“They seem to be in negotiation,” she said. “But as far as I know, Myles will have the title and Louisa has suggested he have a tiny parcel of land as well, to run a British branch of his silversmith’s.”
“Oh,” Catherine said. “What a brilliant idea.”
“Yes, it fulfils all the requirements and gives us a reason to come home and visit,” Lady Emily said with a smile. “And I think that is perfect.”
“Do you think that all the negotiations will be successful?” Catherine said and Lady Emily nodded.
“Yes,” she said. “I know they will be. My father is recalling all of his training from his barrister days, and he seems to be having a wonderful time doing so. I believe that negotiations will be wrapped up by the end of the week.”
“How wonderful,” Catherine said. “And when will you marry?”
“As soon as possible,” Lady Emily said, with a smile. “When will you marry?”
“Probably in the autumn,” Catherine said. “I am not as brave as you, Emmie. I need time to plan a proper wedding. And of course, we are not in a rush to go anywhere.”
“Will you live in Cornwall?” Lady Emily asked and Catherine nodded.
“We will,” she said. “And I will wait eagerly for you to return for a visit.”
Lady Emily embraced her, and the two of them sat there for a moment, basking in the sunshine. Now that she and Catherine had made up, she felt like she could look towards the future.
Her future advanced more quickly than she anticipated. After Catherine left, she went into the house to find Myles and Sir Preston toasting each other.
“Hello,” she said. “What is the occasion?”
“The occasion,” Sir Preston said. “Is that all the paperwork is complete. Myles is officially the Baron of Stafford.”
“Oh my,” Lady Emily turned to him. “Is this true?”
“It is,” Myles said. “It feels strange, but I suppose I should learn how to sign my letters that way.”
“Well,” Lady Emily said, knowing what this meant. “Congratulations, my lord.”
“Thank you,” he said, as he reached to take her hand. He put down his drink and squeezed her hands delicately, before turning to Sir Preston. “And now that Emmie is here, and you have declared it official, may I, Myles, Baron of Stafford, officially have your permission, Sir Preston, to marry your daughter, Lady Emily Hambleton?”
Sir Preston looked at both of them with shining eyes and raised his glass.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, you may. A toast, to both of you.”
“A toast,” Myles said, as he poured Lady Emily a drink and then clinked glasses with both of them. Lady Emily smiled widely as she took a sip. “To us.”
“To us,” she said. “Shall we book a date at the cathedral?”
“I think so,” Myles said. “I don’t want to rush you, my dear, but you know that I am eager to return to America.”
“Of course,” Lady Emily said. “And you know that I am eager to see America.”
“I shall contact the seamstress,” Sir Preston said. “There is one in London that was recommended to me when I said that my daughter was getting married. I was told that she is quite fast, so she may fit your timeline better than one in Cornwall.”
“That would be lovely,” Lady Emily said. “I shall have to tell Catherine.”
“Tell Catherine?” Myles asked. “Why?”
“You didn’t hear?” Lady Emily asked. “Edward proposed to Catherine and she accepted.”
“Oh my,” Myles said. “That is wonderful.”
“Yes,” she said as she turned to her father. “Can you imagine? They spent their whole lives so close to each other, and they never realized that they would be married.”
“There was a time,” Sir Preston said. “That I thought you would marry Edward.”
Lady Emily immediately wrinkled her nose.
“Father,” she said. “No, why would you say that? Edward is like a brother to me.”
“I know,” he said. “But you were so stubborn that I thought he would be your only choice.”
He said it in jest and Lady Emily chuckled.
“Well, luckily,” she said. “Myles shipwrecked on the coast, so I did not have to resort to that.”
“I am so glad that my shipwreck was worthwhile,” he said to her, and took her hand. “And I am so glad that you were there when I woke up.”
“So was I,” Lady Emily said. “I have wondered though, will Americans find the fact that you have married a British wife as strange as the British find me marrying an American?”
“It will raise a few eyebrows,” Myles said. “But nothing like the reaction here.”
“Perhaps that will change over here,” Sir Preston said. “Especially if you two come back to visit and make the surrounding community realize that a mixed continent marriage is not as strange as it seems.”
“Mixed continent marriage,” Lady Emily said. “I like that.”
“I was thinking of the term mixed accent marriage,” Myles said, with a smile. “But we could use that term as well.”
“Regardless of what it is,” Lady Emily said. “I hope we can educate both communities on the fact that love...happens in the most unexpected places.”
“When is Catherine getting married?” Sir Preston asked.
“In the autumn,” Lady Emily said. “So I hope to be able to make it back for that.”
‘The journey is long,” Myles said. “We would barely be in America before we would have to turn around.”
“Oh,” Lady Emily said. “But she is my very best friend.”
“Well…” Myles said, as he thought. “I suppose we could stay here a little longer.”
Lady Emily’s face lit up.
“Really?” she asked him.
“Yes,” Myles replied. “I don’t see why not. I have heard brewing of a war in America, and I would like to set up my business here and get it running before I return there.”
“Do you mean it?” Lady Emily asked. She threw her arms around him in excitement and he gave her a brief embraced.
“Yes,” he said. “Especially if it makes you so very happy, my dear.”
“Thank you,” she said to him. “Thank you. It has been my greatest dream to have Catherine at my wedding and then be at hers.”
“Well then,” Myles said. “I am happy to make your dream come true.”
“I will contact the seamstress at once,” Sir Preston said, leaving the room to give the two of them some time alone.
“Do you know what I am most excited for?” Myles asked her, as soon as they were alone.
“The return to America?” she asked him and he shook his head.
“No,” he said, and lowered his voice to whisper in her ear. “What I am most excited for is the wedding night.”
Lady Emily felt shivers go down her spine when he said that. She cast her gaze up to him.
“Oh yes,” she said. “So am I.”
The time between the moment he officially proposed and the wedding seemed to go by rather quickly. Lady Emily knew that there were a thousand things to think about, but all she could think of as she looked into Myles’s eyes across the altar was the wedding night.
Despite having done it all before, she still felt nervous when she stood across from Myles, alone in their bedroom at last.
He chuckled softly as he took a step towards her. The house was quiet and she heard his breathing increase as he leaned forward to kiss her.
“I don’t really know what we’re supposed to do,” Myles said. “But I thought I could just… feel my way.”
Myles pushed Lady Emily against his body gently and she felt his warmth against hers. She felt shivers go up and down her body, and she reached up to touch his face as he kissed her.
“I…” she managed, as he gently pushed her back against the bed. “I just know that I want to be one with you.”
“I want to be one with you too,” he said, as he lay her back. �
��I want us never to be separated, my love.”
She felt his hands start to trace down her body. She felt a warmth spread through her body, and she felt pleasure spike between her legs as he touched her thighs
“Myles,” she breathed. “Don’t wait.”
“Don’t wait?” he said, as he pulled back to look her in the face. “I want you so badly, my love, but do not push yourself on my account.”
“I don’t want you to wait,” she whispered. “I have pictured this night for so long.”
“So have I,” he said, as he used his hand to slowly push up her thick skirts. Her wedding dress was layers of tulle and lace, and it took him a moment to expose her legs.
Lady Emily couldn’t wait to become one with him, and gaze into his eyes as they felt the pleasure waves break over them.
“I’m going to go slowly,” he said, as he reached to undo his pants. “I’ll go slowly, and you let me know when you want me to speed up.”
She didn’t want to be a wanton, and she didn’t want to embarrass herself. She knew that him entering her would feel amazing, but she wasn’t prepared for the level of pleasure that came when he finally did it.
He went slowly and she felt a pinch of pain and then he was fully inside her.
“Oh my,” she gasped. “Oh my. Oh, Myles.”
“Emily,” he moaned, as he started to move. If Lady Emily thought that him simply entering her felt wonderful, she had felt nothing compared to when he moved in and out. “Emily, my love.”
“Oh,” she moved her legs so that she could wrap them around him, and she closed her eyes. There were some women who were embarrassed to say that this moment was heaven, but she felt lost in pleasure.
He moved in and out and picked up the pace when she signalled that it was all right. Emily let her legs fall aside, to give Myles more access, and let her eyes roll back to the ceiling
“Oh, Myles,” she said. “That is...Oh, Myles.”
“I want to make you feel good,” he said. “I want to make you feel so good. Your pleasure is mine, my love.”
“It does feel good,” she managed, as her breath started coming in gasps. “It feels so wonderful. I want to feel your pleasure, your burst of heaven."
“It is not far off,” he answered. “Not far off at all. Oh my. Oh...Oh!”
Lady Emily felt his member tighten and then she felt his squirt inside of her. It was enough to push her over the edge as well, and waves of pleasure broke as she cried out.
This was better than before. Much better. It was beyond the best thing that she had ever felt. This was what heaven was like.
Myles slid off of her and lay on the bed beside her, panting. She rolled over to rest on his shoulder and she lay her leg across his.
“Was that all right?” he asked, as he wrapped his arm around her.
“Oh yes,” Lady Emily said. “Oh yes, that was...perfect.”
“Perfect on the first try,” he said with a chuckle. “Well, what are we going to do for the rest of our lives?”
“I think we need to better ourselves with every attempt,” she said, with a soft laugh. “What do you think?”
“Oh, I see,” he said, and leaned over to kiss her gently. “And when should the next attempt be?”
“Right now,” she managed. She was already feeling the sparks of pleasure between her thighs again. She knew it would make her sound wanton, but she didn’t care. She needed him to be with her, again and again.
“Right now?” he teased her. “Are you sure you can manage?”
“Oh yes,” she replied. “Oh yes, I can manage.”
“Well then,” he said and propped himself up on his elbows to hover over her “Where should I start?”
Lady Emily closed her eyes as he started to kiss down her stomach again. This was perfection; this was happiness. And it was all brought to her from a shipwreck. Out of tragedy, happiness was born.
Epilogue
Lady Emily awoke with excitement on the crisp autumn day. She had been so looking forward to Catherine's wedding, and today was the day that she would be matron of honour for her best friend.
She had spent the last few weeks by Catherine's side every single day, planning the wedding, and now it was finally here. It was dawn, and she had stayed up late with Catherine to put the final touches to the preparations. She should feel tired, but she wasn’t tired in the slightest.
“Emmie,” Myles said to her, as she threw off the covers. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to help Catherine get ready,” she said. Myles managed to roll over and crack open his eyes.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s almost dawn,” she said, and Myles blearily rubbed his eyes.
“Does she need you this early?” she asked.
“Well...she said to come over as soon as I was awake,” Lady Emily said. “So...yes?”
“Oh my,” Myles said, with a smile. “All right, well come here and kiss me at least, my love.”
Lady Emily came back to bed with a smile and gave Myles a kiss on the cheek.
“You won’t be late, will you?” she asked him. He shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I will be precisely on time. Edward only asked us to be there half an hour before.”
“Half an hour before?” she asked, in shock. “But you will have to get dressed.”
“Yes,’ he replied. “It will take about twenty of those thirty minutes.”
“Oh to be a man,” she said enviously. He chuckled.
“Surely, the hours that you are going over early to Catherine's will not all be spent getting dressed?” he asked, and Lady Emily gave him a glance.
“Of course it will.” she said. “We have to help her dress and then there’s her hair and…”
Myles chuckled.
“All right, all right,” he said. “But I want one more kiss from you.”
“Mm,” she said and leaned in to kiss him again. “You’re very loving this morning.”
“Perhaps I am thinking about our own wedding day,” he said. “And the sight of you, walking down the aisle.”
“Was it pleasing?” she managed, as he took a hold of her face and drew her in to kiss her.
“It was more than pleasing,” he breathed in her ear. “And you know it. Are you sure that you cannot stay just a little bit longer?”
“I want to,’ she assured him. “I do. But I really should get to Catherine’s.”
“Promise me that you will make time for me tonight,” he said. “Promise me and I’ll let you go.”
“I promise,” she said. “For I too will be thinking of our wedding night.”
A Lady's Taste For Temptation (Historical Regency Romance) Page 29