket and stared at it.
 
Literally, just that.
 
He’d looked at it so many times already, he knew it off by heart and had already assimilated the few clues it offered – the only useful ones being that it was written in an educated hand and in English.
 
Now, however, he wasn’t even really seeing it, let alone applying his brain.
 
Now
the only thought in his head was Athenais.

The moment he’d walked in and seen d’Auxerre man-handling her, he’d felt a gust of rage stronger than anything he’d ever known.
 
In truth, it had been sheer bloodlust – and how he’d kept his hands off the bastard, he really didn’t know.
 
Everything inside him had screamed at him to rip the man limb from limb and then stamp upon the pieces.
 
And when she’d told him about the dress, he’d wished he had.

This was bad.
 
What he felt for her wasn’t just a typical male reaction to an exceptionally beautiful woman.
 
It wasn’t simple or mild or transient … and it certainly wasn’t safe.
 
He knew all the reasons that there couldn’t be anything between them.
 
God knew, he’d made all the arguments himself and could recite them to music.
 
But he’d just proved, beyond all doubt, that neither his will-power nor his self-control were to be relied upon when he came within ten feet of her.
 

He’d been incredibly stupid. And feeble-minded.
 
And self-indulgent.
 
He shouldn’t have kissed her.
 
He’d known that perfectly well before he did it – and had done it anyway. He’d seen the path their conversation was taking and known what the pitfalls might be.
 
He ought to have made his escape at the point when she asked why he hadn’t kissed her that day in the hall.
 
All he need have done was complete his exit line.