"I was merely acting in my brother's stead. He seems to be quite protective of you."

"From what I know of Caleb... Captain Tanner, he is simply a protective sort of man."

"Perhaps. You should know, in that same way, I am equally protective of him. He's my brother, Vermillion. I don't want to see him hurt."

Her eyes widened. "How could I possibly hurt your brother?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Just make certain that you do not."

She might have argued, told him that what happened between her and Caleb was none of his concern, but there was something about Lucas Tanner that commanded people to do his bidding. It was a trait that seemed to run in the family. Or perhaps it was the glint in those hard blue eyes that promised retribution if she didn't heed his words.

Since the notion was preposterous and in all likelihood she was the one who was going to get hurt, she simply kept her silence.

"I thought your brother might join us. Where is he?"

"I'm afraid I haven't seen him. Caleb has an annoying habit of disappearing."

"Yes, so I've noticed."

Luc took her arm and started toward the punch bowl. "As I said, I think I could use something to drink."

Grateful for the distraction, Lee let him lead her away.

While the guests enjoyed the picnic, Caleb managed to slip into several of the rooms, but his brief search turned up nothing. Later, after Gabriella and her party returned to the house, he joined a small gathering in the music room where Lee entertained on the harp. He was surprised by her skill. She plucked the chords so beautifully it made his chest feel tight. He watched until she quit playing, hoping to speak to her, but as soon as she finished, her usual throng of panting men swarmed around her and he walked away in disgust.

Little by little, the afternoon slipped into evening and the night's entertainments began. He hadn't spoken to Lee all day and he was beginning to feel restless as he watched her bantering with her admirers. Earlier, from a distance, he had seen her talking to Colonel Wingate and Sir Peter Peasley, had watched her in conversation with Major Sutton and even his brother Luc.

Now supper was over and the dancing had begun. Mondale stood beside Lee in the drawing room and the next thing he knew the two of them were slipping outside onto the terrace.

Caleb's senses went on alert. Entering the terrace from the opposite end, he watched the two of them together, saw the damnable rake sweep her into his arms. Mondale kissed her, and anger shot through him. He wanted to tear the man apart, wanted to put Lee over his knee and paddle her until she saw Andrew Mondale for the womanizing rake he was.

The only thing that kept him standing in the shadows was knowing that he would be forced to leave Parklands if he did either of those things and he couldn't afford for that to happen.

He watched her break away from Mondale, ending the kiss. They talked a little while longer, then finally returned to the house.

Caleb's anger didn't lessen.

Dammit, he had always been a little hot-tempered, but Lee drove him nearly mad. He felt possessive of her as he never had another woman. He found himself thinking about her at the oddest times, remembering her in the stable smiling up at old Arlie or galloping over the fields, red hair flying behind her like a gleaming ruby flag.

He wanted her. Constantly. Ached with wanting her.

It was madness, he knew. His life was the army. It was what he did and he was good at it. He was, in fact, a hero of sorts, a soldier who had made his father proud.

Still, as the evening progressed and he saw Lee make her way alone out into the garden, he found himself following her into the darkness, remembering that he had seen her in the shadows kissing Mondale, wondering if she planned a secret tryst with him.

He told himself to hang on to his temper and hoped to hell he would succeed.

Lee tipped her head back, resting it against the pale knotted bark of a birch tree, staring up through the leafy branches. Thank God, she'd finally been able to escape. Every night, the evening seemed to grow longer, more tedious. The house was stuffy. The rooms smelled of candle wax and the cloying scent of women's perfume. Encouraging the colonel last night had been a mistake, and Mondale-dear Lord, the man must have at least three sets of hands!

Lee looked up through the branches, into the darkness broken by the glitter of stars, and inhaled a cleansing breath. Out here it was cool and the soft night beckoned. Here in the garden, she was at peace, able to absorb the sound of the crickets in the grass, the distant clink of crystal, and the faint notes of music coming from inside the house.

The week was slipping past. She had continued to dig for information and tonight she thought she might have come up with something at last. She needed to speak to Caleb, but all evening she had only caught an occasional glimpse of him.

She wondered where he was, thought of Juliette Beauvoir, and felt the sharp burn of jealousy. Or perhaps he had disappeared from Parklands as he had before. Her stomach knotted at the thought and because it did, her temper inched up. She relaxed when she spotted a shadowy figure moving along the path in her direction and realized it was Caleb. Her heart kicked up and she cursed him for the ease with which he could affect her.

He stopped when he reached her and the usual scowl appeared on his face. "Surprised to see me?"

She tried not to think of Juliette Beauvoir. Being jealous of the woman was ridiculous. Caleb had rarely looked in her direction, and yet... "As a matter of fact, I am. You were missing all afternoon." She gave him a silky smile. "But perhaps you were otherwise entertained."

Caleb didn't seem to catch the inference. "I've been busy." A note of sarcasm crept into his voice. "But then you've been rather busy yourself."

"Exactly how would you know?"

"Because I saw you. Out on the terrace with Mondale. I saw you kissing him, Lee."

Damn. She thought she had been discreet.

"That's right... there you were on the terrace, behaving like a harlot, and Mondale was lapping it up."

Heat washed into her cheeks. He had a way of goading her, making her want to lash out at him, and she couldn't seem to stop herself from doing it again. "Actually, Caleb-I am a harlot. Your harlot. In case you have forgotten."

His eyes went dark. "I haven't forgotten anything about you. Not for a moment. I remember exactly the size of your breasts, the way your nipples tighten when I cup them in my hands. I remember what it's like to be inside you. It's you who seems to have trouble remembering." His dark eyes snapped with fire. "But perhaps I can remedy that."

He gripped her shoulders, dragged her toward him. She felt the heat of his mouth over hers as he claimed a hard, angry kiss. She should have pulled away, should have railed at him for believing the worst of her. She should have told him the truth about Andrew, that she had only been with him on the terrace because she was trying to help, but her nipples were already hard, her body begging him to continue.

He must have read her thoughts for a groan escaped his throat. The gown was low cut, not much of a barrier. Caleb shoved the shimmering fabric off her shoulders, baring her breasts, and captured the fullness in his hands. He palmed them, molded them, bent his dark head and took the weight of one into his mouth. Her nipple tightened, distended, sent a shaft of pleasure shooting through her. She swayed toward him, clutched his powerful shoulders to stay on her feet.

"Caleb..."

"That's right, sweetheart. This time, I want you to remember." His attack resumed, turned relentless. Deep, thorough kisses that stirred her blood and sent her arms up to twine around his neck. He kissed her as he shoved up her skirt, found her core, and began to stroke her. He knew exactly where to touch her, how to caress her, used his skillful hands until she was trembling, wet and ready, and begging him to take her, making soft little whimpering sounds in her throat.

One of his big hands worked the buttons on the front of his navy blue breeches and he freed himself. Caleb lifted her and she felt his hardness poised at the entrance to her passage. With one deep thrust, he buried himself to the hilt.

Oh, dear God. He was as hard as stone and so big he filled her completely. He eased himself out, then thrust back in. Deep strokes impaled her, rocked her against the trunk of the tree. He cupped her bottom, bracing her as he drove into her again and again. Pushing her skirt up out of the way, he wrapped her legs around his waist, began to drive deeper, faster, harder.

Her head fell back. Her body trembled, tightened. Pleasure rolled through her in powerful waves.

"That's it, sweeting. Let go." And she did, her body shaking, quivering, straining, the pleasure so intense she bit down on her lip to keep from crying out.

Caleb reached his release a few moments later, the muscles in his shoulders going taut as he spilled his seed. For long moments, he said nothing. Then his forehead dropped down, and rested against her own, and he just held her.

Reality began to drift in and her mind began to clear. She remembered where they were and that someone might stubble upon them, even out here in the farthest, darkest reaches of the garden. Caleb must have remembered as well, for he gently set her back on her feet.

He finished buttoning his breeches, then began to help her straighten her clothes. For a moment he paused, and she realized he was looking at the wine-colored, star-shaped mark on her left shoulder.

"I noticed this the last time we made love. What is it?"

She shrugged. "A birthmark. When I was little I prayed it would go away, but obviously it never did."

He traced the mark with his finger, looked down into her face. "I don't want you kissing Mondale."

Lee sighed. "Lord Andrew knows about the troop movements in Spain, Caleb. That is the reason I was kissing him."

"What are you talking about?"

"That's what we were doing on the terrace... talking about the war. I let him kiss me to take his mind off the conversation. I wanted to discover as much as I could."

"I don't believe this. You were kissing Mondale in order to get information? Dammit, I told you how dangerous that was." He wasn't happy, but she could tell he was relieved.

"Did Mondale say how he found out?"

"Apparently he received a letter from a friend in the army. I don't know if he is guilty of being a spy, but-"

"But it requires looking into."

"That's what I would say."

"What about Wingate? Did you kiss him, too?"

"Only once and it was awful."

"Dammit, Lee."

"I won't do it again-not even to get information."

Caleb ground his jaw and turned away, trying to bring his temper back under control. He sighed into the darkness. "I don't know what it is about you. Every time I'm near you, I seem to go a little insane."

She couldn't help a smile. "I don't know what it is about you, either, Caleb, but every time I'm near you, I seem to lose all my better judgment."

He laughed softly. She liked the sound. She had very rarely heard it. Then the laughter faded and his expression slowly changed.

"Promise me you'll stay out of this, Lee. As much as I appreciate what you found out, it's just too dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt."

"I can help, Caleb. Maybe I already have."

"Don't you understand-this is dangerous! I don't want you getting involved." He shook her. "I want your word you'll stay out of this."

Lee sighed, recognizing defeat in the determined look on his face. "All right. But I'm still keeping my eyes and ears open. That is the least I can do."

Caleb bent his head and kissed her. "As long as you stay out of trouble."

"Whatever happens, I won't do anything without talking to you first."

Caleb's hard look warned she had better be telling him the truth.

"So you think Mondale may be our man?" Colonel Cox sat on the opposite side of the desk in his Whitehall office.

"I don't know, sir. According to my source, Andrew Mondale has information about Wellesley's troop movements in Spain. My source says-"

"And your source, Captain, would be... ?"

Caleb cleared his throat. He had hoped to leave Lee out of this. "Vermillion Durant, Colonel. A situation came up. I had to make a decision. Based on what I knew of the girl, I decided to trust her with the truth of my mission. She volunteered to help our cause and came up with the information on Mondale."

"I see."

Caleb just hoped he didn't see too much. "According to Miss Durant, Mondale got the information through a letter he received from a dragoon captain in the 60th Regiment."

"That's hard to believe. Those letters take weeks to get home. The information would have been old news by then."

"Maybe not. Maybe the captain had a friend returning to England, or maybe it was just a lucky guess."

"It's possible. No doubt about it. Still, we'll need to put a man on Mondale, see where he goes when he's not out at Parklands, chasing after Vermillion Durant."

Caleb wisely made no reply, since recently he found himself chasing after her nearly as much as Mondale and the rest of her lapdogs, a fact he found irritating as hell.

"Are you planning to rejoin Major Sutton this afternoon?"

"I've some errands to run first. I'll be heading back out there this evening. We'll be staying for the balance of the week." Or as long as they could stretch their invitation. He prayed something would break before courtesy required them to leave, but it didn't look good.

"Very well. I'll put a man on Mondale, though I can't say I'm happy about it. I know the boy's father. It will break the man's heart if his son turns out to be a traitor."

Caleb didn't disagree. He was thinking of his own father and how much it meant to the earl to have a son so well thought of in the army. Perhaps in a way he understood Vermillion's desire to please the aunt she loved like a mother.

Unfortunately, in Lee's case that meant leading the life of a courtesan when she deserved far better.

He worried about what she would do the night of her birthday. She still seemed uncertain. If she chose a protector, as she had earlier vowed to do, the odds were slim that she would pick him. Once his assignment was completed, he would be leaving, returning to Spain. He couldn't take her with him; he wouldn't do that to her or any other woman.

Military life was simply too hard, too grueling, too painful for a female. Even an officer's wife suffered the deprivation, the close quarters and lack of privacy, lack even of a decent bed. To say nothing of the misery of being shuffled from pillar to post during the long campaigns.

Caleb swore softly as he thought again of Lee and the decision she would make the night of her nineteenth birthday.

17.

Dressed in her long white night rail, her hair brushed and plaited for sleeping, Lee stood in front of her bedchamber window, staring out into the night. She hadn't seen Caleb since last night when they had made love in the garden.

A warm flush rose in her cheeks as she remembered his angry, ardent passion. She could have stopped him. Caleb wasn't the sort of man to press himself on a woman, no matter how angry he was. But once he had touched her, kissed her, she hadn't wanted him to stop. She only wanted more. They had never made love in that way and she couldn't help wondering how much more there might be to experience-if only they had time.

But time for them was fleeting. Tomorrow night was her birthday ball. She was supposed to choose a lover, a protector, a man she would cleave to until one or the other of them grew bored with the affair. It was the sort of life her aunt had enjoyed, a life that offered a kind of freedom that few Englishwomen were granted.

But thinking of sharing a life, however briefly, with Andrew or Jonathan or Oliver Wingate... she couldn't even imagine it. After painful hours of deliberation, she had decided not to choose anyone at all, to somehow make a life of her own without the sheltering presence of a man. It was a decision that didn't come lightly.

In truth, she never would have made the choice if it hadn't been for Caleb. He had changed her in some way. Or perhaps he had merely shown her the person she had always been, deep inside.