Chapter Ten

Aaron stood as Lady Crystal came into the breakfast room. With her bright green eyes and delightful blond curls styled around her face, she looked the picture of sweetness. Yet, there was a purposefulness to her stride, and the fierce directness of her gaze demonstrated her strong nature.

The delicately worked hairstyle of a bun with braids wrapped around it and lovely white dress would fool any man into thinking she was a sweet and biddable, genteel lady, not the intense and tough woman capable of finishing off her prey with a dirk.

His heart beat faster the moment she entered the room. It was as if she’d put a spell on him. He wanted nothing more than to take her as a lover and awaken the sensuality he suspected lay under her cultivated, no-nonsense exterior.

“Good morning, Lady Crystal. Please join me. It seems we have a rare moment alone this morning. The duchess has had a tray taken to her room, and William is sitting with our father.”

The footman pulled out her chair, and she took a seat across from Aaron at the small breakfast table the family used for informal occasions. He poured her a cup of freshly brewed tea. Sunshine streamed into the room despite the crispness of the spring morning.

“How fares the duke?” she asked.

Aaron rubbed his forehead, trying to massage away the tension that remained from sitting through the night and worrying over his father. “He is much improved. His breathing is no longer labored, and his lips and tongue not swollen. He wished to rise, claiming to be fully recovered, but the duchess insisted he stay abed. I sent for our Edinburgh physician at first light. I hope he will arrive soon.”

“Oh, I’m so relieved.” A sigh left her lips. “I realize I am not kin to his grace, but my great concern for his health left me barely able to sleep last night. I fear I will be poor company today.”

Aaron reached out and took her hand. Her eyes widened at his temerity, but she held his gaze as he said, “You are welcome here anytime, my lady. My father has nothing but praise for your quick thinking. This morning, I told him you ate one of the supposedly tainted biscuits, and he called you brave.” Aaron gave her a small smile. “He thoroughly approves of my bringing you here.”

She froze. Her eyes blazed, and she snatched her hand from his. “Stop speaking of me as if I’m in the running to be your wife. I didn’t come to Edinburgh to find a husband. You are simply misleading the duke.”

“But I do like you. I like the way you see the world. It would be a better place for everyone if things ran the way you think they should. I, for one, would be far happier if I could choose my partner instead of enduring this terrible hostility from my father.”

“I can see how things are for you.”

“Thank you. I suppose I’ll have to marry someone of his choice eventually, though I cannae explain how much the thought of being tied to a woman I have no regard for sickens me.” Aaron took a hothouse peach from a bowl in the middle of the table and began to peel it with a sharp knife. The fruit was perfectly ripe, the juice dripping from his fingers when he halved it. He put it on a plate and offered it to her.

“I’m sorry. Just don’t use me as a stalling tactic.” She took the peach and bit into it, her face a picture of delight as she tasted the flavor. “I was very excited when his grace considered my ideas on educating women. But therein lies the problem. I cannae give up my other views. I came to work to improve the lot of women in all respects.”

“I wouldn’t want you to give up your views, especially the one about women feeling desire.” That was what entranced him most. It must be a deep feeling if she’d burst out with it so unconventionally.

“You know I spoke out of anger. Don’t keep raising it,” she said, her cheeks flushing.

“But it’s such an interesting subject. Women never speak about such things.”

“Don’t rub it in. It makes me feel ashamed,” she said, looking down at her hands.

“Don’t be. I’m fascinated,” he said, imagining her telling him what she enjoyed in bed.

“Some men are verra interested in my beliefs on the place of women, but now I’ve met his grace, I can see he won’t be one of them. I can’t expect him to put his name and money behind my cause of educating women unless he knows what I am about. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Aye, it is something I have been thinking about, too, for he’ll find out eventually. My father was due to return to London shortly, so I thought he wouldn’t hear of your ideas, but this illness changes things.” Aaron took a bite of his peach, thinking about the problem. “I believe it’s best to tell him more about you at a later stage. The fact remains, if you wish to make a difference, you will still need a benefactor.”

“But I cannae deceive him, my lord.”

“You won’t have to. I’m prepared to back you with my own money and contacts.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “You are?”

“I thought we’d start in Edinburgh. I know a mill owner who employs many women as weavers. Mr. Macintosh is a good chap. I will sound him out as to whether he is amenable to having you educate the daughters of the weavers.”

Aaron didn’t bother to mention that he paid Macintosh well for the cloth he bought from him to use in manufacturing uniforms for the war office or that he owned the land Macintosh’s mill resided on. The man would surely be happy to accommodate this small favor.

She sat up straight and drained her cup, putting it on the table. “You’re going to great lengths to support my cause. I appreciate that.”

“Men are resistant to change. It will go easier for you if you have an introduction. But know that I’m no saint, Lady Crystal. You’re beautiful and by far the most interesting woman I’ve ever met. All night, I searched for a way to see more of you, and this is what I’ve come up with.”

“I see. You speak quite brazenly, my lord.” She met his gaze head-on, plucked a grape from the top of the bunch, and popped it in her mouth.

The guileless action made him want to kiss her and taste the sweet juice on her lips, to plunder her mouth with his tongue. He started to lean over toward her.

A footman sailed into the room and put a covered silver platter containing eggs and salmon next to the hothouse grapes, peaches, and the fresh loaf already on the table. Its homey scent permeated his nostrils, alleviating the tight sensation in his stomach but not the hardness of his cock. He pulled back in frustration.

Lady Crystal entranced him, and he intended to find a way to keep seeing her. All he needed was time alone—without the constant chaperones society demanded.

The housekeeper arrived next, unlocked the tea caddy, and prepared a second pot of tea. “You may leave us, Mrs. Burns,” he said tersely when she had placed it on the table. “See that we are not disturbed unless the duke is in need of me.”

“Yes, my lord,” she said, ushering out the footman and closing the door behind her.

Lady Crystal picked up the pot of tea and topped up both their cups. When finished, she sat back, gazing at him with unwavering eyes.

“Minx,” he muttered. She talked about desire, but he wondered how much she actually knew. He damn well wanted to be her first, to be the one to bring her unspeakable pleasure. He gritted his teeth in an attempt to calm himself.

She raised one eyebrow and shot him a smile, clearly waiting for him to elaborate. “My lord?”

“Aaron,” he corrected. “Call me by my first name.”

She paused to regard him. They both knew it was a highly improper request.

“Very well. Aaron,” she repeated with a slight roll of the R, as if caressing his name with her tongue.

“I know of no other way to say this. I want you.”

Desperately. In his bed.

It wasn’t love. Couldn’t be—he barely knew her. Yes, he had regard for her, but this was pure, raw lust. If he didn’t secure his interest in this wonderful lady quickly, he was quite certain another lord would. He drained his teacup, realizing his throat had gone dry.

She didn’t flinch at his bluntness as he’d expected. She leaned over, picked up the teapot, and topped his cup up for him. “I’m well aware of that. You’ve made it very clear.”

“Will you be mine?” He couldn’t leave it alone. His head was buzzing with the urgency of his desire, and his cock had an ungentlemanly mind of its own.

“I’ll admit, I thought about you last night, too. I would like you to call on me.”

What did she mean by that? Damn, how he wanted her! He wanted to press her against him, to feel how her body melded into his. Damn it, his lust for her was driving him mad.

“That would give me immense pleasure, my lady.”

“Please. Call me Crystal in private,” she said. She settled to eating her breakfast.

He still hadn’t touched his. How on earth could he get her where he wanted her? He wanted to bed her without the pressure of marriage…and yet, damn it, his sense of honor troubled him. He wasn’t his father’s son for nothing. And she had saved his father’s life, as well, for which Aaron would be forever in her debt. What if she fell in love with him and changed her mind, as women were wont to do, and suddenly wished to wed?

Women always wanted marriage, a husband, and children.

She was far too willful to make a suitable wife…and yet it was that very characteristic which attracted him to her. If he could persuade her to become his mistress, his life would be complete.

He sucked in a deep breath, needing to calm his chaotic thoughts and his growing need, forcing himself to maintain a gentlemanly facade while his body raged.

“I can’t help but wonder,” he said, “how you came up with your unusual ideas, given so many Highland men are away at war, so there’s nothing to tempt a woman except hairy cows.”

She rolled her eyes at his description of the Highlands. “Trust a man to think my ideas must be inspired by a man. I’m not the first woman to believe we should be educated the same as men. My mother was very unhappy in her marriage and wanted her freedom. But she had no other means of support. I saw her suffering, and I knew what my life path would be from that moment on. Not marriage, as my father had planned, but to work for the greater good of women.”

“I’m sorry to hear of your mother. That is indeed sad.”

She reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you. But alas, not an unusual circumstance. Which is why it all has to change.”

He took a steadying breath. “I need to ask another question, for it is tormenting me. Do you have experience of the desire you speak of?”

He was unable to let the subject pass, despite her lofty ideals and unfavorable views on marriage.

A bright pink flush stained her face.

Answer enough, he reckoned.

He grinned. “Are you sitting too close to the fire?”

She pulled her hand back, poured herself a glass of water, and smiled back. “It is rather hot, but then, I have a dislike of the cold.”

She never retreated. A ripple of pleasure passed through him. How he enjoyed that about her.

She stabbed a piece of salmon and put it to her lips, chewing thoughtfully. “It’s true I did speak of desire. However, as spontaneous as my nature is, I will never speak of it in public again—not if I hope to gain entrance into society and persuade other women to help me teach the poor.”

“Indeed, but you are more than welcome to talk about it with me. I’m a very interested listener.” He pulled at his collar, experiencing the same heat.

“My male kin were always speaking of the pleasures of love when they thought I was out of earshot. It made me curious. Too curious. I want the experience for myself…but not to be tied up in an unhappy marriage. It is a conundrum. I can’t be sure I will enjoy what appears to be a delicious experience for a man.”

He leaned forward and kept his voice low. “I’m sure you will delight in those pleasures.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I would be happy to introduce you to them, and with me you won’t have to worry about being shackled. If you’re serious about never marrying, there is no other way to find out whether you are a woman who delights in bed sport or not, other than trying it with a man you are attracted to.”

“I’m well aware the situation would suit you. Don’t try to make the situation about me.”

Except it was all about her—all about wanting her before he was forced in to a marriage he didn’t want. This was his last fling, his last chance of happiness. He settled back in his chair, putting on his best disappointed face. “We could spend time getting to know each other and see where it leads. I wish to accompany you on your talks, when time allows, because I feel you need protection. When in public, we can sup and enjoy each other’s company, properly chaperoned, of course.”

“I dinnae want you by my side too often. People will notice if you take too much of an interest in me, other than being my patron for the education of women.”

“Then that is what we will say, for it is the truth.”

“My good reputation is important. I can’t do my work if the gentry won’t receive me into their salons. And I dinnae want you close by when I’m speaking to the working class. Unlike you lords, they seem able to behave themselves,” she said. “I need no one but my maid to accompany me.”

“Very well. We could meet at my house in the New Town and spend time together. I will dismiss the servants out of discretion, but dinnae fear, we will spend the time as you please. It is the only place I can think of where we wouldn’t be in the public eye.”

His whole body tensed as he waited for her answer. It was such a delicate situation.

She held his gaze for an interminably long moment, then finally dipped her head. “I’m willing to try your experiment.” She held up her teacup. “Here’s to our growing admiration…and to our success.”

He raised his cup and clinked it to hers. “Aye. To the education of women.”

And to teaching her all about desire.