Tenacious Trents 01 - A Misguided Lord (26 page)

“
He suspected there was
more to your relationship with Bentley than a simple kiss in the
garden.” Lord Wilkes leaned in to take her lips. Elle turned and
offered her cheek. There was no point in denying her ruined state
and at least it was not something he required in a wife or he would
have never offered.

He placed his lips to her neck and
then licked. Waves of revulsion flooded Elle. “Despite my poor
judgment in the past…” Elle pulled away. “Leigh is but fourteen and
I don’t wish to set a poor example.”

He smiled indulgently. “Though I
appreciate the air of innocence about you, Miss Westin, I am
equally grateful you are not a virgin.” He pulled her to him once
again. “My desire for you increases by the moment and I don’t have
the patience for virginal fears.”

Elle placed her hands on his chest.
“Still we must wait. The children are in the house.”

Lord Wilkes chuckled. “I will leave
you as you wish. However, the trip to Wales is a long one with many
overnight stays. It will be impossible to be alone with you for so
long and not have you.”

Elle swallowed the bile rising in her
throat and forced a relieved smile. “Until we travel, Lord
Wilkes.”

“
Until we travel.” He
smiled wickedly again before leaving.

As soon as the door closed Elle sank
to her bed and put her face into shaking hands. “Oh, God. What have
I done?”

Peter called to the boys to come in
from the lake. The girls had gone to the house to bathe and it was
Clay who suggested the boys swim for the same reasons. When the
girls were out of sight, they boys had stripped and dove into the
water. He watched carefully, but none of them had trouble swimming.
He had no idea where any of them learned but suspected this was not
their first time in the lake. Someone had discreetly left clean
clothing and towels, and Peter set to making sure the boys were
dried and dressed before herding them like sheep up to the house.
Clay stood to follow, wanting a bath himself.

The children were exhausted by the
time they were finished fishing and eating the picnic dinner. Clay
was equally as tired but positive of the future. Both Peter and
Mrs. Nevil were in agreement and tomorrow he would work at putting
the plans in motion. First he would hire men from town to build a
school house. He would then see about hiring older boys to work in
the mill and older girls as maids to help with the kitchen and
cleaning. The younger children would be relieved of their duties,
though given chores, and get an education.

Why shouldn’t they be given the
opportunity for a better life? Eleanor would be pleased when he
told her. Maybe she would have further suggestions?

If she would talk to
him
. Maybe he should ride over again
tomorrow, before he went into town. After he told her of the plans,
maybe she would suggest things he hadn’t thought of. Of course she
would. He really shouldn’t put the plan into full motion without
speaking with her first. After all, in a way, it was her idea that
children should be educated and she should have a voice in the
planning.

Clay stood and
stretched.
I know I was going to give her
a few more days
. But this is important.
And, it was a way to bring her back in his life where he could
convince her to marry him. A future without Eleanor was as bleak as
his past and Clay hadn’t ever considered how uninspired his life
had been. Not until Eleanor brought laughter and light to it. He
could not lose her.

If only to taste those lips once
again. To hold her next to him. To feel her body quicken with
desire at his touch. To show her everything they could be
together.

His body tightened at the thought of
making love to her again. Now that he had made love to Eleanor he
didn’t even want to kiss another woman, let alone touch one. If he
didn’t convince her to marry him, Clay could very well live the
rest of his life celibate. Hopefully one of his brothers would
produce the necessary heir, though it didn’t look like Jordan would
soon succumb to marriage and Matt was too busy starting at a new
parish as a vicar to take a wife, though he probably would
eventually. That left John, but if he and Elizabeth were traipsing
all over the world on behalf of the Home Office, it might be years
before they produced a son or daughter.

No, it was Clay’s duty to father a son
but he didn’t want to, nor would he attempt it, without Eleanor as
the child’s mother.

He stilled. What if she was with
child? He had done nothing to prevent the possibility the one time
they had made love. Would it be that simple? If she found herself
expecting, surely she would tell him and then she would have no
choice but to become his bride.

Clay grinned, but it faded quickly
enough. He didn’t want her to marry him because she had no other
choice. He wanted Eleanor to become his wife because she wanted to
and needed him as badly as he needed her.

An owl hooted in the distance, taking
Clay from his thoughts. He ought to retire, but he was as filthy as
the boys had been. Though a hot bath would be soothing, he didn’t
relish hauling buckets of hot water to his chamber nor asking
anyone else to do it. No doubt most of the household had found
their beds by now.

Besides, he wouldn’t be able to sleep
in this aroused state. He should put Eleanor from his mind but
wanting her as badly as he did, on her back, arms and legs around
him was driving him to a state he didn’t often encounter. The cool
lake was the best answer as he did not have her to turn
to.

He pulled off his clothing and tossed
them aside before he dove, allowing the cold water to envelope his
body. It took some time but his body finally relaxed enough that he
would hopefully find sleep tonight without Eleanor hovering in his
dreams.

*

That evening was to be the last with
her family and Elle broke one of her many rules. Tonight they dined
on the floor of her chamber and talked long past their normal
bedtime. She wanted to make each and every moment last and
memorized their faces and voices, fearing how much the boys would
change before she saw them next. Jamie was her greatest worry but
she had to admit that his brothers were more resilient, and they
would be together. At least that is what she tried to convince
herself as she held the small, sleeping boy to her
chest.

She was sitting on the seat by her
window, which had been opened for the night breeze. The boys had
fallen asleep, as had Leigh an hour earlier. All of them were
squeezed onto her bed. There wasn’t room for her even if she wanted
to sleep. She wished to watch them instead. All of the candles had
been extinguished but the moon gave enough light for her to
continue to memorize the faces she loved above all else.

Slowly voices from below intruded into
her thoughts, along with acrid smell of a cheroot. Elle glanced to
the yard below to see her grandfather and Lord Wilkes standing
outside smoking. Each held a glass in their hands.

“
This entire business has
gone much easier than I had imagined,” her grandfather said. “You
have Eleanor and her inheritance of twenty thousand pounds. My debt
to you is paid in full.”

Twenty thousand pounds? I
have an inheritance? Why hadn’t anyone told me? I don’t have to
marry anyone
.

“
As long as I have her
wedded before her birthday. And bedded.” Lord Wilkes chuckled.
“Besides, how could she say no to my generous offer when her
beloved siblings will benefit so well?”

“
You must keep her in Wales
as long as possible,” Lord Stanhope insisted.

The man laughed again. “Never fear. I
have many plans for Miss Westin and I doubt I’ll tire of her for a
very long time.”

His words made Elle’s skin crawl. She
could only imagine what his plans entailed.

“
Yes, I’ve heard about your
so-called desires which is why you could find no other bride in
London.”

Elle straightened.

“
Only rumors,” Lord Wilkes
stated simply, not really arguing for the dignity of his
honor.

“
I don’t particularly care
myself what you do with her, as long as you keep her from London
and my estate, forever.”

“
Don’t worry. As promised,
I will not let her leave Wales so you’ll never have to acknowledge
the shame of your family again.” Lord Wilkes puffed on his cigar.
“Besides in case she doesn’t share my appetites, and those of my
friends, I doubt she’ll wish to meet those in society after her
introduction to one of my parties.”

“
Your friends visit you,”
her grandfather reminded.

“
True. But they have no
wish for the world to know how we prefer to enjoy our pleasures.
All the more reason Miss Westin will remain in my home. When I have
tired of her, my friends will wish to enjoy her as well.” He
stopped and looked at Stanhope. “But, not until I have my heir. I
must know the child is mine. I may have to keep her locked away
until that time, but I will make it work. Then, she will be free to
partake in anything she wishes with me or my friends, or a couple
at once if she so chooses.” He looked up into the sky. Thank
goodness he wasn’t facing the house.

Panic rose in Elle and she bit her
lip. What had she agreed to? If she backed out now, where would
that leave her family? No, she couldn’t back out. No matter how
horrifying Lord Wilkes plans were, at least she would know that her
sister and brothers would have a better life, but she would be
damned if she allowed any man to touch her who was not her husband.
That would be bad enough and hopefully any mating was over and done
quickly. Bile rose to her throat and Elle swallowed. Was it too
much to pray for a short marriage? Maybe he would tire of her and
leave her alone.

Leigh stirred from the bed and came
over to Elle. Before the girl could speak, Elle signaled her to be
quiet. Quickly and quietly Elle laid Jamie on the bed. His innocent
face sank into the pillow and his thumb found its way to his mouth.
Silently she slipped back into her seat beside Leigh so she could
continue listening.

“
Why did you wait so long
to bring her to London?”

“
I never intended to but
then my man of business reminded me of her inheritance. I couldn’t
let her gain control of that much money. She is a female and would
have spent it foolishly.”

“
When do you take the
children to London?”

“
The day after you leave. I
can’t risk Acker nosing around. It was difficult enough to keep
Eleanor from visiting him. That man would never allow the marriage
even though he has no grounds to stand in my way as her
guardian.”

“
Bentley is out of the
picture?”

Her grandfather grunted. “The man got
what he wanted apparently and has no further use for
Eleanor.”

The men were silent for a few minutes
longer. Leigh questioned Elle with her eyes and Elle simply shook
her head and reminded her younger sister to remain silent.
Hopefully she would never ask about that last comment her
grandfather had made because it was something Elle never wanted to
explain.

“
You’ll have difficulty
with Eleanor if she learns her family disappeared,” her grandfather
continued.

Eleanor strained to hear better. What
did he mean by disappear?

“
It is my hope that she’ll
be sufficiently subdued by then to care less what befell
them.”

“
You mean to introduce her
to opium?”

“
Of course. Once she is
hooked, she’ll do anything I ask.”

Leigh’s eyes widened in
alarm.

“
If I didn’t think it would
be more trouble than it is worth I would take the sister, too. She
is ripe for the picking and I have a few friends who prefer the
girls younger.”

Elle brought a hand to her throat. She
was going to be ill. Leigh was all of fourteen and not nearly
mature enough for what Wilkes had in mind.

“
Your greed knows no
bounds, but my debt is paid to you and soon you will have Eleanor’s
money.”

“
You’ll be making a nice
profit yourself. Madame Bovine will pay handsomely for Leigh. So
young, beautiful and virginal. If I had a taste for virgins I’d
take her myself.”

“
Madam will pay very well
and double her investment in less than a month. The girl is young
enough to work there for years, especially if she keeps her
looks.”

Elle shook with fear and anger. She
had heard of the establishment owned by Madame Bovine and she would
be damned if she allowed anyone to take Leigh to such an evil
place.

“
I know the three eldest
are going to be put to work in one of your mills. What are your
plans for the youngest?’ Lord Wilkes asked.

“
A foundling home. If he
survives then he’ll eventually go to work or live on the streets.
What do I care? He is no relation to me.” Her grandfather stated
calmly as he tossed his cigar onto the ground and stomped it out.
“What do you care, Wilkes? You’re getting a lady for a wife and
probably your heir within a year.”