But in the end, Phillip was too well bred for such a confession, even though his heart desired nothing more than to rid itself of the burden of caring more for his wife than she cared for him. Whatever his reply, it had seemed to satisfy the Pellinghams and, more importantly, Annalise, so he was relieved.
Which is why when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t believe the words he uttered were,
“Why did Mr. Thompkins upset you the other night at the Newells’?”
Chapter Six
Phillip’s question had come out of the clear blue sky…or perhaps it hadn’t, now that Annalise thought about it. Anytime she attended an event at the Pellinghams’ home, her mind automatically drummed up images of the first time, no matter the years that had passed.
Annalise shrugged, aiming for blitheness. Yet, the hair along her arms and across the back of her neck stood at attention. “I find him rather unpleasant.”
“As did I.” She sensed Phillip cross his arms over his chest. “Do you find him unpleasant because of the manner in which he looks at you?”
She forced down a swallow. “I’m afraid I don’t know of which manner you speak.”
“I’m certain you do, Lise-dear.”
A gasp escaped her mouth before she could contain it. Her father had called her Lise-bear before changing it to Lise-dear as she grew older. She could still hear his voice in her mind, as if nearly twenty-five years hadn’t past since she had last heard anyone utter those words to her. Annalise clamped her jaw at the wash of memories the endearment roused.
That Phillip had used such a term, had remembered it and adopted it despite—or because of—the poignant history she had with it, left her defenseless. The walls she had erected around her heart tumbled down at his softly voiced words. Such defenses had been necessary for a young girl who had just lost her father and then found herself married to a military man who was often away from English shores. Her status, her aloneness, had made her vulnerable to so many men intent on taking advantage of the fact that her husband was away.
Men like her late father by marriage who wanted her money. Or the odious Mr. Thompkins who wanted…other things.
Annalise didn’t want to tell him, had never dreamed of sharing her history with the horrible man with anyone, let alone Phillip. Could she trust him not to think poorly of her? Would he blame her? Knowing Phillip as she now did, she did not think it possible, but fear made her uncertain. Matters between her and her husband had been going so wonderfully, even in the aftermath of his family’s betrayal, and she refused to allow the craven Mr. Thompkins to ruin their potential for happiness with his venom.
Not when seeing Phillip and smiling into his startling blue eyes had become the delight of her day.
Sucking in a deep, bracing breath, she smoothed the non-existent wrinkles from her dress. “I met Mr. Thompkins about a year after we married. Oliver was not born yet, and I had nothing to occupy my time aside from ensuring our little flat near Victoria Square was clean and orderly. But I had managed to make friends simply walking in the park, attending church, or visiting the market. Invitations to dinners and soirées followed. I found myself paired with Mr. Thompkins for a game of whist at one such gathering.”
Annalise ran her hands over her skirts again, her palms clammy. She didn’t realize her hands were shaking until Phillip reached forward and grabbed one. Without saying a word, he tugged until she joined him on his squab, and he tucked her neatly into his side. The smell of his cologne, unchanged over the years, gave her strength, as did the sound of his heart beating under her ear.
She licked her lips and continued. “He was friendly. Witty. A strategic whist player, and I enjoyed being his partner. We won every hand we played. After that night, I saw him frequently at various gatherings. I never thought much of the fact that he always requested a waltz with me or found a way to sit at my side at dinner or chatted with me during after-dinner entertainments. Lord, I was so naive.”
Phillip kissed the crown of her head, his touch gentle…yet enticing. “You were young. And alone. How could you possibly have known he was a predator stalking his prey?”
Pulling her head up, Annalise looked at him. “What an apt description, although I had no notion of it at the time. I simply knew a nice gentleman with friendly green eyes was always willing to be my partner at whist. I think back on my naivety and want to cringe.”
Squeezing her tight, he was silent for a moment. “What happened, Lise-dear, that destroyed your naivety?”
Annalise always considered herself brave, and in so many ways she was. Where her children were concerned, she would walk over hot coals, like in those South Pacific rituals she read about in the paper, to ensure their health and happiness. And more. There was no limit of what she would do for Oliver and Beth. But in that long-ago moment, she hadn’t been brave, and she’d punished herself ever since.
“I was at a small soirée at the Pellinghams’ home.” She chuckled into his chest. “I know how much you enjoy those.”
“Only when you’re there, I assure you.”
She pressed her lips together to keep from smiling. Playing with the buttons on his waistcoat, Annalise tried not to be distracted by the firm, broad chest that rested under her touch. “I had just excused myself to visit the ladies’ retiring room, and as I walked down a darkened hall to reach it, a hand reached out from a side door and swept me into a small study of sorts. It was so dark in there, it took me several seconds to realize it was Mr. Thompkins standing before me.”
“And what did he say?” Phillip asked, his embrace tightening.
“He…” Her voice caught, and she gripped his coat, as if he could serve as her anchor. “He didn’t say anything at first. He simply kissed me.”
“How very rude of him,” her husband growled.
His angry words startled a laugh from her. “I thought so too. And after I was able to push him away, I told him so. I reminded him I was married and not at all interested in an illicit relationship with him.”
“And what did he say?”
Annalise gripped Phillip tighter. “He said I couldn’t possibly know what an illicit affair entailed seeing as I was so young, and then he tried to kiss me again.”
“And what did you do?”
She swallowed. “I want to say I stomped on his instep and darted away, but truthfully, I was petrified and couldn’t move. So…he kissed me again.”
“He didn’t kiss you, my dear. He assaulted you.”
Unable to think of a response to such a boldly spoken truth, she buried her face in his chest.
The carriage lurched to a halt, and Annalise clung to him to stop herself from falling to the floor.
Phillip didn’t make a move to leave. He simply ran his hand along her back in a leisurely pattern and she relaxed into his touch.
After a long moment, there was a knock on the carriage door.
“I suppose we should take this inside, where there’s a warm fire and plenty of bracing brandy.” His voice was a comforting grumble under her ear. “Are you ready, my dear?”
Her mind said no, but with Phillip’s warm presence to lean on, she said, “I am.”
Phillip assisted her down and immediately looped her arm through his strong one. Without a word, he escorted her up the front walk, stopping in the foyer to take her wrap from her shoulders and handing it to the manservant. With a gentle touch to the small of her back, he led her not to the study but to the stairs where he followed after her into her chamber. He dismissed her maid with a word that her assistance was not needed. Phillip unbuttoned the back of her gown with deft hands, pulling the constricting material from her shoulders and allowing it to pool at her feet.
Clad only in her corset and shift, Annalise knew she should be embarrassed, or at least uncomfortable. But she wasn’t. This was Phillip, after all. Her husband. The man who had always been kind and respectful of her. The man who never assumed liberties with her person simply because she was his wife.
; The man whose touch she’d been craving for weeks upon end.
After stripping her of her corset, Phillip carefully plucked the pins holding her coiffure in place, carding his fingers through her hair in tender strokes that soothed her spirit as much as her scalp. He led her to the large bed that sat at one end of her chamber, and with due care, tucked her under the pile of covers. When he turned to grab a chair in the corner, Annalise shot out her hand and captured his.
“Lay with me.” She swallowed. “Please.”
Phillip stared down at her for a long moment, her reflection mirrored in his blue, blue eyes. She wished she knew what he was thinking. What he was looking for. But eventually, he nodded and shook free of her grasp to pull his dress coat from his shoulders to toss on a nearby chair. Next, he made quick work of his waistcoat, depositing it on top of his coat, before yanking off his boots. When he made to slide onto the bed next to her, she shook her head. Firmly.
“Your trousers. Surely you don’t sleep in your trousers?” she managed to say with only minimal wavering to her voice.
With his Adam’s apple bobbing, Phillip stared at her before he nodded. Quickly shedding his trousers, he slipped under the covers beside her clothed only in a dress shirt and small clothes. Such knowledge made her warm all over.
Annalise did not hesitate to burrow into his side, her cheek coming to rest not far from his heart. After a pause, he wrapped an arm around her, and the strength of that limb holding her close eased all the tension from her body.
With his long fingers gently toying with her curls, Phillip finally asked, “What happened next, Lise-dear? After he kissed you that second time?”
She pressed her face into his chest, drawing his scent into her lungs and allowing it to strengthen her fortitude. “Mrs. Pellingham walked into the room. She claimed she had thought it the ladies’ retiring room, but I know that for an untruth. We had visited the room earlier in the evening. With effortless grace, she plucked me from Mr. Thompkins’ grasp and maneuvered me right out the door. Anne—that is, Mrs. Pellingham—revealed to me later that Mr. Thompkins had a reputation for taking advantage of widows and spinsters, and she had been uncomfortable with the regard he showed me. So when I had not returned from the retiring room in due time, she went looking for me.”
“I knew I liked that woman,” he said, bussing a kiss to her forehead.
Annalise laughed, releasing some of the stress that had coiled in her chest. “I do, too.”
“Has the villain bothered you since that night?” Phillip asked, his voice deceptively calm.
“I haven’t given him a chance.” She twirled her finger in the soft cotton of his shirt. “I’ve been busy with the children, and I try to avoid any gatherings I suspect he will be at. Plus, I have wonderful friends who never let me walk down corridors alone.”
Silence reigned between them for several long moments, but the quiet was not uncomfortable. Annalise’s chest felt lighter for having told Phillip what had occurred between her and Mr. Thompkins, and she was vastly relieved he had not admonished her for not being more careful. More circumspect. For not recognizing the danger the other man posed.
She’d expected him to recriminate her as she had recriminated herself for so many long years.
“I’m sorry I left you to fight so many battles on your own. I know my career provided a comfortable place for you to live, but it also stripped you of having a true husband to protect and care for you. It kept Oliver and Beth from having a father they could depend upon.” He danced his fingertips along her cheek, across to her jaw, and down her neck. She positively hummed in the back of her throat at the sensation. “Yet you have all created a wonderful life for yourselves, filled with people who care about you and your well-being. My presence now is almost unnecessary.”
The desolate note in his voice made her heart lodge in her throat. And it made her angry. Lifting her head, she pierced him with a glare.
“Don’t ever say such a thing. Your return has completed our puzzle. All these years, we’ve had an integral part missing from our lives, the piece that turns us into a true family. And now that you’re here, our family is complete.”
Phillip opened his mouth to argue, but she pushed a finger to his lips. “We did what we had to do to get through your voyages. We’re not the only family to experience such separations, and we certainly won’t be the last. I’m just thankful you were able to return home safely, because it was never a guarantee.”
Tearing her gaze from his, she studied her fingers as they sifted through the dark hairs peeking through the top of his shirt. “I went into this marriage with an understanding of what to expect. Not once did I magically think you would give up your career to remain in Bristol for me, your unwanted bride.”
With a speed she could not fathom, he flipped her flat onto her back, his overwhelming presence looming over her. His chest brushed against hers and his powerful arms bracketed her head like a cage, but she wasn’t frightened. Phillip had never made her feel frightened.
Instead, her pulse roared in her ears as something hot and arousing pumped like opium through her veins. Her skin grew hot and tingly, and for the first time since…the last time he was in her bed, she was altogether alive.
“You have never been unwanted. Never.” His eyes burned like blue torches. “Who do you think first suggested I marry you?”
Her mouth fell open. “I thought your father had suggested it.”
Phillip shook his head, his gaze dropping to her lips. “He told me of your troubles, but I suggested marriage. I had always held you in high esteem, and now I suspect that my father was aware and counted on my offer.”
“You fancied me?” she whispered hoarsely.
He nodded. “You’ve always been so lovely. So poised and cheerful. Completely charming. It was impossible to stand in your presence and not want to know you more.”
“Charming and lovely?” Annalise waved her hand, brushing him across the chin. When his eyes flared, she dropped it to her side. “Surely you jest.”
“Lise-dear, have I ever been known for my sense of humor?”
She scowled. “I find you very funny. You make me laugh every day.”
If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she would have missed the faint tinge of color that touched his cheeks.
“You may be the only one.”
Before she could respond, he pierced her with those blue eyes again. “I had thought that perhaps one day I would be able to capture your attention. In those fleeting moments that I saw you when my father took me to visit your father at his factories, and I was able to catch a glimpse of your smile, which was always so easy and bright. It left me happy for days. But I was a quiet child. My father called me petulant. I’ve always been the exact opposite of you.”
Annalise reeled at his confession. She had never dreamed it was Phillip who had initiated the idea of their marriage. She’d long believed old Mr. Dalton had initiated the match. But Phillip said he had noticed her from the beginning.
If only she had noticed him.
“Your father, like any businessman worth his salt, had hoped to see his daughter married into the peerage. Maybe to a second or third son.” His lips quirked, and she longed to kiss them. “I remember thinking you were deserving of an earl. Or a title even grander.”
Emotions she hadn’t anticipated threatened to strangle her.
“And instead of some famed match, you found yourself with me. A man who couldn’t even protect you or keep you safe from lechers, predators, or his own damn family.”
“Stop that!”
They stared into each other’s eyes for several long moments. Apparently, she had surprised him just as much as she had surprised herself.
Licking her lips, she plowed ahead. “I’d ask you not to insult my husband. I find myself rather protective of him.”
Something stirred in the blue depths of his gaze. “Protective? Of me? Why would you ever feel the need to protect me?”
“Because someone has taught you that to be a man means you need to be invincible. Omniscient. And that’s simply ridiculous. You are the bravest and kindest man I know.” Her swallow was difficult. “I don’t regret marrying you. Not for one moment. I didn’t need dukes and earls when I could have a dashing navy captain.”
Phillip rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he grumbled.
She didn’t give him an opportunity to say more before she reached up and pressed her lips against his.
All the thoughts racing around in her head abruptly went quiet, as if she’d shoved them into a room and slammed the door shut. The only thing that mattered was the feel of Phillip’s mouth against hers. The exquisite taste of him. His delectable scent. The soft hum in the back of his throat that was like a caress to her ears. Every one of her senses was trained on him and him alone. As he released her lips to kiss along her jaw and nip at her lobe, Annalise knew the whole room could go up in flames and she would be oblivious to it.
In truth, she might be the reason the room incinerated, for her skin felt hot, burning under his touch. Shifting under him, Annalise reached down to grab the hem of her shift, suddenly desperate to be free of the cumbersome garment. She needed to feel him against her flesh. She had missed him.
Pulling back, Phillip watched with a hooded gaze as she ripped the shift up and over her head, depositing it with a careless toss onto the floor. She lay before him bare, and it occurred to her it may have been the first time he had ever seen her thus. In the past, their lovemaking had been conducted in the dark or in a dimly lit room. And while she had always enjoyed their past encounters, she hadn’t always been an active participant, allowing him to take the lead out of embarrassment or uncertainty.
The Captain's Midwinter Bride (Holiday Novella) Page 7
