Page 64 of Mentor to the Marquess
“Well, go on then,” Olivia said with a smile. “Mr. Dawson won’t wait all night. You’re planning on meeting him, are you not?”
Constance had the grace to blush before she scurried into the gardens.
It took a tremendous force of will for Olivia to stop herself from following.
Chapter 26
Thel clenched his clasped hands between his knees as he perched on the edge of a plush horsehair sofa in Olivia’s receiving room. The confrontation with Felix had gone as poorly as he’d expected, with the man refusing to admit he’d done anything wrong. Now Felix was in the process of finding a new residence, but instead of trying to repair his relationship with his brother and prevent his family from fracturing further, Thel was waiting for Olivia to see him.
When he’d arrived, her butler had bustled him inside and vanished. No other staff had entered since. He was beginning to wonder if they had left him here rather than tell him Olivia didn’t want to see him. That would explain the drawn curtains and cold fireplace. But he would not leave. As long as he stayed, there was a chance Olivia would forgive him.
If she refused to see him, he would leave, but it would take a long time for him to heal. His love for her had grown through his soul like the roots of a tree. Pruning her from his life would take a significant amount of time and effort.
He stared at the door, willing Olivia to walk through and see him. He would go down on his knees and speak the words from his heart. Even if it was hopeless, he had to try. He was staring so intently that he barely heard the other door opening and the soft gasp that followed. He imagined Olivia bending down before him, picking up his hand and pressing it to her cheek and—
“Thel.”
She stood in front of him, her hands clasped at her waist. “I was hoping you would come.”
“You were?” This was not going the way he had expected.
“I had just decided to come to you,” she said. Then she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Although shocked for a moment, he quickly tilted his mouth and brought his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She tasted like strawberries, and the sounds she made as he plundered her mouth drove him wild.
She put her hands on his thighs, shoved them wider apart, and then moved into the space. Her soft stomach pressed against his hardness and made him groan. He ached for her. Having finally experienced what he had long denied himself, he found he longed for more.
When his resistance had been sawed thin, and he was about to heft her in his arms and take her deeper into the house for a proper bed, he withdrew and cupped her face in his hands.
“I love you,” he said. “That is what I should have told you when I asked you to marry me. I want you to be my wife not only because we are compatible, but also because I cannot imagine a future without you in it. Marry me.”
The following few seconds of silence were some of the longest of his life. If she declined, he wasn’t sure there was anything else he could offer her. He had laid all of his cards on the table.
“Yes,” she said.
“Thank God,” he said. Then he threaded his hands into her hair and drew her in for a deep kiss.
He wanted to feel her spasm around him and then spend himself deep inside her. He wanted to bring her to heights of pleasure she had never experienced. He wanted to bridge the gulf between them and learn everything she knew.
Her bedroom was a good place to start. He’d started to lift her into his arms when a knock came at the door.
Olivia twisted out of his grasp. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips bruised and bright red, her hair falling out of her chignon, but with a few quick movements of her hands, it was as if nothing had happened.
“Come in,” she said.
Mrs. Quill entered, looking more disheveled than he had ever seen her.
“Mrs. Quill?” Olivia stepped forward. “What are you doing here?”
“It cannot be what I think it is,” Mrs. Quill said. She stumbled a step, looking pale and sweaty. “There must… There must be some other explanation!”
“Take a seat before you faint,” Olivia said as she guided the woman toward the couch.
Thel came to kneel in front of Mrs. Quill. Her eyes were so wide that he could see the whites all around her pupils. “What is it?”
“It’s your daughter, my lord,” Mrs. Quill said. “She’s vanished.”
###
The time between leaving Olivia’s home and arriving at his own passed for Thel like a blur. When they reached Constance’s room, the door was open.
