Vanessa thought about that for a moment. “I can see how that would be true.” She cleared her throat. “I know that you and the gentlemen originally intended to go back to London just after the wedding that never was. I-I think you should do that.”
Merritt straightened. “That was before all this happened, my dear. I worry about leaving you to yourself, especially when things are uncertain.”
“But not dangerously so, I don’t think,” Vanessa said. “These men are offering me a chance at a future, as well as a moment in the present that I…I need to explore fully.”
“Without friends in the house to keep you from fucking in the gazebo if you’d like to?” Merritt asked.
Vanessa’s cheeks heated even as she laughed. “Yes, I suppose so.”
Merritt nodded. “I’ll tell Elliot and Peter when they return. We can be on the road as early as this evening.” She smiled. “Honestly, there is a lovely inn a few hours down the road. We can pretend we just met each other at supper, that there’s only one room left and we must share it.”
Vanessa shivered at the idea of playing such games with Darrius and Benedict. At becoming so comfortable that erotic moments could be playful as well as powerful.
“Is it good?” Merritt asked, drawing Vanessa back to the present.
It took a moment for her to realize what Merritt was referring to: the passion. The moments in that bed. She jerked her chin down once because there was no other answer, no other feeling. “Oh…oh yes. It was so good. I…I’ve never been so pleased.”
A shadow of a smile crossed Merrrit’s lips. “And do the two of them…?”
“No. They danced around the edges, but no further.” She frowned. “But the tension between them is remarkable. Oh, Merritt, I want to see it. I want to feel them with each other.”
“I hope you can,” Merritt said, this time softer, her gaze going distant like she was thinking about her own life. “Encourage them,” she suggested. “Let them know that they can trust you, as you are trusting them. That you are excited by their connection.”
“I will,” Vanessa promised and the idea of doing just that was thrilling.
Merritt got to her feet. “Eat the rest of that. I’ll go tell the servants that we’ll depart later today.”
She squeezed Vanessa’s shoulder before she left the breakfast room, left Vanessa to think about what she’d said. And what power she, herself, might wield over two men who seemed to contain so much of it.
Benedict
Benedict was frustrated. He’d made plans all night as he tossed and turned in his bed, reliving every moment of the time with Vanessa and Darrius. He’d wanted to find a way to repeat those moments, or some version of them, today. Perhaps slip away together briefly, find some distraction for everyone else so he could…
Well, the possibilities were endless.
Except the best laid plans had been left unrealized. When the Marquess of Egerton and his party had announced that they were departing for London that very day, all attention had shifted to readying them for that sudden change of plans. Darrius had hardly been anywhere to be seen as he took over duties that would have normally been reserved for the viscount. Was that because all those things truly needed to be done so he was forced to take the reins? Or was it about hiding?
Darrius was expert at both, and so it was hard to know.
As for Vanessa, she’d been spending a great deal of time with the marchioness, helping her ready for the trip and organizing food to be packed for the road. In truth, she was acting as viscountess might.
Would she choose a life with Darrius at the end of this affair? The two of them stepping into roles of responsibility even when they weren’t official. They would be well-matched if they did. Good partners.
So why did the idea make his stomach hurt a little?
He turned from the window in the parlor where he’d been nursing his disappointment and went into the foyer. As if conjured by his thoughts, Vanessa came down the stairs at just that moment, walking with the butler and giving him some instruction.
“Thank you, Turner,” she said with a smile. An expression that fluttered when she glanced over and found Benedict standing in the parlor door.
He couldn’t resist her then. He caught her hand and drew her down the dim hallway. No one was around, and he could wait any longer. He pressed her against the wall and leaned in, taking her mouth with the hunger he had been suppressing since she left the bed last night.
She seemed stunned for a moment, but then she let out a low gasp into his mouth and wound her arms around his neck. She returned his kiss with fervor, lifting against him gently, as if seeking pleasure he certainly couldn’t give when they were in a public area, the house buzzing with activity.
Or he could, but there might be consequences.
He pulled back a fraction and smiled down at her. “I have been wanting to do that for hours and hours.”
She was breathless. “I’m glad you did.”
