A Night to Surrender (Spindle Cove #1)(49)

“It’s a lovely day,” Kate said. “I can’t imagine what has you so out of sorts.”

“It’s not a what.” Minerva looked up from her sketchbook. “It’s a who.”

Susanna gave her a warning look. “Minerva, I’m sure you don’t need—”

“Oh, I’m sure I do. And you mustn’t be ashamed to talk about it, Miss Finch. You needn’t suffer in silence, and the ladies ought to know. They may need to protect themselves.” She closed her sketchbook and turned to the assembled ladies. “It’s Lord Rycliff, the vile man. He did not hit his head when he made that dive yesterday. He survived the fall with no harm, and then he attacked Miss Finch in the cove.”

“Minerva.” Susanna put her hand to her temple. “He did not attack me.”

“He did!” She turned to the others. “When I came upon them, they were both drenched to the skin. Poor Miss Finch was shaking like a leaf, and he had his hands . . . Well, let’s just say he had his hands in places they oughtn’t be. She tried to fend him off, but he wasn’t having any of it.”

I like it when you snipe at me. A thrill raced through her at the memory.

“It’s fortunate I came along when I did,” Minerva said. “And that I’d made such a good find of weighty specimens that morning.”

Fortunate? Perhaps it was. Lord only knew what liberties Susanna would have allowed him without Minerva’s interruption. And if those drugs hadn’t carried him off to sleep last night . . .

She’d stayed an hour in his arms, unable to leave. Stroking his strong back and shoulders and listening to his gentle, rumbling snore. When she’d sensed herself drifting off to sleep too, she’d extricated herself from the bed and returned to her own room. Watching over a wounded man as he slept . . . that much was a healer’s duty. Sleeping with him . . . now that was the privilege of a wife.

And she wasn’t his wife, she reminded herself. She had no business sharing a bed—or a cove, or an armory—with the man. No matter how passionate he proved her to be, or how exhilarated his caresses made her feel, or how sweetly he kissed her damaged wrists. If she gave into fleeting pleasure with him, she could lose everything she’d worked so hard to build.

She could lose everything now, if Minerva’s “helpful” reports weren’t contained.

“Minerva, you’re mistaken,” she said firmly. “You weren’t wearing your spectacles, and you don’t know what you saw.” To the others, she declared, “I swam out to check on Lord Rycliff’s health. We were discussing it when Minerva came along.”

“That wasn’t discussing, it was grappling,” Minerva said. “And I’m not that blind. I know very well what I saw. He kissed you!”

Mrs. Lange made an outraged squawk. “I knew it. Men are such filthy invaders. I shall write a poem.”

“He kissed you?” Kate’s eyes flew wide. “Lord Rycliff kissed you? Yesterday?”

“Yes, he did,” Minerva answered for her. “And it wasn’t the first time, from the looks of things. Clearly he’s been molesting her ever since he arrived in the neighborhood.”

Susanna lowered herself onto the nearest bench. She felt her life unraveling at its seams.

“Oh, this is wonderful,” Mrs. Highwood said, coming to sit at Susanna’s side. “I knew you’d caught his eye, my dear. And Lord Payne has shown a marked preference for my Diana. Just think, the two of you could be cousins by marriage!”

“I am not marrying Lord Rycliff,” Susanna insisted. “I don’t know what would cause you to say such a thing.” And she wished the older woman would stop saying it so loud. The man was still on the grounds of Summerfield, and there was no way of knowing when he might wake. He could be awake now.

He might be stretching, flexing those powerful limbs beyond the edges of the mattress and yawning like a grizzled lion.

“Lord Payne has not shown me any particular favor,” Diana said. “Honestly, I don’t wish him to.”

“Pish. The man asked you to cut his hair! He’s titled, handsome as the devil, and rich besides. Pretty as you are, he’ll no doubt offer for you soon. See if you can’t contrive to be trapped in a cove with him. A kiss would do the trick, I warrant.”

“Mama!” Diana and Minerva spoke in unison.

“What is wrong with all of you?” Mrs. Highwood asked, looking from one to the other. “These men are lords. They are powerful, wealthy. You ought to encourage them.”

“Believe me, encouragement is the last thing that’s needed.” Upon speaking the words, Susanna instantly worried. Would Bram take their encounter last night as encouragement? Did she wish him to? They understood each other now, on a level that went more than skin-deep. Assuming he retained some memory of the conversation when he woke.

“Lord Rycliff is not looking for a wife,” she said firmly. “And neither is his cousin. If we were so foolish as to ‘encourage’ them, we would risk not only our own reputations, but the reputation of Spindle Cove.” She looked from woman to woman around the group. “Do you all understand me? Nothing is going on here. Nothing.”

“But, Miss Finch—” Minerva objected.

“Minerva.” Susanna turned to her, hoping her new friend would someday understand and forgive her this harshness. “I am sorry to say it, but you are mistaken in what you saw, and your persistence is becoming wearisome. Lord Rycliff did not attack me yesterday, or any day. Nothing improper has transpired between us. In fact, he only made that jump from the cliff because he thought you had drowned and he hoped to save your life. To impugn his character after that brave, albeit misguided action seems most ungracious. My part in this conversation is concluded.”