“Then you’ll have to fight me for the chance,” Harrison said. “If you’ll remember, I’m better at climbing on rocks than either one of you.”
Adam blew out a rueful breath as rain fell on his dark brown work coat. “Neither one of you is doing it. You’re both dressed like dandies. And look at your fancy knee boots. You wouldn’t make it down the first rock before you slipped and broke your necks. What the hell are you two devils doing here anyway?”
“We told you. We came to see how you’re doing,” Harrison said.
“And it sounds as if we didn’t get here a minute too soon,” Bray added. “If you are going to try to kill yourself, you’re not going to do it without our help.”
Harrison clapped Adam on the shoulder and said, “Now, if you’ve set your mind to getting that ewe off that ledge, let’s get it done and go have a drink. It’s damn near freezing out here.”
Chapter 14
Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie.
—All’s Well That Ends Well,act 1, scene 1
He had kissed her. She had kissed him. They had kissed and kissed and kissed again; slow and soft, hard and fast, and over and over.
And she’d liked it all!
He had touched her breasts. And she had touched him, too, though at the time, she didn’t know what she was touching. But every time she thought about the intimacy, flaming heat raced to her cheeks.
Louisa squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t know what manner of madness had come over her that afternoon. It had been more than three weeks since passion had erupted between her and the duke, and still it was all she could think about when she was quiet as she was now. Not just thinking about the duke’s kisses and caresses, but also feeling, smelling, touching, and tasting them. Her senses were haunted almost to the point of madness!
And worst of all, sensible Louisa Prim wanted to experience all those enticing sensations again.
She’d tried to rationalize her behavior by remembering the duke’s words that it was all right for a young lady to have a kiss or two before she married. That sounded reasonable. It was probably even expected that a new bride would know a little about kissing, but perhaps not so much as she now knew. The duke had been most thorough in his lesson.
And she wasn’t sure she was supposed to have enjoyed it so much, and dreamed of more. His kisses had stolen her breath, made her legs feel as if she were trying to stand on water, and made her so light-headed, she almost swooned.
Swooned!
Louisa Prim!
How could the simple joining of his lips to hers make her wish the feeling would go on forever?
Maybe because there had been nothing simple about their kisses. They had been eager, demanding, and passionate. And she’d been caught up and held in his powerful embrace. She’d felt the hard frame of his body against hers. She was convinced that alone would make any young lady swoon.
Louisa sighed silently. She now understood how Sybil felt when she was forced to sit still and work on embroidery samples. Standing on a seamstress box while the hem of her gown was being pinned gave Louisa too much time to think. And when she had time to think, it was always about the Duke of Drakestone.
It was exasperating.
And thrilling.
And she must stop thinking about him. He’d admitted that kissing her was a purely selfish act. Surely that was what most men did, but what kind would readily admit it?
A scoundrel!
Lord Wayebury’s house had become much busier, now that they had added a housekeeper, two more maids, and a dog. Mrs. Colthrust was getting used to Saint being allowed to freely roam the house. She had stopped trying to shoo him away whenever he came near her. The two of them had fallen into a pattern of avoiding each other. If one walked into a room, the other one usually walked out.
The chaperone retired early in the evenings to her spacious bedchamber and took most of her meals there. However, she spent an hour each morning going over the names and titles of important people for Louisa and Gwen to remember when they met them at the first ball of the Season, which was now only two weeks away.
Even with looking after her four sisters, Louisa still seemed to have far too much time on her hands to think about the duke and his kisses. She found herself not just wondering if he would come back to their house, but even wanting him to.
And that eagerness worried her.
She didn’t know how to keep the man out of her thoughts, but she did have an idea about how to get him out of her life. And for that she needed help. Unfortunately, Mrs. Colthrust was the only person available to help her.
This was the fifth day in a row that Louisa, Gwen, and Mrs. Colthrust had boarded their fancy new coach with four matching bays and headed to Mrs. Rivoire’s Fabric and Dress Design Shop. The fitting salon of Mrs. Rivoire’s boutique looked more like a drawing room in one of Mayfair’s most elite houses than a place of business. The draperies were tastefully fashioned from dark green velvet and edged with gold bullion fringe. The feminine furniture was upholstered in a soft shade of pink velvet. The three floor-to-ceiling mirrors in the room were framed in fancy gilt woodwork, and the tea service was silver.
