“I’d enjoy awalk.” Maddie was nervous about their first night together. Was it disappointment she saw in Hart’s blue eyes? Did he desire her? She wanted them to make love so badly it made her tremble. But it was not yet dark, and she was suddenly afraid she might disappoint him. His well-known reputation seemed to stand between them.
Hand in hand, they strolled along the river bank breathing in the fishy smell of the water, mud, and reeds. Across the river, a man reeled in a salmon with a cry of triumph. Maddie enjoyed Hart’s strong hand clasping hers. Experience had taught her life seldom turned out as one expected. But this was her wedding day. And a nervous yearning for him to make love to her blotted all other thoughts from her mind.
As if he sensed it, he bent his head and kissed her. Their first kiss. His lips were warm and soft against hers, and held an intriguing promise of what was to follow. She trembled against him as his hands, firm on her back, pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She had dreamed of this. The musky smell of his soap tantalized her. The kiss was brief, but made her heart thud and her stomach tighten.
With his arm around her waist, they walked on, watching the sun setting over the river turn the water to liquid fire as he talked about their future. Hart described the changes made to Pembury.
“Are you anxious about meeting people in London?” he asked suddenly.
That he understood surprised and pleased her. “A little,” she confessed. “I know no one in London except my Aunt Libby and cousin Cathy. My cousin is pretty and very likeable. She must have suitors, and her days and nights will be busy.”
“Everyone will like you. How could they not?” He hugged her against him. “You will become a trendsetter. All the young women will look to you as an example.”
She laughed. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” She smoothed her skirt. “I am certainly not that at the moment.”
“Ah, but you will be.”
His faith in her touched her deeply. She wished she could be as confident. But as the daughter of an earl, she was meant to one day become the wife of a distinguished, titled gentleman. Had her parents lived, she would have embraced such a marriage without a doubt in the world. Taught since childhood to be well versed in English, poetry, botany, and mathematics. She had dance instructors, French and Italian tutors, and spent endless hours at the piano, and singing with a music master. Maddie had learned how to conduct herself on all social occasions. She’d been told the pinnacle of a lady’s achievement was to be seen as an elegant wife, engaging and graceful among her peers. While she considered she had more to give than that, she wanted to be that for herself and have Hart proud of her.
But she could not forget how difficult it would be after their scandalous elopement became known in society.
She glanced at Hart, glad of his support and hoping she would always have it. If it was within her power, this marriage would be as loving and happy as her parents’ had been. But it wasn’t all within her power, was it?
In the fading light, Hart turned to her. “Shall we walk back to the inn?”
She nodded and took his arm, calmer now because she’d discovered something more about him she approved of. They strolled toward their first night together.
Chapter Fourteen
Maddie turned toHart as they approached the inn. “Jane will be upstairs, waiting to assist me.” She glanced away as a flush warmed her cheeks.
Hart smiled, understanding her hesitancy. “I’ll have a brandy in the parlor and read the newspaper.” He grimaced. “Scottish news. It won’t make good reading.”
She smiled at that and left him to climb the stairs.
In the parlor beside the crackling fire, Hart sipped his brandy and attempted to read the day-old newspaper while a man in the chair opposite, delighted to have found another Englishman, spoke of England’s superiority in sport. “Cricket, for example. Been to Lords?” he asked, then rushed on, not waiting for an answer. “Two centuries in the same match. Well, it goes without saying, doesn’t it? Now you take…”
Hart stopped listening to his mixed metaphors and non sequiturs. He murmured a reply, but his thoughts were on the chamber upstairs where his bride waited. Impatient, and fearing he’d lose his manners if the fellow didn’t stop rambling, he excused himself and left the room. He smoked a cheroot outside in the cold air, something he rarely did. Odd how he felt nervous. Finally, he stubbed it out beneath the heel of his boot and went up to the room.
He knocked on their chamber door. Bid entry, he found Maddie waiting in a frilly white nightgown. A waterfall of lustrous hair fell down around her shoulders and hung in loose curls down her back. A sight he’d longed to see and touch. “How pretty you look,” he said, his voice husky.
He glimpsed something in her eyes. Not fear, he was sure. A game girl like Maddie wasn’t easily frightened. Dear lord, she’d just shot a man who tried to kill her. That took a cool head. He cursed himself again for the mistake he made phrasing his proposal in such unromantic terms. But they had drawn closer during the past weeks, and he’d hoped by tonight…
All such thoughts fled at the alluring sight she made, her breasts with their deep pink areolas jutting from the filmy cloth, and the dark shadow at the juncture of her thighs. He had done and said little to show her he desired her, wishing to take it slow. Well, he would now.
He stepped forward and framed her waist with his hands, drawing her to him. His mouth covered hers. She murmured something he didn’t quite catch, but reluctant to spoil the moment, he didn’t ask. She leaned into him, and her sweet lips softened against his. Blood rushed through his body, along with a fierce desire to make her his.
Still unsure of her feelings, Hart drew back and gazed into her eyes. “Remember I said our marriage could be anything you wanted it to be? Do you want this, Maddie? If you wish, we can spend the night playing cards. We’ll be seen to have spent the night together.” It cost him a lot to say it, and for a moment, he feared she might agree.
Her eyes widened, and her tongue licked her bottom lip, which did nothing for the state of his body. “No, Hart, you know I’m not good at cards.”
Hart grinned at her cheeky rejoinder, and his spirits soared as a rush of pleasure and rampant need consumed him. He had wanted this since the first moment he saw her, he realized now. Had he subconsciously planned for it? Hart gathered her up in his arms, and breathing in her light, fresh perfume, carried her to the bed. Easing her down, he rested his hands on either side of her on the coverlet. Their gazes collided, her brown eyes dark as satin. His breath caught at the passionate desire he found there. He eased himself down, cradled her face, and claimed her mouth, the touch of her lips and warm soft body against his, electric. Her response delighted him. She murmured softly in his ear, her fingers threading through the hair at his nape. His kisses deepened as he stroked the curve of her waist and hip, eager to discover all of her, his beautiful, mysterious Maddie.
After a moment, Hart reluctantly pushed himself away. He left the bed to undress, pulling off his boots and tossing his clothes onto a chair. When he returned, he lay naked beside her and she turned to him, passion darkening her eyes.
He kissed her and fondled a nipple, which firmed through the cloth. “I’ve longed for this.”
Her lips parted in surprise. “You have?”
