The Desires of a Countess (26 page)

“Cordelia, Felice, Rowena. How nice to see you all.”
She glanced over her shoulder as she spoke. In a few moments she’d
explode from the tension only his touch could release her from.

“You act surprised that we’re here,” Felice said
with a nasty smirk that let Ginny know exactly how much she was
hated.

“Yes,” Rowena agreed. “We certainly have more right
than you do. A widow shouldn’t even be at a ball. And she certainly
shouldn’t look so pleased after only a few months since… since…”
Rowena sniffled.

Felice finished for her. “Our dear brother’s
death.”

Ginny bit her tongue. During Henry’s life, the two
sisters hadn’t liked him much more than she had. But now they
played the grieving family to the hilt. The only one who truly
seemed to mourn Henry was his mother. And Cordelia glared at her
pointedly.

“You
do
look awfully pleased with
yourself,” she muttered as her eyes narrowed.

Ginny shrugged. What was she going to do, tell them
she was planning a tryst with the man she loved? Though it might be
worth the looks of horror on their faces, making her relationship
with Simon public wasn’t a good idea.

“I’m pleased to be back in London. And happy to be
reunited with my family.”

Cordelia cackled. “You? Pleased to be back with your
family? Why, I’ve never seen someone so disdainful of their kin in
my life. No, there’s more to your glowing face than you let
on.”

Ginny’s false smile fell. “Cordelia, you know very
little about me, including my situation with my family. Now if
you’ll excuse me, I have something more important to do.”

Grabbing her skirt, she spun away from the gaping
Blanchard women and hurried toward the stairs. Once at the bottom,
she turned back to see Cordelia glaring at her with enough hatred
in her eyes to heat a dozen volcanoes. But Ginny didn’t care. At
the top of the stairs was the man she loved. And tonight would be
the last time she could show him just how much she cared for
him.

***

It was amazing how many members of
the
ton
took use
of empty rooms at balls. Simon leaned back into the shadows and
watched yet another couple slip into an unused bedroom. In a few
moments, he and Ginny would be one of those taking their pleasure
in secret. The thought made him grow hard with
anticipation.

How had his life taken such an
unexpected turn? Just a short time ago he’d been complaining to
Adam as he rode to Westdale. He’d been ready to evaluate a woman
who might or might not have been slightly daft, put her finances in
order and return to his regular life. But now he was in the hallway
at a ball in London of all places, awaiting that same woman. He
felt no pull to return to
The
Keeper
. The sea hadn’t begun her siren’s
song and pulled him back on his never-ending quest.

In fact, the only thing drawing him
now was Virginia Blanchard. He’d shown her all the pain associated
with his father and she’d understood rather than cowered away. She
had met his mother and instantly taken steps to draw her back into
Society, even though Ginny, herself didn’t want anything to do with
the
ton
. Her
strength as a person and her devotion as a mother were things he
admired. He had to wonder if he could ever…

Before he could finish his thought, Ginny came
around the corner and stood at the end of the hall. The lamplight
on her skin made her luminous as she peered around her, looking for
him. God, he wanted her.

As she came up the hall, he snaked his arm out and
grabbed her wrist. She tumbled toward him and he skillfully turned
her and pressed her back against the wall before he caught her
mouth with a kiss.

“You’re late,” he whispered.

She giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck
and returned his kiss with a passionate one of her own. “I am
not.”

“You are.” He trailed his lips down her neck. “We
said a quarter of an hour. It’s been sixteen minutes and thirty
seconds.”

The laugh that shivered in her throat was cut off
when he pressed himself even closer to her.

“My, my,” she said in a husky whisper that made him
even more aware of just how much he wanted her. “We are in a
hurry.”

“You don’t even know,” he said as he slid her down
the wall and fumbled for a doorknob. It fell open and they tumbled
in with it. Simon kicked the door shut behind him and gazed at
Ginny with predatory, desire-filled eyes. And he was abundantly
pleased to see the same look in hers.

“I’m sorry to have made you wait,” she said as she
mimicked his earlier action and pressed him back against the door.
“But I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Promise?” he asked as the world began to spin.

She looked up at him with wide, blue eyes. “I
promise.”

Slowly she slid her hands between his coat and shirt
and ran her nails down his chest. He sucked in his breath as she
rubbed against him in a provocative manner.

“You’re warm,” she whispered, but she was out of
breath and he knew her bravado hid as much excitement as he,
himself, felt.

“Very. Getting warmer by the minute.”

“Then you should get rid of some of these clothes.”
With a wicked smile, she yanked his jacket off and tossed it over
her shoulder.

“And what about you?” he asked as he edged her
closer to the bed which sat in the middle of the dark room. He spun
her around so her back was to his chest. “You’ve got on more layers
than I do.”

“Actually-” She sucked in her breath and let out a
low moan as his hands came around to cup her breasts. “Today’s
fashions demand a woman wear… very little beneath.”

“I bless the fashion matrons, then,” he said as he
began to work at the buttons of her gown. One by one he slid them
from their holes until he was able to slide his hands inside. She
was right. Only a shift separated his skin from hers. A very thin
shift.

Slipping the dress down, he kissed the spot where
her neck and back met. She hissed out a loud breath of pleasure
while she leaned into him and their bodies molded together. She
began to turn, but he held her as she was.

“No, like this,” he said as he reached for the hem
of her shift. “Just like this.”

“Really?” she asked, peeking over her shoulder at
him with sultry eyes. “Like this?”

“Mm hmmm.”

He was about to unbutton his trousers and show her
when there was a loud scream from behind them. Both of them turned
and Simon’s eyes widened in horror. Cordelia Blanchard stood in the
doorway staring at them with a red face.

“Jezebel! You Jezebel!” she shrieked as she pointed
an accusatory finger at Ginny, who was fumbling for her gown with a
look of distress.

“Cordelia!” Simon moved in front of Ginny to protect
her from his Aunt’s eyes and unfortunately the eyes of all the
other people who were now rushing to the door at her screams.
“Stop.”

“You whore,” the woman continued. Her voice went up
on each word. “You’re in mourning. You are in public. You are…”

Ginny straightened up, looking as dignified as one
could with a half buttoned gown hanging loose around her shoulders.
“Will you shut up? This is none of your affair, none of
anyone’s…”

She grew silent as a man pushed through the crowd.
Simon swallowed. It was Noah Jordan and judging from the look on
his face, he was very unhappy with what he saw.

“Noah.” Ginny’s face paled two shades as she reached
in vain to close the back of her gown.

Noah’s nostrils flared as he looked from one of them
to the other. Ginny’s brother was furious. Not that Simon could
blame the man.

“Woodbury, if you would just,” he began.

“You son of a bitch,” Noah said as he pulled his
fist back.

Everything moved in slow motion as Ginny let out a
scream of “no” and Noah’s fist came forward. Simon hardly had any
time to block it as it connected squarely with his eye.

And then everything got very dark and very
quiet.

***

If she closed her eyes, Ginny could still hear the
shrieks. The accusations. The ugly words. She could feel the eyes
of the growing crowd on her as she’d struggled to pull her gown
back up around her shoulders and button a few of her buttons.

Not that any of her actions had
helped. Cordelia had seen what she and Simon were doing. So had at
least a dozen members of the
ton
who’d come running at the screams in the hallway.
Those dozen had told a dozen more and on and on it went as gossip
always did. Little changes happened to the story and eventually it
was being told that she and Simon had been completely naked and
making love when they were caught. Not that it was so very far from
the truth. In just a few more moments…

She groaned.

And when Noah had run in and punched Simon? Lordy,
the sound the crowd had made. They did love a scene, and she and
Simon had created more than enough of one that night.

Poor Simon and his eye. The same eye Robert had
blackened weeks before was now puffy and swollen for a second time
in a fight over her. If the world weren’t crashing down upon her
she might have laughed at the image.

She didn’t.

“Oh, Noah, did you have to hit him quite so hard?”
Marion asked as she sat back down on the settee in their parlor and
gave Simon another ice pack.

“I concur,” Simon grumbled with a wince as the ice
touched his tender eye.

“Force of habit, Marion,” Noah said to his wife,
then turned on Simon with a pointed glare. “But you’re damn lucky I
didn’t do more. Only Ginny stopped me from finishing you off right
then and there.”

Audrey stepped in from the doorway where she’d been
talking to Tabitha. “Really, Noah, do you have to play protector
right now? I believe Mr. Webber fully understands what you would
have done had you not come to your senses.” She let out a long sigh
that was mirrored by Sarah Webber in her chair by the window.

“This is such a nightmare,” Sarah said as she turned
her gaze away from the street toward the Jordan clan and her
son.

“So many people saw what they were doing!” Audrey
nodded. “I don’t even know how to handle such a thing.”

At that, Ginny pivoted from the opposite window
where she’d been staring at the garden since the family had arrived
at Noah and Marion’s townhouse and faced the group of people.

“First of all, Simon and I are here
in the room. There’s no use talking about ‘handling’ our situation
when we’re two adults capable of doing that ourselves.” She caught
the smile Simon sent her, but refused to answer it with one of her
own. “And people saw what we were
about
to do. We weren’t doing
anything… yet. And that’s exactly what we’ll tell people if they
talk.”

“If
they
talk?” Tabitha repeated with a hollow laugh. “There isn’t any ‘if’
about it. They’re already talking.” Her laugh turned to a sigh as
she looked from one child’s face to another. “I swear you children
will give me fits.”

“This is all very well and good,” Audrey said as she
came to stand beside Griffin at the door. “But it doesn’t answer
what we’re going to do about it.”

“We?” her husband answered with a
laugh. “
We
aren’t
doing anything. You and I are going home so you can rest. This is
between Simon and Ginny now.”

Audrey’s eyes grew wide and her hands came up to
rest on her hips. “Oh no you don’t, I’m not going to leave in the
middle-”

Griffin laughed. “Oh, yes you are. That baby in your
belly is up far past her bedtime. I’m taking you home. Marion and
Tabitha will surely fill you in on all the details later. Come
along.”

With a scowl that didn’t quite reach her eyes,
Audrey did as she’d been asked. “Good evening.”

Marion rose from her seat with a smile for Noah. “I
think we should follow Griffin’s very sensible lead, love. Come
along.”

Ginny couldn’t help but smile as her brother’s eyes
bulged with outrage. “I am the head of this family.”

“And as your sister pointed out, she’s quite capable
of taking care of this situation on her own.” Her voice dropped.
“Besides, I don’t think you and I have much to talk about how to
handle being caught in a compromising situation.”

At that, Noah shut his mouth and followed his wife
to the door. “Feel free to use our sitting room as long as you have
need,” Noah said as he left. In the hall, Ginny heard him add, “And
we weren’t caught at a ball, at least.”

“I know, dear…” The couple’s voices faded away.

That left Simon and the two mothers, both of whom
stared at the pair with disapproving, yet loving eyes. Tabitha came
over to put an arm around Ginny while Sarah took Marion’s seat on
the settee beside Simon. She examined his eye for a moment, then
clucked her tongue.

“So,” she said as she arched an eyebrow at her son.
“What shall we do about this?”

“What, my eye, Mother?” Simon asked, and Ginny had
to smile at his attempt to avoid the subject.

Sarah glared at him. “No, Simon Gregory Vincent
Webber, not your eye. You know perfectly well that I mean the
‘incident’ tonight.”

Tabitha was the one who answered as she gave Ginny a
squeeze. “We’ll just have to figure out what to do together.”

Ginny let out an exasperated sigh and shrugged away
from her mother’s embrace. “Simon and I aren’t schoolchildren
who’ve been caught doing something naughty and need punishing by
our mothers. If there is a resolution to be found, we shall find it
on our own.”

Sarah turned to her with a half-quirked mouth. “And
what is your suggestion, my dear?”

Ginny shrugged. “Simon will return to his life on
his ship, and I’ll return to Westdale and mine. I don’t really care
what London thinks on the subject. Problem solved.”