CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Velvet closed the door to her grandfather’s bedchamber and started down the stairs. On the landing, she passed the thin graying butler coming up.

“Good morning, Snead, I’m looking for the earl. Have you perhaps chanced to see him?”

“Good morning, my lady. As a matter of fact I haven’t seen him since he broke his fast.”

“He isn’t in his bedchamber, and I didn’t see him in the study. I thought perhaps he might have gone out.”

“I don’t believe so, my lady. The carriage has not been summoned and both footmen are still here. He must be in the garden.”

Velvet nodded. Her grandfather rarely went out and never without a footman to accompany him. His memory was far from reliable and he usually preferred reading or chess to spending time out of doors. She checked the garden, but he wasn’t there. She checked the carriage house. Jason’s borrowed coach was gone, but the Haversham carriage remained. She spoke to the groom and the coachy, but neither of them had seen the earl.

Beginning to worry, Velvet returned to the house and went downstairs to the kitchen. She spoke to the cook and several of the serving maids, but again found no trace of the earl.

“You still haven’t found him, my lady?” Now even Snead looked worried.

“No, I—”

Just then the chambermaid called down from the upstairs rail. “’E was with yer ’usband, milady. I seen ’em talkin’ together this mornin’.”

Velvet smiled, felt unweighted with relief. “Thank you, Velma.” She turned to Snead. “I’m sure that’s where he is. He has undoubtedly gone off with Lord Hawkins. Jason said he had some errands to run. I imagine he took the earl with him and simply forgot to mention it before he left.”

The butler smiled. “I’m sure that is it. Shall I order you some breakfast, my lady?”

She sighed. “I suppose I might as well. Unless Grandfather tires, Jason won’t be back until late afternoon.” It was the first time he had left her since the attack, and at that he hadn’t been happy about it.

“I’ve hired two extra men to watch the house,” he’d said. “I’ll leave Ludington inside and the others on guard front and rear.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

He frowned. “Celia wasn’t fine. Perhaps I should take you with me, keep an eye on you myself.”

Velvet set a hand on her hip. “I should like nothing more than your company, my lord, but I refuse to let your brother frighten me in my own home.”

Jason sighed with resignation. “Perhaps you’re right. Besides, you are probably safer here. On top of which, I’ve a great deal to do and I’ll be finished a lot faster if I’m not distracted.” He gave her a wicked smile. “And you, my dear Duchess, can be very distracting.”

She hadn’t seen him again before he left, but as the afternoon wore on and she completed her long list of household duties, she almost wished she had gone with him.

At four o’clock, Jason came home, striding into the study with his usual purposeful strides, drawing her appreciative gaze to his tall, masculine figure.

“I see you survived without me,” he said, but relief lightened the blue of his eyes.

“As did you, my lord. I presume my grandfather is also none the worse for wear.”

“Your grandfather? How would I know how your grandfather has fared?”

The blood drained from her face. “I thought he was with you.”

“Well, he isn’t. I wouldn’t have taken him along without telling you. Are you saying the earl is not here?”

Velvet moved unsteadily toward him. “H-he’s been gone since this morning. Oh, Jason, where on earth could he be?”

“It’ll be getting dark very soon. We had better get busy and find him. We’ll start with the men on guard outside. Hopefully one of them saw him leave.”

Velvet chewed her lip. “I should have thought of that.”

“You would have if you hadn’t believed he was with me.”

Probably true. At any rate, the important thing was to find out where her grandfather had gone and bring him back where he belonged.

Jason took her hand. “Come on, love. We’ll find him. I promise.”

Velvet shoved down her worry and let him lead her toward the front door of the town house. As he predicted, one of the guards out in front had seen the old man leave.

“He came out right after you left, milord. Set off toward the square, he did. He were whistlin’. Looked like he knew where he was goin’.”

Velvet gripped Jason’s arm. “Even if he did know, he should have been home by now. Oh, Jason, we’ve got to find him!”

“We will, love. I’ve already summoned the carriage.”

Thank God. With Jason in charge, some of her terror receded. At least it did until she remembered the man who had followed her to the tavern the last time she had left the house. Oh, dear heavens, Grandfather!

“You don’t … you don’t think anyone would hurt him?” They were riding along in the carriage, searching the most likely paths he would have taken.

“You mean like one of my brother’s henchmen? No. I don’t see any reason to think he might be in that sort of danger.”

Velvet chewed her lip. “Perhaps your brother doesn’t need a reason. Or perhaps he has had Grandfather abducted in order to get to me.”

“Or to me. We still don’t know for sure he hasn’t discovered I’m alive. I’d say it’s possible my brother is involved, but until we exhaust all the other possibilities, I don’t think we should become obsessed by the notion. The earl may have simply wandered away.”

“He wouldn’t do that. He never goes off by himself.”

Jason gently squeezed her hand. “Memory loss like the earl’s is common among people his age. I’m afraid it will continue to worsen. We can’t know for certain what the earl might do.”

But Velvet wasn’t consoled. For the next four hours, they searched without stopping, throughout Mayfair into Piccadily, and on to St. James’s, asking if anyone had seen him, searching for any sort of clue.

A man in Pall Mall thought he had seen the aging earl early that morning, and another man thought he had seen someone who fit the earl’s description late in the afternoon. The search continued until both of them were exhausted and Velvet overwrought with worry and fear. At eleven o’clock, against her wishes, Jason ordered their return to the town house.

By midnight, Velvet was nearly inconsolable.

“Dear God, where could he be?” She paced the floor of the drawing room, her eyes fixed on the darkness outside the window.

“Unfortunately, he could be anywhere. He probably had money. Perhaps when it got dark, he had sense enough to let some sort of room.”

“And what if he has been injured? What if even now he is lying in some gutter, beaten and hurting, wondering why no one has come for him? Or worse than that, what if he has been abducted? What if the man who attacked me—”

“Stop it!” Jason gripped her arms and brought her up short. “Stop it right now. We don’t know if anything remotely like that has occurred. Until we know exactly what has happened, I’m not going to let you stand here and torture yourself.”

Velvet’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m so frightened. I have to find him, Jason—I have to. My family is dead. My mother and father are gone.” She started crying and he eased her into his arms. “He’s all I have, Jason. He’s all I have.”

“We’ll find him, Duchess. Please don’t cry. I promised you, remember? As soon as it’s light, we’ll start looking for him again. Lucien will come, and I’ll hire men to help us.”

Tears soaked his white lawn shirt but Velvet couldn’t stop crying. Her fingers curled into the lapels on his coat. “He’s always been so good to me. The earl is the only real family I’ve ever had. Mama died when I was young. My father was always gone. If it hadn’t been for the earl, I don’t know what I would have done.”

He tilted her chin up, brushed a finger along her jaw. “You would have endured. You would have been strong, just as you’ve always been.”

Velvet shook her head. “I don’t think so. The earl taught me that. He gave me the courage to face the world head-on. When my father died and we discovered he had lost all of our money, Grandfather was the one who convinced me I could save us.” She looked up at him and tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’ll be gone, Jason. If the earl is gone, too, I’ll have no one. I’m not nearly as strong as you think.”

He pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. “You’ll have me, Velvet. Even if I’m not here, you can always count on me to help you. If you ever need anything, all you’ll have to do is ask.”

Velvet stared up at him. “I need someone to love me, Jason. Will you be able to give me that?”

Something flashed in his eyes, something painful and elusive. Jason made no reply, only stood there and watched her, a dozen unreadable emotions reflected in his face.

As the silence stretched between them, Velvet eased herself away. “Tomorrow will be a very long day,” she said on a shaky breath. “I suppose we should try—”

He stood up before she could finish. “Yes … I suppose we should.” Sliding an arm possessively around her waist, he urged her out of the drawing room and up the stairs. When they reached her bedchamber door, instead of leaving, he followed her in. Wordlessly, he turned her around and began to unfasten her gown.

“What … are you doing?”

He finished the last of the buttons and started on the laces of her corset. “I’m taking you to bed. I’m your husband, at least for the present. I can love you for as long as I’m here. I’ll try to be careful. If there are consequences we’ll deal with them later.”

Heat washed through her. Her nipples puckered and tightened. “Do you want this, too?”

His eyes came to rest on her mouth. “I’m a man, Velvet. I’ve wanted this from the moment I met you.”

But she thought that if she hadn’t lost her composure, hadn’t seemed so utterly lost, he wouldn’t be here with her now. “What about Grandfather?”

The line of his mouth seemed to soften. “The man you’ve described wouldn’t want you to worry. If you’re in bed with me, you’ll be too busy to think about it.” Giving her no time to argue, he pulled the tabs on her panniers and tugged the stiff whalebone cages down over her hips. He drew off her chemise, set her on the bed and took off her shoes and stockings. Pulling the pins from her hair, he spread the heavy curls around her shoulders.

“Your turn. I think it’s time you learned how to undress a man.”

The thought was delicious, but the chance to escape her worries, to enjoy the pleasure he promised, warred with her conscience. Grandfather might be in danger. Still, there was nothing they could do until the morrow and she needed the solace Jason’s lean hard body could provide.

Velvet smiled. “I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of learning something new.” Moving closer, she eased his tailcoat off his thick-muscled shoulders, then began to work the buttons on his silver brocade waistcoat. It wasn’t that easy. Not when his hands were skimming over her breasts, when his palms were squeezing her bottom, when his mouth was kissing the line of her jaw.

“I can’t … I can’t do this unless you stand still,” she said breathlessly, her hands trembling with the hot sensations coursing through her.

Hungry blues eyes bored into her. “All right, Duchess, as you wish.” Standing with his legs slightly braced apart, he let her remove his waistcoat and cravat, pull the studs out of his shirt, and strip the fabric off his shoulders. Brawny muscle gleamed in the candlelight, darkened by a thatch of curly brown chest hair. She ran her hands over his small flat nipples and watched as they firmed into buds. Everywhere she touched, hard muscle bunched and tightened.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he said, a gruff note tingeing his voice. “But I believe it is time you removed my boots.”

She glanced up at him, saw the amusement—and the hunger—in the taut lines of his face. He sat down on the footstool, stretching his long legs out in front of him, and Velvet removed his tall black Hessians, then drew his stockings down over his muscled calves, enjoying the long lean sinews that connected ankle to knee.

Jason stood up when she had finished. “The breeches, Duchess. I believe those are next.”

Velvet wet her lips. Her hands shook as she began to work the buttons at the front of his pants, his heavy arousal straining toward her touch. At his quick intake of breath, it occurred to her the power she held, and a wicked smile rose to her lips. Cupping the thick bulge of his sex, she gently squeezed and began to stroke him, felt the stiffness increase beneath her hand.

Jason’s sensuous mouth curved faintly. “So you like being in charge, do you? I never doubted that you would.” Jason caught her wrist. “But I think your eagerness might better be put to use somewhere else.”

Velvet stood by as he stripped off the balance of his clothes then naked, carried her over to the bed. Several deep, feverish kisses followed, his tongue plunging in, his hands caressing her breasts, making her nipples tighten.

“Aye, Duchess,” he teased between small soft kisses. “I thought you would enjoy being in command.”

“No, I—”

But her words fell away as his big hands encircled her waist and he lifted her astride him. His fingers found her softness. He stroked her there, and heat rolled through her. She was wet and hot, aching for him when he lifted her again, bringing her down in one smooth motion, impaling her on his shaft.

“Aye, ’tis well past the time you took charge. Tonight you will ride me for a change.”

Spots of color rose in her cheeks. Velvet moistened her lips, slightly swollen from his kisses. Her body felt full and overly warm. Tentatively she moved, and the heat where they joined spiraled upward. She raised herself, then took him full length again, felt the heat pulsing, raised herself, felt the heat, and began a feverish rhythm.

“Sweet Jesu…” Jason groaned as she plunged herself down on him again and again, rocking sensuously, riding him in earnest now, enjoying the heat and the blossoming pleasure.

Enjoying the power she held.

Her dark auburn hair formed a curtain around them, blocking all save the glow of the candle. A harsh sound came from Jason’s throat and she realized with satisfaction he was fighting for control.

“Good Christ,” he muttered, reaching for her, gripping her bottom and driving himself upward to meet each of her impaling movements. A hot, pervading sweetness began to build. Velvet’s head fell back, her hair teasing his groin, and release shattered through her. Beneath her, Jason stiffed, reaching his own release. He dragged her off him at the last possible moment, easing her down at his side, stroking a shaky hand through her hair.

They slept for a while, awakened and made love again, gently this time, making the most of their passion.

Though worry for her grandfather still hovered in the back of her mind, Velvet fell into a deep, drugging sleep. It was the rest he had promised to give her, the sleep she so desperately needed. Jason had kept his word.

*   *   *

Though Velvet lay quietly sleeping, Jason could not. He was worried about the earl. For whatever reason his brother might concoct, the old man might well be in danger. As soon as it was light, he would gather his forces and set out to find him. He prayed the old man wasn’t another victim of his brother’s greedy bloodlust.

Jason shifted beneath the sheet, then eased Velvet once more against his side. Her flame-dark hair spilled over his shoulder and several silky tendrils wrapped around his hand. He watched the rise and fall of her breathing and thought that he had never derived this kind of pleasure from a woman.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have broken his pledge not to take her. But he would never forget the tears in her eyes when she had spoken of the earl. He’s all I have, Jason. He had always thought of Velvet as unbreakable. As strong and resilient as a sapling in the wind. Now he realized no matter how strong she was, she was still a woman. Subject to a woman’s fears, a woman’s wants and needs.

What she needed was a man, someone to look after her. As long as he was her husband, he would have to be that man.

The decision was made. Their parting would be harder for it, but they would each survive, and in time they would forget each other.

And she would be better off without him.

That thought disturbed him in a way it hadn’t before. He thought of Velvet’s stubborness, her headstrong nature, her penchant for getting into trouble. The wrong man would want to break her. Might even abuse her. Avery would have. A weak man wouldn’t understand her, wouldn’t realize that for all her strength there were times she couldn’t cope, times she needed the help and guidance of a husband she could love and respect.

It occurred to him that he was the sort of man who could handle her. She was strong, but so was he. Against all reason, she believed in him and that translated into respect. And he was beginning to understand her needs, just as she seemed to understand his. For a fleeting instant, the thought crossed his mind that he might take her with him when he returned to his plantation.

The notion was so sweet, so full of yearning a painful ache rose inside him.

Jason pushed the notion away. Even in the darkness, he could see the folly of his thinking. She respected him now because she didn’t know the truth. Once she did, whatever she felt for him would disintegrate like ashes in the wind. Only bitter distaste would remain.

And sooner or later, there would be children. After what he had done, he could scarcely look upon a child without being riddled with guilt. How could he possibly have one of his own?

The fact was he had no choice but to leave her. No matter what he wanted, no matter what she believed she wanted, it would never work out between them.

Even if he was stupid enough to fall in love.

Velvet made a soft sound in her sleep, snuggled closer against him, and he brushed her lips with a tender kiss. Emotion and longing rose in his chest, and Jason felt the sharp sting of despair as he realized with sudden, absolute clarity, that falling in love with her was exactly what he had done.