Beloved Enemy Read Free Page A

circumspection, my men
are not going to rape a woman under my protection."
    " Then
I must be grateful for that protection," she responded gently.
    "Do not tempt me, Virginia! " Releasing her chin abruptly, he
stepped away from her as his anger flared.
    "I do not recall according you the right to use my
name."
    " You
are not in a position to accord me any rights whatsoever. I suggest you accept
that fact with all due speed before my far-from-inexhaustib l e patience runs out!"
    It appeared to be a suitable moment to yield graceful ly . The colonel was quite convinced of her reluctance to
rem a in in the house under his protection.
She had only to offer the semblance of defiance now and again to ensure that he
remained so convinced. "And how is my imprisonment to be conducted,
colonel? Am I considered sufficiently dangerous to be kept under guard?"
It was her last challenge for the time being.
    A telltale muscle twitched in the colonel's cheek. " You will restrict your movements
according to my decree. Should you break parole, you will be confined within
doors. It is understood?"
    " Perfectly,
Colonel." Ginny sketched a curtsy. There would be no need to break her
parole to complete her work. He r main fear
had been that she would have been turned off the estate by the occupying
forces. But the closer confined she was to home, the easier it would be. Until
Edmund's wound was sufficiently healed for him to make his escape. Then would
she make hers, also.
    "Am I to be permitted to go about my business now?"
she asked demurely. "Dusk is falling, and I should shut up the chickens
before the fox begins to prowl. The horses also require my attention, the cow
needs milking, and I m us t water the vegetable garden."
    "How much livestock do you have?" He frowned,
forgetting his exasperation with her for the moment. The tasks she had just
described were those better suited to a domestic servant than to the daughter of a lord. She would m os t certainly have been educated to sew and spin, to
distill medicines from herbs for the use of the household, and to make the
fruit syrups and wines from currant, cowslip, and elderberries. In addition she
would have been taught fine coo king and the
methods of curing meat for the long winter m onths,
and of preserving herbs and fruit. But the heavy outdoor farm work was not
considered a suitable occupation for a lady of the great house.
    "I have kept just enough for my own purposes." She
shrugged, well aware of the thoughts that had prompted his question. " Two horses, a dozen chickens, one
cow, oh . . . and a pig, which I had intended to have slaughtered to supply me
with meat during the winter months. A local farmer, in exchange for the use of
a pasture, supplies me with grain for bread and feed for the cattle. I have
been able to maintain the vegetable garden, and the orchard has borne well this
year. I am in no danger of starving, Colonel, so long as my husbandry is
efficient."
    What an extraordinary woman she was! "You are most
resourceful, Virginia. But I will have one of my men undertake those tasks for
you. In exchange, you might perhaps prepare a meal for myself and my officers.
We are heartily sick of campfire cooking and have plentiful supplies." He
found himself offering her a smile, inviting her sympathy, then realized that
it was hardly appropriate in the circumstances.
    His plan did not suit Virginia at all. She needed the freedom
of the garden and the stableyard, the cover of the routine business that would
take her there. In her turn, she gave him a hopefully winning smile. "I
will be happy to cook for you, Colonel, since I consider you to be my guests.
But I would prefer to perform my own tasks in mine own fashion. I do not see
what reasonable objection you might make to that."
    Alex could think of none, either —e xcept that it was not the work of a lady. But Virginia
Courtney was no ordinary member of that breed, and he had, perhaps, achieved
sufficient victory for this day.