Educating Elizabeth (24 page)

More than a little subdued by this information, Elizabeth accepted the soft leather pouch Angelique pressed into her hands.

"Elizabeth, I don't think Gervase will let you go easily. He is a very possessive man." Elizabeth tried to interrupt as Angelique pulled her from the bed and crossed to the door, a mischievous smile on her face. "I'll wager that not even you will find it possible to escape him." She winked at Elizabeth as they descended the stairs. "And why would you want to leave him? Even at nineteen he was truly an exceptional lover."

The duke awaited them at the bottom of the stairs and his dry voice floated up to them. "Thank you for the belated compliment, Angelique. I hope Elizabeth will take heed of your recommendation."

Elizabeth ignored the duke's looming presence in the small cluttered hallway and turned to give Angelique a hug. "Thank you for your guidance. I will be sure to remember it."

The duke didn't speak until they were well on their way back to Delamere House. He threaded his phaeton neatly through a crowded cattle market that had spilled over onto the surrounding streets and then turned to glance at her averted profile. "What did Angelique give you, my dear?"

Elizabeth clutched her reticule closely to her chest and glared at him. "Nothing that need concern you, Your Grace."

He gathered the reins into one gloved hand as the carriage slowed to climb a slight incline and she caught a glimpse of his amused smile. "I asked Angelique to advise you about avoiding pregnancy, my dear. It is scarcely a secret that I don't wish for any more children."

"Well that suits me nicely, Your Grace, for I don't intend to put myself in the way of getting any bastards from you in the near future." Elizabeth snapped.

They were nearly at the door of Delamere House and the duke slowed his horses with a quiet command. Before Elizabeth could react, he caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips.

"Tut, tut, Elizabeth, such language from a lady. You will give me palpitations." His grip tightened and he bit gently on the exposed skin at her wrist. "We will continue this discussion tonight in the privacy of your bed and maybe find other and more interesting ways to come to an agreement."

"No..." She wrenched her hand away, breathing hard and fumbled for the door of the phaeton. His eyes flashed a storm warning and he opened his mouth as though to command her to stay but stopped when a footman ran to her aid. She didn't wait for him to come around the carriage and hand her down, but ran for the safety of the house with all the speed she could muster.

*** *** ***

After a restorative half an hour in her bedchamber, Elizabeth tiptoed down the stairs and made her way to Sir John's study. Sir John glanced up as she appeared and rose to his feet.

"I was a little harsh with you this morning, Mrs. Waterstone. I wish to beg your pardon." He cleared his throat noisily. "When I happened to glance at the code again this afternoon I realized it was not that simple after all."

Elizabeth gave him a perfunctory smile and unlocked her desk with the key that the duke had given her, which she wore around her neck. The scrap of parchment looked back at her, an intriguing mystery just waiting to be solved.

"How did you get into my desk to look at the code, Sir John? I thought that the duke and I were the only people who had a key."

Sir John produced his red notebook with a flourish and tapped it with his index finger. "You may recall, Mrs. Waterstone that I sometimes copy the more intriguing parts of the code into my little book to ponder at my leisure." He replaced the book in his pocket and favored her with a warm smile. "Don't fear for the book's safety, ma'am. I carry it on my person at all times."

Elizabeth nodded, already dismissing him from her mind as the code beckoned. She soon forgot about her dinner and her impending confrontation with the duke and was only roused from her intense concentration by the booming of the hall clock striking twelve midnight. She sat back in her chair and stretched her shoulders. The inked script started to lift from the parchment and twirl and dance in front of her eyes.

There was no sign of any of the duke's household as she lit a single candle and made her way up to bed. Her slippered feet scarcely made a sound on the thickly carpeted passageways. She opened her door and came to an abrupt halt. Gervase sat with his back to her by the fireside, long legs stretched out toward the dying embers.

Elizabeth drew in a determined breath and walked around the back of the chair, hands on hips, to confront her unwelcome visitor. Her gaze softened as she saw he was asleep, his lax fingers wrapped around a book, his cravat loosened at his throat. She leaned forward and carefully removed his spectacles from his nose. He looked as tired as she felt and she had no intention of disturbing his rest.

She blew him a kiss and whispered, "Good night, Your Grace," before undressing and slipping into bed. Her last anxious thought, as sleep claimed her, was what she would do if the duke awoke before her. Too tired to worry about him, and strangely unperturbed by the thought of his closeness, she surrendered to the night.

"How dare you!"

As Elizabeth advanced toward the duke's desk, Nicholas got swiftly out of the way. Gervase leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and stared up at her, his expression faintly inquiring.

"What is it,
ma belle
?"

"You..." Elizabeth threw the soft, velvet pouch at his unprotected head. His hand shot out and he caught it before it hit him. Denied the pleasure of assaulting him, Elizabeth was reduced to stamping her foot. "How dare you leave that on my pillow!"

The duke raised an eyebrow and waved Nicholas away. "I don't understand why you are so upset, my dear." He glanced down at the pouch and tossed it between his hands, releasing the soft chink of the coins within. "It is customary for a man to pay his mistress when he is pleased with her."

Elizabeth snorted and sat down with an unladylike thump. "You already pay me a wage, Your Grace. I don't need this." She gestured with disgust at the pile of gold coins the duke tipped out of the purse.

The duke began to stack the gold coins as he considered her. "Why does it offend you, Elizabeth? You obviously have a use for the money. You asked me recently for an advance on your wages."

Elizabeth gulped as she gazed at his cynical expression. "Is that why you think I went to bed with you--for money?"

"I'm not sure." He paused. "Did you?"

Her gaze dropped to the desk where the stack of coins leaned toward the duke's clenched fist. "I went to bed with you because I wanted you to be the first man who touched me." She winced at the flare of disbelief in his eyes. "I decided to take your advice and ask my next protector for money."

The duke's hand relaxed. "If I understand you correctly, you are saying that you chose to sleep with me for more, shall we say, sentimental reasons, before moving on to a new protector whom you would feel more comfortable taking money from."

Elizabeth cringed. Put like that, she sounded mercenary, but she couldn't dispute the bare bones of the truth. She nodded, and kept her eyes on his hands, not daring to look at him for fear of his contempt.

He leaned forward and suddenly knocked the tower of coins over with the back of his hand. He hit them with such force that two of them spiraled through the air and landed in her lap. He shot to his feet and strode over to the window, keeping his back to her.

"I did wonder, Elizabeth, if your timely surrender was an attempt to extort the money from me." He swung around to face her, his gray eyes hard, his voice soft. "I also wondered if you chose to tempt me beyond reason as a form of revenge."

She lifted her chin and stared back at him. "You are mistaken, Your Grace. I had no thoughts of greed or revenge when I came to your bed, only curiosity." She shrugged back the tears that crowded her throat and tried to smile as she got to her feet. "As I've achieved my ambition, I will make sure that my bags are packed and that I'm ready to leave at your convenience."

A sudden rush of tears blurred her retreat and she only realized Gervase had come up behind her when she was unable to open the door.

"I don't want you to go, Elizabeth. I want you in my bed."

She leaned her forehead against the door panel as he bent to kiss the nape of her neck. His harsh, quick breathing mirrored her own. "I fear that we are at cross purposes,
ma belle
." His lips traveled up to her ear. "What if I told you that I left you the money because I wanted to give you a reason to stay with me? Would you stay?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes as the temptation to give into his demands engulfed her. She sighed as he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. She raised an unsteady hand to caress his cheek and he captured her fingers and held them there.

"I will stay until the code is broken and the assassin is caught, Your Grace, but I don't want any more money, like this, from you. I will stay because it pleases me to stay, not for financial gain."

"It pleases me, Elizabeth. I will endeavor to prove worthy of you."

His mouth descended, claiming her in a deep, possessive kiss that left her clutching his shoulders and leaning weakly against him. She bit back a sigh when he raised his head and stepped away. He grimaced, ran a hand through his hair and glanced down at the bulge of his cock.

"I wish that I had the time to take you upstairs and show you how much I appreciate you, but I'm due at the Foreign Office in an hour."

Elizabeth drew in a shaky breath and smoothed down her gown. "I've work to do as well, Your Grace. The code is proving particularly difficult to break."

Gervase swept her a bow. "Well then, my dear, I suggest that you leave me to make myself presentable and go do battle with the code."

*** *** ***

Gervase closed his book with a snap and glanced at the library clock. It was past midnight and yet a light still glowed in the shadows of Sir John's office. He rose to his feet, stretched the tiredness from his shoulders, and strolled through the concealed door toward Elizabeth's desk.

He leaned against the doorframe and studied the intense figure at the desk. Elizabeth had a frown between her brows and a quill pen poised over a piece of parchment. Unnoticed, Gervase moved closer and looked over her shoulder. From the amount of scribbling, he deduced her latest attempt to break Le Fleur's code was not progressing well.

Gervase laid his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and registered the tension in her muscles. He squeezed and relaxed his fingers and she tried to shake his hand off. Gervase stilled as the warmth of her scent drifted up to tantalize and revitalize his tired senses. "Elizabeth, it is time for bed."

She barely glanced at him, her attention all on the page in front of her. Gervase suppressed a smile. It occurred to him that he didn't like to be ignored and was not used to it from the woman who occupied his bed.

"Elizabeth." He made his tone commanding. "I want to go to bed, preferably with you."

This time she did look up. She gave him a rather perfunctory smile and pushed her spectacles higher up her nose. "You run along, Your Grace. I will join you shortly. I just need to finish this piece."

Without bothering to reply, Gervase picked up one of the long goose-feather quills from the desk and ran his fingertips along the taut edge of the feather. He moved closer to Elizabeth and touched the tip of the feather to her earlobe and down the nape of her neck. He followed the feather's path with the tip of his tongue.

She shivered slightly but still refused to look up. With renewed intention, Gervase angled the feather to dip toward the front of her bodice. He sat sideways on the desk and used his finger and thumb to unhook the pearl buttons on the severely cut green velvet of her bodice. Her chemise and corset appeared and his breath shortened as he allowed the feather to caress the enticing swells and tips of her breasts. As he flicked the quill in an endless circling pattern over her exposed skin, he was gratified to see her nipples begin to tighten.

He breathed against her neck, an invitation and a command. "Let me touch you,
ma belle
, let me inside you."

She sighed and her quill pen dropped from her fingers. He gathered it up to double his sensual assault. Her head fell back against his waistcoat, allowing him to caress her throat and then her mouth with his kisses and soft touches. He slid further up the desk, taking her weight into his arms, loosening her stays and completely baring her breasts to his hungry mouth.

When her hands came up to clutch his shoulders and she began to kiss him back, he angled her to lie beneath him on the desk and pulled up her skirts. She made no further protest about her work as he opened his breeches, plunged inside of her and reminded her of her other obligations.

He waited until she had moaned her pleasure into his mouth before he realized he wanted more. "Elizabeth, hold on to me. We will finish this upstairs. I want you naked." He lifted her from the desk in one easy motion and smiled as she gasped when his shaft was forced even deeper inside her.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth shut her eyes and clung to the duke as he mounted the stairs, each jolting step pooling low in her stomach, making her arch into him in a wordless plea. He began to breathe more harshly as they reached the top of the stairs but she didn't think it was because he was disturbed by her weight.

He stopped as she started to spasm around him again and his hand came up to cover her mouth. With a soft curse, he drew her into the shadows of the massive landing window and the concealment offered by the thick velvet curtains. Her back hit the paneled wall as he braced her against it and placed his hands on either side of her head. As her body, released from his hold, slid downwards, he surged upwards, concentrating her whole weight on where they were joined. She fought back a scream as his mouth covered hers, his tongue driving into her as his body drove into her.

With the last remnant of his sanity, he remembered that he had to withdraw and pulled out. His hands moved blindly to support her hips as he spilled himself into oblivion.