Page 5 of An Earl Unmasked
Ha.The man had obviously not heard the moniker thetonhad already given Diana—the Belle of Bluestockings. It wasn’t as terrible as Ice Queen, given to Minerva, or Willful Wallflower, born by Isadora. “I’m not a mythical creature or a witch, and I’m most certainly not of royalty. You may call me Diana.”
He rose with her in his arms and then deposited her on her feet. “Lady Diana Malbury?”
She took a step back and clasped her hands behind her back. “Aye. That is my name.”
He scanned the field. “What the devil are you doing on my land?”
“I was on my way to search your library for clues. You see, your papa gave me a puzzle to solve.” She patted her coat pocket that held the sealed parchment she’d held onto all Season. “He said I may return to complete it only if I remained unwed.” She glanced up to find the earl’s dark eyebrows slashed downward. The back of her neck prickled. Her natural instinct was to take another step back, and so she took a half step forward and poked her finger in his hard chest. “You should be thanking me for finding you.”
His gaze flicked to the path that led into the forest to their right. It was where she had emerged from. “Did you see anyone as you approached?”
“Nay, it was the reflection of your buttons that caught my attention.” She glanced down at the shiny silver objects. When she raised her eyes back up, his attention was back on her. A fluttering she read about a hundred times occurred in her chest. “I checked for signs of your attacker, but there were no footprints nor hoof impressions. Do you remember what happened?”
“I was patrolling the perimeter. I spun at the sound of someone sneaking up behind me, and then all I saw were stars and then blackness. That is until the moment your hands were upon my body.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. She turned to scan the ground, hiding her reaction to his statement. “Mayhap, you turned too fast and became dizzy, lost your balance, and fell.” She pointed her toe and swung her foot in an arc in front of her. “It’s quite plausible. You could have simply fallen and gashed your head upon a stone.” But there were no objects in sight that she reasonably could deduce that would cause the nasty gash on his forehead.
“My injuries have caused dizzy spells in the past; however, I’m not convinced that is what transpired here today.”
She turned and asked, “Why would anyone want to attack you? You are home on British soil, not on some battlefield upon the Continent.”
“A very valid point, Lady Diana.” He smiled at her, causing the fluttering sensation to return.
Odd that she had endured an entire Season surrounded by gentlemen, and never once did she experience the light fluttering sensation and, here she stood with a veritable stranger, and she’d experienced it twice. Grabbing the earl by his hand, she tugged him over to her mare. “We should return to Chestwick and clean up your wound.”
Without hesitation, he lifted her up into the saddle and proceeded to mount behind her. He raised the reigns and asked, “May I?”
“Do you always ask after you have already presumed the answer?”
“I normally don’t ask.” He wrapped an arm about her waist and nudged her mare forward.
*
Thank goodness hewas a skilled horseman. He needed to get the lady to safety, but having the woman seated in front of him, between his legs, her lush form pressed up against his chest, had blood rushing to his loins and his head pounding. Someone had dared to attack him on his own land.
Diana looked over her shoulder. “I am quite an accomplished equestrian.”
“Beg pardon?” Damn the lack of blood flowing to his brain.
“Must you hold on to me so tightly?”
No. She was obviously skilled in the seat.
But the answer was yes. He liked having her in his arms.
However, he wasn’t about to share either answer with her. Gathering her closer, he said, “I wasn’t aware ladies were taught to ride astride.”
“Are you intentionally trying to raise my ire?”
Rounding the bend and heading straight to the stables, Randal nuzzled closer to her ear. “You don’t appear to be a lady easily influenced.” He let his lips graze the outer rim of her ear. The action was to unsettle Diana, but he found it was he who was shifting his seat. “From your precise inspection of me earlier, I’d wager you were more of the logical sort with a propensity to take risks.”
She stiffened in his arms. A large lump formed in his throat, and the urge to retract his statement was overwhelming. He’d never regretted words uttered prior. He prided himself on only speaking the truth, no matter how harsh.
A stable boy came running to assist them. “Lady Diana!”
“Paddy, it is so good to see you.” Diana gave the boy a warm smile and added, “My, you have grown since I saw you last.”
Randal handed the boy the reins. Did she know the names of all his staff? It had taken him weeks to learn all the new staff’s names, and with his muddled brain, he still occasionally made a hash of referring to them correctly. Why he had a need to form a bond with his servants was baffling; however, it had become important to his sanity.
