“Over here,” he said.
She could have cursed him for calling out. What was he thinking? Her dress was in place, but her feet bare and her hair hanging down in wet clumps when Akshay broke through the underbrush. She wanted to sink into the ground, to walk back into the water and drown rather than face him.
“How’d you find us?” Leo asked, pulling on his boots.
Akshay’s gaze swept over their disheveled forms, but he made no reaction, thank the heavens. “A maid said she’d seen you go this way.”
“What is it?” Leo asked.
Ella turned her back to the men and drew up her stockings, her hands trembling in embarrassment. Would the entire household know by tonight? Would she be tossed out on her ear? Poor Fran, forced back into a life of servitude because she couldn’t seem to control herself when she was around Leo.
“It’s Charlie; he’s gone.”
“What? When?” Leo demanded, and together they pushed through the brush, leaving her there…alone. She should be thrilled—she now had time to dress. Instead, she found herself worrying about the large cat. Alone, in this county, the animal would be frightened, on edge, and easily provoked. And she was the only one who could truly control him. She knew how much the animal meant to Leo. In many ways, the beast understood Leo better than anyone.
Ella jerked her boots on, tied the laces, and stood. An eerie feeling washed over her, causing the fine hairs on her body to stand on end. She spun around, searching the landscape, but saw no movement in the brush. Slowly, she moved her attention up the castle wall. One window was visible through the willow branches. In that window a shadow moved back, disappearing. She waited for a few moments, and when no one reappeared, she pushed through the branches and rushed after Leo and Akshay. Breathless, she found them at Charlie’s cage.
“When was the last time anyone saw him?” she asked, eager to help. She darted a glance at Leo. His jaw was clenched, his hands fisted. She knew how much he cared for the cat, and her heart ached for his anguish.
Leo rested his hands on the cage bars. “This morn I took him his breakfast.”
“But, how could anyone release him without being seen?”
“They broke the lock,” Akshay said, ignoring her question.
“Henry,” Leo snapped, his fingers wrapping around the bars so tightly, his knuckles turned white. “I’m sure of it.”
She rested her hand on his arm. “We must find Charlie, Leo, before anything happens.” The locals already wanted Charlie’s head on a platter…If the cat was caught roaming the hills, they’d most likely shoot the poor beast.
“He couldn’t have gotten far.”
“Tracks lead this way,” Akshay said, kneeling down.
Leo nodded. “Let’s go.” They started down a path that led through the same field where only yesterday she’d lain naked. Ella averted her gaze and focused on tying her wet hair back with a ribbon.
“Leo,” she called out. He didn’t look back, didn’t bother to slow. “Leo, whose room is above the moat?”
“Where?” he asked, still not turning to face her but continuing down the trail, crushing wildflowers under his boots.
“The window, you can see it when you’re on the bank through the willow trees, two stories up.”
“I believe my grandfather’s. Why?”
“No reason.” She slowed her steps, falling back behind the two. Dear God, had Lord Roberts seen them on the bank? Leo naked and she clad only in her shift? Bile rose in her throat, and she pushed the thought aside, too embarrassed to even contemplate it.
The path split, and they veered toward the woods. Ella started to follow them when a rush of heat tightened her belly. She stilled, listening, feeling. Like waves, she felt Charlie’s presence sweeping from the field in the opposite direction.
“Umm, excuse me,” she called out. They kept walking. “Leo!”
He stopped and turned, his brows lifted in impatience.
“I believe Charlie is that way.” She pointed to her right.
“His tracks go this way,” Akshay mumbled.
Leo turned, ignoring her, and continued forward.
Anger flashed through her. Blast it, she trusted him, he should trust her. Then again, he didn’t understand her powers. She barely understood them. Ella sighed and gazed out onto the field. Charlie was out there—she felt his essence. She stepped off the path and into waist-high yellow wildflowers.
Charlie’s presence grew stronger, and at the same time, sharp pain sliced through her leg. She gasped and stumbled. The pain faded, and she managed to straighten. He was injured. Ella hiked up her skirts and bolted through the flowers. She spotted him, a sleek, black lump just visible amongst the tall weeds. Ella fell to her knees before him. Through eerie gold and green eyes, he studied her. Bright red blood marred his left leg, the color contrasting against the midnight of his coat.
“Oh, Charlie,” Ella gasped, tears stinging her eyes. He was already missing a leg, and now another was injured, the cut deep and throbbing. She rested her hands on his belly and sent him comfort, imagining the sensation flowing from her own being, into the animal. Heat tingled in her fingertips, and she knew it was working.
“What happened, my pet?”
“Ella!” Leo snapped out. “Move back, damn it. He could attack you.”
She spun around. “He’s injured,” she said, to reassure him.
But Leo didn’t seem to care. His eyes were glazed with frantic fear; he wouldn’t listen to her. He grabbed her arm, and jerked her back behind him. “You have no idea how a wild animal will react when injured.”
She resisted the urge to argue with him; after all how could she explain that she knew better than he? “What will we do?”
“Take him back to his enclosure?” Akshay asked, stepping toward them.
“He’s not safe here, obviously.” She could feel the frustration there, under Leo’s worry and anger. How badly she wanted to help him.
“Fran’s,” Ella said. “We’ll take him there. Take his cage there; no one need know.”
“Who is this Fran?” Akshay asked, frowning. “How do we know we can trust her?”
“She’s like a sister.” She turned toward Leo. “Please. Trust me.”
Leo sighed and raked his hands through his hair. She felt his reluctance like a stone, weighing down on her soul. He didn’t want the cat injuring anyone, but could he trust her?
“We don’t really have any other alternative. You two stay here. I’ll get a wagon.” He left, and Ella slipped down beside Charlie, stroking his smooth hair. Leo trusted her because he had no choice.
“We tracked him here,” Akshay said, interrupting her thoughts.
Ella looked up at him and nodded.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “His prints went through the woods and then back around to here.”
“I see,” she said.
“How did you know he was here?”
She stiffened, her heart skipping a beat. Did he know? No, surely he didn’t. “I thought I saw movement.”
Akshay nodded, his eyes piercing. “I see.”
But it was obvious he didn’t believe a word she said.
Chapter 12
Leo leaned against the open door and gazed out onto the gardens where Ella strolled amongst the rose bushes. A lone figure in drab brown surrounded by a sea of women dressed in brilliant gowns of rich fabrics. She looked out of place, a shell of herself. Not because of her upbringing or lack of fine clothing, but because she should be encircled by friends, laughing and discussing inane topics, like any young woman. For some reason, it bothered him that she was not accepted.
Ignoring his confusing emotions, he took in a deep breath and stepped onto the patio. The high-pitched laughter and chatter of the many guests produced an instant pounding in his head, and Ella was a beacon of light amongst the darkness. Settled on a bench under a maple tree, she resembled a portrait, although a portrait of a miserable beauty.
What had p
ossessed him to paint her naked the other day? Anger, at first, when that inkling of suspicion over her necklace had entered his mind, but he knew that wasn’t the only reason. Underneath the anger, his body pulsed with heat for her that no other could contain. Cazzarola, he could admit it, if only to himself. He’d slept with an Indian princess and Italian royalty; however, this woman, this orphan, held him enraptured.
To see her lying there naked amongst the wildflowers, free from the confinement that had been forced upon her at Lady Buckley’s, had probably been more thrilling for him than for her. He hadn’t expected to be so affected. Even now, heat pooled in his groin just at the memory. He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. Wonderful time to become aroused. He tore his gaze from her trim form.
Think of anything, Leo, anything but her.
Instead, he focused on the crowds, and his ardent infatuation dampened. Women whispered behind their parasols, their gazes trained on him. The men were no better, their bodies stiff, their eyes narrowed and wary. And standing amongst them all, his cousin. Henry watched him with a smug smirk on his face. No doubt, he’d told the guests stories of Leo’s ruthless attacks. Let them think what they would. Their preconceived notions would only help him in the end. Thinking of him as nothing more than an animal, they would never believe him capable of uncovering the truth about his parents’ death.
With his blood cooling, Leo started toward Ella. She looked up as he crossed the lawn, and the smile on her face brought a rush of warmth through him. How could he even contemplate that she worked with his cousin?
“Leo,” his grandfather called out, intercepting him near the fountain
Leo cursed under his breath, but like the dutiful English lad, he waited.
“So glad you arrived. It is not…” His grandfather glanced around and stepped closer. “Too much for you?”
Leo almost laughed. Really, what did the man expect him to do? Destroy the finely decorated tables? Push a few guests into the fountain in some mad tantrum?
“I think I can manage,” Leo drawled.
His grandfather rested his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Wonderful. There are some people I’d like to introduce you to.” His grandfather started toward a blanket where a few men and women sat eating strawberries. Leo resisted the urge to walk away and ignore the command. Merda, he didn’t want to make small talk with strangers. He glanced at Ella. She was back to looking at her lap…looking so alone and vulnerable.
“Leo? Just for a moment,” Grandfather persisted.
Just for a moment. He could give a moment to his grandfather. If anything, his willingness to socialize would gain Ella’s approval. Not that he cared what she thought. Merda, when had he started caring? He tore his gaze from her once more and started toward the blanket.
“Miss Matters, Lord and Lady Bennet, Mr. and Mrs. Acker, I’d like to introduce you to my grandson, Leo.”
He gave them a curt bow. They smiled back politely, their gazes raking his frame, looking for God knew what. He didn’t doubt they’d find something amiss.
“I’ll leave you young ones to get acquainted,” Grandfather said, throwing him to the wolves.
“Is it true? Were you raised in the jungle?” one woman boldly asked.
Leo turned his gaze to her and without hesitation, swept his attention up and down her form in much the same way she had done to him. She blushed and looked away.
“Do you speak?” another woman asked, her brown eyes narrowed.
“Barely,” Henry drawled, coming to stand across from Leo.
“He doesn’t speak English?” the woman asked again.
“Speak, cousin,” Henry commanded.
Leo met his cousin’s gaze, and in his eyes he promised Henry retribution. Did his cousin have any clue how much Leo hated him? How much he’d love to see him burn in hell?
Henry swallowed so hard, his Adam’s apple bobbed. A slow smile spread across Leo’s lips, and Henry tore his gaze away first.
“See?” his cousin said.
“Is it true he has a tiger that feeds on whole sheep?” A woman asked.
Merda, they wouldn’t let him be.
“It’s a panther, and he feeds on annoying women.” Leo stepped closer to the lady in question. Her eyes widened, and she edged back. “But he doesn’t just eat them, he plays with them for a while, slowly torturing…” He let that word hang in the air, then with a bow, he turned and walked away.
He could kill Henry so easily with brute force. But this wasn’t the jungle. There was no eye for an eye. How many times he’d had to remind himself of that. Still, the memory of wrapping his fingers around his cousin’s throat brought some satisfaction.
“What has you smiling?”
He hadn’t realized he headed toward Ella until she spoke. “The thought of slamming my fist into Henry’s face.”
She sighed and shook her head as if gravely disappointed.
If only she knew what he was really thinking. Leo placed his foot on the bench next to her and leaned over, resting his elbow on his knee. “What? Are you telling me you have not thought on the idea?”
She tilted her chin, looking the proper miss. “Of course not.”
“I know when you lie, Ella.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How? You’ve only known me for a short time.”
“Because your face flushes and your lower lip trembles.”
She blushed and looked away. “You do not know me as well as you think.”
“Prim and proper,” he said, sitting beside her, his thigh pressed to hers. “Is that what you are?”
She nodded. “Of course…I try to be.”
“I think not,” Leo said softly, leaning so close, their bodies touched, side by side. “I think you enjoyed swimming in the waterfall. I think you enjoyed lying naked amongst the wildflowers.”
“Shh! Someone will hear you.” Her blush deepened. “Besides, I didn’t.”
“Your lower lip is trembling,” he whispered.
“Did you check on Charlie?” she asked, obviously trying to change the subject.
Leo nodded. “Akshay did. He’s well. Been stitched up and should make a recovery. Fran’s doting over him. I warned them not to let him out of his cage. He’s dangerous, you know.”
“Of course,” she murmured, looking at her lap, but not before he saw the look in her eyes. Confusion and worry. There were so many elements of this woman he didn’t understand. So many secrets hidden beneath her proper exterior. Most bizarre of all was the heightened intuition she seemed to possess.
“Ella, how did you know where to find Charlie?”
Her gaze jumped to him, her hands twisting her skirt. “I thought I saw movement.”
Leo’s gaze narrowed on her flushed face. Why did he have the unsettling feeling she lied?
“Leo, Ella,” his grandfather called out. Leo cursed the old man’s inopportune timing. “Some of the guests are going down to the lake to row. Would you care to go along?”
Ella jumped to her feet. “Yes, we would.”
Leo watched her warily. “So eager to escape?”
She glared at him as she started forward. Following her toward the group, he asked, “And why weren’t you conversing with the others?”
She smiled as one might smile at a child who believed in fairies. “I don’t exactly belong here.”
“Why is that? Because you have more sense than all of these women put together?”
She blushed at his compliment. “No, I’m not exactly in their social status.”
“You converse with me, and I’m…what is it I’ll become when grandfather meets his maker?”
“Leo,” Ella reprimanded and shook her head. “An earl, I believe. You really should know these things.”
“Right, an earl.” Blast the damn title. Why else would his uncle kill his own brother? And why else would Henry try to kill him? As far as Leo was concerned, the castle and the title could rot in hell.
“Yes, but that’s different. I’m…??
? she trailed off and looked away.
“What? Paid to converse with me?”
She nodded, her gaze flashing with uncertainty. He leaned closer to her. “Yes, but are you paid to be here now?”
“No,” she said, her brows furrowing. They started down the path that led to the lake, trailing behind the others. He was certainly in no hurry to join the group, and apparently neither was she.
“So, you are saying you have no kind feelings toward me and are only in my presence because you are paid?”
She stumbled, and he took the opportunity to take her elbow. “What? No, I mean, yes. Of course I like you.” She glanced up and caught his grin. With a frown, she playfully slapped his arm. “You were teasing me.”
They stilled amongst the reeds that lined the perimeter of a large body of shimmering water. The few oaks along the bank were much larger than he remembered, but the island was still there, a place he’d played often as a child but hadn’t visited since he’d been back.
A group of giggling women drew his thoughts back into the present. Men picked up oars, puffing their chests out in an obvious display of strength, much like he’d seen monkeys do in the jungle. The group was comfortable with each other, jesting and laughing. It was obvious they’d grown up together. If his parents hadn’t gone to India, they’d still be here; this would be his life, these would be his acquaintances, and Ella wouldn’t be here. He frowned over the conflicting emotions and dared to glance at the governess. Before she’d arrived everything had seemed much simpler.
“Would you care to go out onto the lake?”
She seemed surprised by his statement, her attention swinging toward him. Truth was, he enjoyed spending time with Ella. Seeing her face light up at something unexpected. And her happiness would most likely end when he unveiled her uncle’s guilt. How would she react when she found out the man who had sent her that necklace had most likely murdered his parents? Then again, he could be wrong. He hoped he was wrong.
She took her lower lip between her teeth in what he knew to be a sign of nervousness. “Is it rather deep?”