The Earl's Desire (29 page)

“
All right then, my love. Wait until tonight and see,” he whispered hotly into her ear. She giggled again.

Merrick dragged her not so forcefully along the street to the waiting curricle.

On the other side of the street, Mrs. Smith widened her eyes in shock at what she had just witnessed. Her heart was beating so furiously she thought she might die of shame.
How did it happen?
Suddenly, she felt her head spinning, and she was afraid. She was scared of what might happen. Nay, she couldn’t let it happen again. She had to tell her husband.

She picked up her skirts and rushed from the spot.

NINETEEN

Dinner that evening was delicious, although all the guests could talk about was the accident. Merrick tried his hardest to keep the talk away from that topic, but the women were persistent. He sighed as he stared unseeingly down the table. He supposed he hadn’t really tried very hard to keep the talk mild and on other topics. His mind was constantly wandering to the lovemaking he and Christine would do that night. Lord, just the very thought stirred his blood, and he felt his member harden with pleasure. He raised his drink, smiling to himself. He wondered what Christine would think when he made love to her on one of the large armchairs. She would think it outrageous, he was sure.

“
Huh, hmm! Do you have a joke you want to share, Huntingdon?” Lord Queensbury asked.

Merrick looked at the older man and shook his head. He looked down the table and saw that every pair of eyes was upon him.

“
It’s nothing,” he quickly told them. He saw Max raise his eyebrows at him. Merrick ignored his friend.

“
Perhaps you are thinking of the ball, my lord?” Lady Queensbury put in. “Mayhap, my lord, you have something special to announce that night?”

Merrick turned his attention to Lady Queensbury. He stared at her blond hair.

“
My lord!” Lady Queensbury exclaimed.

Merrick blinked.

“
You did not answer my question.”

It seems everyone was staring at him again, waiting for his answer. He cleared his throat and began to explain. “Well, my lady, I assume that you will have to wait until the evening of the ball to find that out; otherwise, it would not be a surprise.” He raised an eyebrow, challenging her.

Lady Queensbury smiled in return and nodded her head in agreement although she felt very irritated inside.

“
Well, perhaps we ladies should retire to the drawing room.” She stood up and walked toward the door. The other women followed.

Jane was looking about, frowning as they entered the drawing room. Anne and Lady Queensbury took the seat near the hearth. Amelia and Mrs. Vander took the sofa at the far end of the room, and Miss Green and Mrs. Anderson walked toward the pianoforte. Lady Maria Ferguson went to the window seat alone. Still standing at the door, Jane felt as though something was wrong. She went to her mother, who was sitting on the far side of the drawing room and seemed to be in deep thought. The other groups of women were talking quietly amongst themselves.

Twenty minutes later, the men joined them. Instantly, Anne rushed to Merrick, put her hands in his, and they both walked toward the hearth. They were talking quietly again. Jane looked up at the other men as they walked in. After Merrick, there was Sir Allan, then Lord Queensbury, who was in deep discussion about something with Mr. Wilson. Mr. Vander and his son, Alex, came next and then were followed by Mr. McNaught, and lastly Max, who didn’t seem to give a damn that nobody dared to converse with him.

Something was still missing though. All the men came into the room, scattering around in various seats. Then it hit her hard. Lord, her brother was not at dinner.

“
Mother!” Jane exclaimed loudly, causing the room to echo and Mrs. Wilson to jump. Every pair of eyes turned to them, except for Max, who looked as though he would rather be in bed. The others halted in midsentence, their mouths gaping and their eyebrows rising.

“
Don’t do such a thing, dear.” Mrs. Wilson frowned.

“
Oh, Mama, I’m so sorry, but something is indeed very wrong. Mama, Robert was not at dinner this evening,” she said.

“
Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him at all today, dear,” Mrs. Wilson said as she began to panic, her heavily made-up face turned pale, giving her the appearance of a ghost.

Mr. Wilson, deep in conversation with his brother, halted, staring at his wife and daughter in puzzlement. He excused himself and moved to them. “Why, whatever is wrong, my dear?” he asked casually.

“
Have you seen Robert today?” Mrs. Wilson asked.

“
No, in fact, I haven’t.” He frowned.

“
Oh, I’m so worried. Where do you think he could have gone? He could have gone home, but then he didn’t tell any of us about doing that.” Mrs. Wilson breathed, her hands fluttering to her face in distress.

Merrick turned to look at the Wilson family. He excused himself from the argument Amelia and Anne were having and approached the opposite side of the room. Once there, he noted they looked very alarmed.

“
Is something the matter, Mrs. Wilson?” he asked, looking from Jane to Mrs. Wilson.

“
My lord, Robert was not here for dinner this evening,” Mr. Wilson answered.

“
Then he must have told one of you of his absence,” Merrick interjected, frowning now too. Damnation, he should’ve paid more attention to his guests rather than fantasizing about making love to Christine.

“
No, my lord. You see, neither of us have seen Robert today. Not at all, in fact. Perhaps you might know where he is?” Mrs. Wilson said.

“
Well, everyone seems to be gathering over here. I say, what’s going on, eh, Huntingdon?” Lord Queensbury asked.

“
Have you seen Robert at all, Lord Queensbury?” Merrick asked, wondering what the hell was going on in his estate.

“
Now that you’ve mentioned it, I haven’t at all seen Robert today; how very odd,” Lord Queensbury said.

“
Perhaps if we asked everyone then.” Queensbury turned from the group and announced, “Has anyone seen Robert since this morning?”

He received a shaking of heads from everyone as his answer.

“
Is… is Robert missing?” Amelia said. Her thoughts at that moment were very similar to everyone’s in the room.

“
Tomorrow I will tell one of my footmen to go and fetch the magistrate. There is something very odd going on here. Perhaps a magistrate would solve the mystery,” Merrick said.

“
Aye, I think that would be very wise, my lord,” Mrs. Anderson said, nodding her head.

“
That’s right, Merrick, perhaps a magistrate coming tomorrow would be the best solution,” Allan said, getting involved for the first time. “Perhaps I shall go into the town tomorrow. And Mr. Wilson might want to come with me as well. You will want to report Robert’s disappearance,” he added. Mr. Wilson nodded.

“
I do believe that when the magistrate is here, every one of us might be questioned,” Mrs. McNaught said from the far side of the room.

“
Indeed, my dear,” Mr. McNaught agreed.

They talked about the situation for another hour before the main subject of conversation was dropped and talk turned to other matters. In another few hours everyone retired for the evening. It was an earlier night than usual. Merrick was walking up the stairs when Max called out to him.

“
Well, my friend, I see that you are very eager to go to bed. What is there to attract you?” He laughed.

“
Damn you, Max, you knew?” Merrick frowned at his friend.

“
Aye,” the man replied sourly.

“
About her?” Merrick asked.

“
You mean that ward of yours?” Max said.

Merrick frowned and raked his hand through his dark hair. “Aye, her,” he muttered.

“
Yes, I knew, perhaps even before you knew. But then it wasn’t I that she deceived, and it wasn’t I that she cared so much about.”

“
Why didn’t you tell me?” Merrick asked.

“
What? And spoil the fun for you? I don’t think so. I assume—”

“
Ho, shut up, Max. Let me return to my room,” Merrick muttered and turned.

“
Merrick?” Max said softly.

Merrick turned to look at his friend. He raised his brow in question.

“
I’m glad you did what you did.”

“
Thanks, friend,” Merrick said.

“
She is special, that girl. Look after her well. She cares for you, Merrick. You are a lucky man.”

Merrick nodded once at his friend and resumed climbing the stairs.

In the master bedroom, Christine was sitting on the big settee near the window when she heard Merrick come in. She turned to see him looking very tired, though the Lord knew he was still as handsome as the devil himself to her. His broad shoulders were slumped. Her heart went out to him.

“
What’s wrong, Merrick?” she asked, got up, and walked to him. He gave her a warm smile.

“
Nothing, sweetheart,” he said, scooped her in his arms, and kissed her lips.

Once he removed his lips, she looked at him. “You look very tired, Merrick. Is being host to your guests tiring you very much after the accident?”

“
No, love, it was just that—” He raked his hands through his dark hair in frustration.

“
Merrick, just what?” she asked in concern.

“
Nothing for you to worry about, my sweet,” he told her, turned away, and walked to the huge armchair.

Her eyes followed him.

Merrick made himself comfortable. He stared at her with his eyelids half-closed, giving her the impression of him dozing off to sleep.

She gazed at him, thinking that he was very tired, and thus she did not want to disturb him. She stood there, looking at his handsome form, drinking in his handsome features. God, how she loved him. Nothing, she vowed, would take him away from her, for if he were to be gone, then her life would be meaningless.

Merrick stared at her standing there in the golden glow of the candlelight with his eyelids half-closed. She looked like a goddess, with her brown curls in disarray about her face and her small frame posed delicately. He looked at her body, knowing that she thought him half-asleep; he took full advantage, feasting his eyes on her body.

He gazed down at her wearing his nightshirt that was overly large for her small frame. He knew she was wearing nothing underneath, and the thought stirred his senses mercilessly.

Merrick slowly reached out his hand to her in midair, wanting her to come to him, needing her to be near him, wanting his member to be inside her. He could not bear to be far away from her, for she was his life.

He saw her hesitate. Still, he reached his hand out in midair, inviting her to come to him.

Christine stared at his hand luring her to him. Slowly she moved to him. She placed her small hand into his large, strong one. He grasped her hand lightly and pulled her to him. Once she was beside him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and made her sit on his lap. She rested her head on his massive chest.

“
Tell me, my love, what color is your ball gown?” he asked.

“
Hmm, it is gold and pink silk. It is very smooth and shiny. But Merrick, it must be very expensive.”

“
Nothing is too expensive for you, my love. Now tell me what other materials and styles you’ve chosen for your other gowns,” he said as he moved ever so lightly so that she would not notice, and he started to unbutton the nightshirt.

“
Well, let me see now. There were so many materials, and they were all so beautiful that I did have a very hard time making my decision. Mrs. West helped me choose the materials and styles. You know I don’t know anything about fashion.” She giggled and turned her face to look at him.