Catch Me If You Can by Juliette Cosway Page B

wished them all well, even though her eyes looked shadowed and she was clearly going to miss her father. She looked beautiful – her dark, sad mood became her as much as any other.
    Frustration coursed through him. He had to remind himself of his situation in life and quell his desire to take control of destiny. He was Frieda’s employee and no matter how much he’d wanted to object to the sudden plans for their departure, he was in no position to argue about the new arrangements. But, by god, he’d wanted to.
    After holding Eleanor in his arms the afternoon before, seeing her soft vulnerability and tasting her sweet, passionate kisses, he wanted above all to have more of her. He wanted to see that fire in her eyes again and feel the wanting in her body when it pressed eagerly against his. Their afternoon ride would be etched in his memory for a long time. Why, he wondered, as the carriage set off, why had she affected him so?
    She was different to any other woman he’d met, perhaps. And she was trouble, too. Would he have her any other way? No. He gave a wry smile. Life would never be dull with Miss Eleanor Craven in it.
    When she’d denied herself a marriage and family, however, he’d been strangely unsettled by her words. Not every woman of means sought marriage, but it was uncommon for one to avoid it, and to announce it so defensively. And when she’d denied her wish to be a society hostess, it only caused him to think she would make the most dazzling society hostess he’d ever had the lucky chance to encounter. Her declarations about women’s independence were so fervent it made him chuckle, and it also stirred the blood in his veins.
    She was a fiery sprite indeed. Something inside him suggested her passionate nature might well surface in acts of the flesh as well as those of the mind and spirit. Yes, he wanted to hold her again, he wanted to make love to her and protect her from all possible harm.
    As the carriage passed through the Oaklands gates and the outline of the house diminished behind them, Rivers knew they would meet again, as sure as the sun would shine on them both, he knew it would come to pass.
     
     
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
    The Lady’s Heartache
     
    Eleanor looked into the sunset, her thoughts dwelling on precious moments.
    She sighed. There was no good reason to waste time daydreaming about Rivers, she told herself. He’d left without reference to the intimacy developing between them, offering a polite farewell and the all-too-brief brush of his lips on the back of her hand. She’d barely been able to respond to the words of comfort and promises of reunion both Frieda and her father had made as they waved goodbye, she was too overwhelmed by a sense of loss. Since that sad day she’d been aching for him, aching in her heart and in the pit of her stomach.
    With a deep intake of breath, she drew herself back down to earth.
    Perhaps she’d imagined he had feelings of desire for her. It was imperative she shake off the spell he seemed to have cast over her.
    She turned to the desk, where the latest papers from their shipment company were awaiting her attention. She was in the midst of arranging sales of surplus produce at the end of harvest time. Perhaps, when the harvest was over, she would go away herself, she mused. She could visit Miette. They always managed to get into some mischief together and although she hadn’t seen Miette since her friend had married, she anticipated the reunion. She smiled to herself and took her seat at the desk. As she did the large blue-black bruise on her thigh that had developed since her fall caused her to wince. Although she would never admit to it, it was both the touch on her tender skin and the subsequent images it brought to mind that caused her to wince – images of those precious moments with Rivers, after the fall.
    Forget about the man, she told herself, annoyed. It wasn’t meant to be.
    Her father wrote to her every other day. She read the