Adam thought she looked positively wanton by the dim light of the candle lamp on the nightstand, and he was about to suggest a course of action when Diana’s eyebrows furrowed.
“A ‘seven’, wasn’t it?” she replied, her brain having a hard time reconciling his comments about the number nine.
“Why, you’re a ‘ten’, sweeting. Once I was close enough to see you clearly, I quickly revised my rating of you.”
Diana allowed a huge grin before she kissed him on the lips. In mid-kiss, though, she suddenly frowned again. “Is a ‘ten’ the highest or the lowest on the scale?”
Surprised by the question, Adam allowed a chuckle. “Why, ‘ten’ is the highest, of course.” He suddenly sobered as he continued to gaze at her. “But you must know, you’re also a ‘one’.”
Blinking, Diana inhaled sharply. “In what way?” she asked in dismay.
“In my heart, sweeting. Number one in my heart.” He inhaled deeply. “And that shall be the extent of my use of numbers on this day, my dear,” he added. “I’ve warned you before. I don’t have the head for mathematics.”
Amused and a bit relieved at his comment, Diana settled her head into the small of his shoulder and sighed, rather relieved that at least she could do the numbers for the both of them.
Chapter 39
Ten
Meanwhile, in the mistress suite at Thorncastle House
“How do you suppose Breckinridge is getting along with his new bride?” Godfrey wondered from where he had landed on the mattress just a few moments ago, his once-labored breathing finally settling into a more regular pattern. He lay staring up at the canopy above Elise’s bed, rather mesmerized by the pattern of tufting that seemed to hide a good deal of the yards and yards of satin that must have gone into its creation.
He would have turned to lay on his side, but he found he had no energy to move. Even if the bedchamber was on fire, he didn’t think he would be able to make it out of the bed.
He was rather gratified when Elise made the move to join him then, rolling over so the front of her naked body molded against the side of his. He did manage to move an arm so it wrapped about her shoulders, his fingertips lightly brushing her upper arm. His murmured, “Thank you,” was barely audible.
Elise didn’t admit she had been wondering the same thing, although her thoughts were more on Diana. The poor girl was a virgin and probably finding the marriage bed a bit uncomfortable on this evening. “Her mother was a courtesan,” she replied, not addressing his query.
Godfrey’s brows furrowed. “Is that supposed to imply anything in particular?” he wondered, his voice betraying his confusion. He suddenly wondered if Breckinridge had just discovered his bride wasn’t a virgin.
Sighing, Elise gave her head a shake where it rested on his chest. “I suppose not, but I can’t help but think Lily provided her daughters with a bit of education when it came to pleasing a man in bed.”
Considering her comment for a moment, Godfrey wondered if Elise wasn’t just a bit jealous of her niece. “I rather imagine Breckinridge will appreciate having all the help he can get. I know I do.”
Elise blinked before lifting her head from his chest. "What are you implying?" she asked in alarm.
The viscount yawned. “Although Breckinridge has a reputation as a troublemaker—he was nearly expelled from Eton and apparently failed philosophy at Oxford—he’s only ever been a prankster. He’s never been caught in a compromising position with another man’s wife, nor has he ruined any young ladies. And the man hasn’t exactly had a string of mistresses.”
Rather surprised to hear Adam Comber wasn’t the rake she had imagined him to be, Elise still wasn’t convinced Diana was in good hands. “Does he favor brothels instead?” she asked, concerned her niece might be contracting a rather awful disease this very moment.
Godfrey shook his head. “Doubt it. He loathes the idea of sharing a woman. And of contracting an awful disease,” he added as his head finally turned so he could see his wife directly. He grinned. “God, but you’re beautiful,” he said as if he were seeing Elise for the very first time.
Elise couldn’t help the blush that colored her face. Drowsy and still satiated from their early morning coupling, thoughts of Diana were replaced with her memories of what she and Godfrey had been doing all night. She loved the sound of his growl and how his arm had wrapped around her shoulders to pull her closer. She sighed when she felt his lips place a kiss atop her head.
“Thank you for marrying me,” Godfrey whispered, the backs of the fingers of his free hand once again stroking her bare arm.
“Thank you for asking.” She smoothed a hand over his chest, her fingers separating the graying curls until her palm rested on his stomach. “I wouldn’t have had the nerve to do so.”
Godfrey gave a chuckle, his chest rumbling with amusement. “I rather wish you had. We might have been married long ago had you done so.”
Elise didn’t have the heart to tell him it was unlikely she would have offered—or accepted—an offer of marriage any earlier than when his arrived. Sometimes, the timing just didn’t work quite right in life. “Would you have been ready to be leg-shackled any earlier than this day?”
Inhaling, Godfrey considered the question. “If I’d known then what I know now, then yes, of course,” he replied, managing to lift his head to regard her.
“Now you sound like a bounder,” Elise accused, a hint of a grin touching the corner of her mouth.
“Never,” he replied as he settled his head back into the pillow. It was several moments before he said, “I don’t wish to move.” His words sounded every bit as drowsy as she felt.
“Please don’t,” she managed.
“I don’t think I could if I wanted to,” he whispered. “I wasn’t aware a man could... ” He allowed the sentence to trail off as the fingers of his free hand seemed to form a varying number of numbers. He dropped his hand to cover hers, deciding it was better if he didn’t admit his ignorance as to how often a man could make love in a single night.
Although he’d heard the young bucks at the club claim they could perform three or four times in one night, he never believed them. Now they would never believe what he had managed—at his age—in one night
Elise allowed a giggle. “Three? Or four?” Although she felt a bit of soreness at the apex of her thighs, she was quite sure she would accept him into her body once more should he be so inclined. The sensations he had created in her were far more delightful than a bit of discomfort could counter.
The formation of his fingers into the number ’five’ suddenly had her head bobbing up from his shoulder. “By the way, what does this mean?” she wondered as she lifted both hands over his chest, her fingers splayed out. “Is it some sort of fan speak? You were doing it when I spotted you in the bow window at White’s.”
Godfrey angled his head in an attempt to make out what she was doing. He managed a chuckle as one of his hands took hers and brought it to his lips. He kissed a knuckle. “That’s a ten, my sweeting.”
Elise blinked. “A ten?”
Godfrey grunted an affirmation as he settled his head back into the pillow.
“But what does it mean?” she wondered, hoping he wasn’t already asleep. He had a tendency to nod off after they made love.
His eyes were closed but his lips widened into a huge grin. “You’re a ten, Elise.” There was a long pause, as if he had drifted off to sleep in mid-thought. “You’ve always been a ten.”
Elise considered his words for a moment. “Ten is... good?” she ventured, hoping he wouldn’t go to sleep and leave her wondering for another hour or two.
The beginnings of a chuckle rumbled beneath her head and finally exploded into laughter. “The best,” he replied. “The very best.”
Settling her head back into the small of his shoulder, Elise allowed a satisfied grin. “Five,” she sighed.
A moment passed before Godfrey suddenly lifted his head from the pillow and regarded
her. “Five?” he repeated.
Elise nodded, her expression a rather happy one. “We get to make love five more times before leaving this bed.”
Godfrey blinked, deciding he wasn’t about to sort the math she was employing.
Five sounded good to him.
After another minute, though, he shook his head. “Only if someone brings us breakfast,” he murmured. “Otherwise, I’ll only be good for one or two more.”
Her own stomach growling, Elise found she couldn’t agree more. “I don’t suppose this is the time to remind you the servants have the day off.”
Godfrey allowed a happy sigh. “Not the cook. I made sure there would be food,” he countered in a hoarse whisper.
Elise grinned and settled back onto his shoulder. “Five it is, then.”
Chapter 40
Two?
The following night
“A week ago, I didn’t even know you. And now... now I can’t imagine living a single day of my life without you,” Adam said as he climbed into Diana’s bed.
He had woken that morning to find her standing in the window, her face lit by the early morning sun and bearing an expression of contentment. She was wearing the night rail she had never had a chance to don the night before, looking ever so angelic despite the devilish things she had done to him in the middle of the night. She might have been a virgin, but she was certainly knowledgeable about lovemaking, he realized. The mere thought—and the fact that it was morning—had his cock ramrod straight and tenting the bed linens. When he asked if he could rejoin her in the bed later that night, she had been most willing.
Bless her heart.
They had spent that afternoon with an agent, touring available properties in several terraces and streets adjacent to Hyde Park. Their final viewing proved perfect, at least according to Diana. The townhouse had enough rooms and bedchambers to support several children, and it was close to the park. As for the cheque his father had given him, it proved unnecessary when it came to paying for the property, for the dowry the Duke of Ariley had sent the day before was enough to cover the entire purchase and then some.
Adam figured the then some would include bride clothes for Diana and a phaeton they could use when riding in the park during the fashionable hour. He was sure his mother would have more suggestions as to what he would require to complete his married life, but until then, he was content to believe they had what they needed.
Although he would agree to another go at shopping. He rather enjoyed spending time in shops with Diana.
After a quiet dinner and an evening spent discussing the move—Diana’s furnishings were still at Warwick’s and would be transported in dray carts to the new townhouse—they had retired to their bedchambers.
“Will you still be staying with me tonight?” Diana asked rather sheepishly.
Adam blinked. “May I? I feared I might have overstayed my welcome last night.”
Her face blooming with color, Diana gave her head a shake. “Not at all.”
Now that he had finally joined her in her bed and made slow, passionate love to her, and then had made his rather profound announcement, Diana opened her eyes to find him reclining on an elbow, his bare chest just inches from where she lay. She stared at him in awe, his words more welcome than any he had said before. “This is good news, husband, since you’re now stuck with me,” she said as the corners of her lips lifted in a teasing grin.
“As are the both of you with me,” he murmured, pulling her so her back was pressed against the front of his body. One of his hands moved to her belly and caressed it lightly, sending shivers of delight beneath her skin. Satisfied when he heard the sudden catch in her breath—the thought of how easy it was to provide her pleasure had him rather proud just then—Adam closed his eyes as he kissed the top of her head. He settled back down into the mattress, his arm still holding her body against the front of his. He was almost asleep before he heard her delayed response.
“Both?”
Adam allowed a chuckle, which had the entire bed vibrating. “Yes, my sweeting. That bit of math I can do.”
Epilogue — A Marchioness Wonders
“I have the most glorious gossip,” Adeline Carlington, Marchioness of Morganfield, said in a whisper. Her fingers were caressing her husbands ribs in an attempt to rouse him from the slumber he had fallen into once he had completed his latest round of lovemaking. There were nights he seemed almost insatiable.
Or perhaps it was she who wanted him more than once.
David Carlington opened one eye. “Do share,” he whispered hoarsely, clearing his throat when his first attempt came out rather garbled. His brain always seemed a bit behind after his wife had her way with him. He knew there was an ostrich feather somewhere near the end of the bed that she would wield if he didn’t at least pretend to pay attention.
Or there might still be ice in the bucket next to the bed. He rather hoped it had all melted during their first coupling. Although he sometimes welcomed the combination of ice and mint, he found it would be beyond his appreciation at the moment.
He was exhausted.
“Lady Lancaster married Lord Thorncastle yesterday,” Adeline whispered in his ear.
Both of David’s eyes opened. “Indeed?” Was all he could manage.
“As did Lord Breckinridge, although no one seems to know much about his bride,” she added, her voice pitched as if she hoped her husband could provide a bit more information on the matter.
“Breckinridge?” he repeated. He managed a frown. “I hadn’t heard he was even in the market for a wife.” The thought of a particular bet in the books at White’s had him stiffening a bit.
Adeline managed a sigh of frustration. “You’re no help,” she accused. “I was hoping you knew something about his wife.”
David sighed. “Do you have a name, perhaps?” If it was true that Breckinridge had married, then he stood to lose a bit of blunt over it. Damn that Fennington, he thought in annoyance.
Adeline smoothed her hand over his chest and wondered if there was any ice left in the bucket. “Diana Albright was the name on the order for dance slippers at Carter’s,” she said, as if that bit of information was useful.
Familiar with the name, David settled back into the pillow. “Diana Burroughs, actually. She’s the Duke of Ariley’s daughter,” he whispered, hoping he would be allowed to sleep now that he had provided her the information she sought. He had no idea how shoes at Carter’s mattered, but he wasn’t about to ask.
Adeline blinked several times. “Do you suppose Aimsley knows?” she wondered in awe. She was really wondering if Aimsley’s countess knew the identity of her new daughter-in-law. The woman was the queen of gossip. Could probably write her own gossip rag should she be so inclined.
Remembering Aimsley’s comments about having to increase his son’s allowance, David just then realized why that might be. “He knows,” David replied, his voice barely audible. And since Aimsley’s countess had the earl wrapped about her pinky—both of them, in fact—it was a sure bet she was well aware of the marriage. “She knows, too,” he added with a grin, remembering that any money he had lost to Fennington would be gained from Thorncastle’s marriage.
Some bets were sure bets, no matter the numbers.
“Oh,” Adeline replied in a voice filled with disappointment. “I was hoping to share the news during tea tomorrow.”
David pulled her down onto his chest and ran his fingers through her raven hair. “Well, you can tell everyone that Lord Breckinridge is married to Lord Thorncastle’s new niece,” he offered, thinking few would figure out that particular relationship.
Adeline’s eyes widened. “Oh, do you suppose he knows?” she wondered in awe.
Closing his eyes, David decided to feign sleep instead of saying, “He knows.”
Sometimes Adeline needed to do her own math.
Also by Linda Rae Sande
The Daughters of the Aristocracy
The Kiss of a Viscount
The Grace of a Duke
The Seduction of an Earl
The Sons of the Aristocracy
Tuesday Nights
The Widowed Countess
My Fair Groom
The Sisters of the Aristocracy
The Story of a Baron
The Passion of a Marquess
The Desire of a Lady
The Brothers of the Aristocracy
The Love of a Rake
The Caress of a Commander
The Epiphany of an Explorer
The Widows of the Aristocracy
The Gossip of an Earl
The Enigma of a Widow
The Secrets of a Viscount
The Cousins of the Aristocracy
The Promise of a Gentleman
The Pride of a Gentleman
About the Author
A self-described nerd and lover of science, Linda Rae spent many years as a published technical writer specializing in 3D graphics workstations, software and 3D animation (her movie credits include SHREK and SHREK 2). An interest in genealogy led to years of research on the Regency era and a desire to write fiction based in that time.
A fan of action-adventure movies, she can frequently be found at the local cinema. Although she no longer has any tropical fish, she does follow the San Jose Sharks. She makes her home in Cody, Wyoming.
For more information:
@lindaraesa
LindaRaeSandeAuthor
www.lindaraesande.com
The Secrets of a Viscount Page 27