And though he was young, he also found that he enjoyed women.
Very much.
There was much to say about a woman’s body, words he was sure another man could describe with better accuracy, but to Hugh they were all beautiful. Tall, short, thin, round, blonde, brunette. He’d learned swiftly that he was not one who needed a certain woman to satisfy his appetite. She simply needed to have a pretty face.
The hack stopped at the address he’d given the driver. The Bellengers’ house was like most on the street, a row house, but it seemed to have been extended into the houses on either side, making him sure that the home was much larger than it appeared on the exterior.
Once he was done here, he would visit his mother, sleep, and then start his journey back to Oxford the next day.
But first, he had to do this. He had to meet his… fiancée.
Was that the right word for what she was? He’d not proposed yet. She’d not said yes. Would she say yes?
He looked at the house again. They were wealthy. Orion had said the family owned both lead and iron mines.
Hugh climbed out and started for the door.
He was greeted by the family butler and shown into the sitting room where he was introduced to Mary Bellenger and Electra Bellenger. He didn’t have to ask which place in line the girl was. All he had to do was list the Seven Sisters in his head to know that Electra was the second eldest daughter. If her sisters looked anything like her or her mother, they were gorgeous.
He was almost rendered speechless as he looked into her eyes. She was pale in every way. Her blond hair was tucked back in a plain bun, probably so that she’d not catch his notice with curls and ribbons. The woman needed none of that. Her gray eyes smiled as she looked at him, and Hugh found himself anxious to meet Maia.
Electra was seventeen, and her older sister was just a year older.
Mary, who was just as beautiful as her daughter but with blue eyes, looked at Electra and said, “Go find your sister for me, dear.”
“Yes, Mother,” Electra all but sang before she floated from the room.
Mary engaged Hugh in small talk about school before some noise from the foyer caught their attention and a woman who had to be the housekeeper rushed in. Her cheeks were red. “Mrs. Bellenger, you must come quickly.”
“Taygete?” Mary asked as she stood.
“Alcyone,” the woman replied before turning and fleeing.
Mary groaned and smiled politely at Hugh. “I hope you don’t find me rude, but I must go see what my youngest has gotten into.”
Hugh had stood when she had and excused her swiftly before settling back into his chair. He glanced around the room while he was alone, liking everything he saw. The Bellengers had a happy household. The house was not only well decorated, but he could see telling signs of life in the room.
There was an open book balanced on the end of a chair arm and a ball nestled underneath the couch. He believed he saw a dog, but the fur blended so well with the dark floors that he wasn’t sure.
He concentrated and heard breathing. Yes, an animal was most definitely under the couch.
He was leaning back in his chair when something caught his eyes outside the window. He walked over and glanced out to find a very lovely garden. Sitting by a pond was a woman wearing a pale blue dress, her back to him. Her hair was loose, blond waves that fell down her back, paler than even Electra’s, nearly white.
He wondered who she was. Knowing she wasn’t Electra, he guessed that she was either Maia or the other one. Taygete. Poor girl. The name was hideous. Still, he saw an opportunity as he looked out into the garden.
Surrounded by roses and raspberry bushes could be the woman who would be his wife, and he wanted to see if it would be love at first sight like his parents had found.
But if she wasn’t Maia, that would be fine as well, since he’d have to meet the rest of the family eventually, wouldn’t he?
His feet carried him from the room and out the door.
* * *
CHAPTER TWO
Taygete Bellenger glanced around the garden from her seat on the grass and slowly allowed one foot into the pond before daring to let the other follow. She moaned in appreciation at the contrast of the heat of the sun and the coolness of the water. Then she pulled the piece of bread from her pocket and began to throw small pieces into the surface of the pond.
It didn’t take long for the pieces to disappear. Small fish broke the surface to eat the bread. Then she ate some herself and wondered if she’d be allowed to attend dinner that night with the family. If her mother had any say, the new Marquess of Edvoy and Maia would remain alone to ensure that a Bellenger married into a titled family.
But, of course, her mother would never stop her children from eating together, even if unchaperoned time between Maia and the marquess could guarantee a match. She loved her family, but Taygete was sure that she’d only be allowed one serving of food tonight since women were never to eat the same amount as a man. It made her dislike her guest even more. Taygete was usually hungry, but at dinner she was even hungrier than usual. She wasn’t the sort who enjoyed cakes and sweets. When Taygete was hungry, she wanted a meal.
The bread would do for the moment, however, which meant the fish would have to share that afternoon.
“My apologies, my little friends,” she told her silver swimming friends. “But you’ll simply have to share.” She took another bite from the bread and then tossed the remaining pieces into the water.
As she moved her feet around to create waves, she wondered how long it would be before her mother forced the entirety of the family to move to London. Once Maia married a Marquess, Mary would use that connection to ensure the rest of her daughters married someone of like rank. T
hat meant moving to London.
Mary had already prepared the girls for the move and had bought them enough dresses and gowns to see them through the Season. Somehow, though Taygete didn’t understand how, Mary had even convinced their father, Theodore, to escort them.
Taygete had been sure that would be an impossible feat, since Father lived for his company, growing his empire, and collecting one mine after another with such a speed that many speculated on his methods. Theodore was rarely home, and even when he did come home, he kept to his office behind closed doors.
Her parents were not close by any measure, but that worked for Mary since she was usually allowed to do as she pleased. That included the naming of all her children. A lover of the romantic tales of the Greeks, Mary had named her daughters after the Pleiades, and how Taygete wished she had been born first.
Maia was a lovely name. Everyone thought so.
But the names grew worse from there.
Taygete rested her hands on the grass and sighed, wondering if London even had grass or gardens. From what she’d heard, the city was cold and dreary. Though Southampton could have its cold and wet days, much like the rest of England, being in the south secured it plenty of sunlight as well.
She’d miss the plants that grew in her mother’s garden. She’d especially miss the pond.
Unlike the rest of her sisters, she didn’t want to go London, but Electra was looking forward to it and so was Alcyone, who wasn’t even old enough to have a Season. Half the girls Taygete knew wanted to visit the city where the king lived and where fashion began and ended, but not Taygete.
The only other person weary of it was Maia, but even she braved on at the prospect of the entertainment that the city offered… and more so what the city wouldn’t offer.
Master Benedict Cox. He was the highest Warren Officer on his ship, and Maia had fallen for him when they’d met at the beach.
Southampton was the port of English embarkment, which meant that most of the men the girls met were soldiers, but Taygete agreed that there hadn’t been a man finer than Master Cox. He’d been standing in his dark frock coat with its gold navy buttons and had seemed to stand a foot taller than the men around him. Blond hair, golden eyes
. Even at the age of sixteen, Taygete had thought him breathtaking, but it was Maia he’d swept off her feet.
And then Maia had learned just how many mistresses the man kept… and would most likely refuse to give up.
Taygete suspected a part of Maia had died that day, and a piece of her heart had shattered under her sister’s despair.
The sound of Maia’s weeping would stay with her for a long time.
Father had tried to get Maia to marry him, nonetheless. Benedict was sure to become a captain one day, and Father liked connections. Their mother had even tried— at first. But she’d quickly been moved by her daughter’s grief and had helped Maia end the courtship before the two could get engaged.
All of this had only happened a month ago, and Taygete wasn’t sure Maia was ready to meet another man, much less marry one. Taygete knew that their mother would do right by Maia in the end.
Taygete loved her mother. Mary oversaw the house with strength and gentleness, in spite of the lack of love between her and her father. Taygete, who was also a fan of romantic tales, didn’t understand how her mother did it but was glad that she did.
She’d do anything for her mother.
She’d do anything for Maia as well, to make sure her heart never broke again.
The sound of footsteps made her still, and a shadow appeared over her shoulder.
“Hello.”
She turned, placing her hand over her eyes to look at the tall gentleman who stood against the sun. She was unable to make out any of his features, but she did make out his stature. Lean, athletically built. He was likely the Marquess of Edvoy.
And Taygete had her toes in the pond.
Should she rise and curtsey? She was frozen in place for getting caught without her stockings on, something that had never happened to her before.
She cleared her throat before she spoke. “My lord.”
She noticed his head go back slightly and was not surprised by it. She knew her voice was odd. Deeper than a girl’s should be, with a rough tone that made it almost as ghastly as her name. There was nothing she could do about it. She’d tried to speak in a higher tone, but everyone had told her she sounded even more ridiculous, so she’d given it up and decided to simply be herself.
This had led her to be herself in more ways than one, which was why she’d stuck her feet in the pond.
She stared up at the man, but the light refused to make out more than his form. She gave up trying to make out his face when he reached for his jacket, undid its buttons, and gracefully folded to the ground. He stopped, balancing himself on his toes, his knees bent, and his face less than a foot away from her own.
Taygete dropped her hand to the ground to keep from falling backward as she set her eyes on what had to be the most beautiful boy in existence. He was young, yet his jaw was already well defined in his tanned skin. His nose was sharp and just as distinguished as the rest of him, except for his hair. Black waves seemed to grow in a way that did what they pleased, coming out in that playful way that took most men a large amount of pomade to capture. With the way it blew in the breeze, Taygete knew his hair was unburdened by serums and most likely light to the touch.
But she saw all of this without her gaze straying too far from his eyes. If he’d been standing a distance away, she’d have thought them black, but this close she could tell they were a dark blue with an even darker rim around them. They were stunning and surrounded by thick, black lashes.
Taygete didn’t take a breath until she saw him take one. Had he been holding his breath as well?
Her mother had been right to invite the marquess. Once Maia caught sight of him, she’d forget all about the grinning Master Cox.
“Maia.”
She blinked and continued to stare at him, realizing he thought she was Maia, which meant he’d not met her sister yet.
Of course, her sister had not met him either then. No right-minded woman would wish to leave this man’s side once they glimpsed his eyes. Were he Taygete’s, she’d not have left him to wander the garden by himself. She’d have latched onto him with a grip so tight tailors would have been forced to design their clothes together, one entire large piece of fabric. That’s how hard she’d have clung to him.
Just as Maia had done to Cox whenever he’d come in from wherever his ship had taken him.
It proved that beauty could cause pain, and Taygete wondered if this man would cause her sister an ounce of it.
In an effort to guard her sister’s heart, she didn’t correct the man’s assumption.
With the girls being sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen, many never knew who was older or younger, and Taygete would use that to her advantage.
She smiled. “My lord, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a few questions.”
He lifted a dark and naturally sculpted brow. “Ask me anything you wish.”
“Do you have a mistress?”
His eyes widened, and he stared at her with disbelief. “I don’t believe this a topic for young women.”
She made a sound of consideration before turning back to the pond.
Heartbreaker.
“Though, I will say that I can’t think of another woman while in the same vicinity as you.”
Taygete didn’t look at him as heat flowed up her throat and tinted her cheeks.
Then he lowered his voice. “And I swear that I will be as faithful a husband as my wife is to me.”
She looked at him then. She couldn’t resist. She had to. “Why would your wife not be faithful to you?” Surely, he knew that any woman who became his wife would have eyes for no other man.
He frowned. “A beautiful woman will have her fair share of admirers, even after she is wed. Surely, you’re aware of just how stunning you are.”
Stunning?
Taygete’s lips parted, and she looked away again. Her heart was racing, and she knew it was better to end her ploy before this went any further. She’d gotten the answer she sought. He would be faithful, and Taygete had no doubts that Maia would be the same. They were a good match.
She opened her mouth to tell him the truth, but he spoke before she could.
“Now, I need to ask you a question.”
Dear God.
She didn’t want him asking her anything, but she thought it only fair since she’d been so very blunt with him. She also knew that in her current state, she couldn’t run and cursed herself for taking off her shoes. She kept her eyes on the pond. “Very well, my lord. You make ask your question.”
“What are you doing?”
She turned to face him. “What?”
He was not smiling, yet she saw laughter in his eyes. His gaze traveled down her body and stopped at her feet before returning to her. “Why are your feet in the pond?”
She laughed nervously. “Why not?”
His eyes brightened, and he smiled. “Why not? That’s not an answer.”
She shrugged and moved her toes around a bit. “I like the feel of the water, especially when the sun is out. If my feet get too warm from the heat, I simply stick them in the pond, cool them, and then bring them back out.”
“Does that not dry your feet and make them hard?” His eyes danced mischievously, distracting her from the fact that he was removing his gloves and placing them in his pocket.
She shook her head. “No, my feet are soft.”
“I don’t believe you.” He lowered his voice and leaned forward. “I’ll have to see for myself.”
Before Taygete could stop him, his hand was around her ankle and her foot was out of the water. He turned her, her skirts raising with the maneuver, and then her foot was in his warm hands.
He added just a hint of pressure, and Taygete felt it travel up her leg and bloom between her thighs.
Her fingers bit into the sole as she stared at him and shivered.
His eyes darkened, and his voice was rough when he said, “You were right. Your foot is soft.”
Taygete’s vision blurred with her lightheadedn
ess, and she didn’t know how she'd manage to speak. When she did, her voice was shaky. “You should let me go.”
He did as she suggested, and her foot hit the grass, but then a shadow covered her face and his mouth was on hers.
He kissed her.
His mouth was just as warm as his hands.
Taygete had never been kissed, yet she found herself tilting her head as he deepened it.
Her lips parted, and his tongue touched hers.
A sound she couldn’t control was drawn from her throat, and his own growl vibrated against her mouth.
It was beastly and shocking, and she pulled away, stunned.
“Maia.” He started to lean forward again.
Taygete straightened her spine. “No.”
He stopped. His gaze had been on her mouth, but he lifted his blue eyes to look at her.
Taygete swallowed, her heart racing with desire and guilt. “I’m not Maia.”
He froze before her, his entire body becoming rigid. He blinked and then his mouth pressed into a line. “Taygete.”
She’d never liked her name before, but even upset, Edvoy said it like a verbal caress.
There was no one left for her to be. Alcyone was only eight.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He frowned and his gaze moved away before he straightened, returning to his true height.
Taygete scrambled to her feet and tried to think of a way to fix their situation as she brushed the grass from her skirts. “We can’t tell anyone about it.”
He sighed heavily. “I know.”
She looked up and was surprised by the amount of pain she felt at hearing him agree with her.
But he’d not come for her. He’d come for Maia. Maia was the eldest. She needed to marry first, and Edvoy had sworn he’d be faithful to her. Her sister deserved that loyalty. She concentrated on that thought as she straightened her shoulders.
He was still staring at her.
She looked away.
Christin's Splendid Spinster's Society Page 31