The Kiss: An Anthology About Love and Other Close Encounters(40)

She knew who it was before he'd released his hold and pinned her against the wall with his body, wrists held tightly each side of her.

Gregory.

“No one slights me and gets away with it,” he seethed inches away from her face.

And then he covered her mouth with his own.





*


The kiss was a violation of all her senses.





*


She struggled futilely. His fury gave him strength to which hers was no match.

The dimly lit room began to fade as she was unable to breathe, stifled by his unleashed passion.

And then he was gone. She slipped down the wall unable to remain on her shaking legs. She was aware of a ripping sound and all she could think was that she would never wear this dress again. Now sitting on the carpet, back against the wall, she looked at her hands resting in her lap; very white against the burgundy. Nicely shaped hands.

“Bathsheba, Bathsheba, dear. Please look at me.”

She could hear a man's voice penetrating her incoherent thoughts.

The room was still dim but she saw that the man leaning down to her had changed. His voice had changed as well. It was Mr. Hutton.

He had come to defend her yet again.

A sob caught in her throat as she whispered his name.

“Mr. Hutton? You have saved me. Thank you.”

And then she couldn't stop from crying as the enormity of the evening overflowed.

He took her up in his arms as best he could and carried her to a sofa. He sat and, instead of releasing her, kept her snug in his arms.

“Please don't cry, my dear. It is over and I won't let it happen again,” he promised.

“Where did he go?” she managed to say in between sobs. Her cheek was pressed against his chest and she felt contented and safe.

“He's there, out cold,” he said as he nodded to a limp lump on the floor.

“You won't have to worry about him anymore. I have ways of enforcing threats I make, and if I'm not mistaken, you will find that he'll be leaving the country in short order. Otherwise, he will find himself as crew on one of my ships leaving for India.”

Bathsheba pressed herself even closer to Mr. Hutton's chest, appreciating the strong heartbeat and the security of his arms. It might be the only chance she would ever get.

“You do realise that you are obliged to marry me now?” he said laughing.

She sat up abruptly.

“What do you mean?” She wasn't sure that she had heard him correctly. Now she was completely alert and in control of her wits.

“Marry you?”

“Well, you have been found in a rather compromising situation and I'm afraid your reputation is shot,” he explained quite succinctly.

She looked around the room. It was quiet. The lump on the floor was hardly breathing.

“Wait a minute. Wait a minute... There's no one else here. Who found me in a compromising situation?”

His grin said it all.

“Will you marry me, Bathsheba?” He insisted.

“But we don't really know one another,” she said a little hesitantly.

“Would you like me to enumerate all those foreign countries where the bride only meets the groom on the day of their marriage? Or the countries where the bride is bought for a couple of camels? Or...”

“Stop! You've made your point.”

“Does that mean ‘yes’, you will marry me?”

“I am sitting on your lap in a torn dress. Just who is in the compromising situation?” she teased.

And then she leaned towards him and gently placed her lips on his.

He pulled her nearer and as she savoured his kiss, she knew that her interrupted dream about swashbuckling pirates had just found its satisfying end.





Epilogue


Gregory did find he was needed on the continent for important business, and so he left the next day with the tide and a broken nose. Alistair had insisted that he never mention the incident to anyone, and when Gregory realised just who Alistair Hutton was, he never did.

Peggy would never know what had happened to precipitate Bathsheba and Alistair's wedding. She suspected that the gypsy oils she had used on Bathsheba might have worked after all. She had been saving them for herself, but didn't regret one second using them on her mistress. There had still been hope for Peggy, nevertheless, because Alistair's valet had been particularly attentive to her once she was part of the Hutton household.

Bathsheba was delightful in a cream and apricot coloured wedding dress. She would never be seen wearing burgundy again. Alistair often kidded her about having to marry him, but she would make him admit that she had been worth a whole lot more than a couple of camels.





*


Bathsheba and Alistair's grandchildren would never tire of hearing the magical story of their grandparent's marriage, and especially of hearing how a pirate fought for and won his lady, on their very first evening together.


*

An Anglo/American who lived in France for over 30 years, Suzy Stewart Dubot began writing as soon as she retired. Before then, she worked at a variety of jobs, some of the more interesting being : Art & Crafts teacher, Bartender, Marketing Assistant for N° 1 World Yacht Charterers (Moorings), Beaux Arts Model, Secretary to the French Haflinger Association. With her daughters, she is a vegetarian, a supporter of animal rights and an admirer of William Wilberforce.