A Lady Compromised (The Ladies) (12 page)

             
“I was with my editor and publisher, going over my next novel! It took ages and ages. And Sissy’s not supposed to answer the door at all. That’s probably why she was so nervous.”

             
“Well I assumed you were avoiding me, which is why I told Amelia that Mr. Rosewood was looking for you and that I was concerned and had her take the other servants to my townhouse. I told her I would follow later, with you.”

             
“What!” Lady Delia said, stilled with shock.

             
“I instructed her to take the two other servants to Durham House in Grosvenor Square. It is not safe for a household of nothing but women to remain alone and unprotected in the city like this with that maniac out to find you. You will all live at Durham House until the matter with Rosewood is settled.”

             
“Why of all the heavy-handed—“ Lady Delia began.

             
“Lady Delia,” Durham began, “Surely you can see the wisdom of relocating? You know what Rosewood is capable of as he has already demonstrated quite clearly. Do you want to risk anything happening to Amelia or Sissy or Martha?” Lady Delia frowned at him.

             
“Don’t try to pretend this—this--
abduction
is about protecting my staff. You are trying to bully me into your house!”

             
The Marquess grinned and put his hand to his heart.

             
“I confess I am guilty as charged! But would not you prefer to be safely ensconced in Durham House until this whole disagreeable episode has been put to rights? Under my protection, Mr. Rosewood is unlikely to discover you, and can be said to be quite incapable of harming you or forcing you to marry him and you need not worry about any violence that might happen upon your staff.”

             
“But how
can
I? I can’t be known to be living with a notorious rake! Not that I have much of a reputation left, but I do wish to marry someday. And I cannot think even
you
could be forgiven such a gross transgression.”

             
“No one need know for some weeks, Lady Delia,” the Marquess answered with attempted reasonableness. “It’s not as if you are able to go about town anyway, or Mr. Rosewood would surely immediately find you, and we cannot have that until we know how to disengage the guardianship. It is a safe place for you to stay for a few weeks until this business is all settled. And I feel I owe it to you, as it was my name that was used to ruin your reputation in the first place. I will find a way to repair the damage and ensure that Rosewood does not have the opportunity to get to you again. Please accept my offer. It is the least I can do.”

             
The Marquess had pled his case using all the reasonable arguments he could marshal and though Lady Delia could not help feeling that it was still quite improper to actually
live
in Durham House, she could at least acknowledge that the increased safety for herself and her maids was a not insignificant boon. She smiled a bit ruefully.

             
“It’s not an offer if you already behave as if I had accepted it!”

             
“I knew you would say yes.”

             
“You couldn't have.”

             
“I’m very persuasive.”

             
“That I cannot deny.”

             
“I told Amelia that my staff would return for your things tomorrow. Can I take it you have agreed to my suggestion?”

             
“You may take it that I have been persuaded by your ‘arguments’, namely; that I have no choice.”

             
“My dear Lady Delia, you have no choice because this is the only choice that ensures you and your staff’s safety. It cannot be long before Rosewood hears of your book and deduces that you are its author. And D.E. Mannering will be easy to find.” Delia sighed.

             
“I suppose you are right. I should have taken this house in a different name, I suppose. But how many pseudonyms must I have?”

             
“Which is why when you are safely at Durham House you will need none. My servants can be trusted with the utmost discretion.”

             
“Only Amelia knows who I really am.”

             
“Amelia can inform the others.”

             
“I suppose, but—“

             
“And now,” Durham said, standing up and gathering her into her arms, “it’s time for you to go to bed. You will likely have a rather longish day tomorrow.”

             
“And what on earth do you propose to do about that?”

             
“I will be spending the night here to ensure your well-being and to bring you back to Durham House in the morning.”

             
To own the truth, Durham had not planned to sleep at Lady Delia’s charming little house. But the thought of being completely alone with her, which he would not be at Durham House, twisted his stomach in a way he could not ignore. And he could not leave her alone.

             
“You will absolutely not stay in this house!” Lady Delia said as she squirmed in his arms while he climbed the stairs.

             
“I will sleep on the settee. Your virtue is safe with me.” Lady Delia gave an unladylike snort.

             
“That’s the most absurd thing you’ve said all evening.”

             
“Hush. I will prove it.”

             
It amazed Durham that this woman could stir up such feelings of protectiveness and desire in him while at the same time making him laugh. He toed open the door to her room and looked about before setting her down.

             
“I will light the lamp. Where are your nightclothes?”

             
“You shouldn’t even know of such things! And I will not be sleeping in this bed with you!”

             
“You are absolutely correct,” he said, eying her with undisguised lust. “Maybe you should sleep fully clothed in that gown, just to ensure you are as protected from me as possible. The last time I saw you in a nightgown, I nearly swallowed my tongue.” He ran his hands down her arms and gently cupped her bottom to bring her closer.

             
“Your behavior was reprehensible,” Delia choked out, needing to stop his caresses but wanting them desperately. She leaned into his body and he immediately pulled her tight up against him, pushing her belly close against his body and not caring if she felt how much he desired her. Her breasts crushed against his chest and she was unable to break away as he took her mouth again with drugging kisses.

             
“Tonight will be my punishment for my abysmal treatment of you at Washburn Court,” Durham said roughly. “I will stay here with you but I will not make you mine. It will be harder than you can know.” He sat on the bench at the foot of her bed, embroidered in pale jade velvet and pulled her to stand between his knees. “I promise you that I will stay tonight with you and that you will remain a virgin.” His pupils were so large that his eyes were blacker than the moonless night. “I swear to you.”

             
She swallowed and his gaze dropped to her breasts, which he devoured with his eyes until she turned away, embarrassed.

             
“I—I have no reason to believe you are capable of proper behavior,” she tried to keep her tone light but her voice cracked into a low, husky tone that betrayed her desire. 

             
“Though it will be the hardest thing I ever do, I will do this for you tonight,” the Marquess said. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her close, looking into her eyes. “I shall prove to you that I am truly sorry for how I behaved and that I do not think you are anything but a beautiful, virtuous maid and that I should never have accused you of anything dishonorable that night at Washburn Court.”

She opened her mouth to reply but he said with finality. “I will prove that I can wait for you.” His voice caught at the end and she looked at him, startled, with a question in her eyes before looking down. She could say nothing. She wanted to know what he meant but was too terrified of the answer to ask. He would wait for her for what?
To make love to her? Or something else?

             
“If you insist on staying with me,” she said with a deep breath, “Then I will take you at your word: you will leave me unmolested and we will consider the past forgotten. I will accept your apology and we will be as we were when I first met you at Washburn Court. With no hard feelings between us.”

             
“I remember when I first saw you,” Durham said, standing before her. He turned her away from him and lifted her long auburn curls, sweeping them to the front of her gown as he unbuttoned the first button down the back of her dress.

             
“You had come down the stairs at Washburn and I noticed how slim and beautiful your neck was. No tiresome ringlets all about your shoulders but only an elegant knot on your head, above the sweep of your head. I wanted to pull the knot out and see the waves of your hair cascading around the slender whiteness of your neck and shoulders You were wearing a gown that was so low in front it practically begged me to tug it down.”

             
“I most certainly was not!”

             
“Maybe I only imagined how low it was. You were so beautiful I had to keep myself from staring at you like a callow youth.” His nimble fingers had unbuttoned all of the buttons of her gown and then he was slipping it over her shoulders and it fell from the curve of her hip to pool at her feet. He ran his hands round her waist and then over her hips, molding them to his touch with fingers itching for more. His hands firm on her hips, he turned her around. “I will prove to you that you can trust me this night,” he said in a ragged whisper. “You will never need to fear that I will frighten you like I did that night. I will prove how sorry I am.” He swallowed hard and pushed her hair back to expose her neck and bent to kiss it.

             
“I will prove to you that you need never fear me again.” Mason kissed her neck and moved lower to the tops of her breasts, dropping light, hot kisses while holding her hips in his hands. Then he turned her around again to untie her petticoat. The soft silk fell with a swoosh to the floor and she shivered. Then he began to unlace her corset. As his fingers expertly loosened the laces, he continued to drop kisses on the back of her neck and his hair grazed her chin. He pulled the corset off and turned her around to see her clad only in a thin cotton shift.

             
The shapeless cotton fell past her knees and as he turned to face her, he drew apart the thin lacing that pulled her shift closed over chest. His hands drew it apart and he traced his fingers over the curves of the tops of her breasts, moving slowly down the sides. She shivered and he kissed her, taking her open mouth with his and pulling her nearly naked body against his fully clothed one, filling her with an overwhelming but unnamed desire. Her nearly naked curves against his body ignited a fire he feared he could not control. He pulled away.

             
“Where are your nightgowns?” he asked in a voice so raspy she could hardly understand.

             
“In the wardrobe,” she replied shakily as he crossed the small room to open the piece of furniture. He tossed several lacy underthings onto the floor until he found a nightgown of palest green silk with sheer lace over the breasts and silk panels that fell to the floor. She had ordered new underthings when she arrived in London to supplement the meager wardrobe she and Amelia had fled with and it had been sent by mistake. She had never worn it.

             
“Wear this,” Mason nearly growled as he brought it to her.

             
“But—but this is practically see through! It was sent by mistake! I have never even had it on! It will be as if I am naked!” Her voice was small but low and so filled with what he knew was lust—lust she did not yet understand—that he dared not touch her for fear he would not stop.

             
“Wear it,” he rasped. “I insist. It will prove to you that I can keep myself away from you despite any temptation.” He turned away for a moment to stop his hands from raking again over her body and then approached her. “I intend to keep my word to you. I am showing you that I am not a raving beast and will only do as you ask.” He held out the garment to her. “I regret that I cannot put it on you. That is asking too much. I will turn around while you change.”

             
Delia took the soft silk and gazed at him with slight trepidation. But he looked so earnest in his desperation to prove that he could keep away from her that she accepted his promise. He turned around and she quickly pulled the shift off and tugged the nightgown over her head. She looked down and gasped. The bodice was entirely lace and her breasts were clearly visible. The rose-pink of her aching nipples strained at the delicate filigree and her slender waist fit perfectly into the small opening where the lace met the panels of its silk skirt. The back was entirely open. With one long panel in the back, there were four long panels in the front that split open to the thigh, making the sides of her legs clearly visible and the panel in front split just below where her legs joined. She turned away from the Marquess just as he turned around and saw her exquisitely rounded bottom and naked back.