The Countess (Madison Sisters #1)(27)
Author: Lynsay Sands

"So we need to question the staff, as wel as nose out any gossip we can about what George was up to this last year and with whom . . . and I need to make arrangements for the money." Richard paused and glanced around the shadowed faces in the carriage. "Can anyone think of anything else we might do to solve matters?"

Silence was his answer as everyone looked at each other and then Daniel said,

"I guess we shal have to start with that and hope we uncover some useful information."

Richard nodded, and then glanced to Christiana as she suddenly shifted on his lap. He thought she was trying to get off him and grabbed her h*ps to hold her in place, but found himself staring at her derriere as she leaned down to col ect something from under the seat. He quite enjoyed the view and was rather disappointed when she straightened, bringing a large basket with her.

"What’s that?" Robert asked curiously from beside him as she began to dig through its contents.

"We had Cook pack some food for the journey while we waited for the carriage to be readied," Christiana answered.

"Food?" Richard asked hopeful y, his attention immediately shifting to the basket as his stomach growled hungrily. He hadn’t eaten since the stop at Stevanage for lunch.

"Yes." She turned to peer down her nose at him. "Did you three not think to have a basket prepared before sneaking off like thieves?"

She was stil annoyed with him then, Richard acknowledged with a sigh as he shook his head. That being the case, he was sure the women would refuse to share with them as punishment.

He was proven wrong when Suzette suddenly leaned down and dragged out a second basket under the opposite bench seat as Christiana said, "Then

’tis fortunate we brought enough for everyone."

A kiss on her forehead and Richard’s whispered, "Wake up, sleeping beauty.

We are almost home," are what woke Christiana. Blinking her eyes open, she peered about the dark interior of the carriage noting that Daniel was waking Suzette much the same way, while Robert had leaned forward to shake Lisa’s leg to wake her. Forcing herself to straighten, she glanced out the window to see that while the sky was lightening, dawn was stil a good distance off. They’d made good time, she realized, her gaze moving over the dark buildings lining the road they were traversing. She’s just recognized it as their street when the carriage stopped in front of the townhouse.

Robert was the first to alight. He then offered Lisa a hand to help her disembark.

After the long hours in the carriage, Christiana found her legs stiff and shaky under her when she moved to fol ow and was grateful for Robert’s hand when he held it out. Even with it, she stumbled a bit, and then gasped with surprise as Richard stepped down and quickly swept her up in his arms.

"I can walk, husband," she whispered with embarrassment as he carried her up the path to the front door of the townhouse.

"But I like carrying you," Richard whispered back, amusement in his voice.

Christiana peered at his face in the darkness to see that he was smiling, and then glanced over his shoulder as Suzette stumbled sleepily out of the carriage next.

It made her feel better to know she wasn’t the only one unsteady on her feet after a day and night of travel.

"Can you get the door?" Richard asked, drawing her attention again.

Christiana glanced to the door in front of them and reached down to open it for him, giving it a push to send it swinging open. Richard immediately carried her across the threshold. He didn’t set her down then as she’d expected, but simply started up the stairs with her stil in his arms.

"Should we not wait for everyone else?" she asked, glancing back toward the stil open door.

"They wil be fine," Richard assured her. "We discussed it as you slept and rather than wake the servants to prepare another room, Daniel and Robert are going to share the guest room Grace made up for me the night before we left. We wil al get a couple of hours’ sleep and then start into our investigations and plans for the day."

"Oh," Christiana murmured, hardly hearing the last part of what he’d said. She was contemplating that with Daniel and Robert sharing the guest room, Richard would be sharing her bed . . . which was perfectly appropriate now that they were married, of course, but Christiana found herself suddenly nervous at the prospect.

She would have to undress in front of him. Richard would disrobe in front of her too. And which side of the bed would he prefer? Should she let him undress and get in bed first so he could pick his side? But then he would be free to just lie there and watch as she disrobed, Christiana realized. Besides, why did he have more right to first choice of which side of the bed to sleep in? It was her bed, she reminded herself. Christiana was stil fretting over the matter when Richard said, "Can you get the door again, please?"

When she pushed the bedroom door open, he carried her in and straight to the bed. Richard set her down beside it and then immediately went back to close the door. Christiana shifted nervously, her hands fluttering to her gown and away as she realized she could not reach the fastenings at the back on her own. She glanced to Richard, considering how to ask for his help, but in the next moment the question slipped from her mind and her jaw dropped. He was coming toward her, removing and discarding his clothes along the way. The dark coat went first, the vest and cravat fol owed and he was dressed only in his trousers and hessians as he moved to sit on the bed. Christiana watched blankly as he removed his boots, then he straightened and his trousers joined them on the floor so that he stood before her completely nude.

She was busy staring at al that had been revealed when Richard suddenly caught her by the shoulders and turned her. Christiana felt his hands moving down her back as he undid the fastenings of her gown and murmured a thank-you as she felt the material gape to al ow cool air to caress the skin of her back. She then sucked in a startled breath when his hands suddenly slid inside the material and glided around her sides to the front under it until he found and cupped her br**sts.

Richard used that hold to pul her back against his chest and Christiana let her breath out on a whoosh as he began nibbling at her neck while caressing her.

For one minute, Christiana was so startled at the suddenness of it al , including the desire that was sent rushing through her, that she simply stood there, unsure what to do. And then she realized that there was little she could do in this position. His arms inside her dress made it impossible for her to reach back and touch him, and his mouth was traveling up her neck, urging her head slightly to the side, but was out of her reach to kiss him.

"We’re married," he whispered by her ear, before nipping at it lightly.

"Yes," Christiana breathed as he sucked the lobe into his mouth.

"We haven’t consummated it yet though," he added, startling her by swirling his tongue in her ear.

"I – No, I suppose we – ah!" She gasped with surprise as one hand suddenly left her breast to ride down over her stomach and then slide between her legs. The action forced the gown off one shoulder and down her arm to al ow room for the maneuver. Christiana immediately slid her arm out to let the material drop away. She then tugged the material off her other shoulder and removed that arm from its sleeve as wel , leaving the gown to pool at her waist. She was now as bare as he from the waist up, and found it oddly erotic to see his tanned hand cupping her one breast while his other disappeared under the material of her dress. And then he pressed the heel of his hand against her pelvic bone, urging her back more snugly against his growing hardness as his fingers glided over her most sensitive spot.

"I –  Oh," Christiana moaned, now grinding her bottom against him herself. She covered the hand at her breast with one of her own and then used the other to reach back over her shoulder for his head. Christiana managed to catch him by a handful of hair and tugged gently as she turned her head, desperate for him to kiss her. Richard responded at once, covering her mouth with his own as his hands continued to move over her. It wasn’t enough and Christiana was sure it would drive her mad if she weren’t able to touch him as wel , so managed to slip her arm beneath his and reached back between them to find the hardness pressing so insistently against her. Richard reacted as if she’d burned him, his body stiffening, fingers tightening almost painful y around her breast. Then he suddenly released her and turned her to face him so that he could tug her gown over her hips. The moment the material hit the floor he urged her back against the bed.

Christiana dropped to sit on the edge of it, one hand instinctively reaching out to grab the erection waving before her as he stepped up to the bed. Richard stil ed at once and she glanced up to see that his jaw was clenched, his eyes squinted almost closed and his throat moving as he swal owed. She watched him and let her hand drift lightly over his erection, noting that his eyes immediately closed al the way and his head tipped back as he sucked in a long breath.

Encouraged, Christiana leaned forward and down to run her tongue over the tip, trying to emulate what he did to her. She stil ed briefly as he suddenly caught her head in his hands and said her name in a tight voice, but when he didn’t force her head away, she rasped her tongue over him again and then took him in her mouth so that her tongue could reached further down the shaft. That’s when he did force her head away, He also urged her to lie back on the bed.

"Was that wrong?" she asked uncertainly as she fel back.

"No," he assured her sounding grim. "It was too right. Much more and I would be useless."

"But you do it to me, and I want to – " Her protest ended on a gasp when he caught her beneath the knees, and pul ed her bottom to the edge of the bed. She started to sit up again then, but fel back with another gasp as he suddenly spread her legs wide, stepped between them and drove himself into her. He paused briefly then and Christiana blinked her eyes open, aware only then that she’d closed them. She immediately wished she hadn’t. He stood, peering down at her and she was completely revealed in this position. Before she could cover her nak*dness he lifted one of her legs to press against his chest and leaned against it as he reached with one hand to caress her breast. The other then moved between her legs, caressing her again as he began to move inside her and Christiana quickly forgot her self-consciousness and everything else as he pounded vigorously into her, his actions and caresses taking them both to the precipice and over.

Chapter Fifteen

The murmur of voices stirred Christiana from sleep, and had her roling onto her back in bed. Opening her eyes, she found the room awash with sunlight and Richard up, dressed, and at the door talking to someone in the hal . He closed the door now and turned back into the room, a smile curving his lips as his eyes landed on her.

"Ah, you’re awake." Richard approached the bed, pausing to col ect a dressing gown off the back of a chair as he came. "Your bath is ready, and everyone else is gathering downstairs. Cook is making breakfast, which should be ready soon, and then we need to start moving on our plans for the day. You’re stil wil ing to take care of interviewing the staff today while Daniel and I go see about the money, aren’t you?"

"Of course." Christiana sat up, taking the robe from him and managing to pul it onto first one arm and then the other while stil holding up the bedclothes to cover her nak*dness. Before she’d nodded off in the carriage on the journey back to London, the group had discussed and decided who would handle what tasks today after they’d rested. Daniel was going to accompany Richard to arrange for the blackmail money, Lisa and Robert were to visit the park and various other areas in search of gossip to see if they could not find out who George had seemed most friendly with this last year in the hopes of sorting out who the blackmailer could be, and Suzette and Christiana were to question the staff and see if they couldn’t figure out who might have been paid to poison George’s drink.

Christiana had been rather surprised he’d trust her with the responsibility when Richard had asked if she’d be wil ing to handle the interviews. George wouldn’t have.

"Good." He smiled, and offered a hand as she pul ed the robe around herself and pushed the blankets away. Holding the robe closed with one hand, Christiana clasped his fingers with the other and got out of bed, ducking her head and blushing as she realized that

– despite her best effort – she’d flashed quite a bit of leg. She kept her head bowed, fussing nervously as she tied the sash, and then stiffened with surprise when Richard suddenly caught her under the chin and tipped her face up to his.

"Good morning." The words were a soft whisper as his mouth descended to hers.

Christiana remained stil and self-conscious under the gentle caress, unsure how to respond. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck, press her body to his and open her mouth to him in a most wanton fashion. However, it was the middle of the morning. She wasn’t sure he would welcome such a brazen display in the light of day, so she merely stood stil and waited to see if he would deepen the kiss. Much to her disappointment, he didn’t, but ended it with a little sigh and straightened.

"I suppose I should let you start your day. I’l be downstairs waiting with the others."

Christiana watched him go with confusion. He seemed somehow disappointed and she wasn’t sure why.

"Come take your bath before it gets cold."

Christiana glanced around with surprise to see Grace standing next to the steaming tub. She hadn’t noticed the woman’s presence on first waking, and now smiled in greeting as she crossed the room. "Your carriage made it back al right then?"

"I gather we didn’t arrive long after your carriage did." Grace moved to col ect a cloth and soap as Christiana removed the robe she’d just donned and stepped into the tub. She then returned to the tub and knelt to wash her back for her, commenting, "His lordship seems a good man."

"Aye," Christiana murmured noncommittal y.

"He has proven himself thoughtful, arranging the bath to be brought up for you, and letting you sleep as late as he could while it was prepared."