The Rake and the Recluse REDUX (a time travel romance) (91 page)

She nodded, trying to keep her body as still as possible, a hopeful smile on her face.

Perry laughed and rolled away from her, holding on to his trousers as he stood. “You, come with me, just as you are,” he commanded.

She stood carefully, unfolding her legs and stretching her muscles.

As he watched her, his mouth went dry and his need pulsed heavily in his blood. He marched for his room, stripping off the rest of his clothes as he went.

He spent the remainder of the day making proper love to the woman he knew he would take to wife—if he had any say—very soon.

Perry bathed while Lilly slept. Telling her that his entire family was on the verge of descending on them wasn’t something he looked forward to. She still seemed wary of her new position in his life, and becoming immersed in the entirety of the Trumbull clan would be a daunting task for any person, much less this precious soul. He was honestly worried for her and how she would react during the next few hours.

He heard a sweet sigh behind him and turned, leaning his arms on the side of the tub and resting his chin on them. Lilly stood in the doorway, wrapped in one of his bed linens. “Hello, my sweet.”

“Hello, my love,” she returned with a smile.

He smiled at the moniker, hiding his face momentarily behind his arm. The endearment touched him in a way he’d never expected. “I’ve just finished. I’ll drain the tub and leave you to it.”

She smiled again and nodded.

He turned and stood, the water coursing off his figure before her eager eyes. He stepped from the bath and wrapped himself in a fresh, warmed towel. “You might want to step back a touch,” he said as he tucked the corner of the towel at his waist and grasped the tub, lifting it to let the water rush to the drain.

The water flooded to the floor as the drain backed up from the volume.

“Don’t worry, sweet. The pipes simply aren’t big enough to handle the rush of water, and I’ve not the patience to pour slowly.”

She laughed and watched the muscles working in his arms and abdomen as he sat the tub back on its feet.

“Call your maid and have her fill it for you.” He paused. “One more thing,” he said, approaching her slowly. “The duchess has agreed to come to supper, and she is bringing the family with her.”

“Family? You mean your cousins?”

“I imagine my cousins, both the gentlemen and the ladies, as well as my other aunts and my uncles. Everyone has gathered in London to travel to Eildon Hill together by train.”

“That’s a rather large number of people, then,” she said with wide eyes.

“Yes, I must apologize. I hadn’t thought before sending the request to Her Grace. I should have known better.” He waited patiently, studying her face. “Are you well?” he finally asked.

She nodded, but she appeared concerned.

“I will endeavor to be at your side the entire evening.”

She nodded again. He ran his thumb over her mouth, then entered his room, gently pulling his sheet and a squeal from her as he went.

Lilly obsessed about what to wear to meet the clan. She couldn’t even keep track of the four—no, five—she had met, so she wasn’t sure about all of them. Some seemed nice, some seemed not so sure of her. She shouldn’t expect any less from them. She rubbed her forehead. If she were to take on this life with him, she would be forever wary, and what kind of life would that be?

She pulled out the nicest dress in her closet—a color similar to the bonnet that had garnered so many compliments earlier in the day.

She fastened the dress as much as she was able then laced up the simple black ankle boots and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders. Her hair was drawn back in a chignon with a few loose curls framing her face, casting shadows over her scars. She sat at the small vanity and stared at her image, studying the way the light reflected off her skin. She practiced the perfect angles to hold her chin, to tilt her cheek. If she was very careful, she didn’t think anyone would notice. Surely nobody in this company would deign to be so rude as to stare or examine her too closely.

“Nobody will be able to get past your beautiful eyes to see any of the little details you’re obsessing over,” Perry said from the adjoining doorway.

“You realize it’s these little details that caused us to be together to begin with,” she said quietly. “You always say such wonderful things.”

“They are only wonderful because they are true. No lie would have that effect on a person because they would know the truth of the matter.” He walked up behind her and rested his hands on her bare shoulders, lightly stroking.

She looked forward, catching his reflected gaze in the mirror. “My lord, you do have me at a disadvantage,” she said breathlessly.

“And what disadvantage, pray tell, would that be?”

“You, my lord, hold every possible advantage there is,” she said, enunciating carefully. “You are tall, strong, brave, titled, connected, well-spoken, feared, revered—” She ticked off each word with her fingers as she spoke.

His hand moved up her neck to her mouth, his thumb stopping the words that poured forth. “I wish you to see what I see,” he murmured. “Watch your eyes.” He held her face as he kissed his way down her ear, nibbling at her earlobe, then continued kissing a path down the side of her throat, suckling gently at the hollow of her shoulder where he could see her pulse. He glanced up and smiled; she followed directions well.

She swallowed and he moved to her shoulder, slipping her dress down her arm just a bit, his hand warming the skin at the edge of the dress. He stood and met her smoldering gaze. “What do you see?”

“You,” she whispered.

He smiled and replaced the shoulder of her dress, smoothing his hands down her arms and gently gripping her. “I have something for you to wear.”

She watched as he lowered a necklace over her head, letting a red stone dip below her neckline before pulling the chilly metal up to rest in the hollow at the base of her neck. She gasped as it dragged across her skin, then reached up to touch it. “I can’t wear this, someone will say something. It belongs to your family.”

“Actually, no, I had this piece made recently. The family jewels belong to my brother as the head of the family. This belongs to me.”

She ran her hand down the necklace. The stone at the base of her throat filled the indent perfectly, just as he’d planned.

He lifted her up and turned her toward him, running his finger along the chain. “These are white sapphires, and this—” He outlined the stone. “—is a ruby.”

She watched him examine the ruby against her skin, and a shiver ran the length of her spine. His gaze on her was so determined, intense, his eyes seeming to glow with an inner light. She took a deep breath, her chest filling, her breasts brushing against his arm, and his gaze jumped to hers.

“I knew this was your color when I saw the bonnet. I had no idea how truly perfect it would be.” He leaned toward her as she lifted up, and he placed a single gentle kiss on the corner of her mouth. “Now, let us see to your dress. I’m sorry my household is lacking in the lady’s maid department, though I have been told in the past that I’m rather adept at both the undressing and dressing of ladies.”

He fastened the dress and straightened her shawl, then turned suddenly, walking to the entry of her room. “I will go greet the guests. Please join us when you are ready.” He opened the door to the corridor. “And Lilly,” he said, smiling at her over his shoulder, “everything will be just fine.”

She wasn’t sure if he was speaking to her or to himself.

“Trumbull, old man, I’d no idea you were keen on settling in,” his Uncle Bridger Trumbull, Earl of Pemberley said, clapping him on the back.

Perry turned his gaze on the earl’s daughters, Maebh and Saoirse, who were suddenly ensconced in conversation with their mama, Fallon, the countess. Perry smiled, suffering the earl’s pontification.

Most of his guests had arrived, but a multitude of carriages were lined up out front, still waiting patiently for others to disembark. Perry greeted each branch of the family with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. His main concern, truly his only concern, was their reception of Lilly.

The next carriage bore Auberry and Vincent Calder, the Duke and Duchess of St. Cyr, and their three children, two of which Lilly had already met: Calder and Isadore. The third, Jerrod, she had not. Their carriage continued down the street and another took its place. Georgia Grace Danforth, Dowager Duchess of Warrick, had arrived on the arm of her son, Grayson Locke Danforth, Duke of Warrick, and with her daughter, Lady Poppy. As Warrick would be staying behind with Perry to watch over Lilly, it was important that she know him.