Page 50 of A Duke Under Her Spell
Felix smiled. “Yes, he did. He went on to become king and fathered the infamous King Lear of Shakespeare’s works.”
Marybeth laughed. “Is there any truth to it?”
“Geoffrey of Monmouth seemed to think so in hisHistoria Regum Britanniae.”
Marybeth smiled and relaxed a bit. “And what of the Romans?”
“They liked to bathe,” Felix replied smiling back at her. Their eyes met and held for a moment. Marybeth could feel herself blushing with the intimacy of the moment.
Lady Cordelia cleared her throat delicately and shifted in her seat. Felix’s smile faded and he sat back returning to looking out of the window. Lady Cordelia and the Earl of Bredon flashed Marybeth a disapproving look. The Dowager Duchess glanced back and forth between everyone in the carriage with a concerned expression on her face. Marybeth turned her head away so that her true feelings would not be revealed any more than they already had been.
When night fell, they took lodgings at a nearby inn. Felix first went in alone and arranged rooms for each of them. He then came out and carried his mother in sitting her down upon the bed in her room. Marybeth followed. The innkeeper stood in the doorway ringing his hands and spoke nervously of wishing he had better accommodations for such as the Duke and Dowager Duchess of Arkley. “It is an honor to have the favorite cousin of the king and prince regent under my roof!”
“We simply seek sustenance and rest on our sojourn to Bath,” Felix replied.
Mrs. Snow entered the room followed by a footman carrying the Dowager Duchess’s traveling chest. Marybeth moved forward with her medicinal bag of herbs and took out everything she needed to care for her patient. When she was done, the Dowager Duchess drifted off to sleep, too exhausted to continue on for a moment longer. Mrs. Snow sat down in a chair beside her mistress’s bed to watch over her every need should she awake.
Marybeth walked over to Felix who now stood in the doorway. “The journey has taken much for Mother to endure,” Felix noted, his voice tinged with concern. “Did I make the right choice in bringing her?”
“Though she is fatigued, it is good for her to get out of the house and take some fresh air. It is a melancholic thing to be trapped inside of four walls every day and night without ceasing,” Marybeth reassured him. “Bath is not a great distance. She will be little worse for the wear of it.”
Felix nodded in gratitude of her reassurance. “I cannot thank you enough for agreeing to come with us.”
“I fear that my presence is causing an issue with your bride to be,” Marybeth admitted. “She is not at all happy that I am here with you.”
“She may not be happy about it, but I am,” Felix murmured looking down at her.
Marybeth sighed and closed her eyes resisting the urge to lean into him. She longed for the comfort of his embrace. Traveling with the Earl and Lady had been an unpleasant affair. Her muscles felt tense, strained from clenching them throughout the journey. She longed for Felix’s warmth to ease the tension from her body.But such a thing is forbidden to me.The feel of Felix’s hand on her arm caused her to open her eyes.
“Come with me,” he whispered and led her out of the inn and around the back. In the darkness she could just make out the attempted garden at the rear of the building. Felix secreted her away to a wooden bench beneath a haphazard trellis. “I know it is unwise to do so and a risk to both of our reputation, as well as possibly compromising our honor, but I cannot resist it. I must hold you in my arms once more, or at the very least feel the touch of your hand in mine even if only for a moment.”
“Oh, Felix,” Marybeth whispered into the darkness. “This is complete and utter folly, but I too long for your touch.” Felix reached out and took her hand in his. He traced the length of her fingers and the lines of her palm, then ran his thumb along the inside of her wrist causing pleasant shivers to travel along her spine.
“Honor dictates that I keep my distance, but I find myself drawn to you at every turn. When I am not with you, I think about you and when I am with you all I can do is imagine what it would feel like to kiss you once more,” he admitted, as he laced his fingers with hers.
“I feel the same, but it is not right, Felix. I have decided that once your mother is strong enough, I will return to my croft. Once we are out of each other’s sight, then it will be easier to resist such temptations.”
“I do not want you to go. How can I protect you from men like your father if you are not within my household?”
“I will protect myself. I am not your responsibility, Felix. You have more than enough people to care for. I do not need to be one of them.”
“Marybeth,” he began, but she cut him off placing a finger upon his lips to silence him.
“It cannot be,” she whispered. “I saw it in your mother’s eyes today. I cannot be responsible for breaking her heart or bringing you shame. You know as well as I that no one within the ton would allow you to be with the likes of me, someone whom they deem a witch, without there being severe repercussions to your reputation and place within society.”
“I do not care one jot about society, but I do care about Mother. She wishes for me to request Lady Cordelia’s hand in marriage while we are at Bath.”
“Will you do it?”
“Yes, for Mother I would do so.”
Marybeth nodded slowly. “Then perhaps I should leave sooner than I intended.”
“Please do not leave, Marybeth. I will find the strength to resist you somehow if you will just agree to stay.”
“It is not only you who must resist.”
“We will do so together.”
