A Fiery Dalliance

IV

"Undeservedly you will atone for the sins of your fathers." Horatius

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IV.

As Joe Parish laid down in his bed that night and stared at the canopy ceiling above him, he thought back on the battle of words that he'd entered into with Perrie earlier that evening.

What was it about her that brought out the worst in him?

Was it her tempestuousness? Was it her stubborn pride? Was it the very fact that she was so indulged that she would not know discipline if it walked right up to her and stamped itself on her forehead?

Joe decided it was all three.

He rolled onto his side, closed his eyes, and groaned, burying the right side of his face in his pillow as he wished that his father had found him a different tutor. Joe had been apprehensive at first when he had learned that he was being sent back to Ashwood having left it two years previously after completing the schooling there. But seeing as Perrie was off learning how to be a lady, Joe had temporarily deluded himself into thinking that she might return a little less like the annoying imp she had been when he had known her.

But alas, Joe was wrong. And it was because Perrie was so indulged that she could continue to be the irritating imp that she was.

Because she brought out the very worst in him, Joe shamefully enjoyed teasing her and giving back whatever, she gave him. He had often had to think his quickest when he'd been around Perrie and seeing her again today had made his mind work hard. He didn't know what it was about winning, but he never had a thrill like besting Perrie Beresford.

Joe, however, needed to be on his best behaviour. He could not afford to lose his gentlemanly demeanour in front of the duke again, lest it be reported back to his father, and the Viscount Evesham would receive another letter informing him of his youngest son's failed vocation.

His sparring battles with Perrie would need undoubtedly continue. Perrie couldn't help herself. Joe would simply have to endeavour to be more clandestine in the shots he fired.

Joe suddenly felt a hard jab in his left arm, and he jumped about a foot in the air, screaming in fright, as he instantly became aware that he was not alone in his bedroom.

His heart beat erratically as his eyes focussed on the glow of a candle, and the shape of a small figure.

"What on earth is the matter with you? Did you not hear me? I practically burst into your bedroom about to set you on fire by Mama might have killed me for it!" Perrie snapped accusingly.

Joe scrambled out of his bed, immediately trying to eradicate the feeling of danger and dread that had immediately consumed him. They were feelings that he'd had to become accustomed to over the past year or so, but that didn't make them any easier.

He was in no danger from Perrie. Then again, she had just threatened to set him alight. Taking a few deep breaths, Joe was able to properly concentrate on Perrie, and from the glow of the candlelight, he could see the look of fury in her blue eyes. Her dark brows were furrowed deeply as she glared at him, and her dark hair had been let down from the pins that contained it during the day. It hung in soft curls to her hips.

She dressed in a long white nightgown, and upon comprehending Perrie's state of undress, Joe immediately panicked at the thought of the volume Perrie might have been using when she had burst into his bedroom. Would her parents have heard? Would they come to see what was the matter? What would they say if they discovered their precious daughter in his bedroom in such a state?