Page 36 of A Lady's Wicked Revenge
The quiet symphony of ecstatic pleasure played on and on in Diana’s little room. Their passionate embraces built to teasing crescendos and long, silent passages in which she simply stared into his infinite green eyes. They kissed in ways that pulled at strange forbidden corners of her body, and she thrilled at each discovery of half-hidden points of difference between male and female, intrigued by the perpetual promise ofwhat might be.
What might be if they fully lost control of their senses? What might be if they removed just one article of his clothing or hers? What might be if she kissed him the way he had been kissing her? What might be if they really were as alone in the house, in the very world, as she found herself wishing they were more and more often?
Eventually, the reverent stillness of the room grew into silence as dark and complete as a field covered in a thick blanket of January snow. Diana lay on her side facing the closed curtains, the back half of her body deliciously enveloped in Colin’s grasp. They lay there in beautiful equilibrium; there was no need for words, even for actions, so complete was their shared existence. From time to time, he gave her a tiny kiss on the top of her ear or sighed as he rubbed his nose against her tousled strawberry blonde curls.
“I’ve been dreaming of this, you know,” she said softly into the empty wall in front of her face. Colin did not answer save with his warm breath that pleasantly tickled her ear.
“I’ve dreamed of being held like this … and more besides. I’ve dreamed of you and I in a field together, married, of giving myself to you as a wife does her husband. They are happy dreams. I think they may be the happiest moments in my life. I wish I … I wish that …”
Diana stopped, unable to bring herself to say anything more. She waited for an answer from Colin, but all she heard was his steady, untroubled breathing. Looking over one shoulder, she could see that he had fallen fast asleep holding her. There was no trace of artifice on his face; all she saw was his glorious, handsome, real self.
She sighed and turned back to the wall, subtly shifting her position against his body.
* * *
Now.
Diana’s eyes fluttered open. The room was dark, and she could feel a strong arm draped across her waist. There was a soft snoring sound in her ear.
Now, damn you! Now is your chance!
She blinked, trying to shake off the haze of sleep and desire that still lay like a thick fog blanketing her senses. Her mind struggled to understand the half-formed idea deep in her consciousness.Chance for what?she asked herself.Uncle James and Priscilla are away for the evening … Colin is asleep here …Diana rubbed her eyes, trying to force the pieces to come together.
You’ve been waiting for an opportunity, foolish girl. Don’t let it slip you by!
Diana’s eyes blinked closed again, and she stifled a heavy sigh. Now she understood the opportunity she was given—one that had not come in months and was unlikely to appear again. But the bed was so deliciously warm, and the feeling of Colin’s strong frame against hers was pleasurable enough to make her heart ache. He seemed so content, so peaceful lying there behind her, and as he unconsciously shifted his position, subtly she detected a hardness that echoed something she had known only in dreams.Perhaps I can stay for just a little while longer …
But her good sense would not grant her this reprieve. Even as she closed her eyes and tried to return to sleep, Diana was bombarded with thoughts of her mother and father lying on the cold London cobblestones, of Uncle James roaring with anger, of an eternity spent as the property of Gerard Dunn. And when even this proved to be insufficient persuasion, she heard Jerome Arnold’s voice ring in her ears, saw his kindly face lined with concern.
Keep listening, Diana. Keep aware, no matter what comes. Promise me.
She grunted with frustration, resenting herself for being as sensible a woman as she was apparently cursed to be, and rose from her bed to take action. Colin murmured something incoherent as she carefully released herself from his grasp but fell back asleep before she could draw another breath.
The clock in the corridor chimed eleven times as Diana stole into the servants’ staircase and climbed the steps on stocking-clad feet. She opened the door to the second storey corridor and peered out at the door to Uncle James’ study. The corridor was empty and only dimly lit, and Diana cursed herself for not remembering to bring a candle. She began to second- and third-guess herself, unsure if the study would be locked or occupied, her guardian having returned home earlier than Colin had promised.
A door closed somewhere in the stairs beneath her feet. Diana froze, her blood running cold with fear.Footsteps!
Before she could draw another breath, in one fluid motion, she launched herself into the corridor, turned the doorknob, and plunged into the darkness of the study. Her eyes detected little in the darkness of the room, so she closed the door behind herself and rested her back against it, trying to quiet her breathing and the thunder of her heartbeat.
Stupid girl,Diana cursed herself, her skin singing with electric fear.That could have gone wrong in a hundred different ways. What if the door had been locked and you had broken your shoulder running into it? What if someone had seen you run in here? What if Uncle James is coming upstairs right this moment?
She pulled herself straight at this last thought.Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.
The room was largely as she remembered it, if somewhat less tidy than she had hoped. Amid the extravagant carpets on the floor and the fine wines kept in a breakfront, she saw massive piles of papers, folios bulging with still more papers, drawers stuffed with wrinkled and creased papers of a hundred sorts. Diana grumbled as she struggled to read any of the papers in the room’s dim light, a task made minimally easier by pulling open the curtain and illuminating the desk in the unearthly blue light of the moon.
Even this assistance produced nothing but confusion in Diana. She flipped through dozens of mysterious accounts and dossiers, all filled with Uncle James’ cramped handwriting denoting … what? Goods bought and sold? Debts owed and repaid? Names, numbers, dates swirled into an inscrutable mess in Diana’s head until she felt like screaming in frustration.
If there is truly anything here related to my inheritance in any way, it will take ten—no, a hundred hours to find it in all of this mess!Her eye fell upon the little safe under her guardian’s desk, and she began to consider whether it might be possible to find the corresponding key.
Ding–ding–ding … Ding–ding–ding …
Diana gasped as she froze in place, stopped by the sudden noise. She had to strain to hear it over the blood pounding in her ears, but eventually, she was able to hear it clearly in the silent study as the slow chiming of the downstairs clock. Her eyes darted about the room, and she struggled not to let panic wrap its hand around her throat.When did Colin say they would be coming home? Was it after midnight or before? Oh, heavens, I will be discovered!
As quickly as possible, abandoning any hope of quiet, she frantically tried to replace everything just as it had been when she found it. Every second, her mind invented a dozen sounds of footsteps, doors opening, Uncle James crying out in wrath. Within a few long moments, her task was complete, just as her vision began to blur with fear.
Have I left any trace of this damnable, futile search for Lord-knows-what?Diana wondered, looking around the room once more. But now she was sure she really did detect the sound of a door closing somewhere distant, and she fled the room without further thought, only just remembering to close the door behind her.
Mercifully, Colin was still fast asleep when she reached her own bedroom safe and sound. Even more blessedly, Diana’s voice of common sense had the wisdom not to complain as she climbed back into bed right where she had first fallen asleep.
