‘No. By Mariette, whose petulant demands have meant I have had to escort her to social functions I have had little interest in. By my mother who usually demands I help her resolve one problem at the Dowager House or another. Yes, by the tenants as well, who all bring me their problems to resolve. Sometimes by my servants, because this house needs to be run and run efficiently but cannot do so without meeting with its fair share of problems, squabbles, and incidents. Then there are the horses in the stable, none of which are infallible.’
‘You are a very busy man,’ Sissy whispered, wondering when he had time for himself.
‘I have been, but I decided a while ago that things had to change,’ Morgan replied honestly.
‘Why?’
‘Because I am bored.’ Morgan recited the discussion he had had on the night of the ball with Ralph. ‘It can be terribly predictable and mundane. I decided that night that I had to do something about it.’
‘So you decided to throw your life on its head by coming to see if you could get us to attend the ball,’ Sissy murmured, unsure how she should feel about that.
‘I wanted to see you,’ he informed her simply. ‘When it became evident that you weren’t going to turn up, I decided to do something about it. Not because anybody told me to but because I wanted to. I wanted you to attend the ball, Sissy. It was disappointing when you didn’t.’
‘I didn’t realise that my attendance mattered all that much.’
‘You were wrong,’ Morgan informed her.
He was prevented from saying anything else by the arrival of a veritable army of servants, all of whom were carrying steaming buckets of water. A large bathtub was positioned in front of the fireplace by two burly footmen who promptly disappeared to fetch more water. One by one, each servant poured their buckets into the tub before following the footmen back down to the kitchen. Within minutes, a large steaming tub awaited her. Sissy stared at it in amazement. She had expected sly looks from the staff but none of them even looked her way. Moreover, they didn’t seem at all surprised to see the master of the household lounging on a guest’s bed as if it was something that he did every day.
‘I am pleased to see that you are no longer blue,’ Morgan mused when the door had closed behind the last servant. He slid a thumb across the soft curve of her lip and smiled at her. ‘But you are still cold to the touch. You have to get warmer.’
‘This room is hot, though,’ Sissy replied only to gasp when Morgan tugged the covers back but only so he could badger her out of bed. When she stood up, Morgan swept her off her feet again. ‘You know, I can walk.’
‘Not on that leg,’ he replied. ‘Besides, I like doing this.’
Sissy rolled her eyes at him but was being safely deposited next to the bathtub before she could say anything.
‘I shall leave you to it,’ he murmured gently. Before he left, Morgan pressed a kiss to her lips and then quietly made his way out.
Once she was alone, Sissy wasted no time removing her night gown and lowering herself into the luxurious water. It was delightful to feel the silken warmth wrap around her. She moaned as the warmth chased away the last vestiges of cold from h
er flesh. Tipping her head back, she slid deeper into the water until it touched her chin. She sighed and felt the last of her tension melt away. The water lapped lazily against the sides of the bath but it only added to her contentment.
It took her a moment to realise that she was no longer alone. It wasn’t that anything was said. The air shifted and became palpable. Sissy’s eyes popped wide. She gasped when she found herself staring at Morgan, who was mere inches away. Leaning over the bathtub he pressed a kiss to her lips. When he lifted his head, she noticed that he had removed his shirt. The bronzed skin of his broad chest gleamed in the soft glow from the fireplace.
‘What are you doing?’ she whispered.
‘Joining you,’ he murmured gently before boldly sliding into the water opposite her.
Sissy’s mouth fell open when Morgan’s legs slid along either side of the tub. She tried to sit upright only to realise that she was going to reveal rather too much to him. Cheeks aflame she promptly tried to slide back down again only for the water to overspill and splosh all over the highly polished wooden floor.
‘This is not going to work,’ he announced with a rueful smile.
‘Morgan,’ she began only to gasp when he hauled himself out of the water, stepped out of the tub and moved behind her. Nudging her forward, he slid in behind her, his legs on either side of hers. This was far more comfortable; however Sissy was wildly aware of just how much she could feel of him. ‘This is hedonistic. We shouldn’t be doing this. What if one of the staff comes in?’
‘Then they will see far more than we planned,’ Morgan replied unconcernedly, not caring to mention that he had already locked the door. He was distracted too much to think about it, by the delectable sight of her naked body beneath the glistening water. ‘God, you are stunning, do you know that?’
He slid a hand down her thigh. Sissy jerked but there wasn’t enough space in the tub for her to go anywhere. All she managed to do was slosh more water everywhere.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
Morgan produced the soap. Rather than hand it to her, he created a lather and began to slide it over her protruding knees, higher and higher up her thigh. Sissy struggled not to squirm. She watched avidly as his hands rubbed the soap and created more lather. Again, the bubbles were rubbed over her, this time up her arms and across her shoulders.
‘Morgan,’ she whispered, shocked yet entranced.
‘We can’t do this,’ Morgan announced suddenly.
Sissy closed her eyes and wished she was somewhere else, but only until Morgan vaulted out of the tub. Dripping wet, and standing splendidly naked beside her, he coaxed her to stand up as well. When she had, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. He lowered her beside it but only so he could wrap her in a towel.