Grasso, Patricia (13 page)

Richard dropped his mesmerized gaze from her incredible eyes to her invitingly full lips. He suffered a sudden urge to lick the milk off her upper lip. And then—

Keely's tongue flicked out and licked the milk away. Performed in embarrassed innocence, her gesture was blatantly sexual. And as seductive as sin.

Richard closed his eyes against the temptation and swallowed a groan of need. His arousal rode him hard, and he struggled for control of himself.

"Eat the ham," Richard ordered, sternness masking his desire.

Keely refused with a shake of her head.

"You need the nourishment," he insisted. "A summer's breeze could knock you over."

"I despise pork," Keely told him. "Never touch it."

Richard, who'd eaten and enjoyed everything ever set before him on a table, was unable to comprehend such a peculiar dislike. He lifted a slice of ham off the platter and offered it to her, coaxing, "Just a little."

"Please, I can't."

"Give me one good reason."

"I have an aversion to pork," Keely said, looking him straight in the eye. "So would you if you'd been killed by a wild boar."

Richard stared at her in bewildered surprise. What the bloody hell was she talking about?

"A wild boar killed me once," Keely tried to explain. "In another life, that is. Which is why—" She broke off, shocked at what she'd revealed about herself.

"Another life?" Richard echoed.

"I have lived many times before." Keely gave him that ambiguous smile of hers, then reached across the table and touched his hand. "And I think you have also lived before."

Richard's first instinct, which he successfully squelched, was to yank his hand away and tell her she was mad.

His second instinct, which he controlled with a bit more difficulty, was to laugh in her face.

His third instinct, which he acted upon, was to use her eccentricity to his own best advantage. He cast her a devastating smile and covered her hand with his own. In a husky voice, Richard told her, "I do feel as if I've known you for a long, long time."

Keely dropped her gaze. Her hot blush was redder than the last rose of summer mingling in the vase with the love-in-a-mist flowers.

"Please, may I have my hand back?" Keely asked in an embarrassed whisper.

"Certainly." Feeling in control of the situation again, Richard smiled inwardly. Her shyness proved her virtue and pleased him. She was unlike any woman of his acquaintance. Soon, he decided, he'd unravel the mystery surrounding her and discover all there was to know about her.

At the meal's end, Richard escorted Keely to one of the chairs in front of the hearth and then sat in the other. He stretched his long legs out and looked at her.

"Did you enjoy
Lives of the Saints?"
Richard asked, his eyes sparkling with suppressed merriment.

"Actually, I found their lives too revolting to read," Keely answered. She didn't want him questioning her about a book she was unable to read.

"Really?" Richard raised his brows at her.

"Martyrdom holds no appeal for me," she elaborated. "Senseless torture and meaningless suffering disgust me."

Richard nodded and turned his gaze toward the hearth, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. From the corner of his eye, he caught a furtive movement and saw his guest furtively moving her booted feet as if she couldn't get comfortable.

"What's wrong with your feet?" he asked.

"They hurt without my stockings."

"For God's sake." Richard stood abruptly and turned toward her.

Keely shrank back in her chair.

Richard knelt in front of her and yanked her boots off, then shocked her even more by massaging her right foot. "You should have worn your stockings," he scolded her without looking up.

"I—I couldn't find them," Keely said in a small voice. "I was in a hurry and never expected to be here this long."

Switching to her left foot, Richard gazed into her eyes and teased, "Relax. I'm not going to bite your toes off."

"Your biting my toes is the least of my worries," Keely replied, rueful laughter tingeing her voice.

Richard grew serious and said, "Tell me your worries, sweetheart."

The time for confession had arrived.

" 'Twas Odo and Hew who robbed you in Shropshire," Keely blurted out.

"I know," Richard said as a smile of admiration for her honesty spread across his features.

Extreme agitation rendered Keely deaf to his words and blind to his smile. Her defense of her cousins came out in a rush: "Robbing you was an accident. You happened upon the wrong place at the wrong time and behaved so uncooperatively. If only you'd been the least bit amenable—Odo and Hew worried for my continued survival. And—and they left you the carnelian stone for protection. No harm done, then—
What did you say?"

If highway robbery weren't so serious an offense, Richard would have laughed at her surprised expression. "I said, I know Odo and Hew robbed me."

"How?" Keely cried.

"Your cousins are incompetent blockheads," Richard answered. "First they left their faces unmasked, and then they sold my horse to my own man."

Keely became suspicious. "Why haven't you arrested them?"

"Is that what you want?"

"No!"

"I'd planned on seeing them hanged," Richard admitted. "But then you walked into the tavern with them."

"I don't understand."

Richard leaned close, his handsome face merely inches from hers. "I'd never do anything to hurt you," he said again in a husky whisper.

Ever so gently, he drew her into his embrace. Mesmerized by his intense gaze, Keely was caught by the unfamiliar and wholly irresistible gleam of desire in his emerald eyes.

Richard's face hovered above hers for the briefest moment and then descended as one of his powerful hands traveled to the back of her head and held her immobile. Their lips touched in a kiss.

When Keely relaxed in his arms, Richard's lips on hers became ardent and demanding, stealing her breath away. His tongue persuaded her lips to part, then explored and tasted the sweetness of her mouth.

And then it was over.

Richard drew back and studied her dazed expression. He traced a finger down her silken cheek and rubbed his thumb across her lips. " 'Tis past time to run home, dearest. Your beauty could corrupt the morals of a saint," he said. "Rest easy that your cousins' secret is safe with me."

Keely blushed. Now that she'd let him kiss her, how would she ever face him again? The earl seemed so relaxed and casual about what was to her one of life's milestones: her first kiss.

Richard reached for her boots, intending to help her, but Keely was faster. She plucked them out of his reach and said, "I'll carry them."

Standing, Richard cocked a copper brow at her. "You're going to walk barefoot?"

"I love the feel of Mother Earth beneath my feet," Keely said, rising from the chair.

Richard couldn't credit the fact that she was still blushing. Unless—"I'll escort you home," he said.

"That's unnecessary," she refused. "I've wasted enough of your time, my lord."

"Moments shared with you are no waste of time," Richard said smoothly. "In fact, you've brightened my day immeasurably. And I'm
a
lord. Remember?"

Keely smiled in spite of her embarrassment. "I appreciate your understanding." She padded on bare feet across the study, but when she would have disappeared out the door, his voice stopped her.

"Keely?"

She turned around. "Yes?"

Richard closed the distance between them and stood in front of her. "Thank you," he said.

Keely gave him a bewildered look. "For what, my lord?"

With one hand, Richard gently tipped her face up and gazed into the most disarming eyes he'd ever seen. "For gifting me with your first kiss."

"How could you know?" Keely moaned in mortification. And then it came to her. She was an incompetent kisser. To make matters worse, kissing wasn't something a virtuous lady could practice.

"You are incredibly sweet," Richard said reassuringly.

"You could tell by my taste?" she exclaimed, relieved.

Richard struggled against a shout of laughter. He gave her a quick kiss and let her go.

Instead of returning to his desk, Richard sauntered to the window and watched her run across the lawns to Talbot House. Somehow, he'd known she'd be magnificent. Keely Glendower was a seductive angel, a rare woman of courage and integrity. Most worthy of becoming his countess. Despite her illegitimacy, she possessed the noble qualities he desired in a wife. He would enjoy both his blood bond with Talbot and his tour of duty in Ireland.

Humming a bawdy tune, Richard headed for his desk.

The sooner he finished his work and reported to the queen, the sooner he could return and demand Keely's hand in marriage. That the lady might not desire his hand in marriage never entered his mind.

Chapter 6

"You did what?" Odo exclaimed.

"I visited the earl yesterday," Keely repeated. "I begged his mercy for robbing him."

"Do you want to see us hang?" Hew cried, touching his neck as if he already felt the noose tightening.

"You blinking idiot," Odo said, cuffing the side of his brother's head. "Harming us is a thing Keely could never do. Could you, little girl?"

Keely shook her head and looped her arm through Hew's. "There's nothing to fear," she assured him. "I've set matters straight. The earl was surprisingly understanding. We couldn't stay here indefinitely with that hanging over our heads."

"Don't say the
H
word," Hew whined.

Hiding a smile, Keely turned to Merlin's stall and stroked the mare's forehead. She took an apple from her pocket and gave it to the horse.

"Well, little girl. What did the man say?" Odo asked.

"Richard swore your secret was safe with him," Keely answered. "He promised he'd never do anything to hurt me.

" 'Richard,' is it?" Odo remarked, suspicious.

Keely ignored his comment.

"Can the earl be trusted to keep his word?" Hew asked.

"He'll keep his solemn word or suffer the consequence of deceit," Keely told them. "But I do not completely trust any Englishman, so never venture onto his property."

"We won't," Hew replied.

"Who accompanied you to the earl's?" Odo asked.

"No one did."

"Did he
try
anything?"

Keely arched an ebony brow at him and feigned ignorance. "Like what?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Odo said.

"Try what?" Hew asked.

Odo slapped the side of his brother's head and then turned on Keely. "I'm waiting for your answer, little girl."

Recalling the earl's passion made Keely blush. " 'Twas merely a kiss."

"I should have killed that good-for-nothing in Shropshire!" Odo said.

"Hush! 'Tis wrong to voice such evilness," Keely scolded him. "Richard played the part of a proper gentleman. Yes, he's English, but better than most, and I won't listen to you malign him. 'Twas an innocent kiss."

"What's wrong with kissing?" Hew rounded on his brother. "You done more than—"

"Shut your mouth in front of the girl," Odo snapped, reaching out to hit him.

Hew sidestepped to safety but did as he was told.

Keely swallowed a giggle. "Caution is advisable," she said. "What you need is an invisibility shield."

"This stable is too busy," Odo warned. "Someone's likely to catch you mumbling those incantations."

Keely pressed her cheek against Merlin's, then turned around, saying, "His Grace and Lady Dawn are closeted with a business associate in the study. The gardens will be deserted at this hour of the day, and I know the perfect spot for privacy. Let's go."

Keely led the way out of the stable and down the path to a secluded area of the garden that bordered one side of the Talbot mansion. Here several oak trees stood guard.

"The crisp smell of Samhuinn permeates the air," Keely said, pulling her woolen shawl closer around her shoulders. "That wondrous night is fast approaching."

"I don't smell nothing," Hew whispered.

"Me neither," Odo agreed.

Keely looked up at the sky. The dying sun blazed like molten fire in the west, while the eastern horizon darkened into a deep indigo. Autumn's vibrant colors of red, gold, and yellow swirled around her.

"All things are possible with the help of the Mother Goddess," Keely told her cousins. "But be warned. I am working without the requisite candles and herbs. Do not tempt capricious fate by placing yourselves in front of the earl. Understand?"

Odo and Hew bobbed their heads in unison.

Keely wished she had her bag of magic stones and ceremonial robe, but she didn't want to chance returning inside to get them. Instead, she gathered eight stones at random and made a makeshift circle, being certain to leave the western periphery open.

"Will you join me?" Keely asked, glancing at her cousins.

Both men shook their heads.

Entering the circle from the west, Keely set the last stone down and said, "All disturbing thoughts remain outside."

Keely walked to the center and covered her head with her shawl. She turned three times in a clockwise circle until she faced the west again, then closed her eyes and focused her breathing.

"By the powers of Mother Earth and Father Sun, control of our lives returns to us," Keely implored. "With invisibility shield and armor tight, we win this battle to be free of fear."

Keely walked to the circle's western periphery and lifted the stone, breaking the enchantment. Then she kissed the stone and tossed it over her left shoulder.

"All will be well," Keely said as she walked toward her cousins.

" 'Tis nearly suppertime," Odo replied. "Get yourself inside, little girl."

Keely nodded but placed the palm of her hand against Hew's cheek, asking, "Feeling better, cousin?"

Hew grinned and bobbed his head.

"Run along, then. I'll go to supper in a few minutes."

Alone, Keely advanced on the oak tree. She placed the palms of her hands against its bark and whispered, "Your power is mighty, my friend. I knew you'd be marvelous to touch."