Alice frowned. "Potions made from poppies must be used sparingly."

"Aye." Joan slanted her an interested look. "You sound knowledgeable on the subject. Did you follow in your mother's footsteps, my lady?"

"I have studied herbal lore and I have kept my mother's handbook on the subject, but after she died I turned to other interests."

"I see."

"I consider myself a student of natural philosophy." Alice came to a halt and looked toward the forbidding cliffs that rose behind the village. "As it happens, I had planned to further my investigations in such matters later this morning."

Joan followed her gaze. "You intend to explore the cliffs?"

"Aye. I have never seen a cave. It should prove most interesting."

"Forgive me, my lady, but I'm not certain that is a sound notion. Does Lord Hugh know of your intention?"

"Nay." Alice smiled brightly. "He was occupied with weighty affairs of business this morning. I chose not to intrude."

"I see." Joan hesitated as though she felt she ought to say more on the subject but she changed her mind. "You told Sister Katherine that you did not think there would be war between the manors of Rivenhall and Scarcliffe."

"Aye. What of it?"

"Are you certain? This land has suffered much, my lady. I do not know if it could survive such a disaster."

Alice chuckled. "Have no fear, Lord Hugh will protect Scarcliffe."

"I trust you are right." Joan broke off abruptly as she glanced at a spot directly behind Alice.

A jolt of awareness went through Alice at that instant. She knew without turning around that Hugh was in the garden.

"I am well pleased to learn that you have such great faith in my abilities, lady," he said in his emotionless voice. "I would wish that I could have a similar degree of faith in your good sense. What is this I hear about your plans to explore the caverns of Scarcliffe?"

Alice whirled about to find him looming as large and solid as Scarcliffe Keep itself on the path behind her. His black hair was windblown. His amber eyes gleamed with a dangerous intelligence. She had seen very little of Hugh during the past three days but on each occasion she'd had a similar reaction.

Whenever she happened upon him, even for a fleeting moment, the impact on her senses was startling. Her pulse quickened and something curled deep in her stomach. Memories of the night in Ipstoke when he had touched her so intimately warmed every part of her body.

She had not been able to sleep well for thinking of that passionate interlude. Last night she had prepared a hot drink of chamomile tea to settle her senses. She had got herself to sleep but she had dreamed. How she had dreamed.

"You startled me, my lord." She fought her unsettled reaction to him by glowering ferociously. "I did not hear you come into the garden. I thought you were occupied with your accounts this morning."

"I was very busy with them until I learned that you planned a venture into the caverns." Hugh inclined his head slightly toward Joan. "Good day to you, madam."

"Good day, my lord." Joan glanced from Hugh's grim face to Alice's scowling features and back again. She cleared her throat discreetly. "Mayhap 'tis just as well you have come, my lord. I was a trifle concerned myself about Lady Alice's plans. She is new to this land and does not yet know all its dangers."

"Aye," Hugh said. "And at the moment the most serious danger she faces is me." He braced his fists on his hips. "What in the name of the devil do you think you are about, lady?"

She refused to be intimidated. "I merely wish to search for some interesting stones."

"You are not to go into the caverns alone. Ever. Is that understood?"

Alice patted his sleeve in a soothing manner. "Calm yourself, my lord. I am quite skilled in the science of natural philosophy. I have been collecting interesting specimens for years. I will come to no harm."

Hugh hooked his thumbs into his leather belt. "Heed me well, Alice. You are not to go beyond the bounds of this village alone. I forbid it."

"Would you care to come with me? I could use a stout man to help me carry whatever interesting objects I may discover."

For a second or two, Hugh looked completely taken aback by the invitation. He recovered immediately and cast a disparaging glance at the leaden sky. "There will be rain soon."

"Unlikely, I think." Alice looked up. " 'Tis just somewhat overcast."

A speculative gleam appeared in Hugh's eyes. "Very well, madam, as you are the expert on matters of natural philosophy around here, I shall bow to your judgment. I'll escort you on your expedition."

"As you wish." Elation welled up inside Alice. She tried to appear unconcerned, as though Hugh's decision was of no great moment.

Joan looked relieved. "Take care not to stumble upon our wandering monk while you're traipsing about in the vicinity of the cliffs. I am told that he is encamped in one of the caves."

Hugh frowned as he took Alice's arm. "Why is Calvert of Oxwick sleeping in the caves?"

Joan's features remained serenely composed but her eyes sparkled with humor. "No doubt because I refused to give him a cell here in the convent. There really is nowhere else for him to spread a pallet except Scarcliffe Keep itself. Apparently he did not dare to impose on your hospitality, my lord."

"Just as well," Alice grumbled. "I would not have Scarcliffe Keep supply any accommodations to that obnoxious man."

Hugh raised his brows but made no comment. Belatedly it occurred to Alice that decisions regarding the extension of the keep's hospitality were rightfully his. She was not even his true betrothed. And she had made herself a promise that she would not get overly involved in household matters.

"Well, then," she said briskly. "We had best be off, my lord. The day is getting along, is it not?"

The first drops of rain struck as they started up the rocky hillside beneath the caverns.

"By the Saints." Alice fumbled with the hood of her mantle. "We will get soaked to the skin if we do not get into the shelter of the caves."

"I told you it was going to rain." Hugh grabbed her hand and pulled her swiftly toward the first of the dark openings etched in the cliffs.

"Do you make it a habit to point out your infallibility on each of those occasions when you happen to be correct in your estimation of a situation?" Alice broke into a run to keep up with him.

"Nay." Laughter warmed Hugh's eyes as he pulled her beneath the overhang of a large cavern. "As I am almost always correct, 'twould be too much of a bother to mention that fact every time it is proven."

She glowered at him for a moment and then her attention was captured by his rain-dampened hair. For some reason the sight of it, tousled and plastered against his well-shaped head, made him look somehow different. Gentler, even a trifle vulnerable.

She caught her breath on a wild rush of hope. If Hugh really did have some gentleness in him, some degree of softness and vulnerability, mayhap he could learn to love her.

The rain began to fall in earnest. Thunder rolled in the distance.

As though he meant to squash any false illusion of underlying softness, Hugh ran careless fingers through his wet mane. He brushed it ruthlessly behind his ears, exposing his high forehead and the severe, predatory lines of his cheekbones. In the blink of an eye he was transformed back into a man who could easily shoulder the weight of a legend.

Alice smiled wistfully. "You are impossible, my lord."

A hint of amusement edged his mouth. He glanced curiously around at their surroundings. "Behold your cave, madam."

Alice followed his gaze and shivered a little. " 'Tis somewhat dark, is it not?"

"Caves tend to be gloomy places," he said dryly.