Part 26 (2/2)
”You might be able do that,” she agreed. ”You could also probably make your way to Castle Durand, given the right papers, though some people might question a healthy young male who isn't in the army. But what about when you reach the castle? Are you planning a one-man invasion?”
”I'll think of something, and it won't be straightforward a.s.sault. I may be inexperienced, but I'm not stupid.”
”Not usually, but refusing my help is profoundly stupid. Together, we have some chance. On your own ...” She shook her head. ”You told me that Peter didn't want to inherit the earldom. Are you going to force the t.i.tle on him?”
”Tactfully put,” he said with exasperation. He covered the distance between them in two long strides and kissed her with the pa.s.sion that had been building since their last night together.
Touching her simultaneously soothed and inflamed. Her mouth was sweet and hot and her b.r.e.a.s.t.s crushed against him as she responded, her fingers digging into his back. Dimly aware that this wasn't what he'd expected, he broke the kiss and retreated, breathing hard. ”Do you seriously think we can travel together and keep our hands off each other?”
”Obviously not.” Her face was flushed and auburn hair tumbled to her shoulders. She gave him a ruefully mischievous smile. ”That's why we must travel as husband and wife.”
Chapter 42.
Grey had to laugh. ”Is sharing a bed my reward if I let you come with me?”
”Probably more of a rationalization. We're both mad to attempt a rescue from Castle Durand.” She stepped forward and kissed him as she tugged at his cravat. ”But I'm serious about the fact that I won't allow you to go alone. If you try, you might find yourself locked in a wardrobe after all.”
Reason dissolved as he unfastened her gown, then her corset. He needed to see and touch all of her, to absorb her wonderful Ca.s.sieness into every fiber of his being.
She must have felt the same for she tore at his garments with a fever that equaled his. Though it had been only a fortnight since they'd been together, it seemed like years. He wanted to devour her, to delight in s.h.i.+mmering coppery hair and subtle scents and powerful woman.
When they were finally skin to skin, they fell onto the bed, kissing and touching with frantic need. When he could wait no longer and buried himself in her, he groaned with pleasure and held very still, knowing how quickly this might end. Wanting to prolong their union, he rolled over so she was on top of him.
”Yesss,” she breathed as she adjusted, finding a rhythm that suited them both. But she was equally impatient, equally needy, and all too soon she convulsed around him.
He culminated instantly, clutching her tight as he surged into her. Ca.s.sie, Ca.s.sie, Ca.s.sie ...
With pa.s.sion exhausted, he stroked her back as he struggled for breath. When he could speak coherently, he said, ”I'd considered traveling as a priest, but I don't think that will work.”
”Definitely not,” Ca.s.sie said with a choke of laughter. She slid off him and lay on her side along his left flank, her hand resting warmly on his midriff.
”Any moment, you'll explain to me that this doesn't alter the long-term situation and we have no future,” he murmured. ”But that if we're traveling together, it's more sensible to behave as husband and wife than to try to keep apart.”
”Sensible,” she mused as she traced a finger around his navel. ”That's us.”
He grinned as he toyed with a glossy lock of hair. ”Maybe that's not quite the right word.”
”Probably not.” Voice sober, she said, ”Our chances of successfully rescuing Pere Laurent and his family are even odds at best. That makes the pleasures of the moment worth the possible pain of the future.”
”So if we fail, we won't be alive to endure the pain of separation? That's sensible, in a morbid sort of way.” He caressed her bare shoulder, thinking this intimacy was worth a very high price. Even years of his life.
She cuddled under his arm, all warm, soft curves. ”How were you doing at Summerhill?”
”I've taken up running for amus.e.m.e.nt since it feels good and it's healthy. I've also been riding out to visit tenants to remind them who I am and a.s.sure them I'm reliable.” He chuckled. ”There are still some doubts, but I've been pretending to be gentlemanly with some success. My mother has also been inviting the gentry over one family at a time so I can renew my acquaintance with the neighbors.”
”Wise of her to keep the entertainments small,” Ca.s.sie observed.
”Her first event was a tea where she invited about two dozen guests despite my request to avoid large groups,” he said dryly. ”When I walked in the door and saw the number of people in the drawing room, I bowed politely and left. That convinced her I was serious in my request.”
”But overall, you're feeling better?”
Hearing the concern in her voice, he said rea.s.suringly, ”Much better. I might be up for the autumn social season in London.” If he was alive and back in England then. ”What about you? Were your aunt and uncle as welcoming as your cousins?”
”Oh, yes. My Aunt Patience always wanted a daughter. I was a tomboy as a child, but now I rather enjoy being a surrogate daughter.”
And having a surrogate mother, he suspected. ”Ca.s.sie, you asked if I was really sure I wanted to risk losing so much. I have to ask you the same question. You have rediscovered a life that you thought was gone forever. Are you really sure you want to risk losing it for a cause that isn't really your own?”
”I'm sure.” She rested her forehead against his arm. ”One rule I've lived by is that you don't abandon people who helped you. The Boyers helped us. It's d.a.m.nable of Durand to use them to lure you back to France. I can no more stand back and say, 'How unfortunate, but it's no matter of mine' than you can.”
He'd made the decision to go to France knowing the chance of success was negligible, but with Ca.s.sie at his side, he felt a stirring of optimism. ”Since you're the expert agent, how do you think we should proceed?”
”I started thinking as soon as Kirkland told me of your mad scheme.” She pulled the covers over them, which improved their comfort and reduced distractions. ”How far had you gone with your ideas?”
”I was planning on coloring my hair and maybe growing a moustache to disguise my features, but that takes time. Can I attach a convincing false moustache?”
”False moustaches look false and they're hard to attach for any length of time.” She ran a light fingertip along his upper lip, feeling the almost invisible pale hairs growing there. ”In a couple more days, this hair can be colored. It will be a short moustache, but enough to distract attention from the rest of your face.”
”What about you? Will you be a gray old lady again?”
”I need to look different from before. Besides, I don't think you can be made to look like a gray old man who would be a convincing mate.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. ”We should travel as a boring middle-aged couple of modest income. You can be a clerk or a low-grade government official. I will be prim and humorless. Monsieur and Madame Harel. People will avoid us.”
He studied her lovely face. ”I'm having trouble remembering that I thought you old and plain at first, but if you did it once, you can do it again.”
She gave him a flat stare and ... faded away. She hadn't moved, her features and coloring were the same, but she was duller and less interesting. ”How do you do that?” he exclaimed. ”It's like you had a candle burning inside, and then you pinched it out.”
”I can't really describe how. I just think myself plain.” She gave a half smile. ”I've spent most of my adult life as a plain woman unworthy of any man's notice. It comes naturally to me.”
”I shall want you just as much even if you're disguised as the drab wife of a boring off icial.” He chuckled. ”Think how amusing it will be to peel away the drab layers to reveal the delicious mysteries hidden beneath.”
She smiled agreement. ”Just remember that in public, we need to look like we haven't touched each other since our wedding night.”
”Difficult, but I'll try my best.” Having settled that, he moved to the next question. ”How shall we travel once we reach France? A cart like you had before?”
”As boring Monsieur and Madame Harel, we can travel by public coaches, which will be much faster. We'll take a different route, too. Come at Castle Durand from a different direction.”
”Shall we get a couple of good riding hacks when we get close?” he asked. ”We'll need transportation of our own, and horses can go places carriages can't.”
She nodded. ”I hope we don't have to spirit the whole lot of them out of France, though. That would be much, much more difficult. We'll need to arrange some sort of safe house before we move in. Kirkland will also need to get his fine forger to make papers for the whole family, just in case.”
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