If He's Tempted

by Hannah Howell

  Since Stone had given her permission to speak of it all if asked directly, Olympia told her a very discreet version of what had happened. Henry had just been tossed out in the city, not sold, and Polly had committed suicide but not in the rather gruesome way she had. She made sure she also left a large hint of extreme marital discord woven into the tale.

  “So sad. He is a very good man. He has never acted as if he is too far above us to bother with us as many of his rank would and I know he loves his boy. I believed he loved his wife but if she had been ill for a long time . . .”

  “She was. And, it wears on one, Em. Wears on one every day and night for as long as the couple remains together. He is a good man, and there was still some love there, but there was no chance of fixing what ailed that marriage for she was sick in her mind and there is rarely a cure for that. What she did to Henry killed the last vestiges of that love.”

  “I can see how it would. Well, go join the marquis as my footmen just gave me the signal that my guests are arriving.” She winked at Olympia. “I think the marquis will appreciate a little protection.”

  Olympia went to sit with Stone and almost laughed at the sigh of relief he gave. He might not be in mourning but he was not ready to be looking for another wife. She hoped he did not give up all thought of one for she had the feeling that Stone was one of those men who liked to be married. Subtly patting his hand and grinning when he chuckled, she turned her attention on the guests arriving.

  It did not take long for Olympia to sense that a few of the guests were cool to her. They did not openly snub her because she was a friend of the hostess and the marquis. For a moment she wondered if they feared she had already taken the excellent marriage prize off the market but soon realized it was more. Lady Mallam had turned her slanderous talents her way.

  “I will not stand for this,” Stone said in a cold voice that starkly reminded her that this man was one step away from being a duke. “Do they think I cannot see what they are doing?”

  “Take no mind of it, Stone. She is still trying to separate me from her son, to steal away what appears to be his only ally. This will not work for long if I keep from being seen with Brant very often.” She sighed as a worried Emily hurried to her side.

  “What is wrong?” Emily whispered and slipped her arm around Olympia’s waist. “Who has been saying things about you that have these silly cows acting as if they might catch some dreaded disease if they get within feet of you?”

  “It is nothing, my friend.” She kissed Emily’s cheek. “Someone wishes to send me running home and I refuse to do so. I will tell you the why of it all when I can.”

  “I know who spreads the tales. It is that nasty Lady Mallam. She wishes you to be barred from all the best homes and that means it is something that would be to her advantage. Everything she does is to better herself or fatten her purse. I have never understood why anyone listens to her. My darling tells me that she has destroyed several good men and then slipped right into the investments or business they had before she began her hateful campaign against them.”

  Seeing a wonderful source of some of the best gossip, Olympia pressed her friend for more. As the afternoon wore on, Emily divided her time between seeing to her guests and filling Olympia’s ears with all kinds of fascinating information. By the time Stone settled her in his carriage and they started on their way to the Warren she was eager to get it all written down. There was some pattern there she was not seeing yet and she was certain it would lead her to a way to cut Lady Mallam off at the knees.

  “A fruitful day, I gather,” said Stone.

  “I think so but I need to study it for a bit before I can be sure. How is Henry?”

  “He sleeps with me every night. I will allow it for now as he wakes terrified if I am not close at hand but I shall have to break him of it eventually. He does not miss his mother much at all. I realized that he loves his nursemaid, Moira. My wife must have ceased to care for her child a lot earlier than I had thought.”

  “It will pass, Stone. He is little more than a babe and he was terrified. He was also deeply hurt. I am glad he has his Moira even though it is sad that he turned to someone else for the caring he needed. Being with her again will soften some of those hurts he suffered.”

  “I hope you are right. Henry would like to come and visit you. He says he misses Enid’s scones and playing with the boys.”

  “He is welcome whenever he wishes to come. Ah, here we are.”

  “Take care, Olympia,” he said as he helped her out of the carriage. “A woman like Lady Letitia Mallam is a dangerous enemy to have. It appears she may see you as a threat. This attempt to blacken your name is but a minor salvo in her war against you.”

  Olympia nodded and headed up the steps to her home. It had hurt a little to be snubbed on the basis of one cold woman’s words, but she found it easy to push the hurt aside. Her friends had stood firm at her side. The only real problem she had concerning what Lady Mallam was doing was that she now had to report that behavior to Brant. She hoped he was past being hurt or shamed by what his mother did.

  Chapter 13

  The aroma of expensive scented candles struck Olympia first as she entered her bedchamber. She shut the door behind her and looked around but did not see anyone. Taking off her gloves and tossing them onto the desk, she moved toward the candles lined up on the hearth. They were lovely and the scent was just enough and not too flowery. She was just about to go and find out who had put them there when Brant entered the room followed by Pawl carrying a tray that was so loaded with food and drink she was surprised he could carry it. It was then that she noticed someone had set a small table and two chairs to the side of the fireplace.

  She said nothing as the two of them set out the food and a grinning Pawl slipped away. She had not eaten many of the dainty treats at Emily’s and the scent of roasted chicken had her stomach rumbling with hunger. Brant held out the chair for her and she smiled at him as she took her seat.

  “It is a little early for such a meal,” she said and then frowned and looked around. “Where are Dinner and Lure?”

  “In with Enid and Pawl. I tipped him well for the favor, too,” said Brant as he sat down across from her. “I thought such a meal would prove more temptation than they could resist.”

  “I confess that I am quite hungry. Emily always has wonderful delights at her teas but I rarely get a chance to eat many of them. Many are a little too sweet for my tastes anyway.”

  “And how fares Stone?” he asked as he cut some meat and set it on her plate.

  “He uses me as a shield. A very few have already heard that he is a widower and do not seem overly offended at his lack of mourning. But then, he is young, wealthy, and in line for a dukedom. My standing by him does not deter everyone but it helps. He did ask if Henry could come to visit as the boy wants one of Enid’s scones and wants to see the boys staying here.”

  “Does he suffer from his ordeal?”

  He listened as she repeated what Stone had said about his child and that small jealous part of him relaxed at the tone of her voice as she spoke of the man. Stone was a friend to her, no more. Brant knew it was selfish of him as he could not keep her but he did not want to see her with another man, either.

  “I discovered something else,” she began tentatively, reluctant to spoil the enjoyable time they were spending together.

  “I am not going to like this, am I?”

  “How can you know?”

  “Something in the way you are looking at me. What has my mother done now?”

  “I fear she has decided that since she cannot attack me physically she will do so by ruining me in the eyes of society. By linking me to you.”

  “Why would anyone heed her? No one has seen us together.” Brant realized he was gripping his knife so tightly the handle was impressed upon his palm and he forced himself to control his anger.

  “That does not seem to bother anyone. Emily made quite a show of favoring me and I hope it doe
s not cost her too much. And, of course, I did have a marquis at my side. It was still little more than a whisper and the hint of a snub from a very few people.”

  “Why does anyone listen to her? Some are already seeing that what she said about me could be all lies and yet they now heed what she says about you?”

  “Gossip, especially the dark sort that can ruin people completely, is the life’s blood of the aristocracy. Stone made his disapproval very clear although he rarely had to say a word against anyone who was trying to whisper anything in his ear. It made a great difference. The sense of being almost snubbed began to disappear quickly. I think she might fail at her trick this time.”

  “Perhaps if I banish her to her country house.”

  “She would soon begin her games there and then you would have to be constantly watching her. I do not think you wish to do that. I did get some information though, from Emily herself.” She told him all she had discovered about some men who had lost their business, investments, or even, in two cases, their inheritance. “These may be the people with some credibility that we could use to bring her to justice.”

  “Do you know, if she had put all this guile into honest investments and business she could have become very wealthy without hurting anyone or breaking the law.”

  “I have discovered over the years that many see those things, investments and business, as a worse mark against you than any criminal venture one might have gotten caught up in.”

  “I am sorry you were hurt by this latest trick of hers.”

  “Oh, it was not so bad. I did feel a pang at first but the way Stone and Emily showed their approval of me in ways that began to become a little embarrassing,” she grinned when he laughed, “but touching as well. It also worked. Most of the ones spreading the tales quickly closed their mouths and refused to listen to any more or repeat them. It will be fine. It was just a surprise. But, I really must make notes of all I heard concerning those businesses and all.”

  “Later. Eat, woman.” He winked at her. “You will be in need of your strength.”

  She blushed and turned her attention to her meal. Her heart was pounding for she suddenly realized what Brant was doing. He was seducing her. She was more than ready to be seduced. Glancing at the candles, she realized he was also trying to be a little romantic.

  By the time they finished the meal and sat on the rug before the fire sipping wine, Olympia realized she was probably not one inclined toward long, slow seductions. Her whole body was aching to be rid of her suddenly too constricting clothing and to rid Brant of his. She wanted to be skin to skin with him.

  “Relax, Olympia,” he said as he leaned closer and kissed the side of her neck. “Are you uncertain now that we have been apart for a while?” he felt compelled to ask but he prayed she would say no.

  “I was just thinking that I may not be a woman who enjoys what I believe is a slow seduction. Or”—she turned her face toward his and brushed her lips across his—“it has just been too long since I felt your skin beneath my hands.”

  He shuddered. “Wretched woman. I wanted to go slow. To show you how one can build that delicious heat slowly, savor it, revel in it.”

  “Oh. That does sound lovely but perhaps it is all too new for me.”

  He began to unlace her gown. “This is new to me as well.” He noticed how her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Not an empty compliment, I swear. I rutted, Olympia. That is all. I am embarrassed to admit that a lot of times I was so drunk I remember little of what happened. You? I ache. I want. I remember every touch, every kiss, and want more.”

  She thought about that as she undid his waistcoat. It made sense even though she hated to think of him with those other women. They were no more than a different kind of drink for him. He lost himself in the pleasures of the flesh but had no interest in who gave him that pleasure. One thing she was certain about was that he enjoyed her company. It seemed an odd thing to be so happy about when he offered no more than the delights of lovemaking, but it did make her happy. She opened his shirt and kissed his chest, enjoying the faint tremor that went through him.

  “Olympia,” he whispered and tried to remove her gown with some skill even though his hands were not as steady as they should be. “I begin to think you may be right.”

  “Oh, how nice.” She took off his waistcoat and tossed it aside. “I truly do love to be right. Even more do I enjoy the fact that you actually say I am. The men in my family can be very reluctant to say such things.” She took off his shirt and tossed it after his waistcoat.

  The touch of her mouth against his skin had his blood running so hot, Brant could not think clearly for a moment. He tossed her gown to the side and stared down at her lacy shift and a lacy style of drawers, something considered outrageously scandalous by most of proper society. There was a naughty side to his Olympia and he decided he liked it very much indeed just before he began to remove the last of her clothes. He was a little surprised at how skillfully and quickly she removed his as well, his boots the only thing that caused them to have to pause in undressing each other.

  “I shall have to remove them the moment I am alone with you,” he muttered as he tossed them aside and then sat still as she removed the last of his clothes.

  “It would not take long for my family to guess why you are always in your stocking feet around me.”

  “I know. Even the boys are a little too clever by half.”

  “Kiss me,” she whispered as she put her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his, savoring the feel of his warm flesh against hers.

  He did as he pushed her down onto the soft carpet. The soft warmth of her flesh was enough to strain his control. He wanted to be buried deep inside her now but grit his teeth and struggled to get his runaway desire under control. Olympia had a true skill for making him lose all finesse in the art of lovemaking. He grew wild with need and suspected it was partly because she did. Olympia was a very passionate woman.

  Olympia hummed with delight as he kissed and stroked her breasts. She had the fleeting thought that it was a good thing she had never had any idea of how much pleasure could be found in a man’s arms or she would have become notorious in her greed. Then she accepted that it was just Brant who made her feel this way. She knew she ought to think about that for a while but then he took the hard tip of her breast deep into his mouth and she forgot everything but how her desire was racing through her body, settling in a hard ache of need between her thighs.

  He began to kiss his way down her body and she shifted slightly beneath his kisses and caresses. Each touch of his mouth against her skin was like the flicker of a flame, heating her, adding a sharper edge to her passion. When he stroked her between her thighs with his long fingers she opened to his touch. It was as if he was petting her in just the way she needed to keep her desire running hot.

  It was not until he touched his mouth to the place where his fingers had been playing that her desire was checked a little. The intimacy was so deep she was shocked yet intrigued. Then he thrust his tongue inside of her and she lost all ability to think at all. A small part of her passion-clouded mind was disturbed by such an intimacy but that hesitancy faded rapidly as he kissed and stroked her so intimately. When her belly grew tight with an ache that was both pleasure and pain she tried to pull him up into her arms so that he could join their bodies, but he resisted. Then she broke, crying out his name as her release tore through her. She grabbed him and held on tightly as he thrust himself inside of her and rode the wave of pleasure with her, calling out her name as he shuddered in completion while he held tight against her body.

  Brant could not move but managed somehow to shift his sated body to the side so that he was not resting all of his weight on top of her. Olympia was pure fire in his arms. He did not think he had ever bedded a woman who so enjoyed lovemaking or was so ready to return kiss for kiss and touch for touch. Women whom one paid often had some training but that training actually tainted their touch for one could feel the
practiced art of it even as it stirred one’s passion. Olympia had no more than a natural skill and a hunger that equaled his.

  “We should move to the bed,” Olympia said when she was finally able to find her voice. “The carpet is nice but one realizes how hard the floor is after awhile.”

  “I am comfortable,” he said and grinned when she slapped his backside.

  He stood up, picked her up in his arms, and ignored her protests as he carried her to the bed. Her beautifully done hair was not so tidy now and he loved the look of it. Tossing her onto the bed, he quickly joined her and pulled the coverlet over them. The moment he was settled on his back, Olympia curled up in his arms.

  “I had not realized that when one made love one could kiss a person everywhere,” she murmured against his chest.

  “When one makes love there are many things one can do but only if both wish to do it.”

  “Such as having two women at once,” she drawled and almost laughed at his blush of embarrassment for it was enough to soothe the anger that memory brought with it.

  “Many men think that is the best thing that can ever happen to them. I rather wish I recalled the incident.”

  “You recall none of it?”

  “Not a single kiss but then there may not have been any kisses. I will not say that there are not some unfaithful wives walking around out there who have known me well, or a few widows, but mostly it is the ones a man pays for who have all the skills. And then that is what it is like. A session with someone who has been taught some skills.” He grimaced. “Not something I should be discussing with you.”

  “Do not forget what this place was, Brant. The Wherlocke Warren. Filled to the rafters with the by-blows of my family. While I will admit to some ignorance on the methods and positions and all, I have never been ignorant of the act or talk of desire or pleasure or all the rest.”

  “The men in your family should, perhaps, take a little more care in how they speak before the women in the family.”