by Cheryl Bolen
Yes, I know, Felicity thought. “I cannot believe Mr. Moreland feels anything more than gratitude toward me.” And malice toward my dear brother.
“Then you are a very poor judge,” Glee exclaimed. “From the first time we met him, I was keenly aware that he treated you rather special.”
Felicity’s pulse accelerated, and she was so breathless she could barely manage to speak. That had been a great many weeks ago. She must not allow herself to get her hopes up. No doubt Carlotta held Thomas’s affections now, Felicity tried to persuade herself. “Would you not have special feelings for a person who saved you from dying?” She began to gamer up the cups and saucers and put them on the tray for Stanton.
“It’s more than that, Felicity! The way he looks at you, the way you two are when you’re together . . . Oh, I cannot put it into words. I just know. I believe he has always been in love with you.”
Felicity’s heart fluttered at the thought. She still cared for Thomas, despite his aversion to George. Drat! She could not allow herself to give such amorous thoughts to Thomas Moreland. “I daresay Carlotta feels the same. He treats her with great regard as of late. No doubt, he was happy when I freed him from my company.”
“How can you believe anything so foolish?” Glee asked with exasperation. “Did you not hear Mr. Moreland say he cared not what Mrs. Ennis thought?”
Dare she hope? Felicity wanted to believe Thomas’s attentions to Carlotta were merely because she had made herself unavailable. “We will see,” Felicity said, sweeping biscuit crumbs from the white tea cloth. “I cannot give a great deal of credit to your judgment, pet. After all, you fancied yourself in love with Mr. Salvado.”
A deep flush crept up Glee’s fair face. “I am ever so humiliated that I could have thought myself in love with him. The very minute I was alone in the carriage with him, I realized how grave a mistake I had made. Even then, when I looked at him, he seemed dark and menacing, and I grew quite frightened. And when he tried to sit beside me and kiss me, I was forced to box his ears.”
Felicity burst out laughing. “I cannot think what you ever saw in the man.”
“Nor can I.” Glee twisted an auburn curl around her finger. “I believe I was in love with love, and he was the only man I was exposed to.”
“Then I am happy you are now in society. Have you not found any other young man you fancy? I take it neither Mr. Pope nor Mr. Smythe has engaged your affections.”
Glee wrinkled her nose. “Not at all, though I am excessively enjoying having half a dozen eligible men dance attendance upon me. It’s just that I cannot imagine myself spending the rest of my life with any of them.”
“Now you’re showing maturity. But don’t distress. There’s time. You are but seventeen.”
Glee got to her feet and started for the door. “Perhaps a new man will come to the Assembly Rooms tonight and sweep me off my feet.”
Felicity followed her sister as she climbed up the stairs. “I hope not, pet. You’re still much too young. Enjoy being adored by half the young men in Bath. Soon enough you will settle down.”
That night Thomas and his sister called for Felicity and Glee. For the first time in a week, Felicity was able to sit next to Thomas in his carriage. She heartily hoped he could not see the way her knees trembled. For his very proximity had quite an odd effect on her. She felt like a miss directly from the schoolroom, all joyous jitters over her first romance.
She was keenly aware of the length of his legs and the solid muscles beneath his breeches. She smelled his scent of sandalwood and in the silence heard his breathing. It had been a very long time since she was so drawn to a man.
It had been like this with Michael. She had been achingly aware of his masculinity, too. And she had reveled in the intimacy she had shared with the man she loved. Could she and Thomas ever blend in such a manner? Such thoughts had a profound physical effect on her.
She could not remember ever wanting anything so desperately as she wanted Thomas Moreland. The pity of it was she still felt this way after he had maligned George.
Carlotta was already at the Assembly Rooms when Thomas’s group entered. With a somber face, Felicity met Carlotta’s malicious stare.
Ignoring Felicity, Carlotta spoke jauntily to Thomas. “Oh here you are, Mr. Moreland. I did not know if I would see you tonight since we did not meet today.”
Felicity’s gaze swept over Carlotta from her luscious black hair to her breasts that were barely confined in the purple silk that hugged the soft curves of her figure. A Greek goddess could have been no lovelier, Felicity thought with disappointment.
“I am here, Mrs. Ennis,” Thomas said. “You must honor me by standing up with me.” He offered Carlotta his hand, and they turned their backs on Felicity.
Felicity fumed as she watched them walk to the dance floor. So that was that. He had turned his back on her in order to dance with Carlotta.
Felicity met her sister’s pitying glace. “Do you see how mistaken you are about Mr. Moreland’s feeling, my pet?” Felicity whispered.
“The night is still young. You will see,” Glee responded with assurance.
“Ah, there you are!” George said to Dianna. He had crossed the room to speak with her. “I beg that you will stand up with me for this set.”
Dianna’s brown eyes danced as she gracefully gave her hand to him.
Which left George’s friend Blanks alone with Felicity and Glee. He looked at Glee. “Miss Pembroke?” He merely held out his hand, and Glee took it.
Felicity sat down where she was and watched Glee and Blanks. It was generally agreed:—before Thomas had come to Bath—that Mr. Blankenship was the most eligible man in the watering city. He was quite rich and extremely handsome. The problem was that he was but twenty-three and very immature still. He showed no interest in settling down with one woman, as George appeared to be content to do with Dianna. Blanks had a habit of gaming heavily, drinking heartily, and bedding women of questionable morals.
A pity because he was the very man for Glee, thought Felicity. She thought, too, that Glee might secretly harbor deep affection for Mr. Blankenship but knew how futile such affection would be.
“Good evening, Mrs. Harrison,” the colonel said, strolling up behind her from the direction of the gaming rooms. “I hope you don’t object to me sitting with you for a while.”
“Not at all,” she said, patting the seat next to her. He came to sit beside her.
After the set, all four couples joined in a circle and talked. “May I get ratafia for you, Mrs. Harrison?” the colonel asked.
Before she could consent, the other three gentlemen delivered similar invitations to their previous dancing partners. All the women were in agreement that a refreshing drink would be in order.
“ ‘Tis so terribly hot in here tonight,” Carlotta remarked to the other females after the men had departed. She unfurled a fan with plump feathers of deep purple and commenced to fanning herself.
“It has been my observation,” Felicity said, “that those who become the hottest are those who carry more soft flesh around their bones. Would that I could fill the bodice of my dress as you do, Carlotta.”
Carlotta’s lilac eyes glowed. “Then it’s happy I am to be hot!”
The other ladies laughed and were still laughing when the men returned with their refreshments.
Felicity took hers from the colonel and drank as her eyes watched the way Carlotta’s fingers brushed against Thomas’s when he handed her the ratafia. Why can’t it be me? Felicity wondered.
Soon the orchestra began playing again. This time it was a waltz. Knowing Thomas usually waltzed with her, Felicity was afraid to look at him. Her heart pounding, she saw his feet step in her direction.
“Mrs. Harrison,” Thomas said, “would you do me the goodness of standing up with me?”
Hallelujah! she wanted to say. But she could really say nothing for she could not trust her voice not to tremble. She placed her hand in his and followed him to t
he dance floor, certain she had completely lost her breath. The feathery touch of his hand did positively provocative things to her. Things no respectable woman dare admit.
When he set one hand on her waist and pulled her closer, she felt a molten heat surge through her. Which did nothing to still the trembling in her hands. Surely he was aware of his effect on her. She was afraid to meet his gaze for fear he would see the naked hunger in her eyes, yet she could not avoid lifting her lashes to see his dark face bent to hers. There was intensity on his solemn face, an intensity that drew them inexorably together. Was it her hopeful imagination that made her see hunger in his black eyes, too?
Her trembling would not calm. He was aware of it. For he pressed his fingers more tightly into her palm. Then she realized he was trembling, too.
Though the music called for sweeping steps, Thomas’s steps slowed, and he pulled her even closer. Indecently close. Though Felicity had no desire for her maiden sister to witness their intimate dancing, she was powerless to pull away from him.
She enjoyed the way his body felt against hers.
‘Twas so much like lying with her Michael, bare flesh to bare flesh. What would it feel like to have Thomas’s hands gliding along the rounded slopes of her body? To feel her own hands gently stroking his solid muscles? To feel her fingers splay into the mat of dark hair on his magnificent chest? To feel him inside her?
Suddenly she felt the swelling below his waist as it pressed into her. Down low. And she responded with a noticeable melting. Down low.
Blue eyes locked with black. Though unspoken, there was a magical blending.
Finally he spoke. “You are trembling.”
“Yes,” she answered, unable to remove her hungry gaze from his.
The colonel watched the pair of them, despite the murderous effect it had on him. He had not seen such naked hunger since he had witnessed Felicity dancing with her husband so many years ago. The night he had vowed to get rid of Michael so he could claim Felicity and the pleasures bedding her promised.
Had they not been in a public place tonight, the colonel would have run a sword through the handsome Usurper. Why did women—why did Felicity—not understand that a man such as himself could do so much more for her than a well-built man of thirty summers? Why must women be blinded by the good looks of well-built men? It had been the same with Captain Harrison. He had been rather taller than average, though not as tall as the Usurper. And like the Usurper, Captain Harrison had been considered an exceptionally handsome man.
It was while Felicity and the Usurper were gazing hungrily at each other, the colonel looked away. Before the Usurper gets the opportunity to bed her, she will be mine, Colonel Gordon vowed.
When the waltz was over, Thomas chided himself for not telling Felicity then and there on the dance floor that he loved her. That he had since that night six years ago.
The moment was lost, but he decided he would not lose her. Not now. For he knew that at long last he had won her affection. Soon, he would declare himself to her. Soon.
Despite his acute desire, he would not allow himself to dance with her again that night. It was far too painful. Soon, he promised himself. Soon it would be right for him to unburden his heart to her.
If he could only wait until the proper time. Perhaps tomorrow when they went riding.
Chapter Twenty-four
Lettie had waited up for Felicity to help remove her evening gown.
“You should have gone to bed,” Felicity told her as she glided into the room.
“Allow an old woman the pleasure of seeing her charge sail happily into her chamber.” With hands withered from age, Lettie began to unfasten Felicity’s dress. “I can tell by the lightness in yer step things are going much better for ye and Mr. Moreland.”
Felicity spun to face her abigail. “What do you mean by that, pray tell?”
“I’ve known ye and loved ye too long not to know yer heart, lass. Ye can’t hide your affection for Mr. Moreland from old Lettie.”
Felicity smiled and once more presented her back to the abigail. “Is it that obvious?”
“To me.”
Once her dress was off and Lettie was rehanging it, Felicity stripped off her ivory gloves. “I’m afraid I’ve been much too much the open book to Mr. Moreland. I’ve feared that his interest in me is because he feels indebted to me for having saved his life. I’ve worried that after realizing my affection for him, he would court me only to repay a debt, not out of any true feelings toward me as a woman.”
“Then ye must be blind as a bat. First of all, ye are the loveliest woman in all of Bath. And second, the man is unable to hide his adoration of you. Both Lady Glee and Lord George have remarked to me of the way he hungers after ye with those dark eyes of his.”
Such a thought sent Felicity’s heart fluttering. She sat on the edge of her bed while Lettie removed her satin slippers. She remembered the feel of Thomas pressed against her for the waltz, and something stirred within her deep and low. “I must confide in you that Mr., Moreland surprised me tonight with his marked attentions. I had begun to fear that Carlotta had captured his affection.”
“Pooh! From what I’ve heard of the man, he could never be attracted to Mrs. Ennis, unless he thinks she’s as free with her favors as she appears to be.” The old woman harrumphed as she bent to pick up Felicity’s slippers. “It’s scandalous the way her dresses almost don’t cover her breasts. Even in broad daylight. And always wearing purple! Why, she looks like a tart, that’s what. It’s my belief Mr. Moreland is looking for a real lady, like ye—and I’m not referring to your family’s peerage, either.”
“I hope you’re right,” Felicity said. “He’s invited me—and Glee, of course—to ride with him tomorrow.”
A frown dropped on Lettie’s face. “It’s gonna rain.”
Felicity lifted her arms as Lettie slipped on her night shift. “Pray that it doesn’t.”
Lettie waited for Felicity to slip beneath the covers; then she doused the candle and left. “I will pray that it doesn’t rain, lass.”
Felicity was so exhilarated with anticipation of the morrow that sleep eluded her. When at last she dropped off into slumber, she dreamed of Thomas ...
It was a magnificent day. The skies were exceptionally blue and cloudless. The sun shone brightly without being too hot. Daffodils spread their yellow glory over the fields. And she was with Thomas. They were riding. She did not know where Glee and Dianna were, but it was as if they did not exist. No one else existed. In fact, it seemed as if she and Thomas were the only two people on Earth.
They rode for a long time until they came into a clearing, a meadow actually. It didn’t look like the terrain around Bath, more like a lovely meadow in Sussex or Kent. They dismounted, and Thomas tethered their mounts to a huge shade tree.
Then he removed his coat and spread it on the grass near the tree but still in the warm sun. He beckoned for Felicity to come lie with him.
She gave him her hand, and he walked with her over to the coat. Then his face bent to hers. She raised her lips to meet his. As their soft lips merged, she had a heady feeling she and Thomas blended together into one being.
She did not remember how they became undressed, but by the time they lay beside each other on the coat, their naked flesh also blended together. Again, she could not tell where she ended and Thomas began, for they seemed like one.
Low in her body she felt a molten heat, and soon her beloved Thomas began to plunge into her pool of liquid.
Felicity bolted up in her bed, her breath coming only with great difficulty. She looked around for Thomas and with a deep, wrenching disappointment realized she had been dreaming. Her void was as distressing as losing a limb.
She also became aware of something else. A steady rain drummed on her window. Now she was doubly bereft. She would have no opportunity to be alone with Thomas this day.
When Thomas awoke the next morning, the sky was unusually gray. Worse than that, rain beat against
his window. All the hopes and expectations that had sent him off to contented sleep the night before withered as he morosely watched the rain spatter on the pane. He would not be able to go riding with Felicity today. Another day he would be unable to tell her how deeply and for how long he had been in love with her.
Lethargically, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and then heard a knock at his chamber door. “Yes?” he shouted, getting to his feet.
His butler eased open the door just a crack. “You have a caller, Mr. Moreland.”
“In this blasted rain?”
“Yes sir, a Lord Sedgewick. I have taken his dripping coat and sat him in front of the fire in your library.”
“See to it he gets some hot tea, will you, Bryce?”
“I have already taken the liberty, sir,” Bryce said as he closed the door behind him.
What could be so important that George would walk three miles in this miserable weather? Thomas’s stomach plummeted. Something had happened to Felicity. She needed him. With help from his valet, a trembling Thomas was shaved, dressed, and downstairs in ten minutes.
He threw open the door to the library, and a smiling but thoroughly wet George stood up to greet him. George’s cheery countenance eased Thomas’s worry.
Felicity must be all right. Thomas closed the door and crossed the room to welcome Felicity’s brother.
“Whatever brings you out on such a wretched day?” Thomas wanted to point out that George did not even possess a horse, which could have shortened his time getting drenched, but he thought better of mentioning it. A man of George’s class without a horse was somewhat emasculated.
George returned to his chair, but he appeared nervous. “I’ve come to speak to you, sir, about an important personal matter.”
Felicity? Did George want him to see less of his sister? Did he find Thomas’s birth not satisfactory for the daughter and sister of a viscount? Or had something happened to Felicity? But, of course, Thomas assured himself, if that were the case George would not have been smiling when Thomas entered the library.