Dare to Love (18 page)

“Come now. There’s a bit of a clearing up ahead. We can safely pick up some speed without threat of injury. I promise not to press you past your level of comfort.” He must have noticed the fear in her eyes, because his look grew soft. “Look, here’s the meadow. We’ll just nudge them a little until we reach the other side.”

He was serious.
Just nudge them
. And not expect them to go tearing across the countryside in an unbridled panic? How was that even possible? Trying to sound reasonable, she squeaked out, “What if I can’t get her to stop?”

“There’s nothing to it. When you’re ready, pull back on the reins a little. She’ll probably turn to a walk herself as she gets near the woods on the other side.” Still sensing her hesitancy, he pressed her ultimate weakness. “Your father would be so proud to see you trotting up the path….”

That was unfair. But effective. “Fine. But stay close, just in case,” she agreed.

With a nod, he steered his horse closer. “Take a steady grasp of the reins and give her a light tap with your heel. It will feel a little bouncy at first, but you’ll settle into a rhythm in no time.”

She found that highly doubtful, but did as he said. It took two or three taps to convince Buttercup to speed forward. It was quite jarring, in fact, and Nivea almost bit her tongue on the first few strides. But, by the time she was halfway across the field, she was able to brace herself to counteract the motion. As he’d promised, Dare kept his stallion close enough to grab hold if she started to slide off. As they neared the woods, he called out, “Now, very slowly begin to pull back on the reins. Just light pressure, don’t tug at her mouth.”

Like magic, her horse slowed down and reverted to a walk.

“That’s it. Now give her a pat. I’m sure that was as surprising for her as it was for you.”

His smile was genuine and it made her giddy with pleasure. This was one of the best days of her life—and it was occurring while riding a horse. Remarkable.

“Are you ready for a bit more of a ride? We can go to the ruins and then head back.”

She nodded, eager for more adventure. The ruins had been one of her favorite spots as a child. It was nothing but a tumble of stones from an ancient abbey with vines crisscrossed through the remaining walls, weaving a perfect hideaway for children. She would love to see it again.

They entered the cooling forest, surrounded by thick green foliage and a happy chorus of birds. The sound of the horse hooves was muffled by the dirt trail they followed. A few moments into the trees, they approached a stream and stopped to give their horses a drink.

Nivea was delighted to see small blue flowers dotting the bank. “Oh look, forget-me-nots! My favorite flower.” She bent down to touch their petals. Dare strolled over to stand beside her.

“Forget-me-nots. Truly? Not roses or lilies or some other exotic bloom?”

As she straightened, she took in the tantalizing fit of his breeches, the finely tied cravat, the wry twist of his lips.

Sigh
.

Hoping to hide the blush that now warmed her cheeks, she returned her focus to the flowers. “Oh, no. Forget-me-nots are so delicate and unpretentious. Roses are beautiful, but far too much work. I prefer the simplicity of wildflowers.”

Dare shook his head. “You are an unusual woman, Miss Horsham.”

She lifted her eyebrows, unsure whether to take that as a compliment or not.

He raised his hands in defense. “I beg you, take no offense. In a society such as ours, unusual can be an appealing quality.”

It took all her willpower not to snort. “I have not found it to be a particularly attractive trait.”

“I have been called many things—unusual is one of the more complimentary.”

“Well, of course. You are a man with unnaturally good looks, a title, and deep pockets. Being dissimilar is no detraction.”

With an indolent grace, he leaned against a tree, crossed his arms and flashed her a seductive smile. “So, I have unnaturally good looks, do I?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “As though you need me to tell you that. Most notorious rake in all of London, most sought after prize at every soirée, it’s no wonder you are as arrogant as a king.”

Realizing how rude that sounded, she blushed in embarrassment. She should apologize. Risking a glance at him, she feared he would be glowering at her. He was indeed staring, but instead of anger, a mocking smile curled his tantalizing full lips. That was unexpected. She was more surprised when he pushed himself away from the tree and strutted toward her, his polished boots crunching on the undergrowth. Upon reaching her, he clicked his heels, sketched a bow and drawled, “I confess, I am all that and more.”

She laughed. He was magnificent. His posture was languid, his eyes soft, and his mouth tantalizing. Unable to tear her eyes from his face, she got the distinct impression he was going to kiss her once again. Really, this day was proving to be far too delicious. There must be fairies in the woods, sprinkling a magical spell over her. There was no other explanation for his behavior. Her pulse fluttered as his gaze swept over her.

Then he straightened, uttered an appallingly colorful curse and stormed away, stopping at the edge of the clearing.

What just happened
? What did she do that could have upset him so? Before she could build up the nerve to ask, he turned and took two large strides toward her. His jaw set, his dark eyes glared at her.

She held her ground, convinced he was going to yell at her, yet baffled as to why. Consequently, she was quite unprepared by his response.

“Miss Horsham, I beg your forgiveness. I have been subjecting you to grievously ill behavior this entire visit. I can offer no excuse. You are a lady of gentle birth and the sister of my truest friend, and for me to have abused you so horrendously these past few days is beyond the pale.”

His gaze rose above her head, and he rocked back and forth on his heels as he sought to continue. “I may be a disreputable rake, but I do try to maintain the code of conduct befitting a peer. God knows, I have violated that, and you, on several occasions.”

He gave her a searching look before raising his hands in a gesture of defeat. “I had vowed to come out today and make amends. To treat you as a gentlewoman. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, I am unable to maintain any level of decency with you. I find myself going out of my way to bring a smile to your lips or a blush to your cheeks. You are not the sort of woman I should dally with, and yet it is all I can think of at the moment.”

He began to raise his hand as though intending to touch her cheek. But then his face hardened and he snapped his arm back down to his side. “But I will stop. Rest assured, from this moment on, I
will
behave as a gentleman. You deserve no less. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

She stood there shocked into silence. Adair Landis was
apologizing
to her? True, his behavior had been abhorrent and she should…wait, had she heard him correctly?

The world seemed to freeze in time. There was no breeze, no sound, just Dare, the handsome, arrogant man of her dreams, who admitted that
she
was all he could think about. Her heart soared with joy and she couldn’t help breaking into a smile. “Yes, of course I forgive you.”

Their eyes locked and she felt the sizzle of attraction flash between them. Then his face went taut and a muscle jumped in his jaw. “Good,” was all he said, before turning crisply on his heel and heading toward his horse. “Then let’s put this behind us and continue our ride.”

He wasn’t going to get away from her that easily. Reveling in her newfound power, she called out, “Ah, Lord Landis?”

Dare stiffened, waiting for her to continue.

“Can you help me up onto my horse?” she asked, smothering another smile.

He stalked back and held out his arms. Facing the horse, she grinned as he wrapped his hands around her waist and hoisted her up. She was giddy with delight. True, he had said he was going to act the perfect gentleman, but as he hadn’t found the fortitude to control himself today, she imagined he would once again lose control.

Since she was already ruined, what harm could there be in another few indiscretions before he came to his senses and she returned to being plain old Nivea?

Nivea nudged her horse forward, eager to catch up with Dare as he progressed down the trail. Buttercup was slow to get moving, but had almost closed the gap when a shot rang out.

Horrified, Nivea saw Dare jerk upright and then slump forward. She screamed and leapt off her horse. As she approached, he grimaced but managed to rasp out, “You have made amazing progress dismounting.”

Too stunned to give any response, she grabbed his horse as it pranced about in alarm and tried to soothe the beast. Dare gingerly reached down to rub its neck and murmur a few sounds until it settled down. Then he lowered himself from the horse and collapsed on the ground.

Nivea sunk to his side. “What just happened?” she squeaked.

Dare’s face was pale. “I think I’ve been shot.” He reached his right hand into his jacket and pressed it to his side. As he withdrew his arm, blood coated his palm.

Nivea looked about in panic. “Good heavens, why would anyone shoot you?”

He shrugged before closing his eyes. “I don’t think it’s bad, just grazed me,” he ground out from clenched teeth.

Pressing a hand to her throat, she could feel her heart racing. “What should I do? Do you want me to bandage you up or go get help?”

He stretched out his legs, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m fine. Just give me a moment.” He reached his hand back into his shirt and pressed on the wound. It was obvious he was in a lot of pain. She had to do something. “Here, take your coat off and let me see.”

He shook his head.

“I need to see how bad it is.”

“No!” His face hardened and his eyes blazed black.

Well, he was being ridiculous. His flare of anger did nothing to dissuade her. She was terrified for him and would do whatever was required to make certain he was all right.

Sucking up her courage, she leaned over and put her face nose to nose with his. “Listen to me. You will take off your jacket, and you will let me examine your wound. Or I will leave you here to rot.”

He must have realized arguing would be futile, for he reached up to slide the jacket from his injured side. Seeing him wince, she helped ease it off his shoulders and crouched beside him. Giving him a tight smile, she peeled his hand away from his side. There was blood staining the side of his snowy white shirt below his silver embroidered waistcoat. Not a lot, but enough to make her feel a bit queasy. She sucked in a breath and said. “Now we’ll remove your shirt.”

“No!” he barked, slamming his hand back to his side. The burst of pain was so severe he almost blacked out. He clenched his jaw, trying to regain his breath, before opening his eyes again. Her expression was so fierce, he didn’t bother to fight. He wanted to. After all, he knew this was the end. All his subterfuge…all his deception would be lost. The final humiliation was upon him. It was infuriating, but he could see no resolution.

“Fine,” he snapped and began tugging off his cravat. Stumbling to his feet, he slid off his waistcoat and attempted to remove his shirt. His shaky fingers fumbled with the buttons until Nivea brushed him away. She made quick work of it and stood back as he tugged it from his breeches. With a deep exhale, he slowly lifted off his shirt, bracing himself for her reaction.

It took a moment longer than he expected since Nivea’s attention was first focused on his wound. “This isn’t too bad,” she assessed, her fingers probing the spot. “Just a graze really. When we get home, I’ll have cook make up a poultice for you.”

To Dare, it burned like fire every time she touched it, but he submitted to her inspection without making a sound.

It wasn’t until she straightened up that she gasped. He closed his eyes, clenching his jaw, dreading what was to come.

“Dare! Heaven above what—? How—?” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Your father?”

He swallowed, forcing down the lump in his throat. Steeling himself, he opened his eyes. With a defiant tone, he spat out, “Yes.”

Her fingers brushed over the scars that crisscrossed his back. Some were faint licks that had barely broken the skin. Others remained an angry red, where the lash had cut deep into his flesh and ripped muscle. The majority centered between his shoulder blades, but a few trailed over his right shoulder and down his waist.

There. His shame was complete. He had managed to hide them all these years. And now, all his careful maneuvering was for naught.

“What kind of a man—?” Nivea sputtered, unable to even finish a sentence.

The horror in her voice made him even angrier. “Go on, say it! What kind of a man allows his father to whip him, like he’s no better than a mongrel dog,” he snarled, stumbling to his feet.

“No!” she gasped. “Is that what you think?” In her anger, she grabbed his arm to twist him around to face her. Unfortunately, she forgot about his injury. He let out a groan as the pain almost dropped him to his knees.

“Oh, God,” she screamed, grabbing him around the waist to steady him. “Sit down. Ho, what is wrong with me? Let me patch you up. Then I can tell you how ludicrous you are.”

Not looking forward to that, Dare sat clumsily on the ground. The sudden movement opened his wound farther. Nivea looked around for something to staunch the blood. Without a word, he handed her his impeccable white cravat. She yanked a bit of trim from her bodice to make a bandage and wrapped the cravat around his waist to secure it.

“There. I think that should hold until we get home.”

That would be a challenge. While he was certain he could handle the ride, getting into the saddle would hurt like the devil. He closed his eyes, attempting to shore up his energy.

Before he had a chance to move, Nivea settled next to him and drew him into her arms. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine,” she crooned into his ear, rocking him as she would a babe.

He waited for the sharp bite of anger to take hold. First, she forced him to expose his most humiliating secrets, then she nursed him like a child. It should be infuriating. But when she ran a soft hand across his shoulder and down his bare arm, he relaxed into her embrace.