The Theft of a Dukedom (19 page)

An unfortunate choice of words!
Alicia thought,
but instead she answered carefully. ‘Your brothers have
both been here this morning. Robin stayed for half an
hour, but Charles was only here for a few minutes,
more’s the pity.’

‘No wonder you’re watching Richard.’ Kitty
murmured. ‘Well, Mrs. Green, I’ll say goodbye for this
trip. I might see you on our way back.’ She started to
stroll away. ‘That’ll give you some time to get a bodice
for your dress!’

George was supervising the harnessing of the
new horses and Kitty watched for a few minutes before
she went to the carriage.

‘Who is that woman?’ Richard asked
thoughtfully as Kitty climbed back in the coach.
‘That is Mrs. Green. She’s a whore of the first
order.’ She looked at him keenly. ‘Never be alone with
her and never let her talk you into her bed, for once
there, she will never let you out and probably break
your back.’
‘It sounds divine.’ Richard murmured as the
coach moved and he looked at Mrs. Green. He could see
the invitation in her eyes and she smiled in such a way
that he actually felt a spike of arousal in his groin.
Kitty saw it bulge in his tight britches. It was
almost impossible to hide and she felt a pang of
disappointment.
He’s the same as every other man.
She
thought sadly.
Show him some breast or thigh and he’ll
forget his own name. It’s pointless to remark upon it, so
forget it, Kitty.
She told herself harshly, trying to clamp
down on her own jealousy. Kitty carefully arranged the
skirt over her legs and folded her hands demurely in her
lap as she stared out of the opposite window.
He’ll
probably have a mistress by the end of the year.
She
continued in her mind.
So you should get used to it now,
then when it happens it won’t be such a shock. After all,
husbands don’t stay faithful for long and he’ll probably
let me have affairs of my own once I’ve produced an heir
for his estate.
Kitty was totally unaware that Richard could see
her face and the expressions that she couldn’t hide.
Damn!
He thought as he saw the first tear roll down her
cheek.
‘What’s the matter, my love?’ he asked softly
and watched her jump and dash the tear from her
cheek with her gloved fingers.
‘Nothing.’ She replied calmly. ‘I was just jolted
back to reality, that’s all.’
‘Reality?’ he asked confused.
‘Yes. Reality.’ She said firmly and looked
pointedly at his groin. ‘I was reminded that there is no
such thing as fidelity in our world and my childish
dreams of my husband being solely mine were
unrealistic.’ She sighed. ‘I’m sure your first mistress will
be beautiful, but please don’t get caught by somebody
like Alicia Green, she’s almost as big a whore as
Constance Beresford and if you want an heir, I need to
remain free of the pox!’
Richard sighed deeply. ‘Didn’t Millicent explain
about arousal?’ he asked calmly. When he got no
response he carried on. ‘When a man sees a pretty
woman like Mrs. Green, displaying her charms so
vividly, he cannot help the reaction of his body. It just
gets hard of its own accord.’ He smiled wanly.
‘You said it was all for me.’ She whispered
hoarsely as she was a hair’s breadth away from sobbing
her heart out.
Richard reached across the coach and pulled her
onto his lap, folding her into his arms and gently
pressing his lips to her temple. ‘It is all for you, my love.’
He sighed again. ‘I might like looking at her charms,
especially when they’re so delectably displayed, but I
wouldn’t sample her charms. Not now.’ He kissed her
temple again. ‘She’s too late.’ He looked down and
lifted Kitty’s chin. As her head rested against his upper
arm, he gently stroked his gloved fingers over her
cheek, removing the last trace of a tear. ‘No more tears.
I shall not be having a mistress. Quite frankly I doubt I
will ever need one, let alone want one.’ He skilfully
brushed his lips over hers, making her gasp and as her
lips opened he plundered her mouth mercilessly,
investigating every silky fraction. Desire streaked down
her body and turned the embers of the previous
evening’s passion into an inferno. Suddenly Richard
found his future bride to be alive in his arms again and
smiled inside at the thought of a lifetime of her passion
as her tongue forced its way into his mouth. He quickly
divested his gloves, expertly flicked open the buttons on
her britches and his arousal spiked as her body
convulsed when his fingers touched her intimately. Her
response was immediate and his fingers were coated
with her arousal as she parted her legs for him.
Kitty’s arms snaked up around his neck and
Richard removed his hand when she manoeuvred
herself about until she was sat astride his lap, without
taking her lips from his or her tongue from his mouth.
He let out a small groan as he felt her groin settle over
his throbbing manhood. He placed his hands on her face
and gently pushed her away from his lips. Hers were
rosy, from the roughness of his stubble. ‘What a pity
you aren’t wearing a dress.’ He murmured as he looked
at her glistening lips.
She smiled devilishly as she stood, trying to keep
her balance against the swaying of the coach and pulled
down the blinds on the carriage windows. In the dusky
light she dropped her britches and stepped out of them.
Richard gasped and frantically opened his own britches,
his erection springing free as he reached for her and
pulled her back onto his lap. With careful instruction he
got Kitty positioned in the right place.
‘Now take me in your hand and guide me to
where you want me.’ He whispered and groaned again
as her fingers gently touched his pulsing shaft. He
moaned as he felt her silky core slide over the head of
his penis and then she was engulfing him in her hot,
throbbing vagina. Holding her by the hips, he eased her
down on his manhood and then gently lifted her. Kitty
looked him in the eyes and swallowed with a gulp as she
gasped at the invasion. ‘You control this, my love. Just
move at the speed you want.’ He murmured as he lifted
her again. She settled her hands on the point of his
shoulders and lost herself in ecstasy. Richard slowly
opened her shirt and stroked his fingers over her
pearlescent, satiny skin. Her nipples were puckered with
arousal already and Richard just wanted to lick them, so
every time she was up, he licked her nipples with a
gentle swipe of his tongue and when she was down, he
rubbed his thumbs over them both.
It didn’t take Kitty long to find her own erotic
rhythm and instead of just sliding up and down, she
managed to swirl her hips, but she deliberately kept the
pace slow. It was so sublime that she didn’t want to
rush, because then the exquisite feeling in her body
would be over. She could feel every slick slide of his
penis as it moved in and out of her body and every
pulse of his member as it pressed against the mouth of
her womb. She felt her body start to tremble. ‘Oh! God!’
she murmured.
‘Would you like me to help?’ Richard asked
thickly and Kitty shook her head. ‘I don’t know if I can
last for much longer.’ He muttered, ‘you’re testing my
control.’ But he couldn’t bring himself to move
suddenly, even though all he wanted to do was throw
her onto the seat opposite and fuck her stupid, he was
also curious to see how this climax would compare to
the last one. It had taken his breath away the previous
evening, when they finally climaxed together. Never
before had his penis pulsed for so long after his orgasm
was finished. This time he’d been holding back his
ejaculation for quite a while as Kitty worked slowly on
her own orgasm.
‘Yes.’ She gasped suddenly. ‘Help me! Oh! God!
Help me.’ Richard stroked his hand down her belly,
forcing his fingers between them and almost as soon as
his fingertip slid over her clitoris her orgasm burst over
them both. Richard felt every ripple and contraction as
her vagina squeezed him in a vice and he forced himself
deeply inside her and let go of his restraint as she
milched him, his scalding semen hosing like a fountain
into her womb and he crushed his lips over her open
mouth to stop her scream from being heard outside the
confines of the carriage. He clutched her trembling body
to his chest as he plundered her mouth again and yet
again he could feel his manhood pulsing and throbbing,
even though his ejaculation was over.
Kitty was sated and lax in his arms as he slowly
removed his lips from hers. ‘Making...’ he cleared his
throat and tried again. ‘Making love to you is
tempestuous.’ He murmured.
‘Making love to you is wonderful.’ She replied
softly, slowly opening her eyes and looking at him. ‘I’m
going to enjoy it every night for as long as we both shall
live!’ she said firmly.
‘I don’t know about just at night,’ Richard
murmured as he tipped his head back against the rest.
‘I’ve yet to discover what it would be like to be in bed
with you in the dark and make love by the flames of the
fire.’
‘It’ll be...’ Kitty mumbled against his shirt.
‘Mmm! What did you say? Tempestuous?’
A chuckle rumbled in his chest as Kitty snuggled
her face against his pectoral muscle and sighed deeply.

Charles caught up with Robin just past
Biggleswade in Bedfordshire. He’d changed horses again
at Sandy and the landlord commented on Robin only
being a few minutes in front of him. He couldn’t account
for the ice cold expression in Lord Charles’s eyes.

‘Good! Give me your fastest horse.’
‘You’ll like this one, Milord. Bought it from a
Cavalry officer. He lost a leg at Talavera and couldn’t
ride anymore.’ Charles looked at the huge stallion that
was brought out for him. ‘It’s a fine charger.’
Unlike Hercules, this horse stood placidly waiting
and the only sign of life was the twitching of his ears as
a cock crowed. Charles carefully placed his hat back on
his head and cinched the strap tight.
Pity I don’t have a
sword or pistol.
He thought as he checked the knife in
his boot. He levered himself up into the saddle and the
horse barely acknowledge the added weight. Charles
sorted the reins in his hands, bade farewell to the
Innkeeper and clicked his tongue. Instantly the horse
walked forward as they turned out onto the road,
Charles clicked his tongue again and the horse broke
into a trot.
Charles smiled. He’d spent enough time with
Cavalry Officers to know how they trained their
chargers. A Cavalry Charge started at the trot, before
progressing on through a canter to the gallop. But that’s
not where it ended for a charger. As they were almost
upon the enemy, the rider would kick the horse into the
break neck pace of the Charge so that man and beast
would crash through the opposing forces line.
Charles eased the charger into an easy gallop,
not pushing too hard. Just like Hercules, he seemed to
eat the road and suddenly Charles could see a rider in
the distance. He didn’t alter his pace; he only dipped his
head when the rider turned to look over his shoulder.
He had to be sure it was Robin before he dragged him
off his horse and kicked the life out of him.
Charles was astonished as he felt the berserker
rage that only ever bothered him on the battlefield,
start to pulse the blood through his veins. This was what
had kept him alive through every skirmish from the
retreat to Corunna to the siege of Badajoz. He wrapped
his anger about him, like a comfortable old cloak and
prepared for battle. This would not be the first time
he’d faced an enemy on horseback, but it was the first
time he had a professionally trained charger between
his thighs as he did it! He knew he could hold the reins
in his teeth and the horse would follow instruction
through his feet, he only had to press his foot against
the horse’s flank and it would turn or barge into
whatever was beside him. He could still hear Lord Henry
Paget telling him how to make a charger work to best
advantage, as they shivered in the long retreat to
Corunna. He’d been a lowly twenty year old lieutenant,
the son of a Duke, awed in the presence of a
Lieutenant-General, the son of an Earl. ‘Controlling the
beastie is easy!’ Paget said firmly, ‘It’s staying in the
saddle long enough to kill some enemies that’s hard!’
He barked out a laugh. ‘Barge the horse, if it stumbles
turn back and run the rider through with your lance!’
Charles suddenly knew what to do and putting
his head down beside the Charger’s neck, kicked it into
the Charge. The horse seemed to bolt, and Charles hung
onto the reins for grim-death, trying to balance his feet
in the stirrups and not interfere with the horse’s
rhythm. He saw Robin look over his shoulder again, but
he obviously couldn’t recognise Charles, because he
showed no panic, but then the last time he’d probably
seen Charles, he’d been limping with a stick. Robin was
moving at a fast canter.
No wonder I’ve been able to
catch him.
He thought.
The stupid bastard has no idea
that we know it was him! He must be mad!
Was
Charles’s conclusion.
Robin eased his horse over to the left to allow
Charles enough space to pass him by and Charles tried
to time it perfectly so that as he pulled level with Robin,
his charger stepped sideways and barged him off the
road.
Robin’s untrained horse stumbled and fell into
the field beside the road. Robin was thrown from the
saddle to bounce away from the falling equine as she
went down in a flurry of hooves.
Charles hauled on the reins and pressed his left
foot into the horse’s flank. The horse skidded to a halt
and turned on a sixpence, before lurching into another
gallop. Charles steered it towards the man rolling on the
grass and as they got near, Charles launched himself out
of the saddle and landed in the centre of Robin’s back as
he tried to run away, bearing them both to the ground.
Suddenly Robin had a knife at his throat. He
caught the quicksilver flash of steel and froze. ‘My purse
is on my belt.’ He mumbled as Charles’s hand grabbed
his hair viciously, forced his head back and he felt the
cold touch of steel.
‘Why would I want the purse of a murderer?’
Charles whispered in that sibilant whisper. He felt his
brother jerk in shock.
‘Charles!’ he gasped and tried to struggle as
Charles moved the blade against his gullet.
‘Maybe I should just slit your throat right here.
After all you’re officially dead and buried in Jamaica!’
Robin theatrically shook his head. ‘No, why cheat the
hangman. It would be just as satisfying to watch you
wriggle on the end of a rope!’
Charles whipped him over onto his back and
crushed his brother to the ground with a knee in the
centre of his belly. Robin tried to struggle, but he was
shocked at the strength in his brother’s body and the
coldness in his eyes. In the pocket of his cloak, Charles
already had some lengths of leather and he deftly
trussed his elder sibling. ‘It’s remarkable the skills you
learn in a war.’ He murmured. ‘In retrospect, you should
have gone to Portugal, Robin. You would have seen
enough killing to even saturate your blood lust.’ He
walked over to Robin’s horse, checked its fetlocks and
then walked it about. Satisfied that the animal wasn’t
injured, he took it towards his captive and hauled Robin
to his feet and then, tapping the berserker rage, he put
his arm between Robin’s thighs and heaved him over
the saddle. He promptly tied his brother to the girth
strap and collected his own horse, which stood patiently
waiting. Charles heaved his aching body back into the
saddle, trying to ignore the throbbing in his thigh and
for a change he walked the horse back onto the road.
Robin became indignant and started blustering.
Charles didn’t even respond, but just led the horse
along slowly. He listened to the birds and found the
calm centre of his soul, which was always difficult after
action. If he didn’t calm his blood lust, he could quite
easily cut his brother’s throat and leave him for dead on
the side of the road. But he needed to find out about his
duchess.
‘Who did you marry?’ he asked coldly and Robin
stubbornly stayed quiet. ‘Who were you moaning at
Alicia Green about?’ Still nothing. ‘Kitty’s getting
married.’ He said conversationally. ‘And me.’ He smiled
softly at the memory of Louise naked on the rug in his
father’s study. ‘Why did you kill him?’ and with that
Charles lapsed into silence.
Robin hung over the saddle and thought back to
how it all started.