by Anne Mallory
She moved her leg a bit. His legs were bare. Therefore, who would rise first and retrieve her clothing? Having often worked with men who forgot she was a woman, she was no longer embarrassed at seeing a half-naked man. But the thought of seeing Stephen in such a state made her stomach do little leaps.
She shifted to allow him to rise, but brought herself in closer contact. He put a restraining hand on her arm. “Please stop moving around. Unless you wish to sorely strain my last ounce of reserve.” His voice was tense.
“Oh.” She froze, then scooted out from under the covers, grabbing the blanket as cover and removing the choice of who would rise first. Well, actually on further inspection, he had risen first, just not in …
She blushed furiously. “I-I-I am just going to return to my room. I’m sure you want to get up … I mean leave soon.”
He gave her a sardonic look, and she turned to go. His voice interrupted her flight. “You can use the circular staircase if you’d like. It comes out next to my room. I’m sure you can find your way to your chambers from there.” He pointed to the staircase in the corner.
She ran for it, trying not to look back down at him lying on the sofa. At the top of the steps she peeked into the hall. No one was present and she ran into her room. She was appalled to see the time. It was nearly noon.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept that long. Changing took little time, and she found herself with nothing to do but fret.
She answered a knock at her door, and a maid announced breakfast. She followed her and saw a footman enter and retrieve her case.
Stephen wasn’t in the dining room and Audrey put some food on her plate and pushed it around. She was becoming too reliant on Stephen’s generosity, first in Newgate, then again last night. She needed to stop the progress of dependence.
She forced herself to eat everything she had heaped on her plate. She’d need the energy and refused to let her emotions override good sense again. At least for now. She had the feeling that her emotions, usually reined in, might be her downfall. It would be an amusing notion if it weren’t so discomfiting. She was known as icy. If any of Flanagan’s men could see her now, they would laugh.
Stephen walked into the room, whistling, and served himself. “We will leave in fifteen minutes, unless you have anything else you need to retrieve?”
There was nothing she could retrieve at the moment. “No, I’m ready.”
She found herself alone with him in the carriage exactly fifteen minutes later.
“We’ll stop at Bailey’s Inn for dinner.”
“That’s fine.” She pretended interest in the scenery as they left the city.
“Why didn’t you wake me earlier? I can’t believe I slept that long.”
He gave her another unreadable glance. “You needed rest, and it was no problem to wait the extra few hours. I sent word ahead that we will arrive late.”
“Then we won’t be able to search tonight.”
“Searching tonight wasn’t on the agenda.” .
She narrowed her eyes, hoping for a fight. “Whose agenda? If we hadn’t slept so late, we would have been ready to look tonight.”
He leaned back and looked out the window. “Our getting attacked or killed is not going to help your sister.”
“But at night we would have had the element of surprise.”
He gave her a barely passing glance, as if she were nothing more than a pest. His disregard irritated her more than if he had shown anger.
“Does your nerve challenge you, Chalmers?”
He continued to look at the passing countryside, the bluebells and wildflowers swaying in the breeze. She again felt the unease of swirling emotions. She latched on to her anger as something she could control.
“I wouldn’t have thought it of you. You seemed such a commanding individual at one time.”
He turned to her. “Audrey, I don’t know what you hope to accomplish with this tirade. Would arguing cure whatever ails you?”
She knew she was behaving irrationally, but her hackles went up immediately at his charge. “Forget it, Chalmers.”
“You only call me Chalmers when you are irritated.”
“Better than being called Your Grace. I only call you that when I dislike you.”
A smile nearly touched his lips. “I do hate that.”
She left the ambiguous comment alone. Conflicted emotions swirled through her. She looked at her hands. His smile warmed her, and although his presence drew her in, she didn’t want it. Relying on people had never been a good option for her in the past, and she didn’t know why that would change now. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to rely on people. It was just too rife with danger.
She was annoyed at how cowardly that made her feel.
“I saw you examining my books. Voltaire and I Swift. Do you like their work?”
She peeked at him, but he seemed interested, not just poking fun. She nodded. “Yes. I love satire.”
“You and Calliope would get on famously. Which authors do you like best?”
She frowned at the mention of the other woman, but answered his question, which started a serious dialogue about satire, religious intolerance, and the role of literature. The interchange was invigorating. It had been a long time since she had been able to talk and argue with someone who shared her interests. Interests that her gentle parents had loved.
The afternoon passed quickly thanks to their lively conversation. And as the carriage pulled in front of the country inn where they were to stop for dinner, she felt herself drowning in the spell he had cast. It had started a year ago, and the past few days were tightening the net around her.
Audrey watched Stephen speak with the innkeeper. The innkeeper kept bowing. In fact he looked like he might fall over.
Ironic how one level of society was so like another. Every stratum of humanity established a hierarchy. She was accustomed to getting what she wanted in the London underground, just as Stephen was in English society. His domain was just larger, with more respect and power. She’d had to slave to get hers, while his had come with ease and birth.
Stephen turned and walked back to the carriage. “Dinner will be ready soon. We are being given chambers to wash and rest.”
Her stomach did a little flip. “Together?”
“Unfortunately, no.” He winked, and her stomach did another flip.
The inn’s mistress cooed over Audrey and how tired she must be, beckoning her to follow. The woman chattered the entire way.
“His Grace honors us with his presence. And yours as well, my lady. I understand you are His Grace’s cousin and traveling to see a sick relative in the country? We’ve had a bout of fever in these parts …”
The woman continued on until she opened the door.
Audrey sank onto the bed and stretched her legs. A moment later her case was delivered.
The bed was soft and inviting. A short nap sounded divine.
*
A soft tickle worked its way from her nose to her ear. She batted it away but it returned a scant second later. She balled a fist and swung. A solid object blocked her path.
“Next time I’ll know better.”
Audrey opened an eye to see Stephen rubbing his chin. A feather in his other hand. She jerked upright.
“What are you doing in here?”
“Dinner is getting cold, cousin. I came in to see if you were ready to eat.”
She was still fully dressed, but seeing him on the edge of her bed made her feel slightly exposed. He had watched her sleep this morning as well.
She pushed him off the bed.
He slid from the bed gracefully, not landing on the floor in a lump as she’d intended.
He was still rubbing his chin, but the sparkle in his eyes was present. “See you downstairs, cousin.”
Audrey dragged herself from the bed, checked that the door was locked, washed, and quickly redressed. All she needed was for Chalmers to open t
he door while she was naked. He’d probably just be amused.
And then she’d have to kill him and ruin everything.
A maid met her outside the door and led her to the dining area. It was a small, intimately set room. Stephen must have ordered it. Or more probably the inn owner had kicked anyone else out of it.
“Audrey, you’re frowning.”
“That’s because I’m stuck here with you, Chalmers.”
“Then you should be smiling. All of the ladies wish they were stuck with me in a cozy setting like this.”
“Then the world must be in a sad state of affairs.”
“Ah, just like you then.”
“No.”
He grinned.
“l meant, yes, I am in a sad state of affairs.”
He nodded, a serious look on his face.
The innkeeper bustled in with their meal, fawning over them both.
Audrey quirked a brow. “Yes, my good man, if you could so kindly bring us your best brandy as well?”
The innkeeper assured her he had a fine label available and hurried out.
“You like brandy?” Stephen asked.
“No, the stuff is vile. But you like it.”
He showed no surprise that she knew, he just nodded. “You should try one of my favorites. You might change your mind.”
She shook her head. “Even the stuff you store in your cabinet is terrible.”
Stephen laughed so hard that the innkeeper’s wife popped her head around the corner to see if there was anything amiss. The innkeeper brought the brandy and left them alone once again.
“Is there anything at any of my properties that you have not snooped through?”
She shrugged, but the question burned her. Yes, there definitely was.
“Eat, then we will drive the rest of the way. A few more hours is all we have left.”
Audrey ate her remaining asparagus and sliced the veal.
“Tomorrow you can show me around the estate,” Stephen said.
“Very funny.”
Stephen put his fork down. “Actually, it has been since my childhood that I visited. My parents preferred to remain close to home, in Shropshire.
And after their deaths … well, I was shipped around to various family members. When I came of age my work kept me in London when I wasn’t serving abroad.”
“Ah, yes. The infamous spy.”
“That’s supposed to be secret, you know.”
Audrey shrugged and cut another piece of meat. “Hard to keep secrets these days, Chalmers.”
“Yes, Audrey, I do agree.” He gave her a direct look.
Audrey put down her fork, no longer hungry Stephen took a sip of brandy and continued to look at her. She felt stripped of her remaining secrets.
What did he know?
She picked the fork back up and moved the meat around her plate. “What are your intentions, now that you’re the duke?”
Stephen grimaced. “Take my seat in Parliament, worry about my lands, bully the common folk. The regular tasks of the nobility.”
Audrey couldn’t resist a smile.
Stephen flexed his shoulder, rolling it back and forth.
“What’s wrong with your shoulder? Old and decrepit already?”
He smiled, then made a face. “An old wound from last year.”
“Did you accidentally shoot yourself? And here I thought you seemed rather graceful for a bumbling lord.”
He ignored her baiting and rolled his shoulder again. “Took a tumble into the Thames.”
Her heart sped up, but she covered any outward reaction by playing with her fork. “Ah, I stand by the bumbling, in that case.”
“Well, it was either that or be beaten to death. I thought a swim a good alternative in that instance.”
“How was your swim?” She could have kicked herself for asking. Why had she just said that?
He looked cheerful. “Don’t know. I promptly blacked out. No idea how I survived. Someone fished me from death’s door and tended to my wounds.”
An image of wet, blond hair clinging to his forehead and the chill of his body next to hers came unbidden to her mind. The image of not having dry trousers in his size came next. She lowered her head to cover her reaction to the second memory.
The innkeeper appeared with an assortment of carts for dessert. She snatched a lemon tart, thankful for the interruption. Her mind was still focused on her memories as she devoured the dessert.
“I agree.”
Audrey looked at him, startled.
“Your reaction to the dessert showed on your face.”
Audrey put the tart down slowly. Her reaction hadn’t been solely to the dessert, not that he had any idea where her mind had wandered. Stephen was wheedling past her defenses. She had to put them soundly back in place.
“They are satisfactory. Eat yours, and let’s go. You seem to like tarts well enough.”
He lost his smile. “I allowed you to defame Calliope the other day in your ignorance, but no more. Curb your tongue.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I will make you curb it.”
“Chalmers, you have an active imagination.”
His eyes narrowed, and her blood heated at the dangerous intentions lurking there.
“Am I to understand that you don’t think I can keep you quiet?”
“You are quick at times, Chalmers.”
Stephen leaned back and popped the rest of the tart in his mouth, chewing slowly. The look in his eyes was still present, however, and her blood boiled. Memories pressed against the backs of her eyes.
She tried to calm herself down. “Quick, but definitely not up to the challenge. Why, I’ll bet that—”
Said quickness was demonstrated as he leaned forward, gripped her waist, and yanked her forward. She landed facedown in a heap on his lap. He trailed a finger down her shoulder blade and curved his hand around her hip. Her breath caught, and her mind went blank. Her breasts were pressed against his thighs. Thighs that she had seen bare before.
A deep beat began just below his hand, at her center. He skimmed a finger just above her backside and up her spine. His fingers worked into the hair at the nape of her neck. He pressed closer, and she could feel the warm air tickling her skin.
His lips caressed the back of her neck, his fingers trailed a path down her spine, around her thighs, and up toward the center of the frantic heat he had produced. His fingers neared and—
He thrust her back into her chair. She knew her mouth hung open, but shock had muddled her wits.
He popped another tart in his mouth, chewed slowly, and said, “Ah, you know a dessert is good when the silence literally vibrates the air.”
Fury poured through her, and she grabbed the knife on the table. The innkeeper walked into the room.
“Was the fare satisfactory Your Grace?”
Stephen rose, and Audrey removed her hand from the knife. She listened, fuming, as Stephen thanked the man and refused his offer of lodging for the night. She thought of him reaching for her, even in his delirious state.
Of the things he had unknowingly revealed about his body and the way he thought.
She’d get even with him. She’d get even before they reached his estate.
Stephen was only slightly worried. Audrey had been livid after his earlier stunt. But she had recovered quickly. They had taken to the carriage and sat in silence for the past few hours. Until the light waned she engrossed herself in her book. They were almost to the estate.
Audrey spoke for the first time since leaving the inn. “How much farther?”
“Half an hour, maybe less.”
She nodded, lapsed back into silence, and closed her eyes.
He had been studying her for the past few hours, first in the fading daylight, then in the evening shadows. The way her lashes brushed her cheeks still caused an odd flutter—the same flutter that had been present whil
e he watched her sleep last night and before dinner. He really ought to pay heed to the warnings. He was definitely thinking with his—
Her eyes popped open, and she looked at him. “l need to thank you again for the way you have come to my rescue. Please forgive me for any bad behavior. It’s just that I’m not used to working with my enemy.”
She put a hand on his knee, and the warning bells that had sounded when she began the speech turned into blaring screams.
She ran her tongue slowly across her lips. His body leaped in reaction.
She leaned forward, which put pressure on her hand, causing it to move slightly upward. His body happily moved as well.
“Stephen, do you think maybe we can set aside our differences? Just for a few days? And really work together?”
She arched toward him and her hand continued its assent. His breathing increased, but he said nothing. Warnings bells were ringing in his brain, and other lewd thoughts were shouting from an entirely different part of his anatomy.
She slid onto his side of the carriage, her hand was now stroking the upper portion of his thigh.
“I remember what you said about sealing our deal,” she whispered, her breath hot against his ear.
The soft whoosh of air was driving him crazy as she continued, “I think maybe we should seal this one too, don’t you?”
Stephen moved to grab her, but the coach stopped, and she slid to her own seat, her hand trailing provocatively across his lap.
An eager footman opened the door a scant second later. “Welcome home, Your Grace.”
The footman assisted Audrey as she exited the carriage, and Stephen resisted the urge to plant his feet on her backside and push.
“Your Grace?” ,
The footman was waiting for him to exit.
“Just a moment. I need to straighten some things that shifted during our travel.”
“We can clear it up for you, Your Grace.”
“Nonsense.” It took all of Stephen’s efforts not to snap at the helpful servant. “There are just a few things here that need to be adjusted.”