Page 39 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity (Ton’s Beasts #2)
ONE MONTH LATER
Leo stood in front of the mirror in his chambers, lacing up his pants. He took one more look at his reflection and made sure that his clothes were pristine after the time he and Margaret had just spent in bed.
“How do I look, dear wife?”
“I thought you looked better without your clothes on,” she teased. “But if you must wear them, I suppose you look quite handsome.”
“For a former novice, you are quite depraved. The things you do to me and the things you say are unthinkable, dear wife.” Leo turned to look at her, a smile pulling at his lips.
He could not recall any point in his life where he had smiled this much.
“On the contrary, I believe you think about them a great deal.”
He loved it when her laughter echoed off the stone walls of his chambers. It was like the sound of a clear bell ringing, like the clocks on the wall chiming the hour.
“I suppose you do not want to come with me to Olympus this afternoon?”
Leo had secretly hoped that she would accompany him. Tonight was the regular meeting of his book club.
While he did not want to join the others in the library, he would not mind having his wife in his study there. He could manage the club and have his own fun, all at the same time.
“I have promised the girls we would play this evening,” she said. “As long as they have obeyed Joan all day long.”
“Do you really believe that they are capable of being kind to their governess?”
“I believe they are capable of a great deal more than we give them credit for,” she replied. “I recall that they knew we were meant to be married to each other long before we did.”
Leo opened his mouth to respond, the memories of their afternoon in the library flooding back to him. But he was interrupted by the sudden rapping on the door. He held up one finger to his wife and opened the door.
“Your Grace, I fear the girls have gone missing again,” Joan said, out of breath from climbing the stairs and likely racing around the estate to look for his wayward nieces.
“And you believe that I know where they are hidden?” Leo quirked an eyebrow at her.
Surely, he was not the first person whom Joan would go to if she wanted to find his nieces.
“Well, I looked for Her Grace first,” she said haltingly. “But I could not find her either. I thought you may know her whereabouts, Your Grace.”
“I will look for the girls,” Margaret called from Leo’s bed. When she heard Joan’s request, she had already thrown off the covers and put on her shift. “Just give me a moment to get ready.”
“Of course, Your Grace,” Joan said, bowing her head.
The old governess turned and went back down the stairs slowly, bracing her back as she did.
“You do not worry about scandalizing the servants?” Leo asked as Margaret pulled on her gown. “It is the middle of the day, and you are here in my bed, undressed.”
“We are married, husband,” she said, stepping up to kiss him. “I do not care what the servants think we are doing. I do not even care what your friends at Olympus think.”
“A cheeky woman,” Leo laughed. “Let’s get you dressed. I will help you locate the girls before I leave for Olympus.”
“Do you truly believe that I need your help to locate Annie and Kitty?” Margaret raised an eyebrow. “I seem to remember that you initially brought me here because you were hopeless at finding them.”
“I just needed my own mischief-maker to help me find the best spots.” He shrugged and pressed a kiss to her cheek as he tied the laces on her gown. She let out the breath she was holding while he tightened them.
The two of them left his chambers. At the bottom of the stairs, Margaret gestured for Leo to choose which direction they would look in. She trailed behind him, ever patient as he found one hiding place after another empty of the girls’ laughter.
“It is lovely outside,” she remarked as they passed by the door off the kitchen that led to the orangery. “It is a shame that we must spend it cooped up in this dusty mansion.”
Was she giving him a hint?
Leo doubled back to the door and stepped out into the sunlight. He took Margaret’s hand, and they walked through the rows of the orange trees.
“Do you remember the first time I saw these trees?” Margaret reached out and plucked a fruit from a low-hanging branch before offering it to him.
“I remember the little nun who came to me, asking if staying with me meant she would be invited to my book club,” he drawled. “And I must remind you that I will be late to the club if we cannot find the girls.”
He peeled the orange and handed it back to her.
Margaret stopped walking and pulled off a section of the orange. She bit into it, the juice beading on her lips before she licked it off. Silently, she handed the fruit back to him, offering him a bite.
Instead of taking the fruit from her hand, he leaned in and kissed her, tasting the fresh orange juice on her lips.
“I prefer to taste it this way,” he said, pulling back.
At that, he heard a small giggle just a little distance from them. Margaret smiled at him and ate another section of the orange. Leo tried to figure out which direction the laughter had come from, turning right and left.
“Perhaps another kiss would make it clearer,” she suggested.
Leo stepped close enough to feel her breath on his lips. Just before he leaned in and touched her, he heard another giggle. They were to his left, he was sure of it. He stalked between the trees and looked up and down the rows.
Margaret followed after him at a leisurely pace. She did not look around for Annie and Kitty, which frustrated him.
How does she always know where the girls are hiding?
“I have to leave soon,” Leo announced, his voice small in the open space. “Girls, this is no longer fun.”
“Are you giving up on finding them so soon? When you are so close to finding them?” Margaret turned to her right and kept walking down the row.
She stopped and waited for him to catch up.
“Maybe this will give you a better vantage point to find them,” she offered.
She looked to the right and left, but a mischievous smile tugged at the corners of her lips. He wanted to kiss her again.
“I give up!” Leo called out.
“You were so close this time,” Margaret said, looking up at the tree they were standing beneath.
She shook the bottom branch until the leaves began to sway, revealing the girls hiding in the upper branches.
“How many times have I asked you not to climb the trees?” Leo huffed, exasperated.
He could scarcely hide his frustration that the girls had been in his care for this long and he still could not get them to obey him.
But he could not forget the fact that they did obey Margaret.
“Aunt Margaret,” Annie groused. She crossed her arms over her chest and jutted her chin in Margaret’s direction. “You always know where we hide. You were not supposed to tell him.”
“Your uncle has to leave for Olympus very soon,” Margaret said with a gentle smile. “I merely needed to give him a little help this time.”
Kitty scrambled down the tree, holding onto each branch as she lowered herself to the ground. At the lowest branch, she hung by her arms and dropped to the ground in front of them.
“You were almost there, Uncle,” she said, clapping her hands.
Leo laughed and scooped her up into his arms. “I fear that close is not quite good enough when it comes to finding you two. It seems that you find a new place to hide with each passing day. But for the moment, why don’t you run and find one more?
Margaret will come play hide and seek with you after she sees me off. ”
Annie swung down from the branches, landing on the ground in front of them with bent knees and a loud thump. “I bet you will never find us this time!”
“We will see about that.” Margaret smiled, her entire face lighting up at the prospect of a challenge with the girls.
“Will you walk me to the stables, dear wife?” Leo took her hand again. “Hide quickly, girls. I will not be able to buy you much time.”
Annie and Kitty took off running toward the mansion. Leo and Margaret watched them yank open the door to the kitchens and tumble inside, much to the cook’s displeasure.
Leo tugged on her hand and led her deeper into the gardens.
At the entrance to the stables, he pulled her into him. When she was flush against him, he laughed at the color rising in her cheeks. Margaret leaned up to kiss him on the lips.
“Until you return,” she murmured. In a lower voice, she added, “Dare I say that I hope you bring one of your books home for me? I do love to read.”
“I think I know just the one to bring for you,” Leo said, kissing her again.
He had already slipped one of the books into his study, on the off chance that he could convince her to accompany him tonight.
“I love you,” Margaret said. “I cannot wait until you come home to me.”
“Nor can I. I love you more each day,” Leo returned.
He pressed one more kiss to her lips and pulled back from her. He would leave for Olympus, secure in the knowledge that he was loved and that someone looked forward to his return.
He set out for Olympus as Margaret headed back to find the girls.
All was as it was meant to be at Devishire Mansion. It was more than a Beast could have ever hoped for.
The End?