was abed. She had undressed so that her maid
would not be suspicious.
Now she strode to her closet and pulled out
her robe. She was bending over to put on her slippers when a hand was clasped
around her mouth and another on her shoulders.
She was pulled upright, and she
instinctively bent her knee and let her foot fly back and ram itself between
the legs of the intruder. It was a beautiful move taught to her by her
brothers.
A low moan of pain came from behind her as
the hands fell away to release her. She smiled satisfactorily as she turned to
look upon the unfortunate creature who had dared to enter her bedchamber.
Chapter 8
“Richard!”
“Hello darling, I thought it was time I got
my kiss. But I think you have permanently damaged the parts that would have one
day given you children,” he groaned.
“I am so sorry! Are you alright? How did
you get in? You can’t be here, what if someone finds out!”
“I got in through the door. However
romantic I may want to be, I didn’t want to risk climbing the ivy and breaking
my neck. Your room is very high up … I did not realise that walking in through
the door would be just as dangerous.” He paused to breathe deeply. Clenching
his teeth in pain he continued, “I will be fine … at least I hope I will be in
a few days. As for being found out, the entire household is asleep. After the
risk I have already taken, this seemed relatively tame.”
“You don’t have your beard on, and your
teeth are white again.”
“I did not want to give you an excuse to
evade my kiss this time.”
Emma blushed. It was different kissing the
earl in the light of the day or even in dark gardens, but his being in her room
was disturbing. It somehow felt more intimate, and the fact that no one would
intrude on them for a number of hours had her feeling shy and tense.
“How … how did you know this was my room?”
The earl smiled, guessing the reason for
Emma’s discomfort. His kiss would have to wait, and recalling the state he was
in, he did not mind delaying it too much.
“It was easy enough. All I had to do was
follow your maid Bessie. The long hallways and various nooks and corners hid me
well enough. She hardly looked left or right, having no reason to believe that
someone might be following her.”
“I was just getting ready to search the
duke’s study.”
“I will be a gentleman and accompany you. I
cannot have my beautiful fiancée roaming around alone in this ghostly mansion.
It will also give me a chance to take a look at the duke’s place of work. You
can tell a lot about a man from his personal space.”
She nodded and turned away. She busied
herself looking for a candle to take along.
The ensuing silence reminded her again of
the earl’s presence in her room. She glanced at the bed and reddened.
She wanted to speak to break the mounting
tension but was afraid her voice would tremble and betray her.
The earl smiled watching her flustered
demeanour. He waited until she had lit the candle and moved towards the exit
before grabbing her arm and halting her.
Emma’s fingers tightened around the candle.
She peeked at his face and his expression set her heart racing.
He stared at her exquisite face glowing in
the fire light. He drank in her features, his fingers itching to take the pins
out of her hair.
“If I don’t kiss you now … it would be
tragic,” he said huskily.
“Angels would weep,” she replied, nodding
fervently.
He smiled briefly before stooping down and
giving her a hard, quick kiss. He let her go immediately and said,
“For luck. After all, we venture into the
lion’s den tonight.”
“Don’t be absurd,” replied Emma, her heart
still thundering in her chest.
She was secretly relieved to have the earl
with her. She had not been looking forward to sneaking into the duke’s study,
but with him by her side it felt more like an adventure than an odious task.
She was suddenly excited and peeked out of her room with more
would not be suspicious.
Now she strode to her closet and pulled out
her robe. She was bending over to put on her slippers when a hand was clasped
around her mouth and another on her shoulders.
She was pulled upright, and she
instinctively bent her knee and let her foot fly back and ram itself between
the legs of the intruder. It was a beautiful move taught to her by her
brothers.
A low moan of pain came from behind her as
the hands fell away to release her. She smiled satisfactorily as she turned to
look upon the unfortunate creature who had dared to enter her bedchamber.
Chapter 8
“Richard!”
“Hello darling, I thought it was time I got
my kiss. But I think you have permanently damaged the parts that would have one
day given you children,” he groaned.
“I am so sorry! Are you alright? How did
you get in? You can’t be here, what if someone finds out!”
“I got in through the door. However
romantic I may want to be, I didn’t want to risk climbing the ivy and breaking
my neck. Your room is very high up … I did not realise that walking in through
the door would be just as dangerous.” He paused to breathe deeply. Clenching
his teeth in pain he continued, “I will be fine … at least I hope I will be in
a few days. As for being found out, the entire household is asleep. After the
risk I have already taken, this seemed relatively tame.”
“You don’t have your beard on, and your
teeth are white again.”
“I did not want to give you an excuse to
evade my kiss this time.”
Emma blushed. It was different kissing the
earl in the light of the day or even in dark gardens, but his being in her room
was disturbing. It somehow felt more intimate, and the fact that no one would
intrude on them for a number of hours had her feeling shy and tense.
“How … how did you know this was my room?”
The earl smiled, guessing the reason for
Emma’s discomfort. His kiss would have to wait, and recalling the state he was
in, he did not mind delaying it too much.
“It was easy enough. All I had to do was
follow your maid Bessie. The long hallways and various nooks and corners hid me
well enough. She hardly looked left or right, having no reason to believe that
someone might be following her.”
“I was just getting ready to search the
duke’s study.”
“I will be a gentleman and accompany you. I
cannot have my beautiful fiancée roaming around alone in this ghostly mansion.
It will also give me a chance to take a look at the duke’s place of work. You
can tell a lot about a man from his personal space.”
She nodded and turned away. She busied
herself looking for a candle to take along.
The ensuing silence reminded her again of
the earl’s presence in her room. She glanced at the bed and reddened.
She wanted to speak to break the mounting
tension but was afraid her voice would tremble and betray her.
The earl smiled watching her flustered
demeanour. He waited until she had lit the candle and moved towards the exit
before grabbing her arm and halting her.
Emma’s fingers tightened around the candle.
She peeked at his face and his expression set her heart racing.
He stared at her exquisite face glowing in
the fire light. He drank in her features, his fingers itching to take the pins
out of her hair.
“If I don’t kiss you now … it would be
tragic,” he said huskily.
“Angels would weep,” she replied, nodding
fervently.
He smiled briefly before stooping down and
giving her a hard, quick kiss. He let her go immediately and said,
“For luck. After all, we venture into the
lion’s den tonight.”
“Don’t be absurd,” replied Emma, her heart
still thundering in her chest.
She was secretly relieved to have the earl
with her. She had not been looking forward to sneaking into the duke’s study,
but with him by her side it felt more like an adventure than an odious task.
She was suddenly excited and peeked out of her room with more
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