by Janet Woods
It was unexpected. She was the daughter of a clergyman and he respected both. Her uncle was his friend and she was untouched.
‘I am shocked, Vivienne.’
Her eyes widened. ‘Really?’
She has to be plucked sooner or later.
For once his conscience agreed with him.
‘Well perhaps not.’ Removing the bonnet from her head he loosened her hair from its pins. It dropped in a glorious tumble about her shoulders when he swept her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. There he gently set her down on the edge. He seated himself next to her, giving her an opportunity to change her mind.
‘Are you sure, my Vivienne?’
‘Of course … afterwards I have something to tell you … something I should have told you when we first met.’
He drew the pillow down for her head to rest on and began to undo the buttons of her bodice. His signature ring lay in the shadows between her breasts. Placing the tip of his tongue against the pale rise of flesh he took a delicate lick, like a lion tasting its prey before the feast.
There was a hiss of breath, her fingers fisted in his hair and she dragged his head up. ‘How dare you … you trickster!’
Twenty-Five
Vivienne had been about to give in to her urges – and to Alex’s obvious urges too, she thought, hating the puritan streak that had suddenly taken over in an attempt to spoil her fun.
But what she was feeling had nothing to do with being prissy, since she’d been looking forward to her moment of debauchery with some eagerness. Her plan had been to allow Alex to have his way with her to soften him up for when she told him about her fortune. After all, he was a gentleman and therefore he’d honour his commitment to her, come what may.
But no! The real reason was that she’d set eyes on a book that had appeared where his pillow had formerly resided. It was her London journal – the one Maria had told her she couldn’t find. She struggled to rise and pushed him from the bed. He landed on the floor with a thud.
‘Stop it, and at once, Alex.’
‘What the devil’s the matter?’ Alex said from his new position on the floor, as she fumbled to do her buttons up.
Alex loosened the laces on her boots and slid them from her feet. He reached out to straighten a wrinkle in her stocking. ‘You have a sweet little pair of trotters,’ he said, and gently ran his fingernail along the sole of her foot.
Who would have thought she’d experience a bolt of such unbearable pleasure through her body.
She leaned forward to gaze down at him through her hair, waving the journal in his face. ‘You knew about this all the time, didn’t you?’
‘Knew what?’
‘Knew what my journal contains. Oh do get up, Alex, you look quite ridiculous on the floor.’
He joined her on the bed in case a second chance came his way. She moved along and placed a flimsy barrier of air between them. He moved into the space.
She pursed her lips at him. He kissed them.
She nearly gave in. ‘Stop that at once! I can’t think straight.’
‘I like a thinking woman, but I adore you when your senses are in tatters.’
She poked a finger in his chest. ‘Tell me how my journal came into your possession. Have you read it?’
‘I wouldn’t dream of reading it! I only knew it contained a summary of people you’d met. Adelaide was amusing her mother and their guests with some of the contents when I arrived at the house, and I put a stop to it. I’d intended to escort you to the Almack’s social that day, remember? That was the day you left me without a word – except for a short note – and I was all dressed up like some fancy fop on display.’
‘Why didn’t you take someone else to Almack’s in my place?’
‘How could I when I was chasing after you, and half worried to death when I learned what had happened to you?’
He was getting a little bit riled, and Vivienne knew she deserved it. Guilt surged through her and she kissed his cheek. ‘I’m sorry I accused you of replacing me with another.’
‘It’s no good being contrite now, it’s too late,’ he said. ‘I took the journal with me and put it under my pillow. Then I promptly forgot about it. I’m not that interested in reading female meanderings.’
‘I do not meander, I write straight to the point. Are you telling me you didn’t read it?’
When he twirled her hair around his finger into a ringlet, she shivered.
He said, ‘I saw no reason to read it, and if I had read it, right now I can think of no reason that would be served by confessing that I had.’
That was a mouthful.
‘Hah!’ she said, trying to figure out the meaning behind it. It seemed unnatural that he wouldn’t have wanted to read it. She was a little miffed that he could dismiss it so easily. Female meanderings. Hah twice!
What about his meandering hands? He had his finger in her ear … tickling it. She swooped in a breath and pushed it away, then picked up her hat and unsuccessfully tried to stuff her hair back under it. ‘You weren’t interested in what I’d written about you then? If I’d been you and had found your journal I’d have done you the courtesy of being interested enough in you to read it.’
‘Remind me to hide my journal after we’re wed. Stop twisting things … here, allow me to tidy your hair. I’ll do something with it … make a rope so I can strangle you with it, perhaps. I think I’d enjoy doing that at this moment.’
She wondered if she could squeeze a tear or two out, play on his sympathy. ‘What about my fortune?’
‘What about it?’ His big hands tugged gently through her hair, sending shivers rioting through her.
‘It’s worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.’
He began to laugh. ‘Nobody else has got a sense of humour like you. There isn’t that amount of money in the entire world.’
She grinned, triumphant. She’d told him now, was it her fault he didn’t believe her? She reinforced the notion so it was in his head.
‘What if it were true, Alex?’
His eyes met hers. ‘Tell me it’s not, otherwise I’ll have to rethink my position.’
‘Why should you do that?’
‘Because I value your honesty. I love you and you love me. We don’t need anything else and you don’t have to pretend. Were it true it would give the London crowd something to talk about, even though it would make me a laughing stock. In fact, it would make me look like the biggest fool going because I wagered my last shilling on the opposite result.’
‘Your last shilling? Oh Alex, were things that bad for you? And you bought me that pretty brooch, something I’ll always treasure.’
‘I know … and that just makes matters worse.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the gossips would say I married you for your wealth.’
‘But isn’t that why you came to London … to marry a wealthy woman so you could restore your estate?’
‘Saying it and doing it are two different things. I don’t like the thought of being bought.’
‘Oh piffle! Does it matter where a fortune comes from? How do you think I felt when some relative I can’t remember dropped a huge amount into my lap without even a by-your-leave?’
He raised an eyebrow. ‘I’d have been overjoyed if he’d dropped it in my lap instead. The thing is, Vivienne my love, you’ve taken that chicanery as far as it will go. We shouldn’t start off married life with a lie, and you didn’t have to invent a fortune to make yourself more attractive to me. I love you as you are.’
She opened her mouth at that example of male logic, and then firmly closed it again. Some things were not worth the risk of arguing about just to prove a point.
She kissed his eyelids, the handsome slope of his nose and the sensuous curves of his mouth.
‘Of course we shouldn’t start with a lie,’ she cooed, and knew it was the time to tell him. ‘I do love you, Alex LéSayres.’
His eyes opened and they gazed at each other.
His grin was almost boyish as he grunted, ‘I love you too, but if I hear your fortune mentioned again I’ll catch the next boat to China.’
Guilt flooded through her and she ignored it. Why not let sleeping dogs lie? After we’re wed will be soon enough to convince him. ‘You do love me then, so why did you keep asking for an opinion on other young women?’
‘It gave me an excuse to be with you … mainly because I didn’t expect any woman to be interested in an impoverished earl. Then … well … I realized it was because of the way I felt about you.’
She accepted his kiss and smiled at him. ‘How exactly do you feel about me, Alex?’
Taking her face in his hands, his thumbs caressed her chin. ‘I fell in love with you the minute we met.’
‘And I you.’
‘Which is why we need to do something about it.’ He lowered her to the bed again and kissed her until her heart beat so fast she was scared it would take wing.
‘Can we get rid of the pelisse?’ He’d barely finished that pleasurable task and started loosening the laces on her stays, when there came the sound of a heavy footstep on the stair.
‘Freddie will think we’ve been up to something,’ she said.
‘We were just about to get up to something, I believe. He’s taking his responsibility too seriously.’ Alex sounded so aggrieved that she giggled nervously. ‘And in answer to your earlier question … I didn’t wonder what you’d written about me. I didn’t need to. I adored you from the moment we met and I sensed that feeling was reciprocated. I’d already made up my mind to abandon the notion of marrying for money, because I needed to have you in my life.’
The latch on the door rattled and he smiled at her and called out, ‘Go home, Freddie. Vivienne is quite safe in my hands and I’ll bring her home later.’
‘Am I safe in your hands?’ she asked after Freddie had gone.
‘Not at all … there would be no fun in that.’
He triumphantly dangled a pink ribbon he’d plucked from her stocking top. ‘I knew it would be pink. I love you, my darling Vivienne.’
He left the bed, went to the door and turned the key in the lock, then came back and gazed down at her. ‘You look lovely, all ready to be ravished. Are you sure, my Vivienne?’
Love for him had become a torrent of fire that pulsed through her veins.
He hopped across the room, shedding his clothes on the chair, to the floor, and joined her in the bed. Soon, the remainder of her clothes joined his.
He sank on the bed next to her and took her hands, guiding them over the muscular perfection of his body. His member nestled in her hands, silky and warm. He kissed her jutting breasts and his lips skittered down the centre of her, over her stomach and disappeared inside the opening in the silky darkness at her groin. Her body arched and she gasped when his tongue stroked along the slickness of her.
She was so ready for him and she pulled him up and gazed into his eyes. ‘Do it now, Alex my love … do it now.’
‘Not yet …’ His mouth touched the peaks of her breasts and his fingers slipped inside her. Everything within her cried out for release and she was riding the exquisite peaks of sensation when he drove into her wetness.
The shock of it forced a little cry from her, but her pelvis arched to meet his thrusts. For several moments there was a flurry of thrusts, and she wrapped her legs around his hips and captured him as they rode the wave of loving between them.
They collapsed together and he drew her against him, her head snuggled against his shoulder. Both of them panted for breath.
After a while Vivienne looked up at him and giggled.
He chuckled, and kissed the end of her nose, then pulled the quilt over them.
Vivienne and Alex were wed in her father’s church in Chausworth early one morning, using the special licence the bishop had provided them with.
Most of the village attended, as did Adelaide and Freddie. Maria had attended her and Matthew had joined them for the service. The pair had some prospect in mind that Vivienne thought might end in marriage, as Maria had decided not to travel to Dorset with her.
Her father had smiled proudly as he conducted the service that had made them husband and wife, and had hugged her goodbye with tears in his eyes. ‘I wish you much happiness, my dearest daughter. The earl is a good, caring man who deserves a good woman by his side. Where there is love there is always respect, and you will get that with him.’
Almost straightaway they boarded a boat that took them around the coast to the port of Poole. It was a less strenuous mode of travel than the stagecoach. From there they hired a cab.
The county of Dorset blazed with early October colours as they passed through the winding countryside, but there was a nip in the air that promised winter was not far away.
Vivienne watched Alex take in a deep breath of air before he turned to smile at her. ‘It’s not much further … shall we walk?’
He rapped on the cab roof when she nodded. ‘Stop at the top of the hill, coachman. You can take the luggage on and we’ll walk the rest of the way.’
It was early evening and a faint misty purple haze hung on the horizon. To their left was the sea. About a quarter of a mile away a house was set in a sheltered copse. It faced towards the water and was set well back on a rise. Built of stone, it shone golden and warm in the lowering sun.
Alex slid his arm around her as the carriage moved off. He rested his chin on her head, murmuring, ‘Welcome to your new home, Lady LéSayres. How do you like it?’
A lump filled her throat at the naked pleasure in his eyes at the sight of his home. ‘It’s lovely, Alex … which is my piece of land?’
He pointed. ‘The King’s Mile is that strip along the coast, and it curves around by the gate and up to the road. What will you do with it?’
‘Nothing. It looks very comfortable and happy where it is, so I’ll leave it there for everyone to enjoy.’
He tipped her chin up with his cupped hand and kissed her, and then they slid their arms about each other’s waists and began to walk, Alex shortening his stride to match hers.
After a while the cab passed them on its return journey. Alex put his fingers to his mouth and gave a piercing whistle. Two dogs detached from the house, cast around, then sniffed the air and gave excited yaps before finding Alex’s scent and heading in their direction at a run, their tails streaming behind them like flags. They were followed by the long-legged figure of a striding man.
Alex let her go and began to run. They came together and the two men embraced, slapping each other on the back, the dogs wagging their tails and sniffing at their ankles.
Alex brought his brother to her. ‘Dom, may I present Vivienne, my wife, and the love of my life.’
‘Lady LéSayres. I’m so pleased to meet you again. Welcome to King’s Acres. I hope you’ll be happy here.’
There was something guarded about Dominic. ‘Call me Vivienne.’
Dominic kissed her hand and smiled. ‘I’m employed by your uncle, and with Alex’s permission we’ll be managing the fortune you bring into the LéSayres family to best benefit the estate.’
‘Will I have a say in the matter?’
‘If Alex agrees … it won’t hurt for you to learn the farming side of things. I’ve arranged a meeting for the day after tomorrow, by which time you should be recovered from your journey. We must sort out how best to manage the wealth you bring with you. We also need to hire some house staff, Alex, but I daresay Vivienne can sort that out with the housekeeper. I hired some labourers to get the corn crop in the ground before it was too late.’
Alex turned to gaze at her, puzzled. ‘Why didn’t you tell me it was true?’
‘If you recall, I said I had a fortune of thousands of pounds. You refused to believe me and laughed. I didn’t like to disillusion you because you said your gentlemanly pride would prevent you from marrying a wealthy woman, and I didn’t want to dent that pride. Neither did I want to lose you.’
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nbsp; Alex looked stunned. ‘But I didn’t mean you, my love, I was referring to all the other wealthy women in London.’
‘As I said at the time: piffle! Don’t worry, Alex, you’ll grow used to the legacy, as I had to. Keeping it quiet from everyone was the worst thing … You know what happened when a whisper of it got out.’
He pulled her protectively against his side. ‘It won’t happen again.’
Dominic gazed from one to the other and grinned. ‘How did you manage to fox my brother, Vivienne?’
‘It was easy,’ and she sent him a smile. ‘He didn’t want to listen so it would have been a waste of breath arguing with him.’
‘That’s Alex for you.’
There was a wide grin on Alex’s face with the pleasure of being in his own home.
Later there was Eugenie. Vivienne remembered how she’d felt being ousted by Jane Bessant. This woman, small and neat, commanded respect from the men in the house. She had taken the place of their mother, kept the family together and had spent most of her own income to keep two needy boys alive. They loved her, and Vivienne felt the need to honour her for that.
Vivienne caught a few moments alone with her. ‘Eugenie … may we talk a while? Alex has told me you intend to move off the estate.’
‘I imagine he has told you of my circumstance.’
‘Yes, he has, but please, do not feel you have to move on my account. I would be proud to acknowledge you as my stepmother, as does Alex and his brother. I would also welcome your advice on how best to manage the household as well as value your presence for the female companionship it would afford me. Men are so overwhelming at times.’
Eugenie kissed her gently on the cheek. ‘I have sometimes wished for a daughter to talk to and confide in, and it will be my pleasure to stay until next spring so we can get to know each other.’
But spring became summer, and with good reason Eugenie stayed on. Another LéSayres male had arrived for an indefinite stay. The little viscount had blue eyes and a cap of dark curls, just like Alex.