LITMIR.BIZ

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It was shameful of you to kiss her like that earlier. Little wonder she is still bristling and angry with you.’

      Lucas grinned. ‘’Tis nothing but a minor skirmish—besides, I found kissing her downright nice.’

      Thomas saw a flash of the roguish charm that he knew was his friend’s stock-in-trade. ‘I’m sure you did. You seem to regard all women as objects for your pleasure.’

      Lucas laughed, a rich, rolling sound deep in his chest. ‘Perhaps you are right, Thomas. Why complicate life by thinking of them as anything else? Why confine myself to just one when I can make a whole lot happy?’

      ‘Lucas,’ said Thomas, the formality of his tone wiping the grin from his friend’s lips, ‘Prudence is a naïve eighteen-year-old. Do you comprehend that? You can’t blame me for being concerned for her well being—with your hellhound reputation. Under normal circumstances the pressures of society would have dictated that I demand you marry her—so you can consider yourself fortunate that, in all the confusion of the King’s homecoming, I have no wish to play the heavy brother and will overlook your public indiscretion. But mark me well, Lucas—I have no wish to see her become just another of your conquests.’

      Until he and Lucas had parted company five years ago, when Lucas had left him to seek adventure and to savour the excitement of the East, his name had been linked with every beautiful female at the King’s Court, but marriage had not been among the things he offered. Exactly where he had gone when they had parted company was as much a mystery to Thomas as it was to everyone else, and whatever had happened to his friend during those years of absence he kept to himself. His easy charm and his quick and sparkling eyes attracted as much attention as ever, but behind the sparkle they were forever watchful. However, despite their friendship, his unrestrained reputation made Lucas the last man Thomas wanted to show interest in Prudence.

      Lucas grinned at him mercilessly. ‘Small chance of that,’ he mocked, ‘since your little sister seems to loath the very air I breath.’

      ‘She scarcely knows you. However, you can be relied upon to change her mind,’ Thomas replied drily. ‘I know how adept you are at persuasion.’

      ‘I like and respect you too much, Thomas. I won’t abuse your friendship and trust by seducing your sister.’

      ‘Then what are you doing out here with her—alone in the dark?’

      ‘Apologising.’

      ‘Good Lord! I’m happy to discover that there are some redeeming qualities in you after all. I did wonder.’ Thomas spoke with a smile on his lips, but his voice held a hint of sarcasm that did not go undetected by Lucas. ‘Did she accept your apology?’

      ‘No—but I dare say she would have, had you not chosen that moment to come looking for her. Why did you?’

      ‘Because of something I told her earlier, which I think may have upset her.’ He frowned, clearly troubled. ‘I strongly suspect she has a fondness for Adam Lingard.’

      ‘But Adam’s a respectable married man.’

      ‘Unfortunately Prudence didn’t know that. I suspect she’s been carrying a candle for him since he left for The Hague—that she has feelings for him. To be told they will not be reciprocated—which I have just done—I sense has hit her hard and was her reason for coming out here. So go easy with her, Lucas.’

      ‘You’re asking me to behave myself. Is that it, Thomas?’

      ‘That’s it.’

      Lucas looked at his friend hard for a long time and suddenly, to his own surprise, he said, ‘You have my word.’

      Thomas hesitated, searching Lucas’s face. ‘Then in that I am thankful. Of all the things you have been accused of, not even your worst enemy would dare imply that you were guilty of breaking your pledged word. I hope the same will apply when you finally take a wife. Will prayers and rings make a difference to how you conduct your life, Lucas?’

      ‘When I marry I shall have a complete and abiding love for the woman whose life I share,’ Lucas said calmly, his expression grave. ‘I admit that I’ve done things over the years I’m not proud of, things that make me ashamed to think about, but somewhere along the way I began to see things differently. I’m home now, like every other Royalist who has been plotting towards this end, and there are many things that need to be done. I’m tired of wandering, Thomas. From this day I intend to live out the rest of my life at Marlden Hall.’

      ‘And marriage?’

      Lucas gave Thomas a rueful smile. ‘I have given the matter considerable thought. Should I die childless, my estate will pass to my cousin Jeffrey—who, to my reckoning, is wealthy enough,’ he said, his voice laced with dislike when he spoke of his cousin. ‘Consequently I must provide myself with an heir, which is why I must take a wife. But I have no intention of adhering to custom by chaining myself to any woman I might only have a passing fancy for, in order to beget one.’

      This came as no surprise to Thomas. Over the years Lucas’s name had been linked to a long chain of beautiful women. He attracted them effortlessly, leaving a trail of shattered hearts and a host of furious parents of discarded and ruined daughters in his wake. Because his life so far had been one long adventure, the only part women had played had been to satisfy his sexual appetite. In Lucas’s opinion they were irrelevant, dispensable and replaceable, and when a woman became too possessive he quickly became unobtainable. Thomas had begun to think that his friend would never marry, so he was pleasantly surprised by what he had just confided.

      ‘Then whoever you choose will have to be quite exceptional to capture the heart of the elusive and extremely desirable Lucas Fox. But what of your uncle, George Fox? Does he still reside at Marlden Hall?’

      ‘Unfortunately that is so. Like ourselves, many families were divided during the war years. For those who had faith, believing that the things they fought for were right, then they deserve our respect. They were our enemies—but honourable enemies. I fear the same cannot be said of my uncle or his son. Unlike my father, who believed in the principles of the war, and that the King is the defender of the true church and his majesty sacrosanct, Uncle George had no such noble beliefs. Having no deep convictions for either side, he declared for Parliament because it was expedient for him to do so. By so doing he avoided the sequestrations imposed on Royalists, so I suppose Marlden Hall has fared better than most.’

      ‘Knowing there is no love lost between the two of you, I don’t suppose you will allow him to remain living at Marlden Hall when the property is returned to you.’

      ‘No. In any case his position is threatened now the King has returned. It is almost certain that all Royalist properties gained by the regicides will be rescinded. My uncle may not have signed that notorious death warrant for the execution of Charles I, but it is widely known that he actively supported it. He will be lucky to escape with his neck intact. It is the reason why my estate, if I should die before him, would pass to Jeffrey. Uncle George believes I am dead, so I imagine my return will come as something of a shock.’

      ‘I see,’ Thomas murmured, curious to know more about those few missing years in his friend’s life he knew nothing about, but something in Lucas’s shuttered eyes warned him against it. It was something of a dark and sinister nature that had been there ever since they had become reunited at Breda before sailing for England. ‘I’m not about to badger you into telling me what you got up to when you left me in France five years ago, but I have the feeling that the adventure you embarked upon was not all you hoped it would be.’

      Lucas’s jaw tensed and a hard glitter entered his eyes. ‘You’re right. It wasn’t. Although I dare say there are those who would find it a vastly amusing tale,’ he said with much irony. ‘My cousin Jeffrey in particular, with whom I have a score to settle when next we meet. You were right when you said there is no love lost between my uncle and I, but there are no words to describe what my feelings are for Jeffrey.’

      ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

      Lucas was silent

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