by Pearl Wolf
Helena gently touched the dowager’s hand. “Bridey can assist Nurse Hubley, ma’am. Will that suit you?”
“Humph!” The dowager knew she’d lost this battle and changed the subject. “Poor Willa! She can no longer see well enough to sew. What shall you do about her? You won’t sack her, will you?”
“Of course not. I’ll arrange to hire a seamstress to help Willa as well. Don’t fret, Grandmother. I have some news that ought to cheer you. I have asked Helena for her hand in marriage, and although she hasn’t given me her answer, she gives me reason to hope.”
The dowager’s eyes lit up like candles on an altar. “Bravo, Desmond. Helena is just the right woman for you. You mustn’t wait too long to wed, my children. I’m not getting any younger and I want to be here for the wedding of my only grandchild to his lovely bride.”
London: Fairchild House
“Better, Lady Mary, but not perfect,” said her new piano instructor. He was a handsome man with a thin mustache, meant to mask his youthfulness, for he was not yet twenty. “There is more to be had from such a one as you. Your ear is blessed with perfect pitch, yes?”
“Thank you, Maestro,” she answered, blushing. Her eyes shone with adoration.
He sat down next to her and began to play scales, his very nearness sending chills through her. Abruptly he stopped, put his right arm around her, and cupped his left hand over hers. “Place your fingers so. You must work to force the left hand to be strong, you see. Pretend you have only the one hand, yes? Allegro. Andante. Staccato. One hour each scale with only the left hand, Lady Mary. Tomorrow you will show me, eh?” He rose from his seat, bowed and departed.
Lady Mary could not sleep. She could not eat. She practiced one extra hour each day. She counted the seconds until the Maestro’s arrival for her lesson. She told no one her secret for fear of having Signore Giovanni Bartoli banished from her life forever.
At fifteen, Lady Mary Fairchild was suffering the pangs of her first love.
Waverley Castle
Helena was reluctant to ride even with Casper as protection, for fear she would fall into Glynhaven’s hands again. Instead she opted for a stroll in the garden, for it was indeed a beautiful morning. Unruly brambles tore at her hem and scratched her ankles as she made her way to the pond. The grounds had been neglected far too long, but that was changing day by day, since Waverley had by this time engaged a reputable head gardener.
Her thoughts turned to her home in Brighton. She had such fond memories of Heatham House, where as children, she, her brother, and her sisters had learned to ride and to cool their feet in a pond graced with mute swans. It had been such a happy time, a time when she had no cares, a time when the world was as it should be and her future was assured as the wife of Chris Darlington. She had believed him to be the handsomest of lads then. She frowned. What had changed Chris from a loving fiancé to a pompous boor who judged her ill for making a mistake? She continued to dread her return to London, especially after Saltash’s and Glynhaven’s ugly taunts. How long would it be before Polite Society would forget the scandal that imprisoned her, she wondered.
The gazebo overlooking the pond was in grave disrepair, but she found a section of bench sturdy enough to hold her and sat down to rest. Thanks to unruly branches and thorns grasping at her, she’d lost most of her hairpins. She brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes, surveyed the pond critically and made some notes for the gardener on the pad she habitually carried with her.
“Repair the gazebo,” she wrote. “Clear a path to the pond. It is choked with leaves and branches and debris and must be restored as soon as possible.”
She smiled as she continued making notes. She couldn’t fail the marquis in this, for she knew her way in matters of management. Pleased with herself, she took pride in knowing she was well on the way toward restoring Waverley Castle to its former grandeur.
I left London, intent on escaping the humiliation of a broken betrothal, with no thought for anything but the weight of my own mortification. I never gave a moment’s thought to what lay before me when I arrived at Waverley Castle, yet I’ve come such a long way these past few weeks.
I’m not that silly chit anymore. I’m a woman. And I’m capable of managing an entire estate, thanks to my mother, bless her. I’m a woman in all ways but one, that is. I can’t stop loving Desmond, though God knows I’ve tried. He knows that, doesn’t he? He’s wrong in putting me off with what he fancies is his newfound honor. If he won’t seduce me, it’s up to me to find a way to seduce him. And if I fail, what then? Does it matter what Polite Society thinks of me? Not a whit. I’ll have gambled. And lost.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts, she never heard the sound of crackling leaves, but when she saw who it was, her eyes lit up. “That you, Waverley?”
“Good morning, my love.”
“You startled me. Unkind of you to sneak up without any warning. Are you well enough to wander about without Rabu to hover over you?”
“The little devil doesn’t think I am, but I managed to escape his clutches.”
“Were you looking for me, or did you find me here by chance?”
He tapped his chin with one finger. “Actually, I thought I heard a wild beast crashing through the woods. I came to investigate,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Apparently, you are that wild beast, lovely Helena. What a lot of noise you managed to make.”
Strange. Her tongue was tied in knots. “You’re…you’re up early.”
He ignored this remark. “Why aren’t you out riding this morning? I looked for you in the stables.”
She colored, unable to fashion a suitable answer.
“Are you afraid of another unpleasant encounter with Glynhaven’s dog? I’d be happy to ride with you to protect you.”
“Thank you, Waverley. I’ll accept your offer just as soon as Doctor Fenwick says you are well enough to ride again.”
“So be it.” He shrugged. “It would please me no end if you could remember to call me Desmond.”
“All right.”
“Not good enough, fair Helena. I want to hear it from your lips.”
“Desmond.”
“Pretty music when you say it.” He sat beside her and brushed wisps of unruly hair away from her face. “Your hair’s come undone.”
“The brambles conspired to comb it that way, I expect.”
“I like it when it flows down your back that way.” One finger trailed across the top of her gown and she shivered. “Cold?”
“N-no.”
His lips brushed her cheek and found their way to her mouth, but she turned to stone.
“What’s wrong? What have I done to offend you?”
Don’t be a coward. It’s now or never. “Are you planning to play your silly game of seduction only to run from me at the last minute?”
“You know my reasons.”
“You needn’t practice this new game of honor with me, you know.”
He raised an eyebrow. “No? Why?” One hand toyed with her slender throat, sending chills through her.
“Take your hand away. Makes it hard to have a serious conversation.”
“Are we having a serious conversation? I hadn’t noticed.” He leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned her head away. “What’s wrong this time?”
“The truth?”
“Of course.”
Her penetrating eyes bored into him. “I cannot possibly agree to marry you without knowing if we would suit as lovers. Frankly, your reluctance leads me to wonder whether you are…deficient in that way. Is that why you need three women to make love to you at the same time?”
“That’s a lie,” he roared, stunned. He raised his hands as if to shake her but thought better of it, forcing them to his sides and clenching them into fists instead.
She was disappointed, for a shake would at least have been something. She settled instead for a further taunt. “A lie you say? Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much.”
�
�You are thinking of my French…er…friends, no doubt. I have Glynhaven to thank for that, I suppose. Let me assure you that I most certainly am not deficient when it comes to making love. What a crackbrained thing to say! I’ll have you know I’m perfectly capable of…”
“But how should I know this? You’ll have to prove it, my lord,” she challenged, hugely enjoying the encounter.
“There are rules about innocent maidens and I am trying my best to be a gentleman and play by them. I’ve told you more than once, I’m done with breaking the rules.”
Though her knees trembled, she managed a scornful laugh. “You can’t be serious. There are no such rules for the likes of you, are there? You’re a rake.”
He scowled, offended. “You wrong me, dear heart. I am a reformed rake. You’ll have to wait until we are married.” He took no notice of the wicked gleam in her eyes, for his own were fixed on her bodice.
She crossed her fingers behind her back to ward off the consequences of the barefaced lie she was about to utter. “I can’t marry you until you prove yourself.”
He tore his eyes away from her breasts and said, “I don’t have anything to prove.” Her meaning dawned on him. “What are you up to, adorable minx? You know I won’t bed you before we are married, and that’s final. You’ll have to take my word for it. There’s nothing wrong with my ability to…to consummate my marriage to you or to…to any woman. Besides, I gave my word to your brother-in-law and I don’t mean to break it.”
“Then marry my brother-in-law if you can persuade my sister Livy to agree to such an arrangement, which I strongly doubt.”
“Be reasonable, Helena. If you were to become with child, it would only cement my cursed reputation in people’s minds. I cannot do what you ask, my heart’s delight. You’ll have to wait for our wedding night.”
“What a quaint notion. Your chivalry is touching, my lord. Very well. You force me to confess the truth.” She paused for effect and added dramatically, “I am not a virgin.”
Unconvinced, he added with a touch of sarcasm, “No? Then what was that passionate scene in Darlington’s home all about, pray tell? You certainly convinced me that you meant to seduce him into marrying you.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “How innocent you are for all your rakish airs. Chris and I were already lovers. He was furious with me merely because I mistook you for him. I embarrassed him in front of his distinguished guest, you see. That toadeater told me so when he raked me over the coals afterward. You couldn’t know, of course. How could you? You’ve never remained locked in my embrace long enough to find out.”
“I’ll marry you anyway.” He folded his arms and glared at her.
Her eyes flashed. “Will you now? Such…condescension. I’m overwhelmed by your generosity. You still want to bed me even though I’m not a virgin, my lord rake. Do I have that right?” She shifted from irony to anger. “I think you ought to hear my terms for our marriage before you commit yourself to the odious task of seducing me, my lord rake.”
“Your…terms?” He barked an unpleasant laugh. “Where is my sweet lady, the one I love, in all this?”
“Before I agree to marry you, I cannot in good conscience take your word for it. I must first sample the pleasures you say you have to offer, my lord rake. Indeed, that might well prove to be the only new experience for me.”
His brows knit. “The only new ex…? How many lovers have you had, my girl?”
Warming to the game, Helena thought a minute. “Let me see. There was Chris, of course, but before him there was…Dear me, I’ve forgotten the lad’s name, poor boy. And then there was that stranger at the Brighton Fair two years ago. No. There were two men at the fair that year, I recall. Oh, and before those two, there was that cute Irish boy who worked in Father’s stables….”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? How many lovers have you had, my lord rake? Many more than me, I daresay. Never mind. This isn’t a contest. There’s only one way for me to prove to you that I’m not a virgin, isn’t that so?”
His lips thinned. “You’re right. There is only one way. Turn around so I can unbutton your gown.”
“A wise beginning,” she said in a brisk tone and did as he bid.
He stopped struggling with her buttons. “Are you sure you’re not lying to me?”
“If you’re asking me to beg, let’s forget the whole thing!”
Having reached the last button, he ignored this remark, removed her gown entirely, and spread it on the floor of the gazebo. He eased her down upon its folds. “Last chance to change your mind and confess. There’s no going back once you break this rule, Helena. If this becomes known, you’ll be ruined beyond repair.”
“Nonsense. I’m the daughter of a duke. We make the rules.”
He steeled himself as if prepared for battle. “In that case, I shan’t waste any more time. Especially now that I know you have had such vast…experience.” He dropped his trousers and lay down beside her, one elbow bent, his head resting on his hand, his eyes feasting on her for a moment before his hands found their way down to her thighs. He spread her legs apart and bent to kiss her sensitive nub, but she pushed his head away.
He looked up. “You don’t like that? All right, I’ll stop.” He rolled onto his back, placed his arms under his head and stared at the sky through the large hole in the gazebo roof.
“Oh, I didn’t know. It’s what rakes do, isn’t it? It’s just that it’s a novel experience for me. Do that again.” An approving smile lingered, one she hoped would gull him into believing her lie.
Instead, her words served only to cause him to question her sincerity. “Have none of your lovers pleased you thus? A woman of your…er…vast experience?”
Her lips quivered. She bit the bottom one to keep from laughing out loud. “They were all dull fellows without much imagination. How could I know? Marriage to you, my lord rake, may turn out to be fun. Now let me show you what I have learned. Come here.”
Her hands played upon his muscled back, caressed his firm buttocks, felt his heat, felt the lust seeping out of every pore of his body. Her aggressive attentions brought a groan from his lips, which made her drunk with power.
“We must stop before it’s too late, my darling.” His voice was hoarse with passion.
“Not on your life,” she panted.
He capitulated readily. “I won’t, then.” He stroked her thighs. Every pore in her body vibrated as his fingers found the ridges of pleasure she never dreamed existed. She arched her back, opening all of herself to him.
Heated by her moans, he reached for her hand and guided it to his manhood. She ran her hand the full length of his member, causing him to shudder.
She can’t be a virgin, can she? No. A virgin would not know how to pleasure a man like that.
Helena cried out when the first throes of pleasure overwhelmed her. Her body shuddered, every pore vibrating with new sensations. She felt hot liquid seep from every pore. She vanished in the magic of him. His shattered groans barely registered.
He spread her legs wide, his throbbing sex pressed against her, his hot breath setting her on fire. He lifted her hips and entered her, paying heed to the resistance he met. His head shot up. “What’s this?” He tried to pull away.
“It’s nothing,” she gasped. She wrapped her legs around him and held on, her hips rising and falling with his thrusts, her hands playing havoc on his body.
He was near to losing all restraint only to hear her cry out in pain. He froze. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t…stop,” she panted.
“Have I hurt you?”
“No. I…cry out like this…all the time,” she stammered, in an effort to keep up the fiction. Her hands pressed him closer and she bucked to encourage him.
He was lost. His head fell back and he thrust in and out until his passion found release.
Helena held him close, tears induced by the excruciating pain she felt, yet glorying in the sheer pleasure of
his glistening body, his fiery ardor, and the taste of his salt on her lips. “Well done, my lord! My apologies for doubting you.”
“Apologies accepted.” He wondered at the sticky substance he felt oozing from between her legs. He tried to roll away, but she held tight. “I’m too heavy for you, my love.”
“Stay where you are a bit longer, my lord rake. I like the feel of you.”
He grinned at her. “But you’re out of breath from bearing my weight.” He rolled to one side and searched her face. “Well? Was I as good as all your other lovers?”
She giggled. “You’ll do.”
“Is that so?” Suspicion dawned on him. Something was wrong. He felt it in his bones. He raised his head and swept his eyes over her body in search of…he knew not what, yet something nagged at him. He stopped at the place between her legs that had given him such pleasure only moments before. And found the answer. She was covered with blood.
The anger in his voice was palpable. “Why you little wretch! Damn you, Helena! You lied to me!”
Though quaking within, she sat up with outward calm and began to dress. “What difference does it make? You’ve been lusting after me, haven’t you, my lord rake?”
“Are you using me? What game is this you’re playing?” His eyes bore down on her like two hot coals. “I’m waiting for your answer.”
With a dignity she did not entirely feel, she said, “Don’t try to deny it. You got what you wanted and so did I.”
“Your reasoning escapes me, ma’am.” His angry words spelled danger. “What purpose had you in mind?”
“Why, to be rid of my virginity, of course.” She was drunk with the power of seduction.
“Bloody hell, my girl!” he thundered, frustration writ large on his face. “Hand me my trousers.”
A wicked gleam of defiance lit her face. In one swift motion, she grabbed his trousers and flung them toward the pond. “Good-bye, my lord rake. Thank you for a most pleasant morning.”