Still, she almost felt like a siren right now, for it did indeed feel as though he had trouble pulling away – of adding the expected distance that should have followed the first and especially the second chaste kiss. Instead, he pulled her closer, which was slightly awkward since her hands still clutched the throw tightly around her shoulders. He took another breath before covering her mouth with his once more, this time drawing her bottom lip between his in a way that carefully coaxed her open.
She heard him make a deep rumbling sound from somewhere inside his chest and could feel her heart respond with a rapid beat that echoed through every part of her body. Dear God, this had to be a dream of some sort. It couldn’t possibly be real. And yet she felt him as keenly as she felt herself. His fingertips dug against her back, and his thumb scraped against her jaw while his mouth…oh yes, that glorious mouth was doing the most incredible things – so incredible she could feel the effect of it all the way to her toes.
He was like the rich champagne they’d enjoyed in the ballroom, except better, and she wanted nothing more than to keep on drinking and tasting until she was thoroughly drunk on his flavor. Pushing her arms out from under the throw, she grasped at his shoulders, flattening her chest against his while he in turn deepened the kiss on a masculine groan that heated her blood. Evidently, he needed to taste her as much as she needed to taste him, and that wondrous thought made her want to both laugh and dance and hug him tight all at the same time.
Yes, it was real. Chadwick was actually kissing her now as though he was starving and she was a bountiful feast. His fingers were in her hair, his lips moving hungrily over hers as he licked his way forward, not only tasting her mouth but encouraging her to follow. And follow she did, pushing up close enough for her hips to make contact with his. She wanted to climb inside him and live there, if that made any sense at all.
“Fee.” His voice was breathless when he broke off to trail a series of kisses along her cheek, and she couldn’t help but smile with the knowledge that she had made him so. What a notion! “Christ, Fee…” He licked a moist path along the curve of her neck. “Please tell me you want this. Tell me this isn’t a dream.”
She grinned then, loving how stunned and befuddled he sounded. “It isn’t a dream, Edward. You’re kissing me and I’m kissing you. Because this is what I want more than anything else in the world.”
“Oh God.” The words came out raspy. He held her tight, his chest rising and falling so rapidly against her own, she feared he might suddenly burst. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve wanted…how I’ve longed…for this?”
“Hopefully, as much as I have,” she whispered, a little surprised by the shyness she heard in her own voice. “I’m beginning to think we’ve both been quite foolish.”
He pressed his forehead to hers while his hands worked to secure her throw more firmly around her shoulders, shielding her from the cold. “I was afraid you wouldn’t reciprocate.”
“So was I.”
A light chuckle rumbled through him. “I see.” His mouth found hers once again with more certainty this time, the scrape of his teeth against her lips producing a hot concoction of dizzying sensations somewhere deep in the pit of her belly. It prompted her to arch against him as though surrendering herself like a decadent offering most willing to be devoured.
“We should probably start back,” he said, distancing himself a little. “If we don’t…” She felt him shudder beneath her touch, as though he lacked control of his body.
“If we don’t?” she prompted, not wanting the moment to end.
“I’ve wanted you for too damn long, Fiona, but I won’t be a selfish cad out here in the freezing cold. You deserve better than that – we both do, truth is. But my restraint now that I know what you taste like is wearing dangerously thin. So I suggest we return to the ballroom and congratulate your sisters on their engagements.”
“Oh. I see.” She couldn’t keep from smiling as she loosened her hold on his jacket. “So then…what you’re saying, if I understand you correctly, is if we were to stay here another minute or two, you’d have my skirts up around my waist on one of those benches while—”
“Fiona.” His voice was dangerously low, the note of warning clear.
Giggling, she pushed her way past him and started making her way back as he had suggested while he followed behind. “You’re lucky I’m in no mood to get sick, which I likely would if I were to bare myself to this unforgiving cold.”
“Fiona.” He sounded a bit more strangled now.
“Had we done this during the summer, however…well, that would have been an entirely different story.”
“Bloody hell!”
“Can you imagine anything more perfect than making love beneath the stars?”
His arm swept around her waist, pulling her back so roughly she instinctively squeaked. The next thing she heard was his voice against her ear, his breath hot upon her skin while he whispered closely, “This isn’t a game, Fiona. Have a care or I might not be able to stop myself from taking more than you ought to be willing to give me at this moment.”
Stunned by his uncharacteristic gruffness and the elemental masculinity with which he spoke – as though he was tempted to toss her over his shoulder and carry her off to a cave for a wicked round of debauchery – she hesitated on the precipice where she now stood. He was right. They deserved better than a quick tumble on the frosty ground, which meant she would have to help him do the gentlemanly thing – the right thing for both of them.
“Promise me you will still want me tomorrow?”
He sighed against the back of her head. “It would be impossible for me not to, Fiona.”
With that assurance, she blew out a breath of her own, her chest a little lighter and her hopes for the future a great deal brighter than they’d been half an hour earlier. “I still cannot believe this is real,” she said as they stepped out from the maze and began following the path that would take them back to Thorncliff. “It seems like a dream.”
“It isn’t,” he promised. Taking her hand, he set it upon his arm. “Now that I know you feel the same way, there’ll be no going back. My feelings for you are as true as the North Star up there in the distance. See how it shines?”
“The North Star.” She stared up at it for a moment. An idea began to emerge from the back of her mind. “Let’s walk this way, Chadwick. I want to take a look at something.” They continued until they’d reached a point that placed them halfway between Thorncliff’s leftmost and rightmost wall. Stopping there, Fiona looked back at the grand estate and smiled. “It’s a compass, Chadwick. I cannot believe I didn’t think of it before.”
“Good lord. You’re right!”
“And with the Cardinals taken into account – their choice of code names being the North, South, East and West Wind…” She fell silent, dumbfounded by her own ignorance. “I think the most important clue to the treasure has been staring us in the face all along.”
“The wind rose inlay in the foyer floor?”
Nodding, she glanced up at him. “Not once did I look at it as anything other than a pretty design, but I’m beginning to think there has to be more to it than that.”
“It is supposed to indicate the direction from which the wind blows on a map.” Tugging her arm, he began leading her back up toward the terrace. “In any case, you will have to wait for the guests to leave before going ahead with this new part of your investigation.”
“I told you earlier, I have no intention of continuing after what happened to Emily.”
A snort was his immediate response, and then he said, “I know you did, but this is the sort of breakthrough that’s going to nag at you until you agree to take a closer look at it. Just as long as you let me help you and promise me you’ll be careful.”
“Of course.” She could scarcely contain the excitement that bubbled inside her. It made her want to race up the steps to the terrace and hurry toward the foyer. Instead, she forced herself to maintain a
more ladylike stride. Her sisters required her attention first, as did the ball, while the wind rose would easily wait for another few hours, even if her fingers were itching to explore it with immediate haste.
Chapter 23
“I cannot believe you are all to be married,” Fiona said. Those who’d simply come to attend the ball had departed half an hour earlier, leaving the Heartlys, Lamont, Belgrave, Montsmouth, Edward, and Lady Duncaster to enjoy a bit of tea before retiring.
“Neither can we,” Lady Oakland exclaimed with a loving smile directed at her husband. “But it is marvelous. We really couldn’t be happier.”
“You will be sure to make headlines,” Lady Duncaster said. Her eyes caught Edward’s for a second as though in thoughtful contemplation. He found himself holding his breath until she looked toward Lord and Lady Oakland once more. “It is no small feat to marry off six children in the space of one year.”
“The gossip rags will have a marvelous time of it,” Laura remarked. “Perhaps we should stop by the Mayfair Chronicle after departing from here and set our story straight – allow one of the journalists there to interview us before any suppositions are made.”
“I think that’s an excellent suggestion,” Lord Oakland said. “By then we might even be able to give them a proper account of the weddings.”
“I was actually hoping to visit the paper before the weddings, Papa.” Laura reached for Lamont’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze – a gesture Edward wished he could replicate with Fiona. But he’d yet to make his intentions known, not only to her family but to her.
With her sisters’ engagements in mind and Fiona’s new realizations regarding the treasure, he hadn’t yet managed a proposal of his own. Which was maybe for the best since their history together made him want to do something particularly special – something worthy of her.
“If we have to wait three weeks or more,” Laura continued, “the news or some version of it will already have reached London. What I would like to suggest is for us to —”
“Marry here,” Lord Oakland said with a grin he apparently shared with not only his wife but with Lady Duncaster too. “What can possibly be more romantic than a three-fold Christmas wedding?”
“But…” It was Rachel’s turn to speak. “Christmas is in only two days. That’s not nearly enough time for the banns to be cried.”
A moment of silence passed. The Oaklands and Lady Duncaster all looked like three conspiratorial children who’d gotten caught in the middle of a prank. Sensing the next words spoken were going to be extremely interesting indeed, Edward leaned forward in his seat and eyed Fiona, who appeared to be as intrigued as he felt.
“The truth is,” Lady Oakland began, “that we – your father and I, that is – came to Thorncliff prepared for this eventuality.”
Lord Oakland considered each of his daughters in turn. “What your mother is trying to say is, we had the foresight to procure special licenses for all of you, in case you wished to have a Christmas wedding.”
“But…” Emily frowned. “You couldn’t have known Montsmouth and I would fall in love or that he would propose or that Rachel would end up with Belgrave and Laura with Lamont. Each couple’s name would have to be on each license, paired off in a way not even you could have predicted.”
Lord Oakland raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps not, but Lady Duncaster did.”
Everyone turned to regard their hostess, who met their inquisitive stares with a brilliant smile. Shrugging, she reached for her tea and took a sip. “I spent a great deal of time observing all of you when you were last here during the summer. I noted your interests and your personalities and used that information to determine how to make the most appropriate matches. All that was needed after that was the opportunity for you to become better acquainted with each other. Coming here for Christmas seemed like an excellent plan – especially since Lord and Lady Oakland were more than thrilled by the idea of seeing the rest of their children settled.”
“So this has been a matchmaking party all along?” Belgrave asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” Lady Duncaster confirmed. “You can’t be too surprised, what with four bachelors and four unattached ladies being brought together under the same roof.”
Lamont ran his hands through his hair. “Well, I’ll be…”
“Of course, it has also been a wonderful diversion for me,” Lady Duncaster added. “I have no family with whom to celebrate the holiday season otherwise.” She eyed Lamont. “Your company in recent years has been greatly appreciated, but I craved the boisterousness of a larger group.” Glancing at everyone else in turn, she told them sincerely, “Spending time with all of you – filling the house with chatter and laughter – has been a treat.”
“So if I am to understand you correctly,” Rachel said in her typically concise manner that spoke of a need to make sense of the world, “we can marry as soon as we wish?”
“Correct,” Lord Oakland said.
“The chapel is at your disposal,” Lady Duncaster said. “Unless, of course, you desire a large London wedding and more time to order new gowns and so forth, in which case you will have to wait.”
“I have no need of a new gown,” Laura said. “In my opinion a Christmas wedding sounds delightful.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Lamont told her with a smile.
The other two couples concurred, and it was quickly decided the chapel should be decorated with pine garlands, ribbons, and candles. Edward had no doubt it would provide a romantic setting for a wedding, not to mention there was something particularly special about getting married on Christmas.
He glanced at Fiona, whose attention appeared to be drawn by her mother at the moment. Not once did she look across at him, no matter how much he willed her to do so, and he couldn’t help but wonder at what she might be thinking. Was she disappointed her sisters were getting married so quickly while she was not? Did she feel excluded? He could easily rectify that with a quick question, except he didn’t want to rush a proposal. It would be the only one he would ever make, so he wanted to get it right.
He would wait for just the right moment. One that would hopefully present itself soon enough to allow Fiona the chance to marry on Christmas as her sisters were now quite eagerly planning to do. He couldn’t help but grin at their animated faces as the women spoke of the shopping they’d have to do tomorrow at the village, while each of the soon to be bridegrooms stared at them in bemusement. It was already three o’clock in the morning, yet none of those present – not even Lady Duncaster – seemed remotely tired. He rose with the intention of excusing himself and heading off to bed. If he was going to plan the perfect proposal, he would have to do so on more than a few hours of sleep.
Except Fiona stood as well, blocking his path to the door. “Before you go…” What? Was she going to propose to him? That would certainly make his task a lot easier. She twisted so she could address the whole group. “I planned to give up on finding the treasure after Emily’s terrible mishap.”
Ah yes, the treasure.
“That passageway has been closed off since then,” Lady Ducaster assured everyone. “I have also asked for access to be denied to the rest of the tunnels until they can be properly mapped. The last thing we need is for one of my guests to get lost down there for good. It’s simply too dangerous.”
“I agree,” Fiona said, “but there is still the question of the wind rose in the foyer.”
“The wind rose?” Lady Duncaster stared at Fiona for a long moment with parted lips and then sank back against her seat with a great big sigh. “Of course!”
“What are you talking about?” Emily asked.
Fiona explained. “Historically, wind roses have been placed on maps in order to show the direction the major winds are blowing. It therefore stands to reason that the one in the foyer might be linked to the Cardinals – the North, South, East and West winds, as they called themselves.”
“Especially since that floor was put in by my
father-in-law years ago when he remained here to oversee some renovations while my husband and I were in London,” Lady Duncaster said. “I don’t know why I never considered its significance before.”
“I suppose we were all looking for a secret room and finding one in the foyer seemed unlikely, but after following the tunnels underneath, Chadwick and I determined they all stopped or turned in some way when they reached the vicinity of the foyer. We were never able to pass directly underneath, leading me to believe something might be there – some hidden space we’ve yet to find the entrance to.”
“I suppose we ought to go and look at the foyer then,” Rachel said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Fiona agreed. She was already heading for the door.
Edward followed close behind, intent on sharing each moment of her discovery. He’d find time to think about his proposal later. But when he arrived in the foyer, he had to wonder if Fiona’s hypothesis could be true since it seemed impossible for any man to have manufactured something as extraordinary as what Fiona was suggesting, and during the course of only one year and without any servant being the wiser.
Still, he watched with interest while Fiona marched into the center of the wind rose and glanced around the room. Her hands were on her hips, offering her a look of decisive determination. “N.E.W.S,” she said. That is what you found on your way to the study, is it not?”
Laura, who’d turned a fetching shade of pink, nodded. “It is.”
“Right, then.” Fiona walked in the direction the northern point of the wind rose indicated, and Edward realized it didn’t lead her straight toward the front door like he’d initially imagined it would.
The thing was slightly off center – a fact he’d never noticed before. But he did so now while he watched Fiona reach the wall. A painting hung there, and she proceeded to run her fingers across it, then along the outside edges of the frame until she suddenly paused. She seemed to push forward on something – a button or lever perhaps – and Edward heard a distinct click.
Christmas At Thorncliff Manor (Secrets At Thorncliff Manor Book 4) Page 19