Page 36 of Seduced By a Scoundrel

Jeremy eyed him curiously, standing straighter and moving away from the side of the alley. “Do we have troubles?” he asked.

Derrek sighed heavily. “So many,” he said. For a moment, he looked like he would go on to enumerate them, but he stopped and shook his head. “Not now,” he said. “Not today. Today, we should enjoy ourselves to the fullest and make merry while the sun shines.”

Jeremy wasn’t certain whether to be amused or worried by those words. “I am all for making merry,” he said. “As long as we can be discreet about it,” he added in a whisper.

Derrek grinned at him, heat filling his eyes. He peeked up and down the alley to be certain no one was watching them, then stole another, quick kiss. “Come on,” he said, touching Jeremy’s hand without taking it, then turning and walking out of the alley.

Jeremy followed him, though he had the uneasy feeling that he was flushed and his lips might have been suspiciously pink. Clary and some of the others might have been willing to look the other way where he and Derrek were concerned and so might Martin be, but Jeremy did not want to rely on the discretion of the people around him where his life could be at stake.

That thought brought others with it that even the cheerful music that marked the beginning of the Morris dancing couldn’t banish completely from Jeremy’s heart. The entire purpose of fleeing to Kent was to avoid people who wanted to kill him, not to run straight into the midst of another group that could have him and Derrek dragged before a magistrate simply for loving each other.

“Your man is a surprisingly good dancer,” Clary whispered, coming to stand beside Jeremy as he watched Derrek jumping and moving through the steps along with the other dancers.

Jeremy turned to her with wide, wary eyes and whispered back, “Have a care with what you say when others are around.”

Clary frowned at him in concern. “Has something happened? Has someone said something?” she asked.

Jeremy shook his head tightly and turned his attention back to the dancers.

“I’ll fight any of them who might raise a finger against you,” Clary went on in her teasing voice.

Jeremy smiled and relaxed slightly. “I’ve no doubt you would,” he replied.

His heart was so conflicted. Right there, in that exact moment, his life was wonderful. He had found the truest friend he’d ever had. The villagers around him were all in a merry mood, the dancers were entertaining and quite good at the dance, Derrek among them. He was more certain than he’d ever been that someone loved him, and God help him, he was falling desperately in love with Derrek as well.

But there were definite storm clouds on the horizon. Conroy and his accomplice might not have found him yet, but they most likely would not stop trying until he was silenced forever. The more his love for Derrek grew and the less he was able to suppress it when around others, the more likely he was to be killed for that as well. The country might seem warm and welcoming at first, but as a Londoner, he’d always been taught that people were fickle and could change their minds in an instant.

By the end of the dance, Jeremy had come to a difficult conclusion. He couldn’t build a life in the village where he was. Everything around him was merely a temporary respite from a larger story. He had a business and a life waiting for him in London, and if he and Derrek ever wanted to have more than kisses in alleys, they would have to return to the city and face what was waiting for him, sooner rather than later.

Thirteen

The sun above was smiling down on a balmy, May day, music rang throughout the cheery village, and Derrek was dancing. It was probably the most ridiculously pastoral scene Derrek had ever been a part of, but as unlike the man he’d become in the last few years as it was, he was happy.

The dance ended with a flourish and a round of cheers and applause from those who had been watching. Martin whooped in triumph and sent a smile Derrek’s way before he bowed ostentatiously to everyone. Derrek shook his head at his new friend, then did exactly the same.

There was really only one man he cared about impressing in the entire village. He rose from his bow with a broad, mischievous smile for Jeremy and was exceedingly pleased to find his dove laughing and shaking his head at him. That was what those sorts of village festivities were all about, after all.

“If I had not witnessed it for myself I am not certain I would have believed it,” Jeremy said once the dancers went their own ways and Derrek was able to approach him.

Miss Jones stood by Jeremy’s side with an expectant look. The way she glanced between them, biting her lip, made Derrek wonder if the woman wanted them to kiss and embrace like lovers right there in the middle of the festive crowd. It would have been madness, of course, but that didn’t stop every fiber of Derrek’s being from wanting to pull Jeremy into another alley so that he could kiss them both breathless.

It was clear Jeremy had the same impulse. The two of them stood feet apart from each other, eyes locked, saying nothing for a moment as the noise of the festivities faded into the background. Once again, Derrek found himself imagining a life with Jeremy right there in the country, surrounded by tranquility and the beauty of nature, not a soul bothering either of them. They could claim the cottage for their own, he might grow a vegetable garden, and Jeremy could work with Miss Jones, if that struck his fancy.

His imagination’s journey was cut short as a beefy man who was already half in his cups at barely midday bumped into him from behind.

“Sorry, mate,” the man mumbled, then walked on.

The moment served its purpose, and Derrek shook himself out of his fanciful thoughts. “I’ve always been a fine dancer,” he said, searching to pick up the thread of what he and Jeremy had been saying before the world had narrowed down into a point that contained only the two of them. “Dancing is a skill that even the most refined gentlemen possess.”

“I have never been much for dancing myself,” Jeremy said, shifting his stance to something more relaxed and glancing at Miss Jones as well. “Not that I have not tried. It is only that I cannot keep the steps straight in my head.”

“There will be plenty of chances for you to try one dance or another today,” Miss Jones said, also letting the moment that could have been more go. “Some of the circle dances are simple enough that I’m certain even you could learn.”

“Perhaps,” Jeremy said, peeking at Derrek as if to see whether he thought so.

“I shall teach you,” Derrek said. “That is, if the dances here in Kent are the same as they are in Wiltshire. But for now,” he rushed on, “I could eat a horse.”

“There’s more than enough to eat,” Miss Jones said, taking a half step back from them. “Why do the two of you not go and explore everything on offer. I’ve a few things to check on at the shop.”

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