But something was blocking her movement. As she pushed, it shifted and sighed at her. “Kit! What are you still doing here?”
He stretched, rubbing fists in his sleepy eyes. Then realization struck. He was up in a single movement, vaulting over Alys’ body to rush to the window. When he pulled aside the drape, an unwelcome sight greeted her eyes. It was full, if gloomy, daylight outside.
Kit started scrabbling for his clothes at the same time as Alys leapt up and began climbing into hers. She struggled for breath, horrified of the consequences of them being caught together.
As she started doing up the laces of her bodice, Kit caught her eye. He’d pulled on his lower garments, and was just tucking in the tails of his shirt. He broke into a smile.
“Why are we panicking? Who do we expect to come up here? You said yourself, no one’s likely to miss you before noon. They’re probably all still abed anyway, after last night’s alarums and excursions. The sun is well below its zenith.”
“But the servants may be about.” How was she to get him out of here unseen?
He moved across to the window and looked out. “I can climb out. There’s a thick ivy stem just below your window, coming up from the scullery door. I should be able to descend without breaking my neck.”
“You could still be seen.” She didn’t want to end up with the same reputation as Kate, or she’d attract completely the wrong kind of husband. Nor did she want Kit to be questioned by the unsympathetic Kirlham—how long could he keep up his pretense of being a simple gardener under that glowering scrutiny?
“For the sake of your reputation, my good lady, I’ll ensure I am not seen. Anyway, we’re currently being blessed with a post-maelstrom drizzle, which is bound to keep people inside for the moment.”
She addressed herself to fastening her kirtle again, then glanced up as she sensed Kit’s approach. She let out a gasp as he seized the opened edges of her bodice, then nuzzled his roughened face against her cheek.
“You look so beautiful when you are just awake, with your hair down, in disarray. I could never tire of looking at you.”
Acutely aware of the position of his hands, she hardly dared breathe as she stared up at his finely chiseled features, his firm masculine jaw with its dark overnight stubble. He, too, was beautiful when newly wakened. Every woman deserved to know what her future husband looked like without the accoutrements of power or wealth, deserved to see what lay beneath all the trappings. Not completely naked of course. She didn’t mean that. Or did she?
“My compliment has put you to the blush. Nay, don’t look alarmed—I can control my manly urges. Although I have to say, the struggle is a bloody one right now.”
His thumbs rubbed up and down the boned edges of her open bodice, and Alys’ nipples tightened beneath her shift. She grasped Kit’s wrists to regain some control of the situation but continued to stare up at him, unable to break the spell of his intense gaze.
A slight pull on the front of her kirtle brought her up against his chest. She was now staring at his shoulder and a long lock of hair that tumbled over it. It had, she noticed, become more curled since it got damp. Intrigued, she tugged at it and watched it spring back to its new shape.
“You shouldn’t touch me at all, you know—’tis far too much like an invitation.” His voice was oddly hoarse.
“An invitation to what?”
“To this.” He bent to kiss her. “And this,” he added, reaching inside her open shift to cup her breasts in his large, warm palms.
She shuddered at the shock of so intimate a touch, but his lips trapped hers again and kissed her so thoroughly, she couldn’t find the will to move away. A groan escaped his throat, and his body trembled against hers as he caressed her breasts, grazing his thumbs over the taut nipples.
“I must go in a moment,” he breathed against her neck, “although it is becoming harder to do so by the minute. Will you understand if, at some time in the future, I attempt to finish what I have begun?”
Her cheeks heated as she grasped his meaning. “You shouldn’t. We mustn’t.”
“Why not? We’re both adults and of marriageable age. There are a few rivers yet to be crossed, but if all turns out well, we might consider spending many more such nights… and early mornings, together.”
The sound of a banging door down the passageway put an end to their embrace. Just in time. Kit turned away and shouldered into his buff coat, then opened the window as wide as it would go.
“Don’t forget our assignation. Noon, by the field gate. And make sure no one sees you leave.”
With a sinking heart, she watched him swing his leg over the sill and grasp hold of the creeper. “Be careful.” She couldn’t bear it if he fell.
“And you, my love.” With a cheerful wink, he let himself down as far as he could, then dropped agilely to the ground. It squelched back at him, and he gave her a rueful smile before trudging off through the mud in the direction of his hut.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Yesterday’s storm had brought an unwelcome change in the weather. The temperature had dropped considerably, and Alys found breakfast a cold and gloomy affair. The parlor felt damp, despite the blazing fire, and the servants were still in such disarray that no hot food was to be had. Everyone came at different times, stayed as short a while as possible, then repaired to their chambers to be dismal by themselves.
She found it supremely difficult appearing sympathetic to Kate, whose foul mood threatened to put everyone into a temper. Kirlham and Avery were not present—they’d taken
