Suddenly the life he had known with Harry did not appeal to him any longer.
‘Well, that is unfortunate, sir,’ he told himself savagely. He shook out his ruffles and made a final adjustment to the lace at his neck and stared hard into the glass. ‘Because it is the only life you have now.’
With that he turned and strode to the door, determined to walk off his restless energy.
The sun peeping over the window ledge woke Elyse. She stretched and lay still for a few moments, wondering why her spirits should feel so depressed. Something weighed on her heart, a heavy problem that she had pondered long into the night. The morning light brought no relief. She slipped out of bed and dressed herself in the yellow morning gown that had belonged to Drew’s mama.
Drew. He was part of her problem. William was the other part.
Elyse began to pace up and down the floor but it did not help. Her head felt it might burst with the thoughts that crowded in on her. In Scarborough she would have taken a walk along the cliff to clear her head but there was no convenient coastline here. She glanced out of the window. The neglected garden was the next best thing. Picking up her shawl she made her way outside.
Hartcombe’s grounds were extensive. She saw Jed working in the kitchen garden and quickly turned the other way, going past the overgrown shrubbery and into what had once been a rose garden. The plants had not been tended for years, they rioted over the walls and were thickly entwined in the hedges. Only the very widest path was still passable and she picked her way along it, holding her skirts close to avoid the snatching thorns. Squeezing between two overgrown bushes she found herself at the western end of the garden. The high outer wall was ahead of her and beyond that the trees of the neighbouring woodland grew thick and tall. However, standing against the wall a short distance away was a small pavilion built in the style of a Palladian temple with a series of fluted columns supporting a pedimented roof.
The morning sun was already high enough to shine on to the building. It showed that the stucco was cracked and peeling in places, but it had a sad sort of elegance that appealed to Elyse in her present mood. She moved closer to investigate. It was quite a shallow structure, enclosed on three sides and it was bare of ornament save a wide marble bench placed against the back wall. Elyse sank down on the seat and gazed out. In more affluent times she thought the prospect must have been quite beautiful, but the box hedges had grown quite out of control and the shrubs and plants that had once flourished between the hedges had been ousted by weeds.
It looked very sad, but incredibly peaceful and she gave herself up to the thoughts that had been troubling her throughout the night. She closed her eyes and tried once again to summon up William’s face, but it would not come. She remembered she had thought him extremely handsome, with his classical features, gently curving brows and soft brown eyes that she thought were quite the most beautiful she had ever seen. But now the only image that she could conjure was Drew’s lean face with its straight dark brows and piercing eyes, the deep blue of a summer sky.
She knew she loved William but he had become a distant, shadowy figure, whereas Drew was such a vital, masculine presence that even now her body almost trembled at the thought of him. When he was near she wanted to reach out and touch him, to have him kiss her again and relive those exhilarating sensations that had made her feel so alive. She crossed her arms and hugged herself.
Would William affect me in the same way if he was here? In the years we have been apart I have become a woman.
Her arms tightened as she remembered Drew’s cutting words the night she had attended the masquerade. Perhaps she was too innocent for him, but he was a rake and accustomed to amusing himself with women of experience. William would not see her thus. A tremor of doubt shook her. Perhaps he would. After all he, too, would have changed in the past three years.
She heard a sound, a rustle of leaves, a faint step, and opened her eyes. Her heart gave a little leap when she saw Drew standing before her.
‘Oh—I,’ she stumbled over the words. ‘I came out for a little air. I hope you do not mind…’
‘No, why should I? I myself have been walking in the woods.’ He gave her a searching look. ‘Is anything wrong?’
‘N-No, not exactly.’
He sat down on the bench and her eyes were drawn to the muscular thigh encased in buckskin that was so close to her own. Only inches separated them and she felt her mouth go dry.
‘Tell me,’ he said gently.
When she did not reply he reached out and took her hand.
‘You were kind enough to listen to me yesterday. The least I can do is the same for you, when you look so troubled.’ Her hand fluttered in his grasp and he continued, ‘Tell me what is wrong, Elyse. I am not only your guardian, but your friend, too, you know.’
A friend? Yes, she did believe that, and he understood her, more so than anyone else she had ever met.
‘I am afraid,’ she said at last. ‘William and I have not seen each other for so many years. What if he does not like me?’
‘He cannot fail to like you.’
‘You said I was a child, playing a woman’s games. What if,’ she felt the colour mounting in her cheeks. ‘What if William expects—wants—a woman? What if I disappoint him?’ She lifted her eyes to his face. ‘This must seem very foolish to you—’
He put his fingers on her lips.
‘Not foolish at all,’ he said gravely.
His eyes had darkened to azure, drawing her in. With a sigh she leaned against him.
‘Oh, Drew, how should I behave towards him?’
‘You must be yourself, Elyse. He will be captivated, believe me.’
His words were so soft that she tilted her head up, leaning even closer to catch them. A delicious languor was spreading through her body. It was so comfortable sitting here with Drew, yet his words did not totally reassure her.
‘But you are not,’ she whispered unable to look away from his dark entrancing gaze. ‘I have not captivated you.’
‘Have you not?’
She could not move. She was staring up at him, her lips slightly parted and all she could do was to run her tongue around them. She saw his eyes widen and something flared in their depths, a look that sent a sudden shock of anticipation slamming through her even as he put his hand on her cheek and captured her mouth with his own.
Elyse closed her eyes. His kiss was infinitely gentle but it held her motionless while her senses reeled. He shifted his position, put his good arm around her and deepened the kiss. Elyse could not prevent the little moan of pleasure deep in her throat. Her arms crept around his neck and suddenly she was kissing him back. When his tongue tangled with hers a hot excitement exploded inside. She pressed her body against him and did not resist when he pushed her down on to the bench. She could feel his hard, masculine, body lying heavily against her. He continued to kiss her while his hand slipped beneath the lace fichu to caress her throat and the soft swell of her breasts. They strained against his fingers as if begging for more and he obliged, gently easing them out from the loosely tied stays and circling first one hard nipple then the other until she was almost swooning with the pleasure of it. When at last he released her from his scorching kiss she threw back her head, arching her body, offering it up to him. His mouth moved down over her throat and on to cover the hard nub of one aching breast while his fingers circled the other, drawing up the most delightful sensations from deep within her. She gasped and gave a little cry, but the pleasure had only just begun. His lips found hers again and he eased his body to one side, measuring his length beside her while his hand gathered up her skirts. She felt his fingers on the bare skin of her leg, circling, caressing, moving upwards, slowly, gently, until he reached the apex of her thighs. The blood was pounding through her body, she felt as if her bones were melting beneath his touch. She was like a flower, unfurling for him. A hot aching desire uncurled from her core, tugging at her thighs so that they opened for him, her hips tilting as she offered up her very soul.
She gasped aloud as his fingers slipped inside, startled by the shock of pleasure that rippled outwards at his touch. His hand was gripping her and she pushed against it, felt herself pulsing as her body was racked by spasms that robbed her of all control. She clung to Drew, eyes tightly closed as his fingers continued their magic, stroking and caressing, taking her higher, as if she was being carried on some giant wave. She knew it must soon crest and just when she thought she might faint from the sheer delight he was inflicting upon her, the wave finally broke.
Drew held her tightly, his elation soaring as he brought her pleasure to its height. Her head went back and she cried his name, clinging to him for a moment of shuddering ecstasy before the rigidity left her and she collapsed beneath him. A slight pain in his left arm reminded him of the bullet wound and he laughed to himself. He had been so intent upon pleasuring Elyse that he had quite forgotten about that. Had forgotten everything when she turned those dark, soulful eyes to him, inviting him to show her just what it felt like to be loved. He was hard as a rock and had been from the start, but he was a master of his art and she was a virgin, he wanted to make sure she was relaxed and ready for him. Her passion fired his own, but he would not rush her.