“To this day, I think it is one of Shakespeare’s finest qualities. The fact that there can be so many different interpretations of his writings. Most of polite Society is none the wiser and perhaps they are the better for it.” Stephen grinned at her, and his eyes twinkled. “Perhaps it was just us lads. Our minds were in such low places. We could not help but find innuendo in the Bard’s words. As a horde of randy youths, I’ll imagine you can guess that there was a great deal of snickering during classroom readings.”
Cecily liked to think of Stephen as a very young man, joking and laughing with his schoolmates. She admired his dependable and responsible nature but sensed that deep inside of him was a less rigid soul — an aspect that yearned for whimsy, for fun.
Although elegant and neat, his attire lacked any flamboyancy whatsoever. His cravat, of a pristine white, was starched and tied into an elegant but simple knot. He wore a white waistcoat., black double-breasted tailcoat, and a matching top hat. His conservatively cut breeches somewhat disguised the muscles beneath them. All in all, he truly wasalmostthe perfect gentleman. And she added the qualifier ofalmostas a compliment. Any man who could be called a perfect gentleman would also most likely be an incredible bore.
The only unkempt part of his person were the ink stains on the thumb and forefinger of his left hand. His valet most likely had not been happy in that fact, but ink was difficult to remove.
“Do you remember any of the verses?”
“InMuch Ado about Nothing,” Stephen said, pausing while Cecily translated what she now knew about that word, “Act Five, I believe, Benedick, speaking to his lover, says, ‘I will live in thy heart, die in thy lap, and be buried in thy eyes.’ In the Elizabethan times, the words ‘to die,’ also referred to sexual climax. So, taken that way, the line is really very suggestive indeed.”
Cecily sighed dreamily. Based upon the brief lovemaking she had experienced the night before, she found the entirety of the line stunningly beautiful. “I think it lovely,” she said softly. “Will you quote it again?”
“Of course.” Stephen shifted and leaned toward her. With his feet firmly planted on the floor of the carriage, he rested his forearms upon his knees, his hands loosely clasped between them. And then he looked deeply into her eyes.
“I will live in thy heart…” he said softly, his voice wrapping around her like velvet, “die in thy lap…” Suddenly the carriage felt much smaller than it had a few moments ago. “…and be buried in thy eyes.”
After a moment of fiery tension, Cecily reached next to her, picked up her fan, waved it slowly in front of her face, and then, having closed it, touched it to her heart.
Stephen, watching her motions with the fan, tilted his head, puzzled. “You are saying something. I’ve heard of the fan being used for words, but I do not know the meanings.”
She had made the motions unconsciously. But her last etiquette instructor had spent hours teaching her the language of the fan. Had she known what she was saying with those small motions?
Cecily opened the fan slowly this time, hesitated a moment, and fluttered it before her face. “This means I am married.” And then, folding the fan and touching it to her heart, she said, “But this means that you have touched my heart.”
Stephen frowned and stared at his fingers. Had she unburdened her emotions on him inappropriately? Before she could apologize, he reached out and enclosed both of her hands in his much larger ones.
Looking down, Cecily could not help but be mesmerized by the contrast of his tanned, strong, very masculine hands with hers, smaller and covered by the white silk of her long evening gloves. And then he bent his head down and pressed a kiss to each of her palms.
“My lady, Cecily…” He paused with his head still bent, seemingly at a loss for words. “…I wish…” But he did not finish.
His head was very nearly in her lap. She wanted to remove her gloves and run her fingers through the thick crispness of his hair as she had the previous night in the garden. But he still clasped her hands in his. A curious lump formed in her throat.
When Cecily toldStephen that he touched her heart, he’d felt as though all of the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Being with her somehow managed to fill his heart with joy… and yet, at the same time, his conscience with guilt.
Now, bending over her hands, it took all of his self-control not to sweep her into his arms and hold her in his lap.
She had been sitting there, elegantly dressed with her hair elaborately curled and pinned, plying the delicate fan with more allure than the most experienced of courtesans – the sweetest flirt he’d ever encountered.
And yet he knew that what she wanted was her freedom more than anything else. She was willing to sacrifice any chance at ever being accepted socially in order to obtain it. He just hoped he could help her weather the storm when it happened,ifFlavion did actually take up divorce proceedings against her.
Sometimes in life, one encountered situations that were utterly wrong. What he had come back to London and found here was one of them. He pressed his lips against her hand a moment longer before sitting back up.
As Cecily andStephen stepped into the foyer of Nottinghouse, Chadwick came careening through the hallway and welcomed Cecily with a big slobbery kiss. Cecily hugged him back, glad he’d been given a thorough bath and something of a haircut. “Did you miss me, buddy?” She smiled and then looked over at Stephen teasingly. “And did you miss Cousin Stephen?” she asked Chadwick, turning the dog in Stephen’s direction. Chadwick was quite indiscriminate, really, as he then put his paws up on Stephen and proceeded to greet him with an equal amount of enthusiasm.
Stephen frowned, but Cecily noticed that he rubbed the dog’s head affectionately before setting his paws back to the ground. Chadwick must have been lonely during the evening, as he now displayed his pleasure at her return by wagging his tail rapidly.
Preparing to go up to her room, she suddenly felt awkward and uncertain. Stephen removed his hat and handed it to Mr. Sherman. Once the butler disappeared, Stephen caught her gaze and raised one eyebrow enquiringly.
“I was wondering,” she began, feeling like a great idiot, “if you were still willing to, er, assist me again tonight? In the hopes that Flavion actually returns this time?”
At once serious, Stephen looked down at his hands. “We were not noticed by any of the servants. It isn’t too late if you wish to change your mind. The kiss this afternoon may be forgotten, but once one of the more talkative servants discovers ouraffair, there really will be no turning back.”
Oh, no!“Have you changed your mind then? Because I have not,” she said nervously. And then, deciding that she did not wish to suffer his rejection any further, she turned clumsily, nearly tripping over Chadwick, in order to climb the stairs.
But Stephen caught her elbow. She did not turn to look back at him.
“My lady… Cecily, I have not changed my mind. But I am concerned. I’m not sure you realize how devastating it will be publicly if Flavion divorces you.” He paused and swallowed. “I don’t want to see you hurt.”
