“Warm enough?” he asked.
“Yes, thanks to your body heat.”
He kissed her lingeringly.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you something,” Amy said. “I spoke to Georgette and Beau this evening about the possibility of visiting us this summer. I did tell them that I must speak to you first, but they were all for the plan.”
“I have no objection. They are welcome,” Will said.
“I was sure you would agree or I would never have suggested it,” Amy said. “So you see, I know quite a bit about you now.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure we’ll learn far more in the weeks and months ahead,” he said.
“Something else occurred to me tonight,” Amy said. “The cottage was supposed to be a temporary residence, if my memory serves me correctly. To be honest, I find it cozy, especially since we are newlyweds. And I am rather attached to it, since it is our first home. It’s also convenient for your work.”
He kissed her on the lips. “I agree with all of your points.”
After arriving at their cottage and divesting themselves of their outerwear, Will led Amy upstairs. When they reached her door, she frowned. “I almost forgot a strange incident tonight. Do you know Lord Hunter?”
He did his best not to show his shock. He noted that Amy wasn’t angry. She looked a bit curious, but nothing more. A bead of cold sweat trickled down the back of his neck. “Yes, I know him. Why do you ask?”
“His wife tried to detain me on the steps tonight. I believe the woman may be suffering from some sort of nervous condition, for she seemed very intent. She also used a term that I’ve never heard—gaming widow. I assume her husband is a high-stakes player and that has undoubtedly affected her. But to stop a person who is all but a stranger to her is very odd, I think.”
He opened her door.
“Is Lord Hunter a high-stakes gambler?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. Amy had provided the opening, and he knew he should tell her, but he wasn’t prepared. He felt like a devil for keeping silent now, but he feared losing her. He needed time to think how to explain the events to her.
“I feel sorry for her, but I intend to keep my distance,” Amy said. “She seems more than a little strange to me.”
Will released his breath slowly. “That would undoubtedly be for the best,” he said. A knot formed in his chest. “Let me undress you,” he said, stepping behind her.
She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled.
After he’d stripped her down to her shift, he took the pins from her hair. He loved watching it fall down. Then he unlaced her stays and slid her shift off her.
She untied his cravat. “I like undressing you,” she said.
“I like it when you undress me,” he said, as she helped him out of the tight sleeves of his coat.
She regarded him with a sultry expression as she unbuttoned the falls on his trousers. When her fingers brushed over his aroused cock, she smiled up at him from beneath her lashes. He drew his long shirt over his head. When he finally stripped off his drawers, he was hot all over.
Right now, he needed her. He lifted her on the bed and came between her thighs. Then he pulled her to a sitting position and gave her a lush tongue kiss. He felt an intense need to be as close to her as he possibly could. Tonight he could not hold back, because somewhere in the recesses of his brain was the niggling fear that he might lose her over this deception. He pressed her back onto the pillow and started his kisses on her forehead and worked his way down her cheek and her long, graceful neck to the tops of her breasts.
He wanted to worship her with his tongue and his mouth. As he suckled her, he caressed her soft, silky waist and hips. Then he lifted her long, long legs over his shoulders and touched her intimately, slowly at first and then with gathering speed. The sound of her labored breathing and her wet folds drove his desire higher. He wanted her. He wanted to possess her in every way possible, and not just this one night, but for the rest of their days together, God willing.
Will slid two fingers inside, where she was hot and tight. His lust for her climbed higher as he gazed upon the slick folds and rubbed her sweet spot. She was writhing on the bed now, her red hair tangling all around her. He had to join with her, had to find release from the damning secret he’d kept from her. God knew he would never tell her that he’d needed her fortune. Amy was strong, but she had a fragile side as well, and it would kill him to wound her—to destroy her trust and make a mockery of their relationship.
He could no longer delay. “I need you now,” he said.
She wrapped her arms round him. He pushed inside her until he could go no farther. Then he bent his head and plunged his tongue inside her mouth over and over and over. Then he was moving inside her, a slow dance as her body answered his. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. So often he was energetic, but tonight he wanted it to be slow, leisurely, and about them together, not just one partner at a time. He reached between them to caress her sweet spot and watched her come undone with that amazing red hair spilling all over her pillow. He wasn’t far behind her. When the pressure built to a fever pitch, he gave in to the instinct to pump faster. He forgot everything but sharing their bodies and the incredible pleasure she gave him. As the erotic sensations took over him, he pushed in until he go no farther while his cock throbbed over and over and over again. When he collapsed, he realized he’d forgotten to withdraw. But what was done was done. As he drifted off, he heard Amy’s voice.
“I love you, Will.”
He was in a state between dreaming and wakefulness. It was still night. The raw scent of their earlier lovemaking was all around him. His cock was hard as stone, and her sweet little bottom cushioned him. Her breast filled his hand. He rolled her nipple between his fingers, and she made that little feminine sound again.
“Will?” she whispered.
He rolled on top of her. “I want you again.”
She wrapped her arms and legs round him. He positioned his cock and slid inside her, where she was still wet and hot. He pressed in and out slowly, frequently pausing to kiss her lips and her breasts. Judging from her little feminine sounds, she liked it very well. He understood enough about a woman’s anatomy to know she wouldn’t come like this. So he reached between them to rub her sweet spot. She writhed beneath him, arching her back, and it felt so damned good to be inside her, because she fit him like a tight glove. As the pleasurable sensations increased in intensity, he started to lose his focus. Then she came apart with a little cry. As she contracted all around him, he came and looked into her eyes in wonder as the erotic sensations took them both simultaneously. As he gazed at her, something blinding happened to him. His chest seemed to expand inside and a rush of feelings completely overwhelmed him. When they were both spent, he gently rolled her to her side, with their bodies still joined, and cupped her cheek. “Amy, I love you.”
Her eyes welled. “I love you, too, Will.”
The next day, Will carried a picnic basket that he’d asked Cook to put together. Amy carried a blanket and held his hand as they walked along the tree-lined path. Sun rays speared through the lush green leaves, and joy filled her heart.
Early this morning when Will had left her bed, she’d privately thanked God for this wonderful gift of love. The day Will had proposed she’d been filled with fear and disillusionment. She’d believed that all her dreams of a loving husband were dashed forever. Now it seemed like a miracle had taken place. She would never forget the look of wonder on his face when he’d told her that he loved her.
Amy knew that in the years to come they would have disagreements. She remembered times when her mother and father had argued. They’d never done so in her presence, but she’d known by the redness in her mother’s cheeks and the stubborn expression on her father’s face. But they had always made up within a day. Their love for each other had overcome any conflict. Now Amy believed that the love she and Will shared would see them through any troubling times.
The
only shadow over their lives was her deception about her sketches, but she knew what she must do, even if it meant giving up the chance to have her designs made up into stunning gowns. Tomorrow, she would take care of the matter. Part of her wanted to keep it a secret. He would never know, unless she told him. But how could she live with a lie of omission? She could tell him part of the truth. Madame DuPont had refused to do business with her unless she took compensation. It was the dressmaker’s insurance that she would have exclusive access to Amy’s designs. Amy knew she ought to confess everything, but if she told him she’d feared he would gamble and beggar them, it would wound him. She didn’t want to spoil this happy new beginning for them. In years to come, she would remember her deception whenever she felt miffed about some minor transgression of his.
“Ah, there is the tree house,” Will said. “I thought we should celebrate where we first started our marriage.”
She smiled. “I approve.”
When they arrived at the spot, Will helped her spread the blanket. Then he set the picnic basket there, and they sat on the blanket. He captured her face with his big, warm hands. “I love you, Mrs. Darcett.” Then he kissed her gently. “I didn’t know it would be like this. When we made love last night, I kept thinking how much I needed you, and then a rush of feelings came over me. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”
“I didn’t think it possible for us to fall in love, and I am overjoyed,” she said.
He lowered his gaze. “I love you, but I don’t deserve you.”
“Will, please don’t say that.”
He swallowed. “I’ve done bad things. I’ve been selfish and treated others cavalierly.”
“We’ve all made mistakes,” she said. “You can’t change the past, but you have already learned from it. I’ve made mistakes, too,” she said. “I’ve hurt others.”
“Not by design,” he said. “But I will speak no more of my dissolute past. Today is for celebrating.” He opened up the picnic basket and retrieved two glasses. “Hold them, please, while I open the wine.”
He poured wine into the glasses, and she handed him one.
Will touched his glass to hers. “To love.”
“To love,” she said.
She sipped her wine and then set out the plates. They dined on thin slices of ham, chicken, cheese, and crusty bread. He ate heartily, while she nibbled on the food. Amy found that love had a way of overruling her stomach.
When they finished, she packed away the plates, and he topped up the wineglasses. “Tomorrow, I start my position as land steward. I find myself reluctant to leave you,” he said.
“I will have a good dinner waiting for you and cheesecake for dessert.”
He grinned. “I prefer you to cheesecake.”
She laughed. “Well, perhaps I mean to turn you up sweet first.”
“I may not be able to wait until after dinner,” he said. Then his smile faded. “I just realized I was inconsiderate last night. We’d agreed to wait for children, and I might have gotten you with child.”
“Will, if that happens, I know we will both love the babe. That day when you caught Peter, I looked down from the stairs and imagined you with our own son one day,” she said.
“Did you really?” he asked.
“I did. I know you will be a good father,” she said.
He took a deep breath. “I want to be sure that all of our children get equal attention.”
As the youngest of his family, he’d probably felt slighted at times. She’d wondered if he’d run away and gotten into mischief for that reason. Amy felt certain that his family had meant well; it was just part of being the youngest. “Will, you told me that you resented your father for driving your brother away. Did you have problems with your father?”
“It was Hawk’s choice to leave. Afterward, my father lavished attention on me. He’d never done so before. At first, I liked it, but I grew to resent him. He’d noticed me only because my brother had left. I felt guilty after he died. After that, I spent most of my boyhood summers with Bell.”
“After you left school, you went on your grand tour with Bell,” she said, “and you didn’t come home until four years later.”
Will stared at her. “What are you insinuating?”
“The day I called on your mother, your sisters told me that your brother took measures to prevent you from traveling again. They feared you would never come home again.”
“They succeeded,” he said. “And they also managed to interfere in our lives. I knew this would happen.”
“I told you that you would always come first, and that I would defend you,” she said. “And I did. I told them that they didn’t know you very well if they believed you lacked character. Your brother defended you as well,” she said. “And your sisters admitted they were wrong.”
“If you think they will change, you will be disappointed,” he said.
“That is what they thought of you,” she said, “and I told them they were mistaken. You have proven to me that you are a good man.”
He pulled up a fistful of grass, but said nothing.
“Will, in a sense, you’ve been running from your family since you were a child,” she said.
“What? That’s ridiculous,” he said.
“I understand why you were angry when your family took strong actions to keep you at home,” she said. “But I keep thinking if you had left, you might not have returned.”
He clenched his jaw. “Let me guess. You think I should embrace my family, warts and all.”
“Actually, I think they need to embrace you,” Amy said.
He looked startled.
“I think people form opinions of others and label them. It’s very easy to let those labels become part of your identity. When others called me a wallflower, I just accepted it. Then when I thought this would be my last season, I was determined to break free of that identity. So I took on another one, and I was proud to be identified as the fashion darling of the ton. But that’s not who I am deep down. We all take on these identities and let them define us. Patience sees herself as the elder sister. She feels it is her duty to criticize, but that’s not who she really is at all. The real Patience cares that her mother is lonely and spends time with her mother, as do Hope and Harmony.
“As a child, you misbehaved to get attention and took on the identity of a bad boy. You let it define who you are for years, but that is not the Will I know. The Will I know dances with his grandmother and makes me laugh. The Will I know didn’t abandon me when we were compromised. The Will I know reads me poetry and plans celebrations like this one. I love you, Will, for who you really are.”
He pressed her down onto the blanket and kissed her deeply. “There are things I need to tell you, but not today. Today, I simply want to love you.”
She brushed aside the dark lock that fell over his brow. “The past doesn’t matter. I love you for the man you are today.”
She waved as Will rode off to Ashdown House the next day. Afterward, he would be inspecting bridges on the property. When he’d left, she hurried upstairs. A leather case held her new designs and the purse with the coins. She had stuffed handkerchiefs on top of them to cushion them and meant to return the money to Madame DuPont. Amy could not keep that money hidden in their cottage anymore. She couldn’t bear its presence. When she’d returned it all, she would confess everything to Will. She would explain how her doubts and fears had led her to do something she’d known was wrong, but she could no longer live with it.
Fear lifted the hair at her nape, and a little voice warned her not to ruin their happiness. She should tell him soon, but he had only just declared his love. What would a few more weeks matter?
She hugged herself, thinking of the moment he’d looked wonderingly into her eyes and told her he loved her. Amy wanted to hold on to that happiness for now. She would find the right time to tell Will. But not now when they had just declared their love.
Thirty minutes later, Amy entered M
adame DuPont’s shop.
The modiste came to greet her. “Mrs. Darcett, I hope you have brought me sketches.”
“I have, but first, I must speak to you. Is there a private place?”
The modiste nodded. “This way,” she said, gesturing with her hand.
Amy followed the modiste into a small, private sitting room.
“May I offer you tea?” Madame said.
“No, thank you.” She took out the sketches. “Before you review them, I have something else for you.” She took out the purse and handed it to the modiste. “I cannot keep it,” Amy said.
Madame DuPont regarded her shrewdly. “Your new husband does not approve, and you do not wish to keep secrets.”
“He approves of the sketches, but he doesn’t know about the money. I know you wished to compensate me to ensure I would keep to my end of the business bargain, but I cannot do it.”
“I understand,” Madame DuPont said.
“Do you still want the sketches? I know it is your policy to have an exchange of money to ensure consistent delivery.”
“If I refuse, you will take them to one of my competitors. I would be a fool to refuse.”
Amy knit her brows. “Was that the real reason you insisted on payment?”
The modiste smiled. “Absolutely. It was my assurance that you would never take them to one of my competitors.”
“Here are the sketches.” Amy followed the modiste back into the shop in order to review fabrics and trims for the designs. As they emerged from the corridor, Amy looked up in surprise to find Patience and Julianne in the shop. “I didn’t know you would be here.”
Julianne looked at her with a guarded expression. “You could have ridden with us.”
“I brought my sketches for Madame DuPont.” Amy laid them on a counter. “Here is one you may like with a rolled velvet trim.”
How to Ravish a Rake Page 27