An Earl to Enchant (10 page)

In the center of the garden was a large reflection pool, and in the middle of the pool stood a tall, three-tiered fountain held up by three cherubs, just like the one that was on the large tapestry in the front hall.

“I’m seldom lost for words, my lord, but I don’t know what to say. The beauty of the house, the gardens, and the stables simply takes my breath away.”

“My grandmother deserves all the credit for the gardens. They were almost nonexistent when her third husband purchased this place for her. She had a master plan drawn up shortly after she acquired the house. It took years of constant attention to detail and dedication on her part to get the grounds the way she wanted them.”

“Once it was finished, she must have ridden to the top of this ridge every day just to look at the grandeur of it all.”

The earl laughed. “I doubt she did that, though I remember that she often walked in the garden in the early morning. In the summer, when no guests were in residence, she liked to walk barefoot while the dew was still on the grass. She said it made her feel very free.”

Arianna turned toward him and said, “Oh, I’m sure it did. I should like to do that sometime, to feel the wet grass under my feet.”

She obviously saw his eyes darken with disapproval, because she quickly added, “But of course, I wouldn’t do anything like that here. I’ll wait until I have my own house in London and do it in the privacy of my own garden, and only on the gardener’s day off.”

One side of his mouth lifted in a smile. “That would probably be best. I don’t think it would be proper for the gardeners to look at your bare feet.”

She smiled too. “I’m delighted to see so many shades of flowers; light and dark reds, pale and bright blues, simple yellows, and I’m amazed at all the pinks. I didn’t know there were so many different shades of pink. They are so beautiful that I want to cut them all and place them in my room.”

Lord Morgandale laughed. “That would be a lot of flowers, Arianna.”

“I know, but I would love it to be surrounded by such magnificent color.”

“You do have fresh flowers put in your room each day, don’t you?”

“Yes. Mrs. Post is very conscientious, and I enjoy looking at the flowers and touching their soft petals.” Arianna stopped and glanced up into Lord Morgandale’s eyes once again. A breeze fluttered his hair across his forehead, making him roguishly handsome.

“I’m sorry to be carrying on so,” she continued. “It’s just that I’m so happy to be outside for the first time in such a long time. I seldom left my room on the ship, and this is the first time I’ve been out of your house. Everything looks fresh and new.”

His expression softened. “That is understandable. Sea journeys are tiresome without being sick. The reason I’m not fond of long voyages is because the ship is so confining.”

His gaze feathered down her face, and she had such an urge to reach up and kiss his lips, but she resisted it, and instead turned her face back toward the garden and said, “Tell me, isn’t that fountain just like the one in the tapestry that hangs in your front hall?”

“Yes, that’s right. You are very observant, Miss Sweet.”

“So now, of course, I’m wondering, did your grandmother have the fountain built to match the tapestry, or did she have the tapestry woven to match the garden?”

“Since the tapestry is somewhere in the range of over two hundred years old, I’d say it definitely came first. My grandmother always loved it, so she commissioned the fountain to be built and the center of the garden to look as much like the tapestry as possible.”

“I hope she had many years to enjoy it once it was finished.”

He nodded. “She did.”

“This is so lovely and peaceful; I could spend the rest of the afternoon right here.”

“Ah, but you haven’t seen the coast yet. Hold on, you are about to have the ride of your life.”

Arianna turned to her side and slipped her arms around the earl once again, and the horse took off. Lord Morgandale gave Redmond all the free rein he needed, and within moments, he was running at a fast gallop.

She looked in every direction as the horse ate up the ground quickly. There were many different landscapes to catch her eye and fill her mind with memories. As they continued to climb, the terrain changed often. She saw gentle grassy slopes, fields with tall grass, and low-lying bogs. In the far distance, she saw a rise that was dotted with sheep and another that was blanketed by a vast expanse of blue and white wildflowers. As they rode, she saw fens, ridges, hollows and, of course, valleys as far as her eyes could see.

It was easy to tell when they neared the coast. The wind kicked up, and the air became heavier. In the distance, she saw gulls flying overhead. When the terrain quickly changed from hard, flat earth to rocky soil, Lord Morgandale slowed the horse to a walk. The low hills around them were peppered with craggy peaks, jagged cliffs, and age-old rock walls that must have been built hundreds of years ago when the first settlers came to the area.

As they made their way to the top of a short rise, Lord Morgandale put his mouth very close to her ear and said, “The Channel is straight ahead of us.”

Arianna turned and saw the dark blue, rushing water and suddenly shivered. Memories flooded back to her, and she felt the rocking of the ship, heard the constant flap of the sails in the wind, and smelled the dank odor of wet wood. Reflexively, she hugged the earl tighter and turned and buried her face in his chest, wanting to banish the memories from her mind and absorb his warmth.

He pulled the horse up short and stopped him. His arms went around her, and she breathed a sigh of contentment.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

“A little,” she said but knew it was more than just the chill of the wind and the graying skies that made her tremble.

After the miserable weeks she had spent on the ship, she didn’t think she would ever look at the sea again with enjoyment, but she would always be impressed with its beauty.

“Come on; let’s get down so you can wrap your cape around you.”

She hated to give up his warmth but allowed the earl to help her slide down the side of the horse. She quickly wrapped her cape tightly about her. Lord Morgandale jumped down beside her and then tied Redmond’s leather reins to a scrub bush.

“Let’s walk a little closer to the edge,” he said as he stuffed his gloves into the pocket of his coat. “Will it bother you to look down? It’s only about a ten meter drop.”

“I don’t think so,” she answered, taking a deep breath.

Standing on the cliff, looking at the water below, was very different from being on the ship, and her fears faded. She stepped closer to the edge to peek over the rim of the jagged cliff to the stony coastline below.

She stared at the churning water of the English Channel as it washed over large, black, slippery-looking rocks. A few birds scuttled among the rocks, looking for sea urchins and plankton left by the crashing waves. She could make out the sails of a ship far out across the sea. It looked so tiny on the big ocean of water. She saw a white cottage with a small flower garden in the distance across the land.

“Does anyone live in that house?” she asked.

“Not for a long time. It was originally built for one of the caretakers, but my grandmother always used it as a guest house. She discovered early on that her guests enjoyed staying up on the coast because of the views of the water. In fact, it’s very possible that your father could have slept there on one of his visits.”

Her heartbeat sped up at the mention of her father. Thinking of him reminded her of seeing him lying on the floor in a pool of blood, his Indian partner, Mr. Rajaratnum, bent over his body. Arianna shivered again and closed her eyes.

“You’re still cold, and it looks like a storm is blowing in. We should go.”

She looked up and saw the skies darkening and remembered how quickly fierce storms could rise up over the water.

She swallowed hard. “No, I’m fine, and it’s so beautiful here. Let’s stay a little longer. Tell me, do you really think my father might have slept in that house?”

“It’s possible, Arianna.”

“May I be allowed to come back here sometime before I leave for London and see inside the cottage?”

He seemed to question her with his expression, but he said, “I don’t see why not.”

“Thank you. I would like to see where my father might have stayed the night when he was here.”

He nodded. “One of the many things my grandmother was famous for was her house parties. Even though the main house of Valleydale is quite large, there were times she couldn’t accommodate everyone, and she would always end up relegating some of the guests to the cottage. I’m told that once she started using it, everyone wanted to stay here because it’s always so peaceful on the coast.”

“Did you ever stay here?”

“Too many times to count. When my cousins and I were younger, we spent many nights here over the years. Come closer and look down at the large rocks at the base of that cliff. A little farther along the edge there’s a pathway that leads down to the water. We made it years ago. When the tide was out, we would go exploring down on the rocks and find spider crabs, oysters, and sometimes we would catch fish and take them back to the cook. We always found it quite satisfying to eat at night what we had caught that day.”

“That must have been an enjoyable way to spend your visits here.”

“It was. Sometimes we would hunt. It didn’t matter to us what we shot—pheasant, partridge, or pigeon—we simply enjoyed practicing our skills, and we wanted whatever we killed or caught that day to be on our dinner plate that night.”

Arianna looked up into his eyes. She was enjoying him more than she ever had. Talking with him about the past like this, it was easy to forget he was at times surly, testy, and authoritative with her.

This man before her now was charming, approachable, and desirable. He seemed more real, and even a little vulnerable. This was the man who, minutes ago, made her body tremble with wanting just from his touch and made her eager for the kiss that never came, just by looking at her. This was the man who enchanted her and had her dreaming of being held in his arms, pressed against his chest with his lips on hers. And this was the man who was too worried about propriety to do it.

She sighed and then whispered, “I can tell you really love this place.”

His gazed shifted from her face to the sea. “I think my grandmother knew that, as well. I always enjoyed coming here and working with her horses more than my cousins Blake and Race. I think that’s why my grandmother left this place to me.”

His eyes swept up and down her so intimately that her stomach quivered with anticipation. She wanted to kiss him. More than anything, she wanted to kiss him right now. She knew that one day soon she would leave for London and never see him again. She wanted to be kissed by him before that happened, and she wanted it to be here on the bluff by the water, the place that he loved.

“Call me Arianna,” she said.

“Miss Sweet, we have done far too many things that are not proper as it is. I don’t think we need to add one more thing to the growing list of impropriety shared between us, do you?”

Bapre!
She didn’t care about his list. She wanted to kiss him.

Without further thought, Arianna put her hands on his wide shoulders, lifted on to her toes, and placed her lips on his. They were warm, moist, and soft. She didn’t know much about kissing, so she quickly stepped away and looked into his stunned blue eyes and waited.

Whatever it was she was feeling that made her so bold, he must have been feeling the same thing, because he gently took hold of her shoulders and pulled her to him. Without saying a word, he dipped his head low and placed his lips on hers. He added the merest amount of pressure to the kiss and gently moved his lips back and forth across hers.

Arianna caught on fast about how to kiss. Her stomach started jumping with pleasure, and she stepped in closer to him.

With every movement his lips made over hers, her breaths grew shorter. Her breasts, stomach, and between her legs tightened. His kiss lingered, and she responded by instinct and parted her lips. His tongue slid slowly between her teeth. He explored the roof and the sides of her mouth with slow, sensual movements that left her breathless.

She lifted her arms and circled his back. He was broad, powerful. Lord Morgandale moaned his approval, and his kiss deepened and became more urgent. She stretched her arms farther around his wide, muscular back and hugged him closer to her. She felt safe and protected in his embrace.