Wildfire Kiss (13 page)

His blue eyes caught her attention. They glittered
with amusement. He said with something of a crooked grin, “Having
told one another off in famous style, perhaps we may now discover
what you are doing barreling through the woods alone.”

Inwardly she was thinking that she could look into
his eyes forever, listen to his deep masculine soothing
voice—forever. Outwardly she straightened up and complained, “Why
is that all that matters? You could have landed me in that ditch,
and I could now be quite dead.”

He laughed, right out loud, and flicked her nose.
“Thankfully, you seem to be quite a little horsewoman and are very
much alive.”

She recalled her mission. “Oh, what am I doing
wasting time. I have to find the doctor—”

“Doctor? What is amiss?”

“Sir Frederick—he was hurt when his carriage wheel
went flying off and his coach toppled, and he was unconscious when
I left him …” She started for her horse.

He took her by the hand, led her to the phaeton,
unfolded and lowered the steps, and told her firmly, “Up with
you …”

“But I have to fetch the doctor …”

“So we shall, immediately,” he answered
authoritatively. “We shall call on him right now.”

“But … what if he is not at home?” She suddenly
realized he might not be.

“He is … I passed him just awhile ago, and that
is where he was headed,” he answered as he took up the reins of her
horse and tethered him behind the phaeton.

“Oh, Nick,” she said breathlessly as she situated
herself on the seat and sighed with great relief. “But …
what are you
doing here?”

“Why, coming to the rescue, of course,” he answered
and sat beside her to grin widely.

Twelve

“OOOOH …” Sir Frederick groaned impressively
and put a hand to his aching head as he drifted back into
reality.

“Lie still, sir, and try not to speak just yet,”
Miss Bretton ordered in firm accents.

He opened his eyes, found her face, and appeared to
focus. His hand reached for her, and he winced sharply but said,
“So beautiful … but … where …” He drifted off
again.

Miss Bretton touched his shoulder, concerned, and he
opened his light blue eyes and attempted a smile of sorts.
“Hallo …” he managed.

“Sir Frederick, do you remember what
occurred …?”

“You took off your mask …” he said dreamily.
“Lovely …”

“There was a carriage accident … your coach
went over, and you were knocked unconscious.”

“Was I?”

Miss Bretton bit her bottom lip. He appeared dazed,
and if she didn’t keep him talking he would drift off again. She
was certain that was not what he should do. “That’s right …
you have now a large bump on your head, but we managed to get you
to a very lovely inn … and my aunt Jane washed the blood from
your face. She is now downstairs arranging rooms for all of us, as
you may not be fit to travel for a few days.”

“
You
… here … with me.” He grinned
idiotically.

Ordinarily she would have giggled at his expression,
but matters were too serious for that, and she was deeply
concerned.

“Tell me, Sir Frederick, can you move your
legs?”

“Don’t want to,” he said with the same grin.

“Please?” she cooed.

“Of course, my sweet …” He made a valiant
attempt and lifted first one leg under the covers and then the
next, winced with pain, lay back, and sighed heavily.

“I do not think you have broken your legs, but your
arm may have sustained an injury.” She sighed and added, “Lady Babs
has gone in search of the doctor. They should be here any moment,
and then we will know for certain. Your driver had a quick look at
you and tells us you are badly bruised all over, so you must lie
still.”

“My heart …” he said dreamily.

“Oh no … no … have you a pain in your
heart …?” she cried with great distress.

“No, my heart … filled with you …” he said
and nodded off.

“Dear … oh dear …” Miss Bretton said, but
she couldn’t help the slight smile that curved her lips. She moved
to adjust his covers, but his bare left arm looked twice its size.
Oh no
, she thought,
his arm is broken and will need to be
set
.

***

Babs watched the duke at the reins with open
admiration. Glancing her way, he caught her look. His sensuous lips
formed a wide smile. “Y-es?”

She laughed. “I was only thinking how well you
handle the reins. This is no easy conveyance to drive.”

“Thank you,” he said, and Babs noted that he sat
taller in his seat.

“I am ever so glad you came along,” she said and
then stopped herself. She wasn’t sure if she should voice her next
question. However, ever impulsive, she dove right in. “I don’t
quite understand though …”

“What don’t you understand?”

“Last night, when I mentioned that I would be
leaving London for Brighton this morning, you said that you would
not be setting out for Brighton till next week.” She frowned. “And
even if you changed your mind and were on your way there, you are
off the beaten path a bit … aren’t you?” She peeped at him
after this last comment. “Are you lost?” She added this last to
bait him further and get an answer.

“When
you
nearly landed yourself in a ditch
by barreling in front of my phaeton, I was
not
on my way to
Brighton and certainly
not lost
,” was his answer. He further
frustrated her by grinning broadly.

She waited a moment while her brain went into
action. Was he here to see a woman? Was that why he was in the
area? A sudden depression swished through her system, and she
turned away from him to contemplate the countryside.

He nudged her with his shoulder and said, “Curious
minx. I was on my way to visit an old friend of my father’s. I had
promised to give him a few days, and since he is just off the road
to Brighton, I decided now was the time.”

She brightened at once and smiled up at him. “Oh,
and then you will proceed to Brighton?”

“If that is where you will be …” His smile lit
his blue eyes, and his tone caressed her.

She was flooded with heat but managed to say on a
breathless note, “You do that very well, and even so, I am prompted
to disbelieve your sincerity.”

“Ah Babs, I would that you would trust me, for I
have been honest with you from the start,” he said softly.

“Lord Wildfire, that is what you are called, and I
am persuaded with good reason. You would have me trust you—when you
have advised me that you are merely dallying with me?” She eyed him
doubtfully.

“Yes, and for that reason. You won’t get hurt if you
understand up front just what the rules of the game are.” His eyes
glinted with amusement.

“I am not really very good with rules …” she
said. “And besides, I have been warned about you.”

“What have they told you? You called me Wildfire,
but you do know that it was only a name my fellow officers and men
gave me during our fighting in the Peninsula … and it
stuck.”

“Otto told me you have a reputation for going
through women like wildfire, and that is
why it stuck
.” She
twinkled up at him.

“Perhaps that was so, but he had no business telling
you that!” his grace returned with a frown. “What was he
doing—warning you off me for himself?”

“Nonsense. Otto and I are friends … and we both
know that.”

“I have no desire at this moment to be … only a
friend to you, little one. So perhaps Otto is right to warn you
away from me.”

“You talk about rules and such, but you have said
you don’t play with innocent maids, and yet, I am no fool … I
see that you want me … and I think at times you mean to have
me.” Boldly Babs put up her hand. “I know nothing permanent is on
your mind … and yet, you have kissed me, and I have not
stopped you. Indeed, I rather understand you aren’t looking
for … er … friendship.”

He eyed her for a long moment after this speech. She
could see the hungry look in his blue eyes and admitted to herself
that she was walking dangerous territory. What would he think of
her?

He said in a very low tone, “You seem to understand
the rules I speak of, and as I pointed out, if we adhere to those
rules, your heart won’t be in it and we may enjoy our time
together …”

A gasp formed in her throat, but she stifled it. He
was propositioning her openly for a clandestine affair. She wanted
to appear worldly and sophisticated because she wanted to win him,
take his heart from him, and hold it in her hands to remind him of
this moment when he broke all his own rules and seduced an innocent
maid, for with all her forwardness, she was still that.

“Breaking rules … can get both the gentleman
and the lady rule breakers seriously … um … how shall I
say this, oh yes … entwined in a world they did not expect
.
I am aware
of what
I want
and how I mean to have
it—
are you?”

He eyed her with shock glittering in his blue eyes.
She saw it and smiled to herself. She was certain he had not
expected her to be anything but reticent and demure when he pushed
her over the line of flirtation. She could see he had meant only to
scare her off, but now,
now
he had his hands full. What
would he do with his proposition now?

“We are nearly there,” he said, abruptly changing
the subject.

Ah-ha
, she thought, he was backing down—just
as she thought he would. She had Lord Wildfire just where she
wanted him …
ready
, so ready for her to seduce beyond
his own rules and regulations!

She answered him saucily, giving him the double
meaning he had not expected. “Oh yes, we are … we most
certainly are …”

Thirteen

MISS BRETTON’S FEARS had been confirmed when the
doctor arrived with Babs leading the way and his grace bringing up
the rear.

They watched and cringed as the doctor put a piece
of wood into Sir Frederick’s mouth and said to the assembled
company around him, “It is a good thing he is unconscious just
now … for this will hurt.”

A moment later they all heard the awful sound as the
doctor snapped the bone into place. Sir Frederick awoke, bit down
on the wood, spit it out, groaned, and collapsed once more. The
doctor affixed a splint in place, wrapped it with cloth covering
Sir Frederick’s arm from his wrist to his elbow, and then rested it
in the sling he fixed around his neck.

He turned and announced to his onlookers, “He needs
to stay awake for a few hours … and then he needs to stay in
bed for three days. He has severe bruising all over his body, and
what he will need is rest.”

Lady Jane took the doctor’s arm and led him away to
the main galley, offering to give him lunch. He accepted, and they
vanished below stairs.

Lord Waverly looked at Babs and apologized. “We
shall have to stay with the poor fellow … as I don’t feel
right just jaunting off and leaving him to the
innkeeper …”

“Oh Papa, you are such a dear and quite right. We
could never just leave him here …” Babs said, putting her arms
around her father and getting on her toes to kiss his cheek.

Miss Bretton breathed a sigh of relief, for she did
not know how she could leave Sir Frederick as helpless as he
presently was. She placed a damp, cool cloth to his head, trying to
wake him, and Babs turned to his grace and clasped his hands
thankfully. “You did come to the rescue—you knew exactly where the
doctor was and fetched him for us. Thank you, your grace.”

“Nick … was I not Nick during our little crisis
earlier?” he asked softly.

“Yes, of course, Nick it is …”

He stepped forward, put his hat on a nearby chair,
took the damp cloth from Corry, and said, “Why don’t you and your
cousin go downstairs for a bite to eat, and I will wake Freddy
boy …”

“Oh … I could not impose …” Corry said
doubtfully.

“You both have had a long morning and need to go sit
and relax for a bit, have some luncheon, and then I am certain Lady
Babs would like to … er … change her clothing.”

Babs laughed, gave him a naughty tilt of her
shoulder, and said, “Thank you, Nick … so we shall, but what
about you?”

“I had a hearty breakfast before I left home and
shan’t eat until tea … now go on, I’ll take good care of
Freddy.”

***

Babs sat back after devouring everything on her
plate and noted that Corry was only playing with her food.
“Corry … do eat. Sir Frederick will be just fine … we
shall all take turns sitting with him …”

“Yes, yes, of course,” she said, playing with the
pretty pearl ring on her finger. “However, I can’t help but
feel … that had he not rushed to join us on this
excursion …”

“You must not think like that. That wheel didn’t go
flying off until the trip was nearly half done. There was no way
even the best of coachmen could have noticed anything amiss,” Babs
said with conviction. “It was due to come off.”

Corry’s face brightened. “Yes, yes. That does make
sense …” She nibbled at her chicken and said, “Do you know, I
do think I have misjudged your duke.”

“We shall see. It is probably too soon to tell,”
returned Babs with a twinkle.

“Babs … Babs … there is something in the
way you said that …”

His grace entered the dining galley at that moment.
He strode over to the ladies, and Miss Bretton waved a hand to a
chair. “Your grace … do join us …” Though her tone was
polite and pleasant, it was impossible not to see the worried look
in her eyes.

He allayed her fears at once. “Lady Jane relieved me
and is now keeping poor Freddy very much awake. Finish your meal,
and then you two can relieve her. As to sitting with you now, I can
think of nothing I would rather do, but I am afraid the squire is
expecting me.” He bowed himself off, but the sound of Babs chair
scraping against wood brought a smile to his face.