Dancing at Midnight (2 page)

Norwood inclined his head.

"Norwood, has Belle returned yet?"

The feminine voice floated through the air, and Belle heard her cousin's

footsteps clattering along the floor of the hallway

that led to the foyer.

"It's starting to get quite wet out there." Emma turned the corner into

the hall. "Oh good! You're back."

"A little wet, but none the worse for the wear," Belle said cheerily.

"I told you it was going to rain."

"Do you feel responsible for me now that you're an old married matron?"

Emma made a face which told her exactly what she thought of that. "You

look like a drowned rat," she said plainly.

Belle made an equally unpleasant face. "I'll change my clothes and come

down for tea in a moment."

"In Alex's study," Emma advised. "He's joining us today."

"Oh, good. I'll be right down."

Belle headed up the stairs and through the labyrinth of hallways which

led to her room. She quickly peeled off her sodden

riding habit, changed into a soft blue dress, and headed back

downstairs. The door to Alex's study was closed and she could

hear giggling, so she wisely knocked before she entered. There was a

moment of silence and then Emma called out, "Come in!"

Belle smiled to herself. She was learning more and more about this

married love thing by the minute. Some chaperone Emma

was turning out to be. She and Alex couldn't manage to keep their hands

off each other whenever they thought no one was looking. Belle's smile

grew wider. She wasn't exactly sure about the particulars of making

babies, but she had a feeling all this touching had something to do with

why Emma was already pregnant. Belle pushed open the door and walked

into Alex's very large, very masculine study. "Good afternoon, Alex,"

she said. "How has your day been?"

"Drier than yours, I understand," he said, pouring some milk in his

teacup and ignoring the tea entirely. "Your curls are still dripping."

Belle looked down at her shoulders. The fabric of her dress was damp

from her hair. She shrugged. "Oh well, nothing to do

about it, I suppose." She settled down on the sofa, and poured herself a

cup of tea. "And how was your day, Emma?"

"Fairly uneventful. I've been going over various books and reports from

some of our lands in Wales. It looks like there may

be some sort of a problem. I'm thinking of heading out there to

investigate."

"You are not," Alex growled.

"Oh really?" Emma countered.

"You aren't going anywhere for another six months," he added, glancing

lovingly at his flame-haired, violet-eyed wife. "And probably not for

another six after that."

"If you think I'm going to lay abed until the baby comes, you're mad in

the head."

"And /you /have to learn who's in charge here."

"Well then, you—"

"Stop, stop," Belle laughed. "Enough." She shook her head. Two more

stubborn people in this universe had yet to be found.

They were perfect for each other. "Why don't I tell you how /my /day went?"

Emma and Alex both turned their faces to her expectantly.

Belle took another sip of her tea, letting it warm her up. "I met a

rather odd man, actually."

"Oh, really?" Emma leaned forward.

Alex leaned back, his eyes glazing over with a bored expression.

"Yes. He lives near here. I think his land borders yours. His name is

Lord John Blackwood. Do you know him?"

Alex shot forward. "Did you say John Black-wood?"

"It was John, Lord Blackwood, I think. Why, do you know him? John

Blackwood is probably a fairly common name."

"Brown hair?"

Belle nodded.

"Brown eyes?"

She nodded again.

"About my height, medium build?"

"I guess so. He wasn't quite as broad in the shoulders as you are, but I

think he was nearly as tall."

/"Did he limp?"/

"Yes!" Belle exclaimed.

"John Blackwood. I'll be damned," Alex shook his head in disbelief. "And

a peer now. He must have been granted a title for military service."

"He fought in the war with you?" Emma asked.

When Alex finally responded, his green eyes were far away. "Yes," he

said softly. "He commanded his own company, but we saw each other

frequently. I always wondered what happened to him. Don't know why I

didn't try to look him up. I suppose

I was afraid I'd find out he was dead."

That certainly caught Belle's attention. "What do you mean?"

"It was strange," Alex said slowly. "He was an excellent soldier. There

was no one you could depend on more. He was

absolutely selfless. Constantly putting himself in danger to save others."

"Why is that strange?" Emma asked. "He sounds like quite an honorable man."

Alex turned his head to the two ladies, his expression suddenly clear.

"The strange thing was that for a man who seemed to

have such disregard for his own well-being, he behaved quite remarkably

when he was wounded."

"What happened?" Belle asked anxiously.

"The surgeon said that he'd have to cut off his leg. And I must say, he

was rather callous about it. John was still conscious at

the time, and the leech didn't even bother to tell him directly. He just

turned to his assistant and said, 'Bring me the saw.'"

Belle shuddered, the image of John Blackwood so ill-treated surprisingly

painful.

"He went crazy," Alex continued. "I've never seen anything like it. He

grabbed the surgeon by his shirt and pulled him down

until they were nose to nose. And considering the amount of blood he'd

lost, his grip was remarkably strong. I was going to intervene, but when

I heard the tone of his voice, I held back."

"What did he say?" Belle asked, on the edge of her seat.

"I'll never forget it. He said, 'If you take my leg, as God is my

witness, I will hunt you down and saw off yours." The doctor

let him be. Said he'd leave him to die if that's what he wanted."

"But he didn't die," Belle said.

"No, he didn't. But I'm sure that was the end of his fighting days.

Which was probably all for the best. He was a superb soldier, but I

always got the idea that he abhorred violence."

"How odd," Emma murmured.

"Yes, well, he was an interesting man. I quite liked him. Had an

excellent sense of humor when he chose to exhibit it. But he

was more often than not silent. And he had quite the strictest sense of

honor I have ever experienced."

"Really, Alex," Emma teased. "No one could be more honorable than you."

"Ah, my lovely, loyal wife." Alex leaned forward and dropped a kiss on

Emma's forehead.

Belle slumped back in her seat. She wanted to hear more about John

Blackwood, but there didn't seem any polite way to ask

Alex to say more about him. It rather irritated her to admit it, but she

couldn't deny that she was incredibly interested in the unusual man.

Belle had always been very practical, very pragmatic, and the one thing

she had always refused to do was deceive herself.

John Blackwood had intrigued her this afternoon, but now that she knew a

bit of his history, she was fascinated. Every little

thing about him, from the quirk of his brow to the way the wind ruffled

his slightly wavy hair suddenly took on new meaning.

And his insistence upon walking made much more sense. After fighting so

fiercely to save his leg, it was only natural that

he'd want to use it. He struck her as a man of principles. A man you

could trust, depend upon. A man whose passions ran deep.

Belle was so surprised by the turn of her thoughts, she actually jerked

her head back a little. Emma noticed her movement

and inquired, "Are you all right, Belle?"

"What? Oh, just a little headache. More like a twinge, actually. It's

gone now."

"Oh."

"It's probably from all my reading," Belle continued, even though Emma

seemed perfectly willing to let the subject drop.

"I have to try very hard to make the words focus these days. I think

that perhaps I ought to have my eyes examined."

If Emma was surprised by her cousin's sudden admission that her eyesight

was not quite what it should be, she made no

mention of it. "Excellent. There is a very good doctor in the village.

We'll see what he can do."

Belle smiled and picked up her tea. It was getting cold. And then Emma

said a marvelous thing.

"You know what we ought to do," the duchess said to her husband. "We

ought to invite this John Blake person—"

"John Blackwood," Belle interjected quickly.

"Sorry, this John Blackwood person over for supper. With Belle here

we'll be evenly matched and we won't have to go

out hunting for an extra woman."

Alex put down his glass. "An excellent idea, my love. I think I'd rather

like to renew our friendship."

"That settles it, then," Emma said matter-of-factly. "Shall I send him a

note or would you rather go 'round yourself to invite

him in person?"

"I think I'll go. I'm eager to see him again, and besides, it would be

rude of me not to considering the fact that he saved my life."

Emma paled. "What?"

One corner of Alex's lips tugged upwards in a sheepish smile. "Just

once, my love, and there's no point in getting upset over

it now."

The look that the couple shared at that moment was so tender that it was

almost painful for Belle to look at them. Excusing

herself quietly, she slipped out of the study and headed upstairs to her

room where the last few pages of /The Winter's Tale /awaited her.

John Blackwood had saved Alex's life? She could scarcely fathom it. It

seemed that there was more to their new neighbor

than his somewhat churlish exterior.

John Blackwood had secrets. Belle was sure of it. She'd wager that his

life story put Shakespeare to shame. All she had to

do was a little investigating. This excursion to the country might prove

more exciting than she'd anticipated.

Of course, she wasn't going to be able to uncover any of his secrets

until she befriended him. And he'd made it rather clear

that he didn't much like her.

It was damned irritating, that.

*

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Chapter 2*

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Belle woke up the next morning to the rather unpleasant sound of Emma

retching. Turning over in her bed, she opened her

eyes to see her cousin crouched over a chamber pot. Belle grimaced at

the sight and muttered, "What a lovely way to start

off one's day."

"And good morning to you, too," Emma snapped, standing up and walking

over to a pitcher of water which had been left out

on a nearby table. She poured herself a glass and took a gulp.

Belle sat up and watched her cousin swish the water around in her mouth.

"I don't suppose you could take care of this sort

of thing in your own room," she finally said.

Emma shot her an annoyed look as she gargled.

"Morning sickness is normal, you know," Belle continued in a

matter-of-fact tone. "I don't think it would put Alex off if you

got sick in your /own /room."

Emma's expression turned positively peevish as she spit the water out

into the chamber pot. "I didn't come here to avoid my husband. Believe

me, he's seen me sick plenty of times in the last few weeks." She

sighed. "I think I threw up on his foot

the other day."

Belle's cheeks pinkened in a sympathy blush for her cousin. "How

awful."' she murmured.

"I know, but the fact of the matter is I came in here to see if you were

awake, and I just got sick along the way." Emma

turned a little green and suddenly sat down.

Belle got up hurriedly and pulled on a dressing gown. "Do you want me to

get you anything?"

Emma shook her head and took a deep breath, valiantly trying to keep the

contents of her stomach down.

"You're not giving me a lot to look forward to about marriage," Belle

quipped.

Emma smiled weakly. "It's mostly better than this."

"I certainly hope so."

"I thought I could keep down the tea and plain biscuits I ate for

breakfast," Emma said with a sigh. "But I was wrong."

"It's easy to forget that you're expecting," Belle said kindly, hoping

to buoy her cousin's spirits. "You're still so slender."

Emma flashed her a grateful smile. "It is very kind of you to say so. I

must say, this is a new experience for me, and it is

all very strange."

"Are you nervous? You haven't mentioned anything to me."

"Not nervous exactly, more—hmmm, I don't quite know how to describe it.

But Alex's sister is due in three weeks, and we are planning to visit

her the week after next. I hope to be there for the birth. Sophie has

assured me that we are welcome. I am

sure I won't feel so nervous once I know what is expected of me." Emma's

voice was laced with more hope than certainty.

Belle's experience with birth was limited to a litter of puppies she had

seen her brother deliver when she was twelve, but nonetheless, she was

not at all certain that Emma would feel more at ease about the procedure

after witnessing Sophie

having her baby. Belle smiled weakly at her cousin, murmured something