Suddenly he was leaning over her, pushing her down into the soft blankets of the bed, his mouth close to her ear. She tipped her head to the side as he started nibbling on her neck.

“I gave you pleasure?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her hands stroking his chest, finding the two little nipple nubs she had intended on examining earlier. “A great deal of pleasure.”

“As you did me,” he said softly, his breath on her lips now. She gazed into his dark blue eyes and allowed his words to eliminate her worry. “You’re not defective, sweetheart, you’re just full of passion.” He kissed her deeply, pressing his body against hers, his tongue mating with hers just as intimately as his body had a short while before. “And I wouldn’t want you to change one little bit.”

Thirteen

“I think you’re perfectly beastly, Alasdair.”

“I am aware of your opinion, Charlotte.”

“I cannot believe that you are the same man who introduced me to the pleasures of the organism last night. You are much changed by the light of day!”

“Orgasm, Charlotte. Are you planning on eating that last piece of bread?”

“You are breaking my heart.”

“Regret it though I may, the sad state of your heart will not change my decision.”

“But everyone is talking about us!” Charlotte passed a small silver rack containing toasted bread to her husband. How could the man eat when her life was falling to shreds around her? “Our names are on everyone’s lips! I shall not be able to set foot outside this house without being shamed and humiliated! I cannot possibly survive in a Society where I am the subject of ridicule and cruel speculations, and I think it’s terribly insensitive for you to expect me to stay in town when you have three perfectly good properties we might retire to until this latest unpleasantness has been forgotten.”

Dare calmly dabbed fruit preserves onto the cold piece of bread. “Shame and humiliation can only be felt when the someone’s opinion matters to you, wife. You are the only one who can give people that power over you.”

“But, Dare, why couldn’t we go to one of your estates for a month or two?”

“Until I hear from my solicitors that my cousin is not the rightful heir of my uncle, ownership of the estates is in question. The only property I own outright is a small estate on a rocky little island off the coast of Scotland, and I don’t think you would care for that overly much.”

“Going to the country would make everything so much easier,” Charlotte continued as if he hadn’t spoken.

“Moving the engine to Scotland for a month, then bringing it back here for the industrial exhibition two months hence can hardly be said to make everything easier,” he protested gently, helping himself to another serving of ham.

“You could work on your engine in peace in the country—”

“Something I can do right here.”

“—and I can go about my duties as your wife—”