Midnight Masquerade (19 page)

“Amelia, I have never brought a woman to my room at
any
of my ducal homes, not my Scottish castle,
n
or my English seats and certainly not my London abode….my homes, my beds are for my future duchess only. I have never wanted to taint that, even before I knew who my wife would be.”

“Will you really move me in tomorrow?” She asked, yawning against his broad chest and squeezing him tight, praying this wasn’t all a dream.

Running his hand down her back, “You can choose the pace you’d like to go, if you are unsure this is the right choice for you, we can go
slowly.”

Looking up at him, “What do you mean?”

Running his hand through her hair, he grinned, “I don’t want you to panic once all your belongings are moved from here to my house Lia, I don’t want you to regret moving in with me and then fleeing because you felt you made a mistake. I will protect you no matter where you are love, even if you want to stay here. I want you to come live with me because you want to, not just because I want you there.”

“I know I want you.” She whispered softly.

“Wanting me, and wanting to marry me are two entirely different things love. The question is, are you ready, truly ready to become my world and all that entails? Are you ready to leave your family and become mine, to live with me and love me like I desire or do you have doubt?”

She had doubt, there was no question. Her heart exploded with love whenever she saw the man, but her brain questioned his fidelity.

Seeing her hesitation, he kissed her forehead, “Sleep love, it isn’t a question you have to answer to me
,
but to yourself. Tomorrow evening is a long time away, I’ll leave in the morning and Gideon will watch over you until the sun sets, I’ll be over when your family is ready to make their way out for the evening much like tonight. If between now and tomorrow evening, you decide you want to stay here until you are positive that moving in with me is the right move, I will keep staying here with you until the murderer is caught.”

It was quite surreal
experiencing this side of Alastair. She had seen the diplomatic side, the military side along with his ducal persona so to speak. She had experienced him with all of his masks down years ago, the humorous charmer with a golden heart, but seeing him so warm and giving made her giddy.

Sleeping next to the woman was easier than he had imagined. After Amelia had fallen asleep on his chest, he caressed her hair until sleep had claimed him as well. Yesterday had been exhausting and emotional for him
too
.

After a week of praying at her bedside, his love had finally woken to find she had lost their child. Seeing the pain in her eyes crushed his heart.

He had days to accept the
news;
Amelia had woken and just found out. Although they hadn’t spoken about it since yesterday morning when he first saw her, he knew that it would take time for her to heal her heart.

After last night, he was sure she loved him, but the stubborn woman had refused to make any declaration to him, even in the throes of ecstasy. He knew there was something on her mind that was holding her back, something she was afraid of that made her
hesitant to give herself to him fully.
Knowing her, and women in general he knew he could either wait it out or ask her directly. As he was always one for the direct approach, especially with someone like Amelia, he knew he’d have to ask. He couldn’t help her deal with the issue if he didn’t know the problem.

Awaking as the sun crested the roofs of London, he looked down at the angel sleeping in his arms. She had slept peacefully all night, cuddled up against him. To be honest, he had slept wonderfully as well. Having her beside him soothed his soul, it had been a very long time since he had slept all night next to a woman. Usually visiting his mistresses at their homes, he would never stay the night with them.

Sighing, he hated to leave Amelia’s bed but he had a million things to accomplish by tonight, duties upon duties rested on his shoulders. Being that he hadn’t hardly left her side since her accident, he had handled the majority of his business through missives and his solicitor. Today however, he had to leave Amelia’s house and venture back out into London and handle a few things personally.

The shock of his broken engagement to Porsche was hopefully old news, and he needed to talk to Gideon about how last night went. The family went out with the intention to share the truth about what happened to Amelia, so many people imagined that the lass had tried to kill herself by jumping from the ledge that night. He knew the power Gideon and Helena held, it wouldn’t be long before they had all of London searching for the masked man who accosted Amelia.

Gently removing his arm from under her head, he tried to move as slowly as possible as to not disturb her. She was going to be sore and hungover this morning, the last thing he wanted to do was cause her more pain.

Quietly stepping away from the bed, he pulled on his tall boots and ran his hand through his hair before pulling on his white shirt and buttoning it back up. Shoving his cravat in his pocket, he put on his black jacket and looked over at the bed to see dazzling grey eyes watching him.

“Leaving already?” She asked, pushing her bottom lip out in an adorable pout. Her long dark hair tousled as if she had enjoyed a tumble.

Walking over to the bed, he kissed her forehead and pulled the covers up around her, “I need to talk to Gideon before I leave, I have a lot to accomplish today love. I’ll be back tonight. How do you feel?”

Closing her eyes, she rolled on her back, “Ribs are sore, head is pounding.
”

Chuckling at her honesty, “Yes well, I did try to warn you. Drink plenty of water today, get some rest and please for the love of god take it easy.”

Reaching out, she took his hand, “Can you bring me my book,
the
one you brought me last night?”

Nodding to the nightstand, the book and his golden pistol sat on her nightstand, “It is right there, I knew you’d want it close.”

“Don’t forget your pistol love.” She yawned as she snuggled deeper into the bed where he once laid.

“Love eh? I am not sure you’ve ever called me that.” Leaning down he sat on the bed and traced her face with his
fingertip
until she grinned, “I want you to keep it Lia,
I
want you armed at all times. I know you are a hell of a shot, and if I cannot be with you at all times I’d at least like my prized pistol at your side.”

“Alastair, it was a gift from the King of England, it is your favorite gun and priceless, I cannot accept it.”

“It is nonnegotiable Lia,
your
life is priceless. I can commission thousands of golden guns at will, it is my favorite for many reasons, the most important being that it is dead accurate and has never failed me. You
,
my little hellion are something I cannot replace, carry my gun sweetheart, it’d make me happy.”

Leaning her head against his thigh, she sighed, “You really have to stop being perfect. Don’t be late tonight…I think I’ll miss you terribly today while you are gone.”

Standing up, he kissed her softly, “How else am I supposed to make you fall in love with me?”

Pointing at him, she grinned, “Don’t be late.”

Bowing to her, he nodded to his gun, “I will not be late my queen, as long as you promise me to keep that gun at your side until I return.”

Blowing him a kiss, “You my
love
have a deal.”

Winking at her, he unlocked the door, “I’ll have someone bring you up tea and some food, I’m sure you are hungry. I’ll be downstairs for the next hour in a meeting with Gideon and Luke if you need me, otherwise I shall return tonight to see what my lady’s fancy is.”

“Be safe Alastair, and can you send Helena up here if she is awake?”

Nodding, “Of course, until tonight Andromeda…until tonight.” Taking one last look at the dark haired beauty he walked out of her room before he lost all his willpower and
had his way with her. Last night had been hell on him, giving her pleasure felt incredible
,
yet his body felt tortured as he awoke with a hard dick and no relief.

Rolling his neck he took a soothing breath and went downstairs to find the Somerset brothers. Interested in what happened last night at the ball, he made it to the bottom of the stairs when he saw Helena walking towards him.

“Good morning Alastair, how is Amelia feeling this morning?” She asked, smiling at him as they walked towards each other.

Nodding to the duchess, “Her ribs are sore, and she has a hangover as she drank half of Gideon’s
scotch
last night. I did try to warn her, but alas, some lessons the
lass
needs to learn herself. She was asking for you as I left, I told her I’d send someone up with tea and food as well.”

“I’ll have one of the staff prepare her a tray. How are you holding up?”

Taken back by her question, he
had been so concerned with Amelia and her accident that he hadn’t thought much about how he was coping with the grief of losing their unborn child.

“I just want her safe.”

“That isn’t what I asked Alastair.”

Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes, “I’m heartbroken
that she lost the child
Helena, but Amelia is alive. I cannot change the past no matter how badly I want to.”

Nodding, “Have you talked to her about moving in with you?”

“Yes, I did last night. I don’t want to push her too quickly and have her regret her choice. She hasn’t given a definitive answer yet, nor have I asked for one. As with all things, I think we know if you try to tell her to do something, the little hellcat will do the exact opposite.”

Chuckling, “Oh isn’t that the truth! I’ll talk to her today Alastair. Gideon is in the library, go have some tea and I’ll take care of Amelia my friend. Luke should be here momentarily, they can fill you in on how last night went.”

“Thank you Helena, what time are you leaving for tonight’s ball?
”

“You should plan to be here by seven, we have several places to go tonight so we are starting early.”

Nodding, they parted ways as he made his way into the library to find Gideon. Knocking on the large closed door, he heard Gideon answer on the other side for him to enter. Walking into the brightly lit room fresh with morning sunshine, he joined his friend at the desk and plopped down on one of the chairs.

“Good morrow Alastair, how is my little sister?” Gideon asked, nodding for him to help himself to tea.

Pouring himself a cup of strong tea he sat back in the chair
, “She drank half of your liquor cabinet last night trying to dull the ache in her ribs,
she’s paying for it this morning.”

“Did you talk to her about security issues and the future?”

“Well, I did talk to her about moving in with me until this man is caught, she wanted to go last night in which I refused. I wasn’t sure if it was her or the liquor talking so I
erred
on the side of caution and told her we couldn’t leave without talking to you and Luke first. She wasn’t pleased.” He admitted freely.

Sitting back in his chair, “Sounds like her. So tell me, why are you hesitating now?” Gideon asked, taking a sip from his tea watching him intently.

Rubbing his face with both hands, “I don’t want her making a knee jerk
reaction decision and regret
it. We both know if any of us tell her to do anything, she’ll disregard us entirely.
I’m afraid if she moves in, she’ll feel smothered and not in control of her own life and regret her decision and run from me, I’m not sure I can handle that.”

Smiling, Gideon couldn’t contain his laughter, “Ah love...such a pain in the arse isn’t it? You’ll have to find a balance just as Luke and I did, our women are too headstrong and brilliant, they require delicate guidance Alastair. I know you have it in you to keep her safe, love her and capture her heart and hand, there is no doubt or I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of you taking my baby sister away from me without marriage first.”

Sighing, “Your faith in me is astronomical Gideon.”

From behind him, he heard Luke, “My faith in you matches his my friend,
and there
is no one else in this world we trust more with our lives, with our families lives and most assuredly Amelia’s life
and
her heart than you.”

“Again, your faith in me is astronomical.” He repeated as Luke thumped him on the back and sat next to him in the second chair.

Rolling his eyes, Luke leaned forward and poured himself a cup
of tea and sat
back, “Alastair, you ran the entire military for our country, you’ve save
d
our lives and the lives o
f our wives.
You’ve won wars, defeated tyrannical leaders from afar,
I do not doubt for one bloody moment that you can handle our hardheaded little sister, she loves you Alastair.”

Sitting down his teacup, he crossed his arms, “Damn woman won’t admit she loves me.”

Both of the brothers looked at him, and laughed equally hard. After a few moments of gathering themselves, Luke questioned, “Have you told her that you love her yet?”

Scrunching his eyebrows together in frustration, “Of course not.”

“You know Alastair, for all the years you chased skirts, you’d think you’d have a better understanding of women want.” Gideon added, trying to contain his laughter.

“I’ve never
loved
a woman before, this is all new territory for me, bloody messy territory where I have never ventured before. You two can stop your infernal laughter, I don’t find it as amusing as you do.”

Shaking his head, Gideon agreed, “Fine, but don’t think we won’t tease you at a later date. Right now let’s get down to business. We’ve heard back from our spies and we need to tell you about last night.”

“What happened?” Hearing the seriousness in Gideon’s voice concerned him.

Leaning forward in his chair, Luke explained, “We went to Athegar’s ball last night and it was clear the majority of London was under the impression Amelia tried killing herself. Helena and Lady Juliet quickly let it be known to a select few very high ranking dames of the ton what had happened. By the end of the night it was clear the tides had shifted, I don’t think anyone really wanted to believe that drivel about her trying to commit suicide.
The grand dames of London spread the story quickly, you how they wield their power. Once they found out that someone tried to murder a female member of the ton, all hell broke loose.
”

Chiming in, Gideon offered, “Amelia is well loved, people were relieved to find that she had been pushed
and not jumped
, but angry that a member of the ton was attacked. Once Amelia is able, I would say we bring her back out to face society so they can see she is okay themselves, we tried to deter people from visiting her here knowing that you were going to be
moving her to your house soon.”

Rolling his head, “She isn’t ready to go to a ball, her ribs can’t take that much movement yet. You are right to deter them away, I plan on taking her to my place tonight, I’ll make sure she’s back here by the afternoons in the event that unplanned nosey mama’s stop by, but I’ll only leave her with one of you. She cannot be out of our sight until we catch this man.”