The Science of Seduction #5
Harriet’s heart rate picked up. No one had looked at her this way before.
“Or perhaps they are the blue of the ocean.” He cupped her chin and kept her facing him. “Or a waterfall in the high mountains.”
She giggled. “They’re just blue.”
He swiped his tongue over his bottom lip and then pressed his mouth to Harriet’s.
Her breathing hitched. The kiss had been unexpected and her first ever.
“I’m quite sure,” he said softly as he looked into her eyes. “That you taste better than anything in that picnic basket, but don’t tell Cook I said that.”
She folded her arms and pulled away. “Jasper. You do come out with such shocking statements.” A smile tugged her lips.
“I like that.”
“What?”
“You saying my name. I get so tired of Your Grace, and Duke, and sir. To have you, my wife, say my name is refreshing. Please, always use my name.”
“It’s a nice name.”
He shrugged and opened the picnic basket. “It has been just me and the few staff for so long. I know I was distracted yesterday and…and did not come to you last night, but I really am glad you’re here.”
She waited for him to go on.
“I want to get to know you, Harriet, find out what makes you smile, what your favorite things to do are, but—”
“There is a ‘but’?” She took a meat paste tart and set it on a China plate.
“But my nature, I am often distracted. I get an idea and it becomes an obsession. Will my invention work? Will it help or hinder life as we know it? And then… Well, you’ve seen. I forget the time. I forget everything.”
“I had noticed.”
“But I promise not to forget you?”
“Do you?” She frowned and searched for honesty in his eyes.
“Yes.” He nodded solemnly. “And our children, in the future, if we are lucky enough to be blessed with them. I will never forget or neglect any of you.”
She took his hand. “Jasper.”
“Yes?”
“I am unsullied. I have only been kissed once by a man and that was a few minutes ago, but I do know we have to share a bed to make babies.”
“Ah, yes, that.”
“And your bedchamber is…”
He grimaced. “Is not ideal for a duchess, I agree.” He held up his finger. “But I have a solution.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I will come to you, in your bedchamber, if you are agreeable.”
“I am.” A strange tremble set up in her lower belly. She might have missed out on a traditional wedding night, but a plan was in motion.
He turned her hand in his and stroked her palm. “Then I look forward to our joining.”
*
“I look forward to our joining.”
Jasper’s words rattled around Harriet’s head as they walked back toward the house. The heat of the sun had gone and a cuckoo called from a nearby tree that had been struck by lightning the year before, according to Jasper.
His workshop came into view. Harriet gestured to it. “I had an idea for an invention once.”
“You did?” He didn’t hide his surprise.
“Yes. When my father was ill. He couldn’t walk far.
” She stopped and picked a strand of long pampas grass, the tough, reedy bit.
“He needed a cane to walk, but he also needed to sit and rest often. Not for long, just to let the blood return to his legs and then he could walk again. I thought…” She bent the reed in three.
“That if his cane could be fashioned into a small portable seat, it would have been most helpful to him.”
“Ah, yes.” Jasper nodded. “Very good.”
“Like this.” She unfolded the reed. “This bit could be the seat. Of course, it would need to have a sturdy joint—a hinge, perhaps—and be strong enough to take one’s weight.”
“It’s a good idea with lots of applications.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, not just for someone with weak legs, but on a long day out shooting or chasing a hunt. There are many occasions people need to rest for a few minutes but have no chair available.” He took the length of reedy stick. “I think it’s a grand idea. You clearly have a scientific brain.”
“Well, I don’t know about that.” She shrugged. “Just practical, perhaps.”
“We should make it—patent it, even. That is the modern thing to do with new ideas and inventions.”
“Now you are getting ahead of yourself.” She raised her eyebrows.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been told that.” He dropped the grass and pulled her hand back into the crook of his elbow so they walked close together.
“I’d love to see your workshop,” she said.
He was quiet.
“But only if… I don’t wish to overstep.”
“You are not overstepping—you are my wife.” He changed their course so that they were heading to his workshop. “And if I wish to know you, you should know me.”
A smile spread on her face. How different she felt from yesterday when he’d looked at her blankly, if at all.
Yesterday, she had been resigned to a life she hadn’t wanted…
A husband she hadn’t wanted but needed. And now…
Now, she was seeing that Jasper was interesting and interested, at least when he was not consumed by some thought that needed making into reality.
They reached the workshop. The same lines of pipes and hoses led from the outside in.
The lighting was dim and straightaway he lit a fire—the one under the big metal container that looked like a barrel.
“I know it looks messy and chaotic to you, but it is organized in my mind.” He blew out the match and shrugged. “I can put my hand on anything I want instantly.”
“That’s good when you are busy.” She studied the room more closely.
It resembled a cross between a kitchen and an ironmonger’s workplace.
A large table held glass bottles of all shapes and sizes, and some had colorful liquids in them.
Another table was a tangle of metal rods and locks and cylinders.
They are shiny with grease and heavy tools were dotted about.
“Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier,” Jasper said, hands on hips. “Have you heard the name?”
“I can’t say I have.”
“He is something of a hero of mine.”
“Oh?”
“He was a great chemist. He gave oxygen its name and explained combustion amongst many, many other things.”
“I see.” She resisted touching a long, thin glass tube full of crystals.
“I am sure he must have had a wife helping him if he did so much.” She turned to the hot rain shower and remembered Jasper naked under it the day before…
She recalled spying on him, her skin heating and her breath quickening as she’d watched the soapy suds sliding from his body.
“Actually, yes, he was married, Marie-Anne, a great mind. She still lives and has since remarried, though I hear that marriage did not work out and she once again uses her first husband’s surname. How did you know he had a wife?”
“I didn’t.” She tipped her head and studied him. “But it makes sense that two scientific minds would be better than one.”
“I agree.” He touched her shoulder gently. “You are curious about that device.”
The heat of his hand sent a shiver of desire through Harriet. It was unexpected but not unpleasant. “Yes. What do you call it?”
“‘A water shower.’”
“And its use?”
“It is to replace bathing. Bathing is a long process that requires much hefting of water pails and requires one to sit in what becomes cold, dirty water.”
Harriet closed her eyes and imagined warm water pattering down on her head and shoulders and then flowing down her body with the soft caress of a waterfall.
“I will demonstrate,” her husband said.
“What? I don’t think…”
“You will appreciate it, I think.” He quickly stoked the fire then climbed on the ladder and checked inside the huge container.
“What’s in there?” she asked, knowing full well it was water.
“It’s warming water. I have to get it just right. I don’t want to burn anyone. I am still working on that. But a fire for about ten minutes seems to be the sweet spot. Though this water still has some warmth in it, so it will not take too long.” He splashed his hand through it.
“I see.”
“You will.” He jumped down from the ladder and grinned. “Give it just a few minutes.”
As the pair waited for the water to warm, Harriet perused a pile of papers scribbled with diagrams and notes then moved onto a stack of leaflets.
“This,” Jasper said, plucking one. “A lecture I went to that was delivered by Humphry Davy.”
“I believe I have heard of him.”
“He is known for his electric arc lamp.” Jasper’s eyes sparkled as he told her about the lamp and the lecture. It was clear he’d been inspired by his visit to London to hear a fellow scientist speak.
“Do you think the water will be warm enough yet for my demonstration?” Harriet asked.
“Let me check.” Again, he climbed the ladder and scooped up a palm full of water. “Perfect, Your Grace.” He grinned.
Harriet smiled. A wicked idea had come to her. One she wanted to follow through with.
“It is this lever,” he said, turning the length of metal attached to the pipe leading from the container to the pail, “that allows the water to flow through on demand. I would prefer something with a tighter seal, so I will work on that next.”
The warm water flowed instantly from the pail and splashed into the tray. A rise of steam accompanied it and Harriet swallowed to steel her nerves.
“You see?” He placed his hand under it. “It’s the perfect temperature and perfect for washing, or rather, showerbathing, I like to call it.”
“Very good.” Harriet toed off her shoes. She then reached for the first button on her neckline and released it.
“Harriet?”
“You have tempted me so with your invention.”
“Whatever do you mean?” A line drew over his brow.
“I mean, I would like to see for myself if it is better than bathing.”
“But…” He glanced at the door.
“Your staff are forbidden to enter here, is that right?”
He nodded and watched as she released two more buttons and the soft flesh of her breasts were exposed.
“All experiments need testing, or so I’m told.”
Again, he nodded and as her dress fell down her arms to her waist, he licked his lips and his pupils widened.
Her heart was thumping and her nipples tingled. This was the single-most daring thing she had done in her entire life but she was encouraged by the fact that she’d watched him, in secret, do this exact thing.