Secluded with the Rogue

Chapter 4

Four

I t was just past nightfall, but Drew had a tendency to keep early dining hours when he was at home, especially when he had the whole evening ahead of him to enjoy peace and solitude. Once Polly had delivered his meal, he sent her off to the home she shared with Billy above the stables. It was a space his mother had turned into a home for the two of them as a wedding present. Polly, as usual, hadn't wanted to leave Drew alone this evening, but that was precisely what he had wanted.

No, needed.

Drew sighed happily as he settled in by the fire with a glass of scotch and a new treatise on modern sailing practices. He was always interested in how he might get the best out of his ships and men. New ideas were definitely welcome. He took a sip and set his glass down, his eyes focused on a most fascinating paragraph.

A faint clacking sound carried down the hall and into his study.

Although he stopped and listened, there was nothing. Drew looked back at the page he was reading when he heard it again. Had Polly crept back into the house for something?

Rising, Drew went to investigate, hearing the noise again as he stepped into the hallway and made his way toward the kitchens. It was nearly as faint as it had been when he was in the study, but there was no doubt about it.

Someone was knocking on the front door.

Who in the bloody hell would be out in a snowstorm like this? He peeked out a window next to the door and could see the shapes of two horses standing near the front.

Horses?

Drew quickly opened the door to see what in the world was going on and, as he did, a figure collapsed. Instincts took over: he caught their shoulders before they hit the ground and slipped an arm under them before he scooped up their legs. Her legs. It was a woman. He could see that much from the wet woolen skirts draped over his arm, as well as the gently rounded figure pressed against him.

A woman, here? On his doorstep?

Drew carried her into his study where he had a roaring fire going, and laid her on the small sofa he had there before grabbing a nearby throw blanket and tucking it in around her shoulders. It was only when he reached out to ring the bell that he remembered that no one else was in the house.

The two of them were alone.

As Drew looked at her face in the well-lit room, he drew in a sharp breath. It couldn't be. He looked closer. No, it had to be her . It could only Charlie—or Charlene, as she preferred to be called. But it had been years, years since he had last seen her. What was she doing here, at this time, in this weather? Of all the doorsteps she had to collapse on, why his?

Smothering a curse, Drew bent to stoke the fire. She needed warmth right now, not unkind thoughts, or so he tried to remind himself. After all, their last parting had hardly been friendly. As he remembered it, she had punched him in the stomach and then skipped away.

He stiffened when she moaned softly. Dear God, the sound had his cock twitching in his trousers. Drew gasped a quick inhale and willed his body to cease such nonsense. This was not a time to be thinking about bedding a woman—and most certainly not this woman. He sighed.

Clearly, he had been too long without female companionship.

Behind him, a soft voice broke over the crackle and pop of the fire. “Huh…hello? Where am I?”

Drew gritted his teeth as his body's traitorous behavior continued. He turned around, hoping the shadows might help hide his inappropriate response. “Charlene. Welcome to Glenn Ivy Manor.”

Her face froze. “Bloody hell, you're home.”

His mirthless laugh was more of a bark. “My thoughts exactly.”

She sighed. “Oh…oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to say that aloud.”

He chuckled softly, almost to himself. “I'm sure you didn't. Although the girl I remember might have.”

Charlene frowned and sat up, letting the blanket covering her fall to her lap. “Yes, well. I am neither a girl, nor the one you remember. I've grown up.”

He bit the inside of his cheek. She had indeed grown up, rather nicely. Opting not to voice his enthusiastic agreement aloud, he focused on the issue at hand. “What in the blazes are you doing out in a snowstorm?”

Her face suddenly went as pale as the snow on the ground. “John! I can't believe I forgot about John! Bloody hell!” She tossed the blanket aside and stood up but she swayed on her feet before collapsing back on the sofa as she moaned again.

Damn his unruly cock. The bloody thing twitched again.

“John? Who's John?” Her lover? Her husband? Drew gritted his teeth as both ideas sparked the desire to punch something. What the hell was wrong with him? This girl had been the absolute bane of his existence as a boy. But now…

“John—he’s my driver. I was trying to get home to Brookhaven when the storm came upon us. There was nowhere to stop, John insisted we press on, but a few miles from here we had a…a misadventure. John was thrown from the driver's bench and he was injured. I took the horses to go for help.”

“Bloody hell indeed! Let me go get Polly and Billy—and you, you stay put.” Drew ran out of the study. There was a man in the snow somewhere depending on him to rescue him.

D rew returned to the study to find the obstinate woman doing exactly the opposite of what he'd instructed.

No surprises there.

Charlene was wandering around the room looking at his books. She at least had the blanket wrapped around her, he noted, and had stayed near the fire. But still.

“I told you to stay put,” he snapped as he walked in, followed by Polly.

“I'm still here.” Charlene waved an arm at the room they were in as she glared at him in equal measure.

“I meant for you to stay on the sofa. You nearly fainted again when you stood up the last time.” His glare was just as fierce as her own.

Polly was notably silent as they bickered.

“I simply stood too fast. I went much slower this time without you hovering over me and growling.” Charlene stepped closer to the fire. “I'm sorry, you must be Polly. Lady Charlene.”

Polly smiled and stepped compassionately over to her. “A pleasure to meet you, my lady, despite these circumstances. I'm this crusty old sailor's housekeeper. Don't mind him, he's always grumpy when he's first back from a trip. In fact, I rather believe he’s a grump by nature.” Polly slipped an arm around Charlie and gently ushered her back toward the sofa in a subtle move Drew recognized and approved of, even if he disagreed with what she was saying. “I think he misses the sea and doesn't know how to cope with being on land again. He always grows sweeter as his next trip approaches.” With a gentle movement, she urged Charlie to sit back down.

Drew snorted at such a description. He was never sweet .

Charlie looked around the room. “Did you send someone to John?” She pushed the blanket off her shoulders again. “I can’t stay here—I should go with him. I need to show him where John is.”

Polly tutted. “Absolutely not, my lady! You cannot go back out in that weather.”

Drew shook his head, unable to disagree with his housekeeper. “Billy is just getting the sleigh hitched to the team and putting your mounts in the stable. He and I shall go find John. I assume you were coming from London?”

“Yes, but I?—”

“You will be more hindrance than help. Besides, there isn't room on the sled for so many people. We'll need to lay John down in the back, especially if he is injured. Stay here with Polly and Billy and I shall go fetch your man. Polly, I believe James had one of the guest bedchambers opened before everyone departed. Please see that Charlie—Charlene is settled there. Get another room ready for her driver. I'm certain he will require a bed when he arrives.” He turned and stalked out of the room before he said something he might really regret.

Within five minutes he had met Billy out by the stables and they had both climbed onto the sled and headed out into the heavy snow. They had a coachman to rescue.

I t took him nearly an hour to make their way down the road to find the wrecked coach. Even with a snowdrift swallowing nearly half of the carriage, it was easy enough to spot. Drew tied off the reins of the sled as he and Billy hopped down. As they walked around the wreck looking for the coachman—John, wasn’t that what she'd called him?—he marveled that Charlie escaped the wreck unscathed. The coach was nearly on its side in a ditch. As he found the driver's seat, he spotted a lump of snow that seemed to have a head.

“John?” He knelt down to clear some of the snow from the man.

The driver moaned softly, but didn't respond, which Drew knew was not good. The man was freezing, half buried in the still falling slow. It was time to get him somewhere warm.

It had been Billy’s idea to get a small brazier going on the sled to help warm him on the way back to Glenn Ivy. He didn't bother trying to have the man stand since he was clearly half frozen and wasn't even able to speak—he and Billy lifted John along with the woolen blanket he was sitting on. It appeared Charlie had done well for the man under the circumstances.

Once they had him settled in the sleigh with dry blankets and a dry fur lap robe, Billy went through the wreck and searched for any luggage. After a few minutes, he returned with two travel bags and the mackintosh the man had been sitting on.

“Let's get him back to the house. He needs an actual fire and some warmth,” Drew said as he snapped the reins and got the sleigh moving. He circled around using a nearby field and then headed back toward Glenn Ivy—and the woman who had shattered his peace.