“You are in no state to confront him,” Lord Dunnesford said, barely able to hold off Phineas despite his strength. With all his effort, he thrust Phineas against the wall. “You would likely kill Alexander if you touched him.”
“Then I would die a happy man!”
“How will that help Gertie?”
Phineas ceased his attempts to cuff the Marquess of Dunnesford.
“I must see that she is well,” he said.
But the Marquess pushed him back against the wall. “My wife is with her now. She will see that she comes to no harm.”
“Gertie is with child–”
“I know. She will come home with us tonight. We will send for a doctor to see her.”
“Look here, I know your wife to be friends with Gertie, but you, sir, have no place in this affair.”
“I am doing what Gertie would have wanted—keeping you safe.”
Phineas threw aside Dunnesford’s arm. “I have no need for a protector.”
“Do not render her sacrifice useless by endangering yourself.”
Phineas, intending to walk away, paused. “Alexander is a bloody little cretin. I could dispense of him easily.”
“No doubt. And then what? Will you live in exile? Will you ask Gertie and the babe to join you? Is that the life you wish for her?”
“Phineas,” Robert pleaded, “do heed what Lord Dunnesford is saying.”
“And what life would she have with Alexander?” Phineas returned. “She will be safe when I have done with him.”
“If you would reconsider your situation in the light of day,” Lord Dunnesford proposed, “I promise you all in my power to assist you and Gertie. I speak not because I bear you any friendship—I had advised Gertie against you—but for her sake, my wife and I would undertake much to see her happy.”
As would I, Phineas thought to himself. He looked over the Marquess. The man seemed earnest, his rationale sound, but could he be trusted?
“I wish to know that Gertie is unharmed,” he said, still fighting back his desire to pummel Alexander into the ground. He would have risked exile for the opportunity to bludgeon the man.
“I will have word sent to you immediately,” Dunnesford assured.
Straightening himself, Phineas adjusted his coat and replied, “Very well.”
Robert let out an audible sigh.
“Go home,” the Marquess advised.
When they walked past the entry to the card room, the crowd had already disbursed. Neither Gertie nor Alexander remained.
Phineas allowed Robert to escort him home, but only because the latter knew better than to speak to him. Back in his apartment, Phineas allowed his valet to remove his coat and cravat, then waved the man off. He needed space and solitude to think.
She loved him.
He would have dwelled on that alone if he were not painfully aware of the difficulty she had placed herself in her attempt to save him. Once more Fate showed her ironic hand. The revelation that Gertie loved him should have brought naught but euphoria. Instead, it would bring about the very end that she had tried so hard to avoid.
“Your lordship, a woman is here to see you,” Gibbons announced.
“Send her away,” Phineas replied, unbuttoning his waistcoat and loosening his shirt to take a deep and full breath.
Gibbons nodded and left. Phineas poured himself a drink and sat down before the writing table. What was to be done now for Gertie?
Gibbons returned. “Pardon, your lordship, but she insists upon seeing you.”
Phineas frowned. He was in no mood for the Phillipa Summers and Sarah Farringtons of the world. He doubted he had even the patience for Lady Dunnesford.
“Send her away,” he repeated.
“But Lady Lowry said–”
“Lady Lowry!”
Phineas leaped from his chair and nearly knocked Gibbons over in his haste. He descended the stairs and did not slow until he saw her form in the vestibule. She was in full dress still. Upon seeing him, she threw back the hood of her ermine lined cloak. He hurried to her. The first thing he noted was the bluish mark upon her cheekbone, and suddenly he wished that he had not allowed the Marquess to dissuade him from giving Alexander a sound thrashing.
“Gertie.”
She flew into his arms. He embraced her close to his bosom, soaking in the feel of her safely in his arms. The moment melted away all the agony and the suffering of the past month.
She lifted her face and again he saw the bruise. “Phineas, I have been a fool–”
He cupped her face and kissed her. She had already said all that he had ever hoped to hear. The consequences of the evening could wait. For now he wanted only to revel in her presence and demonstrate the depth of his affection by exalting her body.
His longing matched by her own, she returned his kiss fervently. They devoured one another, their passions revealed by tender lips and ardent tongue. He tasted of her long and deep for his hunger for her had been made profound by the absence. She took in his mouth as if she needed the air from his lungs. The yearning in his groin raged in response. There was no honey sweeter, no wine more intoxicating, no Bedlam more maddening than the feel of her pressing against him.
Her lips were pink and swollen when at last he pulled away from her. He swept her and the heavy silk brocade of her gown into his arms and ascended the stairs. Once in his chambers, he untied her cloak. Not able to part long from the taste of her, he crushed his lips once more to hers, determined that she should feel every ounce of the passion he felt for her.
“Gertie, the days might as well have been years,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Had I but realized earlier...”she murmured in between his kisses. “Phineas, how I have missed you!”
“The past is gone. What matters is that you are where you belong.”
“Yes! I belong with you. Take me, Phineas!”
His desire swelled, but he hesitated. “But are you well? Did he hurt you much?”
“It surprised me more than it hurt. I am well. Only pray do not keep me waiting!”
She began to pull out the pins in her gown. He licked his bottom lip and assisted her with undressing the bodice of her gown. When she had shed her skirt and petticoats, he caught the swell of her belly beneath her corset. Seeing the direction of his gaze, she placed a hand there.
“The knowledge that you were the one that fathered the babe has provided me the only source of brightness these past days.”
He cupped her face once more. “How is it you have grown in beauty since last I saw you?”
She sidled closer to him, grinning. “Lord Barclay, if you think that flattery will aid you in your seduction, you are gravely mistaken. For I am, before now, yours to take and ravish.”
Groaning, he smothered her with wet, heavy kisses. He trailed his mouth down her neck, taking mouthfuls of her smooth, taut skin. The pressure in his groin built with every whiff of her scent, every touch of her body. Pushing the chemise down past her shoulders, he showered kisses upon the skin laid bare. He had to remind himself not too grope her too roughly as she was with child, but it was no easy task to contain his ardor. He had been without her for far too long, a drought made all the more agonizing by the belief that he would never again possess her. He turned her around and began to unlace her corset, a task that forced him to slow that part of him that wanted only to throw up her chemise and allow his passions to rule his body.
“You’ve no need to unlace me, Phineas.”
“I would see your glorious body, my love,” he replied.
“I do not think I will take such care with your clothes,” she said impishly.
The corset fell to the floor, followed by the chemise. She stood only in her garters, stocking, and shoes. His gaze perused every inch of her nakedness. Even her distended belly looked seductive, and his erection throbbed in appreciation. He put his hand gently upon her abdomen. He had never had much of an interest in procreation before, but—and his shaft was w
illing—he would have made a hundred babes with Gertie. She smiled up at him and he felt a blissful warmth flooding his chest.
She stepped towards him and rubbed herself against his crotch. He growled low in his throat and reached a hand to cup the bottom of a buttock. His hand closed about the flesh, remembering how her arse had quivered beneath his spanks. She pulled his waistcoat down over his arms and pressed her succulent mouth to the base of his throat. His ardor reared itself against the constraining fabric of his breeches. With his waistcoat pinning his arms to his sides, his hands could not roam about her body freely. He was content to have her take the lead, knowing he would have his moment shortly.
Pushing aside his linen, her mouth found a nipple. She sucked upon it greedily. As she sank to her knees, she slid her mouth down his front and traced the bulge of his length with her tongue. She undid his breeches. His rod sprang forth and grazed her cheek. She wrapped her hands about the shaft and covered the head with her mouth. Moaning, her eyes closed as if she had just tasted the most exquisite of desserts, she licked and lapped at him, rolling her tongue all about his erection, sucking him until his seed threatened to burst forth.
He pulled her to her feet and over to a chair. Sitting first, he positioned her above his lap and eased her down onto him. The warm wetness encasing his shaft was beyond marvelous. Reaching his arm around her hip, he fondled her clitoris. She leaned against his chest as he began to thrust his pelvis deeper into her. He turned her face back towards him so that they could join lips. She moaned against his mouth and writhed into his hand. With his other hand, he grasped a breast, brushed his thumb across the extended nipple, and kneaded the heavy flesh.
Her moaning turned into delicious grunts and gasps as she approached her climax. She trembled against him. Her cunnie clutched at him. And then the pressure building within her shattered, sending ripples of delight throughout her. She cried out. He held her tight so that she would not fall off of him. He wanted to absorb every tremor of her ecstasy. Gradually, she became heavy against him. He eased his caresses.
When her breath had settled, she turned to him. “Come, I wish for us to make love until the dawn.”
Rising, she pulled him towards his bed. He kicked off the remainder of his clothing. She pushed him down into the pillows and straddled him. Her cunnie was soaking with desire and she slid easily onto him. A soft glisten of perspiration glowed upon her skin. A lovelier vision could not be had than that of his love, naked, riding him. She ground her groin against his. He assisted by thrusting his hips up at her, making her breasts bounce. He paced himself for he wanted them to spend together. Holding her hips, he eased her up and down his shaft until she was once more panting and groaning. He quickened his thrusts until he was slapping at her with a speed that made her teeth chatter. Her cunnie clenched, and her body went into a paroxysm. His desire exploded inside of her with a force that made him buck unintentionally hard against her. The sensation shot down his legs, jerking his limbs uncontrollably. He pumped himself against her, squeezing every last drop of seed into her heat. She held herself upright until the last of his tremors had been drawn, then she collapsed on top of him.
“I WOULD GO WITH YOU anywhere, Phineas,” she murmured as she lay curled in his arms. “I know now that I could not be apart from you again. If you should go into exile, I would follow.”
“That is no life for a woman with child,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
“I want no life that you are not in. ‘So dear I love him that with him, all deaths I could endure. Without him, live no life.’”
Her last words were barely audible as she slipped into sleep. He watched as she slept, her even breathing casting a calm upon him save for the churning of his mind. He spent more of the night watching her sleep and contemplating what they were to do now that Gertie had exposed their affair. She could not return to Alexander. Some husbands could endure being made a cuckold, but Phineas did not trust Alexander. He would not have Gertie placing herself or her unborn child in harm. But what life could they and the child have? She might profess her willingness to be with him now, but would she come to resent the bleak future their child would face?
When the first rays of morning filtered through the window, Phineas disengaged himself from Gertie and returned the circulation into his arm. He dressed in the anteroom and went to leave a note beside her in bed, wanting to kiss her but not wishing to wake her.
Dearest Gertie,
I have requested that breakfast be served to you in bed and sent word to Lady Dunnesford to bring you such items as you may need for your toilette. My servants are yours to command. I regret that I could not be present upon your waking to greet you with a kiss, but know that I am forever, with adoration and devotion, yours.
Phineas
He startled his servants with the hour and set off for Barclay House to find his brother. He was told by the butler there that his lordship was still in bed.
“But Robert always rises with the sun,” Phineas contemplated.
His impatience triumphed and he made his way upstairs into the Baron’s chambers. Robert lay in his bed, a compress upon his forehead.
“You have aged me ten years in a night, Phineas,” Robert mumbled as he lay motionless with eyes closed.
Phineas sat down on chair near the bed. “I can hardly believe myself that foolish major wished to call me out when I had done nothing with his silly wife.”
Robert propped himself up with one elbow to stare at Phineas. “Then why in bloody hell did you agree to a duel with that man?”
“Why not? I could see the man was determined. If not he, then it would have been some other affronted husband.”
Groaning, Robert fell back down. “You will have your chance yet, no doubt, with the Earl of Lowry.”
“Not if he can be persuaded to give up Gertie.”
“You wish him to cede you his honor and his wife? My dear fellow, you have gone mad. I wash my hands of you, Phineas. Bettina was right. You will be the death of me.”
“What if I resume the barony?”
Robert raised himself again. “Eh?”
“What sort of advance do you think we could secure on the copper?”
“Ten thousand, easily. Why?”
“I wish to buy Gertie from Alexander.”
Robert only frowned. “That sort of thing happens only with the lower classes. Even were Alexander willing to part with Gertie, he would simply sue you for damages.”
“Alexander would be willing to part with his mother for the right price. He bears no affection for Gertie now that her funds are gone. As for crim con, I will not have Gertie endure such a thing. I will simply offer Alexander more than he is likely to be awarded in a crim con suit.”
“But all the work for the copper...”
“She is worth more to me than all the copper in the world,” Phineas said quietly.
“And you would take back the barony?”
“Yes. I will ask the Marquess of Dunnesford to submit before Parliament a petition for divorce. Once Gertie is free, she and I will be married. But all this must happen before the child is born.”
“That is no small order.”
“Love has never come easily to me.”
Removing his compress, Robert sat up and faced his brother. “Is the child yours?”
“Gertie is certain, but it matters not. I will raise the child as mine own.”
“What if Alexander wishes to claim the child?”
“When he discovers the child to be mine, he will want nothing to do with it. He would sooner die than see Lowry go to a child of Barclay blood.”
Robert was silent in thought. “What of your trip to Scotland with Prudence?”
“I will discuss the matter with her. Regardless, I have every intention of overseeing her education and maturation henceforth.”
“My God, what have you done with my brother?”
Phineas grinned. He rose to his feet. “I can depend upon your support then? I h
ave a very important appointment with my tailor to keep.”
Robert half-smiled. “Yes, yes. Be off with you then—your lordship.”
Chapter Twenty
GERTIE PACED THE COMMONS near Dunnesford House. Harrietta was nursing her son, and Gertie had no wish to intrude her anxiety upon such a peaceful pair. The cool autumn wind blew all around her, but the fresh air helped to calm her nerves. She could not be sure if the strange fluttering sensations in her belly had to do with her disquiet or the life growing inside of her. She could not refrain her mind from imagining all possible outcomes of the meeting between Alexander and Vale.
“You can have the wanton harlot for all I care,” she envisioned Alexander saying.
And then she would see Alexander rejecting the deal simply to spite his wife and Phineas. Gertie clasped and unclasped her hands several times. The amount Phineas was offering was a grand sum for Lowry, but perhaps Alexander would be satisfied with the income Sarah’s matrimony could produce? However Alexander decided, at the least, she knew her heart, and there was comfort in that. She would be with Phineas regardless.
A man on horseback approached. Phineas!
She picked up her skirts and ran towards him. He quickly dismounted and caught her in his arms.
“Darling, you ought not run in such fashion,” he said after he had nestled a kiss in her neck.
“I may be with child, but I am not incapacitated,” she informed him. She searched his face for indications.
His handsome face broke into a broad smile. “You are to be mine, Gertie.”
She threw her arms about his neck and held him tight. “Truly?”
“Dunnesford told me that Alexander agreed to all the terms.”
“And the child?”
“Alexander has no interest in our child.”
She shuddered in relief. “I have made myself sick with worry.”
“As did I. I rode my poor horse around Berkeley Square what seemed a hundred times, waiting for Dunnesford to emerge. I wanted so often to enter Lowry House to confront Alexander myself, but your suggestion to have Dunnesford represent us was a wise one.”
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