Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lisbeth sat in the lecture room at Seely Hall.
Chaos reigned around her. Today was Thomas’s first lecture for children on antiquities.
There was nothing sedate, serious, or sophisticated about what was taking place in the room.
Children bounced up and down in their chairs as Thomas explained how to clean an artifact effectively.
Benjamin walked around the room, helping them. It was a fantastic idea that Thomas conceived while stuck in bed. It had been almost a month since the shooting. He was doing so much better.
Her heart ached as she remembered him crumpled on the ground in Hyde Park. She shook the devastating thought from her mind. Her Serious Thomas was right here, teaching and joking with children. He practically glowed, and Lisbeth suspected there was nowhere else he’d rather be.
She did hope that someday they would go on another adventure but was happy to live and enjoy their family in London and their new country estate for now. It would be another year until they could live there, but the whole family went every week to see the progress.
Rose dropped down next to her, and Lisbeth smiled. “How are you faring?”
Her friend shook her head. “I’m sick every morning. Augustus is beside himself with worry. This morning, we quarreled because he wouldn’t stop hovering over me. Losing my breakfast is awful, but it is made even worse when your husband is leaning over you watching.”
Lisbeth giggled. “He is just worried about you.”
Rose nodded at Thomas. “I’m glad he is recovering well.”
She smiled. “Yes, the doctor stopped by for the last time yesterday and said Thomas was officially mended.”
“I can’t believe what you all endured.”
Lisbeth wished it had never happened, but in some ways, it brought her, Thomas, Alice, and Jeremy closer.
They truly felt like a family. They still had to share with Alice the truth about Thomas, but had decided not to focus on it until she was eighteen.
“Thomas is apprehensive about any of his admirers now and at first said he wouldn’t respond to any more mail, but fortunately, he’s changed his mind. ”
“And you support that?” Rose questioned, surprised.
“I do. Look at him with those children. He is inspiring the next generation of historians, explorers, and scholars.”
Her friend nudged. “Don’t forget, Mrs. Easton, you are doing the same.”
They all were. Lisbeth was proud of that.
Thomas clapped his hands. “Now, to the gardens of Seely House. Mr. Calvert and I may have hidden some artifacts to find.”
The chatter heightened as the children headed to the green space. Lisbeth stood just as Thomas reached her. “Are you ready to go adventuring, Lizzie?”
“Of course.”
*
Thomas sat in the study, reviewing the plans for the estate just outside London.
They’d decided to call it the Majnun Estate.
He smiled; perhaps it was a little dark, but it was an ode to the story that so many people had said seemed like it was about him and Lisbeth.
He smiled. Thomas was no longer the madman but a man in love with his wife.
He studied the plans. To date, the foundation had been laid. Next, the kitchen and first-floor rooms would be designed and built. The second floor would come after that. As requested, Alice’s room would look over the old manor ruins, and Jeremy’s would look over the lake.
“Is this where you’ve been hiding all morning, Mr. Easton?” Lisbeth said, entering and locking the door behind her. His body hummed at what that meant.
“I’m never hiding from you,” he said.
Thomas’s eyes raked over his wife. Today, she was wearing a green dress. The neckline dipped down, hinting at the perfect mounds the fabric hid.
He smirked. “Did you come to distract me from my work?”
“Perhaps, I must spend the day at Seely House, so I thought I would visit you before I departed.”
“Is that so?” he said, standing. His cock was already hard and ready to sink into her warmth.
“Yes,” she said, her voice going breathless.
He pulled her to his desk, bending her over. A mirror reflected their image. Thomas loved its position and had used it to watch his wife more than once. She looked back at him, her eyes clouded with need.
He threaded his fingers with one of her hands and leaned down over her. “Did you want me to bend you over my desk before you departed?”
He pushed his cock into the back of her skirt. Lisbeth moaned and pressed herself against him. “Yes.”
Thomas used his other hand to push her breasts out of the low top of her dress. His thumb ran across the tip of one, and Lisbeth arched back into him. “Please, Thomas.”
His eyes glowed with desire. “You are such a wanton sight. Is that all for me?”
“Yes, only you.”
He opened the flap of his pants and stroked his hard cock before flipping her skirt up. She wore nothing underneath. His palm caressed her bottom. “You are a wicked woman. Now I will think of nothing but what is under your dress all day.”
She smirked at him in the mirror. “Good.”
Thomas caressed her bottom some more and then gave her a playful smack. She gasped as his hands roamed down to her feminine folds. Lisbeth was so wet and ready for him. He positioned his shaft at her opening, and she whimpered.
He grasped her shoulders and slid deeply within her. Their eyes connected. “I love you, Lizzie.”
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
Thomas pulled out and thrust back into her again.
Things went flying off his desk, but he didn’t care.
His eyes and focus were on his wife. She moaned and pushed against him every time he impaled her with his shaft.
He released her shoulders and slid one of his hands between her legs without slowing down his onslaught of thrusts.
Lisbeth’s moans became louder as his fingers stroked and teased her sensitive nub.
He was close to spending, but wanted to watch her face fill with ecstasy when she came apart.
His fingers pinched and circled the most sensitive part of her body.
She panted loudly, and then suddenly she let out a loud, strangled moan.
Her climax drove Thomas over the edge, and he plunged into her, spilling his seed.
They both lay against the desk. Finally, Thomas kissed her neck and pulled away.
He found a cloth to clean them both. She pulled her skirts down and adjusted her top before standing and saucily grinning at him.
A gasp of laughter escaped him as he fell back into his chair.
She sat on his lap and brushed her lips against his.
Thomas smiled. “You will be the death of me.”
“I didn’t want you to forget me while I was gone.”
He nuzzled her breasts. “I think you should do that every time you leave. We wouldn’t want you to be forgotten.”
She giggled. Thomas wasn’t a globetrotting explorer anymore, and he didn’t regret those days, but this was the life he’d always envisioned and never thought possible. Yet, here they were.