“Don’t be ridiculous,” the man mumbled, “Christ, Leo! Get the hell off me.”
Bea stiffened and at the same time she heard Ella suck in a breath. He knew Leo? But how?
Leo stilled, his fist raised in the air. “Colin?”
“Yes, you ass,” the man growled and shoved Leo aside.
Colin? Colin! Ella’s cousin? This was Colin? The very man they’d come to India to visit? Bea’s gaze jumped to Ella, looking for confirmation, but she could read nothing in the darkness.
“You said he was English!” Bea confronted.
Ella shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”
Bea parted her lips to argue, but realized the woman was right. She’d only assumed Colin was English because Ella was.
“Colin’s mother was American,” Ella explained. “He lived there.”
Colin rubbed his jaw. “What the hell are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”
“We’re early, obviously,” Leo said.
Colin. Ella’s cousin Colin. Heat shot to Bea’s cheeks. Thank God no one could see her in the dark. He’d touched her naked flesh. Ella’s cousin had touched her naked flesh. She didn’t think she could be any more embarrassed. The sudden urge to throw herself from the window held certain appeal. With her luck, she’d merely break a leg and lie sprawled half-naked across the street for all of Delhi to see. Bea wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry.
Leo stumbled to his feet, but Colin remained on the floor like an enormous ragdoll, most likely too drunk to stand. How could the cad possibly be related to Ella? Bea couldn’t deny she’d been expecting someone rather bookish, thin, perhaps with glasses and a shy smile, for Ella had claimed Colin had come here to study Indian culture. But this man … this brute of a man … well, he didn’t fit her thoughts in the least. Oh, how she hated surprises, and Colin Finch was most definitely a surprise.
“Colin!” Ella finally cried out as if the words had just sunk in. She abandoned Bea and raced to the man’s side.
“I’m fine.” He waved her away.
Bea gave the man a doleful glance and sank onto the edge of her cot, still too confused to do much of anything else. This was the infamous Colin Finch? Surely there had to be a mistake. Ella, sweet, caring Ella could not be related to this … this atrocity. Yet Ella slipped her arm around his waist and helped him to his feet, an act much too intimate for a man not related. Bea pressed her fingers to her lips. What would Ella say when she realized Colin had kissed her? Even worse, what would Leo say?
“Merda, Colin,” Leo snapped, settling his hands on his hips. “What the hell was that about? Bea, are you all right?”
Suddenly, three sets of eyes were pinned to her, all glowing eerily in the moonlight. Bea nodded. Of course she wasn’t all right. She’d been scared nearly to death, had a cough that wouldn’t seem to go away, and was bloody exhausted from traveling across a country she was growing to despise. Sudden tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She’d survived a decade as an Englishwoman in Scotland—an outcaste. She could survive this.
“Yes,” she managed to get out over the lump in her throat.
Colin started laughing, a deep chuckle that set her teeth on edge. How could he find this amusing? She’d been torn from the intimacy of bathing only to find a strange man in her room. She’d even thought her very life was in danger and he was amused?
She stood on trembling legs, intent on telling him exactly what she thought. Before she could get a word out, he straightened to his full height and Bea fell silent. Intoxicated or not, he was tall, taller than she’d deduced in her haze of fear. She had the sudden desire to step back.
“I didn’t realize someone was in my damn room.” His teeth flashed white in the darkness.
He was grinning, finding sport in the situation. Once more, anger replaced her fear. Bea clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes, the glare completely pointless in the dark.
“Yes, well, Leo and I took the other chamber and gave Bea the cot in here. We left you a note. Did you not see it?”
“No, darlin’ cousin, I did not. A bit preoccupied.”
Ella gasped and waved her hand in front of her face. “You’re foxed!”
He flashed another brilliant white grin. “If by foxed, you mean drunk, then yes. I believe I am.” He slipped his arm around Ella’s shoulders. “So lovely to see you, my little daffodil.”
“Oh, Colin.” Ella shook her head like a mum annoyed with a misbehaving child.
Colin stumbled back, holding his hands up, palms out as if to ward them off. “Now, now, don’t get your hide up. I had to … to …”
Leo lit a flint. Light flared to life in the dark room, the flame too strong at first, and there was a moment’s silence as they all blinked, attempting to focus their gazes.
“Colin!” Ella gasped, cupping his cheeks. “What happened to your face?”
Before Bea could truly study his features, the man spun around and stumbled toward the cot. Without thought to the company awaiting answers, he threw himself down as if he belonged there. The bamboo frame groaned under his weight. With an angelic smile, he turned his head and looked at them.
For the first time, Bea truly saw the man. Dark, purple bruises stood out on his tanned skin, marring the area underneath both eyes … blue eyes … so blue they looked like the deepest part of the ocean. Beautiful eyes. Romantic eyes that seemed to pull her under …
“Really, Colin,” Ella admonished, sharing an exasperated glance with Leo.
But Bea found herself stepping reluctantly closer, transfixed by a face that she hadn’t expected. Her gaze moved tohis hair, golden locks that curled softly against his forehead and ears. Her fingers itched to touch the strands, to see if they were as soft as they looked. Even with the bruises marring the harsh planes of his face, Bea had the good sense to realize he was quite handsome. Her heart did a strange, quick beat. She couldn’t quite seem to breathe.
She frowned, annoyed with herself. She didn’t want to think of him as handsome. He was Ella’s cousin, for God’s sake. And he was obviously an imbecile. She was merely surprised he was so attractive, what with his horrible manners. That combined with the excitement of the evening and any sensible being would find it difficult to think … to breathe … to swallow.
Bea stepped back, hoping distance would soften the wild beat of her heart. Yet distance did not diminish the taste of Colin, a taste that still hovered on her tongue and lips.
“Marco likes to drink,” Colin said, scratching the scruff that covered his cheeks. “What could I do?”
He laughed after he said this, although Bea wasn’t sure what he found so amusing. She tightened the belt around her waist to preserve at least a bit of modesty, not that he was looking at her. Was he even aware he’d nearly crushed her? Was he even aware how close his hand had been to her … Bea fanned herself, unable to finish the thought. The least he could do was acknowledge her presence and apologize. But of course he didn’t. Just like an American. Just like a man.
“Who the hell is Marco?” Leo crossed his arms over his bare chest as if he was annoyed. She didn’t blame him.
Colin pushed himself up on his elbows, his eyes half-closed with drowsiness. “Hmm?”
Leo released a sigh that reeked of exasperation. Stomping closer, he raked his hands through his indecently long hair. “Who the hell is Marco?”
Colin frowned. “How do you know Marco?”
Bea bit back her sharp response and tapped her bare foot on the reed mat. The man was exasperating, to say the least.
“Colin.” Ella rushed forward, perhaps sensing her husband’s increasingly foul mood. But then Ella always seemed to sense Leo’s mood like no other.
“You just told us you were meeting with this Marco. Who is he?”
“Ah, right, Marco.” He chuckled, then fell back against the cot and closed his eyes.
“Colin!” Ella demanded, non-to-gently nudging his shoulder with her fingertips.
/>
He lifted his lids. “Hmm?”
“Who is Marco?”
The confused haze in his eyes cleared. He blinked up innocently at them. “Why, the man who’s coming to kill me, of course.”
Chapter 2
No one said a word.
Finally, after what seemed a ridiculously long amount of time in which they continued to stand there staring at Colin while he slept, Ella turned toward them. “Did he just say …” Her voice trailed off as her wide gaze flickered from Leo to Bea.
Since no one else seemed inclined to answer, Bea nodded.
Leo stomped across the room toward the small table that held her dagger. For a moment, she thought Leo was going to arm himself. Instead of her knife, he picked up the pitcher of water. She knew immediately what he planned to do. Bea bit her lower lip to keep from allowing the bubble of manic laughter from escaping. A completely inappropriate response given the circumstances. Gads, the heat and exhaustion must be making her mad.
“Leo,” Ella warned, apparently aware of his intentions.
He merely looked at her, quirked a dark brow, and without hesitation, poured the contents over Colin’s face. Water splattered his handsome features, before splashing to the cot and floor. The tepid liquid wasn’t shockingly cold, but it did the job.
Colin jumped from the bed, sputtering and cursing words that no decent woman should hear. As offended as sheshould be, Bea found she had to press her hands to her lips to keep from laughing out loud. The night was becoming rather like a Comedy of Errors.
“What the hell?” he demanded, swiping the water from his face and shaking the drops from his long fingertips … fingers that had only moments ago been roaming her body.
Ella glared at her husband as she moved closer to Colin, the hem of her soft blue nightgown swooshing over the reed mats. “Well, in his defense, you did say someone named Marco was coming to kill you.”
Colin raked back his wet locks, confusion flickering across his gaze. “Marco?”
“Yes, Marco,” Bea blurted out before she thought better of it. Everyone’s attention snapped to her. Well, really. The entire situation was so utterly ridiculous, someone needed to be the voice of reason.
Colin’s gaze slid down, then back up her body, leaving behind a trail of heat. She crossed her arms over her chest, feeling oddly as if he’d just touched her all over again.
The left corner of his lips lifted, revealing a deep dimple that sent her heart fluttering. “Hello, darlin’. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“For God’s sake,” Leo muttered.
“Of course, how rude of us.” Ella glanced at Bea and smiled politely as if they were making introductions in the parlor of a London townhome. “Colin, this is Miss Beatrice Edmund. Leo’s cousin.”
The heated look in his gaze fled. Those brilliant blue eyes turned steely. “Henry’s sister?”
Confused, Bea looked to Ella and Leo for an explanation but they were decidedly avoiding her gaze. How did Colin know Henry? She’d barely seen her cousin Henry in years. Most recently, she’d heard he’d vanished to the Colonies, although she had her doubts. Most likely the man had gotten into gambling trouble and was hiding from his debtors.
“No. Not Henry’s sister.” Leo replaced the pitcher on the table. “Another cousin with a different father than Henry’s.”
“Oh, just wonderful. A damn family reunion.” Colin threw his arms in the air. The movement was apparently still too much and caused him to stumble. Ella was first to his side, slipping her arms around his waist and taking the brunt of his weight.
“And is she evil, too?”
Bea stiffened at the comment, heat shooting to her cheeks. She’d known Henry was a bad seed when they were children. The few times they’d visited, he’d called her names, pushed her down until she cried, had even poured honey in her hair. But really, for Colin to stand there and defile her family name was too much.
She glanced at Leo, waiting for the man to come to their family’s defense. Leo merely stood there with his arms crossed over his broad chest, not looking the least bit put out. Then again, Leo had been raised in the jungles of India for half his childhood—perhaps he didn’t understand that one was supposed to defend one’s family honor.
“Of course not. Bea is nothing like Henry,” Ella said, her words not exactly putting Bea at ease.
“Bea,” Colin repeated, and he was back to grinning. The man couldn’t decide on a mood. “Like … like a bee. Buzz.” He found this immensely amusing and started laughing, a deep rich chuckle that seemed to vibrate the very air around them.
Ella slapped his arm and Leo sighed long and loud.
“Perhaps,” Bea said, feeling someone should take control, “we should cease discussing our family lineage and discuss this Marco who is coming to murder you?”
Colin stopped laughing, his face growing serious. “Yes. True. Very true.”
She didn’t believe in this Marco for a moment, but decided it’d be best for her own temperament and sanity if they changed the subject. Surely no one was coming to killanyone. After all, Colin was much too relaxed to be caught in the middle of such a dire situation. In his inebriated state, he’d imagined this supposed man.
Still … by the bruises on his face, it was obvious something had happened.
“So, there’s someone coming to kill you?” Leo asked, his face as passive as Colin’s and confirming Bea’s suspicion that this was all a misunderstanding.
Colin shrugged his right shoulder. “There is a very good possibility.”
“Cazzarola.” Leo snapped the curse word in Italian, his mood changing like an ocean breeze and surprising Bea. If this Marco wasn’t real, why was Leo so upset?
Leo scooped up the discarded sword and gripped the hilt, the muscles in his arm flexing and bulging under his golden skin.
More importantly, if Marco wasn’t real, why was Leo gathering weapons?
Bea drew in a deep, trembling breath. “What will you do?”
Leo slid her a glance that spoke of amusement and exasperation. The same look he’d just given Colin. Her cousin had never been one much for conversation, but he managed to answer. “What do you think I’m going to do?”
Bea frowned at his surly tone. As if sensing her hurt and confusion, Ella moved to Bea’s side and slipped her arm through hers. “I believe we have no choice but to fight. If someone’s coming.” Always the voice of reason. But there was no rhyme or reason to this absurd situation.
Bea released a shaky laugh. “But surely, no one’s—”
A loud thud shook the house, rattling the glass in the windows. She didn’t need to finish her sentence. Suddenly the absurd situation had taken a turn toward reality.
The blood drained from her head, leaving her dizzy. Bea slumped back against the rough stone wall of Colin’s abode. Heavens, someone really was here.
“Bea, dear, are you all right?” Ella’s face wavered before her, the concern evident in her puckered brows.
All right? Of course she wasn’t all right! Bea’s heart hammered against her chest, threatening to explode. She pressed her hand to her breast. Adventure. She’d wanted adventure. It was why she’d agreed to this ridiculous trip halfway across the world. Why hadn’t she stayed home and married a respectable man? Why hadn’t she listened to Grandmother? Proper ladies do not sail around the world.
But part of her didn’t want to be a proper young lady any longer. She was tired of being stuck in a dreary castle for years with only an old, bitter woman for company. And this was what she received for disregarding everything Grandmother had taught her.
Colin held his arms wide and grinned, his smile as annoying as it was perfect. Those dimples deepened, mocking her. “Apparently, my friends have arrived.”
“Shall I ring for tea, or just kill them straightaway?” Leo asked drolly.
Bea’s mouth dropped open. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Why was everyone acting as if being attacked were an everyday occurrence? But ther
e was Ella, sweet, happy Ella going to the trunk and pulling out a sword long enough to take off a man’s head and making Bea wonder if, indeed, being attacked was common for her newly acquired family.
For all she was aware, perhaps her cousin and his wife enjoyed fighting as a sport. She’d known Ella and Leo for only a year. They’d appeared at the castle in Scotland claiming to be her relations. Thinking Leo had died over ten years ago, her poor grandmother had fainted on the spot.
Bea sucked in a deep breath, attempting to gain control of her rapidly beating heart.
Although Bea had been thrilled with Leo and Ella’s sudden appearance, her grandmother had been more than leery to have her supposedly dead grandson suddenly appear from the grave. They’d seemed rather respectable andgenuinely kind. Certainly they’d seemed respectable enough to take her to India. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Why hadn’t she heeded her grandmother?
“You’re frightening Bea,” Ella admonished, handing her husband the sword, while her concerned gaze remained pinned to Bea.
Yes, yes he was. Shouldn’t he be? Yet no one else looked overly fearful. Colin looked amused. Leo looked annoyed. Ella merely looked resigned.
“How many?” Leo shifted the weapons in his hands, as if testing the feel of the leather-wrapped hilts.
Colin shrugged, completely indifferent and completely unhelpful.
No, this was not happening. Bea raked her dark locks from her face, trying to calm her rapid breathing and make sense of the situation. “I … I don’t understand.”
A loud shattering crash resounded from below. Someone was most definitely in the house. Her heart jumped into her throat, but everyone else seemed unconcerned. What in bloody hell was happening? Her arms fell to her sides, her palms flattening against the cool rock wall behind her.
Leo narrowed his eyes. “Sounds like … two … or three.”
“He has a dog,” Ella piped in.
Bea turned her disbelieving gaze toward her cousin’s wife. How Ella knew there was a dog was beyond Bea. But then nothing was making sense. Leo moved to the door, swords in hand, apparently one sword for each intruder. Bea felt the ridiculous need to laugh. Surely if she just glanced toward the cot, she’d see herself sleeping. But when she looked over her shoulder, the cot lay empty and her amusement faded as quickly as it had come.