In Compromise with the Earl by Ava MacAdams
Chapter Twenty-Two
Stunned silence washed over the room and William blithely looked at his glass. “I probably should not have said that. How many of these have I had?”
“Enough,” Aphrodite kept her tone light while all she wanted to do was to throw her flute at her traitorous father. She didn’t even want to look at the Dowager, who, she was sure, had a satisfied smirk on her face at proving what she thought she knew. “I’m sure Lord Westlake considers that incident much the ill-considered childish mistake as I have.”
“I thought it was a jest,” Stephen replied. “Children do foolish thing.”
“I’m sure we’ve all had those moments,” the prudent voice of Lord Valentine cut in sagely. “Haven’t we? Let bygone by bygones, I say.”
The rigidness in her spine only stiffened when the conversation grew easier and while she looked over at Oswald, she found his narrow-eyed gaze landing squarely on her father. William, of course, was blithely ignorant, or he was playing at being so.
Oswald reached for his flute and clenched it hard enough that the stem might shatter in his grip. She gently reached over and took the flute from him and gently shook her head. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
He leaned into her ear, his tone low and threatening. “He did that on purpose. I’ll—”
“That too,” she replied. When she rested her hand on his thigh, he grabbed her hand tightly, as if to say, he couldn’t wait to leave this ambush.
Daring to look over at her host, Aphrodite was not surprised at the smug look on her face. Her father had set her back miles even while she had barely made inches with the Dowager. Wincing a little, Aphrodite sipped her wine, waiting patiently for the dinner to end.
She met Lord Valentine’s eyes once and tried to express wordlessly how much she thanked him deferring the cruel jabs that she knew would have come after her father’s deliberate slip.
He lifted his glass understandingly and she turned to Oswald. His lips were thinned, and his jaw was working while his gaze, this time, was leveled at his mother. She could feel his fury building and touched his arm, slid her fingers through his and held him tightly.
She was not sure what he was going to do with his mother after this sham of a party dispersed. They finished dessert and while another round of drinks came around, Oswald made to go to his mother, but she stopped him.
“Please,” Aphrodite said, pushing her plea into her eyes, “later.” His eyes flashed but he nodded curtly and pulled away. The party broke but the Dowager offered the card room for anyone who wanted to play a hand of vingt-et-un, but no one took it. Aphrodite made it a point to go to Stephen and was glad that Lady Amalie was there.
“Before you leave, please understand, this was not my intention. I had thought the past would stay in the past,” she said earnestly. “I never intended to put any wedge between you two. What happened between Stephen and I was a long, long time ago and it never meant anything.”
“I know,” Amalie said quietly. “Stephen never kept anything from me. He had not mentioned your name, but he told me that he had kissed a young lady years ago and said it meant nothing. You have nothing to apologize for. And I am glad you found Oswald. He seems so happy with you.”
Relieved, she said, “Thank you, and yes, we are happy.”
Stephen flashed a quick smile. “I couldn’t have said anything better than what Lady Amalie said.”
“Pass my regards onto your father for me,” Aphrodite said, and finding it prudent to leave, she went back to Oswald’s side.
She touched his arm. “I know you are angry, but I don’t want you to talk to your mother tonight. I know what it is to be so blinded by anger that you will say things you did not and would not mean. Promise me to sleep on it tonight and go to her tomorrow?”
“She was out of line and deceitful,” he said harshly. “I do not take kindly to that.”
“What are you thinking about telling her?” Aphrodite asked gently. “If it something that will break your relationship, you know that you will regret it tomorrow morning.”
Oswald blinked quickly, the sudden anger she saw began to ebb away. His expression softened, but his anger was still smoldering in his eyes. Aphrodite gave him a gentle smile, her eyes resting on him for just one moment longer before she walked away to go speak to her father.
She found her father as he was donning his coat. There were no other people near them, but she dropped her tone still. “Are you satisfied?”
He looked at her. “It depends.”
“If you think trying to shame me before Oswald, you are wrong,” she said calmly. “First, I don’t know if you and the Dowager are in cahoots and I do not care, but I know one thing. Your attempt to break us apart has not worked and will never do so. Second, tell His Grace, that I want nothing to do with him and if he comes near me at all, I will happily shoot him. Goodbye, Father.”
She turned and walked away without one look back. When she approached Oswald, she saw him taking to his mother and the Dowager did not look remorseful or angry, she looked blasé.
He pulled away and walked to her, gesturing for her to take the stairs. She obeyed and took the stairs, feeling Oswald’s hand rest on the small of her back. They didn’t say a word until they entered the bedchamber, and he closed the door behind her.
“My mother has deliberately embarrassed you and I will not stand for that. I believe that Westlake came here purely coincidentally, but I cannot be so sure. What I do know is that your father decided to shame you and hint that you could be Duke Strathmore’s mistress. I am livid, Aphrodite.”
“I know,” she said while undoing his jacket and pulling it away. “But no matter what, she is blind to anything but her own opinions. I don’t know how much longer we can do this. I have tried, and now, with what Stephen said, she is going to hold this over my head for as long as I live.”
Oswald nearly ripped his waistcoat and his shirt. “I will not abide by that. If she tries to use that I will not be kind.”
Touching his chest, she smiled sweetly. “You are so protective.”
“I do not like anyone abusing what I consider precious to me,” he said while doing away with his boots. “And I hate that your father is on my mother’s side. They both want us to be away from each other.”
Sighing, Aphrodite went to the dressing table, removed her jewelry, then pinned her hair up. Oswald came to her side and undid the buttons on her dress, slipping the shoulders down so she could slip out of the dress. He scooped her up and carried her to bed.
Lying beside her, he wrapped an arm around her. “You saw me when I was talking to Mother. She is not sorry about it, Sweetling, I can see that.”
“So, what are we going to do?” Aphrodite asked.
Stroking her side, he said, “We can move away, or she can take the Dowager House on the premises, but I will not be subjecting you to more abuse by her. Who knows what other schemes she will come up with?”
“Well, I know one thing, Father’s ploy did not do as much damage as he wanted,” she said while hollow emotions that she had tried to hold back were turbulent in her chest. “Amalie knew about the kiss with Stephen, and she accepted my apology when I gave it to them.”
“That’s a relief,” he said. “At least people will understand.”
“And Lord Valentine helped,” she said.
Oswald kissed her cheek. “I am truly grateful that you told me to wait about talking to Mother about my anger,” his hand squeezing hers gently. “Thank you.”
Thinking about the searing pain that had come from the Dowager’s subtle jab about her being unfaithful and her father adding more fuel to fire, a tear slipped from her eye. Resisting the urge to reach up and brush it away, she pressed her eyes a little more tightly and kept her eyes closed.
“Tonight was horrible,” Aphrodite sucked in a breath, her body racked with pain. “I know Stephen and Amalie will not whisper but what about the others? What happened tonight will bring gossip and rumors and were I to break it—there would be scandal,” she whispered, her head dropping. “Goodness, this is all such a muddle.”
A fingertip wiped away the tear. “Even if there is a scandal, what can that do to us? I’ve been through the fire and so have you because of your father. I hardly think an innocent childish kiss will sully your name.”
“But what about yours?” she asked, hollowly. “How much can you take?”
“As much as it will take to shield you from the rest,” he said, gently pulling her on his body and kissing her damp cheeks before taking her mouth. Aphrodite could taste her tears too, bare hints of salt between their lips and tongue. Oswald held her with a tenderness she was starting to expect from him, and he kissed her with soft, intimate intent not to possess or pleasure, but merely to comfort.
Their kisses were long and languid and Oswald held her throughout it all until his kisses changed to heated, drugging kisses. Aphrodite sighed, melting into his embrace. It was the kind of cure she could lay still and let wash over as she took comfort from his warm lips and possessive hold.
She lost herself in the beat of his heart, the taste of wine on his lips and the gentle caress of his fingers along her nape. Oswald’s hand slipped to her backside and down to her knee to pull her hip over him and there, she felt his turgid manhood.
Undaunted, she let him kiss her until she felt drunk and gave him a soft moan as her arousal was building as well. Her hands moved restlessly up to his shoulders then sank in his hair. She molded herself against him while the heat under her skin burst into flame.
Sliding to her back, she gently coaxed him to rest atop of her, nestled between her legs, knowing without words what he felt, what her actions meant. Her body was trembling as he slid the chemise up her legs and as she shimmered it off her body.
Doing away with the last stitch of clothes between them, his mouth, hands and lips worshiped her body, giving into the natural urge to comfort her in the most intimate way. His hot seeking mouth wandered from her lips to drift over her eyelids and cheeks then down her neck, licking and nibbling his way down her throat.
Pinned beneath him, in the best way, Aphrodite could not help but marvel at his body. She ran her fingers over his shoulders and down his muscled arms. She kissed his chest but Oswald stopped her.
“Not tonight, Sweetling,” he said gravely. “Let me take care of you tonight.”
He had made her shatter twice during the night, and each time, he had aroused her to the crisis with only his skillful fingers and devilish mouth. When he did slit their bodies together, the sweet agony took her out into the sea of bliss.
“Stay with me, Sweetling,” he coaxed against her lips as his length slid in deeper, and she shuddered. “Let me love you tonight.”
While murmuring sweet entreaties in her ear, he fulfilled his promise and made love to her, appeasing her with languid, deep silken thrusts. The sure, strong strokes made her body tremble with delight while her hand slipped down his damp back. The intermittent bite of her nails into his back urging him faster.
Nothing had ever felt like this, had even come close. Aphrodite felt drunk with pleasure every time he sank deeper into her loving heat. Her eyes dazed with ecstasy, she splintered around him, Oswald’s name a silent scream on her lips.
When the sensations began to leave her body, Aphrodite felt Oswald threading his fingers through her silky ringlets while his arms held her tight. She blinked leaden eyelids open to see Oswald’s warm expression then closed her eyes again.
His lips landed on hers with a soft kiss and she responded with the loving desire she had in her heart.
* * *
Regretfully, Oswald peeled himself away from Aphrodite as soon as dawn came as he had to clean up and go speak to his mother. Last night had been disastrous and he had to get some answers from his mother. Had she deliberately gone out of her way to mortify Aphrodite or was it all some horrid coincidence?
He had a quick bath and dressed; while stepping into his trousers, his eyes landed on a still sleeping Aphrodite and a wan smile took his face. Barely two months ago, he would never have imagined that he would have found a companion, much less fallen in love.
Resting his hip on the edge of the bed, he smiled at her lax face and the tantalizing swell of her breasts under her blanket. Aphrodite’s hair was tangled, curly around her face with a strand tickling her nose. He reached forward and lightly tucked it away.
The touch was slight, but her eyes flickered open still; her sleepy gaze nearly tempting him to join her back in the bed.
“Mornin’,” she whispered, turning on her side. A plump breast with a tantalizing ripe-berry nipple was uncovered. “What it is? Is something wrong?”
“No,” Oswald leaned in to kiss her. “Nothing wrong. Go back to sleep, Sweetling.”
Her lashes fluttered closed, “You’re sure?”
“Very,” he eased himself from the bed and left the room, making sure to close it behind him.
As he headed off to his mother’s chambers, he found that Aphrodite was right about confronting her the next day. He had been boiling with anger last night and he would have said things that were irreversible. Now, with a clearer head, he knew exactly what to say to her.
He knocked on the door and at her word, entered. She was sorting cards again, looking unbothered, as if the travesty last night had no bearing on her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Why, Mother?” Oswald asked. “Was last night a planned humiliation? Did you know about Westlake’s connection with Aphrodite?”
She dropped the papers. “No, I had not planned it, but it showed me what I already know. That girl is on her way to following her father’s footsteps.”
“Because she kissed a boy when she was a young girl?” Oswald’s tone hardened. “Come on, Mother, it’s human instinct. You cannot be so disdainful. You did the same too. Stop being a hypocrite.”
Henrietta’s head snapped up and Oswald kept his tone still. “Father told me he had come across you, kissing Lord Tulloch one night at a ball, you were barely seventeen. You shouldn’t throw stones when your glass house might shatter around you.”
“Oswald—”
“You will apologize to her,” he said. “It was unfair and unkind of you. Have you heard stories of her entertaining men? If you have, then I could understand but I promise you that is not the case. Tell me that is what you heard?”
“No,” she said.
“Then I do not understand why you would do this. You have to understand, I could have easily chosen someone else but I chose Aphrodite, not because of any burgeoning scandal, or because she inveigled me into it, I did it because she makes me feel alive again.”
“I do not know any other who would have had the patience to dust of the rust around my heart and warm it again. Did you know that Aphrodite cried herself to sleep last night, fearing that you will never accept her?”
She glanced down to her desk. “I did not.”
“Aphrodite’s mother passed away when she a child.” Oswald came closer. “In all things, you could be the mother she never had. You could step into the empty place, bond with her, teach her, help her grow and become the Countess that will take your place when you’re gone.”
Henrietta looked long and hard at him before she stood and rounded her desk to stand before him. “You truly believe that?”
Her tone was subdued, and Oswald wondered if he had finally won a battle with her, that he had finally made a breakthrough with her stiff beliefs.
“Yes,” he said. “I want you two to live in peace, but you must make the first step. She has tried many times, but you brushed them off as if they were nothing. This time the onus is on you.”
“And if I don’t?” she asked.
“Then I have no other choice but to ask you to move to the Dowager House,” he said. “It pains me to say this but I will not live in discord with anyone, not even you.”
Her lips thinned. “I see.”
“Do not make this harder on any of us,” Oswald said. “Do the right thing. I know you will.”
With a nod, Oswald headed out to his chamber, but rounding a corner, nearly ran directly into Leo. His cousin laughed and stepped back. “Slow, Oswald. You’re running like a bull—”
“Into a teashop?” Oswald laughed. “Don’t worry. Why are you here?”
“I heard that there was a big disruption last night at Aunt’s dinner,” Leo replied, his expression dipping to somber.
Raking a hand through his hair, Oswald sighed. “Perhaps I should talk to you first. Mother is not in the best frame of mind to tell you what happened. Actually, I do not think I am either, but I’ll tell you what happened and when you speak to Mother, you can decide how to put the pieces together.”
“Fine, lead the way.” Leo gestured down the corridor to one of the many drawing rooms and sitting rooms the Hall held.
Inside a quaint room, they sat and Oswald launched in. “Mother threw a celebration party for Aphrodite and I last night, that included her father. It also so happened to include the man Aphrodite had kissed when she was young, Lord Westlake, who is currently Amalie’s intended husband. Her father, Kingsley, oh so casually, let that secret out to the whole room.”
The faint widening of his cousin’s eyes was the only indication that Leo was shocked, as the man kept his placid composure through it all.
“I thought it was a conspiracy at first,” Oswald said. “But it was all horrible coincidence.”
“Are you sure?” Leo asked. “I know Aunt in not a malicious woman but maybe she decided to dig deep enough to embarrass your wife.”
“I know she did not agree to the marriage but is past the pale,” Oswald replied. “And she did not only embarrass my wife. It cut me too. I know why her father would let her secret out at the worst time, because he wanted her to marry that rakehell Strathmore.”
“It is not that horrible of a secret, to be fair,” Leo said judiciously. “We’re all human and a kiss is not the depth of depravity.”
A flash of the time Oswald used to go to the bawdy houses and lay with courtesans ran through his mind, but he brushed it away. “Secrets are secrets for a reason,” he said.
“I suppose they are,” Leo sighed heavily while rubbing his face. “It is a troublesome situation.”
“That might be understatement,” Oswald added. “But at least you know now. I told Mother that she needs to apologize and then, find a way to make a bond with Aphrodite. If not, if she keeps this animosity going, I will have her move to the Dowager House. I know it sounds ungrateful, but she must understand. I must move on with my live somehow.”
“I’ll speak to Aunt too,” Leo vowed. “And you’re right, you have every reason to move on from the lackluster situation you were in to a happier one.”
“Thank you,” Oswald said. “And God forbid any other secret gets out.”
“God forbid,” Leo added.
* * *
Aphrodite woke again to find the sheets cold beside her. A cold lance of panic rushed through her before she remembered that Oswald had not disappeared, he had only left the chamber, but she did not know how long ago.
Sitting up, she brought the covers to her chest and looked at the window. It seemed to be midmorning, mostly likely past ten o’clock and she wondered how she had slept so long.
The memories of last night and the flicker of the draining emotions came back and she sighed in understanding. The horrible, mortifying party, the tears she had shed and the soft comfort Oswald had given her had all made a heady mix of drugging emotions; no wonder she had slept so long.
Sliding her legs from under the sheets, she hurried to don a dressing robe and went to the bathing chamber. After a quick but thorough ablution, she put on a maroon day dress and went to fix the tangled mess her hair was.
“Good gracious, no wonder Medusa didn’t look herself in the mirror,” she muttered.
Oswald laughed. “She was a gorgon, Sweetling, with the power to turn men to stone. She would have killed herself by gazing into a mirror.”
Twisting on her seat, she smiled. “Good morning, again.”
He leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Same to you. How do you feel about a jaunt to Convent Garden this eve? The theater has ‘Much Ado’ playing.”
“I’d love that,” she replied while lowering the brush to her lap. Then she grew concerned. “How…how is your Mother?”
“I spoke to her, and if she decides to take my words to heart then we won’t have any more problems,” Oswald replied. “And if not, we’ll have to separate.”
She wanted to ask, but Aphrodite kept the question to herself. “When does she leave?”
