Lady Theodora was first to come bounding through the front doors. The look of excitement written on her face brought a strange kind of hurt to Livinia. Had she wanted the girl to have a bad time because she was jealous, or was she simply concerned for her well-being?
“Miss Campbell, I so wish you could have been there! Lady Eleanor’s house in London is so grand! I thought I was visiting the queen!” Theodora gripped Livinia’s hands in hers, her face radiant with excitement.
“Calm down, Theodora; you will have enough time to regale Miss Campbell with your tales while you get ready for bed.” Benedict came into the hall with the same kind of cool indifference as before. His evening out didn’t seem to have done his countenance much good.
Livinia wasn’t sure if she was relieved or concerned with his behaviour. On one hand, it didn’t seem as if he had enjoyed himself, but it didn’t seem as if he was glad to see her either.
“Oh, Benedict, can’t I please stay up a little with you? I can have a glass of wine with you before bed?” Theodora turned to her brother, her cheeks flushing with colour.
“Wine?” Livinia raised an eyebrow and looked from Theodora to Benedict. Lady Theodora was barely out in Society and in her opinion, wasn’t ready for things such as wine. It did, however, explain the flush of colour in her cheeks.
“Yes, Lady Eleanor treated Lady Theodora to her first glass of wine. I will not have you questioning how I conduct my family affairs,” he berated Livinia in front of everyone.
Thomas made as if he were minding his own business and accepted the cloak and hat from Benedict, but the knowing look he gave Livinia, the ‘I told you so’ was clearly written across his face.
Livinia felt like wiping the smug look off his face but held her tongue in the presence of Benedict.
“Oh, please, can’t I have another?” Theodora enthused, a little unsteady on her feet as she hiccupped.
While Livinia could see that she wasn’t drunk, she was well on her way to being tipsy. She wouldn’t put it past the wonderful Lady Eleanor to have slipped her more than just one glass. If this was how she acted with a tender young girl, was there any wonder that the late countess held her in low regard?
“Go to bed at once. Miss Campbell will do her duties in assisting you,” he snapped at Theodora before skulking towards the parlour and slamming the door in his wake. If he had been a bear with a sore foot before, he was now a beast who had lost the prey to another.
I guess that means there won’t be any further discussion on the topic this evening.
Livinia felt her hopes sinking; it seemed as if he were hell-bent on making sure she knew her place in his life. Perhaps he had just been using her as a way to slake his lust, yet there was a different side of him that she was sure he hadn’t shown to the rest of the world.
He had confided in her about his parents when she’d read his diary. There was also the possibility that he had still been in love with Lady Eleanor and realized it when she’d shown up at his door.
Her chest felt heavy as she helped a chattering Theodora up the stairs. Far too many questions still needed to be answered.
Chapter 20
Livinia held her breath as she made her way towards the earl’s bedroom. She wasn’t sure why or when she had decided to confront him in the middle of the night; all she knew was that she wouldn’t be able to sleep if she didn’t speak to him face to face.
Working up her courage, she knocked on his door before her courage faltered.
What are you doing?
She suddenly began to panic as she looked down at her nightgown that barely covered her simple cotton dress. She hadn’t even gone as far as putting her undergarments back on when she’d left her room. She was about to turn and leave when the door suddenly opened, revealing Benedict in his cream breaches and simple cotton shirt. It didn’t seem as if he had been sleeping, but his hair was mussed as if he had been laying on his pillow.
“Miss Campbell?” His voice was low and husky as he looked her over, his eyes drinking in the swelling of her beasts beneath the thin cotton dress.
Gripping the edges of her robe, Livinia quickly pulled the fabric closed before pushing past him into his chambers. If she didn’t get everything off her chest now, she’d surely lose her nerve by morning.
Benedict seemed shocked by her sudden appearance but quickly checked the hall before closing the door. “Miss Campbell, this is most improper,” he began to protest, but Livinia quickly stepped forward with her arms folded around her waist.
The earl’s room was large and warm, with a dying fire crackling in the grate. His large four-poster bed was carved with thick pillars of mahogany wood on each corner. The design was strong and steady like the man who inhabited the chambers.
“We need to talk, Benedict. Why are you treating me with so much indifference when all I was trying to do was help you? Possibly even get some answers about the past?” The way his eyes moved over her figure in the nightgown brought a flush of colour to her cheeks, but she stood her ground, wanting to know the truth of what had changed his mind.
“If you must know, I decided to leave the past behind me and move on with my life because of you. Your presence here has reminded me of the fact that there is an entire world beyond the walls of this mansion and even the ghosts of my past. I don’t want to live where there is no life anymore.” He raised a hand and ran it through his already messy hair.
Livinia could feel her heart pounding in her chest at his admission.
So, something did change.
She felt as if her feelings towards him had been justified. There was something there that even he was trying to fight.
Moving closer until she was close enough to touch him, she felt her pulse racing again in the same delicious manner that always occurred when he was around. His presence cast a spell over her body that even she couldn’t break.
“All I want is to help you, Benedict. I’m not trying to make anything harder for you than it already is. I don’t want you to be in any danger.” Her voice soft, she reached out and touched his chest, feeling the irresistible pull to run her fingers over the sculpted muscles of his body.
“Don’t …” His voice trailed off as he shut his eyes, her hand travelling up the sculpted plane of his chest.
“Don’t what?” she asked in a husky tone that was barely above a whisper.
Taking her in his arms, Benedict’s lips came crashing down on hers in a tender embrace that caught her off guard. The passion and urgency of his kiss made her respond in kind as her lips parted, allowing him entry into her eager mouth. Their tongues danced together in a fierce battle as he lifted her legs with strong hands, pulling her thighs up to his hips.
Shivers of pleasure cascaded through her body as she felt her core pressing against the girth of his arousal in his trousers. The lack of undergarments and the sheer fabric of her night clothes around her body caused her to feel every sensation his hard muscles were creating against her body.
Turning her towards the bed, Benedict pushed her back against one of the hard pillars of his bed and pulled away for breath. “You have placed me in an impossible position; you and I can never be together as we are,” he growled against her lips before taking her mouth in his once again and searching her mouth with a deep, lustful hunger.
She wanted to respond and tell him she didn’t care if they couldn’t be together as husband and wife. She would give herself to him if it meant she got to spend the rest of her life in his bed.
Lifting her off the post again, Benedict pushed her gown off her shoulder with one hand and held her steady with the other. The fabric drifted to the floor as he kissed her neck, making his way down her body until her dress wouldn’t allow him to go any further.
Her nipples hardened against the cotton of her dress as he lay her back on the bed, towering above her with a hungry look in his eyes. Running his hand over her neck and chest, he briefly stopped to squeeze her breast before tracing a path down her body. His hand lingered over her core as he gently began to move his fingers between her thighs; the night dress acted as the only barrier between them as he felt her body.
