Catherine Archer - Lady Thorn

His lips thinned as he recalled his own certainty that he could put aside his interest in her. God help him, Jed thought grimly, he hoped he didn’t end by having to protect her from himself.

Victoria did not look at Jedidiah directly as she heard him come to a standstill before her. She could not stop thinking about her own unexpected, and most unwelcome, reaction to seeing him in the altogether.

Yet neither could she ignore him. Trying with all her will, but with little success, to vanquish the memory of his tall, lean, muscular form from her mind, she picked up a blue patterned china cup. “Would you care for tea, Mr. McBride?” To her annoyance, her fingers quivered slightly, and she could only hope that he was not aware of it.

“Do you have coffee?” he asked politely.

She looked up at him. Of course he would want coffee, she told herself. He was an American. “I am very sorry,” she told him hurriedly. “I do not. I will ring for the maid.”

He stopped her with a raised hand. “No, don’t bother. Tea will be fine.”

Feeling suddenly awkward and not knowing why, Victoria told herself she must make certain that Mrs. Everard even had the beverage the sea captain preferred. She did want him to be comfortable while he was with them. Hastily she filled a delicate Dresden cup and held it out to him.

Jedidiah McBride reached out, and for a brief moment their fingers brushed as she relinquished the cup to him. A completely unexpected jolt of heat passed from his hand to hers and up her arm. Without thinking, she jerked back, folding her trembling fingers together in her lap.

Heavens, whatever was the matter with her? Although he was the first man she had ever seen without benefit of his clothing, the glimpse had been fleeting and inadvertent. It was quite unfortunate that she had been in such a panic to make certain the sea captain told no one, including Clara, of his true identity that she had accompanied the maid to his chamber. It had been that silly goose Clara who opened the door before being granted entry. The whole thing had been quite hapless, and would not be repeated.

Even as Victoria told herself this, she was again assaulted by the image of the stirring she had glimpsed, in his, well… there…as she looked at him.

She risked a glance at the man from beneath her dark lashes. He seemed to be stirring his tea with intense concentration, judging by the determined expression on his face. She couldn’t help noticing that the delicate china looked even more so in his strong hands.

Because of his preoccupation, she was emboldened to look at him more closely. Goodness, but he was more handsome than she had remembered. Last night, there had been only the lanternlight in the carriage, and then candles when they reached Briarwood. She’d also been more shaken by what had happened than she cared for anyone else to know even now.

Sunlight did nothing to diminish Jedidiah McBride’s attractiveness. If anything, he was even more compelling with the sunlight bringing his sun-streaked dark blond hair to vibrant life. Her gaze dipped lower, to where his lean jaw was lightly stubbled with dark gold hair. It looked coarser in texture than that on his head, and she wondered if it would feel so to the touch. Her curious eyes moved on. The black coat he had donned over his open-necked white shirt was rumpled from his altercation with Reginald, as were his close-fitting black breeches. His high black boots were scuffed and dusty, but the relaxed arrogance of his stance told her that Jedidiah McBride was not in the least concerned about his disordered state. To her surprise, Victoria did not find his slightly unkempt appearance distasteful, but somehow strangely appealing.

Before she could even begin to contemplate the reason for this, Jedidiah looked up at her, his brow quirked in an impatient query. Victoria felt a flush stain her throat. Heavens, she was being rude beyond imagining. Hurriedly she indicated the settee opposite her. “Please forgive me, it seems I have completely forgotten my manners today.” Her blush deepened as she remembered anew what had occurred upstairs earlier.

After he was seated, she took a deep breath, knowing she had best put the matter to rest as soon as possible. Victoria began, “Mr. McBride, let me begin by apologizing for what happened…. I had no intention… What I am trying to say is that I had no right to come to your room this morning. I was simply eager to talk with you. I meant to make certain that you did not give away your real identity to anyone. Not even to the members of my household. For the purpose of keeping our secret, all must believe you to be my cousin.” She stopped, then started again. “I had no idea Clara would just open the door. You see, the servants are accustomed to having few people here besides myself, and have grown less formal than they might otherwise be….”

She glanced at him and found him looking as uncomfortable as she felt. He did not meet her gaze as a dark flush colored his strong throat. She found her eyes lingering there. For some reason known only to whimsy, Victoria suddenly wondered what it would feel like to touch the ridge of muscle that ran down the side of his neck and disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt.

He cleared his throat, drawing her bemused gaze back to his face. Thankfully, the man appeared totally unaware of her madness. She forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying. “Lady Victoria, please don’t go on. I will not tell anyone anything other than what we agreed to last night.” He paused. “As to the other matter, there is no need to apologize. I understand, and it is already forgotten by me. I hope that you will forget what happened, as well.”

As Victoria listened to the delicately put reply, she found herself thinking again what a very gentlemanly man he really was, despite his lack of noble birth. Her wayward attention wandered over the length of him once more. She found herself regretting the fact that Jedidiah must change his mode of dress to a more formal one in order to fulfill their purpose. There was something very stirring about the casually masculine cut of his captain’s attire. There was no denying that he wore it with unexpected elegance. Many a man of her own acquaintance could benefit from emulating Jedidiah’s nonchalant attitude toward his appearance. For all the money they spent on their perfectly tailored coats, trousers and highly polished boots, they could not compete with his effortlessly graceful masculinity.

Again she realized that Jedidiah McBride was waiting for her to answer. She blushed to the roots of her hair. “I… Then it will be as you ask. We will forget what happened, and start afresh.” But even as she said the words, Victoria knew it would not be as easily done as said. Never had she thought that a man could be so very interesting, even handsome, without his clothing. The brief glimpse she’d had of him had been enough to show Victoria that the way his smooth skin lay over the hard muscles of his body was quite pleasing to her. Nor had she been completely blind to Clara’s reaction to the man. As these thoughts ran though Victoria’s mind, she was doubly careful not to allow her gaze to stray to the area at the top of his thighs.

Determinedly she concentrated on Jedidiah’s face as he nodded and gave her a crooked half smile. Unexpectedly, her heart turned over in her breast. Was there no end to the effect he had on her?

She nearly sighed aloud with impatience toward herself. Jedidiah McBride was here to help her with her problem. He had his own life and future. There would be nothing more between them when their bargain was met. She would remember that, if she knew her own good.

In the three years since her parents had died, she’d learned to control herself and her emotions. It was the only way she could have gotten through her grief, then accepted the enormous responsibility of running her father’s properties and business interests. She called upon those skills of self-control now. She must begin her efforts to find a husband as soon as possible.