by Brianna York
Ten o’clock is satisfactory. I will have two footmen with me.
Rosalind Fenton
“What is this? A letter at this hour?” The voice belonged to Mary Fenton, Duchess Norwood. She dropped a kiss on her daughter’s forehead as she passed by to take a seat at the head of the table.
“You have no objection to me taking a ride with Viscount Longford tomorrow morning, Mother?” Rosy asked as she folded the note again.
Her mother regarded her for a moment. “He is a bit fast, is he not?”
Rosy nodded. “Perhaps, but even men who sow their wild oats eventually settle down.”
The Duchess leaned back to allow a plate of breakfast to be placed in front of her. “That can be true, yes. Do take an extra footman with you my dear and be on your best behavior. I cannot say that he is my first choice, but his family is respectable even if he has not always been so. I believe that your father already went ‘round to see him last week to formally introduce you to him.”
“I have already indicated that I would have two footmen with me in my reply,” Rosy replied. “Please take this and give it back to the Viscount’s man if he is still waiting,” Rosy said to the footman nearest her. The servant withdrew with the note and Rosy turned back to the other folded piece of foolscap. She recognized Alex’s seal and broke it.
Rosy,
I would love to have a talk with you about Viscount Longford. Might I call on you tomorrow?”
Yours,
Alex
Rosy read the note over twice. Alex would likely not be pleased to know that Rosy had agreed to go riding with the Viscount. She sighed and scrawled at the bottom of Alex’s letter:
I would love to see you.
Rosy
She handed off this second message to another footman and bade him deliver it to the house of the Duke Dunsaney. She picked at her food then, mulling over the situation she might be walking into. Who was to say that the Viscount might not have perfectly respectable intentions towards her? Lord knew that no one else had stepped forward to claim her hand in marriage as of yet so she would not be stepping upon the toes of a more staid suitor. She thought of Rob’s blue eyes and the way that they could smile at her when he was amused with her. I shall not wait for you forever Robert Kensington, she thought firmly and forced herself to tuck in to her breakfast.
Chapter Four
Rob leapt from the carriage with instructions to his coachman to return home. He mounted the steps to the address that he maintained for his mistress. The butler swung the door open as Rob mounted the steps, anticipating his employer with the ease of long practice.
“Welcome, My Lord,” he said quietly. “Might I take your coat and hat?”
“Yes, thank you,” Rob said as he divested himself of his top hat and his greatcoat. “There is still a bit of nip in the air in the evenings,” he observed as he passed them to the servant.
“Ah there you are, my dear.” Rob swung around to see Minerva descending the stairs. She held out her arms to him and enfolded him in a quick embrace when she drew near. “It is so good to see you back from the country,” she whispered in his ear, her breath tickling his face and causing his body to respond instantly to her.
“The country is quite lovely but I was missing the charms of the city,” Rob said in reply, his well-cut mouth curving in a smile. He turned to press against her more closely and he saw her expression change when she felt fully how much he wanted her.
“Indeed,” she murmured in reply. “It appears that we shall have a meal brought to my rooms in about an hour,” she said to the butler. “Please tell the footmen that they may retire from the dining room.”
“You had planned a proper dinner for us?” Rob asked, noticing only then that Minerva was dressed in a very fine gown and that her hair had been arranged artfully atop her head and pinned in place with diamond-studded hair pins. “I should not wish to alter your plans so early in the night.”
“Nonsense,” she replied in her husky voice, her hand reaching down to caress him intimately. “Dinner was not the reason you came to see me. I should not wish you to suffer through dinner when there are more pressing matters to attend to. Come along.” She took his hand and led him up the stairs to the opulence of the pink and gold rooms which he had decorated to her tastes when she moved in.
“You are looking very lovely this evening,” Rob said as he closed the door behind them. “It seems a shame to undress you.”
“Then do not do so,” Minerva whispered to him, her hand gathering the long skirt of her gown and lifting it suggestively to reveal a shapely leg.
Rob grinned at her and closed the distance between them. “You are too good to me,” he growled as he pressed her back against the bed and tossed her skirts out of the way.
Minerva’s gasp as he entered her was genuine despite her years of experience. She tangled her fingers in his thick black hair and watched through lust-hazed eyes as he rained kisses on her breasts. He was young but he was kind and generous with himself and his partner. He was always careful to be certain that he was not the only one to benefit from their closeness. She found the way that he tempered his youthful enthusiasm with care and gentleness to be incredibly attractive. She closed her eyes as his mouth came down on hers hungrily and gave herself over to him.
Rob knew that Minerva felt that she was growing less beautiful as her original youthful glory faded somewhat, but he still found her very alluring. There were only a few wrinkles around her dark brown eyes and her thick black hair was still as dark and glossy as a raven’s wing. Her breasts remained high and full and her waist narrow. He knew that some other man had taught her the wiles which she plied him with in the bedchamber, but he appreciated them no less for all that. Rob was not given to jealousy and he would not begrudge a woman of the world the skills she had learned to make a better life for herself.
He felt Minerva hurrying him along toward his release and reined himself in for a moment. “No, you shall not rush me along like that,” he whispered to her as he slowed the tempo of their joining somewhat.
She opened languid eyes and smiled softly at him. “I so appreciate you abandoning yourself to me, My Lord,” she said quietly. “Why can you not allow me this small victory?”
He grinned briefly at her. “I am not so selfish as to let you claim that right,” he told her, enjoying knowing that he could bring her to her own pleasure so readily by putting her needs before his. He dipped his head and claimed her lips before drawing away and pressing kisses down the column of her throat. He grinned briefly as he felt her breath catch and her back arch.
“I suppose if you insist on being so generous,” she whispered, her breath coming faster. She bit his shoulder and he felt her hands clench on the taut muscles of his back. He allowed himself to enjoy her shuddering release before taking his own and allowing himself to rest full length on top of her for a moment, his head pillowed on her soft breasts.
“That was wonderful, Rob,” Minerva whispered throatily, her hand skimming his back. She felt him smile and he pressed a quick kiss to the full peak of the breast beneath his cheek before rolling to the side and propping himself on one elbow. He gathered one of her hands in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. She regarded him thoughtfully, her eyes probing him for a moment. Then she said, “Who is she?”
Rob’s eyes narrowed in surprise at that and he let go of her hand. “What do you mean?” he asked her, not truly perturbed, but uncertain of where she was taking the conversation.
She smiled gently at him and caressed his cheek. “I saw the shadow of a woman between us. She is just there behind your eyes, in your thoughts. I saw here before your release. Who is she?”
Rob felt his heart thud in his chest hard and tried to organize his emotions. He had not thought that she would see the moment just before he came when he had been forced to banish the sudden intrusion of Rosy’s face from his mind’s eye. He was suddenly angry with himself. He did not even know what he felt about Rosalind Fenton and ye
t he was allowing her to intrude on the most intimate moments of his life in this way.
“Do not fret,” Minerva said, bestowing a small smile on him as she slipped off the bed and went to pour them some wine. “You know I shall not be jealous. It is long past time that you found yourself a younger lover.”
“She would not be a lover,” Rob said abruptly before he could rein in his tongue. He sighed and raked a hand through his hair.
Minerva glanced at him in some surprise. “A wife then? Should I wish you happy?”
Rob groaned. “No, Minerva. It’s not that simple and honestly I am not even sure how I feel about the girl.”
Minerva smiled fondly at him as she came to sit on the bed beside him. She offered him a glass of wine. “Would it help to tell me about her?”
Rob took the wine and sipped at it thoughtfully. He glanced over at his mistress and decided that she could be counted upon not to share his secret with those who would gossip about him. “You are aware that my friend, the Duke of Dunsaney married recently.”
Minerva chuckled. “I think that everyone in England is aware that he married. I imagine that there are hundreds of women in society who are vastly jealous of his new wife.”
Rob nodded. “Just so. Anyway, when I was at the ball after the wedding, I was still injured from my fall and could not dance. I was sitting on the side of the room talking to Rosalind Fenton.”
“The daughter of Duke Norwood, is that correct?” Minerva cut in.
Rob nodded. “Yes. We were just talking about one thing or another when suddenly she kissed me.”
Minerva raised her brows at that. “Oh, did she! Very forward of her.” She grinned. “A girl after my own heart.”
Rob tossed her a brief smile before continuing with his explanation. “The trouble is, I have always thought of Rosy as a little girl. She has grown up before my eyes but I had never thought of her as a woman at all.”
“It appears that she thinks of you as a woman would think of a man,” Minerva observed. She took another sip of her wine and tilted her head to the side. “Are you only curious about her new interest in you or do you perhaps have a growing tendre for her?”
Rob scowled a bit and looked into his glass. Minerva thought that he was terribly handsome, even when he scowled and she felt a pang as it occurred to her that his interest in Rosalind Fenton would likely mean the end of their dalliance. She enjoyed Rob for more than the security of his patronage and she admitted to herself that she would miss him sorely when he finally ended their liaison.
“It appears that my heart is making decisions that my sense is not in agreement with. I confess that she has grown very lovely of late but I am not sure that my head can forget how young and unworldly she is.” He glanced at Minerva briefly, his brows furrowed in some concern. “Surely a young girl with such innocence deserves a man who is less jaded.”
“Are you really so bored with your life?” Minerva asked, her dark eyes probing his. She reached out a hand and caressed his cheek softly. “You do not act like a man who has forgotten how to find joy in things.”
Rob smiled a bit at her. “Perhaps I am not as jaded as all that,” he admitted. “I am not the kind of man who takes a wife is all,” he said with finality.
Minerva frowned slightly at his words. “Why ever not, my dear? You are young and handsome. I am sure that many women would be honored to be your wife.”
Rob stared into his glass. “It is not for the reasons that you believe, Minerva. I would need to have security and safety to offer to a wife.” He glanced over at her and smiled a bit. “Once I have those things to give, I might consider taking one.”
“I do not understand,” Minerva admitted. “But I shall not press you further.”
There was a soft knocking at the door then and Minerva rose to open it. Rob made sure that his person was respectably covered and sat up on the bed. A footman brought in a tray of meats, cheeses and slices of bread as well as another decanter of wine. Minerva thanked him and saw him out of the room.
Rob stood up and removed his snugly tailored coat, his cravat and then his shirt. Clad only in his breeches and boots, he crossed the room to where Minerva was serving plates of food. Coming up behind her, he began to pull the pins from her long hair, enjoying the cascade of soft curls as they fell over his arm. She chuckled and looked over her shoulder at him.
“Shall we dine first, my dear?” she asked him, pulling her hair to the side to allow him access to the fastenings of her gown and undergarments.
“I believe we shall,” Rob answered easily, removing the last vestiges of her outerwear, leaving her in her shift. “But we shall do so in comfort.”
Minerva laughed at that and obligingly took a seat in the chair opposite Rob. She nibbled on a slice of cheese and watched Rob as he took a sip of wine and selected the cold cuts he wished to eat from the tray. He was as handsome as ever, but she sensed an aura of uncharacteristic worry hanging about him and she did not fail to see the shadows under his eyes. Her instincts told her that change was in the air for them both. She was not sure how she felt about that. She was aware of her place in Rob’s life and she had always known that one day he would replace her with a younger woman, but she truly enjoyed his company and would miss him. She hoped that whatever was causing him concern could be resolved either by his friends or by Rosalind Fenton herself. She hated to see him suffering but knew that it was not her place to attempt to aid him if he did not wish it. She could help him to forget his worries for tonight though. She vowed that she would make the most of whatever time they had left together.
∞ ∞ ∞
“Rosy!” Cecily Beaumont called with a wave as Rosy entered the drawing room at the Countess of Pleasant’s house. Her shining golden hair glowed in the candlelight as she approached Rosy with her hands outstretched. “It is so good to see you!”
Rosy smiled back at the other woman, trying not to feel jealous of the way that the few men who were attending the Countess’ musicale turned to watch Cecily’s progress across the room. “Hello Cecily,” she said warmly. She giggled as the other girl kissed both her cheeks. “So continental!” she said to the other woman in reply.
Cecily’s eyes twinkled at that. “We don’t have to be boring and English all the time,” she replied, her peal of laughter very charming. She pulled Rosy with her and returned to her seat near the front of the room.
“I confess that I am not sure who we are to see tonight,” Rosy said to the other girl as she settled her skirts more neatly around her. She did not say that her mother had made her come despite her wishes to stay home and that she could truly care less about whichever opera singer or actress they were about to watch.
Cecily shrugged her small shoulders. “Who cares,” she said irreverently. “I am just here to be seen and try and secure a husband before the end of the Season.”
Rosy slanted a glance at the other woman as Cecily preened a little and looked around the room subtly. She was well aware that Cecily was a cousin of Viscount Longford’s from a poorly-situated part of the family. Her mother and father had scraped together as much money as they could safely spare to send their daughter to London to catch a husband. They were gambling on her beauty being enough to snare a rich husband. She would not bring much of a dowry with her beyond what Longford could spare for her. Despite being hailed as an incomparable beauty, Cecily had still not managed to find a husband. She presumed that Cecily’s family would be staying in town through the last gasp of the Season in the hopes that they would not have to try and find money for a second year in town.
“It is a pleasure to see you, Lady Rosalind.”
Rosy glanced over her shoulder and felt her breath catch slightly in her throat. “Good evening, Viscount Longford,” she answered, her voice a bit unsteady.
The Viscount claimed her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. Rosy felt the touch of his lips all the way to her toes despite the slight sense of unease that lingered in her mind from her morn
ing dream. Longford smiled at her with a twinkle in his eyes and Rosy blushed. She managed to maintain eye contact with him despite the nerves fluttering in her chest.
“I see you are keeping Cecily company,” the Viscount said in the easy and slightly drawling way he had of speaking. He winked at his cousin, eliciting a small giggle from her. “You two will surely distract from the poor performers tonight with your beauty.”
Rosy felt her cheeks grow pink but she did not turn her eyes away from the Viscount’s gaze. The flecks of gold in his hazel eyes caught the light from the candles. She felt like some kind of prey being hunted by him and yet, she was suddenly not uncomfortable under his intense gaze. She felt a flash of the reckless abandon that had caused her to kiss Rob at Matthew’s wedding.
“Viscount,” she said abruptly, her voice a bit breathless with suppressed nerves, “You did not kiss my hand correctly a moment ago.” She offered him her slim fingers again and arched a dark brow at him. “Pray, do it again. And properly this time.”
She felt a thrill at the flash of surprise in the Viscount’s eyes at her words. The surprise was quickly replaced with a glow of intensity as he took a step closer to her and gathered her fingers in his elegant hand. “You must accept my apologies, Lady Rosalind,” he said softly. “I should hate to disappoint.” He raised her small hand to his mouth, his lips pressing against the sensitive skin just above her knuckles. She felt her triumph at having created this slightly scandalous situation turn to a sudden shock when he flicked his tongue briefly along the back of her hand, the action a promise of other more dangerous intimacies. His hazel eyes glanced up into hers, fully aware of having turned the situation back upon her.
“I do hope that you shall enjoy the show,” the Viscount said to the two women, releasing Rosy’s hand and removing himself to the seat he had earlier claimed next to the Countess of Pleasant. Rosy willed herself to look away and sat down with a bit of a thump on her chair, her heart thudding wildly in her chest.
“Goodness,” Cecily said, her blue eyes scanning Rosy’s profile for a moment. “That was quite a thing to do at an event like this!”
