Improper

by Darcy Burke

  “How wonderfully convenient and orderly.” Cassandra grinned. Then her eyes narrowed. “You were gone an awfully long time. I danced two sets.”

  “Prudence was quick enough to tell anyone who inquired that I wasn’t feeling well. And I made sure I was seen in the retiring room. Have I completely ruined my reputation?”

  “That depends on if you were seen in the garden with Overton and whether anyone put that together with your subsequent absence for an hour or however long you were gone. If you announce your betrothal quickly, perhaps tomorrow, all should be well.”

  Fiona relaxed, her body loosening from a tension she hadn’t realized she’d been carrying since returning to the ball. Probably because she’d also been too giddy to notice. “That is exceptionally good to hear.”

  Seeing Cassandra reminded Fiona that her brother had been upstairs. With a courtesan. She pondered whether she ought to tell Cassandra. On the one hand, he was her brother, and on the other, his…private affairs were just that—private. Even if he was married and shouldn’t have been dallying with a courtesan. Fiona decided it wasn’t her place to involve herself.

  Glancing toward the wide doorway from the staircase hall, she wondered when Tobias would come downstairs and how they would need to act toward each other. It would be very difficult when all she wanted to do was to proclaim to the world that he was hers and she was his.

  As if conjured from her thoughts, Tobias came toward them. He wore an absurdly bright smile that reflected Fiona’s joy.

  He was not alone. Lord Lucien was at his side, and if Tobias looked utterly delighted, Lord Lucien was the personification of irritated. His brow was deeply furrowed and his jaw clenched.

  “Where is he?” Lord Lucien demanded of his sister without preamble.

  “Who?” Cassandra appeared perplexed.

  “Don’t be clever. Wexford. Why were you dancing with him?”

  Lord Lucien was angry because his sister was dancing with someone? Who was Wexford? Fiona looked to Tobias, who barely shook his head, his eyes silently communicating that he’d explain later.

  “As if it’s any of your concern, I was avoiding an overzealous gentleman.” Cassandra’s eyes glittered with an ire that seemed to match her brother’s. “Actually, perhaps it is your concern, since this is your club. Mr. Upton had clearly over-imbibed and was not accepting my refusal to promenade in the garden.”

  “Sounds as though Wexford performed a great service,” Tobias said genially.

  “Wexford should have taken Upton into the garden for a beating.” Lord Lucien’s mouth twisted. “I’ll speak with him later. And with Upton.” He exhaled. “I’m relieved to discover the dance was nothing more than that.”

  “And if it had been, it still wouldn’t have been your business. I don’t know why you and Con and Father seem to think you can manage every part of my life. I won’t tolerate it.” Cassandra glanced toward Fiona. “I’m for the retiring room.” She left in the direction of the ladies’ side of the ballroom.

  “Perhaps you should go with her,” Fiona suggested to Prudence.

  Prudence flicked a glance toward Tobias before saying, “It seems you’re the one I should stay with.”

  Fiona laughed softly. “I promise I will stay right here.”

  Prudence hesitated but ultimately departed after Cassandra. Lord Lucien, who continued to frown, turned to Tobias and Fiona. “Allow me to offer my most heartfelt congratulations. However, I hope you’ll excuse me.”

  “Thank you and yes.” Tobias gave him a meaningful look. “You heard what your sister said.”

  “That I’m like my brother and father? Yes.” A slight tremor passed over him. “I’m going to find Upton.” He stalked off.

  “Uh-oh, alone again,” Tobias murmured, moving to stand as close to her as propriety would allow. His fingers grazed hers.

  “You can hardly call this alone.” She swept her gaze over the crowded ballroom and smiled.

  “I suppose not. I’m just glad to be with you again, hopeless as that sounds.”

  She couldn’t keep herself from staring into his eyes. “I feel the same.”

  “Were you able to speak with Lord Gregory?”

  “I was. He was disappointed, but he was also glad for me.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That my heart was engaged elsewhere. He wanted to ensure my feelings were reciprocated. I assured him they were.”

  “If there is any question, my love,” he whispered, “let me confirm that I adore you most fervently. Did you tell him I was the gentleman who stole you away?”

  Fiona briefly clasped his fingers and hated to let them go. “You didn’t steal me—I willingly chose you. I did not tell him it was you. We did not discuss anything about getting married, and I didn’t want to inadvertently spread gossip about myself.”

  He chuckled. “An excellent consideration. We can send the announcement to the newspapers tomorrow and have the banns read on Sunday.”

  “But then we’ll have to wait three weeks, and that will be after the twelfth.”

  “I already told you I don’t need to wed by then. Anyway, something tells me the new owner of Horethorne will invite me to visit often.” His eyes gleamed with mirth.

  “I want you to be the owner.” She almost touched his mouth when he parted his lips to argue. “I feel very strongly about this—it was your mother’s house, and it should be yours.”

  “That is incredibly wonderful of you. However, all that matters to me is that our son or daughter inherits it someday.”

  “We are agreed on that.” It was a struggle not to put her arms around him, to kiss him, to hold him. “I have an alternate idea to reading the banns on Sunday. What if we eloped to Gretna Green? I understand that’s something you’ve longed to do.”

  He laughed a bit loudly, and again some people around them turned their heads. “I must admit that holds an appeal. I know how much you’d love to travel.”

  “Especially with you. If we leave tomorrow, we can surely arrive and marry before the twelfth. Then you will have met your father’s deadline.”

  He stared into her eyes. “You mean this in earnest.” At her effusive nod, he took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Yes. I’ll elope with you to Gretna Green tomorrow.” He kissed her knuckles and reluctantly released her.

  Heat sparked along her hand and arm and spread, making her body hum with desire. “Well, in that case, I think we should go home and get some rest in anticipation of our journey.”

  “Another excellent idea. We should probably also pack.”

  “Let me stop into the retiring room to tell Prudence and Cassandra we are leaving.” She hesitated. “What about Prudence? What will happen to her now that I am getting married?”

  “She will become companion to another young lady. I’ll ensure she’s taken care of until then.”

  “Perhaps Cassandra’s father would hire her.” Fiona suspected she would have a bit less time to spend with her friend after marrying Tobias, and she worried that Cassandra would be lonely. Actually, she already worried that Cassandra was lonely. “Would you speak to Lord Lucien about it?”

  “Anything for you, my love,” he murmured. “It’s an excellent idea—for both Miss Lancaster and Lady Cassandra. You are a wonderful friend. But then I would expect nothing less.”

  His words warmed her. “Shall I meet you in the entry?”

  “No, let’s leave in a way that will garner less attention,” he said. “Can you meet me downstairs?”

  “Now who has the brilliant idea? I’m so pleased to be marrying such a clever gentleman. What a fortunate young woman I am.”

  His eyes gleamed with love and pride. “The fortune is all mine.”

  Epilogue

  Eight days later…

  * * *

  “Do you think your father is scowling or laughing because you wed on the eleventh of March?” Fiona snuggled more closely against Tobias in their bed at the Bell and Broomstick in
Gretna Green.

  After a fortunately pleasant journey north, they were now being blanketed with snow. Which Tobias found rather lovely, for there was nowhere he would rather be than bundled up with his wife in a cozy four-poster bed at an inn.

  “I would say scowling probably, but I’m going to imagine him laughing. It’s past time I let my negative feelings about him fade away. Anyway, there is really no room for them with all the love I have for you.” He turned to kiss her, and her stomach made a loud rumble.

  She giggled. “Oh dear.”

  A knock on the door made Tobias leap, nude, from the bed. He grabbed his banyan and cloaked himself. “Our tea has arrived just in time.” He waggled his brows at her as she burrowed beneath the coverlet.

  Tobias opened the door to see Mrs. Insley, the innkeeper’s wife, holding a tray. She grinned. “I hope you’re hungry. There will be less travelers today owing to the weather, so the cook gave you extra portions.”

  “Come in.” Tobias opened the door wider so Mrs. Insley, an efficient and warm-hearted woman in her late thirties, could place the tray on the table.

  “There’s tea, ale, cheese, bread, biscuits, and some special cake we give to all the newlyweds.” She winked at Tobias. “And the latest newspaper from London.”

  “This looks wonderful. Thank you, Mrs. Insley.”

  “Will you be coming down for dinner?” she asked.

  “If it’s not too much trouble, we’ll take it up here, I think.” He was loath to leave the cocoon of their room.

  “Not at all. That is not an unusual request for those who visited the blacksmith shop earlier in the day.” Winking, she took her leave.

  Fiona pushed back the coverlet and quickly donned her dressing gown. “I’m famished.” Her dark red hair caressed her face and shoulders in a riot of unkempt waves. She looked as if she’d been thoroughly shagged—which she had.

  A joy and satisfaction Tobias had never known settled over him. He did possess a romantic nature, just as his grandmother had said. He’d always wanted to find a woman like Fiona, and to experience a love like they now shared. That he’d discovered both was still a shock.

  They settled at the small round table in front of the window that overlooked the yard below. The Bell and Broomstick was a smaller coaching inn and not as busy today because, as Mrs. Insley had indicated, of the weather.

  “Do you think we can still leave day after tomorrow?” Fiona asked before taking a bite of cheese.

  “I suppose we’ll have to see what the weather decides. If it keeps snowing like this, however, I would say no.”

  She smiled, her mouth full, and her eyes danced with glee. “That would be a pity.” She put her hand in front of her mouth and tried not to laugh.

  They ate ravenously for a few minutes, then Fiona poured tea. Tobias plucked up the newspaper and scanned the headlines. Opening it, he found the column with news from the ton and read aloud.

  It has come to this author’s attention that the Dowager Countess of Overton was the sole instrument in matching her grandson with his ward, Miss Fiona Wingate. Their shocking elopement to Gretna Green caught everyone by surprise. Well, everyone but the dowager countess. She insists she was part of the planning, and that the couple has her full endorsement. When she arrived in London, she immediately realized they were perfectly suited, and the match was made. Indeed, they were so perfectly matched that they wished to wed and honeymoon at the same time. The old rumors of the earl trying to dash off to Gretna Green with another young lady have finally been put to rest, and this author wishes the earl and his new countess a very happy life together.

  Fiona goggled at him. “That’s what it says? You didn’t just make that up?”

  He laughed and handed her the paper. “See for yourself.” That was what his grandmother had said she planned to tell everyone and anyone that asked and to those who didn’t. That she’d successfully made their perhaps scandalous elopement into a romantic tale was more than Tobias could have hoped for. “Now, this would make my father scowl.” He chuckled as he lifted his cup of tea.

  Fiona set the paper down, a look of warm happiness on her face. “That was really lovely. I do like your grandmother.”

  “And she likes you. I can hardly believe she’s staying in London until we return so that she can spend time with you.” He shook his head. “You, my love, are a miracle in so many ways.”

  She stood briefly and then slid onto his lap, curling her arms around his neck. “I am just a simple, ordinary girl from the country, my lord.”

  “Not true. You are a countess and there is nothing simple or ordinary about you.” He nuzzled her neck.

  “To think, I could have been a spinster. I did consider it.”

  Tobias pulled his head back and looked up at her. “I asked Lady Pickering and my grandmother about how a woman achieves spinsterhood. They could only say that a woman eventually arrived there after failing to wed. There are no rules, apparently.”

  “I realize I am still somewhat naïve when it comes to Society, but I think there are more than enough rules.”

  He laughed at her sarcasm. “True. The Phoenix Club has invited a few spinsters to join. I think we need to invite more. I’ve decided to make it a specific goal.”

  Her brow pleated and her mouth flirted with a smile. “Why?”

  “Because I think they’re an underappreciated segment of the population. If the Phoenix Club’s aim is to include those who are excluded, I can think of no more deserving group. Can you?”

  “I can’t,” she said softly, lowering her head to touch her nose against his. “Tobias, you are the very embodiment of a true hero.”

  He slid his fingers into her hair above her nape. “I don’t know if I can agree with that. I’ve done some rather unheroic things, especially with you. It pains me to think of them.” He looked into her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m not. Every moment with you, even the ones you might regret, is such an adventure. When Her Majesty told me to have one, I never imagined this.” She rotated on his lap and straddled him, parting her dressing gown so that only his banyan came between their sexes. Grinding her hips down, she kissed him. “I think perhaps I’m hungry in another way now.”

  “You are never satisfied,” he said throatily, desire burning through him. “But let me try.” He kissed her thoroughly, his hand tangling in her hair.

  “Not true,” she murmured breathlessly against his mouth. “You are quite adept at satisfying me. Over and over and over again. Perhaps you need to remind yourself.” She reached down and pushed the sides of his banyan apart, then curled her hand around his shaft.

  “Hmm, I’m not sure I remember. Keep going, if you don’t mind.”

  She guided him to her sheath, taking him into her body as he thrust up. “Is this helping?” Kissing him again, she moved over him, her hips rising sharply and pressing down as he held her tightly.

  “Oh yes, I remember now. This is also deeply satisfying for me. How convenient that it is mutually beneficial.” He slid his fingers between them and teased her clitoris. She moved faster, crying out as her muscles clenched around him when she came.

  Tobias tugged her hair, glorying in the sounds of her pleasure as he poured himself into her. Breathing heavily, it was several minutes before he could form a coherent thought.

  He clasped her against him and rose from the chair, carrying her to the bed where he laid her down gently. She gazed up at him, her dark eyes glossy with satisfaction—and love.

  Removing his banyan, he climbed into bed beside her. She’d also tossed her dressing gown away and they snuggled together, nude, their bodies warm from their activity.

  “I’m sorry we don’t have time to visit Horethorne before returning to London,” he said before kissing her temple.

  “I understand. You have duties to attend. I am anxious to get back to Mrs. Tucket—and to see Prudence and Cassandra. I’m so glad they are together.” Tobias had sent a note to Lucien the night of t
he assembly and the matter of Prudence’s employment as Cassandra’s companion had been settled before he and Fiona had left for Scotland.

  “I wish we’d been able to settle Mrs. Tucket.” Tobias had suggested sending her to Deane Hall or Horethorne, but the maid had insisted on waiting in London for Fiona to return. She was so proud of “her girl” and couldn’t wait to see her as a countess.

  “For now, she’s quite content in her new first floor accommodations on Brook Street.”

  “And we needn’t worry she’ll harass Mrs. Smythe. My grandmother will not allow it.”

  Fiona chuckled. “No, I can’t imagine she would. She is a most proper dowager countess.”

  “She’s also a fierce matchmaker. Without her arrival, I may not have realized the depth of my affection for you in time. You might have attended the assembly that night and found yourself married to another man entirely.”

  She shuddered against him. “Never. I realized I couldn’t marry without love. Perhaps that was why I resisted your efforts to see me wed. I simply couldn’t countenance it. Until I could.” She looked into his eyes with love and joy. “Until you.”

  Tobias gathered her close and kissed her.

  “Rogue.” She kissed his chin. “Rake.” Her lips trailed along his jaw. “Scoundrel.” She snagged his earlobe with her teeth. “Reprobate.” Pushing him to his back, she rose over him. “Husband.”

  “I am all of those things.” He cupped her face, love searing through his chest. “I am yours.”

  Find out what happens when Lady Aldington demands her estranged husband give her a child, and they discover the secret desires that have lain dormant between them … in the next book in THE PHOENIX CLUB series, IMPASSIONED!

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