He scowled. “You don’t look at all like a servant. There isn’t one of them you’d be able to fool.”
She held her chin up and flashed him a saucy dazzling smile, clamped her hands on her hips, and tossed her head. “I’d have to differ with you gov. I’d have to say I could do a right fine job of makin’ them believe me, if I were a mind to.”
William’s jaw dropped. “Good God, how did you learn to talk like that?”
Katherine grinned. “Have you ever listened to Mary? With as few servants as we had left at Oakley Manor, we all grew fairly close.”
William shook his head. “I don’t like it Katherine.”
“You don’t have to like it. You can pretend you don’t know me. I’ll arrive on horseback, say I’m headed for a job at the earl of Stanton’s or better yet, Sussex Manor. That will give me an opening to talk about the duke. I’ll say my cousin works there, that she got me the job. The rest I’ll play by ear.”
“I don’t know. . .” William replied. “Benjamin’s even more dangerous than we believed. If he somehow got wind that you were sniffing around again, if he started putting things together. . .”
“That isn’t going to happen. The man isn’t invincible. There is no way he could know we were there.”
William said nothing for a few moments. “I still don’t like it.”
Katherine grinned at him. “But you’ll do it, right, gov?”
A slight hint of amusement then a frustrated sigh. “I have to find out if anyone at the inn actually saw the murder. As a servant, you might have a chance at the truth. Besides, I’ll be there to make sure you don’t get into trouble.” He solemnly stared at her. “Isn’t that right, my love?”
“Of course, my lord,” she replied.
She wasn’t about to argue. She wanted William there, wanted to be with him as much as she possibly could. She was determined she could make him care for her enough to stay in England, or if he left, to take her with him. Being married to her, she had decided, was in his best interests as well as her own.
And so they’d set out the following day, William driving Damien’s stylish one-horse surrey, a bony bay saddle horse tied on behind for Katherine’s hopefully inconspicuous arrival at the inn. William would be playing the part he had played before, William Hunt, a member of the landed gentry just passing through.
Less than a mile from the Lion’s Den, he pulled off the road and helped Katherine down, then settled her astride the bay, pulling her simple woolen skirt down to cover her legs as best he could. Then scowling at the portion of trip, stockinged ankle still exposed.
“I’ll follow at a distance,” he said, his face still grim. “Make sure you get there safely. An hour later, I’ll join you.”
“All right.”
William caught the horse’s rein as she started to ride away.
“Damn, I don’t like involving you in this. Are you sure you want to go through with it?”
Katherine flashed him a cheerful smile. “What do you think, gov?”
William flinched. “Steer clear of the taproom. The men in there might find a woman traveling alone a bit too much temptation.”
“Right ye are, gov.”
Reluctantly, he grinned at her. “As charming as you look in that getup, I’m afraid I’d turn out to be one of them.”
The color rose in Katherine’s cheeks. Then her warm smile faded. “Good luck, William.” She blew him a kiss, and reined the old bay away.
William watched her ride off with a mixture of unease and admiration. She had more brass than any two men he knew. She was loyal and she was ferociously determined. If he was the man he had been all those years ago, he would be proud to claim her as his wife. Then again, if he was that naïve young man, he would have married Jane Roberts. He wouldn’t have been smart enough to recognize the qualities he admired in Katherine. He would have been too busy listening to his little head instead of thinking with his big one.
Cursing to himself, William followed behind Katherine. He then waited in a grove of trees for the hour to pass so he could follow her into the inn.
When he finally arrived, he spotted her old bay horse in the stable. Tossing the stable lad a coin to see to his own horse and rig, he made his way across the courtyard to the entrance of the inn. The ivy covered stone walls almost encased the wooden door. He ducked his head and stepped into the entry.
At first he didn’t see her, not until he walked past the door to the kitchen. Spotting her petite figure hidden behind a cloud of steam erupting from the stove, he was amazed to see her working. Apparently she had traded a night of lodging for a day of labor.
It shouldn’t have surprised him, but it did.
William felt himself smiling. At least he knew where she was and what she was doing. Hopefully it would keep her out of trouble.
He made his way to the taproom. It had a low ceiling room crisscrossed with heavy wooden beams. Though the place was old and a bit age-worn flagstone floors, which were neatly swept, the walls freshly whitewashed since his last visit. He remembered the proprietor had always done his best to keep the place clean and apparently, he still did.
Sitting at an empty wooden table in the corner where he could watch the comings and goings in the room, he leaned back and called for the serving maid, then ordered himself a tankard of ale. The balance of the day and most of the evening, he spent either at his table or milling about the inn. He spoke to the barkeep and the serving wench in the taproom, spoke to several of the inn’s longtime patrons, but decided to take it easy and wait for a while, let Katherine have a go at the servants before he pressed harder.
Leaning back against the wall behind his table, he pulled the gold watch fob from his pocket, flipped open the lid, and checked the time. Ten minutes before twelve. Time for his rendezvous with Katherine in the stable.
Having learned that the stable boy had already gone to bed above the carriage house, assuring they would be alone. William left the inn by a small door at the rear of the taproom and crossed to the barn. Only a small sliver of moon lit the night.
Moving through the shadows, his long strides lengthened. He was eager to find out what Katherine might have learned. He wanted to be sure she was all right, and that she had a decent place to sleep. If nothing had been discovered, tomorrow he would try again, press until he had the answers to his questions.
Stopping just inside the door, he could just make out the faint glow of a lantern, the candle behind the thick glass burning so low there was barely the hint of a flame. The he caught a glimpse of Katherine’s head. Even in the dimly lit stall where she waited, he could see damp strands of her long dark hair, loose and glistening, see her cheeks flushed pink with exertion.
“William,” she called out into the darkness. “I’m over here in the corner.” He could see that she was. He could see as well that her blouse was moist with the heat of the kitchen and clinging seductively to her bosom. Without the panniers she usually wore beneath her skirts, her hips were rounded, womanly, and incredibly alluring.
He approached her in the stall where she stood in front of a worn leather saddle, but paused a few feet away, not trusting himself to get closer. “Did you have any luck?”
“Not as much as I had hoped. At least not yet.”
He wasn’t surprised, yet disappointment coursed through him. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We’ll try again tomorrow.” His eyes ran over her clinging, rumpled clothes. Hard work agreed with her. He wouldn’t have believed it. In truth she looked as pretty in her simple working garments as she did if she were gowned in the finest silk.
“What I meant to say,” she continued, “was I didn’t find out as much as I wanted, but someone here knows something William. Someone at the inn saw something that night. I’m certain of it. There is no doubt in any of the servants’ minds that the old duke’s murder was not his eldest son.”
William’s heart began racing. He fought down the urge of excitement. “Do you think you can find out w
ho it is?”
“I’ll find out sooner or later. I told the cook I had several more days before my new job started and she said she could use the extra help. In a few more days. . .”
William frowned. “In a few more days, you’ll be back in the city. I can’t stay past tomorrow without arousing suspicion. I’m not about to leave without you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. This is the chance we’ve been waiting for. I’m not about to leave until we find the person who can help you clear your name.”
“I said, you’re leaving with me.”
“I’m staying until I find out which of these people saw your father murdered,” she replied, her hands firmly on her hips.
“You’re leaving.”
“I’m staying.”
The woman was a menace. She was also the most appealing thing he had ever seen. “If you were really my wife, I would beat you.”
Cocking a brow and smiling at him, she replied, “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, you don’t? If I remember correctly, you made that mistaken presumption before.”
She blushed, but stayed where she stood, not one to be daunted by his words. Then the teasing note in his voice slid away. “You don’t know me, Katherine. If you did, you wouldn’t be so sure.”
She stared at him in silence, her eyes going over his face. “You’re wrong, William. You’re the one who doesn’t know who you are. I know that you’re a good and noble man. You’re a man of principle, you’re gentle and decent.”
“Is that what you think? That I am a man of principles?”
“Yes.”
Katherine watched him move closer, his eyes darker now, burning with a hungry light that darkened them almost to a pitch. “If that is what you believe, perhaps it is time you found out exactly how wrong you are. Let me tell you what it is at this moment that I am thinking.”
She wet her kips, nervous as he loomed about her.
“I am thinking that you have never looked more enticing to me than you do at this very moment. I am thinking I would kiss you, roughly, ravish that sweet mouth and plunder those seductive lips.” His jaw tightened. Desire blazed through in his eyes like a flame. “Then I would take you, right here in the stable. I would bend you over that saddle, lift your skirts and plunge myself inside you. That is what I am thinking. That is exactly what I would like to do. Now, is that the gentle man you imagined? You’re not too blind to see that there isn’t one ounce of gentleness left in me.”
The pounding of her heart made it difficult for her to speak. It made the inside of her mouth feel dry and hot. “We could do it that way, make love as the horses do?”
“Sweet Lord, aren’t you listening! You’re a lady. Surely you don’t want me to take you right here!”
“You have done it that way before, have you not?”
“Of course, but. . .”
“No one is here. If I were your lover instead of your wife, would you make love to me here in that way?”
“Aye, I would take you now, here, take you as I have wanted to every day since the first moment I saw you.”
Katherine reached for his hands, slid his wide palms over her breasts. Her nipples went hard at his touch and she heard him moan. “From the start, you have been more than clear in the fact that I am not your wife. Once I was your lover. Please William, I want to be your lover once more.”
He shook his head, but he didn’t move his hands, his fingers instead curing around her, testing the firmness, the fullness.
“I’m only a man,” he said roughly, his gaze intense. “God knows I have tried to be a better one, but it appears once more that I have failed.”
His arm slid around her. William pressed her against him, his mouth coming down hard, slanting over hers. She clung to him, kissed him back, accepting the sweep of his tongue, the flood of warmth it stirred, the feel of his rock hard torso crushed against her breasts. He jerked the tie on the blouse she wore and dragged the material down to bare her breasts, then he lifted one into his hand. He grabbed the end with his fingers, bent his head and sucked the nipple into his mouth, gently biting it.
Katherine swayed against him, arching her back, her nails digging into the thick bands of muscle across his shoulders. Her breast swelled into his mouth, her nipples ached and distended. Her head fell back and he kissed the pulse at the base of her throat, trailed kisses across her bare shoulders.
“Good God, I want you.” Then he was turning her around, lifting up her brown skirt, jerking up her thin chemise, leaving her legs and hips bare. She felt the smoothness of the saddle pressing into her stomach as he bent her over the seat. Her knees brushed the low rack it sat on. She heard the buttons on his breeches popping open one by one, then he was freeing himself, his hardened arousal pressing with resolve against her hips.
“Spread your legs for me, Katherine.”
She did as he told her, trembling with excitement, with heat and unbearable need. She whimpered at the hot flood of sensation when his fingers found the entrance to her core and he began to softly stroke her.
His hands smoothed over skin, softly caressing. “You’re so wet, so tight and hot.” He sank a finger deep inside her, probing carefully, preparing her for him. Another finger sank in, stroking even more deeply between the plump slick folds.
“William. . .” Her stomach contracted, the muscles tightening as a shattering climax tore through her. Pleasure rolled over her, whispered through her limbs, and she worried her legs might give way beneath her. For a moment she forgot where she was, knew only that sweet fire coursed through her in thick, mind-numbing waves. Then a stiff, pulsing heaviness slid deep inside and the waves of sweet sensation began to build again.
“William. . .”
“Hang on love.” Surging into her fully, his groin came hard against her bottom, his heavy shaft filling her, sliding out and then filling her yet again. Scorching heat broke over her, gooseflesh crested on her skin. His palms cupped her breasts, his fingers plucking the sensitive ends, then he settled his big hands at her waist and began to ride in earnest.
Dear God! His deep, plunging rhythm had her hips arching upward, pulling him further inside. Katherine’s eyes slid closed as wave after wave of pleasure swept through her. Katherine moaned, her body constricting around him. William groaned and his muscles went rigid as he reached his own release.
At the last possible instant, he withdrew, spilling his precious seed onto the straw-covered floor beneath them. Breathing hard, he held her against him, his body still flush against hers.
Idly, his hand cupped a breast. There was no tension there now, only a tender caress. “We have to go in, love.”
Katherine snuggled closer. “That was incredible, William. I can hardly believe the things you make me feel. If I cannot have you for a husband, I am more than happy to settle for this.”
She felt his muscles tighten and wished she had kept that thought to herself. He drew away from her, pulled her blouse up over her breasts, then began to refasten the buttons at the front of his breeches.
“That was a terribly selfish thing to do,” he grumbled, “yet I cannot regret it.”
“I do not regret it at all. In truth, I already await the next time it will happen.”
William whirled around to look at her. His expression was once more dark. “No, dammit! If we keep this up, sooner or later there is bound to be a babe. What the devil would you do if I got you with child?”
Katherine blinked at the unexpected tears that stung her eyes. “I would love it, William. I would love to have your child.” Her hand trembled as she pressed it against his chest. “I could love you, William, if you would only let me.”
He gripped her shoulders, his face now a shade of white. “Don’t you understand, I don’t want you to love me. I don’t want you to have my child. What I feel for you is lust, nothing more. That is all there is between us and that is all there ever will be.”
She knew this was the way he felt, yet it hurt her. He turned
and stalked away from her, pausing for a moment at the door. He didn’t turn around. “Where are you sleeping?”
She swallowed hard, past the ache that had risen in her throat. “I have a room in the attic upstairs.”
“Will you be all right there?”
“Yes.”
“Use it.” With that he was gone.
William watched from the shadows beside the barn until Katherine appeared through the stable door then disappeared inside the back door of the inn. He returned to the taproom, his chest heavier. Damn, what was there about that girl that he couldn’t seem to resist? And why did he continue to take advantage?
But even as he said the words in his head, his mind said Katherine was a woman and not a girl. She was strong and determined and he knew exactly what she wanted. Still, he did not wish to hurt her.
He settled himself at a table to the right of the hearth. A band of soldiers, a regiment just returned from India had arrived earlier in the evening. Hard drinking men, half of them drunk by now, the other half well on their way to joining them.
Three of them were joking with the tavern maid, one of them a stoutly built sergeant. He reached over and pinched the young girl’s bottom. She jumped, spilling a tankard of ale, then turned to slap his hand.
“Mind your manners, sergeant.”
“I’ll pay you,” he whispered, the words more a loud hissing slur. “Give me a tumble and I’ll pay you more than you make here in a week. It’s been months since me and my boys have been with a woman.”
William shifted in his seat uneasily, thinking of Katherine, not liking the direction of the men’s conversation. There weren’t that many women in the tavern and several of the soldiers had remarked about the “beauty” they had spied in the kitchen when they arrived.
The girl eyes the silver in the palm of the sergeant’s hand. She glanced over her shoulder at the barkeep, then nodded. “Aye, I’ll meet you, I’m through here in an hour. I’ll meet you in the stable. No one goes there this time of night.”
A pang of guilt went through William. He wasn’t much better than the sergeant, taking an innocent young girl like Katherine out in the stable. My God, they had made love three times and had never shared a proper bed. Worse than that, each time he had left her. He was already hard and wishing he could take her again. Good God, what was it about her?
Blood Lust Page 17