passion.
The kiss finally ended and Bradford had to hold Caroline steady. She rested her cheek against his chest, waiting for him to tell her what was in his heart.
'Is it so painful loving me?' Bradford asked. She could hear the laughter in his voice and bristled over it.
'Just like a stomachache,' Caroline told him. 'I went along for the longest time disliking you so and I grew quite comfortable with that feeling, and then suddenly there it was.'
'The stomachache or accepting that you loved me?'
Bradford chuckled over her comparison. 'And you accuse me of being unromantic!'
A discreet knock on the door interrupted the discussion. Caroline was frustrated, for she was certain Bradford was about to tell her that he loved her.
'Brad? Aimsmond would like a word with you.' It was Milford's voice and he didn't sound happy.
'You've probably made my uncle angry for dragging me in here,' Caroline said. 'I'll go and find him and bring him to you,' she added as she walked to the door. 'And do not think that our discussion has ended, Bradford.' With those words of warning, Caroline shut the door behind her.
Caroline expected to see Milford waiting outside the door, but he was gone. She took a moment to straighten her hair and smooth her skirt and then hurried toward the salon. Nigel Crestwall was lurking in the shadows and grabbed her as she was about to round the corner. The obnoxious man had her pinned up against the wall before she could issue a single word of protest. He began to place wet, slobbery kisses against her neck and whisper obscene suggestions into her ear. Caroline was so outraged, so stunned by the attack, that she didn't immediately fight him off.
She finally began to struggle, just as Bradford came around the corner and spotted them.
Nigel never knew what hit him. He was suddenly flying through the air and then landed with a soft thud against the back door. The vase on the table next to Nigel's crumbled body wobbled and toppled on top of his head.
Caroline stared at Crestwall for a long minute, trembling with disgust.
'This is your fault,' Bradford muttered, and Caroline was so surprised by the vehement statement that she looked at him in amazement.
She became truly frightened then, for she had never seen such a look of fury on his face before. The power was back, in both his intimidating stance and his expression, and Caroline was actually afraid of him.
She shook her head, trying to ward off the fear, and made herself continue to look at him. 'The man attacked me and it's my fault?' she asked in a whisper.
Nigel was trying to stand up, his eyes darting in one direction and then the other, and Caroline knew he sought an avenue of escape. Bradford watched him while he said to Caroline, 'If you didn't dress like a common woman, you wouldn't be treated like one.'
His statement hung between them. Caroline's fear left her and she became outraged. 'Is that the excuse you give yourself whenever you touch me? That I am common and it is therefore acceptable?'
Bradford didn't answer her. Nigel was edging past them, his eyes looking wild with fright. Bradford reached out with one hand, grabbed him by his collar, and slammed him up against the wall, until the man's feet were dangling in the air. 'If you ever touch her again, I'll see you dead. Do we understand each other?'
Nigel couldn't answer-Bradford's hold, pushing against his neck, precluded any sounds getting through his throat-but he was able to nod. Bradford released him and continued to watch him until Nigel had raced to the front door, opened it, and disappeared into the night. Caroline wondered what Rachel would make of her fiance’s sudden disappearance and then put the matter aside.
Bradford turned his fury on Caroline. He stood before her, blocking her exit. Caroline straightened her shoulders and said, 'I did nothing to entice him. And I would have your trust in this matter. You didn't see what happened.'
'Do not mention the word trust to me again or I will beat you! It's time we understood each other, Caroline.'
'There you are, Bradford!' The marquis's voice broke the tension. Caroline was the first to move. She turned, forced a smile on her face, and watched her uncle Milo slowly advance toward them.
'I'm going to head home now,' the marquis explained. He took hold of Caroline's hand and smiled. 'You'll be coming to see me again tomorrow?' he asked his niece with eagerness in his tone.
'Of course,' Caroline agreed with a nod.
'Good! Bradford, I expect to see you on my doorstep and soon, my boy,' the marquis stated.
'I will call on you directly,' Bradford replied. Caroline noticed that his tone held a note of deference and that there wasn't any hint of anger. She decided then that he was more sophisticated than she was when it came to controlling emotions. She still felt like screaming and prayed that what she felt wasn't displayed on her face!
'They're making to leave now,' the marquis stated. 'Loretta will drop me off on her way to another engagement.' He turned, with Caroline holding his arm, and started toward the door. 'Don't know where Franklin went off to,' he continued. 'As soon as Brax announced who would ride with whom, Franklin just got up and took himself off.'
Caroline could feel Bradford behind her. 'I'll ride with my father,' she announced.
'No,' her uncle commented. 'He's escorting Lady Tillman and little Rachel. Can't find hide nor hair of Nigel but I imagine he'll turn up. Milford suggested that you and he ride with Bradford.'
Caroline felt her shoulders fall. She didn't want to ride with Bradford anywhere. She needed time, away from him, to sort her feelings out. The only way she was going to get rid of her anger was to find a quiet corner somewhere and think. It just wasn't possible to do much thinking with Bradford near. Besides, she told herself, she needed to be in top condition when she sparred with Bradford. And now she felt decidedly… wilted.
Caroline considered coming down with a splitting headache. She put the back of her hand to her forehead in a dramatic gesture, even as she thought how cowardly she was behaving. 'I do not feel-' She didn't finish her sentence. The door had just shut behind the marquis, and Caroline was being jerked around. Her cape was slung over her shoulders, rather roughly.
'Stomach problems?' Bradford asked in a lazy voice as he adjusted the collar on her cape.
Caroline ignored his question. She knew he was referring to her earlier remarks about loving him and didn't consider it the least humorous. She chanced a glance up, saw that Bradford's expression was still grim, and realized that he didn't think it humorous either.
Milford arrived, allowed Deighton to open the door, and then followed them outside. He chatted about the opera, remarking that the Italian soprano was considered quite spectacular, but Caroline wasn't paying much attention. She climbed into the carriage and settled herself in the middle of the leather cushion. Milford followed and took the seat opposite. Bradford would sit next to his friend, Caroline had determined.
Bradford didn't seem inclined to sit anywhere but next to her. And he wasn't terribly polite about it either. Caroline just scooted out of his way in the nick of time, grabbing the skirt to her gown so that he wouldn't crush it, and plastered herself up against the side of the carriage.
Caroline was silent for most of the ride to the opera house. She knew that Milford must have felt the tension and was not the least caring about his discomfort. Wasn't it his idea that they ride together?
Bradford seemed to relax somewhat as he conversed with his friend. He was ignoring Caroline just as she was ignoring him. Yet he sat so close to her that his arm continually rubbed against her side and his muscular leg kept itself glued to hers.
'Caroline, you're very quiet,' Milford finally remarked. 'Don't you feel well?'
'She has a stomachache,' Bradford announced in a clipped voice. 'And it's not going away. As soon as she accepts that, she'll feel remarkably better.'
Milford showed his confusion over his friend's remarks. He glanced from one to the other and then back again.
'There are specific remedies for an odious, overbearing, insufferable stomachache,' Caroline returned. Her voice sounded strained.
Bradford didn't reply. Milford looked like she was speaking a foreign language that he hadn't mastered.
Caroline smiled at Milford then. Bradford was doing it again, pushing her off balance. He was also making her decidedly nervous. She started to laugh and only shook her head when Milford raised an eyebrow in inquiry.
The opera was wonderful and Caroline did enjoy herself. Bradford stayed at her side and introduced her to a
