For a Lady's Lust: A Historical Regency Romance Book

by Lucy Langton

  “Isaac,” Gregory said curtly, giving him a nod. “I shall leave the door open and take my leave of you both.”

  Without saying another word, Gregory exited the room and left Louisa and Isaac there, stunned. Isaac turned to Louisa and said, “Why ... why was he in here? Did he come to check on you?”

  “I’m as flummoxed as you are,” Louisa said, putting her book on the table beside her bed. “He came in here and seemed to have something that he wanted to say to me ... but then didn’t.”

  “He’s a character,” Isaac said, pulling a chair up beside Louisa’s bed. “Almost as peculiar as I am, but I believe that I shall maintain the ultimate title until I die.”

  Louisa chuckled and tried to get herself a bit more upright in bed. But any time she moved her arms past a certain point, her head began throbbing. She tried to fix things herself a few times before she noticed Isaac looking at her. “May ... may I assist you?” he asked cautiously.

  “I would appreciate that very much,” Louisa said gratefully. “I hate being a bother, but I really can’t manage to get myself sitting up.”

  Isaac rose from his chair and said, “You cannot call yourself a bother. You suffered a grave injury today, and anything you need in terms of assistance is the least that we can do.”

  Isaac leaned behind Louisa and adjusted her pillows, but then when he was about to pull away, he froze. He was so close to her that she could smell the grass on his clothes that had been kicked up during his ride back to her parents’ home. Louisa barely dared to breathe in fear that if she did, she would scare him into moving. His closeness to her was intoxicating.

  Isaac turned his head towards her and whispered, “Is that better, Miss Louisa?” There was something about the combination of Isaac’s proximity, the quiet sound of his voice, and the fact that he had just used her proper name that made the hair on the back of Louisa’s neck stand on end. She was suddenly very aroused and knew that she had to control herself very carefully.

  “Would ... would you mind reaching the far pillow once more?” she whispered back in his ear. She may have been imagining it but could have sworn that when she spoke, a shiver ran down Isaac’s spine. “It is a little too far down.”

  Truthfully, Louisa was perfectly comfortable, but the temptation of having Isaac come even closer to her for another moment was too much to resist.

  “I’ll gladly do that,” Isaac said seductively and reached his hand back further to adjust the pillow. This time, Isaac did indeed brush up against her. It was only his cheek against hers, but when she felt the warmth of his smooth skin against her own, it was tantalizing.

  “Is that better?” Isaac whispered, his mouth practically pressed against her ear.

  Louisa nodded and said, “Mhmm,” because she was so attracted to him that she couldn’t think of anything else more coherent to say. Isaac withdrew himself agonizingly slowly, and when they could both see each other’s faces once more, neither of them made eye contact. Louisa was certain that they were both aware of what had just happened, but neither of them dared to acknowledge it.

  After a moment of silence, Isaac broke it by saying, “The trip to your parents’ home was successful. They were distressed to hear of your accident, but were very glad to hear that you were resting here for the night.”

  Louisa cleared her throat and said, “Thank you so very much for going to inform them. I feel that I have so many things to be indebted to you for that when I have recovered, I will not know where to begin to repay you!”

  Louisa expected Isaac to laugh at her comment, but instead, he looked rather serious. “Louisa,” he replied, leaning in towards her, “I have not done any of this with an expectation that you will repay me in any way. I hope that you do not think that I have.”

  “Oh, no, of course not!” Louisa reassured him. “I was only saying that because I feel too guilty that you have done so much for me, and I have been able to do nothing for you in return. This is all my own guilt, not any belief of mine that you expected any sort of repayment!”

  “I am very relieved to hear that,” Isaac said. “I would never want you to feel indebted to me, especially because …”

  Isaac stopped talking mid-sentence. He abruptly stood up and said, “I do apologize, I realized that I forgot ... something important that I must do tonight. Do excuse me.”

  Isaac positively darted out of the room, leaving Louisa speechless. Was he about to say he didn’t want me to feel indebted to him because he has feelings for me? Goodness, this night is so full of surprises that I fear if I stay awake for much longer, something much worse might happen!

  Bearing that thought in mind, Louisa blew out the lamp beside her guest bed and buried herself under the luscious covers. I’d better appreciate all of these luxuries as much as I can right now because they’ll all be gone tomorrow!

  Chapter 7

  The next morning, Louisa was awoken by a knock on her door. She took a few moments to get her bearings, and then said in a raspy voice, “Come in!”

  When the door swung open, she was very surprised to see her father enter the room. “Papa!” she said happily, sitting up more in bed. “What are you doing here so early?”

  “Good morning, my sweet,” he said gently, taking a few steps into the room and taking off his travelling cap. “I’m sorry to rouse you so early, and I only want to bring you home if you are feeling up for it, but I thought that it might be best if we didn’t ... overstay our welcome here.”

  Louisa rubbed her eyes and pushed some of the hair that had got tousled in front of her face behind her ears. “That is an excellent plan,” she said with a yawn poised in the back of her throat. “My headache has vanished after a good night’s sleep, and I can be ready to depart in about three minutes.”

  A warm, gentle smile graced Archie’s face, and he patted his cap twice with one of his hands. “That’s my girl, thank you. I was worried you would be unwell or might think that I was implying that you were being rude by recovering here – that is not it at all. I ... well, you know me, I just like to ensure that we stay on everyone’s good sides,” he said quietly, taking a pensive moment to look out the window.

  Evelyn’s sudden disappearance with Nathan had been the hardest on her father, Louisa believed. He’d faced ridicule, not only in the community but also at work. So much so, in fact, that her scandalous decision very nearly cost him his job. It was only through his exceptional hard work and dedication to the bank that he was allowed to stay there. Louisa remembered him saying that if he hadn’t thrown himself into his job, then they would be penniless by now.

  “Of course not, Papa,” Louisa replied, gingerly getting out of bed and putting on her over clothes. Her father turned around to give her some privacy, but truly it did not matter, for Louisa had been wearing so many layers beneath her dress that one could barely tell there was even a person under all those clothes. “You and I are of the same mind. I considered leaving many times last night so as to not trouble the Quinces any further, but my rotten head just would not allow me to.”

  “Might I take a look at it?” Archie asked his daughter, and Louisa nodded. She presented the back of her head where she had hit the rock to her father and could feel his fingertips gently grazing the far edges of the egg-sized bump she now had there.

  “My goodness, Lulu,” Archie said in a horrified whisper, “I am certainly glad that you did not feel any further ill-effects from this. Had this happened to anyone with a weaker disposition, such as me, for example, they would have been out for a week!”

  Louisa laughed out loud at her father’s comment. “It really was not all that bad,” Louisa fibbed. “If it hadn’t been for my unconscious spell, I would have just picked myself right up and walked home!”

  “Unconscious spell?!” Archie cried, appalled. “Mr Quince didn’t mention that ... but you know, come to think of it, I am rather glad that I was not made aware of that until now, for I would have worried about you all night.”

 
Now that Louisa was all dressed and had pulled her hair into an acceptable style for riding home, the father and daughter and Lloyd, of course, made for the door of the bedroom, but it swung open just as Archie reached for the handle.

  Agnes was standing on the other side of the door, and when she was met with Louisa and Archie, she jolted. “Goodness!” she cried, clutching her chest.

  “I do apologize, Your Grace,” Archie said, taking a few steps back and encouraging Louisa to do the same. “We never meant to startle you, but I’m sorry we did all the same.”

  Agnes knitted her brows together and gave Archie a once-over before eventually giving him a polite smile. “Thank you, Mr Pelham. How pleasant it is to see you again, but we were not expecting to see you here so early this morning. I was just coming to see if Miss Louisa was feeling well enough to sit with us at breakfast, but now that you are here with her ... would you both care to join us?”

  Louisa was practically bowled over by Agnes’ kindness. Not only had she been coming to collect Louisa for breakfast herself instead of having one of her servants do it, but she was also extending the invitation to her father. This gave her such hope for the potential relationship that she imagined she and Agnes having if she were ever to, by some miracle, end up together with her son.

  Louisa looked to her father and saw that his expression mirrored hers. But then, of course, because he was too polite for his own good, Archie said, “That is far too kind of you, Your Grace, but we do not wish to impose upon you any further. You have already housed, fed, and rescued my daughter from her fall yesterday, and so we shall just go on our way.”

  Unfortunately, judging by the offended look on Agnes’ face, she was not looking for this kind of polite response. Louisa had a feeling that when the dowager duchess offered you something, she expected you to accept it. Louisa realized that her father had entirely misread the situation, and now it was her job to rescue it.

  “I am sorry, Father,” Louisa said respectfully, “but I’m afraid that I will have to accept Duchess Grenfell’s kind offer, for I do not feel entirely well enough to make the journey home without some food in my stomach.” And then, for good measure, Louisa turned to Agnes and said, “We would love to stay for breakfast; thank you ever so kindly for your offer, Your Grace.”

  The patch-up job that Louisa had done seemed to have worked, for now, Agnes looked utterly delighted. “That is most unfortunate that you are still feeling the after-effects of your fall, Miss Louisa,” Agnes said, clasping her hands together in front of her, “but I know that we will all be very pleased to have you for breakfast. Follow me.”

  Agnes strode out of the room, and as soon as she was gone, Archie gave his daughter a disparaging look. “Louisa,” he said sharply, “why on earth did you accept her invitation? That was very improper, and I do not know if the Quince family will forgive us for such an imposition.”

  “Papa,” Louisa responded with equal sharpness, “you did not see the look of offence upon the duchess’ face when you turned her down. She wanted us to stay because she offered. I certainly would not have accepted otherwise, and you know that!”

  Archie opened his mouth to respond to his daughter, but Louisa strode past him. She had patience and understanding for her father’s plight, but it only extended so far. She needed him to trust her to do the right thing, which she most certainly was doing right now.

  Louisa soon heard her father’s footsteps scrambling to catch up with her, and when they rounded the corner towards the dining room, Louisa’s stomach did a flip-flop when she saw that Isaac was already sitting at the table. The dowager duchess sauntered into the room, and when Isaac heard her, he looked up, and his eyes immediately went to Louisa.

  His face positively lit up at the sight of her, and it only encouraged Louisa to feel that she and he might have a chance of being happy together. But she knew that she had to keep her expectations low, not daring to get her hopes up only to have them very quickly dashed because of her life’s circumstances.

  “Good morning, Mother, Miss Louisa, and ...” Isaac trailed off for a moment until Louisa saw the ignition of recognition in his eyes, and he said, “Mr Pelham. What an unexpected pleasure!”

  “Good morning, Mr Quince,” Archie greeted him, giving him a small bow and even finishing with a small flourish of his travelling cap. Louis had to stifle her laughter at her father’s formality, but it was also quite endearing. “I came to collect Louisa, and your mother was very generous to invite me to stay for breakfast.”

  “How kind of you, Mother,” came a voice from the other side of the table, and Louisa looked to see that it was the young Duke of Grenfell. Her eyes flew to her father, who she knew would be surprised by the sight of him. Instantly, Archie’s eyes widened, and Gregory certainly noticed. “Good morning to you, Mr Pelham. I’m Gregory, Isaac’s brother, and I don’t believe …”

  “It is an honour to meet you, Your Grace,” Archie said, bowing once more. Louisa worried that if he kept doing that, his knee would pop out of its socket, as it tended to do when he used it too much. “I knew your father in passing, and might I say that you have been doing a simply marvellous job of leading by the example that he set.”

  Louisa watched Gregory’s reaction and was delighted to see that the young man was rather moved by what her father had said. He placed the fork that he had been holding upon his plate, took up his napkin, and patted his mouth with it. It may have seemed like he was just wiping himself, but Louisa could tell that he was trying to cover up his emotional expression.

  “Thank you,” Gregory said simply, and Archie gave him a small nod. There was a quality to Gregory’s voice that led Louisa to believe that he was currently trying not to cry. And so attempting to assist him, she changed the subject.

  “Where would you prefer us to sit, Your Grace?” Louisa asked Agnes.

  “Anywhere but the head of the table,” she said lightly, and both Louisa and her father laughed. They took seats beside each other, but Louisa was disappointed that her father had chosen to sit between her and Isaac.

  The breakfast that followed was, of course, extravagant, and Louisa thought that her father’s eyes were going to pop out of his skull if another basket of fruit was laid upon the table. The conversation between the two families was polite yet friendly, and it made Louisa feel quite at ease.

  She could not believe that such a well-respected, high-class family was being so kind to her and her father, especially considering their circumstances. She did not question it, however, and instead simply revelled in the pleasant company.

  At one point during the meal, Louisa managed to catch Isaac’s eye surreptitiously, and they shared a pleased look. However, Louisa felt another pair of eyes upon her and looked over just in time to see Gregory looking away very quickly. She could not, for the life of her, figure out why he seemed to be watching the two of them so closely. That was unless he felt the same way about her that Agnes originally had and was determined to keep the two of them apart.

  When the meal came to a close, Archie thanked the Quince family so profusely for their generosity that Louisa practically had to drag him to their carriage. When she had finally got him in the carriage, she looked back one final time upon the estate and saw that Isaac had come to the door to see them off.

  She gave him a wave, and he waved back, and the adorable smile upon his face was almost too much for her. She forced herself to turn away, and then she and her father rode off in their carriage back to the home that would only be theirs for a short time longer.

  Chapter 8

  When Louisa and her father arrived home, Louisa was practically clobbered by her mother as soon as she walked in the door. “Oh, my sweet Lulu!” she cried, flinging her arms around her and squeezing her so tightly that Louisa could barely breathe. “I was so worried about you that I was practically beside myself.”

  “I’m ... I’m all right, Mama,” Louisa spluttered, trying to extract herself from her mother’s grasp. When she
finally succeeded, she was able to answer her much clearer. “The Quinces took the best possible care of me, and I feel no ill effects besides this unsightly lump upon my head.”