5. Attending a Young Lady

CHAPTER 5

ATTENDING A YOUNG LADY

T he following morning

As rain threatened the island of Sicily, Donald made his way on foot to House D’Avalos. Although his trek the day before had made the old city seem charming—he thought the streets made of lava blocks and the Baroque architecture especially unique—his thoughts on the matter were changing now that he was seeing a different part of the city in the light of day.

Many of the buildings looked as if they needed a new layer of plaster. A new coat of paint. Rust stains dribbled down from where Juliet balconies were hung below tall windows. Some shutters were crooked, their attachments having come loose. Elegant rot , he thought as he paused to examine a villa that had probably been rather beautiful a century ago.

The morning air carried with it unpleasant odors of rotted fish and sewage. The puffs of white hovering over the top of Mount Aetna had Donald wondering if the volcano was about to blow.

He found the large wooden doors of House D’Avalos closed but not locked. Slipping into the courtyard, Donald paused to see that the decorations from the night before were still in place. In the dark, they had seemed magical, the wires and the thin strings holding them in place hidden from sight. Now they seemed like cheap ornaments.

A single horse-drawn carriage and its beast were parked in the middle of the courtyard, its driver looking as if he might have imbibed too many glasses of Prosecco the night before.

“ Buongiorno ,” Donald called out.

The driver nodded in his direction but didn’t say anything as Donald made his way to the doors he had entered for the ball the night before. Lifting the iron knocker, he banged it three times and stepped back to wait.

Nearly a minute passed before one of the doors opened and the butler appeared.

“ Sono qui per accompagnare Lady Nicoletta ,” Donald said.

I am here to escort Lady Nicoletta.

The servant waved him into the hall. “ Devo portarti nel suo salone ,” he said as he led him up the stairs to the first floor, down a corridor, and up a second flight of marble stairs.

I am to take you to her salon .

Pausing before a carved wooden door, the servant knocked and opened it but didn’t go in. Instead he waved a hand for Donald to enter.

Expecting the room to be a parlor, Donald stopped short when he was past the threshold. He would have taken a step back except the butler had already closed the door.

Upon seeing the canopied bed, ornate dressing table topped with a huge ancient mirror, and a large armoire, Donald knew he was in a bedchamber. When Nicoletta appeared from an adjacent room, he realized it was hers.

“Pardon, my lady. I...” He lifted a hand and waved backwards. “The butler brought me here,” he stammered.

Dressed in a white chemise and an open dressing robe, Nicoletta regarded him with a sly grin. “That’s because I told him to,” she replied, moving toward him. “I wanted your company whilst I see to my toilette .” She stood on tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “ Buongiorno .”

“ Buongiorno ,” he replied, swallowing nervously.

She angled her head to one side, the messy bun on top threatening to tumble down. “Have you never been invited to an English girl’s toilette ?” she asked, sounding curious.

Not quite sure what she meant by the query, Donald shook his head. “Men are not allowed in lady’s bedchambers,” he whispered. At her upraised brow, he added, “Well, I suppose they are after they are married.”

She turned and crooked a finger, intending for him to follow her. “Come. There is a chair for you in my bathing chamber.”

“Wh... where is your lady’s maid?” he asked nervously, finally making his way into the other room. The bathing chamber was nearly as large as her bedchamber. The tub, already filled with water, stood in the middle of the black and white marble-tiled floor. A stack of bath linens were on one chair while another, placed near the edge of the tub, was empty.

“I will ring, and she will come when I am ready to dress,” Nicoletta replied as she waved to the chair.

Donald paused, not about to be seated whilst she was still standing. “Who will help you into the tub?” he asked.

She doffed her dressing gown and tossed it onto the chair with the linens. “Well, you, of course,” she said as she held out a hand.

Swallowing, Donald took her hand and watched as she stepped into the tub. When she let go, he thought to turn his back—he could see her chemise was translucent where it was already wet at her knees.

Lowering herself into the water, Nicoletta sighed with pleasure and leaned back, the water barely covering her breasts. Donald could only imagine how many trips had been required by the servants to fill such a large tub.

“Will you bring me the ball of soap?” she asked, one of her arms lifted onto the edge of the copper tub. A finger pointed in the direction of a sink and a water pump.

“Of course,” he replied, doing her bidding. When he turned around to give her the soap, he found he couldn’t avert his eyes. Given the chemise barely hid her nakedness and the water was clear, he stared in awe.

Nicoletta angled her head to one side, well aware of his perusal. “Are English girls so very different?”

Donald blinked and quickly handed her the soap. “Uh...” he stammered. “I really couldn’t say. I’ve never seen one in a bath before.”

A teasing grin slowly formed on her face. “Have you never seen a naked woman before?” She pulled up the chemise to reveal one knee and lifted it from the tub to apply the soap.

His mouth opening and closing much like that of a fish, Donald dropped into the chair and ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair. “Uh, not exactly,” he finally replied. He’d seen his younger cousin in all her glory, but she had been very young at the time. Maybe three or four. They had been swimming in the River Isis on an especially hot day.

“Statues,” he announced suddenly, reminded that he had seen several marbles of naked women whilst on his few visits to the British capital. He had seen even more whilst on his tour of Greece and the few Greek city states located on Sicily.

“But you have made love to a woman.”

Donald blinked and watched as she raised her other knee above the water line. He wasn’t about to admit one of his goals on this trip to Europe was to finally rid himself of his virginity. He would have done it whilst at university, but none of the tavern maids seemed especially interested at the pub he frequented, and he didn’t wish to spend his blunt on a prostitute.

“I am still a virgin, of course,” Nicoletta said with a sigh, as if she had decided he wasn’t going to answer her. “My father used to think it was my only redeeming quality.”

Frowning, Donald asked, “Why do you say that?”

She shrugged and sat up straighter, which had her chest rising out of the water. Despite the chemise, her pert breasts were on full display. When Donald turned his head, she huffed. “Do you see something wrong with me?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not at all, my lady. I was merely giving you some... privacy,” he replied.

“You’re embarrassed,” she said, her eyes rounding in understanding. “I did not mean to embarrass you,” she added, lowering her chest beneath the water.

“You’re a very beautiful woman,” Donald stated. “I am honored that you have invited me to your bath. That you feel comfortable enough with me that you would allow me to see you... like this.” He was about to say more. Maybe mention that if she didn’t finish soon, he would be tempted to take her virtue. His cock had hardened, straining the fabric of his pantaloons. The full skirt of his top coat was barely able to hide the evidence of his erection.

Nicoletta regarded him with a thoughtful expression and settled back into the water. “ Grazie ,” she whispered. After a moment, she said, “I am ready to get out.”

Thinking that meant he should leave the bathing chamber—he would see far more of her than what he had already seen when she was in the tub—Donald was about to make his way to the door when she said, “You will help me dry off, I hope?”

Donald stopped in his tracks, his gaze going to the bath linens. “Uh... of course,” he replied, taking the top one and unfurling it. He held it out and up in front of his line of sight.

She giggled as she wrapped the towel around her torso. Holding the linen with one hand, she held out the other and Donald grasped it as she stepped up and out of the tub.

“Oh, my. I have embarrassed you,” she murmured, noting his reddened face. Her gaze lowered, taking in his tented pantaloons. “You are aroused,” she added in awe.

Unable to deny it, Donald finally nodded. “As I said, you are a beautiful woman. Seeing you like this...” he waved a hand down her front, “is like seeing Venus in all her glory.”

Nicoletta inhaled softly. She stepped forward and gripped his lapel with one hand as she lifted herself on tiptoes to kiss him.

Donald returned the kiss, and while doing so, wrapped an arm around the back of her waist to pull her against the front of his body. He could feel the dampness of her chemise through the bath linen, feel the bumps of her spine down the middle of her back. His other arm joined the first, his splayed hand covering one of the globes of her bottom to hold her even closer. He could feel his erection cradled in her soft belly, and he wished he could shed his clothes and bury himself in her body.

About to end the kiss, he heard her soft mewl of protest and simply angled his head in the other direction to continue. He had a passing thought that the entire front of his clothes would be soaking wet by the time they pulled apart, but he didn’t care. She was warm and tasted of Prosecco and strawberries. She smelled of the lemony soap she had used in the bath. From the way she clung to him, he knew she would allow him to bed her.

When he finally ended the kiss, mostly because he needed to breathe, Donald dropped his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “If only every morning could begin like this,” he whispered.

She glanced up, her eyes hidden beneath the curtain of her long lashes. “You say that as if it cannot be,” she replied sadly.

Donald’s arms moved higher up her back to hold her shoulders. “I did not intend for it to sound like that.” He kissed the top of her head as he pulled her so her cheek rested against his chest. The scent of lemons drifted past his nose again, no doubt from her hair.

“So you must come again tomorrow morning,” she said brightly, pushing away from him slightly.

Letting go his hold on her, Donald watched as she dropped the bath linen over the edge of the tub, pulled her chemise over her head, and helped herself to another linen.

She didn’t even bother wrapping it around her body before she made her way into her bedchamber, as if she knew full well Donald’s gaze was glued to her bare backside.

“You minx,” he accused as his feet finally moved from where they’d been stuck since she had risen from the water.

Venus, indeed , he thought with one last look at the tub.

He paused on the threshold and watched as she finished drying off, one of her feet lifted to the edge of the bed to display a perfectly curved calf and well-turned ankle. Her olive tinted skin glowed in the morning light, and he wondered if his kiss had helped in that regard.

Although he had imagined she would have a more girlish figure—her gowns hadn’t given away what was beneath them—it was apparent she possessed a fully formed body. Besides the breasts he had already seen in the bath, her hips flared from her waist, and the opposite curve continued down her thighs.

He would have continued to stare but she turned and froze in place, as if she had just then remembered he was still in her company. “You are more beautiful than Venus,” he stated. If she didn’t get into some clothes, and quick, he was going to allow the goddess of love to take over and have her way with him.

Apparently, Nicoletta was waiting for him to say something, for she paused and regarded him with an expression of uncertainty. “Do you... do you wish to make love to me?”

Donald blinked. Was she asking hypothetically if he would? Or was she asking him to make love to her right then and there?

“Now?” he countered.

Her shoulders dropped, although the action did nothing to lessen the pertness of her breasts. “Is the morning not a good time for you?”

Pushing himself off the door jamb, Donald decided there was no time like the present. He dared a quick glance at the bedchamber door and then hurried to it to drive home the bolt. He had her in one arm an instant later, his mouth finding hers as his other hand tore at his buttons and the knot of his cravat.

Nicoletta pulled away to take a quick breath. “We must be quiet,” she whispered, a finger moving to her lips. Then her hands joined his in undoing the buttons of his waistcoat.

“Is there a particular way you like it?” he asked, wondering how she could still be a virgin when she behaved as if she’d had a string of lovers. She was far too comfortable in his presence for this to be the first time entertaining a man in her bedchamber.

Her eyes rounded. “Particular way?” she repeated, as if she didn’t understand the English words.

“To make love? You’ll have to help me, because...” He allowed the sentence to trail off, not willing to admit aloud that he hadn’t done it before. At least he had read books on the topic. Studied the illustrations and admired the colored plates.

“I have not done this before,” she whispered.

Donald blinked. He swallowed. His gaze darted to the bathing chamber. “Am I truly the first man to attend you in there?”

Her bare shoulder lifted slightly. “You are,” she admitted.

Donald’s brows furrowed before a slight grin lifted his lips. “I am honored, my lady,” he whispered.

He resumed removing his clothes, his new concern that she would find his broad shoulders and muscled body repulsive. Working the fields of his uncle’s farm and spending most days seeing to the horses of the Gisborn earldom meant his physique was not the usual for an English man. From what he had witnessed of the men at the ball from the night before, Sicilian aristocrats’ physiques were much like those in England.

Before he could give it another thought or to warn her, Nicoletta had his shirt pulled up and over his head, her arms stretched up as far as they would go to manage it. With her breasts pressed against his bare chest when she let go of the white linen garment, Donald was lost. Whatever happened going forward, he knew he would have no control.