One Touch of Magic (21 page)

He turned his horse away, and galloped out of the village on his errand. A fool’s errand, he feared, but he had to do something,
anything
. No man could possibly sit idly by while the woman he cared about, the woman he loved, was in trouble.

Miles almost fell off his horse in shock at his own thoughts.

Love?
He loved Sarah?

Miles reined his horse in beneath a tree and just sat there for a moment, letting the newness of his emotions settle on his mind. Yes, he confessed to himself. He did love her. Their kiss had proved that to him, beyond a doubt. Their surprising kiss that had seemingly come from nowhere to offer passion and comfort in the midst of ugliness. The feeling of her in his arms, of her lips beneath his, had been sweeter than anything he had ever known, ever dreamed of.

The way she laughed and smiled, the serious frown on her face as she concentrated on her work; he could watch her in all her moods, all her ways, and never tire of it. Of
her
. It was all unbearably precious to him.

When he was in Spain, when things were difficult and he was far from certain about the future, he would sit under the stars in the hot, dry night and try to envision a different life in England. A life where he would have a home and a family, a wife who was gentle and soft, who smelled of roses and had a musical laugh.

Those thoughts had been precious, especially when he feared that none of them would ever have the chance to come true. But they had been dreams; the reality of Sarah, of his unique Sarah, was more fine than any dream could ever be.

Even in the middle of this terrible mess they found themselves in, the realization of his love made him smile, made him laugh aloud. Never would he have thought to be given such a glorious gift!

He loved her.
He loved her!
If there had been anyone near, he would have shouted the news at them. The only living creature near to him, though, was a placid cow, who chewed at a mouthful of grass and watched him calmly.

“I am in love with Sarah Iverson,” he told the cow.

The creature just turned around and loped back across its meadow.

Miles tugged at his horse’s reins and continued down the lane at a slower pace. Yes, he loved her; but did
she
love
him
?

The ardor of her kiss would certainly suggest so. She had held him so tightly, had melted into him with soft sighs.

But their situation was far from mundane. They were surrounded by danger, by a palpable malevolence, and she may have just been reaching out for his comfort. He himself had done such, with Spanish widows and pretty courtesans. Sometimes a person needed the safety, the reality of another person. Sarah had been so unhappy with him before, when he told her of his new plans for the land her village sat on. Perhaps, once this was all past, she would be angry with him again.

He hoped that was not true. He wanted, desperately wanted, her to feel tenderness and perhaps even love for him. If she did, he could never ask for a greater gift.

Only time would tell.

“Emmeline?” Neville Hamilton knocked at his wife’s chamber door. It was silent behind the thin wood, but surely it was far too early in the day for her to be asleep. It was scarcely teatime.

Then again, he was never sure what to expect from her anymore.

He knew that she had not been happy for a long time, maybe not since their wedding day. He had his own unhappiness, though, his own disillusionment. He had his work. That did not leave a great deal of time for a wife who was in so many ways a stranger to him.

A stranger whose laugher and gaiety, the qualities that had once drawn him to her, had been growing ever more desperate of late.

She was not what he had sought in a wife at all. She could not help him in his work, could not even understand him. Just as he did not understand her.

That thought renewed all his old anger at the unfairness of fortune, and gave strength to his knock at her door. “Emmeline! I know that you have not gone out. The innkeeper says they have not seen you downstairs all day. Now, let me in, at once!”

A moment passed. Then there was a faint shuffling noise, and the grate of a key being turned in the lock. The door swung open, and Emmeline stood there.

She was still clad in her dressing gown, her hair falling over her shoulders in a tangled tumble, her eyes red rimmed from sleep. Or tears?

“What do you want, Neville?” she asked dully.

Despite his already low expectations, Neville was shocked. Emmeline always slept late, but when she awoke, she attended her toilette and dressed carefully, as if still in Bath. Their quarrel over supper last night had not been an unusual one—Neville could not even recall what it had been about. It was certainly not something to cause
this
.

He pushed past her into the chamber, and saw the unmade bed, the untouched luncheon tray, and a glass of some milky liquid on the bedside table. He turned back to face her, watching as she closed the door and sat down on the nearest chair, moving as if she was too tired to stand any longer.

“Are you ill?” he asked.

“I am just tired,” she said. “And you needn’t pretend you care.”

“Of course, I care. You are my wife.”

She laughed, and waved her hand in a listless, dismissive gesture. “And you are my husband. Yet where were you this morning, when, from what I hear, there was a murderer abroad? You were chasing about the countryside, leaving me here alone and unprotected.”

Neville raked his hands through his hair in a burst of impatience. “Emmeline! You were hardly unprotected in an inn full of people. I was attempting to find out who has done this, so that we will all be safe again.”

“This would never have happened to us at home in Bath! We are always safe there.” She burst into great, gulping sobs, and buried her face in her hands. “I hate it here! I hate everything about it. And then for you to leave me alone . . .”

Neville awkwardly put his arm around her and patted her shoulder. He had never been good with weeping females. “Emmeline, please. Did Lady Iverson not bring my message to you?”

Emmeline nodded, but still cried. “She does not understand how I feel, either. She is an unnatural female, who would rather dig about in the dirt than marry and go out in proper society. If I had the things that she has, a title and money of my own, I would never waste them as she does.”

Neville feared that this sort of vituperative outburst could go on for hours, and he remembered his pledge to assist Lord Ransome. He tightened his arm around her, and said, “Come, my dear. Let me help you back to the bed. You are obviously not well.”

She went with him willingly enough, letting him tuck the bedclothes around her, but she said, “You are just going to leave me again. To go to Lady Iverson and her ridiculous sister.”

“I told Lord Ransome I would join him in the search for the culprit,” he said. “I
must
go again, but only for a brief while.”

Emmeline sniffled, and looked up with a glimmer of interest. “Lord Ransome?”

“Yes.”

“Can I not go with you?” she asked plaintively. “If I could just leave these rooms for a while . . .”

Neville would never have allowed his wife to ride about the countryside with him, even under the best of circumstances. It was out of the question now, especially in light of her current state of mind. But he dared not completely refuse her, for fear she would take to weeping again. “You must rest right now Emmeline. But perhaps this evening I could take you to visit Lady Iverson for a while.”

Emmeline nodded weakly, and laid her head back down on the pillow, closing her eyes. Her golden lashes lay in pale relief against the purple shadows lurking there.

Neville stared down at her, remembering Lord Ransome’s suspicions that it had not been the brutish farmer who destroyed the Viking artifacts. Obviously, though, it had to have been someone who was desperate and angry about something, something to do with the village or the people who worked there.

Desperate—and angry.

“How does this look, Sarah?” Mary Ann asked.

“Hm?” Sarah glanced up, startled by the sound of her sister’s voice. She had been looking at a pottery storage jar for several minutes, but, in truth, her thoughts had not been on it. She forgot all about her task, all that had happened that day, and thought of only one thing—her kiss with Miles.

Over and over, her mind saw how he looked in his library, his guinea-gold hair tousled, his eyes heavy and intent. Her hands remembered his warmth, the feel of his strong shoulders. Her lips wanted to feel his beneath them again.

Her cheeks grew warm just with the memory, and she pressed her hand to her face. Never would she have thought that she could become a lust-starved widow, but apparently that was what had happened! Nothing, not even the seriousness of their situation, could turn her from that kiss.

She had even forgotten that she was not alone in the drawing room. Mary Ann sat on the floor, next to an old blanket spread out and covered with objects. When Sarah turned to look at her, she saw that her sister had a book open on her lap and held an ivory figure of a warrior in one hand. With her other hand, she gave him a last wipe with a rag.

“I am sorry, Mary Ann. Did you say something?” Sarah asked.

“I asked if this looks all right. I’m afraid he lost part of his spear, but other than that he seems in fine shape. I finished cleaning this bowl, too.” She polished at the little ivory face. “They are ready to be labeled. Have you finished with that jar?”

“Jar?” Sarah stared dumbly at the piece of pottery before her. “Oh. No. Not yet.”

“Poor Sarah. You look so tired.”

“I
am
tired, I fear.”

“Why do you not retire?” Mary Ann rose stiffly to her feet, and crossed the room to pull the draperies back from the window. “See, it is full dark outside. You should be in bed.”

Sarah was startled that it had grown so very late. When she first arrived back at the hunting box, time had seemed to pass very slowly as she waited impatiently for news. Then she had become engrossed in her work, and in lustful, ridiculous daydreams, and it had slipped away from her.

Darkness had fallen—and she had not yet had any news from Miles.

“No,” she said. “I cannot retire yet.”

“Not until you hear something. I know. I, too, am anxious.” Mary Ann leaned against the window frame, her smooth dark hair limned in moonlight. “Do you suppose Mr. O’Riley is searching with Lord Ransome?”

Sarah did not miss the wistful note in her sister’s voice, and knew that it boded ill for a new infatuation. She was too tired, though, and too nervous to speak to her about it now. When everything was resolved, she and Mary Ann would have to have yet another talk about the differences between Minerva Press novels and real life.

For now, all she said was, “I would suppose so. As is Mr. Hamilton.”

Mary Ann wrinkled her nose. “Mr. Hamilton is probably at the inn, nursing his ninny of a wife.”

“Mary Ann, that is unkind,” Sarah protested. “She has had a very unhappy time adjusting to her marriage.”

“Is marriage always such an unhappy adjustment?” Mary Ann asked, her tone full of curiosity. “I have often wondered. Mother just purses up her lips, and says a wife must always do her duty. She is of no help at all.”

Sarah imagined that marriage to Miles would not be an onerous adjustment at all. Not that she could say that to Mary Ann, of course. “It is of no surprise that Mother is no help to you. She was not to me, either. After all of this is settled, you and I will have a long conversation, I promise.”

Mary Ann sighed. “It is always ‘after.’ ” She straightened up suddenly, peering out the window. “I think someone is coming!”

Sarah’s heart seemed to skip a beat, then pattered quickly, too quickly, in anticipation. She carefully put down the jar, and rose from her chair. Could he be here, finally? “Who is it?”

“I cannot tell. It’s too dark. A man on horseback.”

Sarah went to stand by her sister at the window. There was indeed a man on horseback just turning into their garden from the lane. He was tall and straight backed, but the moonlight caught no gleam of golden hair. He dismounted and strode to the front door. The knock echoed through the house, and they could hear Rose scurrying to answer it.

Mary Ann suddenly clutched at Sarah’s arm. “What if it is not someone we know? What if it is the murderer, come to finish his revenge?”

Sarah thought she sounded too deliciously horrified, and gave her a stern look. “Mary Ann. Would a murderer knock at the front door?”

“I do not know
what
a murderer would do, having never met one,” Mary Ann answered.

“I am sure it must be Lord Ransome, or one of his men. Hopefully, he will have some news for us.” Sarah had just reached up to be sure her hair was tidy when Rose opened the drawing room door.

“Mr. O’Riley, Lady Iverson,” the maid announced.

It was not Miles. Sarah’s hand fell from her hair.

Mary Ann stepped away from the window, her eyes shining eagerly. She bounced up on her toes as Mr. O’Riley came into the room, stooping his tall figure a bit in their low doorway.

He looked very serious, no hint of a smile. Why should that be? Sarah wondered, grasping the back of a chair in a sudden wave of dizziness. “What news?” she asked. “Has something—something not pleasant occurred?”

“Oh, no,” Mr. O’Riley said quickly. “I did not mean to frighten you, Lady Iverson. Lord Ransome has asked me to stay with you for a time while he finishes some business. He will be here later this evening.”

“Oh, I see.” Still dizzy, Sarah sat down on the chair, and reached out to take Mary Ann’s hand and stop her fidgeting. “Mary Ann, dear, could you go and ask for some refreshments to be brought in?”

“Of course,” Mary Ann said. “I will see if there are some of those lemon cakes left that you like so much. You ate almost nothing at supper.” With another smile at Mr. O’Riley, she hurried from the room, closing the door halfway behind her.