‘Cassius!’
‘Although I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.’ He smiled wickedly and then dipped his head beneath the covers.
‘What are you...?’ She gave a small shriek. ‘Stop it or I’ll spill the chocolate!’
‘Then you’d better drink up and join me.’ He laughed, waiting until he heard her put the cup aside before grabbing her waist and pulling her down beside him. ‘It’s quite cosy under here. Like a tent.’
‘We should be getting out of bed, not back inside it.’
‘Nice try.’ He brought his mouth down on hers, savouring the sweet trace of chocolate on her tongue. ‘But you heard what I said. No breakfast for at least another hour. Now how do you think we should pass the time?’
‘I’m sure I have no idea.’
‘None at all?’ He smoothed a hand over one of her breasts, gently caressing the nipple between his fingertips and smiling as she let out a gasp. ‘Fortunately, I have several.’
* * *
‘Lady Falconmore...? Lady Falconmore?’
Millie started at the sound of the housekeeper’s voice. She’d been so engrossed in her memories of the previous night and that morning she’d completely forgotten she wasn’t alone.
‘Excuse me, Mrs Turner.’ She smiled apologetically and started down the ladder she’d been using to fasten a bough of holly over one of the ballroom windows. ‘I was daydreaming.’
‘Of course, my lady. I just asked if you thought we might need any more vases?’
‘How many do we have now?’ She counted the ones set out on a table below. ‘Twenty. That’s one for each table. Perfect.’
‘Very good.’ Mrs Turner nodded approvingly. ‘We can fill them with flowers from the hothouse on the day.’
‘Yes, but only in red, white and green. We want to keep the same colour scheme.’
‘It’s going to look lovely, my lady. And the staff are all excited about the party below stairs, too. Not to mention having a few days off.’
‘I’m glad. Will you be going away to visit family?’
‘Bless you, no.’ The housekeeper shook her head. ‘I don’t have much family, only a brother in Surrey and I doubt he’d recognise me these days. No, I’m perfectly content staying here with Mr Kendrew. We’ll keep each other company.’
‘As long as you’re happy to stay.’ Millie glanced at the housekeeper curiously. ‘Are you and Mr Kendrew good friends?’
‘We’ve got to know each other over the years.’ If she wasn’t mistaken, Mrs Turner’s cheeks turned a duskier shade as she spoke. ‘But we know the rules, my lady. We would never break them.’
‘What rules?’
‘About...family matters. Staff aren’t allowed to marry or we lose our positions, we know that.’
‘But that’s ridiculous!’ Millie put her hands on her hips indignantly. ‘Who on earth would make up such a rule?’
‘It’s just the way things are, my lady. It always has been.’
‘Well, it shouldn’t be. Do you and Mr Kendrew want to marry?’
‘We haven’t talked about it.’ Mrs Turner looked flustered. ‘What with it not being allowed.’
‘Well, if you think that you might then you should talk about it. As soon as possible.’
‘But Lord Falconmore...’
‘Lord Falconmore what?’ Cassius came striding into the ballroom suddenly, looking windblown and yet even more handsome than he’d been in her daydreams.
‘Lord Falconmore will approve of the decorations, I’m sure,’ Millie answered as a flash of panic shot across the housekeeper’s face. ‘How was your ride?’
‘Bracing. It’s turned colder again. To be honest, I’m glad to be back inside.’
‘And what do you think of my flower arranging?’ She gestured towards the bough above the door.
‘I think that may be a misnomer. I can’t see any flowers.’
‘Branch arranging, then. It is winter.’
‘In that case I think it’s excellent.’ He caught her about the waist as Mrs Turner bobbed a curtsy and hurried away. ‘What was that all about? You weren’t really talking about decorations just then, were you?’
‘How do you know?’ She peered up at him shyly, the pressure of his hands on her waist making her heart jump and then flutter. She could feel the heavy thrum of his heartbeat, too, through her gown, not to mention his body heat, as hot, hotter even, than hers.
‘Because Mrs Turner looked as if she were about to have a fit of the vapours.’
‘She’s far too sensible a woman to do any such thing.’ Millie smiled at the image. ‘She was just telling me about a rule that says staff can’t marry.’
‘And?’
She put her hands on her hips again. ‘Then it’s true?’
‘Of course. It’s true everywhere.’ He paused. ‘Everywhere except the Fairclough Foundation, presumably?’
‘You presume correctly. What right do we have to tell people who they can and can’t marry?’
‘Don’t tell me this conversation is directly appertaining to Mrs Turner somehow?’
‘Yes, and Mr Kendrew if you must know.’
‘Kendrew?’ He let out a low whistle. ‘Well, blow me down. The old hound...’
‘He is not a hound and I’ve said that they’re free to marry if they want.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Unless you disagree?’
‘Something tells me that’s a trick question.’ He pulled her hands from her sides and curved them around him instead. ‘No, far be it from me to interfere. If Kendrew wants to shackle himself into the oppressive bonds of matrimony then—ow!’
‘Oops.’ Millie gave a look of feigned innocence. ‘Did my foot slip?’
‘Right against my ankle, as it happens.’
‘How careless of me. Only I thought perhaps you enjoyed some aspects of marriage?’
‘I do, only not everyone can be as fortunate as me. Some men get through their entire lives with their ankles unscathed.’ He laughed and then pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. ‘Fortunately, I bring a peace offering. This was waiting for you in the hall.’
‘That’s Alexandra’s writing.’ She took it and broke the seal eagerly, scanning the contents with a growing sense of dismay. ‘Oh, no.’
‘What’s the matter?’ Cassius’s expression turned serious at once. ‘Has something happened?’
‘Not yet, but it’s going to.’ She looked at him in horror. ‘She’s invited me to tea tomorrow!’
‘Monstrous!’ He lifted an eyebrow. ‘And that would be terrible because...’
‘Because it’s not just me she’s invited. She says there’ll be “a handful of other guests” so that she can reintroduce me as Lady Falconmore.’
‘Ah.’
‘She says she wants to do it while my mother’s still visiting.’
‘Ah.’
‘What should I do?’
‘What do you want to do?’
‘Go upstairs and hide under the bedcovers again?’
There was a flash of heat in his eyes. ‘In that case I’d be more than happy to keep you company, but...’
‘You think I should go?’
‘I think that your cousin might be right and it’s a good idea to do it sooner rather than later. And a handful of guests doesn’t sound too intimidating. I’ll come with you, if you want?’
‘No.’ She smiled and shook her head. ‘Thank you, but I think this is something I need to face on my own. I just don’t know if I’m ready.’
‘Your cousin thinks you are.’
‘She hasn’t seen me since the wedding.’
‘Well, I have...’ his gaze dipped ‘...quite a lot of you, too, and you don’t have anything to worry about. Just be yourself and you’ll be wonderful.’
‘Do you really think so?’ She felt he
r breasts tighten as his gaze lingered over them briefly.
‘I do, but if you’d like to hide under the covers today...?’
‘It’s the middle of the afternoon!’ She felt obliged to make some kind of protest. ‘And we didn’t get out of bed until noon.’
‘Really? It feels like an age ago.’
‘What about all the decorating?’
‘If I’m not mistaken, we have another four days to finish. Not to mention a houseful of staff.’
‘Then what will everyone think?’
‘That we’re newlyweds. And you know...’ his hand moved caressingly over her lower back ‘...it might take your mind off tomorrow.’
She looked at the letter again and grimaced. ‘I’m not sure anything will be able do that.’
‘Challenge accepted.’ He pressed his face into her neck. ‘At the very least you can let me try.’
‘I suppose we could just go and lie down.’ She caught her breath and then tipped her head backwards as his lips nuzzled her earlobe. ‘Just for a while.’
‘Good.’ There was a definite smile in his voice. ‘And for the record, I’ll consider myself a sorry excuse for a husband if you so much as think about afternoon tea for the rest of the day...’
Chapter Seventeen
Millie climbed the steps to the Malverlys’ front door with a growing sense of unease. The last time she’d attended a social event in the area she’d been an unmarried Miss, an insignificant, impoverished nobody in the eyes of society. Now she was a wife and a member of the aristocracy to boot, with no clear idea about how a marchioness ought to behave. She could only be herself, like Cassius had said, and hope for the best.
Cassius... Just the thought of him made her body tingle and her pulse start to flutter erratically. After spending a large part of the previous afternoon locked in their bedchamber, they’d retired early again after dinner. Which was really quite shocking, she thought, pausing briefly on the steps to regain her composure, the things they’d done there even more so. If she hadn’t been on holiday and specifically not thinking about who she was and how she ought to behave, then she might have been somewhat mortified. Not by the actions themselves—on the contrary, those had been unexpectedly and intensely enjoyable—but at her own enthusiastic participation in them. She’d never imagined that her body could feel so many thrilling sensations. Or that married life could be quite so stirring...
‘Lady Falconmore.’ Alexandra’s butler opened the door, taking her outer garments and bowing so formally that she half-wondered if he didn’t recognise her.
‘Millie!’ Thankfully her mother did, rising from a chair to greet her with a look that expressed both welcome and warning, before pressing a kiss to her cheek. ‘Courage, dear.’
‘I’ll try,’ Millie whispered back, her stomach lurching with panic as she entered the drawing room. It was a long, very long way from the ‘handful of guests’ Alexandra had referred to. In fact, it was packed almost to bursting with well-dressed, mostly middle-aged ladies, all of whom were studying her as if she were some kind of scientific exhibit. One even had a lorgnette raised to her eye. And there, in prime position beside the fireplace, sat Lady Fentree and her daughter Vanessa.
One of Cassius’s more virulent epithets popped loudly into her head.
‘Lady Falconmore, dear.’ Alexandra stood up and approached them, her expression suggesting she knew exactly what Millie was thinking. ‘Do come and sit down. I believe you’ve already been introduced to everyone.’
‘I think so.’ She took her cousin’s arm, smiling nervously around at the assembled gathering. ‘Good afternoon.’
‘Lady Falconmore, how pleasant it is to see you again.’ Lady Fentree’s smile was positively fawning. There was certainly no hint of the antipathy she’d displayed at their last parting. As Millie remembered it, that conversation had ended with a distinctly unpleasant dismissal. ‘I very much doubt that our paths will cross again’ had been the exact words, but it seemed Lady Fentree had a short memory. Either that or she didn’t want to get on the wrong side of a marchioness. But good manners were good manners...
‘Lady Fentree. How delightful to see you again, too,’ she lied, taking a seat on a small sofa.
‘I can’t tell you how delighted we all are that you’re staying here in the country, even if it means losing dear Sylvia.’
‘Thank you.’ She glanced around, searching for a friendly face. ‘Is Sylvia here?’
‘Unfortunately not. She came down with a nasty cold the day after she arrived at our house,’ Lady Vanessa answered, shooting Millie a look that suggested she held her responsible. Evidently the daughter was less forgiving than her mother. ‘She sends her regrets.’
‘That’s a shame. Please do give her my best wishes.’
‘Of course we were shocked when she confirmed some of the wilder rumours we’d heard about your marriage,’ Lady Vanessa continued as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘But it seems to have worked out very well. For you anyway.’
‘Yes.’ Millie exchanged a glance with Alexandra. Of course it was inevitable that the story of how she and Cassius had spent a night together in the gatehouse would have reached the Fentrees’ ears, too. No doubt such a pointed remark was revenge for her having removed such an eligible bachelor from the marriage market. Everyone in the room, her family excepted, was probably thinking the same thing, that she’d trapped him. As she effectively had.
‘Lord and Lady Falconmore are throwing their first ball in a few days.’ Alexandra came to her rescue.
‘Really?’ Lady Vanessa’s lips pursed as if she were wondering where her invitation had got to.
‘Yes, but only a small one for the families who live on the estate.’
‘What a charming notion.’ Lady Fentree smiled obsequiously. ‘Well, in that case I’ll dare to hope that you might throw another for the whole county quite soon. To celebrate your wedding, perhaps?’
‘Perhaps.’ Millie strove to repress a look of horror. ‘I’ll mention the idea to Cassi—Lord Falconmore.’
‘Well then.’ Alexandra looked satisfied. ‘Time for tea, I think.’
* * *
‘Lord Malverly to see you, sir.’ Kendrew appeared, as usual, out of thin air.
‘Malverly?’ Cassius closed his book of accounts with an enthusiastic snap. He hadn’t been paying a great deal of attention to the rows of numbers anyhow, not when his mind was preoccupied with the memory of a certain slim-hipped, auburn-haired beauty lying naked across a bed. The image was as rousing as it was poignant, making him feel oddly emotional. ‘Show him in.’
He stood up and crossed the room just in time to greet the older man at the door. ‘Lord Malverly, to what do I owe the honour?’
‘Refuge! I’ve been chased out of my own house, don’t you know?’ George Malverly shook his head in an aggrieved fashion. ‘Too many women disturbing my peace. It’s a sorry state of affairs when a man can’t hear himself think in his own library.’
‘Then you’re welcome to take solace in mine.’ Cassius gestured towards one of the armchairs by the fireplace. ‘Care for a drink?’
‘I’d like nothing more, but unfortunately I have an ulterior motive for being here.’
‘What’s that, sir?’
‘Aye, well...’ Malverly threw a longing glance towards the fireplace and then clasped his hands behind his back. ‘Some voices are impossible not to recognise, that old cat Lady Fentree’s being one of them.’
‘Fentree?’ Cassius arched an eyebrow. ‘She’s at your house?’
‘Indeed. No doubt my wife thinks she’s helping, but it strikes me that Millie ought to have been warned.’
‘You think Lady Fentree might insult her?’
‘If she doesn’t, her daughter will. A chip off the old block, that one, and some claws are sharper than others.’ Malverly gave him a pointed look. ‘I won�
�t beat about the bush, Falconmore. I don’t like to interfere, especially considering the potential risk to myself if my wife finds out, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Millie. You might want to consider a rescue mission. If she’s not a damsel in distress already, then she soon will be.’
‘I’m on my way.’ Cassius was already striding back to the door. ‘In the meantime, you’re welcome to stay here.’
‘No, I’d better come, too.’ The old Viscount trailed behind him with a hangdog expression. ‘With any luck, Alexandra won’t have noticed I’ve been gone. But if she has and she asks, we bumped into each other on the road.’
‘Duly noted. I owe you a favour, Lord Malverly.’
* * *
It was half an hour before Cassius dismounted in front of Malverly House. Which meant it must have been over an hour since Millie had arrived and no doubt been subjected to all manner of questions and insinuations about their marriage. Her mother and cousin were there to defend her, at least, but the very thought of her having to deal with such behaviour infuriated him. He adjusted his cravat, straightened his jacket and took a deep breath. Walking into the middle of a ladies’ afternoon tea party seemed like a fresh kind of torture, but if Millie could face it then so could he. No matter what she’d said about doing it alone, he needed to be there, not just to rescue her, but to put a stop to the gossip once and for all. And after their tour of the farms, he knew exactly how to do it...
‘Best of luck.’ George Malverly gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and then turned in the opposite direction. ‘Rather you than me.’
‘Where are you going?’ Cassius looked around as he pulled on the doorbell.
‘Back entrance. Don’t want to be spotted together, eh?’
Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long for the door to be answered. The butler stood aside at once, accepting his top hat as if it were some kind of trophy before leading him straight to the drawing room.
Miss Amelia's Mistletoe Marquess Page 16