Louisa closed her eyes, trying not to moan at the pleasure of it. In some things, he understood her only too well.
‘Mmm, yes. That is most certainly a reaction.’
With her eyes closed, Louisa could no longer tell precisely what he was doing to her. All her skin seemed to be burning, as if he was stroking every inch of her body at the same time. That was impossible, and yet…
‘And now, my sweet,’ he said softly, in a voice so thick with desire that it reached into her very heart, ‘you may do with me what you will.’
‘For a man who cannot understand women, you manage remarkably well, I think.’
Max paused in the act of arranging his cravat and turned to gaze down at her. In the aftermath of their lovemaking, she looked particularly beautiful, her skin still slightly flushed, her dark hair pooled on the rumpled pillows. He was tempted to rip off his clothes and return to her.
‘No, Max.’ She shook her head and sat up, pulling the covers up to her chin. She could read him much too well. ‘You know you must go. But I may expect you to come back tonight?’
‘No,’ he snapped.
‘Max—?’
‘Forgive me, Louisa, that was uncalled for. I am not angry at you. I have…other things on my mind. I have to go out of town today. On…family business. I do not expect it to be pleasant.’
She did not ask for any further explanation. She never pried. She was truly a woman in a thousand and he was lucky to have found her. He smiled affectionately at her and returned to the matter of his cravat.
He heard her give a long, deep sigh. What on earth—?
‘Max, there is something I must say to you, my dear. I ask you to hear me out.’
He turned back to her. He had never heard her use quite that tone of voice before. And she was suddenly very pale, almost as white as the sheet she held against her neck.
‘I know you will not say this, so I must. Max, my dear… When you marry—and I know it must be soon—you must give me up. You are a man of honour. You should not betray your wife with a woman like me.’ She was twisting the sheet in her fingers as she spoke.
He felt an enormous surge of fury as the full import of her words dawned on him. His Louisa was worth a dozen simpering Society wives! She gave him friendship, and laughter, and the shared delight of their joining. Now, for perhaps the first time in their long relationship, she was giving him advice—to leave her.
‘My wife, whoever she may be, will know better than to interfere in what I choose to do. If she marries me to gain a title—and what other reason could there be?—she would be well advised to learn to content herself with that, and to concentrate on giving me the heir I need. She will do as I bid her, Louisa, and that includes turning a blind eye to my relationship with you.’ He managed to stop the rush of angry words. She was staring down at the coverlet now. ‘Unless you wish to be rid of me?’
‘Oh, Max, you know very well that I do not. But I understand you better than you think. Perhaps better than you understand yourself. The marriage you have described is a stony-hearted business alliance. If you go that route, you will end up hating your wife, and hating yourself, too. You need to marry where there is love…or affection, at least.’
He shook his head wonderingly. In the course of their long liaison, she had never presumed. On his rare visits to England, on leave from the Peninsula, she had always been warm and welcoming. She had treated him as if he were her only lover, though he had known full well that he was not. Without a protector, she would have starved.
And when he had returned for good and was able to afford—just—to set her up for himself alone, she had not changed. She took his money, but she was generous of herself. She was a diamond. He would never give her up.
‘Marriage is a matter of business, Louisa. You know that as well as I do. You are right that I shall have to take a wife. And since my earldom is threadbare, she must be richly dowered. I do not doubt I shall find a rich father who is willing to sell me his daughter in exchange for a title. Believe me, I plan to drive a hard bargain in return for assuming the shackles. I must have control of her fortune; and she must be biddable. I do not insist on any great degree of beauty, though it would not go amiss if—’
He stopped short. Louisa was gazing up at him with an expression of profound distaste on her lovely face.
‘Confound it, I sound like a coxcomb, do I not? Whoever she is, I shall treat her well, I promise you. There have been quite enough downtrodden women in my family—’ a vivid picture of poor Mary Rosevale came immediately to mind ‘—and I have no intention of forcing another into that sorry state. She will have money, and influence, and, God willing, children at her skirts.’
‘But she will not have your love.’
He laughed harshly. ‘Come, Louisa, do you really think me capable of that? Is any man of my station? I never saw a love match, neither in my own family nor in all my time in the army. The poets have much to answer for. Love, if it exists at all, comes between a man and his mistress.’ He lifted her hand from the ruined sheet and raised it to his lips. Her eyes widened in surprise at such an unusual display of affection.
A sharp knock interrupted them. The door did not open, however. Louisa’s servants were too well trained to intrude.
‘What is it?’ called Louisa.
‘His lordship’s carriage is at the door, ma’am.’
Max settled Louisa’s hand gently on the coverlet and looked towards the door. ‘Tell Ramsey to walk the horses. I will be down presently.’
‘Aye, m’lord.’
‘I must go, my dear. I will…think on what you have said.’
‘You will consider it for the space of a second or two, you mean, and then discard it.’
He shook his head, smiling wryly.
‘What is more, you have had no breakfast.’
Trust Louisa to know exactly when to change an unwelcome subject. She was a companion that any man would envy. ‘I shall take something when we stop to bait the horses.’ He bent to put a hand on her cheek and drop a tiny kiss on her lips. ‘And, in any case,’ he went on, straightening and turning for the door, ‘what need have I of food? I am already very well satisfied this morning.’
She was blushing deliciously. It was a good memory to take with him on this unwelcome journey.
‘Goodbye, my dear. I shall return as soon as I may.’
He ran lightly down the stairs to the tiny hallway where the servant was waiting with his heavy driving coat and his hat and gloves. At this time of year, he could not complete the journey in the day. There was too little daylight and the roads were always bad. Curse the woman! With her background, she could not help but be a thorn in his flesh, but why did she have to choose the middle of winter to inflict her scheming ways on him? He shook his head impatiently. He had no alternative. It would be a long, cold journey but he must confront her now, while he had the advantage of surprise.
The servant opened the door. Outside, the streets were white with frost. The horses’ breath rose in great clouds in the half-hearted winter light.
By the time he reached Rosevale Abbey—if he ever did reach it in such weather—he would have devised some very choice words for his unknown cousin. Very choice indeed.
Chapter Three
‘H ave you seen my thimble, Angel? I seem to have mislaid it and I cannot possibly go to London without my canvas work.’
Angel sighed. Aunt Charlotte had been