Page 61 of Tutoring a Lady into Sin
With that simple prompting, Phineas abandoned all caution and rushed toward her. He wrapped his hands around her waist just as her arms flung about his neck. Their bodies fit together neatly, and he bowed his head, nestling as close to her as he could possibly get. “I love you, Christianna,” Phineas whispered, letting his words fall gently on her earlobe.
“I was hoping you would say that, Phineas, because I love you, too,” she returned playfully.
He pulled out of the embrace, feeling a sense of gratitude and solace drifting through his entire body. “But what are we going to do about Percival?”
Christianna snickered, then she let go of him so she could lift a hand to cover her mouth. “I know it is not funny, but I cannot help but laugh.”
“My brother…” Phineas mused as he shook his head and chuckled along with her. “I was afraid that when I professed my love for you or even when I announced that I intended to take up the title of the Earl of Linfield that I might shock and astound the whole of theton. I feared that my actions would leave our family reeling and perhaps even shunned by all others, but Percy…somehow, he found a way to outdo me again.”
“He has gone and made a spectacle of himself this time, has he not?” Christianna added as she took her hand away from her mouth to reveal that she was still smiling. “Do you think he is really in love with Miss Scriven?”
“He must be,” Phineas said as he pulled Christianna closer once more. “Only love can make a man forget all his reasoning.” Then, without caring who might walk into the room next or how many people might see them, Phineas leaned forward and kissed Christianna.
Epilogue
“May I take this moment to introduce you all to my wife?” Percy asked. All the wedding guests had left Bixby Hall three days ago. The dowager duchess had kept to her bedchambers, and Christianna had spent nearly every idle moment locked in an embrace with Phineas.
But now that Percy and Albina had returned, as promised, the remaining family members and servants stood in the hall, set to welcome His Grace and his wife. “Please welcome my lady and my love, the new Duchess of Bixby.”
Most dutifully, the other servants genuflected, and Christianna also dropped into a deep curtsey. Auntie Mary-Anne did the same, but the dowager duchess stood rather rigidly eyeing her son and his bride coolly.
“We need to talk, Percival,” the dowager said without delay. Her eyes flicked from her son to his wife, then back to him again. “Now.”
Percy gave a hearty laugh. “I will be glad to tell you all about our love affair, Mama, but first, I must request a private audience with Lady Christianna.”
“You wish to speak to me?” Christianna asked as she turned to shoot a quick glance at Phineas. He shrugged his shoulders, indicating he had no idea what Percy wanted.
“Yes,” the duke replied. “I think we have a great deal to discuss.”
“Very well then,” Christianna consented. “Shall we go to the library?”
Percy snorted and rolled his eyes gently. “But of course.” He smirked at her, then his eyes fixed on Phineas. “I should have made that suggestion myself.” He had been holding his wife’s arm but let it drop as he stepped forward so he could lead the way to the library. “We will be back shortly,” he called over his shoulder, addressing all the others they were leaving standing in the foyer.
Christianna hurried to keep pace with him, and when they got to the library, she left the door wide open. She did not think Phineas would follow right after them, but she also did not care if others overheard this conversation either. Too many secrets had dwelt in this house for far too long and she figured anything the duke had to say to her now was something that anyone should be permitted to hear.
“I fell in love with Albina near the end of the Season.” There was no preamble. Percy did not waste his breath trying to ask after her health nor show any concern for her comfort. He just plunged right into his tale. Christianna shifted her weight so she was in a comfortable stance and nodded at him, prompting him to continue.
“She was always around the house, and I found it very easy to confide in her. She was so eager to listen, and unlike so many women of theton, she did not look at me as if I were a prize to be won. It seemed she was content just to be my friend, and occasionally, when we got carried away after one of our late-night talks, we would indulge in a bit of well….” He paused and snickered. “You know.”
“So, you had an intimate relationship with Albina?” Christianna stated the question more like a statement of fact, and Percy nodded in agreement.
“She very quickly became my everything. There was not a moment when I was not thinking of her, dreaming of the next time when we might be together. But all that changed when my betrothal to you was announced.” He scoffed.
“I had already given up the girls I was seeing in the village, so I did not feel as if I could not be faithful to you…except that my feelings for Miss Scriven lingered. While those other women meant little to me, I could not give her up so easily. But I knew I must if I was to be wed to you.”
“I may be misunderstanding, Your Grace, but if you had feelings for Miss Scriven, why did you agree to marry me? Why did you persist in flirting with all the other women who have been about Bixby Hall these last few weeks?”
Percy smirked roguishly. “I thought the best way to get over my feelings for Miss Scriven was to seek out other…shall we say, liaisons?”
Christianna gasped. “So, you were romancing other women…in this very house…just weeks before our wedding?”
“I thought about it,” the duke admitted. “On more than one occasion, I even tried to, but I could not betray my one true love, Miss Scriven, in such a dishonourable manner.”
“You really are incorrigible, Your Grace,” Christianna said as she was feeling rather perturbed by his queer sense of dignity.
“Thank you,” he said arrogantly, obviously mistaking her meaning, but then, his expression softened, and he added, “I wished to tell you all this privately because I know I must now beg your forgiveness, Lady Christianna. My actions toward you have been despicable, and I fully understand if you wish to curse my name.”
“Your Grace,” she started, but he shook his head, not permitting her to interject.
