A Daring Liaison(41)
“Georgie...Georgie...Georgie...”
That was all she’d ever wanted.
* * *
Sometime before dawn, Charles bent over Georgiana to brush her hair back from her face and kiss her cheek. “I really must be going. Servants are one thing, but it would never do to have the neighbors see me leaving at the break of dawn.”
Her eyes were heavy-lidded and drowsy, and her flawless skin had the glow of a well-satisfied woman. A fact in which he took immense pride. She managed a smile and touched his cheek. “Once more?”
He laughed. When she’d recovered from their first coupling, she’d wanted more, and he’d been only too happy to accommodate her. Then again. And again. If she’d been insatiable, he’d been a satyr. “You wear me out, Georgie. I’d be pleased to accommodate you, but I will need a bit of time. I fear you’ve drained me.”
“Mmm.” She gave a feline stretch and blinked. “Is there anything I can do to persuade you?”
He groaned. All she needed to do was ask! If duty did not call he would be content to lie abed all day satisfying her every desire. She’d been worth the wait. Worth every moment, every day, every year.
He’d known from her responses that she’d been new to such pleasure and he thanked God that her previous husbands had not ruined her for this particular sport. She was so inherently sensual that he could easily teach her every delight she could imagine. And others that she couldn’t. Yet.
“I will fetch you for Vauxhall Gardens at eight,” he said, straightening the lapels of his jacket.
“Hortense has taken to her bed with a cold, so I told Harriett I’d go with her. Will you meet us there?”
Was that a twinge of annoyance he felt? Had he become so possessive of her in the space of one night that he could not share her with her female friends? Did it really matter whom she arrived with as long as he escorted her home? “Very well. I will meet you there. Shall I speak to Hathaway on my way out?”
She sighed and propped herself up against her pillows, pulling the sheets up to cover her breasts. Pity, that. He’d have enjoyed the view. “I shall give him two weeks’ notice.”
“I think it would be best if he were gone today. Otherwise the next fortnight is likely to be exceedingly uncomfortable.”
“Yes, but I cannot just toss him onto the street after so many years of service. He may have financial obligations.”
“You are too considerate,” he said. “I doubt the man would do the same for you.”
She shrugged and the sheet slipped to reveal one rosy semi-circle. He grew instantly hard again, and wondered if he’d ever get enough of her. Or if, when this affair was over, she would leave him still wanting more.
“Give him two weeks’ wages instead,” he said, “and send him on his way. I warrant your household will function well enough without a butler. If not, promote your footman or hire another butler.”
“I shall think on it.” She sighed, her eyelids drooping again.
He savored the sight of her sunken against the pillows, still flushed from his lovemaking. Though he’d always known he’d have her, and that their coupling had been inevitable, he hadn’t suspected it to be so intense. So difficult to leave her. Arrogant ass that he was, he’d thought he could seduce her and then turn his back, just as she had turned hers after their first kiss.
He steeled himself against those thoughts. There’d be time enough for regrets later.
* * *
Georgiana found the sly looks cast in her direction difficult to endure. Word had spread throughout the house that she had taken a lover. To her chagrin, she’d been forced to perpetuate the lie and tell Clara that she and Charles Hunter were engaged to be married. She knew she could depend upon Clara to share that bit of information with the other servants.
But the worst came when she’d returned from a quick errand to find Hathaway in her bedroom rifling through her wardrobe. When he heard her, he turned very slowly and faced her with an unreadable expression.
“Is something amiss, Hathaway?”
He blinked. “Everything appears to be in order, madam.”
Did he really expect her to believe he’d been checking Clara’s work? When he’d never done so before? She saw a sly glint in his dark eyes and she’d suddenly had quite enough. “Wait for me in the library, Hathaway. I shall be down in a moment.”
The instant he left the room, Georgiana dropped her reticule and tossed her bonnet on the bed. What had the man been looking for? Because she was certain he’d been hunting for something. Was it possible...? Could Hathaway be responsible for all her little missing items? But why? They’d been trinkets of little value for the most part. Surely the man would have aimed higher if he was to take the risk of being caught, wouldn’t he?