To Tempt An Angel (Book 1 Douglas series)

by Grasso, Patricia;

  * * *

  “Wake up, angel.”

  Angelica opened her eyes and sat up straight. She smiled at the sight of Daisy still sleeping on her father’s lap.

  “How long did I sleep?” she asked.

  “Almost two hours,” Robert answered. “Look out the window. We’re home.”

  Their coach traveled down the estate’s curving drive of mellowed plum-red bricks. In the distance a two-storied red brick mansion stood in the midst of perfectly manicured lawns that carpeted the grounds between lines of yews that had been clipped to form high hedges.

  When their entourage halted in front of the mansion, Angelica climbed down and turned in a circle to scan her husband’s estate. Her eyes lit with excited pleasure when she saw the three water terraces, complete with statuary and fountains.

  A mermaid, spouting water from her tail, reclined in the middle of the smallest water terrace. The second terrace held Neptune, his trident spouting water. Venus, rising from the sea, graced the third and largest terrace, her shell spouting water.

  “What an ingenious idea,” Angelica said, turning to her husband. “Did you think of this?”

  “I’m not so talented.” Still carrying his sleeping daughter, Robert led her toward the mansion, saying, “I’ll deliver Daisy to her room while you settle Jasper. Then I’ll take you on a short tour of the grounds.”

  Angelica dropped her mouth open at the first sight of the foyer, which rose two stories high. It boasted a curving grand staircase on the right that led to the second floor. On the balcony overlooking the foyer was an enormous statuary of the Three Fates.

  “How do you like the cottage?” Robert asked.

  “This bears no resemblance to my cottage,” Angelica answered with a rueful smile.

  Two lines of servants stood at attention in the foyer and waited to greet the marquess. Webster, who’d been speaking with the head footman, turned to them and said, “The servants wish to welcome you home, my lord, and wish you and the marchioness a long, prosperous life.”

  “Thank you,” Robert said, addressing the entire staff in a clear, strong voice. “This is my wife, Lady Angelica.” She smiled, but he continued, saying, “That is my wife’s pet macaw, Jasper. Do not put your fingers near him or you will lose them.”

  Angelica thought he was finished, but he stunned her when he added, “This girl sleeping in my arms is my daughter, Lady Daisy. Please assist my wife and daughter in whatever they need.”

  The servants stared in surprise. Apparently, they hadn’t expected that scandalous piece of information.

  “Return to your duties,” Webster instructed them. “Several footmen will be needed to unload the carts. Shall I enlist someone to carry Lady Daisy to her chamber?”

  “I think I can manage my own daughter,” Robert replied. “Be certain the footmen bring Jasper’s cages up first.”

  “Very good, my lord.”

  Angelica’s smile could have lit the whole mansion. “Thank you, husband.”

  “I hope you’ll be as grateful tonight when we retire,” Robert said, and then winked at her.

  Robert led the way upstairs to the second level and then down a long corridor toward the rear of the mansion. Mrs. Sweeting followed behind, waiting to take charge of the child.

  “We’ll leave the rest to you, Sweeting,” Robert said, gently placing Daisy down on the bed.

  With Jasper in tow, Angelica and Robert walked farther down the corridor. He led her into an enormous chamber as richly appointed as their rooms in London.

  “Are we sharing this chamber?” Angelica asked turning to him in surprise.

  Robert nodded.

  She smiled. “How convenient.”

  Robert pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her lips, whispering, “Welcome home, wife.”

  “My home is wherever you are,” Angelica whispered back entwining her arms around his neck and pressing her body against his.

  “I’ve instructed the footmen to put a cage in most of the rooms,” Webster announced, interrupting them. “Where do you want this one?”

  “Set it near the hearth, but not too close,” Angelica answered.

  “Do you want to rest or tour the grounds?” Robert asked her.

  “I want to tour the grounds, of course,” Angelica said, looping her arm through his.

  Robert escorted her out of the bedchamber, but when she started down the corridor in the direction they had come, he stopped her. “Come this way,” he said.

  Angelica spied a door in the corner of the corridor. When her husband opened it, she saw a wrought-iron landing and stairway leading to the lawns below. Angelica stepped outside and paused on the landing to gaze at the scenery. What she saw resembled a painting more than reality.

  Directly below the wrought-iron stairs was a rectangular expanse of lawn, bordered on the long side by a stone wall and an iron gate leading into a garden. The rioting colors of chrysanthemums, fuchsias, peonies, azaleas, and rhododendrons set against the backdrop of an indigo sea of bluebells filled the garden.

  Angelica followed Robert down the stairs. Hand in hand, they crossed the lawn, and he opened the garden’s gate for her.

  “How do you like my handiwork?” he asked.

  “You created this beauty?” she asked in surprise.

  “Gardening relaxes me,” Robert told her.

  Beyond the garden was a maze created from clipped yews. At the back of another, larger expanse of lawn sat a gazebo bordered by woodland trees.

  “This looks like paradise,” Angelica said.

  “Paradise is a person, not a place,” Robert said, raising her hand to his lips.

  Angelica smiled at that. “I like a well-planted man.”

  “Do you want to try the maze?” he asked.

  “I’ll leave that for another day,” she said, looping her arm through his. “How about the gazebo?”

  Robert led her around the maze, and they crossed the lawn toward the gazebo. “It looks like yours,” she said.

  “I patterned the one in London after this one,” Robert told her.

  For a long time, Angelica and Robert sat in the shade of the gazebo and enjoyed the summer afternoon. The perfumed scents of the flowers wafted through the air, along with birdsong.

  “I never realized a place like this could exist,” Angelica said. “What a wonderful setting in which to raise children.”

  “Decorate the nursery however you want,” Robert said with a smile. “We can spend as much time here as you like.”

  “Won’t your businesses suffer?”

  “No, we are only a few hours from London.”

  “A few hours and a world away,” Angelica said with a sigh. “I always wanted a tree house. Could we build one for Daisy?”

  Robert grinned. “I’ll build one big enough for Daisy and you.”

  “Thank you for being kind to her,” Angelica said.

  Robert looked away. “I couldn’t bear the fear and the longing I saw in her eyes when she looked at me.”

  Angelica lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. “What lies beyond those trees?” she asked.

  “There’s a path through the woodland leading to a waterfall and pool,” Robert told her. “Beyond the waterfall lies James Armstrong’s property.”

  “Let’s take a walk and see it,” Angelica said. In spite of the reluctance she read in his eyes, Robert stood and led her toward the trees and then to a path into the woodland.

  Peace pervaded the air along the woodland path. Thick hedges carpeted with wildflowers grew along side it. The distinctive songs of swallows, warblers, and turtledoves filled the air.

  And then Angelica heard the faint chuckling of a brook. The farther they moved along the path, the louder the noise grew until the faint chuckling became a roar.

  Emerging from the path, Angelica saw a crystal-clear river bordered on both sides by willow trees. Robert kept a tight grip on her hand as he led her down the bank of the river.

  Ang
elica looked at him, puzzled. Her husband was hurting her hand, and his expression grew tense as they neared a precipice.

  “My hand hurts,” Angelica told him.

  “It’s a waterfall,” Robert said, loosening his grip but refusing to release her.

  Angelica peered over the edge of the precipice. The rocks formed terraces, though the fall itself was relatively small, perhaps thirty feet. Sharp, jagged rocks stood like sentinels at the bottom of the fall, and beyond them was an inviting pool of water.

  “What’s wrong?” Angelica asked, feeling his grip on her hand tighten again.

  “Louisa leaped to her death from here,” Robert told her, staring at the rocks below.

  “I’m sorry,” Angelica said. “If I had known—”

  Robert pulled her close, saying, “Promise me you’ll never—”

  Angelica placed a finger across his lips to silence him. “Do not speak the words,” she said. “Do not even think the thought.”

  “Promise me.”

  “I promise if you ever take a mistress,” Angelica said, giving him a smile filled with sunshine, “I’ll take your life instead of mine.”

  Robert relaxed visibly. “I believe you.”

  “The water looks inviting,” Angelica said, her blue eyes sparkling. She decided to try to wash the bad memories away by making a pleasant one. “Let’s follow the path to the pool and swim.”

  “What about the babe?” he asked, concerned.

  “The fact that I’m carrying a child doesn’t mean I am impaired,” she told him.

  Hand in hand, Robert and Angelica followed the path leading down to the pool. The afternoon sun shone there still, sparkling beams dancing across the top of the water.

  They sat down on smooth boulders near the edge of the pool and removed their boots and stockings. Robert stood, pulled his shirt over his head, and then unfastened his breeches.

  Angelica couldn’t tear her gaze off what belonged to her now. She admired his broad shoulders, his well-muscled chest with its light matting of black hair, and his tapered waist. She dropped her gaze lower.

  “Were you planning on swimming?” Robert asked, turning around, his hands on his hips. “Or just admiring my beauty?”

  “I didn’t know you wore black silk drawers,” she said, raising her gaze to his, a soft, smile flirting with her lips.

  “There are many things you don’t know about me,” he told her, “but you’ll learn more over the next forty or fifty years.”

  Angelica stood then and showed him her back. “The buttons, my lord?”

  “This feels very domestic,” Robert said, unfastening her gown and then dropping a kiss on her shoulder.

  After her chemise, Angelica took his hand. They waded into the sun-warmed water and swam toward the waterfall. Holding on to the large boulders ringing the bottom of the falls, they paused to rest.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “I’ve never felt better,” she answered.

  “If we swim to the edge over there, we can walk behind the falls.”

  Robert led the way. When they reached the jagged rocks where the falls met the pool, he took her hand and helped her up. Behind the falls, the tops of the boulders had been smoothed from the constant beating of the water.

  “Looking at the falls from the back feels strange,” Angelica said.

  “The falling water provides complete privacy,” Robert said, drawing her into his arms.

  Angelica recognized his desire when he dropped his dark gaze to her breasts. She entwined her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.

  “I want you as much as you want me,” she whispered, sliding her hand down his body to his groin. She stroked him and smiled when she heard his breath catch in his throat.

  “Your nipples are large and dark,” he said, cupping her breast. He flicked a thumb across one nipple, making her moan at the sensation.

  Robert drew her close against him, savoring her incredible softness. His mouth covered hers in a slow, soul-stealing kiss.

  Running his hands down the side of her body, Robert cupped her buttocks and lifted her. Instinctively, Angelica wrapped her legs around his waist and sighed when he entered her.

  Holding her steady, Robert buried himself deep within her. He backed her against one of the boulders for support. And then he moved, enticing her to move with him. Angelica caught his rhythm and moved her hips, meeting each powerful thrust with one of her own.

  Waves of pleasure flooded Angelica carrying her to heaven and beyond. Only then did Robert release his own need, joining her in ecstasy.

  They stood, joined as one, for long moments. Finally, he let her slide gently to her feet.

  “I feel like Adam and Eve,” Angelica said.

  “Sans fig leaf.” Robert took her hand in his and led her around the waterfall. They swam to shore together. Still wet, they dressed and stood to leave.

  “How do you feel?” Robert asked, planting a kiss on her lips.

  “Wonderful but tired, a contented countess.”

  Robert scooped her into his arms and kissed her again, lingering. When he started walking, she cried, “What are you doing?”

  “I am carrying the mother of my child home,” he told her.

  Angelica protested, “I’m too heavy to carry such a long distance.”

  “Lady, I will carry you home or die trying,” he vowed.

  “Oh, don’t do that,” she said. “I have no wish to become a widow.”

  “When I tire, I’ll save my arms by throwing you over my shoulder like a sack of barley,” Robert teased. “Like this.” He turned her in his arms, placed her gently over his shoulder, and began running down the woodland path.

  The sound of Angelica’s laughter mingled with the song of the turtledoves.

  Chapter 18

  Sacred sevens, Angelica thought, staring at herself in the mirror. Her breasts had grown and were almost too swollen for her low-cut petal-pink silk gown. Her husband would certainly enjoy a grand view of her cleavage at dinner.

  “Come in,” she called, at a knock on the bedchamber door.

  Angelica smiled when Daisy walked into the room. The little girl also wore a petal-pink dress that perfectly complemented her dark hair and eyes.

  “Hello,” the macaw shrieked.

  “Hello, Jasper,” Daisy said.

  The little girl looked at Angelica and giggled, her enormous black eyes gleaming with excitement. “Our dresses are the same color.”

  “That is correct,” Angelica said. “If you’re hungry, let’s eat.”

  “Eat,” Jasper called, making the girl giggle again.

  “Jasper, your food is in your cage,” Angelica said, leading the macaw across the chamber. She opened the door for the bird and then closed it behind him.

  “Your father, you, and I will eat dinner like a real family tonight,” Angelica told Daisy. “Jasper is not invited.”

  “Won’t he be sad and lonely?” the girl asked.

  “Jasper will be fine for one night,” Angelica assured her, holding out her hand. “Perhaps tomorrow, we’ll take him on our picnic.”

  Daisy clapped her hands in excitement. Then she grabbed Angelica’s hand and kissed it, saying, “I love you, Lady Angelica.”

  “Good night,” the macaw called.

  “Good night, Jasper,” both called over their shoulders as they headed for the door.

  Hand in hand, Angelica and Daisy walked the length of the corridor to the stairs. Reaching the foyer, Angelica looked toward the footman for directions.

  “Please follow me, my lady,” the man said.

  Angelica and Daisy walked into an enormous dining room. The chamber was a hundred feet long and a forty-foot dining table stood in the center of the room. Above the table hung three gigantic crystal chandeliers.

  “Sacred sevens, I never saw such a big room,” Daisy exclaimed.

  Speaking with Webster near the sideboard, Robert turned at the sound of his daughter�
�s voice. With a welcoming smile, he crossed the room and escorted them to the table, saying, “I never saw such two perfect roses.”

  “Thank you, my lord,” Angelica said.

  “Thank you, my lord,” Daisy imitated her.

  The three of them sat at one end of the long mahogany table. Robert sat at the head, with Angelica and Daisy on either side of him.

  Under the majordomo’s supervision, two footmen served them from the sideboard. The main dish was roast beef and potatoes, accompanied by a tomato and bean salad with a vinaigrette dressing.

  Silence descended upon them as they began to eat. Angelica watched Robert who, in turn, watched his daughter. Angelica couldn’t contain her happiness at the heartwarming sight of the father and daughter enjoying their first meal together.

  Eating her roast beef with her fingers, Daisy looked up and caught her father watching her. She smiled at him and popped a piece of beef into her mouth.

  “Do you like the beef?” Robert asked.

  Daisy nodded. “I’m lucky I have teeth to chew.” She leaned forward, as if divulging a secret, whispering loudly, her mouth filled with beef, “Sweeting has problems with chewing.”

  “Is that so?” Robert said with a smile. “I don’t see you eating your vegetables.”

  In reply, Daisy tossed several pieces of tomato into her mouth, saying in a garbled voice, “Mmmmm . . . good tomato.”

  “Don’t put too much food into your mouth,” Angelica said. “Ladies take small bites.”

  Daisy did exactly what Angelica thought she would: The little girl spit the glob of chewed beef and tomato into her hand. She stared at the glob and then looked at her father for help.

  Angelica watched Robert hold out his hand, and Daisy passed him the glob. He dropped it in his napkin handed the cloth to Webster, who gave him a fresh one.

  “Use your fork to eat those vegetables,” Robert ordered.

  “Are those beans?” Daisy asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t eat beans.”

  Robert looked surprised. “Beans are good for you.”

  “I don’t like them.”

  “I promise you’ll like my beans,” he coaxed her.

  “Lucille said don’t eat beans,” Daisy refused, shaking her head for emphasis. “I make vulgar noises and foul odors when I eat beans.”