Captain Jones's Temptation - Audrey Harrison Page 0,7

have a child clinging to her legs. She even managed a curtsey of sorts. Esther had joined them and was already seated in the room. She smiled at Lydia.

“This is Captain Dunn and Captain Jones,” Esther said. “This is my fellow teacher and friend Miss Lydia Bolton. Captain Dunn is the brother I have told you about, Lydia.”

Both gentlemen had stood at Lydia’s entrance, each offering a bow. Lydia was from a poor but genteel family with many daughters and only one son. She lived in Sidmouth and had befriended Esther on the latter’s arrival in the area. When setting up the school, it was natural Esther would turn to a friend for help. Working together, they had become as close as sisters, even though four years separated them in age.

“And this,” Lydia said, “is Miss Isabella.” Lydia had taken in the wound on Matthew’s face, and although she had not reacted openly, her eyes had filled with tears on seeing the welt that spoiled an otherwise perfect face. She blinked her foolish response away. He would think her a fool or a milksop. He could not know why the visible evidence of war would affect her so much. She smiled to try to cover her response.

Matthew could have seethed with annoyance. It was always the same. They saw the scar and withdrew from him. Even a spinster teacher in a school in the back of beyond had the gall to let her feelings show. As he sighed quietly, his shoulders slumped. At least she had not recoiled, which was the usual reaction when his injury was noticed. The exclamations of surprise or horror were the hardest to disguise. He frowned on seeing the tears in her eyes – she felt pity? That was almost as bad as horror. He would not be pitied.

When she smiled, he wondered that she had chosen the life she had, for she was very pretty. Dark tumbling locks and chocolate-brown eyes in a clear, open face would always appeal to a handsome cavalry officer. Once-handsome, he thought grimly, deepening his frown and not responding to her smile as his usually open-natured self would normally have done.

Lydia saw the frown and was saddened that her untimely tear-filled eyes had offended him. She wished she could explain why she had reacted in that way, but that would potentially cause the release of the tears. Most days she could speak of it without turning into a watering pot, but it seemed not today, given such a reminder. Mentally shaking herself, she focused on Isabella. She had grave concerns as to how the child would cope with such an unsightly wound. Lydia felt pity for the poor man. He was devilishly attractive; it must have been especially hard to come to terms with.

Samuel sat back down, watching the child with a look that spoke of nothing but boredom. He made no effort to smile or encourage her. Esther noticed his indifference with a seething dislike, but her expression remained blank.

In order to break the silence that had descended, Matthew crouched down to Isabella’s level. “Is this the Miss Isabella who is better at riding a horse than my friend Captain Jones?” he said, flinging a mocking look in Samuel’s direction.

Isabella looked between the pair, and to both of her teachers’ consternation, she actually spoke. “What happened to your face?”

Yes, the child was still peeping around Lydia, but her words were as clear as any she had ever uttered. Gone were the whispering voice and reticence she usually spoke with. Esther and Lydia looked at each other in horror mingled with astonishment. Lydia was about to issue a reprimand when Matthew let out a peal of laughter.

“They told me you were shy. I think you are fooling them, aren’t you, Miss Isabella?” he said, still laughing.

The ten-year-old beamed at him and moved out from behind Lydia’s skirts. “Did it hurt?” she probed. She did not approach Matthew, but she had responded to him more than she had to anyone else since she had been placed in the school.

“Oh yes. It certainly did,” Matthew said, touching his cheek gingerly. “I was in a great battle and was very lucky to escape with my life. Captain Jones here dragged me to safety, or I would not have made it.”

Isabella shot a look of admiration at Samuel. “You did not get hurt?”

Samuel looked as if he wouldn’t reply, but then he shook his head. “No. Not outwardly at least.”

The curious answer was