At The Stroke Of Midnight (26 page)

"I'll take that as a
yes."
 
He began to work himself up
into a rhythm, not too fast but one not so slow that the experience would be
over soon.
 
He had one night with
Jane.
 
He would not waste it.

She nodded, her foolish heart
blooming with hope and love.
 
"Yes.
 
Yes.
 
A thousand times yes."
 
This was magnificent.
 
He was magnificent.
 
And she loved him.
 
More than those three little words could ever express.

It was as if he could read her
mind.
 
He began to thrust harder and
faster, raining kisses down over her body until she thought that she might die
where she lay from nothing more than exquisite pleasure.
 
She rose up to meet him, thrust for thrust,
until finally, finally she was at the very edge of the precipice.

"Come with me, Jane,"
Sebastian breathed in her ear, the heat of his breath nearly overloading her
already overheated senses.
 
"Let us
do this together.
 
Simply let go."

So when she felt him clench and
thrust hard one last time before empting himself inside of her, for the first
time in her life, Jane forgot to be the perfect, obedient daughter.
 
She refused to be the one pushed aside and
relegated to the row of wallflowers.

She was Jane and she had just given
her body and soul to the man she loved.
 
She was strong and powerful and she would survive whatever came next.

Then, with one final thrust,
Sebastian finished spilling his seed inside of her and Jane shattered, her
cries echoing around them just as the old clock on the mantle struck midnight.

"Jane, sweetheart, wake
up.
 
It is Christmas day."

Sebastian hadn't meant to fall
asleep with Jane in the old bed where they had made love.
 
However, after the first time, she had
proved to be insatiable and, as soon as he was able, she had asked him to
ravish her again.
 
Which he gladly
did.
 
When she asked a third time, he
knew that there was no way he could leave her.

And so he had stayed, damning them
both to whatever censure came next, and not particularly caring.

Now pale, weak sunlight streamed in
through the old windows, bathing the room in an almost silvery glow and making
everything sparkle as if it was dusted with starlight.

In the morning sun, he could see
that the room, which had appeared so magical the previous night, was actually a
bit shabby and threadbare, as if no one had been inside of it for ages other
than to clean, which he supposed was probably true.

Yet, this was still the place he
had spent the night in the arms of the woman he loved and for that, this room
would always hold a special place in his heart.
 
No matter what condition it was in.

Next to him, Jane made a small
snuffling noise, endearing her to him even further.
 
She looked particularly adorable when she slept and he would have
loved nothing more than to lie next to her all damn day and simply bask in her
perfection.
 
And her love.

However, it was Christmas and,
moreover, there were consequences to be faced.
 
They had spent the night together and, provided no servants had peeked
in on them as of yet, one would soon.
 
Angeline and Tildon, at the very least, knew where Jane had been locked
away.
 
Someone would come to collect her
soon, and when they did, they would find both of them naked.

He could not embarrass her like
that, especially not in front of a house full of guests.
 
So, with a sigh of resignation, he gently
shook her awake, praying that she was more of a morning person than he often
was.

"Jane.
 
Please.
 
We must wake up.
 
Someone will be
looking for us soon."
 
He shook her
gently, and, at first, he thought she might refuse to be roused.
 
Then, she opened her eyes and looked up at
him, all soft and warm and he had to fight the urge to sweep her back into his
arms and make love to her again.

"What are you on about,
Sebastian?"
 
She blinked in
confusion a few times before she seemed to remember where she was.
 
Then, she leapt out of bed, pulling the bed
covers with her and gathering up her gown in a near panic.

Sebastian rose just as quickly and
gripped her shoulders, stilling her.
 
"It is only just after dawn, sweetheart.
 
I did not mean to panic you.
 
I only meant to wake you because someone will be looking for us in short
order, I am afraid.
 
Or looking for you,
anyway, though I rather suspect that when I do not appear at breakfast, your
father, at least, will discern my whereabouts.
 
It would not be difficult to guess where I went."

Jane felt a bolt of pure terror
shoot through her.
 
She had only meant
to rest for a bit early this morning after making love with Sebastian one last
time in the early morning hours.
 
She
had not meant to fall asleep.
 
Yet the
warm strength of his body and the complete satisfaction she felt after being so
well loved had combined until she had fallen asleep in her lover's arms, just
like some cheap doxy.

No.
 
She would not cheapen or degrade what had passed between
them.
 
She had fallen asleep in her
lover's arms.
 
That was all.
 
And it had been a magical, wonderful
night.
 
The best night of her life.

Unfortunately, this morning, she
would also most likely pay for what she and Sebastian had done.

"They will think I planned
this.
 
Angeline will be furious.
 
I will be lucky if I am not banished
immediately."
 
She began gathering
up her dress and, once she had it on, turned to Sebastian for help in lacing it
up the back.
 
"Your mother will be
furious as well.
 
They will
know
what we did!
 
They will think me a
lightskirt!"

That brought him up short and he
whirled her around to face him.
 
"Listen to me, Jane.
 
I will
not allow harm to come to you.
 
I
promise.
 
This is my fault.
 
I came to you.
 
I seduced you.
 
And that
is what everyone shall know to be true."

She pursed her lips as if to argue
with him but instead, picked up his clothes and tossed them to him.
 
"Get dressed.
 
Quickly.
 
I hear footsteps
down the hall."

Sebastian paused and realized that
she was right.
 
Though distant, the
sound of heavy footfalls, most likely belonging to Tildon, rang through the
corridors.
 
Tugging on his breeches, he
watched as Jane began a systematic search of the room, presumably for one of
the hidden doors.
 
It was, he suspected,
easier in the full light of day for within moments, she let out a small cry of
delight, and he saw a hidden panel slide back on the far side of the room.

"This used to lead to another
room and then a priest's hole," she explained as she snatched up the
emerald comb that had fallen to the floor the night before, using it to secure
her hair in a loose knot behind her head.
 
He hated to see the lush, heavy tresses pinned back, but he also knew
that it would be unseemly for her to go gallivanting about the house with it
loose and flowing down her back.

Much as he might prefer it that
way.

"And now?" he asked as he
followed her to the opening, aware that the footsteps were growing closer.

"At my mother's request, the
passages were renovated so that this single entrance could lead to many
different locations, including the morning room, the front parlor, the dining
room, and the kitchen."
 
She turned
to look back at him, her fingers straying to the strand of emeralds she still
wore, as if remembering how he had kissed her bare skin between each stone the
previous night as if his life depended on it.
 
"Where would you like to go?"

Sebastian thought about it for a
moment, but there was really only one choice.
 
There was only one place where he knew the panel on the other end would
open to reveal a friendly face.
 
"The kitchen.
 
Point the
way, Jane, and let us make haste."
 
He could hear the door in the outer room swing open.
 
"I fear we are about to be discovered
and I need a moment more to gather myself, I am afraid."

With one last look at the bed they
had shared, which was now a rumpled mess, he followed Jane into the passage,
thankful he had thought to light and grab the lantern before they
departed.
 
The passageway was dark and
very dusty, and they made slow progress at first as Jane reacquainted herself
with the different rooms and passageways.
 
When they came to a set of steps, he insisted on going down them first,
just in case there was anything lurking at the bottom that might hurt her.

Once they reached the main floor
however, she took the lead again, moving with ever-increasing ease through the
passages as she remembered the way to the kitchen.
 
At one point, they must have passed close to the breakfast room,
for he heard the dull murmur of voices, many of them sounding distinctly
unhappy.
 
He rather suspected that he
knew the source of their outcry.

Finally, they reached what appeared
to be a dead end, but with calm efficiency, Jane pushed on a section of the
wall and it sprung open to reveal the delightful sounds and scents of the
kitchen.
 
He thought they might go
unnoticed at first but then he heard a voice cry out.

"Ach, my girl!"
 
It was Cook, the very same woman who had
lied to Angeline numerous times on Jane's behalf.
 
"What are you doin' in there?
 
Come out quick before yer spotted!"
 
Time spent on the earl's staff had eased
some of the German tongue from the old woman's voice, but the more excited she
became, the deeper it became as well.

"You know why I am
there," Jane said calmly as she smoothed her skirts, just as if she was in
a ballroom.
 
"You know that
Angeline had Tildon banish me to my mother's old suite."

Cook shook her head.
 
"Ach, I do, my girl.
 
But I can help ya now.
 
Let me get Merriden to set you back to
rights."
 
She beckoned to a girl in
a serving uniform that Sebastian recognized as always being in the background
at the formal dinners.
 
She had appeared
at Cook's side as if by magic, though Sebastian knew she had probably been
simply standing around some place that he had missed her.

With easy efficiency, the young
woman dusted off Jane's skirts, fixed her mussed hair a bit, reset the emerald
comb, and then straightened the lacing on the green gown before giving a nod of
satisfaction.
 
She then gave Sebastian a
critical glance before shrugging, as if there was no help for him.

"Go on now," Cook shooed
them towards the door once Merriden had moved back.
 
"They are looking for you, my lady.
 
Make no mistake.
 
And the countess is none too pleased herself."

"As I suspected."
 
There was resignation in Jane's voice, yet
she carried herself erect, as if she had not just been recently and thoroughly
tumbled.
 
Though given the suspicious
look in Cook's eye, combined with the fact that she had appeared through the
wall with Sebastian in tow, there was little doubt in anyone's mind that was
precisely what had just happened.

Sebastian felt like the worst kind
of rake imaginable.
 
Gentlemen did not
debauch young ladies.
 
Especially young
ladies they loved and wished to marry.
 
Then again, this was not exactly a normal situation and last night, he
had been desperate - both to possess Jane completely and to somehow mark her
has his.

Unbidden, his gaze strayed to
Jane's stomach.
 
What if she were
already carrying his child?
 
It was
possible.
 
He had done nothing to
prevent it, spilling his seed inside of her each time they coupled.
 
The idea of Jane, round with his child, made
him ache for her all over again.

There was no way he could wed
Lizzie after this.
 
He did not know how
to stop the events from unfolding, but he no longer had a choice.
 
He would marry Jane.
 
He had to.
 
He would not allow her to bear his bastard.

His decision made, he followed Jane
out of the kitchen until he could walk side by side next to her.
 
Then, as they approached the room where she
apparently knew her family to be, he stopped her with a hand and she looked at
him in confusion.

"You will not do this
alone," he growled, his protective instincts growing fiercer by the
moment.
 
"I will be with you every
step of the way."
 
He could not say
when he had come to the decision to fight for Jane, only that some time during
the night as they had lain tangled in each other's arms, he knew in his heart
that he could not let her go.
 
He would
do whatever it took, but he would fight for her.
 
Even if it meant the ruination of both of them.

At first, he thought she might
object, or at the very least insist that she would face her father and Angeline
alone.
 
Instead, she tucked her hand
into the crook of his arm, seemingly accepting his offer.
 
"Thank you."
 
Her voice was soft and she looked at him
with such love and adoration that he thought his heart might burst where he
stood.
 
"Know that we might not
prevail, but I am glad you are with me, Sebastian.
 
That we are doing this together."

He gave her a quick kiss on the
lips, much to the shock of a maid who was passing by, but he paid the servant
little mind.
 
If he had his way, the
staff would have to get used to seeing him with Jane and how openly
affectionate he planned to be with her.
 
Unless, of course, they were banned from the house and society as a
whole.
 
There was still that to
consider.

Together, they walked down the
hallway, following the sound of the voices that was now coming from one of the
larger side parlors that had been designated as "the Christmas room"
by Angeline.
 
Sebastian could clearly
hear Jane's father arguing with his mother.