Chapter Fifteen
O for a Life of Sensations rather than of Thoughts!
—Keats, Letter to Benjamin Bailey
Richard watched Elizabethfrom the other side of the table. She was daintily selecting from the wide assortment of food while conversing with Lady Walford, who was piling far more onto her plate than Elizabeth. Elizabeth had also been ravenous, when she’d carried William. He’d ring for food for her at all hours of the day and night. It had not been so with Sebastian. They should have seen the warning signs.
He pushed the memory away. Tonight there was renewed companionability, and that was what he needed to focus on. She looked up and smiled at him, and it was easy to smile back. She was lovely, and she was still his even though he’d been a lout for far too long. He must find a way to navigate this new amiability without allowing it to blossom further. She popped a grape in her mouth. Richard stared at her lips as she chewed, the act far more sensual than it should be. He averted his stare and headed to the cardroom. It would be no small task keeping their relationship in check.
Richard found Bentley hiding in the back room and joined him for a few rounds of piquet.
Some time later, Walford found them. “Catherine has eaten her fill and says she cannot possibly dance any more. So we are off to our beds.”
Richard looked at the clock on the mantel and stood. “Almost two. I’d happily head home too.”
Walford slapped Richard’s back. “I suspect you may be in luck. Your wife has expressed her envy at our early departure. Something about missing country hours.”
“Lighten my purse, then abandon me to the matrons,” Bentley said, shaking his head.
Richard looked at him and grinned. “You can afford the few shillings, my friend. As for the matrons and their young misses, it is not only the clock on the mantel ticking. Ticktock. Your time as a bachelor is almost up.”
Walford laughed as they shook hands with the scowling Bentley, ribbing him a bit more before going in search of their wives.
An hour later, Richard and Elizabeth were climbing the stairs to their rooms. Elizabeth had filled the coach ride with small talk, mostly gossip about who had danced with whom and why. Richard was not at all interested in any of it, but he’d enjoyed the sound of her lively chatter and the glimmer in her eyes. If a night at a ball could bring back the spark of the old Elizabeth, he must endeavor to attend more of them.
They stopped at her door, and he could feel her hesitation. It was a mirror of his own. “It was a wonderful night,” she said quietly.
“It was.” He cleared his throat. “We must attend more events.”
“Oh, Richard,” she said on a sigh, touching his cheek.
He placed his hand on her gloved one and held it there, the yearning in her eyes reaching into the well of his own desires. Longings he must ignore. He brushed a kiss across her cheek, and before he could withdraw, she raised her other hand and directed the kiss toward her mouth.
When their lips met, she tasted him, moaning softly. The sound was fuel on the embers that had been threatening to ignite all evening. He lost himself to the kiss. He pulled her close and took control, demanding more. She opened for him, and he savored the familiar feel and taste of her, wanting to swallow her whole. She nestled closer. Her heat burned through her gown and his jacket and seared his flesh. His whole body responded, fully enflamed and ready to go. She gasped for breath, and sanity splashed cold on his fevered intentions.
He took a step back.
“Richard?” she asked, panting heavily.
“It’s late,” he said, hating the confusion that dampened the light in her eyes. He wanted their agreeable friendship back. He could not have her like this, but he could have her in his life. “I am going to look at ponies tomorrow afternoon. Would you join me?”
“Of course,” she said, biting her bottom lip.
“Then good night.” Richard turned away, unable to face her disappointment. He entered his room without looking behind him and leaned back against the closed door.
However was he to remain in proximity and manage his desires? He had no idea, but he knew he must. He would not risk losing her again.