Page 101 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
He lifted his arm once, and then left the waving to her. It was as if she was leaving him, being pulled back into the world away from the intimacy they’d shared. And the selfish bastard that he was, he wanted to keep her all to himself.
And that would only hurt her worse. He couldn’t let her fall in love with him. It wouldn’t be fair.
Maybe she felt sorry for him; maybe she thought she was helping him. He felt like the world’s biggest fool.
He heard Georgie’s cry. “You two look terrible! I thought you went boating!”
“We ended up swimming,” Louisa said. “I was not a very good navigator.”
“The boat sank?” Paul Reyburn said.
Simon felt startled and guilty, knowing that someone beside his naive sister was seeing their disheveled condition. What did he and Louisa truly look like? And could Paul tell what had transpired?
“I didn’t know what could possibly have happened to you when I saw a petticoat floating in the water,” Georgie said, “and no sign of the boat!”
Oh, God, this was worse than he had feared. He steeled himself to appear sincere, but Louisa beat him to an explanation.
“It was Simon’s idea,” she said.
He could have groaned. He was glad he couldn’t see Paul’s face.
“He was worried I would drown if I tried to swim in so many layers of clothing. So I had to remove my petticoats. And he was right. I felt so heavy when I was trying to swim. If we wouldn’t have been near shore…” She trailed off.
Still holding her arm, he could feel her shudder.
“How frightening!” Georgie said. “You both need to get into the house at once. If you take ill, Grandmama will be beside herself!”
~oOo~
Louisa spent the day coddled and fussed over by Lady Wade and Georgie, and she was grateful for the distraction from her tumultuous thoughts. After her hot bath, they made her stay wrapped in blankets all day. They sent a tray up for dinner, insisting that the dining room was full of unhealthy drafts.
She never saw Simon, but he was much in her thoughts. She did not regret their lovemaking, although momentarily she worried that he only felt he could be intimate with her because her reputation was already stained.
But no, he was not that kind of man. She knew he felt guilty over what they’d done. Somehow she would have to make him see that the blame for their indiscretion must be shared.
Sleep came too easily to her that night. The swim and what happened afterward must have exhausted her more than she’d realized, because she never blew out the candle, never even awoke when Simon came into her room. She only knew he was there when she half opened her eyes and saw him sitting in a chair beside her bed, his head resting in his hands, his blond hair shining in the candlelight.
For one moment, she let herself believe he had changed his mind, that he loved her and wanted to marry her.
He lifted his head. “I can tell by your breathing that you’ve awakened.”
“Very clever of you,” she whispered.
“I didn’t mean to come here.”
She said nothing, but her hopes faded away.
He sighed. “I can’t sleep for thinking about how poorly I introduced you to lovemaking. Have you forgiven me?”
She drew in a breath, shocked by how quickly her skin flushed with heat at just the memory of what they’d done together. “If that was poor, then no wonder people can’t help themselves from seeking out pleasure.” She reached out to touch his arm. “As I told you earlier, there’s nothing to forgive.”
He put his hand on hers, caressing gently, almost absently. She stared at him in sorrow. He was going to leave things as they were. There would be no proposals of love, no talk of weddings. She only had this last night with him, this last chance to be happy in his arms.
And she was going to take it.
She sat up in bed and pushed the blankets down. After unbuttoning her nightdress, she pulled it over her head and tossed it at Simon. It hit his face and slid down his arms. He reared back, and in his expression she saw understanding—and passion.
How could he feel this way for her and not love her? Was she fooling herself to think this would show him?
