His Remarkable Bride (17 page)

He hugged the two ragdolls, wishing he could hug their owners, and stepped across the remaining piles of toys, clothes, and books to nestle the dolls safely on Geneva’s and Millicent’s beds, beside the two fine, if faded, porcelain dolls.

“Don’t you worry, your mommies will be home soon.”

He took a step back from the beds and studied the picture the dolls made. Two different kinds, plain and fancy, store-bought and heartfelt. He laughed. If that wasn’t a metaphor for his marriage to Elspeth, he didn’t know what was.

He went back to work, sorting the flotsam and jetsam strewn around the room into specific piles, listening for Elspeth to come home. The house was bad enough without the children in it, but without Elspeth too it seemed like someone else’s house entirely. He wondered what she was doing right then, wondered if the Bonneville sisters would be as impressed with the sight of her as he had been when she stepped out that morning.

He paused in his work, arms filled with clothes he’d forgotten the girls owned because they hadn’t been put with the rest of the laundry for weeks. Elspeth had kissed him that morning. Bold as brass. She’d stepped right up to him when he was in the middle of a sentence and pressed her sweet lips to his. Even now, he was stunned to stillness at her action. She’d kissed him when she didn’t have to, her lithe body swaying toward his. What a joy that had been.

The door opened and shut downstairs, and Elspeth called out, “Athos? I’m home.”

Athos opened his eyes and took in a breath. He hadn’t realized he’d shut his eyes to begin with. Heat flooded his face and he laughed at himself. “I’m up here,” he replied. “But I’m about to come down.”

Arms bundled with dirty clothes, he headed out to the hall and down the steps. Elspeth stood in the front entryway, removing her stylish hat with gloved hands. His heart skipped a beat. She was the most beautiful and elegant woman he’d ever seen, and by some crazy twist of fate, he’d married her.

“How was it?” He asked, trying to keep his awed reaction to the sight of her and the scent of lavender that filled the hall as she hung her hat on a peg by the door and removed her riding coat.

“It was everything you would imagine it would be,” she answered, arching an eyebrow, barely able to contain a laugh. She only tried for a second before it came bursting out. As she tugged off her gloves, she said, “The sisters were horrible and conceited, as expected. All except Honoria, of course.”

“I hope some nice man sees that woman’s worth someday and whisks her away from her family,” Athos said. He nodded down the hall, indicating that he was on his way to take the pile of clothes in his arms to the downstairs washroom.

“Why didn’t you snap her up when you could?” Elspeth asked, following him.

“I…I never really thought about it. And now I wouldn’t dare think about it. I’m married to you, and you’re the only one for me.”

His words caught up with him a moment too late and he winced as he crossed through the doorway into the washroom. What a silly, sentimental thing to say, especially when they’d known each other for less than a week. Even if they were married. What would she think of h—

“That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Her words were a soft hush.

He dropped his load of clothes into an empty laundry basket then slowly turned to her. Elspeth held her gloves in front of her, head tilted down, gazing at him through lowered lashes. Her cheeks were pink, and her lips formed a perfect, kissable line.

He froze in place, even though his blood pumped through him. His heart felt as though it was swelling until it was too big for his chest. Other things threatened to start swelling too. He wanted to march boldly up to her and take her in his arms, like a hero in a storybook, like a musketeer.

He waited too long.

“I met the Bonneville’s distant cousin, Rance Bonneville, while I was there,” Elspeth went on with a smirk. The spell was broken.

“Rance? Don’t think I’ve ever heard of him.” He cleared his throat and skirted past Elspeth and into the hall, heading back up to the bedrooms.

“He was the man standing on the porch at the end of everything on Sunday. Apparently Bonneville brought him in from Kentucky to be the foreman on his ranch.”

“Ah.” Athos nodded. “I know he needed someone. Travis Montrose was going to take the job last year, but things fell through.”

“Yes, well, if you ask me—or rather, if you ask Cousin Rance—he’s there to manage more than just the ranch.” She followed him upstairs, slipping into their bedroom for a moment to put away her gloves, then joining him in Geneva and Millicent’s room.

“How so?”

Elspeth’s lips twitched into a giggling grin. “He’s engaged to Vivian Bonneville.”

Although he was headed to the pile of toys in the corner to start putting them away, he stopped at the announcement and spun to face Elspeth. “No!”

“Yes.” Elspeth laughed, crossing to join him near the pile and bending to gather some toys. “The wedding will be next month, apparently.”

“Rex Bonneville actually found someone to marry Vivian.” Athos shook his head. He contemplated the idea for a moment, then shook his head again and went to work putting away toys.

“The best part—or so Vivian kept insisting—is that she won’t even need to change her name. Rance is Rance Bonneville, and after marriage, Vivian will still be Vivian Bonneville.”

“I’m sure she will be,” Athos laughed. “I’m not sure whether to pity poor Cousin Rance or to applaud him for his efforts.”

Elspeth stepped over a stack of books to arrange a handful of doll furniture and clothes on the shelf beside one window. “Well, before you decide to make friends with Rance Bonneville, you should probably know that he suggested quite insistently to me that I should seek a divorce and marry him instead.”

“What?” Athos fumbled the book he had bent to pick up. It slapped onto the floor with a bang. He’d kill the man first chance he got. That is, unless Elspeth actually wanted to divorce him and marry someone else.

A cold knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

Elspeth turned away from the shelf and bent for more toys, but paused at the sight of his face. “Don’t worry.” She rushed to reassure him. “I wouldn’t dream of divorcing you for any man, let alone Cousin Rance. And you don’t need to plot revenge for the insult. After what I saw, I think Vivian will be punishment enough.”

She chuckled. The sound put him at ease by the slightest bit. Not enough to shake the moment of terror at the very suggestion she could walk away from him. Of course, he’d let her if she really wanted to, but…but he absolutely didn’t want her to.

“The children are safe and as happy as can be,” she went on, continuing to put away toys.

Athos forced himself to take a deep breath and focus on what really mattered. “I hate not having them here, where they belong.”

“I know.” They were hunched over the same, shrinking pile of toys, so she squeezed his arm. Warmth radiated through him from her touch. “They’re not as miserable as I would have expected, though. I think Honoria is keeping them busy.”

“Honoria?” The single word came out rough, and it wasn’t even close to what he wanted to say. What he wanted to say was “Don’t ever leave me. I need you. The children need you. Let me make love to you.” He blinked and took a step back at the potency of his thoughts.

Elspeth’s grin grew mysterious. “The children behaved like perfect angels. Ivy and Heather even helped serve tea. But it seems as though strange things have been occurring at the Bonneville ranch this week.”

“Strange?” He picked up the books on the floor and began shelving them.

“Odd smells that no one can find the source of. Food that looks fine but tastes horrible when you bite into it. And Melinda told a long story about how there is a drip somewhere in her bedroom that kept her awake all night, nearly jumping out of her skin, but she can’t figure out the source, since it hasn’t rained in days and she doesn’t think the roof leaks. She managed to trip on a marble that mysteriously appeared on the stairs this morning too.”

“And you think the children have something to do with it?”

“I know the children have something to do with it. Honoria told me as much when we had thirty seconds to ourselves.” She let out a deliciously mischievous giggle and sent a wicked look his way.

That look sent fire through his blood like few things ever had before.

“So they’re enjoying their vacation after all.” He forced himself to turn back to the bookshelf so that he wouldn’t scare the stuffing out of her with the potency of how badly he wanted her right then.

“Enough.” Elspeth scooped up the last of the toys from the floor and moved to arrange them on the other shelf. “I think they want to come home, though. Of course they do.”

Before he could answer, there was a short cranking noise, followed by the tinkling strains of a music box. A wash of glittering memories swept through Athos. He stood and turned to find Elspeth smiling at blue, lacquered box.

“I haven’t heard that song in ages,” he said, shoulders relaxing.

“It’s lovely.” Elspeth gave the music box a few more winds. “We used to dance to this tune in London.”

“I remember dancing to it too when I was young.” The floor was completely clear for a change, so he crossed over to where Elspeth was smiling at the box. “Would you care to have this dance?” he asked with a short bow.

Elspeth glanced up, a look of pure delight coming to her bright eyes. She gave the music box a few more winds, then set it on the top of the shelf. “Why yes, sir, I would.” She executed a perfect curtsy.

Deep, old joy and dazzling new happiness pulsed through Athos as he took Elspeth in his arms the way he had many a dance partner in his much younger years. He glided easily into the steps of a waltz, whisking Elspeth around the decluttered room.

“I haven’t danced in years,” he sighed, holding her closer.

“You’re very good at it,” she answered, surprise in her voice and expression.

He laughed. “You didn’t think a tired, old stationmaster like me had it in him, did you?”

“I didn’t say that.” Her answering grin was both bashful and pleased.

“I used to love dancing.” The statement swelled up through him with an unmanly burst of emotion. “Some of my friends scoffed that it was a stupid waste of time, but I used to argue that it was the perfect way to spend an evening with the ladies.”

She laughed. “So you were a lady’s man when you were young, were you?”

“No.” He chuckled, stepping her through a turn. “Well, I suppose I would have been if I was one of those tall, handsome, dandy sorts.”

“Who said you weren’t?” She blinked, seeming genuinely surprised.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Modesty urged him to lower his head, but a deeper sort of longing kept his shoulders squared and his eyes fixed on her beautiful smile.

“Not at all,” she argued. “And if I had been a young lady at those long-ago balls, I would have scandalized every meddling mama in the room by standing up with you as many times as I could get away with.”

He beamed from ear to ear at the thought. “We didn’t have rules about how many times a couple could dance together back in those days. Then again, I always felt responsible for making sure the women that other men snubbed got at least one dance.”

Her expression transformed before him from simply smiling to nearly weeping. And yet, her eyes shone with happiness.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“You danced with the wallflowers.” Her voice was soft enough to be a whisper.

“They were more interesting anyhow.” He shrugged. Her arms shifted as their waltz continued, embracing him more closely. Their steps became smaller and they turned in a tighter circle. His heart beat faster, but he wasn’t sure why. “I…I always thought that that’s what a musketeer would do,” he said, intending to tease himself. “A hero should always show as much nobility of character to the less sought-after girls as to the popular ones, because every woman has the heart of a heroine beating inside of her.”

“Oh, Athos!” She stopped dancing. The music had stopped playing. He thought maybe it had stopped playing several minutes ago and neither of them had noticed. “Athos, you are the most wonderful, heroic man I’ve ever met.”

Her words surprised him, but not as much as the kiss that followed. She circled her arms fully around him, pulling him close so that she could press her lips to his. She didn’t seem satisfied with just that. Her lips parted against his and her tongue brushed against the seam of his closed mouth. It didn’t stay closed for long, though, and he didn’t remain a passive partner in the kiss. Desire surged through him and he opened his mouth to take charge of their kiss. He sighed with longing, pressing her against him, not caring that she could feel the sudden insistence of how badly he wanted her pressing against her hip. In fact, he wanted her to feel that. He wanted her to feel what she did to him. He wanted her.

She wasn’t going to let him find an excuse not to consummate their marriage or chicken out, like she suspected he had done at least once before. Elspeth’s body was on fire, the ache in her heart furious, the need in her core desperate. She knew what she wanted from him, knew how to make sure that desire was fulfilled.

“Take me to bed, Athos,” she whispered, nipping at his earlobe as she did. “Take me to bed right now.” She lowered her grasping hands to tug the hem of his shirt out of his trousers, to let him know she meant what she said.

For a brief moment she pulled back, staring into his eyes. They were wide with disbelief. A moment later they flashed with a desire that was at least equal to her own.

He slanted his mouth possessively over hers in a kiss that took her by surprise. A scintillating hum rose up from his chest as his tongue danced with hers. He smoothed a hand down her back, reaching lower to grab a handful of her backside. He managed to find just the right angle to squeeze her even with the copious fabric of her bustle. He knew exactly how to spread his hand across her thigh and coax her to lift her leg to his hip, just how to support her so that she wouldn’t lose her balance, and just how to grind against her to send a jolt of pleasure through her core. She gasped as she realized that, in fact, Athos knew exactly how to make her body sing.