The Mysterious Governess (Daughters of Sin Book 3) (24 page)

What’s more, a man whose naked body she’d thoroughly enjoy curling against as wicked, wanton happenings took place beneath fine linen sheets—though tonight the only thing missing would be the linen sheets.

For some reason she was suddenly visited by an image of Sir Aubrey’s enormous pulsing member, but she quickly banished it. That had not been an encounter she should dwell on for her own peace of mind, though it had provided some useful information on what men’s bodies did when they were in the throes of desire. She’d not known about that before.

Well, she’d had sensations when pressed against eager young men, including Jem, but had never seen anything quite so blatant as Sir Aubrey’s impressive erection. She hoped Lord Ludbridge were similarly well-endowed.

Jane hadn’t responded to her setdown but now she finished doing up the last pearl button at the back of Araminta’s gown and stood back to assess her handiwork.

“You look lovely, miss. And I can hear the carriage coming round the front for you. What time will you be back this evening, Miss?”

“Good heavens, how do I know what time I’ll be?” Araminta flew to the window, her heart beating wildly as she saw the carriage that had just collected Mrs. Monks, her chaperone for the night.

What a pity Papa wasn’t in residence otherwise Teddy could have asked him for Araminta’s hand directly, this evening. Instead, he’d be asking Araminta in the summer house at Lord Billingsly’s estate, where they were going to be watching fireworks being set off from a barge moored in the middle of the river. There would also be an outdoor buffet and other refreshments laid out in festooned tents, and entertainments and champagne. Lots of it.

Shivers of excitement ran through her as she thought of what would happen next. Earlier, Araminta had sent Jane off on the pretext of selling a basket of fish to Lord Billingsly’s cook. Afterwards, Jane had navigated His Lordship’s estate, so Araminta knew the exact locations of the most suitable trysting spots. She now knew where she had to lead Teddy, and at what time.

“Mrs. Monks is waiting for you in the vestibule,” Cousin Stephen told her. “Enjoy the fireworks. And Araminta...?”

She stopped her preening in front of the mirror above the fireplace in the drawing room to glance at him. “What?”

“Do behave yourself.”

“Good heavens, Cousin Stephen, I think it would have been more charitable of you to have suggested I enjoy myself.” She took his arm as he led her outside to the carriage and breathed in the balmy evening air with rapture. “And I
am
going to enjoy myself. You may depend upon it.”

***

I
t was a perfect evening for such an entertainment. An evening full of promise.

Araminta wrapped her embroidered mantle about her. The tiny beads sparkled, reflecting the stars twinkling in the sky and the hope in Araminta’s heart.

She smiled and, turning, caught Teddy’s lovelorn look. Oh, but tonight was the beginning of a lifetime of fulfilled hopes and dreams. She had the perfect man by her side: besotted and rich.

Mrs. Monks was ever the millstone, but she knew that this was the night Araminta would get her proposal. Mrs. Monks would allow more than the usual latitude and it was useful that she knew enough of the other gossipy old matrons to be entertained.

“Shall we walk a little?” Teddy enquired. They were now on the banks of the river, surrounded by milling guests, festooned tents offering all manner of refreshments, jugglers, dancing bears and musicians. When he saw her glance about her, he added quickly, “I certainly don’t wish to be accused of taking liberties. Perhaps you would rather remain with the crowd.”

She could tell how impatient he was to whisk her away, alone, but perhaps a little mingling might be in order. It was always a good idea to whip up a gentleman’s desire to the maximum.

“A glass of champagne would be lovely,” she suggested.

A table near the water’s edge was tended by several bewigged footmen. They were filling champagne coupes borne by a dozen or more of their kind, scurrying along the path that skirted the river. Knots of revelers were laughing or gazing at the sky, watching the preparations that were taking place on the barge a hundred yards away.

Araminta graciously accepted the champagne Teddy offered her and, together with Mrs. Monks, they entered a tent festooned with multicolored chiffon scarves and lanterns hung about on poles. A pair of acrobats was performing in the center of the area. One leapt from the shoulders of his partner, somersaulting in the air before landing in a well-choreographed tumble before swapping positions.

Araminta stared, entranced by their gleaming, muscled torsos. She liked what a real man looked like beneath his linen. She overheard Mrs. Monks mutter something about the unseemliness of such a spectacle and Teddy tugged her arm, as if he felt that she should not be exposed to such rampant masculinity. With a backward look, she reluctantly followed.

“Oh dear! Why...Miss Partington!”

Appearing out of the darkness, a gentleman had inadvertently knocked her arm, causing her to spill her champagne over the front of her pelisse. When she saw it was Mr. Woking, she had to try hard to keep the acid out of her tone, if only for Lord Ludbridge’s sake.

But when she saw that her beloved’s attention had been caught by their hostess, Araminta sent Mr. Woking a narrow look as she pointedly dabbed at the moisture.

His dark eyes were nervous in his pallid face. “How will you forgive me?” Nervously he ran his hand over his weak, receding chin. “My deepest apologies, Miss Partingon!”

“Oh, do stop it, Mr. Woking. You were very clumsy but there’s an end to it and now I must move on. Why don’t you go and talk to Miss Harcourt over there? I cannot but notice the interested looks she is sending you.”

She quickly got rid of him as she cleaved to Lord Ludbridge’s side, encouraging him to take another coupe of champagne, which, she noted, he drank rather quickly.

“The fireworks begin in an hour,” he murmured, putting his head close, his breath tickling her hair. “I’m told the best view will be from the top of that rise over there.” He pointed in a direction quite distant from the spot at which Araminta intended to enjoy the fireworks.

“How lovely,” she replied. “Shall we walk now? I’d like to see the lights on the bridge. I’ve never done that before.”

“Certainly. Where is Mrs. Monks?”

“Perhaps we needn’t take Mrs. Monks.”

He looked a little scandalized at this, hesitating as he said, “Our departure will be observed, and I would hate to cause whispers, Miss Partington.”

“I...I thought you had something important to say to me, Lord Ludbridge,” she said a little breathlessly. “Should Mrs. Monks hear it too?”

“Indeed not, but I had in retrospect wondered if tonight was quite the right time.”

No! He could not bow out now. Taking a measured breath, Araminta smiled tentatively. “Of course you’re right, my lord. We can’t have tongues wagging. I’ll go and ask Mrs. Monks, who is talking to the dowager Duchess Dalrymple.”

She hurried over to the elderly women, and soon had Mrs. Monks alone. “Lord Ludbridge wishes to take a walk. Please will you accompany us?” She paused, weighing up how to couch her request. “He wishes to ask me something...important, but I doubt he will do so with you in attendance. I will therefore give you a sign. When I remark that the sky is full of stars tonight, I would have you say you are not feeling at all the thing and that you wish to leave; that you are confident in leaving me safely in His Lordship’s company for just a short time.”

With this agreed to, Araminta bore her reliable chaperone back to the cluster of guests of which Lord Ludbridge was a part. He greeted Araminta with a smile, a flourishing bow and his arm, which she took with shaking fingers.

Soon. Soon she would be the happiest girl in the world.

Lord Ludbridge took up a lantern and leisurely they strolled along the path that rose gently above the river toward a high vantage point, Araminta chatting as if she had no idea of the momentous question she intended he would ask. When they reached a fork in the path, one option rising to a distant spot just out of sight, the other in full view of all the revelers by the river’s edge, Araminta stopped and gazed upward. “Oh my, but the sky is full of stars tonight,” she murmured.

Like a well-trained pug, Mrs. Monks quickly fulfilled her part in the arrangement and within a few moments, Araminta was alone with His Lordship. Pretending she did not notice his concerned look, she pointed up the hill, tugging his hand as she said, “Oh, do let’s see if we can see the fireworks from there.”

In less than a minute they were at the top of the rise, where they discovered, nestled in a dip but with magnificent views of the river, a small rotunda.

“It’s like a tiny fairy castle!” Araminta exclaimed. “How utterly darling. Come, Lord Ludbridge! Come and let’s see inside!”

He was reluctant to go so far from the crowds but Araminta had already darted ahead.

Thrusting open the door, she gasped. “How beautiful.” Reverently she touched the silk cushions arranged on the banquette and around the walls. “What do you suppose this little bower is used for? I can imagine someone coming here to write great compositions. I know Lady Marks is very fond of music. Perhaps she comes here.”

Mullioned windows overlooked the river and a large bowl of fruit was set on a table in the center of the room.

Lord Ludbridge hung his lantern on a hook by the doorway as he gazed around. He too seemed equally entranced by Araminta’s discovery. When next he looked down, Araminta was standing so close, staring through the windows, that he bumped against her and, startled, she gasped.

“I was lost in another world,” she declared. “I feel like I’ve entered some magical fairy palace. Look, the fireworks have just begun, and we can see them from here.”

As she spoke, a cascade of colored embers burst in the sky, sending trails in all directions, which floated like sparling gossamer until they disappeared into the river. Araminta clapped her hands in delight and, seemingly unconsciously, rested against Lord Ludbridge’s side.

She felt his hand caress the side of her face, and looked up to see him smiling tentatively.

“My Lord?”

Then his mouth was on hers, drawing her into a kiss of exquisite rapture that threatened to send her into that other world of bliss, while another burst of fireworks dazzled the sky.

The multicolored effect was so spectacular they broke the kiss at the same time. Lord Ludbridge turned and gazed at Araminta as if lost in the wonder of the moment.

“Yes, My Lord?’ she murmured, though he’d not spoken.

He seemed mesmerized, cupping her face as he whispered, “Miss Partington, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

A deep satisfaction reverberated to the depths of her very soul.

At last. Her moment had come.

Lord Ludbridge had gone down on one knee and was now gazing up at her as if hanging on her answer. Tears pricked her eyes and she did not stem their flow when they brimmed over. Reverently she bent to touch her lips to his forehead. Her joy was almost overwhelming. “Darling Teddy, I can think of nothing I want more in this world,” she murmured, her heart thundering. She cupped his face and gently drew him to his feet and into another kiss, a prelude to a more passionate coupling.

No, it would not end with a simple proposal. And what joy that she could throw herself with such genuine rapture into what lay ahead. Her desire was gaining hold as he deepened the kiss. She’d never wanted a man like this before and she couldn’t wait. To her chagrin, despite his ardor, he was showing magnificent restraint. She shifted a little in his arms, turning slightly and standing on tiptoe, so he would be unable to resist the temptation of her breasts swelling above her bodice when he felt her so exposed.

Lord Ludbridge kissed her like a drowning man but it was beyond irritating that he did not avail himself of the opportunity she was affording him.

“Darling Teddy, I’ve wanted this from the moment I first met you,” she murmured against his lips. With a judicious shifting of her person, she managed to orchestrate his hands coming into contact with her flesh, wriggling then giving a little hop and a jerk so that his fingers were beneath the fabric.

“Oh, Teddy!” she gasped as she put her hand upon his, guiding it over her bare breast, beneath her bodice, while tendrils of want spiraled through her. Her nipples were crying out for attention but he reacted as if in shock as he withdrew his hand. Clearly, he intended going no farther, though he continued to rain kisses upon her face and throat.

At last, Araminta managed to draw him away from the center of the room to the banquette, and to slide down upon it so that he was half on top of her, kissing her all the while.

Her womb was on fire. She wanted him. Needed him. Oh, dear God, she needed him now. Jane had told her that she would have to secure a marriage proposal, followed up with a joyful coupling by the end of this week, if there was any chance that the child she was carrying could be passed off as another’s. Even then, there would be questions if the child were large and went full term, Jane had warned her. However, Araminta chose to forget this bit.

“My lovely girl, my sweet Araminta,” His Lordship murmured against her mouth, as Araminta now guided his hand to her thigh. She’d rucked her skirt high and wore no impeding pantalettes. No, there was a clear path to where he surely wanted to go, now that the marriage proposal was out of the way. To where she
needed
him to go.

She felt the bulge of his erection against her stomach and the evidence of his arousal only deepened hers. She was conscious of the wetness between the juncture of her legs and she could barely wait for what would come next.

To her dismay, Lord Ludbridge suddenly broke the kiss and sat up, causing her to fall a little clumsily against the wall and seat.

“Miss Partington. Araminta,” he said, breathlessly, as he helped her assume a more demure position beside him. “We are not married yet. We cannot do this.”

“But we
will
be married. Soon, my lord.” She didn’t want to sound as desperate as she was. “You...you are not taking liberties. I want this as much as you do. I...I have never been kissed by a man before. It’s as if you’ve set me on fire.” She slid onto his lap and twined her arms about his neck once more, murmuring against his cheek, “Please kiss me again, Lord Ludbridge. Teddy.” She drew her head back and smiled coyly. “Now that we’re about to be married.”