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“I won’t be forced into marriage,” she bit out.
The sight of the tears shimmering on her lashes unmanned him and he instinctively drew her into his arms. “I am not suggesting for one moment that you should. You should certainly never enter into any engagement under pressure from anyone. Accepting someone’s offer for your hand should only be done when you know he will love you unconditionally. You should be assured that he wants to share his life with you for no other reason than he cannot live without you. A man who offers you anything less than everything he is most definitely is not worthy of you.”
She gasped when one large palm cupped her cheek, but she didn’t try to pull away. The earnest look in his eye held her spellbound.
“Promise me that you won’t accept anyone’s offer without being confident that you know everything about him. You must make sure that his intentions are entirely honourable, and driven only by the deepest affection. You deserve nothing less, Ursula,” he murmured, his own voice fuelled with determination.
It bothered him to realise that he was speaking about himself. In that moment he knew, exactly, what he had to do to be the one to persuade her to marry. Before she could find the words to answer him, his lips covered hers.
She wasn’t aware of his hands on her hips until she was flush against him. By then it was too late to put some distance between them. His words still rang in her ears, but she couldn’t formulate a reply. She couldn’t focus on anything other than the wondrous sensations his masterful kisses elicited deep within her. If only he was the one who would make a declaration of affection to her, she knew her life would be as perfect as it could be. If only Trenton would offer for her, she wouldn’t ask for anything else.
Barbarella. That thought came out of nowhere and was enough to give her the strength to push him away.
“We cannot do this,” she gasped in horror as the memory of the spiteful Barbarella came flooding back. “You cannot do this. You are engaged to be married,” she cried anxiously, her voice full of bitter regret.
“Ursula.” He tried to stop her but she pushed out of his arms, spun on her heel, and ran quickly down the towpath without a backward look. Cursing his luck, Trenton chased after her. He momentarily lost sight of her when she dodged behind a horse tugging a boat, led by a group of gaggling children.
To his disbelief, by the time he had dodged around the horse and children, she had vanished.
CHAPTER SIX
He frantically scanned the towpath for any sign of her. Where had she gone? How had she managed to vanish so easily in such a short space of time? He turned around to look behind him. Had he passed her and not known it? Desperation clawed at him, urging him to do whatever it took to find her again.
He was practically running by the time he reached the main road that ran alongside the embankment. Once there he scanned the road in both directions and finally spotted a woman in a dress the same colour as Ursula’s. Dodging around the traffic, he ignored the outraged calls of several coachmen, and raced after her. His fury grew the closer he got to her until, by the time he reached her his anger was at boiling point.
Given what had happened only last night, it was foolish to race through the streets of London all by herself. Didn’t she know the dangers that lurked around every corner in London for single, unchaperoned women like her?
“Ursula!” When she didn’t respond, he yanked hard on her elbow only to curse bitterly when a strange woman whirled around with a scream. “I am sorry,” he apologised. “I thought you were someone else.”
His worry increased tenfold as he studied the people on the street but couldn’t see any sign of her. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t even hear the chastisement of the woman and her companion.
“Sorry,” he muttered absently as he turned away.
He knew now just how much Ursula meant to him. His life - he - would never be the same without her beside him. She was a very large part of him. If he didn’t have her by his side, his future would be dire indeed. She was the most captivating woman he had ever met, and he wanted to know everything there was to know about her. It didn’t matter how long it took. As far as he was concerned, they had a lifetime together to get to know each other. If only he could find her.
Casting that thought aside, he retraced his steps and made his way back to the towpath. His fear grew when he immediately saw the group of barge children gathered around something on the floor. Closing his eyes on a silent prayer, he raced toward them. His horror grew the closer he got when he noticed a pair of boots sticking out from between the children’s feet.
He knew instinctively who was lying on the ground.
“Dear God, what happened?” he growled as he pushed his way through the children and dropped to his knees beside Ursula’s prone body. “Who did this to her?”
“’Ere, it weren’t us guvnor,” one of the boys protested.
“We just found her like this,” another piped up as they began to back away.
“She came from behind that tree ‘ere, and fell down,” a young girl added with a nod at the tree beside them.
“Did you see anyone else?” he asked, and cursed silently when they all shook their heads.
“There ain’t no-one else around here but you,” one boy replied knowingly.
“Thank God,” Trenton sighed when he saw the steady rise and fall of her chest. The strength of the emotion that swept through him was so strong that he had to take a moment to gather himself. Once he had, he prodded gently at her shoulder while his eyes scoured her for any sign of injury.
“Ursula?”
She immediately groaned before her eyes fluttered open.
“Trenton? What are you doing? Where am I? What’s happened?” she murmured in confusion. She pushed at his arms so she could see where she was when she realised she was lying on the floor, but he was having none of it.
