Wildfire Kiss (Sir Edward 1)

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 …”