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Unfortunately, they were forced to acknowledge sense and reason when they were, yet again, rudely interrupted.
“Ahem.”
The rather discrete cough felt like a bucket of cold water, and was enough to make them reluctantly draw apart. Although this time, he did ease back from her hold, Ben didn’t let her go too far. He lifted his head to look at the housekeeper, but she was busy pegging the washing out and pointedly had her back toward them. Still, it was a quite pointed reminder that this was not the time or the place to allow the passion to get too out of control. They were in plain view of the lane for heaven sakes; anybody who passed would be able to see them. Right now, they had enough to contend with, and didn’t need to give the gossips any fodder to work with should anyone happen to be wandering by.
Besides, although he adored this wild side to the woman in his arms, and wanted to see more of it, he had just witnessed just how angry she had been. He didn’t want her to make any decision on their future, especially something as important as sharing his bed, while her emotions were fuelled by temper. He wanted her decision to sleep with him to be made logically, calmly and, if it was driven by pure need, then fine.
“I am sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten carried away like that,” Ben whispered into her ear.
“It’s not your fault.” She looked at him somewhat defiantly. “I am twenty four years old, and a woman who is in charge of her life. I make no apology for my behaviour this morning,” she declared firmly, copying his words from only yesterday.
To say that he looked a little stunned was an understatement, but he didn’t appear to be angry as he stared somewhat blankly at her.
It was important to both of their futures that he understand, and accept, that she would not want him to rule their household, and expect her to meekly comply to his dictates. Some people’s marriages worked like that, but hers wasn’t going to.
Being able to should shout and rant at someone like Hargraves this morning, and recklessly kiss Ben like she had done, had felt so wonderful, so femininely powerful, that she felt rather proud of herself rather than ashamed. If the need arose, she would have absolutely no hesitation in doing the same thing again. Only, the next time she kissed Ben, she would have to make sure they weren’t standing in the middle of the driveway.
“I quite liked it really,” she mused with a sigh before she turned around and sauntered toward the back of the house.
Ben stared at her in stunned disbelief. It was only when she turned the corner of the house and disappeared from sight that he realised she had left him all alone. He was aware that Maud turned to watch him enter the house, but he was too busy wondering what had happened to the old Beatrice to worry about whether the housekeeper was going to lambast him for taking advantage of the lady of the house.
“Beatrice? Stop right there,” he commanded in a voice that was so stern and authoritative that even he didn’t recognise it.
Beatrice lifted her brows and turned to face him. It was only then that she realised she had dropped the poker outside when he had started to kiss her. She looked squarely at him, as though daring him to take her to task for being so forward with him but, to her surprise, he stalked toward her and dragged her back into his arms.
“You quite liked it? It wasn’t stupendous; wonderful; mind-blowing?” He growled challengingly.
Beatrice smiled up at him, not worried in the least that he was mad at her given the twinkle in his eye.
“No, it was wonderful; stupendous,” she assured him. “It is just that, well, to me, this is rather mind-blowing.” With that, she c
aptured his head in her hands and dragged him down for a very thorough kiss that left them both gasping for air and trembling with need.
“Good Lord,” Ben whispered when she finally allowed him to lift his head. He stared down at her in stunned delight, but didn’t move. He was vaguely aware that Maud had entered the sitting room to return the poker, but couldn’t tear his gaze away from the molten heat in Beatrice’s lambent gaze. Right at that moment he rather wished that Maud was still poorly, or stuck at her friend’s house, because there was nothing he wanted more right now than to spend time getting to know this new, tantalising side of Beatrice.
The sudden chimes of the grandfather clock in the hallway broke the silence, and seemed to draw a line under the passion, for now. Beatrice took several steps away from him while she steadied herself. Eventually she turned to look at Maud. She struggled to keep her mind focused on what she wanted to say, but the sight of that poker bought forth the memory of Hargraves’ visit.
“Ben and I are going to go out this morning. We need to go to the university to make enquiries about that plant. Because of Hargraves, I really don’t think you should be alone in the house, Maud,” she announced and gave Ben a measured look as if to invite suggestions on what the housekeeper could do while they were gone. “We are likely to be gone for several hours. Do you want to go to your friend’s house while we are away?”
“I don’t think that it is wise for you to be walking the lanes at the moment either,” Ben added. “If you need to go somewhere, we will drop you off.”
“I hate not being about to go about my business freely,” Maud groused with a frown. “Are you going to Tipton Hollow first?”
Ben stepped forward and put a hand on Beatrice’s slim waist. “We can do. We are going to the university, but may go somewhere else after that if we can find a Latin scholar to transcribe some notes. We really aren’t sure.”
“It is market day,” Maud mused and turned to Beatrice. “I have to get some things for the Circle meeting. I think that I will go to the market and see what I can find. If I am finished before you are, I can have a cup of tea with my friend Sally before I come home.”
“Give us her address and we will pick you up from Sally’s house on the way home.”
Maud quickly wrote out the address on a piece of paper and went to fetch her shawl.
“Thank you for squiring us around like this. It really is kind of you.”
Although she was taller than average, she still had to tip her head back to look up at him when he moved to stand before her. Unsurprisingly, she felt the faint flurry of passion begin to roar to life again. A thrill of desire swept through her when his head began to descend and their lips touched briefly just as Maud appeared in the hallway.
Ben lifted his head and smiled ruefully down at her. “Later,” he whispered into her ear before he moved to the doorway.
It was all Beatrice could do to nod.
