A Baron for Becky

Chapter six

The Marquess of Aldridge assured her he hadn't minded spending the night in Sarah's bed rather than his own, that the maid barely disturbed him at all when she woke vomiting again in the early hours of the morning, and that of course the girl should travel no further. He would pay for her accommodation until she recovered, and her transport home to Longford, and Becky was to take Sarah in the carriage with her and think no more about it.

He rode.

Several times in the course of the morning, he passed the carriage, not looking, his face set and distant, though when he caught her watching he smiled.

When they stopped for something to eat, he was his usual affable, charming self, flirting with the maid who brought their meal, teasing Becky about insisting Sarah ate her meat before her pudding, telling stories about journeys he'd made when he was a boy.

As they finished, one of the grooms presented himself in the private parlour. "If you please, Mrs Darling, if Miss Sarah comes with me, I can show her the kittens they have in the kitchen."

Becky gave her permission, and then, as the door closed behind Sarah and the groom, looked suspiciously at Aldridge.

"Yes," he said. "I arranged it."

"You knew they had kittens?"

"Or puppies, or ducklings, or some distraction. It didn't matter what. We don't have much time, Becky. I just wanted to give you something to think about between now and when we reach London."

She stepped towards him, expecting an embrace, but he held up his hand. "No. Stay there, or I'll have you right on this table, and you don't want your daughter walking in on that. But I do want to tell you precisely what I have in mind for tonight. I have been planning it as I rode. Somewhat uncomfortable, but a man must make sacrifices."

He reached out and shaped her from her neck to her waist, but without at all touching her.

"First, we will settle Miss Sarah in the nurseries, and she may have a dozen maids to keep her company and do her bidding, but prepare her, Becky, for the fact that you will be otherwise occupied."

Becky nodded.

"Then," his lips curved in a wicked smile, and he deliberately and slowly licked his upper lip before proceeding to detail what he wanted to do to her, and what he wanted her to do to him, until her eyes were glazed and her thighs slick with her arousal.

If it was revenge, it was a good one. She'd spent the rest of the trip in high suspense, struggling to respond to her daughter, and grateful when Sarah fell asleep for part of the afternoon and she could spend the time imagining the night to come. Aldridge seemed as interested in her response as in his own, which was outside her experience.

She'd fought back at every post change along the way, brushing against him, licking her finger and sucking it into her mouth, lifting her skirt so that he (and only he) could see her ankles. Make her burn, would he?

By the time they arrived in the mews behind Haverford House, she was beyond worrying about how inappropriate it was for her to be here. Aldridge had assured her that the heir's wing was quite separate, that he did what he wished there and his servants were paid to make no comment and no judgements, and that—in any case—the duke and duchess were not in London.

"You'll stay here till we find the right house," he insisted. "And no-one will say a word." Because no-one of importance would know, she thought. But he didn't say that, and certainly, when he escorted her through the private entrance to one side of the massive house, the servants were everything polite and deferential. In short order, she and Sarah had been introduced to the servants assigned to look after the little girl, and whisked up to a freshly-aired nursery, where a meal and a bath were provided in short order.

A servant waited to escort her when she had kissed Sarah good night.

She was nervous now. What if she didn't live up to his expectations? He, after all, had bedded some of the most famous harlots in England, professional and amateur. Surely they knew far more than she?

The servant showed her into what must surely be the master suite of this huge complex of rooms. The room she'd entered was a comfortable sitting room. Dinner settings for two had been laid on a small table, and a deep steaming bath waited in front of the fire, with buckets of hot water on the hearth to rinse and refill.

Aldridge suddenly appeared, leaning against the frame of a side door; she could see a darkened study behind him. She'd seen how hard he worked, disappearing into Rede's study for several hours each day to deal with whatever business the day's rider had delivered. Even on their trip, he had worked for part of the time; in her carriage the first day, and at the inn this morning.

He was still wearing pantaloons and a shirt, but he'd stripped off his cravat and replaced his waistcoat and jacket with a brightly coloured banyan that hung loosely from his shoulders.

"Did she settle?" he asked. How typical that his first words were of Sarah. Defending her heart from this rogue was not going to be easy.

"I left one of the maids telling her a story. She will be fine. She knows she will not see me until tomorrow."

He lifted one brow, giving her a slow, smouldering smile that set her temperature soaring. "Possibly not until afternoon," he said.

"Come. They've put your things in the second dressing room. I'll show you." He pushed away from the doorpost, and led her to the door on the other side of the room.

She took two steps into the room and stopped. Every surface was red or gold, ornately painted or upholstered. Except for the mirrors, which glittered from each wall and—she craned to check—from the top of the enormous bed. Huge though the room was, the bed dominated it. She couldn't help herself. She started to laugh.

"What?" Aldridge sounded irritated, but it was really too funny.

"Your cousin was right," she managed to say, before going off into another peal of laughter.

It took him a moment to get it, then his ready sense of humour melted his irritation. "A fornicatorium is it? I'll show you just how right you are, my sweet." And he reached for her and all the waiting was over.