They surrendered to the flames of passion, reaching their release together, and leaving their bodies in a tangle of limbs and perspiration.
It took them a few minutes to stop grinning and laughing.
Once their breaths calmed, they resumed their quiet conversation because neither of them could fall asleep yet.
Who could be sensible on a night like this?
Despite the temptation, Alex decided not to couple with Tulip again.
Twice in a night was enough for her, otherwise she would be sore come morning.
As Tulip lay quietly in his arms, looking as though she was ready for sleep, his thoughts drifted to other concerns.
What would they encounter upon reaching Thornwycke Hall?
Was there anyone in the household he could trust?
Was there anyone who needed to be watched?
He would not have cared so much were it only for himself, but he had Tulip to worry about now and he meant to keep her safe.
He mentioned this to Tulip when she gave him a gentle nudge to the ribs.“What is running through your mind, Alex?”
He smiled.“Just thinking ahead to Somerset.”
“So, you have moved on from thinking of our coupling?I suppose it is ordinary course of business for you.”
He caught her between his arms and gave her a scorching kiss on the lips before rolling back off her.“Nothing ordinary about you, Tulip.I meant it when I said this was very nice.Nothing better, frankly.You’ve left me exhilarated and my mind is now whirling ahead to our arrival at Thornwycke Hall.I don’t know what we’ll be facing there.”
“Approach it as you would any investigation, with an open mind and reliance on those you know and trust.You know that you can trust me.”
“For certain,” he said and kissed her on the forehead.
“Having grown up near Thornwycke Hall, I am familiar with many of the people who work there or have had dealings with the estate,” Tulip assured him.“I think they will open up to me when I ask questions.I like the idea of your needing my help.”
He grunted.“I’ll be relying on you for more than just asking questions.I’ll need your help in figuring how best to restore the estate.”
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever believe I would become mistress of Thornwycke Hall.I have never been inside the manor house, only seen it from afar.We used to sail past it on the hot, lazy days of summer.One of the Hester relatives had a beautiful sailboat and would take us out on the Bristol Channel.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“It was, but the waters around Thornwycke can be treacherous.The water levels change drastically between high tide and low tide, and the water surges come on fast and strong.This is something to keep in mind if ever you are walking along the salt marshes.”
“Is there any reason I would be?”
“Yes, because your workers excavate the salt from there to be sold at market.You might have reason to walk across them when inspecting those operations or surveying your property.But the manor house itself is up on a hill and well protected from any flooding.”
“What about the farmlands near Thornwycke?Are they susceptible to floods?”
“Only on extremely rare occasion.They are further inland and quite safe from the rising tides.Mr.Carver can tell you more about them, since he’s managed the Davenport properties for years.”
Alex grunted again.
“It will be nice to see him,” Tulip said, sounding wistful.“He’s a good friend to my Hester family, and a man you can trust.”
“So you’ve mentioned before,” he muttered, more to himself than an attempt at further conversation.
He would soon meet the man and assess his character for himself.
