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Savage had banked the fires of his temper, but the embers glowed fiercely just beneath the surface and threatened to flame up with each passing tick of the clock.
When Antonia came downstairs she was wearing a cream muslin gown with cream-colored roses entwined in her silky black curls. She looked the picture of innocence, vulnerability, and sweetness. His heart skipped a beat. Then his temper overruled his heart. He advanced upon her in a threatening manner. “I must be the most obtuse man on earth not to have recognized your cat’s eyes.”
“Self-awareness is a priceless gift,” she said softly. Her words mocked him, though the tone of her voice did not.
“Have you any notion of the magnitude of your indiscretion?” His voice cut the air like a whip. “I am your guardian. Do you not realize any intimacy between us is unconscionable?”
“Unconscionable,” she agreed softly.
His temper escalated to fury. “What you did was scandalous!” he thundered.
“Scandalous,” she agreed softly.
“I am in charge of your morals,” he roared. “What you lured me to do was forbidden!”
“Forbidden,” she whispered longingly.
“Stop it. You are behaving like a promiscuous courtesan!”
“The pictures you showed me in theKama Sutrataught me so much.” She smiled seductively.
“Sweet Christ, have you no shame?”
“You taught me that when a man and woman share a bed, there is no room for shame.”
“You are seventeen years old!” he shouted.
“That made no difference in Venice.”
“Of course it made a bloody difference. Why the hell do you think I didn’t ravish you? Take your virginity?”
“You said it was a gift for my lover,” she whispered seductively.
He seized her by the shoulders and tried to shake some sense into her. His hands were ungentle, his face dark with rage. He shook her roughly, enough to make her teeth rattle, but when he was done, she moved against him sensually and looked deeply into his silver-blue eyes. “There is unfinished business between us, Adam.”
Now, of course, he did not just feel anger, he felt lust, a potent combination. He flung away. She was actually trying to seduce him when he was almost to the point where he needed to throw her to the floor, spread her thighs on the silken carpet, and impale her until he drowned in her.
Adam Savage rode deep into Blackwater Valley in an effort to rid himself of anger and lust. His anger was soon melted away by the beauty of his surroundings. Wherever his glance fell he saw an almost alarming beauty in the high turreted castle, the black-green water, the verdant valley. It was almost as if this niche of Ireland that he could now claim as his was under a magic spell. Or was he under the spell, he asked himself fancifully, and had Blackwater claimed him? He had breathed in its ancient beauty and it had found its way into his heart.
The image of Antonia was with him strongly. Though the anger had melted, the lust remained. It seemed only fitting that he had found his golden goddess here, for she was an enchantress. She had cast her spell upon him in Venice. In that eternal city they had found romance. Her vibrant image was before him each time he closed his eyes. With every breath he took he could smell her fragrance of wild violets. Her body had felt like hot silk beneath his calloused fingers. Just remembering her taste and her lingering scent aroused his body. Yet Adam Savage knew it wasn’t the green eyes or the lovely long legs that held him in thrall. It was her rich, generous response to him. She found him extremely attractive and she made no secret of it. His scars did not repel her, they excited her.
However, he forced himself to face facts. It was against society’s mores to make a young ward your mistress. He was an ambitious man. He needed the approbation of his peers and all those who wielded influence if he was to have a voice in ruling England. He indulged in enough clandestine activities that must be kept absolutely secret, he could not afford a liaison that would condemn him in the eyes of the ton.
In any case Antonia deserved better. She needed a splendid marriage. One that would keep her secure from the Bernard Lambs of this world. She had a passion for stately homes, magnificent furnishings, and informal gardens. She needed a husband wealthy enough to indulge her passions. There would be no more confrontations between them. They would be friends. When she had posed as Anthony, there was nothing that they couldn’t discuss. And so it would be now. They would talk it all out and make plans for her future. As he rode back to the castle, the Marquess of Blackwater felt almost noble.
Antonia was nowhere about the whole afternoon and it gave Savage the opportunity to explore his castle, gardens, and thirty-five hundred acres. He spoke with all his tenants, learned their names, found out who planted crops and who kept livestock. When he asked them how much rent they paid to the Crown, he frowned with annoyance, knowing it was a hardship to scrape together so much. He cut the rents in half and gave up a prayer of thanks that he was wealthy enough to make such a goodwill gesture. He learned that nearby Tallow was a market town that held horse fairs, and decided to pay it a visit one day before he left.
Mr. Burke told him dinner would be at eight, but that the salmon, caught and smoked locally, would be worth the wait. Adam Savage shaved carefully and changed from riding breeches and boots. He donned a fresh linen shirt, but didn’t bother with a stock or neckcloth.
When he entered the banqueting hall the firelight at the far end flickered up the walls as it must have done centuries ago. He saw immediately that Antonia had arrived before him, seated at the candle-lit oak refectory table. As he took a seat across from her, his eyes widened at what she was wearing. It was the golden crown-shaped bodice she had worn in Venice. His pulse quickened, his balls tightened, so he quickly clamped down his desire with an iron will.
When he had gained control of himself he smiled wryly. He knew exactly what game she was up to. She was trying to seduce him. In Venice she had succeeded, but tonight would be decidedly different.
He spoke first, as was his right. His voice was deep and firm. “Antonia, tonight will mark a new beginning for us. We know each other too well to be formal, so I hope we can deal comfortably together.”
There was no way Antonia was going to provoke an argument between them tonight. She gave him her rapt attention without saying a word, hoping that the romantic atmosphere and the alluring bodice promising its glimpse of breasts would entice him to dalliance.
“I beg your pardon for all the demands I placed upon you when I thought you young Lord Anthony Lamb.”
