Hell In A Handbasket

by Anders, Annabelle

  Dev did not want to get into any of this. “He knows you too well. He knows your feelings on the matter.”

  St. John glared back at him but then apparently dismissed his disgust with a careless shrug. “What does he need of me?”

  Thinking St. John had more to say, but would not, Dev paused a moment before explaining the plan, occasionally answering the few questions his cousin had.

  St. John hated scandal. If Harold was going to do this, it would be in the family’s best interest for him to do it successfully. “Justin arrived yesterday,” St. John interjected. “He will make an excellent witness.”

  “He is a vicar now?” Dev hadn’t seen Justin White for ages. He was a cousin on the duchess’ side.

  “Yes, and less likely to have his observations questioned. Miss Mossant, I think. She is not squeamish and will be a credible witness as well. I imagine you plan on assuring yourself of Harold and… well, that Harold escape unharmed and unobserved.”

  Dev nodded. “I will be at the cave with a mount for him and his disguise.” He would drag Harold out of the water if necessary, alive, of course. He would be certain Harold was as successful tomorrow as he’d been yesterday.

  “Lady Harold knows, I presume,” St. John said, looking about, acting restless and bored with this conversation already. He was thankfully not opposing Harold’s plans, but with no apparent concern over the loss of his brother, either, which was slightly disturbing to Dev. Not surprising, but disturbing. A small amount of brotherly protest would have been admirable.

  “She does.”

  “I imagine this will be a picnic outing?” At Dev’s nod, he continued. “She will want to have even numbers then. Tell her to invite Lady Caroline. Aunt Lucille has brought her along, and I would not mind such genteel company.”

  Well now. That would be pleasant for Miss Mossant.

  They had St John’s cooperation, however, and that was what mattered most.

  And so, it was set. The final pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.

  Tomorrow, Harold would set both him and Sophia free. Dev grimaced. It was unseemly. It was devious and sinister even. He hoped in his heart that this did not cast a shadow on his and Sophia’s future. He would have her free of guilt, free of any shame or sorrow. But one did not always have control of such things.

  He knew one thing for certain, though.

  He would have her.

  * * *

  Sophia informed Penny she would most likely ask her husband to abstain from joining her that evening. She was expecting her courses, she told her, which was the truth but not the real reason.

  From what Harold had divulged, Stewart was nervous nearly to the point of making himself ill. In addition to this, as a twosome, who had been used to spending a great deal of time in one another’s company, they’d hardly had any time together since the wedding. They would wish to give each other courage. To reassure one another.

  Stewart had been forced to keep company with Penny on several of the afternoons when Harold and Sophia had gone swimming. Furthermore, he’d been alone during the nights. Not that this was so terrible, but, she supposed, when one was used to sleeping with one’s lover, well, the absence of him would be a considerable loss. Even if only for a few nights.

  Sophia would give him and Harold a parting gift, per se. They would not be traveling together until they both reached the crossing. It would be nice for the two of them to bolster one another. And one night would not put any doubt in the duchess’ mind.

  After sending Harold away for the evening, Sophia found herself feeling a little lonely. What was Dev doing? They’d not been alone together since those stolen moments on the cliff. She missed him. Fraternizing with Dev and his family, dining together at the same table, and not being able to act upon her natural instincts toward him disheartened her.

  Was she childish to need his reassurance? To need his comforting touch, his encouraging voice? Tonight, she felt the emptiness of it all the more. For these past several evenings, Harold had been here to distract her.

  Alone in her chamber, she was free to dwell on her worries and guilt.

  Where was Dev tonight? She needed him. She’d not heard anything save a terse missive with instructions pertaining to the outing scheduled for the following afternoon. In bold straight handwriting, he’d told her who was to be invited and what hour they ought to leave. Those details seemed inconsequential now but would matter greatly in the end.

  She’d handled them to her satisfaction and then found herself at loose ends.

  Even Rhoda was nowhere to be found.

  Sophia was dispirited, rather, as though Harold was, in truth, going to die.

  It was what she’d wanted, to be free of this marriage. It was also what Harold wanted. But with such a tremendous price to pay!

  She’d hardly been able to look the duchess in the eye when she’d spoken with her before dinner. Sophia shivered and stood looking out the window. God, the view was spectacular — rocks, cliffs, and the sea. Her window revealed everything that made Priory Point so very beautiful, and yet so very dangerous.

  She contemplated that she would forever have mixed feelings of her time here.

  A tear escaped. She must find something to distract herself. Sophia picked up a book of poetry and tried to lose herself in some verse.

  It was useless though.

  She could not sleep. She’d be lucky to sleep at all that night. Even Peaches seemed more agitated than normal. Sitting on the floor, Sophia took a small toy and played hide and seek with her pup. She welcomed any diversion that might feel ordinary.

  When would her life feel normal again? If it did — when it did — she vowed she would never take it for granted.

  Sophia snatched the chew-toy out of Peaches’ mouth and hid it behind her back. But Peaches was not interested. For Sophia had failed to notice that they were no longer alone.

  Peaches noticed though.

  The pup welcomed Dev as though he were her long-lost best friend.

  Smart dog.

  Dev shushed Peaches affectionately and locked the door behind him.

  He was dressed formally, as he had been at dinner. But seeing him in her bedchamber like this caused her heart to skip a beat and a flush to warm her cheeks. Even so, she drank in the sight of him. His jacket and breeches fit perfectly, almost too perfectly. Freshly shaven, with his normally unruly hair tied back and boots polished to a high shine, he brought with him a masculine energy foreign to her very feminine abode.

  Sophia had already changed into her nightgown and dismissed Penny.

  “I could not remain downstairs any longer.” Sophia spoke apologetically.

  Harold had felt the same. The guests had been playing a game of charades and it had been impossible to summon enthusiasm to pretend enjoyment.

  “I presumed as much.” Dev reached down and helped her to her feet. Without hesitation, she moved into his arms.

  “I feel as though my selfishness is to blame for all of this,” she whispered into his chest. “I’m frightened for him.”

  “Sophia,” Dev said, “you haven’t a selfish bone in your body. It is Harold who has been pushed into taking such drastic measures. He’s admitted to me that he would have done something like this regardless. He and Stewart have been dreaming of leaving England for a long time. This gives them an opportunity to search for a place where they can live their lives without fear.”

  “I know,” she said. “He’s told me this too. I just wish…”

  “So do I.” He rubbed her back. “He couldn’t have done this without you, you know — the swimming, the encouragement, the friendship…”

  “Harold is a good man, a good person. Her grace is going to be distraught with grief. Is there no other way?” She knew there was not. She’d pondered endless possibilities and dismissed all of them for one reason or another.

  “It is what Harold wants. He is pleased that in doing it, he can set you free as well.”

 
A muffled sob escaped her. “I cannot imagine what would have happened if I’d never met you…” Peaches began jumping at Sophia’s feet in concern. The pup did not like it when her mistress was upset.

  With her cheek pressed against the linen of Dev’s shirt and his arms stroking her hair and back, Sophia released the tears she’d held back all evening. “I’ve missed you so much. And now that you are here, I never want you to leave.” She sighed and wiped her face with the sleeve of her nightdress. “I’m being ridiculous. Penny will return eventually to check on me. Having a lady’s maid and governess, I have discovered, are disturbingly similar.”

  Dev did not release her. Instead, he nuzzled her ear. “I once had a valet, just before I bought in. He wanted to follow me to war, attend me on the battlefield.”

  Sophia tilted her head to listen but moaned softly at the sensations his lips ignited.

  “But he had not enlisted. I did not wish him to put his life in danger simply because I chose to. I found other employment for him before I went away. Since I’ve returned, my father has been telling me I ought to hire myself a valet…” Dev chuckled. “…if I intend to live as a proper gentleman.”

  Throughout his narrative, Dev had been inching them toward the door. She didn’t realize what he was up to until he reached behind her and tugged at the knob, testing the lock.

  “She will sit outside and wait,” Sophia whispered.

  “It’s no matter. I can work with that.” He winked at her before swinging her up and into his arms and then carrying her into the other room.

  “She may even listen at the keyhole.”

  “We’ll keep you silenced then.” He laid her on the bed, kissing her in various sensitive places along the way. His body pressed against hers the entire time.

  Except for the split-second it took him to pull the nightgown over her head.

  The texture of his formal clothing against her naked skin aroused her in a most wicked way… the leather of his boots against her legs, a button here, a pocket there.

  Exhilaration filled her. She needed this release. She needed his passion.

  She’d held herself back from him for so long it was as though after taking her first breath, she’d nearly forgotten how to live.

  Oh, but her body had not forgotten.

  Her body warmed instantly to him.

  Sophia gasped at the sensation of Dev’s hot mouth on her breast. With each tug, he demanded more.

  They did not have much time. Sophia hated that Penny might be eavesdropping. “Dev…” A moan escaped her.

  He placed his hand over her mouth, a devilish glint in his eyes. His other hand had moved lower, between her legs, fondling and exploring.

  She returned his impudent stare boldly. He seemed to delight in watching the emotions she could not hide.

  When he slipped one finger inside her, her eyelids drooped shut. She could not restrain the cry she’d kept in check until then.

  But his hand blocked the sound.

  “Look at me, love,” he commanded. His voice was low, caressing.

  She did so but with heavy lids. He pressed into her with another finger, sliding and pumping slowly. A heat, a liquid, rushed to her core.

  Being with Dev was like breathing, or eating, or drinking fine wine, like sleeping and waking.

  Keeping her gaze focused was difficult, nearly impossible, but his own would not allow hers to waver.

  She licked the palm of his hand.

  Now it was she who watched his eyes cloud with arousal. “Wench,” he whispered, removing both of his hands to unfasten his falls.

  And then he was free, pressed against her, sliding along the slickness that her body had prepared for him.

  She pumped her hips upward. This, she wanted this. One night with Dev had not been enough. It had only ignited a hunger in her she’d never known existed.

  And now, to have him so close, so ready, she couldn’t wait a moment longer.

  She pushed her hips higher.

  Tense and focused, he met her thrust.

  She would have cried out, but his hand silenced her again. He filled her, and yet she wanted more. She wanted him to stretch her, conquer her. She wanted him touching her womb, her heart, her soul.

  He pumped into her again.

  And then he removed his hand, and his mouth caught her next whimper.

  It was as though the world, everything she’d ever known, had come together and created her for the sole purpose of being with this man in this way.

  In every way.

  She would have him consume her completely.

  They moved together slowly at first, and then gradually, a frantic pace took over.

  Dev’s hands pinned hers above her head. His mouth pressed into hers, tasting, taking, giving.

  They breathed the same air.

  She wrapped her legs around him and clung tightly; all the while he never ceased thrusting, pushing, finding the very center of her being.

  It could have been an hour or a minute. She wanted it to be forever, with Dev all around her.

  When the waves of pleasure crashed, she reveled again as he found his satisfaction, and the heat of his seed warmed her.

  And then they both collapsed into one boneless heap of man and woman.

  After lying motionless for several minutes, Dev slid off to lie beside her. “Is this how normal people make love?” Sophia asked as she burrowed her face in his chest.

  He chuckled. “I don’t suppose I’d know.”

  “Mmm…” She sighed. “Maybe later, when we are an ordinary couple.” She wondered again. When would that be? It seemed impossible right now. And yet…

  She was alive again.

  They would live through this, together.

  Chapter 20

  The group outing, planned for late in the morning, consisted of a nature walk and an early picnic. Half the participants embarked upon it with a carefree manner and the other half with a sense of dread.

  Sophia knew Harold was taking breakfast with his mother today, his last day as Lord Harold Prescott. He’d arranged to do so in as casual a manner as possible, but it would be his last moments with her.

  Sophia would not think about it. It made her too sad.

  Dev had snuck out of her chamber in the early hours of the morning.

  Not knowing if Penny still waited outside Sophia’s door, the silly man had insisted upon climbing out the window and down the trellis. Before she’d even realized what he had in mind, he’d pressed his lips against hers and then disappeared into the darkness.

  She’d not slept much after that.

  Upon tossing and turning for hours, terror and relief swept through her when dawn finally arrived. She pulled the bell pull and unlocked the door. Naught could be done but go about her morning as though nothing were amiss. Most of the details would be taken care of by Dev and Harold. She wished they’d left something for her to do — something that would have occupied her nerve-ridden mind.

  Once she was dressed, and Penny had finished with her coiffure, it was Peaches who finally provided her with a welcome distraction. Looking mournful and scratching at the door, the pup needed to go out. Grateful for some way to pass the time, Sophia opted for a walk in the garden. The gardens were not on the ocean side of the castle. She could pretend for a little while, anyhow, that today was the same as any other.

  Four guests had been invited to serve as witnesses. Sophia and Harold had met with his cousin — Mr. White, Justin White, the vicar of the family — yesterday, and Harold had invited him. And then Dev had asked her to invite Lady Caroline.

  She wasn’t family, well, not direct family, anyhow, but a distant niece of one of the aunts. The other two members of their party would be Rhoda and St. John.

  When Sophia arrived back at her chamber to hand Peaches into Penny’s care, Harold awaited her there. Pale but confident, he offered his arm. “My lady.” He bowed low and formal. “Shall we?”

  He was being brave this morning.


  Sophia forced herself to be cheerful. “I suppose we should, my lord.” She curtseyed and then took his arm. As they made their way to the foyer, she glanced up at him. “You are certain, Harold?”

  And with those words, he nodded. “Scared to death, Sophia, but more certain of this than anything I’ve ever done.”

  She swallowed hard.

  He was going to go through with it.

  The baskets, along with a few blankets, had been delivered to the foyer. Mr. White, dressed in a country suit, was already gathering one of the baskets up to carry, while Lady Caroline flirted with St. John.

  Rhoda arrived behind them and scowled at St. John’s attentiveness to the other lady. Sophia knew Rhoda was confused and angry, but for all of her own anxieties, could barely register the hurt in Rhoda’s eyes.

  Her own terror, yes terror, was so great that she later would not remember a single word spoken as they strolled along the path toward the beach. Mr. White offered Rhoda his free arm, and the three couples seemingly meandered aimlessly toward the cliffs.

  Of course, nothing was being done aimlessly.

  Even St. John had a determination about him.

  They would not hike down to the beach.

  No, of course not.

  The plan was to take the alternate path, the one which just a few weeks before had been overgrown and unused.

  Avoiding the area near the cave, Harold and Sophia led the group to the overlook, near the drop-off into the sea.

  It was precisely where they’d planned to set up the picnic.

  Playing hostess, Sophia mechanically distributed breads and cheeses and wine. The sun shone perfectly from above, and waves could be heard crashing into the rocks below.

  Lady Caroline was shameless with St. John, preening and smoothing out her skirts on the same blanket as he. Mr. White was polite and considerate with Rhoda, but Rhoda had gone quiet. All in all, the luncheon began uncomfortably.

  But that they knew how it would end…

  If only it didn’t have to end.

  If only time could stand still.

  But of course, it did not. The wine was drunk, the food consumed, and sighs of satiation mingled in between the occasional conversation.