Part 15 (1/2)
The carriage paused in front of the manor house. Virginia didn't wait for the driver, leaping out instead. Devlin stood with his fists on his hips, staring at the house, the lawns surrounding it, the buildings they had just pa.s.sed, and then back at the house again. Virginia could not imagine what he was thinking, although perhaps he was taking an inventory of his holdings. The manor, which was three stories, looked very new, except for the two chimneys and an outer wall. Vines crept up the walls and a gazebo was to one side. She smiled. He had such an enchanting home for such an ill-tempered man.
The front door opened and a man stepped out, tall, lean and dark. ”Dev!”
Her captor whirled. Virginia caught his expression and she inhaled, hard, for it was one of bright, pure joy. She stood very still as the younger man rushed down the stone walk. ”Sean!” Devlin said hoa.r.s.ely.
He strode forward. The two men embraced, tightly clinging. Virginia inched forward. This had to be a brother, as they were close in age and Sean was very handsome, too, with the same unmistakable silvery-gray eyes, although his hair was nearly black.
The two men pulled apart. ”It's about G.o.dd.a.m.ned time,” Sean exclaimed, but he was smiling.
”Yes, it is,” Devlin said, his tone rough. ”The house looks good, Sean. Clearly it has been well-built, and I like the new door.”
”Wait till you see the hall. I think you'll be pleased.” Suddenly he stopped, eyes widening as his gaze landed on Virginia. ”We have a guest?”
Devlin turned and Virginia received the warmth of his genuine smile. It made her heart speed and spin and then a terrible yearning began. ”Yes, we have a guest,” he said, extending his hand.
Virginia didn't move. That smile wasn't meant for her, it was meant for his brother. But it was a smile that could melt most of the North Pole. Why didn't he use it more often?
”Virginia, come. I'd like you to meet my brother, Sean,” he said, the glorious smile fading. But his tone held a lightness she hadn't heard before.
Virginia summoned up her own smile and came forward. ”h.e.l.lo,” she said.
”I wish I'd known we were having company,” Sean said with worry. His gaze was wide and went back and forth between Virginia and Devlin. ”But Fiona can have the yellow room ready soon enough, I think.”
”This is Miss Hughes, Sean. Miss Virginia Hughes of Sweet Briar, Virginia.”
Virginia started, stunned he would introduce her so, and then she noticed that Sean seemed even more shocked.
”Miss Hughes?” he echoed.
Why was Sean so surprised by her name? Virginia wondered in sudden confusion.
”Let's have a drink. We have a lot to catch up on,” Devlin said, clapping his back.
But now Sean stared at Virginia-and he didn't look pleased, either.
A feminine squeal sounded.
Virginia started and saw a dark-haired woman rus.h.i.+ng from the house. For one instant, Virginia saw only thick, straight black hair, a voluptuous figure and a huge smile, while more happy cries sounded. She stiffened as the woman halted right in front of Devlin, her heaving bosom mostly revealed by her low-cut blouse. She was dark and sultry enough to be a Spaniard or a Gypsy. ”My lord! Welcome home! Oh, Captain O'Neill! Welcome!” she cried, looking an instant away from jumping into his arms-and his bed.
Virginia folded her arms across her own nondescript chest and scowled.
A look of recognition crossed Devlin's face. ”Fiona?”
”Yes, it's me, my lord!” she cried, clapping her hands together. ”My lord, it has been so long, and I am so happy you are home-we all are, my lord Captain! The hero of Askeaton has returned! We are so proud of you!”
Devlin said, ”Thank you.” His tone was polite.
”Fiona,” Sean interjected. ”It's Captain or Sir Captain or Sir Devlin now.”
Fiona nodded, grinning. ”What can I do for you, my lord?” she asked, and there was no mistaking her meaning. In fact, Virginia felt certain the other woman had already enjoyed Devlin's lovemaking in the past and intended to do so again, very shortly.
”Please show Miss Hughes to a guest room,” Devlin said, ”and bring her a tray of refreshments once she is settled in.” His gaze wandered past the house and settled on the ruins of the castle.
Fiona blinked, glancing at Virginia for the first time, clearly not having even noticed her until then. Her gaze met Virginia's, slid down her figure and back up and instantly became dismissive. She turned back to Devlin, beaming. ”Yes, of course, my lord. I am so happy to see you again.” She curtsied and Virginia expected her b.r.e.a.s.t.s to fall free of her blouse, but they did not. The woman clearly wore no underclothes, not even a corset.
”I am very happy to be home,” Devlin said. He was gazing at the house now, as if inspecting every inch, and not at the maid. His expression was just a bit softer than usual and it made him far less intimidating-it made him seem human.
Virginia almost relaxed. He hadn't seemed to notice that Fiona was pretty and very voluptuous and wishful of being in his bed. And why should she worry? Last night, she was the one who had enthralled him. Virginia didn't have to have any experience with men to know that Devlin O'Neill had been swept up in the same rapture as she.
”Connor, Miss Hughes's bags,” Sean instructed another servant, this one an older man. ”Fiona, please show Miss Hughes to the yellow room. Bring flowers,” he added.
Fiona nodded, never even looking at him. She only had eyes for Devlin.
Suddenly Devlin turned and strode to Virginia. She didn't move. ”There is nowhere to go. You know that.”
She didn't-just as she wasn't certain she wished to go anywhere, not just yet-but she nodded, anyway.
”As far as the eye can see, the land belongs to me or my stepfather, the Earl of Adare. Do you comprehend me, Virginia?” he asked softly, with real warning.
She thought about how easily he had thwarted her escape in Limerick. She had no doubt that escaping him in the heart of his holdings would be as futile. She smiled at him. ”I won't try to escape again,” she said as softly. She was far too curious to think of attempting another escape now.
He started. ”What I wish to say was that here you will be treated with the utmost respect, your every need will be met, and I will try to see to it that your stay is brief.”
She heard him but added, ”You have my word.”
He stared at her for a very long moment. ”Whatever you intend, I suggest you rethink it,” he said tersely.
”How do you know that I intend anything?” she asked sweetly. But she did intend something. Before she left Askeaton and Ireland, she wished to experience all that she had thus far discovered in her captor's powerful arms-and even more. The urgency he had awakened was simply too great to ignore or even resist.
”Because you are too clever and too stubborn to simply roll over upon my command,” he said slowly.
She hesitated. ”Perhaps that was then-and this is now. Perhaps I await your command, Sir Devlin,” she murmured.
He leaned close. ”Do not even think to tempt me again!”
”Why not?” she whispered back.
He seemed utterly taken aback. ”Because I am far stronger than you, Virginia, and I suggest you never forget that.” He gave her a hard look and started toward his brother, who was listening raptly to them.
But Virginia was beginning to understand her captor. She smiled as sweetly as she had before at him. ”I never said you weren't,” she murmured.
He flinched but did not halt. Sean appeared very distressed now, and he finally followed his brother inside. Virginia began to grin. Oddly, she felt as if the tide were turning in her favor-somehow, it felt as if she had won that last encounter. And then she looked up into Fiona's hostile black eyes.
CLEARLY THE ”YELLOW ROOM” hadn't been used in years. As Virginia stood in the doorway of a large bedroom where the walls were painted a soft, muted shade of gold, she watched Fiona angrily plump the pillows, dust billowing from them.
Virginia glanced around. This room was far more luxuriously appointed than her own bedroom at Sweet Briar or the two guest rooms there. The canopied bed in its center had gold velvet coverings and matching drapes were held back with gold ta.s.seled cords, while a brown-and-gold Aubusson rug covered much of the scarred but polished oak floors. The ebony wood mantel over the fireplace was intricately carved, a lush chaise and ottoman adjacent to that, and several old portraits and landscapes adorned the walls. Virginia walked over to one window and actually cried out with delight. The view was stunning. Her eyes swept across the rolling fields of corn to an endless series of green pastures and hills and finally to the bare edge of the river itself. The ruins of an old and crumbling stone keep were just to her left.
Virginia gripped the sill. Ireland somehow called out to her the way that her home had, although the country was so very different. She wondered how she would feel if she were at Askeaton under other circ.u.mstances. She might never want to leave.
Fiona had stopped fussing with the bed. Virginia turned away from the window and found the other woman staring at her with open hostility. She was, Virginia thought, about twenty-five. ”I should like some sandwiches and tea,” Virginia said as if she were Sarah Lewis and back at the Marmott School for Genteel Young Ladies.