‘Sebastian!’ She thrust her hands under the covers, grabbing his shoulders. ‘You can’t!’
‘I can.’ His hands wrapped around her waist, pinning her down again.
‘But what are you doing?’
‘It’s much better if I show you.’ His head appeared from beneath the covers, one eyebrow raised. ‘Let me?’
She hesitated briefly and then nodded, squeezing her eyes shut as curiosity battled with modesty. She probably ought to protest some more, she thought, only she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it, not when everything he did, every way and place he touched her felt so good, and even better when he slid up the bed and entered her, thrusting gently until she gave a low moan and started to rock against him, too. It was better than the first time, as if they were truly one body, moving together in total harmony.
And then he reversed their positions, holding on to her hips and rolling them both over until she was positioned on top of him, naked and exposed and feeling more powerful than she ever had in her life. For a moment she wasn’t quite sure what to do, but then the sensations seemed to intensify until she was moving to her own rhythm, sliding back and forth, faster and faster until at last she felt a trembling, shuddering sensation in her abdomen as if something had burst inside her, leaving her whole body quivering and shaking. It was a few minutes before she rolled over and came back to herself.
‘You really do like my ankles.’ She stared up at the canopy in wonderment.
He gave a ragged laugh, though she could tell he was staring at the canopy, too. ‘You have no idea.’
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mornings had officially become Sebastian’s favourite time of the day. He’d woken up in the same room as Henrietta several times while they’d been travelling north, but he’d quickly discovered that waking up beside her, with her face next to his on the pillow, was completely different. Just looking at her while she slept, watching her eyelashes flutter and her chest move slowly up and down made his heart clench with a sense of gladness and contentment. And when she woke up, all tousled and wide eyed... It made it phenomenally difficult to get out of bed, though after two days of so-called rest and recuperation, the continued absence of snow left them no choice but to board the carriage again and head south.
On the other hand, being cuddled up together in a carriage beneath a pile of blankets had its own cosy charm. Henrietta seemed happy, too, which made him even happier. With her arm tucked into his and her head resting on his shoulder, the sense of contentment he’d been afraid might end with the honeymoon only seemed to grow deeper and more intense with each passing mile. He insisted they make regular stops to prevent the coachmen from freezing, as well as to make sure she showed no signs of a relapse, so that it was three days before they eventually came within sight of Feversham.
* * *
It was clear from the moment they climbed down from the carriage that it was going to be some time before he got Henrietta to himself again. The boys were like a litter of puppies, rushing down the front steps to hurl themselves at her legs and jump about with excitement. His own greeting was only slightly less enthusiastic: hugs from Oliver and Michael and a firm handshake from Peter, and then his mother and Lord Tobias were welcoming them back, too, while the Dowager Duchess stood at the front door, smiling.
After the comparative peace and tranquillity of the journey, it was a frenetic half an hour of excitement, naturally succeeded by tea in the drawing room as everyone clamoured to hear about the wedding.
‘Did you really get married in a blacksmith’s shop?’ As always, Michael was the most voluble.
‘We did.’ Sebastian tousled his hair. ‘The blacksmith hit the anvil with his hammer when we said “I do”.’
‘So this means you’re really my uncle?’
‘It really does.’ He reached for Henriett
a’s hand and squeezed it. Even sitting on the chair next to his, she felt too far away. He’d got accustomed to sitting close beside her, to always touching her. Now it felt wrong to be as much as a foot away.
‘And are we all going to live at Belles?’
‘I think Miss MacQueen might have a few things to say about that.’ Sebastian laughed at the boy’s persistence. ‘We haven’t worked out all the details yet, but you’ll be the first to know once we come up with a plan. Right now we’d like to know what you’ve been up to.’
‘We’ve set up a proper stage for our play!’ Oliver bounced enthusiastically.
‘And we painted some backdrops,’ Peter added.
‘That sounds very professional.’
‘I helped to make curtains,’ his mother joined in. ‘It’s become quite a production. Tobias even has a small part.’
‘A good one, I hope?’ He lifted an eyebrow at his uncle.
‘They needed another villain...’ Lord Tobias spread his hands out. ‘Sorry to say, I’m fairly quickly despatched.’
‘No match for Nelson obviously. Another pirate, then?’
‘Napoleon, actually.’
‘Indeed? That sounds...original.’