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Richard reached down, taking firm hold of her hips, and used the power of his upper body to move her back and forth on and over his length. He was so close, fascinated by her hissing exhalations that revealed her renewed pleasure at the rocking motion. Lost in the vortex of sensation, moving her body in a frantic rhythm over his, he reached his own shuddering release.
Slowly, he descended back to earth, wrapping his arms around his perfect wife and holding her to his chest in a tight hug. He lifted his head and kissed the top of her head, breathing in the entrancing fragrance of rosewater while their labored breathing gradually returned to normal.
He accepted in the dark place where his heart resided that there was nothing he would not do to protect Sophia. She was the very heart of him, and he would tell her so when he eventually earned the right to do so.
CHAPTER15
It was early when a sound disturbed Richard from a deep sleep. So early that a single thread of morning light crept through a gap in the draperies.
“Richard?”It was the lowest of whispers floating through the air of the large, quiet bedroom. It sounded like Perry. Richard turned his head in awakening confusion, his eyes bleary from sleep. The connecting door to his rooms was slightly ajar, and a blurry face was peering at him.
“Richard?”
His heart sank. This could not be good. He gave a nod of acknowledgment, and the door closed.
Sitting up in Sophia’s bed, he rubbed his eyes to restore his vision before easing quietly from under the covers. Once he was on his feet, he searched around for his nightshirt and robe. Dressing hurriedly, he crept from the room back to his chambers, opening and closing the door with the greatest of care. He did not wish to disturb Sophia after the athletic evening they had engaged in.
Perry stood at the fireplace, his forearm leaning against the mantel while he waited for Richard to gather his wits.
“What is it?” Richard was afraid to hear the answer, steeling his nerve for what new crisis his brother had come to inform him of.
“I was just returning home when one of the Johns called me into the hall. It would seem that a rock was thrown through the window of your study about thirty minutes ago. The window is shattered, but the servants did not wish to disturb you. You have an injury of some sort, from what I gather?”
Richard raised his head to stare at the ceiling in agitation. “I was at Drury Lane with the countess. When I stepped out of the box, Lord Stanford was walking by. With no warning, he turned to punch me in the face, accusing me of knocking boots with his ace of spades.”
“Ace of spades—he is involved with a widow? Never say you mean Lady Partridge? I thought you decided to stay away from that vicious strumpet when she tried to convince you to—”
“I know why I avoid the deviant woman. Her tastes are far too … eclectic for my sensibilities.”
Perry choked back a laugh. “Eclectic! My, what a gentleman you have become.”
“I would have no soul to redeem if I followed the dark paths she wished to lead me down. She and Father would have made perfect bed partners in their degenerate tastes. But that is beside the point because Stanford said a friend informed him that they saw me leaving her home in January.”
“But we were at Saunton Park for the entire month of January!”
“Precisely. It would appear the enemy I have made is not above fudging the details in the interest of causing trouble. I only ventured to the woman’s home on one occasion before I discovered what a deviant she was, and that was during the Season of 1818. Either my villain is investigating deep into my past, or just using bits of idle gossip collected over the years to pose plausible lies.”
“Given the frequency of these attacks, I would say he is posing plausible lies. How could he have the time to do otherwise? Unless he is well-financed and has a team doing his bidding?”
“We are going about our own investigation the wrong way. It is too slow, and I need results. We should make a short list of who would be this energetic, vicious, unrelenting, and angry. Then direct the runners to investigate those men first.”
“Agreed. There is no predicting what this lunatic will try next.”
Richard stood hesitantly in the middle of the room. He was so weary, his body felt like it was being crushed by the weight of failed responsibility. Walking over to the bed, he dropped down and asked the question which had been haunting the dark recesses of his mind these past weeks.
“Perry, am I our father?”
“Good Lord, no!” His brother’s reply was so utterly vehement that Richard was distracted from his worries. “Lord Saunton—ahem—I mean, our father was the devil incarnate. Why would you think you are him?”
“I have been chasing skirts these many years, and now my wife and son suffer for it.”
Perry laughed, the sound hollow. “Chased skirts, perhaps. Our father surpassed chasing skirts before I was even born. The man had no conscience. No morals of any kind. I rejoiced when he finally died. You, however, I would miss if something happened to you, which is why I am aiding you with this situation. Do you think I would offer my help to the fiend who sired us? Nay, brother, I would be out on the street helping to lob rocks in the middle of the night. You are a far better man than he ever was.”
Richard groaned. “Blazes, Perry, now you provide me with new worries! Do you think, mayhap, once this is over, that I will need to determine if we have siblings out in the world?”
Perry shuddered, his head falling forward in his pained despair to rest on the forearm balanced on the mantel. “I had not stopped to think, but I would say it is almost a certainty.”
One step at a time, Richard.“Never mind that thought for now. We will settle this disaster first. Once it is done, we can discuss if we wish to investigate the sins of our father.”
