The Spinster's Christmas
Page 15
In the cocoon of his coat, she pressed against him, the brick parapet at her back. His mouth tasted hers, then traveled to her jaw, her neck.
“Gerard.”
“Mmm.”
“You did not bring me here to kiss me.”
“How do you know? Maybe I wanted privacy.”
“If you cared about privacy you would not have kissed me in the middle of the drive yesterday.”
After tying up the two men, they’d driven them and the rented coach to the village to turn them over to the local constable and tell him about Harriet’s body in the woods. Then Mr. Drydale had driven them home in the carriage while Michael rode alongside.
Gerard had helped her down and then pulled her close to kiss her fiercely. In front of the grooms who had come racing from the stables, and the butler who had opened the front door to the house, and the family who had trickled out to see them. Felicity had given a horrified shriek that drew them apart.
“I kissed you yesterday simply to distress Felicity,” he murmured into her ear. The vibration of his lips against her jaw made her shiver.
“I should have protested more before following you up the stairs just now. Your knee—”
“I submitted quite docilely to your poultice, which smelled like a pig pen, by the bye.”
“It did not.”
“And now my knee is ‘plummy.’”
It was not. The ride on the horse had injured him further, making him lean harder on his crutches today.
“Marry me,” he whispered.
“I cannot.” Although that sounded ridiculous while she was in his embrace, his lips at her throat. “I have nothing …”
He drew his head back and looked down at her, but he did not loosen the circle of his arms. “I could not bear to lose you again. You mean too much to me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, but a tear escaped. A whistling wind turned it to ice water on her cheek. “Yes, I will marry you.”
“At last—”
“If you will explain your reference to Lady Wynwood.”
“Oh.” He looked down at her, a flush creeping up his neck. “I asked her for a particular place to have this conversation with you.”
“A windy rooftop?”
“It sounded romantic at the time.”
She smiled at him, and he kissed her.
A few minutes later he said, “I told Lady Wynwood that I wanted a place where you would feel loved, and beautiful.”
She turned toward the copula, the glass panels gleaming. Thou God seest me.
“She was right.”
His mouth descended on hers, his hands tightening on her back, and for a long while she drowned in sea rushes and mint and Gerard.
CONNECT WITH CAMY
I hope you enjoyed The Spinster’s Christmas! Researching Christmas in the Regency era was such a delight. If anything, the descriptions of the food made me absolutely ravenous!
I have knit Gerard’s red and black scarf on my blog from an 1837 pattern that was likely in use in the Regency era. If you’re a knitter, be sure to join me there: http://bit.ly/KnitGerardsScarf
Stay tuned for more stories about Lady Wynwood and Mr. Sol Drydale, and the romances of their family members. And maybe even a little romance for the two of them, too. :) The next book in the Lady Wynwood series will release later this year, so sign up for my email newsletter to be sure to hear when it’s available.
If you’re interested in my other Regency romances, out right now is Prelude for a Lord, the first book in my Gentlemen Quartet series. Other books in this series are planned for later this year and next year.
Camy
P.S. If you find any errors that somehow got through me and my proofreaders, please do send me a message to let me know. Thanks!
Copyright © 2015 Camy Tang
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-1-942225-02-7