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Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Come away from the window, Essy. It is far too soon for any news.”

Although Lynton was right, Estella didn’t want to leave the window. Not when a special license for them to marry rested on a table nearby. Staines, that meddling old fool, had gone too far this time. She wasn’t about to marry Lynton just because the duke demanded it, or because he’d made it incredibly easy to accomplish. The Duke of Staines failed to understand that she was in mourning for Thomas. She had not meant to find comfort in Lynton’s arms after she’d fainted. Staines had misunderstood their familiarity and leapt to the wrong conclusion.

Besides, given the scandals embroiling her family, Lynton should wish to be miles away from them. What was he doing here now? He hadn’t been interested in speaking with either her son or her at Thomas’ funeral. That public slight would give more credence to the stories told by wagging tongues. If not for Staines’ order, would he have slunk away already?

“I cannot help but worry about my son and Agatha.”

Lynton sighed loudly. “We both worry, but Oscar has Staines and Redding with him. He is in good hands. Redding will protect them both and bring Agatha home again very soon. He has unlimited sources in the city. He’ll find her as quick as he can. ”

Estella hugged herself. “Why does Staines keep such a man with him? If Redding is as dangerous as you let on, then should he be with my son?”

“Redding is a fine man, a perfect match for my wild brother. He keeps him in line and keeps those who would exploit him at bay. You don’t want to cross Redding. He almost died once to save my brother from harm. Staines rescued him in return, and has had Redding as his shadow ever since.”

Estella nodded. That did explain Redding’s near constant presence behind the duke. “I’d not heard of that incident. Your brother is very lucky.”

“It was years ago, just after I’d taken orders. Redding has my eternal gratitude for keeping my brother at least partially respectable all these years.” He chuckled suddenly. “The quirk of Redding’s eyebrow can squash one of my brother’s mad schemes better than any sermon I could deliver. I rest easy knowing he is there.”

Estella bit her lip. She longed to ask Lynton a question about the earlier conversation, but worried he might take offense once the disturbing subject came up. She didn’t want to wait for news alone, but Oscar’s mention of murder worried her. He seemed—very little like the son she’d raised today. Yet if she discussed the matter with Lynton, she’d get an idea if he had any intention of forging a closer friendship with her son and whether he would be a continuing presence in her life. Oscar had seemed to take the revelation in his stride, but Estella found the notion of having made love to Lynton an uneasy one.

She took a deep breath, prepared to be abandoned at any moment. “Did you catch, by any chance, Oscar’s mention of murder?”

Lynton stood and approached. Her skin prickled as he closed the gap between them until he rested inches from her back. “Staines told me yesterday about an unfortunate incident involving Oscar. I take it that the boy has not confided in you?”

Estella shook her head, panicked that her son should be a murderer.

Lynton sighed, ruffling the hair at her nape with his breath. She shivered. “Redding uncovered a recent incident involving Oscar, Lord Daventry, and his new wife. Although you may not like it, our…our son did a very brave thing. Do you want the details?”

Estella’s heart raced. No wonder Oscar was so thick with Daventry this season. She shook her head quickly. “He will tell me when he is ready, but I appreciate you reassuring me. He’s been so black in his moods lately that I didn’t know what to think.”

Lynton’s hand settled on her arm and stroked over her skin lightly. “He’s had a lot to reconcile, I imagine. He wouldn’t be the man he is if he could take a life without contemplation.”

“And today?” Estella shuddered. “If any harm comes to Agatha, I don’t know what he’ll do. Did you see his expression? He frightened me, Lynton.”

Lynton set his arms about her and pulled her against him. “Shh. He is still the same boy you raised.”

Although she should resist him, his embrace comforted her more than she could let on. She laid her hands on his encircling arms and allowed him to weave their fingers together.

“I should apologize for my brother again.”

Estella waited for him to continue, but he said nothing more. His breath puffed across her ear lightly, and a tingling of desire curled within her. Again, she should fight her attraction to Lynton Manning. But it was hard to do when he was so quiet about his seductions.

She closed her eyes and inhaled. He smelled so good. Clean, like a new forest after rain. Slowly, Lynton turned her in his arms and he eased her against him. “I should apologize…but I won’t.”

Estella opened her eyes to find Lynton smiling at her; a little knowing smile that lifted the corners of his mouth and fixed her attention on his lips. The slow burn of desire sped up. As his hands stole over her back, she willed them lower. Unfortunately, he didn’t comply. But he held her firmly against him.

The hard ridge of his erection pressed against her belly, and her own lips lifted in a smile. “Are you attempting to seduce me, Lynton?”

His lips pursed. “If that were my intention, I’d be under your skirts already. But I won’t do that until you consent to be my wife. I dishonored you once, Essy. A regret I have harbored all my life.”

Estella drew back. “You regret me?”

His hand swept down her back and over her bottom. “I regret not fighting harder to win you from Carrington before you married him. I regret not making love to you openly that night. And I especially regret not courting you the minute Carrington’s body was cold in the ground. I feel like I’ve missed your whole life.”

Manning’s hands kneaded her bottom and Estella shuddered. “My life isn’t over yet.”

He grinned suddenly, and his hands stilled. “No. But since you haven’t consented to share the rest with me, I may still miss out. Marry me, Essy. You may scold me and make me earn my place at your side, but do not send me away.” His hands moved again, curling her tighter against him, raising one of her legs in the process. “Not when we can feel like this together after all these years.”

Lynton kissed her suddenly. Estella moaned and opened her mouth to him. A hot rush of sensation gripped her as they wrestled to touch any part of each other they could. She teased his tongue until he growled at her, and Estella gave up the fight against him and her desires. She did want him in her life and in her bed.

She had been very good at lying to herself.

He ground his hips against her as they kissed until Estella thought she’d go mad. Poor Thomas had never made her feel like this, not even on his most amorous day. She drew back, gentling Lynton with her fingers over his lips. He kissed them, then drew them into his mouth. The unexpected suction drew her senses higher. He circled his hips against her. Her body tightened unexpectedly as she climaxed. She shook. She gasped. She buried her face at Lynton’s throat to hide her embarrassment.

He forced her gaze back to his. He smiled like the devil himself. “Good to see I haven’t lost my touch.”

Although still astonished, she smiled back and curled her arms about his neck. “Gracious. How did you?”

“Not quite the saint you thought me.” He laughed suddenly. “Believe me, I have years of fantasies to prove with you. Marry me so I may seduce you properly.”

He kissed her flaming cheeks gently while Estella struggled to think. If he could do that and not think of it as a seduction, she was in terrible straights if he did. She stared across the room blindly as his kisses progressed to her neck.

Clearly, he’d employed the last few years wisely, not perhaps as saintly as one would expect. She dropped one arm down his back until she reached his hip, and since there was space between their bodies, she laid her hand over his erection.

Lynton hissed. “That was a ‘yes’ to marriage, Essy. Don’t think I won’t hold you to it.”

Estella met his gaze as she moved her hand. Lynton shuddered and swept her to a couch. She cupped his face between her hands as he hovered over her. “Oh, yes.”

Agatha opened her eyes for the third time to see the same sagging ceiling suspended above her. She had so hoped this was a dream, not a nightmare come to life. But judging from the coarse sounds filtering into the room, she was in a house of ill repute somewhere. The masculine groans and the banging of a bed frame against the wall behind her head reminded her, once again, that she was helpless.

She tested the bonds that held her hands and feet in place again. They didn’t give her the slightest hope of a successful escape, yet if she called out and assistance arrived, she might be in more trouble. They’d taken her gown and she lay clothed only in a thin chemise on the bed. The position they held her in should excite any man with a heartbeat who should walk through the door.

She lifted her head to see the closed door. So far, she’d seen no one but her two abductors. She didn’t remember anything after the carriage pulled up in the lane. She didn’t remember this house or being stripped of her demure black gown. She desperately hoped that the door was locked.

She lay back down. There was nothing to be gained by panicking. Nothing could change until that door opened and either savior or sinner passed the threshold.

Footsteps approached and keys rattled in a lock. Agatha raised her head to see who came near. It was a woman she didn’t recognize, but guessed to be the abbess of this crumbling establishment.

The woman who must have hired those thugs to abduct her was a well-dressed older lady, a woman who could walk on the street and be called elegant. She shut the door behind her and came closer. “You’re awake at last.”

Agatha nodded carefully, mindful of her aching head.

“Good. Tell me your name.”

Agatha frowned and kept her mouth closed. Shouldn’t the abbess know who she was? Agatha had assumed the woman had abducted her. Was that not the case?

She looked around the room. Nothing in her line of vision gave her any clue to where she was except for the rhythmic thumping against the wall. The peeling paper was old and faded, as was the quilt beneath her body. The window was covered by fading drapes, so she couldn’t see the world outside or guess at the time of day. The house seemed old, possibly one in a poorer part of London. Yet this woman was stylishly turned out. She looked as if she’d just returned from a carriage ride during the fashionable hour with friends. But her gaze held no warmth. She seemed immune to Agatha’s helpless situation.

The woman frowned. “It is not like my friend to gift me with a girl with no logical explanation. I have a busy house to run, and should not like the inconvenience of dealing with irate family if you are not the fancyware you should be. Who is your father?”

Agatha kept her lips closed. If she answered honestly, she’d be signing her own downfall. There was no one legally bound to care for her now. Not even Oscar.

The abbess’ cold, dry hands skimmed over hers. “Soft. A lady of leisure?”

The woman inspected her exposed skin. Agatha suffered the indignity of the cold touch without response for as long as she could, but when the woman lifted her chemise to look beneath, she bucked to get away.

The abbess frowned. “If you’re clean, I can ask a higher price for your first gentleman caller. There is many a man who would take one look at you as you are and demand a whole night in this bed.” The abbess tested the bonds at her ankles and hands. “It is not usually my way to resort to such precautions, but Prewie was adamant that you should not get away. I will have to ask for more particulars about you before we proceed.”

Prewie? Did she mean Lord Prewitt? But why would he bring her here? She had done nothing but turn aside his scandalous offer to share his bed. She’d suspected Lady Penelope’s family would be incensed by Oscar’s behavior but why would Lord Prewitt retaliate so cruelly?

The thumping against the wall ended with a harsh groan.

The abbess smiled. “Another satisfied customer. Do excuse me? I need to attend to my customer and see that his companion survived that onslaught.” She tapped her finger against her lips. “I will never understand why rakish gentlemen try to be good. It only leads to unnecessary frenzy in the bedchamber once they get there. Bad for business to always be replacing broken girls. Unfortunately, you all have a short working life. Make sure you enjoy what you can of it.”

The abbess glided out the door and locked her in again. Agatha thumped her head against the mattress in frustration.

Oscar would never think to look for her here.

No one would ever find her.

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