Surrender (21 page)

sought.
 
Lucas, do that again. Please touch

me again."

 
Like this, my sweet?" His fingers worked

magic in the hot, damp area between her

legs.
 
God, you are beautiful, Vicky. You

respond to me as though you had been

made for me."

 
Please." She could barely speak as she

arched her hips and writhed again beneath

his touch.
 
I don't know
  
I can't
  
Please."

 
Yes. I know. I will. Just give yourself up

to it, darling. Do you want me?" he asked

again.

 
Oh, yes, yes, yes." And then she was

beyond thought, beyond speech. Something

tight and vibrant that lay coiled within her

suddenly released itself without warning,

reverberating through her body until she

was shivering. The small convulsions made

her tremble from head to toe, but she was

not cold, nor did she know any fear.

She had never felt so joyously alive in

her life.

And then she collapsed in an exhausted

little heap against Lucas's hard chest.

 
So beautiful. Such a sweet, hot passion."

Lucas dropped light, reassuring kisses all

over her face and throat as he withdrew his

hand from between her thighs and hastily

refastened her breeches.
 
I will go out of

my mind waiting for you. But I do not

think you will make me wait too long,

will you, sweetheart? You would not be

so cruel."

Victoria hesitated until she could breathe

normally before lifting her head away from

his shoulder. The carriage was already

slowing. She looked up at him, still dazed.

He was smiling faintly, a warm, knowing

expression in his eyes.

 
That was
 
." She licked her lips and tried

again.
 
That was very strange."

 
Think of it as an experiment in natural

history."

 
An experiment?" In spite of her odd

mood, the laughter welled up inside her,

revitalizing her and flushing away some

of the sensual lethargy that had held

her in thrall.
 
You are utterly impossible,

my lord."

 
Not at all." His smile was gentle, but

there was a disturbing heat in his eyes.

 
The things I want to do with you are all

quite possible. Some may be improbable,

but not impossible."

She was staring wordlessly into his eyes

when she suddenly became aware that the

carriage had stopped. She gave herself a

small shake and her fingers flew to her

untied cravat.
 
Good heavens, we're here.

I must get out or the coachman will think

we've fallen asleep."

She scrambled about the carriage, collecting

her walking stick and coat. As she

pushed open the door she realized that

Lucas was moving far more cautiously

than usual. She frowned at him as she

jumped down.
 
Are you all right?"

 
No."

 
Oh, dear, your leg."

 
It is not my leg that is bothering me."

He stepped down beside her and adjusted

his coat with great care.

 
Then what is it, Lucas?" Victoria

prodded.

 
Nothing you can do anything about

tonight, but rest assured I will look forward

to you resolving the problem in the near

future." He rapped on the side of the

coachman's seat with his stick.
 
Be so

good as to wait a few minutes. I shall

return shortly."

The
 
coachman
 
tipped
 
his
 
hat
 
with
 
a

bored air and reached for the flask he

kept under his box.

 
But Lucas, what is it? What is the

matter?" Victoria asked again as they

hurried around the corner and through

an alley to the garden wall.

 
Think back on all your studies of

natural history, particularly the details

of reproduction among the male of the

species and I'm sure the answer will come

to you."

 
Oh dear." She swallowed, aware that her

face was burning. She was not precisely

certain what he meant, but she was at

last getting an inkling of the probable

source of his discomfort.
 
Heavens. I had

no idea. Are you, uh, very uncomfortable,

my lord?"

 
Don't look so contrite," he said with a

quick, fleeting grin.
 
I am well pleased with

the results of the experiment. They were

worth any minor discomfort I am now

experiencing." He gave her an assist up the

garden wall.
 
And I did offer myself in the

spirit of intellectual inquiry, did I not?"

 
I do wish you would stop talking about

the whole thing as an experiment." Victoria

dropped down into the fragrant, shadowed

garden and stood back as he lowered

himself down beside her.

 
I think it will be easier for you to

think of it that way for a while." He

kissed her nose
 
and
 
stood back.
   
Good

night, Victoria. Sleep well."

She stood watching for a moment as

he vanished back over the wall and

then, reluctantly, she turned toward the

conservatory door. She abruptly longed for

the privacy of her room so that she could

think about what was happening between

her and Lucas.

The feelings he was arousing in her

were startling in their intensity and a little

frightening. For a few minutes there in

the coach she knew she had surrendered

a large measure of her self-control to him.

She had put herself literally in his hands

ind he had shown her the power of her

 
own body.

She frowned in thought as she aproached the

conservatory door. She must

not let matters get out of control. She had

to be careful. But Lucas was so different

from any other man she had ever met.

it was becoming increasingly difficult to

link logically about him. More and more

she was reacting on the basis of emotion,

and that, she knew, was dangerous.

Damn it, she thought resentfully, it

simply was not fair that a widow such

is Isabel Rycott was free to indulge in a

discreet romantic liaison while a dedicated

spinster was not granted the same privilege,

least not a spinster who was only

twenty-four. Perhaps in another ten years

she would be able to behave as she wished,

but who wanted to wait ten years to

discover the mysteries Lucas was now

revealing to her?

And who knew where Lucas would be

ten years from now, Victoria thought in

sullen disgust. He would undoubtedly be

off in the country, attending to his estates,

a wife, and several children.

It simply was not fair.

Victoria knew now that if she was ever

going to experiment with this particular

aspect of natural history, she wanted that

experiment to take place with Lucas.

Perhaps she should do as he said and

regard this entire matter from a scientific

point of view.

She was mulling over the pros and cons

of that angle when she spotted the white

silk neck scarf fluttering from the handle

of the conservatory door.

One of the servants must have left it here

when he or she went into the garden to

collect herbs for supper, she thought. But

surely she would have noticed it earlier

when she had left the house to meet

Lucas.

Curious, she lifted the scarf away from

the handle. She felt the monogram beneath

her fingers but could not read it in the pale

moonlight.

Victoria hurried indoors, paused in the

conservatory to listen for any sound, and

then decided her aunt had probably not

yet returned from the Crandalls" ball. The

Crandalls" affairs were famous for lasting

until dawn.

Victoria went upstairs and into her room

and immediately lit a candle. Then she

held the end of the scarf near the glow

of light and deciphered the monogram.

It was in the shape of an elaborately

worked
 
W."

Victoria's fingers shook as she carefully

folded the scarf. She had seen similar

monograms before. They had been embroidered

on the handkerchiefs and neck-cloths

of her dead stepfather, Samuel Whitlock.

The morning light poured through

the conservatory windows, illuminating

the spectacular spray of Plumeria rubra

 
that Victoria was endeavoring to capture

with her watercolors. She frowned at

the emerging flower portrait on her

easel, knowing her attention was not

completely on her work and wondering

if she should simply abandon the project.

Normally when she was engaged in her

sketching or painting, her concentration

was complete .

But this morning her thoughts churned,

writhed, and danced with memories of her

passion in Lucas's arms the previous night.

She had been unable to get the images

out of her head although she had spent

several fitful hours trying to calm herself.

She knew she would turn herself into

a candidate for Bedlam if she did not

sort out her confusion and make some

decisions.

 
There you are, Vicky, dear. I have been

looking for you." Cleo Nettleship rounded

the corner of the aisle of plants and headed

toward her niece. She was wearing a

delightful morning dress of pale coral.

 
Such a lovely day, is it not? I should

have known I'd find you out here." She

paused briefly, her attention caught by a

small plant on a tray.
 
Good heavens,

did you notice the new American iris

we got from Chester last month? It's

blooming beautifully. How exciting. I must

remember to tell Lucas."