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de Pau. The little town seemed to be sleeping.
That assumption was belied by a burst of argument
from the coffee room next door, doubtless the domino
players. In the quiet that followed, Miriam heard
footsteps crossing the parlour, approaching her.
Reflected in the window glass, Felix stopped close
behind her. His breath stirred the tiny hairs on the
nape of her neck.
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"Do you know how beautiful you are?" His
expression was unreadable in the image on the glass.
There was no mistaking the meaning of the hands at
her slender waist, smoothing the brown cambric over
the curve of her hips, rising to cup her breasts. Even
as she turned to protest a shiver of excitement raced
through her.
"Felix..."
He caught her to him. One hand in the small of her
back crushed her to the hardness of his body, the
other tilted her face up to his. His eyes burned like
blue flames and candlelight sheened golden on his
hair. His lips were warm and firm, urgent, entreating.
The tip of his tongue touched the corner of her mouth,
traced the shape of it.
With a little moan, Miriam melted against him, her
arms of their own accord rising to encircle his neck, to
pull him down to her. His hands moved to caress her
hips again.
Behind him the door opened and closed. "Still not a
sign of the lieutenant, but there are now three
gendarmes in the coff..." Isaac's voice broke off
abruptly. Fists clenched he strode across the room.
Felix released Miriam and turned to face him, his
shoulders tense. Miriam wanted to faint, wanted to
die, wanted to pick up her skirts and run away, but
she dared not leave them. If they came to blows, if they
even raised their voices, they would bring danger
crashing down on all their heads.
"How dare you!" Isaac spat out in an undertone.
"I'll be damned if it's any of your business!" Felix
hissed.
"When you start making indecent advances to a
woman travelling in my company..."
"Indecent advances, the devil! All I did was..."
They had both reverted to whispers as if afraid that
anything else might too easily rise to a shout. Miriam
began to feel hysterical.
"I saw what you were doing, you drunken libertine!"
"Bourgeois prude!"
She decided it was time to intervene, before insults
led to a challenge. The only ploy she could think of
was to burst into tears, so she did. It was easy.
Felix flung from the room. Isaac took her gently in
his arms and stroked her back, murmuring soothing
words.
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"Don't cry. Please don't cry. I'll see that devil never
has another chance to touch you. Hush now, hush."
She raised tear-drenched eyes to his sympathetic
face and saw the sympathy become tenderness, the
tenderness passion. His arms tightened around her.
She felt the pounding of his heart-- and her own.
"Miriam." His voice was low and husky.
He kissed the tears from her eyes, ran a trail of
kisses down to the lobe of her ear. Strange sensations
shook her. Her arm went around his waist, clinging to
the lean strength of him. Her fingers played with crisp,
dark hair that smelled faintly of sandalwood. The
smooth, olive skin over one high cheekbone was
irresistibly close to her mouth. She kissed him.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck.
"Miriam," he murmured again. "Miriam."
Through the thin cambric his breath was hot on her
throat. His mouth found the pulse there. She began to
dissolve--or was she going to explode?
Horrified, panic-stricken, she jerked away from him.
"How could you! Oh, how could you take advantage
of me when I was distraught? Is this your revenge for
nine years ago? I had thought better of you."
His shattered look pierced her to the quick. She
spun away and ran from the room.
Guilt kept pace with her up the stairs. Isaac was not
to blame--Felix was not to blame--if they had
interpreted her reactions as encouragement. She had
encouraged them, both of them.
Filled with wretchedness, she hurried to her only
refuge.
"Hannah!"
Her abigail, her nurse, her dearest friend, was still
seated by the window. She half rose in alarm as
Miriam rushed into the chamber. "What is it, child?
What ever is the matter?"
Miriam dropped to the footstool. "They had a blazing
row. At least, I can hardly call it that since it was
carried on in whispers." Her smile trembled.
Hannah gave her a shrewd look. "And what was it
they come to cuffs about?"
She gazed down at her hands. "They both kissed
me. I wanted to... I would have... Oh, Hannah, I think
I'm in love with both of them."
"That's not love, child," said Hannah dryly, stroking
her bowed head. "That's lust. I've said it before and I'll
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say it again, what you need is a husband." She folded
her unhappy nurseling to her breast and rocked her.
Miriam knew she was right. She should never have
embarked upon this adventure. She should have
found a way to go home quickly and had her family
find her a husband. Like a ripe plum, she was ready to
fall into the hands of any determined seducer.
She pressed her fist to her mouth to stifle a sob. Her
fingers smelled of sandalwood.
Chapter 18
When Miriam and Hannah went down next
morning, rather later than usual, Felix was in the
parlour attacking a vast omelette. As Miriam entered
he sprang to his feet and came towards her, looking
shamefaced.
"I must humbly beg your pardon," he said. "My
behaviour last night was utterly disgraceful. I can only
say I had too little to eat and too much to drink. Dare I
hope that you will forgive me?"
Just so must he have gazed at his nurse in pleading
repentance when he was a mischievous little boy. He
was irresistible, and Miriam was all too aware of her
own share of blame. She held out her hand to him and
he took it in both his. At breakfast-time, in broad
daylight, his touch failed to stir her.
"You are forgiven. I should have thought of ordering
omelettes last night, and the night before, then you
would have had no excuse."
"Last night we were all too tired to think, not to
mention the uncooperative waiter, who is not on duty
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