Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Joseph was hidden behind the statue of the sleeping goddesses when Lydia entered the art gallery right on time.

That pretty nymph is an odd blend of wild and methodical. I cannot believe I find her quirky ways so beguiling, but I do.

"Psst! My lord, are you in here?"

Lydia stepped quietly across the art gallery floor as Joseph let his eyes roam over her alluring physical features. Her lovely skin, full breasts, and stunning green eyes were just a hint of her wonders worth exploring, especially those hidden under all the fabric of her crumpled dress.

Just an hour before, he'd been imagining those wonders. He had fallen asleep again on the library balcony as he'd been listening in the dark for possible prowlers below. He had found himself stealing intimate touches with Lydia in his dream and awoke with another uncomfortable tent protruding from the groin of his trousers.

I don't know how I'm going to survive the constant arousal this woman causes me!

"Did you like my poem, little nymph?" Joseph spoke in a hushed tone from his hiding place, still peeking out from behind the statue as Lydia's head turned in his direction.

"I must say I was impressed, my lord. Who knew a beast such as yourself could form such pleasing rhyme?" Lydia smiled as she slowly approached the goddess statue.

He chuckled and stood to reveal himself. His black waistcoat was unbuttoned and hung open over his white linen shirt, which was loosened at the neck. For some reason, it felt completely natural to be this informal with Lydia already.

Having met her while nearly naked in a spring probably had everything to do with their sense of ease with each other so quickly.

"I'll have you know that I've been a fan of poetry since I was a young sprout. You could say I was a nursery rhyme connoisseur." Joseph bowed with exaggeration, as if he were responding to imaginary applause.

"I see. So you're familiar with the greats then? Little Jack Horner? Georgie Porgie?" Lydia grinned as she tucked a long loose curl behind her ear.

"Oh, indeed! Were you awakened from a deep sleep, my lady? You seem particularly rumpled by slumber. I must say, I rather like it." Joseph scanned her body again, this time as she watched him do it.

"There's the beast I've come to know and loathe. You're looking rather rumpled yourself, my lord. Were you wrestling a great creature in your dreams?"

If she only knew.

"It seems we're both in need of more sleep, so I will get to the point." Joseph's smile flattened out as he changed the subject to more urgent matters. He stepped out from behind the row of statues and took Lydia's hand in his. "I believe Wilhelmina Underwood saw us on the balcony last night. She has hinted as much with a devilish tone that makes me fear her intent. It's possible she will hold our secret over our heads for her own benefit in some fashion, but I cannot yet be sure. What I propose is a counterattack of sorts to protect us from scandal. Are you interested in playing a little game for that purpose?"

He smoothed his fingers over the palm of Lydia's hand and noticed how her breathing quickened from his touch.

"I don't know. That sounds quite risky, does it not? What did you have in mind?" Lydia stared down at their connected hands and seemed to study every movement of his fingers.

"Are you taking more notes of your body's reaction to mine, little nymph? I see you didn't bring your satchel this time."

Lydia pulled her hand back and scowled. "For your information, I do not go weak in your presence, my lord. Also, I left my satchel by the gallery door."

Joseph tipped his head back and laughed, though rather quietly to prevent detection from anyone outside the room. "So you did bring your note-taking supplies! What, pray tell, were you hoping to discover during this secret meeting?"

Lydia blushed and bit her lip. "I was hoping to sketch you, my lord."

Joseph stared at her as if she'd just said something preposterous, because that was exactly how it sounded to his ears.

"Sketch me? Whatever for?"

Lydia's eyes quickly dropped to his groin area, then slid back up to his face again. "To study a gentleman's form, of course. We already discussed this, remember?"

With his mouth dropped open, Joseph took a step back and gazed at her with utter shock and growing pleasure. "My lady, are you asking me to pose for you in the nude?"

He felt himself getting dizzy from Lydia's astonishing forwardness, which seemed to have no bounds. He had never in his life encountered such a bold and curious woman as she.

Lydia stuck out her chin and crossed her arms. "Yes, I am. But don't flatter yourself, Lord Winstone. I merely wish to know how—"

"...things work. I know, my lady. I know. But this is a most unusual request." Joseph's mind raced as his body reacted yet again.

He wanted nothing more than to strip naked for her as soon as possible, and he couldn't believe his luck in being asked. But to lie exposed in front of her for any length of time without touching her, discovering her, and tasting her every secret treasure? How was that even doable with a woman that enchanting gazing upon his appendage?

Lydia sighed. "I don't know if it's an unusual request, as I am a woman and women are kept in the dark about so many things. However, you and I have an unusual agreement, do we not? I assume that means we get to make our own rules. As your partner in this private arrangement, I believe I am just as capable of adding to those rules as you are. So I request that you hold up your end of the bargain and show me the rest of what I glimpsed at the stream. Much like da Vinci's anatomical studies, I intend to study you. That study begins with a sketch, my lord, if you will allow it."

Joseph took a deep breath and released it slowly before responding. He felt faint for the first time in his eight-and-twenty years, but his weakened state was decidedly due to how much he yearned for Lydia Carter.

"Da Vinci studied corpses, you know." His voice grew deeper the more he thought about the appeal of letting Lydia gaze upon his every naked detail. "Does that mean you are you planning to kill me first?"

Lydia giggled and placed her hands on her hips. "I wasn't, but that could be arranged."

He pointed at the door of the gallery with one hand and started untucking his shirt from his breeches with the other. "Get your satchel, nymph. The night is short and we have a scheme to discuss."

Lydia hurried to retrieve her supplies as Joseph looked around for the best spot in the gallery to undress. And where we won't be immediately noticed if someone walked in the room, heaven forbid.

He decided on the farthest corner from the door, which offered a bit of space behind a grouping of tall statues. It was merely coincidence that all four were of male nudes posing with limbs flexed.

However, those particular models all donned fig leaves over their private bits. So he was certain that asking Lydia to study their forms instead would be in vain.

When Lydia returned with her paper, ink, and quill, Joseph had removed his shirt, stockings, and boots. "This is as unclothed as I get until you listen to my plan. Understood?"

Lydia's lips partly ever so slightly as she took in the sight of Joseph's bare chest up close. But when she gasped it wasn't due to his toned physical form, it was because of the wounds she had caused him.

"Viscount Winstone, you are covered in scrapes from my carelessness last night. Please forgive me. I hope you aren't in too much pain."

Joseph shook his head. "I am well and you are forgiven.

"Thank you, my lord." Lydia's response was barely a whisper as she fumbled with her pages of paper and nearly scattered them all over the gallery floor. "Is…is there a chair I might use?"

Joseph watched her change from a determined anatomy student into a clumsy blushing girl. He liked very much that his physique was the cause of her nervousness.

"We can't create an impromptu studio back here, m'lady. Please find a way to do your sketching on the ground. While you get settled, let me tell you what I have planned for undermining Miss Underwood." He chuckled at his own wording. "See there? A poet lives deep within me."

Lydia rolled her eyes as she settled onto the floor in front of him with a stack of paper balanced in her lap and her ink and quill by her side. "Very deep, my lord."

Joseph crouched down to smirk at Lydia from nearly eye level, then dropped to a seated position across from her. "As the days pass during our confinement at this estate, we will play up our engagement in front of the guests and our families. We will do so in front of Miss Underwood, making it clear that we are madly in love and planning our nuptials. That way, should she decide to spread rumors of our balcony tryst, we would suffer only the mild consequence of having to marry much earlier than planned."

Lydia looked up from the notes she'd begun taking for her drawing and swallowed hard. "But my lord… we aren't truly planning to marry at all."

"Of course, but a scandal changes the marriage market game and its outcome. That cannot be helped." Joseph saw the dark shadow of doubt slide like a veil over Lydia's green eyes. "But worry not, as we will have our spy following Miss Underwood to uncover any of her secrets we might uncover for our use."

"We will do what? Which spy?" Lydia dropped her quill on her page, which scribbled a squiggly line through her notes as it rolled away from her hand.

"A kind and red-haired lass who thinks you hung the moon." Joseph winked and waited for Lydia to realize who he meant.

"Bridget? As our spy? That poor girl doesn't even know the lay of this house yet! My lord, you can't be serious. We cannot ask Bridget to spy on Miss Underwood. That would risk her position, her reputation, and her family's proud legacy in service of the Winstone Estate."

Joseph sat back against the wall and stretched his legs out in front of his body. His bare feet nearly reached Lydia's knees. "I appreciate your concern for the staff of my household, but I assure you that Bridget would be handsomely accommodated should our plan fall through. She will also be handsomely accommodated for helping us, which is why she already agreed to do so."

"My lord! You didn't already ask her!"

"Oh, but I did. It is settled. Bridget is already keeping track of Miss Underwood's whereabouts through this night. Do you know what that means?"

Lydia pressed a hand to her forehead as if suffering from a sudden headache. "I'm afraid to ask."

Joseph pulled himself up off the floor and grinned down at his reluctant fiancée. "It means that though Miss Underwood may have seen us on the balcony, she will not have any knowledge of this."

Lydia watched with widened eyes as he turned away from her, unbuttoned his breeches, and let them drop.