Lord Fox's Pleasure - Хелен Диксон - Chapter Two Читать онлайн любовный роман

Chapter Two

F ocusing his eyes on the posy, Lord Fox’s lips parted in a lazy white smile. Withdrawing one of his gloves, he picked it up and held it to his nose. A ring of gold-and-ruby splendour flashed when it caught the sun. Turning his head and seeing so many smiling faces, he searched them all until his eyes alighted on Prudence, his instinct telling him that she was the one who had thrown the posy. He swept off his wide-brimmed plumed hat to her, revealing a shock of collar-length jet black curling hair, which shone beneath the sun’s rays.

Replacing his hat, he stared at her long and unashamedly hard, his eyes boldly impudent, interest flickering in their depths. Treating those around her with another smile, this one even more dazzling than the one before, becoming caught up in the heat of the moment and with laughter rumbling in his chest and a roguish gleam in his eyes—the kind of gleam that must have charmed every female along the royal route from Dover to London—he suddenly reached down and plucked Prudence off the ground as if she weighed nothing at all, settling her in front of him, facing him, on his horse, his iron-thewed arms encircling her and holding her close.

Looking down at the delectable bundle of nubile flesh, her glorious hair in wild confusion, he allowed his gaze to linger on the entrancing perfection of her flawless skin, tanned to the colour of pale honey. Meeting her startled eyes and noting that they were the glorious colour of two huge saturated purple pansies beneath the heavy sweep of her sooty black lashes, Lucas thought she had the face of an angel.

‘Dear Lord!’ he breathed, completely enchanted. ‘I truly think I must have died and gone to heaven—and, if that be the case, then I must tell St Peter to lock the gates and keep me in.’

Prudence should have anticipated his next move but, so taken aback by what he was doing, and unaccustomed to men of Lord Fox’s calibre, she was totally unprepared and left with no time to protest when he lowered his head and captured her lips with his own.

His kiss was slow and deliberate, his lips warm and skilled. Placing his hand behind her neck, he splayed his fingers through her soft hair, holding her head firm. Lucas knew that she was frozen with pure surprise. Her lips were like ice for the first few seconds, then slowly they warmed under his, warmed and softened, parting a little so that her breath sighed through. Feeling her yield, he tightened his arms to support her. She was like a flower, fragrant and sweet.

Never having been kissed before, Prudence didn’t know what to expect or how to respond, but as his mouth boldly courted hers, his tongue savouring and parting her lips to probe and explore, she became lost in a sea of sensation. In that moment she felt the hardness of his body under the velvet doublet. She breathed in the essence of him, the scent of him, hardly able to grasp what he was doing.

When he finally withdrew his lips from hers, she stared into his eyes—gypsy’s eyes, green and brown and flecked with gold, eyes that made her think of brandy, ripe golden corn at harvest time—and the dark glow in their depths was as mysterious and deep as a rushing mountain stream. Her senses swirled and she felt a tremulous frisson of excitement, of danger, as primeval as time itself. She was vaguely aware that they were still moving slowly along with the procession and that they had drawn everyone’s attention. Molly’s face was a distant blur, her mouth agape, her eyes as big as saucers.

When someone came from behind and rode alongside she came to her senses, feeling a slow, painful blush rise up and stain her cheeks crimson. Anger and indignation at the audacity of Lord Fox flared inside her. If she hadn’t been imprisoned against his chest and unable to move her arms, she would have slapped his face good and hard for his impertinence.

‘Oh! How dare you? You are outrageously bold, sir. Too bold.’

He smiled, his eyes scorching hers. ‘Not as bold as I would like to be, sweetheart,’ he murmured, his voice reminding Prudence of thick, soft velvet.

Suddenly a voice rang out beside them. ‘You, Lucas, run true to form. Allow me to point out that this is no common doxy—so now if you will be so kind as to release my baby sister…’

Lucas looked quite taken aback, then he loosed his laughter, his white teeth gleaming like a pirate’s in his swarthy face. ‘Sister? Good Lord, Thomas. You are not serious?’

‘I am deadly serious. Now, unhand her, you reprobate. Prudence is still a child and very impressionable.’

Prudence stared at the elegant figure of her brother, not at all pleased at being referred to as a baby or an impressionable child. Thomas’s features were tight and she knew he was trying to make light of the situation, but she could sense his displeasure on finding her out on the street with the common folk.

Her eyes shifted to Lord Fox. With as much disdain as she could muster in her humiliated confusion, she raised her chin a notch. His eyes narrowed and gleamed, and a strange, unfathomable smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as his gaze dipped lingeringly to her soft lips.

‘Why, Thomas, I think I’m going to enjoy getting better acquainted with your little sister.’

Prudence, who had been paralysed into inaction by the unexpected arrival of her brother, wriggled out of Lord Fox’s embrace and off his horse—exposing more than was decent of her slender, stockinged legs, almost choking on her ire while dozens of scathing remarks became tangled in her mouth. She glowered up at him, her cheeks stung with indignation. ‘Why, you arrogant, insufferable beast—not if I can help it you won’t. You can go straight to the devil for all I care. Now be so kind as to return my posy,’ she demanded, holding out her hand.

‘But you gave it to me,’ he said soothingly, his imperturbable, dancing gaze studying her stormy amethyst eyes.

‘The flowers were not meant for you.’

Lucas raised a quizzical brow, reluctant to relinquish the small posy of fragrant blooms. As quick as a flash Prudence snatched them out of his grasp, but not before Lucas had plucked the sprig of May blossom from behind her ear and secured it to the front of his doublet with a diamond-and-pearl encrusted stick pin. His eyes snapping with amusement, he reached down and with his fingers gave her a light, suggestive chuck under the chin.

Swallowing her outrage, Prudence turned from him and went to Adam, wishing he would snatch her off the ground on to his horse and kiss her the way Lord Fox had just done. But she knew he wouldn’t. Adam wasn’t like that, unless his years on the Continent had changed him. Secretly she hoped he hadn’t changed. She couldn’t bear to think of him kissing anyone but her.

Adam was clad in green and gold, his hair beneath his plumed hat as fair as Lord Fox’s was dark. Gazing up at him with adoration and pleasure, Prudence handed him the posy. For three years she had been rehearsing what she would say to him when this moment finally arrived, and now all she could say was, ‘Welcome home, Adam. I’ve missed you—we…we all have.’

A slow, appreciative smile worked its way across Adam’s fair features. Touched by her simple gift, reaching down he took the posy out of her hand and tweaked her cheek fondly between his finger and thumb, as he would have done to a child. ‘Thank you, Prudence. I’m looking forward to seeing you and your family later.’

The procession was moving past Maitland House and the crowd thickened about them. Prudence was forced to step back. Thomas nudged his horse towards her.

‘I do not know the meaning of this, Prudence,’ he said, his tone leaving her in no doubt of his deep displeasure, his eyes observing the creamy swell of her breasts, telling him that his sister was no longer the little girl he remembered, ‘nor do I care to know. However, it will not do. Go and join Arabella and Aunt Julia on the balcony and watch the procession from there. I will see you later.’ His curt nod dismissed her.

Mortified by everything that had happened to her in the last few minutes, and knowing that her indiscretion would not go unpunished, Prudence didn’t look up to the balcony before entering the house, so she wasn’t aware that the laughter had faded from Arabella’s eyes, or how pale her face had become when she had watched the spectacle of Lord Fox kissing her sister, or how the colour had intensified when she had taken the posy from Lord Fox and given it to Adam.

Arabella felt physically sick with the force of the pain that attacked her, realising how blind she had been where her sister and her thoughts and feelings were concerned. Recalling the times over the past three years when Prudence often disappeared into a daydream, she now knew why and was deeply troubled and saddened by it—saddened because she knew Adam had quietly married Lucy Ludlow, their brother’s sister-in-law, at The Hague.

Arabella was not alone in her disappointment. With his huge hands clenched into tight fists, Will Price’s face had worked with fury as he had watched the powerful and infuriatingly handsome Lord Fox sweep Prudence off the ground and kiss her soundly in front of the entire population lining the Strand. When Lord Fox had done with her and she had taken her posy and given it to the flaxen-haired Cavalier following in his wake, Will had felt a rush of bitterness like he had never known before.

Will was obsessed by Prudence Fairworthy. Still in his early twenties, his face was already showing signs of debauchery and overindulgence in every vice. His lusts were easily satisfied by whores, but Prudence was different. She was the sister of a gentleman and not to be tumbled like a strumpet. Throughout the twelve months he had known her, he had oft anticipated not only the gratification of sampling the delights of her supple young body, but the time he would take over it. He had trailed after her like a besotted fool while she had kept him at arm’s length, behaving like a prim little Puritan. And now he had watched her behaving like a brazen hussy, throwing herself at the preening Cavaliers like a shameless harlot.

‘The bitch! The deceitful bitch!’ he ground out between clenched teeth, his fury turning to cold, hard resolve. Her obvious indifference to him and his lowly station in life had made him keep his distance but, after what he had just witnessed, he’d be damned if he would do so any longer. When next they met he wouldn’t show any consideration for her finer feelings—if the slut had any.

With rage burning inside him like acid, Will turned on his heel and headed away from the Strand, sickened by the spectacle of the arrogant, pompous, returning Royalists—silently damning each and every one of them to perdition, but somehow his curses proved less than satisfying.

With King Charles established in his palace at Whitehall, accompanied by Robert Armstrong, Thomas arrived at Maitland House to be reunited with his family. Having hoped that Adam would accompany them and awaiting his arrival with eager anticipation, Prudence was swamped with disappointment not to see him with her brother.

Thomas’s meeting with his sisters was warm and emotional. After embracing Arabella, who wept copious tears of happiness and relief that he was home with them at last, he then enfolded Prudence in his arms, pressing his lips to her hair and infusing into her all the affection he had yearned to bestow on her since the day he had left England after the disastrous Battle of Worcester. The moment was deeply moving for them both, and Prudence was relieved that he was no longer angry with her for making a spectacle of herself earlier.

Thomas then drew Aunt Julia aside, carefully wording the circumstances of her husband’s death, then helplessly watching while she dabbed at her tears before shoving her handkerchief into her pocket and smiling. Embracing her nephew, she then ushered him into the grand salon where a lavish banquet had been laid for an occasion never to be forgotten, glad that they were together as a family again at last.

With so much to celebrate the feasting began.

Sensing the restlessness of her spirit, and letting his eyes linger on the stubborn, wilful thrust of her small chin, Thomas suspected that she had been given her own way in most things and allowed too much freedom for too long. Feeling that she was in need of firm discipline, he was determined to curb this wild young hoyden, although what Verity would make of her he shuddered to think.

When the gentleman seated across from her enquired as to the whereabouts of Lord Fox, Prudence was relieved when she heard Thomas explain that his friend was busy settling himself into his quarters at Whitehall. Having no desire to lay eyes on that particular gentleman ever again, she sent up a silent prayer of thankfulness that she was to be spared his presence. Still trying to overcome her disappointment that Adam had not accompanied Thomas, she stole a glance with a touch of envy at Arabella seated beside her betrothed on the opposite side further along the table. She noted that her sister’s spirits were uncommonly high, her face flushed and her light blue eyes as clear as crystal.

There was much revelry as everyone made merry. The air was sweetened with scented candles lighted in the chandeliers suspended above the table, casting their rosy glow on the assembled company, some invited, some not, but no one seemed to care. With free-flowing wine the atmosphere was loaded with gaiety and emotion. A couple of fiddlers were plucked from the street to perform, and endless toasts to King Charles were the order of the night.

Despite the disappointment caused by Adam’s absence, Prudence joined in with the festivities, too happy to eat very much and content to gaze at her handsome brother as she drank her wine. Laughing and relaxed, with his dark good looks, he looked so noble, she thought, with a surge of pride.

As the evening wore on her cheeks became flushed, her eyes dark with wine. When Thomas became engaged in conversation with the gentleman next to him, she turned and looked at Robert at the moment when he gently took Arabella’s hand resting on the table between them. Prudence saw him place it to his lips and look deep into her sister’s eyes—as lovers do. She watched as Arabella responded with a smile of piercing sweetness, graciously inclining her shining head.

At that moment Adam’s absence seemed all the more profound. Feeling a constriction in her throat and unable to stem her curiosity as to why he had not come a moment longer, she placed her hand on her brother’s arm to claim his attention. ‘What is it that keeps Adam away, Thomas? I expected him to accompany you.’

‘Adam is staying at Whitehall tonight. He intends leaving at first light for Marlden Green.’

‘But—why the haste?’

‘To put his house in order for when his wife arrives from The Hague.’

As if from afar Prudence stared at her brother, unable to comprehend what he was saying. ‘His wife?’ she uttered, tonelessly.

‘Yes,’ he replied, his sister’s sudden pallor escaping his notice as he carefully dissected an apple on his plate. ‘Didn’t you know? I’m surprised Arabella didn’t mention it. Still, their marriage was only recent, and so much has been happening that she obviously forgot to mention it.’

‘Who—who is she?’ Prudence asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

‘My own dear wife’s younger sister, Lucy—which makes Adam my brother-in-law. She has remained at The Hague with Verity to take care of their uncle. Hopefully, when he is well enough to travel, we will all be reunited very soon.’

All Prudence’s cherished illusions were destroyed in that instant. She stared at Thomas, unable to believe what he was telling her, that God was actually letting this happen to her. Clutching her wineglass, she looked around her in a dazed panic. The room began to spin and the world tilted crazily. Adam had married someone else! No. It couldn’t happen. But it had. Oh, how foolish she had been to hope he would notice her when so many Court beauties surrounded him.

Thomas saw her white face. ‘Why, what ails you, Prudence? Are you unwell?’

She forced a smile to her lips. ‘It’s nothing. Nothing at all, Thomas. I think I must have drunk a drop too much wine, that’s all. If you don’t mind, I’ll step outside for a moment. Perhaps a little air will help clear my head.’

She left the house and escaped to the sanctuary and solace of the courtyard without any intention just then of returning to the party. She left just as a latecomer arrived, his sharp eye catching a swirl of petticoats and hyacinth-blue skirt disappearing down a passage.

It was dark when Prudence emerged into the courtyard, the only illumination coming from the lighted windows and a couple of lanterns. Feeling disconsolate, she crossed to the elm tree, which was the furthest point away from the house. Leaning against the stout trunk, she was oblivious to the din coming from the revellers in the street and of dozens of voices dining and drinking in the house. She felt so unhappy and miserable that she was sure she would die of it.

Suddenly her heart almost stopped when a dark silhouette appeared in the doorway, pausing for a moment and looking about. At first she thought it was Thomas come to look for her, but then she realised that this man was taller and broader than her brother. Suddenly she knew who it was, and in that moment of recognition all her senses seemed to be heightened almost beyond endurance. It was Lord Fox, looking just as sinister in the dark as he had looked carefree and relaxed astride his horse in the King’s procession earlier. Praying he wouldn’t see her and go away, she shrank beneath the tree’s leafy canopy, but her dress must have caught the glow of the lantern light, because he descended the steps and began to advance towards her.

The haunting horror of his sharp footsteps when his feet struck the cobbles congealed her heart with dread. The light behind him obscured the front part of his body and she stared at him transfixed, his features all planes and shadows. Dwarfed by his presence, darkness closed about her, stifling her breath.

When he finally stopped in front of her, Prudence felt his gaze glide leisurely over her, taking in every detail of her appearance. Her heart refused to obey her command to stop hammering in her chest, and as he drew even closer it became a test of nerve. She longed to dart past him and return to the safety of the house, but her legs refused to move. Looking up at him, she met the shining glimmer of his eyes.

He towered over her, tall, silent and mysterious, boldly masculine, his mane of jet-black hair falling to his collar. Gradually his features became clearer, his jaw lean and firm and stamped with iron determination and implacable authority, and Prudence was frighteningly aware of those brownish-green eyes above prominent cheekbones glowing down at her. Her instinct told her that everything Molly had revealed about his exploits and prowess in battle, of how he was feared by his enemies and admired by his friends, was true.

There was something attractive and almost compelling about his strong features, and certainly dangerous. She faced him boldly, his presence rekindling her anger when she recalled how he had outrageously singled her out from the crowd earlier and made a public spectacle of her.

‘So, it is you,’ she said ungraciously.

‘As you see, Mistress Fairworthy,’ he replied, his voice richly deep. ‘And well met, yet again.’

‘If you don’t mind, Lord Fox, I came out here to seek solitude, and if you were any sort of a gentleman you would leave me in peace. Please go away,’ she said, lifting her chin primly. ‘Your company is not welcome.’ More than anything she wanted him to leave. At the same time she wanted to conceal how deeply his kiss had affected her, how it had made her feel. And he had known exactly how she felt. Lucas Fox was undoubtedly an expert in making women desire him.

Lucas grinned lazily as his perusal swept over her upturned face. It was like a pale cameo in the dim light, her eyes huge and dark, the warm, gentle breeze flirting with her hair. She was a truly fascinating creature. Proud, wilful and undisciplined she might be, but she also emanated a subtle quality that made him think of hot, sensual, tumbling love. Prudence Fairworthy was a fetching sight for any man, and the fact that she was Thomas’s sister spiced his interest.

‘No one should be alone tonight,’ he murmured. ‘The King’s homecoming is an occasion for rejoicing, don’t you agree?’

‘Absolutely. And I was doing just that until you arrived. I am out here because it has grown exceedingly hot inside and I felt the need of some fresh air. I would have thought there would be enough celebration taking place at Whitehall to keep you there,’ she said tartly, trying to ignore his powerful, animal-like masculinity, which was an assault on her senses. But it was impossible to ignore the aura of absolute power that surrounded him, and it was more than the mere confidence of a soldier. Lord Fox was used to having things his own way, on every kind of battlefield.

‘You are right. Celebrations are well under way, but I grew bored with viewing the ladies at Court,’ he replied smoothly.

‘So you came to see if the sights are any better at Maitland House.’

‘Precisely,’ he said, the corners of his mouth twitching with humour. ‘And I am happy to report that they are.’

‘Can’t you find anything better to do with your time than lust after women, Lord Fox?’ Prudence said, her tone one of reproach.

Lucas grinned leisurely as his perusal swept her face. ‘Forgive me if I appear forward, Mistress Fairworthy, but a man needs a diversion, and I’ve been a long time away from England.’

‘Are you telling me there was a shortage of ladies at the Court in The Hague, Lord Fox?’ she scoffed, knowing to her cost that this had not been the case, for hadn’t Adam become smitten and married one Lucy Ludlow?

‘My time was not spent at Court.’

‘I see,’ she replied, her interest pricked and sorely tempted to ask about his travels in the East. But she thought better of it, not wishing to become too friendly with this man who had publicly embarrassed her and disconcerted her in a way no other man had done before. ‘Kindly say what you have to say and then go.’

Coolly ignoring her request, Lucas turned sideways so that the lantern light fell full on his features; with one shoulder propped negligently on the trunk of the tree, his arms crossed loosely across his chest, his gaze captured hers.

Prudence could not help but admire the way he looked. Clad in midnight blue velvet overlaid with silver lace, his appearance from the jewelled buckles on his shoes to his black hair was impeccable. Broad shouldered, narrow of waist and with long muscular legs, he gave the appearance of an athlete and, judging by his bronzed skin, of a man who had seen active service in some foreign land, a man who rode and fenced and hunted.

‘I want to apologise for my behaviour this afternoon. It was highly reprehensible and I beg your pardon. I had no idea you were Thomas’s sister.’

‘And if you had, no doubt you would have forced your attentions on some other poor unsuspecting woman in the crowd,’ Prudence said, averting her gaze, in danger of becoming entrapped by the compelling, incredible glow in his eyes.

Her chilled contempt hit Lucas in the face, and he answered with slow deliberation. ‘I have never forced my attentions on any woman, and I am not in the habit of taking that which is not freely given. I assure you, Mistress Fairworthy, that when you threw your posy of flowers and it landed in my lap, when I looked and saw you, it was a temptation that I could not resist. You were by far the prettiest maid in the crowd.’

Prudence felt her cheeks grow hot and she was glad the darkness did much to hide her blush. There was an aggressive vitality in Lord Fox’s bold gaze and an assertive arrogance in the set of his jaw that was not to her liking. ‘I imagine you’ve said that to many women, Lord Fox. How many have you said it to and been sincere?’

Lucas’s white teeth gleamed behind a lopsided grin. ‘Only those I have a fancy for—and I never lie. I was hoping that since we are to be neighbours and you are Thomas’s sister, when we return home you and I can be friends.’

Prudence gasped at his arrogance. ‘I don’t think we can ever be that,’ she retorted ungraciously. ‘Being my brother’s friend does not give you some kind of claim on me.’ Mutinously she glared up at him. ‘The harm you did to my reputation today stands between us, Lord Fox.’

‘I have no doubt that Thomas will take me to account over it, and he will be justified in doing so. There was a time when, for a gentleman to make a public spectacle of a young lady, he would have been obliged to marry her, but on such a day as this—with passions and emotions running out of control, and because we are about to embark on a more liberal age—I don’t think your brother will demand that I do.’

‘I shall see to it personally that he does not,’ Prudence bit back.

Lucas relinquished his stance against the tree and edged towards her. His grin became wolfish, and he raised an eyebrow with an amusement that exasperated Prudence.

‘Would you care for a repeat performance—without an audience this time?’ he drawled softly.

Prudence saw the look in his eyes, and her heart began to beat uncontrollably, while a warning screamed inside her head. ‘Don’t you dare come near me,’ she whispered desperately, trying to deny the traitorous warmth seeping through her. ‘I haven’t forgiven you for the last time. If you kiss me again, I’ll never forgive you,’ she responded, panic rising inside her like a fluttering, trapped butterfly. She felt her face grow hot, the heat spreading at his nakedly desirous look. It was a look to assess her feelings and thoughts, an invitation, a need, and a certainty, and Prudence, who never had any perception of anyone else’s thoughts, found herself floundering inside.

Her threat only seemed to please Lucas more. ‘What a bloodthirsty little wench you are,’ he chuckled. ‘No matter. I can see I’m going to have my work cut out getting you to change your opinion of me.’

‘Don’t put yourself out. I have no opinion of you, Lord Fox.’

‘Yes, you have. Tell me—didn’t you like kissing me, Mistress Fairworthy?’ he asked, his gypsy eyes observing her with frank interest, his gaze dipping to the rounded fullness of her breasts.

‘I didn’t kiss you,’ she countered, crossing her arms protectively over her bosom, yearning to say or do something that would penetrate his imperturbable exterior.

Lucas’s smile widened knowingly. ‘You responded. Tell me, was that your first kiss?’

Prudence’s cheeks burned even hotter and her eyes flamed. ‘That is none of your business. Damn you for your conceit, sir. And I most certainly did not respond.’

‘Yes, you did.’

‘I—I was surprised, that’s all,’ she faltered.

The sound of Thomas’s footfall was so soft that Lucas had the impression that he’d imagined it, but when he turned he was there.

Realising how insensitive and thoughtless he had been to tell Prudence of Adam’s marriage after observing her deathly pallor when he had delivered the words and recalling how she had given him a posy of flowers in the procession earlier, Thomas had suddenly recognized that she might have been nurturing a fondness for Adam throughout his years in exile. It was his concern that this might be so that had caused him to seek her out. However, on seeing her alone with Lucas, he felt dismay rise inside him. What mischief was the man up to now?

But his quick glance allowed him some understanding of the situation, for he could see contempt in the dark eyes of his sister staring defiantly into those of his friend, which told him she was most unwilling to accept his attentions, for which Thomas thanked God.

‘Am I intruding?’ he asked quietly, looking from one to the other.

‘No. Your timing is perfect, Thomas,’ said Prudence. ‘Lord Fox and I have nothing further to say to each other. I was just about to return to the house.’

Lucas contemplated her with a half-smile. ‘You don’t have to. You came to take the air, as I recall. Besides, there is to be a celebratory firework display to welcome the King’s homecoming. It would be a pity to miss that.’

Prudence bristled like an outraged hedgehog. ‘The air is no longer to my liking,’ she replied, with so much contempt that his lids narrowed, his eyes gleaming with an expression she could not define. ‘And I can watch the firework display just as well from the balcony.’

When she turned and flounced across the yard, Lucas’s admiring eyes followed her. He tossed a wide grin at Thomas when she disappeared into the house. ‘Ye gods, Thomas! Your sister has the makings of a shrew and is a natural-born rebel. Had King Charles a regiment of soldiers such as she, Cromwell’s forces would not have routed him at Worcester.’

Thomas sent him a sardonic look. ‘There are few things that are beyond you, Lucas. And my little sister damned sure isn’t one of them. It was shameful of you to kiss her like that earlier. Little wonder she is still bristling and angry with you.’

Lucas grinned. ‘’Tis nothing but a minor skirmish—besides, I found kissing her downright nice.’

Thomas saw a flash of the roguish charm that he knew was his friend’s stock-in-trade. ‘I’m sure you did. You seem to regard all women as objects for your pleasure.’

Lucas laughed, a rich, rolling sound deep in his chest. ‘Perhaps you are right, Thomas. Why complicate life by thinking of them as anything else? Why confine myself to just one when I can make a whole lot happy?’

‘Lucas,’ said Thomas, the formality of his tone wiping the grin from his friend’s lips, ‘Prudence is a naïve eighteen-year-old. Do you comprehend that? You can’t blame me for being concerned for her well being—with your hellhound reputation. Under normal circumstances the pressures of society would have dictated that I demand you marry her—so you can consider yourself fortunate that, in all the confusion of the King’s homecoming, I have no wish to play the heavy brother and will overlook your public indiscretion. But mark me well, Lucas—I have no wish to see her become just another of your conquests.’

Until he and Lucas had parted company five years ago, when Lucas had left him to seek adventure and to savour the excitement of the East, his name had been linked with every beautiful female at the King’s Court, but marriage had not been among the things he offered. Exactly where he had gone when they had parted company was as much a mystery to Thomas as it was to everyone else, and whatever had happened to his friend during those years of absence he kept to himself. His easy charm and his quick and sparkling eyes attracted as much attention as ever, but behind the sparkle they were forever watchful. However, despite their friendship, his unrestrained reputation made Lucas the last man Thomas wanted to show interest in Prudence.

Lucas grinned at him mercilessly. ‘Small chance of that,’ he mocked, ‘since your little sister seems to loath the very air I breath.’

‘She scarcely knows you. However, you can be relied upon to change her mind,’ Thomas replied drily. ‘I know how adept you are at persuasion.’

‘I like and respect you too much, Thomas. I won’t abuse your friendship and trust by seducing your sister.’

‘Then what are you doing out here with her—alone in the dark?’

‘Apologising.’

‘Good Lord! I’m happy to discover that there are some redeeming qualities in you after all. I did wonder.’ Thomas spoke with a smile on his lips, but his voice held a hint of sarcasm that did not go undetected by Lucas. ‘Did she accept your apology?’

‘No—but I dare say she would have, had you not chosen that moment to come looking for her. Why did you?’

‘Because of something I told her earlier, which I think may have upset her.’ He frowned, clearly troubled. ‘I strongly suspect she has a fondness for Adam Lingard.’

‘But Adam’s a respectable married man.’

‘Unfortunately Prudence didn’t know that. I suspect she’s been carrying a candle for him since he left for The Hague—that she has feelings for him. To be told they will not be reciprocated—which I have just done—I sense has hit her hard and was her reason for coming out here. So go easy with her, Lucas.’

‘You’re asking me to behave myself. Is that it, Thomas?’

‘That’s it.’

Lucas looked at his friend hard for a long time and suddenly, to his own surprise, he said, ‘You have my word.’

Thomas hesitated, searching Lucas’s face. ‘Then in that I am thankful. Of all the things you have been accused of, not even your worst enemy would dare imply that you were guilty of breaking your pledged word. I hope the same will apply when you finally take a wife. Will prayers and rings make a difference to how you conduct your life, Lucas?’

‘When I marry I shall have a complete and abiding love for the woman whose life I share,’ Lucas said calmly, his expression grave. ‘I admit that I’ve done things over the years I’m not proud of, things that make me ashamed to think about, but somewhere along the way I began to see things differently. I’m home now, like every other Royalist who has been plotting towards this end, and there are many things that need to be done. I’m tired of wandering, Thomas. From this day I intend to live out the rest of my life at Marlden Hall.’

‘And marriage?’

Lucas gave Thomas a rueful smile. ‘I have given the matter considerable thought. Should I die childless, my estate will pass to my cousin Jeffrey—who, to my reckoning, is wealthy enough,’ he said, his voice laced with dislike when he spoke of his cousin. ‘Consequently I must provide myself with an heir, which is why I must take a wife. But I have no intention of adhering to custom by chaining myself to any woman I might only have a passing fancy for, in order to beget one.’

This came as no surprise to Thomas. Over the years Lucas’s name had been linked to a long chain of beautiful women. He attracted them effortlessly, leaving a trail of shattered hearts and a host of furious parents of discarded and ruined daughters in his wake. Because his life so far had been one long adventure, the only part women had played had been to satisfy his sexual appetite. In Lucas’s opinion they were irrelevant, dispensable and replaceable, and when a woman became too possessive he quickly became unobtainable. Thomas had begun to think that his friend would never marry, so he was pleasantly surprised by what he had just confided.

‘Then whoever you choose will have to be quite exceptional to capture the heart of the elusive and extremely desirable Lucas Fox. But what of your uncle, George Fox? Does he still reside at Marlden Hall?’

‘Unfortunately that is so. Like ourselves, many families were divided during the war years. For those who had faith, believing that the things they fought for were right, then they deserve our respect. They were our enemies—but honourable enemies. I fear the same cannot be said of my uncle or his son. Unlike my father, who believed in the principles of the war, and that the King is the defender of the true church and his majesty sacrosanct, Uncle George had no such noble beliefs. Having no deep convictions for either side, he declared for Parliament because it was expedient for him to do so. By so doing he avoided the sequestrations imposed on Royalists, so I suppose Marlden Hall has fared better than most.’

‘Knowing there is no love lost between the two of you, I don’t suppose you will allow him to remain living at Marlden Hall when the property is returned to you.’

‘No. In any case his position is threatened now the King has returned. It is almost certain that all Royalist properties gained by the regicides will be rescinded. My uncle may not have signed that notorious death warrant for the execution of Charles I, but it is widely known that he actively supported it. He will be lucky to escape with his neck intact. It is the reason why my estate, if I should die before him, would pass to Jeffrey. Uncle George believes I am dead, so I imagine my return will come as something of a shock.’

‘I see,’ Thomas murmured, curious to know more about those few missing years in his friend’s life he knew nothing about, but something in Lucas’s shuttered eyes warned him against it. It was something of a dark and sinister nature that had been there ever since they had become reunited at Breda before sailing for England. ‘I’m not about to badger you into telling me what you got up to when you left me in France five years ago, but I have the feeling that the adventure you embarked upon was not all you hoped it would be.’

Lucas’s jaw tensed and a hard glitter entered his eyes. ‘You’re right. It wasn’t. Although I dare say there are those who would find it a vastly amusing tale,’ he said with much irony. ‘My cousin Jeffrey in particular, with whom I have a score to settle when next we meet. You were right when you said there is no love lost between my uncle and I, but there are no words to describe what my feelings are for Jeffrey.’

‘Do you want to talk about it?’

Lucas was silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on some unseen image in the dark shadows of the high wall. Gradually his shoulders relaxed and then he shook his head, in jovial spirits once more. ‘Not now, Thomas. It will keep. Come, tonight is for celebration. This is not the time to drag up our regrets.’ He looked towards the house when people began to emerge to watch the firework display that had just begun—explosions of multi-coloured stars and soaring rockets lighting up the night sky and bathing the onlookers in a rainbow of colours. ‘I will acquaint you with what happened to me another day.’

‘I will be happy to listen. Now, unless you wish to remain and watch the fireworks, let us go inside. You must make your peace with Prudence. If there is to be harmony between us when we return to Marlden Green, it will not do for the two of you to be at each other’s throats.’

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