Chapter Nineteen #2
Later, completely sated, Nora slept in his arms. He stayed awake and watched her. Lovemaking had never been as good as it was with her. It kept getting better, too.
She shifted and opened her eyes. ‘Tell me what you’re thinking.’
He trailed his fingers down the softness of her inner arm. ‘I’m thinking my wife is most demanding.’
She pinched his arm. ‘I’m demanding? I’d say you were just as urgent.’
‘I don’t deny it.’
She touched his cheek. ‘Now, don’t try to distract me from my question. I know you are under a lot of pressure. Open up to me, Devon.’
He’d never get tired of her using his name. It made it easier to talk about his troubles. ‘You must know about the upcoming second reading of my bill.’
‘Yes, you’ve been working late and meeting with others.’
‘My opponent, Lord Weber, is no doubt preparing his debate as I have mine. It will be heated.’
‘I have confidence in you.’
He brushed his lips against her forehead. ‘He has many allies as well.’
She shifted in his arms to better watch him. ‘And you do as well.’
‘I suppose but politics is a dirty business. Oftentimes, those with the richest benefactors win’
She considered this for a moment. ‘But sometimes, they do not.’
‘Yes, there have been past times.’
She trailed a finger down his chest. ‘Speaking of the past. I want to know more about you.’
‘Such as?’
She rose on her elbow and looked in his eyes. ‘You’re youth. Whatever happened to you years ago.’
Her eyes were bright as he pondered her question. He rarely spoke of Margaret. He’d been young and easily manipulated. Speaking of it would expose a vulnerability he didn’t want to share. But Nora had asked and he’d grown to trust that she would listen without judgment.
He let out a sigh. ‘I was engaged before, when I was just eighteen. Margaret was a family neighbour from our country estates. We were young, foolish, and I thought in love. I knew Margaret had a wandering eye, but I ignored it. When she became pregnant, I did the right thing and proposed. We even had our families’ blessing.
At first, I was nervous to become a father.
What did I know of parenting at that young age?
But then, the more I thought about it, the more I grew excited for the babe. ’
Nora’s eyes were wide. ‘You never married?’
He let out a gruff laugh. ‘Margaret confessed the baby wasn’t mine and that she was in love with another, a landowner’s son. They eloped to Gretna Green. I should have been relieved we never married. But I had mourned the loss of a baby that was never mine.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘There’s no reason to be sorry. In hindsight, Margaret’s betrayal did me a favor. I never saw her again or her child. She left for Scotland with her lover.’
As for Nora, he’d promised her a businesslike marriage but as time passed, he was growing increasingly affected by his wife.
The feelings were frightening as hell. He’d been young and foolish before and losing his heart was not a path he wished to travel again.
But what he felt for Nora was different.
He told himself it must be due to stress.
He’d been preoccupied and worried about the second reading of his bill and what Lord Weber would do to sabotage it.
Stress could make a man behave differently, feel things that he logically knew were unsound.
Once everything was over, he was certain his head would prevail over his heart.
‘Thank you for inviting me for tea. I admit I was surprised to get an invitation,’ Lady Weber said.
‘I enjoyed hosting my salon and wanted to meet privately to get to know each other better,’ Nora said as she sat across from the lady in the parlor. She’d chosen the cozier parlor over the larger drawing room for a more intimate atmosphere. She’d also selected it for other reasons.
Ms. Hanning wheeled in a tea tray. ‘Shall I pour?’
‘No, I’d like to serve my guest.’ Nora dismissed the housekeeper and poured the lady a cup of tea.
Steam swirled above the rim as she set it down.
She noticed Lady Weber’s gaze quickly scan the room, her blue eyes travelling from a small statue to a vase on an end table.
He gaze lingered on the decorative bowl Nora had moved into the room.
A tingle of excitement ran down her spine.
‘I realize the furnishings are unique. Much of the décor is from my father’s travels around the world.’
‘What did he do?’ Lady Weber asked.
‘My father was of Middle Eastern descent and specialized in trading from the region. Growing up he’d bring home shells from exotic beaches in the Mediterranean.’
‘Is that what sparked your interest in science?’
‘Yes.’ Less than a year ago, her mother would have prohibited her from speaking freely to a lady of Society such as Lady Weber about her interests.
How marriage to Ralston had changed things.
Her salon had been a success. Whether the women thought her a novelty or not, they would not dare criticize a countess.
Nora reveled in her ability to speak freely.
‘And this’ Lady Weber rose from the settee to touch the bowl. The striking ceramic piece had a scalloped edge and lapis blue, purple and yellow floral motif and was remarkably preserved.
‘It’s a priceless bowl from the fifteenth-century Iznik region in Armenia. Father traded it for a solid gold cross he’d purchased in Jerusalem.’
‘Truly?’
‘Do you like it?’
‘Yes! I adore rare collectibles. Lord Weber says it’s my weakness and is worse than gambling. I don’t agree. What I purchase I keep, unlike others who waste it at the tables.’
This is what Nora was hoping for. If she had something Lady Weber desired, then perhaps she could use it to help her husband with his opponent, Lord Weber.
She understood politics was a tricky business and she wanted to use her influence as a countess to be an ally for her husband to support his worthy bill.
Nora waited and watched as the lady traced the scalloped edge with a finger. ‘May I?’
‘Of course,’ Nora said.
The lady picked up the bowl, turned it in her hands and then gently returned it. ‘I purchased a marble statute from the Ming dynasty over a year ago.’
Nora opened her mouth but bit the inside of her cheek. It was most likely a forgery. With the Port of Canton closed, it was nearly impossible to get rare collectibles from the region.
‘Do you like this piece?’ Nora asked.
‘Very much. If I had it, I’d display it in my vestibule.’
It was not meant to be a vestibule piece, but more of a family heirloom to be kept in a private study or library. Her pulse beat erratically at what she was about to do. Her father would understand.
Nora came close. ‘I’d be willing to part with it.’ She may have received the bowl from her father for her birthday, but she had other items to remind her of him. Her books and shells had even more meaning to her. As she watched Lady Weber, she held her breath, hoping her idea would work.
Lady Weber turned to her, a glimmer of eagerness in her eyes. ‘You would? How much?’
Nora smiled. Ralston had said politics was a dirty business. As far as she was concerned, what she was about to do was a small bribe but not even close to dirty.
‘I don’t need the money,’ Nora said. ‘But I do have something else in mind. Something you can help me with.’
The robing room in the House at Westminster was brightly lit from the afternoon sun streaming in through stained-glass windows. Ralston wrinkled his nose at the faint scent of beeswax mingling with smoke.
‘Are you ready?’ Adler asked as he adjusted his crimson robe.
Ralston fastened the clasp of his robe. The garment was scratchy against his cuffs as he adjusted the sleeves. He managed to make a terse nod, his jaw stiffening. ‘I’m as ready as I can be.’