Jo Beverley - [Rogue ]

by Christmas Angel

  With trembling hands she poured her dirty water into the slop bowl, and checked she had left all ready for him. It was time to leave the cover of the screen.

  She did so, and with only the briefest glance at him went directly to the bed to scramble under the covers. She felt like a fox gaining its earth. From the protection of the bedcovers she could look at him and give what she hoped was a calm, mature, and mildly encouraging smile.

  He looked nothing so much as tender. He smiled back and went behind the screen.

  Judith realized she was in bed without having done her hair. She eyed the screen, but he was clearly washing, and should be a little while. She slid from under the covers and tiptoed to the dressing table. She pulled out the pins and brushed out her hair. She normally would plait the mass of dark curls, or put it under a cap, but she didn't have a cap and feared she didn't have time to plait it.

  She heard him pouring out his water, and dashed back under the covers.

  Leander came out from behind the screen and felt his heart speed. His wife was flushed and rosy, and her hair was a shining dark cloud about her pillow.

  Her lips were slightly parted, and she looked shy and apprehensive. She might be shy—he was a little shy, too—but he was safe in the knowledge that she couldn't really be apprehensive.

  How could he ever have contemplated marrying a young virgin? This was much more fun.

  He was in a nightshirt, since it was clear that she would prefer it at first, but he badly wanted to be naked, with her naked beside him. Soon, he told himself. Soon. It will just take a little while to overcome her reserve.

  He tended the fire then extinguished the lamps. He would have preferred to leave them burning but he sensed that she would be more comfortable with the dark at first. Not that it was really dark with the fire still blazing. By the time he reached the bed his eyes had accustomed themselves and he could make out her pale face and her big eyes.

  Desire swelled up in him and pounded in his veins. He wanted to lean straight over her and take her lips and her breasts, and roll swiftly into passion, but that wasn't the way for a first time.

  He just wasn't sure what was. Following his father's precepts, his lovers had been older and experienced. By the very nature of things they had been bold. Judith might be older, but she had experienced only one man, and she clearly wasn't bold at all.

  He had to do this right.

  Tonight he wanted to make her completely his.

  He joined her in bed and lay on his side looking at her. Then he kissed her.

  Her lips were surprisingly tentative against his, but they were soft and delicious. He could be happy for some time just with lips. At least, he thought he could. He found his hand was playing with her breast, but her lips had become more active and he didn't think the two facts were unrelated.

  He pulled back and smiled. "You're even more beautiful than I knew. Your hair's like a cloud of midnight."

  Judith lay looking at him, at sea in more ways than one. She still didn't know what to do, and she felt as if she were being swept out on a sea that was growing increasingly stormy.

  His hand on her breast was truly extraordinary. Silk seemed to be a magical fabric capable of transforming a simple touch into... into... She didn't have words for what was going on inside her. His kiss had been tender, and she'd felt cherished as never before.

  Still, despite differences, she knew the act would be the same. At any moment he would enter her and then it would be done with.

  Not quite yet it would seem.

  He was putting his mouth to her breast like a baby! She gave a choked cry of astonishment at the sensation that shot through her.

  He looked up, smiling brilliantly. "Ah, you like that?"

  "Do I?"

  He turned serious. "You must tell me."

  Like didn't seem quite the right word but she wanted to please him. "Yes, I liked it."

  So he did it again as his hands stroked the silk and used the silk to stroke her. She melted. She wasn't on the sea, she was the sea, a soft, swirling sea. She gripped his shoulders as the only firm spot in a liquid world—

  "Mama!"

  The sudden shriek had her bolt up in bed. Rosie cried again, and then there were the unmistakable sounds of someone vomiting. With one, bereft, horrified look at Leander, Judith raced for the children's room.

  Leander lay back and started to laugh.

  Chapter 10

  Judith found that Rosie had at least made it to the washstand, and Bastian had grabbed Blucher in the nick of time.

  She wiped the girl's face and felt her head. There was no fever. This was just an upset stomach, doubtless the result of too much rich food and excitement.

  Judith sent Bastian back to bed, but he sat there anxiously as she settled Rosie. "She'll be all right, Bastian. You go back to sleep." She decided to ignore the rat on his pillow. One crisis was enough at a time.

  "She'll throw up again," Bastian predicted gloomily.

  Judith feared he was correct. She found one of the chamber pots was unused and kept that close by, then sat on Rosie's bed and stroked her head as the girl began to drift back to sleep. She found herself thinking of Leander and what they had been doing. It had been extraordinary and rather pleasant, but it had left her feeling unwell. She ached. She felt a little sick herself. Perhaps there had been something wrong with the dinner.

  Then there was the fact that they hadn't arrived at the significant part, and she feared he would be annoyed. She wasn't sure, for nothing like this had ever happened to her before. She told herself defensively that it was he who had insisted on bringing the children on their wedding trip.

  She heard the door and looked up anxiously. He didn't look annoyed.

  "How is she?" he asked.

  "Not too bad. It's just the excitement, I think."

  "Should we send for a doctor?"

  "No, I don't think so."

  "I'll call someone to clean away the mess."

  "It's late."

  "Not particularly."

  He came back in a moment with her wrap and draped it about her shoulders. Soon a manservant came in and quietly cleared away all the slops, leaving clean bowls and water.

  Leander returned with a glass. "Try this for her."

  "What is it?"

  "Just warm water with a little sugar and brandy. It should settle her stomach."

  Rosie sipped it dubiously, but then began to drift off. When Judith tried to move, however, the girl's eyes flew open and she whined, "Don't leave me, Mama!"

  Judith looked up helplessly at Leander.

  His smile was rueful, but he bent down to kiss her and said, "You stay here. I'll take Bastian to sleep in our bed."

  The boy had fallen asleep and Leander picked him up and carried him through, shutting the door between them. Judith sighed and got into Bastian's bed.

  She hoped this wedding night wasn't a sign of things to come.

  * * *

  Judith was wakened the next morning by something tickling her chin. Thinking of rats, her eyes flew open. Leander was sitting on her bed fully dressed, tickling her with a hothouse rose.

  "You're pretty in the morning," he said lazily.

  "No one's pretty in the morning."

  "Children are," he said with a grin at Rosie, who was just waking up, "and so are you."

  She couldn't help a smile, but said, "I'm sorry about last night...."

  He shook his head. "I wanted a family and must take the rough with the smooth. We'll have many more nights."

  Judith suddenly realized from the light that it was late. She sat up. "We'll be ready in a moment."

  "No hurry. I never intended us to travel on today, and it is Sunday, you know. I thought we could go to service at the cathedral if Rosie is up to it."

  Rosie bounced up. "Oh yes, Mama. I'm as right as rain."

  She certainly looked it. Judith checked her temperature again then said, "Very well, but you must eat a little something first. Perhap
s some toast."

  "It all awaits next door," said Leander. "I stole the flower from the table."

  He tucked the rose in her hair, and left.

  Judith looked in the mirror and saw a stranger, a Gypsy creature with rosy cheeks and wild tangled hair adorned with a crimson rose. Who was this? Not Judith Rossiter, but hardly the Countess of Charrington either.

  A knock at the door brought a maid, sent by milord to assist milady. Judith was duly assisted into one of her elegant new muslins, white figured with spring flowers, and her hair was brushed and worked into a becoming arrangement of knots and curls.

  "Why thank you," she said, surprised. "That's lovely."

  The woman looked pleased at the compliment but said, "Your hair's a treat to handle, milady. I'm sure it would do anything with just a brush and a few pins."

  Judith had always found it an unmanageable mop.

  She asked the maid to do Rosie's hair, too, and so she brushed it into a topknot of silky curls, decorated with a white ribbon. Rosie was delighted and ran off to show papa.

  Judith followed more decorously, but she, too, was pleased to show Leander how fine she looked. "Very elegant," he said softly with a kiss on her cheek, "but I prefer you tussled and rosy in bed."

  Judith was certainly rosy as she sat down to breakfast.

  She had never been to a service in a cathedral before, and the echoing vaults were overpowering. The voices of the choir floated and soared, and Judith mouthed the hymns. Though generally she enjoyed singing hymns, she knew she had no voice and did not dare disturb this excellence with her efforts.

  Leander, she noted, had a rich baritone. Bastian had a clear sweet voice that blended in with the choirboys. Rosie piped up merrily, but Judith winced. Her daughter had inherited her lack of ear.

  After the service, they strolled about the town and took luncheon, then headed back to the inn. There Leander bought a small lidded basket for Blucher, and some rags to line it, for rats could not be expected to be trained in these matters.

  The Crown had gardens, and the children and animals were allowed to play there for a while. Blucher seemed content to run about on Bastian's shoulders, but Magpie chased leaves and straw and Rosie chased Magpie.

  Bastian was more interested in the comings and goings of the busy inn yard. Even though it was Sunday, some carriages halted to change teams.

  At one point one of the ostlers called out, "You can come and help us, young lad, if you like."

  Bastian looked at Judith and Leander eagerly. They shared a glance and Leander said, "No horses, remember?"

  Bastian's face fell but he said a polite, "No thank you," to the ostler.

  Judith and Leander shared another look and a smile. She really thought it would work out, and hopefully tonight would see no more sickness.

  It was warm in the last of the sun and so they sat. The only convenient place was on either side of a stone chess table.

  "Tell me about your home," she said.

  "My home? Oh, you mean the Temple. It's said to be the most beautiful house in England." His tone was extraordinary for its very blandness.

  Any mention of Temple Knollis seemed to cause unexpected reactions but Judith pursued it. "Is it really?"

  He shrugged. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but probably. My grandfather was much taken by a chateau in France that sits in a lake, which reflects its perfection. The Temple is built of a particular pinkish stone that changes in the light. Every cloud, every change of the hours and it changes, too. The lake, or moat, is part of a tamed river so the house is in effect on a peninsular. It is built around a central garden set with rare and fragrant plants."

  Beth Arden had shown her a picture of Temple Knollis in a book, so Judith knew most of this. What she wanted to know was why Leander's tone became so strange when he spoke of it. "You must love it very much," she said.

  He turned to her. "I? I hardly know the place. We can explore it together."

  "You hardly know it?" she echoed.

  He smiled at her in that charming, blank way he had when he was handling a situation. She'd hoped such days were past. "Didn't I tell you? I've only visited it once. Earlier this year, when I returned to England."

  "But a visit is long enough to love such a lovely place."

  "Not a visit of two hours," said Leander coolly. "Do you play chess? The innkeeper doubtless has the men."

  Judith admitted to knowing the moves, wishing she knew the moves of this marriage. As she waited for him to return she accepted that he had virtually slammed a door on that topic, and yet it was a topic that could hardly be avoided.

  For the first time she wondered if there was something wrong at Temple Knollis. Could it be cursed or haunted? That seemed so melodramatic, and yet there was clearly some problem.

  To what kind of place was she taking her innocent children?

  He came back with chess men and news, apparently restored to good humor. "There is to be an assembly at the George tonight. Mine host was of the opinion that such exalted guests as we would not care to be bothered with a mere provincial affair, but I am decidedly interested." He smiled down at her. "I want to dance with you, Judith."

  He invested the simple words with subtle power, but she answered. "I fear it won't go so well. Except for some old country dances, I don't know how."

  He sat opposite. "You must have attended dances with your first husband, if not balls."

  "Very rarely. And Sebastian didn't care for dancing, and liked me to stay with him." She shrugged. "I'm sorry."

  "Do you think to escape so easily? There'll be many country dances. Just in case it is danced here, I think we should practice the waltz."

  He raised her to her feet. She looked at the small lawn and said, "Here?"

  "Why not?" He took her hand. "The unusual part is the waltz turn. Place your other hand on my shoulder, so. Step to the side, and back..."

  Judith obeyed his instructions, but she was soon attuned more to the gentle guidance of his body. She turned and swayed like a tree in his breeze, and if she made a misstep he somehow corrected so their movement hardly faltered.

  He moved apart so they progressed more like a country dance, humming a lilting tune, then moved smoothly into the waltz step again, so they turned together, looking into one another's eyes, as natural as breathing.

  The tune came to an end, and he stopped. "There, see. It's easy."

  She was still in his arms, and rather closer than when they'd been dancing. "Only with you, I fear."

  His lids drooped in a lazy, suggestive manner. "Only with me, I hope..."

  Giggles distracted them, and they found Bastian and Rosie on the grass in a tangle, having tried to copy them. Rosie scrambled up. "Bastian trod on my toe!"

  "You didn't move, you noddy! You can't dance for toffee."

  "I can so."

  In one accord, Judith and Leander moved in and separated the two to steer them back to the inn. "Time for tea," said Judith, "and then some quiet activity."

  The children were happy enough with books and puzzles until supper time. After the meal they all played a guessing game until bedtime. Leander asked to tell them a story, rather than read to them.

  Judith was supposed to be preparing for the assembly, but the door was open and so she didn't ring for the maid but listened tenderly to his story. It was all about a clever German child who outwitted the giant who wanted to eat her family.

  Judith had to admit that the young lady was not always ladylike in her actions, but the children were soon giggling and joining in with suggestions of other ways for Trudi to trick the giant.

  When it was over, she heard him say, "Now, that didn't send you to sleep, so I'll sing you a song. This is German, too, and is appropriately about a rose. ' Sah ein Knab' ein Röslein stehn,

  Röslein auf der heiden..."'

  Judith listened, smiling. Peace and quiet fell.

  He came into the parlor, and shut the door. He looked at her and raised his brows. "
Tun, wie Sie es wünschen..." He broke off with a laugh. "Sorry. You must do as you please, Judith, but that dress is not quite in the right style."

  Judith tried to imagine what it must be like to forget what language one was speaking. "I know it," she said. "I was enjoying your tale and song too much. I have the wedding gown or a fine ivory silk. What do you think?"

  "The neckline of the wedding gown is too high," he said with certainty. "At such events as these, low necklines are de rigueur. "

  "That's what Beth said." She rose and went toward the bedroom to change. With a twitch of her lips she asked, "Is your neckline, too, to be low?"

  "No. It's to be high, starched, and soon wilted. Perhaps I should dispense with it and show my décolletage."

  Not totally sure he was funning, Judith beat a retreat and summoned a maid to help her.

  She had not put on the gown of ivory lace over peach satin before, and was a little startled by how low the neckline was.

  The frill of the neckline skimmed the edges of her shoulders above puffed sleeves, then plunged between her breasts to a rosette that gathered the fabric there. A few twists and shrugs reassured her that it would not actually slip off and reveal all, and when she looked in the mirror it was not too bad, but when she looked down she thought she looked naked.

  She went nervously into the parlor. "Leander, is this dress... acceptable?"

  He looked up and his eyes both brightened and darkened at the same time. He came over to her. "My dear, it's exquisite! Such wonderful... material."

  "That's not what catches the eye and you know it!"

  His eyes shone with laughter and appreciation, and he let them wander caressingly over her breasts. "Don't worry. Most of the other ladies will be as exposed. They just won't have anything quite so magnificent to show off."

  Judith put her hands over the exposed flesh. "I knew it. My bosom is too large for this style."

  He captured her hands and pulled them down. "Nonsense. You'll be the envy of all the women, and I'll be the envy of all the men." Holding her hands at her sides, he bent forward and placed a kiss in the exposed crevice between her breasts. He straightened. "Enough of this, or I'll ravish you here and now. Hurry, or we'll miss the first dances."