have nothing more to add, you may leave us now.”
After he had gone, Lady Westbury jumped to her feet.
“Good gracious!” she cried. “We may have just solved both of our mysteries! Come Henrietta, we must go visit these Marlows at once. Thank goodness I left my coach waiting at the front door.”
Lady Rutherford became confused by her friend’s sudden change of mind.
“Do you believe Julius is to be found at the Marlows then?”
“I do not know, but I certainly mean to find out before the servants spread any more silliness over the matter!”
They were soon settled inside Lady Westbury’s coach. Night had fallen and as the moon was not yet up, they made their way slowly through the countryside.
“Louisa,” Lady Rutherford said after a moment, “what if it does turn out to be your niece and my son?”
“We had better hope it is them! For one thing, it will save me the trouble and worry of looking for Patience.”
“But if they have been sharing a room, won’t that put them in a compromising situation?”
“Of course! That is the beauty of it, Henrietta. Just think. We will not have to do anything to bring them together. It will already be a fait accompli !”
“That’s what is worrying me. Will it not be as bad as a forced marriage?”
“Stop fretting, dear. These two are made for each other even if they may not yet know it themselves. And I very much doubt that your son would be sharing a room with my niece unless he found her very much to his liking. Besides, Patience is much better off with your son than with my brother’s crony — or your son with Miss Arlington for that matter!”
“God grant me patience!”
Patience nearly jumped out of her skin at the mention of her name. Edward had been at his most unpleasant this evening. Maybe she should have agreed to their leaving today after all. She had opted for another day of rest, as she had been worried that his painful headaches would return if he were to be jostled about the bad country roads. At least he would have had something really to grumble about, she reflected as she joined him on the bed. As usual, she kept as far away from him as possible, at least as far as the narrow bed would allow.
She lay on her side, facing the door. She drew the rough sheet up to her chin and tried to relax her tense muscles. What a ninny she was being. She should be used to his presence by now. Hadn’t she taken care of him all by herself these last few days? She had had several opportunities to examine every inch of his body. But somehow, his unconscious and unresponsive form had not affected her in this way. Oh, she had not been immune to his muscular and well-proportioned physique; however, since he had regained his senses, she found that whenever she got too close to him, her heartbeat accelerated and every fibre of her being became attuned to his presence. At this precise moment, a treacherous part of her longed to lean against his warm body, to snuggle against his chest, to feel his hands on her breasts just one more time.
Think of something else, she told herself sternly, forcing her muscles to relax and taking a long, deep breath before letting the air out of her lungs slowly.
“Must we go to bed so damn early?”
Patience tensed up again when she felt the force his words hit the back of her head. She sighed. “You know very well that Mr. Marlow gets up shortly before dawn to take care of his chores. We cannot walk about keeping him awake all night.”
“You call this night! It is barely the middle of the evening!”
“Hush! Try to get some rest, or we will not leave tomorrow.”
The threat was enough to make him settle down. To think he was being bossed around by a chit of a girl! To be truthful, his head still hurt a lot more than he allowed her to see, and he did tire easily. But he was dammed if he was going to spend another night in this cramped bed with Belinda. He had had to use all of his willpower to keep from touching her
After he had gone, Lady Westbury jumped to her feet.
“Good gracious!” she cried. “We may have just solved both of our mysteries! Come Henrietta, we must go visit these Marlows at once. Thank goodness I left my coach waiting at the front door.”
Lady Rutherford became confused by her friend’s sudden change of mind.
“Do you believe Julius is to be found at the Marlows then?”
“I do not know, but I certainly mean to find out before the servants spread any more silliness over the matter!”
They were soon settled inside Lady Westbury’s coach. Night had fallen and as the moon was not yet up, they made their way slowly through the countryside.
“Louisa,” Lady Rutherford said after a moment, “what if it does turn out to be your niece and my son?”
“We had better hope it is them! For one thing, it will save me the trouble and worry of looking for Patience.”
“But if they have been sharing a room, won’t that put them in a compromising situation?”
“Of course! That is the beauty of it, Henrietta. Just think. We will not have to do anything to bring them together. It will already be a fait accompli !”
“That’s what is worrying me. Will it not be as bad as a forced marriage?”
“Stop fretting, dear. These two are made for each other even if they may not yet know it themselves. And I very much doubt that your son would be sharing a room with my niece unless he found her very much to his liking. Besides, Patience is much better off with your son than with my brother’s crony — or your son with Miss Arlington for that matter!”
“God grant me patience!”
Patience nearly jumped out of her skin at the mention of her name. Edward had been at his most unpleasant this evening. Maybe she should have agreed to their leaving today after all. She had opted for another day of rest, as she had been worried that his painful headaches would return if he were to be jostled about the bad country roads. At least he would have had something really to grumble about, she reflected as she joined him on the bed. As usual, she kept as far away from him as possible, at least as far as the narrow bed would allow.
She lay on her side, facing the door. She drew the rough sheet up to her chin and tried to relax her tense muscles. What a ninny she was being. She should be used to his presence by now. Hadn’t she taken care of him all by herself these last few days? She had had several opportunities to examine every inch of his body. But somehow, his unconscious and unresponsive form had not affected her in this way. Oh, she had not been immune to his muscular and well-proportioned physique; however, since he had regained his senses, she found that whenever she got too close to him, her heartbeat accelerated and every fibre of her being became attuned to his presence. At this precise moment, a treacherous part of her longed to lean against his warm body, to snuggle against his chest, to feel his hands on her breasts just one more time.
Think of something else, she told herself sternly, forcing her muscles to relax and taking a long, deep breath before letting the air out of her lungs slowly.
“Must we go to bed so damn early?”
Patience tensed up again when she felt the force his words hit the back of her head. She sighed. “You know very well that Mr. Marlow gets up shortly before dawn to take care of his chores. We cannot walk about keeping him awake all night.”
“You call this night! It is barely the middle of the evening!”
“Hush! Try to get some rest, or we will not leave tomorrow.”
The threat was enough to make him settle down. To think he was being bossed around by a chit of a girl! To be truthful, his head still hurt a lot more than he allowed her to see, and he did tire easily. But he was dammed if he was going to spend another night in this cramped bed with Belinda. He had had to use all of his willpower to keep from touching her
Similar Books
