Lord Melvedere's Ghost

by King, Rebecca

  She found herself being seated with her back to the door, and had no sooner sat down than the first course arrived.

  There really was little cause for concern, she mused wryly later that evening when the table had been cleared away and they were sitting on opposite sides of the fire. Jamie had spent the evening regaling her with stories of his childhood and some of the secretive, yet funny ones of his experiences in the Star Elite.

  As she had listened to him, Cecily realised just how staid and boring her own life had been in contrast, and just how precious Portia was to her. Hers hadn’t been a life of travelling and adventure. Her life had consisted of nothing more than a few precious, snatched hours of teasing and laughter shared with her sister, before they returned to the cold and barren home they worked in for their father. She had been practically nowhere and had achieved nothing with her life compared to Jamie.

  Although the meal had been plentiful, and one of the most delicious she had ever had in her entire life, and she now sat replete and slightly warm from the wine, she felt the gulf growing between her and her host in a way that made her feel uncomfortable and unworthy of even being there. She stared solemnly into the fire, deep in thought.

  “Penny for them,” Jamie whispered, moving to sit on the small chaise beside her. He was close enough that the material of his breeches brushed her skirts but not so close that they were physically touching. “You look so lost and alone. What have I said that has made you so melancholy?”

  Cecily smiled sadly. “I am just being a little somnolent, that’s all,” she replied, wondering what the wine had done to her. “I cannot help but wonder where Portia is, and if she is faring as well as I am.”

  Jamie smiled, understanding her concerns. Although he was an only child, he was very close to Jonathan, and Archie, and considered them two of his closest friends. He would trust them with his life, and was glad that if he was going to have anyone for a brother-in-law it was going to be Archie.

  “If I know Archie, he has got Portia hiding up a tree,” he declared ruefully watching as Cecily gave him the response he was looking for.

  Her eyes grew wide and she stared at him askance. “What?”

  He laughed, and poured some more wine into her goblet. “Settle back, because I have a story to tell you.”

  Later that night Cecily was still smiling, and leaning on Jamie’s arm far more than was wise, while he led her up the main staircase toward her room. There was no sign of her earlier, temporary gloom. Instead, she was still flushed from the raucous laughter she had shared with Jamie as he had explained some of the Star Elite’s most nefarious and alarmingly hysterical exploits. Like the time Pie was persuaded to adopt the disguise of a woman, only to forget to shave his beard, or the time Archie got his breeches stuck in a tree he had climbed into to keep watch. He had been forced to suffer the indignity of waiting for Jonathan to search for him, and unhook him from a particularly determined branch that refused to let go.

  The mental image of an unknown man named Hugo, sitting on his own knife and having to bend over while one of his men sewed up the wound on his bottom wouldn’t leave her. All in all, she wondered if the English borders were safe from the English, and whether the Star Elite would just be better being allowed to run rife in France. By the sound of it, they could do far more damage to themselves than the French ever could.

  “I am just going to check your room,” Jamie whispered, pushing the door beside them open. He glanced inside briefly and his attention was immediately caught by the sudden flurry of movement in the far corner of the room. With a curse, he pushed her to one side. “Get to my rooms!” he shouted, tearing through her room in a desperate attempt to catch the door to the passage that was almost closed.

  “Damn it,” he cursed. He hadn’t seen who it was. The figure was quick, and had vanished into the darkness far too quickly for Jamie to make out any of their details. Pushing the panel beside the fireplace took far too long in his eyes and he wasted no further time waiting to see if Cecily had followed his orders before he disappeared into the secret passage beyond the door.

  “Jamie!”

  Cecily stared at the closed panel in dismay. Should she follow him? He hadn’t taken the time to get a candle and had nothing to light his way. She knew for herself just how dark those corridors could be, but even if she could find them, would she want to? He had shouted at her to go to his rooms but she simply couldn’t stay there and wait for him. She wasn’t that kind of woman, even if there was an unknown person around. More worryingly she couldn’t lose sight of the fact that Jamie’s rooms also had a secret door to the passage, so she would be at risk there as well.

  A cool breeze shivered over her skin and she glanced up and down the corridor cautiously. The candle on the table further down the hallway did little to banish the gloom and she rubbed her arms against the chill that seemed to creep over her skin.

  She glanced inside the room, and knew she would never be able to sleep peaceably in there tonight. Where was Jamie? Should she go and alert the staff? She watched in frozen horror as the all too familiar sight of Jamie’s father emerged from the closed door to the passageway. Her mind tried to focus on what she was seeing. The panel was open, wasn’t it? But she knew it wasn’t. She could see the panelling behind the man – through him, actually. The man was definitely Jamie’s father. He wasn’t smiling this time, and instead looked rather forbidding. Holding the candle aloft, he nodded and looked down the corridor toward the main staircase.

  Cecily looked in the direction he was pointing, and took a deep breath before turning back to at him. “What do you want with me?” She whispered, and watched as the man nodded toward the main hallway again.

  With little choice she moved toward the main hallway. Was he trying to warn her that Jamie was in trouble? She jumped and almost screamed when, at the end of the hallway, her eyes landed on the same man standing beside a door. She was really starting to dislike this house, if only for the number of endless passageways and doors. He waved a hand toward the door, urging her inside. She knew it was the door to Jamie’s sitting room she had been in earlier.

  She watched the man glide to stand in the darkest corner of the hallway and wait. She couldn’t go back to her room, and she certainly couldn’t bring herself to go after Jamie and the unknown assailant in the passages. She didn’t know why she nodded, but she did, and quickly entered the sitting room. Glancing behind her, she gasped to find the corridor now completely empty.

  Closing the door behind her with a quiet snap, she sighed with relief at the fire roaring heartily in the grate. Hastily stuffing logs into it, she poked it into a dull roar and sat on the floor, shivering.

  Jamie was cold, tired and coldly furious. He had followed the figure into the passage, but had lost them somehow.

  The redoubtable Miss Emstridge had been in her bed, but he had not studied her closely enough to discover whether she had still been fully dressed or in her nightgown. The last thing he wanted though was to be caught in the bedroom of one of his staff in the middle of the night. So, he had returned to the passage, which he had searched thoroughly. He had also undertaken a thorough search of the hidden room. None of the items in the boxes looked as though they had been disturbed since earlier that afternoon, and none of the items were familiar to him, even from his childhood. So what was going on?

  He had checked Cecily’s room and was pleased to note that she had followed his orders and gone to his room. He pushed open his sitting room door and saw her curled up in a tight ball before the fireplace. His heart lurched at the forlorn sight of her, but at least she had been sensible enough to do as she had been told.

  Yawning widely, he turned the keys in the locks of both doors and picked up a blanket from the back of the chaise. Tucking it carefully around her, he dropped several cushions on the floor behind her and lay down. She would probably be furious in the morning, but right now he didn’t care. She was safe. They were undisturbed, and that was just the way he h
ad to have it.

  The following morning, Cecily awoke to a loud rumble of thunder, or was that her stomach? She was so incredibly warm. She mumbled sleepily and rolled over, dislodging the heavy weight that was draped across her stomach.

  She blinked sleepily and opened her eyes, jolting wide awake when her eyes met and held Jamie’s slumberous grey gaze. Although she knew she should get up, she lay perfectly still and returned his unblinking stare. She remained quiet when she knew she should be arguing and shouting at him for the liberties he had taken, although, he had not really taken any liberties. She was in his room, not the other way around, and nobody had pressured her into falling asleep in front of his fire, it was something she had done willingly.

  “Don’t look so worried, nobody is going to get in,” Jamie growled around a yawn.

  “Did you find them last night?” Her stomach dipped when Jamie slowly shook his head.

  “I searched the passages from top to bottom but found nothing. They could have hidden in any of the guest rooms but without searching the rooms from top to bottom, which is impossible to do by myself, it is really difficult.” Disappointment laced his voice. He hated to lose and Cecily knew it.

  “What about Miss Emstridge?”

  “In her bed,” Jamie muttered, watching Cecily’s brows lift in surprise. “I only peeped into the room. I said she was in bed. I didn’t say whether she was asleep or in her night attire. She could still have been fully dressed, but I didn’t stop to find out.”

  Cecily had no idea where the surge of jealousy toward the librarian came from. It wasn’t as though Jamie had shown any penchant for the elder woman, but she was still an eligible female in the house nonetheless. Her thoughts turned to their own intimate situation, and she wondered what the morning etiquette was for getting out of such close sleeping confinements without offending him.

  “I do think she is up to her ears in something though,” Jamie sighed. “I also think it has something to do with those boxes in the hidden room.”

  “Or the books,” Cecily sighed, thinking about the false book they had found.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that there is more to the fake books than just making the library look full. Why has someone gone to the time and trouble, and expense, to make something look so real? I mean, it is obvious your father is wealthy and doesn’t need to produce fake books. He could have just gone out and bought a new book if he wanted one. So why are they on the shelves?”

  Jamie frowned at her and considered. The title of the fake book they had found hadn’t sounded familiar to him, but that wasn’t to say that in the right circles it didn’t mean something to somebody, he just didn’t know who yet. He wished his father was here to ask, and felt a pang of loss for his sire.

  Resting his head on his hand, Jamie lay beside her and made no attempt to remove the heavy arm that lay across her stomach. He was pleased that she seemed willing to accept these minor affections, and wondered just how far she would allow him to push matters between them.

  “Do you think the books and boxes are part of one big scheme?”

  Cecily had no idea, and found it difficult to concentrate with him being so close. “I think that it is a possibility that you cannot discount just yet. After all, both the library and the secret room have been accessed frequently. The library is useless as a storage area because it is too full of books, but it would be easy to remove a book or two, probably those that are most valuable, and replace them with fakes. The secret room is close enough for Miss Emstridge to hide the book in the case without anyone noticing she had even left the library.”

  “Good Lord,” Jamie sighed, astonished at her reasoning skills. He had never even given the books a second thought. The library was his father’s area, always had been and, to a certain degree, still was. He had never really paid any attention to it before now, it was just there. But it was an intrinsic part of the property, and a very large part of the past. His father would be rolling in his grave at the thought of it being raided.

  “I take it you didn’t come across any trouble last night,” Jamie sighed, studying the delicate folds of the wafer thin material of her dress.

  Cecily hesitated. Again it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him everything but something held her back. It sounded too fantastical even to her, how could she explain it to Jamie? She couldn’t.

  “I didn’t see anything,” she lied. “I came in here but was cold so stoked the fire. I must have fallen asleep because, well –”

  “You look beautiful in the morning,” Jamie whispered, capturing the startled gaze she turned toward him. Taking full advantage of the situation, he lay perfectly still and tipped her chin up gently with one finger while his lips laid claim to hers. He made no attempt to shorten the physical distance between them. The only contact between them was through their lips, but it was enough.

  His kiss was like a hot brand to Cecily, who lay dazed and confused. It wasn’t as though he was forcing her to do anything she didn’t want to. Indeed, exactly the opposite was the case, if only she could find the strength to pull away. She should draw back. Her future was dire enough without risking her physical welfare as well, but she was mesmerised. His steady grey gaze was almost hypnotic and she watched him lift his head to study her. Whatever he was looking for he found, because with nothing more than a gentle smile, he lowered his head once more, this time deepening the kiss.

  “Tell me when to stop,” Jamie whispered several long moments later, his hot breath fanning her bottom lip.

  Cecily wondered how she was going to do that when her lips were held captive by his. She placed one palm on his chest, wondering what he would do if she pushed.

  After several moments, when he tried to draw back, her fingers clenched the folds of his shirt tightly, holding him still. It was the only acknowledgement he needed. With a soft moan, he swept one long arm around her waist and drew her firmly against him, rolling backward until she was lying over him.

  Cecily gasped, aware of the long leg he bent over hers, holding her still. It was a hold she knew she could easily break out of. She could stand up if she wanted to. Instead, she lay over him and allowed him to slide his long fingers through her hair. Pins scattered this way and that. Her hair cascaded around them, shielding them in a silken curtain as the kiss deepened, but she didn’t care.

  When she opened her mouth, silently imploring him to deepen the kiss, Jamie knew he was lost. He had no idea if she knew what she was asking for, but could only hope that he would be able to summon the strength to stop whenever she asked.

  Cecily trembled, her body bathed in sweat. She had no idea what had just happened, but she was stunned, horrified, delighted, amazed and embarrassed. Burying her face against his chest, she lay quivering in his arms, her cheeks burning beneath tear-filled eyes.

  At first, when he tried to see her face she merely buried her face firmly in his neck, making it impossible for him to see her. In the end, he wound her hair around his hand and tugged her head upward until her eyes reluctantly met his. The sight of her tears unmanned him and he cursed himself for pushing too hard, too fast.

  “I am not going to apologise for that,” Jamie growled, the scent of her still on his fingers. “Did I hurt you?”

  Cecily slowly shook her head. She didn’t physically hurt. That had been something she still couldn’t understand but she was now so very afraid for her future. She wanted to run and hide. She wanted to be by herself to release the tears that clogged her throat, yet she wanted to remain where she was, wrapped in his secure embrace.

  “We shouldn’t have done it,” Cecily whispered, her voice trembling.

  Jamie could understand her confusion but refused to allow her to back away now. He felt certain that she wanted to hide, but he had no intention of spending the next several weeks chasing her around the estate just to be able to talk to her.

  “You are beautiful, Cecily, and you have nothing to fear.”

  “I am ruined
,” Cecily cried, trying to push away from him only to find herself being rolled onto her back with Jamie leaning over her. She was shamefully aware of her skirts pulled up to her waist, revealing her his watchful eyes, and the lowered top of her dress that revealed the pale skin of her breasts that were now pushed intimately against the coarse hairs on his chest.

  Ignoring her embarrassment, Jamie knew that what happened in the next few minutes would decide both of their fates, or would make his job of convincing her to become his wife a damned sight harder than it ought to be. What had happened this morning had been inevitable, and it was not something he was going to allow her to pretend hadn’t happened. Not when he was still hard and fiercely aching from his own lack of completion.

  Her cries of release still echoed in his ears, and it had taken every ounce of self control he had ever believed possible, to restrain himself from going that bit further and claiming her as he wanted to. As much as it unmanned him, he wanted to keep the complete experience for their marriage bed. A part of him scoffed at his chivalry, and the knowledge of what it was going to cost his libido to have to wait that long, but there was an ingrained chivalrous side to him that still wanted to do things properly. Although they had slightly veered off the path of righteousness, they had only taken a slight detour, and Cecily had enjoyed her first foray into the delights of the flesh with no physical changes, no matter how embarrassed she now was by it.

  “You are not ruined,” Jamie argued, trying to keep his frustration at bay. “You are still intact. Nobody knows you are here. This is strictly between us, Cecily. You have experienced pleasure, that’s all.”

  “I am not going to any marriage bed,” Cecily snapped, pushing away from him at the same time as putting her dress to rights. “Ever.”

  “Cecily, women like you -”

  “What do you mean, women like me?”