Regency Romance: The Rake's Fake Marriage (Historical Arranged Marriage Romance) (19th Century Victorian Romance) (91 page)

''Megan, don't forget, the only reason you're here is because I lied about who you are,'' Michael said.

''And how did you get an invitation to such
a prestigious
ball?'' Megan asked.

''I knew the Duke's father. I did a lot of construction work for him a few years ago. Your father asked me to get you into the ball when he heard about it. He knew I had some
kind of
connection to the Duke. All I had to do was mention that I was bringing a beautiful, eligible, young lady with me.'' He looked down his long nose at her, ''But don't forget, if anyone asks, you're the goddaughter of the Earl of Wells.''

''A ridiculous charade, if I may say so.''

''I'm only doing what your father requested,'' he complained.

Mr. and Mrs. Dredge were Jeffrey's best friends. People of the same class, with the same enthusiasm for
business
.

''May I ask you to introduce us?'' a man asked Michael.

''Er....yes....of course. May I present Miss Megan Longhurst, Megan this is Lord William
Thurlington
.

William had seen Megan from the other side of the room and instantly decided he wanted to meet her. Megan
curtsied,
and he bowed.

''It's a pleasure to meet
you,
Miss Longhurst,'' William said. ''If I may say so I have never seen anyone as charming.''

Megan thought
exactly the same
. The second she saw him she took an enormous liking to him. ''Thank you.''

''I'm the Duke's younger brother.''

''It's a magnificent ball, people have made a lot of effort to make the ballroom look so nice.
So many fresh flowers.''

''It's thanks to my sister-in-law, Maria. The ball was her idea.''

Megan was dazzled by the color of his eyes, somewhere between blue and turquoise. ''What is the reason for the ball.''

''It's really for me. I'm looking for a wife.''

Megan looked around. ''That's why there are so many beautiful young women here and so few eligible young men,'' she observed.

He laughed. ''There are, as you say, many eligible young women here. But none
as.....
'' He stopped himself. He'd intended to say, '
wonderful
,' but thought he may frighten her by his enthusiasm. Megan waited for him to finish the sentence.

''None as, what?'' she asked when he wasn't forthcoming.

''Lovely,'' he said in a gush of emotion.

''You are most kind,'' she said, feeling her face turn pink. Stop blushing she told herself, but it was impossible. She'd only known him for two
minutes,
and already her whole body was on fire.

''Tell me about yourself,'' he said casting his eyes over her breasts, and down to the curve of her hips.

''Oh, I'm not
really
that interesting.'' She didn't want to lie to him. She hadn't thought she would end up talking to Lord
Thurlington
, let alone find him stunningly attractive, and telling him she was the daughter of some fictitious Earl suddenly seemed like an act of betrayal.

''I'm sure that's not true. Who are you?''

''I live in Bristol, I like horse riding.''

''Do you? I like it too. Very much. Is it the first time you've been here, to Hamilton Hall?''

''Yes.''

''Oh, then you must come and look at
something,
if that's agreeable?'' Megan had no idea what he intended to show
her,
but she smiled and nodded.

''Just a moment, I'll arrange a
chaperone
.'' After a minute or so, William returned with a young woman. ''This is my cousin Alice, she will walk with us.''

Alice was small and quite insignificant looking, but she had a kind face and Megan found her a suitable type
to act as chaperone
. They walked through the large double door and out into the evening air. It was
a soft
evening
and there was a smell of newly cut grass in the air. They walked to the left down a path that led away from the house towards some outbuildings. When Megan
smelled
hay, she instantly knew he wanted to show her horses.

''What do you think?'' William asked as Megan stood
open-mouthed
in front of a stable block.

''I can't find the words,'' she said. ''They are beautiful.'' She walked up to a
stable
and stroked the face of a white horse. The horse seemed to enjoy
it,
and its ears turned forwards.

''I think we have
twenty-six
in all. And next spring we are looking forward to some new arrivals. The
brood mares
are in this block.'' He pointed to another set of
stables
. Megan walked over and peered inside one of them. She saw a brown
mare
with a swollen belly.

''Oh, Lord Thurlington, they are all so lovely.
Thank you for showing me.''

''It's my pleasure. As you can see, we love horse here at Hamilton Hall.'' Megan wanted him to take her in his arms and kiss her. In fact, she wanted more from him than just a kiss. The way he
looked
and his interest in horses was making her think very sexual thoughts. Her imagination was taking her to places she'd never been with a man before. ''We'd better get back to the ball,'' he said. As they walked back to the house, he stopped and nodded to
Alice,
who stepped ahead and didn't look back. ''Miss Longhurst...''

''Please call me Megan.''

''Megan, I.....I think you are
very beautiful
and more than that, we seem to share an interest. I would like to ask you before we return to the
ballroom
if you would........''

''Yes,'' she said before she knew what he was going to ask.

''But you don't know what I wanted to ask you,'' he said, a smile on his face.

''It doesn't matter. I will do whatever you want.''

''I want to see you more often.''

''Then my first answer was already correct,'' she said.

Megan wondered what had happened to her. Only a day ago she was adamant that she didn't want to get married, now here she was, prepared to do anything this man wanted. If he'd asked her to marry him, she would have said yes. As they approached the ballroom, a dreadful, sobering thought crossed her mind. Either she would have to lie to him and tell him she was the Earl's goddaughter, or tell him the truth and risk being cast aside as a woman of a lower class. She hoped he would fall in love with her before she had to reveal either.

''Will you dance with me?'' William asked upon their return to the ballroom.

They
danced,
and William felt proud to be with such a beautiful looking woman.

Many of the young women who had attended the ball began to feel cheated. They'd understood the theme of the ball was to find a wife for Lord
Thurlington
, but he'd not spoken to one woman except Megan. At the end of the evening, as people began to leave, many women scowled their disapproval at Megan. It was as if she'd stolen something intensely personal from them.

''When can I see you again?'' William asked.

''Whenever you would like. Perhaps you would be kind enough to show me the horses once again.
Perhaps
, even, we could ride together?''

''Yes, I'd like that very much.''

*****

Megan returned to Hamilton Hall just three days later. When she stepped out of the coach her father had provided for her, she was greeted by William, who she thought, looked even more handsome than at the ball. He
was dressed
in riding clothes,
a splendid
red jacket and white britches with boots.

''Thank you for
returning so
quickly,'' he said.

''Thank you for inviting me.''

Alice was on hand again as chaperone, but she'd been thoroughly briefed
by William
to keep her distance, and when he gave the signal, to disappear altogether. Alice took Megan to a room where she was able to change into her riding clothes. William waited impatiently outside, pacing up and down, like a caged lion.

''She's a steady ride,'' he said as Megan
climbed
the mounting steps to a horse called Blossom. When Megan was in the
saddle,
William handed her the reigns and mounted his horse. Alice was to follow on a pony, which seemed too large for her.

''Are you sure she is alright, so far behind,'' Megan asked, referring to Alice.

''I asked her to stay back because I want to talk privately to you.''

''I'm glad you did.''

They rode over a meadow and through a gate, to a path along the river. ''We can follow this path for a long way, but I thought we could stop
in
a little while, tie the horses up and talk.''

''It's a
really
idyllic place,'' Megan said. ''Is it all your land?''

''For now, yes.'' He scolded himself for saying that. It implied they wouldn't always have the
land
and that wasn't necessarily true.

''For now?'' she inevitably asked.

''No, I mean it's ours, or more correctly said, it's my
brother's
. I'm only number two.''

''You are more than that to
me,
'' Megan said. She didn't care whether he thought it was forward or not.
She
wanted him to know how she felt about him. If she was honest with herself, she was already deeply in love with him. As they rode along the path, the chemistry was palpable. William had made up his mind too.
As soon as they reached the place where the river became shallower, he would send Alice away.

When William gave the signal they had rehearsed, Alice turned her pony around and galloped off into the distance. William dismounted and tied his horse to a tree. It lowered its head and began to munch on some grass. He put out his arms to assist Megan
dismount,
and she dropped down
into
them. He tied her horse to the same tree. As soon as he finished, he reached for her and kissed her. A passionate kiss which demanded a
response
and Megan did respond. She clung to him, crushing her lips against his. It wasn't long before
she
felt William's erection pushing against her leg. Feeling
desperately
aroused she put her hand on him. He moaned and thrust his hips against her.

It was the first time Megan had felt a
penis,
and she was surprised how hard it was. She ran her hand, sensually, up and down the length of him and smiled at the effect it was having on him. William wanted
more,
and he quickly opened his trousers and allowed Megan to release him. When she touched his naked member, she felt her
own
desire beginning to flow.

William wanted to see more of
her,
and he
began
to open the buttons on her dress. When her undergarments
were exposed
, he reached inside and took her breasts in his hand. At his touch, a wave of desire enveloped
her,
and she began to rub him
faster
. He played with her, teasing her, willing her to cry out with delight. Now Megan became
proactive;
she wanted
him,
and she wanted him fast. She stood back and took off her dress.

''Now you,'' she said brazenly.

William began to take off his clothes as she watched. When his shirt came off, she gasped at how
well-defined
he was. He had a flat rigid stomach with powerful biceps and a bulging chest. When he lowered his trousers, his thighs came into view and the size and power of them send a wave of arousal over her, the strength of which she
had never
in her life experienced. She hurriedly rid herself of the rest of her garments and stood ready for him.

''You are so beautiful,'' he said, his eyes raking from her breasts to the soft curls below.
He pulled her to him and kissed her, this
time,
more gently. With lips still locked they lowered themselves to the ground. Megan gasped at the feel of the cool grass on her back as she lay down and opened her legs, willing him to lay between them and enter her. But he didn't. He wanted to taste her. When his mouth began to place soft kisses on her womanhood, she grabbed his hair and let out a moan that spurred him on to pleasure her more. It
took
only seconds before William felt the spasms of Megan's orgasm on his mouth, and as she covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming, he hungrily lapped up the juices of her desire.