Page 57 of Love Abandoned

“Countess, would you join us for a drink?” Richard asked, nearing the landing. The question was directed at Sophia, but his eyes were on Elizabeth.

“The duke awaits.” Sophia sighed dramatically. “He promised to stay away today if I joined him tonight at the theater. And I did so want this day with my friends.”

Elizabeth said her goodbyes and turned from the stairs as Richard escorted Sophia to the door. The room was a mess. Contents of baskets strewn across linens, glasses scattered about, flowers plucked and tossed like confetti. She sniffed the air.

“A hound on the hunt?” Richard asked, leaning against the balustrade.

Elizabeth laughed lightly. “Can you not smell it? I suspect it will become terribly fetid.”

“We’ll have the cages cleaned tonight, and I will arrange for return delivery in the morning.”

“I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

He pushed from the rail and walked to her, and her heart pounded against her chest.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, his hazel eyes soft with concern.

“Very little. And you?”

He shook his head. He sent a footman to retrieve Hastings, who was downstairs ensuring the smooth departure of Sophia’s carriage.

“Thank you, Richard,” Elizabeth said, waving her hand around the room. “For all this. Your support has meant everything.”

He tilted his head and studied her. “You didn’t believe you’d find a champion in me?”

She shook her head and raised her shoulders, not knowing what to say, for until recently, she’d believed he cared not a whit about anything she did.

“My lord?” Hastings crested the stairs, trying to hide his labored breathing, but his heaving chest gave him away. Poor Hastings. She’d had him running around for days.

Richard gave instructions for setting the room back to rights, as well as for the return of the birds. “And we’ll have our picnic in the breakfast room,” he added.

Elizabeth’s heart sank. The breakfast room was not conducive to her plans. She did not wish to sit formally across from him. They’d had enough distance to last a lifetime.

“May we have it in our private sitting room?” she asked.

Richard stared at her for a moment, his lips pursed in seeming discomfiture, and Elizabeth braced for rejection.

Finally, he nodded at Hastings. “Of course,” he said, smiling at her. “It is your day.”

Relief coursed through Elizabeth’s body, quickly replaced by cautious anticipation. Step one accomplished. She hoped the other stages of her plan of seduction were far less stressful.

*

Richard poured himselfa brandy, feeling as unsteady as Bentley looked when he’d left. Except it wasn’t the alcohol making Richard’s hand shake as he set the decanter on the tray. It was his delectable wife sitting on the sofa behind him. He knew it had been a bad decision to come to their private rooms together, yet he’d found he could not deny her. Although she didn’t know it, he had vowed to give her this day, and he would honor his promise. He poured her a glass of champagne and turned to her, hoping neither his trepidation nor his desire showed.

She had eased out of her slippers, and one stockinged foot peeked out from where she had tucked her legs underneath her gown. She leaned forward and took her glass, and Richard bit back a moan at the full display of her cleavage. He settled in the chair opposite lest he be tempted to take her right where she sat.

“Any idea of the funds raised?” she asked, trailing a finger along her glass, a droplet of condensation hovering at its base before slipping free onto her chest. Would that he could be that drop. He looked to the side table, the sconce, the fire, anywhere but there. Elizabeth cleared her throat, and heat washed across his face. Was she drawing attention to his stare or his attempted withdrawal?

He took a sip of brandy to hide his embarrassment. “I will give you a total tomorrow. Walford collected the coin from wagers and the game donations in the bowls. They’ve been put in the safe but not counted. Combined with the tickets, it should be substantial.”

“We must deduct some of the cost of the picnic,” she said, setting her glass down.

“A gift from me.”

“Oh, Richard!”

Elizabeth unfurled and threw herself across the small space into his arms, catching him off guard. He clutched her with his arms so she would not topple off as she peppered him with kisses. He was both aroused and amused and was thoroughly enjoying the weight of her body on his. A tap at the door broke her exuberant assault, and he lifted her from him. She fell back onto the sofa, laughing softly.

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