She was dressed informally in her shirt and bloomers, her stockings still draped somewhere upstairs in the bedroom. They had been missing and her stomach had been rumbling, so she had eschewed them.
“Quite,” she said, giving him a serene smile.
He leaned forward on the table, resting his weight on one forearm as his hair fell across his brow. “Do you know what I think, minx?”
“No, but it looks as if you are about to tell me.”
“I think that you’re remembering my tongue on you in that forbidden place, how it felt. You liked it, didn’t you?”
More heat crept up her throat. Oh, he was wicked. She didn’t know if he was trying to fluster her or if this was more of his campaign to prove himself as a cruel, heartless rake. Perhaps both. Either way, she wasn’t going to allow him this particular victory.
She forced herself to hold his stare. “I like your tongue on me everywhere.”
His gaze darkened and smoldered with sensual promise. “Touché.”
He had turned her into a wanton. She scarcely recognized herself. But she liked this newfound freedom to be as bold as she liked with him. He made her feel as if she were capable of anything. Brazen and powerful and so very alive.
How could she have resigned herself to a staid, proper marriage with the Earl of Carnis? Rhiannon couldn’t fathom it now. Nor would she return to accept his suit. She couldn’t. Not knowing what she would be missing. Not loving Aubrey as she did, and most definitely not with the hope burning to life inside her that he might one day return her feelings.
Despite his protestations to the contrary.
Smiling to herself, she finished the last of her tea.
“What do you think about spending the day here at the cottage again?” Aubrey asked suddenly, surprising her. “I can ride back to the main house and have the servants return and replenish our food supply. You needn’t worry that they would see you. You could stay upstairs until they finish their tasks and go back to Wingfield Hall.”
The chance to spend another day with him, just the two of them? Rhiannon could scarcely believe her fortune.
“I would enjoy that immensely.” She paused. “But I would also dearly love a bath. I suppose having one is quite impossible here, isn’t it?”
“What manner of host am I? I’ve neglected to show you the bath. It was added when we refurbished the cottage. There is a tub which is quite deep and lovely. All I’ll need to do is heat the kitchen range again, and you’ll have hot water at the ready.”
“That sounds divine, but I haven’t any soap.”
“Tell me where it is, and I’ll fetch it from your bedroom when I return.”
She thought for a moment, trying to recall where she had left it, but it was no use.
“You’ve no notion where you put it, have you?” he asked, apparently reading her expression.
Rhiannon winced. “It is somewhere within my room. But where is something of a mystery.”
“As I thought. It’s likely beneath a mound of dresses you’ve discarded as not being worthy.”
“In my defense, I had no notion you would be spiriting me away to a cottage for days. I thought I was returning.”
“Youarereturning. Eventually. Just not today.” He gave her a soft smile that was almost boyish. “If you wish it, that is.”
Oh, how she liked this charming, softer side of him.
“Of course I wish it,” she conceded. “But a bath would still be lovely.”
As would a fresh gown, but she couldn’t imagine how he might manage to gather such a cumbersome garment and take it through the house without arousing suspicion. She would simply have to settle for her shirt and bloomers until she returned to Wingfield Hall herself.
“Then a bath you shall have,” Aubrey told her gallantly. “Unfortunately, I cannot promise what manner of soap I will be able to scavenge. Your bedroom looks as if it has been ransacked by an invading army that has taken anything remotely of value and trampled the rest.”
“It looks nothing like that,” she defended, slightly insulted. “It looks as if it has been kept by a woman who is accustomed to a clever lady’s maid doing most of the work for her and is now rather a bit lost without her aid.”
He laughed and shook his head. “When you leave, we shall have to set the room on fire.”
