Chapter 11

Leopold had not expected Bethany to return so quickly, and he yanked the blanket about his body. He also wished she would have knocked, and he certainly did not appreciate that when she viewed his body she frowned. It was the third time that she had done so.

"Do you find something offensive with my person?"

She blinked. "Ummm…no…it's just that." Her face slowly turned red as the color started with the center of her cheeks and spread out, even down to her neck and chest.

"It just…it is…"

Leopold didn't know it was possible for a person to turn so red, unless they'd spent the entire day in the sun and by the water. As this was December, and she'd only been gone a short time, he knew that was not the cause.

"It is not important." She thrust a paper package at him. "This was delivered." She then set to straightening the bed and the pillows and then crossed to the settee.

He sat at the foot of the bed and tore open the paper, relieved to find clothing within. He and Merryweather had known each other a long time and he was likely to have found something that came close to fitting Leopold.

"Ale!" she announced a moment later.

"Ale?" He questioned.

"We need ale. It is Christmas Eve and we shall have ale."

Before he could stop her, Bethany once again quit the room.

Leopold just shook his head and then set about getting dressed. As he still would not be leaving this room, he only pulled on the shirt and trousers then left the suitcoat, waistcoat, and cravat on a chair.

It was a good thing that he was not leaving as there were no boots. But at least he was now clothed and could move about without embarrassment to himself or Bethany and with his body covered, there was no longer a reason for her to frown at his naked body.

Leopold reclined back on the bed, as he had been doing since his arrival.

He wouldn't mind an ale, or brandy, or even a wine. The surprise was that Bethany wanted the ale. Had looking at his body disturbed her more than he realized. It was bad enough that she frowned, did she now wish to drink enough to erase the image from her mind?

Leopold glanced down at his now clothed body. What was wrong with him?

Bethany seemed to take her time in returning, but when she did, she carried a tray laden with a pitcher of ale, two tankards and a loaf of bread.

"Bread to help from getting sick," she announced as she put the tray on the table. "Or so I've been told."

"It soaks up the ale and delays becoming drunk," Leopold corrected.

"Oh, I had not realized." Then Bethany shrugged and poured him a glass of ale and handed it to Leopold before pouring one for herself.

"How do you normally spend Christmas Eve, Your Grace?"

"Given the circumstances, should you not call me Leopold."

"It is far too intimate," Bethany answered and took a deep drink of the ale. Given she had hardly touched her breakfast, he hoped that she ate some of the bread.

"You have seen me naked four times. We are past concerns for intimacy."

"You are wrong. That was lack of modesty on your part, three times. The first was my error. Not intimate."

Bethany was acting very strange, and he was not certain why. Plus, her face was flushed, different from the blush she'd been wearing earlier.

"What else did you do when you went to retrieve the ale?" he asked with suspicion.

"While I was waiting, there were some men celebrating and they bought everyone in the taproom whiskey. After it was placed before me, I thought it only polite to drink it."

Leopold wanted to laugh, but he did not. "How many did you drink?"

"Just the two. I had not tried whiskey before and rather liked it."

She was also feeling the effects because she had not eaten, nor was she a large woman. It likely would not take much for Bethany to become inebriated. While he would never attempt a seduction while she was in this state, any conversation they may have could prove to be interesting and informative.

Each day alone with Leopold became more difficult, but perhaps it would be easier now that he was clothed.

Disappointing too.

Bethany chastised herself. She was a respectable miss, and should be pleased that he was finally no longer naked in her presence, though he had been quite spectacular to view.

She sighed and took a sip of ale.

What she hadn't anticipated was becoming quite relaxed from drinking whiskey, and warm in a way that had nothing to do with Claybrook being naked.

Tearing off a piece of bread, she ate it before drinking her ale only to note Leopold lying in the bed, pillows propped so that he sat straighter, and staring at her.

"Is something amiss?"

"No, nothing." The side of his mouth quirked before he took another sip of ale.

"Did you want to read any of the newssheet?"

"It would be rude to do so when the company is so charming."

Bethany nearly snorted.

Silence stretched before them for Bethany could think of nothing to say.

Leopold barely drank his ale, whereas half her glass was already gone. If she was not careful, she would get drunk and that would never do.

"May I ask you a question?" he said quietly.

"You may."

"Why do you frown when you look at my person?"

"I do not," she insisted. "You are quite handsome and pleasant to look upon."

The side of his mouth quirked again, and Bethany knew that she needed to think on her words carefully before speaking.

"You have only frowned when you have looked at me unclothed. I would like to know why."

There was a very good reason, but should she ask? "It is not that I find anything wrong," she explained. "It is a curiosity."

Leopold gave a slow nod, as if he understood, yet he did not.

"Why does it look different?" she blurted out.

"What looks different?" he asked slowly.

She may regret this question tomorrow, and it was likely she would not be able to look Leopold in the eye for some time, but she needed the answer.

"I have viewed statues and paintings and two of the times your appearance was almost similar to those."

He nodded for her to go on.

"But when I unwrapped you, it wasn't."

"It?"

"The, um..." what was it called? There was a name but she could not think of it, probably because she'd been told never to think on it or discuss it.

"My manhood?"

"Yes!"

The corner of his mouth began to quirk, or at least she thought so, but he took a drink so maybe she was mistaken.

"How was it different?"

"It seemed bigger and not as soft. Was I mistaken? I have no experience in these matters, and I am very curious."

"You were not mistaken, Bethany."

"Then after you kissed me, it seemed larger than before, yet when I came back from downstairs, it had shrunk again."

There was humor in his eyes as if he were trying not to laugh at her. But who else was she going to ask? Such a question could see her ruined.

"There is the normal state, and the other..." He stared into her eyes, his getting darker. "Desire."

Bethany frowned. "Desire? You were barely conscious when I unwrapped you from the blanket. Do gentlemen suffer from desire in such instances?"

This time one corner of his mouth quirked before he fully smiled. "I was very conscious and had a most tantalizing view down your bodice while you worked at the knots in the rope, first about my ankles and then around my chest."

Her face heated and Bethany looked down, then put a hand over the gape in her dress.

"I was desiring you, Bethany."

"And after you kissed me?"

"Yes, very much so, as you noticed."

She seemed to think on his words and recalled conversations she had overheard… "Oh!" At least she thought she understood. Often the conversations or comments she'd heard made little sense. Her eyes widened as she put it all together. So much was clearer now. "Oh!"

"Yes, Bethany." He chuckled. "Oh!"