Page 29 of Harpy of the Ton
Ned licked his lips. “Lovely! Did she do that thing she does with her tongue?” He closed his eyes as if reliving the memory. “I can feel it now—the way she parts a man’s legs and licks all the way along his—”
“I should take a look inside,” Lawrence said.
Ned let out a laugh. “If you say so. I only hope if I take a wife, she’ll let me teach her some of Millie’s tricks. A wife should know how to please her husband, aye?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Lawrence said. “A widower with three children is hardly likely to find a wife.”
“Don’t be sayin’ that!” Ned slapped Lawrence on the arm good naturedly. “There’s plenty lasses hereabouts who’d jump at the chance of a man like you, though you’d need a strong woman to cope with them three.”
Ned was right. Few women could manage such unruly children, even if they’d nurtured them from birth. But to take on three children in the prime of their mischief—that was too much to ask from even the most stout-hearted woman.
When did children grow out of the phase where everything they touched shattered into shards? Or, in the case of Bobby, did theyevergrow out of that?
Lawrence gestured toward the cottage. “Thank you,” he said. “All I need now is a spot of work to pay the rent.”
“You’ll not be short of work here. The vicarage garden’s needing clearing. And my Sophie heard from a lass who works in a big house in the next county—the new owners are needing some work doin’ on their estate. We’ll see you right here, Lawrence. We look after our own at Brackens Hill—even incomers like yourself. Now, come and look at your new home, then you can take a bite of supper at mine.”
“I mustn’t trouble you,” Lawrence said. “I should get the children settled here right away.”
“Best not just yet,” came the reply. “You’ll want to tidy up the place first. Come and see.”
As they entered the cottage, Lawrence heard scratching, followed by a patter of tiny feet. He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the darkness in the hallway, and caught sight of two small, furry forms scuttling along the floor, giving him a glimpse of their tails before they disappeared through a hole in the floorboards.
Lawrence shuddered. What other creatures occupied the place? And though the children preferred to begrubbing about in the dirt outside—according to Miss Tewkson, the schoolteacher who’d declared that she’dnever come across such nasty little beasts in twenty years of teaching—not even Bobby, who surpassed her brothers in boldness, would wish to share a bed with a nest full of rats.
Ned gave a wry smile. “Welcome to Brackens Hill.”
Chapter Nine
The rush ofwater grew louder, mingling with the voice of the wind tearing through the trees. Arabella shivered as she steered her mount along the path. The wind carried with it a bite of cold, even though summer had just begun.
“I’m glad you came for a ride, my dear,” her fiancé said. “I love a good, hard ride, myself.”
Arabella’s stomach churned at his voice, heavy with innuendo.
He steered his mount alongside, and she shuddered at the stench of cigars, stale brandy, and cheap perfume.
“Must you ride so close?” she snapped. “You’re crowding my horse. This path is too narrow—one of us could fall into the river.”
“A husband can ride as close to his wife as he likes.”
“You’re not my husband yet.”
He caught her wrist.
“Even aprospectivewife must learn obedience.”
“Let me go,” she said, swallowing the ripple of fear. “Would you show such a lack of decorum toward your future duchess?”
For a moment, his gaze darkened. Then he smiled, his fleshy face puckering.
“Of course, my dear.” He patted her hand before releasing it. “This coquettish behavior of yours is quite charming—I like a filly with spirit.”
She rubbed her wrist, and he smiled. “The greater the challenge, the sweeter the reward, no? You’ll yield in the end.” His smile broadened. “But don’t yield too easily. A little resistance in a woman can increase the pleasure when the conquest is complete.”
“A man must earn his conquest,” she said. “No woman would yield to the undeserving.”
“How sweet you are in your innocence, my dear!” He laughed. “But affection will come in time. My affection for you remains as it ever was.”
