Читать книгу Historical Romance – The Best Of The Year - Кэрол Мортимер, Кэрол Мортимер - Страница 43

Chapter Sixteen

‘Your wife is looking particularly well this evening,’ remarked Anthony, when at last they made their way to the drawing room. ‘Motherhood agrees with her.’

Gideon let his eyes rest upon his wife, who was sitting beside Gwen, laughing at something Lord Grayson was saying to her. Was this the same unhappy lady he had seen at breakfast? The sparkle in her eyes, the alluring tilt to her mouth, was captivating. Motherhood had certainly developed her figure, which looked truly delectable. The swell of her breasts rose from the low décolletage and the creamy tones of her skin were complemented by the vivid colour of her gown. But he could not forget the droop of her mouth this morning and her slightly sad, distracted air. A tiny worm of jealousy gnawed at him. He said suddenly, ‘Do you think she has a lover?’

To his immense relief, Lord Ribblestone laughed.

‘No, I do not. I believe this is all for you.’ He clapped his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. ‘If Gwendoline tried such tactics with me, my friend, I should consider myself a very lucky man. I should certainly not be wasting my time chasing some lightskirt in Green Park.’ Gideon’s head came up and Ribblestone nodded. ‘I saw you there this morning. You know I often walk in the park when I need to think things out before a difficult cabinet meeting.’

‘It was not—that is, it is not what it seems.’

‘No?’

‘As a matter of fact I was there to learn something to my wife’s advantage.’

‘I have heard some excuses in my time—’

‘It is not an excuse,’ Gideon muttered furiously. ‘The woman has evidence that Martlesham is trying to defraud Dominique of her inheritance.’

‘So Dominique knows of this meeting?’

‘Well, no.’

‘And are you going to tell her?’

‘Yes, of course, eventually. I don’t want to raise her hopes, in case it all proves a hum.’

For once there was no smile in Anthony’s eyes as he regarded him.

‘I think you are playing with fire,’ he said at last. ‘But then, that is the way with the Alburys. They have no notion of how fortunate they are in their partners.’

* * *

From the sofa on the far side of the room, Dominique and Gwendoline watched this exchange.

‘If I am not mistaken, you are causing my brother considerable consternation this evening,’ Gwendoline murmured. ‘He does not know what to make of you.’ She slanted a glance at Dominique. ‘That is what you wanted, is it not?’

‘I think so.’

Dominique clasped her hands tightly together in her lap. Gwen reached over and gave them a squeeze.

‘Do not lose your nerve now, my dear. Gideon is quite besotted with you tonight.’

She went off to mingle with her other guests and Dominique was left alone with her thoughts, but not for long—Mr Severn was making his way towards her. With a sad want of manners Gideon slipped past him and sat down beside her. The old man stopped in his tracks, then turned and moved off, muttering. Dominique felt a smile bubbling up.

‘You show scant respect for your elders, Gideon.’

‘Would you prefer that elderly roué’s company to mine?’

His voice wrapped about her, deep and rich as warm velvet, and the glow in his eyes sent a frisson of excitement through her. Dominique spread her fan and peeped at him over the top.

‘It would be most unfashionable of me to agree, sir.’

‘And who says we must be slaves to fashion?’ He leaned closer. ‘Shall we make our excuses now? I want to take you home.’

Her heart leaped at his words. It began to thud erratically against her ribs—surely he must hear it? She could feel the hot blush in her cheeks and kept her fan raised as she tried to answer demurely.

‘It is a long drive to Chalcots.’

He turned to look at her, resting one arm along the back of the sofa. She could feel his fingers resting lightly on the nape of her neck, a gentle, sensual touch that bewitched her.

‘If we stay to supper we shall be damnably late.’

Swallowing, she struggled to match his indifferent tone.

‘G-Gwen promised us cards later. Are you sure you do not want to stay and play a hand?’

‘There is only one hand I want to play tonight, my dear,’ he murmured provocatively. ‘Shall we go?’

She could only nod. Her eyes were fixed on his mouth, the finely sculpted lips which curved now into a smile so devastating she thought she might melt. The feeling intensified when he raised her hand to his lips.

‘I shall go now and ask Anthony to order our carriage.’

‘What excuse will you give him?’

She was suddenly anxious and was only partly relieved by Gideon’s wicked grin.

‘No excuse will be necessary.’

* * *

Gwen saw her husband on the landing and stepped out to join him. He was staring down into the empty hall, a little smile on his lips. She reached out and touched his arm.

‘I cannot find Dominique or Gideon.’

‘He has taken her home.’

‘Really?’ She clapped her hands in delight. ‘She was looking particularly delightful tonight.’

‘Ravishing.’

Her smile slipped a little.

‘Yes. All the men were looking at her. Including you.’

He turned towards her, a look she could not interpret in his grey eyes.

‘I am surprised you noticed, since you were busy flirting with Arndale.’

‘Sir Desmond?’ She fluttered her fan. ‘I was not—’

‘Don’t lie to me, Gwen. I am growing weary of your games, my dear.’

‘G-games, my lord?’

He caught the fan, his long fingers closing it up and pulling it from her hand.

‘It has gone on long enough, madam, your flirtations and intrigues. I do not want to come home and learn that you are out at this party, or that rout. I need you here, supporting me, do I make myself clear?’

There was something implacable about Anthony’s stern gaze that made Gwen’s heart flip. She gave an uncertain little laugh.

‘La, you are very masterful tonight, my lord. If I did not know better, I would think you were jealous.’

He did not smile.

‘If you do not mend your ways, madam, you will discover just how masterful I can be.’

He held out the fan, and when she took it he turned on his heel and walked away.

* * *

‘Oh, that was quite, quite terrible,’ cried Dominiqiue, when she and Gideon were in their carriage and homeward bound. ‘Everyone was smiling when we got up to leave! And, and—oh, heavens. They will think that we, that we—’

‘And is that not the truth of it?’ He caught her fingers and held them in a warm, sustaining clasp. ‘I wanted you to myself, to make love to you.’

‘Oh, Gideon.’ She tried to make out his face in the near darkness. Whatever the outcome, she must be honest now. ‘That is what I want, too.’

With a growl he pulled her into his arms, seeking her mouth, teasing her lips apart so that his tongue could plunder and explore. She responded instantly, aware that this was the first time since their wedding night, a full twelve months ago, that they had come together in passion, rather than the restrained couplings of the marriage bed.

He tugged at the strings of her cloak until it fell away and his mouth moved to that sensitive spot below her ear, where the touch of his lips made her pulse leap alarmingly. He touched her jaw with light, butterfly kisses, continued down the slender column of her neck, his tongue flickering in the hollow at the base of her throat and making her moan softly. She leaned into him, her breasts hot and aching as they pushed against the restrictions of her gown. His hands smoothed over her shoulders, pushing aside the muslin sleeves and leaving her skin free for more kisses. Dominique reached out for him, fumbling with the buttons of his waistcoat and shirt. She slid her hand under the fine linen and caressed the smooth, hard frame of his chest.

The coach lurched over a particularly uneven section of the road and they were thrown apart. Dominique fell back into the corner while Gideon slipped to the carriage floor. She expected him to jump up, but instead he remained on his knees, gently pushing aside the whispering skirts. She caught her breath as his hands caressed the soft skin of her inner thigh. Where his fingers explored his mouth followed. He slid his hands under her bottom and pulled her towards him, holding her firm while he kissed her even more intimately, his mouth and tongue caressing her until she was crying out at the sheer, swooning pleasure of his touch. Time stopped. The rocking of the carriage merely enhanced the intolerable delight he was inflicting upon her, carrying her out of her body into the soaring, weightless heights of ecstasy.

When at last he ceased the relentless pleasuring she reached out for him, driving her fingers through his hair, tugging at the shoulders of his coat and pulling him up so she could kiss him. Excitement welled even further when she tasted herself on his lips. With a groan he held himself away from her and slid on to the bench.

‘By God I cannot hold out much longer.’ He quickly unfastened his breeches, pulling her on to his lap. ‘Time for you to come to me.’

Eagerly she straddled him. He held her hips firmly and pushed himself into her slick heat. Dominique gasped, putting her hands on his shoulders to steady herself as he thrust again, and this time she was prepared. She pressed down on him, matching his movements, elated by his groans of pleasure as she rode him, exulting in the feel of his hard length inside her. She was almost out of control with the delicious torment, bucking and shuddering, but he held on to her, driving ever deeper into her until the final juddering thrust. She barely heard his shout of triumph for her own head was thrown back, her eyes closed as she tensed and shuddered and her consciousness exploded into a million stars.

* * *

Dominique collapsed against him and he held her close, his breathing ragged. Her whole body was glowing, like the hot coals of a fire after the first, hectic blaze has died down.

‘Oh, heavens,’ she murmured at last, her head on his chest where she could feel the hammering of his heart against her cheek. ‘Have I behaved very wantonly? I do beg your pardon.’

His arms tightened.

‘You have been quite delightful this evening, if a little surprising.’

Being in his arms was blissful, but she needed to explain so she pushed herself away into the corner.

‘I w-wanted you to notice me. I have tried so hard to be a good wife to you, but you never come to my bed any more. And I—I miss you.’

Gideon sat up and straightened his clothes.

‘I have kept my distance because I do not want to harm you, Dominique,’ he said quietly. ‘I cannot forget what my mother went through.’

‘Your mama had too many children too quickly.’ She clasped her hands together. She had overcome her embarrassment to talk to the kindly doctor about it, now she must talk to her husband. ‘I am very healthy, Gideon, Dr Bolton says so, and he also says we need not—need not refrain.’ She added, her voice little more than a whisper, ‘Unless you do not want me.’

With a shaky laugh he reached for her.

‘After what we have just done you will know that is not the case.’ He tilted up her chin and kissed her. ‘I shall share your bed tonight, Dominique, and every night, if you will allow. And with a little care we can avoid making you with child again too often.’ The coach slowed and turned. Gideon lifted his head. ‘We are home, my dear.’ He replaced her cloak on her shoulders and as the carriage came to a halt he jumped down on to the drive, turning back to hold out his hand to her. ‘Shall we go in?’

‘I am not sure I can walk,’ she confessed as he helped her out of the carriage.

‘Then I shall carry you, as I should have done when you first came here.’ With that he swept her up into his arms, explaining to the astonished Thomas that Mrs Albury was feeling a little faint.

Dominique slipped her arms about his neck and buried her face in his shoulder as he carried her up the stairs, knowing that if the butler saw the glow on her cheeks it would give the lie to Gideon’s words. Somehow he managed to open the door to her bedchamber and dismissed her startled maid.

‘There. That will set the household ringing with conjecture! Now, can you stand? I want to look at you.’

He set her on her feet and pushed the cloak from her shoulders before running his hands down her arms and catching her hands. In the glow of candlelight the ruby gown was almost as dark as her glorious hair. A few glossy curls had escaped and now lay in wayward abandon against the creamy skin of her breasts. They were rising and falling rapidly and the fire in his loins began to burn again. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, how much he loved her, but when he looked into her eyes and saw the heat of desire in their emerald depths he lost the ability to speak. Silently he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Slowly he unlaced her bodice and with a soft sigh the ruby satin fell in a dark pool at her feet. She stood before him in her shift, a gossamer-thin layer that hid nothing, only enhanced the lines of her body and the beautifully rounded breasts, their pink roseate tips delectably visible. He reached out to take the pins from her hair, while she began to undress him.

They did not pause until every last stitch had been shed. They were standing before the fire and he held her away from him, drinking in the perfection of her body, golden in the firelight. She dropped her head, allowing the dark waterfall of her hair to shimmer over her body. Gently he pushed the dusky locks back over her shoulders, then put his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up to look at him.

‘My wife,’ he murmured and, unable to resist any longer, he swept her up and carried her to the bed.

* * *

When Dominique awoke she was alone. Sunlight filled the room and she stretched luxuriously, feeling the cool sheets against her skin. She had a new awareness of her body and she smiled, thinking it unsurprising, since Gideon had kissed every last inch of it at least twice during the night. When he had first taken her to the bed they had made love slowly and languorously, taking time to explore each other until desire swept them up and carried them to the final consummation. She had fallen asleep in his arms, only to wake at some point in the darkest hours to find they were making love again.

Dominique shivered a little at the delicious memory. She was thinking that she should get up and find her nightgown when the door opened and Gideon came in. He was fully dressed and, feeling suddenly shy, she pulled the blankets up to her chin.

‘Good morning, wife!’ He sat on the bed, smiling as he wrested the offending bedclothes from her hands to reveal her breasts. He lowered his head and kissed one rosy nub and then the other, sending little shock waves of excitement trembling through her. Reluctantly she pushed him away.

‘What is this, tired of me already?’ The warm glint in his eyes robbed his words of offence and she smiled back.

‘Never,’ she said, shyly reaching up to touch his face. ‘It is just that your sister is coming to take me shopping this morning.’

‘Ah, she will want to know what happened after we quit Grosvenor Square.’ He laughed, catching her hand and pressing a kiss into the palm before sliding off the bed. ‘Very well, I shall leave you to dress. What time is she coming? Will you break your fast with me before you go?’

‘She promised to be here by ten o’clock so, yes, we can eat together first, if I hurry.’

‘No need,’ he said, walking to the door. ‘Gwen was never one for timekeeping. Don’t expect to see her until at least eleven!’

* * *

But in this instance Gideon was proved wrong, for the clock in the hall was chiming ten when Gwen swept into the breakfast room, the skirts of her bronze-velvet walking dress billowing around her and the ostrich plumes on her matching hat bouncing quite violently.

‘No, don’t get up, my dear, finish your coffee.’ She put a hand briefly on Dominique’s shoulder, then walked around the table to kiss Gideon, who had risen to meet her. ‘Dear brother!’ She shifted her searching gaze to Dominique. ‘Well, what am I to make of your leaving my party so early last night?’

‘My wife was fatigued,’ offered Gideon, his mouth lifting with the beginnings of a smile.

‘Indeed?’ Gwen’s eyes narrowed as she looked from one to the other, then she gave a little trill of laughter. ‘Heavens, but you both look very guilty! You have no need, my dears, I do not need to quiz you, since there is such an air of happiness about you both.’

‘So you are off to town this morning.’ said Gideon, changing the subject. ‘Where do you shop?’

‘Bond Street, of course.’

‘If you have time, perhaps you would call into Irwin’s, on Oxford Street,’ he suggested. ‘He was fixing a new band on my best beaver hat and it should be ready.’

Gwen pulled a face, but Dominique said immediately, ‘Of course we can call there, Gideon. It is not too far out of our way, is it, Gwen?’

Lady Ribblestone gave an elegant shrug.

‘No-o, we can as well look in the shops there as anywhere else, I suppose. And afterwards I shall take Dominique to Grosvenor Square for a little refreshment before I send her back to you in time for dinner.’

‘Excellent.’ Dominique pushed back her chair. ‘I will fetch my pelisse.’

As Dominique walked past her husband he caught her wrist. ‘I have no objection to you spending whatever you need, my dear, as long as it includes at least one shift as outrageous as the one you wore last night.’

Gwen laughed, but Dominique’s cheeks flamed and she almost ran out of the room, dragging Gwen with her.

* * *

Gideon drove the five miles or so into town at a steady pace, his mind as much on the events of the night as the forthcoming assignation. Dominique had surprised him yesterday. He stifled a laugh. She had said she deliberately set out to lure him and, by God, she had succeeded. From the moment he had seen her in that red gown, looking so delectable, he had been unable to think of anything else. He had even forgotten to warn his sister to cease her flirtatious behaviour or risk Anthony’s wrath. Perhaps there would be time to speak to her when she brought Dominique back from her shopping trip. Dominique. He could even call her by her rightful name now. How wrong he had been to treat her like some fragile creature who would break at the slightest chill wind, when in fact she was flesh and blood, as passionate as he. All those months of restraint, of keeping his distance, of believing she was responding to him only out of duty.

He had thought that the passion they had shared on their wedding night had been a mistake, a heady mix of anger and nerves and wine. Since then he had done his duty, keeping his desires and his feelings buried deep, but it was a long time since he had thought of his wife as a burden, an inconvenience—his wife by mistake. When he had awoken this morning and found her asleep in his arms he had been overwhelmed by some deep, primitive emotion that he now recognised as a profound and all-consuming love. It had cost him something to leave her sleeping, when he had wanted to wake her and tell her of his revelation, but there would be time for that later. First he needed to meet Agnes, to look at those papers and see if they really did mean that Dominique and her mother were not penniless. He did not care a jot that his wife had no dowry, but he knew it mattered a great deal to Dominique and he valued her happiness and comfort far above his own.

He took out his watch: eleven-thirty. He was in good time. He skirted Hyde Park and entered Piccadilly from the west, knowing that Gwen and Dominique were unlikely to come so far out of their way, especially now they were collecting his hat for him from Oxford Street. As on the previous day he left Sam with the curricle and went off alone into Green Park. Several couples were strolling there, but the area of trees where he was to meet Agnes was deserted. He was beginning to wonder if something had occurred to prevent her coming when he saw her hurrying towards him, her grey cloak pulled close, despite the warmth of the late May sunshine.

‘I beg your pardon, I was delayed.’ She pulled a packet of papers from under her cloak. ‘They are all there, including the letter from Coutts’ Bank. I hope you can use them to serve the earl a bad turn. Give ’im a bloody nose from me, Gideon.’

‘I shall do my best.’ Gideon glanced at the papers. He would need to study them, but not here. ‘Thank you, for these. What do you do now?’

‘I ain’t going back to the earl, that’s for sure.’ She folded her arms across her chest. ‘That’s why I was delayed. I sent my things off this morning and I mean to follow them.’

‘Where do you go?’

She shook her head. ‘Best you don’t know, my dear. All I will say is that I am to catch the Holyhead mail.’

Gideon frowned. ‘That sets off from the Bull and Mouth, doesn’t it?’

‘Aye, t’other end of Piccadilly. I left the earl’s carriage waiting for me on the south side of the park. By the time they realises I ain’t coming back I shall be long gone.’

‘It is still dangerous,’ said Gideon. ‘If the earl discovers what you are about, he is bound to search the coaching inns.’ He thought quickly. ‘The next stop will be where, Islington?’

‘Aye, the Peacock.’

‘Then I’ll drive you there. You will be safer out of town.’

‘That’s very kind of you.’ She shot a glance up at him. ‘Is it for old times’ sake?’

He laughed.

‘No, but when you tricked me into marriage it was the best thing that ever happened to me, so you deserve something for that! Come along. Let us get you away from here.’