Olivia followed him over to the table, where he set down the wooden crate. “More liquor?”
“Nope.” Max lifted off the lid.
The box was full of lace and silk. Olivia reached out to finger the delicate French lace. “Mr. Buxley has crates of fine fabrics in his attic?”
“Five crates, to be exact. And not just fabric.” He lifted out a piece of ivory silk and held it up. Olivia gasped. It was not a bolt of fabric but rather a finely stitched negligee. He dropped it back into the crate and chose another, this nightgown was in crimson silk, but the top of the bodice was a sheer black lace.Goodness!
She pulled several items from the crate and let out a little sigh of feminine appreciation at the silk fabrics. Then a nightgown in a deep blue caught her eye. She pulled it up and out of the crate. It was full length with a neckline trimmed in lace. The silk would fall over her curves to the floor. “This one is pretty and tasteful,” she said.
“Are you sure about that?” Max took it from her and turned the negligee so she could see the back. She clapped a hand over her mouth. The entire back was a sheer organza. It would leave nothing to the imagination.
“Oh my!”
Max stepped close to her. “I can easily imagine your curves wrapped in blue silk as you model this for me.”
Such a suggestion should scandalize her, but instead, she found herself intrigued. The smoldering heat in Max’s eyes having no small part in that. Her breath hitched as she thought about how the silk would feel against her skin as his hands burned a path down her body. “I think you should purchase something like this for me, except in red,” she murmured.
Max’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Did you expect me to respond with maidenly protests? After all we shared last night?” She moved her lips to his ear. “No, I am quite drunk on the passion you have shown me. I want to explore, discover more. I am greedy for you.”
Max’s arms banded around her and his mouth descended on hers hot and demanding. She kissed him back with a desperation she didn’t know could flare again so soon. If they were alone, she would be tearing off his clothes. Now that she knew what the contours of his muscles and how hot his skin felt like underneath, the layers of clothing were just a nuisance.
Max grabbed a handful of her skirts with a frustrated groan, and she wondered if he felt exactly the same. Then he nibbled along her bottom lip, and his tongue flicked out and licked the corner of her mouth. He pressed another hard kiss against her lips before pulling away. “This isn’t the place to start this, no matter how tempting visions of you swathed in silk and lace are.”
Olivia pouted.
“Later,” Max said firmly. “Feel what you do to me with just a few kisses.” He grabbed her hand and placed it against the impressive bulge in his trousers. “I doubt you want your customers to see me in such a state.”
Olivia giggled like a schoolgirl at his pained expression. But she stepped away. “Yes, well, I have an engagement this afternoon at Charlotte’s home. Diana has agreed to speak with us about her letters. So perhaps we can plan for a clandestine meeting this evening? I feel as though I will be quite tired and may have to get to bed early.”
Max’s eyes flared once again with desire, making the amber melt to molten honey. “Tonight,” he promised.
Chapter Thirty
“Thank you, LadyWells, for agreeing to speak with us about your letters,” Olivia said.
Ensconced in Charlotte’s library at Brooksdale, all her friends sat attentively around Daniel and Miles’s aunt Diana.
Lady Wells looked around the circle. “I still don’t know how my letters managed to find their way to you all after all these years. But when Charlotte explained how much they had meant to her, how they helped encourage her to take a risk when she met my Daniel, I knew it must be fate.”
Ellie nodded her head. “The letters inspired me as well. In, well, a different sort of way when I was in London this summer with Lucius.” She blushed.
A smile turned up one corner of Diana’s mouth. “He had quite a way with words, didn’t he?”
Everyone nodded.
“We would love to know the whole story. If it is not too painful to tell it,” Sophia replied.
Diana sighed. “My affair with James happened a very long time ago. It still makes me sad, but it is no longer painful. I have learned that you must let go of the disappointments in life or else you turn bitter.”
Olivia reached to her bag and pulled out the three letters they had recently found at the bookstore. She set them down on the low table in front of Diana. “These are yours.”
Charlotte pulled a small stack of letters from the side table next to her and put hers on the table as well. “These were the ones we originally found last year.”
Last, Ellie pulled five letters from her reticule. “These are the ones we found in the bookshop in London.” She placed them with the others.
Diana stared down at the pile of letters. She chose one and unfolded it. A smile stretched across her face as she read the letter. “Goodness, I almost forgot how beautiful his words were.” She looked around at them. “James was a talented writer. During his time as a solider he worked as a personal secretary for General Waverly. And later, the general asked him to write his memoir. It became quite popular among those who enjoy accounts of battles and heroism. Lady Tangredi had received a copy, and she hired James to write her memoir. You see, she led quite the colorful life as an opera singer, and she claimed she had been a spy during the first years of the war. Her husband adored her, and he supported her every whim.”