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They continued to walk until Helen was tired. She sat on a stone bench, staring at a small blue-green lake from afar. The atmosphere was idyllic, one that she wanted to last forever. Birds were singing in the trees, weaving their notes into a perfect orchestra that not even she could replicate. On the lake, ducks were paddling away while lounging in the sun.
“So, are you still furious?” he asked. “Or have you decided to forgive me?”
Helen stared at the calm surface of the water, using it to steady her breathing. “Just one last question, if I may?”
“Go on,” he answered. “You know how much I adore your questions.”
She just shook her head calmly. “Why were you angry too? Since we arrived yesterday, you have been irritated by every little thing — even the flaking paint on the gazebo. Was it just some coldhearted ploy of yours to make it seem like a lovers’ quarrel? Or is something bothering you?”
Since there were supposed to be no secrets between them, Theodore spoke up. “I was irritated because we could not have time together. Lady Kate was always in the way, pulling you through the gardens and leaving no time for us to talk.”
“You are jealous?” Helen asked incredulously. “I would have never pegged you for the type.”
“Does it matter what I am or not? I just wanted a break from the tour and your aunt in particular. She was all over us when we arrived yesterday.”
“Now that Aunt Gertrude is with your grandmother, do you feel a little less angry?”
Theodore took this opportunity to place her hand on his thigh. His mind went wild with wanton desire and lust, dragging him to rocky depths like a siren would do to a sailor. He saw her redden, and swiftly, he cupped her face in his hands.
“I do feel a little relieved,” he said, “but nearly not enough.”
Helen listened to his slow, sensual tones, and all of her defenses crumbled away once again. Just a while ago, she wanted to stay angry at him, but she could not. Not with his eloquence and the soft rumble that came from his laugh. She wanted to pull away when his face slanted over hers, but her body would not respond. Instead, she found herself leaning toward his handsome face, parting her lips ever so slightly.
They kissed softly, heat filling their bodies. Helen felt the crushing pressure of his body against her, warm and pulsing under her touch. Every sensation was heightened as she touched him all over, pulling him toward her.
“We don't want people to see us,” she said against him, breaking the kiss and pulling him farther into the shrubbery.
Once she was sure that they could not be seen, Helen kissed Theodore again with as much ferocity as he liked. Her hands ran through his hair, and it felt like water. Cold and tousled, she continued to kiss him.
This time, Theodore was determined not to let her take control. He stopped, kissing her slowly and forcing her to take his pace. She slowed, and the desire in their veins burned even brighter. His senses swam in the magic that their bodies produced, rising and falling with their breaths. Addled, he fumbled his hands through her luscious tresses and deeply inhaled the fresh scent of soap and lavender.
He held her waist upright with his hand, curling his hands all the way to the sides of her back. She moaned this time, a soft sound that Theodore could never have enough of. It was beautiful, just like the song she played on the pianoforte. Wantonly, he pulled her even closer until her silk rubbed against him.
She melded softly in his embrace, feeling his muscles tighten like before. Soon, she was blinded to her upbringing and society’s standards as they swayed together, pursuing the lusts of their flesh. Helen moaned again as he pulled at the cords that held her gown together. Her hands lifted too, pushing away the coat from his shoulders and letting the clothing fall to the ground. He tugged hard on the cords, and they came loose. His muscles shifted restlessly with every touch, and his mind almost exploded when he saw the silk chemisette under the gown.
“Hmm,” Helen groaned as Theodore’s fingers rubbed her nipples.
Powerful waves of ecstasy ran through her spine, and she tightened against him. She let him have his way after the chemisette slid softly away from her shoulders, putting his fingers in his mouth and placing them on her nipples. His eyes were dark when he looked at her, lips tracing her flesh. When his tongue rolled over her nipple, she exploded.
Helen whimpered in his arms, shivering as wave upon wave of rapturous delight flooded her. Helen wanted him, convulsing against him as she pulled his hair. He worked his way all over her breasts before finally resting his mouth on hers again.
“Tell me,” Helen said, pulling away, “would you have me if I gave you the permission to?”
She saw a smile flash on his face, but it was soon replaced by a chilly mask. “I would want nothing more in the world than to have you. But I cannot do that to you, Helen. After everything, we will go back to what we once were. Strangers or maybe friends.”
Helen gestured at the cords of her gown and the slightly parted chemisette. “Do friends do this to one another?”
“I care about you, Helen. I really do. But —”
All the words that were lost came rushing back into her mind. The desire for him fueled the courage in her heart as she spoke. “I want you to marry me, Theodore. Not as a charade, but because all I want is you.”
“I cannot, Helen,” he said, and her heart sank to the pit of her stomach. “You are beautiful and witty, but alas, I cannot give out my heart, for I have no feelings of my own. I have tried to, but —”
“Your Grace! Helen!” a high-pitched nasal sound tore through the awkward conversation. Helen recognized the voice as her Aunt Gertrude’s, and she hurriedly slipped her hands back into her gown. She could not understand everything that Theodore had told her.
Was everything they shared a lie? Why did he do all those things then?
She dashed out of the shrubbery to see her aunt yelling and running down the slope. Her lurid grey skirts billowed around her like smoke as she pounded down the hill.
