Serena

* * *

When the gentlemen retired to the library, his lordship found that he was loathe to leave Serena’s company.

Earlier, when he had looked up to the announcement of Serena and her uncle when they first arrived, he felt his heartbeat quicken. When he looked and found her, he experienced an intake of breath. He physically felt the air pass through him as it was sucked out of his lungs. For a moment, a very long moment, it was almost impossible to breathe. All he wanted to do was stomp across the room and take her into his arms.

He felt his mouth drop open as he watched the pale green muslin gown swish around her provocative figure as she walked. He looked at the bodice, and even the lacy trim couldn’t hide from his mind’s eye those full breasts, and he was hard and hungry and wished everyone in the room to perdition so he could be alone with her.

He knew what was happening to him. He was not a fool. He knew he had fallen hard. He could not remember ever feeling quite this way.

Her honey-gold hair was a rich cascade of curls that started at the top of her fine head and worked its way down her back. Her dark eyes turned to his and stole his thoughts, turned them into gruel and put them daintily back into his mind—mind, what mind? It was lost to her.

She was vibrant and bubbling with laughter, a veritable treasure—a prize of a woman, and he wanted her for all time.

How had this happened to him? He had been a confirmed bachelor. Of course, he had hoped that one day in the future he might find a woman he could wed. That day had come charging into his life unexpectedly, and he knew, in that moment, she was the one he wanted for all time.

He was tantalized beyond logic. He was in a passion for her he was fairly certain he could no longer hide. He wanted her with every fiber of his being. Their lovemaking had set him to dreaming about her. He wanted her, needed her, and couldn’t think of a way of getting her alone again.

When they had visited her tenants and he watched her tease and play with young Billy, he absurdly imagined her with their child.

Where had that come from?

As he watched her, he realized she had no concern for her own welfare, only for the sick boy. It was in that moment that he realized he had been wrong about Serena. There was so much more to her than she had allowed him to see. Or had he just been blind? She was caring and unselfish. She was brave and self-assured. She was gracious and graceful with a style and a mindset all her own.

It had dawned on him in the middle of the night. She was everything he had ever dreamed a woman could be, and he wanted her for his own. No … it was more than that. He already thought of her as his own.

The day before, when he had heard she had gone to the rectory alone, he had been furious, furious that she was being so careless with her safety. What had driven her to go there? Had it been his question regarding Eustace?

It must have been. It had dawned on him that Serena must have had a good reason. He had put it together. She went off to the rectory hurriedly, no doubt in the hopes that she could discover whatever it was she was looking for while Eustace was away.

He wanted to ask her about it. He needed a quiet moment with her alone. However, as he sat beside her, he had not found an opening before she became distracted.

Then, once again, his ire was blistered.

He watched her as she lifted a smile to Freddy. What was she doing? Suddenly, she left him sitting as she got to her feet. He was stunned as she just up and left him to go and speak with his nephew.

His eyes narrowed. What was she doing? Why did she still lead the boy on? It was the only fault he could find in her, and it was a serious one.

His anger grew as he watched them walk to a quiet corner. He watched as she whispered to Freddy and felt his agitation grow as they clasped hands.

What the bloody hell? What was she confiding to the boy?

Why confide in Freddy and not him? Why?

* * *

“Freddy, I have discovered something … we must talk,” she said on a low note, trying to appear casual. In truth, she felt as though she would explode with excitement and couldn’t wait to share her thoughts.

She took his hand and led him to a quiet corner and turned to tell him, “I think I am onto something important, something about the location of the stolen gold.”

Freddy’s eyes opened wide. “What?” he was surprised into responding louder than she wanted him to. He lowered his voice and said, “What has happened?”

“Well, I remembered suddenly this old story Reverend Thomas used to tell me … and I put two and two together and … Freddy, I am certain I know where the gold is.”

“’Pon my soul!” he exclaimed, again louder than he should have done, and she glared at him.

“We have to go to the old Bolder churchyard in secrecy and examine one of the crypts,” she told him.

“Certes! This is beyond everything wonderful,” he was moved to exclaim, his face alight with excitement.