At The Stroke Of Midnight (10 page)

When Sebastian moved to hand her up
into the sleigh, Jane paused and reached up to rest her hand on his shoulder,
relishing the feel of his well-sculpted muscles beneath her fingertips.
 
"Thank you for today, Sebastian."
 
She knew she was blushing but prayed that he
would think her cheeks just red from the cold.
 
"Since my mother passed only a few days after Christmas, the
holiday season has always been less than happy for me.
 
Today is the best day I can remember in a
very long time.
 
You eased the pain and
for that, I cannot thank you enough."

Jane nearly jumped when he reached
up to cover her hand with his.
 
"Were it within my power, you would never spend another miserable
Christmas alone.
 
Ever."
 
Then he reached out and stroked back a lock
of her hair that had come loose from the knot she had secured it in
earlier.
 
"You are so very lovely,
Jane and believe me when I tell you that you have become so very dear to me in
only a few short days.
 
My mind says
that it is not possible, but my heart?
 
It tells me otherwise."

She felt the same, though she had
no idea how it had happened.
 
Logically,
it was not reasonable.
 
One did not
begin to fall in love with someone after only a few meetings.
 
Yet the powerful surge of emotion that swept
through her every time that Sebastian was near, rendering her knees weak and
making her heart flutter, could not be denied.
 
There was something almost magical between them and today had only
increased that bond, much to her shame.

Yet she pushed that thought aside
and instead rose up on her tiptoes, conscious of how little time she had
left.
 
"You are dear to me as well,
Sebastian.
 
You need to know that before
we return."

"We will find a way,
sweetheart.
 
I swear it."
 
There was a note of entreaty in his voice,
almost begging her to believe him.
 
And
she wanted to.
 
But deep in her heart,
she could not.
 
She was like Cinderella,
being given a very short time with the prince before she turned back into a
plain, unwanted girl and chased from the palace.

But while she was here, alone with
Sebastian?
 
She would enjoy every moment.

So when she took the bold move of
encircling her arms around his neck and leaning up to kiss him, she was only
partially shocked when he scooped her into his arms and pulled her close for a
kiss.

Only this time, it was more than
just a kiss.
 
Since they were both
wrapped so warmly, she in her heavy cloak and he in his thick outer wear, there
was little he could to do her body.
 
But
to her lips?
 
Oh, to them he could do
magical, wonderful things.

At the first touch of his lips to
hers, Jane was tentative at first, as if not daring to believe that this was
actually happening again, even though this was far from the first time they had
kissed.
 
But it was the first time that
they truly risked discovery without a cloak of darkness to hide them.
 
Then, with each brush of his warm, soft lips
over hers she found herself melting into his embrace until, when he finally
urged her mouth open with his tongue, she granted him entrance almost
immediately.

Sebastian was a master at kissing,
each sweep of his tongue across her teeth making her yearn for more until her
body was aflame, almost too hot beneath the heavy wool she wore.
 
When he brought the tip of his tongue to
hers, tentatively at first, probably so as not to scare her, she threw caution
to the wind and matched him thrust for thrust until she was uncertain where he
ended and she began.

His breath stole into her mouth and
she drank it in greedily, giving him all that she was in turn.
 
He tasted sweet, like the cider they had
drunk not so long ago, mixed with a tinge of something sharp, probably a spice
of some sort that Cook liked to add to the holiday baking.
 
He was everything she had dreamed of and
more.

If only he were hers to keep.

By the time they had reached the
parlor game portion of the evening, Sebastian was ready to take someone's head
off, and this time, he was not thinking figuratively, but rather quite
literally.

He and Jane had arrived back at
Blackstone just in time to avoid the nosy inquiries of Angeline, who was, in an
unusual move, walking about the servants' areas.
 
It was clear that she did not believe that either he or Jane were
where they claimed to be that day, but as the horses were being brushed and it
was evident that he had just come from a ride, she could not catch him in a lie
regarding his whereabouts.

Nor could she help but pretend to
believe that Jane had been in the kitchen all morning supervising that
evening's desert selection when a lavish array of decadent treats such as
marzipan, mince pies, jam tarts, and a truly spectacular looking orange cream
dotted the serving tables in preparation for that evening's meal.
 
It was a Christmastime feast for the masses
and it all looked delicious.
 
It was
also evident that it had required a lot of work.

Normally, the sheer amount of
sweets would be over and above what was required, but since Angeline had
decreed that tonight would be the evening for numerous parlor games and not
dancing, the idea that the house party guests could continue to nibble at the
desserts while the games were underway was a popular one that had spread
quickly throughout Blackstone.
 
Not to
mention that Jane
did
look a complete disaster, though that was largely
because Sebastian hadn't been careful when he had kissed her, mussing her hair
to the point where it was no longer able to be repaired without a maid's
assistance.
 
Oh, and the wind that had
kicked up as he had raced the sleigh back across the frozen ground might have
also had a little something to do with her wind-blown condition.

When they had arrived at the
kitchen door, after receiving a quick, departing kiss from Sebastian, Cook had
swept Jane inside immediately, and given her a light dusting of flour on her
clothes to complete her disguise.
 
Then,
she had handed Jane a battered sheet of paper and a spoon for good
measure.
 
As Jane did not cook, she had
no idea what to do with these things, but it hadn't mattered, for just then
Angeline had appeared, seemingly ready to berate Jane.
 
Instead, she found Jane, covered in flour,
and looking very much as if she had spent the day slaving away with Cook in the
kitchens.

Angeline had taken in the entire
scene though tightly pursed lips, Sebastian had later learned by way of a loyal
footman, but unless she desired to accuse both Jane and Cook of lying - and it
was clear she did not since her husband was already in a foul temper that was
growing worse by the hour - there was little she could do.
 
Though she had intimated to Jane that, was
she not departing for Scotland soon, there would have been serious consequences
to her actions - whatever they had been.
 
Had Angeline been able to prove anything, of course.

Therefore, with Angeline already
worked into a snit and Charles Ashford ready to fight anyone who disagreed with
him, Sebastian had been forced to endure a proper dinner sitting next to a
woman who, to him anyway, seemed to be the most insipid, brainless creature on
the planet while under the close scrutiny of his mother and both of Elizabeth's
parents.

At the same time, he had been
forced to watch Jane being pawed at by Lord Wilfred Rockville, a local baron
who was more fop than lord and clearly thought himself the toast of the
countryside.
 
He also clearly had it in
his mind that Jane would make a delightful mistress and that she should be
honored to be asked to take her place in his bed.
 
And Rockville had asked - quietly, of course - but Sebastian had
still heard him.
 
He suspected some of
the other guests had overheard as well, though Sebastian wasn't as certain that
many had stayed to hear Jane's horrified refusal.

Instead, they were busy circulating
through Blackstone's grand ballroom, which had been stuffed to the brim with
chairs, couches, lounges, pillows, and all other manner of trappings to make it
appear like an oversized parlor, complete with cozy groupings of candles and a
large pianoforte in the corner.
 
Now,
groups of guests were strewn about like so much dust, making the already full
room seem more of a squeeze.
 
They were
also circulating and spreading word of Rockville's proposition, he had no
doubt.

Sebastian wished to gut the
wretched baron where he stood and make no apology for it.
 
However, he was not at liberty to do
so.
 
They were in public and he could
defend Jane the way she deserved.
 
Nor
was it his right to do so.
 
Though he
was also furious that Lord Devonmont was also not making any attempt to protect
his eldest daughter from the lecher.

Were it
his
daughter,
Sebastian knew the baron would find himself missing a hand if he made one more
caress in the direction of Jane's breasts.
 
Were Sebastian able to claim Jane as his this very evening?
 
Well, then the punishment would be far more
severe.
 
A gutting would be too good for
the man.
 
Especially given Sebastian's
foul temper.

At the moment, however, Sebastian
had to stand by and do nothing as Rockville urged Jane to take part in a game
of Snap Dragon, each comment punctuated by a hand on her back or a grope of her
breasts.
 
One time, the man had the
audacity to caress her arse!
 

Well, not do nothing, exactly,
Sebastian decided as he glared at the entire room, not caring who noticed.
 
He, too, was standing around the infernal
bowl of burning brandy while a mostly foxed lady not of his acquaintance
attempted to snatch a raisin from the flaming bowl.
 
Though he had no wish to participate in the game, Lord Devonmont
had practically forced Jane to accept the baron's invitation to play.
 
That was something that Sebastian would not
allow to pass unchallenged, no matter whether he had the right to defend her or
not.

Then, in nearly the same breath,
Devonmont had also practically ordered Lizzie
not
to participate and had
instead attempted to cajole Sebastian into remaining by her side and
entertaining her.
 
As if Lizzie was the
only daughter and that Jane was merely another guest.
 
The display had sickened Sebastian, and, he noticed that some of
the other guests had picked up on the tension as well.
 
He could also see them wondering how far
Devonmont would push social convention regarding his treatment of Jane.
 
This was not proper at all.
 
Even if he wanted her gone from his home.

When Sebastian immediately refused
the earl's request to stay beside Lizzie, Angeline had demanded that he do his
duty by her daughter, at which point, Sebastian had tartly informed her that,
as they were not betrothed, he had no true duty to Lizzie.
 
It had probably not been his wisest move,
but the woman pushed too far.
 
After one
of Sebastian's infamous icy glares, it had also been abundantly clear to all in
the room that potentially betrothed or not, he was not about to allow Devonmont
or Angeline to order him about like a common servant.

Therefore it was of little to
surprise to anyone that Sebastian was standing around the burning bowl in clear
defiance of Devonmont.
 
By this point,
many at the house party suspected that something was amiss between the two
earls, but since no one was speaking on the topic and Angeline was doing all
she could to sing the praises of the coming union, no one was certain what the
issue was.
 
All anyone could tell was
that Covington was openly flouting Devonmont's requests.
 
And that both men were furious, though
Sebastian thought he himself might look a bit more murderous.
 
He certainly felt like it.

Sebastian knew his mother was
furious as well after his inappropriate behavior, but at the moment, he was
furious with her, so she could go rot for all he cared.
 
Everyone was angry with everyone else - save
for him and Jane - and it was just fine by him.
 
Or at least he wanted to pretend that it was.
 
In truth, his anger bit at his heart when he
realized that that his once-loving relationship with his mother had devolved to
this point.
 
However, he was also not
about to stand idly by while the woman he cared for was forced to stick her
hand into a burning bowl of spirits and risk potential injury.
 
Or continue to be groped by a man that would
be missing a hand soon if he continued to paw at Jane.

Sebastian had seen this game go
awry at least twice over the years and had even seen an entire wing of a lush
estate in Wessex go up in flames when someone knocked over the bowl after being
singed a bit.
 
In truth, Jane was
unlikely to be truly hurt, as the fire did not burn all that hot.
 
Not to mention that her choice of gown was
unlikely to drag any bit of lace or trim into the flames.
 
This evening she was back to wearing drab
colors, this time a gown that Angeline insisted was silver, but looked to
Sebastian like something just this side of a weather-worn gray bucket.
 
It was plain and unflattering, so unlike the
lush green gown of the previous evening.

No, Jane in her ugly gown was not a
prime candidate for injury during Snap Dragon.
 
The simpering daughter of one of the invited local lords, however, was
far more likely to suffer injury in her overly decorated dress and long
hair.
 
This same chit also had the very
bad habit of flinging her hands dramatically about the room when she spoke or
became "terrified" - to quote her equally insipid mother - over one
insignificant thing or another.
 

Thus far this evening, the young
lady in question had knocked into one of the thankfully unlit Christmas trees,
sending the entire thing toppling to the floor.
 
She had also somehow managed to smack a tray of claret from the
hand of a passing footman and spill her soup course during dinner, not on
herself but rather across the table and directly at the other guests.
 
Each time, of course, letting out an
ear-splitting shriek that was giving Sebastian a pain in his head.
 
As if there hadn't been one there already.

At the moment, the disaster-prone
woman was standing right next to Jane, her long hair dangling precariously
close to the burning bowl, her hands in constant motion, brushing up against
the bowl repeatedly.
 
On the other side
of Jane was the baron who was very obviously attempting to get a peek down the
front of Jane's gown.
 
Which did nothing
more than force Jane to move closer to the woman who was even now flinging her
hands about as if she was possessed, smacking Viscount Chillton in the nose,
and causing him to move away from the Snap Dragon bowl, not that the other
woman so much as noticed.
 

Or perhaps she was attempting to
imitate a bird.
 
Sebastian did not know,
nor did he particularly care.
 
In other
circumstances, it might have been humorous to watch her flail about.
 
But not now, now when Jane was so close to
that damn bowl.
 
However, Chillton's
departure opened a space almost next to Jane, and Sebastian quickly moved to
fill it before some one else did.
 
Perhaps someone who though he might have better luck at seducing her
into bed than the baron, especially now that a great many of the male guests
assumed that she could be treated like a common trollop.

Sebastian could feel the pounding
in his temples worsen.
 
Again he
silently cursed both his mother who was desperate to keep a promise to a dead
man, and a long-dead father who had seemed to think his own son incapable or
unwilling to protect the family line.

Damn and blast, would this night
never end?

Finally, the simpering girl, Olive
or Olivia he thought her name might be, plucked a raisin from the bowl with a
minimum amount of fuss and, rather thankfully, no shrieking.
 
Or fire.
 
Or any other injury that he could determine.

Then, it was Jane's turn and
Sebastian turned his head ever so slightly so that he could gauge the reaction
of her parents.
 
Well, her father
anyway, for it was clear that Angeline didn't give a damn about Jane's
welfare.
 
She was too absorbed in
speaking with Lady Horsham, the wife of a lower viscount, and talking up the
details of a wedding that, if Sebastian had his way, would never take place.

Jane's father however, was a
different matter.
 
Despite his words, he
was clearly not as indifferent to his eldest daughter as he would have people
believe.
 
His eyes were fastened both on
her as she prepared to reach for a raisin and on Rockville, who looked ready to
make another attempt to grope Jane's breasts when he thought no one was
watching.
 
Then Devonmont's gaze strayed
to Sebastian and held, as if giving the younger man tacit and silent permission
to protect Jane from anything that might happen while around the infernal
bowl.
 
Just this once.