Chapter Four #2
“I am certain that Edwin will gladly lend the upcoming social events his tremendous charm,” she said, giving Edwin a smile. “And Marcus and I shall discuss our plans for the remainder of the season, as we are both well aware of our duties and the expectations thereof.”
Marcus gave his grandmother a cold glance, but she merely smiled warmly in return. Between his grandmother’s implications and his cousin’s ceaseless charm, the atmosphere became so suffocating that his physical condition seemed to worsen at an incredible speed.
***
Adelaide was relieved when she was seated at the vanity in her guest chambers, preparing to ready herself for bed.
Her mind was too frantic for sleep, but she was eager to have some time to herself.
However, when her lady’s maid entered with a pale face and trembling hands that struggled to arrange her hair, her own distress became less important.
“Sophia, what is it?” she asked, turning and taking her loyal lady’s maid’s hands in her own.
The woman looked around the room wildly, as if expecting a terrible surprise.
“You do know, do you not?” she whispered, the angst in her tone not dulled in the slightest by the quietness with which she spoke.
Adelaide shook her head, worry building as she stared at her anxious maid.
“Know what?” she asked, shaking her head.
Sophia took a deep, shaky breath, clasping and unclasping her hands with clear worry.
“I spoke with a maid named Lucy Potter today,” she said, still whispering. “She told me that His Grace is a murderer. He killed the young woman for whom he was supposed to be caring after her parents left her an orphan.”
A horrible chill rushed down Adelaide’s spine.
She recalled rumors circulating about a duke who had murdered his charge a couple of years prior, and she thought about what her aunt had said.
She was not usually one for believing rumors about people she did not know, especially when the gossip had no evidence to support it.
But murder was a serious allegation, one which bore caution when involving oneself with someone accused of it.
But would her aunt be associated with someone who was capable of murder?
Or could it be that he was so good at hiding his crime and murderous tendencies that Helena was completely oblivious?
Adelaide did not bother trying to sleep when Sophia departed.
Instead, she retrieved the solitary candle from her bedside table, donned her nightgown, and glided from her chambers into the hushed corridors of Lochville Manor.
Her hostess had taken the liberty of giving the women a brief tour of the mansion on the way to show them to their respective chambers, during which Adelaide had discovered the library.
It called to her now, the solace she could find within the pages of wonderful books too overwhelming to deny.
She hurried silently down the stairs and through the maze-like corridors until she found the room, to which the door stood open.
Relieved that she had reached her destination undisturbed, Adelaide closed the door behind her. She was searching for a place to set down the candle when a husky voice caused her heart to nearly stop.
“Are you uncomfortable in your chambers, Miss Barrett?” the male voice said.
Even before her candle’s flame illuminated his features, she was sure the voice belonged to the Duke.
She was also sure there was an unspoken implication beneath his civil question.
While her lips struggled to form a reply, her body responded to him at once.
The boiling heat which had flooded her lower abdomen pooled once more, with an intensity that made her gasp.
She pressed her hand between her navel and the pinnacle of the fire as if to shove it away, but only succeeding in feeding it.
“Forgive me,” she managed to sputter at last, gasping again as she pondered the tingling warmth throughout her body. “I should… I should leave you in peace.
Despite her trembling hand, she could now see the duke, who was sprawled out on one of the two long sofas in the room.
His cravat was loosened and he held a glass of brandy in his hand, lazily swirling the liquid as his gaze bore into her in a way that made her shiver and increase the heat below where her hand was still placed.
He chuckled softly, shaking his head, never taking his eyes off her.
“Nonsense,” he said, allowing his gaze to move from her eyes to the top of her bosom, which was exposed in her delicate nightgown. “There is no harm in you exploring your new surroundings.”
Adelaide shivered once more, sensing an unspoken notion.
The candlelight flickered so that it revealed the gleam of sweat on the indention between the duke’s throat and the span of his chest, which was exposed, as her bosom swell was, by the loose clothing.
Her breath caught and she was unable to speak, as she was unable to look away.
She could feel the Duke’s dark, heated eyes still surveying her, and the heat within her made her break out in a sweat.
When she met his gaze once more, she was surprised to see that there was nothing sardonic or angry in them.
Rather, she saw a hunger similar to that which she had noticed when they first met, only less diluted and more intense than it had been before.
Why did she not want to look away from the man who might be a murderer?
***
Marcus was ablaze with an awareness that caused his entire body to tighten.
One part of him, in particular. His perpetual dizziness remained a vexation, yet it seemed to wane as he struggled to maintain his composure, for the fragrance of her lavender perfume pervaded the chamber and enveloped him.
Her nightgown offered teasing glimpses of her figure, driving primitive, ungentlemanly thoughts through his mind.
As she stood, so innocent and speechless, he wrestled an overwhelming urge to rise from the sofa and touch her golden hair and taste the pulse fluttering at her delicate throat.
Why do I so achingly long to pull her close to me and see what the rest of her nightclothes are hiding?
He wondered as he, too, struggled to find words.
The desire was so concentrated that he had to shift himself on the sofa to accommodate the growing discomfort where his hand rested to shield his stirred desires from the beauty before him.
“You are most welcome in here,” he said, repeating his previous sentiment when she had first entered the library. “However, you should be watchful for dangerous beasts who might be prowling these halls at night.”
The young lady gasped sharply, and judging by the placement of her hand upon her lower abdomen, he was quite certain that she must have perceived the barely restrained longing he harboured for her.
The air thickened, this time with all the things which could take place if he were to only move from the sofa and to where she stood.
He gave her a slow smirk, hoping his eyes offered a request for her to join him where he sat.
“Forgive me… Your Grace…” she uttered, her breathless tone and quickening pulse betraying the agitation in her speech.
She turned and fled before Marcus could reconsider leaving the sofa to touch her, leaving him alone with his burning attraction and the sweet torment of her lingering scent, coupled with more of the horrendous dizziness which dictated so much of his life.
He groaned, closing his eyes. But despite the discomfort of his equilibrium, his awakened passion was unfazed.
He sighed, licking his lips and wishing he was well enough to chase after her.
If her chambers truly were not comfortable enough for her, he would have been delighted to share his.
Adelaide hurried to her bedchamber, closing the door behind her as her heart raced from the intoxicating sensations that filled her mind.
The dreams of what could be, swept through her, stirring feelings that were both exhilarating and forbidden.
She lay upon her bed, the weight of her thoughts gradually fading as sleep claimed her.
But then, without warning, the door swung open, and a chill of dread coursed through her as she recognized the figure that entered. It was the Duke, his presence commanding and undeniably magnetic.
“Your Grace, it is improper for you to intrude upon my chamber,” she stammered, a mix of fear and an undeniable thrill coursing through her veins.
“Do not presume to dictate my actions,” he replied, his voice low and firm, as he closed the door with a definitive click.
Adelaide felt a surge of trepidation, yet, inexplicably, a deep-seated longing urged her to remain.
As the Duke stepped closer, she rose from the bed, her legs trembling—not from fear, but from a hunger ignited by his gaze.
He enveloped her in his arms, silencing her protests with a fervent kiss that stole her breath away.
“Your Grace, we must not…” she managed to whisper when their lips parted, but he silenced her once more with a kiss that sent shivers down her spine.
She melted against him, surrendering to the electric connection that sparked between them.
His lips travelled to her neck, igniting sensations she had never known, while his hands roamed her body, exploring every curve with a reverence that made her heart race.
Adelaide, emboldened, began to trace the contours of his form, her fingers discovering the evidence of his desire.
With a sudden intensity, he swept her into his arms, laying her back against the silken sheets, his body pressing against hers as he lifted her gown.
The world outside faded away, and all that mattered was the heat of the moment and the craving that surged within her.
As she felt his undeniable desire pressing against her thigh, a soft whisper escaped his lips, stirring a thrilling anticipation within her.
“Adelaide… Adelaide,” he murmured, his voice a low growl that reverberated through her. But just as she began to lose herself in the depths of that fervid embrace, reality intruded, pulling her from the precipice of ecstasy.
“Wake up, it’s time for breakfast,” a voice called, shattering her reverie.
Adelaide opened her eyes, disoriented, the rich tapestry of dreams unraveling before her. A wave of disappointment washed over her as she realized it had all been a mere fantasy. “It was only a dream,” she thought, a bittersweet ache settling in her chest.