Rebecca Read online

  He was smiling broadly as he kissed her once again. What he had waited for during long months was about to come true. His fingers slipped along the slender line of her body before settling gently on the sweet softness of her breast. When she gave a breathy sound of pleasure, his tongue took possession of her mouth.

  Beneath him, she was learning every bit of his male body as he pressed her to the mattress. Her eyes closed as she savored the sensations buffeting her body. All of her centered on the touch of his fingers and the caresses of his mouth. Remembering the wistful yearning in his voice when he told of how she could touch him almost anywhere, she slipped her hands beneath the looseness of his jacket to touch the smooth skin of his back. As he began to explore the bare skin above the neckline of her nightgown, she answered his passion with the heat of her own.

  When he stood, she looked up at him in sudden concern. “What is wrong?”

  He laughed at the tremor of mixed desire and fear in her voice. “Nothing can be wrong now, my love.” He moved to the window and pulled open the drapes. “I just want the moonlight to brighten your loveliness. Such beauty should never be enjoyed in darkness.”

  Her eyes widened as he threw his jacket onto the nearest chair and unbuttoned his breeches. In the silhouette against the glow from the window, she saw the strong line of his male body which soon would be part of hers and bring her a love she could not imagine. Kneeling on the bed, she lifted her nightgown over her head and dropped it to the floor. She could feel no maidenly shyness when she wanted to feel his skin against hers.

  Holding out her arms to him, she watched as he crossed the floor to her. He ran his hand along the supple smoothness of her skin. As if his touch was a pebble and she was an untouched pond, the stroke of his fingers sent ever-increasing ripples of rapture along her body. As he had before, he kissed her with feather-soft kisses along her face. The yearning to be held to his hard body overwhelmed her until she thought she would beg him to love her.

  Suddenly, with a sigh of longing, he pushed her back into the mattress as his mouth captured hers and asked for her love wordlessly. The new, luscious sensation of his naked body pressed to hers caused an explosion of unrecognizable feelings through her. So heady were the delights that she was not aware of her own voice speaking of the love she had for him.

  He felt her body quivering beneath his and knew she was being conquered by the love she had tried to refute for too long. Once she surrendered to it, she could not control her own emotions which were erupting outward to help him share in her joy. When he felt her slender hands seek to discover him, he learned that the fire he had seen burning in her eyes was a reflection of the conflagration blazing deep within her.

  “Teach me,” she whispered. “You said before that you would teach me to love you.”

  “The best way to learn is by doing what brings pleasure to you and to me, sweetheart.” He gasped as her fingers touched him enticingly. “You know best already.”

  He stopped her from speaking by lowering his mouth to the round surface of her breast. As his tongue climbed its gentle slopes, he felt her reaction in his mouth and against him as her body began to move with the rhythm that invited him to join her in the paradise of their love. He was in no hurry. He wanted to sample each treat she had for him.

  His fingers swept along the firm surface of her legs which had been visible to him too seldom. No part of her was hidden by heavy clothes and her loyalty to a man who did not love her. As his hands moved upward to caress her, she gasped in unrestrained passion.

  “I love you so much,” she breathed into his ear which was close to her mouth as he continued to explore the flavors of her skin.

  “I love you.” He smiled as he felt her body grow warm with the unconstrained flame brightening her face with ecstasy.

  Moving carefully so not to injure his shoulder and not to give her anything but joy, he raised his body over hers to bring them together. Lost in his own world of rapture, he did not notice as her hands wrapped around his neck to bring him deeper into her ardent body which ached for his love. His mouth took hers to feel the heat of her breaths deep in his throat.

  Together they sought the fulfillment of the love born so long ago. She felt him move against her and set loose all conscious thoughts as she submerged herself into a warm ocean of bliss. Each wave of wondrous sensation lifted her higher into ecstasy until she reached beyond the silver-lined clouds to the sun. In its heated depths, she exploded into a million pieces of stardust, sparkling in the reflected light of their love.

  When Rebecca opened her eyes, the silvery shimmer of the pale moon lit her life. She felt Nicholas’ lips against her neck where her pulse was wildly reacting to the love which had taken them past the bounds of her imagination. Closing her eyes, she savored the feelings. “I didn’t know,” she whispered.

  He gazed down into her face surrounded by her messed hair, which was a living shadow against the pillowcases. Lightly, he kissed her. “You didn’t know what, sweetheart?”

  She ran her fingers along his face that was partially obscured by a day’s growth of black whiskers. “I didn’t know it would feel like this.”

  “Neither did I!” He laughed as he saw the expression of disbelief on her face. “It is the truth, Rebecca. There have been others in my past, but I did not love them as I love you. Without this love we share in our hearts, there cannot be the thrill to share with our bodies. Will you sleep here with me tonight, sweetheart?”

  “Of course! I want to be with you every night.” She leaned her head against his right shoulder.

  Pulling the covers over them, he nestled with her in the succulent vestiges of lethargy. As if all the walls between them had been breached by the opening of that unlocked door, they talked of the love they had for each other. They could joke about their impressions of the disastrous wedding.

  As he spoke, Rebecca learned of how she had misunderstood so much on the trip to Foxbridge Cloister. He had not meant to be cruel. She had not let him be kind. Listening to Keith’s poisoned words and seeing the man who seemed to be the embodiment of the Dark Angel, she obstinately had refused to believe that he could be tender. Even when he was so kind she could not disregard it, such as when he had not forced her to sleep with him, she had accused him of having an ulterior motive. It shocked her to learn that he had loved her from the moment he had seen her again in the church. As patiently as he was able to, Nicholas had waited for her to fall in love with him.

  “Nicholas, it’s a small thing, but I have been curious what you said to that little girl when we stopped that first night.” She ran her fingers along his chest, being careful not to touch him near the bandage covering his wound. “She seemed so charmed by you that I wondered if I was wrong about what I thought about you.” She laughed lightly. “You tried your best to convince me that I was right that you were one of the devil’s spawn.”

  He had to search his memory for the incident. When he recalled it, he smiled. “She thought I was King George in that fancy coach. When I told her that I was not, she was so disappointed that I told her you were a princess who had been hidden away and was traveling to her castle floating on a cloud.” Rising to lean on his elbow, he kissed the softness of her lips, which were nearly black in the color-draining moonlight. “My Rebecca, you may not be a true princess, but you are my very special Lady Foxbridge.”

  “No,” she disagreed in a sibilant whisper, “I am neither. I am simply the woman who loves you and is lucky enough to be your wife. I love you, Nicholas Wythe, although you are the most impossible man in the world.”

  “Perhaps that is why we get along so well, sweetheart, for you are the most contrary woman I have ever known. Also the most beautiful, the most appealing, and the one I love with all my heart.” He sighed as he felt a twinge wrack his shoulder. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to fulfill all my fantasies with you this night.”

  Gently, she drew him closer to her on the pillows. “We have forever, my love. Hold me, and we
can dream together. I have had a rough day, and I want to sleep here with you.”

  His mouth on hers as he kissed her good night held the promise of the delights they would share again soon in the lushness of the huge bed. They left the bed curtains and the window drapes open so they could enjoy the hint of a breeze filtering past the deep-set windows. With his arm around her, and her face against the furred surface of his chest, they were swept away into a dream world where their dreams were a repetition of the joy in the waking hours of their lives.

  Gilmore, Nicholas’s valet, opened the door to the bedroom at the lord’s normal rising time. One glance at the two cuddled in the bed brought a smile to his face as he closed the heavy portal. He turned and saw Collette entering. With a smile, he motioned for her to come over by the fireplace.

  “Yes?” she asked in her lisping accent.

  “Lady Foxbridge won’t be needing you for a while, Collette.”

  When she saw the broad grin on his wizened face, she brightened. They had been the only ones who had known the true situation of the marriage between the lord and his lady. Not a hint of it had they given to anyone, for they had known that there had been many things unusual about this marriage.

  “I think I will get my lady’s things packed to be moved over to the other room,” Collette said lightly. Her eyes twinkled as she added, “I’m glad they have finally come to their senses. I did not know how much longer they could pretend that they did not love each other.”

  “As my pa was fond of saying, ‘All’s well that ends well.’”

  She laughed. “I think that this is just the beginning, not the ending.”

  The two went to empty Lady Foxbridge’s drawers to transfer her personal things to the unused dresser space in the main bedroom of the suite. They were careful to keep their happy voices low so not to wake the two on the far side of the connecting door.

  Warm tentacles of sunshine tickled Rebecca’s bare skin to urge her awake to greet the morning. Content to remain in her enchanting dreams, she resisted the invitation to awake. When a kiss warmer than the daylight touched her hair, she opened her eyes to look up into Nicholas’ smile.

  “Good morning, Rebecca,” he whispered before he kissed her tenderly on the lips.

  “How are you feeling?”

  His hand ran along the nakedness of her slender body. His fingers paused for a brief moment as they encountered the scars on her right thigh. The marks would be a permanent reminder of the accident that, like the duel, could have separated them before they had discovered this most special love. “That, my dear,” he said, reprovingly, “is one of the few truly silly questions you have ever asked me. I feel wonderful to have my wife in my arms where she belongs.”

  She giggled with delight. Her happiness brought back all the simple feelings of childhood. “I didn’t mean that, Nicholas! I was talking about your shoulder.”

  His eyebrows arched in characteristic impudence. “My dear Rebecca, I have yet to give a thought to that most insignificant wound. My thoughts have been totally involved with your sweet body.”

  “That, my dear Lord Foxbridge,” she said in the same tone of hauteur, “is absurd. I’m going to get up and get dressed. Dr. Withers will be here soon. As much as he is trying to convince me to let him be present at the birth of your heir, I don’t think it will ease the situation on that topic to discover us together here.”

  He laughed loudly as he saw her wry smile. He had known there was much discussion why there had been no announcement of a forthcoming heir from this nearly five-year-old marriage. The thought of their upcoming anniversary reminded him of a subject he wanted to discuss with her later, but he said only, “Very well, sweetheart. I will let you leave me only if you promise to come back as soon as we possibly can find a moment together again.”

  Her hand stroked the hirsute hardness of his chest. “You won’t be able to keep me away.”

  With a lingering kiss, he pulled her to him. He winced and cursed his injured shoulder. Once again, she giggled at his unique phraseology which told her how frustrated he was by the weakness of his own body. He reached past her to pick up her nightclothes and handed them to her, knowing she was still shy, for she had kept the sheets close to her chin.

  Dressing, Rebecca went to the door that led to her room. She felt a warm flush as she saw Collette supervising the filling of her bath as if there was nothing unusual about finding Lady Foxbridge’s bed unslept in.

  The maid pretended not to see Lady Foxbridge’s blush as she said calmly, “Your bath is ready, my lady. When you are done, I will finish packing your clothes. I thought you might want your pink gown today, for you are expecting callers, if you remember.”

  “Packing?” she asked.

  Collette smiled at the disconcerted young woman. “Gilmore and I, my lady, thought it would be more convenient for you and m’lord to have your things in the dressing room instead of squashed together in this small closet.”

  “Fine.” She did not know what else to say. From the beginning, she had known that she and Nicholas could have no secrets in this huge house. It was just that she did not expect that this most intimate part of their lives would be part of public knowledge. Then her worries eased. Collette and Gilmore would keep this as quiet as they had the fact that she had slept alone. If that had been sent along the gossipvine, it would have been disastrous for their fledgling love, which had needed quiet and time to develop into the devotion they had yearned to share.

  Quickly, she bathed and put on the fancy morning gown which would be appropriate for receiving the next group of curious ladies intent on finding out the details of the duel. She was tired of repeating her edited tale over and over, but knew it was necessary to stop the poisonous tales Royce would be circulating. In a small way, she was glad that Curtis had discovered that the gun had not been tampered with, for it would have dragged out the misery of the incident endlessly.

  When she went out into the sitting room, she found Nicholas waiting. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her with the desire that had only been whetted by their lovemaking during the night. She could tell by his voracious kiss that he was not planning to wait until nightfall to love her again. Her daily schedule was due for a revamping to include some time alone with her husband in the bed they would share always.

  He held out his hand, and with a smile echoing the happiness within her, she took it. Together they walked down the stairs to share breakfast with the rest of the family and begin their lives anew.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Rebecca was brushing her hair when she felt the teasing touch of lips against her neck. “Nicholas!” she scolded, with a laugh. “Don’t you ever get tired of this?”

  He leaned forward to kiss her cheek. “Do you, my love?”

  She laughed again. “All right, I retract the question, for it was foolish. Just wait a minute.” Jabbing a hairpin into her hair, she added, “There. I’m done.” She twisted on the bench to face him. “Do you have something on your mind, or did you simply decide it would be amusing to bother me?”

  “Both. Mostly the first.” He took her hand in his and knelt by her chair. “My dear Rebecca, I love you. Would you marry me?”

  “Excuse me?” she gasped. “I thought that we were married already. Isn’t our marriage the reason you gave for dragging me halfway around the world? That makes it a little late for a proposal on bended knee.”

  Chuckling, he said, “We are wed, my love, but I thought for our upcoming fifth anniversary, you would like to have that church wedding that you have been denied twice. We could be married here at the Cloister.”

  She did not answer immediately. The thought of retaking their vows in the family chapel had never entered her mind. It was a wondrous thought. When she married Nicholas nearly five years ago, she had repeated the vows without thinking of what she promised. It had been a game, nothing more. Both of them had expected that death would part them before they could fulfill any of the vows of binding love. Fi
nally she could speak them with all her heart. Putting her other hand against his cheek, she kissed him warmly. “Yes, Nicholas, I will marry you. As many times as you wish.”

  “Once more should be sufficient. Our anniversary is most conveniently on Saturday. Will that be all right?”

  “Saturday? This Saturday? With all there will be to do?” She thought of the tasks necessary to ready Foxbridge Cloister for even a small group of guests. “Yes, we will try for Saturday.” Suddenly she brightened and, with a laugh, she said, “This is going to be fun.”

  “I thought so, sweetheart.” He stood and pulled her into his arms. “First we will have the church wedding we never had. Then, later, we will have the honeymoon that started five years too late.” His lips turned up in a smile as they claimed hers and teased her with the love which made every bit of their lives more joyous.

  When they announced their plans at breakfast, silence reigned at the table. Rebecca was glad it had been Nicholas’ idea, for the unorthodox ceremony did not please Lady Margaret. She knew her mother-in-law would have been most enthusiastic if they had stated that they were dissolving their marriage instead of strengthening it.

  Once Eliza recovered from her shock, she was thrilled. Because of her love for Curtis, every romantic idea appealed to her. Certainly there could be nothing more romantic than the repetition of the heartfelt vows joining two lives together. She volunteered to go for Mademoiselle Pacquette herself, so that the modiste would know how important it was to design and make the wedding gown quickly.

  The household staff was immediately excited over the idea. They enjoyed working for this lord and lady and, like Eliza, were enthralled by the sentimental idea of the Wythes marrying again on this special anniversary. All the problems Rebecca had feared were quickly laid to rest by the staff.

  She went to see Reverend Middleton alone. In his cozy parlor, on a rainy afternoon, she asked him to come to Foxbridge Cloister and remarry her to Nicholas. She explained her honest desire to take as a woman the vows she had spoken as a child. Pleased by her candidness, the minister knew that anyone who could count on his fingers realized Lady Foxbridge had been very young when she wed Lord Foxbridge. Her account of a dying soldier and the young girl who saved his life touched him deeply. He stored the tale in his mind to use for a future sermon with enough changes so that no one would guess he spoke of the Wythes.