Chapter 39

Thomas placed one hand on Victoria's back and the other in her own hand. Together, they glided around the ballroom. Thomas kept looking at her, taking in the soft features of her face, her bright eyes, and the way that the candlelight cast red hues in her lovely hair.

She was really here. Thomas knew she would be. Victoria had accepted his apology and agreed to marry him, but her easy acceptance of him still seemed impossible. He felt as if he would wake every morning and find that she had disappeared, like Eurydice from Orpheus.

"The next ball we attend, you will be Lady Bedford," Thomas said.

Victoria smiled. "I like the sound of that title because I will get to share it with you."

"I like how it sounds, too. You will be a wonderful Lady Bedford."

"There is much that I do not know about the ton," Victoria said, "but I promise that I will try to learn everything needed to be your lady."

"It is not your fault that you do not know what this world is like," Thomas said. "Your stepmother should have taught you about our world. It was your birthright."

"I know that, but I am determined to move forward with my life. I will no longer let my stepmother's treatment of me keep me chained to the past."

"I could not have forgiven her as easily as you did."

They lapsed into silence and simply danced. Every time Victoria's dress brushed against his legs, Thomas felt himself grow warm. His manhood was too aware of how closely he held her soft, slender body against his own. She moved so elegantly that Victoria left him nearly breathless. All their worries seemed to melt away as they danced.

Then, Victoria sighed softly. Her smile was gentle and kind. "I must forgive her," she said. "That is who I am."

"And I would never want to change that about you."

"Besides," Victoria replied, squeezing his hand. "All I want is you, and now, I have you. Even if my stepmother interfered in our romance, all her actions inevitably led me to you."

They swept around the dancefloor, and Thomas felt a swell of fondness for the young woman. "I want to spend the rest of the night dancing with you," he said.

"I find that agreeable."

Thomas spied Lord Ardenridge, gazing at them with such obvious confusion that Thomas had to stifle a laugh. "Good. I do not feel inclined to surrender you to Lord Ardenridge."

"I hope you do not," Victoria said, "but do not be unkind to Lord Ardenridge. I am certain that he was only courting me because my stepmother persuaded him to."

"Well, that is unfortunate for him."

Victoria smiled shyly at him. Thomas' eyes flitted down to her throat. When Victoria was praised, her body responded. A pink flush came over her cheeks and spread all the way to her chest. Thomas felt his grasp tighten just imperceptibly on Victoria. It took all his strength not to let his gaze linger on her full, pale breasts. "You are going to have the best wedding night," he murmured, leaning his head close to hers.

A startled gasp emerged from her lips. "My Lord!"

He chuckled. "It will not be as surprising as it is for some brides," he mused, "for you already know something of those pleasures. I will make it memorable, indeed, for you."

He traced a finger over her wrist. Through the thin silk of her gloves, he felt the heat of her skin and her strong pulse thrumming. He imagined that her heart beat as quickly as his own with anticipation of the wedding night.

"There is no need to wait," Victoria said. "We could leave the dancefloor this moment and find some more secluded place."

Thomas grinned. "But I think the anticipation will be better," he said. "That will make the wedding night more exciting if you are forced to wait for it."

Victoria wrinkled her nose. "You are being cruel," she said without any heat.

The song ended, and they halted. Victoria's breath came in quick, hot breaths of air. Thomas did look, then, at her breasts. Her chest heaved with exertion, whether by the dancing or the thought of their future sexual encounters was difficult to say. Maybe it was both.

"If I am being cruel, it is to myself as well as you," Thomas said. "You have no idea how badly I want you at this very moment."

Victoria's smile became sly. "I think I do know," she said, lowering her voice. "How kind of you to think of my virtue at a time such as this."

The first few notes of the next song began, and Thomas arched an eyebrow. "Shall we?" he asked.

They brought their bodies together once more, and as the music flitted through the ballroom, they began to dance again. "I will teach you," Thomas said suddenly, picking up the thread of their earlier conversation.

"Teach me?" she echoed.

"How to be a lady," he clarified. "You mentioned that you do not know everything you need to be Lady Bedford. I will teach you. I was thinking of stepping away from the business—or at least, reducing my time at work anyway."

"Oh! For me?"

"Yes."

It was almost amusing how adamant Thomas had been about the business. Sure, there had been some practical reasons for his devotion to the family business, and he did truly enjoy the fruits reaped from hard work. However, it had never occurred to him that a man might seek to work less simply to spend more time with his wife. Not until Victoria, at least.

"Provided that you find that agreeable," Thomas said. "I imagine that I will hire some good men to manage the finer details for me, and I will spend my time teaching you what is needed of a lady and … and the rest."

"The rest?"

"Well, I shall have to support your career as an aspiring playwright."

Victoria chuckled and shook her head. "We have not even heard the decision from the patrons yet. I may not be any manner of playwright once we hear their decision."

"If they do not believe that your play is worth producing, I shall have to pay to produce it myself," Thomas replied. "That is no matter."

"That would be a great deal of money," Victoria said.

Thomas chuckled and shook his head. "Not so much money. Not to us."

They danced together, Thomas admiring how the candlelight looked when it flickered against the white fabric of Victoria's gown. He was near enough to see the delicate white-on-white embroidery that the seamstress had added.

Thomas wondered if her chemise had similar embroidery. After he and Victoria had reconciled, Thomas had purchased many new gowns for Victoria, as befit a young lady. The garments were all in the latest styles and tasteful. She no longer looked like a woman wearing gowns that had been fashionable in a previous decade.

"Will I have the same troupe if you are paying for the performance?" Victoria asked.

"Certainly. And after the show, perhaps we will have a private showing in my study."

Victoria's face flushed like a rose in full bloom. "You do not need to remind me of that. I thought I was so seductive and smart," she said. "I feel foolish thinking about it now."

"You should not feel foolish. I was quite charmed," Thomas said.

Admittedly, the memory was not entirely devoid of humour. Thomas remembered the dramatic and unintentionally humorous way that Victoria had endeavoured to undress herself. Most of the humour, though, was secondary to the sight of Victoria's heavenly body being slowly revealed to him.

His trousers were too tight, and Thomas inhaled sharply. He was already questioning the wisdom of his decision not to engage in love-making with Victoria until their wedding night.

"I am glad that you were charmed," Victoria said, "but I do not think I have a career as an actress in the future. I will remain a writer and nothing more."

That might be less complicated for Thomas. He could only imagine what the ton would say if he chose to marry an actress; he did not envy Samuel the gossip that would arise if his dalliance with Loralie became something more serious.

"A scandalous writer," Thomas mused.

The ton had never seen someone quite like her. Thomas' lips twitched in amusement. His father had agreed to his marriage with Victoria and encouraged him even, though he did not know about the salacious plays that Victoria penned.

Thomas remembered with a great deal of satisfaction the theatre patrons' disbelieving and delighted gasps as Loralie's character of Lady Constance had engaged into a rather scandalous scene with Henry's character of Lord Belmont. Worse, Thomas had found himself so moved by the unexpected scene that he had wanted to slip into the shadows of the wings and engage in some intimate acts with Victoria right then.

They continued dancing throughout the night. Thomas was aware of everything about Victoria—her rose oil scent, her warmth, and the soft, muffled sound of her gown brushing against his trousers. It was as if he and Victoria were the only two people in the ballroom. All the other faces fell away. "I love you," Thomas murmured.

"I love you, too."

"And I will always love you," Thomas said.

When the music halted, he and Victoria remained near one another. Thomas tilted his head towards Victoria, who, bracing her hands on his forearms, rose onto the tips of her toes. Her lips met his, and lightning jolted through Thomas' veins. He kissed her back with equal fervour. They were in the ballroom, surrounded by members of the ton. They were probably watching and gossiping, but Thomas could not bring himself to care.

He pulled Victoria flush against him, so their bodies collided. Victoria moaned breathily into his mouth. They kissed and kissed, and only when the next song began did they break away.

"Did you announce our engagement yet?" Victoria asked between gasps of air. "People might have questions if you did not."

A laugh tore from Thomas' throat. "I mentioned it to a couple of people. I would not exactly call it a formal announcement, though."

"Our first scandal," Victoria said, "and we are not even wed yet."

Thomas was still trying to decide if he cared that there were scandals or not. No, that was not quite true. He worried about scandals only if they might upset Victoria, and she did not seem especially concerned about the ton noticing their kiss at the dance's end. If she were not upset, he would not be either.

"If we have already had a scandal, I suppose we might as well make it worthwhile," Thomas said.

He drew her in for another kiss, savouring her lips against his. Victoria wrapped her arms around his neck and drew herself even closer and more tightly to him. He kissed her before the whole ton, and he did not care who saw. Victoria was to be his wife, and in two weeks, that meant he could kiss her as much as he wanted. As much as she wanted.

Thomas had never imagined that he could love a woman so much, but it felt as though he felt far more than he had ever thought possible. This was Victoria, who was bright and talented. She was unlike any woman he had ever met, and Thomas felt as if he had always longed for her and just had not known. And to think that he had once believed love was a distraction from business!

As Thomas basked in her presence, having promised to work less and spend more time with her, he found himself feeling complete in a way that he never had been. This was not the ending he had always imagined for himself. Instead, it was even better.