“Of a certainty I shall. I’m here to ask Ryder to stand up with me. To support me. To coach me in the ways of artful premarital conduct.”
Douglas shouted with laughter. “Now that is something I don’t want to miss. What will you teach him first, Ryder?”
Ryder said slowly, thoughtfully, “You know, I doubt there is much of value that Gray still needs for this particular endeavor. I do, however, have several close-held observations that might serve you well. I will tell you later, when your day of reckoning is at your front door. Congratulations, Gray.”
13
GRAY WAS hunched over his desk, writing the betrothal announcement for the London Gazette. When he was writing in the bride’s name, he wrote “Jack.” He grinned and marked it out. Winifrede. Perfectly dreadful, but it didn’t matter. Winifrede Levering. Ah, well, he didn’t like Graciella any better.
It was nearly midnight. Mr. Harpole Genner and Lord Bricker had visited him earlier in the evening and told him to proceed with his marriage to the young lady whose virtue he hadn’t abused at all, but since that didn’t matter in society’s eyes, she would doubtless make him an excellent wife.
They’d all shared a brandy.
He finished the announcement and looked up at the light tap on the library door.
“Come.”
It was Jack, looking all sorts of pale and scared and ridiculous in Mathilda’s black peignoir, which trailed after her like a witch’s train. All she needed was a familiar.
“Just a moment,” Gray said. He rose and walked over to where his Eleanor was curled up in front of a sluggishly burning fire. He lifted her into his arms, let her stretch and dig her claws into his shoulder, then said, “Eleanor, this is Jack. She’s moving in with me. Come and get to know her since she’ll be sleeping with us after Friday.”
Sleeping with him? Jack said as she took a limp Eleanor and began to stroke her automatically as she draped over her shoulder, “I didn’t think about that, Gray. All of us will sleep in the same bed?”
“That’s the way of things, Jack. It’s not depraved or debauched or anything very interesting like that. No, the three of us will all be stretched out side by side, snoring and dreaming and perhaps kneading each other to gain attention.”
Jack said, still stroking a sprawled-out, perfectly boneless Eleanor, “This has been the strangest two weeks of my life. My mother used to tell me that I had the imagination of a good half dozen children. But I know that I would have never imagined this happening.”
“A wife named Jack trooping into my life hasn’t happened to me before either. Actually, I begin to believe that I was too set in my comfortable ways. Perhaps it was time I reimmersed myself in reality. You’re not a bad reality, Jack, all things considered. It appears that Eleanor approves of you. Of course, she’s exhausted, since she took three hours to chase down a mouse today. Maybe that’s it. She’d accept anyone who had gentle hands.”
He suddenly saw his own hands on her. His hands had been on her a good deal, but not recently; within the past three days his hands hadn’t been anywhere near enough to her. His fingers itched. Her hair was in a braid that was barely braided, all slept in and tangled. He very much liked the tendrils of hair that fell and curled and lazed about her face. A nice face, he thought. Yes, she had a very nice face, full of character and good humor.
She would be his wife.
On Friday. Good God.
“Gray?”
He blinked away the glaze over his eyes, the same glaze that was over his brain. “Yes, Jack? Eleanor is too heavy? Is she weighing down your shoulder? You’re still tired?”
“No. I was wondering where my stepfather was. He said he’d come back today, didn’t he?”
“He did.” He took Eleanor from her and led her to a settee in front of the fire. “Sit down, Jack, before you crumple to my carpet. You’re looking a bit white about the mouth. Yes, you can hold Eleanor on your lap.”
“Tell me,” she said, settling the both of them. “What will he do?”
Gray smiled at the two of them, Eleanor curling, then recurling until she was comfortable on Jack’s thighs. One of the black peignoir feathers wreathed her head.
“He said, without any polite preamble, that he had come to fetch you home, that he wouldn’t leave until I’d handed you over, and he was fully prepared to bring in a magistrate along with sufficient men to drag you out of here. At that point I offered him a brandy, clicked my glass to his, and fondly called him papa-in-law.”
“Oh, dear. What did he do?”
“He spit my very expensive brandy all over the carpet and his waistcoat. Once he regained his breath, he carried on about that not being possible, at which point I calmly told him that I had been to see Lord Burleigh, who just happened to be my godfather as well as your guardian, and everything was in order. I gently inquired if he was at all concerned that it was your guardian approving your marriage.”
“Did he choke and spit again?”
“No, he drew a stiletto from his coat pocket and brandished it in my face. He said that wasn’t possible, that he was your stepfather, and it would be he who determined who your husband would be, not that damned Lord Burleigh.”
Gray leaned over and patted her face, his grin becoming wider as he said, “Your stepfather was utterly sincere when he said that you already had a gentleman who wished to wed with you. He said he feared that you—a wild and undisciplined chit—had already taken him for your lover. It was Lord Rye, he told me, a gentleman of great good nature and healthy enough appetites to suit a young girl.”
“That is perfectly appalling,” Jack said, tugging on one of Eleanor’s ears, to which Eleanor reached up a paw and swatted her hand. “Come, tell me the rest of it.”
Gray grinned at her and sat back in his chair. “It’s not very edifying.”
“At least he didn’t stab you. He’s always fiddling with that stiletto.”
Gray set his brandy glass down and began stroking his long fingers over his chin as he said, “I told him I had heard of Lord Rye. Oh, yes, I told him, I was acquainted with his charming heir, a young man about my own age, by the name of Arthur, if I wasn’t mistaken.”
Gray pictured Sir Henry’s red face, remembered him saying quite clearly, “Cadmon Kilburn, Lord Rye, is a mature gentleman, not a flighty young man who would break her heart with his careless ways.”
“Mature?” Gray had said, an eyebrow lifted. “You wish to share fathering duties with Lord Rye? You would wish her to be the stepmama of Arthur, who is older than she is?”
“Enough of this, my lord. Bring me my stepdaughter. She is already betrothed to Lord Rye. You won’t get her.”
“You mean I won’t get all her groats?” Gray had walked to his desk, opened the top drawer, and withdrawn a sheaf of papers. He presented them to Sir Henry. “If you’ll read the marriage agreement, Sir Henry, you’ll see that I’ve already got her. Lord Rye may find himself a rich widow to see to him, his debauched heir, and his half dozen other children. Now, either we can be civilized about this or I can beat you to a pulp and toss you out my drawing room window. Or, if you truly distress me, I can take that stiletto of yours and prick your brain with it.”
Gray gave her a white-toothed grin. He rubbed his hands together. “At which point,” he said, “your stepfather jumped at me, his stiletto at the ready.”
Jack was staring at him, utterly frozen. Eleanor leapt up, snarled in Jack’s face, and jumped off her lap and onto a wing chair.
“She’s sensitive,” Gray said.
Jack jumped to her feet. Gray had the presence of mind to jump to his feet before she ran him down. Her hands were all over his face, down his arms, then flattened against his chest. He grabbed them and held her still.
“What’s wrong, Jack?”
“Did he stick you with the stiletto? Oh, God, did he hurt you?”
<
br /> He was pleased. She was concerned that he’d been hurt. She cared, and it more than pleased him. He laughed to hide it. He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed each of her fingers. She became very, very quiet. Then he spit one of Eleanor’s hairs out of his mouth and grinned down at her.
“Your dear stepfather didn’t stick me with the stiletto. I relieved him of his nasty toy and tossed it onto the grate. Actually, I thought he would cry then. Finally he drew himself up and announced that he would see me in hell before he would see me as your husband.” Gray paused a moment, his fingers still lightly stroking her hands. “I find it odd that he looks so very, well, heroic, I suppose. Yes, that’s the proper word. He’s tall and imposing, seemingly a man who’s a leader, a man of apparently fine parts, at least fine physical parts, a man one could trust and admire.”
“Oh, no, he’s not at all like you, Gray.”
He believed in that instant that if his chest expanded any further, he’d explode. She believed him imposing? A leader? She trusted and admired him? By God, he was heroic?
“No,” he said, staring down at her, fascinated, feeling so wonderful he was still in danger of bursting. “He’s not a bit like me.”
“It is such a mystery to me. My mother adored him until she died. If she ever saw through him, realized at last who and what he really was, it just didn’t matter to her. Don’t misunderstand me. Sir Henry isn’t stupid. I imagine that he was properly adoring until they were married and he had her money. Then there would have been no more need for him to be anything other than what he really was.”
“A rotter.”
“Yes. Only my mother never cared. She worshiped him. When she birthed Georgie, rather than a precious heir for him, I believed she would kill herself. To make her suffer more, he acted as though it were all her fault, that she’d birthed a daughter to torment him. I had disliked him before. After that, I hated him for his cruelty. I still do.”
“Perhaps your stepfather and my father were somehow related in the distant past. I believe I will have to make a study of Sir Henry so as to see how close their similarities.
“Now, Jack, stop this. He didn’t hurt me. Why, I even invited him to our wedding. I assured him that if he could present himself as a doting stepfather you wouldn’t mind at all. I did tell him that he couldn’t stand up with you because Mr. Harpole Genner had that honor.”
She didn’t know about this Harpole Genner. She frowned. He patted her shoulders. “Don’t worry. You’ll like Mr. Genner. He’s a longtime friend of Lord Burleigh’s. He’s the one who has seen to everything being right and proper. I could tell that Sir Henry knew about Mr. Harpole Genner, knew he was a man to respect, perhaps a man to fear. Sir Henry won’t try to muck up our wedding ceremony, Jack.”
She just nodded. She was frowning down at her black slippers, on loan from Aunt Mathilda. “I’m worried about Georgie. She’s in his power, Gray. What can I do?”
“I’ve been thinking about that, Jack. I want you to stop worrying. I swear to you that I’ll make sure Georgie is safe and sound. Will you trust me?”
He saw that she trusted him. She just didn’t believe he could get his hands on her little sister.
He let it go. “Now, would you like to read your marriage settlement?”
“Yes. I should like to read all your manly stipulations.”
“Jack, let the papers sit on my desk a few minutes longer. Come here and let me kiss you. It’s the first time.”
Actually, he thought, his mouth lightly touching her, it was probably the first time that she’d ever kissed any man. “Pucker your lips,” he said against her mouth. “Yes, that’s right. No, don’t seam your lips together. Open them just a bit—that’s right.”
She was warm, her mouth soft, and she tasted sweet. His hands went unerringly toward her bottom, only to halt half an inch away. It was too soon. She wasn’t Jenny. She had no experience at all. He imagined she didn’t cook at all either.
It was daunting, her youth and innocence. He had to go very easily.
He’d never even been close to a virgin before. He was a blockhead, with a short memory. How could he forget even for a moment that he’d seen her naked, cared for her, held her tightly against him. What the devil was wrong with him?
She was conscious and full-witted now, that was what was wrong. “Smooth out your mouth,” he said as he nipped at that dimple in her left cheek.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your mouth looks like an ill-sewn seam.”
She drew back in his arms and laughed. “Oh, Gray, show me what to do.”
It wasn’t a good idea. She was so giving and soft and pliant. He could haul her over to the sofa and take her down, right this very minute. She was just an envelope of black silk away.
He set her away from him. “I’ll show you everything you want to know on Friday. No, after our wedding—not Friday morning over kippers.”
“I’ll be too scared to eat kippers on Friday morning.”
“I’ll probably be too scared as well. Go to bed, Jack, alone. I won’t come to tuck you in. I wish to spare myself any more suffering.”
He saw that she didn’t understand. Well, she would come to understand as soon as he had the bishop’s blessing on his head to indulge himself in marital bliss until he was exhausted or couldn’t stand upright, whichever came first. He took a step back.
His good sense was cracking like an old mirror that had seen too much. He picked up Eleanor, who gave him a lazy look, stretched her head forward, and lightly bit his neck. He looked over at Jack, who was still standing there, undecided. “On Friday night, I want you to bite my neck, just like Eleanor did. All right?”
She nodded slowly. She took a step forward. “Actually, I could bite your neck right now, Gray. Surely no one could consider that debauchery.”
His eyes nearly crossed. “Yes, they could. If you did bite my neck and anyone saw you do it then we’d have to get married right now, tomorrow at the latest. Trust me on this. Go to bed, Jack.”
“Don’t you think it appropriate that you give me just a bit of preparation for my new job?”
A dark blond eyebrow went upward. “New job?”
“I’m going to be a wife. I know nothing about it. At least I know nothing at all about the fleshly side of it. My mother did train me how to deal with servants, from a flirtatious laundry maid to a tearful tweeny to a puff-chested butler. I know how to mend a sheet. I can do beautiful embroidery. I can even cook a bit. But, Gray, I don’t know a thing about my duties in the bedchamber.”
“Jack, I swear to you that you will learn very quickly, since I am an excellent instructor and you will have as many lessons as I can manage before I fall over in a heap. You don’t need to know anything. It’s best for your peace of mind that you come into this ignorant as a ball of clay.” Ball of clay? He was losing what little he had left of his brain. “Well, hell, all right. Come here.”
But it was he who walked quickly to her, grabbed her against him, and trailed his fingertip over her eyebrows, her nose, her jaw. He dipped his head down to kiss where his fingers had touched her.
Then he yowled.
Eleanor swatted him again.
“I forgot,” he said and peeled Eleanor off his shoulder. “Sorry,” he said, to both Jack and Eleanor, watching her as she strolled away from them, her tail twitching high in the air. Then he turned back to Jack, who just stood there, looking at his mouth. She looked interested, very interested. She also looked just a bit on the scared side. Well, this whole business wasn’t for the fainthearted.
He lightly stroked his knuckles over her jaw. “You and I will deal well together, Jack. Now, don’t close your eyes. Look at me straight on.” Very slowly he cupped her breasts in his hands. She jerked.
“No, just hold still. Look at me. Tell me how that makes you feel.”
&nbs
p; She swallowed. Then, very slowly, she let her head fall back. He watched her eyes drift shut, her eyelashes sweep down. He looked at that white neck of hers.
He wanted that white neck, but he had to begin somewhere and he’d already begun with her breasts. He stroked her easily, ever so easily. He felt only soft black feathers and a single layer of silk between his hands and her breasts. He’d washed her breasts, drawn the damp cloth over her breasts when she’d been roasting with the fever. He’d stared at those breasts of hers and nearly swallowed his tongue. He cleared his throat, trying to tell his brain that speech was the best thing for him in this situation. Still his fingers didn’t move from her breasts. He cleared his throat again. “Jack, what do you feel when I caress your breasts?”
“I can’t see.”
“That’s because your eyes are closed. Bring your head back up and look at me.”
She did, her eyes shining and excited. Even though he was harder than the pink-veined Carrara marble mantelpiece, he kept his hands steady.
He leaned down and kissed the pulse in her throat.
He pulled the peignoir open.
“You’re looking at me.”
“Yes, your northerly female parts are really quite exquisite.”
“Will I find your male parts equally exquisite?”
“Of course,” he said, praying desperately that she would. He kissed the tops of her breasts. Then he pulled the black silk back together.
“You will now go to bed, alone. Tomorrow is Thursday, Jack. Think of me kissing your breasts until Friday. Will you try?”
“I’ll try, Gray.”
When she was gone, he turned to Eleanor, who was staring at him from unblinking green eyes.
“So, what’s the matter with you?”
She slowly sat up and began washing herself. He looked at her more closely. “Your belly isn’t at all lean, Eleanor. Are you pregnant? Do you have future racing cats inside you?”
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