Chloe could not help but smile at such words from such a man. “Few appreciate the way that I am, I must say.”
“And why is that?” Sir Moses pushed open a set of double doors on the opposite side of the dining room, and revealed what could only be a ballroom – but Chloe had long lost interest in the rooms that they were moving through. There was only one artefact within the Wandorne estate that she had any true interest in, and he was walking slowly into the ballroom with an inviting smile on his face.
“I … I wish to go to university,” Chloe said finally, wincing at the echoes of her steps as she moved onto the wooden floor. Lining the walls were mirrors after mirrors, with candelabra every few feet, empty now, and covered in cobwebs. “I wish to study, to drive forward learning in the sciences – perhaps author a paper, or a monograph myself. I want to explore the world, and discover truths that no one else knows, and … and more, I suppose. I have not yet given the matter serious thought, as I have been refused.”
He was several feet away from her now, but the candle that he held shed light around him, bouncing off the mirrors and Chloe could see the surprise on his face.
“Refused?”
She nodded. “Only men should learn,” she said in a mock voice, her bitterness in no way hidden. “Only men can be natural philosophers. Only men can be intelligent, it seems, though I have to say it feels like stupidity to me.”
Sir Moses was nodding, and it rankled in her very soul that he should agree with such barbaric ideals. “‘Tis a difficult one.”
“I see no difficulty,” Chloe said curtly, readying herself for the fight, but then he spoke once more, in a softer voice, and she could not help but move closer to hear him.
“You remind me of my mother. She was absolutely frustrated that when she wanted to study mathematics, she was instructed to turn her interest to painting, instead of algebra.”
Her mouth broke into a smile. “Truly?”
Sir Moses inclined his head, and started to move towards another door in the ballroom. “My poor mother never realised her dream to study mathematics as she wanted, although it is thanks to her that the section in our family library is so extensive. Instead, she raised me to be respectful of a woman’s ability, and that ability could be in anything, as long as she was determined.”
Incredulity was not a sufficient word for Chloe’s feelings, and she said so. “Sir Moses, you completely astonish me – I have not the words to say how much!”
They were walking down another corridor now, and if she had been asked to find her way back to the hallway, she would have been unable to do so.
Sir Moses laughed. “Just because I have shut myself away in this house for a year, that does not mean that I am completely devoid of modern ideas!”
She looked over at him curiously and smiled. She had not considered it possible to find Sir Moses even more intriguing after he had revealed his tragic story to her, but it was so. Now as she looked at the rugged jawline and those sparkling eyes, she saw not just his physical appearance, but the intelligence, the wit, and the generosity within them.
Another door opened, and they stepped into another room – but Sir Moses stopped suddenly, as though he had not realised where they were.
“Ah,” he said quietly. “Yes, well, along this corridor here you can see – ”
He had moved as though to return to the corridor from whence they had just come, but Chloe put out her hand to stop him.
“What is this place?” She whispered.
Sir Moses said nothing, and in time her eyes became accustomed to the gloom. Though there were windows, they had been boarded up from the inside, and cobwebs covered the small table that made the centrepiece to the room. Around it, small chairs, and books covered one wall. There was a telescope in one corner, but small, much smaller than it should be. There was paper stacked on a side table, with a crusty bottle of ink and several broken quills beside it.
“It … it is a schoolroom,” said Sir Moses quietly. “A schoolroom intended for the next generation of Wandornes.”
Now that Chloe knew what she was looking for, she could see the signs all around her; for was that not a chalkboard leaning against one wall, as though someone had paused in the process of affixing it? Were there not there several toys, and counter games, and even a small abacus with red and blue beads?
“I had once hoped to fill it with a family.” Sir Moses was still speaking, and in some ways Chloe wished that he would stop, and at the same time she willed him to continue. “Sons, daughters, heirs to the baronetcy. But of course, that … that never happened.”
There was sadness there, but there was also hope, Chloe thought.
She smiled at him mischievously, her hand still touching his arm. “And was it intended for girls as well as boys?”
He laughed, and it were as though she had been dipped in hot water, such a rush of joy it gave her. “I suppose that any child of yours would undoubtedly receive the best possible education, no matter who they were.”
Chloe nodded as her eyes took in the implements on learning all around them. “Our children certainly would.”
Her mortification at her words, said without thought, without breath it seemed, just pouring from her soul, was complete and absolute.
5
Every syllable that Miss Chloe Vaughn had just uttered was echoed in his ears like bells, but Moses did everything he could to pretend that he had not caught the thoughtless words.
And yet heat was rushing through his body: heat longing to meet her own body, and possess it, and make life. His mind went wild, considering what their children would be like: golden haired of course, and mayhaps tall, like him. Brave and intelligent, like her. Stubborn, with his strength of character. Perhaps dimples, perhaps not, you could never tell.
Moses swallowed. If he was completely honest with himself, he desired her far more than he could ever have realised – more than he thought possible.
He wanted her...her with nothing covering that delicious skin, everything taken off except those diamond earrings. The question was, did she?
“Oh, ceremonial bedchambers!”
For a moment, Moses was sure that he had misheard her, but Miss Vaughn repeated herself with a wild look and pink cheeks.
“Ceremonial bedchambers! You must have some, sir, a house as fine and as large as this, and I have a great mind to see them. After all, where was a king or a duke to spend the night when they visit if not in the grandest beds in the place! This way, are they?”
Without a backward glance, Miss Vaughn strode out of the room. Moses smiled at the whip of her skirts as she turned the corner. Well, it was all to the good that she was embarrassed, he supposed. A slip of the tongue like that, it was bound to lead somewhere ill if his instincts had been left completely alone.
“Sir Moses, are the bedchambers this way?”
Moses stiffened slightly as the thought of Miss Chloe Vaughn lying on one of the ceremonial bedchambers, completely naked and begging for his touch, struck his mind. Oh God, but to see her thus, to reach out and touch her, knowing that she wanted it as much as him, knowing that she was craving him as he was aching for her …
“Sir Moses?” Miss Vaughn’s head had appeared in the doorway, and she looked a little concerned.
Moses realised that he had not answered. “Why yes, Miss Vaughn. They are just up this staircase here.”
It took a great deal of effort for Moses to force his feet forwards, but once he started moving, he found himself almost immediately at Miss Vaughn’s side, walking up the broad staircase together.
Her hand was mere inches from his own, hanging loose, within grasping distance. Moses felt a prickle on his neck as he attempted not to notice, but he could not help but be conscious of every element of her body. She was so close and so beautiful – and so fiery, and so intelligent.
All he had to do was reach out. It could be an accident: a sway of his body, and their hands would graze each other. Just an inch betwee
n them, and he could feel the touch of her skin on his own and put himself out of this delicious misery.
Do it, he willed himself. Do it!
The moment that he finally decided to reach out and touch her, Miss Vaughn gave a cry as the gown that she had borrowed, slightly too long for her as it was, became tangled around one foot and caused her to stumble. Arms outstretched in an attempt to break her fall, Moses acted instinctively, reaching out his arms and catching her around her waist, drawing her to him and balancing her upright.
Oh, but she was warm, and close, and Moses could feel his heart thundering in his chest but then realised that it was not just his own heart, but hers as well, pounding through her chest and into his own, and her face was mere inches from his and there was a look on it – astonishment of a kind, relief at not having fallen, but something else, something he could not decipher, and she was close, and beautiful, and every molecule in his body was crying out to kiss her and taste those soft pink lips.
Moses was just a man. Unable to fight temptation any longer, he lowered his lips to hers and bestowed upon her a gentle kiss.
It did not stay gentle for long – the softness of her lips, the way she trembled in his arms, sparked something in him which pressed his lips on hers and they parted, willingly, welcoming him in.
He thought he had gone too far, dismayed for her honour, but instead Miss Vaughn responded: her tongue crept to meet his, timidly at first, and then matched his passion with surprising sweetness and warmth. Her hands were in his hair, and he could not remember how they got there but he revelled in the feel of her pulling him towards her, hungry, wanting him, needing him.
Moses’ own hands had moved – first clutching her to safety, then pulling her into his embrace, they now were cupped around her buttocks, bringing her closer, closer still as his mouth utterly possessed her.
Eventually he lifted his head and looked down at her. Chloe – Miss Vaughn, that is – was lazily smiling, her eyes filled with lust, her lips still parted, pink with the pressure of his passion.
“I – I will admit,” he said raggedly, barely able to find enough breath to speak, “that I am starting to become … well, a little overwhelmed by my feelings for you, Miss Vaughn.”
“You are not alone in that regard,” breathed Chloe – and he could only think of her as Chloe now, and would always. “Curiosity has always been my fault, and yet in this case, it is surely a sin to be tempted so. Oh, Sir Moses, you make my body feel things – things that I have never felt before …”
And her hands were still twisted into his hair, and he could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and it made him want her all the more …
But he couldn’t. How could he even consider such a thing? A woman such as her, a woman on her own, a woman unprotected, with no chaperone.
No one would ever have to know. The thought raced through his mind faster than he could stop it, and now there was nothing he could do. He had to ask, he had to see whether the look in her eyes was just a feeling, or a determination to luxuriate in the pleasure that was but minutes away, should she choose it.
Moses’ eyes darted upwards. “We … we are about to view one of the most spectacular bedrooms in all of England.”
His voice was jerky, and for a moment he was unsure whether she had heard him correctly, so transfixed as he was with the lust in her eyes.
“I would never want to take advantage of you,” he breathed, and he meant it. This woman wasn’t just flesh, she was intelligent, and witty, but most of all at this moment, she was doing things to his body that he had thought would no longer be possible. “I would only do what you wanted. What you asked of me. What you craved.”
And then the light of dawning comprehension illuminated her eyes, and there was excitement there too, he was sure of it.
“You said to me,” Moses said hurriedly, “that you do not believe romance to be necessary for a successful marriage. What was it you said, exactly – that it is possible for two people to come together – ”
“With a mutual understanding,” Chloe smiled, and it was wicked. “For the betterment of both without the entanglement of romance. Is that what you want?”
“I want you,” he breathed. “And I do not think that I am wrong when I say that you would not be averse to exploring the pleasures of the flesh.”
He could not have imagined it; there was a quickening in her heart rate, and his own body throbbed in response.
“But – but the consequences,” she whispered.
“I can take precautions,” Moses said quickly. “This can be completely physical, Chloe.”
She shivered in his arms at the sound of her name on his lips, and he almost groaned aloud. By God, he must be mad to suggest this, mad to even think of it, but if she said yes…
There was a smile on her face, but it was wry. “Like an itch that needs to be scratched?”
“No one will ever know,” he breathed. “It will just be between us – an experience that we share, treasure even, but never need to speak about.”
If only he could read the expression in her eyes; if only he could know what she was thinking. But that was what was so intoxicating about Miss Chloe Vaughn: she was no village miss, with naught in her mind but gossip and tittle tattle. This was a woman, in body and mind, with a soul of practicality that matched his needs and a smile that made him want to do dark and wonderful things.
“Then yes. And you will owe me nothing,” Chloe said eventually, and her gaze was sharp, even through the haze of desire. “Nothing, do you understand?”
Moses’ heart started to sing, but before he could respond she had leaned upwards to capture his lips with hers.
It was more than he could take. With a growl that was barely contained, Moses lifted her up in one quick movement and strode quickly up the stairs.
Had the floor fallen away, or was she so mesmerised by the kiss that seemed to sear and burn her very soul that she had forgotten how to walk?
Chloe did not care, for she was in Sir Moses Wandorne’s arms and she had said yes to the most scandalous request she had ever received, and yet it felt so right. His arms around her, his mouth possessing hers, and her eyes were closed and she was lost, lost to him.
She swung round as they entered a room, and she was falling, caught by the softest sheets she had ever felt. Opening her eyes, she gasped.
There was too much, too much to take in. The bed on which she now lay was large, larger by far than any bed she had ever encountered. Rich hangings adorned the four poster bed, and the room seemed to go on for miles, with tapestries on the walls, gold shining everywhere, lit by the one solitary candle that Sir Moses had carried – but the decorations were not what had caused the gasp.
There he stood: the man who had awakened her body to the delights of the senses. His shirt had already gone, she knew not where, and he looked at her intently, with fire in his eyes, as his fingers slowly unbuttoned the top of his breeches, and then dropped them to the floor.
Chloe’s eyes widened. She was a natural philosopher, she reminded herself, and this was just another type of exploration – and the theory she had known, but this, seeing him, seeing all of him, seeing the entirety of him was …
A warmth was growing between her legs, and she knew exactly why. She pushed herself up on her elbows, eventually found the end of the bed, stood on the floor, and smiled at him.
“Come here,” she whispered.
He did not need the encouragement. Moses kissed her with a hunger that must have been a year in the making, pent up with desire and heat and longing that almost overwhelmed her. His hands were tight around her buttocks, and she unconsciously tilted them upwards, meeting the stiff hardness that made him groan into her mouth like he was dying.
“God, Chloe, you have no idea what – you cannot know what you do to me,” he muttered as he pulled away from her mouth and trailed hot kisses down her neck.
If she had had the breath to respond to him then, she would have told
him just what he was doing to her, but she barely knew. Her back arched to lift her breasts closer towards that exploratory mouth, aching for something, aching for his touch, and his grip on her tightened and she moaned in pleasure.
“I have to get this off,” she murmured, pulling at her gown – but Moses was too quick for her. The ribbon that he had so carefully tied just a few hours ago was unravelled in one swift pull, and the gown was falling, and Chloe gasped as she stood there, utterly naked, save those sparkling earrings.
But there was no time for embarrassment, no time to feel shame, for the sight of her naked form, the way that her breasts were moving quickly with her shuddering breathing, her wet lips reaching out for another kiss seemed to utterly break him.
“By God, I will have you now.”
She had guessed that he was strong but now she knew it. Moses lifted her and threw her back on the bed, and before she could catch her breath he had joined her there and his hot hard body was against her soft warm one, and he nestled between her legs as though he had always belonged there – and of course he had, Chloe thought wildly as the ache in her grew and grew, he was hers and she was his, and this was too good to be real!
His hands fondled her breasts and teased out inch after inch of pleasure, and her own fingers scraped at his back, unable to control themselves as the need for him grew in her.
“Moses – yes, more!” was her constant cry, and he gave her more, and more, until lights started appearing in her eyes and her grip around him tightened and he deepened his kiss once more to ravage her passionately.
And then he stopped and looked down at her, and Chloe looked up through pleasure hazed eyes.
They lay there for a moment, hot and entwined, echoes of recent desire throbbing through her, and Chloe thought that he was going to say something, as though words were just on the tip of his tongue.
And then he leaned forward and reached for something beyond where she could see, and when he returned to her field of vision, he was pulling something from an envelope.
Beached with a Baronet Page 5