Who Brings Forth the Wind (Kensington Chronicles) (8 page)

and Lucinda never married?"

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Roddy nodded and regarded her seriously. When he

spoke, Stacy could tell he'd given the matter great thought.

"I value Lucinda's friendship above all else in the world

Were I to introduce romance between us when she did not

share my feelings, I would ruin everything we have. I simply

can't take that chance."

"But you must know she loves you," Stacy reasoned

"Yes, she does love me, but she isn't in love with me. There

is a difference, you know. I'm her best friend, just as she is

mine. I can go on living with the knowledge that she will

continue to be."

"She is in love with you, Roddy," Stacy told him softly.

Roddy didn't go so far as to shake his head, but his look was

more than a little dubious.

"She's loved you for years. She told me herself."

Roddy stared at Stacy. The intensity in his eyes frightened

her a little. She had started something here, and as much as

she might regret it, she decided to see it through.

"When I first came to London, we talked of it. I asked her

why she wasn't married to you, and she said it was because

you'd never asked."

Stacy watched Roddy's eyes slide shut and felt as if her

insides were being torn in two. She was not easily given to

tears, but this was almost enough to make her sob.

Roddy's gaze turned beyond the carriage then, and Stacy

left him to his thoughts. She knewLucinda would be returning

soon and wondered if she should apologize. As it was, Roddy

quietly thanked her just before Lucinda emerged from the

shop.

Stacy, feeling very much that Roddy and Lucinda needed a

few moments alone, slowed her pace and let them move

ahead. A lovely bloom caught her attention as the path wound

its way back to the carriage, and Stacy stopped to take in its

fragrance. When she looked up, Tanner stood some ten feet

away.

His look was rather stern, but Stacy couldn't mask the

softening of her eyes at just seeing him again. He scared her a

little, and she knew he was not the man for her, but her heart

turned over every time she thought of him.

"Stacy," Roddy's voice suddenly called to her from beyond

the shrubs.

"I'm coming, Roddy," Stacy answered immediately before

looking back at Tanner and a woman beyond him. Even at a

distance and standing in profile, the woman looked lovely.

Stacy met Tanner's eyes as she spoke. "I'm glad you found

someone to go on that stroll with you, Lord Richardson." Stacy

dropped her eyes then and moved away. Tanner did not try to

follow.

The Royal Botanic Gardens were riotous with color during

midsummer. The day was a bit warm for a long stroll, but

they walked leisurely along until Roddy proclaimed that he

would die if they didn't stop for tea.

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"I will not allow you to see her." Lucinda's tone was calm,

but her insides were trembling. "She doesn't want to see you."

"I would like to hear that from Stacy," Tanner challenged,

much as he had been doing for the last half hour.

"There is no need," Lucinda insisted. "As I've said before,

she cannot see you."

"Why?" Growing perilously close to the end of his patience,

Tanner fired the single word at her.

"I'll tell you why, because I know you're not here to ask for

her hand in marriage, and I will not allow you to play games

with my niece's life.

"If in fact I have misread your intent, please correct me,

but unless your intentions toward Stacy are honorable, you

will not socialize with her."

Tanner stood silent, his anger at a boiling point just beneath

the surface. After a moment, Lucinda's brows raised and

her shoulders lifted in a shrug. Her voice was void of accusation

when she spoke.

"Your silence has answered my question, your Grace."

Tanner continued to stand quiet. He grudgingly admired

Lady Warbrook for the way she stood up to him, but he did not

care to be thwarted. He wanted Anastasia Daniels, and Lucinda

had made it very clear that the only way he could have

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her was in marriage. He'd been married once, and he was not

going to fall into that trap again.

If he and Stacy were to form a relationship that was

mutually beneficial to both of them, fine. They didn't need the

confines of marriage to do it. Lucinda had said his intentions

were not honorable, but to him they were. Tanner had never

had a mistress before, but he knew when he finally made

Stacy his own, he would treat her like a queen. He would be

faithful to her, and she would know no humiliation at his

hands. He was one of the wealthiest men in England and well

able to care for her in any style she desired.

And when it was time to end their relationship, not that he

believed there would be a need for many years, there would

be no messy scenes. He would tell her goodbye and give her

enough money to do anything she pleased for the rest of her

life. There was simply no need to marry.

Lucinda watched as Tanner leaned down and picked up

the riding gloves he'd dropped on the table. He turned toward

the door without a word, and Lucinda did not try to speak to

him. His pride had obviously been wounded, and she had no

desire to rub salt in the wound. It was relief enough to see him

go. He must realize now that she meant business concerning

Stacy. Stacy, she reminded herself, must not know that he'd

even been to call.

Across the foyer in the library Stacy chose the book she

desired and moved back toward the door. She hadn't even

bothered to close it, since she'd known just what she was

looking for. Halfway across the carpet, however, she was so

startled that she dropped the book and simply stared.

Tanner stood in the doorway, his eyes hooded and almost

angry. Unlike the day before in the park, Stacy's gaze didn't

soften; this time his look was too foreboding, and she was too

surprised to find him in Aunt Lucinda's home.

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Stacy watched as his eyes traveled over her dress. It was

the red velvet she'd brought from home. Without moving from

the doorway, he spoke.

"That color is dreadful on you."

Stacy shrugged apologetically and glanced down at the

skirt. "Aunt Lucinda doesn't care for it either."

At the sound of her voice Tanner had to draw nearer; it was

as though he had no choice. He stopped a foot away from her

and, feeling mesmerized, just stared into her wide, blue eyes.

Every woman who's ever meant anything to me has been

full of lies and deceit, he thought. Can this sweetness in her be

real, or does it only last as long as she gets her way?

"I'm not the marrying kind, Stacy," Tanner told her without

preamble.

He spoke the words as though they'd been discussing the

matter, but as abrupt as they seemed, Stacy wasn't surprised to

hear them. She nodded, her eyes regretful but understanding.

It was almost more than Tanner could take. He wanted her

to show her true self, to yell at him or lash out, but instead she

continued to offer him only sweet sensitivity.

Suddenly his hands grasped her upper arms in a grip that

was firm but not bruising. It was as if he needed to be touching

her to make his point.

"I'm not the marrying kind, Stacy, and your aunt is completely

unreasonable."

His grasp had brought her so close that Stacy could feel his

breath. She should have felt frightened, but instead her heart

turned over with love for him. Her voice told him as much.

"I'm not sure what you want of me, but I must do as

Lucinda asks. It's what my grandfather would wish." Stacy

paused before going on, almost talking to herself. "July is

already here. Just a few weeks now, and it will be time for me

to go home. It will be easier then."

Defeat Washed over Tanner. He hadn't really expected her

to leave with him on the spot, but he had halfway hoped she

would at least be open to some discussion. It never once

occurred to him that she didn't even realize he wanted her for

a mistress.

Tanner didn't speak again. He felt he had said it all. As his

hands slowly released her, his eyes moved slowly over her

face, as if to memorize every detail of her lovely features.

When his inspection was complete, he brushed a soft kiss

across her lips, moved to the door without looking back, and

walked away.

Stacy found a chair and sat down hard Her eyes focused

unseeingly on the book she'd dropped on the floor. She sat for

the next hour and stared at it, wondering how she was ever

going to get over Lord Tanner Richardson.

Just four days before Stacy was to leave for Middlesbrough,

she and Roddy took a long ride in the park. As they

rode, Stacy would fall into moments of quiet contemplation.

Roddy knew she was thinking of Tanner. He alone knew that

she'd seen him in Lucinda's library. What Stacy didn't know

was that Tanner had not given up that day. He'd been to see

Lucinda twice more in an attempt to reason with her, explaining

what a wonderful life he could offer Stacy.

Amazingly, Lucinda had not been offended. She had confided

in Roddy that she'd seen a certain vulnerability in

Tanner, one that touched her heart and caused her to put aside

her reservations. It was as though she understood him, when

in fact, she should have been insulted that the man wanted

Stacy for a mistress and not a wife. Roddy knew that she

struggled with how closely he resembled Aubrey, but she had

also admitted that although Aubrey was a rake, Tanner had

shown no such signs.

Roddy .knew her heart was softening, and he was rather

fascinated by her handling of the whole affair. However, he

also knew Lucinda would never settle for less than a proposal

of marriage.

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Roddy's musings were cut off suddenly when a stray dog

rushed from the bushes and snapped at the heels of Stacy's

mount. Roddy called for her to watch herself, but Stacy was

obviously too preoccupied.

Taken unawares, her horse pranced suddenly. Stacy lost

the reins. She was groping frantically for control when the dog

dashed forward again and the horse reared.

Roddy watched in horror as Stacy was thrown. She landed

hard on the grassy turf and lay still even as Roddy jumped

from the back of his mount and rushed to her side. He heard

the pounding of hooves, the rush of feet, and the sound of

someone coming to subdue the dog and catch Stacy's horse,

but Roddy's eyes never left her white face.

"Stacy," he called urgently and placed a hand on her pale

cheek. Roddy's heart pounded in fear when she did not respond