Never Land the First Fish

Chapter Twenty-Six

He let loose her hands, and they moved to his shoulders, then the back of his neck, then she pulled him back into another kiss, a longer, more passionate one this time, still entirely her initiative. He did love this woman. This brave and frightened girl. He smoothed his hand over her hair, running his hand down her nighttime braid and tugging at it, in gentle imitation of what he once did with a little girl he found appealing, before he learned to give flowers and pay compliments instead.

"Julia, my love," he whispered in her ear, "only things you like, from tonight and for the rest of our days."

She pulled away slightly and tilted her head in question. He wasn't sure at all what she was asking. Finally, she said, "I don't need to like it. I mean, I like your kisses, but I liked Athol's kisses too, at the start." She shrugged. "I've never liked any of the rest of it. I want to do it for you. I want you to do what you want."

"Julia, I--"

"No, do not feel compelled to extraordinary efforts, my dear. I do not believe you will hit me, and that is more than enough. You don't need to do anything special for me."

Gills felt tears well up, so tender-hearted was he about how Lady Julia had been broken. He had never in his life so wanted to kill a man he'd already murdered.

"If you do not know what you like, my lady, then we shall have to discover it together, for I very much insist you like—no, love—absolutely everything we do together in our bed."

***

Julia woke with the dawn in her own bed, with no recollection of how she got there. Gills must have carried her after he made her boneless and witless, more times in a row than she could count.

She sat up and stretched, peeking through the bed curtains to make sure no one was about tending the fires or opening the drapes. On the pillow next to her, she found a posy he must have gone to the garden to pick and a note: "Breakfast on the terrace before we learn our fates?"

Where was that maid when she was needed? Julia scurried out of bed and grabbed a hairbrush on the way to the armoire. Unraveling her braid, she flipped through the dresses she had brought from America. The barrister had said not to look "too expensive," so it was as well Julia hadn't had time to spend much of her new-found fortune on clothes. The amber silk would do, muted, modest, respectable enough for a lady's companion, but pretty enough to catch Gills' eye. She caught herself grinning, which was an odd sensation on the day she might be charged with murder.

She had never had any notion that lovemaking could be like that. She had heard people talking about it, even women—of course she had; she had been at the center of London gossip for fifteen years—but she just assumed the stories were well-meaning lies. It was all very well for men to indulge their base urges, but she could never quite believe women would do so, too.

But no, the tales were true. The tales about Gills were true. The value he provided to wealthy widows was clearly not exaggerated. What's more, when Julia had expressed her shock at the sheer breadth of ways he had to make her soar, he had chuckled—chuckled!—and said they had only begun to explore the places they would go in their marriage bed.

And marriage was the question, was it not? Julia would never have entertained carnal relations with Gills if she hadn't nominally decided to marry him, but he didn't need to know that. She could hardly make one night in bed with a man the reason to agree to hand over her life to him. But my, what a night.

As she tied the tapes at the neck of her gown, the maid came in with coffee on a tray. "My lady! You are awake! Lord Coventon begs me remind you the carriage must leave no later than seven o'clock to reach Bristol on time, but I told him you'd be along as soon as we could make you presentable."

"No, Lord Coventon is quite right. Is Gi—Lord Joseph at breakfast?"

"Everyone is at breakfast but you, my lady. I came to wake you earlier and Lord Joseph stopped me in the hall, said to let you sleep a mite longer and to bring you back coffee."

Julia wanted to be annoyed, but he was overbearing so sweetly. If only she weren't now half an hour behind. In the time it had taken the maid to pour coffee and add sugar, Julia had finished arranging her hair and added a cameo brooch Emily had given her in New York to the high neck of her gown. "The brown velveteen pelisse and bonnet, please, and the black reticule."

When she came down the stairs to the front hall, all was in motion, with half a dozen people preparing to leave for Bristol in less than five minutes. Gills was in a corner of the vestibule, arguing under his voice with his brother , both looking as serious as she had ever seen any man. Lady Coventon was bickering with the head of the guard detail over something or other, and the housekeeper and butler were in the center of things, directing two footmen and a maid preparing the luggage for everyone.

As soon as he glanced up and saw her, Gills cut his brother off with a slash of his hand through the air. He stepped across the hall to the foot of the stairs. "Lady Julia, the amber is lovely on you."

She felt herself blush and couldn't bear to look at him, knowing he had seen her undressed and acting like a wanton. "Thank you, Lord Joseph."

Lady Coventon's eyes narrowed as she looked between them, but her husband drew her attention to a button coming loose on his overcoat.

"You've missed breakfast, but I had the cook pack a meal for you to take with us."

"I couldn't eat a thing, truly."

"You must eat." His voice was a caress.

Lady Coventon cleared her throat. "I am certain Lady Julia knows when she is hungry, Lord Joseph, and we really must be going. Into the carriage, both of you."