The Story of a Baron (The Sisters of the Aristocracy) (28 page)

Chapter 54

Farewell

Jeffrey Althorpe regarded his new brother-in-law with a curious expression. “Pray tell, brother. Why didn’t you tell the sharps at White’s that it was I who was to marry your sister?” he wondered, keeping his voice low amid the crowd of guests enjoying the wedding breakfast. The festively decorated backyard of Sommers Place was filled with a dozen tables surrounded by chairs filled with merry makers. Far more had been at St. George’s that morning, the spectacle of a
ton
wedding too promising to miss, especially one so quickly planned.

Harry Tennison, Earl of Everly gave a careless shrug. “Far better for the news to come from Grandby,” he replied, giving a curt nod in the direction of Lord and Lady Torrington as they passed by, arm-in-arm. “He’s been an especially attentive godfather to my sister,” he remarked.

“But, Eva’s your sister. Shouldn’t the announcement have been made by you?” Jeffrey countered. Just because the earl preferred spending his time in pursuit of flora and fauna far from England’s shores didn’t give him the right to shun his responsibilities as a brother.

The explorer gave his new brother-in-law another careless shrug. “Even better that it come from you, Sommers,” he said quietly. “It’s your story, after all,” he added before giving the baron a nod. “Or should I say, the story of Anonymous?” Everly paused a moment. “Take good care of her, Sommers, or you’ll have to answer to Grandby,” he warned with a teasing grin. Giving the baron a quick bow, the Earl of Everly took his leave of the festivities.

Jeffrey Althorpe watched in surprise as the earl made his way to the front of the house and disappeared.
I’ll be damned,
he thought as he shook his head.
However did he know?

Before Jeffrey had a chance to rejoin the growing crowd around the breakfast tables, Evangeline moved to wrap her arm around his. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost,” she murmured, her eyes bright with amusement. “Or my brother. He just gave me his farewell,” she added, her manner becoming more sober.

“Me, too,” Jeffrey replied with a nod. He leaned over and kissed her temple, secretly glad her hat’s brim was so small.

“I was beginning to think they would never leave,” Jeffrey murmured as he took Evangeline’s hand and pulled her into his arms, a rather bold thing to do even if he was in his own home. Evangeline returned the hug, tempted to leave her head resting on his shoulder. Despite the clock having just chimed three, she felt as if she’d been up since dawn.

The wedding breakfast had been more a luncheon; by the time most of the wedding guests had made the trip from St. George’s to Sommers Place, it was nearly noon.

The servants had outdone themselves, having seen to the arrangement of several long tables and trestles on the back lawn, their white linen coverings the perfect backdrop for the riot of color featured in the hot house flowers that decorated them. Although Sommers Place could boast dinner settings to serve fifty guests, the day’s festivities required another twenty sets be brought over from Rosemount House. Crystal stemware and silver flatware reflected the brilliant rays of the sun, a welcome sight considering rain had been predicted by nearly everyone in attendance. And rightly so – after their guests enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of ham, eggs, kipper, rolls and toast, chocolate and a generous serving of the sugar-frosted wedding fruit cake and what seemed an endless supply of champagne, the clouds moved overhead and soon the heavens opened up. At the sight of the dark clouds, most guests took their leave. The rest departed under the protection of umbrellas and parasols, hurrying to their coaches with cries of congratulations and best wishes.

But before Ladies Julia and Samantha took their leave with Lord and Lady Chamberlain, Evangeline pulled them aside and slipped them each a sliver of the wedding cake wrapped in a napkin. “You know what to do,” she whispered with a grin.

Julia shook her head. “Something about sleeping with it  under a pillow and dreaming of the man you’ll marry?” she wondered, not yet having had the opportunity to actually put the superstition into practice.

Samantha took the linen package in her gloved hands and gave a slight shake of her head. “I’ll put it under my pillow, of course, but I rather doubt I shall dream of a groom-to-be,” she replied in a quiet voice. “The only gentleman I ever seem to have visions of whilst I sleep is your brother,” she added with a roll of her eyes, as if dreaming of the earl was somehow an annoyance.

Evangeline allowed a slow grin to form. “I could not ask for a finer sister,” she said with an arched eyebrow.

Until her dying day, Evangeline would never forget the look on Samantha’s face as the girl considered her words, her eyes blinking and then widening in surprise. “Oh,” she breathed, as if she had never considered Harry Tennison anything more than her best friend’s brother. And then, arm-in-arm with Julia, Samantha had followed her aunt and uncle to their ancient town coach, the expression on her face one of stunned awe.

When Evangeline surveyed the grand hall, she realized everyone but the servants and her husband had left the house.

“Rain certainly has a way of driving people to their homes,” Evangeline remarked, her mischievous smile accompanied by an arched eyebrow as she regarded her new husband.

A parade of maids appeared from the backyard carrying urns and vases filled with the flowers that had decorated the tables. Each took them to a different room, distributing the fresh flowers so that Sommers Place was soon filled with their floral scent. Evangeline took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Before she opened them, Jeffrey moved to kiss her lips. “I could not help myself,” he whispered when Evangeline opened her eyes in surprise.

“I wouldn’t want you to,” she replied with a slight shake of her head. She lowered her head. “I know it is early, but ...” She sighed and angled her head. “Do you suppose we might ..?”

Jeffrey stilled himself. “Go to bed?” he finished for her, his words sounding a bit breathless. They would be leaving on their wedding trip to Devonshire in the morning, opting to remain at Sommers Place until then.

Evangeline nodded. “I don’t wish to seem ... wanton, but ...” She took a breath, her heart pounding so hard she was sure Jeffery could hear it.

“Oh, you can seem wanton whenever you wish,” Jeffrey replied, still a bit breathless. His brows furrowed. “Well, except if I’m not in the room, and then you cannot,” he stated, deciding to make the rule quite clear right then and there.

“I cannot imagine feeling wanton if you are not present,” Evangeline countered, her head shaking slightly. “Unless, of course, you’re here and then suddenly you’ve taken your leave of me to go to White’s or somewhere else ...”

“I shan’t be,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Especially right now,” he added as he took her hand and led her up the steps to his bedchamber. “I know this is probably not how you imagined your wedding night,” he managed to get out before he pulled her into his room and shut the door behind them, turning the key in the lock. His lips suddenly found hers, fitting over her lips until they seemed to lock into place, the resulting kiss as much a continuation of what they had started below as part of the promise they had made to each other during the wedding ceremony only hours earlier.

“Oh, it’s very close,” Evangeline managed to get out before his lips captured hers again. Her back was to the door, his lips were traveling across her jaw and down her neck and into the hollow of her throat. “Except I didn’t imagine we’d get up the stairs,” she whispered, her breaths coming in short gasps.

Jeffrey paused in his ministrations, briefly lifting his head to regard her for a moment. “Where, then?” he managed to get out before revisiting her throat. Once he’d drawn the tip of his tongue across the hollow and felt her steady pulse, he moved his lips along the edge of her bodice.

Evangeline’s hands finally landed on either side of Jeffrey’s head, her fingers raking through his dark silken hair. “I thought maybe you’d take me in the library,” she whispered, a gasp ending her comment as Jeffrey’s teeth nipped at one of her swollen breasts.

“Library?” he repeated, one hand moving to pull down a sleeve of her shoulder.

“Mmm. It seemed appropriate,” she murmured, her own lips finally taking purchase on the top of his head, her fingernails barely scraping his scalp so that he suddenly jerked and lifted his lips from the top of her breasts.

“Tomorrow,” he whispered. “Before we leave,” he murmured, finally freeing one of her breasts from the confines of her corset before quickly suckling it. “It will take us some time to work through the upper rooms,” he said before freeing her other breast and seeing to it the nipple was thoroughly teased and kissed and suckled.

Evangeline couldn’t bite back the giggle as she realized what he’d said. “You intend us to make love in every room of the house?” she managed to get out between gasps. She reached down between them, sliding her hand down his front until it covered the bulge behind the placket of his satin breeches.

His breath hitched and he let go of her nipple. “Yes,” he said, sounding rather clear-headed. “No,” he suddenly added. “Not the cellar. I shouldn’t want you on the dirt floor,” he whispered before turning his attention back to her breasts.

“Oh,” Evangeline answered, not sure she was capable of saying anything else. But why would he think
she
would be the one on the floor of the cellar? Why not him? “You could be the one on the floor whilst I ride atop you,” she whispered, not quite sure why she encouraged lovemaking in the cellar, of all places.

Reluctantly, Jeffrey pulled away so that he could look in her the eyes, his brows furrowing as he realized what she’d said. “Eva!” he admonished her. “I thought you were a virgin!” he gasped, the glaze over his eyes clearing for a moment.

Evangeline stared back at him, stunned by his accusation. “I am,” she responded, but she took the opportunity to cup his arousal a bit harder.

Jeffrey jerked, pulling away suddenly. “You minx,” he accused as he seemed to come up for air. “You’ve read every book on sexual congress in your brother’s library, haven’t you?” he accused in a hoarse whisper, his voice so husky he barely recognized it as his own.

Her eyes widening until she could appear as demure as possible, Evangeline gave a slight shrug. “Maybe.”

His eyes forming slits in an attempt to seem predatory, Jeffrey lowered his head and returned his lips to her breasts.

Despite having read every book about sexual intercourse in her brother’s library, and studied the illustrations in those not written in English or French, she was discovering they all lacked the language to describe the sensations that gripped her body just then. She was reminded of the dream she’d had the night they’d been reading in the parlor, when she’d asked Jeffrey to kiss her.

She had dreamt of placing her hand over the back of his, of bringing it up to her breast, of helping him in taking down the sleeve of her gown so that he could more freely kiss her collar bone, the curve of her shoulder, the slight swell of her breast. The dream had been so vivid, she had imagined him kissing her nipple, drawing the pearled bud into his mouth as his lips took possession of her. Her entire body had shivered then, pleasant tingles darting from her breast to her very core, making her body shiver in delight. An intense sensation had her stilling, her nerve endings strung so tight she thought they might snap and leave her void of feeling.

But something Jeffrey had done with his lips and tongue had released that tension. And that release had been the most amazing sensation she had ever experienced. So it was no wonder she had opened her eyes, suddenly so awake and so alive, she thought she might never sleep again. The sight of Jeffrey, eyes glazed over as if he, too, had been sleeping, brought her back to the parlor and to the sounds of the butler snoring somewhere nearby.

The very same sensations she had felt that night were assaulting her again, only now, in the privacy of Jeffrey’s bedchamber, she felt comfortable enough to allow her breaths to sound out as gasps. “Jeffrey,” she whispered, a shiver darting through her breast. “Please undo the buttons,” she whispered, turning her body around.

Jeffrey’s lips had to let go of his prey, although one hand cupped the breast as she turned in his arms. He had to give up his hold on her to unbutton the gown. “I suppose I should have allowed you a few moments with your maid,” he whispered hoarsely, suppressing the urge to curse the fastenings. His fingers wanted to be doing other things – naughty things – and so they didn’t seem to work as well as they should. When he finally had enough buttons undone so that her gown slipped off her shoulders, Evangeline turned in his arms.

Jeffrey shook his head, and pulled her gown down until it fell past her hips and ended in a puddle of satin and tulle at her feet. He motioned with his finger for her to turn back around. “As much as I love looking at you in just ...” He motioned down the front of her to indicate her chemise, corset and stockings, “...These, I do believe you’ll be more comfortable out of them.”

Evangeline giggled, reaching for the knot of his cravat. “And you will be more comfortable out of everything you’re wearing,” she countered, flipping the undone ends of his cravat around his neck until it was completely unwound. Her fingers moved to the buttons of his waistcoat, deftly undoing each until she could push the offending garment off his shoulders and toss it onto a nearby chair.

“My valet will be furious with me,” he whispered, his hands sliding along her silk-covered arms until he reach the little bow that held the chemise closed between her breasts. Tugging, he released the tie and then slid his hands around her waist and felt for the tie of her corset.

“I’ll beg his forgiveness,” Evangeline whispered, her hands moving to pull his shirt from his breeches. Once it was free, she pulled it up, forcing him to give up his attempt at undoing her corset.

Behind the curtain of white lawn that briefly covered his face, Jeffrey gazed at the woman he had just taken as a wife. With her hair still up in its pins and her lips swollen from his kisses, she looked every bit the proper English miss ruined, or a randy mistress in a hurry for a tumble. That is, except for the gleam in her eyes, as if she were enjoying undressing him. “Are you enjoying this?” he wondered, his voice husky.

Evangeline stilled her movements, which left his shirt only half off of his head and shoulders. “I am,” she admitted, her head lifting up just a bit as if to emphasize her answer. She finishing pulling off the shirt and then tossed it in the direction of the chair. The billowing fabric had it completely missing its mark. “Oops,” she whispered with an arched eyebrow.

A shiver of excitement coursed through Jeffrey just then, as if he hadn’t considered his wife might find the time they spent in a bedchamber as enjoyable as he knew he would. “I’m going to enjoy being married to you, aren’t I?” he said suddenly, jerking just a bit as he realized Evangeline’s attentions were now on the buttons of his breeches. Her nimble fingers were undoing each one in turn until she suddenly had the palm of her hand pressed against his hardened cock.