A Seven Year Hitch (9 page)

“A look that suggested you had been caught out doing something naughty, My Lord.”

“And you are familiar with this look, Miss Wilmshurst? Are you very naughty?”

“Yes, My Lord. Uncle Richard had the same look whenever he caught us doing something nefarious and No, My Lord. I was naughty in my childhood, not now.”

“Are you sure, Miss Wilmshurst?”

“Oh yes, My Lord. I am not the one receiving the look. Have you been doing something naughty, My Lord?”

No Miss Wilmshurst, I am the pattern card of goodness
.”

“Then why did you blush
My Lord, when your mother gave you the look?”

“Blush, Miss Wilmshurst? You mistake. It is merely the warmth of a summer’s evening.”

She snorted her disbelief and he could not resist adding once he had ascertained no one else was listening,

“And the thought of making love to you on this table!”

Erica who was in the act of sipping her wine, choked. Trevellyn patted her on the back but she tried to swat his hand away.

Many people turned in concern to look at her and Trevellyn smiled and announced.
“She’s eating too fast. I told her to slow down and not to shovel her food but she says her gladiatorial performance this afternoon has left her famished!”

Erica could not cavil. She was too busy trying to breath and by the time she had any spare breath with which to deny his comment, everyone had returned to his or her own conversation.

Trevellyn smiled innocently at her and asked, “Better now, sweetheart?”

“Don’t call me sweetheart
!”

“Would you prefer darling girl?”

Her only answer was to hunch her shoulder at him and turn to talk to her neighbour on the other side. She therefore missed her tormenter raise his glass to his mother and father who sat beaming at him.

Unfortunately for Erica, Fiona was her other neighbour who immediately launched into a told you so conversation.

“You see, Erica. He is more interested in you than he is Charlotte.”

“Don’t start that again, Fiona” she sighed.

“But how can you deny it when he has been monopolizing your attention since we sat down to dinner.”

“I
t’s only been about ten minutes.”

“And the rest!”

“Don’t exaggerate. And besides you’ve spent the same amount of time talking to Charlie and I’m not reading anything into it,” Erica retorted.

“Yes but the content of our conversation was innocent.”

Erica lied without compunction “So was ours.”

Fiona came back with “Not the snippets I heard
.”

Erica eyed her suspiciously, “How can you have heard anything when you were engrossed in your chat with Charlie?”

“Actually I was more engrossed in eavesdropping on you and Trevellyn,” Fiona admitted. “It was much more interesting than anything Charlie had to say.”

“Fiona
! You are incorrigible!”

“Yes I know! But come
on! Tell me the bits I missed.”

“No. Besides you probably misc
onstrued what you heard anyway; eavesdroppers always do,” Erica said dismissively, although knowing it would be difficult to misinterpret Trevellyn’s final comment.

“Actually I think you will find that the saying says that they never hear good of themselves, but I take the hint. You don’t want to tell m
e. That’s perfectly fine though because I’ll just fill in the gaps myself.”

Fiona waited but Erica, knowing her cousin very well, gambled on her bluffing as to how much she had overheard and said,
“Feel free Fiona. Then it is sure to be more salacious than it actually was.”

Erica then turned to Michael as her last hope of conducting a safe and comfortable conversation. Thankfully he complied and the rest of the meal passed smoothly as far as Erica was concerned.

It was an incredibly beautiful evening and Erica, feeling the need for some quiet alone time after a hectic and emotionally trying day, slipped surreptitiously outside after dinner. She headed for the end of the terrace and crept around the edge of the house where, away from the lights of the drawing room, she could see the clear night sky and marvel at the thousands of stars that glittered in the velvet expanse of night. Leaning against the balustrade, she breathed in deeply, relishing the smell of honeysuckle and the balmy quality of a warm summer’s night. A fleeting movement out of the corner of her eye was the only warning she had that she was not alone and before she could react in any way, a hand was clamped around her mouth and once again a strong arm imprisoned her against a toned and muscular body. Erica knew who it was before the whispered assurance that she was in no danger.

“How fortuitous my darling girl that you chose to enjoy the night sky at the same time as me. Perhaps we could enjoy it together?”

He released her but remained close.

“Why did you grab me like that? You fr
ightened me half out of my wits,” Erica accused him angrily.

“Because I was afraid you might scream sweetheart if I had just said hello when you had obviously no idea I was there
,” he replied “and I did not want all and sundry to descend upon us. Think of your reputation”

“My reputation is faultless and my family would never think ill of me. Besides I never scream!”

Trevellyn looked up at the sky and breathed in, very much as Erica herself had done.

“It’s awesome isn’t it? When I was a boy I used to lie out on nights like this and imagine it was possible to travel to all those stars.”

“It makes me feel very small and insignificant,” Erica told him.

“You insignificant? Never, sweetheart
.”

She laughed and then said,
“I can only ever see ‘The plough’. Both Gerald and Michael used to point out the other constellations but I could never make them out.”

“Here, let see if I can show you
,” he said and the next fifteen minutes were passed pleasurably as he proceeded to point out various constellation such as Orion and his belt, Pegasus and the Great Bear. He stood close behind Erica pointing over her shoulder so that she could follow the length of his arm.

When Erica became aware of the time, she reluctantly said, “I’d better return, we’ve probably been missed by now
.”

She turned but Trevellyn, instead of moving away as she’d expected him to do, simply said, “I want you,” before lowering his head and kissing her. She stood mesmerized as h
e asserted pressure on her lips demanding a response, and when she tentatively gave it, he deepened it; commanding more. His hand came up to the back of her head to hold her still as he nibbled on her lower lip and then ran his tongue along it; demanding entrance. Erica had never been kissed like this before but instinctively knew what he wanted. She opened her mouth and he plundered it, deepening the kiss even more and sending desire soaring in both of them.

Very soon, Erica was kissing him back and somehow her arms had wrapped themselves around his neck and he had pulled her against him for which she was grateful, as she didn’t believe her legs would support her. She felt desire build in her from her tingling breasts to the throbbing in the very core of her. He continued the kiss, entwining his tongue with hers and sending them both into a spiral of longing that threatened to engulf them both.

Trevellyn moved his hand to caress and fondle her breast and for a split second, before conscious thought took over, Erica exulted in his touch and then dawning horror at what she was doing and with whom; made her break from the kiss. She tried to step away but he followed; continuing to hold her so that she found herself pinned between him and the balustrade.  

“That was very revealing, wasn’t it sweetheart
?” Trevellyn reverted to his teasing tone in a desperate attempt to conceal from her the fact that he was still reeling himself from the impact of that kiss. His body was raging with desire for the curvaceous woman still pressed against him and he was struggling to get it under control. He had over the years sated his lust with many women but never had that lust resembled anything like he was experiencing with this annoying, beautiful handful he now held. 

Erica tried to free herself
but to no avail and eventually through gritted teeth, demanded her release before adding, “You are loathsome.”

“You were kissing me back and I definitely heard a moan of pleasure, sweetheart
.”

“I am most definitely not your sweetheart, and I did not moan
with pleasure but with dislike,” Erica threw at him, sounding pathetic even to her own ears.

“You cannot fool me, sweetheart. Your desire matched mine and although your lips deny it you
r delicious body says otherwise,” he laughed, and then in a more serious tone and with a voice hoarse with longing, he continued, “Remember yesterday when I said I had no intention of seducing you?”

Erica nodded.

“I lied!” he smiled wolfishly “I am going to seduce you and soon, very soon. You said earlier that you don’t scream but believe me, you will.  You’ll scream with pleasure and beg for more when I fill you and take you to heights you cannot hope to imagine.”

“You will not succeed. Forewarned, as they say, is forearmed and there is no way you
can entice me into bed with you,” Erica was regaining her fighting spirit.  “I have no intention of losing either the war, My Lord, or my virtue.”

“How much would you like to bet on it my darling?” he brushed his lips against her neck, reawakening the tingling sensation throughout her traitorous body.

“You would be throwing away your money.”

“I will give you very good odds, say one hundred to one? Just name your stake!” he said persuasively, nibbling on her ear.

“Alright. A hundred guineas, My Lord, that you cannot seduce me before the end of this house party, or ever!”

“A hundred guineas it is, my darling. I only hope you can afford to lose so much.”

He pressed a quick kiss to her lips, which remained firmly closed, and released her with a sigh.

“I look forward to our next encounter
,” he said sardonically and laughed as she stormed past him and out of sight.

He thought it prudent to wait a while until returning to the house. God knew, his parents were already aware of his interest in her and he did not want others to notice. Irate relatives would only complicate matters. Of-course his parents were not aware of his nefarious intentions towards her, which set him to wondering exactly what their thoughts might be. They had introduced him to
Charlotte as a possible bride, which he had been prepared to seriously consider yet now, or so it seemed to him, they were smiling benevolently on his pursuit of Erica.

His own feelings were also proving a little difficult to unravel and he was not at all sure he wanted to try too hard. His lust for her was not in doubt and he relished the time spent in her company.  He definitely enjoyed their sparring matches as he recognized in her a worthy opponent. Could this be love he asked himself? and then gave himself a vigorous mental shake. Of-course it wasn’t. She was merely an annoying termagant, whom he found diverting. That was all. Enough said.

On making his way back to the drawing room, Trevellyn discovered that Erica had not put in an appearance.

“There you are, Trevellyn. Was Erica outside with you?” asked Gerald.

Deciding that half a truth was better than an outright lie, he answered, “Yes, we were both studying the night sky and I managed to put out the constellations to her. But that was quite a while ago. I thought she was coming here.”

  “She’s probably consulting with Boodle and Mrs. Kavanagh about the activities for tomorrow
,” piped up Aunt Hebe. “She is always such a conscientious hostess.”

“My dear boy, would you care t
o partner me in a game of cards,” The Duchess asked Trevellyn, rising from the sofa and heading towards a little card table that Stephen was setting up.

“Of-course
mother, anything to oblige,” he graciously agreed and followed her down the room.

Charlotte
wants to teach Sophie how to play so we must be gentle with them,” she explained as all four of them took their seats.

It was around twenty minutes later when Erica, having regained a level of composure, entered the room. She was pleasantly surprised by the calm and quietness of the room and glanced around at her extended family and close friends. Obviously the gala had tired them for they were content to enjoy each other’s company whilst pursuing their own activities. Several were engrossed in books, the younger ones having discarded their shoes and curled their feet up under them. Fiona and Stephen were sitting close together watching Michael, Charlie and Great Uncle James building an elaborate and somewhat unstable house of cards. Others were gently snoozing whilst waiting for the tea tray to be brought in. She felt such an intense wave of love for them that warmed her insides and soothed her tumultuous emotions. She smiled, fighting the urge to grin.