One True Love (8 page)

A surprise? The last thing she wanted or needed was a surprise, but no matter, she could not stand in the entryway, she had to face this unknown visitor, and with any luck, find a way to get them to leave as soon as possible.

She entered the drawing room to see the back of a familiar man facing the window. He turned and she gasped, "Mr. Parker!"

Chapter Four

William sat in his carriage with only his snoring valet, Briggs, for company. As soon as he returned to Nightingale Hall he ordered his bags packed and his carriage brought round. He had to get away from her. He could not explain to his family the real reason for his sudden departure, so he claimed he had business to attend to at his estate,
but he had to go
.

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. How could he be so foolish? He never before dallied with a young innocent miss, much less a betrothed one. A discreet affair with a widow, yes. A night in the arms of a courtesan, yes,
but not an innocent
. Never. Why did she tempt him so?

His restless nights were beginning to wear on him. He needed dreamless sleep. Since he met her she never left his mind. His imagination ran away with her, kissed her, touched her, made love to her. If the insanity of his thoughts did not come to an end, he would be a candidate for Bedlam.

He shifted. The constant state of his anatomy these days cried out for relief. He already attempted a toss between the sheets with Lady Quartermane, but left unsatisfied. He feared he might forever stay in this condition, especially considering he would never be able to indulge his carnal desires with the only woman who he believed could cure him.

The trip back to Rosehill Manor seemed like days instead of a mere hour. He was tempted to knock on the roof and demand his driver take up the reins as if giving chase. He tried to sleep, but sleep would not come, not that it mattered since his dreams most likely would include her.

He should not have touched her as he did. He had no right, but when she looked at him with those green eyes, he felt like a drowning man thrown a rope to save himself. He grabbed on and did not let go. He wanted to kiss her. He needed to touch her. The feel of her breast in his hand nearly made him explode his seed in his pants.

If the sound of the ladies nattering voices did not burn the edge of his consciousness no telling what he might have done. How easy it would have been to kiss her breast, to lick it with his tongue, to suckle on it as a babe might do.

These thoughts were not helping him one bit. He stayed in a constant state of hardness thinking of her. He could not continue on like this, and he needed to avoid her at all costs. He would stay away from Nightingale Hall until she married her Mr. Parker and left the area. He had plenty to keep him occupied at Rosehill Manor, and he could always take a trip to London to relieve himself of his pain.

The site of his new home made him smile. The white, three-story manor stood at the top of a hill, like a queen overlooking her subjects. Tall windows gleamed in the sunlight. The doors opened as if by magic as he headed up the steps.

"Welcome home, Lord William." Scott took his coat and hat. "You have a guest waiting in the drawing room for you."

"A guest? Who?"

"A Lady Quartermane, my lord."

***

"Miss Chambers." Mr. Parker came to her, took both her hands, and raised them to his lips. "I have missed you so much darling."

"And I you." Cassie felt the familiar giddiness rise within her whenever she saw him. Mr. Parker did not tower over her, but instead, met her face to face. His sparkling blue eyes held her captive. His lips curved into a brilliant smile, tickling her senses as always. Her reactions to him did not change, yet the shadow of what she had done, and her reactions to another, squeezed her from the inside out.

She bit her lip to keep from crying out the sordid truth of her sins. Her stomach clenched and unclenched. Despite her best efforts to get her emotions under control, a tear slipped out and streamed down her cheek.

"Miss Chambers, what is the matter dear?" Mr. Parker cupped her face with his cool hands and looked into her eyes. Surely he could read right through her, right into her heart and soul, and see the black marks of betrayal.

She turned her lips to his palm and dropped tiny kisses. She wanted him to kiss her, not a tiny tingling kiss, but a deep passionate kiss. "I have missed you so." He started to pull his hands away, but she grabbed his wrists. "No. Kiss me. Please kiss me."

Mr. Parker raised his brow and smiled. "If you wish, my love." He set his lips to hers. What happened to the tingle? One quick moment and he moved his mouth away.

"No. I want you to really kiss me," she pleaded.

"I did kiss you darling." Mr. Parker's brows creased together in confusion.

"Passion, Mr. Parker, I want passion." Cassie begged him with her eyes and her words and her heart.

"Passion is best reserved for the marriage bed, Miss Chambers." Mr. Parker pulled his hands away from her hold and stepped back.

"How can I know we will have passion in our marriage bed if you do not kiss me with passion before we marry? What if we do not suit in that way?"

"What do you know of passion? You are an innocent. This is not a proper conversation, and certainly not what I intended to discuss with you now."

Feeling admonished, Cassie walked over to a straight backed chair and matched her spine to it when she sat. "Then let us discuss whatever you intended."

Mr. Parker followed her and went down on bended knee. "You are angry now. Let us not start off this way. If you wish for a kiss, then I shall give it to you."

He reached up and took her face between his palms once more. This time he exerted more pressure on her mouth. She opened her lips, but he did not press his tongue into her. Instead he gave her a dozen soft, sweet kisses. She liked his kisses. They did not overwhelm her or frighten her the way Lord William's kisses did.

Cassie placed her hands on his shoulders for balance. His touch was gentle and slow, as if he wanted to adore her with his mouth, caress her with his touch. His lips left hers and found the path along her jaw, down her long throat, and across her clothed bosom. She did not burn, yet she yearned for him to continue. His hands reached up and grasped her breasts, kneading them gently until he had her panting for breath.

He suddenly pulled back. "I am sorry. I should not have taken such liberties. We are not married yet. I do not know what overcame me."

"Please, do not apologize. I wanted you to show me passion. I wanted to know what it would feel like between us."

Mr. Parker watched her a moment, his features changing a bit as he appeared to consider her words. "We will suit each other well." He rose, took her hand and guided her over to the settee where they could sit next to each other.

"I have come for a purpose Miss Chambers," he hesitated and looked away a moment before turning his eyes back to her and continuing, "My uncle refuses to approve our match."

She took in a small breath and held it. He just said they would suit, surely he did not intend to cry off. She bit her lip and drew her brows together. He must have seen the anxiety in her face.

"It does not matter. He is a stubborn old goat. I will not allow him to rule my...
our
lives." He took her hands and said with determination in his voice, "I am convinced once we are married he will come around, but I do not believe we should wait."

"Do you want to move up the date of our wedding?" Excitement and fear rumbled through Cassie's stomach at once. The sooner she married Mr. Parker, the sooner she could get on with her life and put Lord William behind her.

"Well, yes, in a way. I think we should elope tonight to Gretna Green."

She choked on a startled breath. Elope? To Gretna Green? How scandalous! Women were ruined and couples looked down upon for such sensational behavior. She thought about her parents, her father who would preside over the nuptials, her mother who already started planning her wedding, and Jocelyn who would stand up for her. She could see the disappointment and censure on their faces, and hear it in their broken voices. They would be hurt to be cut out of the most important day of her life. How could she do it?

"It is now or never Miss Chambers."

"What? Why?" She could not understand the rush. "We do not need to elope. My father could call the banns this Sunday. We could marry next month."

"No. My uncle has threatened to call on his solicitor and arrange to cut me off, but if we marry now, I know he would back down. He would not like the scandal he would induce if he turned his back on us, especially after the sensation of our visit to Scotland. We need to go now."

"Now? You cannot be serious." His tone told her he was dead serious. She never saw this side of him. She did not know what to do. Would he cry off if she refused to elope? Could she talk sense into him and make him see reason?

"I am quite serious Miss Chambers. If you love me you will go with me tonight. I will wait in the church graveyard for you at midnight." Something about meeting in a graveyard to embark on their lifelong journey together sent waves of foreboding through her.

"And if I do not?" She had to ask even though she knew the answer already.

"Then I will assume you wish to cry off. My heart will break, but it will mend." He looked away, catching a small tear with his hand. Her heart swelled. How could she resist him? Even in his yellow canary jacket and navy pants, ornamented with flashy diamond buttons and gold embroidery, and topped off with a snow white shirt and perfectly starched cravat, Mr. Parker was everything she dreamed about in a husband. Witty and charming and handsome, he made her feel special and important.

"What about my family? Running off and depriving them of our special day will break their hearts. How could we do that to them?"

"I realize they will not be happy, but they do love you, and they will forgive you. They may not forgive me, but they will forgive you. They will understand when they realize we had no choice."

"How can you be so sure?" Her sins of late were mounting up and choking her. How would running off to Gretna Green with her betrothed, a man approved of by her family, compare to entangling herself in a compromising position with Lord William. She shuddered to think of the repercussions if someone had found them embracing, kissing, touching. Shame crept up her neck and burned her cheeks like the hell fires of eternity.

"I can only be sure of our love. Pack a bag and meet me tonight. I will wait for you by the Prescott family crypt." He rose, took her chin in his hand, kissed her briefly, then he turned and left.

What was she going to do?

***

Lord William did not know whether he should turn her out or lift her over his shoulder and carry her to his bed. He needed relief in such a way that his bed tempted him. Maybe he should lock the door to the drawing room and take her here. For her audacity to show herself at his home, he should lift her skirts, bend her over, and pump into her until she screamed. Except her bottom is not the one he wanted to see and touch. No, another bottom came to mind. Bloody hell!

He pasted a smile on his face. "Lady Quartermane, what do I own the honor of this visit to my home?"

She stood and breezed over to him, placed her arms around his neck and kissed him thoroughly. Her lips were soft, but they did not taste like raspberries and cream. He thought of mint tea. He sniffed. She smelled and tasted like mint. It reminded him of the sprigs he chewed on each morning to freshen his breath. He broke the kiss and reached up to remove her hands from his person. He lifted a brow in question and waited.

"William, darling, I missed you since our time in London. I was passing by on the way to a house party and thought to stop in and visit with you."

Her creamy breasts spilled over her burgundy gown. A long curl of dark black hair fell from her coiffure to the tempting center of her décolletage. Her lips were painted red and a touch of rouge heightened her cheekbones. Large black eyes and long dark eyelashes batted at him, offering herself up for his pleasure.

He should consider her a godsend, a wicked little nymph to please him and relieve him, to take his mind off his true and most sinful desires. He knew she could not cure him of this affliction, but perhaps, she could make him forget for just a little while. He needed to forget a certain pair of bright green eyes. This is the reason he cut his visit short and returned home. Lady Quartermane offered him the perfect opportunity.