A Taste of Desire

by Beverley Kendall

  Squinting, she inventoried the room, noting her trunks now sat beside the large wardrobe against the wall and her toiletry lay spread on the adjacent vanity. Hélène had unpacked and put away her belongings without disturbing her, a sign of a truly efficient lady’s maid.

  No sooner had Amelia made the observation before a knock sounded at the door and Hélène bustled into the room.

  “Ah, oui, you are awake,” her maid said with a smile. Striding over to the wardrobe, she threw both doors open and immediately began to contemplate several of Amelia’s supper dresses, her fingers skimming over one with a gauzy, pale yellow skirt.

  “Shall I pick out a dress pour vous, mademoiselle?”

  Coaxed by a headache that had gone from a dull throb to sharp and unrelenting, it took only seconds for Amelia to make up her mind. “No, I would like you to convey my most contrite apologies to Lord Armstrong that a malady will prevent me from joining the family for the evening meal.” And as that was the truth, there wasn’t much he’d be able to say or do about it.

  Hélène’s head jerked in her direction. “You are unwell, mademoiselle?”

  “No need to look so alarmed. ‘Tis just a headache, nothing more. A good night’s sleep should set things right.”

  Nodding, Hélène dropped her hands from the tulle silk dress, and closed the wardrobe doors. “As you please, mademoiselle. Shall I ask a tray be brought up pour vous?”

  It was at that moment her stomach voiced its protest, churning indelicately—and quite loudly. Lord, she hadn’t eaten a thing since before luncheon time. “Yes, please do. Apparently, lack of food is contributing to my migraine.”

  Hélène’s mouth edged up slightly at Amelia’s grumbled response. With a nod, she turned and exited the room, her departure coinciding with the chiming of the supper bell.

  Five minutes later, a knock sounded at the door.

  “Come in,” Amelia called out while sliding her legs from the bed onto the floor, her feet sinking into the plush pile of Brussels carpeting. The food had arrived much faster than she had anticipated. Her stomach growled its approval.

  The door opened, but no servant greeted her bearing the much anticipated tray of food. The viscount himself stood framed in the doorway like Apollo on the cusp of the Trojan War—sans the bow and arrow. He had changed, now more formally attired in a sage jacket and waistcoat and tan trousers. The white cravat knotted about his neck contrasted sharply with the gold hue of his skin. An irrelevant observation, but one she’d made despite herself.

  “You look well enough to me,” he stated with no preamble.

  Amelia halted abruptly at the foot of the bed. It took a moment for her to collect her wits enough to understand just what he intimated and respond in kind. “Your concern is overwhelming.”

  Without removing his gaze from hers, he entered, and the room seemed to shrink in size. Casually, he reached behind him to push the door closed, the click of the action loud and menacing to her ears.

  With a start, Amelia swallowed hard and could only gape at him for several moments of incredulity. “What are you doing?” she said, recovering her speech and embracing her indignation.

  “Is that what you do, get your servants to carry your lies for you?” He started toward her. “You are very much mistaken to think I believed a word of it.”

  “You are in my bedchamber, my lord.” Her tone had shifted from heated to brittle as he drew closer. “Perhaps you are accustomed to treating females in this fashion. But I am a lady and I expect to be treated better than one of your trollops. I’m quite certain your mother would not look kindly upon your actions.”

  Lord Armstrong halted in front of her. He stood too close, and Amelia yearned for the distance two arm’s lengths would have brought her. But after fleeing from him hours before, her pride wouldn’t allow another retreat.

  “You of all people will lecture me on impropriety?” A dark blond eyebrow rose with his question. “Did I fail to mention that your father gave me leave to acquire you other accommodations should this—um—situation prove too trying for me? I believe the sisters at a very remote convent in Westmorland would gladly welcome your arrival.” He shook his head slowly and made a tsking sound. “It would be such a shame if it came to that.”

  The pain in her head was forgotten—or perhaps it fled in light of the anger that overwhelmed her. Directed both at her father and the loathsome man standing before her, it was the kind of anger that had men carrying a pistol to the fields at dawn in the company of their second. Amelia inhaled deeply.

  His gaze dropped to her breasts. Then his regard snapped back to her eyes. “Now, I believe that in my office I was explicit in my instructions as to where you’re to take your meals.”

  Amelia swallowed a breath, her anger broken by the pitching of her stomach. He made it sound inappropriate. Intimate.

  That he did not believe she was ill was obvious by the look in his eyes as he took another step toward her. Forcing herself not to retreat, Amelia tipped her chin to stare him directly in the eye. It annoyed her that this close, his shoulders were wide enough to block her view of the door. Her only exit.

  “Do you really want to begin a battle with me? On your very first night?” He bent his head, his face mere inches from her own, his voice low and taunting.

  For the first time since she’d initially laid eyes on the man, Amelia experienced a pang of fear hitherto unknown to her. He represented a threat. She recognized that now. But what kind of threat was not as yet altogether clear. And that made her resent him all the more.

  “Then I guess you would rather I come down to dine ailing?” Goodness, what was she doing? Trying to appeal to his sense of … decency? It was obvious granite had usurped anything he might at one time have had resembling a heart.

  “If you are ailing, then I am the king of England.”

  “Then I will ask Your Highness to please remove yourself from my chamber.”

  “Princess, let us get one thing perfectly clear.”

  Amelia’s jaw locked, and her hands curled tightly around a swath of her skirt. It was clear he took great delight in drawing out the name, knowing just how much she resented his use of it.

  “This”—he gestured about the room with his hand—”and everything in this house is mine. You occupy this space at my hospitality. Moreover, I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve been in a room alone with a man and a bed. Remember, I know about both Cromwell and Clayborough, though I’ll wager Cromwell wasn’t even the first.”

  If Amelia didn’t fear he would retaliate in kind, she would have slapped him—no, she would have balled up her fist and pummeled him to the ground. No one had ever—not ever—cast aspersions on her character in such a manner. Did he think because he had the morals of an alley cat, so, too, did everyone else?

  “While you are in my house, you will do as I say. Do we understand each other?”

  His expression, his eyes, his entire demeanor told her he expected her to respond with a rousing display of feminine defiance. She refused to give him the satisfaction of responding to his slur.

  “Oh, I very much understand,” she replied softly.

  Lord Armstrong stilled and stared as if he found her ready capitulation not to his liking—and not a capitulation at all.

  “Now that you have my assurance, I am asking you to leave. I pray I will at least be permitted the privacy a bedchamber should afford anyone. Even someone in your service, I daresay.” She wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover he imprisoned the servants in their chambers. But then, how many of the female servants would actually call it being “imprisoned”?

  Straightening with a languid grace, the viscount retreated several steps, a lazy smile in place. “You needn’t worry in that regard.”

  Grateful that he no longer crowded her with his proximity, Amelia chose to ignore the amused and knowing look in his eyes.

  “Will I be permitted to eat this evening, or do you intend for me to starve?” The chu
rning of her stomach had not allowed her to forget its current state of emptiness.

  “I will instruct one of the servants to bring you something this time. Beginning tomorrow, I expect to see you in the dining hall.”

  To respond as she wanted would simply delay his departure, so Amelia remained mute.

  Lord Armstrong was at the door in long, fluid strides. Before exiting, he turned to her and said in a clipped, unyielding tone, “Be in the study tomorrow morning at eight o’clock. If you keep me waiting for even one minute, whether you’re dressed fit for company or not, I will come and fetch you myself.” He paused and without so much as a glimmer of amusement said, “On second thought, don’t sleep in a stitch tonight, that way that little exercise will rouse us both.”

  He left her standing stock-still by her bed, eyes wide and mouth agape, fairly reeling at his audacity. But his words conjured up an image in her mind that left her flushed and hot for an altogether entirely different reason.

  Supper with his family had been a relatively quiet affair. Eaten up with curiosity, his sisters had set upon him, firing question after question about their newly arrived guest. To their questions, he’d replied, “You can ask her yourself when you meet her tomorrow.” After receiving five such responses, Emily and Sarah had lapsed into silence.

  Now retired to the library blissfully alone, Thomas crossed over to the sideboard and set about pouring himself a much desired—much needed—glass of port.

  Soon he was settled in his favorite chair where he could freely assess his problem. One, Amelia Bertram. As evidenced by her behavior thus far, this might prove an even greater challenge than he’d imagined.

  Thomas took a swallow of the drink. His plan had been simple enough. Make her eat her words. And he’d manage this by not actually bedding her. He imagined a kiss or two would be called for, perhaps even one heated embrace, but that was all. Just enough to leave her yearning for something she’d never get—at least not from him.

  The logical part of his brain told him a smart man would send her to Westmorland as soon as the sun rose tomorrow and let the sisters deal with her. However, the part ruled by his pride demanded her requital must come at his hands. It was only fitting. And if that meant he’d have to put on a performance that rivaled the best the St. James Theatre had to offer, so be it. Though given his body’s response to her, the physical intimacy aspect of it wouldn’t require any acting on his part. She was desirable, he’d give her that.

  “I thought you had already retired,” came his mother’s voice from behind him.

  Angling his head, he watched as she made her way toward him, the skirts of her mauve gown fluttering around her.

  “Not as yet.”

  “Good, because I would like to speak to you about Lady Amelia,” she said, taking a spot on the adjacent sofa. “Are the two of you planning to marry?”

  In the midst of taking a swallow of his drink, the port went down the wrong passage, sending Thomas into a paroxysm of coughing. He quickly placed the glass on the table next to him with a clatter.

  The viscountess patted his hand solicitously until the coughing subsided. “My dear, I didn’t mean to rattle you.”

  “What on earth would give you such a notion?” he said, wheezing a bit.

  “Honestly dear, it’s really the only thing that makes any sense. You are a bachelor, and she is beautiful and very much a lady. That Lord Bradford should ask you to watch his daughter is like asking a fox to guard over a chicken coop. It simply defies all logic. The only thing that does make sense is that you intend to marry her.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but I have no intention of marrying anytime soon, and I can guarantee you when I do it won’t be to the likes of Lady Amelia Bertram.”

  The viscountess’s brow puckered. “And just what is wrong with her?”

  The trap had been so neatly set, Thomas hadn’t seen it until he hung upside down squirming at the end of the rope. A reluctant smile pulled at his mouth. He had to admire a mind that crafty.

  “You could simply have asked that instead of going through the pretense of believing I intended to marry her.”

  His mother smiled, looking not the least bit abashed. “But if I’d asked outright, you would have tried to talk circles around me, much like you do when I inquire about the women in your life.”

  “Amelia Bertram is not a woman in my life. She is merely the daughter of a friend. And you will meet the woman in my life when I decide to take a wife.” And he hoped she wasn’t holding her breath for that.

  “So, are you going to tell me what is going on between the two of you?” his mother asked with exaggerated patience.

  “Nothing whatsoever,” Thomas replied, shifting in his seat. “And I believe I’ve already explained Harry Bertram’s predicament with his daughter.”

  The viscountess gave him the sort of arched look that had coaxed many confessions from him as a child. He was no longer a child.

  “Yes, but why do I get the impression that you are conveniently omitting pertinent details?”

  Thomas shrugged, picked up his drink from the table, and took a cautious sip. “I’m not certain. There is nothing else to tell.”

  The viscountess continued to watch him closely, her expression dubious. “After meeting her, I’m hard pressed to believe her father couldn’t find someone more suitable to care for her. Although I had heard she was quite beautiful, I was surprised to find her so—so collected. Hardly the type of woman who would require such a close watch.”

  His mother was too much the diplomat to use the more appropriate term of haughty.

  “And what is this business of her coming without a chaperone? You know that I cannot, in all good conscience, leave the two of you here alone. My word, what would people say?”

  Crossing his leg so his foot rested on the opposite knee, Thomas reposed back into the chair. “Yes, well, that was something that I could not have anticipated. But have no fear, I shall find her adequate supervision before you depart.”

  The problem wouldn’t be in finding someone, but in keeping this saint after she met Amelia. He certainly didn’t delude himself into believing this would be an easy task. How could Harry have put him in this position without a word of warning?

  But his assurance didn’t appear to appease his mother as much as he’d hoped. “And I will let it be known that Amelia is here as your guest.”

  “But I will be leaving in a month.”

  “And an unfortunate calamity will befall her, which will prohibit her from joining you and the girls in America. A surprise her father could not have anticipated but one that will sadly never come to pass.”

  The viscountess regarded him, her green eyes flickering with an emotion he couldn’t quite place. Reaching over, she patted his forearm. “You have obviously thought of everything. I just hope this whole affair doesn’t result in unwanted consequences.”

  Thomas gave a hollow laugh. “You’re worrying overmuch. I will ensure nothing untoward should mar Amelia’s reputation in your absence.”

  If his mother dared pick up one of the gossip rags, she’d soon learn a red mark already existed. Over a month had passed since Lady Stanton’s ball, and the London set still savored the incident with the same relish as a wine connoisseur did a glass of Bordeaux.

  With a satisfied nod, the viscountess gave her skirt a pat and rose. “Good, then I shall take myself off to bed.”

  Thomas held up his glass to her. “Good night, Mother.”

  She strode to the door. Upon reaching it, she stopped and turned back to him. “You said once that her mother died when she was young.”

  “Yes,” Thomas affirmed even though it hadn’t been a question.

  His mother sighed. “I did sense a sadness there. You will take care how you deal with her, won’t you? I very much want her to enjoy her stay.”

  Caught off guard by the statement, Thomas was at a loss of how to respond. His conscience didn’t need the reminder of
a dead parent. He too had lost his father at a difficult age. As for sadness, he saw none of that. What he saw was a spoiled and difficult female who cared nothing for anyone but herself.

  “Rest assured, Mother, I will treat Lady Amelia with all the respect and care that is due her.”

  His reply appeared to satisfy her this time, for she offered him a warm smile before quitting the room.

  Thomas sat and pondered her parting statement long after she’d gone.

  Chapter 10

  The following morning, and hours after day had wrested itself from the night grey and dreary, Thomas watched the long hand on the ormolu clock inch to the next position in its sixty-second journey. One minute after eight. Amelia was now officially late.

  Indecision warred like a tempest within him. His first instinct urged—no commanded—that he follow through on his promise. He should march upstairs to her chamber and haul her bodily from her bed. But he didn’t believe he possessed the discipline such a task would require without wringing her beautiful neck. Then there was the matter of his family and the servants. All the commotion was sure to cause a disturbance of tongue wagging proportions.

  He went to his desk and gave the tasseled cord of the bell pull on the wall an impatient tug. Within seconds of the pealed summons, Johns, the second footman, appeared at the study entrance.

  “Sir?” Johns inquired with the proper deference.

  Thomas had intended to instruct him to send one of the maids to locate Amelia but quickly thought better of the idea and snapped his mouth closed. Such insolence could only be by design. No doubt she was currently tucked snug in her bed, fairly champing at the bit waiting to see just what he would do next.

  “I can’t seem to find the posts from yesterday.” It was the first thing that came to his mind—and completely inane.

  “I believe they’re on your desk, sir.” Johns replied solemnly.

  Thomas made a show of moving around the books and papers on the desk, before saying, “Ah, yes. Here they are, buried under my work. Very well, that will be all.”