Worth Any Price (Bow Street Runners #3)(76)

With their faces close together and his vivid blue eyes staring into hers, Lottie felt a blush climbing her face. "You were very wicked that night."

His fingertip eased into the shallow valley between her br**sts. "Not nearly as wicked as I wanted to be..."

The sound of the front door being soundly rapped echoed through the entrance hall and drifted into the parlor. Withdrawing his hand, Nick listened as Mrs. Trench went to answer the door, telling the visitor that neither Lord Sydney nor his wife was receiving callers.

The reminder of their beleaguered privacy caused Nick to scowl. "That does it. I want to get out of London."

"Whom shall we visit? Lord Westcliff would be perfectly-"

"No."

"All right, then," Lottie continued, unruffled. "The Cannons are in residence at Silverhill-"

"God, no. I'm not spending a fortnight under the same roof as my brother-in-law."

"We could go to Worcestershire," Lottie suggested. "Sophia says that the restoration of the Sydney estate is nearly complete. She has made no secret of the fact that she wants you to view the results of her efforts."

He shook his head instantly. "I have no desire to see that accursed place."

"Your sister has gone to great effort-you wouldn't want to hurt her feelings, would you?"

"No one asked her to do all that. Sophia took it upon herself, and I'll be damned if I have to shower her with gratitude for it."

"I've heard that Worcestershire is quite beautiful." Lottie let a wistful note enter her voice. "The air would be so much nicer there-London in summer is dreadful. And someday I would like to see the place where you were born. If you do not wish to go now, I understand, but-"

"There are no servants," he pointed out triumphantly.

"We could travel with a skeleton staff. Wouldn't it be pleasant to stay in the country at our own home, rather than visit someone else? Just for a fortnight?"

Nick was silent, his eyes narrowing. Lottie sensed the conflict in him, the desire to please her warring with his fierce reluctance to return to the place he had left all those years ago. To confront those memories and recall the pain of being orphaned so suddenly would not be pleasant for him.

Lottie lowered her gaze before he could see the compassion that he would surely misread. "I will tell Sophia that we will accept her invitation some other time. She will understand-"

"I'll go," he said brusquely.

Lottie looked at him in surprise. He was visibly tense, clad in invisible armor. "It isn't necessary," she said. "We'll go somewhere else, if you prefer."

He shook his head, his mouth twisting sardonically. "First you want to stay in Worcestershire, then you don't. Damn, but women are perverse."

"I'm not being perverse," she protested. "It's just that I don't want you to go and then be vexed with me for the entire stay."

"I'm not vexed. Men don't get 'vexed.'"

"Annoyed? Exasperated? Irked?" She offered him a tender smile, wishing that she could protect him from nightmares and memories and the demons inside himself.

Nick began to reply, but as he stared at her, he seemed to forget what word he would have chosen. Reaching for her, he suddenly checked the movement. As Lottie watched him, he stood from the settee and left the parlor with startling swiftness.

The journey to Worcestershire would normally last a full day, long enough that most travelers of reasonable means would elect to travel for part of one day, stay overnight at a tavern, and arrive later in the morning. However, Nick insisted that they make the trip virtually without stopping, except to change horses and obtain a few refreshments.

Although Lottie tried to take the arrangement in stride, she found it difficult to maintain a cheerful facade. The carriage ride was arduous, the roads were of uneven quality, and the constant rattling and swaying of the vehicle made her slightly nauseous. As Nick saw her discomfort, his expression became grim and resolute, and the atmosphere disintegrated into silence.

A skeleton staff had been sent the day before their arrival, to stock the kitchen and ready the rooms. As had been previously agreed, the Cannons would visit the estate the following morning. Conveniently, Sir Ross's country seat at Silverhill was only an hour away.

The last faint glow of the setting sun was retreating from the sky by the time the carriage reached Worcestershire. From what Lottie could see, the county was fertile and prosperous. Rich green meadows and tidily groomed farms covered the level earth, occasionally giving way to verdant hills covered with fat white sheep. The webbing of canals that spread from the rivers graced the area with easy routes for trade and commerce. Any average visitor to Worcestershire would surely react to the scenery with pleasure. However, Nick became increasingly morose, emanating sullen reluctance from every pore with each turn of the wheels that brought them closer to the Sydney lands.

At last they turned onto a long, narrow drive that extended for a mile before a stately house came into view. Light from the outside lamps cast a warm glow over the entranceway and caused the front windows to glitter like black diamonds. Eagerly Lottie pushed aside the curtains at the carriage windows to obtain a better view.

"It's lovely," she said, her heart beating fast with excitement. "Just as Sophia described." The large Palladian-style house was handsome, if unexceptional, the combination of red brick, white columns, and precise pediments designed with tidy symmetry. Lottie loved it at first sight.