A Gentleman’s Vow Page 14

  Chapter 14

  Gideon stepped from the shadows and halted Jessica’s flight into the gardens. “I thought I told you not to come outside alone again.”

  Jessica rushed to him, flung herself against him and hugged him tightly. “I was hoping to see you alone before I went to bed. I’m so glad you’re here. I want to apologize for earlier. I always expect you to have the answers, but clearly you haven’t.”

  “I’m sorry, too. I do care for you, more than I ever expected I could.” He quickly took a step back, determined to do what he’d intended. Starting a courtship with a woman you’ve known since she was months old was complicated, and he wanted to do this right. “You’ve seen me now, so please go back to your room. You’ll see me tomorrow. His grace invited Rafferty and I to stay a week or two, you know. I’ll be here until your unwanted suitor is long gone.”

  “I am not going to go back to my room.” Jessica laughed softly. “Come along, Giddy. I’m going to see the stars from the top of your hill tonight. Nothing will stop me.”

  She moved off without him. Save restraining her, which wasn’t a very gentlemanly thing to do, he really had no power to stop her exploring the grounds unchaperoned in the dead of night. He’d made a vow when she was a child to protect her, and another earlier today, and a gentleman never went back on his word. He couldn’t allow her to come to harm, so he would follow at a distance.

  Jessica gave a little devilish laugh—and then suddenly sprinted off into the trees.

  Minx! She hadn’t tried to elude him in years. He shook his head and gave chase, rushing through the woods with no care for himself. Having her disappear and reappear ahead of him was maddening, and he caught up to her as quickly as he could.

  He grabbed her hand just before they reached the top of the hill and stopped her mad flight. He spun her about in a circle. Jessica shrieked but then fell against him, appearing happy to be caught.

  Her hands slid up his chest in a sensual caress that wasn’t in any way proper. “You are still faster than I am, sir.”

  “Years of chasing after you have kept me fit.” He warned her, “Do not run off again.”

  “I won’t.”

  She sounded contrite, but he was reasonably sure she was enjoying herself immensely as she clung to him. No doubt about it, she’d planned this escape. She’d been counting on him to follow her.

  “Come and view the heavens with me.” She strolled away a bit, and when she went to sit on the grassy slope, he quickly offered his coat for her to rest upon.

  Jessica removed his spectacles from the pocket before they could be broken and perched them on top of her head. Gideon snatched them back and held them to keep his hands occupied. “What are we doing here, Jessica?”

  “Being together,” she murmured, settling to the ground. “I could never see the stars in London.”

  She stretched her hand toward him, fingers beckoning as she did the other day, and then folded her arms behind her head and lay down on her back. Gideon closed his eyes, but the vision in white silk and lace was burned into his brain. She remained silent, obviously finding nothing wrong with her request.

  He opened his eyes as he moved toward her. He sat a safe distance away—if there ever was such a thing around her now.

  She turned to face him, and he swore her eyes were laughing at him. “I don’t bite.”

  Gideon might. He dropped his gaze to her breasts, nearly spilling from the bodice of the elegant gown she wore tonight. This was almost torture. His traitorous prick thickened at the notion of feasting on her body. He swore under his breath and lifted one knee to hide his unfortunate condition from her.

  “We sat closer than this at supper,” she protested.

  “There were chaperones. You can hear and see me well enough from over here.” He frowned. “Tell me what you want from me, Jessica.”

  “I would have thought that obvious by now.”

  “Say it.”

  “Very well. I want you, Mr. Whitfield.”

  His head spun for several minutes. Quite a definitive answer. Not one he could misinterpret. “Well, all right then.”

  She placed one hand on the ground and leaned toward him. “Do you fear for your virtue around me now?”

  He shook his head, fighting the pull of attraction toward her. If she knew the manor of thoughts her words put in his head, Jessica might fear for her virtue, too. “Not exactly.”

  “It is nice, isn’t it, being so far away from everyone? We can speak our minds and not worry about being overheard.” She rolled onto her side, using her hand to support her head, and looked right at him. “I never imagined you would blush, but you are, aren’t you?”

  He gave her a stern look. “You should be blushing, too, young lady. Running off alone with me in the middle of the night again. Your family would be scandalized.”

  “Fanny wouldn’t be. She’d love me no matter the scandal I caused.”

  “Mrs. Warner would never let you forget this if she found out,” he warned her. Mrs. Warner might shoot him first and force a marriage while he bled out at her feet.

  She laughed then and rolled onto her back. “Lie down next to me, Giddy. No one else will know about tonight unless you say something.”

  She had no idea the thoughts she put in his head with her innocent remark. He couldn’t control Jessica, but he longed to put her in her place. Beneath him would do, and since she seemed to want that, too…

  And then he had a very hard time erasing that image from his head.

  Despite the temptation, Gideon moved a bit closer. “I’ll know.”

  “Did I tell you I’ve had the talk seven times? From different people. I swear my family and friends are more obsessed with my love life than they should be.”

  He blinked. That was quite a lot. No wonder she seemed different. Bolder than ever. “Seven times?”

  “Mother, Rebecca, Fanny, and even Mrs. Hawthorne and Natalia have had their say, although Natalia hardly speaks from experience. My last governess spouted a lot of nonsense mother said should be ignored.”

  “You said there were seven. Who else?”

  “Samuel.”

  “Dear God, I hate to think what advice your wayward brother might give to you.”

  She smiled quickly. “He said that only I would know who I wanted, and that I shouldn’t be bashful about saying so when I had decided. He said the gentleman would appreciate a woman who didn’t play games.”

  Well, that explained a lot about the changes he’d noticed in Jessica. She was certainly more direct in telling him what she wanted. “I’m not sure whether to thank Samuel or strangle him.”

  “I’ve been thinking of the gift I gave you for your birthday, too. Samuel was astonished that I was so particular about what I had made, so perhaps I’ve been thinking about what you need longer than I ever realized.”

  He glanced her way. “What do you imagine I need?”

  “Hmm.” Shivers raced over his skin at the sound. “Oh, look, a shooting star!”

  “Where?”

  When she pointed, he leaned closer to share her view, but there wasn’t another following the first.

  After a moment of waiting without another sighting, he realized she’d just tricked him into moving closer. “There was no star, was there?”

  Jessica chuckled. “Only the one tonight.”

  When he inhaled, his lungs filled with the sweet, familiar scent Jessica always wore—lavender from his own garden. He looked her way reluctantly, only to be disconcerted that she was looking right back at him—and she was very close.

  Moonlight illuminated her face, making her seem ethereal and delicate and utterly spellbinding. An angel. He had known this woman as a child, but he was having a difficult time remembering the little girl in the face of her bright beauty.

  Her fingers rose to touch the tip of his chin, and she lightly brushed against the grain of his night beard. “I like that you want to protect my reputation, Gideon, but I don’t ever need
protection from you.”

  “Yes, you do,” he confessed, rolling away from her, onto his back.

  She laughed. “Would you kiss me again, please?”

  He concentrated on the stars wheeling in the heavens above them as he considered her request. Not a good idea given the early state of their courtship. They shouldn’t even be together now. “We should go to bed.”

  Jessica spluttered.

  “I didn’t mean together,” he rushed to promise. “I meant to our own beds. Separately. You on your side of the manor, me on mine.”

  “I’m not going to bed till I’ve had my kiss for today, and I don’t mean the kind you gave me the first time.” Jessica rolled onto her stomach and crawled closer. “Kiss me like you did last night, just to be sure I remembered everything you’ve taught me.”

  Gideon couldn’t breathe as she crawled even closer and positioned herself nearly on top of him. Her knees where both at his side but he could easily imagine pulling her down until she straddled him. Gideon was trapped by his own lustful thoughts and felt his control of the situation slipping from his grasp yet again. He could barely think beyond the yearning to fulfill her request to kiss her.

  Her fingers moved to his cheek, and then her fingers threaded into his hair at his temple. She was becoming very seductive in the way she touched him, and against his better judgment, if he’d ever had any, he lifted his head. He pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss, intending it to be as short as the last one.

  Their kiss lasted a little longer than all their kisses combined, and he tried to slide away from the pressure of her body against his. “There.”

  “Goodness,” she whispered, flopping onto his chest, pinning him down and rested her chin on the back of her own hand. “Your kisses just get better and better, don’t they?”

  “If you say so.”

  “Indeed I do say. Can we kiss again?”

  He wrapped his hands about her upper arms, intending to push her off him if necessary. She had no idea what she was saying or how her words tortured him. “Why? Wasn’t that enough to satisfy your curiosity?”

  “Not nearly enough.” Her expression grew serious. “Who knows when you might grant me another.”

  Gideon let out a tortured groan and looked past her head and up to the heavens. “Why me?”

  She patted his chest. “Should I have let Lord James catch me instead?”

  He looked into her face quickly. “Not if you’d like him to remain alive.”

  “You don’t approve of him?”

  “He’s not the man for you.”

  “I agree.” Jessica snuggled a little closer. “He’s not you.”

  “I am going to regret this one day,” he warned.

  “But not tonight,” she promised. “Tonight, I want you to be proud of me.”

  His expression softened. “I’ve always been proud of you, Jess.”

  “This is different.”

  “It is.”

  She looked away briefly. “Natalia says that a man might stick his tongue in my mouth while kissing me. Is it horrible?”

  He lay still beneath her, and worried about all those talks she’d endured. Too much information or wrong information must be confusing. He lifted his hand to Jessica’s head and gently turned her face to his. “Not when done right.”

  “Show me,” she begged, and slowly lowered her lips to his.

  Their kiss began as the others had, but with Jessica hovering above him, tension quickly built between them. After due consideration, Gideon gently rolled her onto her side. He rose above her, his intention being to control their kisses. He gently cupped her face, slid his fingers along her jaw, to her throat, and behind her shoulder.

  Jessica did nothing to stop him touching her body whatsoever. She eagerly embraced what they were doing together, and that worried him. Her arms wound around his neck and slowly pulled him down toward her.

  Remembering her new request, he rolled her to her back, keeping his body at an angle to hers, and then ran his tongue along the seam of her lips. Jessica gasped.

  Gideon took advantage of her surprise and teased his tongue into her mouth.

  Jessica inhaled sharply, and he felt her wriggle in response. He had to place the heel of his hand firmly on the apple of her shoulder to prevent her from rolling into him. Things could quickly get out of control between them if he did not exert his will at least a little. This was supposed to be a slow courtship after all, but Jessica was much too eager. She clearly thought she could wrap him around her dainty fingers. He was not so far gone as to not see the risks of giving her what she wanted when she wanted it.

  A soft whimper escaped her when he pulled back. “That is enough,” he said, gasping slightly.

  Jessica collapsed back to the ground, gasping as well. “I think so, too.”

  At least she could be sensible. Kissing led to bedding, and it was much too soon for that. He might need time to undo some of the poor advice she’s been given by well-meaning family and friends.

  He burst to his feet, taking a few steps away as he pretended to brush himself off while discreetly adjusting his arousal. Kissing Jessica was exciting but it was far too soon to reveal the lust she stirred in him. “Get up, and we’ll sneak back inside.”

  “Thank you, Giddy,” she whispered. After a moment, she stood, lifting his coat from the ground. She shook it out then lifted the garment to her chest. She hugged it a few moments and then held it out to him.

  Gideon quickly donned the coat and, after a moment, decided he might just pass inspection in the shadowed hallways of Stapleton Manor so long as he did not linger. He found his glasses in the grass, amazed they’d avoided being broken as they’d rolled around, and slipped them into his coat pocket again. “Let’s go.”

  She rushed to his side and linked her arm with his. “How did I do?”

  “As always, you are a quick study,” Gideon promised as they began the long walk back to the manor at a slower pace. Gideon would have a lot to become used to in the coming weeks. “You won’t see me until late tomorrow.”

  “Why?”

  “Your father wishes for a gentleman’s morning, shooting and such.”

  “Then I will see you for luncheon,” she insisted. “I’ll expect you to sit by me. We’re having mushroom soup.”

  His heart lightened at their little joke on the world. Mushrooms were a boring subject. Hardly anyone knew about them, which meant they could say whatever they liked—utter nonsense mostly—and no one ever challenged their exaggerations. “Lord James is not fond of eating them.”

  “Such a shame, and that is why I insisted a mushroom course be added to every meal during his stay. We’re using some of the spices I found in London tomorrow, too. I’ll need your opinion on whether you’d like to eat any of them again. I want to tell Mrs. Harrow your reaction.”

  “I see.” He put his fingers to her face, lightly touching the softness of her jaw. “That is kind of you.”

  “I like your servants,” she whispered—and then froze. “Someone is standing ahead of us.”

  He pushed Jessica behind him and moved them into the shadow of a wall. They pressed close together, hoping not to be noticed. When the figure eventually withdrew to the house, Gideon could breathe easy again. “That was too close for comfort.”

  It was only then he discovered Jessica had wrapped her arms around his waist and had buried her face in his cravat. She seemed quite adept at cuddling up to him, he’d noticed. He brought his hand up her arm and slipped it behind her head. Her face rose to his, and she kissed him one last time.

  Fast courtship or slow, he had a feeling being proper around Jessica wasn’t going to be easy.

  He jerked back. Their near miss might become a real scandal if he forgot himself. “No more moonlight meetings,” he whispered. “Please.”

  “But—”

  He cupped her face in his palm. “I’ll find you tomorrow, I promise.”

  “Good.” Her lips found his again,
and then she was gone, darting back toward the house with nary a sound to give her away.

  Chapter 15

  “Can someone dim that infernal racket?” Lord Rafferty complained, holding his head as he squinted across Gideon’s fields.

  Gideon handed over the flask of brandy. “Medicine.”

  Rafferty took one look, and then snatched up the flask and took a deep swallow. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Whose idea was this?”

  “Yours.” He held his gun over his arm, barrel pointed down at the ground. Shots rang out ahead of them. Stapleton and Lord James were making one last sweep of the area before calling it a day.

  They’d had unfortunate luck on Stapleton’s estate, so they had moved to Gideon’s property at his suggestion.

  Gideon was biding his time now, waiting until all guns had been fired and the servants had taken them and their game back to the manor before he broached the need for a private conversation with Stapleton.

  “A friend would not have pointed that out.” Rafferty pinched the bridge of his nose and then squinted up at the sky. “Are you really going to talk to him today?”

  “Yes, or else he’ll find out the worst way that his daughter is running around the estate at night.”

  “With you.”

  “With me.” He jerked his head up as Stapleton handed off his gun to the estate manager. “Remember your promise to distract Newfield and the son.”

  “The things I do in the name of friendship.” Rafferty stood and came to his side. “Did you hear him as we crossed the brook? He’s such a poor opinion of women that even I was offended. Keep them at home, their minds fixed on running a household, and advised me to never leave a serious news sheet like The Times lying about for my daughter to read.”

  Gideon gritted his teeth. “Makes me wonder if his first wife expired of excessive boredom.”

  “I had the same thought. Newfield is careful to hide his opinions around the women, though. Lord James does, too. I wonder what Mrs. Warner would do to Newfield if she knew what he’d said of her sex.”