Let Me Be The One (54 page)

Heart hammering, Elizabeth sagged against him. Her hand lay gently against his open collar, just above the pulse in his neck. It thrummed pleasantly against her fingers. She breathed deeply of his scent, relishing the mixture of musk and brandy and the lingering fragrance of his cologne.

North was no quicker to recover than she, but he was the first to notice the carriage was slowing. He lifted the blind on the window and peeked out. "Merrifeld Square, I'm afraid." He dropped his feet to the floor. His heavy-lidded gaze fell on her flushed breasts. "You will have to put those away."

She looked down at herself, then at him. "You took them out."

He gave a hoarse laugh. "Pray, do not invoke that nanny tone. You will put me to a blush."

Elizabeth kissed him sweetly. "Too late." She lifted herself off his lap and began to right her clothes, smiling when he brushed her hands away and raised the bodice of her gown over her breasts himself. They narrowly managed to present themselves in order as the door to the carriage was opened by the footman. Northam alighted first and held out his hand for Elizabeth. Her legs wobbled a bit and she accepted his assistance gratefully. Out of the corner of her eye she saw their driver's son shifting his weight from one leg to the other, almost dancing in place, as he tried to get a glimpse inside their carriage. The young tiger's expression was equal parts worry and curiosity.

Elizabeth slipped her arm into North's but held him back while she addressed the boy."What is it, Will? Is something wrong?"

"I'm looking for the cat, my lady." He ducked under the footman's arm that was still extended to hold the door open and peered inside the carriage. "She must have sneaked in when I was not looking."

Elizabeth's eyes flew to North's. His were filled with that unholy gleam. That look changed abruptly when he heard the tiger's next remark.

"But the dog, my lady, I don't know where he come from."

Elizabeth cleared her throat, prepared to tell young Will that the animals must have already made their escape, but North was moving quickly toward the house, pulling her in his wake.

Careful not to catch the other's eye, they comported themselves with dignity as they were relieved of their wraps at the door. North asked for a brandy to be brought to him in his room and tea for Elizabeth. In their bedchamber he dismissed Brill and Elizabeth's personal maid, and when they were alone he sank slowly into the large wing chair. Elizabeth did likewise on the edge of the bed. They both stared at their hands a moment before lifting their faces simultaneously and taking full measure of the other's expression.

Mortification warred with amusement, but the latter won out. They laughed until tears glistened at the corners of their eyes. Elizabeth used one corner of the coverlet to dab at hers while North used his handkerchief. On two different occasions they tried to talk, but each attempt sent them back into paroxysms of laughter.

The arrival of brandy and tea sobered them somewhat.

When the butler was gone, North loosened his cravat and removed his jacket. Standing near the fire, he warmed the brandy in the cup of his palms. "What sort of dog do you think I was?" he wondered aloud."Not one of those yipping lap puppies my mother is so fond of, I hope. I shouldn't like to think I sound quite so shrill." He thought a moment. "Or annoying."

Elizabeth almost choked on a mouthful of tea. "Please, North, choose your moments with more care. But if you must know, you howl like a giant mastiff. Does that please you?"

He cocked one brow. "Truly?"

"Like a pack of mastiffs."

North chuckled. "You flatter me, my lady."

Elizabeth's smile was wry. "I certainly do."

He grinned. "Do you want to know the sort of feline you are?"

"Absolutely not." She held up one hand, palm out, to make certain North knew she was serious. "I shall never let you make love to me in that carriage again."

North sighed. "This is what comes of spending so much time in my grandfather's company. You have become a prude, my lady. It is not becoming."

"Hah! At what age do you think young William will know what we were about in there?"

"Unless I miss my guess, his father and the footman are explaining the way of it to him now."

"Oh, surely not."

"He's of an age. I had already seen Madame Fortuna's quim."

"You saw a peach."

"That is neither here nor there. I was prepared to know and see a great deal more."

Elizabeth's teacup hid the part of her smile that did not reach her eyes. "You will understand if I cannot look at him properly again."

"You will have to, else he'll think he's out of favor."

She had not thought of that. Her embarrassment would have to be a secondary consideration. "This is your fault." Elizabeth set her teacup aside and stood. She ran her fingers through her hair and shook it out. Crossing the room, she presented her back to Northam for assistance with her gown. "I depend on your reserve. We both know I have none where you are concerned. I never have."

North grasped Elizabeth by the waist and pulled her backwards onto his lap. "Is that true?"

The edge of gravity in his voice stayed Elizabeth's flippant response. She turned slightly, settling herself in his arms and regarding him solemnly. "Yes, it's true. Never doubt it." She touched his cheek with her fingertips. "I wonder sometimes about you and the women you've known." Elizabeth smiled faintly when she saw his surprise. "That never occurred to you, did it?"

He shook his head, almost regretfully. "I'm sorry, but it didn't."

"I suppose that is the way of things. Women must march to one drummer and men to another." Elizabeth circled North's wrist and lifted his hand and the brandy snifter toward her lips. He tilted the glass so she could drink. It was warm in her mouth, and warmer yet when it settled in her stomach. "When I make love to you, it is different. I cannot explain it better than that. It allows me to hope that it is different for you also. I have never permitted myself to believe I did not love Adam's father, for if I did not, then everything that followed would somehow be tainted, and I would be more foolish than I could admit even to myself." She searched his face, willing him to understand."But sometimes I wonder about that love now, because it is such a pale thing compared to what I have in my heart for you. When you touch me, Brendan, nothing is as it ever was."

He took her to bed then, loving her with gentle passion this time, smiling wryly when she stretched languidly against him, replete, sleepy, and actually purred in his arms.

Chapter 16

Northam met with Lord Battenburn the following morning, but the interview provided no new information or any clue that the baron had truly taken the bait.

"He mentioned nothing about the documents?" asked Elizabeth when Northam returned. She placed the book she had been attempting to read aside. In truth, during North's absence, she had spent more time glancing at the clock and looking out the window than reading.

"I didn't expect him to say anything overt." Northam warmed his hands at the fireplace. Flakes of snow melted on his boots. "He would not give himself away in such a manner. Certainly not to me. But I thought there might be some hint that he would be meeting with one or two of the men who agreed to have their names included in the ambassador's papers. Battenburn does enjoy dropping a name from time to time. That is what I thought I might hear."

Elizabeth sighed. "It is really too bad of him." A lock of hair fell across her forehead and she blew it up and away. "Then we can't know with certainty that he has the papers."

"I stopped at West's briefly. He assured me that all the documents were put in the same hiding place as the jewelry. You could not have missed seeing them, he said." North dropped his hands and pivoted on his heel toward Elizabeth, his brows drawn slightly. "West did ask about the books, though. About whether or not you had mentioned them. I said you had not and he seemed rather relieved. It struck me as odd; then, as I was returning home, I remembered you had indeed said something about the ambassador's private library. As I recall, you began the discussion at a rather... well, I believe we were quite sufficiently occupied, and I certainly had no interest in whatever books the ambassador may have collected."

North noticed Elizabeth's eyes darting ever so slightly to a point past his shoulder. She also grew suddenly restless, drawing her feet onto the chair and arranging the plaid woolen rug across her lap. "Hmm," he murmured.

Her head came up. "What does that mean? 'Hmm'? What sort of notion does that signify?"

Amused, realizing he had struck a chord and knowing Elizabeth's talent for diversion, he kept his tone casual. "It is merely observational in nature. You do not seem to want to discuss the ambassador's books this morning."

"This is hardly the place."

North looked around. "Elizabeth. We are in the library."

"I have only recently had my breakfast."

"And that is relevant in what way?"

"It is not. It is merely a statement of fact."

North laughed. "I'm afraid you have intrigued me. Out with it—what sort of books were they? Pray, do not tell me now that you do not know, for we are well past the point where I might believe such a Banbury tale."

Elizabeth could not muster the right note of indignation to suggest offense so she surrendered to the inevitable. "Did you interrogate spies for the colonel?"

"No. Do you think I would have been good at it?"

"Very." She pushed back in the chair a little, bracing herself as she drew a deep breath. "I cannot speak to the ambassador's entire collection. Indeed, I only opened one book, and I only regarded two pages."

North waited for her to go on, but Elizabeth's tongue seemed to have cleaved to the roof of her mouth. "And...?"

"And I saw a pair of illustrations."

"Yes?"

"They were... they were... um..."

North inclined his head. "'Um'?"

"They were naked."

"The illustrations?"

"The man and the woman."

"Ah."

Elizabeth arched one eyebrow. "You knew."

He shrugged. "I suspected. West said nothing. It was your manner that suggested it to me. Now I understand why you mentioned the books last night and want to say nothing of them in the light of day. I take it this is the first time you have seen illustrations of an erotic nature."

"Well, yes. I did not make a study of it in the classroom." She paused a fraction and regarded him. "Did you?"

"In the classroom? No. Eastlyn had some French cards, though."

"French," she said, as though it explained everything. "Libertines."

"Licentious."

"Loose."

North thought a moment then raised his brows wickedly.
"L'amour."

Laughing, Elizabeth came to her feet and started for the door. One come hither look over her shoulder and North was immediately trailing after her.

* * *

Colonel Blackwood tapped the bowl of his pipe against a silver tray to loosen the blackened residue. He repacked it with his special blend, which Elizabeth had picked up for him at the tobacconist. He started to light it and paused, looking to Elizabeth for permission. "You do not mind, do you?"

Elizabeth shook her head."I like the fragrance of a pipe."

North glanced at her, surprised. "You do?"

"Not on you," she said in no uncertain terms. "But on the colonel it evokes very pleasant memories."

Blackwood chuckled appreciatively at the helpless appeal in North's eyes. "You cannot expect me to interfere." He lit his pipe and puffed several times to draw the fire. His long exhalation was a most satisfied one. He looked from North to Elizabeth and back again. They were sitting on the sofa opposite him, neither entirely relaxed, but North making a better show of it than his wife. "I have heard from Whittington and Sutton. You will recall they lent their names to our enterprise. Lord Sutton received a post from the baron yesterday requesting his presence at Battenburn. The country residence, I mean. The correspondence is unexceptional. The baron has committed to nothing. He only promises to make Sutton's trip to Battenburn worth his while."