“Oh, I did not think of that. She was probably hoping they would not find me, that I would have an accident trying to find my way home. There are certainly enough pitfalls in the woods.”
He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, tilted her face up to his, and began to gently wash the tears from her face. “A lot for a little terrified child.”
“If I had remembered what happened earlier my father might still be alive,” she said, and had to fight the urge to start weeping again.
“There is no way to know that. And, you were a child. How could a child understand what she was dealing with and explain that to an adult? Then again, it might well have gotten him killed earlier while you and Simeon were still too young to deal with the woman as she helped herself to all that belonged to you.”
“There is that. He would have sent them away immediately. But, all that is in the past. As you say, I was but a child. I doubt I could have even explained it all in a way that would have worked to warn my father. I can just imagine it. ‘Oh, Papa, I found Aunty reading books and asked her to take me to see Mama and then I got lost and could not find Aunty anywhere.’”
“Which sounds very much like a child of five. Now you can look back, see that she was reading his ledgers, and understand what that meant.”
“This plan to set my uncle up as the baron has been one she has nursed for a very long time.”
“From the beginning, I suspect.” Unable to resist he began to lightly stroke her hair, letting the tips of his fingers drag through the thick, soft curls. “How did your mother die, Rose?”
“She fell and she was with child. Everything went wrong and she ended up miscarrying and bleeding to death. And, oh sweet God, do you think Augusta had something to do with that?”
He shrugged. “Well, it is a possibility.”
He saw her mouth tremble and, holding her by the chin, he pressed his lips against hers, not wanting her to begin weeping again. Comfort swiftly changed to desire as he lightly nipped at her bottom lip. She shivered in his arms and her mouth opened slightly. Bened slid his tongue into its heat and savored the taste of her as he held her as close as he dared.
When Bened slipped his tongue inside her mouth, Primrose thought she ought to be disgusted but instead her whole body grew hot and all she could think of was pressing herself as close to him as possible. The very few kisses she had had before this had never made her feel this way. It was sweet, fiery, heady, and made her greedy for more of them. She murmured her disappointment when he ended the kiss, slowly pulling his mouth away from hers. She was pleased to see that he was breathing heavily for it meant that kiss had moved him as much as it had her.
“That was probably not a wise thing to do when we are about to spend a night together in the woods,” Bened said but was unable to resist brushing his mouth over hers one more time.
She allowed him to ease her off his lap. Just when had she crawled into his lap, she wondered, but did not really care. Reluctant though she was to admit it, she knew he was right. They were still new to each other. Realizing that they could stir up so many feelings with just a kiss when they were about to sleep together in the woods, alone, but feet apart, was only asking for trouble.
Primrose sat on the bedding and watched him put his weapons around. He moved so quietly and gracefully for such a big man. It was a joy to watch him. For the first time in her entire life, Primrose found herself curious as to what he would look like without his clothes as he moved around.
Shocked at the path her thoughts had taken, she asked, “Did you find anything out there?”
“I believe we are very safe here. Your aunt has been in the area but there is no reason for her to return. Whoever that man was off the road that thought to shoot at us as we road by, was probably just some ruffian she hired to deal with us so she could continue to hunt down your brother.”
“She has to know where he is going.”
“I would not be surprised if she does know, but dealing with him before he gains any allies would make everything much easier.”
“True. How do you know she was in this area?”
“Recall the men who stole our horses?” He sat across the fire from her and she nodded. “They did not trust her, two of them most adamantly and one more interested in payment due. I believe he went to an arranged meeting place. What I could read by the marks in the dirt is that she pulled up in her carriage, faced him, and three newly hired men came up behind. One of those cut his throat while she watched. Then they dragged his body off into the woods.”
“There is a part of me that knows she is a cold woman, perfectly capable of such things, yet I am still shocked. She is not just cold, she is evil.”