Jane Feather - Charade by Unknown (howl and other poems .TXT) 📕

"Certainly." He smiled. She was wearing a rose silk wrapper over hernightgown and looked entrancingly feminine in spite of the short,slightly rumpled curls—except that she was barefoot.

"Where, are your shoes, brat?" He raised his glass, subjecting herpink toes to an interested scrutiny.

"Oh, I couldn't find them," she declared airily, apparently unmoved byhis examination. The earl sighed and gave up the attempt tobring her to a proper sense of confusion and recognition of thissolecism.

"This is a map of the village." Danielle stood at his shoulder, leaningover to put the paper beside his plate. "This is the lane from thechateau." It was a beautifully drawn map, cartography clearly beinganother of her many and varied skills, he reflected distractedly,trying not to react to the sweet fragrance of her skin, the softpressure of her breast under the thin silk as she leant against his arm.

"Danielle, it is quite impossible for me to eat my breakfast with yourarm in the way," he declared suddenly, taking her by the waist anddrawing her onto his knee. 'There, that is much better. Now I can eatwith one hand and we can put the map to the side, like so. Praycontinue."

Danielle stiffened momentarily as a most odd sensation washed over her.His hand was light and warm around her waist, his shoulder firm andsupportive at her back, the thighs in their buckskin britches taut andhard-muscled beneath her buttocks. She had never been so powerfullyaware of another physical presence.

"I... I could sit in the chair beside you, milord," she murmured.

"You could," he agreed cheerfully, spearing a kidney with his fork."But I am quite comfortable. Are you not?"

She was very comfortable, too comfortable for comfort, but hercompanion was continuing with his breakfast as if their seatingarrangement were the most natural thing in the world. Danielle went onwith her explanation.

Afterward, she accompanied him outside to his waiting horse and thepost chaise. "Why, milord, where is the mare?"

"I am leaving her for you, brat." He smiled. "But you will ride hersidesaddle—are we agreed?"

The small nose wrinkled. "I will undertake to leam, milord, but Icannot promise never to ride astride."

"I am satisfied, Danielle." He took the reins of the blaek in one handand smiled down at her, a look in

his eye that she had never seenbefore and that puzzled her mightily—it was almost as if he was seeingsomeone else; he had certainly never looked at his brat in that way.His next words reassured her slightly. "Youwill be good now, won't you?"

"Assuredly, sir, for I know what to look forward to on your return if Iam not," she murmured demurely, lowering her eyes meekly beneath thelong lashes.

"Minx!" A long, gloved finger caught her chin, tipping it upward. "Donot be too sure of anything,

monenfant

. I am not known for mypredictability." The dark head bent, those firm, curved lips hrushedhers in a featherlike caress so light she wondered afterward if it hadever happened, and the Earl of Linton mounted and without a backwardglance rode off down the driveway.

Danielle gathered up the skirt of her wrapper and ran across thedew-wet grass to the cliff top, watching the procession out of sightbehind the bend in the steep path. Her hand, raised in farewell,dropped to her side as she scrunched her bare toes in the damp, roughcrabgrass, feeling forlorn and bereft and wondering why.

Chapter 7

Time passed rapidly and Danielle's thin cheeks and skinny body filledunder the application of good food, rest, fresh air, and an abundanceof love and kindness. She found her excursions into Garnish societytedious in the extreme, the young people boring, ill-educated, and witha sense of humor that she could not help but castigate as puerile andtotally unamusing, their elders complacent, smug, stay-at-homes with nounderstanding of or interest in the world outside their farms, theirshooting, and the whisk table. But she tried hard to bridle herimpatient tongue and swallow the hasty, sarcastic comments that roseall too frequently to her lips. Her efforts were viewed with sympathyand understanding by her grandparents and her occasional lapses drew nomore than the mildest reproof.

Lavinia found to her amazement that this girl/woman was mostknowledgeable about the finer points of running a household. With hereasy manners and obvious competence she became quickly accepted as atrusted member of the family who could always be relied upon tountangle a knotty domestic problem whether it be the unexplainabledisappearance of three pairs of the best bed sheets, a discrepancy inthe kitchen accounts, or the awkwardness arising from the housekeeper'sniece having inadvertently insulted Lady Lavinia's dresser.

Lord March found an educated mind, a quick brain at the chessboard, anda very skilled cardplayer and soon resigned himself to losing at piquetor chess at least twice as often as he won. When she was discovered inthe cellar advising the butler on thereadiness of the '73 burgundy he privately decided that for all herunconventional ways she would make Iinton a very lucky husband. Thiswas no schoolroom miss who would fritter away her allowance and hertime and bore him with vapid inanities on the rare occasions she chosehis company above that of her society friends.

But Danielle was not truly happy. She kept herself occupied because itwas not in her nature to repine, but her thoughts were too often with adark-haired, black eyed, soft-spoken individual. In a strange way shefelt him looking over her shoulder and began to judge her actions andwords according to how she knew he would react—the amused smile, theapproving nod, the slightly raised eyebrow, the brisk rebuke, or the sogently pronounced warning.

They heard no news. May 5, the date set for the meeting of the StatesGeneral, came and went. Danny fretted and fumed, and took to riding outastride the dappled mare from sunup to sundown across the flatcountryside and the long deserted