‘Oh heavens,’ she whispered, panting.‘That was more shocking than I expected.’
‘Good shocking?’
‘Better than good.Stupendous.’
Tillman flexed his fingers against the back of her neck, drew her length against his own with some force, and claimed her mouth again.Lorelei squeaked, and her body arched and surged against him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she pulled him closer.Her lips were heaven, and she was as delicious as a peach.Every part of her seemed to open to him, from her shoulders stretching to her mouth following his lead—even the way the tips of her fingers pressed into his nape.Every small motion coaxed him over her walls and into her shrouded sanctum.
With a mutual moan of loss, they separated, inhaled, kissed again, then broke apart.Foreheads touching, their breaths interlaced.
‘Lorelei… I’ve always… You know I…’
‘Don’t say it.’Her dry tone, underscored by a plea, halted his confession.‘I know.Just know I know.One day,’ she whispered.‘But not today.’
He’d always known it, really.That if he found the courage to reach out to her, and if she felt the same way in return, there’d be a price, and not one paid by him.He released her.She smoothed the fabric of her skirts, then caught that errant lock of hair and tucked it into place.
A creak came from down the hall.Then a tap at the door.
Cecil.‘I don’t mean to disturb you… Your Grace,’ he said, but his gaze flicked to Tillman, then back to the duchess.‘I need a forwarding address for His Grace.’
‘Forwarding address?He’s not going back to the academy.’Panic edged into Lorelei’s voice.‘Not unless he wants to.Did he say he wants to?’
‘Your father sent a man to collect him, to return him to school,’ Cecil replied.‘He hadn’t even packed his books and such that were downstairs.The man refused to wait.I offered to arrange to send them on to the academy, but the driver said His Grace wouldn’t be returning to that school.Before I could ask where he was taking him, they left.’
For a moment, they all stood frozen.The pink had left Lorelei’s cheeks.She stared into the room, unseeing, before her gaze sharpened.It flicked over the windows, the bedposts, the spent feathers, and lastly, to the axe.‘Difficult cases,’ she whispered, then cleared her throat and locked eyes on him.‘The headmaster at the academy said he had a friend who specialised in difficult cases.What does that mean?’
A knot, heavy as lead, tied itself in his stomach.‘I only heard rumours,’ he replied.‘From other boys.But there are schools stricter than the academy.Not quite the military, but not far from it.Hard places with harsh discipline, meant to turn boys into proper men.Or so they say.Would your father send his grandson somewhere like that?’
Her lip trembled, and she wiped her fingers across her cheek, leaving a shiny smear that had been a tear.‘Would he?’she rasped.‘Does he look like the sort of man who would rap knuckles until they bled, for poor posture?Or lock a girl inside her room without supper because she finished her small slice of cake instead of only taking a few bites?Or shout until she wept because she was slow to recite titles after spending all day rehearsing dance steps, or for being out of tempo at the keys?For being anything other than a perfect, perfectprincess?’
She wobbled like she might topple.He took a step closer, ready to catch her, but she placed a hand over her eyes and extended her hand, palm out, to stop him.Held herself against the air, against nothing.Seeing her steady herself on her own feet unhitched his heart, and all his years of smothering every feeling fell away.A gentle love burst from its pod and slowly wound into life inside him.Not a love of worry or pity, but of admiration.The small girl who’d known neither care nor kindness, who’d grown into a disrespected wife, who’d been humiliated as a widow… somehow, she’d found the courage to love her boy.Against the constant fear of failure, she had persisted in her own, quiet way.She’d been alone and yet so very, very brave.
‘No.He will not take it from me.He will not take my one, small happiness.My sole achievement in life.My son needs a home, a place to land, a compass.Not more discipline.’She fixed him with her gaze.‘We must find him and bring him home.’
‘Did the headmaster say where the school was?’he asked.
She shook her head.‘Where would he send him?’She paced the length of the room, her fists clenching and unclenching, her nostrils flaring with each uttered frustration.‘Not back to the academy, but what about one of the bigger schools?Eton?Rugby?No, that can’t be it—if I demanded it, they would defer to me, and he would never tolerate that.’Lorelei looked up, her eyes flicking between himself and Cecil.‘Father must tell us.It’s the only way.’
‘I’ll hail a cab.We can head to his house straight away.’Tillman took a step towards the door.
‘Don’t bother.He won’t be there.On a Saturday evening, there’s only one place he will be.’She turned to Cecil.‘Send someone to help me dress.I shall be in the guest room.’
And the duchess’s skirts swished around her as she left the room.
Tillman nodded at Cecil to leave first, but the butler studied him, his gaze keen and questioning.
‘It’s not proper for you to be in here alone with Her Grace,’ he finally said.‘The staff might imagine there’s something inappropriate between the two of you.’
‘They might?’Tillman feigned surprise.‘I’ll be sure to… to avoid that.In future.’A stiff, awkward silence grew in the space between them as Tillman kept his focus on the floor.
Cecil snorted.When Tillman dared to meet his eyes properly, he discovered that the other man was smiling.
‘It’s about time,’ he said, then turned and strode from the room.
Chapter nine
‘Youhavenorightto look as good as you do.’
Lorelei ran her gaze over Tillman.He had been studying the building before them, but now tipped towards her, smirking.
