Chapter 28
Nestled back in the comfort of her library, Georgina gazed at the glowing embers, memories of Byron’s ball playing in her mind, much like the shadows cast by the small dancing flames.
She leaned forward and stoked the fire. She knew she should be making strides in her mission to topple Solitaires, as the stakes were drastic, and time was ticking down.
Yet her thoughts turned back to Elizabeth.
In the beginning, Georgina had only intended a flirtation with the Countess, yet she had developed tender feelings despite herself.
Feelings she refused to examine, but ones she equally did not want to displace.
She jumped when she heard the sharp rap of the door knocker echo through the hall. She feared for a moment Ellis and Montgomery had sent a mob around to raid her home in search of the faro box, Sunday deadline be damned. Her stomach tightened in anticipation. She clenched and unclenched her hands.
The library door opened to Jarvis. “Lady Mortimer is here to see you, Miss Pace.”
Relief flooded Georgina, followed by trepidation. Why had Elizabeth called so late in the evening? Perhaps she was there as an envoy for Mrs Gardner and her colleagues, and Colt’s suspicions had been correct.
Georgina asked Jarvis to escort Lady Mortimer in. She straightened her evening wear and quickly pinched her lips, trying to draw some colour to the surface.
A moment later, Jarvis returned with Elizabeth.
“Would you care for anything else, Miss Pace?” the butler asked in supercilious tones.
Georgina, her eyes transfixed on Elizabeth, replied, “No thank you. You might retire, Jarvis.”
He gave a dignified bow and withdrew from the room.
“I was not expecting you,” Georgina said, gesturing for her to come in. “I did not realise you meant we should talk tonight.”
“Forgive the interruption.”
“You are always welcome.”
“I wanted to return your book,” Elizabeth explained, handing it to her. “You indicated it was important to you.”
“Indeed. Thank you.” Georgina accepted the novel, returning it to the shelf. “You enjoyed it?”
Elizabeth folded her hands in front of her. “It … it gave me much to think about.”
“All a part of my greater quest to compromise you. Did you recover from our adventures at the masquerade, by the way?”
“It seems like so much has happened since that night. But yes, I have recovered admirably. Thank you, Georgina. I gather you have also?”
Georgina gave a flippant laugh, but she did not feel amused. “All forgotten. That is what you desired, is it not? To forget?”
Elizabeth’s gray eyes darkened, as though a cloud had passed in the way of the sun. Her chest rose and fell as she breathed. “That would be the wisest course,” she said at last, though her voice lacked conviction. “Would it not?”
“Most certainly,” Georgina agreed, distracted by Elizabeth’s sweet scent the longer they stood opposite each other. She bit her lip. “Though I never professed to be wise.”
Without a word, Elizabeth took a purposeful step closer.
Georgina raised one hand, her fingers approaching the edge of Elizabeth’s bodice, near her shoulder. In a fluid movement, she clutched the fabric in her hand and pulled, drawing Elizabeth towards her.
Their lips joined, and where Elizabeth had been motionless a moment before, she now gathered Georgina into her arms, crushing them together as they kissed.
Georgina urged Elizabeth backwards, making her stumble and sit on the sofa behind her. Her breeches allowed her to straddle -Elizabeth’s lap with ease.
“Georgina!” Elizabeth’s protest was only a whisper against her lips.
Georgina gazed directly into Elizabeth’s eyes, pleased to have rectified the difference in their heights. Hearing no further demur, Georgina kissed her again, curling a hand behind her head as she deepened the kiss, plundering Elizabeth’s mouth with her tongue.
Elizabeth’s hands slid up Georgina’s back and beneath her coat. Only the thin fabric of a shirt stood between Elizabeth’s eager fingers and Georgina’s skin.
Georgina arched her back responsively, and her hips pivoted against Elizabeth, making her groan. Georgina found this reaction favourable. She repeated the movement, her eyes alight with mischief.
Elizabeth’s delicate appearance belied her strength. Suddenly, she lifted Georgina by her hips and reversed their positions, so that Georgina sat on the couch. Elizabeth kneeled on the floor before her.
Georgina made a move to regain dominance over the situation, reaching to draw Elizabeth into another kiss, but found both of her own slender wrists suddenly seized in one of Elizabeth’s large hands.
The sudden strength and dominance that Elizabeth revealed did not scare Georgina. It excited her. Elizabeth’s long fingers tightened in a vice-like grip.
Their gaze met, each inciting the other with a challenge. An unspoken dare to go further.
Elizabeth, with a determined glint in her eye, rose to the challenge. Still holding Georgina’s wrists in one hand, with the other she deftly parted Georgina’s legs, then settled between them. Their locked gaze was alive with tenderness and hunger.
Elizabeth delivered a maddeningly soft kiss. The tip of her tongue teased Georgina’s lips.
Georgina, fiery and impulsive, made a movement to kiss Elizabeth properly. Elizabeth, still on her knees, only held her a little tighter, making her wait. Tantalising her.
Georgina wrapped one slender leg around Elizabeth’s shoulders, trying to pull her closer this way.
“Patience, my little thief,” Elizabeth instructed her. She gently released Georgina’s wrists and stroked the side of her jaw.
Georgina pressed her cheek against Elizabeth’s fingers, closing her eyes briefly. When she opened her eyes again, Elizabeth was regarding her intensely.
“We are not all equipped with your virtues, especially patience,” Georgina said, exasperated.
“Then I must teach you,” Elizabeth replied.
“Please don’t,” Georgina beseeched.
Elizabeth smiled and unfastened the front of Georgina’s breeches.
Georgina lifted her bottom as Elizabeth pulled them down over her hips and past her knees.
Elizabeth stroked up the outside length of Georgina’s legs, from her ankles, across her knees, and then lingered on the soft flesh of her exposed thighs.
Instinctively, Georgina raised her hips again, trying to get closer to Elizabeth’s hands.
Elizabeth clicked her tongue, avoiding the only spot that would ultimately fulfill the ache growing inside Georgina.
Georgina made a little growl of frustration and collapsed into the cushions.
Lowering her face, Elizabeth placed a pathway of kisses up each of Georgina’s milky thighs, hovering near the apex of her legs and the neat triangle of dark hair there. With painful deliberation, Elizabeth rubbed one finger along her seam.
Georgina’s body jerked in response to this soft touch, and a cry caught in her throat. She stared unblinkingly at Elizabeth.
As Elizabeth’s fingers stroked her up and down, Georgina’s head fell back, her lips parting in mounting desire.
Elizabeth’s long fingers moved firmly over her bud, then dipped inside her wetness.
The pace intensified, and finally, as Georgina’s body convulsed, Elizabeth’s fingers sank deeply into her.
Georgina cried out.
Elizabeth groaned as Georgina throbbed tightly around her fingers.
Once the waves of pleasure subsided, Elizabeth slowly withdrew her fingers from the warmth of Georgina’s body. They glistened, filmy white.
Georgina retrieved a clean handkerchief from her pocket. She used it to wipe Elizabeth’s hand. Then she raised her head and saw Elizabeth’s face, expression soft, loving.
A shy smile emerged on Georgina’s flushed countenance. “I believe you have just irrevocably complicated things, Elizabeth,” she remarked, with more flippancy than she felt. She found herself being soundly kissed.
They withdrew from the kiss, both laughing.
Elizabeth took Georgina’s hands in hers and drew them to her mouth. “Things have certainly become more interesting. You have an unaccountable way of making me act impulsively.”
“I hope you do not regret it,” Georgina replied, her voice soft.
“Never,” Elizabeth answered.
She pulled Georgina’s breeches back-up, methodical in her movements, then crawled up onto the sofa and drew her against her chest possessively.
Georgina draped an arm around Elizabeth’s neck and rested her head on her shoulder, enjoying the scent of her skin and the heady sensation that flooded her body as she returned to reality.
In time, her breathing became more controlled.
A sigh of contentment escaped her, as she relaxed against Elizabeth, feeling safe, comfortable, and ever-so-warm.
She slipped into a kind of somnolence, easily losing track of time.
“Are you sure I cannot persuade you to borrow another book? I should like you to return books to me often.”
“Indeed. I am going away for a few days, so a book might be useful for the journey.”
Georgina sat up, very much awake. “Going away?”
Elizabeth grazed her hand over Georgina’s back. “I must return to my estate.”
“Would you like me to accompany you?”
Elizabeth’s eyes kindled. “A tempting prospect, Georgina. But an offer I must nevertheless decline.”
Georgina could not conceal a frown. “How wretched of you to abandon me.”
“There has been an outbreak of illness across the farms, and I wish to ensure that medical treatment has been dispensed to all in need.”
“Well, I cannot fault you for that, but I daresay I wish you did not have to go.”
Elizabeth smiled down at her. “And why is that?”
Georgina blushed, feeling caught out in her feelings. “I suspect I might miss you,” she conceded.
“And I you,” Elizabeth replied, her voice filled with affection. She sighed. “I should probably take myself home.”
“Please stay.”
Elizabeth held Georgina’s gaze and shook her head. “I cannot. This is not the time, my dear.” She carefully disengaged herself and rose to take her leave. “I shall see you soon,” she pledged.