Secrets of a Runaway Bride (32 page)

And so, when Annie entered the salon wearing a soft pink day dress and saw Lily chatting with Lady Foxdown and Lady Hathaway, she smiled to herself. Lily looked smart in her amethyst-colored day dress. The sisters, who had been completely destitute just months ago, were now dressed in the latest fashions. Stylish, the
ton
called them in fact.

Annie shook her head. It was comical, really, how quickly Society changed its fickle collective mind.

Lily glanced up from both her sewing and her conversation. “There you are, Anne. I’d begun to worry about you.”

Annie flashed her sister a wide smile and spun in a circle. “Yes, it seems I was a bit tired after all the … dancing last night. I slept in this morning.”

Lily glanced at the clock on the nearby mantelpiece. “I can see that.”

“Good morning, Miss Andrews,” Lady Foxdown said with a wide, approving smile. “I do hope you’ll join us.”

Annie plucked a Michaelmas daisy from a vase on the side table and inhaled its sweet scent. There was no way she could sit still and embroider today. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and she felt better than she had in an age. “I’m going for a walk, actually,” she announced.

Lily barely glanced up this time. “Devon and Justin have gone fishing, but the rest of the men have all gone off to ride not long ago. If you stay to the road past the meadow you might see them.”

Annie’s stomach dropped a bit. She was suddenly shy, nervous. The thought of seeing Jordan again after their night together made her hands tremble. What would it be like between them today? How would he treat her? Would he give her that sensuous smile he gave her last night just before he—

“Anne, did you hear me?”

With a start, Annie dropped the daisy and bent over quickly to scoop it from the rug. “Yes … uh … pardon?”

“I asked if you’d be back in time for tea.”

“Oh well, yes. Yes, of course.” Would Jordan be at tea? “I’ll just be off then. See you this afternoon.” She waved as she left.

Grabbing up a small satchel one of the maids had prepared for her, Annie made her way out the back doors to the terrace and along the gravel path into the gardens. Instead of taking the lane near the meadow, she opted instead for the one that led through the forest. She walked briskly, allowing the wind to whip her face and the sun to touch her cheeks despite her bonnet. Oh, she had the odd sore spot and twinge from the night before, but they made her smile.

“I still can’t believe I did it,” she whispered to herself, bending to scoop up a small pile of leaves and breathe in their autumnal scent.

Feeling decidedly saucy, she pushed her bonnet from her head and let it hang down her back. The sun caressed her cheeks. Ah, who cared if she got a bit of color on her face? Today was the first day in her entire life where she felt free, truly free. Somehow, making the choice to be with Jordan last night had changed her. It was true that she’d never given a snap for rules, but somehow performing the definitive scandalous act with the definitive scandalous man had given her a glimpse of a freedom she never knew existed. She could do anything. Anything. Marry or not marry, have children or not have children, fall in love or … well, there wasn’t much of a choice there. But still, there were endless possibilities now and they all awaited her.

She sobered for a moment. She knew perfectly well that making the decision to be with Jordan last night was no guarantee for her future. If she was going to be with the man she loved, she might very well have to give up her dream of marriage. Jordan had been perfectly clear on that score. He had no intention of marrying. She straightened her shoulders. So be it. She’d made her decision, and she would face the consequences, whatever they might be.

Annie slowed her pace once she entered the forest. She made her way through the trees and eventually came to a small pond. She exhaled. Like paradise. She’d been here to this lovely peaceful spot before. It had quickly become her favorite place at Colton House.

She pulled a quilt from her satchel and made her way over to the soft grass by the pond. The ground was sprinkled with fallen leaves and Annie fluffed out the quilt and let it drift softly to the ground. She settled herself on top of the blanket and pulled the pins from her hair. She shook out the long, brown mass and stretched out on the quilt, squinting against the sunlight that filtered through the trees. She closed her eyes and breathed in the leafy scent that surrounded her. Then she lay back on the blanket and spread out her arms and legs.

Freedom. Ah. Wonderful feeling.

Annie lay there for several minutes listening to the squirrels chattering in the trees and the soft swoosh of the leaves falling to the earth in the woods around her. She’d always been partial to summer. But autumn, autumn was a lovely time of year. Why had she never quite realized how crisp and fresh and beautiful the season was?

It took a few more moments before Annie became aware that the sounds of the forest were being replaced by the sound of … thunder? She rose up to her elbows. Was it thunder? She cocked her head and listened for a few more moments. And then she saw him, a lone rider on horseback galloping full pelt toward her. Whoever he was, he must know that a path to the manor house lay through the woods. And what was he doing riding through an untouched part of Devon’s property? Was he a poacher? Or did she know him?

She squinted. No, she couldn’t make out his identity. Perhaps it was Devon. But Devon had gone fishing with Justin. And if it were Devon, why would he be coming back from this direction? And alone?

Annie shielded her eyes from the sun with one hand and watched intently as the rider drew closer. When he was still many paces away, he called out a command to his horse and Annie sucked in her breath.

She knew that voice.

Jordan.

But what was he doing? Where was he coming from? Crazily, she thought she might grab up her blanket and run away, but he was close enough now that he would see her no matter what. Not to mention, a part of her—the part that had butterflies winging through it at the moment—wanted to see him. What would he say? She held her breath and pressed a shaking hand to her stomach.

He must have seen her because he changed his course slightly, slowed his mount and maneuvered the stallion right up to Annie’s blanket. Jordan tipped his hat. Annie exhaled and looked up into his shadowed face. He smiled at her. Oh yes. It was her new favorite smile.

“What are you doing out here alone?” he asked.

She sat up straight, her palms braced behind her on the quilt, her hair tumbling down her back. She squinted up at him. “Funny. I planned to ask you the same question.”

“Why is your hair down?” His brow was wrinkled.

“Why not?” she answered with a smile she felt all the way to her toes. She’d already tossed her bonnet to the corner of the quilt and now she sat up straight and gave him a saucy smile.

Jordan didn’t say a word. He dismounted from his horse and tied him to a nearby tree. “I was just coming back from Ashbourne Manor, actually. I went there this morning to see to some business.”

“Eager to get back, I see.” She dropped her gaze to the quilt. Until she’d said those words aloud, she hadn’t wondered if he’d been galloping back to see her. Now that was
exactly
what she wondered. Her heart pounded. No. No. She would not think such things. She would not.

He braced a shoulder against the tree and contemplated her. “I told you why I was out here. What about you?”

She inclined her head toward him. “I … needed some fresh air.”

“And your hair?” He gestured toward the top of her head.

A shrug. “For fun.”

“Ah, I see.”

Oh, it was good to see him. He looked so handsome. She said a quick prayer of thanks that she happened to be seated. If she’d been standing, surely her knees would’ve buckled by now. She shook her head and let her hair ripple over one shoulder. Then she gave him a coquettish look and fluttered her eyelashes.

Good heavens, the man had her fluttering her eyelashes. She’d never been flirtatious before. Jordan made her feel beautiful just by being in his presence. He’d always made her feel that way. “I’ve come to love this spot. It’s very pretty in autumn.”

Jordan nodded. A large orange oak leaf floated from the branches above his head. He caught it in one hand and twirled it between his fingers by its stem. “I’ve always been partial to autumn myself.”

Annie grabbed a leaf from the ground beside her quilt and twirled it between her fingers too. “Yes. It’s lovely.” She squeezed her eyes closed.
Idiotic, asinine thing to say!

His top boots crunched through the leaves as he approached her. He cleared his throat. “May I escort you back to the house?”

“No!” The word flew from her lips much more forcefully than she’d meant it to. “That is to say, I don’t intend to go back … just yet.”

Jordan frowned. “I see.” He swiveled on his heel to return to his mount. “Will I see you back there later then?”

Was that regret she heard in his voice? No. No. She would not be sad. This whatever-it-was with Jordan was just for fun. “No. I mean, yes. I…” She forced herself to inhale a deep, cool breath. “Would you care to join me? On the blanket, I mean.”

Jordan swiveled fully around. His eyes narrowed on her.

“Or … not,” she quickly amended, her face heating despite the chill in the air.

He stared at her. The longer the silence continued, the more desperately she wished she could disappear like a wood sprite. Yes. Just like a wood sprite. Wouldn’t that be convenient?

“Annie, I…” He took a step toward her and then stopped. He pulled off his hat and shoved his hand through his thick, dark hair.

“It’s all right. You don’t have to explain.” She glanced down at the blanket and traced the quilt’s pattern with the tip of the leaf. She bit her lip and glanced up at him.

“No, it’s just that…” He stood there looking handsome and perfect and almost … vulnerable. One knee was bent, he’d discarded his leaf, and now he was turning his hat over and over in his hands.

He met her gaze. “It’s not a good idea for us to…”

She turned her face to the side sharply, as if struck by his words. Other words he’d said, the night he’d found her in the Roths’ library, pounded through her brain.
Men aren’t that complicated. If they’re interested, they show their interest.

And Jordan wasn’t interested. The words might be unspoken, but it didn’t matter. She clenched her teeth and tried to breathe through the pain in her chest. When would she ever learn? When would she stop doing this to herself? Throwing herself at men who didn’t want her?

Jordan tossed the hat to the ground. “Damn it, Annie, what I mean to say is, if I sit down next to you there’s every chance I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.”

Her head snapped back around to face him. Her eyes wide, a slow smile spreading across her face. Well, wasn’t that the cutest thing anyone had ever said? She scrunched up her nose and looked up at him. “Then, by all means, sit down.” She grinned and patted the spot next to her.

He shook his head and smiled back, biting his lower lip in a way that made Annie’s heart skip a beat. Oh, but he was a beautiful man.

Jordan let go of his lower lip and she knew a moment of regret.

“Do you really think that’s wise?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No. Not at all.”

He scrubbed his hand through his hair again. “Annie, listen, what happened between us last night was … incredible, but we cannot let it happen again. I must—”

“Why not?” she demanded, sitting up and crossing her arms over her chest.

Jordan turned to stare at her with eyes that looked as if they might pop from his skull.
“Why not?”

“Yes. Why can’t it happen again?” Tossing the leaf aside, Annie drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Jordan paced back and forth under the large oak tree, leaves drifting down around him. “For one thing, and
only
one. If Colton found out, he’d have me drawn and quartered.”

Annie contemplated that argument for a moment. “Agreed. But the fact is that the damage is done, so what does it matter?”

His eyes went wide. “
The damage is done?
I cannot believe you said that.”

“It’s true, isn’t it?”

“Despite your nonchalance about all of this, this is not something we can simply dismiss. There are consequences and—”

“Oh, Jordan, please just sit down. I’d feel much more comfortable discussing this with you if you weren’t pacing like that. Especially if we’re going to talk about unpleasant things like consequences.” She smiled at him.

He stopped and expelled his breath. “Very well.” He made his way over to the blanket and lowered himself to the ground. Sitting, he pulled up his knees and rested his forearms on them.

Now I’ve got you
.

“Thank you,” she said, unbending her knees and stretching out on her side next to him.

“We must talk about this—” he began.

“No, we mustn’t.” She pulled herself up beside him and blew into his ear. Then she nibbled his earlobe.

“What do you think you’re doing?” His voice shook a bit.

Perfect.

“What do you think I think I’m doing?” she asked breathily.

“Seriously, we must talk.”

“No, we mustn’t. Talking is much overrated. Besides, I’m just going to repeat what I told you this morning. I will deny everything if you try to tell Lily or Devon about this. I mean it. This is nothing more than a little flirtation between you and me, no consequences involved.”

“Annie, be serious. You cannot mean—”

She slid her lips to his jaw and Jordan closed his eyes and groaned.

“Yes I can,” she murmured.

Jordan turned to her then and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her deeply and Annie’s fingers eagerly began to unravel his cravat.

“Damn it. Why can’t I keep my hands off you?” he growled.

Annie giggled. “I don’t know, but I’m
so
glad.”

“No!” Jordan pulled away from her then and quickly stood. “Gather your things, I’m taking you home.”