Light to Valhalla (11 page)

“We’ll be traveling to
Grayson
Hall
instead of London,
”
he
supplied evenly.

Relief washed over Charlotte’s face
.
“Thank you
, Alex
.
”
Her wide, sensual mouth curved into a
beam of true sunshine
.
Her eyes, huge and luminous
as emerald isles
, sparkled
with thanksgiving, drawing him in until
—

S
he turned
all t
hat glowing adoration t
o Sidney.

Alex ground his teeth
.
The seed of jealousy taking firm root in his mind
.
The
s
low burn
of unrest
lit within him the same as whenever
he ran across
something—or someone—he could not have
.
Resolve solidified in his mind
…
Charlotte would be
his
.
He’d conquer h
er
as he’d conquered numerous battlefields and hilltops, when he was through,
she’d never look back at
his rakehell of a cousin.

“That’s a dam
n
good idea,
Alex
.
No one will think to lo
ok for
Charley
there, and it will keep you out of London when General Wither—”

“My thought’s exactly.
”
Alex
shot his cousin a
warning
glare
.
This was not the time or place for Charlotte to learn of the murderous scandal
clouding
the
Coverstone
name
.
We should be going if there is any hope of reaching your parents’ home before sunrise.
”
Solicitously h
e ext
ended a hand toward Charlotte.

T
hrowing
Sidney
an apprehensive look she sli
pped
tentative
fingers within Alex’
s much larger palm
.
With relish
he
drew her away from his
cousin
.
However dysfunctional—or nonexistent—their relationship may be, Charlotte was
his
wife
.

“You’re cold,” Alex
murmured, sliding a thumb across
her icy fingers
.
He
released her hand, unbuttoned his heavy red coat and shrugged it from his shoulders
.
“
Here, t
his will keep you
more than warm.
”
He
draped the
wool jacket about her slight frame
, securing the uppermost button beneath her chin
.
“Better?”

Charlotte
closed her eyes
,
a blissful expression flitting elusively across her
pale
face, and curled her finger around the stiff collar at her throat
.
“Much,” she sighed
.
“But won’t you get cold?
  I could always use one of those blankets.
”
Her gaze shifted
from the plain white linen of his shirt
to the blanket roll
lashed to
Letty’s
saddle.

“I w
ill be fine,
”
Alex
assured her
.
“And those blankets are
probably half frozen by now.
”

“Chivalry?
Who’d have t
hought to see it from you, Alex?
”
While joking, the comment held a definite bite.

“Shut up, Sid
.
”
He tossed the b
andage roll to his cousin
.
“Or you can bandage your own arm.
”

Alex stalked down the road to
his
cousin
.
Sid shrugged
out of his jacket, revealing the
light trickle of blood, dripp
ing down his arm
.
“You’re right
.
This does
look like a paper cut.
”
The bull
et had scarcely grazed the skin, and it took less than two minutes for Alex to wrap the
wound.

“Told you it was nothing.
”
Sid
shrugged back into his coat and winked at Charlotte
.

Alex ground his teeth
.
“Let’s go.
”
He turned back to his wife
and
—

Dear God
.

He
stopped
dead in his tracks,
all but
fa
ll
ing
into the enormous green pools of her eyes
.
Washed in the moonlight,
strawberry
tresses tumbled
in wild disarray around her pale,
heart shaped
face
.
S
he was
a vision to behold
.
Ethereal and lovely
,
s
he
was
equal parts adorable
and breathtaking
drowning in his
oversize coat
.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came
.
He’d
been about to say something—s
om
ething relevant or substantial—but, heaven help him, he could
n
’
t
remember what
.
He averted his gaze, suddenly quite short of breath and
strode to
Letty
.
H
e
gathered
her
reins and a thick chunk of chocolate mane
, dragg
ing a ragged breath
deep into his lungs
.
Once again collected he glanced back to Charlotte
and came unraveled all over again
.
“Ready?”
he
barked
.

Her eyes darted to the splintered carriage, even in the
white
moonlight her face
visibly
paled
.
“M
ore than ready.”

“Good.
”
He swung into the saddle, wincing only slightly as his sore thigh stretched uncomfortably
.
Alex
reached down for
Charley
, pulling her up and across his lap
.
She
was a tiny thing, fragile and petite
,
her weight
rested
against his thighs barely palpable
.
T
he fact brought out every
masculine
instinct
in his being
.
She wiggled
—Christ
,
he felt that—
getting
comfortable
, both legs
drap
ed over his right thigh
,
and
her per
fectly rounded backside
settled against his groin
inspiring yet another thoroughly masculine response
.
She squirmed again
.
His entire body tightened
,
and
blood flood
ed his nether region
.
Alex clamp
ed an arm about her waist
, stilling her incessant movement before he thoroughly embarrassed
himself
.
It had been entirely too long since he’d had a woman
.
“Comfortable?”

Charley
froze
for a full ten seconds
.
She
must
be aware of his ever thickening erection lodged squarely beneath her backside
.
“Uh, s-sorry,” she muttered
cheeks aflame
.

Sidney trotted past, barely concealing convulsions of laughter
.
“How about you, Alex?
 
Comfortable?
  I’d be more than happy to switch places with you.
”

Alex growled u
nder his breath, shifted Charlotte
slightly and kicked
Letty
into a rolling canter
.
What a disaster this little adventure had turned out to be
.

Nary
a word was
spoke
n
on the trek through the
wintry nig
ht and after
forty-five minutes Alex
sorely regretted
having given Charlotte
his
jacket
.
The bitter
October
air sliced through his
plain linen shirt
.
He glanced down at the now sleeping figure of his wife and
for the life of him could not quite re
member why he’d so detested their
marriage
three years before
.

Moonlight captured the gentle curve of her face and a fringe of lush lashes cast long shadows across high cheekbones
.
The fingers of her left hand curled in
to
his shirt, binding her to him, and a deep sense of regret pooled in his middle
.
Regret
for all that could have been, r
egret for all he’d lost in the muddle he’d made of their lives
, and
…
hope
.
H
ope for what he prayed could be yet salvaged
.

An icy gust sliced through the night air, chilling Alex clear to the bone
.
In sleep Charley whimpered, turning her face further into his chest
.
Instinctively Alex tightened his hold on her, struck by the
all consuming
n
eed to keep her safe, and
his heart
lurched
.
Disconcerting that
.
To
feel
hi
s insides rearranged
.

He shook his head
.
Apparently the cold had addled his brain
.
He’d turned downright poetic and he was anything but a poet
.

Alex
dug his heels into
Letty’s
sides
.
The sooner her
hooves trod upon Grayson soil
,
the better
.

After an hour and a half the ancient stone manor of
Grayson Hall
came into view
.
The monstrous estate appeared grossly out of place here in the English countryside and was strongly reminiscent of a Scottish castle
.
Sidney rode up the
circular drive first, halting his hulking bay gelding before the sweeping stone steps
.
“Do you think the door is unlocked?  I can’t imagine anyone’s awake at this hour.”

Alex reined in beside his cousin
.
“We can’t just waltz in uninvited and unannounced.”

“Why the
hell
not, mate?
”
Sid swung off the horse, rounding the animal
’
s haunches to
stand beside
Letty
.
“You’re family after all.”

“
Have you met Lord Grayson?
” Alex slid
the soundly sleeping
Charley
off his lap and into Sidney’s waiting arms
.
“We’re liable to get shot.
”
Edmond Trent,
Fifth
Earl of Grayson,
was known for
his love of firearms, hunting and unprecedented paranoia
.