Improper Pleasures (The Pleasure Series #1) (14 page)

“The minuet? Her mother shoved Astra aside and stood in front
of James. “Show me.”

James glanced at Astra. She moved away, allowing her
mother the floor. James took a step back. “There’s no music. Let me give it a
try with Astra. It’s been years since I went to a formal dance.”

Her mother grabbed James’s hands. “I’m not sure that Astra
knows the steps herself. She’s not been to a formal dance in years either. At
least not one in London, which are the only kind there are.”

“I’ve been to few a balls in London,” Astra said in her
defense, though her one and only trip to London had been a royal disaster. That
was the night all her girlish dreams had been brutally crushed.

“Yes, and you were so traumatized you stayed in your room
for a week afterwards. Ready, James. One, two, three.” Her mother picked up the
flounce of her skirt and dipped towards James. James made a clumsy lurch and
her mother shrieked and jumped back.

“My apologies, Lady Seabrook. I can’t seem to keep my step
without music.”

“I don’t think we’ll bother with the minuet,” Lady
Phillina called from her seat. “It’s not as if the ton will be attending. Just
a few neighbors and the country gentry. The country dances will be fine.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Phillina. You can’t have a ball
without a minuet,” insisted her mother.

“Then we’ll call our little fete a dance rather than a
ball,” said Phillina without losing an ounce of her enthusiasm. “A country
dance.”

“As you wish, I’ll just play.” With as much grace as she
could muster, her mother limped back to the piano.

Astra studied James, noting that a hint of satisfaction
played around his lips. Even with James’s blunder regarding the minuet, Astra
had lost the zest for her task. Who was she to instruct James on how to dance? He’d
probably attended more dances than she’d ever hoped to. And his natural charm would
easily overpower even the snootiest critic. And he was a baron.

She, on the other hand, was a financially-dependent,
past-her-prime, bloom-off-the-rose widow who was a cold fish on top of that.
Lark’s father’s exact words. The cold fish part, not the other. Of course, she
hadn’t been those other things yet.

Astra massaged her brow. “I think that’s enough for one
day.” Belatedly, she remembered her silent vow not to disappoint Lady Phillina,
but she was entirely too distraught to continue.

James stopped her immediate exit by standing directly in
front of her and gripping her upper arms.

“We’ve just started. Why don’t we have everyone else leave
and you and I can go over the steps, then we’ll practice with the others? I
just got lucky on that first one.”

She gazed up into his sincere blue eyes that appeared darker
than normal. “If you really wish it, but I’m afraid my mother is right. I’m not
exactly an expert on dances.”

“That settles it then. Everyone out. Except Lady Phillina,
of course.”

As lord of the manor, James’s word was immediately obeyed.
Astra started to breathe again as the others filed out of the room. That is
until she spotted Melva pausing by the door long enough to make eye-contact
with James. When she thought no one else was looking, she squeezed her breast
and leered a silent promise. Astra immediately turned away before she was
forced to witness James’s response.

***

James flawlessly completed the last step of the “Sir Roger
de Coverley,” the same dance he knew back home as the “Virginia reel” before he
remembered he was supposed to misstep. The smile on Astra’s face as she gasped
for breath showed she didn’t find him catching on to the dance so quickly
grounds for suspicion. She seemed to relax around him as long as she had the
upper hand.

“A little fast, but very good. You’ve done that one
before.”

He shrugged. “Believe it or not we used to dance on the
ship. I never had to play the part of the lady because I was the captain. Even
if the others had to alternate leading, that dance was everyone’s favorite.”

“Can’t imagine you being led. You dragged me around like a
rag doll.”

“And I can’t imagine that’s a compliment.”

“Actually, it is. I felt like I was flying. You’re very
good. Even if you don’t know all the steps, you take command with grace.” When
she finished her last sentence, she grew suddenly quiet and turned away,
fanning her face.

He rested his hands on his hips, parting his snug coat.
Even with the chill that perpetually seeped through the stone walls, sweat
rolled down the curve of his back and dampened his temples. Astra’s cheeks were
flushed. Tendrils of hair clung to her neck. No doubt, she needed  a breath of
fresh air as badly as he did.

And once he whisked her away to the garden, maybe he could
tell her in words as well as in deed that he had no interest in the
overly-solicitous Melva. Her initial advances had caught him off guard after a
long, lonely voyage. And, more importantly, before he had ever laid eyes on
Astra.

“I need some air,” he said as casually as he could. “Would
you care to join me in the garden?”

“Fabulous idea. I’ll have some refreshments brought to the
sitting room while you two cool down.” The gleam in Phillina’s eye told James
she had the wrong notion. After the evil eye he received from Astra the moment
Melva slipped into the ballroom, he fully expected her to withdraw her offer to
be his mistress. Though no doubt that would be the wisest course for both of
them, he worried damage had already been done. If he did not show Astra
otherwise, he feared she would take his hesitancy last night for rejection.
After all, he hadn’t exactly hesitated with Melva. Oh, the hell with reason. He
wanted Astra and he needed to show her how he felt. They’d bantered this thing
about too long already.

“Shall we?” James said, tempering his agenda with
exaggerated civility. He guided Astra past the French doors off the ballroom
onto the terrace that led to the back gardens. The roses that fanned out from a
Greek statue showed signs of blooming. Unlike much of the rest of the property,
the gardens had been well tended over the years and one area of the estate he’d
yet to explore.

The leaden sky provided no hints of the sunset James knew
was eminent. Thick grey clouds growing darker was the only sign that day was
leaving them.

He turned to Astra who had placed her palms on the stone
railing and stared ahead of her.

“Show me the gardens.”

She blinked at him as if he had just asked her to show him
her breasts. Not to mention that she clutched the front of her dress as if that
was exactly what she was thinking he intended once he got her in the seclusion
of the gardens. “Please, my lord. Say what you have to say here.”

James glanced around and saw Phillina’s face pressed
against the window. He intended to kiss Astra as he had last night to set
things straight once and for all, alleviating any doubts she might have about
her desirability.

“Come on. I promise to be an imperfect gentleman.” He gave
her a lecherous wink that she didn’t seem to find amusing.

“You don’t have to humor me.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t, but don’t you think you should
humor me? Isn’t that part of our bargain?”

“We don’t have a bargain.” She turned away from the
gardens, her back to the stone railing. “Do be sure to have someone cut
bouquets for Phillina’s room and the foyer.”

“Hold on. I thought we had stopped discussing your leaving.”
He had not expected this. A railing at his lack of amorous restraint, or a slap
on the face perhaps, but not this.

She turned back to the lawn and stared as if she were
memorizing it. “I hope I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself by making
such an outrageous offer last night. I do so love Eastlan.”

“Eastlan, is it? I thought it had a little to do with your
overwhelming attraction for me.”

She glanced at him, but it was more of a stabbing glare.
“I’m trying to make this easier on both of us.”

James had to restrain himself from grabbing her and
dragging her along with him. He’d passed his threshold with their dancing
around such a basic subject. Whom one chose to share carnal knowledge with
shouldn’t be so complicated. He was sure of it. “Show me the gardens. Please,”
he added, before he headed down the steps. He paused halfway to find her
remaining where she was. “We have an audience,” he said through clenched teeth.

She responded with a brief nod of understanding instead of
glancing behind her, and giving away his ploy to lure her away from prying
eyes. She silently followed him down the steps. Her cunning disturbed him as
much as it pleased him.

When they reached the grass, he grasped her hand in his.
From the distance, Lady Phillina still might be able to detect his action, but
not his intent. Theirs would be no friendly stroll.

James dragged her toward the fountain in the center of the
manicured yard, riddled with pathways of roses and other flowering shrub James
couldn’t name. “I think we talked about being alone.”

She tried to tug her hand away, but he continued to pull
her forward. “Slow down. You are not wearing a corset.”

He nodded in acknowledgement of her restrictive dress and
honored her request. “I didn’t know Melva would be there today.”

“Obviously.” She grabbed her skirts with her free hand,
strolling along beside him now that he slowed his pace.

“No. It’s not like that.”

“I understand, James. Believe me. Becoming involved with
me would be much more complicated.”

And ultimately more fulfilling. James would have to make
love to Astra a thousand different ways before discovering the depths behind
her complicated persona. If there had not been thought to her motive, he would
have accepted Astra’s offer to be his mistress immediately and taken her on the
desk without hesitation. He wanted her, and frankly, he should have her. After
all, it was her idea. “I am not involved with Melva. I have not even seen her
since…” James let his words trail off. “I’m going to dismiss her.”

“Her father passed away last spring and the family needs
the money. I discovered she’s the cook’s cousin. I don’t want her dismissed.”

James remained silent, though he was cursing himself for
always playing the role of the bastard in this particular drama. Rightfully so,
perhaps. He came to the end of the long lawn and noticed a grove of trees that
hid the murky pond he’d earlier dismissed as a mosquito breeding ground. A
shaded trail wrapped around the pond. A hint of sun seeped past the clouds,
lending the pond a dull but inviting sheen to its dark green surface.

Astra lifted the hem of her skirt and revealed
surprisingly flimsy slippers. “My shoes are getting muddy.”

James stared at the distant grey mansion that seemed to
almost be swallowed by the gloom. Perhaps if he separated Astra from her
precious Eastlan, he could discover what lay at the heart of her offer to be
his mistress. Last night, he could have sworn it had much to do with mutual
lust, but today he was far from sure. He turned his gaze and spotted a marble
gazebo nestled amongst the trees along the pond’s edge. “I would like to settle
this thing between us, if I may?”

“Please do.”

James glanced at the thick mud that coated his own boots.
The path to the gazebo was laden with puddles and not much dry ground
in-between. James lifted Astra into his arms without asking, suspecting she
would have said no to his wish to keep her feet dry.

Her shriek proved he was right.

“I’m not dragging you into the woods to ravage you.” That
wasn’t exactly true, but he certainly wouldn’t do so without her permission.
“I’m just saving your shoes on our way to the gazebo.”

“James.” She started to protest, then wrapped her arms
around his neck and snuggled more solidly against him. “The gazebo is
overgrown. It is no doubt infested with rats and badgers.”

“I’ll protect you.” He held her tighter, enjoying the feel
of her curves against his chest.

She turned her nose up, but he suspected he saw a hint of
a smile.

He trudged through ankle deep mud and found the entrance
to the columned structure. Vines had overrun the entrance. He pushed them
aside, forced to set Astra on her feet as he tore them away with both hands.

Instead of telling him she told him so, she glanced around
his shoulder looking eager to crawl past the green tunnel and investigate the
mysteries inside. James stepped on a large leafed vine with thorns and lifted a
curtain of ivy that fell from overhead. Astra glanced at him suspiciously, then
stepped past his makeshift doorway.

He ducked his head and followed. The green veil closed
behind him. A flutter sounded from above accompanied by frightened squeaks. Astra
covered her head with her hands. “Bats,” she said.

Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. James drew
Astra behind him. He clapped his hands and stomped his feet to the sound of
more scurrying. Thankfully, only a few squirrels beat a hasty retreat before
the gazebo fell silent. They were surrounded by a living curtain that left the
shelter in green shadows. The opening onto the lake was less overgrown and
provided a nice view of the water. On a sunny day, this place would be magical.
But at the moment, it was damp and James suspected, as Astra guessed, probably
rat infested.

He turned to her, ready to offer an alternate location for
their talk, but noticed how she studied the pond and then the vines overhead in
wonder. “We used to play in the gazebo as children. I had forgotten it even
existed. After our begging, Father would give lessons here on summer days. It
was so lovely. I pretended I was queen of an ancient civilization and this was
my palace.”

James pulled her into his arms. She glanced up at him, but
he didn’t give her time to protest. He kissed her gently on the mouth.