She dragged her heavy eyelids open and noted with no small amount of pique that he appeared not in the least bit undone, while she felt completely unraveled. While she remained propped against the wall, fighting for breath and willing her pulse to slow, he gathered up her discarded fichu. Without asking her permission, he settled the delicate blond lace around her neck, nimbly tucking it into the top of her gown, then adjusting her bodice with a deft tug and practiced ease that indicated he was well acquainted with the intricacies of ladies’ clothing. Heat gushed through her and she wondered if he would be as adept at removing a woman’s clothes.
With his gaze, once again indecipherable, resting on hers, he said, “Our bargain is sealed, Victoria. My note, if you please.”
The way he said her name, in that deep rasp, had her pressing her lips together to keep from asking him to say it again. “I will give it to you once we return to the house.”
One dark brow quirked upward. “If it is your modesty you seek to protect, may I remind you that I am already acquainted with what’s inside your bodice.”
Fire scorched her cheeks. Still, she was grateful for his words, as they served as a much needed reminder that this man was an arrogant blight on her peace. “The note is not hidden in my bodice. I shall return it to you once we’re back at Creston Manor.”
He studied her for several seconds, and Victoria returned his speculative look with a cool regard of her own. Finally he nodded. “Very well. Then let us be off.”
He picked up her shell-filled bonnet, tucked the bundle under his arm, then extended his hand. Wordlessly, Victoria slipped her hand into his and allowed him to lead her from the cave. The instant they exited the narrow passage between the stones, he released her and she forced away the absurd sense of disappointment that flooded her. There was no reason to be disappointed. Indeed, she should be ecstatic. She’d only arrived in Cornwall yesterday and already achieved her objective-she’d given him a kiss he wouldn’t soon forget. Of course, she was now faced with the indisputably annoying fact that she’d also given him a kiss she wouldn’t soon forget. Botheration, that hadn’t been part of her plan at all.
Then another disturbing thought hit her. Had she given him a kiss he wouldn’t soon forget? While there was no denying that he’d been physically aroused by their encounter, how could she be sure he wouldn’t forget their kiss five minutes from now? Perhaps he’d already forgotten.
She peeked at him from the corner of her eye as they crossed the beach, and her lips pressed together with a combination of dismay and annoyance. He strode along as if he hadn’t a care in the world, his face lifted toward the sun, the wind ruffling through his dark hair. Bending down, he picked up a small, perfect ivory conch. A smile played at the corners of his mouth. He looked altogether unperturbed, unconcerned, and certainly not in the throes of brooding over their time in the cave.
Unable to keep from asking, Victoria said, “May I ask your thoughts?”
He rubbed his hand over his stomach. “I was wondering what Cook planned for lunch. Hopefully something hearty. I’m famished.”
Food. The blasted man was thinking about food. Clamping her jaw shut to prevent her from asking any other questions to which she didn’t want to hear the answers, she remained silent for the remainder of their journey back to the house. As they neared the stables, she noted Lords Sutton and Alwyck standing in the wide doorway, watching them approach. Both men were looking at her intently, and she realized what a disaster her hair must look from the brisk breeze. And Nathan’s long-fingered hands, her inner voice added slyly.
Humph. The wind had wreaked havoc with her coiffure long before Nathan had touched her. Indeed, she was grateful for the gusty wind, for without it she would have no other explanation for her disheveled state.
Sitting astride Midnight, Nathan observed his brother and Gordon watch Victoria approach and decided he didn’t like what saw. Gordon looked at her as if she was a delectable confection and he’d suddenly developed a sweet tooth. Colin’s expression was equally rapt. By the looks of it, neither man would object to taking over his duty of protecting Victoria. A decidedly unpleasant sensation, which he told himself was hunger, gripped his gut.
Nathan’s jaw tightened as he noted that Victoria had barely reined in Honey before Gordon greeted her with a wide smile. “How fetching you look, Lady Victoria.”
She laughed. “You are either excessively gallant or dreadfully nearsighted, Lord Alwyck, for I know I must look a fright. The wind at the beach stole my bonnet, and I fear my coiffure as well.”
“I’m not the least nearsighted,” Colin said, joining them and smiling up at Victoria, “and I agree, you look most fetching. Did you enjoy your visit to the beach?”
“Very much. The scenery was breathtaking and I filled my runaway bonnet with the most lovely shells.”
“I enjoyed myself as well,” Nathan said dryly, reining Midnight next to Victoria’s mount.
“But where is your chaperone, Lady Victoria?” Gordon asked, casting a disapproving glare at Nathan.
“Since when is a chaperone required for a horseback ride in broad daylight?” Nathan cut in, looking at Gordon with a cold expression that dared him to suggest either he or Lady Victoria would act in an untoward fashion. “The rigorous ride and walk to the beach would have been exhausting for Lady Delia.”
Both Gordon and Colin returned their attention to Victoria. Gordon helped her dismount, and Nathan grimly noted that his hands remained on her waist a fraction too long. And that a becoming blush stained Victoria’s cheeks as a result.
He swung down from the saddle. Colin, who held Honey’s reins, handed them to him as if he were a stable hand. Disgruntled in a way he couldn’t ever recall feeling before, Nathan led both horses into the stable, the sound of Victoria’s delighted laughter as she basked in the attention of her two new admirers following him into the shadowy interior. It appeared he’d have to pry her away from Colin and Gordon to get her back to the house to fetch his note. It suddenly occurred to him that if Colin had accompanied Victoria to the cave, his brother’s talented fingers most likely could have already relieved her of the note, but damn it, the thought of Colin putting his hands on her did not set well at all.
“Enjoy your ride, Dr. Nathan?” Hopkins asked, coming from the tack room to greet him.
“It was… stimulating.” And intriguing. He inwardly winced. And painfully arousing.
“Stimulating, eh?” Hopkins nodded thoughtfully. “A ride with a beautiful woman is often just that.” He jerked his head toward the doorway where Colin, Gordon, and Victoria were engaged in a lively conversation. “Seems like there’s some competition fer her attention.”
Nathan’s shoulders tensed. “I’m not in competition for her favors.”
“ ‘Course yer not. She’s got eyes only for you.”
Nathan’s head whipped around to face Hopkins. “What do you mean?”
Clearly his voice was sharper man he’d intended because Hopkins eyed him with a combination of hurt and surprise. “Beg yer pardon, Dr. Nathan. Meant no disrespect. ‘Tis just we used to always speak plainly to each other.”