Her gaze was firmly fixed on his neckcloth, but she knew he was smiling. She could hear it in his voice. She knew if she dared to look into his grey eyes they would be smiling, too, and she would smile back and be lost.
I am lost now, she thought desperately. My heart is thudding so hard he must surely be able to hear it!
The wanton thoughts crept back. How would he react if she slipped her arms about his neck and kissed him? Would he be repulsed? If he rejected her, she would be devastated and it could only add to the constraint between them.
‘Will you cry friends with me, Natalya?’
‘Friends, yes.’ One could talk to friends. Share secrets. One could joke and tease them. One was safe with friends. She managed a little nod. ‘I should like that.’
‘Good.’ His fingers tightened momentarily on her shoulders before he released her. ‘I recall you telling me you played chess regularly, did you not?’
‘Chess?’ She blinked. ‘Why, yes.’
‘There is a chessboard in the morning room. I noticed it when I was writing the letters yesterday. What do you say to my fetching it here?’
Friends.
She smiled. ‘Why, yes, but I warn you, my lord, I have been well taught.’
‘Even better.’ He grinned at her. ‘We shall enjoy a good battle!’
‘Checkmate.’
Natalya uttered a very unladylike crow of triumph as she made her final move.
Tristan sat back. ‘One game apiece. Shall we play again, a deciding game?’
Natalya nodded. She had enjoyed pitting her skill against Tristan. They were well matched and it had taken all her concentration to beat him.
‘Yes, I should like that.’
He said, ‘You play very well. Did you learn that at your exemplary school, too?’
‘Yes. Then, when I came to Sydney Place, my uncle employed a chess master for twelve months to help me improve my game.’
‘I cannot think of one lady of my acquaintance who plays as well as you. We have been thoroughly entertained for the past couple of hours, have we not?’
The dark thoughts that were never far away surfaced again. She turned her attention to the chessboard and began setting the pieces back in place. Is that what she was destined to be, an entertainment, a courtesan, designed for a rich man’s pleasure rather than his duty? She had been given all the accomplishments of a lady, but the Pridhams were certainly not trying to marry her off.
Someone had gone to great lengths to prevent her forming an attachment. They had threatened Freddie and she believed the same person or persons had ordered her abduction. However, she could not believe it was the Pridhams. After four years living with them, she was convinced they would do nothing so out of character.
‘You are missing a piece.’ Tristan bent to scoop up one that had fallen to the floor. ‘Here.’ He smiled. ‘You should never ignore the importance of a pawn.’
Their fingers brushed as she took the piece and a tremor ran through her.
Is that what I am? she wondered, fear gnawing at her insides. A pawn in someone’s game?
Someone had plans for her and she was convinced they did not include a respectable marriage.
Tristan watched the play of emotion passing across Natalya’s features. Had she, too, felt the frisson of excitement as their fingers touched? If so, it had frightened her and he did not want that. He wanted her to smile, to laugh. He wanted to protect her. To look after her for the rest of her life.
A knock at the door interrupted his line of thought and Mrs Sturry bustled in.
‘I will have dinner ready for you in an hour, if it pleases you, sir, madam?’
Natalya looked blank for a moment. ‘Why, yes. Yes, thank you.’
The housekeeper folded her arms over her apron and beamed, then she turned to address Tristan.
‘It being such a fine evening I thought, sir, you and Mrs Quintrell might like to take the air in the gardens while I make everything ready. The roses are a picture at this time of year and you will be perfectly private there. You cannot be seen from the road and, in any case, there will be no one passing, for it leads nowhere but here. Now, what do you say?’
Tristan glanced at Natalya and was relieved to see that she was composed. She even looked amused by the housekeeper’s good-natured efforts to get them out of the way while she tidied the room and prepared the table.
‘Well, my dear, shall we agree to call it a draw and take a stroll in the gardens?’
‘A walk before dinner is an excellent idea.’ Her eyes twinkled shyly at him. ‘It will give me the opportunity to wear the new shawl you brought me.’
He escorted her to the front door. Outside the sun had dried the paths and the clear blue sky offered the promise of a fine evening. The recently scythed lawns stretched away on either side of a winding drive and a path led them around the house to the rose garden, which was indeed secluded with tall hedges on all sides.
Tristan wanted to set her at her ease and he began with an innocuous comment about the gardens. She responded. They talked of plants, of houses and gradually she became more comfortable in his company. Soon they were conversing like old friends and he, too, relaxed, so much so that when she began to ask him questions, he responded readily. He told her of his family, of his sister and mother, both widows, both dependent upon him.
‘Not for financial support,’ he explained. ‘My father provided well for Mama and he also secured an excellent marriage settlement for Katherine. Not that anyone could have foreseen that Erwin would break his neck in a hunting accident.’
‘That was when you became Freddie’s guardian?’
‘Yes. Four years ago. Freddie was barely seventeen. It was a difficult time for him, but he has
