The Ragged Heiress Read Online Free PDF

and his touch was just as light, but the brief salute brought a cheer from his men and a gasp of shock from Lucetta.
    ‘H-how dare you?’ she murmured breathlessly.
    ‘I’m sorry, Miss Froy, but you have the most adorable pout that I’ve ever seen. You must forgive my bad manners, but I couldn’t resist the temptation.’
    ‘Come on, sir.’ Bates called from the edge of the clearing. ‘We’d best leave the temple before the monks turn nasty.’
    ‘Lead on, Bates. We’ll follow.’ Sam tightened the reins, wheeling his horse around. ‘We will escort you as far as we can, but do take care on the way back to the consulate. Don’t stop for anyone or anything.’
    Angry, shaken and yet oddly disturbed by the fleeting touch of his lips, Lucetta chose to ignore this last warning and she urged the little mare forward at a brisk trot. She had not realised how far she had strayed from the beaten track, and as she followed the cloud of dust thrown up by the horses’ hooves she had to admit that she would have had great difficulty in getting back to the main road on her own. When they parted at the crossroads, Sam reined his horse in so that they were side by side with their knees almost touching. ‘We have to leave you now, Miss Froy.’
    ‘Thank you, I know my way now,’ Lucetta said, avoiding his intense gaze. ‘I hope you catch the criminals.’
    ‘And I hope that you sail with us again on the
Caroline
. Perhaps we might be on nodding acquaintance then.’
    This brought her chin up and she met his eyes, suspecting him of teasing, but to her surprise she saw no hint of mockery in them. He was not handsome, she thought, or even particularly good-looking but his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled and his mouth curved humorously even when he was being serious.
    Lucetta gulped and swallowed. She had lost her riding hat to the old woman at the temple and she was most likely suffering from a touch of the sun. ‘I must be on my way,’ she murmured. ‘I have to get back to the consulate before I’m missed.’
    She was about to ride on but he reached out to hold the reins. ‘Take care, Miss Froy.’
    ‘Lucetta. My name is Lucetta.’
    He took her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘Goodbye, Lucetta. We will meet again, I’m certain.’
    ‘I don’t want to hurry you, sir,’ Bates called from a little further along the road where the men had reined in their horses, ‘but we’ll never catch them at this rate.’
    Sam rode off, leaving Lucetta staring after him. She had lost her riding crop as well as her hat, and she could almost hear the freckles popping out on her nose and cheeks. She would be in for a scolding from Mama when she reached home. The sun was high in the skyand the heat was oppressive, but the ride back to the consulate was uneventful until Lucetta came to a stall by the wayside where two men had stopped to buy fresh coconuts. Her heart sank as she realised that it was her papa and his guide Agung who were sipping the cool sweet coconut milk. There was no chance of getting past them without being seen and she reined in her horse.
    ‘What in heaven’s name are you doing riding out alone?’ Henry Froy demanded angrily. ‘Have you no idea how dangerous it is for a young person such as yourself to be abroad unchaperoned in a foreign country?’
    ‘I’m sorry, Papa. I just wanted to get some fresh air.’
    ‘Fresh air? Are you mad, girl?’ Henry peered at her through the heat haze. ‘Just look at you, Lucetta. How did you come to be in that dishevelled state? Where is your hat? You’ll get a touch of the sun, that’s for certain.’
    Lucetta could see Agung staring at her with his mouth open and her father’s face had flushed to the colour of a boiled beetroot, but before she could think of a suitable reply a sudden tropical downpour spilled from the skies as if someone up above them had turned on a tap. The rain hit the ground hissing and spitting as it evaporated into steam and in