“And you’ll have servants to clean it up,” he told her.
Lorena narrowed her eyes.
He grinned.
“All right,” Matilda said. “We’d better be on our way. That means you must relinquish your hold on my niece, Lord Ashwick.” She was smiling, but there was authority in her voice. Letting go of Lorena was not an option. Apparently, with the servants all but guaranteed, she’d once again become a woman of society. There would be no more inappropriate touches.
Ashwick let Lorena go and ignored the tightening in his chest.
Lorena jumped clear from his lap and into the chair. Then she glared at him in what he knew was her last blow.
He chuckled.
There was a noise outside the carriage, a woman screaming.
Ashwick was up instantly. “Stay here.”
He stepped outside the door and turned to where the noise came from. Not even an entire block down the road, a woman was beating a man with a basket, her flowers flying everywhere. The man was crouched on the ground, protecting his head.
Lorena’s voice made him turn. “Oh, dear.”
Ashwick frowned at her. “I told you to stay in the carriage.”
“She might need help,” she told him and began to rush down the road.
He grabbed her arm before she’d even taken two steps and swung her back to him. “You’re not going anywhere near them. That woman looks mad.”
She was still shouting, calling the man on the ground a slew of things that no lady should hear.
Lorena stared at him and said, “Let me go, my lord, or I shall cause my own scene.”
He frowned and asked in all sincerity, “Why can’t you just obey me?”
“You don’t own me,” she told him.
“You live to simply do the opposite of what I say, don’t you?”
Ashwick was struck mute by her smile, a smile brighter than he’d seen all day. It reminded him of the first moment their eyes had caught.
Lorena’s arm jerked away and she sprinted down the street. It was a moment before he realized what had just taken place.
“Damn,” he said and followed her. He only reached her side when Lorena made it to the scene.
The woman, who he noted to be young, was swinging the basket as though it were an ax, shouting at the young man, “Teach you to try and steal from me! I’ll show you!” Her flowers were scattered about them in a way that made the scene look more ridiculous than it already did. She’d obviously been selling the flowers and it was a work that Ashwick noticed didn’t pay her will if her clothing were any indication. But she had strength. That, Ashwick noticed more than anything. She was a fighter.
Lorena gasped.
Having seen enough, Ashwick grabbed the basket and threw it to the side. When the woman turned to give him a heated look, he cut in before she could speak, “I believe that is enough.”
“Enough?” the woman shouted, obviously not caring that he was her better. “I’ll teach him what’s enough.” Then she turned to the young man and started toward him. She no longer needed the basket. She looked ready to use her hands.
The man, who stood at least a foot higher than her, looked frightened.
Ashwick grabbed the woman’s arm. “I said, that’s enough.”
The woman turned and looked ready to fight him!
Lorena stepped in. “Oh, please don’t hurt him. He’s only trying to help. Obnoxious, I know, but it’s what he does.” Then to the man, she said, “I’d be off if I were you.” Her tone was sweet as lemonade. She motioned with a wave for the man to run off.
He took the hint and left.
The woman before Ashwick snatched her arm back, narrowed her gray eyes, and said, “Best keep to matters of your own making.” Then she stooped down to pick up her discarded flowers, pushing back locks of brown hair that had fallen out of her braid before getting to work. Their petals were all but ruined or laying on the cement.
His eyes moved over to Lorena and caught her sadness as she gazed at the woman right before she bent down and began to help her pick up the flowers that still looked mostly intact.
The woman seemed surprised by Lorena’s generosity, but Ashwick was not in the least. It was just one of the reasons he would have her. He needed that kindness in his life even if she rarely showed it to him anymore.
“What’s your name?” Lorena asked, ever friendly and curious.
“Jane,” the street vendor told her with a smile that erased all the tired lines from her face. She almost looked pretty.
Lorena asked, “Do you enjoy selling flowers?”
Jane smiled. “Oh, I love flowers, but not so much the selling of them. It doesn’t pay well.”
Lorena glanced Ashwick’s way then quickly turned to look at Jane, studying her.
Ashwick feared her next words. Feared them so greatly that he started to speak. “Lady Lorena, it’s time to go. We must—”
“I’m in the need of a lady’s maid,” Lorena told Jane. “Is that something you think you might be interested in?”
“Lorena—”
Janes gasped and her gray eyes got wide. “Me? An upstairs maid? Well, I’ve never seen myself with such a lofty position.”
“Never mind then,” Ashwick said, not wanting this dangerous woman or her basket anywhere near Lorena. “Come along, Lorena.”
Lorena was still looking at Jane as she said, “Oh, I’m sure you’d be very good at it.”
“You think so?” Jane said, also ignoring him.
“Lorena,” Ashwick called.
Lorena turned to him and gave him one of those soul-eating smiles that he could feel in his chest.
“Damn,” he cursed again. “Best be on our way.” He gestured for the women to lead the way. Lorena took Jane by the arm and leaned her head close to her as she spoke about the townhouse.
Ashwick followed, wondering how his day had failed to go as planned. Would he ever get to have a ‘talk’ with Lorena? Perhaps that was the disaster he’d been waiting for. To live and never get to have his say.
He more than put those thoughts aside. Instead, he wrote them onto a slip of paper in his head and destroyed them. He would catch Lorena alone. It was only a matter of time.
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CHAPTER NINE
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Lorena rushed to the house and was startled when Mr. Sudworth opened the door for her.
“Did you have a wonderful day?” he asked. His eyes moved to the rest of the group. “Oh, good, Lord Ashwick found you. Considering your conversation on the couch, I knew exactly where you would go. I hadn’t known I was working for someone so famed. My friends, well, they’re not really my friends, we simply shared a part of the sidewalk, but even still, we bonded. Either way, they were talking about how you burned down the earl’s home. One of them had read the paper, or rather the one of them who could read. Either way,” Sudworth waved his own words away, “I’m glad you are back.”
Lorena stared at him and laughed. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had greeted her when she’d returned to her house. No one lived with her, but now, her aunt and cousin did. And Sudworth.
She smiled up at him, thinking him perfectly perfect.
Ashwick cut in, “A butler is not to greet—”
“My day was marvelous,” Lorena went on, still grinning. “How was yours?” she asked as she walked through the doorway ahead of everyone else.
“Wonderful. Thank you for asking,” he added with a lift of his brows. “I’ll have you know that I received both a position of envy and a room to call my own today.”
She smiled, happy she and Aunt Tilda had brightened his day.
“And I received a coin,” Sudworth said. “From the kind and generous Lord Ashwick.”
Lorena turned to Ashwick with wide eyes. “You gave him a coin?”
> Ashwick seemed to hesitate.
Lorena went on, “That was very kind of you.”
Something flickered in Ashwick’s eyes before he shrugged.
She smiled and continued into the house. She’d been frustrated during the ride, trying to avoid Ashwick, which had become impossible considering she'd had to share a seat with him. And with Jane on her other side, it pressed her further into his side. She’d ignored him the entire trip. Yet... she hadn’t ignored him. Her body had reacted to every jolt and move of the carriage, every brush of his thigh against hers. Whenever he would turn his body to speak to Aunt Tilda, pressing his hard chest into her shoulder and hovering over her, all she could think about was him. Poor Jane. Lorena was sure the woman thought her new mistress was a senseless woman. She’d asked the girl to repeat herself over and over again.
“Jane,” Lorena said, “this is Mr. Sudworth.”
“Zed,” Sudworth said to Jane, giving her a genuine smile. “You can call me Zed.”
Jane narrowed her eyes and said, “Mr. Sudworth will do.” Lorena had the feeling that the woman didn’t like men.
Aunt Tilda began to tell Mr. Sudworth about the other staff members she’d hired and as she spoke, Lorena felt a presence at her back. She didn’t have to turn around to know just who it would be.
His hand trailed down the center of her back and Lorena stilled. Then she turned and saw that he was staring straight ahead, as if he was listening to Aunt Tilda speak. All the while his hand inconspicuously played with her row of buttons. Without a lady’s maid, she’d begun to keep half the buttons together and slide the rest of the fabric off her. She didn’t even bother with a corset. There was no one to tie it for her, so this meant his hands were a very… unfamiliar touch.
What did this mean?
She moved away from him, then around him, and headed toward the drawing room as quickly as possible, aware that he was following.
“Oh, Lady Lorena,” Mr. Sudworth called.
Lorena didn’t turn around. Instead, she moved faster and rose at the entrance to her drawing room.
“Where have you been?” Genie shrieked. She was sitting in one of the chairs by the window and stood. She wore a yellow dress that complemented both her red hair and pale skin. “Have you read the papers? Did you see what Miss Taylor wrote? Has your brother? Has Ashwick?” She shook her head and her eyes went over Lorena’s shoulder. She winced.
“Lord Ashwick,” Genie cried cheerfully. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Lady Genevieve,” he replied, moving to stand by Lorena’s side. “What does the paper say that I should read?”
Genie’s eyes widened.
Lorena’s closed.
“The race!” Genie announced. “The winners of the races were announced. I know how much you and Francis enjoy them.”
“Yes,” Ashwick said with a sigh. “Though, it’s Francis who is truly into horses. Speaking of which, how are your riding lessons going?”
Genie’s smile brightened. “Excellent.”
Lorena knew why. Francis was giving her the lessons. He’d needed the money and her father had been willing to pay him without the rest of the ton knowing. Francis would be shunned if the ton knew he actually took money. But Francis had been the only one capable of getting Genie anywhere near a horse, and Genie’s father wanted Genie to know how to ride. Genie would try anything to have Francis’ love. Even overcoming her fears. Lorena wasn’t sure how long someone took riding lessons, but Genie had already completed a year.
“And, how are you?” Genie asked him.
“Actually,” Ashwick said. “If you would be so kind, I need to speak to Lorena alone.”
Lorena froze and began to shake her head at Genie.
“Of course,” her friend announced. Then she slipped from the room and winked in Lorena’s direction, completely missing Lorena’s dire expression.
Genie’s feet faded away.
Lorena turned to look at Ashwick.
He looked like a man who’d finally won a much-fought-for prize. He was grinning, and his eyes crinkled at the edges. Then he lifted a dark brow and said, “I believe it’s time for our talk.”
Cronus.
Calamity was at her heels.
Lorena allowed Ashwick to lead her outside, but before he could begin to speak, she said, “Where are you staying?”
“Not far from here,” he told her. His eyes moved to her garden.
Lorena’s back garden had to be the saddest thing she’d ever seen. She remembered her mother’s lush bushes and the flowers that seemed to bloom without thought. Now, the garden looked as though plants only found this place in an effort to die. Where there had once been greens, reds, whites, and blues, there was only brown and more brown.
“This,” Lord Ashwick said, “has to be the saddest lot I’ve ever seen.”
Lorena glared at him. “It is impolite to say such a thing.”
He glanced her way and said, “How strange, I didn’t know we planned on behaving like civilized members of society today.”
Lorena’s cheeks heated and she declared, “We are, starting at this very moment.” She hoped that would sooth whatever he had to say. If he spoke to her with the gentleness that a gentleman spoke to a lady, then she had nothing to fear.
He’d break her heart either way, but she’d survive.
“What did you wish to tell me?” she asked, waiting.
He moved closer to her and slipped a hand behind her back before leaning forward. His face stopped only an inch away from hers and he said, “I’ve come to collect your debt.”
Lorena’s stomach dropped. “I don’t have money.”
He lifted a brow. “I don’t want money, Lorena. I’ve plenty of it.”
She knew this. Everyone knew that the Earl of Ashwick had money.
Lorena took a breath and asked, “Then what do you want?”
His cheek rubbed against hers as his mouth came to her ear. “I want you, naked, and spread over my sheets.”
Lorena’s entire body felt tight in the most inappropriate places.
The hand at the small of her back trailed lower and he squeezed her bottom just as he’d done over a year ago.
“Oh.” Lorena was shaking all over. She grabbed Ashwick’s jacket for dear life and thought of something that would put this situation back to rights. “That’s not a very appropriate thing to say.”
Ashwick’s response was to lean back and laugh.
Lorena watched him, gloried in it.
His head came back down.
Her smile fell.
His arm tightened, moving back to the small of her back, and Lorena realized she’d tried to step away.
“I want you, Lorena.” His eyes were dark and serious. “I want you on your back, completely offering yourself to me. That’s what I want.”
Lorena held his jacket and said, “We can’t.”
“Why not?” he asked her.
“Because,” she cried. “It’s not proper.”
He frowned and shook his head. “When have we ever had a proper moment? The day we met, I nearly broke your nose. Then you returned the favor by burning me with tea.”
“I didn’t know that you were there,” she cried.
“Doesn’t matter,” he told her with narrowed eyes. “It occurred. We made that bargain in the kitchen and you kissed me in my bedchamber.”
Lorena looked away.
He cupped her cheek and brought her face back to his before he said, “Nothing about you and I has ever been proper. Nothing I’ve felt for you, none of the hunger I have for you, has ever felt proper.”
Lorena’s eyes widened.
“I know what proper is, Lorena. I’ve had nothing but rules and civility while growing up, and then I met Francis. Francis was my doorway to freedom and I took it every chance I could, but my home was not like yours. My parents did not have a love match and did not love me. I existed only to take the title I bear now.”
Lorena frowned and
her hands tightened on his jacket, feeling terrible for the boy who’d never felt loved in his own home. She had no idea what that felt like. Her parents had loved both she and Francis. Her father had tried to right his wrongs but simply kept failing at it. Lorena knew he died believing he’d failed them, but she didn’t think this. She had Francis, a brother who loved her, because he’d learned how to love.
Who did Ashwick have?
Her hands went to his cheek. “Ashwick.”
He cut her off. “Your brother was my escape and the moment my father died, I broke free. That was the year of your debut. Do you remember?”
“How could I not?” she asked with what she knew was a pained expression.
Ashwick’s thumb stroked her cheek and he said, “That night was probably one of the best nights of my life.”
Lorena’s eyes widened and she wondered if he’d gone mad. “Why?”
“Because, you were there and the second our eyes met, I swore I’d never seen true beauty until that moment.”
Lorena forgot how to breathe. Her head felt light. “Ashwick,” she said with wonder.
He continued to speak. “Collecting was one pursuit my father allowed. He approved of it and so I spent much of my time studying Greek mythology and history. And I dreamed of being a god, living on Mount Olympus, and being able to do whatever I pleased and go wherever I wished. Do you know what it was like to never be able to attend the country parties during the summer? For years I begged to go, and I was always denied that treat. My father didn’t want me to be influenced by the other men. I’m still surprised he allowed me to go to school at all.”
Lorena shook her head and decided she didn’t care much for his father.
“But if I were a god,” he told her, “I could do anything.”
She smiled and confessed, “I’ve been calling you Cronos for years.”
He grinned. “Truly?”
She nodded. “And it’s never been truer than today. You seem to think you own all my time.”
“You are in my debt,” he reminded her with a smile.
She shook her head.
Lady Lorena’s Spinster’s Society ( The Spinster’s Society) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 8