George stopped and thoroughly kissed her. Once Evelyn was quiet he stopped. ‘There are many worse things to happen that the ton gossip about. This is aught but a blip. Besides, no one else was present to hear any of it other than myself, because I was looking for you.’
Evelyn nodded, melting into his arms. ‘Of course, you are right, George.’
‘I like to be right, love,’ he told her, chuckling at the arrogance of his words.
She slapped his chest. ‘You are being silly again, George,’ she complained.
‘I always tell you that I am your silly man.’ He chuckled again and then leaned down for a kiss. ‘Do not think on it, love. All is well. And just remember, five more weeks and we will be husband and wife.’
She sighed happily at his words.
The run-in with Matthew had been quite inopportune and unwanted but they had both just gotten some form of closure.
Evelyn now knew for sure what she realised soon after meeting George—she had never truly loved Matthew. She had been in love with love. Then she had met George, her true love. She knew that George had been more than relieved with how she dealt with Matthew. Without truly realizing it, she had showed George absolute loyalty with that confrontation. Matthew Ashton, Evelyn decided, was a childish man, and George was a real man.
George had told her that he thought that Matthew was little more than the village idiot, as he liked to tell her in private. She was not sure how she felt when George told her that Matthew was much like George’s first wife. He was convinced that Matthew was a spoiled prig that needed to grow up. Evelyn did not like admitting it to even herself, but she thought that George had a point. Perhaps it was relief that she found real love with her Duke.
* * * *
The night wore on and the couple received many well wishes and congratulations from others that they knew. Evelyn lamented as they walked together. ‘I like the well wishes, but it does not feel like we have had time to be together, just us.’ She frowned as they slowly started walking again. ‘Perhaps I am being selfish?’
‘No,’ George admitted. ‘I agree wholeheartedly, my love.’
He wanted to make love to her. George was fairly certain his balls were either going to turn blue or drop off. That was the only disadvantage of their engagement, all eyes were on them. However, he did not mind that he had to pleasure himself. It was only for a few weeks or before they may find some time alone. He had done it for months after meeting Evelyn, too.
‘Maybe we could go on a picnic or something alone. We could do that,’ she suggested.
‘We can do it in a couple of days, when the rest of our guests who aren’t staying until the wedding leave.’ George looked around and knew they were still in a secluded area. He groaned, kissing her thoroughly. ‘I want to make love to you, honey.’
‘I would like that, too,’ she admitted shyly. Evelyn then said with uncertainty, ‘Maybe, because we will wed soon, we will not need to worry if we make a baby?’
He held her close. ‘I would like that more than anything, love, but only if you are ready.’
Evelyn cleared her throat. ‘You feel like you are...’ She felt the excitement inside of her, creating a tingling heat at the pit of her stomach and between her legs.
‘Ready to take you?’ He pressed his groin into her. ‘I think you may find that I am always ready for you, Evie.’
‘Maybe just quickly? Where there is no one?’ she suggested. ‘I really want you, too, George.’
Excitement thrummed through his body, looking around. ‘Here of all places there are plenty of places for us to go. We will need to move somewhere further away. People can see us here.’ He could tell that she was both aroused and embarrassed.
‘Lead the way, George.’ Evelyn smiled at him.
In their endeavour to find a secluded alcove or corner in the garden, they encountered a number of people. Despite the masks of the masquerade most people knew who each other were. It was easy enough to get away. George found them a place in the garden. The garden itself was a sweeping, immaculate lawn for a good acre or two from the main house of the estate. During the day there had been tents and tables set up. Off to the right there was a small drainage pond which had been turned into a magnificent water feature, including a foot bridge which led into dense, unordered shrubbery and a grotto. As was the fashion, this part was manicured ordered chaos. Instead, they went to the right. The garden was more ordered. There was a hedge line which one could have assumed was a maze but was simply the border to a lavish rose garden. There were rows of trees that led to further parts of the gardens but there was no need to go further. It had been surprisingly easy to find a private corner in the rose garden.
‘Here we are, Evie,’ he whispered.
He slowly kissed her, touching her freely before cupping one of her breasts. He squeezed it gently and she moaned. George was pleased that his scandalous lady still chose to dress in layers that were easiest for her to handle on her own.
‘Mmm,’ she sighed. ‘Oh, George,’ Evelyn whispered. ‘I love you. It has been too long.’
‘I know, honey,’ he replied. ‘Here, there’s a bench here. I will sit and you can straddle me.’
‘Perfect,’ she replied.
‘Help me get my trousers down.’ He groaned. ‘I want to feel your hand on my shaft.’ George continued kissing her. He then said, ‘I think of you touching me every night. I need you, Evie. I need to be inside you.’
‘Please, George,’ she whimpered.
‘’Tis a pity I cannot undress you to touch you properly,’ he said hoarsely. ‘Hold you properly.’
‘This will be just as good.’ Evelyn gasped as she finally managed to undo his trousers. His thick, hard cock was hot against her hand and quivered at her touch. George moaned softly, thrusting his hips into her hand.
‘I cannot wait, Evie,’ he told her, guiding her to sit with him on the bench. He grunted. ‘Your damn underthings...’ His hand had disappeared underneath the folds of her dress.
‘Here.’ Evelyn folded her layers of dress material and petticoat so that it was bunched behind her. She then pushed aside the material from her undergarments.
‘Here,’ he now said, guiding her onto his lap, face to face. ‘Fuck.’ George gritted his teeth when his naked cock slid inside her welcoming heat. ‘Fuck, honey,’ he cursed again. ‘I am afraid I will not last, Evie.’ He buried his face into her chest.
‘George,’ Evelyn gasped, moving down the length of his cock. ‘You feel so wonderful.’
She slowly moved up and then back down. George was muffling his cries of pleasure by keeping his face between her breasts. The heat of his breath on her and the vibration against her skin made her nipples tingle. The throbbing between her legs increased, too, as she moved. George placed his hands on her hips, picking up the speed and friction between them.
‘Yes,’ she whimpered, raking her fingers through his hair.
‘Fuck me hard, honey,’ he told her in a hoarse whisper.
Evelyn barely responded to that as she concentrated on moving.
George kissed her on the lips as they moved in an effort to keep them both quiet. His Evie might be shy and prefer not to be around too many people, but she was all-explosive passion and not afraid to make it known. He loved it when he got her crying out his name. He moved one hand so he could stroke her to completion. It was rather embarrassing when he knew immediately that he would not be able to hold on to his seed long enough.
‘George,’ she moaned against his lips, ‘that feels so...’
‘That’s it, love.’
They didn’t last too much longer after that. George continued stroking her, his fingers wet from their coupling. He forced himself to hold off his orgasm. However, as soon as Evelyn arched against him and he was able to watch her climax, her inner muscles throbbed against his cock before gripping him tightly. She bit her bottom lip, trying not to make noise, and came in a series of grunts. George buried his face between her breast
s once more and came hard. The effort had him grunting. He cursed as Evelyn rocked against him. His balls had felt so heavy and were now empty as he released his seed.
They panted together in the afterglow for some minutes, clutching each other.
Other than being pleasurable and something they had both been craving since the last time they had had sex, this had also been something of a cleansing coupling. They could now leave both their pasts behind as they whittled down the five weeks before they got married.
‘Fuck,’ he cursed. ‘I doubt I will be able to get my cock up before the wedding after that.’ Evelyn hummed with pleasure in his ear. That made his words a contradiction. Just the sound had his soft cock twitching.
‘My silly, George,’ she whispered, kissing him.
‘It felt wonderful to come inside you without the sheaths,’ he whispered to her. ‘Just us, together, no hesitations.’
‘Mm, yes,’ she agreed. ‘I love you, George.’
‘I love you, too, Evie.’ He smiled, kissing her again. ‘That was our first time unprotected. I wonder if we will make a babe tonight.’ George touched her flat stomach, imagining what she would look like increasing, watching their child growing inside her.
‘I do not know,’ Evelyn replied. ‘We have to wait. At least six weeks to be certain. I have to miss a cycle. I always bleed on time, so it will be easier for me to know. Some women do not bleed on time at all.’
‘Six weeks, eh?’ He smiled. ‘We wed in five weeks ...’
‘Well, four and a half weeks, to be exact,’ she reminded him. Evelyn moved off of his cock slowly. George stood and she heard him fastening his trousers. ‘My cycles are due in just under two weeks.’
‘You will have to tell me, love,’ he said, sitting back down next to her. George felt deliriously happy. He had just had a very satisfying bout of sex which meant his cock and balls felt some measure of relief, and now they were talking about their future family together. He helped Evelyn with her skirts before holding her close.
‘The only thing is I do not want to suffer morning sickness while on our honeymoon,’ Evelyn said, screwing up her nose. ‘If I am, I hope that I will be fine for the first three months or so, like with Ruby—then I got sick.’
‘I will be sure to look after you, Evie.’ George kissed her, suddenly feeling protective and not overly happy about how ill Evelyn could get when she carried their child.
‘You are a very sweet, wonderful man, George.’ She leaned against his shoulder. ‘’Tis no wonder why I love you so much. You are a good papa, too.’
‘We should get back, Evie.’
She sighed softly. ‘I suppose we must.’
‘Only another five weeks,’ he told her.
‘We—I—have so much to organise.’ Evelyn shook her head.
‘Luckily you are only marrying me, love.’ He kissed her softly. ‘And it all ends up with us wed.’
She snorted, amused. ‘Good point.’
‘We could always run off to Gretna Green on our way to the Scottish Highlands for our honeymoon.’ He snorted softly in amusement. ‘But no, I would never open you up to that type of talk.’
‘Eloping does sound romantic but it is nice to celebrate with our family and friends.’ She nodded. Evelyn smiled then. ‘I cannot wait to go to the Scottish Highlands. It seems so romantic. You know, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his rebellion a century ago? The Scottish Highlanders who refused to allow the English to lord over them and started the Jacobite rebellions in 1715 and 1745. Of course, the Bonnie Prince was responsible for the second Jacobite Rebellion.’
‘I suppose all women like the brigands.’ He smirked but said no more. George stood up, patting Evelyn’s shoulder. ‘Come on, my dear.’
Chapter 13
Evelyn could hardly believe that it was her wedding day. Katie was helping her get ready while her brother was busy doting on Ruby. James and Evelyn had finally convinced their cousin to go out in Society as her own person though she had wanted to remain as Evelyn’s companion. Evelyn promised Katie if she didn’t like any of the maids George hired to tend her, she would immediately write her. Evelyn was sure, too, that Uncle Thomas would prefer Katie to go be her own person. It honestly wouldn’t cause too much of a scandal, just some gossip.
‘You look stunning, Evie,’ Katie told her. ‘Now I just need to finish putting these flowers in your hair.’
Evelyn picked up the current lenses she was trying. She turned around and then squinted through the glass to see her cousin. ‘And you look stunning, too. Just what a maid of honour should look like.’
‘Yes, yes,’ Katie dismissed her. ‘Turn around, let me finish. I do not think the Duke will be impressed if his bride is late.’
Evelyn shook her head, her lips twitching to smile. ‘No, I don’t think George would be entirely happy.’
‘Mind, the way that man looks at you, I doubt he would care if there were flowers or not,’ Katie added.
‘But I will care.’ Evelyn turned around on her stool. ‘Fine. Let’s finish off.’
Not long later there was a soft knock at the door.
It was James, looking resplendent in his suit. He was holding Ruby, who looked adorable in a yellow dress with lace ties and a yellow ribbon in her hair. Ruby was more than excited to see her mother.
The siblings embraced for a long while. Ruby squirmed until Katie took her so that James and Evelyn could complete their moment.
‘You look beautiful, my dearest sister. Just like our mama was,’ he told her, his voice shaking with emotion. ‘I cannot believe that I am going to give away my baby sister.’
‘I am so happy with George but it seems so...so...odd that I will not live with you or Katie or even Uncle Thomas when he visits.’ Evelyn felt tears in her eyes. ‘I cannot believe that I am leaving Ruby for four weeks. George said she should come with us but I could not say no to you.’
‘If you cannot bear it, Ruby does not need to stay with me.’
‘No, it’s a good idea. And that you and Lucas and Katie will be with her is also good. Travelling might overset her too much, as well, two weeks of carriage travel in total. If she was younger, yes, or even if she were older and understood things better, but now she is restless and wants to run around.’ Evelyn listed off a number of the reasons that they had considered when making the decision. ‘As it is, she is going to have a big change moving to a new estate. We made the right choice. It is the lesser of two evils, in my opinion.’
‘As long as you are sure,’ James assured his sister.
Evelyn nodded and smiled tremulously at her brother. ‘Today is my wedding day.’
‘It is.’ James hugged her again.
‘I am going to wed the man I love.’
‘I know. It is wonderful,’ he replied.
Evelyn hugged her brother this time. ‘I wish you can find the same love. Whoever the lucky person is.’
‘I am not holding much hope for me,’ James told her softly. He then looked toward their cousin. ‘But I think I would like to see you, Katie, with the man of your dreams one day. Perhaps Uncle Thomas could be the one to walk you down the aisle.’
‘Do not be ridiculous, James,’ Katie admonished, though she blushed with embarrassment.
‘Forgive me, ladies, I am feeling sentimental and overwrought today,’ James said ruefully, ‘but the driver will be here soon and my man has everything else prepared for us. It is time, I think, to attend a wedding.’ His smile widened. ‘I have to give my sister away to her future husband.’
George’s wedding day preparations were much less harried than his wife-to-be’s had been. In the end, before getting ready in his finery, he and his younger brother had indulged in a couple of shots of whiskey. The alcohol threw away inhibitions and the two men reminisced about their childhood and George reflected on his first marriage one more time.
‘I cannot believe that this day has come.’
‘A year ago today you had not even met Evelyn,’ Lucas pointed out
dryly. ‘However, now here you are, head over heels in love with the lady.’
‘Evie, my Evie, is a wondrous, beautiful woman.’
‘Good looks seem to run in the family,’ Lucas said.
George looked at his brother. ‘You mean the cousin, Katie? Yes, I suppose she shares some of her cousin’s beauty.’
‘I am not going to settle down or cast my interest her way,’ Lucas told his brother wryly. ‘I am nowhere near ready to do such things beyond a night here and there.’
‘I won’t say anything!’ George shot back at his brother, though was concerned when he thought about the lack of love or passion his brother seemed to have, even before his injuries. George always thought that it was because his brother was inherently shy. ‘I will say, however, that I should stop drinking so that I may remember my wedding vows and the wedding feast.’
‘Indeed, a wise decision. I have a feeling both your lady and her good brother would not forgive either of us.’ Lucas chuckled. ‘Come on, old man, you need to get all dressed up for your lady love.’
‘Evie is going to look beautiful, though she did not allow me to see her dress.’
‘You are drunk on spirits and love, man,’ Lucas chided. ‘Now get on before I brain you with my wooden leg and drag you to the church.’
‘No dragging required, Luc. You can keep your leg,’ George replied.
* * * *
The wedding ceremony ended with a kiss that went on for perhaps a little too long, and George was guilty of using his tongue. However, he would wager no one would blame him. His new wife was devastatingly beautiful in her pale pink dress. He had had both his brother and best friend, the Duke of Ralston, stand up with him and they just looked at him with amusement while he, Evie, and all their witnesses signed the wedding register.
The streams of well-wishers told them that their wedding was indeed beautiful and the event of the small Season. Anyone who was anyone in Bath had attended, as well as the family and friends they had invited from other corners of the country.
To Be by Your Side Page 13
