With such fury inside his chest, Reginald was lost for words for a few moments. Could his uncle see the anger? The resentment?
Instead, Reginald said, between gritted teeth. “I see, uncle.”
The Duke looked surprised with his reaction but just nodded. “I need to make amends. This whole thing was a complete mess and Edward needs compensation.”
“What about me, uncle? Have I not been a good ward? Have I not been learning the trade to be your heir?”
“You were quite adequate, Reginald,” the Duke said eventually. “Edward, though, has knowledge of business. He has built a small empire and succeeded above all odds. He does not need to do anything for me, other than this.”
“Then why are you choosing him over-”
The Duke didn’t let him finish. “The last I checked, I was still the Duke and my money and business were still my own. I am not mad. I have thought this through and I will not have you questioning my actions! I merely wanted to inform you of my decision, not to have you trying to convince me otherwise.”
Reginald didn’t know what else to say. All his plans… all could fall apart because of a bastard.
There was nothing else to say at that point, Reginald knew, so he bowed his head. “I see, Your Grace.”
With a sympathetic expression Reginald absolutely hated, the Duke said. “I know this changes your plans a lot, Reginald, but you must understand I need to do right by my son. You will be Duke, most likely, but my son will have whatever I can give him,” the older man sighed.
“You barely know the man, uncle. How can you feel so strongly about him?”
The Duke said, simply. “Once you are a father you will understand what it feels to want to give the world to your child. Maybe other men wouldn’t have felt the way I did, but I liked Edward immediately. Maybe it was because he reminds me of his mother, maybe I just like the way he goes through life. It matters not in the end, I want him to be my son. I want us to share more than blood and if doing all of this will help, I will do it.”
“Uncle, please.” Reginald tried one last time, barely containing his anger and trying to put on a worried façade. “If this is about the loss of Lady Kathleen-”
Something changed on the Duke’s face. He suddenly became more serious, which was unexpected. Whenever Kathleen’s name was mentioned, he would become softer.
“About my daughter, Reginald. What is this talk I heard about you and Kathleen being in love?” the Duke asked and Reginald’s heart almost stopped. How did he…?
“Why did you say to Miss Clifford that you and Kathleen were to be married? She had chosen another, you are aware of this.”
Oh, how he hated looking like a fool and that was exactly what he was at that moment.
Think, he said to himself, think!
“I…” He cleared his throat. “I am sorry, uncle. I lied to Miss Clifford.” Reginald thought on the spot that it was better, at the moment, to tell the truth. Or part of it.
“Lady Kathleen and I were not involved at all, but I could see Miss Clifford’s doubts about me and I wanted her to think I had been betrothed before and would be somehow a better man in her eyes. Since Lady Kathleen could not contradict me, I said her name. It was stupid of me, surely. I did love my dear cousin as a brother would, though.”
The Duke got up from his chair and put his hands on his desk, leaning a little. Reginald never thought of his uncle as threatening, imposing and sure of his position, but at that moment, he suddenly was very threatening.
“You will never lie about my daughter again, do you understand me, Reginald?” The Duke said loud enough for Reginald to hear. “Kathleen might be gone from this world, but I will not have her name slandered by anyone, not even by someone whom she shared blood with. Do you understand me?”
Reginald gulped. “Yes, sir.”
“It appears my son was right about you,” the Duke stared down at his nephew. “My eyes are wide open about many things they weren’t before, Lord Ainsworth, don’t forget it. Now leave.” He dismissed Reginald and sat back down on his chair. “I will send for you again if need be.”
With anger like never before boiling inside his stomach, Reginald got up, bowed and left the room feeling utterly humiliated.
Things were not going to be like that for too long.
They would pay for his humiliation.
Chapter 17
Miss Selina Clifford
Two blissful nights with Edward and Selina couldn’t help but to feel amazed at how life just went on with none the wiser, besides Matilda and Vivian.
For two straight nights, she had met him at the same spot and she could picture a life with him, going to sleep next to him and wake up with his arms around him.
She grew up knowing she would marry, she accepted the idea to be with someone she was fond of and could grow to love eventually, as some ladies did, but to feel such connection and chemistry between them? She was not prepared for it and it hit her, hard.
The day after her first meeting with him, she sat with her cousin and her aunt to do some point needle, and although her technique was flawless, she was behind on schedule because she would stop time to time to remember Edward.
His hands, his warmth, his smell. His lips.
Selina was glad her dress covered the junction of her shoulder to her neck, because she had a mark of those two nights together. It was how Vivian found out, the next morning while helping her get dressed.
Vivian was scandalized, of course, but she was faithful to her mistress and wanted her happy above all, and if she could help her not get caught, even better.
Unless Vivian went to her aunt or uncle, Selina was not stopping her meetings.
Selina had had enough of being the perfect little miss.
For her father’s sake, she would avoid scandal as much as she could, but she refused to let the best moments of her life pass her by.
“How do I look, Vivian?” Selina asked, looking at her maid’s reflection in the mirror while Vivian made her bed.
“A gem, Miss.” She smiled kindly but then turned serious. “Miss, I know this is not my place, but I must insist that you and Mr. McAlister stop meeting this way. The scandal if someone were ever to find out…”
Selina turned on her seat to face Vivian. “I know of the risks, Vivian. Thank you for caring. Mr. Clifford and I are not going to do anything that will be… permanent.”
She could feel her cheeks heating with both the thought of what she meant and how Edward made her feel when she was in his arms. “We are just getting to know each other better.”
Vivian sighed. “That is what scares me, Miss. What if your father still makes you marry Lord Ainsworth? You will be heartbroken and bitter because of it. Wouldn’t it be better if you had some time apart?”
“Oh, Vivian.” Selina shook her head. “The time for that has passed. My heart belongs to Mr. McAlister and separating from him now would only add to the heartache. If it comes down to marrying another, at least I will have had these nights. I have no intentions to marry anyone other than him, but the future is uncertain so I am living in the present,” she said as she bit her lower lip.
“I know it is reckless and not like me, but I just want something to hold dear, no matter what.”
“I understand, Miss,” Vivian nodded. “You know you can count on me, but be careful.”
“Of course, Vivian,” Selina agreed. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”
The maid offered a shy smile. “Your coat is on the settee. I chose a thicker one for tonight, as it is colder.”
“You are very thoughtful. Have a good night, Vivian.”
“You too, Miss.” Vivian curtsied and both women couldn’t help but to exchange a sly smile.
* * *
The moment Selina went through the gate, she felt strong arms surrounding her and she gasped into the night but started to giggle quietly when she recognized Edward.
She was spun around and her chest met his, their bo
dies molding to each other’s, as they always did, drawn to one another in a way she never thought was possible.
Edward was smiling and Selina reciprocated the smile and, being more acquainted with the act, put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him down for a kiss. She could feel he didn’t stop smiling while they kissed, and neither did she.
They were happy. Whatever might come their way, at that moment, they were happy.
“How was your day?” he asked between sweet kisses.
“I was counting the minutes to see you again,” she told him. “Why, do you reckon, time passes so much slower when we look forward to something?”
Selina could feel the rumble of his chuckle in his chest. “I think it’s God’s way to teach us patience.”
She laughed quietly. “Then I am in trouble, Edward. I have learned nothing of the sort.”
“Neither did I.” Edward kissed her again. “I spent the whole day trying to run my business but some red-haired goddess kept interrupting my thoughts.” He sounded annoyed, but the corners of his mouth were up, teasing her.
“Should I be jealous?” She asked playfully, her arms on his shoulders, hand caressing the small hairs of the back of his head in a way she learned he loved when done.
“Absolutely.” He deadpanned, amused. “The most beautiful woman I have ever seen, eyes so blue it reminds me of the ocean, lips made for kisses.”
He undid the knot on her coat and put his hands on her hips. “A perfect figure.” She gasped and felt her heart race when his hands made their way up slowly and stopped on her ribcage, his thumbs caressed the underside of her breast and then her nipples. “Breasts I know fit perfectly in my hands and sadly, I can only imagine how they look.”
Selina found it was harder to breathe. “Is… Is that so?”
Edward chuckled. “My dear Selina, you should know by now I have imagined every single thing I want to do to you when we are alone, with a comfortable bed at our disposal and the absolutely abhorrent approval of society’s customs.”
“Edward!” Selina knew her face was red, but she wasn’t as scandalized as she made it out to be. It was not as if she weren’t having the same thoughts. She just didn’t know as much of the subject to imagine it as it should.
“You look beautiful flushed that way, my love,” he whispered and without her consent, there were butterflies in her stomach and she all but melted for him.
Selina realized, then, by his chuckle, he was trying to shock her. Well, he had achieved his goal, but two could play that game and Selina could be a tad bit competitive sometimes.
“Well.” She cleared her throat and tried her best to match his line of thought. “If you must know, you are not the only one with imagination, Mr. McAlister.”
His attention was suddenly piqued, one eyebrow rose and he looked mischievous. “Is that so, Miss Clifford?” He pulled her closer. “And what does a sweet lady like you think about?”
“You and I. Together,” she managed to speak, but felt rather silly doing so, especially when Edward chuckled.
“That is a very good start, Selina. I would have been disappointed if I weren’t in your fantasies.”
“No one else could ever be in them,” she confessed.
Edward kissed her and Selina all but melted in his arms and kissed him back, enthusiastically. He bit her neck lightly while she caught her breath and asked, just loud enough so she could hear him.
“What are we doing when you think of me, my dear?” Selina froze for a moment. “When you are all alone in your bed, what do you imagine?”
Selina was at a loss of words. Did he really want to know her thoughts?
“I don’t… I don’t know… just us.” She whispered in answer. “I… I am not very well educated in such matters, Edward. I am only allowed to know so much about such matters.”
Edward looked at her for a moment. “That is very true, Selina. I apologize if I offended you.”
“You… you didn’t offend me.” Selina said and with a burst of confidence, the words were out of her mouth before she could think through. “Maybe you should teach me something.”
He looked quite shocked, and it pleased her to know she had such power over him, even if it was just for a few seconds.
“Teach you?”
“Yes. I know I am not the first woman you touched, Edward. I do hope to be the last, though. If we are not to be together, I want to have this memory of you. Of us.”
Edward studied her expression for a moment and pulled her in for a kiss like never before, so full of passion and lust. She was dizzy with the heat.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her from the fence and towards the trees where he had been hiding the first night they met.
Her heart was pounding inside her chest in anticipation. What was his plan? How far was she willing to go? Had she gone mad after all?
Once they were quite a distant from the house – not enough where she could not find her way back alone, if necessary – Edward stopped and pushed her against a tree.
Selina’s breath caught in her throat when he covered her body with his. She wasn’t scared, she realized. Nothing about Edward scared her, but her want for him did. Selina knew that what they were about to do, they shouldn’t do.
She would worry about it later. She didn’t want their moment to be ruined.
“I promised myself that I wouldn’t let my lust control me and I promised to not dishonor you, but you asked me for a teaching session, and who am I to say ‘no’?” His voice was rougher, somehow, and his green eyes were almost black with desire. He had a hand on the side of her neck and the other on her waist. “Tell me, Selina, have you ever explored your body?”
The question was deliberately slow and quiet as she felt his hand moving from her waist to her hips while the other undid the bow on the neck of her nightgown, showing him her cleavage. He did all that without breaking eye contact and Selina forgot how to breathe for a moment.
No words came out when she tried to answer, so Selina just shook her head and Edward hummed in agreement.
“I thought so. I hope you enjoy the lesson,” he said before kissing her lips gently, and Selina quickly kissed him back.
Selina liked kissing him. It wasn’t a task, but a pleasurable perk and as it grew hotter and steamier, she found herself breathless and holding onto him for her dear life.
For the past two nights, they had gone that far and it always left Selina hot and bothered, but this night, they would go further, whatever that meant.
“Hold on to me,” Edward said and before Selina could say another word, he pulled her by the back of her thighs, pinned her harder against the tree and his hips were safely between her legs while she did as told and held onto him tight.
She looked at him in confusion and excitement and received a wicked smile in return that made her throb between her legs.
It was a frustration she had become acquainted to for the past few nights. Bloody uncomfortable, it was.
Edward kissed her again and the height difference between them was much less so; she was almost eye-level with him. While they had better kisses, what he did next surprised her more than anything.
With her pinned against the tree, Edward started to move his hips, creating a friction she never felt before. Edward’s mouth went to her neck while Selina clung onto him. She was certain that had he not been wearing a thick coat, her nails would have hurt him badly.
One of his hands slid between them and under her nightgown, making Selina gasp loudly when Edward found her womanhood. No one had ever touched her there, and the moment he did, she was certain a thunderbolt passed through her. There was no other explanation for the feeling.
“Oh, god,” she said by reflex when he found a particularly good spot that made her blood turn into lava.
His fingers were very talented and Selina didn’t have the time to feel ashamed or shy. She wanted to enjoy it and just… feel.
Her own hips started to move to get more friction and
she could feel Edward smile while his face was buried in her neck, kissing and biting her soft skin. Selina’s hands went to Edward’s hair and she pulled it a little in her agony.
Whatever Edward was doing, she was a firm believer of it.
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that. She just knew that she needed something more to reach for. The pleasure making her stomach twist and her breath shallow.
A Hidden Duke For The Passionate Lady (Regency Historical Romance) Page 12
