Page 74 of The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter
Lord Chesterfield enjoyed the attentions of Lady Alicia and Lady Charlotte. The latter referred to his bruises as ‘owies’ and waved her little lamb doll in his face while Lady Alicia actually did something useful by wiping the blood off the cut above his eye.
Alexander withdrew his own handkerchief and walked over to the nearby conservatory to pour water on it for himself. He caught Viola peeking at him through the glass as he approached, surprised but pleased she had been watching the game.
Of course, he looked like hell and smelled like a sweaty, rotten cabbage.
She grew flustered when she realized he had noticed her and was coming toward her. She tried to hurry back to the kitchen.
“Viola, wait!” He intercepted her just as she reached the door. “Why must you always run from me?”
“I wasn’t…I…” She sighed and made no fuss when he took her by the hand. He was not about to take her in his arms, which is what he really wanted to do. But how could he while his shirt was plastered to his body and sweat rolled down his neck? She looked up at him, gracing him with the softest smile. “You look awful, my lord.”
He cast her a boyish grin. “I’m sure the others fared worse.”
She laughed. “No, I think you got the worst of it. Here, sit down on that overturned bucket and let me dab the blood off you. What were the four of you thinking? Any of you might have lost an eye with the brutal way you were playing.”
“It felt good, as though I was alive again,” he admitted. “Were you not dazzled by my prowess?”
Her lips turned up at the corners in that glorious smile again. “Oh, yes. Quite impressed each time you took a graceful dive. You looked quite manly as you slammed to the ground, face first…repeatedly,” she said with a soft giggle. “But I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I shudder to think what might have happened had you played a game of croquet and attacked each other with mallets and hard balls. Concussions. Lost teeth. Broken noses.”
“One of the wives would have put a stop to it before it ever descended to that.” Now that the badminton game was over, he was starting to feel his bruises. He had hit the ground hard a time or two. But he did not care, for he had enjoyed the roughhousing, especially now that it ended with Viola fussing over him.
She tucked her hand under his chin and tilted his head upward so that his gaze met hers. They locked on each other and neither one seemed able to draw away. He was exhausted and yet happier than he’d been in years. Nor could he stop grinning as she delicately began to wipe the blood off his lip.
Gad, this girl was pretty.
“You also have a little blood on your cheek.” She wiped that off, too. “I’ll have Greaves fetch your brandy. All of you ought to pour it on your cuts to properly treat them.”
She stood close, her little body positioned between his legs while she clucked andtskedat him. He wanted to put his arms around her and draw her onto his lap. He wanted to kiss her into midnight, but she would dart away like a frightened doe if he ever did.
Instead, he sat quietly and tried to control the fiery spasms sweeping through his body with her every soft touch.
He inhaled her sweet scent. “Strawberries. Cinnamon. Garlic. Lemons.”
She moaned and stared down at her hands. “Can you still smell the garlic? I tried to scrub it off with lemon juice, but I can see it did not help.”
“Viola, I–”
“Well, well. If it isn’t the lord of the manor cavorting with the kitchen help,” Lady Alicia said, her smile smug and disdainful as she inspected Viola. “I thought you were the model of sainthood, Lord Ardley. But I see you have deceived us all. Naughty, naughty boy. She is a very pretty kitchen maid. Have you bedded her yet? Or are you still in the early stages of seduction?”
Viola fled the conservatory, darting through the door like a pigeon being chased by hunting dogs. He did not attempt to hold her back, for he did not want Lady Alicia sinking her claws into the innocent girl. Nor did he want Alicia believing Viola was more to him than one of his regular kitchen staff.
Alicia laughed as she approached him. “You needn’t worry. I’ll keep your little secret. Your mama and dear grandmama need never know what a hound you truly are. Or have you not yet coaxed the little dove into your bed? Keep her, if you like. I would not be one of those wives who demands fidelity in a husband. You and I shall get along well in our marriage, so long as you do not fuss about my own diversions. I would be discreet, of course.”
He stepped back when she pressed herself against his body and began to rub herself against him. “Alicia, you are quite mistaken if you think your behavior is in any way tempting me. Nor should I be at all tempting to you in my foul state. I am dirty and sweating.”
She licked her tongue along his neck. “Just how I like my men. But I can play sweet and innocent, if this is how you want it.”
He groaned. “A word of advice, no man is going to offer for you if you are willing to spread your legs for him so readily…especially when not invited.”
“I am quite selective in my bed partners, I assure you,” she said, now angry.
“Is that so?”
“I am here because you are someone I want. So why should we not enjoy ourselves?”
He laughed. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”
“Isn’t this entirely the point of your house party? You seem quite tense, my lord. Perhaps a little bed sport will put you in better temperament. I know how to please you. All you have to do is take me into your bed.”
