Miss Winbolt and the Fortune Hunter

‘Because there’s half a ton of bull waiting for me behind the tree. His name is Black Samson and he’s famous for his wicked temper. I have no desire to be gored to death.’ Her voice rose as she went on, ‘And, whatever your name is, unless you or someone else don’t stop asking useless questions and help me down from this tree, really quite soon, I shall fall down all by myself.’ Her voice quavered on these last words—she was perilously close to tears.

‘That would never do. We’ll have to see how we can manage it. I’ve rescued many a cat from a tree in my time, but a grown woman is an altogether different matter.’ He examined the hedge, which was full of brambles and thorn bushes, looked down the slope and eyed her perch. ‘I can’t lift you down,’ he said doubtfully. ‘You’re too far out of my reach. I really ought to fetch more help.’

‘No!’ Emily was near the end of her tether. ‘I couldn’t possibly wait that long. The nearest place is much too far away! You must help me now!’

‘I see. Well, in that case, we’ll just have to do our best. Can you edge a little further till you’re clear of that thorn hedge? I think we can do it if you lower yourself down very carefully and trust me to catch you for the last few feet. I’d say the ground here was level enough for me to manage it. Just about. You’ll have to go carefully, mind. Gently’s the word. Otherwise we could both end up rolling down the slope. Gently…that’s right. That’s the way! Gently now, gent—’

There was a crack, a scream and a shout of dismay as Emily’s branch snapped and she fell precipitately into her rescuer’s arms. He struggled to keep his balance, but the angle of the slope was too much for them. Together they rolled down, jolting over the rough ground and slithering where it was smooth. But he held her firmly throughout, shielding her from the worst of the bumps. They finally ended up in a grassy hollow, where they came to a stop. They lay there in silence for a moment or two. Then he said, ‘That was exciting. Are you hurt?’

Dazed and winded Emily lay, still wrapped in his arms, not sure whether she was or she wasn’t. After the buffeting and bumping of the previous minute, the hollow was strangely quiet. The world seemed to have retreated, leaving them alone in a haven of peace. She lay there almost dreamily, surprised and pleased that her various aches and pains appeared to have vanished. After a moment she shook her head.

‘Are you sure?’ He was leaning over her, his face close to hers. It was a nice face, she thought hazily. A kind face. A face full of humour. A tiny fan of wrinkles at each corner of his dark blue eyes gave her the impression that he laughed quite often. Or was it because he spent a good deal of his time out of doors? He was quite tanned. His nose was slightly crooked, and he had a firm chin, though it looked at the moment as if it needed a shave. He wasn’t laughing at present—his expression was serious, a small frown between his brows. How pleasant, she thought. He’s really concerned about me.

She was surprised at how comforting this was. She regarded herself as an independent creature, but recently she had begun to feel lonely, even amongst the people she loved best in the world. And Mrs Gosworth had stirred up doubts about her future, which she would rather have forgotten. She was in need of comfort. It was very agreeable to be regarded with such concern and, though the sensation was new, it was very pleasant to have someone’s arms holding her so…so protectively.

‘Would you like me to help you to get up?’

She considered the question. This feeling of intimacy, this new awareness of a man’s body close to hers, was strange, but definitely attractive. ‘I’m really quite happy where I am, thank you,’ said Emily, giving him a sweet smile. ‘I don’t think I want to move.’

Afterwards, when she thought over what followed, she told herself she must have hit her head as she fell. It was the only explanation. Or perhaps she had been so shaken by her fright with the bull that she had been temporarily out of her mind. Whatever the cause, she had certainly not been herself.

Emily Winbolt had a warm heart and a lively sense of humour, but outsiders were seldom aware of either. Her manner to them was usually cool, even distant—that of a perfectly well-behaved, perfectly brought up, perfectly well-bred young lady. She was a devoted granddaughter, an openly loving sister to her brother Philip, and when he married had given her new sister-in-law the same affection. But several unfortunate experiences had made her cynical about most members of the opposite sex, and only her strong sense of humour had saved her from lasting bitterness.

Her behaviour in the hollow, for whatever reason, was so shocking, so completely out of character, that those who knew her would never have believed it. She later concluded it must have been caused by a fit of madness following her fall.

But while she was with this stranger it seemed altogether natural.

He frowned slightly. ‘All the same, I think we should at least check whether you’re damaged at all. Can you move your arms and legs?’

Still in the grip of this strange emotion, she stretched luxuriously like a cat then smiled again and wrinkled her nose at him. ‘You see? Apart from a few scratches I’m perfectly sound.’ The movement brought her into closer contact with the body next to hers. Her cheek was resting on his chest, and she could feel the warmth of his body, a slight roughness of hair, through the thin lawn of his shirt. His heartbeat was strong and it was growing faster…

He smiled back and it was just as she had suspected—his eyes wrinkled at the corners, laughter lurking in them.

‘You’ve collected half the hedge in your fall,’ he said, carefully picking leaves and twigs out of her hair and smoothing it back from her forehead. Emily gazed at him in delight, filled with a sense of well-being, her loneliness and other anxieties quite forgotten. This man might be a stranger, she might never see him again after this meeting, but she had not felt as close as this to anyone else for a long, long time. His eyes met hers again and she knew he was going to kiss her. Far from being shocked, she was warmed by the thought. He put his finger gently under her chin and tilted her face to meet his…

At first the kiss was tentative, as if he was not sure what her reaction would be, but as he felt her response it deepened and grew more intense, though still gentle. It seemed to go on for a long time. Emily was lost in its sweetness. When he would have lifted his head, she put her arms round his neck and pulled his mouth to hers again.

‘Well, well, well,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘I little thought when I lost my way this morning that I would end up with an enchantress in my arms. What is your name, lovely one?’

Even in her present dazed state Emily had no wish to tell him who she was. This was a magic hour, a time out of reality. Emily Winbolt, spinster, had no place in this enchantment. He saw her hesitation and laughed. ‘You’re quite right! I shouldn’t have asked. Though it’s hardly fair—you know mine.’

‘Will,’ she said softly. ‘Though I didn’t know it was yours until you told me.’

‘Who is the other Will in your life?’

She could have replied, ‘One of my brother’s servants.’ But she didn’t. She didn’t want him to know where she lived, or what her name was, any more than she wanted him to know that her brother owned the land all around them, and they lived in a handsome residence in the Palladian style quite close at hand. She didn’t want to talk about her brother’s wife, gentle, loving and very, very beautiful. Emily wanted for once to be Miss Nobody from nowhere, not rich Miss Winbolt, sister to the local landowner and an heiress in her own right. And, more than anything, she didn’t want to be reminded of the problem that had been gnawing at the back of her mind for weeks, and which had been brutally brought to the fore by her conversation with Mrs Gosworth.

‘He doesn’t matter, Will,’ she whispered. ‘Nothing else matters at the moment.’ She smiled at him dreamily, ‘Will,’ she said. ‘Will.’ And she pulled his head down to hers again. This time the kiss was passionate from the start. He held her so closely that she felt every part of his strong, muscular body, and delighted in it. He smoothed her hair again and kissed her brow, her eyes, and then returned to part her lips with his. Emily’s heart was racing once more, this time with a feverish excitement. She had been kissed before by a man she had been about to marry, but never like this. Never before had she been so aware of her blood running through her veins with such singing delight. Her skin tingled wherever he touched her. She realised now how bloodless, how meaningless those other kisses had been. Nothing in her experience had prepared her for this. She felt overwhelmed by a need to be held by this man, caressed by him. He was no stranger to her—she belonged to him. Nothing existed except the two of them, and the hollow where they lay hidden from the rest of the world in an enchanted, magical world of their own. His lips found her throat, her shoulders, her breasts…

A sound of whistling broke into their idyll. Will Darby on his way home! She stiffened and firm hands gripped her. ‘Lie still,’ he whispered. ‘He won’t see us if you lie quite still.’

The magic vanished into the air, as reality broke in on Emily’s dream. She lay rigid and silent until the footsteps died away in the distance, then, overcome with shame, she struggled to be free of him. ‘It’s Will Darby,’ she said, as she scrambled to her feet and straightened her dress. Avoiding his eye, she stammered, ‘They’ll be wondering where I am. I must go.’

He got up, and when she turned away from him put his arms round her waist. ‘I’ll come with you,’ he murmured against her neck.

‘You can’t,’ she cried in panic, pushing him from her. ‘I have to go alone. You mustn’t come with me.’

‘I don’t believe it!’ he said, half-laughing, half-serious. ‘That’s too much the cruel enchantress. You can’t appear out of nowhere, bewitch me, and then just…disappear! I won’t let you.’

Emily, torn between shame and a treacherous desire to stay, said desperately. ‘Please, you must let me go. I…I cannot stay any longer. Don’t look at me like that! I…I don’t…don’t know what came over me…’ She couldn’t finish the sentence. With a little sob she turned and stumbled down the slope to the footpath, picked up her skirts and ran for dear life towards Shearings. When she threw a hunted glance back, she saw to her relief he was making no attempt to follow her, but stood where she had left him, ruefully shaking his head.

After she had disappeared round a bend in the footpath the stranger stood for a while, then shrugged and went to pick up his coat. The village where he had left his horse and pack couldn’t be more than a few minutes walk away. It was too late now to see Charlwood again tonight. He would put up at a local inn or camp out in some hedgerow or other. The thought didn’t disturb him—the night would be warm, and he had done it often enough in the past. And as he walked he shook his head over what had just happened. It was altogether something new in his experience! Such passion, followed by such an abrupt departure! Why had she gone? Was the other Will her lover, or even her husband, perhaps? He rather thought he would never know. He shrugged again and went on his way, deciding to dismiss the episode from his mind. Unless Charlwood proved to be more suitable than he had thought at first sight, he wouldn’t be in the area for long. It was most unlikely their paths would ever cross a second time. At this thought he felt a fleeting regret. There had been something about her that had attracted him as he had not been attracted for many years. Not her looks—he could hardly remember anything about the way she looked, except for a pair of silver-grey eyes. Her legs and ankles had been good, too. He grinned as he remembered his first sight of her, those long slender legs dangling from the tree… But there was something else… Something about her had appealed to him at a deeper level. She had been such a strange mixture of abandonment and innocence…

He shook his head, and stepped out more briskly. No, she was just a passionate little flirt. She was probably a consummate tease, too. Life was too short to spend a second thought on her. But, by heaven, she knew how to stir a man’s blood!

Chapter Two

By the time Emily reached Shearings she was exhausted. The bruises and scratches she had forgotten a short while before had returned to plague her, and she limped painfully through the garden room door in the direction of the back stairs. But, though she went as quietly as she could, she was not quiet enough. Rosa had obviously been listening for her.

‘Emily! Dearest! Thank goodness you’re back! We were worried about you, after the carriage returned without you. But why have you come in this way—?’ She stopped short and regarded her sister-in-law with astonishment. ‘Heavens! What on earth have you done to yourself? No, don’t waste time on that now—you can tell me later. We must get you upstairs to your room first.’

Emily was helped through the hall and up to her room at the top of the main staircase, and was soon sitting in a chair being ministered to by Rosa herself and by Mrs Hopkins, the housekeeper. Mrs Hopkins had been with the Winbolt family for many years, and had known Emily since childhood. She gently removed her torn clothes, exclaiming as she did so at the state of her hands and legs. Rosa meanwhile fetched salves and lotions from her own room, then disappeared again to return with a glass of Philip’s best brandy. After a short while Emily was lying on her bed, propped up by pillows, her hands bandaged and the scratches on her legs bathed and soothed with ointment. Rosa sat beside her on the bed and held the brandy to her lips.

‘Drink it all,’ she said with a reassuring smile. ‘Every drop. You’ll feel better.’

When Emily hesitated, Mrs Hopkins nodded her head. ‘There’s nothing like a drop of brandy, Miss Emily,’ she said firmly. ‘You do as Mrs Winbolt says.’ They waited until Emily had finished the brandy, then the housekeeper said, ‘If you don’t need me any more, ma’am, I’ll go about my business. The master will be back soon, I dare say.’

After she had gone out Rosa said, ‘She thinks you’ll feel able to talk more freely in her absence, but she could have stayed. Mrs Hopkins wouldn’t dream of gossiping with the other servants. She is the soul of discretion.’ She paused, then said hesitantly, ‘I’m very anxious to know what happened, Emily. If you feel well enough to tell me, I’d like to hear about it.’

Emily took a breath. Discretion was a good word to use. She would have to use a good deal of it herself.

‘You know that I visited Mrs Gosworth this afternoon…’ she began. She paused.

‘I did warn you,’ said Rosa. ‘She is one of the unkindest people I know. Oh, Emily, I should have gone with you. Did she upset you?’

‘She tried,’ said Emily with a small grimace. ‘But I’m afraid she was disappointed. I was angry rather than upset, but I managed not to show it. I even thanked her for a delightful visit!’

Rosa clapped her hands and laughed. ‘Wonderful! She must have been furious. How long did you stay?’

‘Not a second more than the correct time, believe me. But you can’t imagine what I did afterwards. I must have been mad.’

Rosa raised an eyebrow. ‘You? But you are the soul of good sense!’

‘Not today. After talking to that woman I was so very angry that I didn’t want to be driven home. I needed to work my temper off. I needed exercise and air, so I walked home across the fields. And…and I forgot all about Pritchard’s bull and came through Three Acre field.’

‘Thr-Through’ Rosa looked at her aghast. ‘I don’t believe you! You can’t have forgotten. Weren’t you listening when Will Darby told us he’d been moved there?’

‘Yes. But it had gone right out of my mind. I didn’t think of the bull until I was halfway across the field and saw his eyes on me.’