by Rebecca King
‘There you go, miss. Put that on as well,’ Mrs Hall suggested, dropping a dressing gown over the top of the retiring screen.
Sissy gratefully added that layer too before hobbling back into the room. She leaned against the wall when pain lanced up her shin. Before she could begin to hobble toward the fireplace, Morgan rapped briskly on the door and let himself in before anybody could say if it was safe to enter. He took one look at Sissy and made his way over to her. Lifting her effortlessly into his arms, he deposited her safely on the bed Mrs Hall had just turned down.
‘Stay there. Don’t move,’ he ordered gently.
To prove that she was going nowhere, Morgan tucked the covers around her and accepted the warming bottle Mrs Hall held out to him. Shoving it under the covers, he grinned when he saw Sissy’s startled look. He expected her to say something but she was too nonplussed by his forthright behaviour. Taking advantage of her momentary bemusement, Morgan tucked the covers tighter around her and then promptly lay on the top of them so that she couldn’t escape even if she wanted to.
Sissy gasped when the bed dipped beneath his weight. ‘Er-’
Morgan was sure he had just seen Mrs Hall’s lips twitch before she turned to leave. He had most definitely seen Bess’s look of astonishment before Mrs Hall pushed her out of the room. Once they were alone, Morgan shuffled around until he was on his side, facing Sissy.
‘We have to talk, you and I,’ he began.
Sissy sighed. ‘I apologise for rushing off into the storm. It was a foolish thing to do. I am glad you came to fetch me, though.’
Morgan pursed his lips. The thought of her being all alone out in the storm still had he not fetched her was enough to make him scowl. ‘You were lucky I did come after you. With that leg you could have ended up out there all night. Do you think you will need a doctor?’
Sissy shook her head. ‘It is sore but I can manage.’
‘So, you never told me the real reason why you ran from me. I know you said you didn’t want to lie to me if I had issued another invitation but that is hardly enough of a reason to race out into a thunderstorm, is it?’ Morgan willed her not to avoid being honest with him. When her gaze lowered to the covers, he tipped her chin back up.
‘I didn’t want to see you,’ she whispered.
Morgan tried not to be offended or too hurt. He had asked for honesty and that was what he had received. ‘Why? Were you afraid that people would talk if they saw me at your house again?’
‘Yes, but that was not the only reason,’ Sissy whispered.
‘Did you think I was Mariette, or my mother?’
Sissy shook her head. ‘I panicked,’ she admitted. ‘If I am completely honest with you, I didn’t want the stiff formality or awkwardness that is usually between us when we meet.’
‘Why do you think it is there? What do you think causes it?’ Morgan pressed.
‘I don’t know,’ Sissy whispered.
Morgan knew she was lying because her gaze slid guiltily back to the covers. ‘Why do you think you needed to avoid meeting me, Sissy?’ When she still didn’t respond, Morgan tipped her chin up again and pressed a loving kiss to her lips. ‘Talk to me. We cannot resolve anything if we don’t talk openly with each other. There is just you and I here. Nobody can hear us. I won’t be offended by anything you have to tell me.’
‘We have known each other a long time,’ Sissy whispered. ‘I feel as if I have known you all my life but I don’t really know you. Well, not who you are in the house, or as a person. I know you as the lord of the manor, Lord Campton. I don’t have any idea about the things that truly matter to you. I mean, I know the locals respect you. Your staff admire you. Nobody has a bad word to say about you. But I don’t know about you as a man; what kind of things you like to eat, or what you prefer to do with your days.’
‘Ask,’ Morgan grinned. ‘That’s all you have to do. Just ask me.’
Sissy blinked at him. It was difficult to concentrate when he was so close. She tried to think of something she could ask him but her mind was blank. Eventually, she said the first thing that came to mind. ‘What is your favourite food?’
‘Meat pie,’ he replied promptly. ‘With boiled potatoes.’
‘Drink?’
‘Fine French brandy.’
‘What about your days?’
Morgan sighed. His good humour seemed to become overshadowed by something. ‘My days are largely decided for me. My life is far more mundane that you might imagine. I wake at six, have breakfast, read my newspaper at my desk, begin my paperwork, do the rounds of my estate, meet with people, settle down to luncheon, do more paperwork. One day is very much like another. It is all tedious and boring. Any variation to my day has, until now, been largely decided by other people.’
‘How? By the servants, or tenants, do you mean?’
‘No. By Mariette, whose petulant demands have meant I have had to escort her to social functions I have had little interest in. By my mother who usually demands I help her resolve one problem at the Dowager House or another. Yes, by the tenants as well, who all bring me their problems to resolve. Sometimes by my servants, because this house needs to be run and run efficiently but cannot do so without meeting with its fair share of problems, squabbles, and incidents. Then there are the horses in the stable, none of which are infallible.’
‘You are a very busy man,’ Sissy whispered, wondering when he had time for himself.
‘I have been, but I decided a while ago that things had to change,’ Morgan replied honestly.
‘Why?’
‘Because I am bored.’ Morgan recited the discussion he had had on the night of the ball with Ralph. ‘It can be terribly predictable and mundane. I decided that night that I had to do something about it.’
‘So you decided to throw your life on its head by coming to see if you could get us to attend the ball,’ Sissy murmured, unsure how she should feel about that.
‘I wanted to see you,’ he informed her simply. ‘When it became evident that you weren’t going to turn up, I decided to do something about it. Not because anybody told me to but because I wanted to. I wanted you to attend the ball, Sissy. It was disappointing when you didn’t.’
‘I didn’t realise that my attendance mattered all that much.’
‘You were wrong,’ Morgan informed her.
He was prevented from saying anything else by the arrival of a veritable army of servants, all of whom were carrying steaming buckets of water. A large bathtub was positioned in front of the fireplace by two burly footmen who promptly disappeared to fetch more water. One by one, each servant poured their buckets into the tub before following the footmen back down to the kitchen. Within minutes, a large steaming tub awaited her. Sissy stared at it in amazement. She had expected sly looks from the staff but none of them even looked her way. Moreover, they didn’t seem at all surprised to see the master of the household lounging on a guest’s bed as if it was something that he did every day.
‘I am pleased to see that you are no longer blue,’ Morgan mused when the door had closed behind the last servant. He slid a thumb across the soft curve of her lip and smiled at her. ‘But you are still cold to the touch. You have to get warmer.’
‘This room is hot, though,’ Sissy replied only to gasp when Morgan tugged the covers back but only so he could badger her out of bed. When she stood up, Morgan swept her off her feet again. ‘You know, I can walk.’
‘Not on that leg,’ he replied. ‘Besides, I like doing this.’
Sissy rolled her eyes at him but was being safely deposited next to the bathtub before she could say anything.
‘I shall leave you to it,’ he murmured gently. Before he left, Morgan pressed a kiss to her lips and then quietly made his way out.
Once she was alone, Sissy wasted no time removing her night gown and lowering herself into the luxurious water. It was delightful to feel the silken warmth wrap around her. She moaned as the warmth chased away the last vestiges of cold from h
er flesh. Tipping her head back, she slid deeper into the water until it touched her chin. She sighed and felt the last of her tension melt away. The water lapped lazily against the sides of the bath but it only added to her contentment.
It took her a moment to realise that she was no longer alone. It wasn’t that anything was said. The air shifted and became palpable. Sissy’s eyes popped wide. She gasped when she found herself staring at Morgan, who was mere inches away. Leaning over the bathtub he pressed a kiss to her lips. When he lifted his head, she noticed that he had removed his shirt. The bronzed skin of his broad chest gleamed in the soft glow from the fireplace.
‘What are you doing?’ she whispered.
‘Joining you,’ he murmured gently before boldly sliding into the water opposite her.
Sissy’s mouth fell open when Morgan’s legs slid along either side of the tub. She tried to sit upright only to realise that she was going to reveal rather too much to him. Cheeks aflame she promptly tried to slide back down again only for the water to overspill and splosh all over the highly polished wooden floor.
‘This is not going to work,’ he announced with a rueful smile.
‘Morgan,’ she began only to gasp when he hauled himself out of the water, stepped out of the tub and moved behind her. Nudging her forward, he slid in behind her, his legs on either side of hers. This was far more comfortable; however Sissy was wildly aware of just how much she could feel of him. ‘This is hedonistic. We shouldn’t be doing this. What if one of the staff comes in?’
‘Then they will see far more than we planned,’ Morgan replied unconcernedly, not caring to mention that he had already locked the door. He was distracted too much to think about it, by the delectable sight of her naked body beneath the glistening water. ‘God, you are stunning, do you know that?’
He slid a hand down her thigh. Sissy jerked but there wasn’t enough space in the tub for her to go anywhere. All she managed to do was slosh more water everywhere.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
Morgan produced the soap. Rather than hand it to her, he created a lather and began to slide it over her protruding knees, higher and higher up her thigh. Sissy struggled not to squirm. She watched avidly as his hands rubbed the soap and created more lather. Again, the bubbles were rubbed over her, this time up her arms and across her shoulders.
‘Morgan,’ she whispered, shocked yet entranced.
‘We can’t do this,’ Morgan announced suddenly.
Sissy closed her eyes and wished she was somewhere else, but only until Morgan vaulted out of the tub. Dripping wet, and standing splendidly naked beside her, he coaxed her to stand up as well. When she had, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He lowered her beside it but only so he could wrap her in a towel.
Sissy did her best to cover her modesty even though she knew it was already too late. He had seen everything God had given her. She gasped when Morgan eased the towel out of her hands and dropped it onto the floor before nudging her back under the covers. To her surprise, he joined her in the bed, and settled the sheets and blankets over them both.
‘Morgan.’ Sissy was nervous but knew that she could trust him. If she was honest with herself, she wanted this. She wanted to be this close to him, to see what came next. Whatever it meant for her future she couldn’t deny herself this moment to be with him. She wanted to be with him on every level.
‘I want it known, Sissy, that we can never go back from this,’ Morgan warned. ‘I am not going to allow either one of us to hide from what we have.’
‘I don’t,’ she protested.
‘Yes, you do. I have, which is why it has taken me so long to do something about the way I feel about you. I have felt this way for a very long time now. So long, in fact, that it is a part of who I am. I have tried to forget you and pretend that what I feel is nothing more than infatuation, or a passing fancy, but I have been lying to myself. The truth is that I have adored you since I was fifteen years old. I wanted you to attend the ball because I wanted you beside me but you didn’t turn up. It was then I realised that I had to at least try to do something about the way I felt about you. I need to know that you feel the same way, or think you can in the future, before we go any further.’ Morgan waited.
Sissy’s chin quivered but she refused to allow her tears to fall. There really was nothing to cry about. Morgan had just brought every dream she had ever had to life. She was happy, even though she struggled to see him through the thin veil of moisture in her eyes.
‘I have always loved you,’ she admitted boldly. ‘Even though I knew that a man like you could never feel the same way about me.’
‘A man like me?’
‘You are confident, bold, strong. You know your place in the world and can deal with anything life throws at you. People admire you,’ she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion as she gazed lovingly into his eyes. ‘I adore you.’
Morgan smiled tenderly at her. He knew that she didn’t realise it but she had just handed him everything in life he truly wanted. He therefore didn’t hesitate to lean over her until she was lying beneath him. She didn’t object when he kissed her or blew the candle out.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked when they were engulfed in darkness.
‘Showing you what happens next,’ Morgan murmured hoarsely and proceeded to do just that.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The following morning, Morgan opened his eyes and blinked sleepily at the room he was in. He was immediately swamped with memories of what had happened last night. His gaze flew to the woman still asleep beside him. Sissy.
Slowly easing onto his side, he tugged the covers down until he could see all of her face. He was still stunned at everything they had shared, everything that she had allowed to happen, but he didn’t regret it. In fact, he wished now that he had taken matters into his own hands sooner. To learn that she had loved him all along just reminded him of the time they had already wasted; time when they could have, should have, been together.
Determined not to waste a single moment of the future they had nows, Morgan eased from the bed. Without bothering to pick up a towel, or cover his nudity, he marched across the hallway to his own bed chamber. Moments later, he retraced his steps. Sissy was still asleep when he eased back beneath the covers. Morgan dropped what he had fetched onto the small table beside the bed and set about waking her up.
Sissy moaned when she felt the soft press of Morgan’s lips against her shoulder. She shifted a little closer and kissed him back.
‘Now, neither of us are in any position for any of that,’ he chided teasingly.
Sissy blinked up at him, a little disappointed but relieved at the same time. She smiled at the tenderness she found smiling down at her.
‘Good morning,’ she murmured lovingly, suddenly delighted with her day.
‘Good morning,’ he replied before giving in to the need to kiss her.
When he lifted his head, he decided to broach the subject he most wanted to discuss with her, preferably before the staff began to make their presence known by arriving to light the fire. ‘About last night.’
Sissy watched wariness enter his eyes and went still. She tried not to allow her concern to grow but it was difficult given something bothered him.
‘What?’ Her heart hammered while she waited.
‘I said that we cannot ever go back to the kind of acquaintance we had before we made love and I meant it.’
‘I know.’
‘Moreover, I refuse to have you as my mistress,’ Morgan continued.
‘I wouldn’t ever be your mistress,’ she announced firmly.
‘But you slept with me,’ he told her, as if she didn’t already know.
Sissy began to feel nervous. She knew where he was taking this conversation, she just didn’t think it would be this soon.
Given what has happened, and that I am still here this morning, he cannot avoid it.
‘You love me,’ he said firmly, hi
s eyes daring her to deny it.
‘I do. I have already told you that, and I meant it,’ she replied firmly.
‘Good, and I adore you,’ he announced, his eyes softening as his smile grew.
‘You do?’ she asked.
‘I positively, absolutely, do,’ he assured her.
‘Morgan,’ she whispered lovingly.
‘The staff know you are still here,’ he continued.
‘I suppose they do.’
‘Your aunt is going to be worried about you. I confess, I forgot to send word to her that you were safe and here,’ Morgan admitted a little ruefully. ‘While I am sure she will be pleased that you were found and are safe, she is going to think you have been ruined.’
Sissy’s brows lifted. ‘I suppose I have been,’ she murmured thoughtfully but without any hint of regret.
Morgan grinned wolfishly. ‘I suppose you have been.’
‘Don’t you dare say it,’ she said abruptly.
‘What?’
Sissy tried to ease away from him but Morgan was having none of it. ‘What? What shouldn’t I say?’
Sissy eyed him warily. ‘You were going to suggest that we have to get married.’
‘But we do,’ he protested. ‘We love each other.’
‘But we hardly know each other,’ Sissy cried.
Morgan snorted. ‘Well, I could hardly agree to that given what happened last night, or have you forgotten already?’
Sissy rolled her eyes. ‘Of course not. But, well, I mean-’
‘You want a formal courtship,’ he finished for her.
‘God no,’ she moaned.
‘You are worried about what my mother will think? Whether anyone will be happy for us?’ Morgan continued.
‘No. One thing last night taught me is that I shouldn’t give a damn about what anybody else likes. When I was out in the middle of nowhere nobody knew I was there. I could have died out there, Morgan, and nobody would have bothered except for Norma. If she had gone to Maud’s like she usually does when she is alone, I could have died before she even realised that I was missing.’