“You certainly may,” Daniel said. Having risen, he offered Laura a respectful bow. Rebecca understood him. Had it not been for Laura, the two of them might not have managed to escape Grover’s ball and she might very well have been duchess now instead. He turned his attention on Rebecca. “I will leave the two of you to talk while I see to it that the tub gets filled. I’ll call you when your bath is ready, Becky.”
“You’re happy,” Laura said as soon as she and Rebecca were alone. “I can see it on your face and in your eyes.”
Rebecca smiled. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately—especially whenever Daniel was around. “I am, Laura—very happy indeed.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Laura said as Rebecca gestured toward the chair that Daniel had just vacated, then resumed her own. “His Grace was livid, you know, the Griftons too, though they managed to explain away your absence from the ball by telling everyone you’d taken ill and retired for the evening.”
“It must have been a very difficult situation for you,” Rebecca said, regretting everything she’d put her trusty maid through recently—the lies she’d asked Laura to tell on her behalf.
Laura shrugged, the corner of her mouth edging upward to form a slight smile. “It was worth it, my lady. The Griftons were suspicious of my involvement even though they couldn’t prove anything. I kept expecting them to sack me, but instead they just cut my wages and demoted me to scullery maid.”
“Oh dear heavens—they’re perfectly beastly! I’m so sorry, Laura!”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry for,” Laura told her gently. “But I will admit that I was relieved to receive a summons from your husband. I’m here now, so you mustn’t distress yourself about the past, though I would like you to know that I’d gladly do it all again if I had to.”
“Oh, Laura! You truly are a gem, do you know that?” Rebecca could almost cry at the thought of what this dear woman had suffered by staying on in the Grifton household.
Laura blushed. “You’re too kind, my lady.” Straightening her back, she took a deep breath. “Now, I do believe that I have duties to attend to. Your husband mentioned a bath, and it has come to my notice that the staff here is quite sparse. I ought to help the others.”
Rebecca chuckled. “If you insist, though you’re free to get an early night’s rest if you’d rather do that. You can start work tomorrow.”
“No time better than the present,” Laura said, rising to her feet and bobbing a curtsy, “and I wouldn’t want the others to think me lazy. Besides, you’ll need someone to attend to you, and there’s nobody better suited for that than I, since I’ve done it many times before.”
Rebecca bit back another chuckle as she followed Laura to the door. She suspected that Daniel had hoped to attend to her and wondered how he would go about saying that to Laura. Keen for a bit of fun, Rebecca decided that she wouldn’t be the one to broach the issue—much better to let them work that out together. For now, however, she had no intention of doing as Daniel had asked and waiting for him to call her. If everyone else was struggling to prepare her bath, then she was going to do her part instead of just sitting about like some pampered princess. She said as much when Daniel met her in the parlor doorway. He’d discarded his jacket and cravat and had rolled up his shirtsleeves, the very portrait of an able man as he stood there with an empty bucket in his hand. There was something so elemental about it that spoke to Rebecca’s feminine side, heating her insides until they felt like mush. “Too many cooks spoil the broth,” he told her lightly as he held her gaze.
“How fortunate then that I am not a picky eater. I shall help Molly fetch some towels and some soap.”
Half an hour later, the tub was finally full, with steam rising off the surface of the water and heating the air with moisture that left the windows looking foggy. A screen had been erected in an attempt to contain the heat in the vicinity of the bath to diminish the risk of Rebecca’s catching a chill, the fire burning in the grate on the other side of the tub keeping the air balmy.
“Thank you,” Daniel said, addressing Molly and Laura, who stood ready to offer Rebecca further assistance. “That will be all for the rest of the evening.”
Both maids looked momentarily perplexed by this announcement.
“Thank you, sir, but I do believe our mistress will be in need of further assistance,” Laura said, finding her tongue and sounding as if she suspected Daniel must have overlooked this matter. “It will be difficult for her to manage on her own.”
“Thank you, Laura,” Daniel said, a slight frown the only indication of any discomfort on his part. “I am well aware of that, which is why I shall be happy to take on that particular responsibility myself.”
There was a second of hushed silence and then the sound of shuffling feet as both Laura and Molly hurried toward the door, bobbing hasty curtsies as they went, the implication of Daniel’s words turning both their cheeks scarlet. Daniel grinned at Rebecca as the door closed and he turned the key in the lock. “I do believe they think I’m up to no good.”
“And are you?” Rebecca asked daringly. She felt a sudden prickle of warmth against the back of her arms. Daniel’s eyes grew hot, and Rebecca found herself holding her breath as he came toward her with slow, deliberate steps.
“I must admit that I’ve been looking forward to picking up where we left off at that last inn we stayed at.” Bending his head, he kissed the side of her neck. “Seems like an eternity ago.”
“And yet it was only yesterday,” Rebecca gasped, her hands grasping at his shoulders while a buzz of energy shot straight to her core. What a fool she’d been to think that she would be able to limit their coupling, that she would be able to deny him once she got with child when she so desperately needed him.
He didn’t respond but began undressing her instead, his slow progress building a tension within her that made her yearn for his touch. But as she’d come to expect, he didn’t touch her where she wanted him to the most, his hands teasing along her flesh, coming close to those aching parts of her that craved his attention without quite doing so.
“You’re so unbelievably beautiful,” he whispered against the back of her neck, and she believed him—so much so that it almost brought tears to her eyes. What this wonderful man had done for her in only a few days was nothing short of miraculous. She had hated the way she looked for so long, her dark attributes a constant reminder of the way other girls had teased her as a child. Those taunts had scarred her, preventing her from forming close friendships with others, but since she’d met Daniel, he’d gradually made her realize that there was nothing wrong with being different—that being unique was a trait to be preferred. Lately, he had shown her with his heated gazes, caresses and words of sincerity that to him, she was the most stunning woman in the world, and that was all that mattered.
He slid her silk chemise up over her bottom, bunching it around her waist before slowly dragging it over her head, the soft fabric grazing against her sensitized n**ples as he did so, hardening them into two tight peaks. Still holding her flimsy garment in his hand, he ran it along the length of her front while he licked the lobe of her ear.
Rebecca sighed with expectant pleasure, trembling a little when his hand swept over her pelvis. Perhaps she should just forget about the bath and beg him to carry her upstairs to bed instead.
“Delightfully responsive too,” he murmured as he swept her into his arms and carried her toward the tub, the warm water lapping at her skin as he lowered her into it.
Leaning back, Rebecca closed her eyes and tried to relax. She’d grown accustomed to being nak*d with her husband, but knowing that he was aware of what she desired still made her shy on occasion. This was especially true now, for while he remained dressed, her body had been put on display, the evidence of her want visible in the pebbling of her n**ples. God, how she craved his touch. She expelled a deep breath, felt her heart drum restlessly in her chest, and then she felt him—a gentle caress of fingertips trailing down her arm, a kiss against her cheek as his day-old stubble scraped her skin, and the slippery lather of soap across her shoulder.
Helpless against his attention, Rebecca arched upward, a gasp escaping her throat as she shed the warm water in favor of the cooler air. A hand rubbed her breast, tweaking the nipple there before moving on to the other side. “I must clean you well,” Daniel murmured against her ear while liquid heat flooded her from head to toe. “Now, if you’ll please raise one leg so I may attend to it.”
She did as he asked, despairing when his hands stopped their ascent at her knees. “Stand up please so I can wash the rest of you.” Opening her eyes, she complied, shivering a little as cool air brushed against her skin once more. Standing perfectly still, she watched as Daniel ran the soap up over her thighs and around to her bottom, then up the length of her back. Setting the soap aside, he then used his hands to produce a thick lather. Not once did he make an attempt to quench the need that had grown to the point of bursting within her. Instead, he asked her to sit back down so the soap could be washed off. Truly, the man was most vexing.
“Here, let me help you dress,” he said, holding up a silk dressing gown for her to slip into after drying her off with a towel. “Why don’t you go upstairs and slip into bed? I’ll just take a quick bath myself before joining you.” He kissed her deeply and then added, “I suspect you’re eager to receive the reward that I plan on giving you for allowing me to bathe you.”
Eager? Desperate was more like it.
Pressing his lips against hers once more, Daniel hugged her against him, kissing her until she felt herself grow giddy. He then carefully released her and smiled with scandalous intent. “Go on, Becky,” he said with a nod toward the door. “I won’t be long.”
Startled awake, Rebecca sat up abruptly and stared through the murky darkness of her bedroom, realizing with a groan that she must have fallen asleep while waiting for Daniel, exhausted after the long day she’d had. Relaxing a little, she looked down, expecting to find him asleep beside her only to discover that his side of the bed was empty. Disappointment gripped her with startling force. She’d longed for him earlier but had denied them both their pleasure by succumbing to sleep, and now that she wanted nothing more than to snuggle up close to him, he wasn’t there.
This of course presented another question. If he wasn’t in bed with her, then where on earth was he? In his study perhaps? Rebecca considered going downstairs to check. If he was having difficulty sleeping, he might welcome her company. She pushed the coverlet aside just as the door opened and Daniel appeared, his body silhouetted in the doorway for a brief moment before he closed it behind him.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Rebecca asked, her voice a little slurry.
He paused, then tossed his jacket on a nearby chair and started undoing his cravat. “No. After finding you so peacefully asleep earlier, I must have dozed off myself for a couple of hours before waking up again. I went downstairs to read for a bit so I wouldn’t disturb you.”