Lord Greyton's Fall From Grace (Lords of Avalon Novella Series) (4 page)

Owen laughed heartily and covered Grace’s hand with his. “It is so refreshing to hear that from you, Grace, for that is exactly how I feel
about London
.”
Many marriage minded women of the ton desired to spend as much time in London amon
g society as they could. It pleased him to
find that Grace preferred to stay at home in Hartland over going to London.
He realized how well-suited he and Grace truly were
.

They walked a long way along the path
.
They spoke of their favorite books, their favorite songs, their favorite games and pastimes. They recalled some of their antics when they played together as children.
They laughed a great deal.

Owen
noted how far
they had walked and
reasoned
they
should
turn back
.
He realized he and Grace
were
alone on the cliff top
.
There was not another
soul in sight for miles around
. T
he phaeton was
out of
view
for they currently stood in a spot
o
n the cliff
that
dipped
lower than where
he left
his conveyance
and
Grace’s maid
.

“We bes
t make our way back
.
Our chaperone
is probably not happy with us
for she can no longer see us
.” Owen turned her about
to face him
.
“May I call on you tomorrow, Grace?”

“Of course, Owen, I would
very much like
to see you tomorrow.
”

“M
a
y I steal another kiss from you?”
He cupped her chin in his hand and ran his thumb
along her jaw
.

“I was hoping you would,” Grace said truthfully.
Tingles of an
ticipation coursed through her.

“I will.” Owen
offered
her
a pleased
grin
and
dipp
ed
his head
.
He brushed her lips with his several times before pulling her against him
and deepening the kiss
. Grace tasted so sweet
.
Holding Grace in his arms felt divine.
Her soft, warm body molded against his
.
The faint scent of lilies emanated from her
.

He
did not remember ever
lust
ing
after a woman as badly as he lusted for Grace
.
Yet
, in truth,
it was much more than lust, this he knew
.
He thought of making Grace his
wife
all
last evening and the morning entire
.
He even thought of them having children and living at Roseland as man and wife
, fantasizing what their daily life would be like, as well as their nights spent in his apartments.
He dreamed of her
!
He woke
that morning, not only
disappointed to find Grace
was not
in his arms
as she had been in his dream
, but
that
his cock
was
rock hard
.

He allowed his hands to travel
lightly
up and down her back
.
They continued to kiss for long minutes
.
Passion flamed red-hot between them
.
Grace’s fingers curled around the lapels of his coat
.
Owen’s hands rested on her hips
.
He was about to pull her groin tighter against him when he realized he was already hard, she was a lady and he should be behaving as a gentleman
!

Owen removed his hands from her and lifted his head
.
He smile
d down at his beauty
.
Her
eyes were as dark as night, her breathing uneven, and her lips were rosy and swollen. He kissed the tip of her dainty nose
.
“Grace, I can’t help myself
.

W
hen I kiss you
,
I become lost.” He smiled down at her.

“I was quite lost myself, Owen,” she confessed
as
a blush
colored
her cheeks.

“
We must get back to the phaeton, Grace.
” He grinned and added, “
I
do believe
I shall be kissing you a great deal before I leave for Italy
.
I hope you do not mind!” He
watched
her as they began to walk back toward the phaeton.

“I
look forward to
your kisses, Owen
.
I shall have something to remember all the months you are gone.”

“I will have many memories as well, my beautiful Grace!” He caressed her hand where it rested on his arm
.

“I shall call on you at two tomorrow
.
We will walk in Lady’s Wood.”

Grace beamed as she looked into h
is eyes
.
“That sounds delightful
, Owen.”

At ten o’clock the next morning, Meg
came to call
.

Grace led her into the small morning parlour
that
she used. Meg seemed agitated
.
“Meg, what is the matter?”
Grace asked in concern.

“Charlie
promised
to call yesterday afternoon
.
He did not show
, nor did he send his excuses
.”

“Oh Meg, perhaps he was bu
sy.”

“I
think perhaps
he
was
busy.
W
ith
her
!” Meg’s face twisted into a very unpleasant frown
.
Her
tight
yellow-gold curls bobbed as she paced
along
the colorful carpet
.

“W
ho
, Meg
?” Grace asked.

“Truly
Grace,
who
!
Why
,
Catherine,
of course
!”

“Why would he be with Catherine? She is married, Meg,
” Grace asked in confusion
.

“Grace
!
I thought perhaps y
our time in London would remove some of
your prudishness,
” Meg snapped at her.

“I –I am sorry, Meg, I am
truly
at a loss
.
I’ve no idea what you are talking
about,
”
Grace said
.
She was bewildered
.
She had never seen Meg so agitated, nor did she have any idea why Charlie would be spending time with Catherine.

A smile replaced Meg’s scowl
.
She
seemed to be
come
more like her
usual
self
.
She sat
and accepted the cup of tea Grace handed her
.
“I’m sorry, Grace
.
I di
d not mean to snap at you
.
I can’t
truly
be
a
ngry
with
Charlie, for you see
;
he and I are
merely
friends
.
He specifically told me he has no intention of marrying anytime soon.”

“But weren’t you kissing
him
in the garden the night of the Ball?”

“Grace, pl
ease do not think ill of me. Even though Charlie and I are just friends we kiss and do things…together.”

Grace
managed a smile
after she took a sip of her tea
.
What could she say
? 
“Why do you think he
went to see
Catherine instead of you?”

“Grace you never heard the rumors
three
years ago
before
she married the Marquess?”

“No, Meg, and I
daresay I never believe rumors.
I
find they are generally false.”

“Charlie and Catherine were deeply in love
!
Her father forbade her to see him, for he had already made an agreement with the Marquess for her hand
.
Surely you heard about that?”

Grace shook her head
.
“No, but if you’ll reme
mber, Meg, mother was ill at that
time
, and I was kept very busy here at Radley
.
I did not attend Catherine’s
wedding due to the fact I was in mourning.”

“I ha
d forgotten, Grace
.
I am sorry,
”
Meg
apologized
.

“Catherine is married, and she seemed very happy at the Ball
.
Charli
e seems
his kind congenial self
for the
years
Catherine has been married
.
It doesn’t appear they were broken-hearted
.
I can’t imagine why they would meet with one another.”

Meg shook her head in frustration and sighed heavily
.
She took a biscuit f
rom the plate and mun
ched on it.
“I don’t know what to think, Grace
.” Meg frowned
.
“Charlie better
not throw me aside for her
is all I can say or I’ll never let him
-
” Meg
stopped abruptly then
smiled
as she
added
, “k
iss me again!”

“There, there, Meg
.
Everything will work out as it should
.
It always does.” Grace tried to comfort her friend.

“So tell me of you and Owen,
Grace
.
Y
ou two seem very interested in one another.” Meg
gave her a knowing
smile.

“Yes, he
has asked to court
me
.
He leaves for Italy next week and will be gone three months, but he has
led me to believe he wishes for me to wait for him
,
” Grace beamed as she told her friend her news.

“Wonderful! So have the two of you only kissed, or have you done more?’ Meg whispered.

Grace blushed. “He has kissed me.
”

“That’s all?” Meg
sounded
disappointed
.
When Grace answered her with a nod she said,
“I would have expected more from Owen, he’s so…manly
.
I daresay there’s not a man as fine of form on the Hartland Peninsula.”

“Owen
is a respectable gentleman, Meg
.
He is a Viscount and heir to an Earldom
.
One could not expect any less from such
a fine gentleman,
” Grace blushed
as she quickly came to Owen’s defense
.

“
A Viscount and heir to an Earldom
,
a
s is Charlie,
” Meg said pointedly. “
I hope
Owen
doesn’t find you boring, Grace
.
Else he may forget all about you while he is in Italy
.
I’ve heard the Italian women are very passionate
and quite good at pleasing their men
.”

“Meg
!
How do you know such things?” Grace blushed again
.