Beloved Enemy Read Free

feel like a posturing idiot.
    " You
will grant me sufficient time to remove my possessions from here? Or are they
also sequestered, Colonel?" Ginny's heart pounded as she broached the
ill-important matter. Had she read him rightly in those first moments? Read
correctly the paradox inherent in the ingrained authority of the commander, who
could not tolerate a challenge, and the chivalry of the noble born, who would
not cast out a defenseless woman. If she was right, both those facets of his
personality would dictate that he ke e p
her under his eye, at least for a short while.
    She opened a heavy door onto a west-facing corner room. It
was a girl-child's room with its dimity hangin g s to the bed and the windows. A spinning wheel stood in o ne corner, the hemp of flax partly spun and carded. A
wooden doll, prettily dressed, sat on the window seat. A set: of tortoise-shell
combs lay on the dresser, and the armoir e stood open t o reveal her scant wardrobe.
    For the moment ignoring the sarcastic q ue stion, Alex went to the casement standing open to the
sea. The house stood on the cliff above Alum Bay at the westerly end of the I sle of Wight . The small cove was famous for its variegated sands —e very color of the rainbow— a nd for its commanding position at the point where the
ocean gave way to the re l atively peaceful waters of the Solent. In the e vening light the Needle Rocks
presented a mellow nonthreatening image to those who did not know these waters.
The English mainland was still just visible across the five- m i l e stretch of water, and the coast of France, should King Charles finally decide to make his escape complete, a day ' s sail across the c h annel.
    "There is no need for you to remove your possessions,
mistress, since you will continue to occupy this chamber." The colonel
turned from the casement, his decision made.
    Ginny frowned even as her heart leaped. She ha d read him ri ght,
but she could not allow her relief to show. Her mouth lo ok a recalcitrant turn. " You will pardon my stupidity, sir, but I do not appear to
understand you."
    Alex Marshall sighed. Unless he was very much mistaken,
Virginia Courtney was going to prove a most troublesome acquisition. "Then
let me make myself plain, once and for all. Since you have no visible guarthan
and are a widowed minor, you are now a ward of Parliament."
    " A
prisoner?" Her eyebrows lifted. " No,
Colonel. You have not the right to take noncombatants prisoner, and I have not
resisted you in any fashion, so can hardly be designated a combatant."
    “ Very
well," he said. " If that is the attitude you wish to
adopt, then I am quite willing to play my own hand." Crossing the chamber,
he again tilted her chin, ignoring her indignant gasp. "Mistress Courtney,
with the authority invested in me by Parliament, therewith place you under
house arrest. You are the only surviving heir of the Malignant John Redfern,
whose estates have been sequestered, and I deem it impolitic to allow your
freedom. Your movements are restricted to the house and the immediate
boundaries of the estate until such time as Parliament decrees otherwise."
    Until such time as Alex Marshall decrees otherwise, Ginny
amended grimly. It was exactly what she wanted, of course, but for some reason
that did little to reduce her annoyance, did nothing
to reduce another strange feeling that she could not identify. A feeling that seemed to have something to do with the
armored body standing almost knee to knee with her, the warm strength of his
fingers holding her chin, and the curious glow in the greeny-brown eyes. Her
eyelashes fluttered in an attempt to conceal any revealing sparks from the
intent scrutiny bent upon her upturned face. " It appears, Colonel, that I have no choice but to accept my
position. It is to be hoped that your soldiers will also accept that
position."
    "You need have no fear, mistress." Alex, once again
at a disadvantage, spoke brutally. " So
long as you behave with