Page 68 of How to Ruin a Duke
“I am determined as well,” Thaddeus said, going down on one knee.“I am determined that you will enjoy yourself, that you will never have cause to regret joining me in these intimacies.”
He untied her slippers, which were so worn at the heel as to barely qualify as shoes.Her stockings were neatly mended, her garters plain.With each article of stitched, faded, and worn clothing, Thaddeus’s respect for Edith grew.
She was allowing him to see her reality, to see the evidence of her poverty, and her dignity in the face of adversity.That trust, given to a man whom half of London now regarded as beyond the pale, laid him bare as a lack of clothing never would.
He rested his forehead against her knee.“I want to buy you every frilly garter and silk stocking in London, every…” Everything.The world.Whatever her heart desired.Her trousseau would be the delight of every modiste and milliner in Mayfair.
She ruffled his hair.“You will buy me nothing.I’ve been hard at work on a new literary project, and I have high hopes for its success.I’d very much like your opinion on the whole undertaking, but we can discuss thatlater.”
Thaddeus rose.“Once my breeches come off, you won’t get a sensible word out of me.”
She undid the first button of his falls.“A duke rendered speechless.How often does that happen?”
More buttons came undone.“My guess is, it will happen frequently when I’m private with you.”What a revelation that was.For so long, Thaddeus had regarded his duty to marry as only that—an obligation hovering near the top of his long list of obligations, but never quite ascending to the highest position.He had an heir and a spare, and while marriage might entail some pleasant aspects, as a dinner obligation might include a good selection of wines, he’d never imagined himself in a match that involved passion, much less…
Lady Edith stepped back, having undone the falls of Thaddeus’s breeches.
“Your dress next?”he asked.
She nodded and reached for her hem, but Thaddeus stopped her.“Allow me.”
He drew the dress up slowly, careful not to catch any hooks or buttons on her hair.Her chemise was worn to a whisper, remnants of white work embroidery still visible about the hem.She’d tied off her stays in front, which made untying them simple.
“That moment when a woman is freed of her corsetry has to count among the most pleasurable of her whole day,” Edith said, folding her stays and laying them on the shelf of the washstand.“You mustn’t tell anybody I said that.”
“Your secret is safe with me.I feel the same way about shedding evening attire.”They shared the sort of smile lovers often exchanged, not erotic, but pleased and trusting.“Shall we to bed, my lady?”
He longed to remove her wrinkled shift and behold the naked whole of her, but that decision was hers.
“Bed in the middle of the day seems so decadent,” she said, climbing onto the mattress.“But it’s not as if we’re to indulge in the nap, is it?”
“A nap would be more indulgent than lovemaking?”Thaddeus pulled his shirt over his head and draped it over another one of her dresses.
“In some regards, yes.Napping is the ultimate indulgence.I’ve been tempted to climb under the covers and not wake up until…” She scooted beneath the quilt.“My brother has a play under consideration.The theater told him they’d make a decision last week, but they’ve put him off again.”
Thaddeus wanted to offer her reassurances.His wealth was considerable.He could buy her brother a theater, guarantee her the right to nap all day when she pleased to, and promise her a world where waking up would be, if not a joy, at least not a sorrow.
The lady was all but naked amid the pillows.She did not need fine speeches from him now—more fine speeches.
Instead, he peeled out of his breeches and linen and stood naked beside the bed.“Are we agreed, that if I doze off after our exertions, you will do me the great honor of joining me in slumber?”
Her smile was sweet, naughty, and wistful.“We are agreed.Naps all around in the middle of the afternoon.Won’t you please come to bed, Your Grace?”
Thaddeus stroked the erection already at full salute.“Perhaps now would be a good time to abandon proper address?”
She patted the bed.“You may call me Edie.Come to bed, Thaddeus.”
He came to bed.
Chapter Six
“Some scandals are infinitely more diverting than others.”FromHow to Ruin a Duke, by Anonymous
“Mama, your lap desk has become an appendage of late.”Jeremiah took the wing chair facing Her Grace’s loveseat.“Don’t you collect enough gossip during the Season to sustain you?”
She did not so much as look up from her scribbling.“If you were more attentive to correspondence, you might have a diplomatic post by now.One never knows when an old school chum or his papa might hear of a vacancy.”
“Preserve me from a post where I must eavesdrop over cheap wine at some pumpernickel court, or worse, perish of lung fever in St.Petersburg.”
