Dark Temptation by Allison Chase

Author:Allison Chase [Chase, Allison]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Ghost Stories, Historical, Cornwall (England : County), Paranormal, General, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Love Stories
ISBN: 9780451225528
Google: CmgxcKn8g0AC
Amazon: 045122552X
Publisher: Signet
Published: 2008-11-04T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Chad rammed a lean, stooping figure up against the work counter. The cupboard below shuddered from the impact of booted calves. A glass went over and shattered. Cutlery fell with a clatter onto the floor. Chad bent the man over backward, pinning his gaunt shoulders to the countertop. A haggard face gaped up at the bottle hovering in Chad’s raised fist.

His other hand circled the intruder’s neck. ‘‘Who the hell are you and what the devil do you want?’’ A sputtering reply prompted him to ease his grip a fraction. ‘‘Who are you?’’

‘‘N-Nathaniel.’’

Chad regarded terrified features, wide, rolling eyes. The intruder’s remaining resistance drained away, and Chad concluded that whoever Nathaniel was, he posed little threat to anyone. The poor man was frightened out of his wits.

Chad released him, set the bottle on the counter and backed away. ‘‘What are you doing here?’’

Nathaniel unfolded his gangly length from the counter. He pointed a crooked finger toward the cast-iron cookstove. ‘‘Preparing breakfast.’’

Chad saw a frying pan on the stovetop. Beside it a coffeepot gurgled, emitting jets of steam. On the worktable beside it sat a jug of milk, several eggs and a rasher of bacon.

‘‘Did Kellyn send you?’’

‘‘She said I was to do the cooking and the cleaning, look after the horse and whatever else milord requires.’’

Chad took in Nathaniel’s leathery features, the befuddlement clouding his faded brown eyes. The fellow stood clutching his hands, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot.

The gesture touched a chord of sympathy in Chad. For all his advanced years, Nathaniel seemed little more than a child. Chad smiled to set the man at ease. ‘‘You’re a man-of-all-work, then?’’

‘‘Aye. Been doing the trimming.’’

‘‘Trimming? You must mean the gardening. Are you the groundskeeper hired by my solicitor?’’

This was met with a look of confusion. Nathaniel shrugged. ‘‘I do the trimming and the sweeping.’’ Frowning, he shuffled backward, his heels thwacking the cupboard doors. ‘‘Only by day. Ain’t safe by night.’’

Seeing the man’s agitation, Chad held up his hands in a gesture of reassurance. ‘‘That’s quite all right, Nathaniel. I won’t ask you to come at night, and I’ll always be sure to release you well before dusk. Did Kellyn discuss your wages?’’

Nathaniel shrugged.

‘‘Well, we’ll arrange something.’’ A sudden notion prompted Chad to ask, ‘‘Nathaniel, since you’ve been looking after Edgecombe for me, have you ever encountered anyone in the house or on the grounds?’’

Wide-eyed, he gave an adamant shake of his head. ‘‘Ain’t seen no one.’’

‘‘You’re quite sure?’’

‘‘No one.’’ Boot heels struck the cupboard doors again.

It was an awfully quick answer, in Chad’s estimation. As if Nathaniel had been instructed by someone to make such a denial. Thinking it unlikely he’d glean much useful information from his new manservant, he gestured toward the stove. ‘‘You continue cooking breakfast, Nathaniel, and then put it in the warmer for me. I like my bacon crisp. In the meantime, I’m going below again for a little while.’’

‘‘Never go below,’’ he heard the man murmur to his back.

Chad turned. ‘‘Who told you that? Kellyn?’’

Nathaniel only stared, his faded eyes unreadable.

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