Cinders and Ashes (Cavendish Mysteries 2)

She poked a finger into the hard muscles of his chest, aware that his hungry gaze travelled over her curves. At that moment she didn’t really care. “I will also remind you that, as I am a servan

t in your house, the very last thing either of us needs is for you to get me with child. We have hardly been careful now, have we?”

A child with him was something she ached to have, but the possibility of it actually happening was nonexistent. If by some unfortunate circumstance she was already with child, it would cause more bittersweet regret than she could stand.

“I cannot and will not destroy whatever future I can find for myself, by getting myself with child by you.”

“Amelia,” Sebastian groaned. The thought of her delectable body, big and round with his child, rose tauntingly in his mind. His already rigid manhood stirred excitedly in his breeches. He wanted to tell her that any child she carried would be more than welcome in his house, his life, but his mind wouldn’t form the words. He raised his hands to place them on her shoulders, only for her to slap them away.

“Don’t, Sebastian. If you have any respect for me at all, just don’t.” Amelia turned on her heel and disappeared behind the retiring screen.

It was only once she was there that she realised there was nothing with which to cover herself. She didn’t possess a robe, and her only dress had been taken by a maid earlier for cleaning.

Silence descended in the room for several moments, before the towel Sebastian had been holding was draped over the top of the retiring screen, making her jump. Seconds later she heard the soft click of the connecting door as it closed behind him.

CHAPTER SIX

They had all seemingly accepted her into their circle without question.

Dominic, with his brooding good looks, was clearly besotted with his gorgeous wife who had him wrapped around her little finger, and knew it.

Peter, Isobel’s brother, was so calm and laid back. His teasing good humour and blatant flattery immediately put her at ease in the grand opulence of the formal dining room.

Edward, with his wry humour and acerbic wit, had teased Sebastian mercilessly by regaling Amelia with childhood exploits that had them all laughing out loud.

As the evening meal came to an end, Amelia felt a ripple of disquiet at Sebastian’s distant behaviour. His aloof, almost dismissive attitude towards her was in stark contrast to the warm curiosity of his family.

When she had first arrived in the dining room, he had done little but stare at her nonplussed, as though he had no idea who this strange creature in his house might be, and throughout the meal made no attempt to converse with her.

Despite the little voice inside warning her it was for the best, his aloof behaviour broke her heart. She was so confused with the conflicting emotions that churned inside her, that she wasn’t sure what to think. Inside, she knew this was the way things needed to be between them. He was accommodating a guest until she was ready to leave, and fulfilling his supposed obligation to repay her for saving his life. She should be pleased that, although somewhat offended, he had decided to accommodate her request with ease and not push her to sleep with him.

But she missed the closeness they had shared in her cottage, and right now, being a stranger in this alien environment, she needed someone she could confide in.

After dinner they eschewed protocol and all retired to the study together, where Sebastian recounted the events of the past few weeks with crisp precision. He carefully missed out the intimacy they had shared, but Amelia felt certain everyone in the room knew what had happened between them. Sebastian was, after all, very much a man. One who had been alone with a single female, unchaperoned, for several nights.

“We need to search Uncle Benedict’s and see what we can find,” Dominic murmured into the silence.

“Great, if we each take a room we can finish the job more quickly,” Isobel added, clearly relishing the challenge.

“You’re not coming,” Dominic boomed, shooting to his feet. Amelia eased back in her seat at the outrage on the large man’s face. Although he looked so much like Sebastian, there was a darkness about him that immediately made her wary.

“It’s not safe, Isobel,” Sebastian added, glaring at his sister-in-law. Amelia watched as Isobel glared back at both men defiantly, before raising her delicate chin in annoyance. She looked like a school ma’am telling her young charges off for being naughty.

“You cannot expect us to just sit here quietly while you lot go off on your adventures,” she snapped, watching as the men bristled with masculine indignation.

“We expect you to remain safe,” Peter added. “We have all had enough of your adventures, my dear,” he murmured, referring to Isobel’s own brush with death earlier in the year.

“That wasn’t my fault.”

Amelia didn’t understand, but watched the interchange between the wilful female and the dominant men with interest, and growing feminine respect for the other woman.

Isobel glared at each man individually, before turning to Amelia. “Do you ride?”

Amelia fought the urge to smile for the first time since she arrived, loving the challenging defiance clearly etched on Isobel’s face.

“Yes I do. It has been some time since I have ridden, but I am sure it will come back to me,” Amelia replied, ignoring Sebastian’s growl from the other side of the room.

“I think I can remember where Uncle Benedict lives. If not, then we can ride around until we find it.” Isobel was wise enough to know that this would raise her husband’s ire. After all he couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t go through with her threat.