lady. I could check."

"Please do." Tess slipped the nightdress over her head and tossed it on the bed. "I believe I am going to become a writer."

Willa gasped. "You, my lady?"

"Yes, me." She reached for a dress of periwinkle-blue kerseymere. White lace accented the low neckline

and the sleeves.

"What are you going to write?" Willa asked, her expression saying much more than mere words could that such an idea was completely preposterous.

Tess fingered the lace on the dress, considering her question, and then she smiled. "I think I shall write a

romance. One of those like Maria Edgeworth's. Except this one will be my story," she added softly.

Downstairs, in the public room, Brenn settled his bill with the innkeeper. The price of the room and the change of horses was exorbitant. He was fortunate to have Hamlin's three hundred pounds.

He deliberated over writing another letter to Mr. Goining, urging him to swift action in getting the cash out of Tess's investments, but discarded the idea. He didn't want to look too anxious, even if he was, but how long would it take to receive funds from Italy?

He hated thinking about it.

A few minutes later, Tess came down the stairs to join him for breakfast. He liked her in blue. The color

brought out the red in her hair and the blue of her eyes.

As she walked across the room, every full-blooded male turned and stared. But they'd noticed more than just her beauty. There was something special about her this morning. She was in love. She literally glowed with it.

Brenn recognized the signs. He could read it in her smile when she first caught sight of him and the way

her expression softened into dewy-eyed hero worship.

He crossed to meet her, taking her arm and leading her to their private dining room, another expense he hadn't antic.i.p.ated.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," she replied and then blushed with perfect maidenly modesty.

"I took the liberty of ordering breakfast for both of us."

"Oh," she said, "I rarely eat breakfast."

Brenn wished he'd known that. The meals in the King's Crown were three times the price they should be

-but he didn't say anything. Instead, he enjoyed a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausages and sent Tess'

s meal out to the posting boys.

She watched him eat, blushing whenever he looked at her. They sat so close together, his thigh brushed hers. The thought crossed his mind that now would be a good time to tell Tess the truth...but he didn't.

He told himself it was because Tess wasn't like most women. Her mind was keener. She would see right

though his tactics.No, it was best to let these newfound emotions season a bit. He promised himself he would confess thetruth before they reached Erwynn Keep, but he wouldn't do it any sooner than he had to...in case shedidn't take it well.

Within half an hour, they were back on the road. This time the silver chest was not between them.

"How long will it take us to arrive at Erwynn Keep?" Tess asked.

"We should be close to the border of Wales by late today. We won't actually arrive on my land until the

day after tomorrow."

Tess nestled beside him. "That's a long time to be cooped up in this coach."

The heat of desire flared up in Brenn. He brought his arms around her. "I know of ways to make the time

go faster."

"How?" she asked. She was still so sweetly innocent.

He bent his head and placed a kiss on the warm skin above her collar. "You smell good." He kissed the

underside of her chin.

"My mother's fragrance-"

He interrupted her with a kiss. She responded.

Pulling her skirt up one thigh, he slipped his hand under the petticoats and rubbed the warm, tender skin of her thigh. She sighed against his mouth, and he discovered she was already wet and ready for him.

Who would have thought that Tess Hamlin, the Ice Maiden, would be such a sensual creature? Her arms curved around his neck, the movement thrusting her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against his chest, and the next hour, aided by the rocking of the poorly sprung coach, pa.s.sed very quickly and pleasurably indeed.

Later, sated and drowsy, his half-dressed wife in his arms, Brenn finally conceded that marriage wasn't such a bad thing after all.

They stopped for lunch at a picturesque inn located beside a small stream. The food was delicious. They then continued their trip without taking time for rest. After another hour of travel, they turned off the main road to continue their journey to Wales. The poor condition of these roads would slow their journey. The luggage coach followed at an even slower pace.

Tess didn't mind. She was completely lost in a world of pa.s.sion. She had discovered the elixir, the meaning of life. Men and women should always make love, she decided. She could become addicted to it.

Tess, the Debutante, had vanished and in her place was a woman who was just now beginning to understand what life had to offer.

Her stocking feet in Brenn's lap, she said, "I don't want this trip to end. Not ever."

He stopped ma.s.saging her foot. "It has to end if we are to reach Erwynn's Keep."

Tess stretched with the satisfaction of a cat, enjoying the way his eyes followed the movement of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Her husband was a pa.s.sionate man. They were well-suited.

"I don't need Erwynn's Keep," she said. "I have everything I want right here." To emphasize her meaning, she lightly rubbed her foot against the masculine bulge in his breeches and almost purred when she felt him respond.

He laughed, his hand pushing her skirt up her leg. "Don't tell me you are bored.""I could be amused." She slid him a sly smile.His fingers untied the garter of one stocking. "I think I can imagine a game or two we can play."Tess giggled. "You're tickling.""Really? Right here?" His fingers found a new spot. A place that made her gasp.But before she could answer, a pistol shot rang out.The horses screamed in fear. The coach halted with a mighty jerk, throwing Tess to the floor. The postboy shouted as he tried to control the animals.

And then a strong male voice shouted, "Stand and deliver!"

"Highwaymen?" Tess said. She'd never imagined herself involved in anything so dangerous.

"d.a.m.n," Brenn said succinctly. He lifted her back up on the seat, pulling her skirt down as he did so.

"Tess, put on your shoes. We are going to have company."

"But what will they do to us?"

"Nothing, as long as we do what they say."

She'd just slipped on her slippers when the coach door was yanked open. A bedraggled man in a burlap sack mask, with two holes cut out for eyes, ordered them to get out. "You first," he ordered, pointing at Brenn with a huge, ominous-looking pistol.

Brenn held up his hands to show he had no weapon. "Easy with your weapon, mate. There is no need for bloodshed."

The highwayman didn't answer but stood back. Tess could see that as her husband unfolded himself out of the coach, his size and breadth made the highwayman nervous. Brenn started to help her down but a gruff command for him to move back from the coach door forced him to step back by the wheel.

Too frightened to speak, Tess climbed down. Her one stocking was still free of its garter and it hung loose around her ankle. Her hair was mussed. She refused to show fear.

The coach had been stopped where the quiet country road took a little dip into a gully. The area was framed by oak trees and overgrown hawthorn bushes. The luggage coach must have been at least a mile or more behind them.

The highwayman was not alone. His accomplice wore a similar mask and sat on a horse a few yards away, the rifle in his arms aimed straight at Brenn. The postboy, who in actuality was a man in his late twenties, stood with his hand on the horses' reins so they wouldn't bolt.

Tess choked back the desire to whimper and eased a step or two toward Brenn. She'd heard that people were robbed all the time, but this couldn't be happening to her.

One of her trunks suddenly fell on the ground. She looked up. A third robber stood on top of the coach, ransacking her trunks.