The Devil's Web by Mary Balogh Page B

into his arms and kiss her. She was very young and fresh and pretty. Very kissable.
    And he needed to hold a woman and kiss her. With warmth and affection, and just a manageable dose of desire. A woman who would not constantly make him feel guilty. One he could feel free to love, free even to marry if he so chose. A woman who was not Madeline.
    But if he kissed Jean, he would be making a very clear declaration of intent. She was too young to dally with. He would be telling her by his actions that he wanted her as a wife. He did not know at all what her feelings on the matter were. Sometimes he thought that she clearly favored him. At other times he thought that she saw him only as a type of elder and rather indulgent brother.
    But Duncan would expect him to marry his sister if he kissed her. And so would Douglas. Even if he were to go back inland with the fur brigades and could be expected to remain there for years and probably take a native woman for a wife, they would still expect him to marry Jean once he had kissed her. For those country marriages, of course, were unsanctioned by either church or state.
    It would be an expensive kiss. And he was not at all sure that he was prepared to pay the price.
    He smiled down at Jean and quickened their pace.
    During the next few minutes Anna overheard Ellen remark to Dominic that when they got back it would be time for her to take the babies into one of the carriages in order to nurse them. If those babies were to be played with, Anna declared, there was no time to be wasted. And it seemed that Jennifer and Jean agreed with her. The men and Ellen were left laughing as the three of them marched off, arm in arm, in the direction of the carriages.
    â€œAbandoned for a pair of bald babies!” Walter complained. “The cut direct.”
    â€œThose ladies recognize a handsome lad when they see one,” Dominic said. “Charles has a pair of fine gray eyes. He inherited them from his mother.”
    Ellen smiled at James. “Anna and Jennifer have been the best of friends since they met last summer,” she said. “I am glad they have adopted Miss Cameron too. She is a charming young lady. She seems to be enjoying herself.”
    â€œShe is,” he said. “She has just been telling me that she wishes she could stay in England.”
    â€œOh, dear,” she said, “what will her father have to say to that?”
    He began to stroll back slowly beside her and her husband. It was quite understandable, he thought, that Jean had been so captivated by the English countryside. He was feeling a quite strong nostalgia himself, walking among the trunks of large and ancient oak trees. Although he had renounced his home and now thought of Canada as the place where he belonged, there was indeed no place like England.
    He looked about him and breathed in the heavy scents of summer.
    And his eye was caught by a flutter of yellow, lighter and flimsier than any leaf or petal. He looked again. She was almost out of sight, leaning up against the trunk of a tree, only a part of her muslin skirt and one bare elbow visible from where he stood. And she seemed to be alone.
    â€œI’ll catch up to you,” he said to the others, and looked about him as they strolled on. He stood there awhile, uncertain what to do. Instinct had stopped him. Common sense told him to move on. But common sense had never figured largely in his dealings with Madeline Raine.
    He walked among the trees until he could come around the one against which she stood and see her fully.
    She must have heard his approach. She did not seem unduly startled. She did not move either, but merely looked at him. Her head was back against the trunk of the tree.
    â€œMadeline?” he said. “What is it?”

    â€œY OU DO NOT WISH to go walking?” Colonel Huxtable asked Madeline.
    â€œIn a moment,” she said. “I must talk to Allan first.”
    But it was merely an excuse. Allan