The Secret of Hollyfield House by Jude Bayton (first ebook reader TXT) 📕

home. I stood up. “I really must go, Dominic. But tell me, what else can I do?”

He came around to my side of the table and stood facing me. Again, I marvelled at the handsome angles of his face, his soulful eyes, his full mouth. There was an earthy masculinity about him which affected me whenever he was close.

Suddenly dry, I wet my lips. “I just want to help,” I whispered.

He took a step towards me, and I sighed as his fingers brushed back a tendril of my hair which had come loose. He tucked it behind my ear and then traced a path down my cheek to my lips where he stopped. Gently, the pad of his thumb stroked my mouth while his amber eyes fastened upon my own. There was no kind emotion in his expression now, but a smoulder which connected to what must be radiating from my own. My breathing came a little faster. My heart accelerated as he moved closer still, until I could feel the stir of his breath upon my mouth.

His head tilted, and warmth engulfed my lips as he claimed the kiss. His arms wrapped around my waist as mine reached up around his strong shoulders. I was lost in the sensation, feeling the roughness of his skin graze against mine. I forgot who I was, where I was, and became an instrument under his instruction. As his tongue gently teased mine, I abandoned all thought, except the feel of his mouth upon my own.

A new awareness seeped into my being, a pleasure at once strange and delightful. It coiled in my stomach, ached in my breasts, and I felt an urgency at the very heart of my womanhood which took my breath away. Though I did not know it, I somehow recognised this as desire. Unsure what exactly I craved, I knew only he could satiate it.

Dominic pulled out of the kiss and we stared at one another, our breathing laboured. Warmth flooded my cheeks as I battled with my feelings of embarrassment, but at his broad smile, my worry disappeared.

“I’ve wanted to do that since I first met you,” he said, his voice deep and sultry.

I smiled, self-conscious in a role I had never played before. “I am glad you decided not to wait any longer.” Heat burned beneath my skin.

He took my hands in his. “Jillian, I care for you, but my mind fights it. Guilt ravages me because I desire you while my brother sits in a gaol. Yet how can I ignore what is happening between us? Damn, but the timing is all wrong! ’Tis an injustice for us to begin something that deserves our full attention. Yet it cannot be a priority…”

“I understand,” I interrupted. “Billy’s predicament must be your focus. Nothing else can distract you until this is resolved. I can wait, Dominic. It does me good knowing you care, as I feel the same about you. That is enough, for now.”

He picked up my hands and pressed them to his lips. “Dearest Jillian. I am drowning in despair and worry, and you are a lighthouse in my storm. Thank you for your understanding and compassion. It means more than I can say.”

MONDAY MORNING, EVERGREEN LAVELLE arrived unannounced. She was pretty as a picture in a pale lemon gown which complemented her striking blonde hair. She carelessly waved away my offer of refreshment. “No thank you, Jillian. I have come to collect you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“My carriage awaits outside. I would like you to accompany me on an errand.”

Her casual request irritated me. Unlike her, I was not at liberty to do as I pleased every day. I wasted no time telling her. “Evergreen, I cannot go anywhere. I have a great deal of work to get finished today. You forget, I have an obligation. Though you may discount it, my uncle depends upon my administrative support for our livelihood.” I glowered at her, and much to my amazement, she burst into tears.

I was at a complete loss. I expected her irritation, not sorrow. She stood by the hearth, and I quickly went to her and touched her arm. “Forgive me if I was harsh, Evergreen. I did not mean to upset you.”

She sniffed and pulled a handkerchief from her reticule, simultaneously waving me away. “’Tis not you who upsets me.” She smiled through tear-filled eyes. “But this whole mess. Father is home and has the countenance of a bear with a toothache, Marabelle mopes after him like a love-sick limpet, and Perry and Marik have gone off to spend a jolly weekend at a spa in Bath.” She gave her nose an unladylike blow. “I am bored and lonely, and there is absolutely nothing to do. I think I shall go mad.”

“Where is your father?”

She plopped down into the armchair and sniffed. “With Kemp, the damned solicitor. Discussing Billy—again.”

I took a seat in the opposing chair. “You cannot hold that against him, Evergreen. He is trying to make sure justice is done. If Billy is convicted, he will hang.”

“Then he shouldn’t have killed the bloody blacksmith, should he?”

I was shocked at her outburst and language. Was she so unfeeling then of her half-brother? I resisted the impulse to remark upon it and held my tongue, as I had promised Dominic.

“Why is Marabelle love-sick?” I remembered her comment.

Evergreen gave an unkind laugh. “’Tis my father. She is in love with him, and he notices her as frequently as he does our cook. Father thinks of Marabelle as family. She’s part of the furnishings at Hollyfield, yet she is besotted, and ridiculously annoying to boot.”

For a moment, my heart went out to the dour, sour-faced cousin. But then I looked at Evergreen LaVelle and her tear-streaked face. Compassion got the better of me. “Where is it you are going, and why on earth must I go along?”

Victorious, she grinned; all tears forgotten.

THE TOWN OF KENDAL HAD BEEN my first introduction to the Lake District. It was