The Lady and the Earl (Seabrook Family Saga) (15 page)

Amelia gasped. “I always believed there was more to the story than what
you told me.” Her hand caressed up and down his arm. “We have both loved and
lost. Now we have a second chance.” She snuggled into his arms.

And then William did what she had been craving since the first time he
kissed her back in Dover by the small stream. He pulled her into his arms and
kissed her again. His lips were gentle at first, then she heard him moan. She
opened her mouth to allow his tongue to enter. Amelia’s head spun as she
gripped his greatcoat with her hands and kissed him back with all the love she
had for him.

Their tongues swirled around and danced with each other. William tasted
faintly of brandy and something else, something all male and powerful. Amelia
wanted—no, needed—more. And so she took what he offered and sucked his tongue
deep inside her mouth and reveled in the sensations bombarding her body and
soul. Oh, how she loved this man.

“Amelia.” William gently removed her hands from his jacket, returning
them to their earlier position on the seat with her head resting against his
shoulder. William breathed heavily, and she could feel his heart pounding. “I
do not want to take you here in this carriage for our first time. And I also
want us to be husband and wife when I do make love to you. If you do what you
just did to me again, I will not be able to help myself.”

After a time, William noticed the change in Amelia’s breathing as her
head fell heavier against his shoulder. He moved over on the seat and
positioned her so her head rested in his lap. William reached across the seat,
careful not to disturb her, took a blanket, and tucked it around her body to
keep her warm. The early morning air chilled the inside of the carriage.

William could not help but smile as he listened to Amelia inhale and
exhale as she slept on his lap. Several months ago he would never have imagined
that he, the reclusive Earl of Bridgeton, would run off to Gretna Green to
marry such a young and lovely lady.

He had expected to live out his life in the countryside, alone with his
servants. His days would be spent on horseback, riding along the white cliffs,
staring across the channel at France.

Now, he would forever be grateful for the lady in his arms. She had
shown him there was more to life than wallowing in self-pity. If Amelia could
come away from tragedy and gossip and hold her head high in London Society, William
could as well.

Together, they could face any adversity. Even Wentworth’s wrath when
they returned, married. William had not believed for a moment Wentworth would
allow this marriage. Yes, they had talked and Wentworth seemed as though he
would take everything William said under advisement. Yet William did not
believe Wentworth would end up giving his consent. Not after Amelia had been
engaged to a duke. It was clear as a cloudless day in London that Wentworth had
high hopes for Amelia and that William did not live up to those hopes.

Truth be told, he
did not
live up to Wentworth’s hopes. But he
loved Amelia. It was not the same kind of love he had for Katherine. The love
he had for Katherine was born out of youth and recklessness. There had been
something thrilling about being together in the face of Society without anyone
ever knowing they were the loving couple––not his brother and Katherine.

The love he had in his heart for Amelia was mature and steadfast. With
the exception of running off with her to Gretna Green, William would never be
reckless with her. He would never play with her emotions, which he sometimes
had done with Katherine’s. William was not proud of himself for that. But he
had been young, only four-and-twenty when he had first fallen in love with
Katherine. Now, at eight-and-thirty, he understood that what the three of them
had shared could not have sustained time. He was confident the love he had for
Amelia would never go away.

He hoped Amelia would not live to regret marrying someone nearly twice
her age. But only God knew what their future held. And if William had learned
anything from his time with Katherine, it was that life was fleeting and one
should live it to the fullest, for the future might not exist.

From this day forward William would live with Amelia and love her with
all his heart and soul, because he did not want to have regrets. He did not
want to die without her knowing she meant everything to him. Since she had
agreed to marry him, a man with a terrible reputation, she deserved no less.
There would always be members of the
ton
who believed the gossip about
him. They would be waiting for Amelia to wind up dead.

He would do all in his power to protect her and to keep the gossip from
reaching her ears. He’d do anything for her.

***

They traveled all morning, eating the picnic lunch while in the coach.
Amelia, nervous with anticipation, gave little notice to the stiffness in her
body.

“Are we spending the night traveling?” she asked, hoping they would
stop for the night.

“No. We’re stopping at an inn that is well off the road. I do not want
your brother to find us until we are married. One of my servants has sent word
that Wentworth is indeed in pursuit of us. He’s traveling by coach, although I
would have thought he’d be on horseback which would be faster.”

Amelia gasped. “He would not dare stop us, would he?” Of course
Wentworth would. As head of her family, he could do anything.

“Do not fret, Amelia, my love.” William squeezed her hand. “I will do
all I can to stop your brother from finding us. But bloody hell, I thought we
had more of a head start than we did.”

“Perhaps we should travel through the night.” Amelia did not relish
spending the night sleeping in the coach.

“No. They will never find us. The Three Owl’s Inn is unknown to most
travelers. Spencer knew of it, and he trusts the innkeeper completely.”

Later, when the sun joined the horizon, they turned off the main road
and traveled several miles on a narrow cart path deep into the woods. An hour
later, Amelia could just make out the inn ahead, with windows lit up in the
distance.

The innkeeper and his wife welcomed them with smiles and assured
William his coach would be well hidden.

Amelia looked for the sign with the inn’s name, but there didn’t appear
to be one. “Lord Bridgeton, are you quite certain this is an inn? There is no
sign.”

“Yes, Lady Amelia, it is indeed an inn. They have taken down the sign
to ensure our safety.” He leaned down and whispered into her ear. “Why are you
suddenly so formal?”

“For the innkeepers. I don’t want them—”

“My dear, they know why we are here. Most of their business comes from
couples traveling to Gretna Green. Do not be alarmed that there might be other
patrons here. I have reserved the inn for us exclusively. We are safe from
gossip and from your brothers.”

“Oh.” Even with William’s assurance, Amelia found it hard to breathe
easily. She kept waiting for her brothers to storm the inn, steal her away from
William and take her home.

The innkeeper’s wife, a short, middle-aged, plump woman with a kind
face, led them into a cozy dining room. A round table, situated close to the
fireplace, overflowed with plates and bowls of food. Steam rose up from them,
and the smell of mutton stew and freshly baked bread had Amelia’s stomach churning
with hunger. Once William seated her, he sat down and she broke off a piece of
the warm bread and spread cream generously on it.

“This is wonderful. I had not realized how hungry I was.”

William broke off a piece of bread also, ignored the cream, and instead
dipped it into his stew. “And I as well. Stealing away in the middle of the
night and traveling for hours on end, being wary of being found out, makes one
hungry for the comfort of good hot food.”

Amelia had to agree the bread and stew warmed her stomach. Her body,
which had been stiff and tight since yesterday morning, relaxed more and more
with each passing minute. “How much longer until we are there?” She knew it
took roughly between three and four days, depending on the speed of the
carriage and the weather, to travel from London to Scotland. But at the rate
they were traveling, would they make it in less time?

“If we continue at the pace we’re traveling, two days. That’s if the
weather continues to be on our side. The clouds this evening look ominous. I
hope the storm passes tonight and does not linger into tomorrow and make the
roads difficult to travel,” William replied between mouthfuls of stew.

“The bright side to that is my brother won’t be able to travel as fast
either”

“Yes, there is that,” William agreed. “I’ve only known your oldest
brother a short time, but he is the most stubborn and determined man I know. I
can see him braving the elements and pushing on regardless of his, the carriage
or the horses’ safety. What he doesn’t understand is that you and I will marry
no matter what—if not in the next few days, then next month or the month after
that.”

Amelia smiled at his heartwarming words. “You are that confident I want
to marry you?” The startled look on his face surprised her. “Yes. Oh, yes. I
want to marry you,” she blurted out, hoping to put his sudden doubts to rest.

“Thank God. I was beginning to think I kidnapped the wrong lady.”
William reached across the table and brought Amelia’s hand to his lips. His
warm, moist lips brushed across her knuckles, making her shiver from her head
to her toes. Could they not have their wedding night tonight?

As if William could read her mind he placed her hand back on the table.
“We have separate rooms. But I am right across the hall in case you need anything.
I’m sorry we did not think to bring your maid with you. But I came up with the
plan so suddenly.” William paused. “Well, actually, I’ve been thinking about
this since the first time I called upon you at your London residence. The day I
learned that Wentworth would never give his consent to a marriage between us.”

“I think that was the day I thought about it as well,” Amelia admitted.
Of course, she’d only daydreamed and never thought her dream would come to
fruition.

The innkeeper’s wife, having noticed they had finished their meal,
approached their table, and escorted Amelia and William to their chambers.

Amelia’s nervousness returned as she stood outside her chamber. Her
feet became the focus of her attention. “Goodnight, Lord Bridgeton.”

Right before she closed her bedchamber door Amelia heard William’s deep
voice say, “Goodnight, Lady Amelia. Sleep well.”

Now, behind the locked door, she was thankful she wore a traveling gown
that buttoned up the front. Otherwise she would have to seek the innkeeper’s
wife’s help. Or even William’s.

William’s help would not be a good idea. Amelia did not trust herself
to be near him in such a situation. Since she did indeed know what transpired
between a man and woman, she was anxious to experience it again with William.
Whenever William touched her lightly anywhere on her body, she tingled and
heated up with desire. To have him help her undress would certainly be her
downfall…

A soft knock on her door started her. “Who is it?” Amelia asked as her
heart fluttered, in the hope that William had changed his mind about them
spending the night together.

“Who do you think it is?”
Wentworth.

“Wentworth?” she asked in disbelief. Her heart pounded. How had he
found them?

“Open the door this minute.”

Just as Amelia opened her door William opened his across the hall. At
the murderous look on her brother’s face her body began to shake in fear for
William’s safety.

“How did you find us?” William asked before Amelia could say anything
to her brother.

“Do you think you are the only ones privileged to know about the secret
inns along the path to Scotland?” Wentworth said.

That had William pausing. “Yes. No.”

“Is that all you have to say to me after you steal my sister away in
the middle of the night? I said I would consider a marriage between you two. I
had not refused.”

Before Amelia knew it, Wentworth shoved William up against the wall.

“What are you doing?” she cried out in panic.

“Stay out of this, Amelia,” Wentworth warned. “This is between him and
me.”

“But––,” she protested.

“But nothing,” her brother warned again.

Amelia watched, helpless as the man she loved fought her brother. Her
brother had William at a disadvantage until William wrestled free and took
control. Her heart pounded inside her chest in panic. She did not want either
of them hurt.

“Stop it right this minute,” a female voice Amelia recognized as Emma’s
cried from the top of the stairs. “Wentworth, you promised to be civil.”

Emma picked up her skirts and hurried down the hall, bravely proceeding
to separate the men. After the altercation stopped Emma removed a lacy
handkerchief from her reticule and dabbed William’s bloody mouth.

“Lord Bridgeton, please accept my apology for my husband’s behavior.”
Then she turned to her husband, who also had a bloody lip. “Wentworth, how
could you?”

Her heart still pounding, Amelia covered her mouth to hide a smile at
hearing her brother chastised by his wife. Not that the situation was
funny––far from it––but Amelia could not help it. Then Amelia thought about the
situation and wondered what Emma was doing here. She expected Sebastian to
travel with Wentworth, not Emma.

“Emma,” Amelia interrupted the exchange between husband and wife. “I
did not expect you to come with Wentworth to stop our wedding.”

Emma stepped around her husband and gave him a stern look before
returning her gaze to Amelia. “We are not here to stop the wedding. Do you
think I would let you marry without me in attendance? And before you say
anything, Sebastian and Bella are downstairs in the dining room. It’s a wonder
we made it alive with Sebastian and Wentworth driving the carriage.”