learned more of his person before she’d dismissed him. Perhaps she played her game of plain country miss too well, at a loss for the formality of introduction and etiquette found in high society. Here in Brighton, London seemed a continent away.
Anxious to relish the sand beneath her toes and lose her concerns to the tide’s roll and retreat, she commenced a brisk walk along the same path as the evening prior, her aim the water’s edge. She had no intention of straying as far as before, knowing she should never have trespassed onto the private property near the jetty. Too much contemplation led to a loss in direction. How terribly contradictory. Tonight heavy thoughts muddled her mind in the same fashion. A letter had arrived from Father this afternoon, insisting she return to London with haste. He had plans for her future, his future too, and he wished to confer. A cynical smile twisted her lips. Somehow she doubted her input or objection would be valued enough to cause impact. Her father, a notable scholar and religious enthusiast, held distinct views on most all subjects.
Reaching the beach, she bent to remove her slippers and sighed long and thoroughly at the caress of soft sand beneath her soles. A rush of pleasant memories bombarded her, pushing away former contemplations. When Angelica was a child, Grandmother would bring her to the beach often, and allow her to run and splash in a manner unbefitting an earl’s daughter. Grandmother harbored a delightful rebellious stripe to her character, wishing for her granddaughter to experience the pleasurable joys of life without the constraints of formality and propriety. Oh, the secrets they shared. Adventures they referenced with a carefully chosen word or discreet flick of the eyes, grins to smother whenever someone mentioned a key element of a long forgotten hush-hush activity, forbidden by her father, only permitted during the summer months when she visited her grandmother.
Deep inside Angelica harbored that untamed ribbon of freedom still—thus her wish for adventure before acquiescing to her father’s sedate intentions. It was a private plan and clandestine goal to acquire a memory of absolute abandon: a single transcending experience to keep locked in her heart. She’d draw strength from the experience when she needed courage or regretted her forlorn lot.
At times it was difficult to rationalize how her father had grown through childhood in these surroundings with a mother who tried hard to conceal a mischievous glint in her eye but didn’t quite succeed. Still, Father was straight as an arrow, a humorless analytical thinker.
She glanced to the left, scanning the landscape where the beach curved toward the rocks, the dark looming manor house perched above. As usual it was solemn and quiet. An unexpected shiver rippled through her despite the warm air. She stalled in place to run her palms over her upper arms and stare at the sea. A smarter person would have brought a shawl or pelisse instead of wearing a thin day gown to traipse about in the night hours. She laughed low. Truly, she was hopeless, but at least she’d enjoy these moments. She wouldn’t dare oppose her father’s wishes even though they didn’t align with her view of the future. She needed to grit her teeth, bear his decision, and remain hopeful she’d find happiness in the life he’d planned for her.
Moving along near the water, careful to avoid the edge of lacy foam that washed near her feet, she tried with desperate measure to reassure herself all would turn out right, while she twisted the ribbon dangling from her collar into a frayed tangle. The next time she checked her progression, she stood not ten feet from the rocks she’d visited the night before.
The very devil. Despite her best intentions, she’d arrived at the same spot she’d sworn to avoid. She placed the lantern in a safe position and shook her head at the hypocrisy of it all. Wealthy aristocrats built huge houses and kept them locked up tight. Scholarly lords abandoned knowledge and pledged allegiance to indoctrinated religion. High-born ladies fled to Brighton to avoid their obligations. Children obeyed their parents or were forever cast off.
Still she had until the end of the week to make her decision. She had this evening to be free. She wriggled her toes deeper into the sand and relished a delighted shiver.
“I’ve discovered a mermaid come ashore.” Kellaway grinned when she started, his presence undetected against the rocks where he leaned, her surprise worth his weight in gold. A breeze caught the edge of her skirt, the hem rippling as if it waved him closer, and he obliged, taking two long strides and emerging from obscurity into the gleam of the lantern. The pale light enhanced her skin with a luminescence that indeed convinced him that here stood a breathtaking enchantress, a woman on the edge of reality as if she were a fantastic dream he’d craved so desperately he’d wished it to life.
She regained her composure despite his speculative assessment and eyed him with clever interest.
“And I’ve happened upon a pirate.”
Her voice had a husky quality, likely from the late hour and lack of use, each syllable passing through him to resonate in his groin. He chuckled, the sound captured and washed away with the onslaught of waves against the rocks. Perhaps he appeared piratical, his collar agape and shirt tails pulled free atop his tight fitted breeches and tall boots. He hadn’t bothered with a queue and his hair whipped in the wind as recklessly as hers.
“Aren’t you concerned you’ll be caught trespassing on this stretch of land?” He swept his hand to the left in a careless motion.
What was it about this woman? She possessed rare, ethereal beauty, yet showed strength of character, not at all threatened while speaking to a stranger or repentant in her actions. Females usually simpered when he cast an eye in their direction, vying for an indication they stood a chance of warming his sheets.
The mental visualization of the lovely nymph in his bed, eager and waiting, raised his interest another notch. Damn his lust. He enjoyed a casual tumble. That was all. Emotion was complicated and time-consuming, and this woman intrigued him beyond comprehension. The dangerous notion warned he tread with care.
“Aren’t you?” Her brisk retort snared his return to their conversation.
Excellent. She had no notion of his identity, nor did she care. “I rarely worry myself with aristocratic concerns.” That was a lie—his title and lineage sharp thorns in his side.
She darted her eyes to the house behind him, high on the cliff, pitch black aside from the lanterns Bitters had lit in the front rooms when his friends departed, undetected from where they stood on the beach. The cliffs climbed their steep ascent, so high even he had to extend his neck to follow her line of vision. Goddamn, his house looked like a fortress, locked up tight, sealed from the world of emotion that waited outside. Dark, like his soul. Empty, like his heart.
“You should.” Her mouth hitched in a delightful half smile. “The lofty lord who owns this monstrosity would justly see us jailed for treading on his land. Perhaps he’s counted every grain of sand, every ripple of water that washes ashore.” The last remark held an acidic note of disdain. “I left on an evening walk, but never meant to wander this far. I’m not usually of a reckless nature.”
At last she realized the danger of her actions, but truly she’d be smarter to worry about his intentions than the master of the house, even with her blatant dislike of titled peers.
“Not of a reckless nature? I am.” That was a truth.
When she flicked her eyes to his, caught in the net of interest he’d cast, he elaborated. “At least many believe it true as they assess my staggering wagers with critical speculation, label my phaeton races as harrowing and mad, and hold me responsible for each dangerous liaison when it’s the women who should know better than to tempt me. I’m often accused of recalcitrance for what is more boredom than interest, and yet my absent conscience enamors the gossips into spinning rumors of legendary scandal.” He watched for her reaction.
“And
