Brash (4 page)
Authors: Margo Maguire
CHAPTER SEVEN
The sight of the Barrington carriage parked in the drive at the manor caused James a moment of consternation.
“I’ll ride to the stable with you, Lieutenant Norris,” Stella said. “No need to drop me right at the door.”
James said nothing, still reeling from the amazing kiss at Deadman’s Pond. And wondering about the moment he would see Virginia again.
He put the gig away and would have escorted Stella to the house, but she demurred. “I believe I’ll stop in the barn and visit with Tillie’s pups. You go on ahead.”
There was an odd catch to her voice that James didn’t quite recognize, but it seemed clear she did not want his company at the moment. He let her go with a quick bow and made his own way to the house, where the family greeted him happily.
“All is well with the dowager, I hope?”
“Yes, yes, my mother is up and about again,” said Lord Barrington. “She shooed us out of her house… Said she wanted some peace and quiet, if you can imagine that!”
Stella’s mother did not seem quite as amused as her husband. “All that way, and she evicts us without ceremony.”
“Now, Mary… You know how my mother is.”
Lady Barrington made a sour face, but did not contradict her husband. “Fordson, would you send someone for Virginia?”
“Where is Stella?” Lord Barrington asked.
“She is in the barn.”
“Ah. Visiting that great beast of a dog’s brood.”
“Yes, sir. She is,” James said.
“James, why are you not in uniform? What’s the… Ah, Virginia, there you are.”
Smiling broadly, Virginia came down the steps quickly, leading James to believe she was thrilled to see him. She came to him immediately and took his hands in hers, and James realized how confident she was of a favorable reception. She’d never been left behind or had to keep herself amused when everyone else was out enjoying themselves. “James Norris! What a surprise!”
“Ah, yes. I… There have been some changes in my life, and so… Well, I thought I’d come for a visit to my good friends here at Barrington Manor.”
“And we’re so glad you chose to do so.” She hooked her arm through the crook of James’s elbow and led him to the drawing room. “When did you arrive?”
“Just yesterday,” James replied, though he’d felt a world of change since then.
“I hope Robert has been keeping you entertained,” she said. She took a seat near the window, where the bright sunshine caused her hair to gleam.
It occurred to James that she’d chosen the spot intentionally, knowing how well she looked in the sunshine. She gestured toward the chair closest to her, and James sat, while Mrs. Barrington removed herself to a dainty chair at the opposite end of the room and picked up a book.
“Actually, I accompanied your sister to the village just now. To visit the misses Jenkins.”
“Oh, how dreadful for you. Those old biddies are so tiresome.”
“Virginia…” her mother cautioned.
“Well, ’tis nothing but the truth, Mother.” She turned back to James with a sly smile. “Thank heavens I was not here, else Mother would have made me go along.”
* * *
Stella stayed in the barn as long as she could, then returned to the house. She approached the drawing room and heard the sound of her sister’s voice, laughing and talking animatedly. She was in her element.
As Stella was not.
She could not help but notice James sitting close to Virginia, hanging on ever word that came out of her mouth.
A massive wave of despair filled her chest. She could not swallow, could not even breathe. Not when the truth crashed through her.
James’s kindness had been only that. The kiss at the pond… Perhaps that was what men did when they found themselves alone with an unmarried female. Perhaps that was why a chaperone was always required. Stella wouldn’t know, for she’d never had occasion to be alone with a man.
Oh dear God, perhaps the kiss had been an expression of pity.
Stella stifled a desolate cry and hurried to the stairs. She could not bear to join them in the drawing room and watch James fall under Virginia’s spell.
Oh, if only she’d had another day with him…
A bitter laugh escaped her as she moved as quickly as she could up the stairs. She’d never had a chance with James. He’d come all this way for Virginia, never giving a thought to Stella. The truth of it was so clear now, and so very painful.
Her vision blurred with tears and she missed a step, but fortunately, her hold on the banister kept her from falling. She made her way to her bedchamber and closed the door quietly, and only then did she give way to her tears.
* * *
Virginia was just as beautiful as James remembered. Her eyes sparkled and her skin was as smooth as the purest white silk. Her smile engaged, and her chatter created a sense of gaiety and fun.
But James was not having fun.
Stella’s place at the dining table was empty. The footmen were about to serve the first course, and yet the sister he most wanted to see had eluded him all afternoon.
“Where is Lady Stella?” he asked generally.
Robert answered. “I’m not sure.” He looked at Lady Barrington. “Mother?”
“I believe my dear Stella decided to have a quick bite in the kitchen, and then out with her dog.”
Out with her dog? While the rest of the family dined formally with a guest?
Virginia took no particular notice of her sister’s absence. She touched James’s hand. “I must tell you about the sweetest little shop we found in Bristol…”
James barely listened. What did he care for shops? He would prefer some intelligent conversation.
He wanted to see Stella, wanted her beside him. Heat rose from the back of his neck and sweat broke out on his forehead at the realization that he wanted Stella beside him not just this evening… but always.
James stood without ceremony. “If you’ll excuse me.”
He barely noted the stunned silence at the table or the gleam in Lord Barrington’s eyes as he took his leave and made his way through the back hallway of the house. He felt he could find his way to Stella through a maze, even in the dark.
Which it was. But the full moon was rising, and the path to the barn easily seen.
The barn door was ajar and he stood just outside for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts as he watched Stella with her dog and its pups.
He’d known her since she was a small girl needing to be carried by her father or one of the servants when she had to go up or down the staircase. James had never seen her cross or short-tempered, even when the limitations of her malady must have frustrated her.
She’d been left behind so often… James did not like to think of Stella sitting alone and without playmates only because none of them had spared a considerate thought in her direction.
He’d been a negligent youth, but he was no longer that lad.
He went into the barn and walked toward the stall where she sat in the hay on the floor, cuddling and talking quietly to the little runt with the white feet.
And he knew then that he loved her.
She looked up and saw him, and swallowed heavily, her expression stricken. Her eyes were different…
James knelt in the straw beside her. He reached for her, slipping his hand against the side of her face. He brushed a thumb over her cheek and realized it was wet.
“You’ve been crying,” he said. “Stella?”
Her eyes were luminous in the pale lamplight, and her tears spilled over. “Forgive me. I am not fit for company tonight.”
“Oh, Stella. Of course you are.”
“No. You should go back to supper. They will wonder—”
“You’re the only one whose opinion matters.”
“M-me?”
“You.” He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from her face. “You’re the one I care about, sweet Stella.”
“But Virginia—”
“Is a lovely young woman,” he said. He leaned in and placed a light kiss upon her lips. “But she is not you.”
A deep shuddering breath went through her, and James pulled her into his arms. “I love you, Stella. Last night I felt as though I’d come home. ’Tis you who made me feel that way.”
“James…” It was only a whisper, but laden with doubts, with questions.
“’Tis true. I want you, sweetheart. For my wife, my love.”
“How can it be?” She looked in the direction of the house. “Virginia…”
“Will never be able to discuss ships with me. Or shipbuilding. Or business…”
She threw her arms around his neck and they pulled each other close, melding their mouths and bodies together; joining their hearts and souls. “I want you, Stella. In my life, in my bed.” He kissed her deeply, feeling an incredible urgency to make her his own in every sense of the word. But he broke their kiss and pressed his forehead to hers.
Her trembling was nearly as marked as his own. Good lord, but he wanted her, but he would not take her here, on the floor of her father’s barn.
“Yes, oh yes.” Her quiet voice was hoarse with her tears. “I’ve loved you for so long, James. But I thought—”
“There is no one else, Stella. No one but you.”
James lifted his head and slid his hand down her back as he looked into her eyes. He felt possessive and more than a little bit needy. “The wedding will have to be soon, my love, for I want you quite desperately.”
“Oh yes, James,” she whispered shyly, though she cupped his jaw and quite boldly skated her thumb over his lips. “I want you, too.”
He resisted the urge to pull her thumb into his mouth, and somehow managed to stand. He reached down and pulled her to her feet, and used his handkerchief to wipe every trace of her tears from her face. “Shall we go speak to your father?”
* * *
“Might we just stand here together for a moment?” Stella asked, hardly able to believe what had happened. James loved her.
“Only if I can kiss you again,” he said, thrilling her to her toes. It was so hard to believe it was she whom he wanted. Not her sister.
“Of course.” She raised herself onto her tiptoes as he pulled her into his arms again, and Stella knew she had never felt such contentment… or such raw desire.
He slid his tongue into her mouth and a liquid heat pooled low in her belly. She wanted to feel his hands all over her. Wanted to touch and be touched on bare skin. She wanted every bit of passion they could generate together.
And Stella knew it would be momentous.
James drew away, albeit reluctantly.
“Come,” he said, struggling for control. “’Tis time.”
Stella smiled as they walked to the house together. Yes, it was time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margo Maguire has penned nineteen historical novels that have been translated by her publishers’ subsidiaries into seventeen languages. Her novels are full of adventure and romance, and span nearly a thousand year time span, from Medieval to Victorian times. Her March 2011 book, Seducing the Governess, has been nominated as a Reviewer's Choice Best Regency-era Romance for 2011 by Romantic Times Magazine.
A former intensive care nurse, Margo also has a degree in history, which she has used extensively for researching her novels. She is the mother of three grown children, and lives in the Midwest with her scientist husband and a variety of sassy pets.
BRASH is a novella that stands alone, although it is connected to BRAZEN, Margo’s November 2011 release from Avon Books.
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