The Rakehell Regency Romance Series Boxed Set 5

by MacMurrough, Sorcha

  Ellen blushed. "Er, I believe Ash told me pretty much the same thing."

  Eswara nodded. "He knows something of the martial arts as well, thumb and wrist locks for example. Let him teach you, but try to make sure he doesn’t bruise you more. In fact, let him demonstrate on Martin. My darling husband adores learning new tricks."

  "I’m so sorry to put you though all this trouble, Mrs. Jerome."

  "It’s Eswara, please. We are family, after all. And my son is Ashoka. Ash. I can’t tell you how fortunate it was that he came home when he did. I didn’t expect him back from London until the weekend.

  "Anyway, you’re here now. We shall send word home that you’re staying with me until your ankle has recovered. It’s a good enough excuse. I do wish you would heed Ash’s advice and tell the magistrates the truth. Geoffrey Branson and his son are most understanding men, as you well know. Your sister Emma was engaged to Malcolm, after all. Rest her soul," she added, when she saw the girl’s face fall at the reminder of her dead sister.

  There had been five Jeromes of Millcote, four girls and a boy. Now only the third and fourth daughters were left. It had been a hard blow for the family, and the most recent death, that of Josephine the eldest, had helped provoke a stroke in Mrs. Jerome from which she had never quite fully recovered. But she had borne her suffering cheerfully without complaint, and Ellen had gone back to her reading and tatting…

  She was not quite as selfish as Georgina, she thought with a pang. But not nearly as good as the Paigntons and her cousins Martin and Blake, who were an apothecary and doctor respectively.

  How kind Ash and Eswara had been, and how much they had done for the people of the district ever since they had arrived about four years ago. And here she was feeling sorry for herself all this time because of one thwarted engagement to a man who had, at the end of it, had filled her with dread. Had been a rapist and murderer.

  But Adam had not harmed her, thinking to deceive them all with his charming façade in order to get his hands on her fortune. How different things might have turned out if Georgina had picked Adam instead of his brother Oliver. She shivered.

  But what was the point in repining for the past, especially when it had not been worth anything? They had all suffered far worse than that, especially Ash and Martin.

  She tried to be friendly with Ash’s mother now and thanked her for all her help.

  "Don’t mention it. Why don’t you get some rest?"

  "I will. Will you thank Ash for me too?" she said shyly.

  Eswara caught it again, that unmistakable air of something having gone on between them, She had absolute faith in her son, was sure he had not done anything untoward. She knew he was very level-headed about women. Most of the time. She didn’t think this delicate flower would attract him.

  On the other hand, one was often surprised at what the heart saw beneath the surface.

  At the moment Ellen resembled a tiny little fragile bud. Who knew what she might turn into once she blossomed fully?

  Eswara’s intuition told her that it would not be easy for the two of them to weave together as the Tantra advocated. But Ellen was interconnected with them all on a family level if nothing else, and it would be nice to forge some closer bonds with the rest of the family. Moreover, she was not the kind of parent who would dream of interfering.

  She wasn’t sure if Ellen would fit into their little circle, but Eswara got a clear sense that this was the start of a deeper friendship for them all even if it never turned into anything romantic between she and Ash. After all, he was her hero now, her knight in shining armour who had rescued her from a fate worse than death.

  Eswara laughed at the thought of how many romances and Gothic novels the child probably read. She no doubt had never done a hand’s turn in her life. Not that it was her fault, she reminded herself.

  Besides, it was never too late to learn. Martin had been proof of that, qualifying as an apothecary when he had realised moping around frozen in the past helped no one, least of all himself.

  Eswara thought Ash was a bit too young to settle down yet, but he was a most morally upright man. She only hoped he would not make the same mistake as her own husband Martin had. Equate lust with love and marry a completely unsuitable girl. A girl like Georgina Jerome, for example.

  Martin’s first wife had been remarkably similar to her. Or rather, Georgina’s career as a breaker of hearts had paralleled the dead Margaret’s to the point where Martin had washed his hands of her.

  He had tried to teach Georgina meditation and learning more about herself, but she had not taken the lessons seriously and was now a most fast young lady, socialising indiscriminately in a relentless pursuit of pleasure. She only wondered when she was going to come to her with a dreaded social disease, or enceinte.

  Ellen could not possibly be as bad as that. Her other sisters, now deceased, were spoken of with admiration and respect. She hoped Georgina was the only black sheep in the Jerome fold.

  "Can I get you anything?"

  "No, I’m fine, thank you."

  "Do you want some company, or a nap?"

  "Nap, please. I feel quite done in," Ellen admitted.

  "We’ll send a tray up to you. No, don’t bother to protest. I insist. No one expects you to dine en famille with us after the shock you’ve had, so please don’t stand on ceremony. I shall just give you pen and paper so we can take a note over to your parents to tell them you’re resting here for a day or two with a turned ankle. Please ring if you need anything, Miss Jerome, and if you would like a sleeping draught—"

  "No, that’s fine. I can barely keep my eyes open. But do please wake me for supper."

  Eswara nodded. "One of us will see you later."

  Ellen settled down in bed, and looked around the room dreamily, wondering what it would be like to have a chamber so luxurious and unabashedly sensual.

  With the door closed she could indulge herself looking at the pictures, and she felt her hand drift across her breast. She rubbed her hands together, trying to recapture the sensation of Ash’s flesh sparking against hers, but there was nothing.

  She even made so bold as to part the edges of the robe, trying to discern if she looked anything like the voluptuous women in the pictures. She had never really thought about it before, but she found herself not at all bad looking. Certainly not the ugly vessel of temptation and sin the Bible spoke of.

  When Ash looked at her with those remarkable golden eyes of his, she could easily imagine herself adopting some of the more remarkable postures.

  She blushed at the thought, and stroked her hand along her inner thigh. It was undoubtedly pleasant. And to explore something was to learn about it, know it.

  She had been subjected to bruising and brutal contact, not an intimate knowing. She yanked her hand away at that thought, telling herself reflexively that this was wrong, that she was a guest, not even in her own bed or robe.

  But as she lay there breathing deeply, her senses were filled with Ash. Her hand crept between her thighs once more. A couple of tentative touches with her fingers, and she could feel the sparks.

  She rubbed her face against the pillow, imagined him kissing her. As the powerful sensations welled up, she felt herself opening like a flower, her hips arching to the ceiling.

  Frightened suddenly at the remarkable change in her, she clamped her legs together and threw herself onto her side, and wished she had accepted the valerian from Eswara after all. Those hot shivering sensations were just too much.

  What had she done to herself? And worse still, how was she ever supposed to face Ash again after dreaming of him in so lewd a manner?

  Chapter Six

  Ash couldn’t wait to see Ellen again, and volunteered to take her supper tray up to her that evening.

  "Really, Ash, it’s very kind," his mother said, "but she’s had a scare. I think it would be best for you not to be alone with her for the sake of her own reputation."

  "Oh surely you’re not going to require a
chaperone. I give you my word—"

  "I know. But I could see the way you looked at her."

  He didn't even trouble to deny it. "She interests me. There’s a lot going on underneath that placid exterior."

  "Well, I don’t personally see anything wrong with you spending time with each other. However, she’s Pa’s cousin. So whatever he thinks, you may do."

  Martin smiled indulgently. "I say let the young people have their fun. If we hear any brasswork going on, we can always put a stop to it."

  Ash blushed. "Pa! Really! I have no intention of jumping on the girl in front of my parents!"

  "I sort of wish a decent chap like you would go for her, though," Martin admitted.

  "Rather a contradiction in terms, wouldn’t you say?" Ash opined with a quirk of his brow.

  "No, I don’t mean just try to skewer her. Marry her. No, dearest, I’m not saying that either," Martin hastened to state when he caught his wife’s look of alarm.

  "Damn, I wish I were more eloquent. I simply mean that all the broken engagements of the women in the family are being held against Ellen, and Georgina does neither of them any favours. I know Ellen would never— And she is not a blackmailer either, not like her sister. Or a wrecker of marriages. But Georgina’s reputation has tarnished Ellen’s, I’m sure."

  "All the more reason for Ash not being alone in a bedroom with her," his wife said with a shake of her head.

  "I tell you what. I’ll bring her down here to the drawing room and we can all eat together informally. It’s nothing we can’t just help ourselves to."

  "All right, dear, but only if she says she’s up to it," his wife agreed.

  Martin rose from the sofa and came down a short time later. He settled his cousin on one of the sofas and draped a warm merino wool blanket over her.

  Ash stood by, ever at the ready to fetch her anything she needed.

  Ellen looked around the room, admiring its exotic quality. She could smell Eswara’s perfume, a mixture of roses and some sort of spice.

  She admired the deep red and gold patterned silk shawl thrown over the back of a chair, the men’s silken slippers by the fire, a box of rich Belgian chocolates on a low table nearby, more exotic pictures of India on the wall. The decanters, fine furniture, and a lovely view out the window of Millcote Forest as the sun went down.

  It was a luxurious, intimate room, yet homey too. She felt privileged to be there, and slightly intrusive, for the happy couple looked so intimate with one another sitting on the opposite sofa.

  But Ellen had little time to observe them closely. Ash served her food and wine with a gratifying attentiveness which made her feel like the queen of the house. He kept up a stready stream of light but interesting conversation all about her as if she were the most fascinating woman in the world.

  When they had finished eating the flavourful Indian meal, Ash took out the chess board and was pleased to find she played creditably well, and even better once he gave her a few hints.

  He was delighted to see she was also almost as good as he at cribbage, and was an excellent partner at piquet. While they played chess, they all took turns reading from a poetry anthology they were working their way through. Ash was thrilled to discover that their taste in reading was also remarkably similar.

  Ash thought she was very well-educated for a girl of her class. She had no doubt been brought up for the sole purpose of making a good marriage, though he felt sure there was more to it than that. Ash could see that she had been telling the truth, that she had been taking great pains to improve herself.

  But Ellen wasn’t a great talker like some women. She listened carefully and was most curious about a great many subjects, India being at the top of her list.

  "So you have many gods?" she asked at one point in response to something Eswara had said about being grateful she had been spared by Ash when he had come upon her in the woods struggling against Bridges.

  "Yes. We Hindus have created a rich, complex mythology over the centuries. A multitude of gods inhabit the Hindu pantheon. This tapestry of religion has been the result of millennia of integration. The Indian sub-continent has been a crossroad for several different cultures, and so the Indian people have incorporated numerous ideas from different faiths.

  "For example, the great King Ashoka, after whom I have been named, was actually practising Buddhism to a certain extent. Still, one cosmic Truth holds in Hindu thought, and that is that all things are simply a part of a greater, whole One.

  "In early Hindu belief, this Universal whole was called Brahmam. All beings and things, from the gods and demons, through humans, on to the lowliest pebble on the beach, were and are part of this One. In later times, the gender neutral word Brahmam became equated with the masculine Brahma, but the original idea is still very much a part of Hindu thought."

  "Is it as old as Christianity?"

  "Oh my, yes. Much older. The history of Hindu mythology can be broken up into several different ages, all of which have contributed to the faith as a whole. The first is the pre-Vedic age, which goes back to the time of the early Indus valley civilizations of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, which were established around 2400BC. These cities were destroyed by 1700BC. Some think that the Aryan invaders who came to dominate the sub-continent destroyed those cities, but archeological evidence suggests they may have disappeared before the Aryans arrived. They were a group of people said to be most handsome, blond and blue-eyed.

  "When did they arrive? And where did they come from?"

  "The Indo-European invaders known as the Indo-Aryans came and conquered both much of India and Persia by about 1500 BC. They brought with them new gods and hymns dedicated to them. These hymns came to be called collectively the Vedas.

  "So the Vedic age is when Hinduism proper begins. The Indo-Aryans became the lords of India, and their gods became the most important in the pantheon. But the earlier gods were still revered. They were just given different roles.

  "The Aryans also brought with them a distinct class structure. This included a priestly class, a warrior or ruling class, and the trade or merchant class. The native peoples who were subject to Aryan rule were incorporated into a fourth class. This is the basis for the caste system, which still is very much a part of Indian life."

  "Castes?" Ellen asked with a small frown.

  "Like classes here in England, but more complex."

  "And there are four?"

  "Yes. By the end of the Vedic period, these castes were called, respectively: Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. The Vedic gods were led by Indra, the thunder god, and they got their strength from the drink Soma, a form of ambrosia."

  "I see. It sounds fascinating." She took a sip of tea. "You said before there were different ages. So the Aryans passed on?"

  "From around 900 BC to 500 BC, as Aryan culture spread further into the sub-continent, Hinduism underwent some major changes. This period has been referred to as the Brahmanic Age, for it was during this time that the Brahmans and the Kshatriyas, priests and warriors, fought for supremacy over Indian life.

  "New beliefs were brought into our religion, including the idea of the soul or atman as it is called becoming a major part of Hinduism, and the transmigration of that soul becoming a foundation of the religion.

  "It was during this time that the Brahman caste asserted that the gods need human priests to keep their power, and some of the rishis, or sages, became more powerful than the gods.

  "Sacrifice became the chief form of worship. The major Vedic deities began to fall from their high positions and were slowly usurped by the cults of the three gods who came to dominate Hinduism: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

  "And what do they represent?" she asked with genuine interest, before biting into a honeyed pastry Ash had handed her on a small plate.

  "It is similar to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this case, Brahma is the senior member of the triad, or Trimurti, and is the supreme eternal deity whose essence pervades the entire universe. Vishnu i
s the protector, and Shiva the destroyer. Yet he is also the regenerative force. His symbol is the lingam."

  "Penis. Wand of light, if you want a literal translation," Martin interjected with a grin. "Takes a bit of getting used to, looking at all sorts of rather saucy things in their temples."

  Ellen blushed, but wasn't surprised. She now understood the pictures from the books she had been looking at in Ash's room.

  "Anyway, I just thought I’d tell you about the lingam myself, so you can’t accuse the lad of being rude. I’ll show you some pictures if you like, but I think these sketches all over the house will give you a fairly good idea."

  "Er, yes, thank you," Ellen said, her cheeks flooded with color. "Some other time, though. Where were you with your history of the myths, Ash?"