Page 25 of Romancing the Rifleman
She didn’t know for sure.But she had to wonder—was this what he liked?Being spanked?Diana could not fathom why someone might enjoy such a thing.But this was likely due to her own ignorance.It was also mortifying to picture a man placing his lips between her legs, yet Izzie had assured her she would enjoy that particular act very much.She supposed it was one of those things you could not truly understand until you had experienced it for yourself, and she therefore tried to reserve her judgment.
She felt a pang of guilt that she knew anything about Harrington’s more intimate preferences.Her only goal in looking at the pictures had been to gain general information.She had not intended to invade his privacy, but that was precisely what she had done.
She was startled from her reverie by someone shaking her arm.She blinked and found Lucy smiling at her.“Diana?Are you even attending?”
Izzie looked amused.“And here I thought I was the one whose mind was always a thousand miles away.What were you thinking about?”
She could hardly answer,Your brother, with his head between my legs.“Nothing!”
Izzie gave Lucy a significant look.“She’s blushing.”
“She was definitely thinking about Harrington,” Lucy said.“And what were we discussing?Ah, yes—the marriage bed.”
Now Diana could feel her cheeks burning.“I wasn’t… I mean, I… er…”
“She’s usually such a good liar,” Izzie observed.
“She is,” Lucy agreed.“And I don’t think I’ve ever seen her blush before!”
“You’re the one who introduced the topic,” Diana grumbled.
“True,” Izzie said, unrepentant.“So, do you have any questions?”
“None at this time,” Diana said crisply.“I do believe you have already provided me with as much information as it is possible to absorb through mere description.”
“It sounds as if she’s eager to move on to hands-on practice,” Izzie observed, causing Diana’s cheeks to flame even hotter.
“We both want to be bridesmaids at the wedding!”Lucy added cheerfully.
Diana sighed.“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Diana endured a few more minutes of teasing before the conversation blessedly moved on.But she was distracted.As she couldn’t stop thinking about Harrington, she at least attempted to direct her thoughts toward more decent subjects.She wondered how he was faring in his quest to sway the politicians on his list to his side.By the time the twins departed, she was more anxious to speak to him than ever.
Chapter12
Upon entering White’s, Harrington enquired after his quarry.Quentin Carstairs wasn’t there, but a footman informed him that Colin Rhys-Jones was in the billiards room.Harrington scarcely knew the man, in spite of their being around the same age, as Rhys-Jones had attended Harrow and Cambridge, whereas Harrington had been at Eton and Oxford.But much to Harrington’s astonishment, Rhys-Jones and his friends responded enthusiastically when Harrington asked if he could join them.
Everyone wanted to hear about his experiences in Germany.Which, in truth, had mostly consisted of sitting around in the cold for weeks, waiting for something to happen, followed by a frantic march to the sea.But Harrington managed to come up with a couple of interesting anecdotes from the retreat, and if Rhys-Jones and his friends formed the impression that he had held back out of a becoming sense of modesty, he wasn’t about to correct them.
Two hours later, when the party was breaking up, Harrington pulled Rhys-Jones aside and mentioned the two acts Willim Windham had asked him to support.And wouldn’t you know it, Rhys-Jones nodded solemnly, clasped Harrington’s shoulder, and informed him that he would be glad to.
The following two days passed in a whirlwind.He fenced with Stephen Chichester and played brag with Charles Sutton.He attended the theater and assured a drunken Julian Deverill that the buxom Cressida was a fool for rejecting him.He spent an afternoon at Tattersall’s with Henry, who agreed to work with a recalcitrant filly Anthony Leveson-Gower had recently acquired.After that, Leveson-Gower was delighted to support the Pensions to Soldiers Act.
Not everyone said yes, of course.And he didn’t manage to track everyone down in the limited time he had.But by the time he strolled into Lord Pearson’s ball on Friday night, he had brought around nineteen of the men on his list.
He spotted one of his final targets, Bertram Newcombe, a portly man forty years his senior with whom he shared only a passing acquaintance.Much to Harrington’s surprise, Newcombe greeted him enthusiastically and dragged him off to Lord Pearson’s study for a glass of port.It turned out that Newcombe had been a military man himself and had served with some distinction in the War of American Independence.Although he purported to want to hear about Harrington’s recent exploits, he spent most of the conversation waxing nostalgic about his own days with the 59thRegiment of Foot.Harrington couldn’t help but notice that Newcombe refilled his own glass four times in the course of an hour.
Sensing an opening, Harrington leaned forward.“Have you perchance heard about the act that’s coming up for a vote tomorrow?The Pensions to Soldiers Act?”
“Pensions to S-soldiers?”Newcombe slurred.He waved his hand sloppily.“Haven’t heard a blessed thing about it.”
“It’s a worthy cause.You see…”
Newcombe didn’t take much convincing.“Of course, they must have pensions!Of course!”he repeated, belching.
Harrington had a feeling that, in spite of his professed support, the odds that Newcombe would remember this conversation tomorrow, much less drag himself down to the Palace of Westminster in time for the vote, were slim to none.“Perhaps I could save you the trouble of going down there and cast a vote for you as your surrogate?”Harrington suggested.
“Yes,” Newcombe said, reaching for the decanter.“That would be s-splendid.”
