This simple speech had a profound effect on her listeners and Lady Lavinia turned away, feeling for the handkerchief tucked in the lace at her bosom.

"I seem always to be underestimating you, Danielle," Linton said quietly. "But there remains one thing,

of more importance than any other in this affair, that you do not yet understand."

She gave him a serious, inquiring look and he bowed deeply. "Milady, will you do me the very great honor of joining me in a turn about the garden?"

For a second she remained motionless and then, to his everlasting delight and astonishment, unfurled her

fan, holding it up to her face so only her eyes were visible as she swam into a curtsy.

"La, sir, but I must protest. It is you who do me too much honor."

Taking her hand as she rose gracefully he tucked it firmly under his velvet-covered arm, inclined his

head.briefly in the direction of the Earl and Countess of March, and escorted Danielle through the open

doors onto the terrace.

March pa.s.sed a hand expressively across his brow. "You know, m'dear, I do not know whether to offer Linton my condolences or my felicitations."

"The latter, my love," his wife said with a sniff into her handkerchief. "They will deal extremely together. They already know each other a great deal better than most couples starting along that road and Linton loves her as much for her unconventional ways as despite them, I suspect."

The earl at that point was plunged in thought, debating how best to convince the silent figure at his side that his offer of marriage was made through much more than chivalry. Then it occurred to him that Danielle was such a direct, honest person herself that a simple statement would most likely be believed. The main problem would be to achieve her acceptance.

They had reached the rose garden. Danielle moved toward the low stone wall separating this fragrant spot from the cliff road. The evening air was heavy with the scent of June roses and a soft breeze from the sea wafted the fresh tang of salt and seaweed across the cliff top.

"I would like to sit on the wall, milord," she announced calmly, breaking the long silence. The earl did not respond, merely rested his forearms on the mellow stone, looking intently but unseeing down the road.

"Milord?"

He turned with an abstracted smile.

"I would like to sit on the wall."

"Then do so, child."

"If I were dressed otherwise, sir, I could manage myself, but these-" she gestured to her gown-"give me some difficulty."

He laughed then, picking her up by the tiny waist and lifting her onto the stonework. "It is most

indecorous of you to be sitting on walls and, besides, you will dirty your gown, but I daresay such considerations do not weigh with you, my brat."

"Not in the least," she concurred cheerfully. "Now that we are comfortable, sir, you have something you wish to say to me?"

Her hands disappeared into a firm warm clasp. "Danielle, you have said that you trust me, you must therefore believe me when I say that I have loved you for these many weeks. I have not behaved as a lover but, as you have already proved once today, you are sufficiently aware of the facts of life to understand why."

Her response to this blunt statement surprised him. She did not question his statement, but instead asked with quiet interest, "When did you start to love me, milord?"

"It's a little difficult to be exact." He frowned thoughtfully. "But I think it all began that moment when you stood like some little Amazon with those entrancing b.r.e.a.s.t.s bared, daring me to take advantage of you. In fact," he added with a rueful smile, "I felt merely ridiculous and at a great disadvantage."

"You did not appear so, sir." She laughed. "You were quite horrid to me and made me feel most uncomfortable."

"For that, I apologize." Justin laid a firm finger over her lips, continuing seriously, "I wish you to be my wife, milady."

"I do not know a great deal about the love between husband and wife, sir. Maman, I fear, had little experience. In the beginning there was some love, I think, but it lasted only a very short time. You understand that I talk not about the physical aspects of marriage, milord, but of the spirit?"

He nodded gravely. What an extraordinary creature she was.

"Of the former, I perhaps know more than I should." Her dimples danced. "But that will not surprise you."

"Not at all," he concurred, suppressing a smile.

"But of the latter-you will teach me, milord, n'est ce pas?" She held out her arms to him in a completely unself-conscious gesture of trust and invitation.

"I will teach you of both, Danielle," he said softly, lifting her off the wall. "You cannot truly know of what you have never experienced."

He continued to hold her by the waist, looking seriously into those big brown eyes regarding him with a gravity to equal his own.

"Would it be most improper of you to kiss me, milord?"

"I do not think I should pay much attention to the proprieties if it were." His hands left her waist, cupping the heart-shaped face as his lips very gently touched hers. She held herself still and breathless, eyes open, waiting for she knew not what. The pressure on her lips increased as his thumbs began to trace her cheekbones, fingers to explore the softness of her sh.e.l.l-like ears.

Justin raised his head for a moment. "Close your eyes, brat. This is an exercise in sensation, not observation."

The long lashes dropped instantly and his lips twitched before returning to their original position, but now they began to demand as his tongue flicked, darted between her lips, forcing entry. In the dark world behind her closed eyes crimson flashes of panic sparked as, for a second, she fought the intrusion, tried to draw her head back. But the grip tightened and suddenly the sensation of violation disappeared. Her mouth opened and he was inside her head, a strong, muscular presence exploring the softness of her mouth, becoming a part of her as it became familiar with the contours of her cheeks, the roof of her mouth, slid across her teeth, drawing from her something she did not know she possessed. Tentatively her own tongue began to move, to fence with the ,other, stroking and curling as a tightness began to build deep within her and her body moved involuntarily against his. One hand left her face, the fingers stroking the taut skin of her throat before heat exploded through her body as it found the soft swell of her breast beneath the lace collar of her gown. Long fingers slipped inside the neck, reaching further and, to her utter confusion and embarra.s.sment, she felt the tips of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s take on a life of their own, beginning to burn as they hardened, pressing against the taffeta bodice.

"No, no, milord, please!" She pulled back desperately and was instantly released, whirling away from him, one hand unconsciously on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the other touching her warmed, swollen lips.

"Danny?" Hands held her shoulders, slipped down to seize her own as it plucked at her bodice.

"You don't understand," she whispered.

"No, child, this time I understand; it is you who do not."

"But what happened?"

"Your body, my little love, was responding quite naturally and most pleasingly to my caress. It is right that it should do so."

She was turned gently but inexorably to face him, her downcast face lifted by a firm finger to meet his amused but understanding regard.

"You are not out of countenance, are you?" His voice mocked gently. "Not my indecorous litte vagabond, surely?"

A slight smile touched her eyes. "It is truly normal for that to happen, milord?"

"Quite normal. Did your maman tell you nothing of such things?"

"A little, but, as you said, sir, one cannot truly know of what one has never experienced."

"I think that should conclude the lesson for today." Linton straightened the lace at her bosom with efficient fingers. "Your grandparents will be wondering what has become of us."

Danielle peered over her shoulder, dusting the back of her dress impatiently. "Have I gra.s.s stains on my skirt, sir? The wall is a little mossy, I fear."

"You were warned,'" he observed mildly, turning her around, brus.h.i.+ng her down briskly. His hand slowed suddenly, and yielding to impulse he allowed it to rest on the curve of her b.u.t.tocks, his fingers caressing the firm flesh beneath the layers of skirt and petticoat.

"Sir!" she squeaked indignantly, jumping away from him.

Linton laughed softly. "You have an adorable little bottom, my love. I have long thought so."

"You should not say such things!" she exclaimed, a deep flush suffusing the ivory complexion.

"Perhaps we shpuld have the second lesson today, also." He was smiling at her, but there was a hint of gravity in the black eyes. "It is a most important one. Whatever is said or done between two people during their loving can never be wrong. Do you understand that, Danielle?"

She regarded him thoughtfully. "I think, milord, that I shall perhaps understand it better when I experience more of these things you refer to."

"You have much wisdom under those curls." He pinched her cheek lightly. "Let us go back to the house."

The announcement of the forthcoming marriage between the Lady Danielle de St. Varennes and Justin Earl of Linton made its appearance in the Gazette at the end of June, just in time to provide the last on dit of the Season before the ton deserted London's heat and dust and the disease-laden air of summer to continue their round of pleasures either at Bath or on their country estates.

The news was received with curiosity, much speculation, and not a little chagrin by those mamas who had continued to hold out hopes that Linton would forsake his bachelordom for the charms of one of their daughters. Nothing was known of his affianced bride except that she was, of course, a Rockford, and even though her father's family were viewed with a degree of caution by high sticklers her lineage was unimpeachable and not even the most malicious tongue could say that the earl was to make a bad match in this regard. Her age, however, was another matter altogether. Linton had never evinced the slightest interest in girls in their first Season and the little de St. Varennes was surely barely out of the schoolroom? But Society's curiosity was not to be satisfied throughout the summer as Lord Linton remained in Cornwall engaged in the very pleasant task of awakening the sleeping woman in his erstwhile brat.

They received little news of the events in France during this time, and that little was grim. On June 17, the Commons at the States General declared themselves the a.s.semblee Nationale-the only representative body of the nation-and thus denied the claims of the privileged orders, the n.o.bility and the clergy, to represent France independently. At the same time, they challenged the king, still grieving over the death of the seven-year-old Dauphin, by agreeing to pay their taxes only as long as this National a.s.sembly remained in session. This unheard-of defiance led an angry and ill-advised Louis XVI to close the Parliament House to the deputies of the Third Estate and declare a Royal Session. When on June 20 the deputies, barred by soldiers from entering the hall, convened as a separate body on the tennis court at Versailles all hope that the States General would indeed rejuvenate the realm faded and the course of b.l.o.o.d.y civil destruction that France was to pursue for the next five years became inevitable.

But for Danielle, this was an idyllic summer. Linton wisely made no attempt to change the personality that had developed during her unconventional upbringing, and indeed had no wish to do so. He was firm in his insistence that she adhere to a proper conduct when in company. Any lapses in either behavior or language were received with a stony silence and a withdrawal of his company that Danielle found infinitely more unpleasant than his previous methods of showing disapproval. As a result these lapses occurred less and less frequently. Since Justin was totally accepting of her need to alternate the rigors of self-control with the freedom to roam the countryside astride the dappled mare, they soon reached a happy compromise. They spent days hunting in the woods, fis.h.i.+ng the streams, and sailing the little bay. Danielle was initially somewhat nervous about the latter activity, her experiences on the Black Gull having given her a certain dislike for the sea, but her enjoyment of physical activity of all kinds soon overcame her reluctance and she rapidly became competent at handling the small sailboat. Linton enjoyed teaching her-she was so proficient at most things that it made a pleasant change to instruct her in something other than the proper way to go on in Society.

His greatest surprise however, occurred one afternoon when, on returning from a ride with March, he was informed that Lady Danielle would like him to join her in the Long Gallery. He arrived to find her in s.h.i.+rt, britches, and stockinged feet examining the family portraits and gazing through the many long windows that made up the wall of the gallery facing the sea.

She turned eagerly at the sound of his entrance. "Ah, milord, there you are. I have been waiting for you this age. We shall fence together, n'est-ce pas?"

"Shall we indeed?" He raised a quizzical eyebrow, removing his jacket and placing it carefully over the back-of the chaise longue under a window before examining the pair of foils resting on the seat. Their tips were carefully b.u.t.toned.

"You are full of surprises, brat," he observed, calmly pulling off his top boots before rolling up the ruffled sleeves of his s.h.i.+rt.

Danielle laughed delightedly as she picked up one of the foils, making a quick pa.s.s in the air that told him very clearly that this was no tyro. "The best of three hits, milord. We are agreed?"

He said nothing, merely picked up the other foil and faced her, its tip resting on the ground at his feet.

Her own flashed in salute and the next minute he found himself in combat with one of the best fencers he had ever been privileged to face. Herexpression was now intense, all laughter gone, and the slight body moved on the polished floor with all the agility of a dancer. His swift thrust in prime was parried instantly and countered with a flanconnade to his left hand. He had not been expecting such a sophisticated maneuver and the tip of her blade grazed his side.

"One to me, milord," she said tranquilly, stepping back.

"On guard!" His foil flashed in a thrust in tierce but was instantly parried; for a moment their blades locked and she had bounced back, feinting to the right before parrying his swift lunge and sliding under his suddenly opened guard.

Linton dropped his point and held out a hand. "We will have a return match tomorrow, infant. And you will not, then, take me by surprise."

"Are you being ungenerous in defeat, sir?" she asked, taking the proffered hand.

"Not at all. But I did not know what to expect. Where did you learn the art?"

"Marc, mon oncle," she replied briefly.

"That explains your skill." Marc de St. Varennes was a noted duelist who, if rumor were to be believed, fought only to the death, and since he had met his own at the hands of a peasant mob and not on the duelling ground his supremacy was without question.

It was a soft, rose-pink evening in early September when their summer idyll came to a close. Linton was to leave for London at dawn the following morning, Danielle and her grandparents to follow several days later.

"I wish I could travel with you, milord," she murmured wistfully as they walked toward the cliff top. "It will take forever, boxed up in that stuffy old coach."

"You may ride some of the way-I am sure that March will have no objection," he replied absently. "A week will see you in Bedford Place."

"I shall ride all the way," she stated firmly. "Can you imagine how tedious it would be to listen to Grandmama and Hannah rabbiting on for hours at a time about the latest fas.h.i.+ons and whether Monsieur Artur is still the best hairdresser in town?"

"'Rabbiting,' brat, is not a word you will use, please."

"Oh, is it very vulgar?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Very," he said firmly.

"Do you think I shall set the town by the ears, sir?" She frowned toward the horizon and the red ball of the setting sun slipping into the dark sea.

"Only in the nicest possible way, Danny." He turned her toward him, one hand taking her chin. "I predict that you will take the town by storm, my love. You will behave impeccably at all times-well, most times," he amended with a soft laugh. "And not gallop in Hyde Park or take your carriage down St. James's or tell people that they are idiotish-even when they are. And you will be the most beautiful woman in London and I the most envied husband." His lips came down slowly and the soft petal of her mouth opened in eager, willing invitation. She was no longer afraid of her reactions and to his secret delight had begun to make demands of her own. As his hands felt for the satiny skin of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s she moaned softly, moving against him, slipping her arms around his neck, holding his head captive against her face as her own tongue pushed between his lips on its own voyage of exploration.

Justin tipped her backward over one supporting arm as his hand pushed down the neck of hergown, lifting the soft b.r.e.a.s.t.s out of their concealment. Danielle gasped slightly as the cool evening air stroked the bared flesh and long fingers caught the erect nipples, rolling them between manicured tips. A deep tension was growing in the pit of her belly and she became aware of a strange dampness in the secret part of her body. His mouth found one breast, licking, nuzzling, nibbling, drawing from her a deep involuntary groan, half protest, half wanting. Something was sliding up the silken length of her leg, pus.h.i.+ng aside the skirts and petticoats, reaching the ruffled cuff of her pantalettes.

"No!" She tried to push away his hand as it continued its journey over her cambric-clothed thighs, sliding suddenly between them to discover the moist center of her desire. Embarra.s.sment engulfed her in great hot agonized waves.

Justin raised his head from her breast, but left his hand where it was, scorching through the thin protection of her drawers. "You have such pa.s.sion in you, my sweet," he murmured huskily. "You must not deny it." His eyes, heavy and languorous, burned their message of rea.s.surance and deep sensuality into her own anxious ones. He frowned suddenly, wondering if he had believed her too readily when she had said she knew about the physical side of marriage. Leaning against the low wall he drew her between his knees, holding her lightly by the waist. "You understand what happens between a man and a woman, do you not?"

"Oh yes," she announced cheerfully and then the pert little nose wrinkled slightly. "Only, I am not quite certain of exactly ... well.. . exactly where things are. I understand the principle, you see, but not the practice," she finished in a rush.