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He released a contented sigh and his mouth descended upon hers. The kiss was tentative at first, giving Caroline the chance to draw away if she willed it. She did not. Instead, she melted into him the way that she had longed to when he had carried her in his arms. He was warm and gentle, yet so firm against her that she could not help but cling to him.
Just as she had imagined, although she would never admit to how many times she had done so; he gave himself over completely to his passion holding nothing back. She received it with a vigor to match his own until they were both breathless with wanting. His arms wrapped around her, crushing her against him. Her hands roamed up his arms, over his neck, until she was cupping his face in her hands. She held him and let all of her love flow into him. For she did love him, she realized.
Her thumbs stroked his cheeks, not caring that one was smooth and one was scarred. It did not matter. They were a part of him and she loved all of it, all of him. He shivered beneath her touch, reveling in the knowledge that she was not repulsed by him, that she had seen all of his ruin and still wanted him.
He murmured her name against her lips and Caroline was consumed by the sound of it. The duke, on the other hand stilled. He pulled back, a look of shock and horror on his face.
“You’re a lady,” he gasped, “and you’ve been in my bedchamber… for days.”
She could not suppress a giggle. “Yes,” she understood his concern. “Perhaps that is a bit that we ought to leave out of our retelling of the tale.”
He pressed his forehead to hers once again, stole one last kiss from her smiling lips, and extricated himself while he still could.
“I’ll speak with Lizzy,” she said. “I think she would be willing to protect my reputation.” The duke nodded but his eyes still roamed over Caroline as if he might come back to join her in the bed if she would but give the word. She laughed again. “Go fetch her before you get us both into trouble.”
“I’ll have Jenkins bring round the rig,” he added. “It’s not yet sunrise but I think we should get you to your father straight away.” And out of his bedchamber, Caroline thought to herself.
CHAPTER25
When Lizzy entered the room, she did so with hesitant steps as if checking first that there was no offensive blood in sight.
“His Grace said that you wanted to speak with me,” the maid looked around the room as if expecting Caroline to start bleeding upon sight.
Caroline laughed and gestured to the chair opposite where the duke had placed her. He had carried her from the bed before departing so that she might have the conversation with the maid away from the ruined bedsheets. They had thrown a blanket over the wreckage.
Caroline took her time to tell the tale once more. Lizzy’s eyes were wide with wonder the entire time, but she did not interrupt.
“A lady,” she mused at the end. Then her jaw dropped with realization and she leapt from her chair and sank into a curtsy. “Oh my, your Grace,” she corrected herself.
“I don’t think of myself that way,” Caroline clarified. “We were only married a matter of days and, as I said, the marriage was never consummated.”
Lizzy groaned. “You slept on the palette on the floor. You should have asked for the bed.”
Caroline shook her head and reached out to place a friendly hand upon the only other servant she had come to trust in the house. She explained the predicament.
“I can say that I tended to his Grace,” the maid offered before Caroline had gotten that far. “No one need ever know.” She made a locking motion over her lips.
“I know that it’s a lot to ask,” Caroline said.
“Not at all,” Lizzy replied. Then, she bit her lip. “Is it true that you vouched for me to his Grace?”
Caroline nodded. “Of course. I could see straight away that you weren’t involved. But you understand why I could not tell you. It would have been far too dangerous, for you as well.”
Lizzy brushed off the concern. “It was only that the duke had all of the servants who had held positions less than ten years taken away for questioning. That left only Jenkins who had come to the house with his mother well before his Grace was even born. He even sent word for the same at Heatherton Hall although that will only eliminate a handful of the staff. Then, he said that I could stay, because you had vouched for me. I’ve only been here a short while. My mother… she would have been so distraught.”
“Your mother should be proud,” Caroline replied in earnest. “You have proven yourself both hardworking and loyal. She’s the head housekeeper at the country home, is she not?”
Lizzy nodded.
“Then you shall have had excellent training and a knowledgeable mentor,” Caroline grinned.
“I… I don’t understand?” the maid stammered.
“His Grace is going to need someone that he can trust to run this household and you’ve proven yourself more than willing to keep our secret as well,” Caroline explained. “As a reward he has asked that I offer the position of head housekeeper, if you wish it. Though, I will admit that the task will be cumbersome until we can gather new trusted servants beneath you.”
Lizzy’s mouth dropped open. “Do you really mean it? I mean, I’m so young.”
Caroline nodded. Unbidden Lizzy flung herself into Caroline’s arms. She would have welcomed the gesture more had the act not jarred her tender leg and caused her to gasp.
