by Yasmine Nash
Jon took it. It was the best he could hope for. Now all he had to do was come up with a small fortune to clear Timothy’s outstanding debts. No mean feat. Still, he was closer to resolving this problem than he had been this morning, and that was something worth celebrating.
Chapter 11
Jon didn’t return to his home on Park Lane until well past midnight. After speaking with the judge, he’d paid a late visit to his banker and they’d finally come up with a solution for getting the necessary funds. Now, Jon felt the weariness in his bones. All he wanted to do was collapse in his bed.
He was certain Louisa would be asleep in her room by now, but when he entered the hall, he saw the flickering glow of candlelight coming from the drawing room. Jon peered through the doorway and found Louisa, still dressed in her evening gown, curled up on one of the sofas. It seemed as though she had been waiting for him to return and had fallen asleep.
The sight filled his heart. All Jon’s own exhaustion was forgotten. He took the opportunity to examine her sleeping form. As usual, her hair had come undone and framed her face. She looked so innocent while asleep.
She was innocent, he reminded himself. Despite Jon’s best efforts to corrupt her.
Louisa stirred and opened those big blue eyes to stare at Jon. She smiled sleepily when she recognized him. “You’re back. Any more news?”
As Jon told her of the progress he’d made with the judge, Louisa grew more alert, all signs of sleep falling away. By the end of his story, she was clapping her hands in joy.
They made a good team, Jon thought wonderingly. She had stayed patiently by his side the past several days, offering not a single word of complaint. And she was as invested in helping Mildred as he was. He took in the brilliantly happy look on Louisa’s face and felt a smile break out on his own in response. Why had he fought so hard against this for so long—whatever this was? Could it be possible that he and Louisa belonged together?
On impulse, he reached out and grabbed her hand. In response, she leaned her head against his chest with a sigh. He allowed himself to close his eyes for a second, breathing in her sweet smell.
She abruptly lifted her head a few moments later. “Oh I forgot!” she exclaimed.
Louisa jumped up and scurried from the room. Just as Jon was starting to wonder if she had gone off to bed, Louisa returned.
“I have a surprise for you,” she said with a grin. There was a large tray in her hands. She must have brought it up from the kitchen.
A delectable looking chocolate cake sat in the center of the tray, luscious whipped frosting decorated with a circle of red strawberries. Louisa was looking immensely proud, glancing back and forth between the cake and Jon’s face.
“Don’t tell me this is one you made?” he asked incredulously. She nodded, pleased by his reaction. “So you were telling the truth? I have to admit, I hadn’t fully believed you; I half thought you were just offering empty boasts. I am impressed.”
Although the hour was late, Jon realized he was famished. His mouth was watering at the sight of the dessert.
Louisa served him a large slice of cake, saying, “Don’t offer any compliments until you’ve tasted it. Just because it looks pretty doesn’t mean it’s any good.” She watched expectantly, waiting for his reaction.
Jon took a large bite. The flavors were perfectly balanced: the sweetness of the cake against the rich bitterness of the cocoa. It was the best cake he’d ever had and he told her as much.
Looking uncommonly proud of herself, Louisa grabbed a slice of her own and began eating it. “Mm this is delectable, isn’t it?” she exclaimed, taking another bite.
Somehow, a bit of chocolate frosting had made its way from her fork to her cheek. Without thinking, Jon reached over and wiped up the smudge of chocolate with his index finger, then placed the digit in his mouth to lick it off. He was aware of her eyes following his mouth.
Jon recognized the look on her face. Louisa’s pupils were black with lust, the cake already forgotten. Perhaps it was the stress of the day or the lateness of the hour, but she was getting bolder, too. Leaning across the table, Louisa grabbed his face in her hands and pulled it to meet her own. He could taste the chocolate on her tongue. That kiss was sweeter than any dessert Jon had ever had.
After several minutes, Jon reluctantly pulled back. “Louisa,” he said gently, “we need to be rational about this. You’re my ward. I’ve behaved inappropriately with you.”
Jon didn’t add that Timothy’s comment was weighing heavily on his mind. He should never have put Louisa in a position where someone would even conjecture such a thing about her.
Instead of looking hurt as Jon had feared she would, Louisa laughed out loud at that. “You’ve done nothing I didn’t want you to do,” she said wickedly. “But if it bothers you, stop thinking of me as your ward. Just think of me as you would any young woman.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully, and Jon almost missed what she said next, he was so fixed on the sight. “Maybe it would help, too, if you called me Lou, like you did the first day we met?” She nodded her head decisively.
“Lou it is,” Jon agreed. Just for the rest of tonight, he would push his doubt from his mind and deal with it another time.
Louisa snuggled into Jon’s arms, and they sat there until the first rays of dawn broke through the windows, occasionally talking of whatever came to their minds. Louisa told him more about her parents, and Jon shared stories of his own childhood with her as well. At dawn, Jon roused Louisa from where she had been dozing again against his chest, so they could head to their separate rooms to sleep before the servants rose and saw them.
He was sorely tempted to follow her into her bedroom, but he stopped himself. Louisa was emotional and exhausted from everything that had happened yesterday. He couldn’t forgive himself if he took advantage of her in that state. His mind had become resolved over the night though; as soon as this situation with Mildred was taken care of and put behind them, Jon was going to propose to Louisa Kellynch.
* * *
This wasn’t a bad way to live, Louisa decided when she finally woke up. It seemed that she’d slept all through the morning. Her dreams had been delicious, prominently featuring the duke.
Not a bad life, at all. Spending her days in the duke’s company, learning more about him, and then spending her evenings being kissed senseless. Yes, she thought she could get used to this. Perhaps a little too easily. Up to now, Jon had shown no intent on doing anything more than kiss her; she had nothing else to judge how he felt about her for they had never spoken of emotions. And every time the kisses heated up, Jon had extricated himself gently before matters progressed too far.
What would she do if the point ever came when Jon didn’t stop? Would she have the willpower to resist? She felt tingly just at the thought of his large hands on her skin and knew the answer was no. He could have his way with her in a moment if he’d wanted to. The thought filled her with excitement.
How was it that she could feel so sad for Mildred and yet so happy at the same time? Louisa dressed quickly, anxious to see Jon, and to hear if any news had arrived about Timothy.
Jon was in the drawing room when she went downstairs, a letter in his hand. “Did you receive word from Henry Northam?” she asked eagerly.
Jon spun around and smiled when he saw her. For half a second, his expression warmed as he took her in, then he grew serious again. “Yes. It is done. George Northam has convinced the Duke-of-Kent to drop his complaint against Timothy. And I’ve settled matters with the bank, so my brother in law should be released soon. Possibly even this afternoon.”
Louisa rushed forward and grasped Jon’s hands. “What a relief! Does Mildred know yet?”
“I’ve just sent her word,” he told her. “I’ll need to come up with some way to repay George Northam though. He did my family a great favor.”
“We can figure that out later,” Louisa assured him. “But for now, we deserve to celebrate. You did it!”
J
on looked down at her, his blue eyes bright in the sunlight. “You helped,” he said seriously. “Thank you, Louisa—Lou. I shall have to figure out a way to repay you as well.”
Louisa’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “I can think of one way,” she whispered, stealing a quick kiss.
“Now, what business do we have today?” she asked brusquely after she drew back.
“There is nothing more we can do except wait,” Jon said, sounding tired. The poor man. What he must have gone through. Louisa searched for a way to liven his spirits.
Aside from the furniture, the drawing room was bare. There were no instruments. No books on the walls. No entertainment of any kind. “How shall we occupy ourselves then?” she asked, looking around at the empty room.
“What about a round of cards?” Jon offered, pointing to a deck on one of the shelves. Louisa hadn’t even noticed it was there.
She glanced at Jon in surprise. “I thought you said you hated playing.” He had always declined to join in whenever someone had brought out a deck of cards back in Devonshire. Now she wondered if that distaste had anything to do with his brother-in-law’s addiction.
He shrugged. “You’re right. I’m not overly fond of cards, but you enjoy it. So we can play a game or two as a compromise.”
A smile lit up Louisa’s face. Jon’s heart stirred in his chest at the sight. He wanted to make her smile again and again for the rest of their lives.
“Well, there aren’t many games we can play with just two people. But I think we can improvise.” An hour later, Jon had laughed more than he ever had while playing cards, even though Louisa had soundly defeated him in all three rounds of Speculation.
Jon was setting the cards back in a neat pile when Louisa spoke. “So this compromise you mentioned: I get to play cards. What do you get?” She was talking in that low voice, with a flirtatious smile on her face.
“We do still have a lot of time to kill,” Jon murmured, forgetting the cards. He pulled her to him and kissed her soundly, until she drew back panting and rested her forehead on his shoulder while she caught her breath.
“Next time, I think we should skip the cards,” she said with a wicked smile before drawing him back in for another kiss.
They only stopped when interrupted by the arrival of another letter. “From Mildred. She says that Timothy has been released. I should go visit them,” Jon said, disentangling himself reluctantly from Louisa’s embrace.
“I’ll go with you,” Louisa said in a firm voice that pre-emptively shut down any potential for disagreement.
It was an uncomfortable visit, but Louisa was glad she’d gone. Timothy was sulking drunkenly in a corner of the room, ignoring them all, while Mildred alternated between offering profuse thanks and breaking down into fresh tears. Jon sent for his lawyer to meet them at his sister’s home. It seemed he was taking no chances, for the lawyer arrived with the guardianship paperwork in hand. A few signatures later, and it was done. With any luck, nothing like this would ever happen again.
* * *
It took several more days for everything surrounded Timothy’s situation to be settled. Even after he was released from jail and his debts paid off, there were other matters to be considered. For one, Jon was of the firm opinion that London offered too much temptation. He and Louisa convinced Mildred that it would be in their best interest if she and Timothy moved to a more remote town.
They settled on a modest cottage Jon owned, only 40 miles from his own home in Devonshire. He had offered Mildred one of his larger estates, but she declined. She was of the opinion that a smaller home and a more modest way of living would be better for her and her husband: fewer enticements that way.
Jon still hoped to propose to Louisa, but it seemed bad form to do so when his sister was still visibly suffering. Soon though. Soon. It was getting ever more difficult for him to say goodbye to her each night.
He was so busy arranging the affairs for Mildred and Timothy, that he’d barely had a moment to himself. So when his friend Brian Woodford had sent an invitation for Jon to meet him for lunch at his favorite tavern, Louisa had insisted that Jon accept. She was spending the day with Mildred, so Jon wouldn’t even be missed.
Since Jon ventured to London as infrequently as he could, he rarely saw his friend Brian. Brian was involved in a respectable line of trade, which many of the fine men and women of the day looked down upon, however Jon had never put up with that nonsense himself. Hard work was hard work, and it didn’t matter whether one made a living from running an estate or by trade, as long as one lived respectably. And it was difficult to find a more proper or respectable person than Brian Woodford.
Perhaps Brian suffered some insecurity because of his lower position in society, or perhaps he had always been this way. Whatever the reason, Brian followed all the rules of decorum to a T. He was always dressed in the most contemporary fashions, but tastefully so. Today was another instance of that: Brian’s large frame was outfitted in a neatly tied cravat above a simple yet perfectly tailored jacket and waistcoat.
He attended church every single Sunday. The man had never even slept with a woman, aside from his wife, who had been his first.
That was a level of dedication to morality even Jon could not comprehend. Although speaking of women…it had been a while now since he’d been with one. The closest he’d come was with Louisa the other night, and that had done nothing to sate his need. In fact, he felt antsier than ever. The woman walked the hallways in little more than a chemise at night, as though she were hoping Jon would barge into her room and ravish her. Jon could think of little else, at any rate, when he heard her tiptoeing around at night, and it had been growing increasingly more difficult for him to ignore the growing ache and fall asleep.
“Are you in there, Wallbridge?” Brian was asking him. It seemed he had been speaking for some time and Jon hadn’t been paying attention.
Jon started. “Apologies, my friend. I got caught up in a puzzle that’s been occupying my mind of late. What were you saying?”
“Anything I can help with?” Brian asked curiously.
Jon shook his head. “It’s of no import. I can deal with it later. I’ve come to see how you’re doing. Mrs. Woodford is with child again, is she not?”
Brian beamed. “She is! Our fifth.”
By God. Five children already and the man was the same age as Jon?
“And how is that business with your brother-in-law?” Brian went on.
Jon sighed. “I suppose all of London has heard about that by now?”
“More like all of England,” Brian said apologetically. “That’s what happens when the Duke of Devonshire’s relative is arrested.”
Jon leaned his head back against the chair he was reclining on. “Poor Mildred. She doesn’t deserve that rumor-mongering. Her husband is fine for now. Let’s only hope it stays that way.”
“I’ve heard something else,” Brian continued, even more delicately. “That you now are responsible for a ward?”
Jon did his best to prevent any emotion from crossing his face. “I am,” he said evenly. “Miss Louisa Kellynch. I was not eager about the arrangement at first, but I confess the girl has grown on me.”
“Mrs. Woodford saw her at the park the other day. The two are not acquainted, so she didn’t approach the girl. But she said Miss Kellynch is a very pretty thing.”
Pretty? Jon had long ago come to the conclusion that Louisa was the most beautiful woman he’d ever set his eyes on. But, “I have heard others say the same,” was all Jon replied, hopefully in an even tone that did not betray his true feelings on the subject.
Brian frowned a little, his blond eyebrows furrowing together. “I can see you have no wish to discuss this subject. And it’s none of my business. All I’ll say is be careful, Wallbridge. Stronger men than you have fallen prey to pretty women. But this is your ward, not a courtesan.”
Jon’s fingers clenched into a tight fist. “Are you accusing me of something, Woodford?”
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His friend shook his head hurriedly, seeing the expression on Jon’s face. “Not at all. I am only warning you that some might consider the arrangement to be…improper. That is all.”
As loath as Jon was to admit it, Brian was right. He stood up and said farewell. “Thank you for the advice. You have given me much to think about.”
Jon had been acting carelessly again. The best course of action would be to cool things off with Louisa until he’d had the chance to propose. Otherwise, one of these days he might go too far.
But he would be proposing. That much he was sure of.
Chapter 12
Louisa’s visits to Mildred’s home had been depressing of late. Her normally warm, even-tempered friend had been in low spirits all week. Timothy wasn’t helping matters: he was sulking about and shutting out everyone, including his wife. Louisa could see how that coldness hurt Mildred more than anything else.
Still, Louisa made sure to visit every single day and do her best to cheer up Mildred. Or if not that, then at least to offer a compassionate ear for her friend’s many problems.
By the time Louisa left on her most recent visit, she had gotten Mildred to smile a few times, and she’d even laughed once. Small victories, to be sure, but Louisa couldn’t wait to tell Jon about them.
She walked outside. The sun had already set. That morning, Louisa had arranged for Jon’s carriage to pick her up, and sure enough, it was waiting for her. To her delight, when she stepped inside, she found Jon sitting there.
“I’ve just left my friend Woodford and thought I might as well stop by and get you along the way,” Jon said.
Louisa beamed. A warm glow settled over her heart, knowing he had been thinking about her. She instinctively sat down right next to Jon and asked him about his day. He was silent for several seconds before responding.
“It’s as I had worried,” he said glumly. “The tale of Mildred and Timothy’s misfortune has already spread. Woodford had heard all about it.”