She came so hard that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. Her whole body reverberated with the contractions that milked him as he thrust. His sounds grew victorious as she gave herself completely to mating with him, rocking with him as she squeezed him. All at once, his sounds grew pitched, and his body clenched around her as he spilled his seed inside her. The moment was so perfect that Caro laughed and cried together.
The last thing she wanted was for the passion to fade, but the deep, warm sense of their souls intertwined followed the ebbing of lust. They collapsed to the bed, crawling under the covers, then seeking out each other’s arms. He kissed her, not as a prelude to lovemaking, but as a lingering promise. They were so much more to each other than bedmates, and they always would be.
“I truly do love you, you know,” Rufus said as he worked to catch his breath. “Not just because your appetites match my own.”
“I know,” Caro said. “Because I love you just as much. You’re witty and determined. You’re strong, but also kind. And I am convinced that you would have found a way to restore your family to its rightful place even without me or marriage or diamonds.”
“No,” he said, brushing damp hair back from her face. “I never could have done any of this without you.” She wanted to argue with him, but he went on with, “We are a team, you and I. Without you, I was merely a suspect in a crime. With you, I can do anything.”
Caro grinned, her heart so full it was near bursting. “Well, then. We’ll simply have to stay together forever, won’t we?”
“Forever,” he said, then stole another kiss that could have ignited the ocean.
Epilogue
Christmas at the school formerly known as Miss Dobson’s Finishing School was a delightfully merry occasion. While some of the young ladies had chosen to return to the bosom of their family for the holidays, a surprising number decided to stay.
“My parents are passing the season in Italy,” Eliza declared as she stole a spoonful of Felicity’s pudding. “And they’re welcome to it.”
“I wouldn’t mind spending the holidays in Italy,” Ophelia said with a sigh, glancing out the frost-covered window as though it looked out on a Tuscan vista. “It’s certainly better than freezing London.”
“London isn’t so bad,” Felicity said, striking Eliza’s spoon with hers as she attempted to steal a second bit of pudding. The result was a short but exciting spoon sword-fight. “Although I wouldn’t turn down a holiday somewhere light and sunny. Even a country house. Surely, we all must have country estates in sunnier climes that we can visit.”
All at once, Eliza sat straight. “You know who now has a charming country house?” she asked. When Felicity and Ophelia merely looked at her in question, she went on with, “Why, our dear Caro.” A smile spread across her face. “Lady Caroline Herrington is now the proud possessor of a simply charming estate in Shropshire. My parents are on good terms with Lord Herrington the elder, and we were all invited to a house party there three years ago.”
“A house party,” Ophelia said with a dreamy sigh. “I have always wanted to be asked to a house party.”
“House parties are divine,” Felicity agreed. “Nothing is livelier than a house filled with men and women searching for mates.”
“Particularly when a good portion of those men and women creep through the halls at night, in search of trouble of a particular kind,” Eliza added with a wink.
Ophelia, who may or may not have been paying full attention, sat straighter. “We could all find husbands at a house party. I know we could.”
“Husbands, yes,” Felicity said, sharing a wicked grin with Eliza. “That’s what we could find.”
“Do you suppose Lady Caroline would consent to hosting a house party this summer?” Ophelia asked.
Eliza and Felicity instantly brightened.
“That would be perfect,” Eliza said. “And I’m sure if we explained things, she would be all too happy to host one. After all—” she turned to Felicity, “—our prospects for freedom would be much greater if we were married and out of the influence of our families.”
“Our absentee, unfeeling families,” Felicity agreed with a sigh. There was a somewhat depressed pause before she went on with, “It’s settled, then. We implore Caro to host a house party this summer and to invite the three of us—and whichever other young ladies she deems worthy—along with as many eligible, young friends of Lord Herrington and Lord Lichfield who she can extend invitations to.”
“That would be wonderful,” Ophelia said, the spark in her eyes more innocent than that lighting the other two’s expressions.
“It’s bound to be a grand time,” Eliza agreed. “Who knows what might happen to us all?”
* * *
I hope you’ve enjoyed Caro and Rufus’s story! At last, the Chandramukhi Diamond has been found! But if you think that’s the end of the stories of the Wicked Wallflowers, well, then you don’t know me well enough yet. Rufus wasn’t lying when he told Caro that the chances of the young ladies left at Miss Dobson’s school finding respectable mates and being accepted by the ton was slim. Which is why they will have to take things into their own hands. But I think we all know Miss Felicity Murdoch and Lady Eliza Towers are up to the challenge. And they have plans for their good friend, Lady Ophelia, as well! So keep your eyes peeled later this summer for the next three books in the When the Wallflowers were Wicked series!
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About the Author
I hope you have enjoyed The Clever Strumpet. If you’d like to be the first to learn about when new books in the series come out and more, please sign up for my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cbaVMH And remember, Read it, Review it, Share it! For a complete list of works by Merry Farmer with links, please visit http://wp.me/P5ttjb-14F.
Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her cats, Torpedo, her grumpy old man, and Justine, her hyperactive new baby. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn't have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always have something to write about. Her books have reached the Top 100 at Amazon, iBooks, and Barnes & Noble, and have been named finalists in the prestigious RONE and Rom Com Reader’s Crown awards.
Acknowledgments
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my awesome beta-readers, Caroline Lee and Jolene Stewart, for their suggestions and advice. And double thanks to Julie Tague, for being a truly excellent editor and assistant! Thanks also to the members of the Historical Harlots Facebook Group, who provide me with all sorts of inspiration!
Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.
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