A Gentleman's Kiss Read online

  The scoundrel!

  Claudia looked back at the large townhouse and remembered her aunt was still inside. She shivered from the cold night air—and realized she had left her cape in there also. She debated whether or not she should go back inside and retrieve them both but knew she did not want to see the earl again. She was so irritated at him that she might say or do something irreparable.

  So she was committing a social faux pas by walking alone and would need a really clever explanation of why she left the ball without her aunt. Claudia felt it was worth it. Hugging her arms around her, she started the short walk to her grandfather’s home.

  Claudia had just rounded the corner and started down a particularly dark street when she was seized from behind. She opened her mouth to scream, but a rough hand clamped hard over it. Another hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her back against the offender’s chest.

  Fear and panic set in, but she kept herself still until her mind could think rationally. Maybe someone was playing a trick on her as her Choctaw friend, Sam, had done many times back in Louisiana. But the moment she smelled his foul breath at her cheek and the coarse wool scraping her arm, she knew this man was no friend.

  “ ’Ello, princess. Wot do we ’ave ’ere?” His gravelly voice grated in her ear, while his hand clutched at the jewels around her neck. Claudia thought she could twist free, but then she felt the cool touch of metal at her throat and realized he was holding a knife. “Set’le down, princess. All I want is ye pretty baubles. Me wife will look right fine wi’ them lovelies ’round ’er neck.”

  Claudia shivered not from the night air but from sheer terror, her cries muffled by the man’s hand. She felt the sting of the knife blade scraping her skin as he lifted the necklace.

  Her arms and hands still unbound, Claudia knew she had to get away or he would no doubt kill her. She raised her foot and stomped down as hard as she could with the heel of her boot into the soft leather of his boot. The man yelled and loosened his hold on her, enough for her to push the knife away from her throat and grab his other hand which she bit.

  The man swore with words she’d never heard. She broke away from him and started to run. But he caught her and pressed the knife even harder against her throat while the other held her arms tight behind her. “Now yuv done it,” he growled. “I’ll make ye pay for that.”

  Claudia’s breath came in short gasps. “Ple­–please, sir,” she cried. “You can have the jewels. Just please let me—”

  Suddenly he let go of her, the knife slicing through her gown and shoulder with one painful swipe. Shocked, she grabbed at her shoulder and turned slowly to find Cameron Montbatten slapping the knife away from the man then knocking him to the ground with one solid punch.

  The man, so menacing and frightening before, was lying prostrate on the ground with his hands out, begging Cameron to let him go. Cameron made a growling noise, which seemed so out of character for his usual calm and charming self. He stooped over and pulled the man off the ground then twisted his arm behind his back.

  Claudia stood frozen watching the scene before her, then saw him call to his waiting carriage for one of his footmen to tie up the man and take him to the police.

  Only when Cameron had released the man to his servant did he finally turn to her. Her heart melted when she saw his face so filled with concern.

  “Are you all right?” he asked softly. He walked over to her and reached out his hand to caress her cheek.

  Claudia swallowed hard and leaned toward him, wondering if he would offer a comforting embrace. “I believe he only wounded my shoulder,” she answered, though in truth she no longer felt the pain. Just being near him seemed to make everything. . .better.

  His hand left her cheek, and he inspected the wound on her arm. “You’re bleeding!”

  Now he’ll probably take me in his arms. She started to reach toward him.

  “Are you out of your mind?” he roared, and her waiting arms fell back to her side. Her confused gaze flew to his, and she was surprised by the angry scowl on his handsome face. “Every young woman in England knows better than to walk the streets of London alone at night. I should think you’d take better care of yourself than to do something this foolish.”

  Claudia gaped at him then cried, “You’re angry with me? I am accosted and nearly killed, and, instead of comforting me as a gentleman should, you yell at me as if it’s all my fault?”

  Cameron shook his head then ran his hand through his hair. “That is precisely what it is—your fault.” He threw his hands in the air. “You should have stayed on the terrace and waited for me. Instead you scampered over the gate like a wild Indian, tearing your dress and risking your reputation as well as your life. Is this what they taught you in your country?”

  “Of all the nerve!” Claudia gasped. “I’ll have you know, I’d rather be an Indian and an American any day than a snobbish, arrogant, prideful—dandy—like you.” And with that she twirled about and started walking again.

  She didn’t get very far because he took her arm in a gentle grip and turned her back around. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Home, if you don’t mind.” She stared at his hand on her arm.

  He shook his head. “Oh, no, you’re not. We’re going to my home and let my valet clean your wound. If you go to your grandfather’s looking like this, he’ll lock you up for the rest of the season.”

  He must know my grandfather, for that’s exactly what he would do. She saw no other recourse. “All right. But if you start yelling at me again, I’ll—well, I’ll”—she searched for the right words—“I’ll do something. You can be assured of it!” she finally finished. She knew he was hardly listening as he guided her to his large, black carriage.

  Once they were inside, she was surprised when he sat beside her on the cramped padded seat instead of across from her. It was an obvious attempt for him to show her he was in charge and that she must be looked after like a child.

  “How is your arm? Can you tell if it’s still bleeding?” he asked quietly.

  She sensed his concern but no longer wanted or needed it. “What? Are you afraid I might bleed all over your fine velvet?”

  Her barb only elicited a chuckle from him. “There is that—and if you bleed to death your grandfather might never believe I’m completely innocent in this whole affair.”

  Claudia made a huffing sound, removed her bloodstained glove, and put her hand to her shoulder. The pain was back, and though it was a bit sticky she could tell it was no longer bleeding badly. “I suppose it’s all right,” she told him with a deliberately weak voice. There was no reason to make him feel better after the way he had talked to her.

  It worked. “I’m going to move to your other side so I can examine it.” He got up, and she slid over; but the bumpiness of the carriage made it difficult for him to sit down carefully. He knocked her shoulder on his way down.

  “Oww! Now it really hurts!” She wished she had told him the truth in the first place. Serves me right.

  “I am truly sorry,” Cameron told her, cupping her shoulder with his hands and carefully laying aside the torn pieces of her gown.

  “It’s dark, Cameron. How will you tell if it’s all right or not?” Too late, Claudia realized she’d used his Christian name. She only hoped he hadn’t.

  But he had.

  “There is a little light from the moon. Now keep still and say my name one more time.”

  She could almost hear the smile in his voice. She wished she would mind her tongue better. “That was a mistake.”

  He took out his handkerchief, lay it over the wound, and tied it under her armpit. “If you say it, I promise not to yell at you anymore,” he whispered near her ear, causing chills to race down her arms.

  She glanced at him. “I don’t even like you,” she declared, though she
knew it wasn’t true. “And I doubt you’ll have an opportunity to yell at me again since we shall never see one another after this night.” She tilted her chin up and looked away.

  “Oh, come now. Of course you like me. I can tell,” he assured her, leaning closer.

  “You are extremely overconfident and arrogant—”

  “Yes, you’ve said that.”

  “And I could never like someone with those annoying qualities,” she finished despite his interruption.

  “You can prove it by saying my name.”

  She glanced at him again and could barely make out his features in the darkness. She had enough light, though, to see his teasing, self-assured smile.

  Very irritating.

  “This is ridiculous. Saying your name will prove nothing.”

  “No, no. When a lady speaks a man’s name while looking him in the eyes, he can tell how she truly feels about him.”

  Claudia didn’t believe a word of what he was saying but decided to play along. With the sternest glare she could muster and as little emotion as possible she started to say his name.

  “Camer—”

  Suddenly his lips descended upon hers. She was so surprised she did nothing but let him kiss her. And when the shock began to dissipate she found she actually liked his kissing her.

  In fact Claudia was about to kiss him back when Cameron broke the kiss as abruptly as he had started it.

  ❧

  Cameron could not comprehend what caused him to kiss her. Perhaps it was her beautiful face glowing so prettily in the moonlight, or perhaps he had felt like her conquering hero. Whatever it was, he had acted in a way he never had before.

  He tried to catch his breath and sort out his feelings on the matter, but a resounding slap on his cheek knocked him sideways.

  “Ow! I beg your—”

  “How dare you, you—you—cad!” she sputtered as any proper young miss had a right to. “What do you take me for? I am a lady, and we are not betrothed.”

  “Would you like to be?” Cameron asked without thinking.

  With a cry of frustration she leaped from her seat to sit across from him. “No, I would not like to be, you—scoundrel!”

  Cameron couldn’t help himself. He laughed. “Do young ladies sit around all day thinking of names to call gentlemen when they are vexed with them?”

  Claudia shook her finger at him. “Do not change the subject. I want an apology and a promise you will never kiss me again!”

  Cameron stared at her from across the carriage and grinned. “Well, I do apologize for kissing you. Even though I enjoyed it enormously”—Claudia gasped, but he continued—“it was not the right time and place for it to happen. But I cannot promise I will not kiss you again.”

  “Why not?” she cried.

  Cameron slid over to her side of the carriage and made her move to accommodate him. “Because I plan to do it again someday.”

  He could tell she was scrambling to find another name to call him but was saved when the carriage finally stopped.

  Cameron climbed out first and tried to help her from the carriage, but she refused his hand and managed to get down herself. He had the urge to laugh again at her stubbornness but kept himself under control. He’d been called enough outrageous names tonight anyway.

  It took only a moment for his butler, George, to answer the door and let them inside. George eyed Claudia as Cameron had known he would; he realized he had to get her into his study before any of the other servants saw and recognized her. Servants were notorious gossips and could easily ruin her reputation for being in a single man’s home alone.

  “George, this young woman was attacked after she exited the ball tonight. Do you think you can call for Brooks and have him bring his medical kit down here?” Brooks was his valet and could help with minor medical emergencies.

  The older man’s demeanor changed when he saw the blood and the makeshift bandage on Claudia’s shoulder. “Right away, my lord.”

  He looked at Claudia’s face then, and their gazes met. Cameron watched them stare at one another for a moment. Then George turned and walked up the large staircase to Cameron’s rooms.

  Cameron looked at Claudia and saw she was still following his butler with her gaze. “Is something amiss? Do you know George?”

  She regarded him blankly then shook her head. “No, I. . .” Her words drifted off. “I don’t think I know him, but he did seem familiar to me.” She smiled and shrugged. “Perhaps the loss of blood has made me a bit dopey.”

  Cameron smiled and motioned toward a large door off the foyer. “Let’s go in my study so we can tend to your wound.”

  As soon as he had made her comfortable, his valet came in. Brooks checked the wound but assured them it wasn’t deep and needed no stitches. He smeared some sort of medicine on it and bandaged it up.

  After he left the room Cameron offered her a cup of tea George had brought in for her to drink before he took her home.

  “Now that we are calm and thinking rationally,” Cameron began as she sipped the hot brew, “perhaps you can tell me why you dashed off before I could get out to the terrace.”

  Claudia sighed and set the cup in its saucer. “I saw you speaking to Lady Aurora through the window and thought you’d forgotten about me.” She quickly picked up the cup and took another sip of tea as if to hide her embarrassment for confessing such a thing.

  Cameron smiled and noted the soft pink of her cheeks. “I don’t believe I could ever forget you, Claudia,” he told her gently. “Why did you not simply go back into the ballroom?”

  She shrugged. “I feel so out of place at those gatherings. I have to watch everything I say or do, and even if I am on my best behavior, someone finds fault with me. I suppose I just felt like—being free.”

  “North has told me of the time he spent in Louisiana getting to know your family. It’s sounds very different from England.” He hoped she would tell him about herself. He was rewarded by the misty smile that curved her lips.

  “It is very different. There were rules, of course, and even society gatherings, but things were more relaxed. My sister and I would climb trees, row our pirogues down the bayou, and play with the Choctaw Indian children.” She glanced at him and grinned. “I suppose I must sound very uncivilized to you.”

  “Actually it sounds delightful.” He could hardly believe this warm, wonderful woman who was sharing her childhood with him was the same one showering him with insults an hour ago. But then he liked both her spunk and her sweetness. She was so unlike any woman he’d ever met, and he found he had a hunger to know more. “My childhood was nothing but tutors, boarding school, and then university. I suppose that’s why I traveled around the Continent for a year, to have a change of scenery and know the world I’d been learning about.”

  He took her empty teacup and saucer and set it on the table. “When you are the heir to a dukedom you spend your whole life getting ready for it. It can make for a very lonely existence.”

  “I’ve only had two years to prepare for my title, and it scares me I’ll be handed too much responsibility when my grandfather passes on. At least you’ll be more prepared.”

  He gazed at her a moment. “Perhaps your husband can assist you.”

  “Not you, too!” She waved her hand as if to ward off his words. “This is all I hear from Grandfather night and day. I must find a husband before I am too old and no one will want me. It puts a lot of pressure on a lady to hear that, especially since I have not met anyone I am remotely attracted to.”

  This was not what Cameron hoped to hear. “Surely you’ve met someone.”

  She stood and gazed about his room. “No. No one.” She picked up an animal figurine from his desk and studied it. “Is that what life is all about? Finding someone to marry?” She turned to face him. “Do
n’t you want to do something with your life besides attend balls and be seen riding through Hyde Park? I’ve always thought God wanted me to do something special, something to help someone.”

  Cameron wanted to continue the discussion about her earlier comments concerning marriage but found himself intrigued by her passionate admission. “Yes, I have felt that way. I, too, desire to follow the path God has laid out for me. I believe it’s in every man who is a Christian to want to do something for the Father’s kingdom.”

  Claudia looked at him, her eyes wide. “You’re saying this because you think it’s what I want to hear.”

  He frowned. “I speak the truth.”

  She pointed the figurine at him. “Oh, no. I spoke to your mother earlier, and she all but admitted she wants us to make a match.”

  He shook his head. He wondered what his mother had said to her. “What would be wrong with that?” he asked carefully.

  “Didn’t you hear me earlier? I don’t like you. You insulted my friend then left me on the terrace to freeze to death while flirting with that little brunette.”

  “I didn’t intentionally insult your friend, and I wasn’t flirting with anyone. I saved your life tonight! Doesn’t it prove to you I’m a good person?”

  “Yes, but then you yelled at me instead of comforting me. What sort of gentleman does that?”

  Cameron ran his hands through his hair and wondered how the conversation had gone so wrong. “What you did was insane! I felt it my duty to point out to you the error of your ways.”

  “Well, you can tell your mother that if and when I find a man I want to marry he will be gentle and kind and. . .know how a woman wants to be treated after she’s been accosted!”

  Cameron shook his head. “I doubt there is a man in all the world who could live up to your lofty standards. And if there is, will he be able to live with your ever-changing moods?”