Page 38 of The Earl Next Door
“Are you sure?” he asked skeptically.
“Yes—I made certain all was well with her before I left.” Cordelia paused, seeming to consider her next words. “She admitted you weren’t in Lady Wake’s house long enough to have even taken off your clothing and gotten into bed with her.”
“Aunt,” Lyon said, returning to his cautionary tone, “this is not a discussion I want to have with you. Now or ever.”
“Understandable. Brewster said he would personally walk over and retrieve the basket from Lady Wake’s housekeeper—the back way, of course—and have it waiting for me at the front door. I’ll take my time leaving and make sure Mrs. Feversham sees it in my hands as I walk out. Now, I must be running along. I do try to never overstay my welcome. I’ll be over for a drink soon, my dear. I enjoy having a glass of claret or brandy with you.”
“You never even taste it,” he grumbled.
“Oh, that’s not true,” she denied hastily. “I have. Once or twice. Enjoy your breakfast. I’ll see you at the Grand Ball—if not before.”
With that, his aunt swept from the room.
Lyon picked up his cup and took it back to the silver coffee pot to refill. Instead he put it down with a clamor and hit his fist upon the buffet chest. Whatcould he do about his snooping neighbor? An old widow who was crippled.
After a few moments to calm himself, Lyon poured more coffee into his cup and gazed out one of the windows. The gray skies promised more rain for the already sodden earth. His gardeners were busy on his grounds. In the distance over the yew hedge and near barren trees he could see a good portion of the school, but from this room he could see only the roof of Adeline’s house.
Adeline.
After last night, how could he be so formal to think of her or even talk to her in such formal terms as Lady Wake? She had him guessing like no other lady and had him feeling things he’d never felt before. Like she was his.
Damnation!
He couldn’t shake the straightforwardness with which she said she didn’t know whether or not she wanted him or just someone—anyone. He had to admit he’d been with countless women, especially when he was younger, where all he needed was just to fulfill his driving need for release. Is that the way she felt? Any man would do?
Lyon didn’t like the way that made his gut wrench.
To be fair to himself, perhaps there was a little of that in him last night, too. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. There was a desperation in him, as well. He hadn’t taken the time to trace the curve of Adeline’s waist, stroke the plane of her hip, or let his hands stray leisurely between her thighs. Their urgency had been too intense and too heated tounfurl their passion slowly. There had been no time for long glances or tender caresses. Not even soft, sweet kisses or seductive words about how intoxicatingly fresh she smelled, how delicious she tasted, or how smooth her skin felt beneath his touch. He didn’t even tell her she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen or held in his arms.
But he had known whom he held andshewas thehe’dwanted.
There was one thing for damn certain. He was going to make sure she would know it was him, thathewas the one she wanted, the next time they came together.
And there would be a next time.
“What the devil are you looking at that has you so enthralled?” Marksworth asked, walking up beside Lyon. “I called your name twice and you didn’t answer.”
“The grounds,” Lyon said, feeling no guilt about the lie to his father. “We had a storm yesterday afternoon.”
“I was aware of it.” Marksworth picked up a cup from the buffet and poured himself coffee. “I fear there’s an even bigger storm going on in London today.”
Unlike his aunt’s news, Lyon was sure that he knew what his father was going to tell him. How could any hot-blooded man stay quiet about seeing and hearing Adeline yesterday afternoon? Still he said, “What are you talking about?”
“You and Lady Wake.”
Exactly what Lyon thought.
“I had three notes delivered to my house before I’d even awakened. The Duke of Middlecastle and a roomfull of others were already waiting at White’s by the time I got there. Apparently the arrival of Lady Wake in your drawing room yesterday afternoon has spread faster than the whirlwind storm that brought her to your door. By the time I’d heard all that was said about how resplendent she looked dripping from head to toe and how valiant she spoke, I was wishing I hadn’t missed the afternoon and had been there to witness the spectacle myself.”
The knot of anger that had formed in Lyon’s chest with his aunt’s tale of his neighbor’s spying started growing.
“Some of the nodcocks were arguing over who would pursue her since you hadn’t laid claim to her after she left,” Marksworth added when Lyon remained silent.
But Lyonhadin the most intimate way possible.
“That wasn’t even the worst of it,” his father continued after taking a drink from his cup.
“What else?” Lyon asked, holding his anger at bay and his feelings in check. His relationship with Adeline wasn’t anyone’s business, and he didn’t intend to discuss what happened between them with anyone.
