A Daring Deception
Page 28
“Goforth fell.” She felt like a simpleton, unable to formulate complex thoughts.
“Yes. Let’s get out of the rain. You’re shivering and soaked through.” He moved toward the trapdoor, but she made things difficult for him, unwilling to let him out of her reach.
He helped her down the ladder and joined her. The trapdoor shut out the noise of the storm, and her ears rang in the silence. They stood in one another’s arms.
“I love you,” she whispered into his neck.
“I love you too. Everything will be fine.”
She wanted to believe him. “I don’t feel anything at all about his death. Shouldn’t I feel something?”
“You’re in shock. When you’re ready, we can talk about everything. I’m here to share your burdens. But right now, we both need to get out of these clothes and into a hot bath.” Simon led her down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Her brother’s cheeks were rosy from the kitchen fire, and he had a dollop of red-current jam in the corner of his mouth. He smiled at her, but it was tinged with the same numbness invading her. She went to him and gathered him in for a hug while Simon and Mrs. Hamish conferred.
“Everything will be fine.” She repeated what Simon had told her. If she kept saying it aloud, maybe she would believe it.
“Of course it will be fine. You’re married to a bloody duke!” A spark of his earlier bravado twinkled in his eyes. “I’ll return to Eton without having to worry about Goforth planting a facer on the majordomo and dragging me away.”
“That must have been terrifying.” Jessica ruffled his damp hair.
“I can’t wait to get back and tell the boys about it.” He took another jam tart and bit into it with gusto. His resiliency was a revelation.
Simon interrupted them. “Baths are being drawn and fires started in your rooms.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Blake extended his hand.
The corner of his lips twitched, but otherwise, Simon maintained a serious expression as he shook her little brother’s hand. “My pleasure, my lord. Although, as your sister is my wife, we are family now and I insist you use my given name. Call me Simon.”
“Then you must call me Blake.” Her brother ruined the effect by taking off at an adolescent lope to his room and a warm bath.
Simon turned to her. “You as well, my love.”
“Will you come with me?” She fisted her hand in his shirt.
“The magistrate has arrived. I left two men unconscious and tied up in the drawing room, and your stepfather’s body must be dealt with. There will be an inquiry.”
She shuddered and listed into him. “Compared to that, a bath sounds lovely.”
He pressed a kiss on her forehead and handed her over to Mrs. Hamish.
As Abby was in London, Mrs. Hamish helped her undress and climb into the tub. Her fingers tingled with feeling once more, and the bliss of being warm helped drive away the ghosts. But as soon as she was tucked into bed in an old night rail, she found herself reliving Goforth’s final moments on the ledge. What had he been thinking?
Finally, Simon slipped into the room. He had bathed and was wearing a dry set of clothes.
“Is it resolved?” She sat up.
“The magistrate will need to question both you and Blake, but I expect it to be perfunctory.” He climbed into bed and turned her back to his front, his warmth subduing her anxiety. “I thought we might repair to Wintermarsh on the morrow for a few days.”
“Yes, please. We should close up the manor until Blake comes of age and decides what to do with it. I never want to see this place again.” While that was true, she couldn’t imagine leaving everything—or everyone—behind. “Mrs. Hamish will need a new situation.”
“Agreed. Her tart recipe is too valuable to let go.”
Jessica elbowed him and found a laugh, albeit a weak one. “Do you have any ideas?”
“In fact, I do. While I love Wintermarsh, we can hardly live there with Rafe and Minerva and raise children.”
His casual mention of children stole her breath. “You own a multitude of estates, don’t you?”
“Not a multitude.” His pause was rife with gloom. “None have ever felt like a home. I suppose we should settle at the family seat. It’s where Minerva and I grew up.”
“What’s it like?”
“Dusty, drafty, and damp.” Almost grudgingly, he added, “The gardens are pretty, and it’s situated with a lovely view. If you’d rather—”
“All it takes is love to make a home, and we have that to spare.” She grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to the back.
He laced their fingers. “That we do, my love.”
Epilogue
Simon raised Jessica’s hand to press a kiss to her palm. Her head was tucked under his chin. He was enjoying the sight of her lithe leg tangled in the white sheet and draped over his. Between the inquiry into Goforth’s demise and seeing to the closing of Penhaven Manor, Simon had despaired of enjoying a night alone with his wife to finally consummate their union.
Rafe had pulled him aside after the magistrate had left the evening after the incident and suggested use of his cottage in the woods. It had proved a respite from the chaos of Wintermarsh. They had been able to enjoy one another numerous times in bed and out without fretting about anyone hearing them.
The freedom was something he wasn’t accustomed to as a duke. Servants and hangers-on seemed to trail him like a bad odor. He was already plotting to refurbish the folly by the lake at his estate as a similar escape for them to enjoy, but that was for the not-so-distant future. At the moment, he planned to thoroughly enjoy his present.
He rolled until he was the one draped over her. Brushing her hair back from her flushed face, he asked, “Are you well, darling?”
A complicated smile twisted her lips. He not only enjoyed her complications, he appreciated them. “I am more than well. I am happy. And that is no small thing. I never expected happiness.”
“I hope I am the cause of at least a portion of your happiness.” He pressed a kiss to her lips to ensure his tease didn’t completely mask his understanding.
“I’d say you’re responsible for at least half of my happiness.”
“Only half?” He playfully tickled her sides, and she squirmed and giggled beneath him, dislodging the sheet. His body reacted predictably in contact with her bare skin. “You must recalculate once I’m done with you, my love.”
He slid down her body, his shoulders bracing her legs apart and imparted great happiness with his tongue on her tender flesh if her moans and encouragement were any measure.
Panting, she dug her nails into his shoulder and drew him over her. He entered her with a sharp thrust and they both gasped. He held himself still inside her, enjoying the aftermath of her climax.
Nuzzling his lips along her temple, he whispered, “I despaired of ever finding this sort of happiness either. I love you.”
She clutched him tighter with arms and legs. Clutched him with an intensity that spoke more than words. He began to move inside her. Their earlier lovemaking had been playful and exploratory and sweet.
This was different. Elemental and true and stripped of any artifice. He was not a duke in her arms, but a man. A man well-loved. And she was no duchess, but a woman whom he loved beyond measure.
THE END
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A Brazen Bargain, Book 2
A Reckless Redemption, Book 3
A Sinful Surrender, Book 4
A Wicked Wedding, Book 5
A Daring Deception, Book 6
A Scandalous Secret, Book 7
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Also by Laura Trentham
Historical Romance
Spies and Lovers
An Indecent Invitation Book 1
A Brazen Bargain, Book 2
A Reckless Redemption, Book 3
A Sinful Surrender, Book 4
A Wicked Wedding, Book 5
A Daring Deception, Book 6
A Scandalous Secret, Book 7
Spies and Lovers Boxset
Contemporary Romance
Sweet Home Alabama Novels
Slow and Steady Rush, Book 1
Caught Up in the Touch, Book 2
Melting Into You, Book 3
Christmas in the Cop Car, Novella 3.5
The Sweet Home Alabama Collection
Highland, Georgia Novels
A Highlander Walks Into a Bar, Book 1
A Highlander in a Pickup, Book 2
A Highlander is Coming to Town, Book 3
Heart of a Hero Novels
The Military Wife
An Everyday Hero
Cottonbloom Novels
Kiss Me That Way, Book 1
Then He Kissed Me, Book 2
Till I Kissed You, Book 3
Christmas in the Cop Car, Novella 3.5
Light Up the Night, Novella 3.75
Leave the Night On, Book 4
When the Stars Come Out, Book 5
Set the Night on Fire, Book 6
Fieldstones Adventure Novellas by Leah Trent
An Impetuous Interlude, Fieldstones Adventure Book 1
A Naughty Notion, Fieldstones Adventure Book 2
A Mysterious Masquerade, Fieldstones Adventure Book 3
A Dangerous Desire, Fieldstones Adventure Book 4
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About the Author
I hope you enjoyed A Daring Deception! If you have a chance please leave a quick review! Although, many readers know me from my Southern-set contemporary romances, the first books I wrote were the Spies and Lovers series! I grew up reading the historical “bodice rippers” of the late eighties and early nineties along with wonderful gothic romances. Now that I have the opportunity to publish all of the Spies and Lovers series, I’m so excited! The Spies and Lovers world will be expanding soon with a new series called, Laws of Attraction!
I was born and raised in a small town in Northwest Tennessee. Although, I loved English and reading in high school, I was convinced an English degree equated to starvation! So, I chose the next most logical major - Chemical Engineering- and worked in a hard hat and steel toed boots for several years. Now I live in South Carolina with my husband and two children. In between school and homework and soccer practices, I love to get lost in another world, whether it's Regency England or small town Alabama.
My first two Falcon Football books received TOP PICKS from RT Book Reviews and a STARRED review from Library Journal. KISS ME THAT WAY, Cottonbloom Book 1, won the Stiletto Contest for Best Long Contemporary and finaled in the National Readers Choice Award. THEN HE KISSED ME, Cottonbloom Book 2, was named an Amazon Best Romance of 2016 and was a finalist for the National Excellence for Romance Fiction. TILL I KISSED YOU, Cottonbloom Book 3, is a finalist in the Maggie contest. LEAVE THE NIGHT ON, the latest Cottonbloom book, was named an iBooks Best Book of the Month and a Recommended Read from NPR. AN INDECENT INVITATION and A BRAZEN BARGAIN were both finalists for the 2014 Golden Heart® Award.
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www.LauraTrentham.com
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NOTE: This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
A daring deception
Copyright © 2021 by Laura Trentham
Cover by Angela Waters
Edited by Heidi Shoham
eISBN: 978-1-946306-13-5
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.