Free Lord Cavendish Returns by Rebecca King Page B

suitable conveyance to take a lady to Moldton
had only dimmed a little when Harper had reported that it had
nothing to do with any personal interest in Arrabella Farthing, but
was to satisfy his curiosity about his birth parents.
    In spite
of the reason for their journey, it was good to be out in the
morning sunshine with a pretty lady like Arrabella seated beside
him. She looked positively radiant today, and even more beautiful
than yesterday. He studied her closely and noted the sparkle of joy
that shone in her eyes that had grown considerably when she had
caught sight of the curricle he had brought for her to travel in.
Her enthusiasm for the trip was evident from the infectious smile
that curved her sensual lips, and the faint tinge of pink that
coloured her cheeks. The tight bun at the back of her neck did
little to confine her wayward curls, and he watched several silken
strands slither free of the tight confines and bob gently against
her face. His fingers itched to tuck one of them behind her ear but
he daren’t touch her. Instead, he turned his attention back to the
road and studied the spire of Moldton church in the
distance.
    “ Tell me, Arrabella, do you have any brothers or
sisters?”
    “ No, there is only me I am afraid. I should have liked a
brother or a sister, but my mother took ill not long after I was
born and didn’t have any more children.”
    It was
on the tip of his tongue to confide in her about his own familial
problems, but something held him back. He wasn’t sure what it was,
but his gut instinct warned him that he had to protect
her.
    “ I envy you,” he sighed.
    “ Envy me? Why?”
    “ I think that you were very lucky not to have spent your
childhood dragging your siblings out of various
scrapes.”
    “ It sounds like a lot of fun.” If she was honest, although she
knew she was loved by her parents, she had always wanted someone of
her own age whom she could talk to and confide in. As the daughter
of the vicar, she had always had difficulties getting anyone to see
her as a real person and longed for someone who she could laugh and
have fun with.
    She
sighed and glanced at the rolling hills on either side of the cart
track. It really was a pleasure to ride in the curricle. It bounced
and swayed around the country lanes but Harper never took the
horses above a steady walk. It was strangely comforting to simply
rumble along without a care in the world.
    “ Are you alright?” He heard her sigh and glanced over at her,
only to find himself grinning back at her when she smiled at
him.
    “ I am absolutely fine. I cannot remember the last time I took
a moment to simply enjoy the day.”
    Over in
the distance, a church spiral protruded from the cluster of
rooftops that formed Moldton. He calculated that they would have
twenty minutes together before they were in the churchyard. Of
course they would have the journey home later, but their time
together didn’t seem to be long enough and he began to wonder if
they could take a slight detour.
    When he realised what he was doing he bit back a curse and
shook his head in disbelief. Not for the first time he wondered
just what the hell the country air had done to him. He was a
soldier; a fighter, someone who lived and worked in the shadows,
yet all it seemed to take was one sight of this pretty lady and his
mind turned to mush .
    “ I think that I should tell you that I haven’t been entirely
honest with you.” He had no idea where that had come from. He slid
a sideways glance at her to gauge her reaction and found her
studying him.
    “ The records you want are about you,” she said
gently.
    “ I want you to promise me that you will keep this between us.
My brothers know, of course, but I have recently had cause to
believe that my parents were not the people who raised
me.”
    “ I wasn’t part of the village when you were here as a young
boy, so I never actually met your parents, you understand. When you
mentioned that you wanted a birth