An Inadvisable Wager (The Curse of the Weatherby Ball Book 2) by Eliza Lloyd (the best novels to read txt) 📕

We had a few more drinks in the library than I would have liked. Not that I didn’t enjoy the drinks. It was more about the time. Your brother was loquacious tonight and I’d thought him a shy lad.”

When she said nothing, he glanced at her to see she was boldly staring as he removed his clothes.

“You don’t seem to be wearing the gaze of a woman downtrodden,” he said.

“There’s a reason for that.”

“Oh? A reason I will like?” he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed to remove his boots. “Mrs. Brady said she will have my boots shined first thing in the morning. It will be nice not to have to do it myself. Mintz will be happy to know he is missed. I think we selected—”

Nora slid her arms around his neck, her hand inside his shirt. Gabriel dropped his second boot to the floor, then turned into her arms.

The candlelight illuminated her bare skin. He brushed his hand down her arm. “I saw a statue at the British Museum once, plated in gold and formed as a Greek goddess.”

“Aphrodite? Venus?”

“No, Gaia. Goddess of the earth.”

“The one who dressed in leaves?”

“Only when it’s cold,” he said. “You look like her.” He swept her hair back and caressed her shoulder. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather just stay in London? Perhaps we can discover more there, during the Season, while Exeter is resident.”

It was purely selfish. He was imagining a disaster of epic proportions upon their arrival at Henbury. He could tell her, but she would not understand the magnitude until she saw it. She remembered Henbury Hall as a sort of haven—a place where they, as children, had a safe home with loving parents. Over the years, she had only made that haven into something more magnificent and more perfect than it ever was or could have been. He was the only one left to take the blame for what had happened at the property since then.

Had the property naturally deteriorated, she would likely be disappointed as well. Henbury Hall was not going to live up to any of her dreams. No matter how long he delayed their return, his laborers were not going to complete the work that must be done to make the home livable.

“I don’t think I ever want to come face-to-face with the man, knowing he and my mother betrayed my father, unless it is to take the rest of his properties.” She leaned back, reminding Gabriel they really weren’t in bed to talk about such serious issues.

He stood again and went to the washbasin, dousing his face with the tepid water. “Tomorrow we will be gone most of the day, visiting the tenants and a few other important people in the area.”

“You should take Timothy. He could use the experience. Maybe someday he will have his own estate to manage.”

“Henbury, you mean?”

“Or a property included with a wife’s dowry?”

“You don’t fool me,” he said, smiling before rubbing the towel over his face. He got serious again when he thought about her brother and returned to the bed. “How do you want to tell Timothy about Exeter?”

“Directly,” she said. “He cannot be that enamored of the girl after only three weeks. And I don’t want any secrets between the two of us. There have been enough of those.”

“Agreed!” Gabriel discarded his shirt and trousers and climbed into bed. As he settled, Nora wrapped herself around him, bare leg over his groin, breasts to his chest and one arm slung across him. “I also agree with this new custom of settling for the night with no clothes.”

“It’s rather practical, for all that. And it does save some effort when one is in a hurry.”

She lifted her face, ready for his kiss and the beginning of the best part of his day. He soothed his hand down her body, and over her hip. “I have to admit, I am enjoying marriage much more than I could have imagined a month ago.”

She pushed up on her elbow. “We haven’t talked at all about our future. Children. Where we will live. How much of your money I can spend…”

“Honestly, this isn’t the time or place for such weighty conversation.” He cupped her breast. “But be assured, I will give you all that you deserve.”

“That sounds ominous.”

A knock on the door broke them apart. Nora pulled the covers to her chin. Gabriel got to his feet and pulled on his trousers. He cracked the door.

“Lord Carlow, might I have a word,” Timothy said, standing in the hall tugging at his hair.

“A moment,” he said, closing the door.

“Not now!” Nora hissed.

“Pull on your robe, dear. It shouldn’t be long.”

Nora grabbed the garment and slipped into it quickly. She allowed the blankets to cover her from the waist down but worked beneath the blankets to cover her legs.

As Gabriel opened the door, Timothy slipped in. “I’m sorry to bother you, Lord Carlow, Nora. I have some news. Cecily—Miss Sheldrick, or rather her mother, Teresa Sheldrick, Lady Russell, has invited me to attend a country party at their estate in Reading in a week’s time. I am not needed at Whitmarsh so much now that the Bradys are here to assist Grandy and Gigi.”

“No!” Nora said, jumping from the bed and tying her robe securely. “Not without a proper chaperone. Or introduction!”

“Nora, I am twenty-one. I am an earl. But what I needed from Lord Carlow was to ask if I could travel with you since you will be leaving for London in a few days.”

“You aren’t twenty-one yet,” Nora said.

“I am old enough! Not only for courting but for marriage. And the sooner the better.”

“We should probably talk about this in the morning,” Gabriel offered, while reaching for his robe.