Page 86 of The Pirate and the Pagan
“N-no, Sire, I thought he was in Falmouth.”
“Well, no doubt he wants to surprise you.”
“P-perhaps,” she whispered.
“I believe he’s here at Whitehall tonight.”
She was frightened to think Lord Helford might have seen her with Progers. “Thank you for your kindness toward my brother, Your Majesty, I shall never forget it. Good night, Sire.”
He wrapped her cloak about her and bestowed a chaste kiss upon her brow. “Au revoir, Summer.”
She found her way back through the three salons, but Edward Progers didn’t seem to be anywhere in evidence. Annoyed, she supposed the wretched man had assumed she would be staying the night. She stepped out into the dim hallway and a man emerged from the shadows to block her path. Fear sketched its ugly finger across her brow. “Ruark, this isn’t what it seems, my lord,” she protested.
His face was dark and brooding in the dim light. He contemplated her in silence for a moment, managed to gain control over his temper, and answered, “I believe you. If I’d been making love to you, an hour wouldn’t satisfy me … it would be the same for Charles.”
She bit back a cutting remark. “Thank you for seeing the King about Spencer. I’ve been mad with worry for him.”
“Didn’t you get my letter?” he asked. “What letter?”
“I came to Cockspur Street to see you today. I gave Lady Richwood a letter for you.”
“She had already gone out for the evening by the time I returned,” she said.
“We can’t talk here. Summer, I have rooms here at Whitehall. Will you come with me there so that we may talk?”
She was amazed that he was not shouting at her, calling her names. He seemed to be in a quiet enough mood. Perhaps there was more she should know about her brother’s imprisonment and release. “I’ll come for half an hour, my lord, but it’s very late. It’s not really safe for me to be on the streets at this time of night.”
“I shall see you safely home, Summer,” he assured her.
He led her through the labyrinth of Whitehall, then outside and past the bowling green. They entered his apartment from the grounds, but she knew the two small rooms must open onto an inner corridor of the maze that was called Whitehall.
When Ruark lit the candles, she smiled to herself. The chambers reflected his taste exactly. It was so warm and welcoming, she had the peculiar feeling of coming home. He removed her cloak and offered her a comfortable chair. He poured them both a glass of sack and took the chair opposite her.
“I came to see you today to tell you that I had the King’s permission to get Spencer released from Newgate. The last thing in the world I wanted was for you to go begging favors from Charles.”
“Why can you ask him, but not me?” she asked reasonably.
“Because you are a very beautiful woman. Because I have firsthand knowledge that he is attracted to you. I’m being very honest with you, Summer … I didn’t want you giving yourself to him out of gratitude.” His eyes searched hers.
“Why should you care? It’s over between us, you said as much yourself.”
“It isn’t over between us, Summer … not yet … perhaps not ever. I know I have the devil’s own temper but I’d give anything in the world if we could go back to being the way we were.” His voice was so sincere, so regretful, it made a lump come into her throat.
“What we had together was so fine … so special … so rare. I want us to begin again if you’ll give me another chance, my darling.”
She looked down into her wineglass and saw the candlelight reflected in the deep amber. She felt her heartbeat quicken in her throat.
“I’m my own worst enemy, you know. I flew into a rage when you told me about your brother being imprisoned and about the mortgage on Roseland, but I regretted it almost immediately and that same afternoon I made it possible for Spencer—Spider as you affectionately call him—to escape through the open window of the interrogation room. Then I went to London and redeemed the mortgage on Roseland for you.”
A tear slipped down Summer’s cheek. They had been so deeply in love, they had been totally immersed in one another, why hadn’t she realized Ru had done these things for her?
He reached over and took hold of her hand. He gazed at it as if it were made of precious porcelain. “When the King and court came to Helford Hall, I was so proud of the way you handled everything. I saw immediately that it didn’t matter how you’d been brought up … you do everything with such a natural, inborn grace that to know you is to love you. And I also realized that you did it for me. I nearly went mad for the taste of you, the feel of you. That last night I approached you so clumsily, we quarreled again. I was a brute to force you. All I really wanted was to tell you, show you how much I loved you.”
“Oh, Ru,” she cried softly.
“Hush, darling, I should be horsewhipped for making you cry.” He stood up and came behind her chair, rubbing a strand of her silken hair between thumb and forefingers. “I apologize for the things I said and did to you, and beg your forgiveness.”
She stood up to face him. “It wasn’t all your fault. I lied to you and lured you into marriage under false pretenses, but Ru, I swear to you I always loved you.” She swayed involuntarily toward him, her eyes closed.
