Chapter 4- Things Never Go As Planned but You can always learn something

Chapter 4

 

Light and shadows flickered in front of her eyelids, making her see alternating glows of soft pinks and greys. Her head ached. She left her eyes closed as she evaluated what she could tell about where she was, what was happening. Her head rested on a soft pillow and she was covered by a warm, soft blanket. In fact all of her was warm, comfortable and dry she realised with surprise. How was she dry? Why wasn’t it raining any more? She could hear the rain but not feel it. Curious, she thought. Shifting slowly and carefully in case some other parts of her hurt like her head, she moved her hands from her sides and over her chest to hug herself comfortingly. To her surprise she was only wearing her petticoats and chemise. Her eyes shot open and she sat up startled. Scared and feeling bleary, Bianca looked about her in a daze. She was sat in a narrow bed in a small compact living space. There was an armchair near a blazing fire place and a small table and stool and a neat but tiny kitchen all fitted into one room. She could see her riding habit draped over the arm chair steaming gently as it dried. Swinging her feet over the edge of the bed she stood to retrieve her dress, but collapsed back on the bed with a scream she couldn’t hold back as her ankle gave way under her painfully. Shock reeled through her at the unexpected pain. The stout wooden door swung open as if it weighed nothing, although it must weigh a lot Bianca thought vaguely seeing how thick it was, a large, dark haired, and bare chested man stood there. How wonderfully scandalous she thought with a wry grin as she blacked out again, toppling to bed ungracefully.

He hurried forward letting the door swing closed behind him. Gently he scooped her up and lay her down properly on the bed. This time he would not leave her to sleep, it could not be good for her to keep passing out like this, and he shook her gently by the shoulder. Bianca stirred with a groan. Blinking slowly she stared up in surprise at emerald green eyes, that looked intently back at her.

“Good afternoon,” he said voice low, smooth and sensual. She simply stared at him wide eyed. “You were thrown off your horse, a dangerous beast in my opinion, and have hurt your ankle. I don’t think it is broken but at the very least its serious twisted. You may have to stay off it for a week or so.”

“I found you!” she declared smiling up at him. It was his turn to look at her startled. Then what he had told her had sunk in. “A week! But… but I’ll be so bored!”

Her statement surprised a short, sharp bark of laughter out of him.

“Very true, but there are plenty of things you can do with out moving your foot.”

“I suppose,” she agreed with a sigh. “Where are we?”

“In my home; you are in my bed and your horse is in my stables. I hope you are comfortable.” He sounded petulant, like a small child who had had his toy taken away from him. Although in this case she had taken his privacy so she supposed she should be glad he was not more aggravated.

“Is Jupiter alright, not injured at all? Jonnie would be most put out with me if he was. He is a very expensive horse.”

“He is not injured but I was tempted to do him harm myself. He is not at all safe for a rider. What ever was your husband thinking giving you a horse like that to ride?” he scowled at the thought of this delicate young woman riding such an unpredictable horse.

“Jupiter is not dangerous!” she protested fierily. “He is simply highly strung and need an expert rider, which if you could not handle him proves you are not. I’ve been riding since I was five and Jupiter has been mine for three years. Not once have I fallen from him, the reins were in my hands when he bolted and pulled me along a way. And it was not my fault he bolted either he was scared by something or attracted by something.” She paused for a moment thinking. “Do you own a mare at all? That always provokes him; he is a stallion after all.”

He scowled more deeply.

“I do.”

“See I was correct, there was a reason behind everything he did. And I chose him as my mount along with my brother, not my husband. I do not have a husband. Not that it is any concern of yours. I am simply Miss Bianca Butler. Who are you?”

“Miss Butler. Mitchell.”

“Is that your given name or your surname sir? And it is Miss Bianca not Miss Butler, that is my oldest sister although she is married now… and the one after her too so I suppose I am Miss Butler but I am not used to hearing it.”

“Just Mitchell, you do not need to know any more than that.”

“Ah I see, sorry I got a bit carried away.” She blushed. He chuckled enigmatically at her embarrassment.

“You’re a very curious person are you not? But I do not think you are being so for any malicious reasons. Rather just because you want to know. If you promise not to tell anyone about me or where we are I will first of all let you return home and secondly answer your questions.”

“What do you mean ‘let’ me return home?” Bianca blanched at the thought of being held here against her will.

“You will stay here until I decide what to do with you or it may be more straight forward for me to just kill you.” Mitchell answered honestly. She stared at him wide eyed wishing she had never tried to find him or succeeded in such a way that left her completely at his mercy. He held her startled gaze with his own determined green one and Bianca had to resist the urge to squirm away from him. She simply had to keep looking at him; it was as if her mind and body thought something terrible would happen if she so much as blinked.

“Besides,” he stated breaking the tense silence, “You can not go any where at all just yet. Until your ankle is healed I will not have you on that horse but neither will I take you home myself- that would be far too dangerous. So you are simply bound to my house, to my hospitality, to me until I deem it the right time to free you.”

Something hot flickered in his eyes, still locked with hers, at those words. Bianca’s whole body reacted quite strangely. She felt warm and tense and shivery all at the same time. Entranced with him like a moth to a flame, knowing full well the dangers but unable to resist the warmth radiating towards her.

“I see,” she said simply, having eventually managed to break away from his gaze on her. “Do you have anything I could have for the pain of my ankle and something cold I can place on it?”

Mitchell nodded his ascent and stood silently to fetch what she requested. He returned with a glass of rum and a water soaked towel. With Mitchell watching in amazement Bianca downed the glass he handed her without difficulty and carefully bent to wrap the damp cloth around her swollen ankle. Mitchell observed her closely but did not seek her gaze in return as he had before. Instead he let his eyes drift over her body; her breasts rising and falling as she took short, sharp breaths to battle the pain, her long slender neck and gracefully shoulder revealed as she lent forward to adjust the clothe on her ankle, her gently curved calf exposed to him as she pulled her petticoats out of the way and that led his gaze even further up her legs to hips full and voluptuous, highlighted by the way her skirts had pulled tight around her when she’d sat. he shook himself slightly knowing that if he continued on this line of thought he would do something Bianca would find extremely inappropriate; he would kiss her and properly not stop there. Bianca cleared her throat delicately. He pulled his gaze up from where it had settled on her breasts and to her flushed face. Bianca’s blush deepened and she cleared her throat again nervously. Mitchell hardened his eyes trying to hide the heat and desire he felt and asked stonily.

“Yes?”

“Umm do you have anything else I could wear if my dress isn’t dry, maybe a shirt and some trousers? I’m willing to wear men’s clothes; I mean I have before one more time will be acceptable.” So long as Jonnie doesn’t find out she thought with a wry smile, or he’ll thrash her as he’d threatened the last time he’d caught her.

Mitchell started at this admission. She wore men’s clothes, drank like a man and had had the audacity to question a highway man, then searched for him. What kind of lady was she? He settled his mind on just the most recent of these outrages.

“You have worn men's clothing before?”

“Yes Alex and I would go riding together dressed that way so we could have some privacy.”

“You rode dressed as a man with your betrothed alone,” he clarified angered by the idea. Then the idea hit him, maybe with all her strange experiences she wouldn’t be so distraught if he kissed as he’d first thought. Bianca laughed and Mitchell glared.

“No Alex is Alexia, my elder sister. Lord if Jonathan had thought that we truly would have been thrashed rather than just lectured severely and then threatened with a thrashing if we dared do it again.”

Her brother sounded like a harsh, unyielding man but Mitchell supposed he would have had a similar reaction at the idea of a woman he cared about putting herself in such danger.

“So do you have any spare clothes? I’m rather cold. Maybe you don’t, you haven’t redressed either.” Bianca asked her blush returning again. Mitchell stood abruptly, grabbing his slightly damp shirt from by the fire and pulling it on.

“I didn’t want the spare shirt to get wet as well when I went outside again.” He explained opening a chest at the foot of the bed. “There put it on and wrap this around you if you’re cold.” He threw a folded Scottish plaid at her too from the chest. Bianca buttoned the shirt up as fast as she could with trembling fingers and then unfolded the length of red, green and navy material. She stared at it confused. It was only about half an arms length wide but seemed endlessly long, maybe 12 feet long.

“What is this?” she asked holding up one end. “It’s not a blanket but it’s much thicker than normal material.”

“It’s a plaid.”

“A plaid, what’s that?” Bianca asked yet another question. Getting Mitchell to give her information willingly was like pulling teeth; she had to be very, very exact.

“It’s the traditional length of material folded to make the Scottish kilt.”

“It is? The pleat skirt thing they wear? Do women wear anything like that too?”

“Yes and yes.”

“Show me how to wear it properly.” Bianca demanded. Mitchell hesitated a moment then stepped closer. He held out a hand.

“You’ll need to stand.” He helped her to her one good foot and guided her to on of the bed posts for extra support. “First toss one end over your left shoulder so a good length hangs down the back, drape it across your front to the right and then start pleating the material around your waist to the right and all the way around.”

Bianca started to pleat but she went so slowly the pleats fell out as soon as she formed them and in Mitchell’s opinion they were too large. She gave an exasperated half as the material slipped from about her again. Mitchell stifled a laugh and moved forward to take it from her. He deftly wrapped it around her so fast not a single pleat had a chance to drop and tied it in place with a narrow tooled leather belt he produced from somewhere. Bianca looked down at herself scared to move in case it fell apart. It looked magnificent in a strange way with its bold squares of colour and its strong lines settled over the soft ivory of her petticoats that showed from the knees down quite discrete and modest still and the stark whiteness of his shirt. She smiled.

Author's Note

a new chapter finally!!! :D i hoped you liked it and would leave me some reviews of what you think should happen next, any changes etc. :D love jules x

Reviews

[Katreya]

I liked it :D there were just one or two grammar errors - but nothing bad, you just need to do a quick proof-read and you'll be sweet. I enjoyed it - I haven't read previous chapters yet so I'm a bit in the dark and therefore won't question too much, but the opening was exceptionally well-done I think, and very descriptive. :]

Keep it up!

[Day Dreamer]

awesomeness