"Self-righteous and a bit of a coward," she continued, "as much so as I am."
He crossed his arms over his chest, feeling more uncomfortable by the moment. "Explain yourself."
"All this honesty-you think it makes you unassailable because you are virtuous." The accusation came in a straightforward manner, and she caught him with her eyes. "You use your bluntness to guard yourself, and scare people away."
"Nonsense."
"I am not berating you for it."
"I did not say you were. I'm saying it's nonsense. I say what I think because I'm tired of hypocrisy, not because I want to frighten people." As he spoke, he became aware that he was protesting too much, aware that he would not be defensive if she had not come close to a truth he would rather not examine.
"Mmm."
"You don't believe me?"
"You know your reasoning better than I," she said, in a tone that suggested very much the opposite.
"I'm not trying to scare you now," he said, and laid his hand over hers.
She laughed nervously, moving her hand beneath his as if she might pull it away. "Aren't you?"
Maybe he was. Maybe he was trying to keep her from seeing clearly into him before he was ready to reveal all his faults and weaknesses. He wanted her to see the better side of him, to focus her attention on what he could offer her rather than what he might lack.
The best defense was an offense, was it not?
He picked up her gloved hand, feeling its fine trembling. He watched her expression, her lips parting, her eyes on their two hands. Her nervous expectation was contagious, and he found his own heart beating rapidly; he was frightened that she would pull away, yet he wanted more than anything to continue.
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers. She jerked her hand, and he tightened his grip, not letting her go.
"Mr. Brent…" she said.
"Richard. My name is Richard." Let her say his name; let her accept him. Let this grow to be more than a brief acquaintance.
He opened her hand and laid her palm against his cheek, then turned his face so that he could kiss the inside of her wrist where it was left exposed at the edge of her glove.
She caught her breath.
He drew in the faint scent of her, mingled with the leather and the wool, delicate and feminine and ineffably precious. This was something he wanted in his life for more than an afternoon.
He pushed up her sleeve an inch, and followed it with his lips, then painted a stroke upon her soft skin with the tip of his tongue, losing himself in the velvety smoothness and warmth.
"Mr. Brent!" The words were breathless, and again she tried to pull her hand away, and again he stopped her.
"Richard. Call me by my Christian name."
"You must stop," she said. But the words were half-hearted.
He sucked against her wrist, using his tongue to rub her, willing her to feel the same heat that was growing in him, willing her to feel the beginnings of a bond between them and the promise it might hold for the future.
"You must… Richard…" she said, and when he looked up at her from under his brows he saw that her eyes were half-closed, and she was leaning toward him.
He began to slowly peel her glove down her hand, exposing its heel and the base of her thumb. He slid his finger under the thin leather, rubbing against the palm of her hand, which was damp and warm in the confines of the glove. Her fingers curled inward, and her breathing quickened.
"This is indecent," she whispered. Her pupils had grown into black pools against the sea green irises. She wet her lips.
He peeled the glove another two inches, to the base of her fingers, and kissed the palm of her hand. He scraped against her skin with his teeth, and then with the tip of his tongue penetrated into the tight vee exposed between each finger, imagining behind his closed eyes his tongue working more intimate places than her hand, imagining his mouth at the warm heart of her, making her moan with pleasure in the dark confines of his bed.
He felt his own body responding to the feel of her skin against his tongue, and to the sound of her quickened breathing. He wanted more than her hand: he wanted much more than any young lady would permit upon such short acquaintance, however bold she tried to be.
If he allowed this to go any further he might truly scare her away, and that was something he was not willing to risk.
He kissed her palm once more, then reluctantly pulled the glove back down her hand. He released her, then gently brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek, as if his hand could kiss her for him.
"Your cousin will be wondering what has become of us," he said softly.
"Will she?" she asked, as if lost in a dream.
"She will, and she's likely half-frozen by now, which serves her right for pretending to be hurt." He stood and helped Vivian to her feet.
"I do not regret that she did. Good gracious," Vivian said, looking down at her gloved hand. "I had never thought of such a thing happening to my hand."
He laughed, and laid his own hand over hers in the crook of his arm. He felt hopeful, and giddy with it. A quiet voice warned that it was wisest to go slowly, that it was too soon to know if they were right for one another, but he ignored it.
For this one moment, he would allow himself to hope.
Chapter Five
December 27
The Feast of Saint John the Evangelist
"Vivian, my dear," Mrs. Twitchen said. "I am so glad to have found you alone."
Vivian was curled into a corner of a window seat, pillows beneath and around her to ward off the chill through the glass, a book in her lap to make it seem she was otherwise occupied than watching the drive in hopes that Lady Sudley and Mr. Brent might come to call.
Penelope was upstairs, fussing over whether or not to change the trim on her white presentation gown. She had forestalled all her mother's attempts at speaking on the topic of Mr. Brent, but as Mrs. Twitchen sat herself down on the window seat Vivian felt no quiver of foreboding.
Richard had already explained about Sara and William's mother, in more detail than Mrs. Twitchen would share. She could understand why Mrs. Twitchen had been concerned, but she thought that she would, in time, be able to overcome the discomfort the thought of that fallen woman brought her.
Jealousy nibbled at her heart when she thought of the woman he had loved and who had given him children who were the center of his world. By his own admission the woman was beautiful and charming, and though he discounted those traits as valueless, she knew she would be tempted to hold herself against them in weak comparison, and to wonder if Richard had any last ember of feeling for the woman.
She would be strong, though; she would not let such thoughts destroy her confidence. It was as Penelope had said: he would value Vivian as Vivian valued herself. She would not let thoughts of the former mistress destroy her chance at happiness.
To let the past eat at her would be to invite a lifetime of distress, if it should happen that she and Richard were to wed. The woman, having not had the good grace to die or move to South America, would be making regular, if infrequent, appearances in Sara's and William's lives. Which meant-if Vivian became Mrs. Brent-in her own life, as well.
It was not a pleasant thought.
Neither was it an undigestible thought. There was much she could swallow if it meant becoming Mrs. Brent, and she was almost embarrassed to admit that a fair deal of the persuasion had been done by Richard's mouth on her hand.
She had relived a dozen times his seduction of her hand, and with each remembrance her body flushed anew with pleasure, her blood warming and tingling in intimate places. She schemed in her mind for how they might next find a private moment together, when he could again take her hand and ravish it.
Or ravish all of her. Let him have her! Then they would have to marry, and she would rush to the prize without having to play all the steps in the game. Only the prize was no longer marriage for the sake of marriage, but was Richard himself.