Chapter Fifteen
If there werean award for the biggest idiot, then he would win it hands down. Max couldn’t believe how stupid he was being, and yet, he was doing it anyway.
“Max, are you sure?” Emmaline pressed. “Perhaps—”
“Don’t be silly. The bath is prepared.” They always used bathwater for three people at least. It was too cumbersome to heat and carry that much for separate baths. “I’ll just tell Moore to bring up more hot water.” He turned to Yihui and mimed cleaning one’s body. “Fifteen minutes.”
“Max—” his sister chided.
“I’ll wear a blindfold. Everything will be very proper.”
It was not proper. And no blindfold would prevent what he’d feel when he picked up her naked body wrapped badly in robe of some kind. He wouldn’t look while he carried her to his bedroom, but he would feel every inch of her body when he set her in a tub filled with steaming water. Then he’d wait nearby listening to the sounds of her toilette. He would hear the water splash, imagine the soap bubbles as they slicked down her skin, and dream what she looked like as every inch of her was cleansed and oiled. Would her black hair spill about her like ink? Was her skin truly as flawless as it seemed? Were her breasts as high and tight as he imagined?
These questions would torture him as he created answers in his imagination. And then he would be called back when she was done. He would crouch down beside the cool water, he wouldslip his hands under her thighs and back, and he’d lift her up. He would feel the heat of her body and listen to the cascade of the water. And his cock would throb, just like it was now.
He ducked out of the bedroom and headed to his own. Giving instructions to his valet took thirty seconds, then he had to sit and wait the next fourteen minutes. Fortunately, he wasn’t able to linger in his fantasies as his sister stomped right up to him. She had her hands on her hips and her expression fixed in disapproval. He took one look at her and spoke up before she could draw breath.
“You used to smile more. I distinctly remember you laughing when you were younger. And I cannot think of one time when you scowled at me.”
“I worshipped you. Now I’m an adult and see the truth clearly.”
He cocked his brow, bracing himself for yet one more family member who thought she could tell him what to do. “And what is that truth?”
“You need something more to do than carry injured women to their baths.”
“Do you think there is an occupation for that? Just lifting and carrying women? Upstairs and downstairs in their nightgowns.” He mimicked an old nursery rhyme.
“I’m serious, Max. Things between you and Father have never been worse. Mama won’t come out of her room untilthat womanis gone. And all you’ve done for the last three days is—”
“Try to find a solution,” he interrupted. And when she arched a brow at him, he decided to enlighten her. “I’ve been learning everything I can about England’s relationship with China.”
“You already know everything.”
He snorted. “I have been a hobbyist, asking questions of my friends. In the last three days, I’ve been to the offices of EastIndia Company and knocked on the door of anyone who might know something helpful.”
“And?” she prompted when he fell silent.
“And they find my situation highly amusing.”
Her lips twitched but she didn’t smile. That was unfortunate because his sister had a really beautiful smile, and he wondered why it had been so absent of late.
“That’s all?” she pressed.
“They agree that the mandarin wasn’t a representative from the Chinese government. There’s little worry there will be repercussions from his death. At least no official repercussions.”
“That’s good news.”
“Yes.” No international incident, thank God. England had enough on its hands fighting Napoleon.
“Did you learn anything else?”
He shrugged. “General stuff, much of which I already knew. The East India Company has verified that there’s a hubbub about the cohongs and the Hoppo.”
“The what?”
He waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. The entire thing could already be resolved. They’re on the opposite side of the world. Letters go very slowly between there and here.”
“Then why would they send her like that? Why bother at all?”
