Page 115 of Rakes & Reticules
That was when Patience discovered who her grandmother really was. After that night their relationship had changed irreversibly.
Patience had thought the worst thing her grandmother had done was to insist for her to accept Mr. Reeves’ offer. She now knew she was wrong. Her grandmother, not only knew, but she’d wanted Patience to become Mr. Reeves’ whore. Mrs. Jane Miller separated Patience and Fitz intentionally to ensure it would happen.
Opening the silky reticule that dangled from her wrist, Patience peered in, noticing the neatly folded papers. She hadn't opened the documents, but there was a small part of her that wanted to know what Mrs. Fitzherbert and the prince felt so protective over.
However, Patience respected Mrs. Fitzherbert and her secrets with the prince. Closing the small, jeweled reticule, she exhaled, waiting for either Fitz or the duke to appear. She did not know which gentleman she would be meeting, only that they were the only two people at the ball who did not live in Brighton.
During the cooler months Brighton did not receive an influx of tourists, for it was too cold for sea bathing to be fashionable in October. So fortunately for Patience there weren’t many new people to listen to Mr. Reeves’ lies about her.
Patience loved the sea and would often spend her time on the rocky shores of Brighton with her father, letting the water wash over her feet. When she was older, she had learned to swim. Sea dipping with Mary-Anne had been the highlight of her summers in Brighton. She hadn’t felt that exhilarated in ages.
However, being in Fitz’s arms again was an exhilaration that she had missed. It had awakened parts of her body that she had forgotten existed. In his embrace Patience remembered what it was like to be his. There, she did not care about the whispers or the rumors. She had been lied on and accused of being free with her favors when all she did was deny Mr. Reeves.
Now Fitz had returned to her after years of being apart, and she wanted to feel the same exhilaration again. Just one last time.
Once the reticule was delivered, she would leave Brighton for good and make her own future. Patience was a grown woman, and she no longer would hide who she was to make others feel important.
Turning toward the bookshelf, she scanned the volumes, her fingers trailing over the old worn spines as she waited. Her abdomen felt hollow, her heart pounding wildly. She would soon be alone with a gentleman, and she wanted it to be Fitz. Wanted it more than anything in the world.
Tired of running from her ruin, Patience decided that if Fitz walked through the library door instead of the duke, she would surely do something improper, because she wanted to.
Mrs. Fitzherbert was right: one must rise above their scandal. And she would. She would no longer allow it to dictate who she was. Patience was a woman grown and Fitz was the man she wanted, if only for one night.
A loud creaking sound reverberated through the library, making Patience aware that she was no longer alone. Closing her eyes, she waited to see who the new occupant in the library was. The torture of the last five years would be inconsequential if Fitz had just walked through that door.
Patience rubbed her fingertips over her clavicle, trying to ward off the sudden wave of heat that ran through her body. Her gown was too heavy, too constricting, though her corset wasn’t tight at all.
She struggled to breathe, not daring to turn around.
“Miss Grant,” the smooth voice of Fitz, the Earl of Killingworth, warmed her from the inside out.
It was him.
The door closing let out a loud thump throughout the quiet library. A delicious chill ran up her spine as goosebumps formed on her skin. She turned away from the well-loved books on the shelf, facing the only man she had ever wanted. He had reawakened her from the five-year slumber that she had been forced to endure by others.
Fitz stood in front of the large dark wood door, his black hair hanging low on his brow, green eyes traveling up her body. Licking her lips, she watched him stalk toward her like a lion hunting his prey.
Retreating on instinct, her back pressed up against the bookshelf as he stood in front of her. His hard body shadowed over hers, the heat enveloping her limbs like a warm duvet.
A warm green gaze captured hers. He was captivatingly handsome, and it did not matter that she had just shared a waltz with him. After five years, Patience had thought that perhaps she had overestimated his good looks and charm but seeing him again solidified her thoughts.
“Hello, Just Fitz,” she whispered gazing at those lips that were beckoning her. The plump bottom one captured her attention again as it had on the dance floor.
“Hello, Patience.” He said her name and a small portion of her wanted to always hear her name on his lips. It sounded like it belonged to him, and she felt like she did too.
Biting her bottom lip, she inhaled taking in the fresh scent of pine and cedar. A pulsating need swirled through her womanly depths, causing her to gasp in shock. She had never had such a reaction before, and she wanted to experience it. With him. It made her feel like a woman in control of her destiny and not a shunned, disgraced girl. A woman with needs that only one man would be able to meet.
Dipping his head, Fitz eyed the reticule. “I believe you have something for me.” His voice was a deep resonating purr that took up space in the empty crevices of her soul. Her toes curled as she leaned in closer, her mouth watering at the overall maleness of him. Patience wanted to relish in his presence; for one night she wanted to forget everyone and everything and just feel.
Holding up her wrist, she let the reticule dangle, the weight lighter than her usual reticules, which would be loaded with all the necessities a lady needed for the night. “This? What will you give me in return?” she asked, peering up into his hypnotizing eyes, which had captured her from the start.
She had worried that his conversation with his old friend had changed things between them, but it had not.
“I’ll give you whatever it is you require,” he said, caging her in with his arms on either side of her.
Power surged through her body. She shivered at how her confidence crescendoed. Patience placed her left hand against his hard chest, her fingers playing with his lapel. She could feel his heart beating, and it thrilled her to know that she affected him as much as he affected her. “I will give you the reticule… for a kiss.”
Patience inched closer, raising her head slightly. Her gaze darted from his eyes to his lips, her heart pounding wildly in her chest, her mind gloriously blank for once. She didn’t care about anything or anyone else at that moment.
