Page 159 of A Perilous Passion

Good heavens. What was happening to her? How could the mere thought of being in that undignified position arouse such a blaze of excitement deep inside?

It was tragic that the one man who’d let her down so badly was the only man ever to inspire such elemental desire within her. The feeling of frustrated need threatened to break her apart.

She stared through the doorway of the barn, eager for distraction. It was dark inside, even though the sun cast occasional speckles of light on the floor through holes in the roof. A stale smell assaulted her nose—rotting straw, ancient chaff, and accumulated dust. A rustle from above revealed a little owl perched on a beam, and she tilted her head back to get a better view of it.

A large hand clapped over her mouth, and she was pulled back against a sturdy male body.

No, not again!

She hoped against hope she’d not accidentally stumbled into the clutches of one of Culverdale’s men.

A familiar voice against her ear exclaimed, “Charlotte!”

She shook the hand away from her mouth and spun round, staring up in astonishment. Eventually she found her voice.

“My God. Justin?”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Justin lifted Charlotte off her feet and swung her round. “Yes, it’s me. How fortunate you should come here!” he exclaimed delightedly.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. “But— How did—?”

He laughed and swung her around again. “I’d been cudgeling my brain to work out how to let you know I was here. I’ve been lurking, hoping some small child might saunter past whom I could bribe to deliver a note.”

She pushed herself out of his arms and waited until the world stopped spinning. “Oh Justin, you’re safe!” For now at least. Oh, this was a disaster of the first order! “Have you lost your mind? Whatever possessed you to desert?”

His grin didn’t waver. “Did you not get my last letter? It explained everything.”

“Good heavens, I never thought you’d actually do it.”

“I’d risk anything for you, you know that. And God, I hate the army.”

He’d come for her? That was the last thing she wanted to happen, and also the last thing she felt able to talk about. “How did you manage to get here in once piece, all the way from Scotland?”

“It’s a long story, my angel, but you shall hear it in time. I confess I’m hungry and weary from the journey, but I daresay, seeing you is all the food I need. It’s like manna from heaven!”

This was not good. She didn’t want him to think of her in that way. “We’ve plenty of food at home,” she said.

“No, I daren’t come with you. Not yet, anyway. They may be looking for me.”

“Could you have been followed all the way from Scotland?”

“I doubt it—there aren’t the resources. But a letter or dispatch can be sent easily enough to the local militia with my description. I just hope there’s no bounty on my head. Or if there is, it’s not generous enough to tempt anyone.”

“Perhaps you should go to Dorchester. It’s a big place, and you can lose yourself in a crowd, whereas you’d soon be spotted in a small village like Fortuneswell.”

And Rafe would find out about Justin, which could cause any number of complications.

Justin seized her hand. “But I had to see you, my love. I couldn’t bear to wait. Don’t send me away when I’ve only just arrived.”

My love. The words clattered discordantly through her mind, and she pulled away. “Please don’t call me that, Justin. It’s been a long time.”

His smile wavered. He took her by the shoulders and turned her to look earnestly into her eyes. “It’s only been a few short months,” he said. “Though it felt like an eternity. Why can’t I call you my love?”

She looked away, dreading to see the pain in his eyes. “You know why,” she said. “All association between us is forbidden. I wasn’t allowed to leave the cottage for months after our plan to elope was discovered.”

“But we don’t care what our families say, do we? Nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of true love. I reach my majority next year—then no one can keep us apart.”