Page 15 of Enslaved
Hardwick smiled to himself, happy that he had left her purring.
Chapter 5
Diana stifled a yawn. She and her aunt were taking afternoon tea at Devonshire House. The room was both overcrowded and overheated. Her stays bit painfully into her breastbone and she wondered seriously if it was possible to die from boredom. Small talk was anathema to Diana and the people about her seemed to be making it their life’s work. She watched the other young ladies simper before the foppish young men in their satin knee breeches while the mamas boasted their lineage.
Lady de Warrenne informed Prudence, “Our ancestry goes back to the Norman Conquest, you know.”
Diana glanced at young de Warrenne juggling his quizzing glass with his snuff box and wondered regretfully how the blood could have thinned to such anemic proportions in only seven hundred years. With a polite smile fixed upon her face, Diana allowed her imagination to sweep her away. Splendor of God, how exciting it must have been for a Saxon lady to encounter a Norman conqueror!
She was riding in a meadow when she caught her first glimpse of him. He was enormous, astride a massive stallion. She shivered as she saw him mark his prey, then the chase was on! She fled toward the shelter of the forest, her pursuer more fierce-looking than any male she had ever encountered before. He was closing the distance between them so rapidly she could now see the nose guard on his helm, the chain mail covering his powerful torso. Just as she reached the trees he swooped upon her, lifted her bodily from her palfrey, and set her before him on his saddle. In the struggle, her head veil fell off and her mass of silken gold hair tumbled over his scarred hands.
“Iclaim you as mine!” His voice was so commanding she wanted only to obey him. He took off his helm and ran his hand through his dark hair. The look in his fierce eyes was so intense with desire it took her breath away. Then his mouth took possession of hers, mastering her with one long, deep kiss. Her hands went up to push against the massive chest, but he was so big, so hard, so hungry, it made her weak at the knees. Pulse racing, breasts tingling, she heard him demand, “Yield to me.” With a delicious sigh, Diana abandoned herself to the ravishing.
“Yield to me,” the voice came again.
Diana blinked rapidly as a pale hand tried to take the teacup she clutched. “Oh, forgive me, William.”
Young Lamb took the cup and saucer from her and sighed. “Dare I hope you were daydreaming of me, Diana?”
“You may dare anything you like, William,” she replied wickedly. If she had to endure these interminable sessions with society, she might as well have fun!
When they arrived home from Devonshire House, Prudence was surprised to be beckoned into Richard’s office.
“Something’s come up rather unexpectedly regarding Peter Hardwick and it’s going to take your delicate touch with Diana.”
“She’s not easy to handle, Peter. The girl was actually mocking me in the carriage just now.”
“The sooner we can get her off our hands, the better, m’dear. Hardwick is the answer to our prayers, but I’m afraid circumstances have changed. His brother, the earl, has ordered him home because he discovered Peter gambling. He’s a tyrant apparently, but a tyrant who controls the purse strings, and Peter cannot afford to enrage him further since he’s up to his eyebrows in debt.”
“He wouldn’t be in debt if he controlled his gambling,” Prudence condemned.
Richard said dryly, “If he weren’t on Queer Street, m’dear, he wouldn’t be aligning himself with us.”
“I take your point, Richard.”
“All you have to do is talk Diana into visiting Bath.” He held up his hand as Prudence opened her mouth to protest. “Bath has its advantages, as young Hardwick pointed out to me.”
“You don’t think he’s trying to give us a slip on the shoulder, so to speak?”
“Where do you pick up these expressions, m’dear? No, I don’t think any such thing. He’s keen as mustard. Well, he’d have to have a few slates missing from his roof if he passed up an opportunity to get his hands on Diana’s fortune, to say nothing of getting his shoes under her bed!”
“Richard, there is no need to be vulgar,” Prudence said squeamishly. “What are the advantages?”
“Well, there are the obvious ones, of course, for a young lady of Diana’s temperament. Bath has a feeling of escape from social constriction. Entertainments and activities go on round the clock, making the atmosphere conducive toamour.Then there is the singular advantage of Diana being invited to Hardwick Hall. It cannot fail to capture her imagination and make her long to live there. It is a fifteenth-century Elizabethan manor on the River Avon. You know how fascinated she is by anything Elizabethan.”
“I’ve done my homework on the Hardwicks, Richard. The earl is wealthy as Croesus. He owns stone quarries and a fleet of barges to transport the golden stone up the Avon canal to Bristol. He is a justice of Somerset and a confirmed bachelor. We have nothing to worry about exposing Diana to his ‘charms.’”
“If Mark Hardwick never marries, she could be the mother of the next Earl of Bath. I believe you should convey that vital piece of information to Diana.”
“I take it the cost of a season in Bath can be deducted from Diana’s money?”
“Absolutely, m’dear—perfectly legal expense.”
“Then get on with leasing an elegant house in the smartest part of town and leave Diana to me.”
When Diana came downstairs in a cream evening gown trimmed with pink rosebuds, the carriage was waiting to take them to Almack’s.
Prudence waited until they were enclosed in its dark privacy before she broached the subject forefront in her mind. “Diana, I’ve had the most wonderful idea! I think we should take a lovely sojourn to Bath. We will lease a fashionable little house for a month and enjoy a holiday. Bath was on every tongue this afternoon at tea. It seems that no place in England affords so brilliant a circle of good company as Bath.”
