Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

F rances sat opposite three smirking women, and she did not like it. She had a feeling they had something up their sleeves, but she had hoped inviting Jenny would quell their intrigue.

"Frances, it's been a week since we've seen you last. What have you been up to?" Nora lazily played with the spoon in her tea, but it was all a ruse. There was nothing playful about Nora's demeanor. She was fishing for something.

Frances took a sip of her tea. She nodded to Jenny at her side, "I've been spending time with Jenny. She's come a long way from Lady Staunton's dinner party."

The three women opposite her shared a smile.

Frances let out an exaggerated sigh. "What?"

"Is it safe to assume the Duke was in residence each time you met with Jenny? My husband has said he hasn't seen him at the club recently. Always has the excuse he's acclimating to his new role by working at home."

Frances leveled a glare at Marie.

"Yes, he's there," Jenny eagerly offered. "Frances has agreed to help him as well. You should see the outfits she picked out for him. He's looking more like a duke every day."

Frances looked up at the ceiling, wishing the ground to open up and swallow her whole. She didn't need to look at her friends to know what they were thinking.

"Is she now? How thoughtful of you, Frances." Marie's words dripped with insinuation.

"It is thoughtful of me, Marie. I'm more than happy to help His Grace. In helping him, I am helping Jenny." She reached out to touch Jenny's hand. She had hoped the gesture would remind her friends not to take the conversation into an untowardly direction with Jenny there.

Her friends could no longer control their giggles. Lord save me.

"Why are they laughing? Are they laughing at us?" Jenny asked.

Horrified, Frances turned towards Jenny. "Heavens no! They like to think any man I talk to should be considered as a marriage contender," she said with an eye roll. "But I assure you, Jenny, I would never put our friendship in jeopardy to pursue your brother. Plus, I have no intention of pursuing anyone. I'm happy with my status in life." She glared at her friends. "I mean that. I'm all right with the reality that my life may be one of spinsterhood."

"I'm sorry, Frannie, but I must warn you, there is a lot of talk about you visiting the Duke's estate as often as you do. It's only natural people would assume your intentions," Sara offered.

"I'm well aware of people's assumptions, but I promise you, the only time I speak to the Duke is when Jenny is in the room, and she can attest it is all above board. Isn't that right, Jenny?"

Jenny remained silent next to her.

"Jenny? Go on, tell them." She nudged her elbow into Jenny's side.

"Well…"

"I knew it!" Marie yelled from her chair.

"Jenny! What are you saying?" Frances' cheeks were starting to heat. Did she see something? It was so easy for Frances to lose any sort of decorum when it was just Thomas and her. She might have seen them in the parlor or the tailor's shop. Dread swept through her body.

"I don't know, Frances. There were a few times when I came in, and it was just the two of you. Like, when I went to try on my dress., it was just the two of you in the room…" Jenny trailed off, but the damage was done.

"Just the two of you, hmm?" Marie was all smug.

"For moments, really." Frances had to get control of this situation, and quickly. All she needed was rumors to get out, and she really would become a spinster, a ruined one.

"Jenny," Frances chided, "you must be careful about what you say and how you say it. It is very easy for people to misunderstand, and then you'd be changing your brother's life, and he's already had so much upheaval. You don't want him, or yourself, caught up in any scandal."

Jenny looked at the women sitting across from them. Frances watched her take them in, their interested eyes holding her captive. They were practically foaming at the mouth for more information.

"I'm sorry, you're right." She turned to Sara, Nora, and Marie. "She's right, I was only speaking in jest to fit in. They were barely alone when I tried on my dress, and my brother is not one for conversation. Now looking back on it, I actually feel bad I left her alone at all with him."

The women laughed and began talking about Nora's upcoming garden party. Frances hoped it was enough to stop any rumors from starting.

"Now, when the food is served, and there is something you want but it is not in front of you, you could either pass your plate to someone who is closer, or if a manservant is nearby, you can ask him to fill your plate."

Jenny sat opposite Frances while Thomas sat to her right at the head of the table.

"Your Grace? If there is meat in front of you, cut and serve yourself. Then the polite thing to do is offer it to the women if any are seated next to you."

Thomas cut the lamb in front of him and held the plate to Jenny as an offering.

Frances cleared her throat.

Thomas glanced at Frances and questioned her with his eyes.

Frances raised an eyebrow and cocked her head.

"Oh. Jenny, would like some of this lamb?"

Frances smiled.

Jenny took the lamb, "Thank you, Your Grace."

While they sat cutting their food, Jenny spoke up, "I find it amusing that you two are able to communicate without speaking."

Both Frances and Thomas' eyes collided with each other's first before turning to Jenny.

"What do you mean?" Thomas asked.

"Oh, I mean nothing by it. Frances and I have similar conversations with our eyes, especially when we hear something outlandish, and it would be uncouth to speak our thoughts out loud. I thought it was component of only female friendships. I assumed one would have to be very close to communicate without words so efficiently."

"Well, I suppose one could consider it as one step above grunts which the Duke is so well known for," Frances joked. "It's just more evidence of how far he has come along," she added with a wink.

"I do not appreciate being spoken about as if I'm not here," Thomas said while chewing on a piece of lamb.

"Please do not talk with your mouth full. And speaking of talking, dinner is an excellent time to have conversations with those around you. Jenny, you'll want to use this time to strike up a conversation with a dashing young man who has caught your eye. I'll give you some tricks later on how to change the seating arrangement to make sure you sit next to someone of worth."

Thomas raised an eyebrow at her comment.

"Is that what you did at Lady Staunton's dinner party?"

"No. Our first meeting was out of pure luck. Truth is, I shouldn't have been seated there." Looking across the table to Jenny she continued, "Normally, when seated at a dinner party, it goes by a rank of sorts. A duke and a baron's daughter would rarely be seated next to each other. But by dumb luck and Lady Staunton's spontaneous seating change to man-woman-man, I was seated next to His Grace and across from you."

So much has changed since that first night, and it's only been a few weeks.

"Let's get back to our lesson, shall we?"

She reached for her glass of water the same time Thomas reached for his, and their hands brushed. Warm vibrations flew from fingertips up her arm. She met Thomas' eyes, and the world around her faded away. She could stare into his eyes, and only his eyes, for the rest of her life and be happy.

"Frances?" Jenny's voice broke in. "What were you going to say?"

"Hmm? Oh right. Back to the lesson." She folded and refolded the napkin in her lap, trying desperately to remember what she was going to say. She could feel Thomas' eyes on her. Once again, she was reminded of that first night, walking around Lady Staunton's parlor with his eyes on her. Only now, she knew what power those eyes held.

"As I was saying, you'll want to strike up conversations with those around you." Frances tried ignoring the heated stare coming from Thomas and failed miserably. "It's your, um… it's your time to let everyone know how well you… use, um, words. How you word, er, talk. How well you talk."

Goodness, she couldn't form a coherent sentence when he was looking at her like she should be the next course.

When Frances finally looked up from her wrinkled napkin, she found the amused Jenny smiling back at her.

"I'll have to remember that," she said with a smirk. Jenny glanced at the clock on the mantle. "Oh, I have to go. I told Nora I'd meet her to take in some shops today. I offered to help her with some last-minute purchases for her garden party. It'll be the perfect opportunity to work on how well I word, I mean talk," she added with a wink.

Frances inwardly groaned. She wasn't going to live that one down. Damn that blasted man for having such an effect on her. Even now, with his sister speaking, he was looking at Frances.

With a slight nod of the head, Jenny retreated through the doors, leaving Frances alone with Thomas.

"You should not be looking at me like that when people are around!" Frances' words rushed out breathlessly.

Thomas grinned. He looked like he was enjoying watching her unravel. It only frustrated her more.

"And how am I looking at you, Frances?" His voice was like velvet on her skin.

"Like you're hunting me and about to eat me as if I were your prey." She needed to remind herself that she was the one that propositioned him. But whenever she was alone with him, she couldn't help but feel at a severe disadvantage.

Thomas pushed away from the table and pulled her chair away from the table. Reaching down, he picked up her hands to help her stand.

"I think this is ample opportunity to introduce our next lesson."

Frances' eyes flew open. "I don't remember having our first lesson."

"Consider the library our first lesson. You tested well, I think you're ready to advance."

Frances swallowed. "H-here? Now?"

"Why not? Jenny said she was leaving. I told Simmons and the rest of the staff not to bother us during our dinner lessons. No one should come in here unless I call them." He tilted Frances' head to look into her eyes. "I have no intention of calling them, unless you want me to?"

"No!" The word rushed out of her mouth. She didn't recognize her own voice. Needy. Insistent. Ready.

Thomas cocked his head. She felt as if she were stripped bare by his stare. He leaned down and planted a gentle kiss at one corner of her lips, then the other. She was struck by how gentle he kissed her. Her brows furrowed, her body was on fire, and he was moving too slow.

She began chewing her bottom lip before his finger traced along her bottom lip. "That poor lip. Always being chewed on."

He cradled her head in his hands and tilted her head back, opening her up for the kiss she truly wanted to receive.

He pushed his tongue forward, and she opened her mouth willingly. Her hands went from his chest up into his hair where she once again raked her fingernails across his scalp, hoping to unleash the pent up beast inside of him.

He backed her into the table, and with one hand, swiped the dishes from the top. A surprise squeak escaped her lips as he lowered her onto the table and continued to ravage her mouth.

More. She wanted more. She needed more.

Her hands came down and snuck underneath the lapels of his jacket. Thomas' eyes opened in shock. "I'm a quick study." Frances was ready to shed the proper Miss of the ton . Thomas allowed her to test these new feelings without repercussions, and that knowledge was intoxicating.

He dragged his lips down her throat and sucked on her slender neck. She arched her body into his, her hands gripping his shoulders.

"More, please more." Her voice was raspy.

"Ah, I see you've mastered begging. What a good student you are," he said between nibbling that sweet spot and kissing it.

"Tell me, Frances, what else should I give attention to?"

Frances was letting out soft gasps and whimpers, nothing coherent.

He smiled against her chest. "Come now, Frances, if I need to use my words while sitting at the dinner table, you need to use words when I have you on the dinner table."

"I don't, I don't know. Too many feelings… I'm hot all over." Frances' mind was disconnected from her body. She couldn't form sentences, only moans, breathless begging, and whimpers.

"Shhh, here. Let me help. Do you want me to kiss you here?" He placed a chaste kiss on her neck. "Or here?" He moved lower and kissed the exposed skin at the top of her gown.

" There! " The surprise of his movement sent the fire coursing through her veins straight to her core.

"See? That wasn't so hard. Now. Should I continue kissing here, or should I push down your gown and expose more to explore?"

Frances nodded furiously up and down.

"Tsk. Tsk. Miss Ambrose. Remember your words." The man was positively insufferable.

Frances let out a groan. "Push the dress down. Please."

The words weren't fully out of her mouth when he shoved the gown down to fully reveal her breasts. Frances only had a second to feel the cool air hit them before he took a perfectly pink nipple into his mouth. Massaging the other breast, he continued to kiss and suck, playing to the rhythm she set with her hips and moans.

"You are the most delectable dessert, Miss Ambrose."

"Thomas," she whimpered.

"I wonder…" Thomas made his way back up her body to her mouth. Frances mewled at the loss of his mouth on her breasts. "Are you willing to go to the next course in your study?"

Frances stared up at the man hovering over her. Never in her life did she feel both vulnerable and safe at the same time. He had exposed her to her very core, both figuratively and literally. She knew then that she would give him anything he asked for.

"Yes, Your Grace. "

His hand reached down and rucked up her gown and petticoats, leaving the bottom half of her body bare except for her stockings.

" Thomas!" Reflex had her grabbing his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Do you trust me? Say the word, Frances, or if not, say it, and I'll stop." His forehead, slick with sweat, rested against hers. Blue eyes staring into hazel ones. The question played over in her head. Did she trust him? Could she trust him? Frances didn't need to contemplate it. She knew.

"Yes, Your Grace."

His pupils blew wide as he slammed his lips to hers in the most animalistic way. His wandering hand worked its way up her leg, massaging and tickling as it moved up. He found the opening in her drawers and dipped his finger inside. He groaned when he ran one finger through her wet curls.

"You're wet," his voice straining.

"I — is that ok?" Frances hated that she knew nothing of the delicacies of intimate acts, and it embarrassed her.

"Yes, of course." His finger started rubbing the sensitive nub at the center of her sex. Ignoring her yelp of surprise, he continued. "It's your body's natural reaction and will help your body accept the next step."

The… mmm… next… st-step? Oh! Thomas!" She never felt sensations such as these before. There was something in her core. Something strong, unrelenting. The more his finger toyed with her sex, the more she moved against him.

Unable to control the crashing waves of pleasure racking her body, she closed her eyes to focus.

"Look at me Frances." At the Duke's command, her eyes flew open. "Just breathe and let your body go. I have you. Trust me."

Frances shook her head and gave into the building storm within her core. With one flick of his wrist, the storm unleashed, sending her over the edge. Thomas swallowed her scream with his mouth.

Frances' body melted into a puddle on the table. She was too swept up in the emotions that Thomas released within her to consider adjusting her clothes. She was content to lay there forever.

Thomas righted her clothing and helped her sit up.

"Are you ok?"

Frances blushed. "I can't believe we just… that I… Is it normal to feel completely sated and blissful?"

Thomas laughed loudly. "Word of advice, if you don't, the man has done you a complete disservice."

Frances looked around at the mess Thomas created when he pushed the dishes off to the side.

"Look at this mess. And we didn't even have dessert."

A sly grin formed on Thomas' lips. "I did."

Frances cocked her head, "How so?"

Thomas brought the finger he used on her. Without breaking eye contact, he sucked on it, moaning. "I told you, you were delicious. Keep this up, and you'll be ready for the final exam in no time."

"And I told you, I'm a quick study. I'll be ready for it." She was, now more than ever, determined to see this through. Nothing was going to get in her way.