There was no doubt that over the last three weeks, Raphael had missed Henri more than he could possibly have imagined. He dreamed of her constantly, waking aching and hard night after night. Was this how a green boy felt in the throes of his first love?
He gave a humourless chuckle. In truth, Rafe suspected the only thing he was really inexperienced at was living a bloodynormallife. But the shadows were as comfortable as they were dangerous…
He looked around again, but still couldn’t see Henrietta and suspected she would be attending the bride along with her other cousins. Seconds later, the organ sounded.
The ceremony had been beautiful, and at the end of it, there hadn’t been a dry eye in the house, but as soon as the bride and groom left, mayhem took over as a large number of the guests immediately attempted to get closer to the King.
Which actually turned out to be a good thing, since the people involved in the melee were mostly those who hadn’t been officially invited. At the end of the day, it proved a simple matter to surround the King and his companion with guards and as soon as the official guests were inside Northwood Court, escort his majesty and Lord Castleton to the wedding breakfast.
After which, they locked the door.
Finn couldn’t deny he was having an excellent time, though in truth he and Flossy were full to bursting, and there were still three courses to go. The only problem was that after three solid hours, he was getting perilously close to peeing his breeches - he now knew exactly how the Reverend had felt when they were in the tunnels. But given that he was generally accustomed to answering the call of nature next to the nearest bush, the wholebeing unable to leave the table was more than a bit of a shock. Bouncing up and down on his chair, Finn was becoming frantic.
In desperation, he tapped his mother’s arm to get her attention. Lizzy took one look at his red face and gave him permission to leave. Finn needed no additional urging, and seconds later he’d crawled under the table and was sprinting towards the nearest exit, Flossy at his heels…
Though they hadn’t spoken, Henrietta was acutely aware of Raphael at the other end of the table, and remembering her mother’s advice, she’d spent almost the entire meal devising different ways of actually getting the deuced mutton head on his own. Four courses in, she was beginning to despair, and was just wondering whether she should actually consider standing up and making an announcement, when one of the footmen stood at her shoulder and bent his head towards her, declaring discreetly that she was wanted in the library. Frowning, Henri put down her napkin and, after excusing herself to her dinner companions, quickly made her way out of the room.
Minutes later, the same message was given to Raphael…
To Henri’s surprise, the library was empty. After hesitating on the threshold, she went over to the fire. It was a cold, blustery day, and the room was undeniably chilly. After a few minutes, she frowned. Any longer, and her absence would be noticed. Who on earth could have wanted to speak with her so urgently? Disquiet set in as she continued to warm her hands.
Seconds later, she heard the door open and swung round… only to see Raphael standing by the door.
They stood regarding each other in silence for a moment, then Henrietta clenched her hands and gritted her teeth. It was now or never.
Determinedly, she stalked towards him, completely unaware of the formidable expression on her face until she got close enough to recognise the apprehension in Raphael’s eyes.
She stopped less than a foot away. Still, he said nothing, but his expression had turned resigned. Clearly, the deuced widgeon was expecting a set-down. Henri let her face relax as she took the last step. Did he truly want her? There was only one way to find out…
A mere second later, Henrietta literally threw herself into Raphael’s arms. She barely noticed as he fell back after catching her full weight because her mouth was over his, and she was kissing him as though her life depended on it.
With a low groan, Rafe wrapped her into his arms and returned the kiss, turning it into an all-consuming melding of mouths that demanded the complete and utter surrender of both of them.
Driven almost mindless by her soft whimper, he lifted her off her feet, holding her underneath her bottom, pressing her against that part of him that had ached, night after night until he’d finally, helplessly, spilled his seed into his hand. Unconsciously, she lifted her legs, wrapping them around his hips, riding his hardness in an instinct as old as time.
So great was his need that Raphael was quickly losing any sense of right or wrong. Without releasing her lips, his hand slipped between them, pulling at the ribbon tying the edge of her dress. Seconds later her breast was freed to his greedy, searching fingers, and she gasped out loud as he rolled her alreadyenflamed nipple against his thumb before cupping the entire globe in his hand…
‘Err… thunder an’ turf, don’t you think there’s a time and place for this sort of thing?’
The Reverend’s strident tones halted their passion like a bucket of cold water.
With a muttered expletive, Rafe allowed Henri to slide back to the floor while shielding her with his body as she struggled to adjust her clothing.
‘I have no intention of playing the voyeur, or the blabbermouth,’ Reverend Shackleford continued sternly, ‘but I do expect to see the pair of you back in the dining room before the cheese course.’
Without waiting for their answer, he gave a final hmph, and went back through the door, closing it gently behind him. Once on the other side, he suppressed a grin and gave Dougal the thumbs up. All in all, a very successful half an hour’s work...
There was no denying that Finn felt like a new person after a few moments spent in the Viscountess’s prize rose garden. Indeed, it was almost as if his diminished bladder actually increased his stomach capacity.
Picking Flossy up, the boy happily made his way back to the dining room. As he entered, his first thought was to wonder whether the King was enjoying the scran as much as he was, and his second was whether to go straight for the cheeses or indulge in the syllabub first.
And his third thought… What the devil was Lord Castleton doing furtively pouring the contents of a small vial into the goblet in front of him?
Finn approached the Gentleman Usher slowly, watching with interest. A few seconds later, his lordship glanced around before picking up a spoon and using it to nonchalantly stir the contents of the goblet.
Frowning, the boy drew closer, just as the Lord Castleton tapped his spoon on the side of the goblet. The sleeve of his jacket fell back, revealing a large scar beginning at his thumb.
Finn froze. With a thrill of sudden terror, he realised he’d never thought to mention the scar he’d seen onMr Top Hat man’shand… The scar that was exactly the same as the one on Lord Castleton’s hand.
