Page 36 of Escaping the Earl
“I seethe only man who can hold his drink is Rutland,” Rafe said, his glass of brandy sloshing onto the carpet of the billiard room.
“He can hold it... because he isn’t drinking it,” Charles grumbled.
Charles and Rafe had escalated their drinking until both men now leaned heavily on their billiard cues in order to stay standing. The absurd matter of honor was yet to be settled between them.
Vaughn, Peregrine, Lawrence, and Linus all watched this battle, their own drinks for the most part abandoned.
“No, it is Darlington a man must watch,” Charles said and tipped his glass toward Vaughn. “He can drink and yet you never see him show a sign of being in his cups. What’s your secret, Darlington?”
“Wizardry,” Vaughn declared without hesitation. It was such a serious tone that both drunken men turned to stare at him.
“Did he say...?” Rafe began.
“He did,” Charles confirmed.
Peregrine rolled his eyes. He was tired, and the thought of continuing to watch this drunken game of billiards left him decidedly uninspired. He also wanted to catch Sabrina tonight. Tomorrow she was leaving, but there were things he still wished to say.
“I am turning in, gentlemen.” Peregrine ignored the good-natured insults regarding his constitution as he left the room.
When he reached his chamber, he found his valet had left a note upon the floor. He bent and picked it up and began to read over the message, but then he realized it was not a message from his valet. It was from Sabrina.
Peregrine,
We have but one more night together. Please come to me after the lamps have been doused in the halls. You gave me such joy this last week, and I long for one last memory of you.
S.
He stared at the note,then hastily collected his dressing gown and a candlestick. He lit the candle and checked the corridor. The lamps had already been doused. She would be waiting for him. He moved silently to the opposite wing of the manor to where the nursery and Sabrina’s rooms were found.
He knocked softly on Sabrina’s door, holding his breath. His heart was racing, and he felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as though he’d done this before. For a moment nothing happened, and he feared she’d already fallen asleep. Then the door opened, and Sabrina’s face appeared in the crack.
“Am I too late?” he whispered.
She shook her head and gently pulled him into the room, gripping his shirt. When she closed the door and locked it, he set the candle on the table by her bed.
“Sabrina, we must talk—”
“No talking, please. I just want to forget about what tomorrow will bring.”
He felt uncertain, but she seemed determined to make him forget about anything but being together tonight. She removed her robe and stood there naked, her long dark hair tumbling down her shoulders in wild waves. He’d never been more tempted in his life except that night at Lady Germain’s. Yet that night and this both were so vastly different. Sabrina was real, tangible, not a dream.
“I believe you must take off your clothes as well,” she said with a nervous smile. He came toward her and placed his palms upon her shoulders.
“We do not need to do this if you don’t wish to.”
She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. “Peregrine, I feel connected to you, and tomorrow I must go back to my life. I wanted one last memory with you. I know you are a gentleman, but I do not want a gentleman tonight. Please be wicked with me.”
She rubbed her cheek against his chest, and he felt that wild flutter inside him, like a murmuration of starlings taking flight. He could almost feel their invisible wings fluttering against the cage of his ribs.
“Be wicked?” he echoed, and she nodded. “Why me? Of all the fortunate men you could have chosen?” He had to know. He had never been special. He was no more handsome than some other men. Had she felt this way before she knew he was the Earl of Rutland? Or had this been building from the moment they met when he helped her rescue her horse?
She pulled back a little to look up at him. “It’s because you seeme, not some poor woman who is dependent on others. You make me feel like myself in the best way, like I am home.” Her brown eyes held a thousand stories he wanted to spend the rest of his life unraveling, but they only had tonight.
“Then it would be my pleasure.” He tilted her chin back so he could lose himself in her gentle eyes. He’d become obsessed with those eyes, how they could light up, burn, shimmer, and shine as she turned playful or spoke with passion. He could watch her eyes forever.
He kissed her softly, but quickly lost control and soon let his own passion flow from his lips to hers. She worked at his cravat, unfolding it then sliding it free of his neck before she started on the buttons of his waistcoat.
“There.” She laughed with delight as she rid him of his waistcoat. Then he pulled his shirt free of his trousers and tugged it off over his head.
