His light touch made her insides put lie to her words. England, cold? Not at all.
"I was remembering the first time I saw you. You had your skirt up and were fanning your incredibly alluring ankles. Ankles covered with nothing but the hot Caribbean air."
His voice sent shivers up her spine. Alluring ankles? "I didn't know you were there." Her voice, which only moments ago had been waspish, now came out breathless. He had that effect on her.
* * *
Chapter 14
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Ashby and Ruth are concerned that I spend too much time at the warehouse, that the company of sailors is not good for me or my small daughter. I have found the sailors to be an honest lot, for the most part, and though their conversation is colorful, I never feel threatened around them. I have had to be more circumspect with Thea, however. This morning she asked for a bloody biscuit. Ruth nearly fainted, but I fought a desperate urge to laugh.
October 12, 1803
Journal of Anna Selwyn, Countess of Langley
He laughed softly and began to massage the underside of one of her feet. "That is one of my favorite memories. You looked so uninhibited and blissful."
Blissful was having your feet massaged by an incredibly handsome man like Drake. She relaxed against the cushions of the couch.
"That feels so good." If she were a cat, she would have purred with the pleasure of it. However, she felt compelled to add, "I'm sure your aunt would have palpitations if she walked in and found you doing this."
His grin was wicked. "I locked the door."
Her gaze flew to the library door, shut firmly against intruders. "Lady Boyle will pitch a fit if she finds out."
He gave her a measuring look. "What did my aunt say that you are so concerned about her reaction?"
"She and my aunt spent the day lecturing me on the proper behavior of a woman affianced to the grandson of a duke."
"And Mama?"
"She showed considerable restraint and merely pointed out that as you move among the ton, I would be expected to do so as well. Do you have any idea how I dread disappointing your mother? I had to be on my best behavior every moment, and I hate lying to her."
"You really had a grueling day, didn't you?" The sympathy in his voice and magic of his massaging touch did a good deal to sooth her sensibilities.
"You cannot imagine how awful it was," she agreed. "I stood for hours being fitted for more gowns than I'll wear in a lifetime, much less this one short Season."
"And getting new clothes holds no appeal for you?"
She let her eyes flutter close, concentrating on the wonderful heat of his large hands on the pinched muscles of her feet. "It's just so different from my island. There, if Aunt Ruth wanted me to have a new dress, she and Melly made it. I never had to go shopping for fabrics." The prettiest textiles from all over the world came through their small port. "You would not believe how low the modiste wanted to cut the neckline on my gowns. England is much too cold to expose so much of my person to the elements."
He made a noncommittal sound and his fingers continued their ministrations.
"Doesn't it strike you as odd that I'm supposed to wear those horrible stays, several layers of petticoats and other undergarments, but expose my bosom to all and sundry?"
He chuckled.
"It is not a bit amusing…" Her voice trailed into nothingness as he began to rub the other foot also and her entire body liquefied. "Oh, that is just right."
"I am sure you told the modiste what you felt regarding current fashions." He still sounded amused.
"I did, but my aunt was most insistent regarding stays. She wasn't at all impressed with the findings of the American physicians."
"Lady Upworth convinced you to wear a corset?" He didn't sound pleased by the prospect.
"No. Thankfully, Lady Boyle stood up for me on that count and said one could not expect a lady raised in the wilds to adopt every English custom. I wasn't exactly raised in the wilds, but I didn't belabor the point. Arguing with your aunt is exhausting."