Chapter Fifteen
The storm had grown in size and ferocity. The wind had got up, and hardly knowing what she was about or where she was going but determined not to let Sir Richard catch her, Valentine crouched low on the pounding horse’s back, her hands clasped around its neck.
She nearly fell off as the horse leaped a gate, but it was beginning to tire now. They were galloping along a lane, and Valentine had no idea if she was riding away from the house or if she had gone full circle and was even now approaching Sir Richard’s house again. The horse, quietened by the tall hedges on either side of the lane, slowed to a canter, then a trot, and finally a walk, flanks heaving. Valentine drew herself upright and stroked its sodden, steaming neck.
“What a pair of drowned rats we are,” Valentine said to the horse. And then, to her horror, she heard the sound of approaching hooves. Sir Richard must have mounted one of the carriage horses to chase her across country. What a piece of bad luck that her horse had not careered off in a different direction.
She grabbed the mane again and kicked the tired horse into action, but it had hardly broken into a trot before the pursuing horseman was upon her. She turned furious eyes on the rider, and it took a moment for her to realize this was not Sir Richard.
“Lord Marbeck! How came you here?”
He reined in, slid down from his horse, and stood looking up at her. “You make a habit of getting soaked, Miss Welburn. Can I be of assistance?”
There was a smile in his eyes and in his voice, and as his eyes ran over her bedraggled form, she looked down at herself. Her muslin dress clung to her body and her muddied skirts were looped high, exposing stockinged legs up to her thighs.
She knew she should feel ashamed, but she simply allowed herself to be lifted down from the horse and into Lord Marbeck’s arms.
Eyes met eyes, mouths and tongues joined together, body pressed against body. The raging storm vanished from their consciousness as time stood still.
Finally, a nudge from the horse brought her back to her senses. “I have to tell you why I am here. Sir Richard—” she began.
“I know. You don’t have to tell me anything. I was wrong not to trust you; it was unforgivable for me to take you to task for your friendship with Sir Richard. I would not have done so had my reason not been quelled by the feelings I had for you.”
“Are you apologising to me, Lord Marbeck?”
“Never,” he said, and stopped her reply with another ruthless kiss.