The Dark Earl (43 page)
“I didn’t wait for another letter. I suspected it was from your father’s attorney. I found out his name was Martin Fowler and went to see him.”
“Why the hell didn’t you come to me?” he demanded.
“I wanted to hear for myself what he had to say,” she said defiantly. “He informed me that your father swore out a signed affidavit to disinherit you unless you married an heiress before he died. It was like a knife in my heart to learn the real reason for the rushed wedding.”
“Oh, Harry, no wonder you’ve been so unhappy.” He wanted to enfold her in his arms and take away her pain, but he feared she would recoil from him. “Sit down, and I will explain everything.”
She sat, desperately wanting to hear him refute Fowler’s accusations.
“My father never stopped hounding me to marry an heiress, as he had done, for the upkeep of Shugborough. He wed my mother, went through her fortune, and brought her nothing but unhappiness. I vowed I wouldn’t follow in his footsteps, and told him so.
“Then I met you, Harry, and you stole my heart. I didn’t want him to know anything about you, so when he ordered me to find a wealthy wife, I told him to go to the devil. It infuriated him when he couldn’t control me, and as a way to force me to his will, he signed an affidavit to disinherit me.”
“Why didn’t you confide in me?” She raised her chin. “I trusted you, implicitly.”
“Confide that I was being coerced to marry an heiress? I think not! When your father offered me your dowry, I refused it, and told him to put the money in your name.”
“I didn’t realize that.” She was momentarily disarmed. “But you cannot deny you negotiated that my father return everything he bought from Shugborough.”
“I don’t deny it. I freely admit how significantly I benefited from that, but I knew how much you loved Shugborough, and believed it would make you happy if the books and paintings were restored.”
“You should have taken me into your confidence. If I’d known you had to marry before he died to secure Shugborough, I would have agreed.”
“Harry, I didn’t need to marry to secure my inheritance. The laws of primogeniture would have prevailed. The choice to marry you was mine alone.”
“Then why did you have to break into Fowler’s office and steal the signed affidavit?”
“I refuse to be blackmailed!” His face was hard, dark, carved in stone.
“Tell me the truth, the
whole
truth, Thomas. I don’t want secrets between us.”
whole
truth, Thomas. I don’t want secrets between us.”
His dark eyes searched her face as he calculated how much he could tell her. He decided to take a chance and reveal some of the truth.
“My father died an hour before we were married. I vowed that I would not allow his death to ruin your wedding day. Your happiness meant everything to me, so I kept it from you until the next morning.”
Harry was astounded by the revelation. Even if he had done it to protect her, it was still an act of deception. “Thomas, I am not a child who needs to be shielded from reality. I am a woman and want to be treated like one.” She was still unsure whether he was being completely honest with her. He said he’d lost his heart to her and had wed her from free choice, but could she believe him? “I want no more secrets between us. From now on, I want the truth.”
“More than anything, I want you to believe that I married you because I love you. That is the truth, Harry, and I will do my utmost to prove it to you from this moment forward.”
“I lost my trust in you.” She raised her chin and said coolly, “Don’t expect me to fall into your arms until it is restored.”
I will woo you relentlessly and win back your heart.
Harry awoke late the next morning. She felt disheartened when she saw that the bed was empty. But a moment later, Thomas arrived with a breakfast tray, and her spirits lifted.
He set the food before her and drew her hand to his lips. He placed a kiss on each finger, then opened her palm and dropped a kiss inside it. He folded her fingers upon it to catch and hold it. “Enjoy your breakfast. I’ll see you tonight.”
As she was brushing her hair, she found a note on her dressing table. She picked it up and read it. The words astonished her:
My only love, you enthrall me. Your image is before me day and night. Your loveliness haunts me. I have an unquenchable thirst for you. When I hear your voice, it fills me with joy. When I see you across a room, I have to draw close to you. When I am close to you, I have an uncontrollable need to touch you. When I touch you, I become wild with desire. From the hour that we met at the Crystal Palace, I loved you. And today I love you more than yesterday.
The love words warmed her heart, and she knew she would keep the note so that she could read it again when doubts assailed her.
When Thomas returned from Parliament that evening, he brought her flowers. “These daffodils, grown in a hothouse, are to remind you of the riverside garden at Shugborough. They are a promise of spring.”
When she thanked him, his eyes told her how attractive he found her. “Come with me to the kitchen. I want to cook for you.”
“A clever ploy! You know I cannot resist food.”
He knows my appetite has been nonexistent lately.
She followed him, determined to eat something.
He knows my appetite has been nonexistent lately.
She followed him, determined to eat something.
He picked her up and sat her on the wooden chopping block. “What do you fancy?”
“Something spicy, perhaps with curry. I think Clara bought prawns today.”
He returned from the larder with two small enamel pails. “Scallops too—we’ll have both.” He put rice on to steam, while he cleaned the shellfish, and cut up shallots, mushrooms, gingerroot, and cilantro. He melted a generous amount of butter in a pan, threw in the prawns, scallops, and the other ingredients, sprinkled on a generous amount of spicy curry, and sautéed everything until it was bubbling, golden, and fragrant. He served it over the rice, brought it to the chopping block, and hopped up beside her.
“This smells good enough to eat.”
“It’s sinfully good. Take care, lest it lure you into temptation.”
“Thank you for the warning,” she said lightly.
Hours later, when they retired, Harry expected Thomas to make advances, but after he built up the fire, he invited her to join him in a game of Fox and Geese. It was played on a checkerboard; the fox tried to eat the geese, while the player with the geese tried to trap the fox. Thomas won easily, and when she challenged him to a rematch, she was gratified to beat him. Then she suspected he’d let her win on purpose. She decided not to accuse him. Perhaps he was merely being gallant.
When she undressed, she tried not to think about the times he had eagerly helped her, and when she lay beside him in bed, she made sure there was a space between them. She wasn’t yet ready to forgive him, though she was pleased at the special attention he had shown that day. When he kissed her hair and bade her good night, she didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed.
Bringing her breakfast in bed and penning her love notes became a ritual. On a warm day at the end of January, Thomas left for Parliament, but returned within a half hour. “It’s far too lovely a day to waste, and I’m sure the Lords won’t even notice my absence. Would you join me on a ride to Richmond?”
His eyes were filled with hope, and she bit back the excuse that sprang to her lips. If she was being truthful, she’d like nothing better than to go for a long ride. She was fully aware that Thomas was trying to woo her, but what woman didn’t enjoy being wooed?
“Richmond sounds delightful.”
He entered her dressing room and came out with her green riding dress. “Wear this.”
“You are back to making declarations.”
“Am I?” Their eyes met, and she vividly remembered lying in the grass, half-naked, urging him to make love to her. The green habit had obviously lingered in his memory.
She suddenly felt shy. “Go and get the horses saddled. I’ll be right down.”
His hands did not linger as he helped her mount Amber. She tried not to gaze at him astride Victorious, though he made her pulse race whenever she saw him on the black hunter. Side by side, they cantered through St. James’s Park and headed toward the river.
Then they rode along the Thames embankment, enjoying the myriad watercraft carrying produce from the country up to London. They crossed Putney Bridge, rode over Putney Heath, and headed into Richmond Park.
“It’s such a lovely day, I’m glad you persuaded me to join you. Look! The crocuses are up. I hope I see some snowdrops.”
“There may be some in the walled garden at the inn. We are too late for breakfast, but could I tempt you to join me for lunch?”
“Since you are
inviting
me rather than
commanding
me, I accept with pleasure.”
inviting
me rather than
commanding
me, I accept with pleasure.”
“First, we’ll ride hell for leather,” he declared, and knew she’d be unable to resist.
“You devil!” She urged Amber to a wild gallop, determined to win the race through the park. The last stretch, their mounts were neck and neck, and Harry threw back her head and laughed. She had forgotten how good it felt to drink the cup of life to the dregs.
“You look radiant.”
You said that the first time you brought me to Richmond.
She remembered how he had taken her up before him to ride hell for leather. She could still feel his hard cock against her bum, and the grip of his muscled thighs. The wooing had been delicious.
She remembered how he had taken her up before him to ride hell for leather. She could still feel his hard cock against her bum, and the grip of his muscled thighs. The wooing had been delicious.
Was it love or lust?
her suspicious mind questioned.
Surely, if it had been lust, you would have taken me when I offered myself to you.
her suspicious mind questioned.
Surely, if it had been lust, you would have taken me when I offered myself to you.
Harry dismounted before he could help her. They turned their horses over to the hostler and went through the gate into the garden. Because it was enclosed by the stone wall that protected it from the wind, birds had made their winter home here, and white snowdrops and purple and yellow crocuses were lifting their faces to the pale sun.
They enjoyed lamb and barley broth with chunks of crusty baked bread, warm from the oven, followed by treacle tart, and hot mulled cider. When Harry was done, she scattered her crumbs for the birds, watching with delight as they fluttered down from the branches as hunger overcame their timidity.
Thomas reached across the rustic table and covered her hand. “Because of you, I find walled gardens unbelievably romantic. This one has happy memories for me. Thank you for coming today.”
“Thank you for inviting me.” The romantic atmosphere had disarmed her and made her more conducive to closing the distance between them.
On the ride home they followed the river until they came to Chelsea. They rode through a wooded area of cedars and elm trees that were just coming into bud. Beneath the shelter of the branches, a patch of bluebells had sprung up through the moss.
“I love bluebells. Their intense fragrance is heady and overpowering.”
Thomas drew rein and jumped from the saddle. He picked a solitary bluebell and brought it to her. “Like attracts like—heady and overpowering.”
With sparkling eyes, she lifted it to her nose and breathed in its intoxicating scent, beguiled by his romantic gesture.
. . .
That night when she got into bed, Thomas drew the side bed-curtains, but left the foot open to let in the warmth of the fire. He lay on his side facing Harry with his head propped on his hand. The drawn curtains turned their bed into an intimate cocoon that shut out the world. “Bathed in the fire glow, you look like an enchantress from a mythic tale. . . .
Circe
perhaps.”
Circe
perhaps.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “Circe could turn men into animals with her magic. If I had her power, I would turn you into a black centaur.”
“So you could ride me,” he murmured suggestively.
His words evoked such a sensual picture in her mind, she went weak with desire. “You look dark and dangerous tonight.”
“Perhaps I am. Does
dark and dangerous
attract or repel you?”
dark and dangerous
attract or repel you?”
“Both.” She shuddered.
“You have the most wondrous hair. I ache to caress it and play with it.” His hand reached out. “Like this.” He threaded his fingers through her curls possessively, feeling their silky texture. His hand moved down to her shoulder. “Your skin feels like creamy, smooth velvet.” He traced her clavicle with a finger. Then he cupped her right breast in the palm of his hand and caressed its pink tip through her sheer nightgown gently with his thumb.
You have the most seductive hands in the world.
She thought of pulling away, but she was enjoying his caresses too much to deny herself the exquisite pleasure.
She thought of pulling away, but she was enjoying his caresses too much to deny herself the exquisite pleasure.
“Harry, tonight I’m going to show you how much I adore you. I intend to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am passionately in love with you.” He pulled down the covers, slipped off her nightgown, and drew her into his arms.
He began with quick kisses to her temples, eyelids, and the corners of her mouth. His lips kissed her hair, traced along her cheekbone to her ear, and then slid down against her throat. He whispered love words against her sensitive skin, inhaling her woman’s scent, as his tongue licked over her delicate flesh.
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