His Reluctant Lady (13 page)

“
And that’s not the worst
part. The worst part is that word is going around London that I’m
the gentleman to go to if anyone needs help with
his…personal…situation.” He rubbed his eyes and shook his head.
“It’s horrible.”

“
That’s what’s troubling
you? Good heavens, Ethan. You wanted the reputation of a rake and
no one minds if a gentleman engages in rakish activities. But I’m a
lady, a lady who knows firsthand how,” she shivered, “unforgettable
the marital bed is. Why would you encourage him by sending him a
book? You ought to be telling him to find a mistress to handle his
base desires.”

“
Agatha, there’s nothing
awful about the bed. I can assure you of that. Catherine pursues me
more often than not. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that there
are times when she tires me out.”

“
Perhaps she’s studying a
certain part of you so she can draw you in her drawing
pad.”

“
She’s drawn my profile a
couple times.”

“
No, my dear Ethan, that’s
not the part I’m talking about. I am referring to your favorite
part.”

It took a moment for her meaning to
sink in and when it did, his eyes grew wide. “What?”

“
You don’t have a single
piece of clothing on when she draws you.”

His jaw dropped but then a slow smile
crossed his face. “She really does that? And then she hides it so I
can’t find it?”

“
Why am I not surprised
you’re happy to hear this?” He was a gentleman. Of course, this
news delighted him.

He chuckled, looking much happier than
he had when he entered the drawing room, and retrieved his
cloak.

“
Where are you going?”
Agatha asked, standing up.

“
I’m going to see my
wife.”

“
Are you going to tell her I
told you?” She hurried over to him, ready to stop him from leaving
if he said yes. “She told all the ladies at Perry’s dinner party
about it in confidence. You can’t let her know I told
you.”

He put the cloak on and turned to her.
“It would serve you right, Agatha. It’s because of you Lord
Pennella threatened me. Thankfully, duels have been outlawed or
else I’d be in serious trouble right now.”

“
I didn’t think anyone would
blame you for revealing the bet.”

“
No, but you must have known
someone at White’s would have taken the blame for it.”

She paused and finally
admitted, “No, I didn’t. I assumed it would be like any other
gossip I put in the
Tittletattle
. You’ve never had to
deal with repercussions from anything I put in there
before.”

“
While that’s true, no one
upsets Lord Pennella without facing consequences for
it.”

“
I’m sorry. I didn’t realize
the matter would get serious.”

“
It may not be, as long as
things get resolved quickly.”

“
You mean, as long as Lord
Pennella grows bored of it and turns his attention
elsewhere.”

He pulled the hood over his head. “You
needn’t worry about Catherine. I won’t tell her how I found out
about her secret drawings.”

“
Thank you.”

With a nod, he made sure no one was in
the hallway before he slipped out of the room.

***

Once Ethan arrived at his townhouse, he
checked the drawing room. Turning to his butler, he asked, “Where’s
Lady Edon?”

“
I believe she’s upstairs,”
he replied. “My lord, is there something I can do for
you?”

“
No, not right
now.”

Without waiting for a response, Ethan
headed up the stairs and entered his bedchamber. If he was going to
find her drawing pad, he had to be careful. She did a surprisingly
good job of hiding it since he hadn’t been able to find it so far.
What he needed was a plan. For all he knew, she could be drawing
something right now. A smile tugged at his lips. Maybe she was even
drawing him.

Mindful to keep his steps soft so
Catherine wouldn’t hear him, he slowly turned the doorknob
connecting their bedchambers and opened it a crack. Peering through
the crack, he scanned her bedchamber. He didn’t see her right away.
He opened the door a bit further and caught her lounging on the
daybed by the window. And better yet, she was drawing
something.

From where he stood, it was impossible
to tell what she was drawing, but now that he caught her in the
act, she couldn’t hide that pad somewhere. He wasn’t going to let
her get away until he saw what was in that thing. Hoping she
wouldn’t hear him, he opened the door further until he could slip
through it.

He made it halfway to her when she
gasped and spun in his direction, the drawing pad clutched to her
chest. “Ethan! What are you doing in here, sneaking up on
me?”

“
Sneaking up on you?” he
asked with a laugh. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you. You were so
engrossed in your drawing that you didn’t hear me enter this
room.”

She narrowed her eyes at him then
glanced at his shoes. “If that’s true, then why are you tiptoeing
through here?”

“
I’m not tiptoeing. I’m
stretching.” He reached toward the ceiling, making sure he stood on
his toes. “It’s good for your body if you stretch.”

“
Oh?”

“
Yes.” He bent down, his
heels back on the floor, and touched his toes. “It’s the latest
fad. All the gentlemen are doing it.”

Her eyebrow raised, she offered a
slight nod and rose from the daybed. “If you say so.”

Curious, he followed her as she hurried
to her desk. “Where are you going?”

“
I thought I’d put this
away. I assume you’re in here because you wish to speak to me about
something?”

“
Well, yes.” He jumped in
front of her before she could put the drawing pad in a drawer.
Sitting on the desk, he brought her into his arms and kissed her.
“I missed you.”

“
We spent the morning
together and planned to take a stroll later this
afternoon.”

“
Yes, but think of the hours
between those two times.” He brought his hands up her arms, aware
that he was within reach of the drawing pad. “What are you
drawing?”

She shrugged. “Nothing
important.”

“
Mind if I see
it?”

“
There’s nothing here that
will interest you,” she insisted and tried to move around him to
the other side of the desk.

He quickly scooted along the desk so
that she couldn’t open any of the other drawers. “Why don’t you let
me be the judge of that?”

“
I was drawing London.” She
motioned to the window by the daybed. “At least the view of it from
over there.”

Sure, like he believed that one. Why
draw boring old buildings when she could draw him in all his naked
glory instead? He reached for the drawing pad, but she stepped
back. “Come now, Catherine, I’d like to see London.”

“
Then go over to that
window.”

“
I’ve seen London from that
window already. I want to see it from your perspective.”

“
Why?”

“
Because you drew it and I’m
very interested in what you draw.”

“
You never seemed interested
in any of the flowers I’ve drawn.”

If he’d known ‘flowers’ was code for
him without clothes, he would have been most interested in them.
“That’s because London is more appealing than flowers. Now, let me
see.”

“
No!”

He laughed as she jumped away from him.
“You weren’t drawing London, were you?” Leaping off the desk, he
lunged for her, but she sidestepped past him and bolted across the
room. Not to be deterred, he ran after her. “What’s in your drawing
pad?”

“
Paper,” she called out
before he blocked her so she couldn’t leave the room.

“
Must be some interesting
paper if you won’t show it to me.”

She spun around and headed for the
window.

He gasped when he realized she might
throw the drawing pad outside. Good heavens but what would people
think if they saw drawings of him naked? He caught her as she
reached the daybed and grabbed the pad from her. He let out an
audible sigh of relief. That was close.

“
You know, I don’t think I
should be running all over the place in my condition,” she said,
patting her abdomen which was still flat. She wasn’t showing yet
but it was only a matter of time before people could tell she was
carrying his child.

“
Nonsense,” he replied as he
took the drawing pad over to the large bed and sat down. “Ladies
have been running around in a similar condition since the beginning
of time. How else would they keep hiding things from their
husbands?”

Crossing her arms, she lifted her chin
in the air. “You’re going to feel awfully foolish when you see it’s
really London.”

With a smirk, he shot her a pointed
look and flipped the pad open. “A lady wouldn’t run off if she was
drawing,” he turned his gaze to the pad, “a picture of London?” He
frowned and examined the whole page, wondering if she had put him,
naked, somewhere on one of the streets or perhaps in a townhouse
window.

She approached him and nodded. “Yes.
It’s the view of London from the window, just as I said. Now don’t
you feel foolish for not believing me?”

She tried to grab the pad from him but
he turned from her and rolled onto his stomach. No. There had to be
something else to this drawing. She wouldn’t hide this drawing from
him if there wasn’t something good in it. She grunted and crawled
on the bed, trying once more to grab the pad from him.

“
It’s not this particular
drawing, is it?” he asked, snapping his fingers. He started to flip
to the previous page, but she slammed her hand on top of the
pad.

“
Ethan, this is ridiculous.
You’re a grown gentleman, not a child.”

He snorted. “Like there’s a
difference.”

If she saw the way some gentlemen in
White’s acted, she’d believe they were children. Shoving her hand
away, a process that proved to be surprisingly difficult since she
was strong for a lady, he turned the page and that’s when he saw
it. He was as naked as the day he’d been born, and even though she
had him standing in a meadow of flowers, there was no doubt he was
the focus of her drawing.

“
See? Flowers,” she said,
her face a lovely shade of pink.

“
Yes, I was wrong. You do
draw flowers.” He flipped through the other drawings, and saw that
he was naked in almost every single one…and surrounded by flowers.
“Do I make you think of flowers?”

“
Well, no, but…” She sat up
and smoothed out her dress so she didn’t have to look at him. “I
felt bad for lying about drawing flowers so I figured if I drew
them when I drew you, then I’d technically be telling the
truth.”

That explained a couple of drawings
where she had him holding a flower, though there was nothing else
around him. He studied the way she viewed him and smiled. He didn’t
honestly believe the male part of him was that big, but if that’s
the way she saw him, then who was he to tell her
otherwise?

“
I happen to think these are
the best drawings you’ve ever done,” he finally told her. “I don’t
know why you didn’t want me to see them.”

After a moment of silence, she glanced
in his direction. “You seem terribly shy when it comes to matters
of a more intimate nature.”

“
Do I?” He rolled onto his
side and studied her.

“
Yes. I had to insist we
consummate our marriage then you tend to blush whenever I mention
lovemaking.”

All right. He’d give her that. “But
it’s because I wonder if you’re satisfied with our love life. I
mean, if I had been experienced when we married, I’d have known
what to do to please you.”

Looking at him, she shook her head in
amusement. “No. It’s because you had no experience that I’ve had so
much enjoyment in bed.”

“
That doesn’t make any
sense.”

She smiled and snuggled up to him.
“Maybe you have to be a lady to understand, but I love knowing I’m
the only one you’ve been with. It’s not just about the physical
pleasure in the act. It’s about sharing an emotional bond that
brings us closer together and makes our love stronger.”

He cupped her face in his hands and
kissed her, touched by her words. “And you draw me naked because of
that?”

“
I like knowing I’m the only
one who’s seen you naked and,” she shrugged, “I find everything
about your body fascinating.”

“
Should you ever need me to
pose for you, I’ll be more than happy to do so, but let’s leave the
flowers out of it.”

She giggled and kissed him. “Good
because I’m tired of drawing flowers.”

“
I just hope you don’t grow
tired of drawing me.”

“
Never.”

“
You want to draw me right
now?”

“
I’d rather make love
first,” she whispered, a wonderfully mischievous sparkle in her
eye. “Then I’ll draw you.”