Alice nodded.
''Oh Lord, help me,'' he whispered as his head sank into his hands. After he'd composed himself, he spoke again. ''In the last weeks, I have come to admire you. Not just your beauty, but your kindness and your undying faith that, one day, I would come to love you. Despite what I have done to you, you have remained resolute. You will never forgive me, I know, but I was trying to do the best for everyone under the circumstances, as I thought them to be. Why didn't you tell me, or your parents, what he did to you?''
''Because he is a gentleman, and I a mere woman. Whose word would everyone believe?''
''You are right. Oh Alice, please forgive me. I will never be cold or unpleasant to you ever again.''
''And what have you done with Reymond?''
''He is in the police station in Northampton.''
''And what will happen to him?''
''I assume he will go to prison. Mr Argyle and Miss Eleanor will surely bear witness to the attack.''
''Yes, they most certainly will,'' Emily said, knowing full well what she had agreed with them.
''Then he will indeed be sentenced. Four witnesses against his word. I suppose a few years in prison will do him good. And it won't be easy for him. Men in prison don't like people who attack women.''
''So that's it, then. We can now live our lives together.''
''Yes, we can.'' He looked at her in her nightgown and for the first time felt his desire for her overwhelm him. ''My dear, do you think I could perhaps......''
''Is it cold outside?'' she asked.
''No, why?''
''Come with me.'' Alice got up from the bed, took his hand and crept downstairs. As quietly as she could, she opened the doors to the terrace and led him to the tent at the side of the lake.
''They won't take this down until tomorrow. Make love to me here. Take two cushions and lay them down here. I want to feel you inside me as I look at the stars.''
He walked into the tent and took two of the largest cushions, and laid them down right at the edge of the water.
He looked at her as she pulled her nightgown over her head. When he saw her naked, he felt his manhood becoming hard. He pulled her to him and kissed her. It was a kiss of such deep longing, that Alice gasped when he let go. She gasped more when he dropped to his knees and pulled her pubic area to his face. As his tongue slipped between her legs, she opened them wider and threw back her head. His tongue probed and delved into every fold, before settling on her clitoris. When he took the tiny bud into his mouth Alice's legs almost gave way. She pulled away and lay down on the cushions.
As he opened her legs and put his mouth on her again, Alice glanced over the lake. It was calm, just like she felt. He stopped licking her and took off his waistcoat, shirt and trousers. In just an undergarment, Alice could see that he was fully erect and ready for her. With her feet, she encouraged him to take off the remaining garment, which he did. She gasped when she saw how long his penis was.
He wasn't finished with his mouth though, and again he knelt between her open legs. He liked up and down the length of her wetness and then around her entrance. Suddenly she arched her back and dug her nails into the cushion as his mouth sucked her clitoris. He continued to suck and flick his tongue over her until he felt her explode on him. She rolled her head from side to side and stretched her legs out straight as one huge spasm engulfed her. It was several minutes until she stopped trembling.
The Duke held her and kissed her until her orgasm subsided. When she had recovered, he flipped her onto her belly, lifted her hips from the cushions and entered her. As he thrust into her, she knelt in front of him and looked over the lake. Somewhere a bird squawked and the sound echoed in the silence of the night. It was more erotic than she could have imagined. Being taken in this way as she looked over the place that was her home.
He quickened his rhythm, and his hips began to slap hard against her buttocks. The vibrations brought her to another orgasm. She threw her head back and looked at the sky as her muscles tensed and waves flew from her vagina.
Suddenly she pulled away from him and walked into the lake. ''What are you doing?'' he asked
''Isn't it obvious? Come in and make love to me in the water.''
The Duke followed her in and wished he hadn't because it was quite cold. ''My God, Alice, I'm not sure I can make love to you in this cold. You know what cold does to muscles, it makes them contract.''