Chapter Eighteen
Patience's stomach felt like it was churning with bees. Except perhaps that was not right because bees would be uncomfortable and this was more of a wonderful, buzzing feeling that made her limbs warm and her breathing quicken. Much of it was to do with the fact they were standing in a house, without the knowledge of the owner, having scaled a wall and found all the information they needed. A lot more of it was also to do with Nate holding her hand and telling her he would hate to see her come to harm.
Nate turned the handle on the library door and stilled. Patience scowled.
"What is it?"
He put a finger to his lips and she clamped her lips together. Easing the door open farther, they both leaned into the gap to listen. She wasn't sure what Nate heard but there was definitely footsteps coming their way. She peered around the library. There were nooks and crannies covered in shadow but nowhere to hide two people.
Someone giggled. Then there was a deeper voice. Coming from the hallway, she suspected. Perhaps they would not come their way.
A door opened. Nate reacted before she could fathom what was happening. He tugged her out of the library and into the drawing room. Then he opened the door he had originally tried and shoved her into it. He followed her in and closed the door behind them.
Darkness swallowed her. She blinked into gloom to try to get her bearings. When she put out a hand, she felt something cold—glass perhaps. If she felt the other way, there were more of the same objects. Wine bottles, she realized. This had to be the wine store.
She twisted into Nate. There was nothing cold here. Her hand landed on his chest and she felt the erratic beat of his heart. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out the line of his shoulders and see the shelving around them. That was about it, however.
A door opened and the voices entered the room. Patience instantly recognized the baritone of Magnus but the giggle from the woman was not familiar. And she seemed to giggle a lot.
"Oh, sir." Another giggle.
Patience shifted and turned so that she could see through the crack in the door. Nate followed suit, pressing himself behind her so he could see over her head.
She blinked and peered harder.
"I'll be damned," Nate whispered.
She did recognize the woman in Magnus' arms. One of the serving girls. That was why he had not been interested in Pauline. He was indulging himself elsewhere and having a mistress was a cover.
The woman's work dress had been pushed down one shoulder. Magnus lavished kisses along her bare skin while fumbling his hand up under her skirts. Patience grew aware of the thudding of her heart picking up speed. Her skin grew hot.
Magnus broke away from the woman and moved out of Patience's view. It was wicked of her, but she was disappointed. She should not, but she wanted to see more.
When Magnus returned to the woman with a glass of brandy, Patience realized how close they were to being spotted. What if he decided to get a bottle of wine?
Her fears faded when the woman drained the brandy and cast the glass aside before taking Magnus into her arms. Her face a picture of ecstasy, Magnus kissed his way down her neck and back up. His hands began roaming once more, first pressing against her breasts, then down to bunch up her skirts. He pressed his hand underneath the layers and the maid released a moan.
"I have been waiting all evening for this," Magnus said against her cheek.
"Well, you insist on hosting dinner parties all the time."
"I have to keep up appearances."
"By having a mistress too?" the maid demanded, pulling back for a moment.
"She's gone now, you know that. I sent her on her way. There is no one else but you for me." He moved his hand against the woman's thighs and her eyes fluttered closed and she tilted her head back.
Whether what he said was true, Patience thought, she did not know, but the maid did not seem to mind.
Behind her, Nate grew fidgety. His body pressed into hers, his chest hard and unrelenting and his heart beating fiercely against her back. The same discomfort was beginning to envelop her. She wanted to writhe against him.
And that was when she understood…Nate was aroused. His erection lay hard against her back. She moved into it slightly, to be sure, and a barely audible groan escaped him. The spectacle in front of her began to lose its appeal. She turned to face him with barely an inch separating them.
The darkness had not eased. She still only saw his outline but it was enough. She heard his heavy breaths and knew he was feeling as she was. One of his hands came up to cup her cheek. The sudden, sweet warmth of it startled her and she had to bite her lip to prevent herself from making a sound.
She skimmed both hands up his arms, reveling in the taut, strong feel of his muscles underneath his dinner jacket. She let them rest on his upper arms and felt the muscles flex as he reached with his other hand to pull her firm against him.
Her heart pounded like cannon fire in her ears. Somewhere in the distance were the grunts and cries of lovemaking but she could hardly pay them any attention, not when she was flat against Nate, practically sightless and able to feel. Every. Little. Thing.
From the heat of his breath to the warmth of his palm, she felt it all. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
"Patience," he murmured.
Patience . Even the way he said her name made her shudder with pleasure. If she thought it could not get any better, he brought his lips to hers. In the dark, she had been unable to predict the movement and the fission it sent down her spine, all the way to her borrowed slippers, made her tremble in his arms.
Lips slightly parted, she let him take the lead as he moved his soft, warm mouth over hers. Every inch of her tingled and her nipples pressed hard against her stays in protest of their confinement. She moved into him, rubbing herself against him in a bid to gain some relief.
A rumbling sound rose from his throat and he pressed the kiss harder, this time slipping his tongue into her mouth. She met his tongue with her own and trembled again. He kissed her over and over, deeper and harder. All she could do was take the onslaught and surrender herself to the sensations pouring over her. Lord Nathaniel Kingsley was kissing her. Her! Patience Grey, the strange girl who wore breeches.
A large cry from outside followed by a groan broke the moment. Nate drew away, his breaths heavy. He kept her close while they both sucked in gulps of air in the warm storage cupboard. Perspiration clung to her skin.
Nate peered out of the gap in the door but she did not try to turn. She waited, flat against him, taking in everything that had just happened. After a while there was the sound of a door closing and she heard a muffled declaration of Magnus taking the maid to bed. They waited a while longer before Nate opened the door and took her hand once more.
He escorted them silently through the house and slipped out of the rear door and into the gardens. The rope remained swinging from the window and if she'd thought about it, she would have taken it down but even if Magnus noticed, they had taken nothing of importance—at least not to his knowledge.
Once they were well away from the house, Nate paused and took Patience in his arms. He kissed her on the lips once.
"We did it."
"Yes, we did," she agreed, picking up on Nate's infectious grin.
The carriage had obviously never tried to come for them as they did not spot it on their journey home. Thankfully the walk was not hard, even in her borrowed slippers, and the rain had eased off to a light drizzle. Her hair had likely been ruined by their encounter in the wine store so at least she had an excuse for her unseemly state.
Hand in hand they made their way to the house. The excitement swirling in her stomach had yet to abate and she did not think it would for a long while yet. They had completed their mission and Nathaniel Kingsley had kissed her. She could not say what that meant but she had little inclination to study it at present. For the time being she was going to enjoy the memory of a time she had reveled in being a woman.
Lamps still glowed in the windows of the house. Nate's friends had likely opted to remain up to watch over Pauline until their return. Joyce was up still too as she opened the door and began tutting over their damp state.
"Those drivers are terrible. They are so impatient," she said. "They'll never wait for anyone. Let me take your coats." She held out her hands as they unbuttoned their coats. "Oh, we have more visitors! Your brother, Miss Patience!"
Patience scowled. "Jacob?"
"Yes, that's the one." Joyce smiled. "He said you would be surprised to see him."
"I am, I thought he would still be abed, nursing his leg."
"Well, he looks in fine health to me," Joyce said.
What was Jacob doing here? Patience handed her pelisse to Joyce and strode into the drawing room. Sure enough, her brother sat next to Pauline, his leg propped up on a footstool with a cup of tea in hand. Knight and Drake stood near the fireplace, both looking as though they were still on guard.
He grinned when he saw her. "Patience! Christ, you're wearing a dress."
"Yes, Jacob, I am," she said tightly. "What are you doing here? Should you not be resting?"
"Well, the doctor said I was recovered enough to begin walking about again. Said the exercise would do me good."
"I am certain he likely meant a stroll down to the harbor, and not a trip to Falmouth."
Nate entered the room, the book still clutched in his hand. Pauline smiled when she saw it.
"You found the book then," she asked. "And with everything in it. See I was not lying."
"Yes, we have it," Nate said.
"Excellent news." Her brother eased himself up and limped over. "May I?"
Nate handed over the book, albeit reluctantly. Patience felt the same. This was their discovery, their work. She did not much feel like giving it to her brother.
Jacob leafed through the information, his expression growing more excited by the moment. "Perfect, perfect." He murmured. "Well, the good news is, I have come to rescue you."
"Recuse me?" Patience asked.
"Yes. You can all return home. Pauline has agreed to accompany me to Truro. From there we shall be setting her up with some protection and I shall get this information taken to London."
Patience glanced at Pauline who rolled her eyes. Somehow she suspected Pauline would not need protection. The woman had more wit than most men put together.
"You did not need to come," Patience protested. "We had it all in hand."
"As I can see." Jacob clapped Nate on the back. "You did a fine job of looking after my little sister, even if she is a little damp. Excellent gown, though. You almost look like a lady, Patience."
She gave him a hard, long glare then swiveled on her toes. "I am going upstairs to change."
Slamming the door shut behind her, she heard her brother ask Nate what on earth he had done wrong.
Everything, she thought as she stomped upstairs. He had come to steal her moment. He had teased her in front of everyone. He had assumed Nate had done all the work. None of them would ever see her as more than the tiny, silly, Patience Grey who could do nothing without the help of a man. She swiped away a tear of frustration and slammed the bedroom door shut.