“I shall be away most of the evening,” he said as he settled her tighter against his chest. “So if you are done here…?”
It took her a moment to realize he waited for her answer.
“Oh yes. The herbs are set as needed.”
“Good. Then I shall take you to your bedroom now.”
“And…” She didn’t want to say it again.
He glanced down at her face, his smile growing as she realized his intention.
“Yes,” he said. “I think we should begin our bargain immediately.”
Chapter Thirty
Max loved kissingYihui. And it didn’t even bother him that it left him hard and achy all through the evening. Well, it didn’t bother him enough to regret the exquisite press of her lips and the sounds she made when he teased her mouth open and pressed her back in her bed.
He didn’t follow through to a full seduction, though his body had burned with the need to possess her. Instead, he’d taken his time as he thrust with his tongue, took delight in the taste of her mouth, and reveled in the sweet pressure of her hands gripping him as if he were her only lifeline.
He lingered in Yihui’s bedroom until the throb in his cock threatened to overpower his reason. Then he’d forced himself back and bowed deeply to her.
“I’ll begin looking for your apothecary shop tomorrow,” he promised. It was the least he could do because he was sure his mother was going to start Yihui’s instruction in the morning. Yihui was going to be a miserable, henpecked woman by the end of the day, to say nothing of the week. But there was nothing he could do about it. The banns had gone in this morning and would be read first thing on Sunday. This path was already set.
He was getting off cheap by setting her up with a business of her own. Which was what he was explaining to Lord Benedict over a brandy at their favorite club. Old Gold was located in a tiny corner of London, hidden away from the elite and political people alike. Truly, it was more of a drawing room for those whowanted absolute privacy and Lord Benedict sponsored Max’s membership provided he never gave the location to anyone.
He hadn’t, but someone else had and the constant flow of souls through the doors never failed to surprise him. Merchants, elites, even someone who looked like a wizard from a fairy tale slipped in and out of the doors in cloaked silence. It was quite intriguing, but Max knew better than to ask anyone’s name. In truth, he was perhaps the best-known man here simply because he was dressed in his usual attire without any attempt to hide his identity.
It made up for the fact that the brandy was of middling value.
“An apothecary shop? Really?” Lord Benedict was intrigued. “With Chinese herbs?”
“Their medical theories are very interesting. Different names, but the basis is similar to our idea of humors. They’ve taken it far beyond anything I understand.”
“But does it work?”
“She’s alive, and no one expected her to survive.”
Lord Benedict nodded, his long fingers tracing the sides of his brandy glass with a thoughtful gaze. “I should like to speak with her sometime.”
“You and everyone else. I was stopped by no less than seven people today as I walked here.”
Benedict’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell them—”
“I said I was headed to Bond Street, as usual, then came here through the tobacconist.” There were actually several secret entrances to this building and the guarded staircase that led up to this floor. Even Max didn’t know what happened in the two floors above this. He had enough difficulties to manage without delving into secrets best left alone. That Benedict was a frequent visitor upstairs was enough to tell Max that it was an area the government chose to utilize rather than expose.
“Once you have rid yourself of an unwanted fiancée, what will you do?”
“I’m out of Prinny’s good graces, so it’s a good time to explore other options.”
“You can’t go to war, Max. Napoleon might be on his heels, but his army kills rich and poor alike. Worse, as a peer, you’d be a target and you haven’t the training to be more useful than the cost of your protection.”
Max winced at the blunt phrasing. Fortunately, he’d already given up that idea. His parents would lose their minds if he stepped into battle, to say nothing of the worry that would descend upon Emmaline’s already overburdened shoulders.
“It’s a large world, Benedict. I don’t have to go to the continent.”
“You’re thinking of China.”
“We understand so little of such a large part of the world.”
