Free The Charmer by C.J. Archer Page B

emotional reaction to Susanna's fear and think
about the intruder.
    Who would come into her room like
that, and why? A thief who didn't know she had nothing to steal? A kidnapper?
    Or an assassin?
    If it was the latter, who aside
from himself had been hired to kill Lady Lynden? And even more importantly, how
hard were they willing to investigate her before performing the deed?
    He got no sleep for the rest of
the night.
    ***
    Susanna managed to keep her
distance from Holt in the garden the next morning. It was easy enough to do the
weeding at one end while he did the other, her back to him most of the time. Some
of the weeds and grass reached to her thighs, but the work was relaxing and
satisfying if a little tiring. Unfortunately it also let her mind wander—straight
to the intruder.
    Holt had asked more questions as
soon as they were alone in the garden but none that she hadn't already tried to
answer herself as she lay awake beside a softly snoring Bessie. Who would break
into Stoneleigh and why? It didn't make sense. They had nothing to steal except
for their marmalades and succades, and they needed a cart and horse to move
them. Besides, the jars were in the stables and any thief would search the
outbuildings first before venturing into the house. So it had to be someone who
didn't know the situation at Stoneleigh. A stranger. She'd told Holt so. He'd
simply nodded and set to work.
    Holt. Orlando. He'd woken
something within her last night outside her bedchamber, something she'd thought
dormant. His simple kiss of her hand made her skin feel like it was on fire.
Her heart had never thumped so hard or so loud. Then later, after the intruder
left, she'd wanted to sink into Holt's strength and feel it envelop her, keep
her safe. To be held by such a man...to make love to him...
    She shuddered despite the warmth
of the sun on her back. The emotions he'd triggered alarmed her. She'd tried so
hard to bury that side of herself. In the light of day, she thanked God she'd
been strong enough to walk away from Holt despite every part of her body
begging for him. He was not a man she wanted to know intimately.
    He suddenly looked up as if he
knew she was watching. He didn't smile, didn't wink or do any of those
flirtatious things she'd come to expect from him, but simply looked, as if he
was trying to see into her.
    She wrenched a particularly tough
weed out and threw it onto the growing pile of uprooted ones. She forced
herself to think about something other than Holt or the intruder, and planned the
formal garden directly in front of the house instead. Come spring, she could
plant lavender and roses. They smelled divine when in bloom and their flowers
were so pretty. The formal garden had been neglected since her father let the
gardeners go but Susanna wanted to restore it to its former beauty. Hopefully
she would soon secure a buyer for the succades and marmalades and there'd be
money to spare for plants.
    "Let me help you with
that," said Holt.
    At first Susanna thought he was
speaking to her, but when she turned, she saw him approach Hendricks who
struggled with a heavy chair.
    "Mr. Farley wishes to sit in
the sun and watch you work," Hendricks said to Susanna, ignoring Holt even
as the gardener took the chair off him.
    "Set it near the
oranges," she said. "That's his favorite spot."
    "How will he get out
here?" Holt asked, setting the chair down.
    "I'll help him walk,"
Hendricks said.
    "Allow me."
    "I can do it."
    "You both can," Susanna
said. Honestly, men were worse than children sometimes.
    They left together, and she
continued weeding until they brought her father into the garden. He limped
heavily and had one arm around Holt while Hendricks carried a blanket and cushion.
The servant looked unhappy and took great pains to plump the cushion and arrange
it on the chair.
    "Ah," her father said,
sitting. "The fresh air pleases me."
    "The air is certainly fresh
out here," Susanna said, placing the blanket across his lap. "Tell