Regency Society. Ann Lethbridge

be right. Stay here, Roxanne, and lock the door behind me. I shall take a look at your room and make a tour of the house. When I return we’ll talk about this again.’

      ‘Yes, of course. Please take care, Luke. I would not have you come to harm for the sake of that wretched jewel.’

      ‘I shall be perfectly safe. Whoever wants that ruby seems not to mean harm to either of us. There has been plenty of time for him to attack me had he wished it. No, it is the jewel he wants for some reason best known to himself.’

      Roxanne went to the door with him and he locked it after he went out. She chose one of the elbow chairs and sat down, but could not rest. As she paced about the room, the minutes dragged by and, when Luke did not return after more than half an hour, Roxanne went into his bedchamber. Luke was not particularly tidy and she noticed discarded neckcloths and a dressing gown lying abandoned over a chair. She sat on the edge of the bed, then laid down, resting her head on a pillow that smelled faintly of the cologne he sometimes wore. Lying with her knees pulled up to her chest, she closed her eyes.

      Movement close by woke Roxanne and she opened her eyes and then sat up as she saw Luke standing there looking at her.

      ‘Is all safe?’ she asked, her heart pounding.

      ‘I discovered a window catch in the library that was loose and I believe that may have been how our intruder got in. There was a smear of earth on the window-sill and what may have been a footmark. I think our intruder was bare-footed.’

      ‘He wore no shoes?’ Roxanne frowned. ‘I remember that Sofia told me shoes are not worn in the house in India. The face at the window in the tower might have been Indian—it all seems to point to the ruby, do you not think so?’

      ‘Yes, it would seem the jewel is important to someone,’ Luke agreed. ‘I wish whoever it is would just ask for the damned thing. My concern is for your sake, Roxanne. If he becomes frustrated, he may attack you…’

      Roxanne got to her feet. She shivered, feeling chilled and uneasy.

      ‘I’m sorry to have caused you so much trouble. I wish I could remember what happened…why I had the ruby…’ A tear spilled from the corner of her eye. ‘Who am I, Luke? Am I a thief? Why did I have that ruby? I wish I could remember.’

      ‘Don’t cry, dearest,’ Luke said softly. He reached out and wiped away the tear with his fingertips. ‘You mustn’t be upset over this. I’m here. I shall protect you, Roxanne.’

      ‘But why is all this hap—’ She got no further for Luke’s arms were about her. He drew her close to his body, his head bent towards hers, his mouth covering hers in a kiss so hungry and intense that all else fled from her mind. Roxanne’s arms folded about his neck, her fingers reaching into his hair at the nape as the kiss deepened between them. Then Luke was lifting her in his arms, carrying her back to the bed. He placed her amongst the covers and lay down beside her, gazing into her eyes.

      ‘I want you so much,’ he whispered passionately against her ear. ‘I’ve wanted you from the moment I first saw you, Roxanne. You are so beautiful and you’re mine. I swear that no one shall harm you. I will protect you with my life. You must never be afraid while I am with you.’

      ‘Luke…’ she whispered hoarsely. ‘Luke, hold me, love me. I want you, too. I love you…’

      As soon as the words left her lips Roxanne regretted them. She had not meant to say the one thing she knew he would not want to hear, but her feelings had rushed to the forefront because of her distress and the words had slipped out. She thought that for a moment he stilled, as if he would withdraw from her, but then he was kissing her again, hungrily, passionately, as if his need was as great as her own.

      Giving herself up to desire, Roxanne responded to Luke’s loving with an equal passion of her own. She had never known that such feelings lay within her, waiting to burst forth in a torrent of need and hunger. All the years of not knowing who or what she was, all the pain, uncertainty and fear, the need to be loved came out of her in a frenzy of wanting and loving. His hands were gentle but firm as they explored her body, seeking out the secret places of her femininity, touching her where no one else had touched her, bringing her sweet pleasure. Her hands moved over his arms, his back, following the firmness of his shoulders and the honed muscles, moving over skin that was now naked and slicked with sweat as their bodies came together in sweet ecstasy. His throbbing manhood sought entry and she felt pain, but then the pain was forgotten in the sweet pleasure of his kisses.

      ‘Yes…’ Roxanne moaned as he moved within her, deep and firm, bringing her to such exquisite delight that she writhed and arched beneath him. She moaned and clung to him, her breath soft and sweet as she sighed. ‘So good…so very good.’

      ‘My sweet, beautiful Roxanne,’ Luke murmured against her ear. ‘Such passion and heat. No one has ever made me feel as you do, my darling. You are exquisite, perfect. I want to hold you and make love to you always.’

      His words were so tender and loving that Roxanne felt tears of joy on her cheeks as they lay together, entwined, satiated and at peace before they slept. During the night, they woke, loved again, as sweetly and as urgently as before. Roxanne slept deeply, curled into his body, her legs captured and held as he clasped her against him. Her long red hair was spread over the pillows and had entangled itself about him as they loved.

      When in the morning Luke moved her hair from his face, carefully disentangling himself from her limbs that curled about him, Roxanne did not wake. She was caught up in a dream so sweet that her lips curved in a smile of content.

      ‘Love you,’ she murmured. ‘Always love you…’

      Luke knew that she was still sleeping and that she did not know she had spoken. He frowned as he moved carefully about the room, collecting the clothes he needed for riding. He watched Roxanne sleep while he dressed, a look of gravity on his face, then went out, leaving her to rest.

      He needed to ride and to think about the future. Roxanne’s distress the previous evening had led him into something he had not planned and he was not sure what it meant for the future. In her dreaming state she had spoken of love, but was it real or part of the story she’d invented for herself—and did he want his marriage to be more of a real marriage than he’d intended?

      He suddenly felt trapped again. He was being drawn into something that threatened to overturn all he had believed and he could not handle the feelings churning inside him.

      He must think about what had happened the previous night and what it meant—and he must question the men he’d had patrolling the grounds. Why had they not seen the intruder and who had been so desperate to find Roxanne’s ruby that they had risked breaking into her room when there was a house filled with guests?

      Roxanne stirred and stretched, a feeling of well being stealing over her as she opened her eyes. What had happened the previous night to make her feel so good? Letting her gaze move about the room, she realised that she was not in her own bed and then the memories came flooding back. Suffused with warmth, she felt herself blush as she recalled how gladly she had surrendered to Luke’s loving the previous night. She had gone to his arms like a wanton instead of the gentlewoman she was supposed to be, giving no thought to propriety or the future.

      What did that say about her? What kind of a woman was she truly?

      Sitting up in bed, she saw her clothes strewn over the floor and recalled the way they had come off with such abandon. Indeed, she’d behaved like a harlot. No well-bred young woman would behave in such a way—and yet she did not regret it. Roxanne knew that she would do it again, because one night of love like that was something she would never forget. Even if Luke did not love her in his heart, he’d made her feel loved and needed, and something deep inside her had responded, had been waiting for him. She’d felt as if her whole life had been waiting for that moment—the moment she became one with him.

      Rising, Roxanne picked up her clothes and dressed. It was time she returned to her own room. She was about to do so when the door of Luke’s bedchamber opened and a maid entered. She