Once Upon an Accident 02 - Lessons in Seduction (14 page)

A delightful laugh slipped from her as she raised her hands to work over her mussed hair. The simple act held him mesmerized while her fingers worked to get out some of the worst of the tangles. There was something so intimate about watching her do this. Already aroused, he found himself getting even harder and it made him feel like a voyeur.

What was worse, the action brought her breasts up and over the low bodice of her dress. He was sure that at any moment she would come spilling out of it and he would be lost. There would be no way to control his lustful instincts if he saw her breasts again. Unfortunately, she had her hair arranged within moments and lowered her arms.

“I guess we should be getting back.”

Shaking himself free of the fantasy of having her do the same thing in front of him, but naked, Douglas cleared his throat.

“I think you should go first. It will not be noticeable if you walk out alone, but if we show up together it will cause a stir. You slip in. I will wait until the next performance is over.”

“It is not very gentlemanly of you to subject me to another bad performance. I think you should be the one to suffer.”

Knowing just what she had been through that evening, he could not help but admire her ability to find humor in the situation. For that, and a whole lot more, he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss. As he pulled away, surprise lit her features.

“Now, off with you.”

He escorted her to the door and watched as she opened it, leaning out to check the hallway. With a small smile tossed over her shoulder, she hastened through the doorway. It was not until he heard the click of the tumbler falling into place that he allowed a breath he had not known he was holding loose. Closing his eyes, he scrubbed his hand over his face.

The woman was going to drive him insane. Correction, she already was. She never did one thing he expected. Well, she had before her request for lessons. From that point on she had him twisting one way and the other, trying to figure out what she would do next. He was sure that before he got her to the altar, she would lead him on a merry chase.

That one thought stopped him—astounded him. He waited for the revulsion, for the abject horror that the prospect of marriage usually caused. As he turned the idea over in his mind, the rightness of it settled in his heart. Never before had one woman seemed so perfect for him, but he had his work cut out for him. She was adamant against marriage—or so she said. It wasn’t as if he thought she was trying to trap him, far from it. She offered up her virginity without hesitation, as if it meant little to nothing to her. But in this, he knew she was pretending.

That made him pause. She thought she would never marry because she could not garner an offer. But that theory was blown out of the water today. So what else made her think she was unsuitable? Granted, she worried about her mother and father’s reputation, but that did not seem to stop that bastard Cummings. The rage he had banked for Cicely roared to life again. The damn bugger was the vilest of creatures. And there would probably be more just like him. With her looks so readily visible, and that monstrous dowry Sebastian had put on her, she would be pursued. He could solve that problem by offering for her right now, but he understood Cicely would turn him down flat.

That brought him back to why she would not marry. Granted, having a mother go mad and plot to kill family would probably not recommend you to most gentlemen. But with his background… He snorted. Well, her family upbringing was a walk in the park compared to his relatives. He understood hiding the true nature of your familial relations. It was one thing he guarded, the one thing that he never wanted to tell another living soul and the reason he had planned on never marrying.

Sighing, he walked to the door and entered the hall. The off-key screeching of the soprano who had tortured them in the first set made him cringe then smile, thinking of Cicely’s comment earlier. He paused in front of a small mirror in the hall. After righting his appearance, he headed to the ballroom and Cicely.

Just as he reached the arched doorway, the singing—and that was a very liberal use of the word—stopped. Studying the crowd, he looked for Cummings and was pleased to see the man had apparently taken his advice and fled. Still, he needed to have a chat with Ware, just to make sure he knew the risk and to ask him to be a second.

Douglas’ attention moved on to the woman who had become an obsession. She was chatting with her cousin Anna. Something the younger woman said caused Cicely to smile and Douglas responded in kind.

“One of these days, you will put yourself out of your misery.”

He looked to his left and found that Bridgerton had slipped up beside him.

“You talk in riddles, Bridgerton. Cut line.”

“You are as bad as Sebastian was with Colleen.”

Douglas, knowing that was not far from the truth, decided to ignore the remark.

“I did not notice you earlier,” Douglas stated.

The smile on the older man’s face faded. “I had one or two things to look over before I could make it.” The tone of Bridgerton’s voice did not invite comment.

“And you rushed here in musical appreciation,” Douglas said.

For a few moments, Bridgerton did not answer. His interest was centered on a cluster of people who had gathered around Anna and Cicely. Without moving his gaze away, he said, “Of course.”

“It could not be something—or should I say someone—else that brought you around?”

Bridgerton slowly turned and gave Douglas his attention. He offered Douglas a mocking smile.

“You could be right about that, old chap. If so, I am worse than both you and Ware.” Something over Douglas’ shoulder caught Bridgerton’s interest. “I’ll leave you to your pursuit, Your Grace.”

Douglas caught his arm as he passed by. “Come by Ware’s in the morning. I have something I need to discuss with you both.”

Bridgerton’s gaze turned speculative, but he said nothing, just nodded before moving on. He headed straight for Catherine, who Douglas had not seen earlier either, and masterfully maneuvered to her side. He was a little flummoxed to find that Bridgerton and one of his own paramours had a connection.

A bubble of laughter erupted across the room, drawing his notice back to Cicely. She was laughing, the sound hard to hear above the din of conversation. But he could still detect the joy in it, see the excitement on her face and the sparkle in her eyes.

Something warm wound into his heart. When had her happiness become so important to him? It had never been like this with a woman, as if her very pleasure was his duty. Even as he tried to deny it, the feeling expanded, burning his chest. He rubbed his palm over the pain.

He knew what it meant, what it could mean to his peace of mind. Surely somewhere in hell his forefathers cackled in delight as Douglas admitted to himself he was in love with the impossible woman.

In which Lady Cicely gloats, if only to herself.

Cicely snuggled deeper beneath her crisp bed linens, refusing to acknowledge the coming of morning. She didn’t want to rise, not yet. Her dreams were just too delicious to abandon. But Betsy apparently did not know of her decision to sleep the day away. Either that or she did not appreciate the depth of the desire.

“You missed breakfast, my lady.”

She said this in an impossibly cheery voice, right before she ripped open the heavy floral curtains, baring the room to the bright ravages of an unclouded sun. Cicely groaned and pulled her pillow over her face.

“My lady?”

The worry in Betsy’s voice made Cicely grimace. She was not usually a layabout but after all the excitement of yesterday, it felt like the most wonderful thing in the world to do. The only thing lacking was Douglas next to her. That thought brought forth a rush of goose bumps that rose on her flesh as she indulged in her fantasy. Cuddling close to him, the heat of him warming her…

“Lady Cicely, do I need to call on Lady Victoria or Lady Colleen? Lady Victoria asked about you after you had to leave the musicale.”

Sighing at the loss of her delicious fantasy—not to mention her privacy—she pushed her pillow aside and sat up. Against the onslaught of sunshine, she had to squint to see anything. She rubbed at the sleep in her eyes and yawned.

“No, I’m fine now.”

Betsy stood near the windows watching her with apprehension. “I’m not so sure. Are you certain?”

Cicely was too tired to deal with this, but she also didn’t want to answer numerous questions, and she did not want to hurt Betsy’s feelings. “I swear I am fine. I think the excitement of the evening, the heat of the room, all of it just didn’t settle well with me. I’m still a girl who prefers the quieter entertainments. I find the crush quite…” She searched for the right word. “Overwhelming.”

Betsy smiled and went about the room, getting things ready for Cicely’s morning bath. “I told Lady Victoria that was all there was to it.”

Of course. Betsy was never wrong, thought Cicely with a smile. There was a knock at the door heralding the footmen with her bath. The next few minutes were spent getting the bath ready for her. After they left, Cicely slid off her bed.

She stretched her arms over her head while Betsy poured the lavender-scented salts into the steaming water. Cicely had slept like a dead weight, but it had not been restful. Her dreams had been filled with a mixture of Douglas and the horrible altercation with Cummings. It was such a strange and confusing combination of emotions that her sleep had not afforded her the respite she needed. Her stomach growled, which caused Betsy and Cicely to laugh.

“I’ll have them fix you a tray and bring it up.”

“Give me at least half an hour. I feel the need to indulge this morning.”

Grinning, Betsy nodded before slipping out the door to leave Cicely alone with her thoughts. As she disrobed, the memories of the night before brought a smile to her lips. Her hands traced places on her skin he had touched and the nerve endings flared to life once again. She knew what Douglas had shown her had been but a drop in the bucket of his knowledge of lovemaking. She shivered. She could not wait until their first lesson.

Stepping into the scented water and sinking down, she closed her eyes. Although the sunlight didn’t hurt so badly anymore, Cicely wanted nothing more than to pamper herself, escape into her fantasy. As the aroma of lavender surrounded her, the hotness of the water relaxed her muscles.

She only had one worry and that was Douglas’ decision regarding Cummings. Cicely frowned over her thoughts as she opened her eyes and picked up her soap. Lathering it, she contemplated a way to get Douglas to abandon the idea of a duel. She was sure without a doubt he would win, but there was always a chance he would not. Not to mention, there could be retribution from the crown for holding a duel. Douglas held a lot of power due to his title, but there was only so much Prinny would allow.

Cicely could not bear him putting his life and his good name at risk because of her stupidity. It was not her fault that Cummings was a nasty man. Still, she should have been smarter about where she was going and who was following. She would not have Douglas pay for her mistake.

She scrubbed a dripping hand over her face.

Somehow, she had to get him to rescind his offer. If she knew him, and she did, he would end up here to talk to Sebastian about it. There was no way possible for her to handle it if Douglas was put in danger because of her. Although she would never admit it to him, she loved him.

He looked at her and her heart leaped. He touched her and she melted.

Douglas did not feel what she did. Oh, he was attracted to her. He proved that much last night. But what she felt went beyond attraction, beyond lust. There had been a void in her life. For many years, she felt as if she stood on the fringes of society. Her childhood had not been the most pleasant experience. True, she did not know about the mass amount of her mother’s liaisons until after she had died. Still, her mother had spent every day of Cicely’s childhood pecking away at her fragile confidence. Prudence Ware never understood Cicely’s fascination with history. She had let her daughter know on more than one occasion what an oddity she was. And with a father who barely registered the existence of his daughter, her childhood had been lonely.

Her cousins and aunt had filled part of that void after her mother’s death. But something had been missing, something she found with Douglas. When she was with him, she forgot to worry about her appearance. She could just be Cicely and she knew he did not care.

Her stomach growled again. She had been so nervous before her appearance at the musicale she had eaten little yesterday and now was paying the price.

By the time Betsy arrived, Cicely was already in her robe, sitting in her favorite chair, reading the diary and its cryptic messages, awaiting her food. A tray laden with toast, chocolate, coddled eggs and kidney beans made her mouth water.

“Oh, Betsy, this looks wonderful!” She laid down the diary, careful of the delicate pages.

“Thank you, my lady. I will make sure Cook knows it. Now don’t dawdle.”

Cicely sipped her chocolate with relish. She savored the warm liquid.

A hint of flavor lingered on her lips as she set the cup down, picked up her fork and applied herself to her breakfast.

“Do my aunt or cousin have plans today?”

“No, I believe they arranged for a day in. Visitors. After the excitement of last night coupled with the plans for attending the Merryweather Ball, both ladies are quite occupied.” Betsy busied herself at Cicely’s dresser, pulling frilly undergarments out with a flourish. “What I mean to say is that the duke and the earl are downstairs. I thought you would like to make an appearance.”

For a brief moment, Cicely was sure she had heard Betsy incorrectly.

But when she processed the words, she said, “Ethingham?”

Betsy shot her a knowing look. “Yes, and Earl Bridgerton. They both arrived about ten minutes ago. Looked quite dashing, set for business, and perhaps a little annoyed. Requested an audience with your cousin.”