What A Rogue Wants (13 page)

Elizabeth shook her head.

Madelaine stared at her new friend.
She was very grateful, but she couldn’t allow her to continue to
help. “I’ll be fine. There are guards everywhere out
here.”

“
I know that, silly. But
the guards won’t help you look. And two pairs of eyes are better
than one.”

“
But if she’s angry with
me it may filter to you.”

“
Her temper will cool soon
enough if it does. Besides, the costume ball tonight will put her
in a fine mood.”

Without thought, Madelaine hugged
Elizabeth. “I owe you for this.”

“
No.” Elizabeth stood and
held her hand out. “I owe you for how terrible I was.”

“
You were not terrible.”
Madelaine grasped Elizabeth’s hand and stood. “You were afraid.
There’s a difference. Consider whatever debt you think you owe,
paid. Shall we head back down the hill and around the lake once
again?”

“
Absolutely.” Elizabeth
looked past Madelaine and grinned.

“
What is it?” An
infectious smile pulled at her own lips, though her situation
hardly warranted anything to be happy about.

“
I have a feeling our luck
is about to change.”

“
You do?”

Elizabeth nodded.

“
What makes you feel that
way?”

“
Not what, but
who.”

Madelaine came to her friend’s side
and stared down the gentle slope of the hill they had climbed.
Down, by the lake, making his way toward them was a tall,
broad-shouldered man with gleaming, curly black hair. Her heart
fluttered. “Whatever do you think your brother is doing out
here?”

Shaking her head with a smile,
Elizabeth said, “I imagine he’s looking for you. After all, he is
your protector now.”

“
Bite your tongue!”
Madelaine exclaimed. “I told you he offered to protect me from Lord
Thorton. That is all. Don’t you dare say a word. I’d die of
mortification.”

Elizabeth giggled. “I doubt you’d
perish, but I promise not to hint that I know Grey likes
you.”

“
He doesn’t like me,”
Madelaine whispered, afraid he might somehow hear. He must have
jogged up the hill for he was almost at the top.

“
He’s my brother. I’ve
known him all my life. And I tell you, you’re special. He’s offered
a lot of things to a lot of women and protection was never one of
them.”

“
Indeed she is special,”
Lord Grey said, cresting the hill. Damp, black curls clung to his
forehead, and she had the urge to reach out and push the thick
locks to the side. Her fingers tingled, as well as the rest of her
body.

“
What are you doing out
here, Lord Grey?” She had no idea how to respond to his statement
that she was special. She couldn’t deny the way her heart had
jerked with his words, but she needed to be careful. Wanting to
seduce her was not the same as wanting to court her.

“
I was looking for
you.”

How did every word he said manage to
sound crafted for seduction? Warmth spread through her limbs. She
might have stood there indefinitely staring at him if not for
Elizabeth nudging her in the side. “Told you,” Elizabeth whispered
near Madelaine’s ear.

“
What did you tell Lady
Madelaine, Liz?”

“
I told her you liked
her.”

“
Elizabeth,” Madelaine
hissed in warning. “I don’t think that at all, Lord
Grey.”

“
You should.” He stepped
so near her, his heat enveloped her and his scent of fresh pine
surrounded her. He reached toward her, and a thousand pinpricks
raced across her skin in anticipation of his touch. Then he paused
and her breath hitched. Was he reconsidering touching her? He
dropped his hand to his side, and her heart dropped a little with
it. But then he gave her a glorious smile. The same one that
yesterday had made her feel as if he’d never smiled like that for
anyone but her. She trembled and prayed neither he nor his sister
noticed how he affected her.

Elizabeth’s eyes protruded. “Well,
this is certainly something I have never seen.”

“
What is?” Madelaine
asked, glad to have the attention off her.

“
Grey playing by the
strict rules of etiquette.” Elizabeth stared at her brother. “I had
thought perhaps you didn’t know how.” Her voice held a teasing note
and she was grinning.

“
Of course I know how.” A
wolfish smile spread across his face. “I just never met a woman I
wanted to play by the rules for.” Heavens, was he serious? Was this
some new ploy of seduction he was trying? She had no idea how to
respond.

“
Rendered you speechless,
did I?”

The pompousness was more like what she
expected from a libertine. Not the previous astounding admissions
that had left her ridiculously giddy. She swallowed. “Your approach
surprised me, that’s all.”

“
My approach up the hill?”
A smirk graced his full lips.

“
No.” She glanced to
Elizabeth for help.

“
Grey, the queen lost one
of her favorite rings and she’s charged Madelaine with finding it
by twilight.”

Lord Greys’ eyebrows furrowed
together. “Is that why you two were hunched over as you made your
way up the hill?”

“
You were watching us?”
Madelaine couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.

“
Of course. You looked
lovely with your honey hair swinging around your face. But not as
lovely as earlier.”

“
Earlier?” Had he really
said “earlier?” She had the loveliest tingly sensation in her
stomach.

He lifted his arm and pretended to
draw back an arrow.

She gasped at his revelation. “Are you
following me?”

“
Worried?” He smirked at
her.

“
Should I be?”

“
No. I’ll keep all your
secrets. I promise.”

Her stomach fluttered but the feeling
was not embarrassment. His words excited her. “I imagine you’ve
made many promises to many women in your life.”

“
I feel as if you two are
having a private conversation even though I’m standing right here,”
Elizabeth said, cutting off whatever her brother had been about to
say.

“
You’re quite right,
sister dear. It was unpardonably rude of us. Now tell me, where was
the queen when last she remembers having her ring?”

“
She can’t say.” Madelaine
swept her hand in front of her. “We were everywhere today. Around
the lake. Up the hill.
And
back. It’s too much ground to search. I’ll never
find it, and she’ll have one more reason to dislike me.”

“
I’ll help you. I’m an
excellent tracker.”

Elizabeth nodded. “He has the uncanny
ability to find anything or anyone.”

An odd frown crossed Lord Grey’s face,
but then it was gone. “My father and my older brother Edward taught
me how to see clues most people ignore.”

She didn’t miss the change in his
tone. Something bothered him. Was he thinking of his father? She
understood longing for a parent’s love. She’d spent many useless
hours hoping her mother would accept her, but there was no point
dwelling on that right now. “You’re certain you don’t mind wasting
your time helping me?”

He took her ungloved hand and squeezed
it. The warmth of his fingers curled deliciously around her cold
hands. However did he manage to smolder like fire with the cool
wind now blowing? “Time spent with you, Lady Madelaine, will not be
wasted.”

Lord help her, she wasn’t
sure if he was trying to seduce her or not, but how easy it would
be to fall prey to him if he was. She shouldn’t take up his offer
of help. The sensible thing to do would be to politely decline. But
what if he
was
interested in her for more than seduction? Heavens! She was
just as bad as the other ladies-in-waiting who thought they would
be the one to win Lord Grey’s heart. Yet if someone could win it,
why not her?

“
Shall we look together?”
she asked, trying her hand at boldness. The cool blue of his eyes
warmed instantly as a grin lit his face.

“
Together sounds perfect.”
He offered her his arm.

Madelaine slipped her arm
into the crook of his, but she couldn’t quite settle on where she
should rest her fingers. To clutch his upper arm would be too bold.
She wouldn’t mind a bit seeing if he was built as powerfully as she
was imagining. She
could
link her own hands together. That would be
uncomfortable. Before she could decide what to do, he placed her
hand over his. More butterflies assaulted her stomach.

“
You two go to the tea
house where the walk started and search there again,” Elizabeth
said. “I’ll start here, and we can meet back in the middle at the
lake. And don’t worry―” she continued, cutting off Madelaine
voicing the impropriety of being alone with Lord Grey. “Her Majesty
cannot disapprove. We are in the open, for heaven’s sake. I can see
the tea house from here, so it’s not as if you’re
alone.”

Madelaine nodded and held onto Lord
Grey’s arm as they started down the hill. There was nothing weak
about him, as far as she could tell. His arm could have been
crafted of steel. He could easily be a soldier. Curiosity made her
speak. “Why did you choose to be an equerry rather than a
soldier?”

He paused and gave her a strange look.
“I did not choose it. My father told me I was going to be an
equerry and that was the end of the discussion.”

“
You don’t seem a man to
be told what to do.”

He laughed. “I’m not.”

“
But here you are doing as
your father has commanded.”

“
Only because I planned to
be the worst equerry ever. I had every intention of bending my
father to my will eventually.”

“
I don’t understand. You
speak as if you’ve changed your mind.”

His eyebrows raised a fraction. “I’ve
decided being an equerry may be more adventurous than I previously
thought.”

“
Really?” Madelaine
startled when he took her hand again and started back down the
hill. “It’s hard to imagine that watching over some preening lord’s
horses could be that adventurous.”

“
You’d be
surprised.”

She had no idea how to interpret his
statement. It seemed to her he wasn’t being truthful. Yet why would
he lie? Maybe he wanted to impress her. The thought both excited
and worried her.

What was she thinking? He surely could
care less about impressing her. If the most beautiful and
accomplished women at Court had failed to win his heart, then she
certainly had no hope with her oddness. “Lord Grey―” She paused in
her step. “―I―” Blast. A searing flush covered her face and neck.
“I don’t want to mislead you with my agreement to let you look for
the queen’s ring with me. I want your help, but I still don’t wish
to be seduced.”

“
That’s good.” He twined
his fingers with hers for a second before releasing her hand and
looking straight at her. “I don’t wish to seduce you
anymore.”

“
Why not?” Her blush grew
hotter. “Is it because I lack feminine accomplishments?”

When he threw back his head and
laughed, embarrassment swirled in her belly. Blast him! She hated
being laughed at. Everyone was always laughing at odd Lady
Madelaine. She straightened her shoulders and forced herself to
look him in the eyes. “There is no need to laugh at me.”

“
I’m not laughing at you.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m laughing at the absurdity of
the situation.”

“
You find me absurd?” She
barely knew the man and already he stirred her ire. Of course, she
knew better than anyone that igniting her temper was no hard
task.

“
No.” His smile vanished
and his eyes became serious. “I find you refreshing, beautiful and
honest. It’s because you lack
normal
feminine accomplishments that
I want to get to know you. I’m afraid I’ve been too long living a
life of debauchery, but I’ve recently discovered I would very much
like to change.”

She wanted to believe him, but really
did the man think her a fool? Did he think she’d forgotten his
earlier attempt to get her to meet him in the stables for a
rendezvous? “When did you have this epiphany? Five minutes
ago?”

“
No.” He raised her hand
to his lips and brushed a kiss across the back of her hand. The
beat of her heart echoed in her ears. “I knew I wanted to change my
wicked ways the moment you told me you wanted a husband and not a
seduction.”

His words made staying mad out of the
question. A pleasant warmth settled low in her belly. “So you
expect me to believe you decided to change your ways just because
of meeting me and learning I don’t desire to be
seduced?”

“
Certainly not. That would
be foolish of you. I recently found myself unleashed by former
self-imposed chains of stupidity. And I find I am no longer driven
to do certain things.”