Tamed by the Earl Page 5

Until she looked at Daniel’s face.

  At which time she wondered if she might not have been better off taking her chances with the ragged-looking group of men surrounding her. She might have succeeded in talking her way out of her difficulties with them. The cold fury on Daniel’s face told her there would be no escaping her due punishment from him.

  The leader of the gang, a disreputable man who smelled as badly as she had a week ago and whose breath was equally as disgusting, ceased trying to remove her clothing and instead rose slowly to his feet. He motioned to his men to continue holding her, his expression one of taunting challenge as he faced Daniel, thumbs thrust into the leather belt holding up his ragged trousers. “And why should any of us give a tinker’s arse what you advise?”

  Daniel’s mouth was a flat, thin line. “Because the lady is mine.”

  The lady is mine.

  Jo was filled with a surge of pleasure unlike any she had ever known upon hearing those four words. Which, given the circumstances and Daniel’s seething anger, was totally inappropriate to the occasion. Besides which, he was obviously only saying that as a way of emphasizing his instruction for them to release her.

  The leader gave a grin, his teeth either black or missing altogether. “There’s one of you and six of us. And there is but one bullet in ya pistol.”

  Jo’s previous pleasure instantly turned to churning fear. She had run away against Daniel’s instructions and so placed herself in danger. She now deserved whatever fate befell her. But Daniel would not have been here at all if he had not been looking for her, as he had promised he would should she leave without his permission. It would be her fault if these men set upon him and killed him.

  The mere thought of that caused the bile to rise in the back of her throat.

  Daniel’s mouth twisted derisively. “It will take only one bullet to kill you.”

  The leader looked momentarily disconcerted as his associates all rose to their feet and took a step back, allowing Jo to also scramble back to her feet and adjust her clothing. But the man recovered quickly, a cocky smile curving his lips. “That still leaves five of us against one.”

  “I am willing to take my chances. How about you?” Daniel lifted and cocked the pistol, finger resting against the trigger as he aimed the weapon at the other man’s head. “You have three seconds to release the lady and disappear back to whatever cesspit you crawled out of.”

  “You don’t fool—”

  “One.”

  “You’re bluffing—”

  “Two.”

  “Awright!” The man held up his hands in surrender as the men with him began to disappear into the surrounding woodland. “’Twas only a bit of harmless fun,” he added belligerently before he too slinked off and was quickly swallowed up by that same woodland.

  Leaving behind him a still and tense silence that not even the twittering of the birds dare disturb.

  “Do not say a word,” Daniel advised evenly as Josephine opened her mouth with that obvious intention. “I warned you what would happen if you left Latham Park without my permission. Now come over here, and I will assist you up onto my horse. Now,” he added harshly when she remained standing across the clearing. “Before those louts have time to reconsider and return with reinforcements.”

  That last warning was enough to spur Josephine into movement, and she ran lightly across the clearing, grasped hold of the arm Daniel held out to her, her intention clearly to swing up into the saddle behind him.

  He intended otherwise, pulling on her arm at the same time as she swung upward and succeeding in seating her in front of him rather than behind him. “Swing your leg over the horse’s neck and face forward.” He shifted the reins in his hand as she glanced at him dubiously.

  As a stable lad at Latham Park these past three weeks, Jo had become accustomed to riding across the saddle as the men did rather than her previous sidesaddle. But to do so whilst seated in front of the Earl of Latham, his hips and thighs pressed tightly up against her bottom, was beyond scandalous.

  More so than running off into the night from her childhood home, dressed as a man?

  Than the days and nights spent alone on the road masquerading as that man?

  More than spending the past three weeks living and sleeping in the same quarters with a group of boys and men and pretending to be one of them?

  No.

  Jo averted her gaze as she swung her leg easily over the stallion’s neck and faced forward. She barely had time to grasp the horse’s mane before the earl’s arms tightened about her, hands gripping the reins, and he set the horse off at a gallop.

  As she had suspected might be the case, each forward movement of the horse pushed the earl’s hips and thighs more firmly against her bottom, making her fully aware of an increasing hardness between those clenched and muscular thighs.

  Jo had no personal experience with such things, but neither was she ignorant of a man’s body.

  Over the years, she had explored the shelves of her grandfather’s extensive library in depth, having little else to occupy her mind on wet or snowy days. Her grandfather’s tastes had proven to be eclectic indeed, and one particular day, Jo had discovered an illustrated book on one of the shelves.

  The text had been written in Chinese, but the illustration of naked men and women had needed no explanation. Jo had returned to that book again and again, when she was assured her grandfather was not about to enter the library and discover her preoccupation.

  One chapter in particular had fascinated her. It had featured drawings of the changes that occurred to a man’s naked body as he approached a woman lying naked on a bed. The drawings had been done in such a way that Jo had discovered if she flicked the pages quickly enough, the man actually looked as if he was walking toward the bed. The appendage that had been hanging between his thighs in the first drawing slowly rose, then thickened and lengthened the closer he came to the bed and the naked woman lying there, her thighs parted, an inviting smile curving her lips.

  The same male appendage which was now thickening and lengthening against Jo’s own bottom.

  Except neither she nor the earl were naked, and there was not a bed in sight.

  Yet another confirmation that darkness and bedsheets were not necessary for sexual dalliance?

  If Jo had needed one…

  The truth was, she had been frightened by the depth of her own arousal yesterday as she lay across Daniel’s thighs beside the river and he took all manner of liberties with her body after first spanking her. It had excited her in a way that had both shocked and thrilled her. Caused her to burn inwardly at the same time as she had longed for more. Quite what that more was, she did not know.

  But it had been her own feelings of arousal that had caused her to run from Latham Park, as much as she had feared Daniel demanding the full story of why she had disguised herself as a boy and worked in his stables these past three weeks.

  A truth he would insist upon once they had returned to Latham Park.

  Leaving—running from the estate yesterday had been a terrible wrench for her. Apart from Mickey Bates, Jo had grown to like all the people she worked with, as well as the servants in the main house.

  As she had come to like the earl.

  Daniel was so…so strong and vitally male. A confidence and maleness completely at odds with her Cousin Edgar, who saw strength in manipulation and the power of his title rather than in his own character. She believed Daniel would possess that male confidence whether he was a privileged member of Society or a beggar.

  Yesterday, Jo had stealthily left the estate, left Daniel, her heart aching as she set out through the woods in the general direction of Hampshire. She had kept mainly to those woods, knowing that Daniel would be angry enough, once he discovered her absence, to come looking for her, and intending to make that more difficult for him. She had been able to travel only a few miles during daylight herself yesterday, and had then spent the night in the warmth of a cowshed, waking and leaving before t
he farmer rose from his bed and came to milk his livestock.

  She had hoped, having had no luck in finding her yesterday, that Daniel would just decide to cut his losses today, let her go on her way, and consider her a mystery that would remain unsolved.

  She should have known Daniel’s strength of character would not allow him to do such a thing.

  Luckily for her, as it happened.

  Jo gave a shudder as she thought of what fate might have befallen her today if Daniel had not continued to search for her.

  “Are you cold?”

  Daniel’s voice was so close to Jo’s ear, she could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin and the hot press of his chest along the length of her back as he leaned forward.

  “No.” She gave a shake of her head to accompany the denial, in case the rush of wind passing by them prevented him from hearing her. Turning her head to look at him would bring her into far too close—closer—contact with him, and put their faces only inches apart. Jo did not think she could look into those icy green depths with any degree of equilibrium at this moment.

  She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw they were approaching Latham Park. The house, a beautiful sandstone building, was perched upon a hill overlooking the green meadowland where deer could be seen grazing. Daniel did not go to the front of the house, of course, but directly to the stables.

  Mr. Haynes looked startled to see her seated upon the horse with Daniel as he stepped forward to catch the reins thrown to him by the earl. But he remained silent as his employer dismounted before reaching up to clasp Jo about the waist and pull her down onto the cobbles beside him.

  The earl maintained a firm grasp of Jo’s wrist as he addressed the older man. “Mr. Turner will no longer be gracing you with his presence in the stables.”

  Jo’s heart sank as his words confirmed she was about to be forced into revealing her story before hastily being dispatched back to her Cousin Edgar in Cheshire. No doubt several of the earl’s employees, maybe even the earl himself, would accompany her to ensure she reached her destination without further mishap or any attempt on her part to run away again. Once back at Kendall Hall, she had no doubt her cousin would ensure she found no further opportunity to escape his plans for her.

  To add salt to the wound, Mickey Bates had stepped forward into one of the stable doorways, a gleeful expression lighting up his face as he blatantly listened to the earl’s harshly spoken words.

  It was childish of her, worse than childish considering she was aged five and twenty and the granddaughter of a duke, but Jo could not resist sticking her tongue out at the aggressive youth before she was pulled along behind the earl as he crossed to the main house in long strides.

  Daniel was still consumed with an anger he had totally failed to bring back under his control on the ride back to Latham Park. He was still furious at Josephine’s blatant disregard for his instructions yesterday. For his restless and sleepless night. The dangerous situation in which he had discovered her earlier. Despite his threat to shoot the leader of the gang of ruffians, Daniel was very aware the outcome could have been far different than what had occurred.

  Merely thinking of Josephine being violated by the six men was enough to cause Daniel’s blood to boil.

  No matter how desperate the situation that had caused her to run away from her home in the first place, she deserved a sound thrashing for disobeying him yesterday and so putting herself in such danger today.

  Daniel made no allowance for her shorter strides as he marched through the house to his study. Several of his household staff scuttled out of the way, including Bedford, after a single glance at Daniel’s coldly furious expression no doubt warned any of them against attempting to speak to him.

  He thrust Josephine into his study ahead of him before stepping into the room and closing the door firmly behind him to lean back against it, able to breathe properly for the first time in twelve hours. Since he had discovered Josephine had fled Latham Park.

  She looked none the worse for her earlier ordeal. Her clothes were dusty from the time she had spent on the forest floor, but her golden hair was still secured at her nape. Her expression was perhaps a little apprehensive, but her face was nowhere near as dirty as the first time Daniel had set eyes on her a week ago.

  A single week. Seven days. And in that time, Josephine had set Daniel’s well-ordered life spiraling into turmoil, as he first believed himself attracted to a youth and then discovered that youth was a young woman. A disobedient young woman, but also one his cock straining inside his pantaloons proved he still desired.

  He hid that revealing bulge in his clothing by crossing the room to sit in the chair behind his desk. “You may begin speaking at any time,” he invited coldly after several long seconds of silence. “I suggest you begin with an apology for having disobeyed me.”

  “I apologize for disobeying you.”

  Daniel’s smile was tight. A smile Jo could not see when her head was tilted down and her gaze fixed on the top of his desk. “Perhaps you might put a little more sincerity behind those words.”

  “I sincerely apologize for disobeying you.”

  His eyes narrowed. “If you continue along this tack, you will shortly find my patience is at an end. Well?” he barked when she made no reply.

  “My lord, you did not ask a question but made a statement.”

  Daniel frowned as she continued to appear cowed. Appeared, because he was not at all sure she was sincere. In fact, he greatly doubted she was. “I warned you what would happen if you ran away from here, did I not?”

  “You did.”

  “Can you think of any reason why I should not carry out that threat?”

  “No.”

  “Why the hell are you being so…so bloody amenable?” he snapped.

  “You forbade me to speak earlier,” she reminded him. “I am merely doing as I was told.”

  He gave a derisive snort. “Then it will be the first time in our acquaintance.” He stood up restlessly to cross the room and open one of the windows. Perhaps a little fresh air would succeed in cooling his ardor. He drew in several deep breaths before speaking again. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you today in the woods?”

  Jo winced at the memory of the icy fear she had known when those men wrestled her to the ground, and their obvious glee when they discovered she was a woman rather than a boy. “I believe the men made their intentions clear, yes.”

  “Are you a virgin?”

  She did look up at that. “My lord!”

  The earl gave an unconcerned shrug at her obvious shock. “Either you are or you are not.”

  Color flushed her cheeks. “I am.”

  “Most innocent young women would be having the vapors by now.”

  “I am not most young women, my lord.”

  “No, you are not.” The earl crossed the room in two long strides to come to a halt in front of her. “But precisely who and what you are is still a mystery. Which is why you will now tell me your full name and what you are doing cavorting about the countryside disguised as a boy. And do not attempt to lie to me, or you will regret it,” he added harshly.

  Her eyes widened. “You will spank me again?”

  His smile lacked all humor. “Having considered that possibility, I believe we both enjoyed it too much last time for it to be considered a fitting punishment.”

  Jo’s cheeks blazed with color at the same time as she knew he spoke the truth. At least as far as she was concerned. It somehow made her feel less…shameless to know that Daniel had enjoyed it too.

  Jo had been delaying this conversation with her earlier compliance to his commands. But she knew by the determination in Daniel’s expression, she would not be allowed to delay telling him the truth a moment longer.

  Chapter 6

  Her chin rose. “My name is Lady Josephine Mary Elizabeth Kendall. I am the daughter and only child of the Marquis and Marchioness of March, now deceased. I was six when they died, after
which I resided with my grandfather, Edmund Kendall, the Duke of Cheshire, who is also now deceased. The present duke, Edgar Kendall, is my cousin.”

  There was no missing the edge of contempt in Jo’s voice as she spoke of her cousin, a man Daniel recalled had quite recently come into the title of the Duke of Cheshire. Which meant the loss of Josephine’s grandfather had also been recent.

  Daniel had never met the previous duke, that gentleman being something of a recluse. But he did know Edgar Kendall, having met the other man on several occasions during his visits to London for the Season. He could not say he particularly cared for the man. Kendall had always been full of himself, but his title of duke had caused him to become even more so. His choice of friends was also questionable, as was his penchant for gambling recklessly.

  Daniel looked for some resemblance between Jo and her cousin but could see none, not in their coloring or their facial features. The duke was dark and heavyset as opposed to Jo’s fairness and delicacy of frame and feature.

  “I have never seen you at a London Season…” He knew without a doubt he would have remembered her if he had.

  She smiled ruefully. “My grandfather did not care for Society or attending the Season, therefore neither did I.”

  He nodded. “The present duke is now your guardian?”

  Her smile faded. “Yes.”

  “And, unless I’m mistaken, also the reason you left your home in Cheshire and traveled the countryside dressed as a boy,” Daniel guessed shrewdly.

  Jo chewed on the lip which still showed a cut and bruising from her fight with Bates yesterday.

  Good God, was it only yesterday Daniel had discovered Jo was a beautiful young woman? So much had happened since that discovery, it seemed much longer than that. Certainly his constant state of arousal in her presence seemed to have been with him for an age rather than mere hours.

  Learning she had been the granddaughter of the previous Duke of Cheshire and was now cousin of the present one ensured that arousal would never be satisfied. Daniel did not indulge in dalliances with the ladies of Society.