Rebel Enchantress by Leigh Greenwood

room. “She should have come down before now.”
    Serena always tried to make sure her daughter was present when Nathan was home. He wasn’t sure how Priscilla felt about her mother’s plan for them to marry. His cousin’s response to him followed one of two patterns. She was either simpering and suggestive or unaware of his presence. He had no idea which approach represented her true feelings, and he wasn’t interested enough to find out.
    But Priscilla’s arrival spared him from having to look for her. She descended the stairs, dressed in a rose-colored silk gown which became her admirably. Her hair was bound up under a cap that seemed to be composed entirely of ribbons and flowers. It wasn’t to Nathan’s taste, but he imagined the men inside would like it well enough.
    Maybe Priscilla would take their minds off Delilah.
    He was still angry over the way they had bunched around her as if she were a tavern wench in heat. Because Delilah’s family was not as well off as they were, was she fair game for their lusts? And by what stretch of the code governing decent behavior did they have the effrontery to tell him he must be sleeping with her or planning to do so?
    That inference made him feel guilty for the thoughts he had harbored the last several days. True, he wanted Delilah more than any woman he’d ever met, but he hadn’t insulted her by assuming that because he wanted her she would yield. In fact, from the little bit he knew of Delilah, she would do just the opposite.
    Priscilla sidled up to Nathan, a simpering grin detracting from her prettiness.
    “Your mother’s been asking for you,” he said. “She’s trying to turn this into a social occasion, and I think she wants your help.”
    “Are you running away? Do you want me to come with you?” She gave him a provocative look.
    Nathan didn’t voice the reply which came to mind. Instead he said, “And have your mother looking for both of us?”
    “She wouldn’t bother if she knew I was with you.”
    There was that witless I’ll-do-anything-you-want look. It made Nathan feel like the quarry in a fox hunt. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    “Where’re you going?”
    Nosy female. “There are some things a man has to do in private.”
    Priscilla giggled, but no answering smile found its way to Nathan’s lips. The minute she entered the parlor, he slipped out the front door.
    To the east of the house lay the stables and the home farm, to the west lay the garden and the river.
    Nathan went west.
    He hadn’t gone very far before he stopped. He had never been in the garden, he had only looked at it from his room, and he suddenly felt out of place. The soft murmuring of the river formed a backdrop for the sounds of tree frogs and the crunching of Nathan’s boots on the gravel of the carriage drive. It was dark under the trees. He had to wait until he could see where to step. Tripping over the stones that lined the path and finding himself in the rose bed or the fish pond didn’t appeal to him at all.
    The river was closer now, the gurgling its waters made while swirling around rocks, limbs, and tree roots louder. He became aware of the soft whisper of rustling leaves, On silent wings, a bat floated by his head, causing Nathan to start.
    This was nothing like London at night.
    Then he saw her, leaning against a picket fence, staring out at the reflection of the moon on the river. She had never looked more lovely, like a goddess, all pale and beautiful, almost too perfect. The only touch of color was the deep red of her generous mouth. Nathan longed to kiss those lips, to taste their sweetness, to feel them respond to his touch and part in invitation.
    He had to stop dunking of them, or he wouldn’t be in a decent state to approach her.
    Should he go to her now? They weren’t on very good terms, and he had no idea what had made her leave the house. He might say something that would make her run from him.
    He didn’t want to do that.
    The sound of