Page 9 of The Valentine Skates
She panicked. At that point of the canal, there were no branching paths back to the village. She’d have to launch herself into the underbrush of the thick woods to avoid meeting Frederick. She pulled her cape hood close around her long, cornsilk-like hair and pulled the drawstring tight at her neck. With any luck he’d pass her by without notice.
When she slowed her steps so that he could ride around her, the clop of Rowan’s hooves stopped. Another pang of guilt stabbed beneath her breasts. What made her think Frederick wouldn’t recognize her, even in disguise. He knew her better than anyone. After all, their friendship spanned most of their lives.
She was afraid to turn, because she suspected he was standing directly behind her. When she finally hazarded a look, he had a smile on his face, the smile of a small boy who had found the golden coin in his Christmas pudding.
“Don’t.” Lili clutched her hood when he reached a hand toward her head.
“Why not?” He loosened the ties at her neck and pushed the hood back, letting her hair spill down in the simple braid she wore as part of her disguise as a house servant.
“You know ‘why not.’” She gave a furtive glance both ways up and down the trail.
“The unforgiving judges of the village tearooms never come out here. They might, ah, dirty their slippers.” He nodded down toward the piles of horse leavings along the tow path from the working horses who pulled the barges.
His own load of lavender out in the canal barge made its way onward without him. He picked up Rowan’s reins and started walking alongside her.
“All that wonderful scent of your flowers covers up the, um, odor of the trail. I’d nearly forgotten about the manure. I’ve been taking this route so much lately, avoiding the messy piles is second nature now.”
He laid one of his sun-roughened hands over her pale one. “You shouldn’t have to hide under that servant’s cape and forego the comfort of your own carriage just so you can visit my daughter.”
“Which also makes me wonder why you are out here following along behind your lavender when all the other farmers are in Guildford this morning, enjoying their own form of gossip in the coffee houses.”
Frederick doffed his straw hat and dabbed at the sweat on his forehead with his handkerchief. “I noticed the load I sent last week seemed considerably lighter by the time it made it to the wharf in Guildford.”
“Why would someone want to steal lavender?”
“It fetches a good price on the streets of London.”
Her eyes widened. “I can see why you’d have to worry about thieves in London. But here?”
He shrugged. “Farm work is not as plentiful as it once was. A man’s got to feed his family somehow.”
Frederick was afraid either he suffered from heart seizures, or the mere presence of Lili was too much for the poor, overworked organ. Today was their first encounter away from Wembledon since Emily had fallen through the ice, and he was humiliated to think she’d lowered herself to walking along the foul towpath just to keep him and Emily safe from vicious gossip.
“You should move back into your own home. Let the devil take the gossips.”
She patted his arm. “You know I can’t do that.” She continued walking silently at his side.
“There must be some way…” He tried to get her to see sense again.
“You know, Howick will be done with his work in the House of Lords by late August. Then he, my mother, and my niece Lydia will be in residence through the winter. Once I’m fully chaperoned, no one would dare fault my brother for allowing anything untoward to occur beneath his roof.”
Frederick nodded. He didn’t agree that she should have to wait, but he understood her fears. Lili’s remaining, older brother was the Marquess of Howick, a force to be reckoned with in London society. His presence at Wembledon would ensure there would be no salacious gossip about him visiting Emily. Although, God willing, perhaps his precious daughter would be well enough to return to her own home by then as well.
Although he held Rowan’s reins, his favorite mount was used to following along whenever they were out riding and Frederick would stop to walk and give him a rest. In the next few yards, there was a portion of the path where the overhang of trees thickened and shrouded the ground in shade. He dropped the reins and took Lili in his arms.
It had been a damnably long time since he’d held her, and she felt as if she belonged there. When he lowered his head to drink from her lips, she frowned at first but then lifted her face to join with him. When he deepened the kiss, her arms naturally raised to encircle his neck and he crushed her to him, her breasts pressing against his chest.
He wanted this woman in his bed, society gossip be damned.
Lili stopped breathing. If she could die right there on the towpath to Guildford and let this moment be her last, she’d be happy. But then, she wasn’t supposed to be happy. That had been driven home to her constantly since that far-off day on a blood-drenched deck. The intense blue of the Mediterranean sky, the soft cottony clouds lining the horizon, none of that had made a difference. That day had marked the murder of her brother Jamie and the downward spiral of her own life.
But devil take it if she wouldn’t enjoy what was being offered by the man she loved in the very moment she dwelled in now. She moved into his embrace, sinking into the cover offered by the encroaching trees.
His hands moved lower on her well-worn, gray muslin work dress, moving aside the fichu covering she used to fill in the low bodice gap. She’d found the second-hand servant’s frock in a used clothing shop in Guildford.
His calloused fingers encircled one of her breasts and squeezed softly as if waiting for permission to continue. She pressed her hand over his in mute encouragement. He abandoned Rowan and pulled her farther into the cover of the trees.
When he whirled her around, the rough trunk bark of a huge tree tore against the muslin of her bodice. When she leaned into the tree, his mouth covered one of her nipples while his hand reached for the hem of her skirt. Yes, she should die right now.