The next morning, Jane woke up late. She opened her eyes to find Philip's side of the bed cold. She frowned. She had hoped he would still be in bed when she woke up. As long as she could remember, her parents got up in the morning together. She arched her body, her hands touching the headboard. Her thighs and the area between them were sore.
There was a knock at the door. Her heart leaped. "Come in!" she said, hoping it would be Philip.
The door opened and one of the maids, Bridget, came in carrying a tray of food. "Cook told me to bring you something to eat, miss," she said.
Jane tried to keep the disappointment from showing on her face. "Thank you, Bridget," she said. "I do feel a little hungry."
Bridget put the tray on Jane's lap. She bowed and left the room. As Jane ate her eggs, there was another knock on the door. Despite herself, she again hoped it was Philip. Instead, it was Lauren. She was smiling.
"Hello," she said. "Did you sleep well? How are you feeling?"
"Better," Jane said. "How did you like the ball? Did you dance with anyone besides my brother?"
"The ball was wonderful," Lauren said. She plopped onto the bed. "I danced with three other boys. Jonathan and I sat and talked. I felt like I have known him all my life. We have quite a lot in common. He escorted me to the door when your parents took me home."
Lauren couldn't stop smiling and Jane thought there was a certain glow about her.
"You like my brother quite a bit," she teased.
Lauren blushed. "He is very sweet and handsome," she said. "I felt very comfortable with him."
"I am glad," Jane said. "I was hoping you two would get on well."
"Thank you so much for introducing us," Lauren said. She threw herself at Jane and hugged her.
Jane smiled. "You're welcome," she said, patting her on the back.
Lauren left the room. Jane finished her breakfast. Bridget came back to the room. Jane got out of bed. Bridget helped her get dressed.
"You look well rested if I may say so, ma'am," she said.
"Thank you," Jane said. "Is my husband at home?"
"Yes, ma'am," Bridget said. "He is checking on the dinner for tonight. Mr. Thomas will be joining you."
"Oh, yes, that is right," Jane said. "I had forgotten."
Bridget smiled. After Jane was finished getting dressed, Bridget brushed her hair. She braided it in a French braid. Jane dismissed her. Bridget took the breakfast tray and left the room. Jane looked at herself quickly in the mirror. She went to the nursery. Lauren was sitting at her desk, writing on a leaf of paper. Nicole and Elizabeth were learning how to add numbers. Betsy was rocking Anna as she watched.
Philip had hired a new governess the day before he got married. Her name was Claudia Herandez. She was in her fifties and very kind. She wore her black hair in a bun. Her hazel eyes watched the girls as they did their arithmetic.
Jane smiled and left the room. She heard a knock on the front door. She walked down the staircase as Samson opened the door. Jeremy stood on the front steps.
"Hello, sir," Samson said. "May I help you?"
Jeremy was about to answer when he caught sight of Jane. He broke into a smile. "Hello, Jane," he said.
"Hello," she said. "I'm afraid Philip is busy at the moment. I doubt he would be able to entertain a guest right now."
"Actually, I am here to pay a visit to you," Jeremy said.
"To me?" she said, looking at him in surprise.
"I thought that since we got along so well at the ball that I would come see you," he said. "I know that you hardly have any friends here. I wanted to make you welcome."
Jane smiled. She turned to Samson. "You may let him in," she said. "Please tell Bridget to bring some tea to the parlor."
Samson bowed his head. "Yes, mistress," he said. He shut the door behind Jeremy and left the room.
Jane led Jeremy to another room. They barely sat down when Bridget came in, carrying a silver tray. She put it on the table between Jane and Jeremy. Jane thanked her. Bridget curtsied and left. Jane poured a cup of tea.
"Sugar, Mr. Shelton?" Jane asked.
"One lump, please," he said. "If you like, you may call me Jeremy."
Jane nodded her head. She added a lump of sugar to the cup and handed it to Jeremy. He thanked her. She poured herself a cup and added honey to it.
"I noticed that Philip and you left the ball early," Jeremy said.
"I was feeling a bit light headed," Jane lied. "Philip thought it best that I went home."
"I hope that you are feeling better today," he said.
"Much better," she assured him.
"I'm glad," he said, smiling.
While Jane and Jeremy were having tea, Philip was finalizing the dinner plans. He left the kitchen. He wondered if Jane was awake yet. Memories of the night before flashed through his mind. He hadn't been with anyone since Anna's mother. His groin swelled as he remembered how responsive Jane was. He was glad that she was very passionate. He didn't think he would have been happy if he had a wife who just laid there while he made love to her. He climbed up the staircase to Jane's chambers. He found Bridget tiding the room.
Bridget curtsied when she saw him. "Hello, your Grace," she said.
"Where may I find my wife?" he asked.
"In the parlor, sir," she said.
"Thank you, Bridget," he said.
He left the room and headed toward the parlor. The door was open. Jane was laughing at something Jeremy had said. Philip's eyes glanced to see that she had her hand on Jeremy's arm as she laughed. Philip bit back a growl as anger swelled up inside him. He clenched his fists. He took a deep breath before walking into the room.
"Hello," Philip said to Jeremy coldly. "I was not told that we had a visitor."
"I wanted to see Jane," Jeremy said.
"Jeremy was just telling me about a prank he did when he was a child," Jane said.
"I see," Philip said.
Jane looked at him. He had a strange look in his eyes. She tried, but couldn't put a name to it. Her brow furrowed. "Is everything all right, Philip?" she asked.
The way she was looking at him told Philip that his jealousy showed in his face. He quickly masked it. "Yes," he said. "Did you sleep well, my love?"
She looked taken aback by the endearment. She blushed. "I slept very soundly, husband," she said.
Jeremy cleared his throat. "Thank you for the tea, Jane," he said. "I must be going. May I call upon you again tomorrow?"
"I am afraid that we will not be home," Philip said quickly. "I just received a letter from Mr. Owen. He and his wife just came back into town. He asked if my wife and I could pay them a visit."
"Caroline is home?" Jane said excitedly.
"Yes," Philip said. "Mr. Owen said that she is most anxious to see you."
"Some other time then," Jeremy said.
Jane and Jeremy stood up. She curtsied when he bowed. He took her hand. He kissed the back of it. Philip scowled. They said their farewells and Jeremy left. Jane turned to Philip.
"Are we really going to see Caroline?" she said.
Philip nodded. Jane gave a squeal and clapped her hands. She threw her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. After a couple of moments, she stepped away. She started to pace.
"I cannot wait to ask her about her trip," she said. "I've never been to Greta Green. I hope it was nice for her. I also hope she had a beautiful wedding. I'm so very glad she found her true love. Mr. Owen seemed like a very nice man."
"He is," Philip said. "I wanted to actually talk to you about tonight."
She turned to him. "I had almost forgotten," she said.
He looked into her eyes and forgot what he was going to say. Her eyes were bright with happiness about seeing her sister. He took her arm and drew her closer to him. She looked up at him. He bent his head. He crushed his mouth to hers. He wrapped his arms around her. He pressed her tightly to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body softened and melted into his. She sighed against his mouth.
A savage need to possess her came over him. He slanted his head and hungrily took her mouth. His hands slid to her buttocks. He cupped her behind. He lifted her and her legs automatically wrapped around his hips. He walked forward until her back was up against the opposite wall. He leaned slightly into her as he freed one hand to bunch the skirt of her dress to her waist. She freed her hand to help.
She reached between them. She loosened the buttons on his trousers. She wrapped her hand around his erection. He growled deep in his throat as she slowly slid her hand up and down. She smiled. She guided him to her until he was at her entrance. He grabbed her hips and thrusted into her. She bit her lip as she threw back her head.
"Philip," she gasped.
The sounds she made had him even more aroused. He began to thrust in and out. She tightened her arms and legs around him.
"I'm too heavy," she said breathlessly.
"You're perfect," he said. He pulled down the bodice of her dress. He took a nipple into his mouth. He gently bit down on it.
She moaned softly. He released her nipple. She took his face between her hands. She pressed her lips to his. She tentatively slipped her tongue into his mouth. He groaned. His thrusts became quicker. She could feel her body begin to stiffen as her climax came closer.
"Philip," she said breathlessly. "I think I'm going to... I need to..."
"It is all right, my love," he said. "Just let yourself go."
All of a sudden, her world exploded. She cried out his name as her body convulsed. He bit back a groan as he felt her inner muscles squeezing his shaft. He thrusted into her hard three times before he climaxed. His body sagged against her. His arms slightly ached, but he made no move to put her down. She tightened her arms around him. He buried his face in the curve of her neck.
After a couple of minutes, he straightened up. "I am going to move us to a chair," he said.
She nodded. He carried her to the chair she was sitting in earlier. He sat down with her in his lap. He looked at her. Her lips were swollen and she looked slightly flushed. A nipple peeked out from the top of her bodice. She had the look of a woman well loved. He felt his groin swell inside her. He cupped her face and kissed her lightly. She leaned into him. She kissed him back. He loosened her braid. He slipped his hand into her hair at the back of her head. He tilted her head back.
He kissed the base of her throat. He slid his mouth up her throat to her chin, leaving a moist trail. He pulled away and looked at her. Her eyes were dark with desire.
"I want to make love to you again," he said. "Is that all right?"
"Oh, yes," she breathed. "Can we, sitting this way?"
He nodded. "There are many ways to make love," he said. "We can try different ones each time."
"I would like that," she said shyly.
He smiled. He kissed her as he freed her breasts from her bodice. He bent his head to take one into his mouth. He cupped her other breast and pinched the nipple. She arched her back. She slipped her hands into his hair and held his head to her. He slid his hand between her thighs as he switched nipples. She grew wetter as he stroked her. Her hips begin to move back and forth.
He cupped her behind. He moved her up and down his shaft. She placed her hands on the armrests. She helped him thrust into her. She felt her body grow taut. He thrusted faster. She called out his name as she climaxed. A couple minutes later, he followed her.