To Seduce a Scoundrel – A Regency Romance
1
David Weatherby stood near the fence that separated the wooden stands from the dirt racing track where the horses ran. The stands were full, despite the overcast sky, thick with dark gray clouds that promised rain at any time. David stood alone, dressed smartly, a hat upon his head, the brim pulled low in an effort to hide his eyes, which were tired looking, with dark circles beneath them.
It had been some time since he had slept. He often went a day or two without rest, so caught up in his carious gambling that he couldn’t find the time to lay his head upon his pillow. The way his gambling had been going of late, he had probably already bet his pillow and lost it, so there was nothing at home for him to lay his head upon.
The horse race would be different however, he always did well at the sport. They were gathering the horses at the starting line now, and they would run once around the circuit, ending at the same line they began from.
David could see the horse he had bet on, and he had bet heavily upon it. He had a meeting to play cards later on in the evening, and it was his hope to go into the meeting with a heavy purse, full of winnings from the race. He had bet on a horse which was a long shot, but as always, David had some information the other men in the stands did not.
And there were not only men in the stands. A few women were there as well, and one came up behind David and spoke, her voice high pitched and pleasant.
“Mr. Weatherby,” she said, and David turned to see Caroline Hampton standing before him. She was dressed in a light blue dress, the skirt rustling lightly in the considerable breeze. Her hair had a reddish tint to it, and it was piled in ornate designs upon her head. Her bosom was ample, and that’s where David’s eyes travelled to first. The woman noted this, and she blushed.
“Ms. Hampton,” David said, finally looking at her eyes. He took her hand and bowed his head to kiss it, and she curtsied as well as she could between the first row of benches and the fence.
“I was hoping I may see you here,” the woman said.
“And why were you hoping that?” David asked.
“Well, it seems as though after finally taking me to your bed, once I allowed it, you have little interest in speaking with me again,” the woman said quite plainly, and David had to hide a wince.
David Weatherby had a reputation around the city, and it was twofold. One: he gambled often and won and lost huge sums of money. As of late, there had been few wins and many losses. Two: he charmed most women he met, and they lowered their defences eventually to his charms. He used them in a way a man can and then moved on to his next conquest. So far, there had only been one woman who proved immune to his ways, the one who was betrothed to him, and had been since they were both teenagers.
Now, at just twenty, David’s list of conquests was lengthy, enough so that uncomfortable meetings like the one he was having at the race track were growing rather common.
“My lady,” David said softly as he grinned. “Surely you think nothing unkind of me, it’s simply my business endeavors that have kept me away. I wish it wasn’t so.”
“Is this a business endeavor?” the young woman asked, motioning to the horses.
“Of course it is. How’s this? Tonight, I will pick you up at your home at seven thirty, if you’ll agree to accompany me to dinner. We can spend some of the considerable sum I am about to win.”
“How do you know you will win? Isn’t a horse race a game of chance?” the young woman asked.
David laughed and shook his head. “Some may accept that it is a game of chance, but I do not. See my horse there?” David asked, pointing to a tall horse the color of deep chestnut, with a rider upon him and a purple sash about his neck. “I know that he will win, though he is what is called a long shot.”
“How do you know he will win?” Caroline asked.
“His trainer has found a new supper for him,” David said quietly. “I will say no more.”
“A new supper?”
David nodded and leaned toward the woman. “It is of utmost importance what these great beasts eat. It can give them quite an edge if their diet is looked after. This horse's trainer has found a new mix of oats and grain, which is said to provide an energy to the horse that few can match. He will be faster than the others.”
“We shall see,” Caroline said. But she didn’t sound convinced, and David turned away from her to watch the race, more than a little offended and annoyed.
“Here they are now,” he said needlessly, and the crowd behind them grew quiet for a moment, and there was a firearm shot into the air, and the horses were off.
David often forgot himself while at the horse track, and he was slamming his hand down upon the top of the metal railing as he watched his purple sashed horse surge out of the gate and take an early lead.
“I told you!” David couldn’t help but gloat over his shoulder.
And then, disaster. Halfway around the track, David’s horse tripped up and fell. His rider went flying, and there was a massive gasp from the crowd. The other horses surged around the fallen one, and the rider who had fallen scrambled to the safety of the fence, throwing himself up and over it. David’s face was a shade paler than normal as he turned to the young woman who was still standing beside him.
“I shouldn’t expect you for dinner, then?” she asked.
David glared at her and then made his way towards the exit, even as the race ended behind him and the crowd gave up a great cheer.
“You’ll never be anything!” a hurt Caroline yelled after him, and though she had hoped her brash words would be drowned out by the crowd, David Weatherby heard them all too well.
2
David had some time before his card game, so he took a carriage to his father’s house, hoping for a meal, and perhaps even a quick nap. His father was a large round man with a booming voice and hard eyes. He sat in the library, reading as he so often did, a large leather bound book open in his lap. He was contemplating something when David found him, the book face down, open to hold his place, and his eyes set on something outside of the window besides which he sat.
“Father,” David said as he came up on the older man. He took a seat across from him.
“Son, what have you been doing today?”
“I was at the races,” David said.
“I wanted you to go into the bank today, if you remember,” David’s father said.
David nodded. “I know, I was hoping it could wait until tomorrow.”
“It will wait, as I wait for you to come to your senses, take over the bank, marry that wonderful girl, and build a life for yourself and a family,” David’s father said. His name was Curtis Weatherby, and he owned and operated one of the most well-known banks in London. He was ready to retire and enjoy the wealth he had built, without the stress of running the business, but his only son was dragging his feet on growing up.
“I’m sorry father, I simply…” David said, but he didn’t know how to end the sentence, and so it trailed off into the air, like a line of smoke from a candle, twisting up higher until it vanished completely.
“How much money did you lose today?”
“I’m going to win it back tonight,” David said quickly.
“I doubt that very much, son,” Curtis said. “You have not been winning as of late.”
“You never seem to complain about my gambling habits until I’m losing, father,” David said.
“You like to gamble? Here’s a gamble for you then,” Curtis said, setting the book on his lap on a table beside him. “If you go to that card game tonight, and you don’t bring home the money you lost at the horse race today, I will cut you off. You will not spend my money anymore, you will not sleep in my home, nor eat my food.”
David couldn’t keep his mouth from hanging open. “But father!” he complained. “Surely you jest.”
“I do not,” Curtis said. “Of course, you can choose not to go to the game, and tomorrow you will accompany me to the bank and begin the transition so you may take over within a year.”
David stood up, shaking his head. “I don’t not want to run the bank,” he said shortly.
“Then I hope your card game goes well,” Curtis said, and he watched his son go from the library with his hard eyes.
David went into the kitchen in hopes of finding food, but the staff wasn’t there, being between meals, and he had to satisfy himself with some bread and butter he found on the counter. He ate two pieces and then went up into his room. He undressed and lay upon the bed.
When he woke, the sky outside of his windows was dark, with hundreds of shining stars blinking down tired light. David washed up at the water basin, splashing his face and drying off, before dressing in one of his finest suits, and hurrying out to find a cab. He did not come across his father, nor his mother or sisters, and for that he was thankful. It was a short ride through the city to Brook’s, a popular gentleman’s club which always had a number of card games going on.
David had been invited to play by a man everyone called Red because of his bright red head of hair. He was Irish, fair skinned and quick with a joke. He drank a lot, gambled a lot, and whored a lot, and there weren’t many in London who didn’t enjoy his company, one way or the other, depending on their sex.
David had befriended Red at a horse race the year previous, and they had gambled together often. Where David went in ups and downs, it seemed as though Red was always down. He lost often, and lost a lot, but there always seemed to be more money in his purse, and so he kept losing.
David arrived at the club and paid the driver before stepping inside and handing his coat and hat over to a young man who stood waiting to take it. He then made his way towards the back of the establishment, into a small room where Red usually played. There were three men in total around a small circular table, each of them preparing to play. Red saw David and stood and clapped his hands together.
“Finally we may start!” he said as David made his way to the empty chair beside his friend and they shook hands. David knew the other two men by name, and he bowed his head to them slightly as Red introduced each. Then he sat down, and they began to play.
The game of the night was Whist, and David played with a man named Samuel Carlyle as his partner. He was thankful it had worked out this way, he knew playing with the unlucky Red would be his downfall.
And indeed in the beginning, it looked as though he was well on his way towards winning back the money he had lost at the horse race, along with much more. And then his luck changed, and he and Samuel couldn’t win a hand in ten straight. His purse felt lighter and lighter, until finally, it was empty.
Despair and panic set in.
“I need a loan,” David said, turning to Red.
The Irish man laughed and shook his head, taking a moment to sip from a glass of brandy that had been brought to him by a pretty young woman earlier in the night.
“I think not,” Red said as he put the glass down. “You are my friend, and I do not want to mix business and friendship.”
“Please,” David said, leaning to the side, closer to Red. “My father…”
He trailed off, and Red shook his head slowly. “Is no concern of mine,” he said. “If you have no more money for me to win, perhaps you should leave.”
Red looked at David with narrowed eyes, and then they flicked to the doorway that led back towards the main hall of the gentlemen’s establishment. David was being dismissed, and he knew it. He stood, mustering up courage to keep some dignity intact, and he bowed his head after gathering his hat from a nearby rack.
“Gentlemen,” he said, and then he left.
Outside of the club he pulled on his overcoat, and went to stop one of the passing cabs. Though it was late, the sky fully dark with an inky black and tiny pinpricks of light, the cabs were heavy in this area, as popular as it was. One pulled to a stop in front of David and the driver looked to him.
“Where to, sir?” he asked, and David was about to tell him as he stepped forward and placed his hand on the frame of the cab to steady himself as he climbed in. He stopped though, and stepped back, looking up to the driver as he realized he had no money now, and couldn’t pay for a ride home.
“Never mind,” David said, shaking his head. “It’s a nice night for a walk, I think.”
The driver shivered in the cool air as the wind picked up, and he smirked. “Sure,” he said, and with a crack of the reins the carriage rumbled off down the street, and David began to walk. He was worried what his father would say.
3
Elizabeth Crawford was nineteen, three years younger than the man who loved her. He was named Rupert Eastman, and sat in the Crawford garden with Elizabeth as they drank tea, and he tried to steal glances of her long slender neck. Her neck was the most attractive part of an attractive package, at least in Rupert's eyes. She was fair skinned and fair of head, with long blonde hair which often sat flowing down her shoulders and to the small of her back. He body was shaped like an hourglass, with a thin waist and robust hips, and a large bosom. Most men looked there, Rupert new, at the top of her pale breasts as they sat in the low necklines of her gowns and dresses. But her neck was what he enjoyed most.
There was a small freckle there, on the right side of her neck, a lone dark spot in a sea of milky white. He imagined kissing it, imagined nibbling it. But Elizabeth he knew, was promised to another man. A scoundrel, a rake named Weatherby. He was a compulsive gambler younger than Rupert was, and though he had nary a quality which Rupert appreciated, for some reason Elizabeth was taken with the man.
The Crawford’s and Weatherby’s were long-time friends, both in the banking business, but never letting their competing banks get in the way of friendship. Often they would find ways to work together.
Elizabeth sipped from her tea cup and then set it on the small saucer. A table sat between her and her friend Rupert. She looked him over as he appeared lost in thought, though he was looking right at her. They had known each other for a decade, ever since Rupert’s father had come to manage her daddy’s bank. She liked the man, and he was handsome, but she had been promised to David by the time she began to take notice in men, so she never entertained the idea of Rupert. He had a strong jaw, and broad shoulders, and she knew there wasn’t a man stronger than him in the city. She also knew there wasn’t a man who cared for her more.
“What are you looking at?” she inquired, smiling a bit as Rupert jerked back slightly in sudden surprise as she spoke.
“Nothing,” Rupert said, reaching for his cup of tea and lifting it to his lips.
“Well, you were looking pretty intently at nothing,” the young girl teased. Rupert set his cup down and smiled.
“Very well, can I show you what I was looking at?”
He stood and stepped forward. Elizabeth looked up to him. “You may,” she said. He held out his hand and she took it, and after standing he led her into the beautiful garden. She wore a beautiful dress, which was the color of eggshells, with pink lining. She had a shawl draped over her shoulders, as the weather was growing colder, and that morning was chill. There wouldn’t be many opportunities for tea in the morning outside for a few months.
Rupert led her past a large thicket of rose bushes, to a small bench. He sat down and she sat next to him.
“Lizzie,” he said, using a pet name he had used for years. “I was looking at you. Or rather, a part of you.”
Elizabeth laughed, turning towards the man. “I am used to men looking at that part of me, but that isn’t where I saw your eyes.”
Rupert grinned and reached over and took her hand. “I am not talking about… that part… I’m talking about the small freckle you have on your neck.”
Elizabeth turned her head so he may see it easier, looking straight ahead instead of at him.
“My freckle? Why would you look at that?”
“I adore it. And you. Your neck, your hands, your eyes, every part of you. But that freckle, it made me want to kiss it, to nibble it.”
Elizabeth felt something grow inside her, a yearning, a want. She closed her eyes, and he next words were almost so low he couldn’t hear them. “You may.”
Rupert leaned forward. “I may?”
“You may kiss me there. Nibble me.”
Rupert didn’t need to be told again. He shifted his upper body to face her, and then leaned forward. His lips found the side of her neck and Elizabeth tilted her head back and closed her eyes. His lips upon her were like fireworks in her loins. She felt a desire there, one she didn’t feel often. HIs hand left hers and rested on her leg, though it was hard to feel him there through the layers of skirt. His other hand went around her back, resting on her side.
“Rupert,” she whispered, but he didn’t say anything. He kept kissing and sucking on her neck, and Elizabeth felt as though she was moments away from turning her head and kissing him on the lips.
“Miss Elizabeth,” a voice called, and Rupert quit kissing her quickly, standing and spinning around to face who had spoken. It was Ms. Hedson, an old woman who had been a servant for Elizabeth’s family for quite some time.
“What is it, Beverly?” Elizabeth asked, standing as well and using the woman’s first name.
“Mr. David Weatherby is here to see you,” she said, and then she turned to leave. Elizabeth glanced at Rupert, but a dark shadow had crossed over his face seemingly within seconds.
“I must be going,” he said, and he strode away without waiting for a goodbye. Elizabeth sighed and then went to meet with David.
He stood in the parlor, looking at a large globe there, wooden and heave in a stand which allowed you to rotate it. She took a moment in the doorway to look him over. He was handsome, that was to be sure, even more so than Rupert. David’s frame was smaller, thinner, but he was a bit taller. His hair was as dark as the sea at night, and his eyes just as dark, though they somehow still managed to shine.
“Mr. Weatherby,” Elizabeth said as way to get his attention, and he turned.
“Hello, my dear,” he said, striding to her and taking her hand so he may kiss it.
“If you are here to attempt to bed me,” Elizabeth said with narrowed eyes, “then you may as well leave. Until we are married, the answer is the same.”
David laughed aloud and then slapped a hand over his chest, where his heart beat. “You offend me!” he said loudly. “You think such thoughts about me.”
“You have only seemed interested in me for one thing,” Elizabeth said. She wanted to go on, but she couldn’t. While she had resisted David’s charm for quite some time, she hadn’t resisted falling in love with the man. For all his faults he was kind and caring when he wanted to be, and he loved his family and friends fiercely. He was a kind warm man, and Elizabeth craved to be the one to bring it out of him.
“I came to speak to you about marriage,” the man said, and Elizabeth was surprised.
“What about it?”
“I think the time has come for us to be joined,” he said, taking her hand once more.
Elizabeth was startled, and she said a joke to give herself time to register what he was saying. “You must have lost all of your money, and now you’re coming for my father’s.”
It had been meant as a joke, but the flash of surprise that ran across the man’s face told her instantly that she had stumbled across the truth in the form of a jest.
She pulled his hand away from his. “You really seek to marry me for money?”
David knew there was no point in lying, and so he told the truth. It didn’t matter what the truth was, she was promised to him, and he would have her. “My father has cut me off. Last night he made me sleep at an inn. I have nowhere to go and no money.”
“And so you seek to marry me for my father’s money.”
“He will give us an allowance, and me one of his banks to run, as my own father had promised to do until yesterday.”
“I will not marry you,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head. “Not for that reason.”
“You are my beloved and betrothed,” David said. “You must.”
“I am not your beloved, you have never loved me.”
“I care for you. That hurts me to hear you say.”
“And then you are hurt,” Elizabeth said, “and it bothers me none. Please, leave here.”
“I will speak to your father,” David said simply, and then he did turn and leave.
Elizabeth watched him go, and then slumped down to a nearby chair and began to cry.
4
The same evening that she had spoken to David, Elizabeth was called in to her father’s study. He sat behind a large desk, signing his name to a stack of documents.
“My dear,” the old man said when he saw his only daughter. In fact, she was his only child, her mother having died giving birth to her, and her father knowing he could never love someone as much as he had her.
“Daddy,” Elizabeth said. She went forward and sat at the desk, opposite her father.
“David Weatherby came to see me today. He wishes to finally marry you,” her father said as he kept singing papers.
“He wants your money,” she said.
“As your husband he would be entitled to it. I thought you cared for him. You’ve known him for so long.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I do care for him,” she said. “But I want my husband to care for me.”
“Like Rupert?” her father asked.
“Yes,” Elizabeth said without thought.
“I would be happy for you to marry either man,” her father said.
“But I’m promised to David.”
“A promise can be broken, his father spoke with me today, and told me as much. He warned me that David may come to make good on the promise. He has been cut off from his father, and will remain so for some time, if not ever.”
“You won’t make me marry him?”
“No. Rupert has asked me for your hand, you know. He cares about you a great deal. If you so choose, I will grant him the request.”
Elizabeth’s head was swimming. She nodded and stood. “I need to think on it,” she said, and she moved around her father’s desk to kiss the man on his cheek before departing.
The next day she sent a few servants out to find David. When he was located he agreed to meet Elizabeth at her home for lunch. They dined on sandwiches in the garden, and drank lemonade brewed by Ms. Hudson.
“I’m glad you asked to see me,” David said.
“I have something to tell you,” she said, looking across the table to him. “My father will not force me to marry you. Your father agrees.”
David tried to keep the anger from his face, but failed to do so. “That isn’t fair,” he said.
“However, stupid as I may be, I care for you greatly, and want you to care for me as well.”
“I do care for you, Elizabeth.”
“Then prove it. You have seven days to change my mind. As it is now, I will not marry you. Within a week, you may change that.”
“I have seven days to make you want to marry me? Is this a game?”
“No, it is not a game,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head. “And I hope you won’t treat it as one. You’ve played enough games, have you not?”
David said nothing.
“Good day, Mr. Weatherby,” Elizabeth said, before his lunch was even done.
He stood up and bowed his head. “Elizabeth,” he said, and he walked away.
Outside, David was furious, but he attempted to remain collected. He would simply have to sweep the young woman off of her feet. He had done it numerous times to others. How hard would it be?
He went to his father’s home to speak with his oldest sister, Gwen, who was five years younger than him. His father was at the bank, and so they sat in the drawing room and spoke. He told her of his plan, and the seven days he had to make her change her mind about marrying him.
“What are you going to do?” Gwen asked her brother.
“That’s why I’m speaking with you,” David said with a roguish grin. “How do I sweep this girl off of her bull headed feet?”
“Don’t refer to her as bull headed, for one,” Gwen said, and they shared a laugh.
“I don’t know what to do,” David said when the laughter faded.
“Girls like pretty things,” Gwen said.
“Pretty things cost money,” David said.
“Didn’t you have anything saved? Tucked away?”
David sighed and shook his head. “No,” he said shortly.
“Well, luckily for you, I have,” Gwen said. “You may have it, if you promise to pay me back.”
“Why do you have money?” David asked. “A man will provide for you.”
“A man like you?” Gwen said dryly, and she stood and disappeared for a moment. When she returned, she had a small purse with her, and she pressed it into her brother’s hand.
“Thank you,” David said, and he meant it. His little sisters had always been shining spots in his life, and now one of them had done this, and he felt a wave of gratitude and love wash over him. He stood and hugged his sister, and then departed in a hurry.
It was growing dark by the time he returned to Elizabeth’s home. He was let into the parlor once more, and she arrived shortly.
“I did not expect you back so soon,” she said.
David stepped to her, took her hand and kissed it, and then held a box out to her.
“This is for you,” he said.
She took the box and opened it. She looked to him and smiled. “It’s beautiful,” she said, lifting the fine golden chain from the box. It was a necklace, with a small azure pendant hanging from it.
“Will you be my wife?” David said, and Elizabeth laughed.
“No,” she said. “But thank whoever gave you the money for this.” She paused. “Buying me gifts is not what I am concerned about,” she added, even as she put the chain around her neck. She turned around, holding her hair up, and David stepped forward to lock the chain into place.
“Thank you,” she said. “If there’s nothing else, I think I’ll retire early for the night.”
David nodded his head and left, feeling more discouraged than he ever had. He needed to marry that girl, or he didn’t know what he was going to do. His father seemed intent on keeping his money from his son.
He returned to the shabby Inn his father had agreed to put him into for a month, while he found his own way in the world, and he fell asleep quickly.
5
Elizabeth was surprised that two days stretched on without a visit from David Weatherby. She wondered if the man had simply given up. She went to sleep on the third night after giving him the ultimatum with thoughts of him in her head. She woke to a light tapping, and it took her a moment in her drowsy state to realize the tapping was coming from one of the windows in her bedroom. She rubbed at her eyes and looked towards the window, gasping when she saw David’s face there.
She hurried to the window and pulled it open. “What are you doing?” she asked as he climbed inside. “How did you get up here?”
“I’ve always been adept at climbing, as you’ll remember from our time as children in my father’s garden with that large oak tree.
“Why have you climbed into my room?” she asked.
“I cannot give up on you,” he said, and he bent down and pressed his lips to hers before she could stop him, and once the kiss was happening, she did not want to stop him. He tasted of rum, she was sure he had been drinking before he had come. But it was enjoyable, surprisingly, and when she parted her lips slightly he took advantage, and their tongues were dancing together.
She was wearing a white night gown which covered her to her ankles. But the thin material did little to stop him from feeling her body, first with his hands which he placed on her hips, and then with his body when he pulled her close to him. Her breasts were pushed up against his chest, and she felt her nipples harden as his tongue continued to explore his mouth. One hand left her hip and traveled up her back, stopping for a moment at the small of her back, where he pulled her even closer, and she felt his engorged member push against the bottom of her stomach. And then his hand kept going, and his fingers entwined in her long hair. The kiss broke.
“What are you doing?” she said with a moan.
“Be quiet,” David commanded, and she listened. He pushed her back towards her bed, and she fell upon it. She scooted back and he came onto the bed as well, holding himself over her and kissing her once more. Then he broke the kiss and his lips planted a trail of kisses on her chin, down her throat, and onto the portion of her chest which was exposed. His long, strong fingers hooked into the neckline of her nightgown and he tugged it down, freeing her breasts. He looked at her for a moment, and she watched him looking, her breath caught in her chest, her hands balled into fists and drawn close to her body, almost covering her breasts. Her nipples were dark pink, hard rosebuds atop pale white mounds of ample bosom. She couldn’t take his staring any more, it embarrassed her, but she was excited, a steamy longing in her womanhood. She pressed her palms to her breasts in an effort to cover up.
David grinned and spoke in a hushed whisper. “Move your hands.”
“No,” she said.
“Now,” he said, and she did, despite herself. When her small hands left her breasts he dipped his head and pressed his lips to one of her nipples. He took it into his mouth, his tongue flicking over the sensitive area, and the young woman moaned softly in the darkness.
He explored her breasts with his hands and his mouth, and then he was moving away from her, and Elizabeth felt a wave of regret wash over her, not regret about what she was doing, but regret that he appeared to be leaving, and she wouldn’t be able to kiss him again.
But he wasn’t leaving at all. David stopped when he was crouched at her hips, and he reached to the material of her long nightgown and began pushing it up. Elizabeth felt the regret about not kissing him being replaced with panic. He was pushing the hem of her gown up, and he would expose her womanhood. No man had seen her there, no man had touched her there. Was he going to make love to her? At this point, she didn’t think she would be able to stop him. Nor would she want to. A wave of heat was rolling through her loins, a desire for him meant she made no effort to stop him when he finished pushing the nightgown up, and she even lifted her backside from the bed so he could push it up over her hips. She wore no small clothes to bed, and she felt exposed to him. Her breasts were still out, and now he could see her womanhood, with the mound of hair above her moist female lips.
“What are you going to do?” Elizabeth asked, with an edge of worry in her voice. David grinned up at her, though she could barely see him since the only light was that of the silver moon which hung in the sky and cast its pale shine through her windows. And then his head lowered, and his mouth was on her womanhood, and Elizabeth was thrown into a frenzy of bliss and sensuality.
David had used his mouth on a woman before, she knew that. He was well practiced, and gentle. He ran his tongue along her, trailing it with his finger, and Elizabeth pulled a pillow to her mouth, biting down on it so she wouldn’t scream out and send someone running into her room.
Before she knew it there was an explosion of orgasmic sensations in her loins, and she felt her whole body shaking. David kept his mouth upon her as she reached climax, grinning against her as she rocked back and forth. Her stomach muscles spasmed and clenched, and she reached down to run her fingers through his hair. When he was sure she was done, he leaned back.
“Will you be mine now?” he asked.
“No,” Elizabeth breathed. “I will not.”
David stood up, working to keep his anger from springing forth. He hadn’t thought it would be that easy, but he had been hoping.
“Still,” the young woman said, sitting up and scooting to the edge of the bed. “I couldn’t leave you going home with no release yourself.”
It was obvious that his member was hard, it pushed against the pleat of his trousers. She reached for him, her hands slow and unpracticed. She undid his trousers and he sprang forth, his penis engorged and bobbing in the air as blood raced through it. David said nothing as he looked down and watched the young girl take him into her hand. She didn’t move her hand, she just gripped him near the base. She was looking at his manhood, as though she had never seen one. It occurred to David that she probably hadn’t, a rare trait in the girl he was usually with.
“You don’t have to,” David said in a low voice.
“I know,” Elizabeth said, and then she leaned forward and pressed her plump lips against the head of his penis, kissing it. She looked up to him, and he smiled down to her, and then she opened her mouth, and let him inside.
She was so virginal, so new, that though she didn’t know what to do exactly, he had never felt a woman feel so good, no matter how he entered into her sexually. She took more of him into her mouth, and then she would pull back, leaving a slick sheen to shine in the soft moonlight.
David put a hand on the back of her head, helping guide her as she bobbed back and forth. He couldn’t help himself, and it didn’t take him long until he reached climax. He knew many girls didn’t appreciate the taste of semen, so as he came he pulled his hips back, and he shot three long strands of thick white semen onto her exposed breasts.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking down at the girl, and becoming keenly aware of just how untouched she had been.
“Do not be,” she said, looking down at her own chest. When she looked up, he had already pushed himself back into his breeches, and was backing towards the window.
“Take me for a walk tomorrow,” she said as he left, and he nodded.
6
David called on Elizabeth just after lunch, and they walked on her father’s grounds, arm in arm.
“Last night was like nothing I had ever felt,” she said, when they were well away from the house, and any ears which might overhear them.
“I can say the same,” David said.
That made Elizabeth laugh. “I doubt that was the first time a woman has done that to you.”
“Well, I didn’t mean it exactly like that,” David said truthfully. “I mean it was like nothing I’d ever felt.”
They walked in silence for a moment. Near the rear of Elizabeth’s father‘s acres, there was a small pond, and they made their way towards it.
“May I ask you something?” Elizabeth said.
“You may.”
“Why have you never shown interest in me? Beyond interest in my maidenhead?”
David thought for a moment. “It isn’t you. You’re beautiful, and smart, and charming. I think it was the idea of being married. I was used to a certain lifestyle, and I didn’t want to feel as though I had to be different.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Thank you for telling the truth.”
“I may be a lot of things, but I am not a liar,” David said. They walked on in silence until they reached the pond. The water was a dark green, the surface still except for small circular ripples whenever a turtle poked his head up for a breath of air.
What happened next, David couldn’t have foreseen. They sat on the grass, Elizabeth folding the skirt of her gown beneath her as she did, so she wouldn’t be lost in the large ring of fabric, and they simply spoke. David rarely spoke with anyone the way he spoke then. They recalled stories from their childhood, so many hours spent together. They spoke of their hopes for the future, their regrets of the past.
“I want to do better,” David said as the sky turned the soft orange of evening.
“Then do better,” Elizabeth said.
David didn’t know what that meant, and he worked it out slowly in conversation with the beautiful girl.
Hours had passed since the first sat down and they grew hungry. David rose and helped Elizabeth to do the same, and they returned to her home.
“Will you dine with me?” she asked.
“I think not,” David said with a soft smile. “I would very much like to, but I feel the need to speak with my father. You are wise beyond your years,” he added.
“I hope to see you tomorrow,” Elizabeth said, and David took her hand and kissed it.
“I expect you will,” he said, and then he took his leave.
David and his father spoke at length that night, sharing glasses of brandy and a couple of cigars. David expressed his desire to learn the industry from his father, and that he yearned to take over at the bank within a year, as his father had wanted. At first, his father seemed hesitant, and David knew he worried that his son was simply trying to get back home, and get an allowance once more. But when David assured his father that he wanted no allowance, and would instead take pay from working at the bank, his father agreed. The two men hugged that night, something they had not done for some time.
The next morning, David hurried to see Elizabeth. He wanted to share the news with her, and he wanted to thank her. He would be working for the first time in his life later that morning, alongside his father, and if he had not spoken with the young girl, and through her learned what it really took to be happy in life, it would not have been happening.
While David was on his way to visit Elizabeth, Rupert had already called on her. They sat once more in the garden.
“I asked your father for you hand,” Rupert said. “Did you know that?”
“My father did tell me,” the young woman said. They say on the same bench where he had been kissing her in the days previous. He took her hand.
“I love you with all of my heart. I asked again. He told me you made some wager with David.”
“I did,” Elizabeth said. She didn’t pull her hand away from Rupert’s, but she felt as if though she should. She liked Rupert, and she knew she could love him. But something about David, she was hopeful he would impress her, hopeful he would make her believe that he loved her, and wanted to marry her, and not into the money her father would give him.
“I could take care of you. I would never gamble, never whore. I don’t think that could be said about David Weatherby,” Rupert went on.
“Perhaps not,” Elizabeth allowed with a slight nod of her head.
“So what is it? What compels you to reject me?”
“Oh, Rupert,” Elizabeth started. “It’s not rejection of you, it’s yearning for him.”
Rupert nodded, and let her hand fall away. He stood up and moved to a shallow stone pool, which had large golden fish swimming within it, surrounded by colorful flowers. It was the center of the grand garden. Elizabeth got up and moved to stand beside him.
“Don’t hurt me like this,” she said softly.
“Hurt you?”
“I care for you. I do. I love you even. In a way.”
Rupert sighed. “But not in a way like your love for him?”
“No. Not yet. Not when I love him so,” Elizabeth said. She felt frustrated, she was sure that no matter how she composed her words, she would never be able to adequately explain her feelings to Rupert.
He spun away. “I call too often. I am sorry for that. I should go.”
“No!” she said suddenly, surprising him and even herself. She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. He stopped and turned to her, and there was another shock between them as she leaned forward and up, standing on the toes of her heeled white shoes and placed a soft kiss upon his lips.
David had arrived moments before and he had assured the old servant who answered he knew how to get to the garden. He was just walking through the doorway and outside when he saw them, standing near the goldfish pool. Elizabeth, the woman he had realized he really did love, the woman who had made him realize what a fool he had been in almost every aspect of his life, was kissing another man.
Rupert. David knew him, but not well. He had never felt jealous of the man, because he had never coveted Elizabeth, but now he did, and he felt the bitter taste of jealousy well up in his stomach.
He went out into the garden, and his footsteps caused the other two to separate.
“David!” Elizabeth said.
“I should be going,” Rupert said, but David held a hand out to him.
“Stay, I will only be a moment. Elizabeth, if I may speak to you.”
The young woman nodded and followed him back towards the home. He had wished to speak about his conversation with his father, had wanted to tell her what his father had said, had wanted to speak with her about the agreement they had reached. But instead he thought of her. He wondered if she would be happy with a man like him, even a changed one. He didn’t think she would be.
“My father has resumed my allowance,” he said.
“He has?”
“I no longer need to marry you.”
“So that’s it?” Elizabeth asked. She felt an anger rising inside of her. She felt her cheeks grow heated as they turned red.
“That man over there, he’s the man you need,” David said, and though he wanted to say more, he couldn’t, and he turned and hurried inside.
Elizabeth was dumbfounded. She couldn’t move for a moment, she just watched him go, and then she was moving, running after him.
He was already out of the front door by the time Elizabeth entered the hall. She had heard it shut as she was still moving past the dining room. But she ran to it, planning on yelling after him, wanting to let him know she loved him, that he was a fool, and that now she hated him. She wrenched the front door open, preparing to run out into the drive, but he was there, facing the door, reaching to open it again and instead he found her, and she was in his arms, and they were kissing.
“I cannot lie,” he said, breaking the kiss. “That was a lie, and I cannot do it. Marry me. Marry me, I love you. I never knew I could love like this, but I can.”
“It was a lie?”
“I know you love Rupert, but I want that love to be mine,” David said.
“I don’t love Rupert,” Elizabeth said. Not the way I love you. What was a lie? You telling me to be with him? Why would you do that?”
“So you could be happy,” David said.
“You were willing to give me up, the woman you love, so I could be happy?” Elizabeth asked.
“Yes,” David said, nodding. She kissed him again, deeply, their tongues dancing together in their mouths.
“Then you have done it,” she said as they finally drew their lips apart.
“Done what?”
“I will marry you.”
David grinned and picked her up, swinging her in a wide circle just outside her father’s home.
“You will?” he asked. “You promise?”
“I will,” Elizabeth said again, and they were kissing once more. When they pulled away David’s face was serious, and she felt nervous as he opened his mouth to speak.
“So which one of us is going to tell Rupert to leave?” he said, and they burst into a fit of laughter.
David and Elizabeth were married just a month later. That night, they lay amongst burning candles and blankets made of fur on a soft bed.
Elizabeth felt goose bumps as David ran his manly hand along her naked curves, down the side of her breast, down over her waste and hips, and finding its way towards her inner thighs. She let out a sigh when his fingers found her womanhood. He parted her lips and rubbed her wetness. He kissed her and then slowly inserted a finger. She closed her muscles around it, letting out a small groan. With his thumb, he pressed on her clitoris, which pressured her as he slid his finger in and out. David inserted a second finger and she felt the pleasure against her walls. He fingered her harder and faster until the pressure in her abdomen exploded and she came on his hand, arching her back, gripping the fur blanket.
But that was not enough. Elizabeth wanted more. She wanted to feel David’s fullness inside her. She reached for his penis. It felt hard and hot in her hand. She opened her legs and guided him to her wet and pulsating opening.
David slid inside, and Elizabeth groaned. His movements were slow so she could feel every inch of him as he slid in and out of her, teasing, pleasuring. He muscles in her vagina tingled and tightened. She could take no more.
Elizabeth opened her legs wider and grabbed David’s buttocks between her hands, guiding him to move faster, stronger. And when he pumped with more force, she felt him pound against her clitoris, her muscles clenching around his penis, the pressure building again in her entire body until she exploded once more with a long grown that lasted as long as her orgasm.
And then David came, his body shaking with pleasure.
Afterwards they lie together, sweaty and spent, but sated, their limbs entwined. Elizabeth had never felt so happy, and she was sure that her wager had been the last gamble her husband would ever take.
She had won the game of love.
****
THE END