A Simple Case of Seduction

Thorpe dragged his hand down his face. “You’re acquainted enough with my methods to know I speak my mind. Before I reveal what I discovered, I want to tell you that while the truth is often painful to hear, the heart is happier for it in the end.”

Daphne shuffled to the edge of the chair. “Thomas has been dead three years. The passage of time lessens the blow, makes the truth more bearable. Whatever you have to say, do not spare my feelings.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

“Thomas met a woman at The Mariners. It was a regular arrangement by all accounts.” He sucked in a breath, his broad chest expanding before her eyes. “As to the reason for their business, no one knows.”

Daphne chuckled albeit weakly. There were few possibilities to account for Thomas’ actions. “There are only a handful of reasons why a man of his quality would spend time slumming at the docks. Smuggling, spying, and seducing tavern wenches. One thing I can say with certainty is that Thomas was not a criminal. Whatever he was doing there had to be legitimate.”

“And if adultery was the motive?” He seemed almost sorry the words had left his lips.

“Then I must accept that he sought satisfaction elsewhere.” Even though she’d made a tremendous effort to be happy in her marriage, Thomas knew they were not suited in a physical way. “Perhaps I was not enough for him.”

Thorpe shot out of the chair. “Then Thomas was a bloody fool. There’s not a man alive who’d think you inadequate.”

Daphne’s throat grew tight at his uncensored outburst. The compliment touched her. Did Thorpe really hold her in such high regard?

“Forgive me,” he continued though struggled to hold her gaze. “I spoke out of turn. It is not for me to comment on the nature of your relationship with your husband. He loved you. That much I can attest to.”

Daphne could no longer allow ignorance to form the basis of Thorpe’s opinion.

“We were not in love, Daniel.” His given name slipped easily from her lips, yet she noted the look of surprise in his eyes. “Thomas was my friend, and in a strange way my saviour. He was a good man, and I cared for him deeply.” For some reason, she stood too and placed her hand lightly on Thorpe’s chest. “But our marriage lacked the soul-deep love that lasts a lifetime. I have never felt an all-consuming passion. Never felt the ache of physical desire.”

“Never?” He stared at her lips. “You’ve never lost yourself in a moment of unbridled lust?”

Heavens, her body reacted instantly to his rich tone. All she could think about was kissing him, running her hands over his impressive chest, taking him into her willing body.

“Perhaps once,” she said recalling the amorous interlude in his carriage, “in a moment of madness when I was eager to prove a point.”

“Did this passionate event happen to take place recently?”

“It happened only this afternoon.”

His eyes brightened. “Then I must tell you that a single event is not enough to deem a person mad. One must experience the sensation numerous times before a more definitive diagnosis can be made.”

Daphne couldn’t help but smile. “And so, in your expert opinion, are you suggesting I repeat the experience?”

Thorpe moistened his lips. “I am. Though as with any experiment, the conditions must be the same.”

“But I am not in a carriage, Daniel.” She liked the sound of his name. “I am not sitting astride your muscular thighs.”

“It would take but five minutes to run to The Cock Inn and drag Murphy from his supper.”

“You would do that in the name of science?”

“No. I would do it for you.”

Those words were like a potent aphrodisiac. Blood flowed through Daphne’s veins at so rapid a rate she could hear it thundering in her ears. As soon as she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his, the spark in her belly ignited.

His hand cupped her neck as he deepened the kiss, his groan of appreciation was perhaps the sweetest sound she’d ever heard. So lost in the magic of the moment, she failed to hear the trudge of Bostock’s footsteps coming up the stairs, not until he was almost at the door.

“Bostock …” The word was accompanied by a gasp as Daphne dragged her mouth away and took a step back. “Mr Bostock is at the door.”

Betsy burst into the room carrying a loaf of freshly baked bread. “And so Lady Fairweather said the bigger the skirt the better as she needed somewhere to hide her lover should her husband come looking.”

Betsy loved to gossip.

Mr Bostock snorted. He placed the knife and board on the table. “Those fancy folk still amaze me.”