‘You were allowed to bury it?’ he said, surprised.
‘Grandmama encouraged it. She said it came from a grave and, as decent Christians, we should put it back in one. We recorded it in the family Bible so that future, less squeamish Comstocks could find it.’
‘And then she dug it up,’ he stated.
Hope shook her head in amazement. ‘She hated the thing. She must have been quite desperate for money, if she chose to retrieve this.’
‘Though it was not first on the list, I’ll wager that this was the first thing she took,’ he mused.
‘How can you tell?’
‘Because it was as good as gone already. No one would miss a thing that had been given a formal burial. Who was likely to go looking for it?’
‘When the Earl’s agents came to do the audit, I would have told them the family story and shown them the Bible,’ she said, surprised.
‘And they would likely have left well enough alone,’ he concluded. Then he added, ‘But I am glad she decided to include it in the list. It makes things so much easier when the people who hire me do not hold back important details.’
‘Oh,’ she said. He was probably referring to their conversation from the previous evening. She wished he would stop hinting about the matter since she doubted there was anything that could be done without the help of Comstock. She gave him the most innocent look she could muster. ‘Are people often less than forthcoming?’
‘By the time it is necessary to bring in an outsider to sort out the mess, you would think that there would be no energy left to cover things up.’ He shook his head. ‘But there is always some small hope that the situation, whatever it is, will resolve itself without my help.’
‘Or they know that it cannot be fixed,’ she replied. No matter how much money Mr Leggett had given him, he could not have enough to buy back the huge stones in the Comstock necklace.
‘Or they are ashamed,’ he added.
It certainly explained her grandmother’s behaviour.
‘They needn’t be,’ he said softly when she did not reply. ‘They have no reason to be so. If the mistake was someone else’s, then any guilt rests with that person and not the one trying to help.’
‘Thank you.’ Even this tiny bit of absolution was a comfort. How had Faith managed for so long, when she had been the only one to know of the family’s troubles? The money her marriage had brought made things easier. Yet, after less than a month of trying to rescue the Dowager, Hope felt near to exhaustion.
‘I think it is because they do not fully trust me,’ he said. ‘I am notof them. Had it been my father who was of noble birth and not my mother, I might have been an acknowledged member of a noble family. I would never have had an earldom, but at least I’d have been able to tell you my true name.’ His steely-grey eyes softened with sadness.
Was that what he thought the problem was? That she did not think a bastard was worthy of her secret? ‘That is not the problem at all,’ she insisted. ‘I think you are the most fascinating man I have ever met and I trust you with my life.’
‘Then prove it to me,’ he urged.
Before she could even think to speak, she had kissed him.
Chapter Nine
They were like an ember, dropped on to dry leaves. For the shortest of moments they were still two separate things and it might have been possible to stop what was happening. And then they were one and they were on fire.
His hands came up to cup her face and he returned her kisses, on the mouth, on the cheeks, and eyes and hair. Then he bit her earlobe and groaned. ‘I will never let you regret this. I swear on my life.’
How could he even think that she might? It was too wonderful to be sorry over. She wrapped her arms around him, laid her head on one of his strong, wide shoulders and all the worries of her life seemed to melt away.
His hands came away from her face and she felt them behind her and the little jolts of movement as he stripped off his gloves and threw them to the floor. Then his bare fingers were stroking the back of her neck and twining gently in her curls. ‘Some night, soon, I shall come to you and pull all the pins out of your glorious hair. Then, I shall make you tease every inch of my body with it.’ His lips returned to hers again and his tongue slipped into her mouth.
It was as it had been the last time. Only it was even better. Charity was right. He had lied when he said he wanted nothing to do with her. If his words had not convinced her, the power of this kiss would have left no doubts. She tried to mimic his movements, to thrust her tongue back against his, and heard the gratified moan of response.
Then he was pulling her backwards and they half-sat, half-fell on to the library sofa in a tangle of arms and legs and bodies. She was on top of him, almost in his lap. Her skirts must have risen well past her knees for she could feel the fabric of his breeches moving against the bare skin above her garter.
She should at least pause to arrange her dress. But if she had cared at all about modesty, she should not have kissed him in the first place. Nor should she be squeezing a man’s leg between her thighs as she was now. It felt good to have him there, to have any part of him pressing upward to a spot that was more sensitive than it had ever been before.
His hands were on the fastenings to her gown, undoing them, pushing it down her shoulders so he could mouth the naked skin of her throat and lick his way down to the top of her corset. He ran a finger along the upper edge and inside it. His kisses slowed and he murmured, ‘When I am sure we can be alone, I will have you out of this. Then, I will take all the time I like with these. I will suckle you until you beg me.’
She wanted that. But what would she be begging for?
