Chapter Fifteen
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They’d found two of the Dukes; what a triumph that was. The satisfaction and excitement of that permeated him as Daunt lay beside a sleeping Magdalene. He drew her close, and she sighed and curved her body against his.
In fewer than twenty-four hours, he must meet with the other members of the Bibliomania Club. He hoped and prayed that the others had succeeded in finding the remaining Dukes.
Magdalene stirred, and he was immediately diverted from the subject of Dukes. “Do you hear the birds?” she asked, voice muffled from her being mostly beneath the sheets and covers.
He hesitated. Did she realize she was not at Plumwood and that he was not Angus? “I do,” he said. “It’s one of many pleasant ways to awaken.”
“It’s why I so love this room.” She turned over and opened her eyes and slowly smiled. His heart thumped when she pressed a hand to his cheek. She shivered once. “Good morning, my lord.”
“Are you cold?” He slipped out of bed to avail himself of the water closet and afterward stopped to add more coal to the fire.
“Did you sleep well?” Magdalene asked as he headed back to the bed. She was sitting up now.
“I did, and you?” He had a clear memory of last night, including telling her yet again that he loved her. She had not replied in kind.
“I can’t recall the last time I slept so well.” She drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. “Hurry back, Daunt. You’ll catch your death.”
“I am not cold.” He set his hands to his hips. “Are you thinking of returning to sleep?”
She looked him up and down with undeniable appreciation. “What a specimen of a man you are, sir.” She held out her hand. “Come here.”
He rejoined her in bed and slipped his arms around her. She came in close. There was hope in that, wasn’t there?
“Did we really find not one Duke, but two? Or was that just a dream I had?”
“We did indeed.” Lord, he was in Magdalene’s bed, in her arms, and she did not look sorry that he was here.
She sighed. “I do wish we’d found Fabulosis.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “The two of us know he did not make off with the book.”
“You have always been his unwavering supporter. Have I told you how much that meant to him? And to me.”
“Perhaps one of the other members has found it.”
“Write to me if they have, Daunt. Please?”
“That goes without saying.” He leaned down and kissed her, a long and tender kiss that she returned.
When they parted, she said, “Heavens, you kiss divinely.” Under the covers, she pressed a hand to his chest. “You’re warm,” she whispered.
“So are you.” He pressed a kiss to her shoulders. This time, he knew better than to blurt out his feelings. She needed time. It was her nature to come at new things slowly. She had not decided against him, and he chose to take hope from that.
Her hand wandered downward, and for some time, he was highly diverted, and then something more. She still wanted him, surely that was an appropriate conclusion to make of the night’s events. He hadn’t been at all sure what the morning would bring. Would she explore his body like this if she regretted their intimacy? She pushed him onto his back, and he complied.
“Magdalene.” He cleared his throat. “Magdalene, my love…” She slid down, and then her mouth was around his cock, and he was entirely erect, and all too soon he could not think of anything but her mouth and his cock and the fact that the woman he loved was in bed with him. Orgasm robbed him of thought and words, and that might well be for the best. She might not welcome another inept declaration of love.
She laid her head on his chest while he floated on the edges of bliss. Physically, he was sated, but his uncertainty about their future remained. He’d confessed himself too soon. He’d rushed her when she needed time because that was how she was. Careful. Reflective. Considered.
He set his hand on her shoulder and kept the sheets and blankets around her. Even with the fire built up, there was a morning chill in the air. “That was a most excellent start to the day,” he said. “But if you want to sleep, do.”
“I’m not at all sleepy.”
“In that case, I could return the favor.” He kissed the top of her shoulder and draped an arm over her waist, but someone tapped on the door. From the other side of the door, a female voice softly called out, “Mrs. Carter?”
“Tilly,” she said to him.
Daunt sat up. “Shall I hide behind the curtains or under the bed?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Neither. She brings me chocolate and a brioche every morning.”
He relaxed. There was hope to be had from her acceptance of his presence here. “Do you think she’s brought enough for two? I’m ravenous.”
“I’ll share.” She raised her voice and said, “Come in, Tilly.”
The servant opened the door and focused on a corner of the ceiling, her cheeks bright pink. “My lord. Gomes says to tell you there’s a caller. A Mr. Rivett.”
He and Magdalene exchanged a startled glance. Rivett was the shop owner who’d written claiming to have a complete set of Dukes. “Please tell him I shall be down shortly. Offer him anything he likes.”
“Yes, my lord. I’ll have your breakfast shortly, ma’am.”
When Tilly closed the door after herself, Magdalene grabbed his upper arm. “Rivett is here!” She practically leaped out of bed. “Oh, Daunt, we cannot keep him waiting.”
He gathered his scattered clothes, and Magdalene helped him dress. “He cannot have a complete original set of Dukes,” she said while she folded his neckcloth and tucked it into his coat pocket with the Dukes they’d found last night.
“No. But he might yet have something interesting.”
She patted the outside of his pocket. “Where will you put these?”
“There is a safe in my rooms.” She nodded and tucked his watch safely in another pocket. “I shall meet you outside the front parlor in, say, forty minutes? Does that give you enough time to dress?”
“Another Welsh comb for me. Now go.” She pushed him to the bedroom door. “Tilly!”
Daunt had quite the trek from Magdalene’s quarters to the north wing where his valet awaited. He locked the Dukes safely away, gave himself a quick bath at the basin and, with the assistance of his valet, made himself presentable.
Magdalene was waiting outside the parlor when he arrived. He kissed her hand, and together, they entered.