Lord Melvedere's Ghost (22 page)

“
I take it you didn’t come across any trouble last night,”
Jamie sighed, studying the delicate folds of the wafer thin
material of her dress.

Cecily
hesitated. Again it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him
everything but something held her back. It sounded too fantastical
even to her, how could she explain it to Jamie? She
couldn’t.

“
I didn’t see anything,” she lied. “I came in here but was cold
so stoked the fire. I must have fallen asleep because, well
–”

“
You look beautiful in the morning,” Jamie whispered, capturing
the startled gaze she turned toward him. Taking full advantage of
the situation, he lay perfectly still and tipped her chin up gently
with one finger while his lips laid claim to hers. He made no
attempt to shorten the physical distance between them. The only
contact between them was through their lips, but it was
enough.

His kiss
was like a hot brand to Cecily, who lay dazed and confused. It
wasn’t as though he was forcing her to do anything she didn’t want
to. Indeed, exactly the opposite was the case, if only she could
find the strength to pull away. She should draw back. Her future
was dire enough without risking her physical welfare as well, but
she was mesmerised. His steady grey gaze was almost hypnotic and
she watched him lift his head to study her. Whatever he was looking
for he found, because with nothing more than a gentle smile, he
lowered his head once more, this time deepening the
kiss.

“
Tell me when to stop,” Jamie whispered several long moments
later, his hot breath fanning her bottom lip.

Cecily
wondered how she was going to do that when her lips were held
captive by his. She placed one palm on his chest, wondering what he
would do if she pushed.

After
several moments, when he tried to draw back, her fingers clenched
the folds of his shirt tightly, holding him still. It was the only
acknowledgement he needed. With a soft moan, he swept one long arm
around her waist and drew her firmly against him, rolling backward
until she was lying over him.

Cecily
gasped, aware of the long leg he bent over hers, holding her still.
It was a hold she knew she could easily break out of. She could
stand up if she wanted to. Instead, she lay over him and allowed
him to slide his long fingers through her hair. Pins scattered this
way and that. Her hair cascaded around them, shielding them in a
silken curtain as the kiss deepened, but she didn’t
care.

When she
opened her mouth, silently imploring him to deepen the kiss, Jamie
knew he was lost. He had no idea if she knew what she was asking
for, but could only hope that he would be able to summon the
strength to stop whenever she asked.

Cecily
trembled, her body bathed in sweat. She had no idea what had just
happened, but she was stunned, horrified, delighted, amazed and
embarrassed. Burying her face against his chest, she lay quivering
in his arms, her cheeks burning beneath tear-filled
eyes.

At
first, when he tried to see her face she merely buried her face
firmly in his neck, making it impossible for him to see her. In the
end, he wound her hair around his hand and tugged her head upward
until her eyes reluctantly met his. The sight of her tears unmanned
him and he cursed himself for pushing too hard, too
fast.

“
I am not going to apologise for that,” Jamie growled, the
scent of her still on his fingers. “Did I hurt you?”

Cecily
slowly shook her head. She didn’t physically hurt. That had been
something she still couldn’t understand but she was now so very
afraid for her future. She wanted to run and hide. She wanted to be
by herself to release the tears that clogged her throat, yet she
wanted to remain where she was, wrapped in his secure
embrace.

“
We shouldn’t have done it,” Cecily whispered, her voice
trembling.

Jamie
could understand her confusion but refused to allow her to back
away now. He felt certain that she wanted to hide, but he had no
intention of spending the next several weeks chasing her around the
estate just to be able to talk to her.

“
You are beautiful, Cecily, and you have nothing to
fear.”

“
I am ruined,” Cecily cried, trying to push away from him only
to find herself being rolled onto her back with Jamie leaning over
her. She was shamefully aware of her skirts pulled up to her waist,
revealing her his watchful eyes, and the lowered top of her dress
that revealed the pale skin of her breasts that were now pushed
intimately against the coarse hairs on his chest.

Ignoring
her embarrassment, Jamie knew that what happened in the next few
minutes would decide both of their fates, or would make his job of
convincing her to become his wife a damned sight harder than it
ought to be. What had happened this morning had been inevitable,
and it was not something he was going to allow her to pretend
hadn’t happened. Not when he was still hard and fiercely aching
from his own lack of completion.

Her
cries of release still echoed in his ears, and it had taken every
ounce of self control he had ever believed possible, to restrain
himself from going that bit further and claiming her as he wanted
to. As much as it unmanned him, he wanted to keep the complete
experience for their marriage bed. A part of him scoffed at his
chivalry, and the knowledge of what it was going to cost his libido
to have to wait that long, but there was an ingrained chivalrous
side to him that still wanted to do things properly. Although they
had slightly veered off the path of righteousness, they had only
taken a slight detour, and Cecily had enjoyed her first foray into
the delights of the flesh with no physical changes, no matter how
embarrassed she now was by it.

“
You are not ruined,” Jamie argued, trying to keep his
frustration at bay. “You are still intact. Nobody knows you are
here. This is strictly between us, Cecily. You have experienced
pleasure, that’s all.”

“
I am not going to any marriage bed,” Cecily snapped, pushing
away from him at the same time as putting her dress to rights.
“Ever.”

“
Cecily, women like you -”

“
What do you mean, women like me?”

“
I mean beautiful, young, desirable women like you, are
destined to get married, and not to fat old men who wouldn’t have a
bloody clue how to make you happy,” Jamie declared flatly, ignoring
his own dishevelled state as he rose to stand beside
her.

“
Like you would, I suppose?” Cecily mumbled, flicking her hair
back and tying it in a haphazard knot at the back of her neck. She
flushed with embarrassment at the silence that settled between
them. She said nothing more, simply turned around and headed toward
the door.

“
Cecily, we need to talk about this.”

“
Talk away,” Cecily snapped, yanking on the locked door. She
began to fumble with the lock only for Jamie to place one large
palm on hers halting her progress.

“
Turn around,” he demanded, his breath hot on her
ear.

“
No, we have nothing else to discuss. Let me leave now,
please.”

“
Cecily, turn around.” Jamie’s voice was cold and hard, and
belied the gentle glint in his eye. He wanted to shake her, but was
desperately trying not to show his fear. He was aware that if she
walked out with things as they were between them, then it was going
to be an uphill battle to even get her to talk to him let alone
consider being his wife.

Cecily
sighed and slowly turned to face him.

“
I know you are worried about what just happened, but it is
strictly between us. What happens next is something we will share
in the marriage bed.”

Her gaze
flew to his. Was he really proposing to her? She waited with baited
breath for him to declare his affection for her, anything, but she
could detect nothing in those cool grey eyes of his.

“
I am not getting married,” Cecily declared firmly, her chin
tipping upwards defiantly. “I appreciate your erm, offer,” she was
unable to keep the disparaging tone from her voice. The very last
thing she was going to do was allow him to see just how much his
cold-hearted proposal really hurt. “But it is not warranted. As you
rightly say, nothing much happened and it certainly does not
require us getting married.”

“
You don’t seem to realise Cecily,” Jamie bit out, fighting the
urge to thump the door in frustration. “We have already been
intimate. You have spent the last several days in my home without a
chaperone. Society dictates that I now make an honest woman of
you.” Jamie mentally winced at the pompous nature of his words, and
knew he had made a mess of things.

“
Miss Emstridge is also single, and has been living under your
roof for far longer than I have I might add. I suggest you offer
for her hand in marriage instead. Meantime, I am going back to my
room.” With that she turned her back, twisted the lock on the door
and froze when Jamie’s hand landed on the door, stopping her from
opening it entirely.

“
Miss Emstridge isn’t beautiful, beguiling and downright
unnervingly adventurous. You know as well as I do that it is only a
matter of time before we succumb to more of what we just shared. It
is inevitable because you are no more able to resist the temptation
than I am. I am just warning you, my darling, that when you do
succumb, you will be sealing your fate and will most definitely
spend the rest of your life by my side.”

Cecily
closed her eyes against the prickle of tears. She fought the
quivering of her chin and had to fight to resist resting her head
against the cool panel of the door. She hated him in that moment,
just as much as she loved him. Her heart pounded at the
ruthlessness in his voice. She knew he meant every word, even
though there was nothing driving them except desire and his
determination not to tarnish the family name by ruining a guest in
his home.

“
When Hell freezes over,” Cecily ground out, her voice devoid
of emotion. Lurching backward she bounced off his chest as she
yanked the door open with more force than was necessary. Her cheeks
flushed, her eyes bright with tears, she stomped across the upper
landing unsure whether she was sad or angry.

Sucking
in a huge gulp of air, she didn’t stop to see if he was following.
Right at that moment she didn’t care who saw her leave his room.
Tears were trickling slowly down her face by the time she slammed
the door to her room closed behind her. Wishing there was a key in
the lock, she dragged the table across the door for good measure
before collapsing on the bed in a flurry of tears.

Humiliation reared its ugly head again driving her to bury
deeper into the covers. She hated men. Her father had been cold and
ruthless too. Why was it that she always seemed to be stuck with
men who had about as much heart as an iceberg?

She knew
it wasn’t Jamie’s fault. They barely knew each other after all. He
was only doing what he thought was right. But he was wrong to
arrogantly assume that they would be intimate again. She couldn’t
afford for things to go too far. After all, it was clear now that
their futures were going in entirely different
directions.

He was
secure in the knowledge that he owned the home he lived in.
Although he had little or no relatives, he had the affections of
his staff who were more of an extended family than paid employees.
He had a job with colleagues who were more friends than associates,
and people genuinely cared for him. Unfortunately, that included
her now too, as much as she hated to admit it.

She
rolled onto her back and stared at the lavishly embroidered canopy
of the four-poster bed she lay in. It really was rather beautiful.
Melvedere, in all of its regal glory, had an elegance that bespoke
a timeless grace of old, and would forever remain in her heart. Her
heart clenched at the thought of the day when she would have to bid
the place, and its master, goodbye. Tears pooled afresh at the
thought of Basil who, as daft as he was, he had also stolen her
heart.

It would
be a very lucky woman indeed who could lay claim to such a
wonderful future. However, she knew that woman could never be her.
She had spent her days so far being dragged into adventure far
beyond what she was comfortable with, and didn’t regret it for one
second. However she knew that once the mystery was solved and the
routine life at Melvedere settled once more into place, she would
be as out of place as the boxes in the secret storage room
downstairs. Her life so far had involved nothing but carrying out
the orders she had been given. Although her father was no pauper,
she had never been the recipient of any of his wealth, and had
spent her days fetching and carrying for him, and fulfilling his
endless list of orders pretty much the same way as the servants at
Melvedere did. She was about as ill prepared to run a house like
Melvedere as Basil. With a forlorn sigh, she allowed the tears to
fall.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Dusk was
falling by the time she awoke. Despite the extra sleep, she felt
tired and groggy. Rolling over, she groaned as her stomach clenched
painfully. She realised then that she had yet to eat anything that
day. A tray of assorted foods lay untouched on the small table
beside the bed. Making a mental note to thank Doreen for her
thoughtfulness later, she hungrily began to tuck in. At least if
she had something to eat now, whatever the time was, she could
excuse herself from having to dine downstairs with Jamie
again.