by Stacy Reid
He was merrily leading himself to his own downfall, and he was unable to stop it.
…
Adel slipped into the library, the most glorious room in all of Rosette Park in her opinion. Mahogany bookcases lined the wall and rose beyond the second floor extending to the vaulted ceiling. There was even a ladder to climb to fetch and return books, and there was a staircase for the higher levels. She bent down and randomly selected a volume, caressing the leather binding with loving care.
The door opened, and she did not need to look to know it was Edmond who entered. Awareness hummed through her veins, and predictably, her heartbeat quickened.
“You spend a few hours every day in here. Do you enjoy reading?”
Without lifting her head she responded, “Quite so. I find there is no better pastime. Your library is wondrous, Edmond.”
“Our library,” he said gruffly.
At that, she faced him. He leaned against the doorjamb, looking very casual and disheveled, yet so powerfully handsome her breath caught. How she wished to glide her fingers through his hair and pull his lips to her. “You have been riding?”
“Earlier.”
She nodded, at loss of what to say further, but very happy he had sought her company. Many of their chance meetings this past week as she settled into Rosette Park and received a few neighbours’ calls, had been filled with very banal and inane pleasantries. Very much like their time by the pond, but she yearned for something a bit deeper. Adel felt he kept their conversation light so as to maintain the wall of friendship he had erected. While she liked the idea of being his friend, she also wanted to be his wife, and it seemed he had no notion of that happening anytime soon. She would have to be much bolder with the unfathomable man. She didn’t like that everything she was learning about him was through his mother and even at times through his girls.
He strolled farther into the room. “Riding is one of my favored pastimes. To feel the wind on my face as I leave the cares of the world behind for several minutes…”
“It’s a similar pleasure I derive from reading and swimming.”
“And what else do you enjoy?”
Adel fought not to show a visible reaction, but she was beyond thrilled he was showing some interest in her beyond the trivial courtesies. “Your kisses, I daresay they are even more thrilling than reading.”
Edmond took a deep breath and released it slowly. “You are being provocative, Duchess.”
“One must do what one can to tempt her husband to his marital duties.”
Amusement lit his eyes, and then he smiled. Oh, my.
He fairly reeked of sensuality.
“With you it would not be duty.” Then he scowled as if he’d not meant to admit such a thing.
Delight filled her. It was clear storming his defences was not the way to seduce her duke, it must be done with one touch at a time, one suggestion, one kiss, until she shattered his resolve to stay away from her bed. There was a possibility he would come to it for himself. But that could be years, months…perhaps never. “What would it be?” she all but purred.
The way he stared at her…intense and hungry was so telling. Need stirred in her blood, and she was mortified to feel her breasts swelling, her nipples aching. He lowered his gaze to her chest, and a flush of desire swept along his chiseled cheekbones.
She spun, facing the wall of books, her cheeks burning at her uncensored response, and he’d not even touched her! It confounded her, how her body responded and the manner it showed how she was so delighted at seeing him. “I am going to read a story to the girls, do you want to join us?” She said. Stretching high upon her toes, she selected a copy of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, waiting for his response.
Heat reached out and caressed her, and it came from him. Adel had not heard him move. She could feel the solid, muscled outlines of his chest against her back. Without thinking she leaned into his frame and stifled the gasp at the pleasure she derived from the contact.
“Not today,” he murmured, his breath fanning against her forehead. “I could hear Sarah and Rosa’s laughter from the study.”
“Your girls are wonderful.”
She felt his smile.
“Your thoughtfulness does you credit. They are much happier since your arrival.”
“Please, I cannot claim credit for it. The girls spend a great deal of time talking about the things you have given them.”
“You disapprove.”
“No… But I daresay they enjoy my company because, well, I actually spend time with them. Sometimes children do enjoy the society of adult company.”
She faced him.
He cocked his head to the side, his expression inscrutable. “Then I am even more obliged to you.”
“I am thankful they do not hate me.”
“You are too generous with your time and affection for that to be possible.”
“They remind me a bit of my stepsisters when I’d just met them.”
“How many siblings do you possess?”
She arched a brow. “Are you now curious about me?”
“Are you deliberately bringing to mind my thoughtless behavior at the inn?”
“I do believe I am.”
He chuckled, the sound rich and warm, and so very appealing. Then he sobered. “I find I am, Duchess, very curious.”
Her heart fairly shivered. “Helena is now fourteen and Beatrix is twelve and they are Lady Margaret’s daughters, but I enjoy them as if they were my full sisters. I have a three-year-old brother from Papa and Lady Margaret’s union.” Adel smiled. “I hated my stepmother.”
“I daresay it is the duty of daughters to resent stepmothers when they are presented,” he teased drolly.
She wrinkled her nose. “Yes…though perhaps hate is a strong word. We never got along. From the moment my father introduced her, I was made to feel insignificant. Papa always adored me and Mamma, with a similar intensity. However, upon Lady Margaret’s arrival it seemed all the affections he had left went to her. There were times I wondered if it was because I looked so much like Mamma with hardly any features from him.”
Edmond stiffened, and she could feel the chill forming around him. “My girls favor their mother, Maryann,” he said after a small silence.
Adel held her breath, humbled by the faith he was showing in confiding in her.
“They have my eyes, and according to my mother, Rosa and Sarah possess my stubborn chin and attitude.”
“They are beautiful children.” Adel wrestled with the overwhelming urge to wrap her arms around him. Though he seemed decidedly more approachable, she did not want to overstep too quickly. “They would love to have puppies. Your neighbor, the earl, his spaniel bitch has a litter and they are in raptures at the idea of owning two.”
She heard him swallow.
“Then they shall have them,” he said gruffly.
“And they also need a governess.”
“Will you help me select one?”
“Yes. I will ask Lady Harriet to help me if you prefer. I heard you hired the last four…and well, they are now without a governess.”
His lips twitched. “Once again, I am indebted.”
“I shall collect a boon one day.”
She fought to maintain an air of casual indifference. It would not do to betray how much she desired him. It was already wretchedly intolerable that she brought nothing to the marriage, and in this instance to be the only one to feel desire…insupportable.
“And what would you require of me?”
“I promise I won’t be alarmed if you kiss me.”
“Are you by chance teasing me, Adeline?”
“I assure you not in this instance. You kissing me is a very serious matter I take to heart,” she said softly.
Adel had not known she would respond with such bald honesty. The man’s nearness rattled her more than she realized. But what startled her even more was that behind his studied reserve, she detected a flare of raw unbridled heat, in the
bottomless gray of his eyes.
Then he stepped closer to her. He leaned down so that his mouth was dangerously close to her ears, his breath a caress against her lobes. Edmond lifted his arms and placed them above her head, effectively caging her. The urge to press her lips against his was strong. What was he doing? Thinking? Would he kiss her, make love to her? She waited, her heart quickening, and anticipation shivering through her. His beautiful, heavy-lidded eyes remained intent on her face. Oh, please…kiss me, you wretched man.
But he did nothing, nor did they speak. A blistering need to feel his arms around her, just once, surged through Adel, and she bit into her lips to suppress voicing the desire. He already knew where her inclination lay, and she had too much pride to be so overt in her passion for a man that was doing everything to not want her.
They stayed like that for a long time, his comforting heat surrounding her. Then she slipped from the half embrace, and departed the library to read to the children, but her heart was infinitely lighter than it had been before.
Chapter Seventeen
She had dreamed of her duke again, of being kissed, of him once again shifting her nightgown and touching her in her most intimate of places. Heat surged through her, and Adel chewed on her bottom lip. She wanted to seduce Edmond. Seeing him daily was becoming an exercise in patience, and she was startled to realize that, well…she was the impatient sort.
Adel glanced toward the direction he had ridden in, on one of the most powerful yet graceful stallions she had ever seen. Edmond had appeared so assured and masculine, handling the big bay with a firm hand and skilled thighs. Lifting her face to the first rays of sun peeking from the cloud, she inhaled the cold air. Her walk with the girls this morning had taken her to the southern end of the gardens of Rosette Park, where there were topiary gardens.
She bent to caress the petals of a pink flower growing beneath a shrub shaped to look like an eagle if she were not mistaken.
“This one is our favorite,” Sarah said, running up to several trees pruned and shaped to appear like a small herd of elephants. The designs were truly beautiful and elegant.
Sarah slipped her small hands through Adel’s.
“Do you see how loving the mother elephant is?”
Adel smiled. “I do.”
The girls nodded approvingly and darted between the various shaped trees, a becoming mixture of animals and plants, chattering as to their favorites and why. Sarah and Rosa scampered off in the distance, and Adel kept a watchful eye on them as they ran across the lawn.
Her father would love Rosette Park’s grounds. So would Helena and Beatrix. Adel resolved to write to them in Bath, and invite them to spend a few days at Rosette Park. Though it had only been a little over three weeks since she had wed the duke, she missed her stepsisters and her father. She wriggled her nose before admitting to maybe slightly missing Lady Margaret. The sound of hoof beats had her glancing up. Edmond! She straightened as he slowed to a canter, then slipped from his horse. He allowed the reins to dangle freely and walked toward her in graceful strides.
Once again he appeared disheveled and very casual in dark breeches, riding boots, and an opened neck linen shirt.
“Good morning, Adeline,” he greeted, with a warm smile.
“Edmond.”
He fell into step beside her.
“I’ve hardly seen you this week,” she said softly.
He grunted, and she glanced at him.
“I have been visiting the tenants and overseeing a few repairs, after the visit I received from Squire Wentworth last week.”
The Squire had called upon her yesterday, and he was a handsome and pleasant man in his early fifties who seemed to have a fascination with the dowager duchess. Whenever Lady Harriet entered the room, he became flustered and had been hardly able to remove his gaze from her. Adel smiled at the memory; the dowager duchess had seemed equally attracted.
“There were a number of tenants living in tiny cottages and their families had expanded significantly. They could not afford higher rents, and Mr. Thompson, the estate’s steward, had not brought the matter to my attention,” Edmond clipped.
It occurred to her he was angry, and a pleasant feeling unfurled inside.
“And what did you do?” Though she had a fair idea.
“All families with several children living in those tiny cottages have been moved to some larger ones that were recently refurbished.”
“For the same rent?”
“Of course.”
“You are generous, Edmond, not many would be so understanding.”
“Many of the families lost their men in the war, and those who returned wounded are not able to take care of their families as they ought to be able to. They are England’s veterans, and she is not taking care of them as is due.”
“Yes, I’ve read a few of your articles championing better rights and the setting up of pensions for our soldiers. They were exceptionally eloquent and well argued. We must do more, and I would like to support the local causes who provides for them.”
He jerked to a halt and stared down at her.
“Have I said something?”
He cleared his throat. “No…but I find I am pleased you show an interest in my activities.”
“You are my husband. Everything you do is of interest to me,” she said. “And I would like to walk with you when you visit the local villages sometimes.”
A gorgeous smile curved his lips, and the flutter in her stomach actually worsened.
“Then I shall ensure I extend an invitation. I will also inform our solicitors of the charities you wish to support and whatever monies you need will be made available.”
“Thank you.”
They walked in silence and Adel badly wanted to demand why he sought her presence.
“I visited the girls in the school room yesterday,” he said gruffly.
“The girls spoke of little else for hours. It was a momentous occasion, as it was your very first visit in…” She bit her lips.
“Is that censure I detect?”
“Perhaps.”
A fleeting smile touched his lips. “I would deserve any recriminations heaped on my head. It was their great misfortune to lose their mother at such young ages, and worse, in battling my grief I neglected my girls. There is no greater crime I could have committed.”
Acting on instinct, she gripped his hand and tried to lace their fingers together. His riding glove made it awkward and her breath caught when he released her hand, tugged off his gloves, and pressed their palms together. He stared at their joint skin for a bit, as if fascinated by the contact.
Her heart was beating too fast, too hard. Somehow the simple touch seemed a greater intimacy than his kisses. Her fingers curled through his, and they continued strolling side by side, their hands clasped.
“What happened?” she asked softly, remembering his cold order never to ask about his wife, but she chose to ignore it for his shield seemed diminished.
“For weeks I buried my sorrow in liquor, and the false sense of peace it provided.”
“My father… My father also took my mother’s death horribly. It was sudden. She was in the gardens, tending to her roses when she collapsed. She was just there…and then gone the next. He had loved her most ardently; their union was a rare love match. It seemed he was soused until he met Lady Margaret.” Adel glanced at Edmond. “You must have loved your wife very much.”
His fingers tightened briefly on hers. “I did.”
Adel admired him more for loving his wife, but the knowledge left a peculiar ache in her heart. Their attachment had been so great Edmond had sworn never to love another…even her father seemed like he adored Lady Margaret.
A gust of wind tried to steal the bonnet from Adel’s head, and she placed a hand on top of her head, holding it firm. The girls still ran in the far distance, and she fancied she could hear their chortling.
“The girls told me you’ve never been to the theater or opera,” he a
bruptly said.
She frowned. “Why, yes that is true.”
“Nor on a picnic with a suitor.”
Adel blinked. “I…yes.”
“Lady Gladstone had indicated you had several seasons, why did you not partake in all London had to offer?”
Adel shrugged quite inelegantly. “My only suitor was Mr. Atwood, and my father strongly objected to his courtship. I daresay Mr. Atwood was unable to afford many of the finer aspects of high society, and that included renting a box.”
“I see.”
What exactly did Edmond see? That she was not as polished as many other young ladies? They came upon a gazebo with flowers covering the entire structure. There was a stone bench, and he led her to it. They sat, and he angled his body so that he faced her.
“Do you wish to be in London, enjoying the rest of the season?”
Adel laughed. “No, I assure you, I am very contented here at Rosette Park.”
Rosa careened around the corner, panting, a wide smile of her face. She faltered when she spied her father.
“Good day, Father,” she said politely.
“Rosa.”
She glanced at Adel searchingly, then back to her father. It then occurred to Adel this would be the first time his children were seeing them together since their initial introduction.
“I’d intended to ask Lady Adeline if she would like to join us by the lake,” Rosa said tentatively.
An air of wariness clung to her. Did he not see it? Adel’s throat tightened and on impulse she said, “Would you like to join us instead, Rosalie? You and Sarah.”
Rosa glanced to her father, clearly waiting for his invitation. The daft man remained silent.
“No,” she said with a curious smile, and then bent and picked up the ball. She glanced at her father. “Good day, Papa.”
A charming smile crossed his lips. “Rosalie. How did you fare today?”
The joy that chased her features at such a simple enquiry made Adel wanted to grab a tuff of his hair and pull it from his scalp. His yelp would be so satisfying.