Secret Pleasures (17 page)

“You fed her last night
?
When?
”
Darien’s rhythmic rocking was making Ivy’s thigh’s tingle.

“When you fell asleep.
”
Darien kissed her neck, the curve of her shoulder, his breathing ragged against her raw skin. Every inch of her was chapped from Darien’s thorough lovemaking
.
“When I carried up the bread and cheese
. 
You dozed off.”

Melody’s gurgling began to increase to a series of short shrill complaints
.
Not cries
,
but warning, searching shots.

“Darien.
”
Ivy tensed.

“One minute and I’ll get some fresh sheep’s milk for her.”

Darien wrapped the hand he’d been using to massage her soft folds around her waist and plunged deeply into her
.
Ivy’s body coiled around him on the brink herself
,
but only teased by his gentle earlier probe
.
He pulled out and plunged again, pressing Ivy against the bed post
.
Melody let out her first serious scream, covering Darien’s nearly soundless moan into her hair
.
She felt his body shudder and his hot seed filled her, teasing her with barely eluded release.

He withdrew and jumped off the bed
.
Ivy didn’t move nearly as quickly
.
She caught her breath and slid down onto the tangled sheets
.

Darien scooped up Melody, who miraculously hushed
.
The man definitely had a way with women
.
After thoroughly making love to her all night long
,
he left her still wanting him.

He laid Melody in her arms then kissed the top of Ivy’s head
.
“I’ll heat some milk for chocolate
.
You still like that, don’t you?”

“Yes, that would be wonderful. But, I’ll get up.
”
Ivy eased out of bed, every muscle aching
.
She maneuvered into a silk robe, Melody blinking happily in the crook of her arm
.
Though she would love nothing more than to lie about in bed all day, be served fresh baked scones with orange marmalade and rich hot chocolate, Melody needed to be fed and changed.

Darien pulled on his clothes
.
“Evelyn and her daughters will be over today to help you stock the kitchen
.
She’ll be glad to fetch you anything you need from the village
.
I need to check on my herds.”

Ivy gravitated to the window, the sky a soft pink
.
She had not been up this early in
…
ever, actually.

Darien yanked on his boots and strolled to Ivy, who bounced Melody in her arms
.
“You get some rest today, hmm
?
Both of you.
”
He hugged
her
and Melody, wrapping them
both
in his strong arms
.
“
Ivy, know one thing
.
Last night was worth the wait.”

A flood of happiness Ivy could not ever imagine experiencing rushed through her
.
She glanced down at Melody
,
and for the first time thought that perhaps all those years apart
from Darien
, all her crushed dreams, had been worth
some
thi
ng: This
one single moment
.

…
convinced as I was that I would never share that type of bond with my betrothed.

Ivy wiped her hands on the white apron Evelyn had loaned her while they all scrubbed Darien’s neglected house
.
Though the idea had crossed Ivy’s mind that she could afford to hire help, even if Darien could not, she knew to even mention such a thing might offend these kind people
.
Evelyn and Hank, and the other Westhaven tenants, had been Darien’s extended family these past years.

Darien sat outside with Hank in two
straight-backed
chairs eating homemade pasties stuffed with
mincemeat
and onions
.
The scent of their freshly baked lunch wafted through the open door
.

“Look, she’s trying to smile,” cried Hannah, who sat at the kitchen table, bouncing Melody on her lap.

Ivy turned from the stone sink where she rinsed dust from her hands before digging into her own awaiting meat
pasty
.
One corner of Melody’s mouth lifted a bit, and then she seemed startled, obviously unsure of the sensation
.
She kicked her feet and legs, squealing happily
. 

“What a girl she is.
”
Evelyn popped her head behind her daughter’s shoulder, coaxing Melody to take another try at a grin
.

In the last three days, they had turned Darien’s little house into a home
.
Ivy had pitched in learning to warm meals in the open brick stove and to care for Melody, who grew stronger every day
.
Evelyn asked few questions about Ivy’s circumstance
.
If Evelyn wondered why someone who had hardly heated tea in the last decade had suddenly decided to live like a farmer’s wife, she hid her curiosity behind her patient instructions
.
Of course, they all assumed Melody was Darien’s daughter.

“When was she born?” Hannah asked innocently enough.

“A couple of months ago,” Ivy said too quickly
.
She had never even considered the date of Melody’s birth
.
Ivy’s answer was entirely too vague for such a momentous occasion in a woman’s life.

“No, what day of the week?
”
Hannah laughed as if Ivy’s answer was just another ridiculous aristocratic blunder
.
Hannah especially had good-naturedly enjoyed Ivy’s lack of practical household skills.

“Monday.
”
Ivy must consult an almanac and pick an actual day for future predicaments
. 
And
now
she must make it a Monday
.

“Monday’s child is fair of face.
”
Evelyn returned to cutting potatoes for the stew she was making for their dinner.

“She must take after you, Miss Ivy,” Hannah grinned
.
“Though she does have Lord Blackmore’s eyes.

“Why don’t you take the men some more ale, Ivy?
”
Evelyn hung a heavy kettle of stew from the iron hook in the stone fireplace.

Ivy retrieved the pitcher, thankful for Evelyn’s rescue
.
Evelyn had also kindly skirted around the nature of her relationship with Darien
.
Though from what Evelyn didn’t say, Ivy suspected Evelyn was very aware of Ivy and Darien’s past
.
She would have to concoct a proper story before she arrived in Italy
.

Ivy forced those thoughts away
.
The day was wonderfully warm with a soft breeze rustling the trees
.
When Ivy did not find Darien and Hank in the chairs by the creek, she wandered around the cottage, sure they hadn’t gone far
.
Their half-eaten lunch remained on their empty seats
.

A gleaming mahogany carriage pulled by six fine, well-groomed horses dominated Darien’s dusty drive
.
Hank stood back, admiring the handsome animals more than the expensive carriage
.
Darien braced his hands on the polished wood and chatted casually with the occupant
.
His smile proved that at least the intruder was not his father
.
In any event,
she wondered if the
ir
illusions of the quiet country life were about to be shattered.

Darien spotted Ivy and waved her over
.
She set the crockery pitcher on the porch and took off her apron
.
Her hunter green day dress sported a large encrusted stain
.
To her dismay, two of the onyx buttons that lined the gown’s front w
ere
missing
.
Ivy tried to tuck a few stray tangles into her hastily rolled twist
.
Her hair had not been arranged properly since she
’d
left London
.
Without her mantle of coifed elegance, she felt vulnerable, like the young girl she had been, invited to the earl’s estate for the first time
.

A woman leaned out the carriage window and Ivy’s breakfast of porridge almost came up
.
Darien’s sister had aged in the last twenty or so years, but if anything, she looked more like Darien’s mother
.
Not that Ivy had ever met Lilian Blackmore Fitzgerald
.
Ivy had only seen her solitary portrait hanging in a cool marble hall
flanked by
Grecian statues
.
Darien’s sister had been the first Blackmore offspring to be banished from the estate.

“Ivy, come dear,” called Lilian
.
“Look at you
.
I hear our boy has converted you into a country lass
.
But what else should I expect from Darien’s betrothed.”

From another, Ivy would take the comment as a slight
.
Darien’s sister seemed genuinely pleased that Ivy shared her brother’s residence
.
Instead of relief, Ivy’s face felt inordinately warm though she hadn’t actually blushed
in
years
.
A portion of Ivy’s scandalous reputation had been rumor, but some of it had been based in fact
.
No matter Ivy’s justifications, she had been a paid mistress, and now, a paid companion, though Darien did not know that
.
Perhaps Lilian Fitzgerald did
.
Ivy licked her chapped lips.

“
Mrs. Fitzgerald
, you are as beautiful and gracious as your portrait
.
I regret we did not meet prior to today
.
Currently, I must look a mess.”

“I think the country air suits her, don’t you?
”
Darien wrapped his arm around Ivy, presenting her to his sister, allowing no room to misunderstand their relationship.

“I prefer it myself, though Ireland’s air is much sweeter.
”
Lilian opened the carriage door and Darien helped her down
.
“Of course, my son claims London’s libraries have their own special appeal. I can hardly persuade him to come home anymore.”

“Well, you made your journey in vain because he’s not here, either.
”

“There’s to be wedding festivities at Westhaven.
”
Mrs. Fitzgerald
handed Darien a crisp envelope
.
“Or
perhaps you
haven’t heard
.
Here is your invitation.
”
She glanced at Darien’s crumbling stone dwelling
.
“I see you put on a new roof and cleaned the windows
.
Very nice.”

“Ivy’s been furnishing the inside.
”
Darien patted the edge of the envelope roughly against his palm
.
“
Lilian, h
ow can you
so easily
go along with our father’s marriage to a girl young enough to be his granddaughter?”

“May I have the grand tour?
”
Darien’s sister ignored his question, showing no signs of distress as she glided across the lawn.

Ivy panicked
.
How would she explain Melody
?
Whatever Lilian Fitzgerald’s falling out
of the past was
with her father
,
they
obviously
had
made amends
,
or she would not be forcefully delivering the invitation to Darien
. 

“We are not exactly finished
.
I need to send for a few more things from my estate in Cornwall.
”
Ivy tried to catch Darien’s gaze
.
He knew of her need for discretion where Melody was concerned.