The Mystery of Miss Mason (The Lost Lords Book 5)
Page 24
Alex rolled onto his side and looked at her steadily. “You may do whichever pleases you most, Lady Wolverton.”
They had married that morning, three days after she’d “seduced” him at the inn. They’d obtained a special license, paid for in large part by her brother’s largesse. The ceremony had taken place at St Pancras in the old church, and had been attended by Miss Euphemia Darrow and by Alex’s solicitor. He’d offered to wait until Benedict and Elizabeth could arrive, but Mary had declined. The idea of delaying the start of their life together for any reason was simply beyond her. She hadn’t wanted to provide an opportunity for anything else to go awry.
Placing the flowers on the table once more, she held her left hand up to the light. The ring on her third finger was something of a surprise given her husband’s rather limited finances. The large emerald was flanked on either side by a single sapphire and a diamond. It wasn’t heavy or overly ornate, but it was lavishly expensive and very beautiful. It seemed Ambrose had kept it tucked away in his London home, locked up with Alexander’s other family heirlooms that he’d considered too precious to part with. London, far from any bailiffs or bill collectors who might come calling at Wolfhaven, had seemed the best option. At receiving news of their coming nuptials, Ambrose had sent a letter to his man of affairs and had him fetch it for Alex just in time for the wedding. “You could have sold this ring and lived much more comfortably. In fact, it’s rather silly of you not to have done so,” she admonished.
“My finances will work themselves out soon enough,” he said and absently stroked the curve of her hip with the tips of his fingers. “That ring belonged to my mother and had been in her family for years. Now it belongs to you.”
It tickled slightly but it also reignited the passion they had shared only a short time earlier. “Stop that. I’m being serious. We should talk about how we’re going to live. I have a bit of money, but not much. And once the dust has settled, I know that Benedict would provide a dowry for me.”
Alex sighed. “I don’t care about money. Middlethorp has called in a few favors and now there is to be a special session of the House to hear the appeal of my case and, hopefully, reverse their earlier ruling… as well as settle the matter of your brother’s title once and for all.”
Mary sat up then. “When did you find this out?”
“This morning… just before we went to the church.”
She huffed out a breath, incapable of hiding her irritation. “And you didn’t think to share that with me?”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back down until her cheek was pressed against his shoulder. Mary tried to hold on to her ire, but it faded quickly.
“I wanted to tell you. I meant to, in fact, but we had the church and the wedding, and then we had the consummation… so many tasks, my dearest!”
She lifted her head, gaping at him slightly in horrified amusement. “A task is it?”
He grinned. “It does require a good bit of exertion.”
Mary laughed and then tucked herself once more in at his side. “Do you really think they will return everything to you?”
“Not everything. A good deal, yes. I imagine things will still be a bit lean for us for a while, but several of the estates are quite profitable. Those profits can be invested in the others to improve their productivity,” he offered. “Will you mind very much that I’ll simply be less poor instead of terribly wealthy?”
She sighed dramatically. “I suppose I shall just have to content myself with being married to a man I love, who seduces me quite regularly, much to my delight, and who tells me on a daily basis that he adores the ground I walk upon. We must all make sacrifices.”
He was laughing as he flipped them entirely and had her pinned beneath him. “Minx.”
“Scoundrel,” she countered.
He kissed her neck, his teeth scraping gently along that one spot that made her shiver with pleasure. Mary’s eyes closed and she bit her lip at the rush of sensation. “You are a wicked, wicked man.”
“Should I stop then?”
“No. That would be even more wicked,” she confessed. “I could not bear the disappointment.”
“Have I told you how much I love you?”
Her lips curved into a soft, contented smile at that. “You have. But as I will never tire of hearing it, you may certainly feel free to tell me again.”
“Then I love you. More than life. More than my next breath… and I cannot wait to be done with London and return to Wolfhaven with you at my side.”
Mary’s smile turned into a frown. “I know you said we would be poor, but will we be so poor that we have to keep Mrs. Epson on?”
Alex laughed. “I’ve already sent a letter to her instructing her that she is to retire to a small cottage on the estate and will receive a small pension. I would not put either one of us through that torment. We have both suffered quite enough without having to continue eating the vile concoctions she calls food.”
“Speaking of food… I’m famished. You were quite persuasive when it came to skipping breakfast,” she said. “I need food, Alexander.”
He rose then, tugging her up with him. Mary watched as he donned his dressing gown. Taking her wrapper, she slipped it on and then the two of them made their way down the stairs. They were staying at a smallish house in Mayfair that was owned by Lord Ambrose. It was not his primary residence and Mary imagined that prior to his failing health, it had been used as a home for his mistresses. The servants had been given the day off as they’d wanted privacy instead. But the kitchen was well stocked as they raided the larder and amassed a feast of cold meats, cheese, bread and fruits. There were also some lovely lemon tarts that she was horribly tempted by.
“Lord Ambrose was the friend who held your mother’s jewelry in safekeeping, wasn’t he?”
Alex nodded as he slathered butter on a piece of bread and handed it to her. “He was. I know he’s quite scandalous, but he has been a true friend.”
“We should see him when we return to Wolfhaven, or here in town before we leave should he return.”
Alex raised his eyebrows at her suggestion. “You do realize that entertaining Lord Ambrose, or entering his house, would make you a pariah in society? When I say he’s scandalous, Mary—suffice it to say he has gleefully and with great abandon earned his reputation.”
She made a face. “I’m the daughter of heaven knows what sort of people! My mother could have been a common prostitute for all I know! I’m scandalous already.”
“And your father could have been Prinny himself,” he pointed out.
“Or a dock worker! Would it be so terrible if I’m just a low-born, bastard child and that I don’t have some exalted lineage like Benedict?” she asked.
“Not for me… but I worry about it for you,” he admitted. “I think it bothers you more than you say. And I want you to have those answers. I think there is more to be learned from Harrelson’s journals and those retrieved from Madame Zula. Middlethorp has set the hounds on her manservant, hoping to find him and any information he might possess.”
Mary nodded. “And you are writing letters to Ambrose, finding out what he might know or who he might be able to coerce into helping you dig further?”
Alex shrugged. “He’s a good friend, even if the world thinks him a bounder.”
“It doesn’t matter. You trust him and I trust you. And he is your friend. Society can rot for all I care.”
He pulled her close and kissed her again. “In that case, perhaps we could be scandalous, too?”
“What did you have in mind?” she asked.
He lifted her onto the countertop, her knees bracketing his hard thighs. He had that look in his eyes—feral, predatory, even, and so very appealing. The bread she’d been nibbling on turned to sawdust in her mouth. The rumbling of her stomach was forgotten entirely as another need pushed to the forefront and demanded fulfillment.
“Have you ever made love in a kitchen, Lady Wolverton?”
His hands shifted on the backs of her thighs, just behind her knees and tugged her forward. Mary’s arms closed about him and she felt the hard ridge of his arousal press against her belly. Yes, she thought. Their impromptu luncheon could certainly wait.
“I would be more affronted,” he whispered, his breath hot against her neck, “had you said you were not.”
“I admit to being somewhat puzzled by how such a thing would occur,” she teased. “Perhaps a demonstration is in order?”
And he did demonstrate it. Thoroughly.
The End
Author’s Note
Mary and Alex will return in the final book of the Lost Lords Series. I realize there are remaining questions about how Alex’s property will be returned to him and the legal woes he faced, but when I tell the story of Cornelius Garrett, the heir to Lord Ambrose (whom you saw very briefly in this book) you will get to find out exactly how all of that transpired.
I hope that you all have enjoyed reading the Lost Lords Series as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I also hope that you will continue the journey with me into my next series for Dragonblade Publishing, The Hellion Club. If you’d like to know more, please join my reader group on Facebook or contact me via email at chasitybowlin@gmail.com.
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About the Author
Chasity Bowlin lives in central Kentucky with her husband and their menagerie of animals. She loves writing, loves traveling and enjoys incorporating tidbits of her actual vacations into her books. She is an avid Anglophile, loving all things British, but specifically all things Regency.
Growing up in Tennessee, spending as much time as possible with her doting grandparents, soap operas were a part of her daily existence, followed by back to back episodes of Scooby Doo. Her path to becoming a romance novelist was set when, rather than simply have her Barbie dolls cruise around in a pink convertible, they time traveled, hosted lavish dinner parties and one even had an evil twin locked in the attic.