Read Online Bella's Vineyard by Sally Quilford - Free Book Online

all adored his accent. Bella was asked to
dance many times after the first young man approached her, but never by Vance.
He drew his own circle of admirers.
    “You must tell
us all about your great-grandfather,” one young lady purred. Bella was waiting
to get a drink of punch and Vance and the girl had approached the table. “Was
he really a savage?”
    “It depends what
you mean by savage,” said Vance, not seeming in the least bit offended by the
crass question. “All men are savages when stripped to the bone.”
    “Why, Marshal, I
do believe you are the most provocative man I’ve ever met.”
    “Yes, but would
your brother let me marry you?” said Vance. Bella froze, her glass mid-air.
    “I don’t have a
brother, and daddy lets me do whatever I want.”
    “Unfortunately,”
said Bella, in icy tones, “the marshal is already spoken for. Which is a great
loss for the ladies of Milton.”
    “All is fair in
love and war,” said the young women, clearly besotted.
    “Be careful,
Miss Grant,” said Vance. “You’ll be leading me astray.”
    “Oh I do hope
so,” said Miss Grant.
    Bella slammed
down her glass and walked away. A waltz had just started and she found herself
standing alone in the middle of the dance floor, not knowing which way to turn,
whilst others danced around her. Suddenly a hand caught hers. It was Vance.
“We’d better start dancing before they run us over,” he said, putting his hand
on her waist.
    They began to
move in time to the music. The singer was lamenting about a rather
accident-prone girl called Clementine.
    Bella could feel
her heart beating fast as Vance held her close, his body against hers taut and
strong. They danced for a while, until the ice between them began to thaw. She
would have gladly spent the whole evening in his arms. There were other
good-looking men at the dance, but Vance eclipsed them all. “I’m sorry,” he
whispered against her hair. His warm breath brushed her neck. “I shouldn’t have
said all those things.”
    “Then why did
you? To impress Miss Grant.”
    “No, because you
didn’t give me the answer I wanted.”
    “You’re engaged
to someone else.”
    “And that upsets
you?”
    “It’s none of my
business,” said Bella. It hurt her to breathe, thinking of him being with
Gloria.
    “One day I’ll
persuade you to tell me how you really feel.”
    “Please don’t
play games with my heart, Vance. Unlike Miss Grant, I’m not experienced enough
with men to know how to respond in kind.”
    He brushed the
centre of her palm with his thumb, causing a thrill to charge through her body.
“Being responsive to a man is more than about knowing what to say,” he
whispered. “Miss Grant there would run a mile yelling ‘savage’ if I touched her
the way I just touched you.”
    “I’m only
staying because we’re in the middle of a dance and it would be rude for me to
walk away,” said Bella. As much as she tried to be angry with him, she found
his closeness intoxicating. It would suit her if the dance lasted forever.
    “Would you run
if I kissed you?”
    “I’d probably
slap your face.” Bella was not quite sure that was true, but she tried to say
it and mean it, which she felt was at least something.
    “Really?” He
grinned. “You’d slap my face?”
    “Yes, really.”
    “But you’re such
a polite little English girl. Surely you’d just faint.”
    “You appear to
be confusing me with some other little English girl,” said Bella “If you
behaved like a cad, I’d be forced to slap you.”
    He threw back
his head and laughed at that. “A cad? What a quaint old word.” He put his mouth
nearer to her, until she felt his lips brushing her cheek. “Believe me, the way
I feel right now if I kissed you, you’d be yelling ‘savage’ not ‘cad’.”
    “No,” said Bella
looking up at him with earnest eyes. “I’d never do that, Vance.”
    “May I cut in?”
Griffiths appeared at the side of them.
    To Bella’s
dismay, Vance