CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Upon receiving Lord Reculver’s instructions, Mr Longhope senior immediately made an appointment for William to make his deposition on the following afternoon. Afterwards, with less argument than might have been the case had it not started to rain, Daniel sent William and his mother back to Cirencester in a hired chaise with a firm handshake and an expression of genuine gratitude.

But once in his own carriage, he stared silently out upon on the rain, his face tight with something Anna couldn’t interpret but suspected was the price of maintaining a fa?ade of courtesy and composure throughout what must have been a deeply disturbing afternoon. After a little while, she slipped her hand into his and felt his fingers close around hers. But it wasn’t until they were half-way home that he finally spoke.

‘Am I doing the right thing?’

‘About what, exactly?’

‘Keeping all this from Mama. If I told her, I could actually prosecute Grimshaw rather than bluffing that I’m going to.’

‘True,’ she agreed. ‘But it isn’t just your mother you are trying to protect, is it? There’s Rebecca, with her debut just around the corner and William’s mother who has to face her neighbours; and finally, there’s all the money your father spent to keep it secret. So what you have to decide is whether putting Grimshaw in prison is worth the cost.’

He shut his eyes, sighing. ‘When you put it like that … no. It isn’t. But I don’t like grubbing about in the shadows. It makes me feel no better than Basil bloody Selwyn.’

‘That’s ridiculous and you know it,’ said Anna bracingly. ‘You’re trying to do your best for everyone with the least possible harm to anyone. Take William, for example. He probably expected resentment, disdain and a blatant wish to have nothing to do with him. But you offered him your hand and called him your brother.’

‘Well, regardless of the circumstances, he is my brother, isn’t he? And none of this is his fault.’

‘ No , Daniel! Don’t dismiss it as nothing. It’s not. I was proud of you.’

‘Were you?’ He opened his eyes, revealing a mixture of weariness, surprise and shy pleasure. ‘Really?’

‘Yes – really.’

For a moment or two longer, he continued to look at her. Then, pulling her into his arms and laying his cheek against her hair, he whispered, ‘Thank you.’

***

‘I presume,’ said the dowager, as they sat down to dine, ‘you haven’t forgotten that our dinner-party is on Saturday? I ask because the two of you seem barely to be here these days.’

‘My apologies, Mama,’ replied Daniel absently. ‘It’s been a busy time, one way and another. But of course Anna and I will be here for your party.’

‘I’m glad to hear it. And not just in the evening, I hope. I’ll need your advice on the place settings, Anna. Mrs Ashworth doesn’t get on with the vicar … and Rebecca is being difficult about sitting next to Reginald Yates.’

‘I’m not being difficult, Mama,’ said Rebecca. ‘I just won’t do it. He was at Lady Holden’s afternoon dance and his hands go where they shouldn’t.’

Daniel glanced up from his plate, ‘If he behaves that way here, I’ll be having a few words with him. Ones he won’t enjoy.’

Rebecca beamed at him. ‘Thank you. Can I listen?’

‘No.’ And he continued eating.

In addition to the air of abstraction that had been clinging to Daniel since they’d said goodbye to William and his mother, Anna became aware of something else. Every time she looked in his direction, his gaze seemed to be fixed on her – though he looked away the instant her eyes met his. The first, she could understand. The second, she couldn’t. If something other than the Grimshaw affair was on his mind she had no idea what it might be – unless some new possibility had occurred to him and he was waiting for an opportunity to discuss it.

The latter seemed the likelier possibility when he followed her up to their rooms later – except that, once there, he didn’t say anything and neither, as had become his habit since Hazelmere, did he kiss her lightly on the cheek and bid her goodnight. Instead, he followed her as far as her bedchamber door, drew her fully into his arms said softly, ‘May I come in and … perhaps stay?’

Anna’s heart tried to leap into her throat. Swallowing hard, she nodded and managed to say, ‘Of course.’

He drew a long breath. ‘Thank you.’

Inside her room with the door closed behind them, Daniel was suddenly at a loss … as if he’d never done this before. And in a sense he hadn’t, had he? Anna wasn’t some woman with whom he was having a fleeting affair. She was his wife; so whatever turn their relationship took tonight would be a significant one. Reaching out to take one of her hands in his, he said haltingly, ‘We don’t have to make love if you don’t wish it, Anna. But I would like to sleep with you tonight – if that would be all right?’

His uncertainty surprised her. His desire not to be alone didn’t.

Whatever nerves she might have evaporated.

She said, ‘It would be very much all right.’

‘It would? Really?’

‘Yes. Really.’

Daniel opened his mouth but closed it again when several thoughts collided. He would have preferred to ask her not to ring for her maid and allow him to help her undress but he suspected she wouldn’t be comfortable with that. Belatedly, it also occurred to him where doing so was likely to lead … and that he’d promised her a choice. So he said, ‘Then I’ll leave you and return in a little while, shall I?’

Anna would have been more than happy to dispense with Ruth’s services but didn’t quite know how to suggest it – or what his reaction would be if she did. So she nodded and said, ‘Yes. Please do.’

When the connecting door closed behind him, she pulled the bell for Ruth and sank down on the stool by her mirror to begin stripping pins from her hair with hands that weren’t entirely steady.

Perhaps I ought to have told him that if he wants to do more than merely sleep with me, I’d welcome it , she thought. He doesn’t have to know that I love him with every fibre of my being and that I want to lie with him more than I’ve ever wanted anything .

Anything? asked a little voice at the back of her mind. Even Hawthorne’s?

She knew what the answer to that was. Fortunately, Ruth arrived before she was forced to acknowledge it.

The nightly ritual followed its usual course until Anna saw the nightgown Ruth had laid out for her and said, ‘No. Not that one. The embroidered lawn with the lace trim.’

The maid froze for a second to stare at her. Then, turning away to hide a smile while she located the required garment, ‘Yes, my lady.’ And not quite under her breath, ‘About time, too.’

‘What was that?’ asked Anna, sharply.

‘Nothing, my lady.’ With a perfectly straight face, Ruth cast the nightgown over her head, tied the ribbons and stepped back. ‘Although, if you was to want my opinion – ’

‘I don’t, thank you. That will be all, Ruth.’

‘Yes, ma’am.’ She curtsied and, over her shoulder on her way to the door, ‘The braid’s a mistake. It’d be better loose.’ Then she was gone.

Anna told herself to ignore Ruth’s parting shot. She told herself that leaving her hair loose would suggest she was expecting something Daniel wasn’t offering. She tried to stay away from the mirror … but couldn’t resist one quick peek. Then, with a groan of self-disgust, she tugged the ribbon away, shook the braid loose and was just reaching for a brush when a tap at the connecting door told her she could do one of two things; smooth her hair or pull on her chamber-robe. She chose the latter whilst telling Daniel to come in; and, when he had done so, realised that she had no idea what to say.

He was wearing the banyan she’d seen once before but, this time – disappointingly – the deep vee of naked flesh was hidden beneath a nightshirt. His preparations for spending the night in her bed were the opposite of hers for wanting him to, it seemed.

Daniel took in the flowing hair and what he could see of the nightgown’s sweeping, lace-trimmed neckline and tempting little bows and tried to quell an involuntary quiver of anticipation, sternly reminding himself that those things didn’t necessarily mean what he’d like them to mean. A little abruptly, he said, ‘I think you should know that my being here is nothing to do with anything except that I want to be.’

She shook her head. ‘You don’t need to explain. I’m glad you’re here. Today was difficult. What lies ahead of it isn’t likely to be any better. So in future, even if there is no particular reason … perhaps you won’t feel you must ask for permission?’

The hazel eyes widened a little and the ghost of a smile dawned.

‘You may regret that offer – so I’ll accept it before you do. But if I keep you awake, you must tell me to go.’

‘And if I keep you awake?’

I’m fairly sure you will , thought Daniel ruefully, just not in the way you mean . And there’s a simple cure for that which I’m hoping to work my way around to. But he said lightly, ‘I don’t think you need worry about that.’ He strolled across to give her a brief hug. Then, with what he hoped was a convincing grin, ‘But… do you think we might leave the bolster where it belongs?’

Anna managed a tiny laugh. ‘Yes. I can’t believe I actually thought you were serious when you suggested it that first time at Mama’s house.’

‘And I can’t believe I was stupid enough,’ he said, only half under his breath. ‘Well, then … with that agreed, let’s get some sleep, shall we?’

She nodded, shed the chamber-robe and slid quickly between the sheets, to watch surreptitiously as Daniel moved around the room, extinguishing candles and tossed his banyan aside before blowing out the one beside the bed. Then the mattress shifted as he climbed in beside her … and unexpectedly reached through the dark for her hand.

A few moments later, he said, ‘Thank you for today. You were right about everything and I couldn’t have done it without you.’

‘You’d have managed. Somehow.’

‘Perhaps. If I’d had to. But I’m grateful that I didn’t.’ There was a long pause. Then, wearily, ‘You can’t imagine how glad I will be to have Grimshaw out of our lives.’

Lacing her fingers with his, Anna said, ‘Oh I think I can. But “sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” So don’t think of him now. Goodnight.’

‘Goodnight,’

***

Both being acutely aware of the other, neither of them expected sleep to come easily and it didn’t. But Anna succumbed first and eventually Daniel fell into fitful slumber only to wake an hour or so after dawn to the scent of lavender and a warm, female body pressed against his side. This was so enjoyable that he didn’t engage his brain beyond telling himself that he wasn’t dreaming. He just sighed, gathered her closer and tried not to become fully conscious. He might have managed this had Anna not slid her leg across his. But she did … and Daniel was immediately wide awake in both mind and body.

He gritted his teeth and, realising that merely remaining still wasn’t going to help, started disengaging himself from her so that he could get out of bed. Anna made a little sound of complaint and, still in her sleep as far as he could tell, reached out to pull him back. His breath caught and he froze for an instant before temptation sent all his good intentions into oblivion.

Gathering her into his arms, he set about waking her with butterfly-light kisses along her brow while one hand smoothed a path back and forth between shoulder and elbow. And then, when her eyes fluttered open and focussed on his face, he sought her mouth in a kiss that he somehow managed to make an invitation rather than a demand. And Anna, becoming aware that what she had wanted was within her grasp, tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him back with all the love that was in her. Daniel gave a tiny growl of approval and turned her slightly so he could explore the intoxicating curve of her waist and hip. Her body arched, pressing against him and making him as aware of his physical state as, presumably by now, so must she be.

Breaking the kiss and, by some superhuman effort managing to stop himself sliding a thigh between hers, Daniel said raggedly, ‘I didn’t intend this to happen. Do you want me to stop? If you do, tell me and I will. At any point … though it would be easiest for me if you said so now.’

‘No,’ Anna managed breathlessly. ‘I don’t want you to stop.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’ She locked her gaze with his. ‘Don’t. Please.’

He gave a shaky laugh and, releasing her, sat up to tug at his nightshirt.

‘In that case, you won’t mind if I get rid of this thing?’ Without waiting for a reply, he pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. ‘And, pretty as it is, yours can go too whenever you feel ready. But for now …’

He drew her back into his arms and kissed her again. Oddly, since desire was roaring through his blood with the force of a hurricane, he found he could control it by focussing on Anna’s needs rather than his own. He began by learning the landscape of her body through the flimsy stuff of her nightgown; then, by dint of sliding if off a shoulder or up a shapely calf, set about disposing of it altogether.

However, he was increasingly distracted by Anna exploring his chest, shoulders and back with both mouth and hands and eventually, on something half-laugh, half-groan, he said, ‘You have an unfair advantage here. Let me even the field.’

And taking hold of her nightgown, tugged it off and sent it in the wake of his nightshirt. Then, pulling her fully against him skin to skin, ‘Ah yes. That’s better.’

Anna’s blood was flowing through silken channels and alive with little, dancing sparks which flared, intermittently, into flame. Everything about him was new and fascinating. The slight raspiness of his jaw and the faint citrus scent of his cologne; the heat of his skin and, beneath it, the play of muscles in his arms and shoulders; and, most of all, that part of him which she hadn’t yet seen but which she could feel nudging eagerly at her thigh. She had thought she’d known how much she wanted him. Now, melting in his arms and beneath the clever play of his touch, she realised that she’d had no idea.

Presently, she said, ‘What should I do?’

‘Whatever you wish,’ came the reply as his hands travelled tantalisingly onwards. And, seductively low-pitched as his mouth trailed after them, ‘Or you could just leave it to me while I learn what you like best. This, for example.’ His tongue swirled around the tip of her breast while his fingers grew bold elsewhere, making her gasp and writhe. ‘Yes. That’s … helpful.’ Then, a little while later when Anna’s hands grew similarly adventurous, ‘Ah. Right now, that probably isn’t.’

She froze. ‘You don’t like it?’

‘Rather too much,’ he managed to say. And hauling in a steadying breath, added, ‘I should probably admit that I may not be able to make this last as long as I would like. It’s been … a while. And I want you rather … ferociously.’

Without warning, the words turned the flames that had been flickering through Anna’s blood into a conflagration. The ability to think fled before the tumult of unfamiliar sensations he was creating in her body; sensations that seemed to be multiplying by the second and building towards something she wanted yet was faintly alarmed by.

Twisting restlessly against him, she said, ‘Daniel … I don’t … I can’t …’

‘I know, sweetheart. It’s all right. Let it come.’ Somewhere at the back of his mind, was the realisation that she didn’t know what he meant and wouldn’t even if he told her, so he used his mouth and hands to better purpose until the storm inside her reached its peak and she clung to him, breathless and shaking.

Although it was killing him, he continued to hold her until the little aftershocks ceased. Then he murmured, ‘The next part won’t be quite so enjoyable for you, I’m afraid; but only this one time, I promise.’

He was right; and then, in scarcely any time at all, he wasn’t.

Discomfort faded and was forgotten.

All that was left was a feeling of completeness; joy of finally being his; and the wonder of knowing that she had given him pleasure.

‘God, Anna,’ he breathed when he was capable of saying anything at all. ‘That was … I don’t know. Thank you.’

***

They slept for perhaps an hour and then Anna awoke, still wrapped in Daniel’s arms. Grinning down at her, he said, ‘Back with me, are you?’

‘Yes. How long have you been awake?’

‘Not long. I thought about getting up … then asked myself why I’d want to do that when it’s so nice here with – ’ He came to an abrupt stop, looking appalled. ‘Damn. I’m being unforgivably selfish, aren’t I? Wallowing in my own well-being instead of asking how you are.’

‘I’m fine,’ said Anna. And thought, Better than fine. I could dance on the roof-tops.

‘It was your first time.’ He surveyed her anxiously. ‘I tried not to hurt you but I probably did. Are you sore? Shall I ring for a bath? Or do you want your maid?’

‘Stop.’ Sitting up, she smoothed a lightly curling lock of auburn hair back from his face and smiled at him. ‘I’m fine. Really. No, I don’t want Ruth but a bath sounds nice so I suppose I must have her. Will that stop you fussing?’

‘I’m not fussing.’

‘You are.’ And wickedly, ‘It’s rather sweet actually.’

‘ Sweet? ’ he echoed, revolted.

Anna nodded. ‘Yes. But don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.’

~**~**~

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