by Golden Angel
"I appreciate that Cordelia." Philip's deep tones struck both of them silent. A heaviness settled over Cordelia, and she closed her eyes to hold back the tears. Oh goodness... how much had he overheard? How much did he know?
Dread crept through her, but there was nothing she could do to make it better. Pushing it back, she gathered her courage, opened her eyes, and turned to face her husband. There was just enough moonlight to see his expression was blank. Directly behind him was Felix, Lord Hyde, and Eleanor, all with grim expressions on their faces. Eleanor gave her a sympathetic look, at least.
"We need to leave. Now." His voice cracked like a whip, indicative of the emotions he was holding inside.
Behind her, Cordelia heard Gabrielle groan, and it was all she could do not to echo the sound. It felt like her heart was breaking inside of her chest as she looked at the stern, distant countenance of her husband. Iron will-power and years of practice hiding her emotions were all that kept her from bursting into tears.
******
Seeing Gabrielle's shoulders slump at his directive, Philip felt a surge of relief that was quickly ruined once they began to make their way back towards the house. Movement through the hedges and whispers told him at least a few people out in the gardens were aware something scandalous had just happened. What they didn't know for sure, they would probably make conjectures about. Thankfully, Eleanor had found both her husband and himself fairly quickly. Once they'd reached empty rooms, both men had only waited about five minutes before taking themselves back to the ballroom, confused and disappointed. They'd just rejoined a rather harassed looking Felix and Manchester when Eleanor had come rushing up, urgent and out of breath from searching for them. Fortunately, they hadn't needed to question Arabella for Gabrielle's whereabouts this time, although Philip had heard her brother muttering imprecations about making sure she didn't involve herself in Gabrielle's antics again.
As far as Philip was concerned, there wouldn't be any more antics for either young lady to be involved in. Enough was enough. Hopefully Felix felt the same way.
Eleanor had taken Cordelia's arm to lead the way back to the house, allowing Felix and himself to flank Gabrielle while Hyde brought up the rear.
Not far from the entrance to the gardens, there was a scuffle and a few shouts. Recognizing Thomas and Walter's voices, as well as a third he couldn't quite place, Philip hurried forward, his instincts telling him the dramatics of the evening hadn't concluded yet.
Standing between Thomas and Walter, hands on his hips as he demanded they let him pass, Viscount Fenworth looked past them to see Philip's party, with Gabrielle at its center.
"There she is!" he shouted loudly, drawing even more attention from the balcony beside the ballroom, where a small crowd was already gathering. He pointed dramatically at Gabrielle, whose cheeks had gone bright red. "I told you my bride was waiting for me!"
Behind Philip, he heard Felix mutter a curse. With his announcement, Fenworth had just ruined any chance they had at smoothing over a scandal. Even though Gabrielle had obviously returned from the gardens well chaperoned, between her dance with the man last night and the fact that she'd gone to meet him tonight, assumptions would be made. Gabrielle's reputation was effectively ruined, despite their attempt to save her from her poor choices.
"Waiting for you? I was taking a walk in the garden with my friends, and I'm already married," Eleanor said haughtily, looking at Fenworth like he was a worm. Philip choked, mentally blessing his cousin as he heard a murmur of confusions from their growing audience.
Fenworth went red in the face, his fists clenching at his sides. "Not you, the Lady Gabrielle of course! My bride-to-be!"
"We," Eleanor emphasize the word, hooking her arm with Gabrielle's, "were walking in the garden."
Despite her hauteur, Philip knew the ruse wouldn't be successful. It might help salvage some of Gabrielle's reputation, but it wouldn't be enough.
"She wasn't with you when you left the ballroom a few minutes ago," Fenworth shot back, proving Philip's thoughts to be true. Damn the man.
"That's enough, Fenworth," Philip growled, knowing nothing Eleanor said would be able to undo the damage anyway. The best thing they could do was remove themselves from the situation as quickly as possible, regroup, and figure out what to do now. Besides, he didn't like how pale and anxious Cordelia looked, although he could only imagine how much Gabrielle's attempted elopement must be distressing her. She tried so hard to be a good example to her stepdaughter and took far too much responsibility for her; Philip knew she'd somehow manage to blame herself for Gabrielle's heedless actions.
"I suppose I should come with you," Fenworth said smugly, smirking at Philip. "We'll need to discuss arrangements."
Philip stared him down coldly. "I see no reason to do so."
The look on Fenworth's face was almost comical, despite the seriousness of the situation. The Viscount sputtered. "No one else will have her now! She has to marry me!"
"You-!" Gabrielle's outraged sputter turned into a gasp of shock as Felix suddenly sprung forward, planting his fist firmly in the Viscount's jaw.
Chaos descended as Fenworth went down, Felix on top of him, Gabrielle darting forward to try and pull him off, and Cordelia following to try and pull Gabrielle back. With an exasperated noise, Philip swung his wife out of harm's way, handing her off to Hyde to keep hold of while he extracted Gabrielle from where she was hanging on Felix's arm, shrieking at him to stop. Thomas and Walter assisted, also pulling their brother off of the now-bleeding Viscount.
"What were you thinking?" Felix bellowed at Gabrielle, turning on her. "You could have been hurt jumping in like that!"
"What were you thinking?!" she shrieked back at him. "He's a Viscount! You can't just attack him!"
"I'll hab you up on chargesh for dis!" Fenworth's muffled words punctuated her retort as he held his nose, which was bleeding heavily.
Thomas, a future viscount himself, loomed over Fenworth. "Get the hell out of here while you still can, unless you wanted to face attempted kidnapping charges."
"We were elobing!" The Viscount scrambled away as Felix turned towards him again, still holding his nose.
“Unless you want an appointment at dawn, leave now.” The utter lethalness of Felix’s voice was frightening.
Apparently the Viscount agreed; he scampered away, heading around the outside of the house into the darkness.
Before Felix and Gabrielle could resume throwing accusations at each other, Philip grasped his ward by her upper arm. "We're leaving. Now."
He was all too aware of the titters and whispers above and around them. They'd given the ton enough of a show for the evening. Now they were going to have to figure out what the hell to do.
******
"What are they talking about in there?" Gabrielle asked, agitated, as she paced around the room. It was obviously a rhetorical question, because there was no way Cordelia could know.
The carriage ride home had been made in complete silence, with Philip and Cordelia on one side of the carriage and Felix and Gabrielle on the other. She was fairly certain she'd seen tears on Gabrielle's cheeks in the darkness, but if so, Gabrielle had wiped them away before exiting the conveyance. The only thing that had kept Cordelia from crying during the journey was Philip's hand, wrapped firmly and securely around her own, his thumb rubbing against her soft skin. With his stoic expression, it was the only sign she had from him that he didn't hate her, that, whatever he'd overheard, he didn't find it unforgivable. It gave her hope.
Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to talk to him, to ask what he'd heard and try to explain, because the moment they'd arrived at the house, he'd sent Cordelia and Gabrielle to the drawing room while he and Felix went to his study. She hoped that perhaps the reason he was speaking with Felix and not with her, and the reason she'd been left out of the discussion, was because Felix was going to step in and save Gabrielle from a choice of ruin or marriage to Viscount Fenworth, but as that was only a sup
position, she didn't want to bring it up. She also didn't know if such a conjecture would reassure Gabrielle or agitate her further.
"They've been in there forever," Gabrielle muttered.
Cordelia glanced at the clock on the mantle. "It's only been fifteen minutes... perhaps I should ring for some tea."
"I don't want tea," Gabrielle said shortly. "I want to know what they're talking about in there." She paced some more, clenching and unclenching her fists. "What was that nitwit thinking anyway? Attacking a Viscount!"
"I believe he was thinking that the Viscount in question was attacking your reputation."
"My reputation was already ruined," Gabrielle said, her voice suddenly lifeless. "Fenworth just wanted to ensure I would marry him."
"Why do you want to?" Cordelia asked, genuinely curious. "You were so happy to leave the country, why would you want to go back?"
Silently, Gabrielle paced some more. Finally, she stopped, turning to face Cordelia. "You love Dunbury."
"Yes," Cordelia said, a bit hesitantly, unsure of where Gabrielle was going with this.
"If he loved another, would you want to stay where you had to witness it?"
That had been exactly Cordelia's fear, before Philip had professed his love for her. The idea that he might come to love another woman while he was married to her. If she'd been in such a position, solitude in the country might look appealing to her as well.
Going under the assumption that Gabrielle was speaking of Felix, Cordelia just shook her head. "Felix doesn't love Lady Winchester, Gabby, I can promise you that."
Ignoring the nickname, a sure sign of her sincere distress, Gabrielle gave Cordelia a pitying looking. "Sometimes, Cordelia, you are so very blind."
The door to the room opened, making both ladies jump. Cordelia stood, her stomach fluttering a bit as Philip came through the door. He was alone.
Gabrielle jumped and darted towards him. “Philip, I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t want to dishonor you or Cordelia, I swear-“
Taking her hands, Philip made a surprisingly soothing noise. “Don’t worry, you didn’t dishonor us.” He pulled her into an encouraging hug, giving Cordelia a nod as he did so. She nodded back uncertainly, unsure of what he was trying to tell her by the gesture. Pulling away, he looked down at his ward. “Everything’s taken care of.”
“Are you going to punish me?” Strangely, her voice sounded almost eager although it was also full of fear and anxiety. Cordelia didn’t think the eagerness was because Gabrielle enjoyed being spanked. It was more as if she was eager to right any wrong he felt she had done. Actually, it was rather encouraging in a way; she was looking to him for guidance and for correction, even though she knew how much it would hurt.
"We'll talk in the morning. Go on up to bed, I need to speak with your stepmother," he said. To both of their surprise, Gabrielle just nodded and started for the door. Holding it open for her, Philip gave her a warning look. "There will be a maid outside your door and there's a footman watching your window. Do not attempt to leave the house."
Nodding again, Gabrielle fled, probably relieved that whatever punishment she was going to receive, it had at least been delayed.
******
Sighing, Philip walked over to his wife and pulled her into his arms, enjoying the feel of having her safely cradled against him. Cordelia leaned into him, rubbing her face on his shoulder. It had been a trying night, and he wasn't sure if Cordelia was going to be entirely happy with the outcome, but he didn't see any other solution. Fortunately, Felix had agreed, and had already left to obtain the special license. Whatever talk Fenworth might try to stir up, a marriage always saved a girl's reputation, and if someone as respected as Felix was willing to marry her, most of the gossips would accept she hadn't actually been ruined. The rest of her rehabilitation in the eyes of the ton would come from her connections, and he knew he could rely on his cousins and their friends, as well as Arabella's family, to support them. Manchester had been horrified at his sister's inclusion in tonight's machinations. It was no small thing to have a Duke on one's side.
Holding his wife, he could feel some of the tension slowly sliding away.
"Philip?" Her voice floated up to him, anxious and a little wary.
"My apologies, sweetheart," he said, realizing that she must still be anxious and worried about Gabrielle's prospects. "I just wanted to hold you for a moment. Felix has offered for Gabrielle and has gone to ask Manchester's help in securing a special license for tomorrow."
While it was fairly late in the evening, it wasn't so late that the Archbishop would refuse a call from a Duke. Even though neither Philip nor Felix blamed Manchester for tonight's debacle, they were willing to use the debt that the man felt was owed for allowing Gabrielle to slip away to their advantage. The other bonus being that it would soothe the duke's conscience to help rectify the situation.
"Oh... oh!" Cordelia's eyes widened with surprise and then delight and relief. "That's... that's wonderful." A hint of trepidation trickled into her expression as she hesitated and then added, "I think, eventually, Gabrielle will be happy with that."
"She should be damned well grateful," he grumbled, but he knew Cordelia spoke the truth. Whatever issues Gabrielle had with Felix, they would have to work them out.
Cordelia shifted her weight back and forth, looking a bit agitated, and he raised his eyebrow at her, realizing she had something else on her mind as well. Something she wasn't sure she wanted to talk about, but which she wasn't going to be able to hold back. Sometimes she was remarkably easy to read.
"Philip?" she asked softly, her gaze sliding down to his cravat as she started to fiddle with the fabric of his waistcoat. He'd left his jacket in his study when he'd been talking with Felix.
"Yes?" he asked, somewhat amused. Cordelia working herself up to something was always adorable to him.
"How much did you hear of what Gabrielle and I said in the garden?"
He cast his mind back, trying to remember the first part of their conversation he'd heard. "Ah... enough to know you put your foot down to her. Enough to know you chose me this time."
The warmth he'd felt at that moment flooded through him again. He'd been almost limp with relief in the garden, despite his fury at Gabrielle's thoughtless and ruinous antics. Even now, he was still incensed at the chit, but knowing Cordelia trusted him, that she would have come to him to help her, was certainly the redeeming factor to this entire evening.
"But did you hear what she said about... about Marjorie's house party?"
Seeing Cordelia's agitation, it dawned on him that she expected him to be upset. Philip chuckled.
"Yes, sweetheart, and I'm very flattered."
"You are?"
******
Confusion reigned. Cordelia had no idea how to respond to that. It was not at all the reaction she'd pictured. Had he somehow misunderstood?
"Oh yes. I didn't realize that I was such a prize," he said, teasingly, "to be the subject of such dire plotting."
Her mouth shaped into a little 'o' as she was rendered silent, still highly confused. Philip laughed at her expression.
"Sweetheart, if I hadn't wanted to marry you, do you truly think any amount of plotting on your part could have induced me to do so?"
Looking up at her confident, dominant husband, Cordelia flushed. "Well... no... I suppose not."
"Exactly."
Leaning down, Philip took her mouth in a kiss, teasing her lips open with his tongue. Cordelia made a little noise, relief overtaking her that he wasn't angry. She was so very, very lucky to have him.
Tugging at her skirts, Philip pressed her down onto the couch, making Cordelia gasp.
"Philip! The door-"
"Shhh, be very quiet," he murmured, pushing her skirts up above her hips as he gently nibbled on the delicate skin of her throat. Cordelia moaned in excitement, pushing her body up at him. Her nipples pebbled as she realized he'd left it unlocked. The adrenaline and excitement rushed through her
as he pulled down the top of her dress, exposing her hard nipples to the air.
Pulling one into his mouth, he sucked hard and deep as he simultaneously opened the front of his pants, releasing his cock. She whimpered, moving her hips up and down as he suckled at her breasts, running the head of his cock up and down her wet slit, teasing her with it.
"Please, Philip," she begged as he pressed the rigid flesh against her clit, circling the nubbin and coating it with the moisture from her pussy. "Please, I need you."
"Shhh," he murmured again, nipping at her soft flesh. "We wouldn't want anyone walking in on us, would we?"
Cordelia's insides contracted, her body shuddering at the idea, even as her pussy creamed in excitement.
"Please," she whispered, fingers clutching at him as he tweaked her nipple with his fingers, the head of his cock sliding down to her hole, pressing in and then pulling away again. The need to be filled was a desperate ache in her core. "Philip, I can't take it."
As his cockhead slipped inside of her again, she suddenly thrust up her hips, impaling herself on him, and he groaned, stiffening as she began to move beneath him, so desperate to fill herself. She tightened her legs around him, pulling him down onto her, whimpering and mewling in her erotic distress. The last of Philip's control seemed to slip from him and suddenly he was furiously pounding into her.
Cordelia cried out, unable to mute the sound as ecstasy welled. She was so full of him, every inch sliding against her sensitive flesh and sending glorious tingles of pleasure through her. Burying his face in her shoulder, Philip rocked, pumping hard and fast, just as needy as she was.
The door creaked.
"My lady, are you- oh!"
The door slammed shut.
Instead of pushing her husband away - as she ought - instead of being horrified - as she should - Cordelia's reaction was as wantonly indecent as it could be. She orgasmed instantly, realizing they'd been caught, that the concerned maid had seen them... and it pushed her over the edge.
