‘Yes, after that. Do you still intend to look for a position, at least until you reach your majority?’
She turned to look at him and Fergus saw stark determination reflected in her eyes. ‘No, Lord Willard, I—’
‘Fergus. You must call me Fergus.’
Her mouth fell open. ‘I cannot do that!’
‘Why ever not?’ He lifted his shoulders. ‘We are friends, Fergus is my name and friends use one another’s names.’
‘But you are a viscount.’
Fergus laughed. ‘So I am, but I fail to see what difference that makes.’
She shook her head. ‘I shall never understand the upper classes. Us lesser mortals are chastised if we assume to be familiar and yet…’
‘It is my experience that those who feel the need to flaunt their position by being sticklers for protocol very often have no position worth flaunting.’
She smiled and the gesture illuminated her entire face, making her seem pretty, vulnerable and highly desirable. Fergus impulsively grasped her hand and laced his fingers with hers. She appeared surprised but made no attempt to claim her hand back.
‘To answer your question, I most likely shall seek a position, but before I do that, I intend to confront my father.’ She straightened her shoulders and set her chin in a stubborn line of determination. ‘I refuse to hide from him, or fear him, and the best way to counter fear is to meet it head on.’
‘Normally, I would agree with you, but in this case I must beg you to reconsider.’
‘Why?’
‘Think, Amelia. Until you reach one-and-twenty your father has the law on his side and can hold you against your will.’
‘He is certainly welcome to try but he cannot marry me off unless I agree to it, which I will not, and his only interest in me is my trust fund.’
‘Without wishing to alarm you, I would imagine that if anything were to happen to you, and since you have no daughters for it to pass to, your father would have a strong claim to that trust.’
‘Oh!’ She covered her mouth with her free hand and the colour faded from her cheeks. ‘I had not stopped to think. But still, nothing will happen to me. I am young, strong and not afraid of hard work.’
‘You found the courage to defy your father, a strict disciplinarian, and he will be furious about your rebellion.’ Fergus gently squeezed the fingers still entwined with his. Her hand was shaking. ‘Worse, all of his workers will know what you have done by now. Your brother was openly asking in The Grapes if anyone had seen you and gossip must be rife.’
‘Yes.’ A soft smile danced about her lips. ‘I dare say it will be, which makes me wonder why Papa allowed Henry to ask those questions in the first place.’
‘Perhaps he did not. Perhaps your brother took it upon himself to look for you because he is worried about your welfare. I am very glad that someone is.’
‘No.’ Amelia shook her head. ‘Henry only ever does as Papa tells him to.’
‘Whatever the reasons for your brother’s questions, by now your father will be a laughing stock because he couldn’t control a slip of a girl. That will give his dissatisfied workers the courage to reconsider their demands for increased wages. In other words, your father’s position had been undermined by the daughter he thought he could control.’
‘How right you are,’ she replied with a sparkling smile. Dear God, this was not supposed to make her feel invulnerable; quite the reverse.
‘He won’t allow matters to rest there, Amelia, and will need to take decisive action to reassert his authority. Very decisive. I urge you not to go anywhere near him.’
‘Papa would not actually kill me,’ she said, sounding more certain that she looked.
‘I would infinitely prefer it if he did not have the opportunity. I have no wish to alarm you but it is important that you understand the risks.’
‘Yes, you are right.’ She shuddered. ‘But what can I do instead to protect my position?’
‘You could let me look after you. You will come to no harm in my care.’
Fergus detected a kaleidoscope of conflicting emotions in her expression—shock, confusion and, dare he hope, pleasure? ‘I…I don’t understand what you mean.’
‘I admire your courage, Amelia, more than words can express. I feel a connection to you that I have never felt for any of the society ladies who are routinely thrown at me. None of them interest me. Besides, they only make themselves agreeable because they would like to be my viscountess. They know nothing about me, have no idea if we have interests or ideals in common, but that doesn’t prevent them. It is infuriating how shallow people can be.’
‘I can quite see that,’ she said softly. ‘I had not stopped to consider that it must be as bad for you, being pursued for your title as it is for me, being chased for my trust fund.’
‘Then we understand one another.’ He shook his head, thinking he was making a complete mull of expressing his feelings. ‘I have only known you for a few days, it’s true, but there is something about you that I find compelling, something that makes me want to know you better. And that is why I cannot permit you to go anywhere near your father.’ He touched her cheek. ‘I have decided to make you my responsibility.’
‘Lord Willard…Fergus.’ Her voice shook with emotion. ‘I don’t know whether to thank you or chastise you for your presumptuousness.’
‘Neither,’ he replied, smiling. ‘I had no intention of speaking so frankly when I suggested this walk. It was only when I realised you intended to act impetuously and put yourself at risk that I felt the need to put you on your guard. Please don’t take offence.’
‘How can I when you have reached conclusions that would not have occurred to me?’
‘But I sense you still can’t bring yourself to think ill of your father.’
‘Duty has been drummed into me since an early age so defiance definitely doesn’t come naturally.’ She exhaled a long breath. ‘I had no idea that rebellion could be so exhausting.’
‘Then looking for a position is out of the question. You need to recover your strength before you think about the future.’ He cupped her chin with his free hand and traced the outline of her lips with the pad of his thumb. ‘Stay with Olivia. I am sure she will be happy to have the company. Eva and Isaac will be married soon and will move into their own house.’
‘It would be presumptive of me to simply assume I could stay.’
‘Surely that is for Olivia to decide?’
‘She is too kindly disposed to say no, but that doesn’t mean she would welcome my company.’
‘Will you please stop looking down on yourself? No one else has done so since you’ve been with us, have they?’
‘Well no, but I still feel out of place.’
‘Olivia insists that she herself is not welcomed within society’s ranks, which makes you more equal.’
Amelia’s lips twitched. ‘Even I know that is not true and I am barely acquainted with the lady. It is my opinion that she prefers to defy the standard codes of respectability, perhaps to deter fortune hunters. I mean, she is very lovely and well-situated; a tempting proposition.’
‘They are few men in the kingdom who could win Olivia’s regard, or deserve to do so.’ It was Fergus’s turn to show amusement. ‘There is only one who stands a chance. However, we are talking of your future. I think it would be prudent to call upon the solicitors holding your trust fund.’
‘Will they not contact Papa the moment I do? Besides, why do I need to see them?’
‘They do not act for your father. It would be sensible to let them know where you are living and give them instructions to contact you there if anyone tries to access the trust.’
‘But surely they will tell Papa where I am?’
‘They cannot betray your confidence and would be in trouble with the Law Society if they did.’
‘Well then, perhaps I shall. Would you come with me if I decide to?’
‘With the greatest of pleasure.’ He sighed
. ‘I am being unfair to you; telling you what you ought to do when you are still coming to terms with your changed circumstances. Forgive me?’
‘There is nothing to forgive. I am very grateful to you for…more than grateful.’ She sent him a dazzling smile. ‘You make me feel comfortable in a way that even Olivia and Eva, with their kindness, cannot accomplish. You make me forget about the differences in our situations and when I am with you I think of you only as…well, as a woman is supposed to think and feel about a man she admires.’ Amelia’s cheeks flamed. ‘I am so sorry. I should not have said that. I cannot think what came over me.’
Fergus brought the hand he was holding to his lips and gently kissed her fingers, holding her gaze as he did so. ‘It gives me more hope than you can possibly know.’ He stood and pulled her gently to her feet. ‘I had best see if Jake is ready. We have an engagement this afternoon on another matter.’
‘I believe he and Olivia are fencing. I saw her upstairs when I went up to my room for something a little while ago. She was dressed like a man and told me that was why.’
‘Fencing, eh? Is that what they are calling it this week?’
‘Fergus!’
He chuckled. ‘Olivia and Jake have been dancing around one another for two years now, both pretending they are perfectly happy with their lives the way they are.’
‘Then I hope they soon come to their senses.’
‘They are both very stubborn.’
‘I cannot help but want to see Olivia happy. She has been so very good to me.’
‘We shall talk again,’ Fergus said when they reached the house and were obliged to separate. ‘But I must have your promise that you will not do anything rash without first speaking to me about it. Most particularly, you must not go anywhere near your father.’
She nodded. ‘Yes, all right. I promise.’
‘Thank you.’ He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. ‘I shall see you again at dinner, if not before.’
***
So the time had come. Finally. But only because Olivia had forced the issue. If she had waited for Jake to act upon his impulses she would have died of old age. She sat at her dressing table running a brush through her tangled hair, calm yet apprehensive as she waited for Jake to join her.
God forbid that she should disappoint him! A widow and mother, he probably assumed she knew all there was to know about activities in the bedchamber. Yet Olivia’s education was woefully inadequate in that regard. Her husband had taken his pleasure without regard for hers. Indeed, she had never felt any and, if she was honest, his murder had come as a relief. He was a tyrant and bully for whom she had no regard and even less respect. She had not killed him but hadn’t even pretended to be sorry that he was dead, bringing about unsubstantiated accusations of murder from his equally unpleasant brother whose real target had been Olivia’s wealth. With her locked away, or hanged, he would have got his hands on it. Was it any wonder that she had vowed never to be dominated by any man ever again?
Then she had met Jake and was obliged to reconsider. He opened up a deep longing, a feeling of unfulfilled desire within her that she found increasingly hard to ignore. She now understood the demons that drove him. It showed a rare vulnerability and gave her the courage to follow her instincts. He was torn between guilt, duty and a restless need to make amends for the death of his brother. She would find a way to convince him that he had more than paid his dues and that it was time to put himself first.
‘There you are.’
He had slipped into her room without her hearing him approach it and now leaned against the door, watching her brush her hair with an expression of unguarded passion he had never revealed to her before. With the ghost of a smile he turned to lock the door and then approached her.
‘Allow me,’ he said, taking the brush from her hand.
‘Playing lady’s maid, my lord.’ She sent him a teasing smile. ‘I had no idea you were so accomplished.’
‘Oh, I have a number of accomplishments you have not become acquainted with. Yet.’ He abandoned the brush and ran his fingers through her hair instead. ‘We shall have to do something about that,’ he said in a lustful rumble. ‘You have beautiful hair. I have wanted to see it in its natural state for a long time.’
She glanced at him in the mirror, surprised by the raw desire in his expression. ‘Then you are very easily satisfied.’
He laughed aloud. ‘Not nearly as easily as you seem to imagine.’
She raised a brow. ‘You can read my mind and anticipate my thoughts?’
‘Absolutely.’
She tossed her head. ‘You are an impossible man!’
‘Why are you so nervous?’ He frowned as he pulled her to her feet and into his arms. ‘Whatever it is that your husband did to you that you found disagreeable, don’t imagine I will be so crass.’
‘If I thought you could be then you would not be here.’
‘Even so, I must be sure you want to take this step.’ He closed his hands protectively over her backside. ‘It will change the tenor of our relationship, crossing boundaries we have been at pains to maintain, and things won’t ever be the way they were between us.’
‘That is a relief. You are here because I want you to show me how exquisite intimacy can be between two people who desire one another.’ She glanced up at him and noticed passion, dark and intense, swirling in the depths of his eyes. ‘I have never been in that position, you see.’
‘Oh, I see more than you can imagine and feel incredibly privileged. I hope I shall be able to satisfy your curiosity.’
‘I have never known you to be anything other than attentive to detail. It is an admirable yet sometimes infuriating trait.’
‘Not the smallest detail about your needs will escape my attention. You may depend upon it.’ He dropped a soft, chaste kiss on her forehead. ‘I have wanted you since I first met you, when you were scared half out of your wits because you had been arrested, but still fighting mad. I have never admired anyone more.’
She shuddered at the memory. ‘I must have looked a fright.’
‘Not you. Never. Fighting the attraction has driven me demented ever since.’ His voice was a soft caress. ‘I am so very glad that you forced the issue. You were more courageous than I in that respect.’
He lowered his head and claimed her lips, his mouth warm and mobile as he brought it down over hers and he kissed her like a man with a point to prove. Olivia wound her arms around his neck and moulded her body against his, conscious of the extent of his arousal pressing hard and determined against her abdomen. Fiercely possessive, his lips pushed hers apart and his tongue plundered her mouth, causing her heart to trip over her racing pulse and rational thought to evaporate into pure sensation beneath the bewildering paradox of pleasure and longing that escalated within her. A low, animalistic sound slipped past their fused lips and it took Olivia a moment to realise that it had come from her.
When he broke the kiss, Olivia found she was gasping for air; stunned by the torrent of pleasure she had received from a simple kiss. Not that there was anything simple about the quality of Jake’s kisses. Like everything he did, it was fuelled by determination and expertise. Her breathing hitched, every nerve ending in her body awakened by the intensity in his expression as he gently framed her face with his hand.
‘Last chance to change your mind,’ he said softly. ‘This really is a terrible idea, you know.’
‘Absolutely ridiculous,’ she agreed. ‘I cannot think what made me agree to it.’
He raised a challenging brow. ‘So you regret it already?’
‘How can I possibly know until you deliver?’
‘A fair point.’ He chuckled. ‘Let’s see about delivering then, shall we?’
Jake tugged the shirt she wore from the waistband of her breeches. Before she had time to prepare herself he whipped it over her head and discarded it, leaving her torso covered only by a flimsy camisole. But not for long. It went the same way as her
shirt and she stood in front of him naked to the waist, but for the hair that cascaded over her shoulders. He moved it aside and his hungry gaze devoured the sight of her breasts. She felt her nipples harden and pucker beneath his intense scrutiny.
‘Just perfect,’ he said in a tone of reverent awe. ‘I knew you would be.’
One hand reached forward and caressed a breast. She cried out, not in pain but because the raw sensation that his touch sent through her was too intense to be born in silence.
‘So sensitive,’ he said, chuckling. ‘You are no challenge whatsoever.’
‘Sorry to disappoint, my lord.’
‘Oh, sweetheart, the last thing you are to me is a disappointment. You are my sanity…or insanity, I have yet to decide which. What I do know is that I will never be able to have enough of you. I hope you are prepared for that eventuality.’
Without warning her to expect it, he swung her from her feet and carried her to the bed. This was it, Olivia thought, still convinced that she would be a disappointment. But the thought of calling a halt before he discovered it for himself did not occur to her. The simple fact of that matter was that he wielded far too much power over her mind, her body and her heart for that to be possible. Besides, he sensed her nervousness and she trusted him to take care of her. He looked down at her, his gaze heavy lidded and seductive; his smile devastatingly wicked. With swift efficiency he unfastened her breeches and she felt no embarrassment when he pulled them down her legs, even lifting her hips when he told her to so that he could remove them completely.
With her completely naked and him still clothed, he sat on the edge of the bed and ran a finger down the centre of her body, between her breasts, across her belly, stopping tantalisingly short of the part of her that cried out for attention.
‘Patience,’ he said, chuckling as he bent his head to lap at the pulse beating wildly at the base of her throat.
And then his lips were everywhere, travelling up the length of her neck and concentrating on the area behind her ear; an area that seemed unnaturally sensitive. She never would have imagined such an innocent contact could wreak such havoc. Then, glory be, his lips latched onto a nipple that solidified to his touch. She gasped, instinctively lifting her hips from the bed because she wanted more, so much more of him.
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