“Oh, I…I’m sure that Eric will return. He’s fought the Indians before. He will take care.”
“Still…my dear, I hope that you do not think of me unkindly.”
“No…of course not, Lord Hastings. I shall never forget all the wonderful hunts at your estate when I was a child.”
“You are a child no more, Amanda. And you must not be worried for the future. I would have you know now that if Eric does not return from the front, I will be there for you. I know that I am an old man, but I am one who is humbly and deeply in love with you. I have spoken with your father and if anything does not go as planned, well, then he has agreed that I should be your husband.” She tried not to gaze at him in horror, but a light in his beady dark eyes made her feel as if she would spew her meal all over his fine silk shirt. She swallowed hard, gaping at him. Then she realized that the other men were coming out on the porch, Eric between her father and the governor.
“How…kind,” she told Lord Hastings. She felt cold, sick, imagining his fleshy hands upon her. She would die first, she thought.
“How very, very kind, but…you see, we, er, we cannot wait. We cannot wait—”
“Cannot wait for what?” her father boomed out.
She moistened her lips. Eric was watching her, amused once again. She ignored his look, smiled regretfully at Hastings, then hurried past him and slipped her arm through Eric’s. “We—we have agreed that we cannot wait for Eric to return. We’re going to be married right away.”
“What? But there are just days before we are due to leave for the frontier—” the governor protested.
“Yes, yes, of course,” Eric murmured, his cobalt eyes falling upon her with a sizzle. “And we should have spoken earlier, Amanda, we should have told them right away.” His eyes remained upon hers, daring her. “Alas, it is the very thought that I could die that has prompted us to this measure. I would leave an heir behind if I could.”
“But you cannot marry so quickly—” Sterling began.
“Your pardon, sir! Lord Dunmore can give us a special license, and the service can be quiet and performed at Bruton Parish within the week.”
“It’s quite inappropriate—” Nigel began.
“I like it,” the governor said. His Scots burr sounded for just a moment and his brown eyes sparkled. “I like it very well. We shall marry our little loyalist to this doubtful fellow and keep him in line, what do you say?”
They all laughed. The tension lay far beneath the comment, and at the moment, it was ignored by them all.
“Perhaps, under these circumstances, Amanda should return with me to Williamsburg,” Sterling said.
“No!” Eric retorted. So quickly that it was almost rude. He softened his speech, smiling. “Gentlemen, we should all spend the night here and go into town tomorrow.”
“Splendid!” the governor agreed.
He clamped his hand on Sterling’s shoulder. “A good match, Nigel. Come, let’s imbibe upon your son-in-law’s spirits and toast to your future grandchildren!”
Lord Dunmore led Sterling back toward the house. Lord Hastings looked from the older men to the young people, then sighed and headed toward the house. When they were alone at last, Amanda struggled to free herself from Eric’s hold. He did not release her. She tossed back her head to stare into his eyes.
“I’m delighted,” he murmured. “What brought on this sudden ardor upon your part? Have you discovered if not love, then lust for me at last?”
“Don’t be absurd. I’ve discovered…I’ve discovered Lord Hastings’s four-score chins,” she retorted.
His smile deepened. A dimple showed against his cheek and his eyes were touched by a silver glitter born of the very devil. “You have cast yourself into this. You will not renege?”
She swallowed, shaking her head. She could not breathe. “No. No, I will not renege.”
“You needn’t say that as if you were going to your execution.”
“That is how I feel.”
He threw back his head and laughed, then he lifted her chin with his finger, searching out her eyes. “You are mistaken. I will prove to you that it will be fun.”
“Fun!” She shivered. “It cannot be fun. Not for a wife.”
“But it will be,” he promised her. His eyes seemed to pour down upon her with fierce and unyielding promise. His fingers stroked over her throat and then his lips touched down on hers. Her eyes closed and she felt as if demons set fire throughout her, causing a cascade of searing liquid to dance against her limbs. Then his lips left hers and touched down upon the arch of her throat, and the sensations increased. She swallowed suddenly, tearing away. Puzzled, he caught her hand and pulled her back. Color blazed in her cheeks.
“What in God’s name is wrong with you?” he demanded.
