“There’s a strong-room downstairs,” Gerald said. “You can put the other items of value there. It’s not as secure as this, but it will serve.”
She hadn’t noticed it, but that was because the fortified door was open, she discovered when she ran down to the cellar to investigate. “So Jem can see his family tonight.”
***
Another three hours later, they were done. True, much of the contents of the old house were dumped in the rooms, but they had the nursery sorted out, and the kitchen. They could exist until the morning.
Annie couldn’t take another step. She’d given every man a guinea each, all she could afford, and she suspected Gerald had given them more. She would repay him for that, though she it wouldn’t go anywhere toward thanking him for his help today.
Sitting at the dining table, which was in the middle of the salon, she put her spoon down with a happy sigh. “I couldn’t eat another morsel.”
They’d had another cheerful, makeshift meal, or rather supper. Matilda had opted to take hers upstairs so she could keep an eye on the boys, and the men had gone home, so only two sat at the table. When she’d tried to express her thanks, Gerald had stopped her with a raised finger. “Eat,” he’d said. “Then we’ll talk.”
They hadn’t left much, so there wasn’t a lot to clear away. Annie stood, and reached for his plate, but he put a hand over hers. “Let me,” he said. “Do you think I can’t see how tired you are?”
Slumping back down in her chair, Annie watched him gather the plates and dishes. He put them on the old tray they’d used to bring the food upstairs, and left the room. He’d long since discarded his heavy coat and was now in shirtsleeves, his muscles clearly visible.
She hadn’t been aware she’d closed her eyes, until she felt the touch of his hands on hers. He was kneeling before her chair. “Poor honey! I should leave you in peace, should I not?”
The candles guttered in their holders, the light flickering over his face. He looked like some giant come down to earth, an otherworldly being. Smiling, Annie shook her head. “I don’t want you to.”
“I’m glad you said that.” He lifted her hand to his lips, touching the palm with his tongue, making her shiver. “Can you stay awake another hour?”
She nodded, swallowing away her nervousness. “My head is still buzzing. What happened today?”
“I came to my senses.” His voice was soft and intimate. “I tried to be honorable, tried to do things right, but nobody wanted me to do that. So now I’m pleasing myself. And, I hope, you.”
Her small nod was all he needed. Getting to his feet, he bent and lifted her, ignoring her startled squeak. He took the stairs two at a time, and shouldered his way into the bedroom. Lowering her to the bed, he claimed a kiss before straightening, and unbuttoning his waistcoat, tossing it to join his coat on the chair. When she tugged at her fichu, still firmly tucked into her bodice, he tsked at her and did it himself. “I don’t want you to exert yourself. Save your strength.”
“For what?”
“For us.”
Carefully he stripped her. He took off her clothes piece by piece, pausing to kiss the skin he exposed. First the tops of her breasts, then her hands and her arms. He slipped off her shoes, and then undid her garters and rolled her stockings down, kissing the red marks her garters had left. Standing, he held out his hands to help her to her feet, then dealt with her petticoats, pocket and stays in the same efficient manner.
He undressed to his shirt, which reached to the middle of his thighs. She studied his hairy legs, spread her hands over his broad chest and gazed up at him. “So here we are, my lady,” he murmured. “We can sleep like babes, or we can go further.”
She licked her lips. “We have to make the most of the time we have. I will not be your mistress once you marry.”
Lifting his hands in a sudden motion, he covered hers where they lay on his chest. “You will not, believe me. I swear it.”
His slight smile annoyed her, but he prevented her pulling away. “You find it amusing that we have but a week before we must part?”
His smile turned to a frown. “Why, what is this? A week? Tell me you have not changed your mind. Tell me you will never marry Joseph Stephenson!”
“Willingly. But you are married. Did you come to an agreement with your wife?”
His heart beat strongly under her hands. “My family prevailed upon me to jilt the lady, although we have settled on a different story. When you saw me that day, I was on my way to my lawyer’s to tell him of the development. I was in good spirits that day. All the better for seeing you.”