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СКАЧАТЬ Blackburn decided to leave the woman be for a fortnight. His men in France had flushed St. Claire out of his hole three weeks ago, and the man had left all his possessions behind, including the letters from one Lady Alexandra.

      St. Claire had nothing now. He would write soon, begging for money. Collin could simply swoop in to retrieve the whereabouts of that bastard and he’d never have to see the girl again.

      His head still spun from their meeting the night before. From glancing up to find her standing there, pale and lovely and somehow younger in her respectable gray. No breeches to distract him from her smallness, no bright red coat to add color to her cheeks. She’d looked vulnerable, and that vulnerability had angered him.

      The note had been a surprise, or the honesty of it at least. St. Claire had used all three French locations, including the one he’d fled most recently.

      Why such forthrightness? Guilt. It dulled her eyes, those damned eyes that pricked his conscience with their glimpses of hurt and defiance. Well, this mess wasn’t his fault. She’d made her own bed.

      Collin packed his bag and stowed his breakfast of bread and cheese for the journey. He could make it to his cousin’s home before dark if he didn’t tarry. Lucy would be happy to have him for a week or two, had, in fact, threatened to box his ears if he ever ventured near her home and didn’t visit.

      So he rode out at dawn, chewing his breakfast, making a very good effort not to think of the young Alexandra Huntington. He could measure his trip now in days-till-home. As long as he made it back to Scotland within the month, he’d get to the first horse fair. Past time to choose which of his stock would go up for sale, but things were running smoothly in his absence—no mares sick, no foals lost. Of course, if the girl did provide new information on St. Claire, Collin would be away longer. A detour to France would take weeks.

      Coming around a slow bend in the road, Collin glanced up to a rise in the west. Workmen labored next to a low wall, large stones strewn at their feet. There in their midst stood a slender figure, red coat ablaze in the rising sun. Alexandra Huntington. It had to be her. She gestured widely with the spade she held, appearing to shout, though the distance stole the words. Collin stopped his horse to watch.

      He’d known she acted as her brother’s manager, a rare position for a nobleman much less a gently bred woman, but he’d assumed it was merely an amusement for her. A novelty, an excuse to be scandalous and wear men’s clothes. He should have known better after glimpsing that simmering will in her eyes. She looked to be more involved than most managers would be.

      How vulnerable she appeared, standing among the hulking laborers, weighing half of even the smallest of them. But, to a man, they stood still as she spoke, some of them nodding at her words.

      One of the group inclined his head and she turned to stare down the hill. She went still, probably shocked at finding herself watched, then took a step in his direction. Just one. Collin wondered at her expression as he raised a hand in farewell, and felt a moment’s regret that she didn’t return the gesture. She stood like a statue, stiff and proud in the pink light, her face unreadable. Then she turned back to the men with a sharp word that set them all in motion.

      She’d dismissed him. Just as well. She’d be unhappy with him regardless when he returned to demand further information. No point calling a truce now.

      As he urged Thor to a brisk pace, Collin felt a small curl of anticipation in his stomach at the thought of another visit, but he tamped the feeling down with cool efficiency. The woman was intriguing, dangerously so, and definitely not someone he should get to know better. Someone he should avoid at all costs, even. But she was also very likely his only chance at fulfilling this damned promise to his father.

      Chapter 2

      “Collin, are you coming down?”

      A smile stole over Collin’s face at the sound of his cousin’s shout echoing up the stairway and through the open library door.

      “Collin?”

      “Be right there.”

      Tossing the book back onto the chair where he’d found it, Collin stepped out of the library and made a careful survey of the angled hall before choosing the stone archway to his left. Lucy’s home was massive and rambling, having been added onto at least a dozen times, and visitors often found themselves lost. Collin had been here for three days and he had yet to get his bearings.

      “Oh, my word! Oh, I can’t believe it!”

      He rolled his eyes at Lucy’s echo. She had never been the perfect example of a gentlewoman, perhaps because she was not very gently bred. No telling what had excited her into shouting this time, there were so many possibilities. A new kitten, a letter from a friend…perhaps even a tempting biscuit. Still chuckling when he found the stairs, Collin descended to the landing, looked down, and felt his tongue freeze to the roof of his mouth at the sight of Lucy’s latest thrill.

      “Oh, you naughty thing!” Lucy sang, her red curls bouncing. “What are you doing here?”

      Naughty thing indeed. Below him, radiant in a rumpled gown of aquamarine silk, stood the naughty Lady Alexandra herself.

      “Good God,” Collin breathed, or perhaps just thought, he couldn’t be sure. His brain had stuttered at the unexpected sight of her. He watched his cousin hug her, coo over her, then made himself walk down the rest of the stairs. “Lady Alexandra,” he murmured when he reached the first floor.

      She snapped around with a sharp gasp. “Blackburn!”

      “But…You know each other?” Lucy asked, wariness tightening her voice.

      “Aye,” Collin said just as Alexandra shook her head.

      She shot a hot look in his direction. “I think ‘know’ is too strong a word.”

      Lucy frowned, but before she could question them further, George walked in and swept Alexandra into his arms to twirl her about the hall.

      “Put me down!” she ordered, though a hint of laughter bubbled through.

      “Sorry. Forgot the wife was here,” George said, leering comically as he set her on her feet.

      “Ha! You say that very convincingly for a man who hasn’t noticed another woman in ten years.”

      George winked just before he spied Collin. A narrow look of worry descended over his face as he cleared his throat and turned Alexandra around.

      “Lady Alexandra, may I present Collin Blackburn? He is Lucy’s cousin by marriage.”

      “We’ve met,” she said evenly, then, “I didn’t mean to intrude.”

      “Oh, no, no, no,” Lucy chattered, plump cheeks reddening. “You’re both family. Why shouldn’t you have a nice visit? Um…There’s no reason…”

      George smiled a sick smile and took his wife’s hand. “Alexandra is my second cousin, Collin.”

      “Ah.” What else could he say?

      George cleared his throat, obviously aware of the tension in the room and the reason for it. He’d sent a deeply sympathetic letter at John’s death, but he’d never told Collin of his connection to Alexandra. Of СКАЧАТЬ