Page 13 of Charity

Shock held her mouth open but she quickly recovered her composure. “Of all the hairbrained, foolish decisions. Having Oscar decide the fate of seven children is ludicrous. He barely knows the place,” she argued.

Manning removed his leather gloves and flexed his fingers in a way that drew her attention. The ugly scar on his left hand and the missing little finger, an ever-present reminder of times past, caused Estella’s heart to race with renewed anxiety.

He clenched his damaged hand into a fist. “Exactly. He’ll not be swayed by allegiances within the board. They expect him to make a fair decision.”

Estella dropped her face to her hand. This was simply dreadful. The poor children. To be judged in such a manner, without any attempt to understand them or their needs. And Oscar’s habit of trying to please everyone would fail him this time. She was sure someone would be disappointed with his decision what ever it might be.

The carriage dipped as Manning swapped sides of the carriage and squeezed onto the bench seat beside her. Alarmed, she slid to the side to put distance between them again.

“You should not fret so, Essy. I’m sure your boy will do a fair job of it.”

Despite the use of his old nickname for her, his smile chilled her to her core. “This was your doing. All of it.”

He waggled his undamaged hand. “You have no idea of the pain listening to those pea brains causes me. An evaluation will finally put the matter to rest and then we can move forward. I have every confidence that Carrington will vote in favor of continuation. But no one need know that but the two of us.”

He reached for her hand, but she clenched them together and denied him a chance for improper behavior. His frown grew. “What are you about, Essy?”

“I am about nothing, Mr. Manning. You, however, are again attempting to overstep your bounds. Kindly return to the other side of the carriage.”

Manning huffed but did as she asked. His eyes, however, held deep scorn. “You know, I hadn’t wanted to believe the whispers, but it appears they could, indeed, be true. Do you know they say you’ve taken that cit, Birkenstock, as your lover?”

Manning quirked one brow as he waited for her to deny it. While the rumor was true, she’d hardly confess her most personal affairs to a man of the cloth. Especially since that man also aimed to take her lover’s place, most likely after a respectable wedding ceremony had been performed. Estella had no intentions of marrying again. Her relationship with Birkenstock gave her the best of both worlds. She pasted a smile to her lips. “What amazes me is that the ton hasn’t learned of your wicked past and shunned you for it.”

He lifted his damaged hand in the air before her and waggled it again. “I imagine that would relieve you, as anything questionable in my past almost certainly involved you.”

How typical of a man, even a man of the cloth, to lay the blame for wickedness on a woman. She’d had nothing to do with the loss of his finger. She hadn’t known of the duel that caused its loss until years later. To this day, it amazed her that he’d become a vicar. Given what she knew of his past, he was far too lusty a man for the role. How could he stand before a congregation and extol the virtues of thrift, compassion, and avoidance of sin, when he was so well versed in them?

“Please. Spare me your lies.”

The carriage drew to a halt before Manning could speak. When the door opened, he jumped to the pavement then held his damaged hand out. With no further wish to argue, Estella slid her palm over his lightly and then stepped from the carriage with relief. Manning tucked her arm tightly about his, led her up the stairs, and ushered her into her drawing room before she had time to object to his cavalier attitude.

The closing door sounded loud in the empty space. Manning crowded her against the wood, ducked his head, and pressed their lips together.

At first, Estella pushed against him. But when his tongue slid along the seam of her compressed lips, she gasped, and he claimed her mouth in a way she’d forgotten. Fierce and total possession.

No one would believe a vicar could be a danger to a woman’s virtue. Yet her reaction to Lynton Manning’s actions proved otherwise. His kiss thrilled her. She touched his tongue with her own, and her body hummed. Lynton devoured her, eating at her mouth until she lifted her arms and threaded her fingers in his hair. He moaned as she clutched his skull, tangling her tongue with his until her body sang with pleasure.

She needed so much more.

Although any other man would have groped at her body, Lynton held himself apart, offering only the soul-numbing precision of his lips. She wanted hands and the press of a hard body against hers.

Estella arched off the door, but instead of embracing her, Lynton drew away. “No lies, Essy. The duel was over you, and I lost you—and part of my hand too, due to that conniving bastard arranging a distraction that almost killed me.”

He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, then the door handle rattled as he prepared to leave. “By the time the pain had diminished enough to regain my senses and venture out again, you were wed to Carrington and gone. I never ran away with an actress, as he led everyone to believe. My brother had his footman strap me to my bed while my hand healed and I had no way to defend myself from Carrington’s lies. I wish Ambrose had sought you out instead of hovering over me. I’ve been waiting nearly twenty-five years for you, and I believe it’s past time I got my reward for patience. I’ll prove my worth this time. This time you’ll choose me.”

Manning stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

She was glad he was gone, because she didn’t know how to react to his version of events from the past. Estella wished she could remember the past more clearly than she did. What she did remember was that Lynton Manning had disappeared without a word, and when Viscount Carrington had sought her out more and more she’d been flattered. He had taken her mind from the disappointment and then earned her gratitude by telling her what everyone had been whispering about for weeks. It had seemed the right thing to do to accept Carrington when he’d proposed.

She shook her head. The past, and Carrington, were gone.

Estella had only to keep herself and her children happy. Kissing two men wasn’t really well done of her.

She stumbled into a chair. What came over her when Lynton Manning was near? Estella dropped her head into her hand and pressed her temples hard. The enormity of Estella’s faithlessness to Thomas rose up to choke her.

The pious and upright rector portrayed to London society was as much a devil as he’d been in his youth. How could he think to kiss a woman when she engaged in an affair with another man? Although she’d not confirmed his accusations, he’d have to suspect he was right. Why would he want her to pursue her after all this time?

She had to be sure that kiss, and any others like it, could never happen again. She would not become a slave to lust. Not again.