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Chapter Fourteen
Dorian tried not to think about the way Rose felt against his chest, and how snugly she fit within the circumference of his arms, as he rode with her back down the cliff to where the carriage awaited. It had been a lifetime since he had been this close to a woman without immediately wishing to be elsewhere.
She could have died…He closed his eyes as though he were in pain, as he thought of her slipping from the ledge. If he had caught her about the waist a moment slower, or if he had chosen to snatch for her hand instead, he knew catastrophe might have befallen her. And, in thinking of the tragic possibilities, he found himself conflicted.
He had received a sour taste of how he would feel if he were to lose her, and he had not liked the flavor one bit. But he could not shake the notion that she might have slippedbecausehe had felt so joyful being up there with her, showing her the view, with her hand in his, both of them relishing in the exhilaration. He had forgotten himself for a few minutes, and it had almost cost Rose the ultimate price.
“How are you faring?” he murmured as he held her closer. He could not help it. If he held her tight enough, he hoped he might chase away the horror of what had just happened or at least stop the shivers that vibrated through her and into him.
Rose dipped her chin to her chest. “I am… shaken, My Lord, but I’ll be all right. I’ve been through worse.” She shuddered as though she had just felt an icy draft. “Maybe it wasn’t even a pistol shot. If there’s no culprit, perhaps it was just a rock cracking and splintering away from the cliff.”
“You may be correct.” Dorian had scoured the surrounding landscape for any sign of a potential enemy, and he had the finest vantage point for miles around, but he had not been able to see so much as a shadow lurking in the wheat fields or hiding in the long grass.
Rose lifted her head again. “Do you think so?”
“If there is one thing that I learned during the war, it is that one can always discover a sniper or a lookout if you are higher than they are. We are at the highest possible point from here to London, and I see nothing and no-one.”
Dorian was not saying it for the sole purpose of comforting her, for he was beginning to think that he had overreacted somewhat due to the way the sound had startled Rose. It could easily have been a rock splitting, or a landslide further down the coast, or even a peculiarity of the waves lashing up inside a cave below, where the chamber distorted noise to make it sound like a cracking whip.
“I do hope it was one of those things, My Lord.” Rose’s voice already sounded bolder, with less of a tremble in her words.
He stopped the horse for a moment. “Miss Parker, look around us and tell me what you see. I want you to be confident in what your own eyes see, so you will not be afraid of mysterious musketeers or men wielding pistols, camouflaged within the terrain.”
He observed the curve of Rose’s neck as she turned her gaze out toward the fields and the horizon and the way her throat contracted as she swallowed her nerves. As her body turned with her head, he felt the slight dents of her ribs against his forearm and felt a sudden swell of concern for her.
Perhaps, they could continue on and enjoy the day, as he had planned. They could at least dine on the food that Mrs. Whittaker had arranged for the picnic, so he would know that Rose had eaten well that day.
“Well?” he prompted. “What do you see?”
Rose hesitated. “I… don’t see anything but the countryside, My Lord.”
“Do you see any shadows or cloaked devils?” He had meant it as a joke, but an alarmed flicker in Rose’s eyelids made him regret his choice of words. She was evidently spooked, and he had no desire to frighten her further.
“I don’t think so,” she managed to reply, though the tremor had come back to her voice.
Dorian clicked his tongue and set the horse to walking again. “There is nothing to fear, Miss Parker. I reacted instinctually, as I have been trained to do, and I believe I might have made a mountain out of a molehill.” He paused: his throat tight. “When you have been to war, and you return from those battlefields, you question every sound, thinking you are once more under fire or under threat. It is difficult to remember that the fighting is now far away, and you are in relative safety. I behaved as though I were still on the Continent, and I alarmed you. I am sorry for that.”
Rose nodded slowly. “I suppose I’ve been waiting for some kind of battle myself, after the way my father and I parted ways. I’m struggling to remember thatheis far away, and I am in relative safety.”
“You think he will try to retrieve you?” Dorian’s expression hardened. If Bill Parker even attempted such a thing, Dorian would unleash his hounds the moment that wretch set foot on his grounds. Rose was underhiscare now, and he would not see her return to that dismal life in London under any circumstances. The only exception would be if she asked to leave, but he hoped it would never come to that.
Rose shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine he would have the money or the impetus to do so, but he’s always been very possessive when it comes to me.”
“Think of my house as a safe haven. As long as you are there, you will be protected from anyone who tries to take you away. Mrs. Whittaker has a savage right-hook, believe it or not, and I hear that Bluebelle has taken a liking to you, so she will surely scratch out the eyes of any assailants.” He smiled at her, though she did not turn to see that rare expression. “But there are also countless valets and footmen and staff who know how to wield a musket and will chase away any unwanted visitors to Langston House.”
“Thank you, My Lord.” Her demeanor eased slightly. “Does Mrs. Whittaker really have a savage right-hook?”
Dorian chuckled quietly. “As brutal as any bare-knuckle boxer I have ever seen. She once knocked a thief unconscious with a single blow after he tried to steal her coin purse.”
“No! You’re teasing me, aren’t you?” Rose twisted her head back to look at him, their eyes meeting. He waited for her to look away again, as most people did, but she just kept on staring.
He shook his head. “I assure you; it is entirely true. I believe she might have been some sort of renegade in her youth, but she will never tell me of her history. There might even be documents signed by the crown that prevent her from revealing anything.”
“Now Iknowyou are teasing,” she said with an open smile.
“Perhaps about the documents, but only Mrs. Whittaker knows the truth of what she used to be and where she learned to punch like a stevedore.” He did not know how he could feel so content after the tension that had just passed, but being here with her, so close to one another, able to speak so freely with no-one overhearing… It was precisely the salve he had been seeking for his restive malaise. She was both the cause and the cure.
Rose turned back to face the front, as the horse maneuvered across the last narrow gap in the path before they would reach the flat of the grass below. Dorian almost did not want the ride to end, for he would have to reinstate the polite distance between them.
