* * *
The earl left her with his insides in a turmoil.
The lass was hurting though she tried not to show it, and it made him rage internally. He wanted to march right over to Mary Russell’s house, take Bernard Holland by the collar, drag him outside, and beat the pulp out of him. He wanted to do this so badly that he felt his teeth grind. He could almost taste the satisfaction it would give him.
But that would be a momentary satisfaction, and what he needed was a permanent solution to the present problem.
Thomas needed a permanent solution.
He liked the young lad and had gone in earlier to wish him a good sleep. The boy had apparently taken to him and stalled him as he left, saying, “My lord, may I tell you something I couldn’t tell Lady Bess?”
The earl turned back into the room and sat at the edge of the four-poster bed. He smiled as reassuringly as he could and said, “Of course, Master Thomas.”
The lad smiled sadly and said, “My father found me a few years ago, you see. He didn’t know about me till m’mum wrote to him that she was dying and asked if he would come for me.” Thomas looked down at nothing in particular and then brought up his eyes to those of the earl’s. “I loved my father at once, and we well, he … I … he is my very best friend in all the world. There is no other like him.” Thomas sighed heavily. “I knew something was wrong the day the doctor came. I knew it. So I listened in, and I heard the doctor telling him how ill he was … and that he didn’t have long.” He paused. “I went in and asked my father to tell me what was wrong because I knew it was bad, very bad.”
“And he told you?” The earl touched the boy’s shoulder, as he already had a feeling just what it might be.
“Yes, he told me he was gravely ill. He said he had made sure that I carried his name even though …” He blushed furiously. “Even though he and m’mum weren’t married. And then he said he wasn’t going to get well, that he would get sicker, and he didn’t want me to watch him die.” A tear rolled down the boy’s face, and the earl gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “He made arrangements for me to go to Mary Russell
.” Thomas shrugged. “I don’t think he wanted me around anymore.”
“He loves ye more than himself, lad. I’m certain he had a difficult time parting with ye, but no doubt wanted to spare ye the pain of watching him suffer over a period of time. Your father is a selfless and brave man,” the earl said directly and frankly. As far as he was concerned, Thomas had been through enough. He needed the facts, not the hurt of worrying that his father didn’t want him.
The boy looked at the earl thoughtfully. “Yes, my father is a brave man, I think.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t tell Lady Bess—she would have been very distressed—but here is the thing. I am telling you, because I want to go back to him. I want to be with him, regardless of what he says. I know that it is very disobedient of me and don’t wish to distress him, but I can’t bear not to be with him at such a time. I was hoping when I got to Mary’s that I would be able to talk her into sending me home to him. She must know. He must have told her why he was sending me to her.”
The earl went silent for a moment and then said, “I will see what I can do. In the meantime, we are keeping you here and telling Mary Russell a falsehood. Do you understand why?”
“Because you don’t think she can keep me safe,” the lad said with wisdom far beyond his years.
“Aye, that’s a lad. Ye will be safe here, though. But mind Lady Bess, right then?” As far as the earl was concerned, Bess was right when she had suggested that Mary was not a good judge of character if she didn’t see Holland for the villain that he must be.
He made his way to his room and stood as he looked around. A few hours ago, he had wanted to strip the lass of her clothes, but he had remained a gentleman, unable to do what his entire body was begging him to do.
He wanted to lay her down and look at her naked. He wanted to touch her pert nipples and suckle there before he made a trail of kisses down her midriff to her belly, and further. He wanted to spread her legs and tease her sweet honey nest with his tongue.
Och, yes, ye want what ye want, but this time, John of Dunkirk, yer wanting is taking ye to a storm ye canna handle. Ye canna have this one. She deserves better than ye. She is a bonny lass, aye, as bonny a lass as ever there was one, but yer intentions are not respectable, and she deserves more, so much more.
Control. He was practiced in the art of control. He didn’t allow the manhood between his thighs to lead him. No, he did not, but he knew that wasn’t stopping him right then. Right then, he couldn’t even think of really touching her while she was in pain. Would he be able to continue to stop himself from taking her to his bed when she was feeling more the thing? That was the question at hand.
Or was the question did he want to stop himself?
~ Seventeen ~
BESS, FEELING BETTER after her rest though still quite sore, was comfortably seated at the card table with Donna, Robby, and Thomas, playing a simple child’s card game, when the butler announced Mary Russell.
Shock made them stare at one another for a moment. The earl had told his staff to await Lady Bess’s instructions before allowing any visitors to intrude on his guests, so they were safe for the moment, as the earl’s butler would no doubt hold Mary Russell at bay.
They regarded one another, and Bess could feel the tension escalate as Robby stood up and growled, “If that toad is with her, I think I shall have a round with him.”
“Hush, Robby,” Donna said, giving him a meaningful eye towards Thomas.
Thomas felt the tension in the air and looked around, visibly distraught, as he asked, “What are we going to do? Lady Bess, I won’t go with her.”
“You won’t have to, Tom, because you are upstairs, too ill to receive visitors. No one shall bother you while you are here at Searington with us. Understood?”
He nodded, his eyes wide and his face solemn.
She turned to Gideon, the Searington butler, and said, “If you will show Mrs. Russell into the parlor, we will be there in a moment, and thank you, Gideon.”