The Temptation of Lady Serena (19 page)

Catherine glanced at them all. “Well, if no one minds, I would like to go home for a few days before all the excitement begins. I’ve had a letter from my steward and there are some problems I must address. I’m not far, if you need me.”

Assured they would be fine on their own, Catherine left the table to make her travel arrangements.

Robert glanced at Serena. “Have you noticed a change in the staff? They seem to have closed ranks around us. I heard a tweenie tell someone to-day after the service that she didn’t comment on anything that happened at the Hall. By the other girl’s expression, I gather that has not always been the case.”

Serena glanced up at the ceiling. “
I
would be amazed if the staff is not expecting an
interesting event
in nine months, considering you locked the door and set a guard.”

“Robert.” Freddy laughed. “When did you do that?”

He hadn’t thought of what anyone would think. Robert gave them a sheepish smile. “When I asked Serena to marry me. I’d been trying to do it for two days, and we were constantly being interrupted. I became a little desperate, I’m afraid.”

“As your chaperone, I should be appalled. As your aunt, I find it very funny. Edward is coming for me soon. I shall see you this evening, my dears.” Freddy rose from the table and left.

Robert gazed at Serena. “I haven’t shown you the wood or the folly yet.”

“No, do you think we’ll be left alone?”

“Yes, Sunday is a true day of rest here. No one will come for us unless it’s a crisis.”

They walked hand in hand through the woodland path to the folly, which was in the style of an old cottage. Robert opened the door for Serena to enter.

A fireplace stood at the end of the room, opposite the door. The inside was clean and well furnished with a table and four stools, a couple of comfortable chairs, and a chaise. Large windows looked out over the lake, with a view to the front of the Hall.

Serena walked around and halted at the windows. “Robert, how lovely. Is someone using this place?”

“I had Norry fix it up for you. There might come a time when you want a little peace and quiet, away from everyone. Until then . . .”

Robert came to a stop behind Serena and put his arms around her. He loved the way she reacted when he touched her. A little pause, an intake of breath. Playing with the curls at the back of her neck made her pulse race. Robert relished her innocence and looked forward to teaching her how much pleasure she could find in his arms, in his bed.

Serena leaned back against him and sighed. Moving his hands in concert, he caressed the sensitive area under her breasts. Her nipples tightened in response. She arched as he gently kneaded the two perfect mounds. When Serena’s legs gave way and she started to slide down, Robert, chuckling, picked her up and lowered them both onto the chaise. Loosening her laces and stays, he gently pushed them down.

Shuddering breaths escaped her as he stroked. Serena gave him so much satisfaction with her ingenuous, uninhibited responses. Robert’s chest swelled with the knowledge she was finally his. Drawing her against him, he fluttered kisses against her jaw and neck. When her lips opened on a soft moan, he possessed her mouth as he intended to possess her body, running his tongue over her teeth, exploring until she responded in kind. Robert cared so much about the pleasure he could give her. This was what love was.

Serena stroked his back and chest, greedily feeling the muscles under his shirt. He moaned. Lying on his side, Robert pulled her closer, once more molding her bottom to his body. The ridge of his erection rode against her stomach. One hard thigh moved to settle between her legs.

She was on fire and frissons of pleasure raced through her. How did he do that? Robert held her to their kiss until she had no choice but to breathe through him. The laces on the back of her gown and stays loosened. Before she understood what had happened, her breasts were bare against his jacket, her bodice around her waist.

Serena gasped as Robert pressed light kisses down her neck and over her breasts. Her nipples ached with need. His tongue licked one nipple then took it into his warm mouth. She made a thin keening noise and pressed into him. More, she needed more.

One moment Robert was kissing her then the next his mouth and tongue were like butterflies teasing her neck and breasts. His hard leg pressed against the apex of her thighs made her ache for something, but what? When he took her nipple into his mouth, waves of intense pleasure shot through her. The tremor took her by surprise. Her whole body shook with a wonderful relief, and she sank against him. He pulled up a warm blanket and held Serena until she awoke.

“Robert.”

“What, my love?”

“What was that . . . that trembling I felt?”

“That, my sweet, was an orgasm.”

Serena was silent for a moment. “What is an orgasm?”

Robert shifted her and met her eyes with a frown. “Has no one ever discussed anything sexual with you?”

“No. I know about breeding, of course. I mean I had to. We had cattle and horses and the like, but they didn’t appear to me to be enjoying it overmuch. What I felt was definitely enjoyable.”

“An orgasm is what happens when a gentleman properly pleasures a lady. I promise you’ll have many more.”

He settled her back against him, closer than before. He’d had no idea she was such an innocent. All the women he’d been with had been experienced, but Serena was a blank sheet, a woman he could mold into his perfect lover and mate. Robert pressed his lips tenderly against her temple and smiled.

T
hey remained wrapped in each other’s arms until Serena heard a carriage.

She nudged him. “My love, someone is here.”

He stood and looked out the window. “I don’t recognize the carriage. Turn around, I’ll help you dress.”

Robert quickly tied her stays and gown and straightened her hair. They walked hurriedly to the house through the back garden, holding hands.

Finster, his habitual aloofness fraying, met them as they entered the morning room. “My lord, my lady, Mr. Stedman is here. Another child has been taken.”

Robert tightened his grip on her. Glancing back over her shoulder, Serena called, “Finster, where have you put him?”

“In the front parlor, my lady.”

Not that she needed to ask as Robert bellowed, “John!”

John stepped out of a room near the front hall.

“Tell me what’s happened,” Robert said.

“Mrs. Brown came to me not more than twenty minutes ago, and told me her younger son came running in saying some large man took his brother. Hugo is about ten years old.”

“It sounds as if our friend is still here,” Robert growled. “Finster, find everyone you can. We need to begin searching.”

“John,” Serena asked, “where was he kidnapped?”

“On the stream bank, near the cottages at the end of town. Near where the first lad was taken.”

Serena pressed her lips together. “That is Hall property, is it not?”

John nodded.

Robert would have to show his dependants he could protect them. “Robert, you take the curricle and I’ll drive the gig. I’ll be fine. My groom shall come with me. We need to have as many people searching as possible, and, if we find Hugo, Will can help me bring the boy back.”

“Serena, instead of your groom, take Pitchley. He knows the land. I’ll ride Démon. It’ll be faster, and I can get into more places.”

She nodded and turned to the stables. Robert grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. “Be careful, my love.” He kissed her and let her go.

Serena blushed.

John smiled and turned his head.

Serena reached the stables just as the gig was being brought out. Will approached. “Pitchley shall accompany me,” she told her groom. “He knows the area better. Right now that’s what we need. You go with someone local who can show you around. The more people we have looking, the better chance we’ll have of finding the child.”

Will had protected her since she was little and so now he narrowed his eyes, but finally nodded. “Yes, my lady.”

Serena squeezed his arm. “Thank you, Will.”

“Up with you, my lady.” Pitchley handed her into the carriage.

She glanced at Robert’s groom. “Hugo went missing near the stream, by the cottages at the end of the town. Tell me where we should go first.”

“There is a short cut back o’ the town. We’ll go that way.”

She gave the horses their office.

Pitchley directed her over to a lane on the other side of the stream. She dropped the horses to a walk while he searched through the trees and underbrush. Suddenly, a boy darted onto the path, being chased by a burly man.

“You come back here, you scamp,” the man shouted, “or I’ll have the law on you.”

“Hugo,” Serena called, “this way.”

The boy stopped and stared at her.

“Pitchley, quickly, help him.”

The groom jumped down to intercept the kidnapper, now within an arm’s length of the child. Serena moved the carriage forward and struck the man across the face with her whip. He bellowed and fell back, giving Pitchley time to grab the lad’s thin arm and toss him into the gig. The blackguard caught the side of the carriage, and, her heart in her throat, she whipped up the horses. Finally, he fell behind.

After they left the lane and Pitchley directed her toward town, she spoke to the boy. “Hugo, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am, but how’d you know?”

“Your mother went to the rector, who came to the Hall to tell us. There are a lot of people looking for you.”

“Lor’, ma’am. Lookin’ for me?”

Pitchley cuffed the lad lightly. “That’s
my lady,
to you, young scallywag,”

“Lor’, my lady,” Hugo obediently repeated.

The groom grinned. “You’ll do.”

“Hugo, do you know where that man was taking you?” Serena asked.

“Aye, my lady. Had me tied up at some sort o’ camp.”

“Could you find it again?”

“We can go there now, if you want.”

“No, we’ll send some of the men.”

Pitchley directed Serena to turn down yet another lane. In short order, they arrived at the rectory. Hugo’s mother stood with Lora. Hugo scrambled down from the gig, ran to his mother, and hugged her.

“Pitchley, you may go find his lordship now. I’ll be fine by myself.”

“No, my lady. His lordship would be reet upset if I left you.”

“Lora, Hugo knows where the man’s camp is. We need to send a message to Robert or someone to go after the kidnapper.”

“John is here with some of the others,” Lora said. “The rectory has become the search headquarters.”

“Show me, please.” Pitchley helped Serena down.

She turned to the child. “Hugo, come with me.”

The boy followed in Serena’s wake.

Lora knocked on the door to her husband’s office and walked in. “Lady Serena is here. She found the lad.”

“Lady Serena!” John exclaimed. “Thank the Lord.”

“Hugo saw the villain’s camp. He may have left it already, but these men here can search for the site.”

She turned to walk out, but when she didn’t hear them following, she glanced back and fixed them with a look.

They glimpsed at each other and John, but none of the town’s men would meet her gaze.

Did they not want to follow a woman? That would have to change. She raised a haughty brow. “Gentlemen,
now,
if you please! This blackguard is kidnapping our children. If you are
afraid
”—she let the word hang in the air—“I will go myself, and you may explain yourselves to his lordship.”

They muttered, stirring.

“Which is it to be?” She turned and walked out the door, hesitant footsteps followed. Taking Hugo and Pitchley with her in the gig, Serena led the men to the wood.

“You will know the blackguard by a recent slash across his right cheek.”

Minutes later, Robert rode up to Serena, where she waited.

“What’s happened?” he asked.

“We found Hugo. He’d escaped from the kidnapper and he’s now leading some of the townsmen to the outlaw’s camp.”

Robert drew his brows together. “Were the men searching near here?”

“No, I found a group of men in the rectory.”

An enigmatic smile played on Robert’s lips. “How did you convince them to join the search?”

“I told them they must help and if they were afraid, I would go myself, and they could explain that to you. Why are you grinning?”

“My love, they were explaining to John why
they
could not look for the boy.”

“Oh . . . oh, my.” Serena laughed.

“You should’a seen her, my lord.” Pitchley said proudly. “It was the prettiest piece o’ work I ever seen. Her ladyship led them here and pointed them to the woods. Told ’em to look for a man with his cheek laid open. Her ladyship did that herself.”

“Maybe I’d better go and find out how they’re doing,” Robert said. “I’ll meet you back at the rectory. Pitchley, stay with her.”

“I’ll stay reet here with her ladyship, my lord.” The groom told Robert where they had rescued the boy.

Serena turned the gig, drove back to the rectory, and assured Hugo’s mother that his lordship was with the other men. Once inside with a cup of tea, Serena yielded to the entreaties of the other ladies to tell her tale.

Over an hour later, Robert returned without the culprit. Though disappointed, Serena wasn’t surprised. The man had probably made himself scarce after they’d saved Hugo.

Hugo, whom Robert had brought with him, was in high ropes. The boy had ridden on his lordship’s horse which was slap up to the echo.

Only Lora, John, and Hugo’s mother remained in the rectory when Robert returned. “The scoundrel wasn’t there, but he did leave some items behind.” Robert turned to Serena. “We don’t know where the villain has gone but he’ll be dangerous. He’ll not soon forget you whipped him.”

“No, I daresay he won’t.” Serena sighed. “If your game warden takes a look at the camp, he should be able to tell us something more.”

“I like the way your mind works.” Robert grinned. “I’ve already had my game warden out there. He’s the reason we found what we did.”

“Did you find any trace of the other boy, Silly’s son?”

“No, which means they’re collecting the children and taking them off.”

This was the worst possible news. “Silly will be heartbroken.”

“We’ll stop them.” Robert gazed at Serena. “Can you doubt it after our success to-day? Come. Let’s go home, my love.”

Robert lightly caressed her cheek and she smiled. “Yes, Robert, let’s go home.”

As she rode beside him, Serena realized she really was a part of Haythrope and the Hall, and she was very glad she was staying.

 

A large man with a lacerated cheek sat at a table tucked in the back of a hedge tavern, a few miles from Haythrope, nursing an ale. He looked up as another man sat down. The newcomer, obviously a gentleman, was dressed in a many-caped drab coat and wore a hat with a large brim pulled low, shadowing his face.

The large man shifted in his seat and tried not to meet the gentleman’s eyes.

“I told you, did I not,” he said, clipping his words, “to leave Haythrope when the cry was sent up after you grabbed the first boy?”

“Aye, but I saw the other one and thought he’d be easy pickings,” the man said, trying to defend himself.

“You are not paid to think. It is, obviously, a skill you’ve not developed. Leave Haythrope and its environs. The people there do not take kindly to their children being taken.”

“What about that bitch that done this?” He pointed to his face.

The gentleman’s voice turned to ice. “You’ll certainly not approach that
lady
. If any harm were to come to her, I could not ensure your safety. Indeed, I would not even try. You brought this on yourself. Live with it and move on to a different area.”

The man watched the gentleman go and said in an under voice, as if the gentleman could still hear, “The trouble with bloody toffs is they got no loyalty. Never want to get their precious hands dirty. But I’ll get my revenge.”

 

The next day, Catherine handed two full sheets of paper to Serena. “Here is my list. Have you taken care of your father’s side of the family?”

Serena took the foolscap and was relieved to find the roll of names was not as long as she’d thought. “Not yet. I’ll include it when we send the letter to Robert’s secretary.”

Catherine embraced Serena. “I’ll see you in a few days, my dear.”

Lord Malfrey pulled up to fetch Freddy as she was waving to Catherine.

Robert turned to Serena. “No one is around to play gooseberry.” He sighed, his smile wicked. “What shall we do?”

She laughed, playing along. “If we remain here, we will be at everyone’s beck and call.”

“You’re right.” Robert told the footman that if anyone asked, they were going for a walk and pulled her around the side of the house. “Folly?”

“Yes.” Serena had to run to keep up with him. “Robert, you are walking too quickly.”

Rather than slowing down as she’d wished, he threw her over his shoulder and strode off.

“Robert!”
Serena tried to protest, but began to giggle. She was still laughing when, moments later, he placed her carefully down on the chaise, her laces and stays already loose. How had he done that so quickly and without her feeling a thing? He kissed the side of her mouth. When she opened her lips to speak, he captured her mouth, teasing her to answer. His taste was musky and sweet and tempted her to want more.

Flames leapt at his touch and the feelings she had before, the ones only his kisses drew forth, threatened to overwhelm her. She wanted more, wanted him to touch her as he had before, and she wanted to feel the explosion that showed her the stars.

Holding to the kiss, Serena shook loose her already unbuttoned sleeves, allowing her bodice to drop to her waist as he claimed her swollen mounds. His thumbs grazed them lightly. Serena moved her hands to his shoulders, then around his neck.

Robert tilted his head, possessing her mouth even more fully. Lost in the kiss, she was barely aware of his hand until he stroked the inside of her leg. Through the thin muslin of her skirt, his touch elicited a tingling that followed his caress.

She shivered and held him tighter. Each touch set her skin alight. When his hand covered her mons, her breath became ragged. Robert held her to the kiss as he played. A throbbing need filled her.

She was on fire. He deepened their kiss until she pressed against him. Slowly, he moved one hand over her stomach to her hips, thighs, and legs and then down to the hem of her gown. He lifted it, moving his hand caressingly up her leg until he reached her garter. Serena moaned when he touched her inner thigh. She had no idea it was so sensitive. When he reached her curls, Serena felt a dampness. He stroked slowly and gently, and she thought there could be no better feeling in the world, until he inserted one long finger. A second finger joined the first, and he thrust into her. Serena’s hips arched against him, in what must have been an age-old signal for wanting more.

He moved his lips and tongue lightly down over her throat and breasts, until he took one nipple fully into his mouth and suckled. Serena threw her head back and almost didn’t recognize the high, breathy cry she made as wave upon wave of pleasure allowed her to touch the sun.