AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Quite so. But, I must tell you that you are quite wrong in your assumption.”
“Which assumption?” Alice asked.
“Your brother, Edward, does not lie within. The coffin is empty. I was told by your mother that he had been lost at sea, somewhere off the south coast of Wales. An accident. That his body had not been recovered, but she wished something to go into the crypt as a token. So, the coffin was filled with some of his belongings. But not him. I never saw his body at all.”
CHAPTER48
Alice and Harold were bounced and jostled as the new carriage raced along the country lanes between Ardle Heath and Lindley Manor. Harold had given the driver instructions to get them there quickly. Now, he regretted his haste. The cushioned seat didn’t seem quite cushioned enough and the hardwood beneath was relentless in its pummeling of already sore flesh.
Alice took his hand, squeezing. Looking at her he saw the same discomfort, writ large across her face. They had both wanted to return to Lindley as a matter of urgency. The news that they had for Simon could not wait. Not when it could mean an end to the hostilities.
It may change nothing in his eyes. The story given to the reverend sounds plausible. The only oddity is that Simon did not know. Surely, that must count for something.
As the carriage raced around a bend, Alice was literally thrown into Harold’s arms, while he was pressed against the side of the carriage. He instinctively tightened his arms around her, holding her close even after the road straightened.
“If I had not been beaten up already, I would be by the time we reach your home,” Harold said with a wince.
Alice burst out laughing, holding her arms about him. Soon, Harold joined her. The ludicrousness of the situation was apparent. Combined with the grimness of the recent setting into which they had placed themselves, it made for a situation in which laughter was the natural response. He kissed the top of Alice’s head. She looked up at him and he kissed, first her forehead, then her nose. Then, finally, her lips.
He heard a murmur of pleasure from her as he stroked his lips softly against hers. As always, the feel of her was intoxicating in its soft femininity. The outside world fell away, leaving the two of them in a bubble of their own senses. Touch was supreme, as both had closed their eyes. Her lips were drawn to his, then moved away, then back to his again. Each feather-light touch sent sparks through him, encouraging him to kiss her longer and deeper.
She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. Her touch ended on his chest, fingertips pressing through his shirt, seeking direct contact with his skin. Harold ran his hand down the length of her thigh. She lifted her leg as he did so, and he traced the curve of her calf all the way to her ankle. Caressing fingers brought a sigh of pleasure as he caressed her through her stockings. Then retraced the path of his touch, but this time underneath her skirts.
They rose around his hand as he lifted it to her knee. She straightened her leg, pressing her foot against the side of the carriage and Harold tickled the back of her thigh. This produced a moaning sigh of his name, deepening and becoming more desperate as his hand circled her thigh to rest atop it. Both knew that no garment lay between his touch and her virgin womanhood. The thought excited Alice, making her clutch at him, kissing more fiercely. She lifted her other leg, so that both lay across Harold’s lap.
She lay back in the seat, skirts rising up before him. He stopped on the brink of exposing her completely, allowing a fold of her skirts to hide the part of her that he sought. She bit her lip, smiling and red-cheeked, eyes bright. With a wince of pain, Harold lifted himself so that he was atop her, kissing her with furious intensity. He took her hand and guided it down, pressing her fingers inwards at the exact spot she covered.
Then he pressed his hips down against hers, trapping the hand between the hardness of his manhood and the softness of her womanhood. He felt her fingers pressing inwards in time with the rhythm of his hips. Heard the excited gasps being drawn from her and the groaning moans of pleasure. Soon, her hand moved of its own volition but her eyes never wavered from his. When her back arched and her legs clamped around his hips, it brought a groan of pain from Harold and Alice buried her face in his neck. Her answering moans of ecstasy were muffled but he felt the intensity of her pleasure from the shuddering tension of her body, which suddenly flowed away, leaving her limp.
“Lindley Manor ahead!” called the driver, barely audible over the noise of the carriage’s hurried passage.
By the time the carriage came to a stop in front of the Lindley Manor, Alice and Harold had rearranged their clothing from its rumpled state. Alice had pinned up her hair to disguise the mess that had been made of it in the clinch. They seemed innocent and proper as they disembarked and walked to the door. Simon awaited them, looking red-faced and angry as usual.
“Do not speak, Simon,” Alice said with fire. “I do not want to waste time retreading old ground. We have discovered something that will be of interest to you and Harold has insisted on doing you the courtesy of sharing that discovery in person.”
A small white lie, there. I would have taken Alice to London and then to the first ship of the Redwood line that was ready to sail. Thence through the Channel, around the far west of Cornwall, and into the Severn Estuary. To Wales and the ultimate end of this mystery. It was she who wanted to give Simon one more chance at sense.
“What?” Simon demanded, folding his arms.
“Not here. A more private setting,” Harold said.
The love-making in the carriage had been inadvisable in his current physical state, though pleasurable. He had not been able to help himself though it seemed to have aggravated a number of the healing injuries he suffered. As a result, he leaned heavily on the cane now, more than he had before, and was unable to disguise it. Simon looked him up and down.
The man would have to be blind not to see my weakened state.
“Yes, well I have no desire to see Redwood collapse on my doorstep. I will not be known as the cruel Viscount that left an injured man untended. I have a name to protect.”
He emphasized the I, as though to tell Harold he did not believe that the Redwood name had any value. Harold ground his teeth behind a tight-lipped smile and began to ascend the steps to the door. Alice walked with him and Simon preceded them both into the house. He chose a sitting room at the front of the house and had seated himself by the time Harold caught up. The servants were dismissed, and no refreshments were offered. Alice shook her head slightly as she looked around the room, no doubt noticing the lack of food or drink and cursing her brother’s inhospitality.
It does not matter. I do not want to be here longer than the time it takes to deliver our message.
“Well?” Simon said shortly. “Out with it.”
“We have just been to the Trinity Church in Ardle Heath,” Alice said. “We wanted to see the crypt.”
“We?” Simon said, gripping the arms of his chair. “You took this man into the Hathway crypt?”
“She did,” Harold said. “And we did not find what we expected to see there.”
