Page 17 of Brazen Rogue
Reign smiled, nodding. "Very well, I shall think upon it and give you my answer before you leave."
Bellamy kicked his horse and rode hard into the copse of trees that surrounded his estate, needing to get out, to have some quiet while his house all but buckled at the many guests he had invited.
A mistake he could not wait to end. Five more days and he would be free of the endless chatter, the constant flirtatious glances from certain unattached ladies, and the ever-increasing missing governess who had avoided his presence since his guests had arrived.
He jumped a small hedge grove, landing in a puddle of mud. The dirty water splashed up over his Hession boots and tan breeches, but he did not care. His mind was focused elsewhere.
Where it ought not to be ...
He wrenched his horse to a stop when he came to a part of the river some distance from his house, a place where he had swum often as a boy.
It did not take him long to strip down to his breeches, kicking off his boots and stockings, before diving into the refreshingly cold water.
He came up for air, running a hand through his hair, and felt the breath in his lungs seize.
"Miss Hall? What in the zounds are you doing here?" Bellamy went to cover his cock and then realized it was not him who ought to be concerned with propriety.
Miss Hall was the woman. Should she not be concerned?
He winced at the thought. Well, she ought to be troubled that he may ogle her at every chance he received. Blasted rogue he was starting to think like.
"My lord, I could ask you the same question. Today, as per Mrs. Watkins’s roster, is my day off, and I thought I would escape the house and heat and come for a swim. One of the stablemen told me of this place, and I was curious," she defended.
Bellamy swallowed, noting she did not try to cover the front of herself, her shift all but transparent in the water. Not that he could see her as perfectly as he wished, but if he moved closer ...
Damn it all to hell. What was he thinking? He could not do that.
Could he?
No. He ground his jaw, praying for sainthood.
"What stableman was that?" he demanded to know, hating the biting jealousy that raged through him at the thought of Reign being courted by a groom or one of his drivers. Not that she could not do as she wished, she was beholden to no one, but still, the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he did not like to imagine such things.
"What does it matter which stableman told me of this place?" She scoffed at his question, staring at him in astonishment. "What an absurd question to ask me, my lord," she said, taking a cautionary step toward the bank of the river and halting when her action left more of her upper body open for him to see.
"I do not like my servants cavorting about with each other. It leads to unplanned children and hasty weddings and leaves my household looking for more servants to replace them." The instant he said the words, he wished he could rip them back.
She was no servant, no matter how much she pretended to be. The circumstances of her life may have placed her in this position, but it was not who she was. He ought to be whipped for making her face crumple with the hurt he inflicted.
"I'll be sure not to sleep with the groom then, my lord. If it will please the esteemed Lord Lupton-Gage," she spat back at him, her eyes no longer fearful of her wet gown or him seeing her thus, but burning with an anger he had placed there.
She moved toward the bank, heedless that when she stepped up onto the grass, her shift was as transparent as he feared, leaving her bottom easy to admire.
She picked up her gown and hastily threw it over her shift, heedless of how wet she remained. "You have a lot of nerve," she growled at him, slipping on her boots before she turned to look at him. "I'm here, doing the best that I can under the circumstances of my life and our history, and yet you taunt me, ridicule me as if I'm some light-skirt who'll be easily swayed by the first man who speaks to me that is not you. Do not fear that I shall fall under the spell of anyone male at this estate. I have decided that your sex is detestable, and you are too, just to be clear."
Bellamy watched her but did not reply. He deserved the remark. Hell, he deserved so much more than that tongue-lashing. He knew what he was doing, being a jealous cur because someone else may have something that he had wanted and lost.
And now she was lost forever due to the unfairness of her life. "Please return to London with Lady Chilsten. You will be safe from the perils of America, and I shall sleep better knowing ..."
"That I'm not under the same roof as you?" She chuckled, picking up a small basket he had not noticed before. Had she picnicked here?
"You should marry again, my lord. Mayhap if you do, my presence here would not upset you so very much," she said before leaving him alone.
Bellamy punched the water, which did little but splash into his face. He rolled his eyes, staring at the sky and praying for some sensible thought. But he knew it would not come. Not with Miss Hall under his roof. He could never think straight when she was around; even after all these years, that dilemma had not altered.
ChapterTen
Reign knew she was acting like an awful person, but she could not help herself. Lord Lupton-Gage deserved everything he received after their conversation the previous day at the river.
