The defiance on her face, along with her dry comment, made him want to fluster her mood. “Is that so?” He pulled her hips to his, lowering his mouth to her throat. She shuddered when the warmth of his breath met her skin.
“Y-yes.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the consequences, if you make too many changes?”
“You won’t be here to stop me,” she murmured, trying to pull away. He held her trapped, watching the way she was beginning to respond to his touch. “Being a well-behaved young woman hasn’t worked well for me thus far, has it?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the wickedness in her tone spoke of rebellion.
“Aren’t you afraid of being punished?” He drew his thumb over her lips and saw her flush deepen. “I will come back, you know.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” she responded. “You’re all bark and no bite.”
Her open provocation made him react on instinct. He seized her roughly and kissed her hard, silencing the insolent words. The moment he did, she clung hard, her fingers gripping his hair. He responded to her, unable to stop himself from moving against her hips. The feeling of her softness yielding against his arousal made him desire her more.
He broke free of the kiss, nipping at her earlobe. Against her sensitive flesh, he whispered, “Oh, but I do bite, Amelia. Especially when someone taunts me.”
She was breathing harder, and gooseflesh covered her skin. Her hands moved down from his neck, slipping beneath his shirt. “Perhaps that’s what I should have done all along.” Her smooth hands caressed his nape, and the sharp fist of desire struck him.
He wanted to lift her up and claim her this very moment, but he forced the urge back. “I’m leaving in the morning,” he told her. “When I return, I want nothing to be changed.”
“Everything will change,” she said. “I’ll handle the consequences later.” She squeezed his neck and kissed him again. “Sometimes it’s necessary to misbehave.”
Her insinuation made him imagine all sorts of misbehavior, all of which involved her being naked in his bed. She was tangling him up in knots, making him want her when he had tried to keep his life in order.
“Don’t do something you’ll regret.” He let go of her, stepping away to keep himself from losing command. Right now, he was envisioning undressing her, using his mouth upon her bare skin, and taking her until she arched with delight.
“The only thing I regret is not acting sooner,” she answered. With a smile, she led him out of her room. “I intend to be very, very bad.”
God help him.
“That woman is the Antichrist,” admitted Mrs. Larson the following morning, when Amelia met with the Scotswoman at the top of the attic stairs. She led the housekeeper inside and closed the door to give them more privacy. “Mrs. Menford, I mean,” the Scotswoman said. “She terrorizes the puir staff, and if a body says aught against her, she sends them off to work with nary a bite to eat.Sheis the problem.”
Which wasn’t at all a surprise to Amelia.
“And if I get a new housekeeper?” Amelia asked. “Will the others fall in line?”
“’Twill no’ be easy. Many of the servants are her nieces and nephews. Ye’ll have to find someone who’s no’ related to her.”
Amelia thought about it for a moment. “I think we should ask her to go on holiday for a few days, and I’ll let you run the household during that time. We should see if there’s a kitchen maid or an older servant who could take her place.”
“I’d wait until His Lordship is away,” Mrs. Larson advised. “She willna go easily, and ye’ll have better luck when he’s no’ here to naysay the orders.”
Amelia agreed with that assessment. Changing the subject, she asked, “What do you think of this space in the attic? Will Christine like it for writing her stories?”
The housekeeper surveyed the room. Over the past few weeks, Amelia had worked here in secret, clearing out the older furniture and making a space beside the window. From here, the girl could see across the gardens, and there was enough sunlight for writing. She’d also set out the paper, new pens, and ink that she’d purchased on the day they’d gone shopping.
“Aye, that she will,” Mrs. Larson said. “But I sense trouble from the lass. She doesna like ye verra much, does she?”
“Christine has made it quite clear that she doesn’t want me as her mother. And I can’t say that I know what I’m doing, either.” Amelia sat down in the chair beside the window, staring out at the rainy summer day. Clouds misted across the horizon, revealing patches of green. “This wasn’t what I thought my life would be like, Mrs. Larson.”
“It ne’er is, dove. But at least ye have a good husband, and ye’ll have children of yer own, soon enough.”
Amelia said nothing, for her courses had come and gone twice already. There might not be a child for months yet. And if David was leaving for Thornwyck, there was no chance at all to conceive.
“Hehasdone his bit, has he no’?” the housekeeper asked. “If he’s needing a charm to help get it up, I suppose I could mix up a potion to put in his tea. There are ways—”
Amelia choked on the woman’s mistaken belief. “No. No, that’s not the problem. We—we have already consummated the marriage.”Her face was burning with humiliation. “He’s simply getting over the loss of his wife.”
Mrs. Larson softened at that. “Och, well, then, he’s confused. How long has the puir man been alone?”
