Love Is Blind (26 page)

mediately
moved to help him finish dressing, but Adrian waved him away and directed him to start packing and enlist all the aid he needed to manage the endeavor as quickly as possible.

Once dressed, Adrian made his way to Clarissa's room and found her just finishing her letter. Joan was there, hard at work packing all the clothes she'd just unpacked the day before. Telling the maid he would send someone up to help her, Adrian led Clarissa downstairs and handed her letter over to Jessop, who would give it to one of the lads to run over to Lord
Crambray
. Then he escorted her into the dining room. As expected, Cook had already prepared a meal to break their fast, and they both ate heartily after their strenuous activity from the night before.

The servants were still packing when they finished eating, but Adrian had expected as much, and he told Jessop to have the trunks loaded and strapped to a second carriage when they were packed. Joan and
Keighley
would follow with the belongings while he and Clarissa took the first carriage. He then rushed her out and saw her inside the carriage before having a word with the driver.

"My," Clarissa breathed as he joined her a moment later. "When you set your mind to something, it certainly happens quickly."

Adrian smiled at her dazed expression, then leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. He felt a momentary pang. 'You do not mind leaving the city so soon? I know you were enjoying your father's company."

"And I shall do so again when he stops at
Mowbray
," Clarissa said quietly. Then she assured him, "Nay, my lord. I truly do not mind. I fear I would have found any company today overwhelming."

Her blush suggested the reason for her discomfort had something to do with what they'd been doing last night, and Adrian smiled again, then scooped her onto his lap. Clarissa gave a small squeal of surprise, grabbing at his shoulder as he settled her against him.

"Are you sore today?" Adrian asked huskily, bestowing a light kiss to her brow, then each eye.

"No," Clarissa whispered. "Should I be?"

"I do not know," Adrian admitted. He kissed her softly on the lips, smiling as she melted against him. Then he whispered, "Clarissa?"

"Hmmm?" she murmured, tilting her head as he nipped briefly at her ear.

"Do you recall the trip in the carriage where you asked me about the different positions a man and woman might use when—"

"Yes," Clarissa interrupted, blushing prettily.

"Well..." Adrian paused to nibble at her neck, enjoying the little shivers that went through her.
He
caused those shivers of pleasure and excitement, and could cause much more. Last night Clarissa had screamed with her release the second time he'd made love to her. He was graced with a most responsive and sensuous wife, and knew how fortunate he was in that. Clarissa was still shy and innocent, but once he excited her, she shed most of her inhibitions and lost herself to the experience.

"Well?" she echoed, urging him to complete the thought.

Smiling, Adrian slid a hand up her leg under her skirt, then bent his head to press a kiss to the swell of one breast above the neckline of her gown. His other hand caught the neckline and tugged it downward until the breast popped free. He smiled when he saw that

the nipple was already erect—just as he was. They were like fire and tinder, burning each other up.

"Well," Adrian murmured against the exposed flesh. He paused to give it a little lick before continuing. "I was recalling your saying that carriage journeys were long and boring."

"Very little is boring with you around, my lord," Clarissa said with a little laugh, then groaned as he caught her nipple in his mouth and grazed it with his teeth.

"
Mmm
," Adrian breathed around her excited flesh, smiling when she shuddered and arched her back. Then he added, "I was wondering if you would like to pass the time here in the carriage by trying the position I showed you?"

Clarissa's breathing had grown labored, and she shifted on his lap, spreading her legs more as his hand crept up her thigh.

"Which one, my lord?" she asked breathlessly, reminding him that he had indeed shown her two positions before the carriage stopped and dumped them on the floor.

Adrian didn't answer. He closed his lips around her nipple, drawing on it slowly while his fingers finally reached the center of her.

"Oh, husband." Clarissa moaned, clutching at his head, and Adrian groaned as she shifted her hips in response and her bottom pressed against his erection.

"Which one?" she repeated more urgently, her hands tangling in his hair.

Adrian released her breast and withdrew his hand

from between her legs. He then worked at the
decol
-

letage
of her gown until he had her two breasts exposed.

"Both," he breathed, covering them with his hands.

"Both positions and perhaps others. It is a
longjourney
."

"Oh," Clarissa groaned. "My lord, I do believe I shall enjoy this journey far more than I did the trip to London with Lydia."

"I certainly hope so, wife." Adrian chuckled. "After all, I do have an advantage over your stepmother."

"You have many advantages over her," Clarissa assured him, her voice husky. She kissed him softly on the lips, and then asked, "But of which do you speak?"

"
Mmmm
." Adrian took a moment to kiss her, then reached out to pull the curtain closed on first one side of the carriage, and then the other. "I have the key to your lock."

Clarissa blinked, then chuckled softly, but her laughter died as he bent to claim her lips again.

Chapter Fourteen

Adrian peered down at the slight woman in his arms, a smile playing about his lips. Clarissa was settled straddling his lap, her bare breasts and face plastered against his equally bare chest. She was sleeping the sleep of the exhausted, and it was all Adrian's fault. He'd clearly worn her out with his lovemaking.

He peered at her silky, flawless skin, her tipped-up nose, and her slightly parted lips, and felt his heart turn over in his chest. Just looking at Clarissa made Adrian want to hold her, and just holding her made him want more. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be long before they arrived at
Mowbray
, and there really was no time to wake her for another experiment in the best position to travel by carriage on a long journey.

Clarissa made a little snuffling sound in her sleep, and Adrian's heart took another turn. She was so adorable, he thought, raising a hand to brush a finger lightly down her cheek. His lady wife immediately

frowned, and muttered irritably in her sleep as she slapped the hand away. Adrian's chest rumbled with laughter, and that seemed to displease her as well, for she swatted at his chest as if to make it stay still.

Shaking his head, he hugged her to his breast and briefly closed his eyes, hardly able to believe his luck. It was Adrian's considered opinion that he had the most incredible wife in the world.

At the moment the top of her gown was a wrinkled mass around her waist. Her skirt was also gathered up, and her body was almost glued to his by drying sweat. Yet, did this worry her? Was she fretting over the state of her gown, which he'd managed to rip in his eagerness? No. Clarissa was unconcerned to the point that she'd fallen asleep.

Of course, Adrian realized, he was in no better shape. His breeches were tangled around his ankles, and his shirt was torn open with half the buttons missing. And he didn't much care himself. At least, he didn't until the driver gave a sudden shout. When Adrian lifted the curtain he'd drawn closed, he saw with horror that they were rolling up to
Mowbray
.

Adrian was so shocked to realize they'd arrived— and when they were so unprepared to meet anyone— that he jerked slightly forward, sending his wife to the floor in a flurry of skirts.

"Oh, Clarissa! I am sorry," he murmured, letting the curtain drop back into place as he leaned forward to help her. His sweet wife was squawking sleepily and trying to dig her way out of the ocean of fabric entwining her.

Adrian managed to lift her up off the floor, but her dress promptly slid off to pool on the bottom of the carriage. Frowning, he settled her on the bench be-

side him, then bent to snatch the dress up. He handed it to her, saying
urgendy
, "We have arrived. We have to dress. Quickly."

"What?" she asked with bewilderment. "What do you mean, we have arrived?"

"I mean we are here, at
Mowbray
." Adrian jerked the curtain aside to show her, then realized she could not make out much without her spectacles, so he explained: "We are already halfway up the drive. We must dress quickly."

Clarissa didn't waste time asking questions. She immediately began struggling with her gown, trying to sort out the material.

Relieved that she grasped the urgency of the situation, Adrian turned his attention to his own clothing. He quickly drew his breeches up his legs, then lifted his butt off the seat to tug them up to his waist, only to collapse back down as the carriage jerked to a halt. Reaching out, he managed to keep Clarissa from crashing to the floor. They slid forward and then slammed back against the padded bench seat.

Struggling under the waves of her gown, Clarissa muttered what sounded very much like, "Damn, damn, double damn," and continued her battle. Adrian gave up on his breeches to try to help her, shifting yards of material as he searched for her head. It looked to him as if she'd tried to pull the gown on, but was having trouble finding her way out through the neck. He'd just found the top of her head amid all that material when the carriage door started to open. Adrian promptly gave up on Clarissa and turned to

stop it.

He glanced back, and her head was popping up out of the dress. Clarissa's arms, though, were still trapped

inside the gown, apparently unable to find appropriate exits.

Leaving her to sort it out, Adrian quickly finished doing up his breeches, then tugged his shirt closed over his chest, fastening what buttons were left. Once finished, he glanced at Clarissa. With some surprise, he saw that she had the dress on properly and done up, and was making a vain effort to brush the wrinkles out of her skirt. She felt her hair and asked, "Do I look all right? They will not be able to tell, will they?"

Adrian bit his tongue, unwilling to admit that her hair was sticking up every which way, and that it— along with her ripped and wrinkled dress—was definitely going to spill the proverbial beans.

Clearing his throat, he decided to take the chivalrous route: He lied. "They will never guess a thing." "Oh, good."

Clarissa sighed and, before he could say another word, reached for the door and threw it open, nearly braining his butler, who had apparently approached the carriage to see what was amiss.

Fortunately, for all his age Kibble was quick on his feet, and he managed to dance back out of the way before he got clobbered. He just as quickly danced forward again to catch his new mistress as Clarissa tripped over the hem of her gown and tumbled forward.

She landed with a squawk against the man's thin chest, then managed to get her feet back under her and squinted up at the
buder's
bulldog face, trying to make out his features. For his part, the butler gaped back. His eyes moved over her well-kissed lips, mussed hair, and rumpled clothing with a sort of horrified wonder.

Cursing himself for not being quick enough to get

out first and aid her from the carriage as he should have, Adrian quickly followed her disembarkation. He then took her by the upper arms and pulled her away from his
buder
. Drawing her back against his chest, Adrian rested his hands on her shoulders and proudly faced his estate employees.

"Clarissa, this is my staff. The gentleman who saved you from falling is my
buder
, Kibble. He used to be my tutor when I was a boy, but he took the role of
buder
when my parents' butler, Fitzwilliam, died."

"Hello, Kibble. Thank you for keeping me from falling on my face," Clarissa said with embarrassment, offering a smile to the grizzled old man.

"It was my pleasure, my lady," Kibble assured her, in a rare show of charm and dignity.

"And this is my—
our
—housekeeper, Mrs.
Longbot
-tom," Adrian continued, turning her
slighdy
so that Clarissa faced the woman he'd
secredy
called Long-face as a boy. Truly, the name was more suitable. The woman was short and round, with nothing long except

her face.

"Mrs.
Longbottom
." Clarissa smiled and nodded at the woman before Adrian turned her again, this time to face a passel of servants that he listed quickly,

"This is Marie, Bessie, Antoinette, Lucy, Jean, Jamie, Frederick, Jack, and Robert," he announced.

"Hello," Clarissa said weakly, and Adrian squeezed her shoulders in encouragement. He paused to inhale the scent of her as it wafted to his nose. Damn, she always smelled so good.

Blinking that distraction away, Adrian continued. "Do not worry; I know there are a lot of names, but you will get to know them all in time."